I would like to achieve the following requirement on Windows 10/11 with Guest Account.
1. The user will not be able to see/select a particular printer while printing with e.g. : Microsoft Word, Adobe Reader, etc.
2. However, the user is allowed to print with that hidden printer with my own developed application. ( Which means the application itself will be able to send data to the hidden printer for printing ).
One approach I'm thinking is to disable the "Print" permission for that guest account. The printer will be hidden from the user, but that doesn't permit the user to print.
May I know is there anyway to achieve this? Either programmatically or with configuration.
Customer
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To achieve your requirements on Windows 10/11 with a Guest account, you can use a combination of security permissions and potentially some programmatic solutions. Here’s a step-by-step guide to configure the system to hide a specific printer from general applications while still allowing your custom application to print to it.
Step 1: Set Printer Permissions
1. Open Devices and Printers:
- Go to the Control Panel.
- Click on “Devices and Printers.”
2. Set Printer Permissions:
- Right-click the printer you want to hide and select “Printer properties.”
- Go to the “Security” tab.
- Select the “Guest” account or any specific user group you want to restrict.
- Deny the “Print” permission by selecting the “Deny” checkbox.
Step 2: Programmatic Access
Even though you have denied the “Print” permission for the Guest account, your custom application can still be given the ability to print by running it with higher privileges or by using a different user account that has permission to print. Here’s how you can achieve this programmatically:
#Option 1: Run Application with Elevated Privileges
You can configure your custom application to run with elevated privileges or under a different user account that has print permissions. You can use the `runas` command or configure the application shortcut to always run as an administrator.
#Option 2: Programmatic Printing Using System Calls
Your application can be developed to use system calls directly to bypass the user interface restrictions. Here’s an example using the Windows API in C#:
```csharp
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Drawing.Printing;
class Program
{
[DllImport("winspool.Drv", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
public static extern bool OpenPrinter(string pPrinterName, out IntPtr hPrinter, IntPtr pDefault);
[DllImport("winspool.Drv", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
public static extern bool ClosePrinter(IntPtr hPrinter);
[DllImport("winspool.Drv", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
public static extern bool StartDocPrinter(IntPtr hPrinter, int level, [In] ref DOCINFOA pDocInfo);
[DllImport("winspool.Drv", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
public static extern bool EndDocPrinter(IntPtr hPrinter);
[DllImport("winspool.Drv", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
public static extern bool StartPagePrinter(IntPtr hPrinter);
[DllImport("winspool.Drv", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
public static extern bool EndPagePrinter(IntPtr hPrinter);
[DllImport("winspool.Drv", SetLastError = true)]
public static extern bool WritePrinter(IntPtr hPrinter, IntPtr pBytes, int dwCount, out int dwWritten);
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential, CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
public struct DOCINFOA
{
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPStr)]
public string pDocName;
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPStr)]
public string pOutputFile;
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPStr)]
public string pDataType;
}
public static void PrintRawData(string printerName, string data)
{
IntPtr hPrinter;
DOCINFOA docInfo = new DOCINFOA
{
pDocName = "MyDocument",
pOutputFile = null,
pDataType = "RAW"
};
if (OpenPrinter(printerName, out hPrinter, IntPtr.Zero))
{
if (StartDocPrinter(hPrinter, 1, ref docInfo))
{
if (StartPagePrinter(hPrinter))
{
IntPtr pBytes;
int dwCount = data.Length;
int dwWritten;
pBytes = Marshal.StringToCoTaskMemAnsi(data);
WritePrinter(hPrinter, pBytes, dwCount, out dwWritten);
Marshal.FreeCoTaskMem(pBytes);
EndPagePrinter(hPrinter);
}
EndDocPrinter(hPrinter);
}
ClosePrinter(hPrinter);
}
}
static void Main()
{
PrintRawData("YourPrinterName", "Your raw print data here");
}
}
```
This code uses P/Invoke to call the Windows API functions for printing. Make sure your application runs with sufficient privileges to access the printer.
Step 3: Configure Application to Run with Admin Rights
You can configure your custom application to always run as an administrator, which will allow it to bypass the permission restrictions set for the Guest account.
1. Right-click the application executable or shortcut:
- Go to “Properties.”
- Under the “Compatibility” tab, check “Run this program as an administrator.”
Summary
By configuring printer permissions to deny print access to the Guest account and running your custom application with elevated privileges or different user credentials, you can achieve the goal of hiding the printer from standard applications while still allowing your application to print. This approach ensures the printer is not visible in standard print dialogs but remains accessible programmatically.