Printing Via VNC

[Robert A. Book]

Geoff Hoyle writes:
> 
> I am running a VNC client on windows, which connects to a vnc server on a
> Linux Box, Specifically Redhat 8.0.  Does anyone know how I can print
> something on my local printer, if for instance I click the print button on
> mozilla which is running on the Linux box.  I am running VNC through OpenSSH
> also.
> 
> I can not add my local printer to the printer lists on the Linux Box as I am
> not connecting on the LAN but through the internet.

Geoff,

This is not necessarily so -- it's possible to print over the internet
just like over the LAN.  I know how to set this up if your local
(client) is running Linux (or any Unix), and it should be possible to
do in Windows also.  Linux has no trouble printing to any printer on
the internet, as long as you know the host name or IP number.  The
question is, how do you get windows to receive the print job...

Since you are running SSH, you should investigate using SSH port
forwarding with the windows networking ports (e.g., port 139), and
using SAMBA on the Linux side (Samba is basically windows networking
for Linux; it make Linux machines look like windows machines to
windows machines).

As a workaround, you could use the "Print to file" feature of Mozilla
to create postscript files, and transfer those files to the windows
machine for local printing.

Having said all this, printing is not really a VNC issue.  VNC is just
about screens and keyboards.  Network printing is a whole different
thing.


--Robert