Autoconfiguration Details

Autoconfiguration works by means of bi-directional printer communication (also known as bidi communication) between the print subsystem and the printer. For autoconfiguration to work, the printer must be able to:

  • Understand a query sent by the port monitor.

  • Generate the appropriate response to the query.

To support autoconfiguration, both the printer driver and the port monitor must be modified.

The printer driver must:

  • Be aware of the bidi notification schema.

  • Be able to receive notifications about device configuration changes using the bidi notification schema.

  • Be able to solicit configuration data from the printer using the bidi communication interfaces, and specifically the IBidiSpl2 COM interface.

The port monitor must:

  • Support a device protocol capable of querying the printer's configuration.

  • Be able to receive unsolicited status messages from the printer.

  • Convert unsolicited status messages to an appropriate driver notification.

  • Keep all of the device status and configuration data current by means of polling or alerts.

  • Inform the driver or application of any configuration changes in the device.

Autoconfiguration is supported in Windows Vista. However, in a configuration using Point and Print, the port monitor on the server and the driver on the client must both be capable of bidi communication.

This section contains the following topics:

Autoconfiguration During Device Installation

Autoconfiguration During Configuration Change