Local Print Provider

The local print provider, Localspl.dll, writes its contents to a spool (SPL) file. It also tracks administrative information, such as user name, document name, and data type, in a shadow (SHD) file. Spooling protects a print job by saving it on disk. If a power failure or other disaster occurs before all jobs in the queue are printed, the SPL and SHD files preserve the documents and prevent loss of data after processing resumes.

Next, Localspl.dll polls the print processors for recognition of the document data type. If no data type has been set, Localspl.dll receives the job and uses the default data type from the Print Processor dialog box.

By default, SPL and SHD files are written to the folder %SystemRoot%\System32\Spool\Printers. If the hard disk partition containing Windows 2000 does not have enough space for these files, you can change the location of the folder.

To change the location of the default spool folder for all printers on a server

1. In the Printers dialog box, on the File menu, click Server Properties.
2. In the Print Server Properties dialog box, click the Advanced tab.
3. Type the path and name for the new default spool folder, and then click OK.

The change is effective immediately. You do not need to restart your system.

Important

Do not attempt to spool to a root (such as D:\). This causes the files to revert to the old default.

To change the location of the spool folder for a specific printer

Caution

Do not use a registry editor to edit the registry directly unless you have no alternative. The registry editors bypass the standard safeguards provided by administrative tools. These safeguards prevent you from entering conflicting settings or settings that are likely to degrade performance or damage your system. Editing the registry directly can have serious, unexpected consequences that can prevent the system from starting and require that you reinstall Windows 2000. To configure or customize Windows 2000, use the programs in Control Panel or Microsoft Management Console (MMC) whenever possible.

1. Create a new spool folder.
2. Start a registry editor (Regedt32.exe or Regedit.exe).
3. Add the following entry to the registry:

   Entry name: SpoolDirectory

   Path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft
   \Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Print\Printers\<Printer-name>

   Data type: REG_SZ

   Value: <path to the new spool folder>

4. Restart the computer to make the change effective.

Important

Do not omit step 1. Adding the SpoolDirectory entry to the registry does not create a spool folder. If you do not create a folder, the files spool to the root, which is the default spool folder. For the same reason, never specify a root as the new folder.

By default, SPL and SHD files are deleted after the job prints. However, by enabling spooler event logging, you can use the data they contain to get valuable data about printer traffic, hard disk space, and other printing maintenance issues. See "Auditing Printing Events" later in this chapter.

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