Connecting to a shared printer in Windows allows multiple users to access the same printing device. This is done by sharing a local or network printer over the network using the SMB/CIFS protocol, which is compatible with various operating systems including Windows, Ubuntu Linux, and macOS.
To connect to a shared printer, you must first enable Network Discovery on your Windows machine. This feature allows your computer to detect network devices, including printers shared by other computers. Additionally, you need the IP address of the computer hosting the printer to establish a connection.
Once Network Discovery is enabled and you have the required IP address, you can connect to the shared printer directly from File Explorer. This process will add the printer to your list of available devices, making it accessible for printing tasks.
Related: How to share printer in Windows
Related: How to share a printer on a network in Ubuntu
Steps to add network shared printer in Windows 11:
- Enable Network Discovery on your Windows 11 computer.
- Connect to computer with shared printer from Windows search bar.
Related: How to show IP address in Windows
- Right click on shared printer.
- Click on the Connect menu item.
- Wait for Windows to connect to the network printer.
- Click Yes on the User Access Control window to allow installation of the printer.
- Wait for shared printer to finish installing.
Mohd Shakir Zakaria is an experienced cloud architect with a strong development and open-source advocacy background. He boasts multiple certifications in AWS, Red Hat, VMware, ITIL, and Linux, underscoring his expertise in cloud architecture and system administration.
Comment anonymously. Login not required.