Skip to main content

Other Users' Printers Appearing in Print Dialog

Problem​

If you've got users reporting that they're seeing other people's printers in their print dialog, you're likely running into a quirky Windows behavior that affects multi-user systems. While Windows permissions prevent users from actually printing to someone else's ScrewDrivers printer, just seeing those extra printers in the list can be confusing.

Here's what's happening: when a user has a print dialog open and another user logs into the same system, Windows broadcasts a message announcing that new printers have been added. Despite the fact that the first user doesn't have permissions for those printers, they still appear in the open print dialog. The Devices & Printers window can be affected the same way.

The good news is that this is purely a display issue. If you close and reopen the print dialog (or refresh Devices & Printers), Windows correctly filters the list to show only the printers that user actually has access to. It's just the broadcast message that bypasses the permission check.

Microsoft's Response​

We've opened cases with Microsoft about this issue, and they've confirmed it's a Windows behavior. Unfortunately, Microsoft hasn't provided a fix for it on their end.

Solution​

Tricerat worked around this Windows limitation in ScrewDrivers version 6.1.2. We implemented a change to how printers are created that limits the Windows broadcast message, preventing other users' printers from appearing in open print dialogs. This fix also includes registry settings that ensure compatibility with various applications that might be sensitive to how printer broadcasts work.

With this update in place, users won't see other users' printers appearing when someone logs in while they've got a print dialog open.

Important Note on Compatibility​

This fix applies to Windows Server 2019 and Windows 10 (and newer). It doesn't apply to older operating systems like Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2012, or Windows 8.1—those systems will continue to use the previous printer creation methods. If you're still running those older platforms, you won't see the improved behavior, but you also won't have any new issues.

Affected Versions​

If you're running ScrewDrivers version 6.1.2 or newer, you've already got the fix. If you're on an earlier version and this issue is causing confusion for your users, consider upgrading to version 6.1.2 or later to get the improved printer creation behavior.