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Your First ScrewDrivers Essentials Deployment

Welcome to ScrewDrivers! This tutorial walks you through your very first deployment of ScrewDrivers Essentials. By the end of this tutorial you'll have a basic understanding of how to install ScrewDrivers Essentials, and how to get up and running with our printing redirection software offering.

What You'll Learn​

By completing this tutorial, you'll have:

  • Installed ScrewDrivers Essentials within your VDI/Session host environment
  • Deployed the ScrewDrivers client to a test workstation or session
  • Redirected your first set of printers
  • Successfully printed a test page through ScrewDrivers
  • Gained foundational understanding of how ScrewDrivers redirects printers without the need for native drivers on the session side.

What You'll Need​

Before starting, make sure you have:

  • A Windows Server (2016 or later) with administrator access
  • A test workstation or virtual session (Windows 10/11, Citrix, VMware, or RDS)
  • At least one printer already installed and accessible on the client workstation

Prerequisites​

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If you're evaluating ScrewDrivers Essentials, we suggest that you use a test environment if possible, to avoid any user confusion/interruption.

Download the Installers that you'll need​

  1. Use the link provided by our team to download the following installers

    1. ScrewDrivers Essentials msi package (server side software for redirection)
    2. ScrewDrivers Client .msi package (client side software for redirection)
    3. Tricerat License Server .exe (licensing component for license management)

  2. Once downloaded, right click on each installer and make sure to click the "unblock" button at the bottom if it's there.

warning

Not doing this step can create problems during the installation process of the software. Make sure to do this for all 3 installers you downloaded.

Step 1: Install Tricerat License Server​

  1. Copy the Tricerat License Server .exe to a server that is reachable over TCP port 6200 for license check out.
  2. Run the installer.
  3. After reviewing the license agreement, click accept.
  4. Choose the installation directory, the default is C:\Program Files\Tricerat
  5. It will prompt you to input a license key. Please put in the license key (trial or production) that you recived from the Tricerat team.
  6. Click finish nce the install completes.
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If the license activation process fails, it's possible your organization is blocking the installer from reaching out to our licensing provider for the activation token.

If this is the case, please use our Offline Activation method, as described on our Offline Activation how-to page.

Validate the installation​

Once the license is activated and the installation is complete, perform the following steps to validate that licensing is functional.

  1. Open Services.msc
  2. Make sure that the Tricerat License Service is in the running state.
  3. Once you fully complete this Essentials deployment tutorial open the Tricerat License Server app.
  4. In the User Usage tab, you should notice the username of the test user you logged in with. This means a license is checked out and is functional.

Step 2: Install ScrewDrivers Essentials on your virtual host​

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If installing in a production environment, esure that there are no user sessions where you are installing, or it might require a reboot of that host/server.

Run the Server side Installation​

  1. Launch the ScrewDrivers Essentials installer by double-clicking the .msi file.
  2. Accept the license agreement after reviewing it.
  3. Choose installation location (default is usually fine: C:\Program Files\Tricerat\ScrewDrivers).
  4. Select "Endpoint" when prompted for feature selection.

You'll notice an option for Scanning, that is for our Scanning redirection software which will be covered in a different tutorial, for now just make sure Endpoint is selected.

  1. Type in the hostname or IP address of the license server we setup earlier in this tutorial
  2. Click install and wait for the installation to finish.

Verify Installation​

  1. Open Services (services.msc).
  2. Find "Tricerat ScrewDrivers Notification Service in the list.
  3. Verify the status shows Running.

If the service isn't running, right-click it and select Start.

Success checkpoint​

ScrewDrivers Essentials is now installed on your server, and is connected to the license server so that users can grab a license when they log in.

Step 3: Deploy the Client Application​

The client application runs on user workstations to provide the server side software (Endpoint) with information about any locally installed printers on the workstation so that it can create the virtual ScrewDrivers printers.

Install the Client​

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Make sure that any remote sessions you have open are closed prior to starting this installation

  1. Run the client installer on the test machine
  2. Review, and then accept the end user licensing agreement
  3. Select the installation location. By default this is set to C:\Program Files\Tricerat
  4. Only select Endpoint Client when prompted for feature selection. You'll notice options for Scanning Client and TCP Client. These will be covered in other tutorials.
  5. Click instlal and wait for the installation to finish.

Validate printer redireciton is taking place.​

  1. Ensure you have atleast 1 printer installed on the local PC where you setup the client.
  2. Connect to the virtual session host where you installed the server side software as you normally would, through your client of choice. (RDS, Citrix, Omnissa Horizon)
  3. Once the user is logged in, open devices and printers.
  4. You should see your local printer redirected with the following naming convention. a. PrinterName(Machine:SessionID)
  5. Right click on that printer, and click on Printer Properties
  6. In the Advanced tab, you should see ScrewDrivers listed as the driver.

Success checkpoint: The client is connected and shows printers from ScrewDrivers.

Step 4: Test Your First Print Job​

Let's print something and watch it work.

  1. Open your application of choice in your virtual session
  2. Find a file to print, or just create a file that says "Hello World!"
  3. Get to the applications print dialogue. Usually in File > Print, but this may vary depending on application.
  4. Select the redirected ScrewDrivers Printers from the list
  5. Click Print

Your print job will now be securely routed from the server session down to the client, where it will be handed off to the respective printer that it was printed to.

Troubleshooting if It Didn't Work​

Printer doesn't appear in the list?

  • Check that the ScrewDrivers Notification service is running on the server
  • Verify License check outs are happening, by opening the Tricerat Licese Server app we installed earlier.

If both of the above steps look fine, please contact our support team at support@tricerat.com

Success checkpoint: You've successfully printed through ScrewDrivers!

Step 5: Understanding What You Built​

Let's take a moment to understand how the pieces work together.

The Architecture​

We installed the Tricerat License Server and activated the license.

  • This piece ensures that ScrewDrivers licenses are distributed to users as users login.

We installed our server software which includes the ScrewDrivers virtual driver.

  • This piece ensures that any printers that it sees from the connecting client, are redirected according to the settings within the ScrewDrivers Endpoint app on the server.

We installed the client software on a test workstation.

  • This piece ensures that we can pass along printer information to the server ScrewDrivers Endpoint component.

Why This Matters​

In traditional environments, every session host/VDI pool needs printer drivers installed. With ScrewDrivers:

  • No drivers are needed on the server side. Thanks to the ScrewDrivers virtual drivers ability to redirect any printer from any manufacturer.
  • Secure print job transmission from user session to client by using TLS 1.2
  • Compressed transmission of print jobs for faster print times.
  • The ability to keep native print preferences without the need for drivers on the server side.

This is especially powerful in:

  • Virtual desktop environments (Citrix, VMware, AVD)
  • Terminal Services / Remote Desktop Services

Next Steps​

Congratulations! You've successfully deployed ScrewDrivers Essentials and routed your first print job. You're ready to explore more features.

Continue Learning​

Next tutorial: Configuring Your First Printer - Learn about printer properties, preferences, and user-specific settings.

Related tutorials:

Get Help​

If you run into issues:

Consider Upgrading​

If you need advanced features like:

  • centralized admin console
  • Print Server print management
  • Direct IP print management
  • Advanced printer assignment rules
  • Detailed reporting and analytics

Explore ScrewDrivers Pro or Enterprise editions. These tutorials helped you understand the fundamentals that apply across all editions.

What You Accomplished​

You now have the foundation to manage print infrastructure efficiently. Welcome to the world of modern print management!