How to install and use nova PDF Server as a shared network PDF Printer

Summary:
This tutorial shows how to share novaPDF Server in a network so that other client computers can connect to it and send documents for conversion to PDF. novaPDF Server is an edition of novaPDF that can be shared as a network PDF printer, can be installed on Terminal Servers and allows printing through Remote Desktop Connection. If you don't have novaPDF installed, use the Download page to download and install it.


Details:
Once installed, novaPDF Server can be shared as a network PDF printer, installed on Terminal Servers or accessed via Remote Desktop Connection (these features are available only for novaPDF Server editions, they aren't available in novaPDF Desktop editions). After novaPDF Server is installed on the PDF printer server, it needs to be shared as a network printer, so that on the client computers it can be added as a remote PDF printer. Advantages of using novaPDF Server as a shared PDF printer: there is no need to install novaPDF individually on each client computer, you can create profiles on the PDF server and those will be propagated to the client computers, you can manage licenses directly from the PDF server, plus in case novaPDF Server needs to be updated that will be done only on the PDF server where it's installed. The diagram below shows the basic principle on how novaPDF Server works when installed on a PDF printer server:

Sharing the novaPDF Server printer on the server computer

novaPDF Server needs to be installed on the computer that will act as a network PDF server. Once installed it can be shared as a network PDF printer by following these steps:

1. Go to Start->Settings and click on Printers and Faxes
2. Right-click on novaPDF Server printer and select Sharing
3. On the Sharing tab of the novaPDF Server Properties window, click on Share this printer and enter a Share name for it (this will not change the name of the local printer, will be used only for the network printer share)
4. Click OK to save these settings. A sharing mark will be displayed in the lower left corner of the novaPDF Server printer icon. To be able to print to it from other client computers in the network it will need to be added as a network PDF printer on those computers.

Adding the shared novaPDF Server as a PDF printer on the client computers

After novaPDF Server printer was successfully installed on the server computer and shared as a network PDF printer (see first part of this tutorial), you'll need to add it as a remote printer on the client computers that will use it to create PDF files. Here is an example on how to do that:

1. On the client computer go to Start->Settings->Printers and Faxes and click on Add Printer
   
   
   
2. The Add Printer Wizard will start, click Next on the Welcome window to continue
3. On the Local or Network printer window select A network printer, or a printer attached to another computer and click Next
   
   
   
4. In the Specify a printer wizard step, select Browse for a printer and click Next (if you know exactly the host name of the PDF printer server and the Share name you used for novaPDF Server, you can select Connect to this printer and enter the full path to it in the designated field)
   
   
   
5. The Browse for printer window will allow selecting a shared network printer from the ones that were auto detected. Select the network PDF printer shared earlier and click on Next (a warning window will pop-up, click Yes to continue to the next step).
   
   
   
6. After you select whether to add novaPDF Server as the default printer or not, click Next and after that Finish to exit the wizard.
   
   
   
7. A novaPDF Server printer will be added to the list of Printers and Faxes and you can create a test PDF file by right-clicking it, selecting Properties and then clicking on Print Test Page.
   

Managing licenses for a shared novaPDF Server printer

License management for novaPDF Server can only be done on the server computer where it was installed and shared from. If a print job is started from a client computer in the network to the shared novaPDF Server printer, the client computer name will be automatically registered and a license assigned to it. So as long as there are licenses available there is no need to use the license management feature. However, if you want to manually license, rename, delete or unlicense client computers you can do so by using the Licenses window:

1. On the server computer where novaPDF Server is installed and shared from, go to Start->Settings->Printers and Faxes right-click on novaPDF Server and go to the About tab
2. Click on the Licenses button to open the license management window
3. Use the Add, Rename, Remove or Unlicense buttons to manage the licenses. This window also displays a status of currently available/assigned licenses, as well as a list of the licensed/unlicensed computers (using their NetBIOS or DNS names, depending on your choice).