An underscore appears in the name of a NetWare-compatible printer when users connect to the printer in Windows Server 2003 (892423)

SYMPTOMS

Microsoft File and Print Services for NetWare is installed on a Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based server. When a user connects to a shared Novell NetWare-compatible printer on the server by using a Novell NetWare client, an underscore appears in the name of the printer. Users experience these symptoms even though the display name and the share name of the printer do not contain an underscore.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs when the following conditions are true:

The display name of the printer contains a space.
The share name of the printer does not contain a space.

For example, this problem occurs if a printer's display name and share name are as follows:

Display name: NW printer
Share name: NWprinter

When these conditions are true, and a user connects to the printer by using a Novell NetWare client on a client computer, the name of the printer appears as follows:

NW_printer

This behavior is included to support earlier DOS-based networks. This behavior does not affect the functionality of the printer.

WORKAROUND

To work around this behavior, use one of the following methods:

Use the search feature to locate the shared printer that you want to connect to.
Type \\servername\printername to locate the printer that you want to connect to. Make sure that you include the underscore in the name of the printer when you type printername.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about Microsoft Windows Services for NetWare, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/sfn/default.mspx

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.