Print Tracking records print jobs in a central database and monitors print usage on workstations and print servers. The collected information can be queried through the web reports to obtain information such as
•How many documents and/or pages where printed on a particular printer
•Which documents where printed on a printer
•Accumulative information such as how many documents where printed by each user
Requirements
This feature works by intercepting Informational events that are written to the application event log when "Log Spooler Information Events" is enabled in the Print Server Properties of the monitored host. As such, some requirements need to be met before print tracking can function properly. Please see Requirements for details.
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Windows records print activity on the host where the print queue is located. As such, print tracking works best on networks where printers are shared on servers or dedicated print servers.
EventSentry can also track printing activity from printers directly attached to workstations. In this scenario, the EventSentry agent will need to be installed on all computers where printers are attached to. |
Collected Data
EventSentry will collect the following print information on all supported Windows platforms:
Field |
Description |
Date / Time |
Date and time when the print job was submitted |
Print Server |
The computer where the print queue is located, usually the print server |
Print Queue |
The name of the printer (queue) |
Document |
The name of the document printed |
Document ID |
The ID of the document printed, a number that is increased by one every time a new document is printed. |
Username |
The name of the user who submitted the print job |
Pages |
The number of pages printed |
Size |
The total size of the print job |
Privacy
Since collecting print information does track a users activity to some extend, you will still need to make sure that collecting this information does not interfere or violate any corporate policies or laws in place.
Configuration
Tracking All print jobs (with exceptions)
Select "Track all except those listed below" to monitor all print jobs. To exclude certain users and/or documents, click the + button and specify the username or document to exclude.
To exclude a document from being tracked, enter either the complete document name or specify part of the document name (make sure to include * when wildcard support is enabled, e.g. *manual.doc) in the Document field. Enter a * for the username if you wish to exclude this document for all users.
To exclude a user from being tracked, enter either the complete username (DOMAIN\User) or part of the username (e.g. *User1). Enter a * for the document if you wish to exclude all documents of this user.
Tracking only selected print jobs
Select "Only track listed below" and click the + button to add users/documents (see previous paragraph) that should be tracked to the list.
Enabling Print Tracking in the OS
Since print tracking needs to be enabled in the Operating System you can configure the agent to active it automatically if it isn't already activated. Please see requirements for more information.
Database
Select a database action where the logon data should be stored.
