First off… You will need to install the printer drivers for your local printer directly on the server as follows:

1. Download the latest release of the printer drivers from the printer manufacturer’s website.

NOTE #1: The underlying operating system in Windows Home Server 2011, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, and Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials is Windows Server 2008 R2 (which is a 64-bit/x64 operating system). Therefore, be sure to download a version of the printer drivers that are specifically made for installation on 64-bit Windows Server 2008 operating systems. If your printer manufacturer doesn’t offer a version of their printer drivers specifically for use with Windows Server 2008, then a version made for use on 64-bit Windows 7 operating systems “should” work as well.

NOTE #2: If your printer manufacturer happens to offer a “driver-only” download for your printer (as opposed to a full-on Plug-n-Play setup/installation package), then download that smaller package instead as only the drivers for your specific printer are needed (and not a full setup package containing paper or ink level monitoring programs, etc., etc.).

1. Once you have downloaded the proper set of drivers for your printer, start a Remote Desktop Connection to your server as the Administrator (or as any user with administrator privileges if using WSBS 2011 Essentials).

2. If your driver download contains a self-installing executable file (“setup.exe“, “install.exe“, etc.), go ahead and run the executable file from the Administrator’s desktop in order to install the printer directly on the server.

NOTE: If the printer installation program won’t continue without being able to locate your printer, it may be necessary for you to temporarily connect the printer (via it’s USB cable, etc.) to the server in order to successfully install the drivers for it directly on the server. Once the installation has completed, you can simply disconnect the printer from the server and reconnect it to the local computer.

3. If your driver download doesn’t contain a self-installing executable file (i.e. if only the drivers themselves are available), or if the self-installing executable file installed the printer’s drivers on the server without actually adding the printer to the server, then manually add the printer to the server as follows:

From the Administrator’s desktop click on:

Start -> Devices and Printers

In the Devices and Printers window that opens, click on the “Add a printer” link and follow along through this image gallery to add your printer using the drivers you downloaded from the printer manufacturer’s website:

Once you have the printer drivers for your local printer successfully installed on the server (and the printer added to the server), you can enable WHS Office 2011, WHS Outlook 2011, WHS QuickBooks 2011, and/or WHS Quicken 2011 to print to the local computer’s printer as follows:

Local Access From The Launchpad Application

1. From the Launchpad application, click on:

Add-ins -> WHS Office (WHS Outlook, WHS QuickBooks, or WHS Quicken) and click the desired Microsoft Office application (or again on WHS Outlook, WHS QuickBooks, or WHS Quicken).

2. Click on the Settings arrow in the upper-right-hand corner to display the Settings drop-down menu.

3. Under the Remote Desktop Options section of the Settings drop-down menu that appears, check the “Enable WHS … to print to my local printer” checkbox and click on the “Save Changes” button.

The next time you connect, WHS Office (WHS Outlook, WHS QuickBooks, and/or WHS Quicken) will have access to the printer that is connected to the local computer.

NOTE: Be sure to select the printer with the word “redirected” in parentheses after its name.

Remote Access From The Remote Web Access Website

1. From the Launchpad application, click on:

Add-ins -> WHS Office (WHS Outlook, WHS QuickBooks, or WHS Quicken) -> Web Access

2. Sign-in to the server’s Remote Web Access website.

3. Click on the “Remote Desktop Options” link.

4. In the Remote Desktop Options window that opens, check the “Enable WHS … to print to my local printer” checkbox and click the “Save” button.

NOTE: The Remote Desktop Options settings are shared across all Remote Desktop Connections made via the built-in Remote Web Access website (e.g. Computer connections and connections to any other The Office Maven produced add-ins you may happen to have installed on the server).

The next time you connect, WHS Office (WHS Outlook, WHS QuickBooks, and/or WHS Quicken) will have access to the printer that is connected to the local computer.

NOTE: Be sure to select the printer with the word “redirected“ in parentheses after its name.

Local Access From The Launchpad Application

1. From the Launchpad application, click on:

Add-ins -> WHS Office (WHS Outlook, WHS QuickBooks, or WHS Quicken) and click the desired Microsoft Office application (or again on WHS Outlook, WHS QuickBooks, or WHS Quicken).

2. Click on the Settings arrow in the upper-right-hand corner to display the Settings drop-down menu.

3. Under the Remote Desktop Options section of the Settings drop-down menu that appears, check the “Enable WHS … to access drives on my local computer” checkbox and click on the “Save Changes” button.

The next time you connect, WHS Office (WHS Outlook, WHS QuickBooks, and/or WHS Quicken) will have access to all of the files and folders on the hard disk drives that are connected to the local computer.

Remote Access From The Remote Web Access Website

1. From the Launchpad application, click on:

Add-ins -> WHS Office (WHS Outlook, WHS QuickBooks, or WHS Quicken) -> Web Access

2. Sign-in to the server’s Remote Web Access website.

3. Click on the “Remote Desktop Options” link.

4. In the Remote Desktop Options window that opens, check the “Enable WHS … to access drives on my local computer” checkbox and click the “Save” button.

NOTE: The Remote Desktop Options settings are shared across all Remote Desktop Connections made via the built-in Remote Web Access website (e.g. Computer connections and connections to any other The Office Maven produced add-ins you may happen to have installed on the server).

The next time you connect, WHS Office (WHS Outlook, WHS QuickBooks, and/or WHS Quicken) will have access to all of the files and folders on the hard disk drives that are connected to the local computer.

However, Windows Server 2008 R2 (the underlying operating system in Windows Home Server 2011, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, and Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials) includes a feature called “Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration” (or “IE ESC“) which is enabled by default. When IE ESC is enabled, it forces Internet Explorer’s Internet security zone level to be set on High, and it blocks/prevents users from changing the Internet zone’s security level to a different value.

According to Intuit the only way to successfully use QuickBooks is to disable IE ESC. To do this for your server:

1. Start a Remote Desktop Connection to your server as the Administrator (or as any user with administrator privileges if using WSBS 2011 Essentials).

2. From the Administrator’s desktop select:

Start -> Administrative Tools -> Server Manager

3. In the Server Manager window that opens, click on: “Server Manager (<YourServerName>)”

4. Under the “Server Summary” heading, locate the “Security Information” section and click on the “Configure IE ESC” link.

5. In the Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration window that opens, select “Off” for both “Administrators” and “Users” and click “OK“.

IE ESC is now disabled for both administrators and users on your server. However, if your users continue to encounter the “Internet Security Levels Are Set Too High” message, then you may also need to do the following:

1. Start a Remote Desktop Connection to your server as the USER (not the Administrator).

2. From the User’s desktop select:

Start -> Log off

3. Repeat steps #1 & #2 for each user that has been allowed access to WHS QuickBooks 2011.

Your user’s should now be able to run WHS QuickBooks 2011 without receiving the “Internet Security Levels Are Set Too High” message.

NOTE: For further information on IE ESC please see: Internet Explorer: Enhanced Security Configuration

1. Select “Dashboard” from the Launchpad application and sign in to open the server Dashboard application.

2. Click on the “Server Folder’s and Hard Drives” top-level tab.

3. On the “Server Folders” tab, click on the “Add a folder” task in the Tasks pane.

4. Use the Add a Folder wizard that opens to create a new shared folder on your server named “Intuit Setup Files” and grant everyone full access to the folder.

5. Insert the QuickBooks/Quicken installation CD/DVD and open up an Explorer window so that you can view the contents of the CD/DVD.

6. Select “Shared Folders” from the Launchpad application and open the “Intuit Setup Files” shared folder that you just created in step #4 above.

7. Copy (drag-n-drop) ALL of the files and folders from your QuickBooks/Quicken installation CD/DVD into the “Intuit Setup Files” shared folder.

NOTE: There may be a lot of files that need to be copied over and so this may take a while.

8. Start a Remote Desktop Connection to your server as the Administrator (or as any user with administrator privileges if using WSBS 2011 Essentials).

9. From the Administrator’s desktop double-click on the “Dashboard” icon to open the server Dashboard application on the server.

NOTE: The server Dashboard application MUST be opened from the Administrator’s desktop (and NOT from the Launchpad of one of the computers on the network) in order to successfully install QuickBooks/Quicken directly ON THE SERVER!

10. Click on the “Server Folder’s and Hard Drives” top-level tab.

11. On the “Server Folders” tab, select/highlight the “Intuit Setup Files” folder and then click on the “Open the folder” task in the Tasks pane.

12. Locate and run the QuickBooks/Quicken setup program (i.e. “install.exe“, “setup.exe”, etc.) in order to install QuickBooks/Quicken directly on your server.

NOTE #1: Any Windows-based version/edition of QuickBooks/Quicken may be used.

NOTE #2: While WHS QuickBooks 2011/WHS Quicken 2011 should be able to locate QuickBooks/Quicken anywhere on the server, it is strongly recommended that you install it to its default/suggested location on the server’s C drive.

NOTE #3: After the QuickBooks/Quicken installation has completed successfully, you can return back to the server Dashboard application and click on the “Delete the folder” task if you no longer need/want the setup files on your server.

That’s it! You now have a copy of QuickBooks/Quicken installed directly on your server and you are now ready to install and use WHS QuickBooks 2011 and/or WHS Quicken 2011.

1. Select “Dashboard” from the Launchpad application and sign in to open the server Dashboard application.

2. Click on the “Server Folder’s and Hard Drives” top-level tab.

3. On the “Server Folders” tab, click on the “Add a folder” task in the Tasks pane.

4. Use the Add a Folder wizard that opens to create a new shared folder on your server named “Office Setup Files” and grant everyone full access to the folder.

5. Insert the Microsoft Office/Outlook installation CD/DVD and open up an Explorer window so that you can view the contents of the CD/DVD.

6. Select “Shared Folders” from the Launchpad application and open the “Office Setup Files” shared folder that you just created in step #4 above.

7. Copy (drag-n-drop) ALL of the files and folders from your Microsoft Office/Outlook installation CD/DVD into the “Office Setup Files” shared folder.

NOTE: There may be a lot of files that need to be copied over and so this may take a while.

8. Start a Remote Desktop Connection to your server as the Administrator (or as any user with administrator privileges if using WSBS 2011 Essentials).

9. From the Administrator’s desktop double-click on the “Dashboard” icon to open the server Dashboard application on the server.

NOTE: The server Dashboard application MUST be opened from the Administrator’s desktop (and NOT from the Launchpad of one of the computers on the network) in order to successfully install Microsoft Office/Outlook directly ON THE SERVER!

10. Click on the “Server Folder’s and Hard Drives” top-level tab.

11. On the “Server Folders” tab, select/highlight the “Office Setup Files” folder and then click on the “Open the folder” task in the Tasks pane.

12. Locate and run the Microsoft Office/Outlook setup program (i.e. “install.exe“, “setup.exe”, etc.) in order to install Microsoft Office/Outlook directly on your server.

NOTE #1: Any version of Microsoft Office/Outlook (2010, 2007, 2003, or XP/2002) may be used, but WHS Office 2011/WHS Outlook 2011 really shines when using Office/Outlook 2010 (or newer).

NOTE #2: If your installation CD/DVD is for Microsoft Office, you can perform a custom install and install only the Microsoft Office application (or applications) you desire (such as Microsoft Outlook, etc.). Otherwise, feel free to install the entire Microsoft Office suite of applications on your server.

NOTE #3: While WHS Office 2011/WHS Outlook 2011 should be able to locate Microsoft Office/Outlook anywhere on the server, it is strongly recommended that you install it to its default/suggested location on the server’s C drive.

NOTE #4: After the Microsoft Office/Outlook installation has completed successfully, you can return back to the server Dashboard application and click on the “Delete the folder” task if you no longer need/want the setup files on your server.

That’s it! You now have a copy of Microsoft Office/Outlook installed directly on your server and you are now ready to install and use WHS Office 2011 and/or WHS Outlook 2011.

1. Select “Remote Web Access” from the Launchpad application.

2. Sign in to the server’s Remote Web Access website.

3. Click the add-in’s ”Connect” button.

4. If you are presented with a “The Remote Desktop Services ActiveX Client is not turned on” error message, click on the “What is the Remote Desktop Services ActiveX client?” link, and follow the instructions provided on the web page that opens.

5. Select “Manage Add-ons” from Internet Explorer’s “Tools” menu.

6. In the Manage Add-ons windows that opens, select/highlight “Microsoft RDP Client Control” or “Microsoft Terminal Services Client ActiveX Control“, click the “Enable” option, and click “OK” (or “Close“).

7. Click the add-in’s “Connect” button again.

8. If you are presented with a “A newer version of the Remote Desktop Services ActiveX Client is required” error message, click on the “Download the latest version from the Microsoft Web Site” link, and download and install the latest Remote Desktop Connection client update.

9. Click the add-in’s “Connect” button again.

Note: You will need to sign-in to the built-in Remote Web Access website again (as per steps 1 & 2 above) if a server restart was required after installing the Remote Desktop Connection client update.

10. If you are presented with the following error(s):

“Your computer can’t connect to the remote computer because an error occurred on the remote computer you want to connect to.”

And/Or

“An error occurred while sending data to theRemote Desktop Gateway Server. The server is temporarily unavailable or a network connection is down.”

Then you need to turn on the Credential Security Support Provider (CredSSP) by clicking the “Fix it” button or link on the following web page:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/951608

Note: CredSSP is turned off by default in Windows XP SP3, but it is required to successfully connect to WHS Office Web Access, WHS Outlook web Access, WHS QuickBooks Web Access, and/or WHS Quicken Web Access.

Be sure to restart the server when prompted.

11. Sign-in to the built-in Remote Web Access website again (as per steps 1 & 2 above) and click the add-in’s “Connect” button again.

This time you should receive a CredSSP prompt asking you to enter in your log on credentials and the connection to the remote application should now work properly.

To work-around this limitation, you can replace the server’s “termsrv.dll” file with a patched copy that has been modified to allow an unlimited number of concurrent Remote Desktop connections as follows:

IMPORTANT: Make sure that server backup has been enabled on your server and that a recent, successful, server backup is available just in case a problem arises and you need to restore your server. See the “Server backup and restore” section of the following web page for more information on configuring server backup, running server backup, and recovering the server: Manage Backup and Restore

1. Start a Remote Desktop Connection to your server as the Administrator (or as any user with administrator privileges if using WSBS 2011 Essentials).

2. From the Administrator’s desktop click on the “Start” button/orb and type “termsrv.dll” (without the quotes) into the Start menu’s search field.

3. When the termsrv.dll file is found, right-click on it and select “Open file location” from the popup menu that appears.

4. In the Explorer window that opens, right-click on the “termsrv.dll” file and select “Properties” from the popup menu that appears.

5. Click on the “Details” tab in the termsrv.dll Properties window that opens.

6. Look at the “File version” property and make sure that it reads: 6.1.7601.17514

NOTE: If the version of termsrv.dll on your server does not match the version specified, then DO NOT PROCEED ANY FURTHER!

7. Click on the “Security” tab in the termsrv.dll Properties window and then click on the “Advanced” button.

8. Click on the “Owner” tab in the Advanced Security Settings for termsrv.dll window that opens and then click on the “Edit” button.

9. In the “Change owner to” list, select/highlight the ”Administrator” user (or the user with administrator privileges that you logged on as if using WSBS 2011 Essentials) and click the “OK” button to have the Administrator take ownership of the termsrv.dll file.

10. Click the “OK” button to close the Advanced Security Settings for termsrv.dll window.

11. Click on the “Edit” button in the termsrv.dll Properties window.

12. Click on the “Add” button in the Permissions for termsrv.dll window that opens.

13. Type “Administrator” (without the quotes) (or the name of the user with administrator privileges that you logged on as if using WSBS 2011 Essentials) into the Select Users or Groups window that opens and click on the “Check Names” button, and then the “OK” button.

14. Select/highlight the newly added “Administrator” user in the Permissions for termsrv.dll window, check the “Allow” checkbox under “Full control“, and click on the “OK” button to grant the Administrator full control of the termsrv.dll file.

15. Click on the “OK” button to close the termsrv.dll Properties window.

16. In the Explorer window, right-click on the “termsrv.dll” file and click “Rename” in the popup menu that appears.

17 Rename the file to “termsrv.dll_BAK” (without the quotes).

18 Unzip and copy the patched termsrv.dll file into the folder where you just renamed the old DLL file (i.e. into “C:\Windows\System32“).

19 Restart your server to begin using the patched termsrv.dll file.

You can now have multiple (allowed) users running WHS Office 2011, WHS Outlook 2011, WHS QuickBooks 2011, and/or WHS Quicken 2011 at the exact same time (up to the limits of your server).

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick note to let you know that I have finished writing a new version of my WHS QuickBooks add-in for use with Windows Home Server 2011, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, and Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials. It’s a complete rewrite, from the ground up, of the WHS QuickBooks for WHS V1 add-in that provides individual user-level access to Intuit’s QuickBooks application from your Windows Server Solutions server.

WHS QuickBooks 2011 can run a server-installed copy of QuickBooks from any computer just as if it were running directly on the local computer. QuickBooks runs in its own fully resizable window with its own entry in the taskbar. Its popup windows are redirected to the local desktop, its notification area icons (if any) appear in the local computer’s notification area, and the local computer’s drives and printers can be redirected to it; making a completely seamless “QuickBooks” experience for your end-users.

With WHS QuickBooks 2011, a single server-side installation of QuickBooks can be shared by up to 10 computers on your network (up to 25 for WSBS and WSS). Saving you money as well as providing each of your users with full access to their very own instance of QuickBooks locally, from their network-attached computer, or remotely from anywhere in the world using the server’s built-in Remote Web Access website.

There’s a fully functional 21 day evaluation period available, so go and try it out for yourself. I’m more than sure that you will enjoy it as much as I do. And, as always, I welcome your comments and feedback.

More Information, Screenshots, and Download

Buy it Now!

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick note to let you know that I have finished writing a new version of my WHS Quicken add-in for use with Windows Home Server 2011, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, and Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials. It’s a complete rewrite, from the ground up, of the WHS Quicken for WHS V1 add-in that provides individual user-level access to Intuit’s Quicken application from your Windows Server Solutions server.

WHS Quicken 2011 can run a server-installed copy of Quicken from any computer just as if it were running directly on the local computer. Quicken runs in its own fully resizable window with its own entry in the taskbar. Its popup windows are redirected to the local desktop, its notification area icons (if any) appear in the local computer’s notification area, and the local computer’s drives and printers can be redirected to it; making a completely seamless “Quicken” experience for your end-users.

With WHS Quicken 2011, a single server-side installation of Quicken can be shared by up to 10 computers on your network (up to 25 for WSBS and WSS). Saving you money as well as providing each of your users with full access to their very own instance of Quicken locally, from their network-attached computer, or remotely from anywhere in the world using the server’s built-in Remote Web Access website.

There’s a fully functional 21 day evaluation period available, so go and try it out for yourself. I’m more than sure that you will enjoy it as much as I do. And, as always, I welcome your comments and feedback.

More Information, Screenshots, and Download

Buy it Now!

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick note to let you know that I have finished writing a new version of my WHS Office add-in for use with Windows Home Server 2011, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, and Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials. It’s a complete rewrite, from the ground up, of the WHS Office for WHS V1 add-in that provides individual user-level access to each of the Microsoft Office applications (Access, Excel, Lync, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, Word, and the Microsoft Office Picture Manager) from your Windows Server Solutions server.

WHS Office 2011 can run a server-installed copy of each of the Microsoft Office applications from any computer just as if they were running directly on the local computer. Each application runs in its own fully resizable window with its own entry in the taskbar. Its popup windows are redirected to the local desktop, its notification area icons (if any) appear in the local computer’s notification area, and the local computer’s drives and printers can be redirected to it; making a completely seamless “Office” experience for your end-users.

With WHS Office 2011, a single server-side installation of Microsoft Office can be shared by up to 10 computers on your network (up to 25 for WSBS and WSS). Saving you money as well as providing each of your users with full access to their very own instance of the individual Microsoft Office applications locally, from their network-attached computer, or remotely from anywhere in the world using the server’s built-in Remote Web Access website.

There’s a fully functional 21 day evaluation period available, so go and try it out for yourself. I’m more than sure that you will enjoy it as much as I do. And, as always, I welcome your comments and feedback.

More Information, Screenshots, and Download

Buy it Now!