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Introduction to user interface plug-Ins

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Important

We recommend that you use Microsoft's IPP inbox class driver, along with Print Support Apps (PSA), to customize the print experience in Windows 10 and 11 for printer device development.

For more information, see the Print support app design guide.

Important

Some information contained in this article applies to obsolete Windows operating systems.

When you add support for a new printer device to either the Microsoft Universal printer driver (Unidrv) or the Microsoft PostScript printer driver (Pscript), you can customize the driver's user interface by modifying the printer property sheet or the document property sheet for your printer.

You accomplish this customization by providing a user-mode DLL. This DLL is referred to as a user interface plug-in, or just UI plug-in.

A UI plug-in can modify the printer property sheet by adding, removing, or replacing options within the property sheet's Device Settings page. It can also add a new page. Likewise, the plug-in can modify the document property sheet by adding, removing, or replacing options within the property sheet's Layout, Paper/Quality, and Advanced pages, or it can add a new page.

If you are using Unidrv from Windows Vista, you can implement the IPrintOemUI2::HideStandardUI method in the plug-in to hide all of the printer configuration property pages that the standard driver provides. You can use this method if you want to provide a completely custom printer configuration user interface for your printer.

Important

Windows Help (WinHlp32.exe) is an application that enables users to view .hlp files. The Windows Help application is not included as a part of the Windows operating system. Software developers who develop applications that rely on .hlp files, should transition their files to an alternative Help format, such as .chm, .hxs, .html, or .xml files.

The printer interface DLL calls UI plug-ins for Unidrv or Pscript, with a set of COM interfaces. Printer interface DLLs are implemented by using CPSUI, and a UI plug-in interacts indirectly with CPSUI through the driver's printer interface DLL. Therefore, you should read the CPSUI section before you develop a UI plug-in.

In addition to modifying the printer driver's user interface, a UI plug-in can perform other operations, such as processing certain printer events and reporting supported capabilities. For more information, see Customizing Other Printer Interface Operations.