Auto Printer

A PowerShell script for batch printing PDF, Word, and Excel files silently via a Windows virtual machine. Designed for Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) Global College students.

Works with macOS, Windows, or Linux as your host system — as long as you have a Windows VM with shared folders enabled.

Features

• Silent Printing: Uses SumatraPDF for completely silent printing (no popup windows)
• Batch Processing: Print all files in a folder with a single command
• Multi-format Support: PDF, Word (.doc/.docx), Excel (.xls/.xlsx)
• Progress Bar & Spinner: Visual progress bar and spinning animation so you always know what's happening
• Step-by-step Status: Each file shows [1/3] Sending... [2/3] Spooling... [3/3] Sent!
• Interruption Handling: If interrupted, shows which files were not printed
• Auto Cleanup: Successfully printed files are automatically deleted from the queue
• One-Click Launch: Just double-click run.bat — no need to type commands

How It Works

Your Computer (any OS)              Windows VM
┌─────────────────────┐            ┌──────────────────────┐
│  Desktop/           │            │  Z:\Desktop\         │
│  ├── Print_Queue/   │ ──shared── │  ├── Print_Queue/    │
│  │   ├── doc1.pdf   │   folder   │  │   ├── doc1.pdf    │
│  │   └── doc2.docx  │            │  │   └── doc2.docx   │
│                     │            │                      │
│  Documents/         │            │  Z:\Documents\       │
│  └── Auto-printer/  │ ──shared── │  └── Auto-printer/   │
│      ├── run.bat    │   folder   │      ├── run.bat     │
│      └── ...        │            │      └── ...         │
└─────────────────────┘            └──────────────────────┘
                                         │
                                    Double-click run.bat
                                         │
                                    Files are printed and
                                    deleted from Print_Queue

1. You drop files into Print_Queue on your host Desktop
2. The folder is accessible inside the Windows VM via shared folders (e.g. Z:\Desktop\Print_Queue)
3. Double-click run.bat in the VM — all files print silently and are deleted on success

Setup (Choose Your Host OS)

All platforms follow the same two steps: (1) clone the repo, (2) create Print_Queue on your Desktop, (3) configure shared folders in your VM software so the Desktop maps to Z:\Desktop.

Step 1: Clone the Project

Open a terminal on your host and clone this repo to a folder that your VM can access (e.g. Documents):

# macOS / Linux
cd ~/Documents
git clone https://github.com/ReeseNoctis/Auto-printer.git

# Windows (PowerShell)
cd $env:USERPROFILE\Documents
git clone https://github.com/ReeseNoctis/Auto-printer.git

Step 2: Create the Print Queue Folder

Create Print_Queue on your Desktop (the script also auto-creates it, so this is optional):

macOS / Linux:

mkdir ~/Desktop/Print_Queue

Windows (PowerShell):

mkdir $env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\Print_Queue

Step 3: Configure Shared Folders

Your Desktop and Documents folders need to be accessible from inside the Windows VM. The script expects:

• Host Desktop → Z:\Desktop in the VM
• Host Documents → Z:\Documents in the VM

Set this up in your VM software:

macOS + Omnissa (VMware)

1. Open Omnissa settings for your Windows VM
2. Go to Shared Folders → enable and add your Mac's Desktop and Documents folders
3. In the VM, they appear as Z:\Desktop and Z:\Documents

macOS + VMware Fusion

1. Open VMware Fusion → Virtual Machine → Settings → Sharing
2. Enable Shared Folders and add your Desktop and Documents folders
3. In the VM, open File Explorer → This PC → they appear under Network Locations

If the drive letter isn't Z:, you can change it in the VM:

• Open Disk Management → right-click the shared folder mapping → Change Drive Letter and Paths → assign Z:

Windows + VMware Workstation

1. Open VMware Workstation → VM → Settings → Options → Shared Folders
2. Enable and add your host's Desktop and Documents folders
3. In the VM, they appear under Network in File Explorer
4. To map them to Z: drive:
   • Open Command Prompt in the VM and run:

     net use Z: \\vmware-host\Shared Folders\Desktop
     

   • Or use Disk Management to assign drive letter Z:

Windows + VirtualBox

1. Open VirtualBox → Settings → Shared Folders
2. Add your host's Desktop folder with name Desktop
3. In the Windows VM, open Command Prompt and map the drive:

   net use Z: \\vboxsvr\Desktop
   

4. Repeat for your Documents folder

Linux + VMware Workstation / VirtualBox

Same as Windows host — use the VM software's shared folder feature, then map the drive to Z: inside the Windows VM using net use or Disk Management.

For VirtualBox:

net use Z: \\vboxsvr\Desktop

For VMware:

net use Z: \\vmware-host\Shared Folders\Desktop

Important: Whatever VM software you use, the host Desktop folder must be mapped to Z:\Desktop inside the Windows VM. If your setup uses a different drive letter, edit line 9 of auto-printer.ps1 to match:

$watchFolder = "Z:\Desktop\Print_Queue"   # Change Z: to your drive letter

Usage

1. Add Files to Print Queue

On your host computer (any OS), drag files into the Print_Queue folder on your Desktop.

Supported formats:

• PDF (.pdf)
• Word (.doc, .docx)
• Excel (.xls, .xlsx)

2. Run the Script

In your Windows VM, navigate to the project folder and double-click run.bat:

Z:\Documents\Auto-printer\run.bat

Tip: Right-click run.bat → Send to → Desktop (create shortcut) for one-click access.

Manual Way (PowerShell)

In your Windows VM, open PowerShell and run:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "Z:\Documents\Auto-printer\auto-printer.ps1"

3. Watch the Progress

============================================
  Auto Printer - Z:\Desktop\Print_Queue
============================================
[INFO] Default printer: \\printersrv2\JI Printer
[INFO] Found SumatraPDF: Z:\Documents\Auto-printer\SumatraPDF\SumatraPDF.exe
----------------------------------------
Overall: [#####-------------------------] 16% (1/6)
  File: lecture1.pdf
  [1/3] Sending to SumatraPDF...
  [2/3] Spooling to printer... /
  [2/3] Spooling to printer... Done!
  [3/3] Print job sent!
  -> Deleted (already printed)
...
============================================
  ALL DONE!
Result: [##############################] 100% (6/6)
  Success: 6 | Failed: 0
============================================

4. If Interrupted

If you press Ctrl+C or the script crashes, it shows unprinted files:

============================================
  INTERRUPTED! Unprinted files:
============================================
  - lecture5.pdf
  - homework2.docx
============================================

Re-run the script to print the remaining files.

Prerequisites (Inside the Windows VM)

• SumatraPDF — bundled in the project, no installation needed
• Microsoft Office — required in the VM for Word/Excel printing
• Default printer — set your school printer as default in Windows Settings

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
"No default printer found"	Set your school printer as default in Windows Settings
"No PDF reader found"	Make sure SumatraPDF/SumatraPDF.exe exists in the project folder
Z: drive not found	Enable shared folders in your VM software settings
Shared folder shows wrong drive letter	Use Disk Management in the VM to reassign to Z:, or edit the path in auto-printer.ps1 line 9
PDF printing shows popup	Make sure portable SumatraPDF is present (Adobe shows popups)
Word/Excel printing fails	Install Microsoft Office in the VM
Script won't run	Double-click run.bat instead, or use -ExecutionPolicy Bypass flag

Project Structure

Auto-printer/
├── auto-printer.ps1       # Main PowerShell script
├── run.bat                # One-click launcher (double-click to run)
├── README.md
└── SumatraPDF/            # Portable SumatraPDF (survives VM resets)
    ├── SumatraPDF.exe
    └── SumatraPDF-settings.txt

License

This project is for educational use by SJTU Global College students.