ARA: No Local Printing After Using

There is a problem with a local LaserWriter appearing in the incorrect zone after dialing into a remote network with ARA 2.0. After initiating an ARA connection, the local printer appears in the Chooser to be in the remote zone (zone a), even though it is not actually in any zone.

After selecting a remote printer and then terminating the ARA connection, the local printer still shows up in zone a. The Printer appears in the Chooser, but gives the error that it "cannot be found" when a job is sent.

The problem is related to a known problem with the Chooser. The problem typically appears when attempting to connect to LaserWriters on AppleTalk networks that have no zone name; that is, those that have no routers attached. This problem could affect any Macintosh that had previously used printing services on an Ethernet network having zones.

What actually happens is the Chooser does not properly update the zone name stored in the driver when selecting a LaserWriter on a LocalTalk network with no zone name. You can verify this by looking at the 'PAPA' -8192 resource in the LaserWriter driver.

This problem is fixed in System 7.5. If you encounter this problem, you should upgrade to System 7.5.

Other than upgrading to System 7.5 you could:

* Keep two copies of the LaserWriter driver in the Extensions folder, one named "LocalLaser" and the other named "EtherLaser". Select the LocalTalk/Ethernet printer on the network having no zones with the "LocalLaser" printer driver and the other printer with the "EtherLaser" driver.

* Replace the LaserWriter driver every time the problem occurs.

* Add a router to the network that currently has none.