Action to Print or Copy on network don't work when no user is logged

Modified on Thu, 14 Aug at 12:25 PM

When Rofiles runs as a Windows service, some printers and network resources are not available to the service under the default service account. This is a Windows behavior, resources (printer drivers, mapped drives, per-user printers) may only be accessible when a user session is logged in. Rofiles runs as a background Windows service, but that does not automatically grant access to user-scoped drivers or network connections.



Solution (recommended)

Run the Rofiles service under a specific Windows account that has the required network and printer access:


  1. Open Services (services.msc).  
  2. Find the "Rofiles" service, right-click → Properties.  
  3. Go to the "Log On" tab.  
  4. Select "This account" and enter a domain\user or local user account that has access to the network path and printer, then enter the password.  
  5. Apply and restart the service.


Run as Windows service



Why this works and extra checks

  • A service running under a specific user inherits that user’s network access rights and can load the necessary drivers (unlike the default LocalSystem/NetworkService behavior).  
  • Ensure the account has the "Log on as a service" right; Windows may grant this automatically when you set the account, but in some environments an admin must explicitly assign it.  
  • Install printer drivers and configure printers so they’re available system-wide (not only per interactive user). 
  • Prefer UNC paths (\\server\share) rather than mapped drive letters, since mapped drives are per-user and not visible to services.  


Alternatives

  • Keep an interactive user signed in (not ideal for servers).  


Notes

  • This is a Windows security/driver access limitation rather than a Rofiles bug. Changing the service logon to an account with the right permissions resolves the problem in almost all cases.

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