How To: Use Application Isolation

Apps can declare printer-driver isolation in their app manifest to isolate the app from the printer driver and improve the app's reliability. The Windows print service allows printer drivers to run in processes that are separate from the process in which the print spooler runs. Using this feature your app prevents it from crashing in the event the printer driver has an error.

Printer-driver isolation is implemented in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

Prerequisites

• A managed-code or Windows Store app that uses Windows printing.

Instructions

Update the app manifest

Enabling printer-driver isolation requires you to add the printerDriverIsolation element to the app's manifest. Here's how:

1. Edit the app manifest, adding the printerDriverIsolation element with a value of true to the windowsSettings element of the application element, as shown in this example.

   <application xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v3">
       <windowsSettings>
           <printerDriverIsolation xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/SMI/2011/WindowsSettings">true</printerDriverIsolation>
       </windowsSettings>
   </application>
   

2. Rebuild your app.