WD: Can't Set Default Printer (Word 7.0 and Later)
Article ID: 134933
Article Last Modified on 1/19/2007
APPLIES TO
- Microsoft Word 95 Standard Edition
- Microsoft Word 97 Standard Edition
This article was previously published under Q134933
SYMPTOMS
You can not set the default printer from the Print dialog box. This
functionality has changed from Word version 6.x which allowed you to
set a default printer.
CAUSE
This is a design feature of Word versions 7.0 and later. Word no longer
sets the default printer driver. In Word 6.x when you set the default
printer driver, it remained the default even when you exited Word.
RESOLUTION
To set the a default printer, use any of the following methods.
Method 1
To set a default printer, modify the properties of the printer. For more
information about how to perform this task in Windows, see your Windows
printed documentation or open the Windows Help Topics Index, and see the
"default printer, setting" topic.
Method 2
You can create a macro using the FilePrintSetup command to set the default
printer, as in the following example:
FilePrintSetup .Printer = "HP LaserJet IIISi PostScript on
\\NCPRINT\3SI@4079", .DoNotSetAsSysDefault = 1
The .donotsetAsSysdefault flag can be set to 0 to force the default printer
change.
Additional query words: set default printer setting
Keywords: kbprint KB134933