Windows 10 has new settings for configuring printers, but you can still use the old Control Panel tools as well. So you don't have to worry about setting up some printer settings connected to Windows 10.
Here's what you need to know about installing, configuring, sharing, and troubleshooting printers in Windows. The following About Printers summarizes the steps for Printer Settings in Windows 10.
Printer Settings in Windows 10
How to Add a Printer
To add a printer, go to Settings > Devices > Printers & Scanners. Click the “Add Printer or Scanner” button to search for nearby printers, whether they are connected to your PC or connected to a network. You will see your printer name appear here. If Windows does not find your printer automatically, click the “The printer I want is not listed” link that appears.
This opens the Add legacy Printer dialog, which lets you scan for older printer types, connect directly to network printers, and add printers with custom settings.
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| How to Add a Printer |
You can also use the legacy interface in Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Devices and Printers. Click the “Add Printer” button to get started.
However you installed the printer, Windows may quickly download the necessary printer drivers. If this doesn't work, visit the printer manufacturer's website to download and install the appropriate driver or software package for your printer model. For some printers, such as all-in-one printers, you may also need to visit the manufacturer's website for drivers and applications that allow you to access additional functionality.
You can also delete the printer from here, if you want. In the Settings window, click the printer and click “Erase Device”. In Control Panel, right-click the printer and select “Erase Device”.
How to Change Printing Preferences
To change your printer settings, go to Settings > Devices > Printers & Scanners or Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Devices and Printers. In the Settings interface, click the printer, then click “Manage” to see more options. In Control Panel, right-click the printer to find various options.
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| Control Panel |
To change how the printer prints, click the “Printing Preferences” option in the Settings window or context menu. You'll see various options for controlling your prints here, and the settings you see will depend on what your printer supports. For example, if you have a color printer, you will see the option to choose between color and black and white.
You can also see options for selecting the tray from which the printer picks up paper, selecting the document orientation (portrait or landscape), and changing print quality settings. Don't miss the “Advanced” button, which offers lots of additional settings.
You can also access these settings while printing. Just select the printer in the Print window and then click the “Preferences” button. Note that some applications have their own print dialog, so this option may not always be there or the window may look different
How to Change Printer Device Settings
To configure your printer device, click “Printer Properties” instead of “Printing Preferences” from the context menu after right-clicking the printer. The General tab of the properties window provides information about the printer features and what drivers it uses. You can change the printer name or add location details and comments.
For example, you might want to enter a location like “Main Office” or “Second Floor Copy Room” so people can see exactly where the shared network printer is. The “Print Test Page” button here allows you to quickly print a test page.
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| Printer Device Settings |
In the “Advanced” pane, you'll even see an option that lets you choose when the printer is available. For example, if you only want to use the printer during business hours, you can select 9am to 5pm here. People won't be able to print to the printer outside of the hours you choose, which is especially useful if you've configured it as a network printer and don't want people to print to the printer outside of business hours.
How to Print a Test Page
You can quickly check that your printer is working and configured correctly by printing a test page. Find the printer in Settings > Devices > Printers & Scanners, click the printer, click the “Manage” button, and click the “Print a test page” link. From the Control Panel interface, right-click the printer and select “Printer Properties”. Click the “Print Test Page” button.
How to Set Your Default Printer
By default, Windows 10 automatically manages which printer is the default. This sets your default printer as the last printer you used to print — in other words, whenever you select a printer and print it, Windows 10 makes it your default printer. To change this, go to Settings > Devices > Printers & Scanners and uncheck the “Let Windows manage my default printer” option.
To select your default printer, click the printer in the Printers & Scanners list, click “Manage”, and click the “Set as Default” button. You can also right-click the printer in Control Panel's Devices and Printers window and select "Set as Default Printer" to set it as the default.
How to Manage Your Print Queue
Every printer on your system has a print queue. When you print a document, the print job is stored in a print queue before it is sent to the printer and completes printing. In some cases, you may need to pause the print queue to temporarily stop printing, delete individual jobs from the print queue to cancel printing, or check that everything has printed. You can do all of this from the print queue window.
To open it, go to Settings > Devices > Printers & Scanners, click the printer whose queue you want to view, then click “Open Print Queue.” In the Control Panel interface, you can right-click the printer and select “See What's Printing”.
You may also see a printer icon in the notification area while printing; clicking the icon also opens the print queue. Any pending print jobs appear in the queue. If no documents are printed, the list will be empty. You can right-click a job to cancel, pause, or restart it. Sometimes a print job can "hang," and you may need to delete it and then try again.
You can also click on the Printer menu and use various options to manage your entire queue. For example, you can click Printer > Pause Printing to pause all print jobs until you cancel the pause, or click Printer > Cancel All Documents to cancel all pending print jobs.
How to Set Up a Shared Printer
The Windows 10 April 2018 Update removed the HomeGroup feature, which was introduced in Windows 7 for sharing files and printers on a local network. However, it is still possible to share the printer on your local network.
This is especially useful if you have a printer directly connected to your PC, but you want to print from another computer on your network. If you have a network printer connected directly to your network via Wi-Fi or an Ethernet cable, this is not necessary.
To share a printer, open the Printer Properties dialog. To do this through the new interface, go to Settings > Devices > Printers & Scanners, click the printer name, click “Manage”, then click “Printer Properties”.
To do it the old-fashioned way, go to Control Panel > Hardware & Sound > Devices and Printers, right-click the printer, then select “Printer Properties.” Click the “Sharing” tab, check the “Share this printer” option, and give the printer a name.
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| Printer Settings |
By default, people on your local network can find the printer —- but they need an account username and password on your computer to connect to it. The printer will be automatically detected as an available printer in the normal Add Printer interface. Note that the printer will not be available when your computer is in sleep mode.
How to Solve Printer Problems
If you are having problems with the printer, you may need to do some troubleshooting. The basics are pretty self-explanatory: Make sure the printer is turned on and connected to your computer — or your Wi-Fi or Ethernet network, if it's a network printer. Make sure the printer has enough paper and check if the printer has enough ink or toner.
The ink and toner status may appear in the printer settings window, or You may have to view this information by reading the screen on the printer itself. You may also need to install a printer driver from your printer manufacturer.
To troubleshoot printer problems from within Windows 10, go to Settings > Devices > Printers and Scanners, click the printer, click “Manage”, and click “Run Troubleshooter”. You can also find the printer in the Devices and Printers window in Control Panel, right-click it and select “Troubleshoot”.
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| Trouble Detect |
The printer troubleshooter checks for various issues that could be causing printing problems on your PC and tries to fix any it finds. If the printer has an internal display, check the display to see if it reports an error message.
If you're not sure what the error message means, try connecting to a web search engine or looking in your printer manual. You may also need to perform various diagnostic functions on the printer itself. Check your printer's manual for more information about its diagnostic features.
Those are the steps to do Printer Settings in Windows 10 that Erzedka has summarized. Hopefully this information can be useful and look forward to other interesting information. Thanks for visiting...