Canceling Printing

Summary: Word can either print your document in the foreground or in the background. If you want to stop a print job that is in progress, the way you do it depends on which way you are printing the document. This tip explains the differences. (This tip works with Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, Word 2003, and Word 2007.)

If you are printing a long document, you may decide that you want to cancel printing for some reason. Exactly how you do this depends on if you are using the background printing feature of Word. If you have background printing turned off, Word displays a dialog box during the printing process. This dialog box, besides informing you of the progress of the print job, also contains a Cancel button. Simply click on this button to stop the print job.

If you have background printing turned on, Word does not display a dialog box. However, on the status bar you can see a small printer icon that indicates the page currently being printed. To cancel the print job, double-click on the printer icon.

Tip #1237 applies to Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

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Canceling Printing