Disabling Printer Notifications

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 19, 2018)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

When I sent a job to the printer, a balloon popped up from the System Tray announcing that I sent a job to the printer. This was irritating because I didn't need the computer to tell me I'd sent a job to the printer and I couldn't do anything on my computer until I clicked that balloon or the print job was complete.

Then I found out this notification could be disabled, but it wasn't where I thought it was going to be. This notification is actually controlled in Windows. I use Windows XP, and here's the steps I used to disable it:

From the Start menu, choose Printers and Faxes. Windows displays the Printers and Faxes window.
Within the window, choose Server Properties from the File menu. Windows displays the Print Server Properties dialog box.
Make sure the Advanced tab is displayed. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Advanced tab of the Print Server Properties dialog box.

Make sure the Show Informational Notifications for Local Printers check box is cleared.
Make sure the Show Informational Notifications for Network Printers check box is cleared.
Click OK.
Close the Printers and Faxes window.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (457) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Linking to a Specific Page in a PDF File

The HYPERLINK function is great for linking to Web pages and some other resources, but it won't allow you to access a ...

Discover More

Creating Scenario Summaries

If you've defined a variety of scenarios for your workbook, Excel can provide a handy way to compare the effects of those ...

Discover More

Getting Rid of the Task Pane on Startup

Tired of the task pane appearing every time you start Word? Here's how to get rid of it.

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Understanding Background Printing

We click the button to print our document and seldom think of what is happening behind the scenes. Word prints documents, ...

Discover More

Fonts Unavailable in Word

If you have some fonts that don't show up as available in Word, their exclusion can be confusing. Here's a discussion of ...

Discover More

Guidelines for Laser Printer Letterhead

Plan on using printed letterhead in your laser printer? Here are some tips and cautions about doing so.

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is four more than 5?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.