Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Easily Changing Print Order.

Easily Changing Print Order

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 27, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Bob wonders if there is an easy way to switch from normal print order to reverse print order and back again. He understands it can be changed in the Print dialog box, but he is looking for a command he can place on the toolbar, instead.

The easiest way to implement a macro approach would be to create two macros. One is used to set normal print order, and the other is used to set reverse print order:

Sub ForwardPrint()
    Options.PrintReverse = False
End Sub
Sub ReversePrint()
    Options.PrintReverse = True
End Sub

The macros are very, very simple and can be assigned to individual toolbar buttons. If you prefer to implement a solution that uses a single macro (so you only need to use one toolbar button), then the following may work just fine:

Sub SwapPrint()
    With Options
        If .PrintReverse = True Then
            .PrintReverse = False
            MsgBox ("Now printing in normal order")
        Else
            .PrintReverse = True
            MsgBox ("Now printing in reverse order")
        End If
    End With
End Sub

This approach toggles the PrintReverse property, so it switches between normal and reverse order. The macro also displays a dialog box that indicates the current printing order.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (590) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Easily Changing Print Order.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Renaming a Toolbar

Word allows you to create custom toolbars that can speed how you work with various tools and macros. When you first ...

Discover More

Ignoring Punctuation in Names

If you have a word that includes punctuation as part of the word itself, then you may be frustrated by how Word treats ...

Discover More

Getting Rid of 8-Bit ASCII Characters

When working with data created outside of Excel, you may need to check that data to make sure it contains no unwanted ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! An easy-to-understand guide to the more advanced features available in the Microsoft 365 version of Word. Enhance the quality of your documents and boost productivity in any field with this in-depth resource. Complete your Word-related tasks more efficiently as you unlock lesser-known tools and learn to quickly access the features you need. Check out Microsoft 365 Word For Professionals For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Controlling Where a Full-page Border is Printed

When you add full-page borders to your document, you may be bothered to find out that one or more sides of the border ...

Discover More

Chopped Off Page Borders

Tired of your page borders not printing out as you expect? The problem could be due to any number of settings or ...

Discover More

Printing Documents without Markup

If you have a document with Track Changes turned on, you can accumulate quite a bit of "markup" in it. Here's how you can ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is 0 + 1?

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.

Videos
Subscribe

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

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.