Printing On Both Sides of the Paper

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 2, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Some printers have the capability to print on both sides of a piece of paper. This feature is called duplexing, and it can add a big chunk of change to the cost of a printer. If your printer doesn't have duplexing, the only way to achieve the same result is to pass your paper through the printer twice. The following VBA macro will assist you in this process. It first prints the odd pages in a document, prompts you to turn the paper over, and then prints the even pages.

Sub PrintBothSides()
    Dim iTemp As Integer

    ActiveDocument.PrintOut Copies:=1, PageType:=wdPrintOddPagesOnly
    iTemp = MsgBox("Switch paper to continue", vbOKCancel, "PrintBothSides")
    If iTemp = vbOK Then
        ActiveDocument.PrintOut Copies:=1, PageType:=wdPrintEvenPagesOnly
    End If
End Sub

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 (1418) 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

Highlighting Information Using Shading

Need to draw attention to some text in your document? You can do it by applying some fast and easy shading to your text.

Discover More

Getting Rid of Wizards and Templates

Templates and wizards are used rather extensively in Word to either process a document or define how that document is to ...

Discover More

Searching for All

When you are working on a worksheet (particularly a large one), you may want to search for and possibly copy information ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Duplexing Documents, by Default

If you have a printer that will print on both sides of a piece of paper, you may want to use that ability within Word. ...

Discover More

Selecting Different Trays in a Mail Merge

When you create a mail-merged document, you might want some pages of the document printed on paper from one printer tray ...

Discover More

Double-Spacing Your Document

Need to produce a quick double-spaced printout of your document? You can do it by using the simple steps in this tip.

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 three more than 0?

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.