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...

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