Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 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: Printing Documents without Markup.

Printing Documents without Markup

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 14, 2018)
This tip applies to Word 2002 and 2003


1

Beginning with Word 2002 Microsoft included the ability to print your documents with or without "markup" showing. Markup is defined as editing marks (using Word's Track Changes feature) and comments placed in a document during its development.

You can control whether or not markup is printed by displaying the Print dialog box (See Figure 1.) and using the Print What drop-down list. If you choose Document, then only the document is printed. If you choose Document with Markup, then the markup is printed along with the document.

Figure 1. The Print dialog box.

Actually, the default behavior of the Print What drop-down list is rather odd. In fact, at times it can seem to have a mind of its own. In doing testing, I found out that the default for the Print What drop-down list will be Document unless one of the following is true:

  • You have Markup chosen on the View menu.
  • You have Final with Markup chosen in the Display for Review drop-down list on the Reviewing toolbar.
  • You have Original with Markup chosen in the Display for Review drop-down list on the Reviewing toolbar.

Changing the setting of the Print What drop-down list to Document does not override the Markup setting. Basically, all you are doing is specifying that you want this one printing of the document to not show markup. The next time you display the Print dialog box, the Print What drop-down list is again set based on the Markup setting in the document. (It is not the Print What drop-down list that is "sticky," but the Markup setting, which always overrides the Print What drop-down list.)

The setting of the Markup option is saved with your document. Similarly, if you have a template open, then the setting can be saved with the template, to be used as a default for all future documents based on the template.

If you want the Print What drop-down list to always default to Document, then you need to turn off the Markup option in the document or in the template, and then save the document and template. Since the setting is saved on a per-document basis, you may need to do this in lots of documents to get the effect you want.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (3462) applies to Microsoft Word 2002 and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Printing Documents without Markup.

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

Formatting Fractions

Need to have a great looking fraction in a document? It's relatively easy to do if you apply the formatting techniques ...

Discover More

Two Types of Page Numbers in a TOC

Word, when creating a table of contents, should automatically make sure that the page numbers it shows correspond to the ...

Discover More

Create a Template that Stops Styles from Being Added to a Document

Limiting which styles a user can use or add to a document can be a tricky task. Fortunately, Word has advanced to the ...

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)

Forcing Printouts to Black and White

If you want to force Word to print some of its colors in black and white, you may be out of luck. One bright spot, as ...

Discover More

Reducing the Curl in Printed Documents

Have you ever printed out a document, only to have the pages curl very badly as they come out of the printer? There's a ...

Discover More

Printing a Draft of a Document

Need to print a copy of a document but you don't care if it looks as "pretty" as you want the final printout to look? You ...

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 six more than 9?

2020-09-01 16:11:18

Andres

My printer doesn't have the Print What dialog blank. It is defaulted to Document, but even when I deselect Print Markup, it still prints the Markup page.
I have an HP Office Jet 4650


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.