Changing the Default 'Print What' Setting

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 9, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


When you print a document, Word attempts to figure out the best printing method, based on the characteristics of your document. If you have a regular document to print, and you display the Print dialog box, the Print What drop-down list is set to Document. However, if you have the Track Changes feature turned on, then the behavior of the Print dialog box differs.

When you turn on Track Changes, Word automatically changes the viewing mode to Final Showing Markup. This mode is obvious if you have the Reviewing toolbar displayed, and if you display the full View menu you will see the Markup toggle is selected. When you later display the Print dialog box, provided you have made at least one tracked edit, you will see that Document Showing Markup is now selected in the Print What drop-down list. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Print dialog box.

If you don't want to print your markup, it can get bothersome to continually remember to change the Print What setting to Document. There is no way to change the value of this setting to some other default; it is set on-the-fly, each time you display the Print dialog box.

You can, however, create a macro to do your printing. The macro could then be assigned to a toolbar button or a shortcut key, so it can be quickly executed. The following macro prints one copy of the current document, as if you had selected Document in the Print What drop-down:

Sub PrintDoc()
    Application.PrintOut Range:=wdPrintAllDocument, _
      Item:=wdPrintDocumentContent, Copies:=1
End Sub

The Item parameter is the one that specifies what should be printed. If you wanted to print the document with markup, then Item should be set to wdPrintDocumentWithMarkup, whereas wdPrintDocumentContent prints just the document, without markup.

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 (3790) 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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Ordering Search and Replace

The wildcard searching available in Word is very powerful. Here's how you can use ordering in your search efforts to make ...

Discover More

Counting Fields in a Document

Need to count the number of times a particular field appears in a document? It's easy to do when you apply the techniques ...

Discover More

Shortcut to Merge Cells

Need to merge a bunch of cells together on a regular basis? You'll love the two macros in this tip which can make short ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (menu)

Printing Reversed Images

Ever need to print the mirror image of your document? This tip explains how to reverse your image so it can be used for ...

Discover More

Using Sequential Document Serial Numbers

Need to add a unique serial number to each printed copy of your document? Here's a quick way to print such numbered versions.

Discover More

Defining Default Printers on a Document Level

If you use multiple printers, you may wonder how to set each document in Word to remember which printer to use for that ...

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 6 - 6?

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.