Word Ignores Printer Driver Copies Setting

ID: Q119944

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c

SYMPTOMS

If you change the Copies setting in the printer driver to print multiple copies and then change the Copies setting in the File Print dialog box in Word for Windows to 1, only one copy comes out of the printer (this behavior is different from that of Word 2.x for Windows). Furthermore, the next time you choose Print from the File menu in Word, the Copies setting will be the same as the Copies setting in the printer driver.


CAUSE

Word for Windows overrides the printer driver settings. For example, if you set the Copies to 4 in the printer driver, the Copies setting in Word is 4 unless you change it; then the Word setting overrides the printer driver setting.


STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the versions of Word listed above. This problem was corrected in Windows 95.


WORKAROUNDS

Method 1

To print multiple copies, set the printer driver to 1 copy, and set the desired number of copies in Word's Print dialog box.

Method 2

Some printers can be configured for multiple copies. For example, the Hewlett-Packard (HP) LaserJet 4 can be configured to print 1 to 999 copies by following these steps:

  1. Press the On Line button to take the printer off line.


  2. Press the Menu button until "Printing Menu" appears on the display.


  3. Press the Item button until "Copies" appears on the display.


  4. Press the plus (+) button until the desired number of copies is selected.


  5. Press the Enter button to save the selection.


  6. Press the On Line button to return the printer On Line.


The LaserJet IIISi can be configured to print 1 to 999 copies by following these steps:

  1. Press the On Line button to take the printer off line.


  2. Press the Menu button once and "Copies=1" will appear on the display.


  3. Press the plus (+) button until the desired number of copies is selected.


  4. Press the Enter button to save the selection.


  5. Press the On Line button to return the printer On Line.



MORE INFORMATION

To set the number of copies in the printer driver, follow these steps:

  1. In the Windows Program Manager Main Group, choose the Control Panel.


  2. Choose the Printers icon.


  3. Choose the Setup button.


The number of copies is in this dialog box. It should be set for 1 copy.

To set the number of copies in Word's Print dialog box, follow these steps:

  1. From the File menu, choose Print


  2. Set the desired number of copies in this dialog box.


In Word 2.x for Windows, you could set the driver for multiple copies (such as 4), and then set Word to print 1 copy. Word would spool one job to the printer, and the printer would replicate the print job the desired number of times (four in this case).

In Word 6.0, you need to print multiple copies by setting the driver to 1 copy and setting the Print dialog box to the desired number of copies (such as 4). Word will then spool four separate print jobs to the printer.


REFERENCES

"HP LaserJet 4 and 4M Printers User's Manual," pages 2-18 to 2-20

Additional query words: 6.0 slow sluggish duplicate word6 winword

Keywords : kbprint
Version : WINDOWS:6.0,6.0a,6.0c
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type :


Last Reviewed: October 4, 1999
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