Cannot print

Deborrah Curtis 0 Reputation points
2026-10-02T15:18:19.59+00:00

Printer can't bring up preview of Word document prior to printing

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | Other | Windows
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  1. DaveM121 936.1K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-10-02T15:51:51.1066667+00:00

    The Office apps may sometimes loose connection to the printer drivers, the best first option is to completely uninstall your printer, then restart your PC and go to the support page for your printer on the manufacturers website to download and install the version of printer drivers, firmware and associated software they provide for your printer model.

    If you have any difficulty locating the support page, what is the make and exact model number of your printer.

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  2. Mohamed Elansary 0 Reputation points
    2026-10-02T15:45:38.2+00:00

    This is usually a problem with the printer driver, Word's display settings, or Word itself, not the document. Try these in order, testing after each one.

    1. Check whether it's the document or Word
    • Open a new blank document, type a few words, and press Ctrl+P. If the preview works, the original file is the problem. Copy its contents into a new document, or save it as a new file.
    • Try the preview with a different printer, such as Microsoft Print to PDF. If it works, the printer driver is the cause (see step 4).
    1. Turn off hardware graphics acceleration
    2. File → Options → Advanced.
    3. Under Display, tick Disable hardware graphics acceleration.
    4. Click OK and restart Word.
    5. Repair Office
      Settings → Apps → Installed apps → find Microsoft Office or Microsoft 365, Modify, then Quick Repair. If that doesn't work, run Online Repair.
    6. Reset Word's template
      Close Word, rename the Normal.dotm file in %appdata%\Microsoft\Templates to Normal.old, and reopen Word. It will create a fresh one.

    If nothing works, tell me your Word version, the printer model, and whether the preview is blank, frozen, or Word crashes. That narrows it down.

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  3. AI answer

    2026-10-02T15:18:38.7866667+00:00

    If Word cannot show print preview before printing, use this order of checks:

    1. Test whether the problem is only in Word.
      • Try printing from another app such as Notepad or Paint.
      • Try printing a different file from Word.
      • If other apps also fail, the issue is likely the printer, driver, or Windows printing service.
    2. In Word, verify the selected printer.
      • Go to File > Print.
      • Make sure the intended physical printer is selected.
      • Make sure Print to PDF or Print to file is not selected.
      • Check that the printer status shows Ready.
    3. Check Word print settings.
      • Confirm the page size, orientation, and layout match the document and printer.
      • Check the pages to print setting to ensure the correct range is selected.
    4. Print a Windows test page.
      • On Windows 11: Start > Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners > select the printer > Printer properties > General > Print Test Page.
      • On Windows 10: Start > Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners > select the printer > Manage > Printer properties > General > Print Test Page.
      • If the test page fails, troubleshoot the printer or driver first.
    5. Restart the Print Spooler service.
      • Press Windows key + R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
      • Find Print Spooler.
      • Right-click it and select Restart.
    6. Update or reinstall the printer driver.
      • Go to Start > Device Manager.
      • Expand Printers.
      • Right-click the printer and select Update driver.
      • If no update is found, select Uninstall device, then restart the PC so Windows can reinstall the driver.
      • If Word shows the specific error "Word cannot bring up the Properties dialog box because the printer returned an error", reinstalling the printer driver is a recommended fix.
    7. Repair Office.
      • Go to Start > Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
      • Select Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Office.
      • Choose Modify or Advanced options depending on the Windows version.
      • Run Quick Repair first.
      • If the issue continues, run Online Repair.
    8. If the printer properties dialog specifically fails in Word, reset regional settings.
      • Open Control Panel > Regional and Language Options.
      • Temporarily switch to a different English regional setting.
      • Restart the PC.
      • Restore the original regional setting and restart again.
    9. Close Word and restart the PC, then test again.

    Note: Removing or uninstalling a printer can require adding it again afterward.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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