how to cancel a print job

Cancel the job from Windows’ print queue before turning the printer back on; switching off the printer alone does not remove a job still queued on the PC.

Cancel the queued document

Keep the printer off temporarily to prevent more pages from printing.

Windows 11

1. Open Start → Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners.
2. Select your printer.
3. Select Open print queue.
4. Right-click the unwanted Word document and select Cancel.

Windows 10

1. Open Start → Settings → Devices → Printers & scanners.
2. Select your printer, then Open queue.
3. Right-click the unwanted document and select Cancel.

Wait until the job disappears, then turn the printer back on. These are Microsoft’s documented queue-cancellation steps.^1^

If the job will not disappear

Restart the Windows printing service:

1. Press Windows key + R.
2. Enter services.msc, then press Enter.
3. Find Print Spooler.
4. Right-click it and select Restart.
5. Reopen the print queue and check that the job is gone.

If it is still stuck

This procedure clears all jobs waiting on this PC, not only the unwanted document.

1. Press Windows key + R, enter services.msc, and press Enter.
2. Right-click Print Spooler and select Stop.
3. Open File Explorer and go to: C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS
4. Delete every file inside that folder. Administrator approval may be required.
5. Return to Services, right-click Print Spooler, and select Start.
6. Confirm that the print queue is empty, then turn the printer back on.^1^

References

1. Windows 10