Any way to get print dialog from Print Preview?

[Colin Higbie]

This is frustrating, but maybe I'm just being dense. I'm running Excel 2003.
If I click on Print... and then select Preview, there is a button that says
Print... on the resulting Preview window toolbar, but it isn't Print... it's
Print (no ...). The ... is supposed to indicate a dialog.

So, to me, there are 2 problems. First is that the toolbar button is wrong.
I always think it's going to give me a dialog where I can specify
resolution, printer, color, etc., but then it just shoots the job over to
the printer. Any way to change the button and fix this bug?

Second, how can I get to a print dialog from the Print Preview window? I
almost always need to make changes to the print settings, but need to review
the Print Preview first. In virtually every other program with a print
preview option there is a way to get back to the print dialog from the
preview window. Am I just missing this in Excel?

Thanks for any help, insight, or suggestions,
Colin

 

[Bob Phillips]

Use the Setup... button.

--

HTH

RP
(remove nothere from the email address if mailing direct)

 

[Web Colin]

Thanks for posting and trying to help, but that's not the Print dialog at
all. That's the Setup dialog (hence the button being labeled "Setup") and is
the same as Page Setup... from the File menu. In the Print dialog you can
select the printer and set print options (color, output tray, paper source),
etc.

This is a pretty serious defect. I can't imagine I'm the only guy who
frequently wants to look at the Preview before finalizing print options.

Is there a work around or fix for either of the 2 problems I described in my
original post?

Thanks,
Colin

 

[WebColin]

P.S. Specifically, I frequently want to switch to print to a PDF once I get
everything lined up, or to switch to our color laser. The default is always
set to our B&W laser b/c it's the cheapest to use. I find it a huge pain
that I can't specify this from the preview window.

Worse, the button says "Print...", when it apparently should just say
"Print." It taunts me to press it with the promise of an ability to specify
a printer (that's what the ellipsis after Print always means), yet it just
sends the job to whatever printer I have as the default, wasting toner and
paper.

That costs me money!

Thanks,
Colin

 

[Dave Peterson]

I use xl2003. When I clicked on the "print..." button in printpreview, I got
that print dialog and I could change printers.

(I don't recall how earlier versions of excel worked, though.)

You may want to post your version to see if others can duplicate your findings.

 

[WebColin]

I'm also on Excel 2003. What you say is very reassuring to me, but now I
have the new mystery of trying to solve why my Excel (on two different
computers - desktop and laptop) doesn't do what yours does.

When I click on the "Print..." button in preview mode, it just sends the
print job to the active printer.

Yours definitely works differently? Any thoughts why my might not do that?

- Colin

 

[Ragdyer]

This is more obvious when you have more then one printer assigned to your
machine, but XL has *TWO*, identical looking Print icons.
Right click on your toolbar and choose "Customize", and click the "Commands"
tab.
Choose <File> in the left window, and scroll down the right window until you
come to the 2 print icons.

It may be difficult to tell which is which, but one will give you the print
dialog window, and the other will immediately print to the printer.
If more then one printer is connected to your machine, this second icon will
allow you to choose which printer is to be used for this specific print job.

Drag them both to your toolbar, and try them out, and then just eliminate
the one that's duplicating the one that you have there now by just holding
<Alt>, and dragging it off the toolbar.

Also, if you have tooltips activated, hovering the cursor over each of the
icons will give you a different description of each.
--
HTH,

RD

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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I'm also on Excel 2003. What you say is very reassuring to me, but now I
have the new mystery of trying to solve why my Excel (on two different
computers - desktop and laptop) doesn't do what yours does.

When I click on the "Print..." button in preview mode, it just sends the
print job to the active printer.

Yours definitely works differently? Any thoughts why my might not do that?

- Colin

 

[Dave Peterson]

But the OP is talking about the Print... button on the PrintPreview screen.

This is more obvious when you have more then one printer assigned to your
machine, but XL has *TWO*, identical looking Print icons.
Right click on your toolbar and choose "Customize", and click the "Commands"
tab.
Choose <File> in the left window, and scroll down the right window until you
come to the 2 print icons.

It may be difficult to tell which is which, but one will give you the print
dialog window, and the other will immediately print to the printer.
If more then one printer is connected to your machine, this second icon will
allow you to choose which printer is to be used for this specific print job.

Drag them both to your toolbar, and try them out, and then just eliminate
the one that's duplicating the one that you have there now by just holding
<Alt>, and dragging it off the toolbar.

Also, if you have tooltips activated, hovering the cursor over each of the
icons will give you a different description of each.

 

[Dave Peterson]

RagDyer brought up a point about having multiple printers available (with his
suggestion to modify the File dropdown options in excel).

I do have multiple printer drivers installed. Do you?

I tried a few things and couldn't make that dialog not show up.

 

[WebColin]

That's for the Print icon on the main window toolbar. All those toolbars are
customizable (I replace the icon for the existing print button with the
built-in icon of the little running man, as in- print fast, then add the
Print... command from the file menu with the regular printer icon). As far
as I can tell there is no way to customize the toolbar on the Print Preview
screen. Am I missing something?

Thanks,
Colin

This is more obvious when you have more then one printer assigned to your
machine, but XL has *TWO*, identical looking Print icons.
Right click on your toolbar and choose "Customize", and click the
"Commands"
tab.
Choose <File> in the left window, and scroll down the right window until
you
come to the 2 print icons.

It may be difficult to tell which is which, but one will give you the
print
dialog window, and the other will immediately print to the printer.
If more then one printer is connected to your machine, this second icon
will
allow you to choose which printer is to be used for this specific print
job.

Drag them both to your toolbar, and try them out, and then just eliminate
the one that's duplicating the one that you have there now by just holding
<Alt>, and dragging it off the toolbar.

Also, if you have tooltips activated, hovering the cursor over each of the
icons will give you a different description of each.

 

[WebColin]

On my desktop computer I have 4 printers that I use regularly - tabloid
laser (default), color laser, WinFax, and Adobe PDF.

On my laptop, which moves between locations, I have those, plus a few others
for use at work.

On both computers, when I hit Print... on the preview window, it just
prints. It never brings up a dialog.

Could this be a setting under Options? I've looked and don't see anything
like that.

Any suggestions where I should look or what I can try? I would love to solve
this problem and I'm willing to do some experimentation (don't have time to
uninstall and reinstall or anything else that could take several hours).

Thanks,
Colin

 

[Dave Peterson]

I don't recall seeing anything under Tools|options that would help.

I looked under the properties for my printer and didn't see anything there,
either.

Maybe someone else can jump in and provide a solution--and report how it works
for them in their version of excel???

On my desktop computer I have 4 printers that I use regularly - tabloid
laser (default), color laser, WinFax, and Adobe PDF.

On my laptop, which moves between locations, I have those, plus a few others
for use at work.

On both computers, when I hit Print... on the preview window, it just
prints. It never brings up a dialog.

Could this be a setting under Options? I've looked and don't see anything
like that.

Any suggestions where I should look or what I can try? I would love to solve
this problem and I'm willing to do some experimentation (don't have time to
uninstall and reinstall or anything else that could take several hours).

Thanks,
Colin

 

[WebColin]

Wait, maybe I've figured it out. This seems reproducible. Could you test if
you have the same experience:

If I click on the Print Preview button on the toolbar, it behaves as you've
described (the Print... button on the Preview page goes back to the Print...
dialog).

On the other hand, if I click on Print... first, then click on the Preview
button on the Print... dialog, then the Print... button on the Preview view
prints immediately, instead of returning to the Print... dialog. The same
thing happens if I click on Print... on the Preview page, then select
Preview from the Print... dialog, then try the Print... button on the
Preview page.

In other words, no matter how I get to the Print... dialog, if I click the
Preview button on that dialog, the Print... button on the Preview page
becomes an immediate print button.

If you can confirm this behavior, it's a bug, how do we get it fixed?

- Colin

 

[Dave Peterson]

It behaved the same way.

I clicked on the printpreview icon (or File|PrintPreview), then click on
Print..., I get the printer setup dialog.

I click on File|Print, then the Print Preview button on that dialog, then click
Print, I don't get to verify my choice. (But I already had that choice when I
clicked on the print preview button.)

I'm not sure this is a bug, but you can request a change to this behavior:
(e-mail address removed)

(You may have better luck changing _your_ behavior, though.)

Wait, maybe I've figured it out. This seems reproducible. Could you test if
you have the same experience:

If I click on the Print Preview button on the toolbar, it behaves as you've
described (the Print... button on the Preview page goes back to the Print...
dialog).

On the other hand, if I click on Print... first, then click on the Preview
button on the Print... dialog, then the Print... button on the Preview view
prints immediately, instead of returning to the Print... dialog. The same
thing happens if I click on Print... on the Preview page, then select
Preview from the Print... dialog, then try the Print... button on the
Preview page.

In other words, no matter how I get to the Print... dialog, if I click the
Preview button on that dialog, the Print... button on the Preview page
becomes an immediate print button.

If you can confirm this behavior, it's a bug, how do we get it fixed?

- Colin

 

[WebColin]

Of course that's a bug - the button changes it's behavior and it doesn't do
what it says it will do. The ellipsis (...) after a command always means
that it will bring up a dialog. The button has the ellipsis and yet does not
bring up the dialog. Worse, its behavior is not consistent. Sometimes it
does, other times it does not. At least now we know what causes it to fail.

And this is not a rational behavior, it's nothing more than a mistake on
MS's part. Of course you may wish to go back and forth between the Preview
screen and the Print dialog before printing until you have everything set up
the way you like.

The one positive thing here is that at least now I know when Excel will do
what. I also realize I should go the Preview view from the Print Preview
button and not from the Print... dialog, which is what I used to do
(changing my behavior as you said). That still doesn't give me a second
chance to review options, but it's better than nothing.

I will submit this to that e-mail address. Thank you.

- Colin