WE’VE been hearing about the upcoming “paperless society” for years, and although we can see signs that it is clearly on its way, chances are that you still need to print—and print often—when you create documents in Word. Whether you print and send letters, reports, brochures, booklets, labels, or forms, printing in Word 2010 has just become easier. Now print and print preview are together in one view, so you can review, adjust, and choose print options, all in the same Backstage view. Nice.
This chapter walks you through various print operations in Word 2010 and throws in a number of troubleshooting ideas for good measure. Along the way, you’ll find information on setting various options and tailoring your print jobs so that you can finalize and distribute your documents to the people waiting for them.
Today we are more aware of the cost of our printing than ever before. The paper we consume, the ink cartridges we use, and the electricity that drives it all require resources we try to use wisely. When you’re working in Word 2010, this green consciousness might manifest itself in a number of ways:
Proofing your document electronically and printing only your final version
Saving the document as a PDF or XPS file and printing only when necessary
Using double-sided printing instead of printing on one side of the page only or printing multiple pages per sheet
Sharing printers in a department in lieu of having a printer on every desk
Designing content that works in print, online, and electronically
When you design content that can be used in print or online, some of the benefits for the online versions are that you can use colorful backgrounds and creative layout elements (without worrying about printing costs), interactive features (such as hyperlinks), and, fundamentally, as many “pages” as you need to get your message across. With that said, online content is limited by the fonts you can use, quality of images, and writing style (online content should be concise and easy to scan), to name just a few constraints. As you might imagine, printed content also has benefits and drawbacks. Two of the main benefits of printed material are that you can precisely control the page layout of printed content, and your audience doesn’t need to log on to access your publication.
Often, material is adapted for use in both print and online content. When you are faced with this dual-purpose task, consider setting up some common processes and rules to ensure that your content best serves each desired purpose. For instance:
Use Web fonts in all online materials, but feel free to use custom fonts for your printed material. Many marketing departments create consistency among materials by pre-establishing two “required” sets of fonts—one set for online content and another set for printed works. An easy way to accommodate both sets is to create Quick Style Sets for each type, as is discussed in Chapter 12.
Include color blocks in online materials (such as for backgrounds or navigation bars), but omit large color areas from most printed materials. Word helps in this department by including an option to not print background colors and images by default. In addition, the added benefit of themes (discussed in Chapter 4) aids in quick color switching.
Show hyperlinks online, but verify that all links in printed materials show the actual Web address instead of the linked text.
Of course, you won’t always be in charge of the content you work with—you might need to print online content or print colorful pages in black and white, for example. In this chapter, all of the primary print options are covered so that you’ll be able to control your print jobs, regardless of whether you are printing online content or designing content to be printed.
The new integrated Print view in Backstage view is one of the big new productivity features in Word 2010. Now previewing and printing is easier than ever—you can make print options changes and see those changes reflected in the preview window. To access the integrated Print view, on the File tab, choose Print, as shown in Figure 14-1.
One of the most important aspects to keep in mind when preparing your document for printing is that Word is always in contact with your current printer. Word uses the driver for the current printer for various tasks, such as to obtain the available fonts that are displayed on the Font list and for document pagination.
When you view a document in Print Layout view, for example, you are seeing the document as it will look when printed on the currently selected printer. For this reason, if you plan on printing a document, you should make sure the printer you intend to use is set as the current printer prior to setting printing options or making any layout adjustments in your document. To change to a different printer, click Printer on the File tab (see Figure 14-2). You can choose a new printer by clicking the one you want from the list. After you make this change, you might see slight pagination changes in your document.
Because pagination can change when you use another printer, another important aspect to keep in mind is that attempts to control pagination using manual page breaks typically fail and result in empty or partially empty pages when another printer driver is used to print or view the document.
Tip
If you intend to print your document on a printer that is not available, such as when you are working at home and you intend to print the document at your office, you can still install the correct printer driver and use it for document preparation even if the printer is not physically available.
Even though Print view displays your document as it will look when printed, you should make a habit of paging though your entire document before printing. Like a painter stepping back from the canvas, you can use preview to take a big-picture look at a page or series of pages before you commit the information to hard copy. You can examine entire pages at once, checking for obvious page setup errors and oddities and even applying minor fixes to correct some of the errors you discover. For example, in preview, you can quickly see when an image box overlays text (or vice versa), when a single line runs onto the next page, or when indented text is misaligned.
In the Print window you have a chance to view your document from a variety of perspectives before you print. By default, when you click Print in Backstage view (or press either Ctrl+F2 or Ctrl+Alt+I), the current page is shown in the preview window on the right (see Figure 14-3).
Note
You can add Print Preview and Print to your Quick Access Toolbar so that you can display Print view without having to display Backstage view. On the File tab, click Options then click Quick Access Toolbar. In the list on the left, click Print Preview and Print, click Add, and then click OK. The new tool—Print Preview and Print—is added to the right side of the Quick Access Toolbar.
Using the Zoom tools on the Print Preview tab or the View tab in other views, you can examine your documents by zooming in to see details and zooming out to evaluate the flow of content on multiple pages. You can select a specific section, page, or group of pages on which to focus.
You can change your view by sliding the indicator marker or clicking the minus (–) and plus (+) signs at each end of the spectrum to decrease or increase the current view by 10 percent per click. Using the slider, you can view your document from 10 percent to 500 percent of its normal size. Furthermore, as you change the percentage, Word by default automatically shows the number of pages that fit within the view in the workspace (for example, if you view a multipage document formatted for standard 8.5 × 11-inch paper at 30 percent, you will probably see three pages onscreen simultaneously). You can use the Zoom Slider and Zoom Level in this manner in both Print Preview and Print Layout view. Figure 14-4 shows the preview of multiple pages.
Figure 14-4. Zoom tools enable you to preview several pages of your document at one time, depending on the percentage at which you choose to view them.
Note
In other views, such as Draft and Outline, you can use the Zoom tools but will not see clear page divisions as you see in Figure 14-4. Note that the Zoom Slider and Zoom Level are not available in Full Screen Reading view.
You can also display the Zoom dialog box, shown in Figure 14-5, to further modify your view. To open the Zoom dialog box, double-click the percentage of display, which is to the left of the Zoom slider, as shown in Figure 14-4. A few useful options in the Zoom dialog box are the Many Pages option, which is used to specify how many pages to show, and the Whole Page option, which sets the zoom to the width of the document’s text.
As you zoom in, out, and move around while previewing your document, you might see details you want to change. For basic editing tasks—like correcting a typo or changing a format—you need to go on the File tab again to return to your document to fix the problems; you’ll be returned to the original location the cursor was positioned when you displayed Backstage view, which means that you might have to search all over for the areas you want to change.
Changes you can make while previewing your document that will be immediately apparent in the preview window are these:
Adjusting margins, indents, line numbering, and borders. You can choose the margins setting (second from the bottom in the center panel of Print view) to display a list of margin options (see Figure 14-6). Click Custom Margins to display the Page Setup dialog box and change additional options.
Change paper size. Click the paper size setting (third from the bottom) and choose the paper size you want to view. The preview window changes to reflect the change. Your text will be reflowed automatically but you might need to resize pictures, diagrams, or other added elements.
Change document orientation. Click the orientation setting (fourth from the bottom) to change from portrait to landscape orientation (or vice versa). Again, the preview changes to reflect your choice and text is reflowed automatically. You might need to exit Backstage view to align pictures and other objects before you print.
When you’re happy with the preview of your document, you’re ready to print. By far, the easiest and most common printing task is printing an entire document. When you want to send the entire document to the current printer, simply click Print, and then click the Print button at the top of the center column of Print view on the File tab.
Tip
For faster printing, you might want to add Quick Print to your Quick Access Toolbar. To do so, click the More button at the end and then click Quick Print. You can see which printer is the current selection by hovering the mouse over Quick Print.
You can also print a Word document from within Word and in Windows Explorer without opening the file or the Print dialog box by right-clicking a file or group of files in the Open dialog box and then clicking Print from the shortcut menu. Note that you will likely encounter a message box stating that the command cannot be performed because a dialog box is open. Click OK to close the message, and then close the Open dialog box; the document or documents will then be sent to the printer.
Tip
Send to OneNote 2010 is one of the settings available in your Printer selection setting in Print view. This enables you to easily—and instantly—print a copy of your current document directly to your OneNote 2010 workbook.
Perhaps you’ve been talking with a co-author about a specific section and she’s offered to take a look at it for you. You want to print just those two pages so that the two of you can look at it side by side. To print just that portion of the document, follow these steps:
Highlight the text you want to print.
On the File tab, click Print.
In the first option in the Settings area, click Print Selected Text (see Figure 14-7), and then click Print.
The selected portion is printed on the currently selected printer.
Tip
If you and your co-authors have gone through multiple revisions with Tracked Changes turned on and you want to print and discuss a list of all your collective changes, you can have Word print just a list of revisions. On the File tab, click Print then click the top arrow beneath Settings. In the list that appears, click List of Markup and then click Print.
Printing Hidden Text
It’s possible that not all text in your document is be meant for all eyes to see. For example, some hidden text is be created by specific Word features, such as index fields and table of contents fields. But other text—perhaps financial forecasts, staff salaries, or other sensitive information—can also be hidden from view for specific projects and audiences.
You can display hidden text on the screen by clicking the Show/Hide tool in the Paragraph group of the Home tab. Alternately, you can press Ctrl+Shift+8 to toggle the display of hidden text on and off. Hidden text appears marked by a dotted underline.
Hidden text does not print by default, regardless of whether it displayed on your screen. If you want to print hidden text, you need to change your Print options. On the File tab, click Options then click Display. Under Printing Options, click the Print Hidden Text check box and click OK to save the change.
On occasion, you might decide at the last moment to cancel a print job. The way you cancel a print job depends on whether background printing is turned on. By default, Word activates background printing, which means that you can continue working while you print a document. To change this setting, on the File tab, click Options then click Advanced. Then scroll to the Print area and clear the Print In Background check box. To halt printing from within Word while your computer is sending a document to the printer, follow one of these two procedures:
If background printing is disabled, click Cancel or press Esc.
If background printing is enabled, click the Cancel button in the Status bar while the document is being sent to the printer. If you’re printing a short document, the Cancel button might not be visible long enough for you to cancel the printing task.
For some projects, you might need to perform printing tasks that are more complex than merely printing single copies of entire documents, and there might be times when you do not want to use Quick Print and send the entire document to the current printer. For example, you might need to change the printer or print only specific pages. For these tasks, you need to change the default print settings.
Begin by displaying the Print view on the File tab and choosing Print. Alternately, you can press Ctrl+P.
To print multiple copies of a document, simply click in the Copies box to the right of the Print button and enter the number of copies you want to print. By default, Word collates multiple copies of a print job. Notice the Collate option in the Settings area of the Print view (see Figure 14-8).
When collating is enabled, Word sends one copy of your print job to the printer with the collating instructions. In the long run, this method is probably easier for an end user. But depending on the printer, it might take longer to process if the document is printed, and then the next copy is printed, and so forth. It can also cause bottlenecks in a print queue if the document contains many large graphics or extensive formatting. If you prefer, you can choose Uncollated. On some laser printers, printing without collating might speed the process and avoid bottlenecks in the print queue because the printer won’t need to reprocess information for each copy of a page.
Note
The Print To File option generates a .prn file that can be
created using a Printer Command Language (PCL) or PostScript (PS)
printer driver. Primarily, these files are used for creating PDF
or TIF files. To actually print a .prn file, you need to type a
print command at a Command Prompt, such as COPY /B
Filename.prn \ComputerNamePrinterShareName.
In many cases, you’ll want to print a selection of pages instead of an entire document. For example, you might want to select and print a few paragraphs of text, print two or three noncontiguous sections within a long report, or print the cover letter attached to your updated résumé. To print specific pages and sections within a document, use the following options:
Print All Pages. Prints the entire document; the default selection.
Print Selection. Prints selected text starting at the top of the printed page. To use this option, text must be selected in the document prior to displaying the Print dialog box. Note that the selection must be a contiguous text selection.
Print Current Page. Prints the page currently displayed on the screen (even if you have scrolled away from the page containing the cursor) or the selected page in Print Preview (if multiple pages are shown).
Print Custom Range. Prints only the pages, page ranges, and sections you specify. Use commas for individual pages and hyphens for a range of pages. For example, enter 1-5,9,15-18 to print pages 1 through 5, page 9, and pages 15 through 18. If your document contains sections, you must specify which pages and sections to print. Precede the page number with p and use s for section. For example, type s2,s4 to print all of sections 2 and 4; type p3s4-p6s5 to print from page 3, section 4 to page 6, section 5.
Tip
Word uses the formatted page number, as opposed to the physical page number (Page X Of Y shown in the status bar), for printing. To quickly determine the formatted page number and section number, note the Page and Section in your status bar and enter the values in the Print dialog box as you see them. If you do not see the Page and Section, right-click the Customizable Status bar, click Formatted Page Number, and then click Section to add them to your status bar.
If you want to print using both sides of each sheet of paper, but you don’t have a duplex printer (a printer that can automatically print on both sides of a sheet), use the Manual Duplex option in the Print Settings area. If this option is selected, Word prints all of the pages that appear on one side of the paper and then prompts you to turn the stack over and feed the pages into the printer again.
Another alternative is to use the options, Only Print Odd Pages and Only Print Even Pages, located in the Print settings (see Figure 14-9). To accomplish this, you can print all of the odd pages first, turn the printed pages over, reinsert the paper into your printer’s paper tray, and then print the even pages. You’ll probably have to experiment with your printer tray to ensure that you insert the paper properly. To assist in this task, take a few sheets of paper and annotate them with Top, Bottom, Odd, and Even. Print only the same number of pages so you can get a better idea of how your device prints without using a lot of paper.
Figure 14-9. Choose Only Print Odd Pages or Only Print Even Pages if you want to print on both sides of the page with a non-duplex printer.
Note
Keep in mind that printing in this way can eventually cause printers to jam as a result of the ink from the already printed pages building up as they pass through your printer. If you do a lot of two-sided printing, you should probably invest in a printer that is designed to handle it.
Tip
If your print margins seem out of whack or your page prints in the wrong orientation, check your printer settings to ensure they aren’t overriding Word’s print settings. On the File tab, click Print then click Printer Properties. Check the orientation setting on the Layout tab and change it if necessary; click OK to return to the Print window.
As you know, documents consist of much more than just the content that appears on a page. Documents can include document properties, styles, tracked changes, and comments, as well as other elements available to the document such as Building Blocks and keyboard shortcut assignments. In some cases, you might want to print these items instead of the actual document. The Print settings enable you to print common elements by selecting them in the Print What list. Using this technique, you can print the following:
Document Properties. Prints information stored in the File Properties, such as the file name, location, template, title, author, creation date, last saved date, number of words, and so forth. You can view document properties in the Info page of Backstage view (see Figure 14-10).
List of Markup. Prints a list of all changes in the document, letting you know what type of change was made and by whom. Word 2010 organizes the changes into the following categories:
Main document changes and comments
Header and footer changes
Header and footer text box changes
Footnote changes
Endnote changes
Styles. Creates an alphabetical list of styles defined in the current document. Each list entry includes the style definition, such as formatting attributes, style for the following paragraph, based on style, style type, and so forth.
Note
For more information about creating and using styles, see Chapter 12.
AutoText Entries. Prints a complete alphabetical list of the AutoText entries available to the document that are stored in any global templates or the current document template.
Key Assignments. Prints an alphabetical list of custom shortcut keys created for standard Word commands and other functions such as macros and styles. If no custom shortcut keys or macros are included in the document, the printout includes the document location and the text Global Key Assignments to indicate that only the global shortcuts are in effect for the document.
Note
For more information about working with macros, see Chapter 28.
In Word, you can print more than one document page on a single sheet of paper. This feature helps you to better see a document’s layout and can be used to present information in a visually concise manner (it’s not a bad way to save a few sheets of paper, either). You’ll find that printing several pages per sheet is similar to previewing multiple pages. (The difference is that the printed pages generally provide a clearer view of the pages’ contents.) When you print multiple pages on a single sheet of paper, Word shrinks the pages to the appropriate size for printing purposes. To set up this arrangement, follow these steps:
On the File tab, click Print (or press Ctrl+P) to display the Print view.
Click the last setting in the Settings area then click the item that represents what you want to print (see Figure 14-11). You can print up to 16 pages per sheet.
Just as you can reduce and enlarge copies when you use a photocopier, you can reduce and enlarge your print output in Word by using the Scale To Paper Size option at the bottom of the Page Per Sheet setting. Scaling documents can come in handy when you are printing on nonstandard paper sizes or when you want to shrink your output slightly to ensure that information isn’t cut off at the margins.
The key to scaling documents is to use the Scale To Paper Size list, which is located at the bottom of the Settings list in Print view. The Scale To Paper Size list includes a variety of sizing options including Letter, Legal, Executive, A4, various envelope sizes, index cards, photo sizes, banners, and so forth. To view the list of options, click the Scale To Paper Size option. By default, the No Scaling option is selected.
In addition to the options available in the Print view, Word offers a number of other printing options, some of which were discussed earlier in this chapter. Two sets of primary printing options are found in Word Options. Common print options are found in the Display area; others can be found in the Advanced area, as shown in Figure 14-12.
Figure 14-12. You can set additional print options in the Advanced and Display tabs of the Word Options dialog box.
Some noteworthy printing options are also found in the Compatibility Options as well. Table 14-1 provides the location of each option along with a detailed summary.
Tip
To view the effect of the majority of printing options on a document prior to printing, preview the document in Print view.
Table 14-1. Additional Printing Options in Word Options
Option | Description |
|---|---|
Printing Options in the Display Section | |
Print Drawings Created In Word | Prints drawing objects, such as shapes and text boxes, as well as floating objects, such as images and embedded objects. If this option is turned off, white space is used in place of inline drawing objects, floating objects are suppressed, and inline objects, such as an embedded Excel workbook, are printed. |
Print Background Colors And Images | Prints page colors and other effects, such as images added using the Page Color command on the Page Layout tab. |
Print Document Properties | Prints the document properties on a separate page whenever you print the document. |
Print Hidden Text | Prints text formatted as hidden text even if it is not currently displayed in the document. |
Update Fields Before Printing | Updates all fields—such as cross references, Tables of Contents, calculations, and so on—in a document before printing. This option also updates most fields when switching to Print Preview. |
Update Linked Data Before Printing | Updates data linked from other documents such as a linked and embedded Excel workbook before printing. |
Printing Options in the Advanced Section | |
Use Draft Quality | Prints a document with minimal formatting if your printer supports draft-quality output. |
Print In Background | Enables you to continue working while print tasks are being processed (although you might notice a slight slowing in response times as you work). |
Print Pages In Reverse Order | Prints a document in reverse order, beginning with the document’s last page. |
Print XML Tags | Prints the XML tags embedded in the content of a document marked with XML tags provided by the attached schema. |
Print Field Codes Instead Of Their Values | Prints the field code, such as
|
Allow Fields Containing Tracked Changes to Update Before Printing | Prints the most recently updated field contents in a form or document with content controls. |
Prints the front of each sheet when printing on a printer that does not have duplex capability. Pages print in reverse order so that when you flip the stack to print on the back, the pages print in the proper order. | |
Print On The Back Of The Sheet For Duplex Printing | Prints the back of each sheet when printing on a printer that does not have duplex capability. Pages print in ascending order so that they correspond to a stack of pages that are printed on the front in reverse order. |
Scale Content For A4 Or 8.5 x 11” Paper Sizes | Enables automatic switching between standard 8.5-by-11-inch paper and the narrower, slightly longer A4 paper size used in most countries. This option is selected by default. |
Default Tray | Specifies which printer tray should be used by default. For more information about selecting paper sources, see Chapter 3. |
Print Postscript Over Text | Prints PostScript code (such as
watermarks or overprinted text) when a document contains
|
Print Only the Data From A Form | Prints only the text entered into a document using form fields, relative to their placement in the document. Used for printing on pre-printed forms. |
Compatibility Options (Located at the bottom of the Advanced area in the Layout Options) | |
Print Body Text Before Header/Footer | Prints the main text layer before the Header/Footer layer, which allows for the process of PostScript codes in the text layer. This functionality is the reverse of the default order. |
Print Colors As Black On Noncolor Printers | Prints all colors as black, instead of using grayscale, when using a noncolor printer. |
Use Printer Metrics To Lay Out Document | Word uses built-in metrics to lay out the document, as opposed to information from the printer driver. This option allows your document to look the same on the screen no matter what printer driver is installed; however, it still prints using information provided by the printer driver. |
On occasion, you might want to print a single envelope or an individual sheet of labels instead of a document. If you have several envelopes or labels to print, you might want to consider using Mail Merge instead. When you want to print a simple envelope or a set of labels, on the Mailings tab, click either Envelopes or Labels to open the Envelopes and Labels dialog box, as shown in Figure 14-13.
Note
For information about conducting mail merges, see Chapter 26.
Figure 14-13. The Envelopes And Labels dialog box enables you to complete simple envelope and label print jobs.
Tip
If the address block is not automatically displayed in the Envelopes And Labels dialog box or if you have multiple address blocks, select the address block prior to displaying the Envelopes And Labels dialog box.
The Envelopes tab includes a number of quick options that you can set before printing an envelope. Here’s an overview:
Print. Starts the print process, so make sure to set your other options and load the printer before clicking this button.
Add To Document. Adds the envelope to the current document so that the envelope and document can be printed together.
Options. Displays the Envelope Options dialog box in which you can choose the envelope size, font, and printer feed specifications. You can also click the Preview envelope image or the Feed preview image to access the Envelope Options dialog box.
E-Postage Properties. Enables you to work with an e-postage account if you’ve previously set up an electronic postage add-in from the Web.
Cancel. Closes the Envelopes and Labels dialog box without saving settings.
To print an envelope, simply follow these steps:
On the Mailings tab, click Envelopes.
If necessary, type the recipient address in the Delivery Address box or click Insert Address next to the Delivery Address label. If you click Insert Address (above the Delivery Address text box), choose a profile (such as Outlook) and select the recipient in the Select Name dialog box.
Type a return address in the Return Address box or click Insert Address next to the Return Address label, and then select the return address you want to use. Or, if you prefer not to include a return address, click the Omit check box.
If you want to choose a nonstandard size envelope or change the font used in the address blocks, click Options or click image in the Preview area to display the Envelope Options dialog box. Select the envelope size and font you want to use and click OK.
If you’ve subscribed to an e-postage service and want to add electronic postage to the envelope, click E-Postage Properties to set postage options. Select the Add Electronic Postage check box to enable the feature for the current envelope.
Ensure that your printer is ready and the envelope is inserted as shown in the Feed area of the dialog box.
Click Print. If you want Word to save the created envelope with the document, click Add To Document.
Instead of printing directly on envelopes, you might want to print mailing labels. Word provides an easy way for you to print labels in a wide range of shapes and sizes. If you want to print a single label or a few labels—not enough to warrant using mail merge—you can use the Labels tab in the Envelopes and Labels dialog box to print labels quickly. Using the options on the Labels tab, you can enter the label information, choose the way you want the label printed (a single label or a whole page of labels), and make selections about the label size and e-postage. Here’s how to print labels:
On the Mailings tab, click Labels.
The Envelopes And Labels dialog box opens with the Labels tab displayed, as shown in Figure 14-14.
By default, Word prints a full page of labels. If you want to print only one, click the Single Label option in the Print area.
The selected label is shown in the Label area. If you want to select a different label, click the graphic in the Label area or click Options to make a new selection. (Both actions open the Label Options dialog box.) Click OK after you select your label size and feed setting.
When you finish entering your choices, ensure that your printer is loaded correctly and click Print, or click New Document to create a full page of labels in a new document.
Tip
To create a document with blank labels, leave the Address text box blank, select the Full Page Of Same Label option, and then click New Document.
This method also enables you to type several addresses and print them on a sheet of labels instead of printing individual labels one at a time in the Envelopes and Labels dialog box. If you’ve already used labels on the sheet, simply start your first address in the column and row that corresponds to the next available label. Note that depending on the way your printer feeds a sheet and the type of labels you are using, feeding a label sheet multiple times could result in a printer jam.