My WordPad Won't Print

By Quinten Plummer

While not as robust as Microsoft Word, Microsoft's WordPad utility provides you with all of the essential features needed in a word processor. While Microsoft Word is more robust than WordPad, the two word processors send their print jobs to the same location: your operating system's print queue. Resolving WordPad print errors boils down to correcting communication issues between WordPad and your print queue.

Open your document in WordPad. Click on the "File" heading at the top of the program and select the "Print" option from the drop-down menu that appears. If your printer isn't listed in the Print menu, click on the "Add Printer" option to add your printer. If your printer does show up in the "Print" menu, click on it and try to print your document.

Press the "Cancel" button on your printer to stop all of computer's print jobs. Reset the printer if you are still unable to print the document -- turn it off and power it on again.

Empty your operating system's print queue, if the file still doesn't print. Click on the "Start" button and select the "Run" option from the Start menu. Type "Control printers" into the Run box and click "OK." Right-click on your printer's icon in the "Control Printers" menu, and select "Open" to launch the print queue. Click "Cancel All Documents." Launch WordPad and try to print your document again.

Open an alternative document editor, like Word or Notepad. Type some text into the editor and try to print it. If this alternative document prints, attempt to print the original WordPad document. If nothing will print from your computer, reinstall the printer.

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