Originally published at: https://www.onlyoffice.com/blog/2023/03/how-to-print-word-document/
If you need to know how to print a Word document with ease, you have come to the right place. This article teaches you how to preview documents and print them with a few clicks if you have a printer connected to your laptop or computer.
The best thing about printing DOCX files, Word’s native format for text documents, is that you don’t have to use the Microsoft office package to perform this task. You can print Word documents in other office suites, such as ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors.
Let’s find out how to print from Word files using the print preview feature.
How to print preview in Word documents?
Print preview is a useful feature that allows you to see what your Word document will look like if printed. Using it, you can get the best results at the first attempt, which significantly reduces paper consumption.
Let’s take a look at how to print Word documents using the ONLYOFFICE editor as an example.
To get started, run ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, a free desktop client for Windows, Linux and macOS, and open your document. If you are ready to print it, go to the File tab and choose Print.
Alternatively, you can access the printing settings by clicking the Print file icon in the upper left corner of the program interface or using the Ctrl+P key combination.
Now you can see what your printed document will look like. If you are not satisfied with what you see, you can change the following options:
1. Print range
This option allows you to specify the pages that you want to print. You can print the current page only, all the pages of your document, or define the custom ones by entering the corresponding numbers in the pages field.
2. Page size
By default, the ONLYOFFICE editor uses the A4 format, 21 cm x 29.7 cm. If you wish, you can select another format for your document, from A0 to A6, and even establish a custom page size.
3. Page orientation
This option shows the way in which a page of your Word document is oriented for normal viewing. You can choose either Portrait or Landscape.
4. Margins
A margin is an area between the edge of a page of your document and the text on this page. In ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, you can select one of the ready-to-use presets or establish your own margins.
After you are done with configuring the options, you can click the Print button if your document looks the way it’s supposed to. You will see the standard box dialogue where you will be able to choose the required printing device.
Do you need more flexible printing settings? They are also available in the system box dialogue and depend on your printer. Using such parameters, you can print complex files. For example, you can even set up how to print a booklet in Word, apply colour correction or activate the economy print mode.
When you are ready with the settings, click Print. Congratulations! Now you have successfully printed your DOCX documents without using Microsoft Word.
What is Quick print?
Another useful feature that you might find helpful is Quick print. This feature is available starting from version 7.3 of ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors and is used to print Word documents in the default print settings within seconds. The corresponding button is located in the upper left corner of the program interface, next to the Print file option.
Note: Quick print is available on Windows and Linux
When you click the Quick print button, your Word document will be printed without any additional dialogue windows. Some of the settings will be taken from the previous printing setup, and the rest will be used by default. For example, the printer from the previous printing session will be used, and the page range will be set to “all pages”.
When you use this feature for the first time, you will see a warning message:
If you don’t want to see this message again, check the corresponding option in the dialogue window and click Yes. Your document will be printed immediately.
It would be a wise strategy to print your first Word document after configuring the printing parameters using Print preview and print all other files using Quick print.
How to print Word documents without comments?
If you often collaborate in real time with your colleagues or friends, your Word documents might have comments or suggestions from other users on them. That’s why it is sometimes necessary to make sure that your DOCX files are printed without comments.
In ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, you can easily print your original Word document without any comments in the text. To do so, you need to choose the required display mode before printing. Open the Collaboration tab on the top toolbar, click Display mode and choose the Original option. This display mode allows you to see the original text without any suggestions or modifications.
When the Original display mode is enabled, printing Word documents without comments is as easy as a piece of cake.
Print Word documents with ONLYOFFICE
Download ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors for your operating system for free or access the ONLYOFFICE suite in the cloud to be able to print Word documents with ease: