Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Controlling the Printer in a Macro.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 6, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021
Many of the printers available on the market these days have some amazing capabilities. Most of these capabilities are accessible by displaying the Properties dialog box for the printer. As you are developing your own macros, you may wonder if it is possible to access these capabilities from within the macro.
Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that this can be done because the printer drivers don't typically make the features of printers available in a way that can be understood and accessed from the object model used by VBA. (Boy, was that a mouthful!) Instead, you would have to use the actual Windows API, and even then, not all features may be accessible.
There are some workarounds that can be used, however. You can use VBA to select different printers to which you can direct your output. This means that you can create different printer definitions—in Windows—and then use those definitions as the target for your output.
For example, you could use the Printers folder in Windows to set up a printer named HP Regular Paper. That printer definition can be set to print on regular paper, by default. You can then set up another printer definition named HP Glossy Paper and set it to print, by default, to a tray that may contain glossy paper. With the two printers defined, you can then use VBA to switch between the two. For instance, if you wanted to print to the printer definition for the glossy paper, you could use the following in your macro:
Application.ActivePrinter = "HP Glossy Paper"
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9178) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Controlling the Printer in a Macro.
Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!
Excel doesn't allow for as robust of headers and footers as Word does. Even so, there are some things you can do to ...
Discover MoreIt used to be quite difficult to produce a PDF file from an Excel workbook. Times change, though, and you now have a ...
Discover MoreNeed to print just a portion of a worksheet? It's easy to do if you follow the steps in this tip.
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2022-01-20 18:20:16
Sarah V
How does one go about creating a printer definition for a specific set of presets, as noted above (the HP Regular Paper and HP Glossy)?
Is it something that one does through printer properties, or are you basically adding the same physical printer multiple times, each time setting the preferences to what you want?
Thanks
Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here:
Comments