Printing can be such a finicky process. Not only can it be tough to know what the right way to print is, you might often run into problems connecting to printers, especially if they're wireless.
That's why I prefer to print to PDF and store digitally whenever I can. But sometimes you do need to print print a lot of stuff -- such as in an office environment -- and the Windows printing queue can get jammed.
When that happens, here are three methods you can use to clear the queue and get it unstuck.
Method 1: System Tray
In the system tray, double-click the printer icon to bring up the printing queue. Go to Printer in the menu, then select Cancel All Documents. Or right-click on individual print jobs and select Cancel.
That's it! This should work in almost all cases.
Method 2: Devices & Printers
Open the Start Menu and search for and launch Devices and Printers in the Control Panel. Under the Printers category, find your printer and right-click on it and select See what's printing.
At this point, the rest is the same as Method 1 -- you can cancel all jobs or cancel individual jobs in the same exact way.
Method 3: Settings App
Open the Start Menu and search for the Settings app. Navigate to Devices > Printers & scanners and find your printer in the list. Click on it to bring up extra options, and select Open queue.
At this point, the rest is the same as Method 1 -- you can cancel all jobs or cancel individual jobs in the same exact way.
Whichever method you employ, as soon as the print queue clears, you can go ahead and try printing again. It should work without a hitch.
How often does your printing queue get stuck? Which method do you prefer to use? Got any printer-related tips for us? Let us know in a comment below!
Image Credit: Christiaan Colen via Flickr