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Manlyboots907's avatar
Manlyboots907
Copper Contributor
Aug 19, 2022
Solved

Shortcut for adding a printer

Maybe my keywords are too generic.  

The problem is simple, I want to have a shortcut command to add a new printer wizard, like the "The printer that I want isn't listed" when in device settings.  Like a control panel command.

The issue is that when I go to add a printer from device settings, it hides this link from me until it searches for all the known printers, which for me is ALOT, and is annoying.  I want to open it directly.

thoughts?

  • This sort of work, it still searches in the background but I think it takes you where you want to be: rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /il

4 Replies

  • FranciscoKSmith's avatar
    FranciscoKSmith
    Copper Contributor

    To create a shortcut for directly accessing the "Add a printer" wizard without going through the initial search process, you can use a command that directly opens the wizard. Here's how you can do it:

    1. Right-click on the desktop or in a folder where you want to create the shortcut.
    2. Select "New" and then "Shortcut."
    3. In the location field of the shortcut wizard, enter the following command:

     

    control.exe /name Microsoft.DevicesAndPrinters /page PrinterAddPrinter

     

    1. Click "Next."
    2. Enter a name for the shortcut (e.g., "Add Printer") and click "Finish."

    Now, whenever you double-click on this shortcut, it will directly open the "Add a printer" wizard without going through the initial search process. This should save you time and bypass the annoyance of searching for known printers first.

     

    • Manlyboots907's avatar
      Manlyboots907
      Copper Contributor
      No joy on this one, i get an error. "windows cannot find"
  • PurpleTentacle's avatar
    PurpleTentacle
    Copper Contributor
    This sort of work, it still searches in the background but I think it takes you where you want to be: rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /il
    • Manlyboots907's avatar
      Manlyboots907
      Copper Contributor
      This will help, but not exactly what I was looking for. Worth a giant thank you though is that the command takes the /? and the help looks very impressive. Thank you again 🙂

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