Uncle_DaveO

The Print Selection option may not be available with some older printer drivers. It has become so common with newer printers that I'm afraid we've all just assumed everyone has that feature. It is a "standard Windows" feature, but won't appear if your printer (driver) doesn't support it.

There are also a few programs that invoke their own "print rules," that may not offer the option to print just a selection. It is not too uncommon, for example, to find pdf files that have had a variety of "locks" applied to make your life more interesting.

Just to be perfectly clear, the "Print Driver" is the software that is loaded when you "install" a printer.

Updated drivers are frequently available for free download from the printer manufacturers, so you may want to take a look at whether there is a more "modern" one for your printer, if you don't get a "print selection" option.

If you go to Start - Settings - Printers, or just to Control Panel - Printers, you should see a list of installed printers (maybe just one). If you right-click on one of the listed printers, and select "Properties," you should get a small window, with a bunch of "tabs" along the top. Select the "Details" tab, and it will tell you what printer you are using and what "port" it's connected to; and in a second box, what printer driver you are using.

You can change to another driver here - although Windows may ask you for your "installation disk" or for where to look for your downloaded driver.

You can generally use any driver that "speaks a language" that your printer recognizes.

If you don't want to risk upsetting your existing printer setup, you can look at the "details" tab to be sure what printer you've said you have, and then go back to "Printers" and click the "Add New" option. Install a different but similar printer "to the same port," and you'll get the driver for whatever one you install.

With more than one "printer" available, when you select "File-Print" you should get a box that has a "Properties" or a "Printer" button, or both. If you click there before you continue, you will get the option to change which "printer" the job is sent to.

If the print driver you are using has the capability, "File-Print" should offer the options "Print All," "Print Current Page," "Print pages from x to y," and "Print Selection." Note that if you haven't selected something, the Print Selection will be "grayed out."

If you print by clicking the "Print" icon on the tool bar, you don't usually get any choices. Whatever is set as your default printer will get the job immediately.


Sorefingers - The right click on the desktop should work in Win95 or Win98, but you have to be aware that it is "context sensitive." If you click on "something," it will try to give you things that apply to whatever was where you clicked. If you click on a "blank" space (sometimes hard to find on some web pages) you should get the "print" option. What looks like blank space may actually be part of "something," just invisible there. Clicking "print," if it appears, should give you the same options as going to the top and clicking "File" and then "Print" on the menu that rolls down.

This all probably sounds trivial to those who do it, and like a heap of b.s. to those who haven't figured it all out; but it does usually work if you get set up in "standard" configuration - or something that approaches it.

John