The Default Printer setting in Windows 10 isn’t what it used to be.  You may have recently found yourself printing a single document to a printer down the hall only to find that the next time you print a document, the printer down the hall – and not the one you print to ten times a day – is now your default printer.  There is nothing wrong with your computer.  In Windows 10, the Default Printer setting now translates into “last printer used.”  If wish to stop this from happening, scroll down to “Follow these steps.”

Why has Microsoft done this?  People are most productive when they work in blocks of time.  Microsoft found that when working on Accounting, people print to the Accounting printer – not just once, but over and over again during that period.  When they move on to the next task, their printer needs change.  Keeping the last used printer means fewer clicks and less frustration.  Of course, this doesn’t work for everyone – and that’s why they kept the option to turn it off (See below).

Follow these steps:

Click the Start menu in the bottom left

Click on Settings

Click on Devices

Click on Printers and Scanners

Set “Let Windows manage my default printer” to Off (you may have to scroll down)

This will make it so that Windows maintains the default printer you set up.  Windows will no longer change the settings every time that you connect to a new device.

Be on the lookout for more practical tips and tricks in the future.  It is our aim to educate our clients to create a better dialogue about using technology to make the greatest impact in your business. Knowing how to do something is useful, but knowing when to do something is a game-changer.  Let’s change the game together.