Setting print spooler options
Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2
Setting print spooler options
Although you can control whether to use spooling or not, you'll typically want to spool documents you send to printing. Spooling documents expedites the printing process, and allows the application that sent the document to release control back to the user much faster. All the spooling options are set through the Advanced tab of the printer's property page. The following table shows other options you can set to affect how the spooler operates.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
Spool print documents so program finishes printing faster |
Either select this option or the Print directly to the printer option. If you choose this option, the documents spool. This option has two related options that you must choose between (see the next two options). |
Start printing after last page is spooled |
The printer does not print a document until it is completely spooled. This is useful for documents that are assigned a low priority. Documents that are assigned a higher priority start printing immediately. |
Start printing immediately |
The printer starts printing a document before it is completely spooled, which means it is printed sooner, and the application you are printing from releases control back to you faster. |
Print directly to the printer |
The document does not spool, which decreases printing time. Select this option only for a nonshared printer. This might be useful for other programs that use their own spooling process. |
Hold mismatched documents |
Documents that do not match the configuration of the printer are not printed. This prevents errors resulting from documents that use paper sizes different from letter size. |
Print spooled documents first |
A spooled document is printed before a partially spooled document. |
Keep documents after they are printed |
Documents remain in the print spooler after they are printed, and can be quickly resubmitted for printing. You must carefully watch for disk space if you choose this option. |
Enable advanced printing features |
When enabled, the document is rendered using metafile datatype (EMF) and advanced features such as Page Order, Booklet Printing, and Pages Per Sheet are available. If compatibility problems occur, try to disable this option. |
For more information, see Set printer properties.
If you choose to set different spooling options on the same printer for different groups of users, you need to set multiple logical printers for the same physical printer.