Changing the Default Printer on a Windows Workstation
Articles and Tips: tip
Novell, Inc.
01 May 2002
Changing default printer on a Windows workstation does not automatically change the printer that is used. This is actually a Windows bug, if you want to classify it as a bug. For example, you install two printers on your workstation (under Windows -> Settings -> Printers) such as Printer1 and Printer2.
If you have an application running in Windows and when it first started, the application saw Printer1 as the default printer (under Windows -> Settings -> Printers), then it will print to Printer1 as expected. But if you leave the application running, and change the default printer to Printer2 (under Windows -> Settings -> Printers), the application will still print to Printer1.
But if you close the application, change the default printer from Printer1 to Printer2 (under Windows -> Settings -> Printers), it will then print to Printer2 as expected. The gotcha is which printer the application detects as the default printer, and that is determined by what the application detects when it initially comes up.
* Originally published in Novell AppNotes
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