Save AS PDF conflict with printer - classic scenario

hi there,

Just wanted to check in on this one... i've observed that when saving as PDF with both Office2016 and Office2021, if you have your normal default printer selected, say an HP Deskjet or whatever, then when you save as PDF you get this dialogue box "Connecting to Printer" - even though you didn't really want to print but just get a PDF. Until you click on Cancel then it's stuck. If you do that again in another occasion, such dialogue box doesn't appear again, just once.



Was wondering if there's another workaround, other than selecting the PDF printer as default printer... i've done it on both computers and now works nicely, no more - interim "Connecting to Printer" menu, although it isn't handy when you have to really print and you need to select the actual Deskjet or whatever, etc. 🙃

With this setting



Then the SAVE as PDF works as it should.

Attached images. Thank you

AndreTen said:

Was surprised to see this is still an issue. There are some similar problems from 2017 or so... and even here
tenforums | converting-word-pdf-issues.html

One solution is to use Export (to pdf) from Office, others:

- reinstalling print to pdf feature
- get new existing printer drivers
- install some known printer (even you don't have one)


or like you already did, set the print to pdf as default

thanks, i didn't know about the Export Menu, saw that now.

At work, I have a standard printer selected and I always use "Save to PDF". It works fine for me, no issues with popping up a printer dialog and what-not. Although I do have Adobe Acrobat Standard installed. I don't think that makes a difference, because I don't use Acrobat to make PDF files in Office, I only combine files with it to produce a finished product.

I am using Office 2019 if that matters. Office 365 on my Win 11 machine works the same way. No glitches at all and I have a default printer selected for it as well.

I wonder why your machine is doing that?