Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Including a Printer's Name in a Footer.

Including a Printer's Name in a Footer

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 6, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021


Abdul works in an office where he has access to five printers from his computer. When he prints a document, he wants the footer to contain the name of the printer on which the document was printed, as in "Printed on: HP LaserJet 1320."

Provided that the document is being sent to a specific printer and not to a printer pool to which all five printers belong, the necessary footer information can be added through the use of a macro. The reason that it cannot be done if the printers are in a pool is because divvying up the print jobs to individual printers in a print pool is done by Windows itself, not by Word.

For an example of a macro you could use, consider this one:

Sub AddPrinterName()
    Dim sPName As String

    ' Get the printer name
    sPName = Trim(Left(ActivePrinter, InStr(ActivePrinter, " on ")))

    ' Close any special pane
    If ActiveWindow.View.SplitSpecial <> wdPaneNone Then
        ActiveWindow.Panes(2).Close
    End If

    ' Activate print view
    If ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.Type = wdNormalView _
      Or ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.Type = wdOutlineView Then
        ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.Type = wdPrintView
    End If

    ' Open header/footer
    ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.SeekView = wdSeekCurrentPageHeader

    ' Switch to footer
    If Selection.HeaderFooter.IsHeader = True Then
        ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.SeekView = wdSeekCurrentPageFooter
    Else
        ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.SeekView = wdSeekCurrentPageHeader
    End If

    ' Insert text and printer
    Selection.TypeText Text:="Printed on: " & sPName

    ' Tidy up
    ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.SeekView = wdSeekMainDocument
End Sub

This macro will insert the active printer's name into the footer. You can, if desired, trigger this macro from the DocumentBeforePrint event and you'll be sure that the footer has the required information in it whenever you choose to print. If you do so, of course, you'll want to make sure that you modify the macro slightly so that it selects any previously placed footer information and deletes it before inserting the new footer information.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9771) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Including a Printer's Name in a Footer.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Canceling Printing

Need to stop the printing of a long document? Here's how to stop Word, along with why stopping Word may not be the only ...

Discover More

Returning a Worksheet Name

Need to know the name of the current worksheet? You can use the CELL function as the basis for finding this information ...

Discover More

Adjusting Space Before

If you need to adjust the space that appears before a paragraph, there are several ways you can approach the adjustment. ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Floating Footer

Need some specific text to appear just below the end of the text on the last page of your document? You can accomplish ...

Discover More

Changing the Type of Page Numbers Used in Headers or Footers

Like to have your page numbers displayed using different types of numbers? Here's how you can choose from the several ...

Discover More

Paragraph Numbers in Headers or Footers

If your documents routinely use numbered paragraphs, you may want to place the number of the page's first paragraph in ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 9 - 8?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.