Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. 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: Printing via Macro without Messages.

Printing via Macro without Messages

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 23, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365


Vidar is trying to print a Word document by automation. When printing, Word interrupts the print job, displaying a dialog box that indicates the document is too wide for the selected printer and asking if it should be printed anyway. Vidar wonders if there is a way to suppress this notification programmatically and always print anyway.

Perhaps the easiest way is to simply turn off notifications just before you start to print. Simply add this line to your macro:

Application.DisplayAlerts = False

This turns off the alerts (in this case, the unwanted dialog box). You can later, after the printing is done, set the DisplayAlerts property back to True so that regular notifications occur.

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 (11573) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Printing via Macro without Messages.

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

Turning on Large Icons in a Macro

Word includes the ability to display toolbar icons in two sizes: regular and large. You can turn on the large icons by ...

Discover More

Jumping to Styles in the Task Pane

Mouse versus keyboard selection of styles in Word.

Discover More

Hiding and Unhiding Rows

When building a worksheet, you may need to hide some of the rows or unhide other, previously hidden, rows. It's easy to ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! An easy-to-understand guide to the more advanced features available in the Microsoft 365 version of Word. Enhance the quality of your documents and boost productivity in any field with this in-depth resource. Complete your Word-related tasks more efficiently as you unlock lesser-known tools and learn to quickly access the features you need. Check out Microsoft 365 Word For Professionals For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Printing the Navigation Pane

The Navigation pane can be a handy tool for seeing the overall organization of your document and easily moving to ...

Discover More

Printing without Headings

One way to use heading styles is to create a story outline. When it comes time to print the story, though, you may not ...

Discover More

Booklet Printing in Word

Need to create a booklet with Word? Depending on your version, it could be as easy as changing how you print your final ...

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 four less than 5?

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.