Troubleshooting when the Windows default printer changes

This page explains why Windows changes default printers and how to manage this behavior.

When using PaperCut in your organization, you might notice that the user selected default printer on Windows client machines changes unexpectedly to a different printer.

While PaperCut Print Deploy includes a feature to set a default printer, Windows itself manages default printers by design.

Why Windows requires a default printer

Windows applications which can generate documents call the Print System APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to query the default printer. Applications use the default printer’s settings to determine the page layout and paper size when a user creates a new document. 

Due to this system requirement, Windows automatically enforces a default printer selection.

How Windows manages default printers

Windows uses specific rules to select and maintain a default printer depending on system configuration:

• Default printer selection on initial setup: When the operating system printers are added to a Windows machine (typically Microsoft XPS Document Writer or Microsoft Print to PDF), Windows sets one as the default. When you add a physical printer using the Add Printer Wizard, you can change this selection.
• Automatic management feature: In Windows 10, Microsoft introduced the Let Windows manage my default printer setting. When enabled, Windows automatically changes the default printer to the last printer used at your current location. Switching printers even once causes Windows to set that printer as the new default.
• Windows sets a new default printer when the current default printer is deleted from the operating system.

Impact on PaperCut Hive and PaperCut Print Deploy

If you use PaperCut Print Deploy to set a default printer in a Print Deploy Zone, you must set Let Windows manage my default printer to Off. Leaving the Windows setting enabled causes Windows to override the Print Deploy selection whenever a user prints to a queue which is not set as default. 

When Let Windows manage my default printer is set to Off, Windows maintains the user-selected default unless the print queue is removed or renamed.

In PaperCut Hive or PaperCut Print Deploy environments, user-selected defaults can be removed or reset under the following conditions:

• A printer queue is deleted due to a name or settings change in PaperCut Hive or PaperCut Print Deploy.
• A user receives a new Print Deploy Zone configuration.
• Multiple users log onto the same client system managed by PaperCut Print Deploy.
• A user connects remotely to a workstation.

Avoid unnecessary configuration changes for Papercut Hive and Print Deploy queues

Any setting change results in the removal of the queue, then reinstallation and application of the updated settings to the new queue. Updating settings on an existing queue will lead to Windows registry corruption causing a failure when using the queue.

Note: If a user-selected default printer is removed, Windows automatically selects a new default printer. Even if PaperCut re-adds the original printer later, Windows does not restore it as the default printer; the user must manually select it again.

Best practices for cloning print queues in Print Deploy

When cloning print queues, select a reference machine that is the same operating system version as a majority of the systems which will be running Print Deploy client software.  Do not use an active Windows print server as a reference machine.

That’s because print servers experience frequent changes, and printer devmodes (binary registry values representing printer settings) update regularly. These changes force a print queue refresh on client systems, which removes the previous print queue with the older settings and creates a new print queue. This print queue replacement can remove the user’s selected default printer. Windows is now in control and will determine the new default print queue.

How does Windows choose the new default printer when needed?

When a user deletes the default printer, Windows automatically selects a new default printer under the following rules:

• Windows avoids setting the default to a virtual printer (that is, Print to PDF).

• Windows will select the last queue added prior to a Print Spooler restart.

• Windows will select the first queue of the z-ordered list after a Print Spooler restart.

   

Third-party software and Remote Desktop settings

Other software components can programmatically change the default printer:

• Third-party applications and drivers: Certain printer drivers or applications call SetDefaultPrinter methods to assign their own hardware as the default.
• Remote Desktop Services: By default, remote sessions can alter default printer assignments.

Tip: To prevent Remote Desktop sessions from changing default client printers, configure the Windows Group Policy setting below to Enabled:

Computer Configuration / Administrative Templates / Windows Components / Remote Desktop Session Host / Printer Redirection / Do not set default client printer to be default printer in a session

How to find out when the default printer has changed

The default printer changes are logged by Windows in PrintService / Admin event logs. PaperCut discusses the Event log location here: Windows Event Log

Summary of Windows default printer behavior

• Windows has required a default printer for over 30 years allowing applications to determine a default page size.
• If Let Windows manage my default printer is set to Off, Windows keeps the user-selected default until that print queue is removed or renamed.
• PaperCut Hive, Pocket, and Print Deploy cannot override core Windows printer management logic. If a default print queue is deleted during a PaperCut Hive or PaperCut Print Deploy print queue update, Windows assigns a new default printer.

Next steps

If you have additional questions about printer management behaviors, visit the PaperCutSupport Portal for further assistance.