To see what documents are currently printing or waiting to print on your Windows PC, you need to access the print queue for your specific printer.
Accessing Your Printer's Print Queue
The easiest and most direct way to view what's printing on Windows is through the Settings application. Here are the steps, based on the standard Windows process:
- Select Start (the Windows icon) on your taskbar.
- Open Settings. You can usually find this as a gear icon in the Start menu, or you can search for "Settings".
- In the Settings window, select Bluetooth & devices (or simply Devices in older versions of Windows).
- From the left-hand menu or the main options, select Printers & scanners. This will display a list of printers connected to your computer.
- Locate your specific printer from the list.
- Select your printer name.
- Choose Open print queue.
This action will open a new window showing all the documents currently being processed by that printer or waiting in line to be printed.
What You See in the Print Queue
The print queue window provides crucial information about your printing jobs:
- Document Name: The title of the file being printed.
- Status: Indicates if the document is printing, paused, error, etc.
- Owner: The user account that sent the print job.
- Pages: The number of pages in the document.
- Size: The file size of the print job.
- Submitted: The time and date the job was sent.
You can often manage jobs from this window, such as cancelling or pausing them.
Quick Summary
Here's a quick overview of the path to the print queue:
| Step | Action | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open Settings | Start Menu |
| 2 | Go to Bluetooth & devices | Settings |
| 3 | Select Printers & scanners | Bluetooth & devices |
| 4 | Choose your printer | Printers & scanners |
| 5 | Click Open print queue | Your Printer Options |
Following these steps allows you to monitor the status of your printing tasks and manage them effectively on your Windows computer.
