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How do I get the printer prompt to come up so I can select a different printer?

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I have to use a different browser to print, because I print most frequently from two different locations. Whenever I hit "print" in Firefox, it just prints to whatever the default printer is, which is at home, instead of prompting me to choose a printer, then letting me select my work or home printer. It is very annoying to have to use two different browsers. Please advise on how to get the printer selection dialog to appear.

I have to use a different browser to print, because I print most frequently from two different locations. Whenever I hit "print" in Firefox, it just prints to whatever the default printer is, which is at home, instead of prompting me to choose a printer, then letting me select my work or home printer. It is very annoying to have to use two different browsers. Please advise on how to get the printer selection dialog to appear.

All Replies (4)

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  • Click on "Open menu" in the upper-right hand corner
  • Then click on "Print"
  • Then click on "Print..."
  • Select the name of the printer from the drop-down menu

I hope this helps.

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On Windows, normally you would see a print dialog which lets you select a printer and change its properties, and specify the print range.

If you are not getting that dialog:

(1) Check whether a hidden setting has been added

(A) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button promising to be careful.

(B) In the search box above the list, type or paste silent and pause while the list is filtered

(C) If there is a preference named print.always_print_silent that is "user set" to true you can cancel this using either:

  • double-click it to switch it to false
  • right-click > Reset, to remove this preference when you close the about:config tab

Note: If the "status" of this preference is "Locked", your IT department may have taken control of this setting.

(2) Check for an extension that modifies printing

For example, Seamless Print can bypass the Print dialog.

Open the Add-ons page using either:

  • Ctrl+Shift+a
  • "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons

In the left column, click Extensions. Then check the list on the right side for any possible culprits.

Modified by jscher2000 - Support Volunteer

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There was no "print silent" command. Also, I only have Norton toolbar and Norton Vulnerability protection, and both of those are disabled.

Selecting the print from the menu just seems to print the screen, and not the flash media that I need printed. I use a website that runs all of its results in flash media player, and has a print icon embedded. When I click this, nothing happens.

Chrome has no problem printing these results, so I am constantly having to switch between two browsers. Furthermore, Chrome doesn't allow me to attach items in Outlook due to some protocol, so I am stuck using 2 browsers that only do half the work.

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jcruzthe1andonly said

I use a website that runs all of its results in flash media player, and has a print icon embedded. When I click this, nothing happens.

I didn't understand that before. Flash apparently is bypassing Firefox's normal print method.

As a workaround, are you allowed to change your default printer at the Windows level when printing at home?

If not, or for a better solution, someone more familiar with the internal workings of Flash would be needed to answer this question.