SetDefaultPrinter function

Article
01/07/2021

The SetDefaultPrinter function sets the printer name of the default printer for the current user on the local computer.

Syntax

BOOL SetDefaultPrinter(
  _In_ LPCTSTR pszPrinter
);

Parameters

pszPrinter [in]

A pointer to a null-terminated string containing the default printer name. For a remote printer connection, the name format is **\\server\**printername. For a local printer, the name format is printername.

If this parameter is NULL or an empty string, that is, "", SetDefaultPrinter will select a default printer from one of the installed printers. If a default printer already exists, calling SetDefaultPrinter with a NULL or an empty string in this parameter might change the default printer.

Return value

If the function succeeds, the return value is a nonzero value.

If the function fails, the return value is zero.

Remarks

When using this method, you must specify a valid printer, driver, and port. If they are invalid, the APIs do not fail but the result is not defined. This could cause other programs to set the printer back to the previous valid printer. You can use EnumPrinters to retrieve the printer name, driver name, and port name of all available printers.

Note

This is a blocking or synchronous function and might not return immediately. How quickly this function returns depends on run-time factors such as network status, print server configuration, and printer driver implementation factors that are difficult to predict when writing an application. Calling this function from a thread that manages interaction with the user interface could make the application appear to be unresponsive.

Requirements

Requirement	Value
Minimum supported client	Windows 2000 Professional [desktop apps only]
Minimum supported server	Windows 2000 Server [desktop apps only]
Header	Winspool.h (include Windows.h)
Library	Winspool.lib
DLL	Winspool.drv
Unicode and ANSI names	SetDefaultPrinterW (Unicode) and SetDefaultPrinterA (ANSI)