Overview

Using the default print preview feature in browsers simplifies basic printing tasks, requiring no advanced functions. However, it also brings more clicking when it comes to more complex printing needs, it takes more steps to get to the printer driver printing preferences. With the recent transition to Windows 11 and Mac systems with Chromium-based browsers setup, compatibility issues have emerged, making print previews less reliable and potentially causing various printing issues, such as the most common issue is not printing anything at all.

Most of the following task require admin privilege. With each Windows update, your settings, especially those modified in the registry, may be reset or changed. You might need to reapply registry method after a Windows update.

How To-

Chromium base browser

Windows OS:

Method 1 - GUI

First, locate the shortcut for your preferred Chromium-based browser, such as Google Chrome, Brave or Edge. Some of the locations can be found: (or simply modify one location and copy to others)

Desktop:
C:\Users\%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\Chromium.lnk

Taskbar:
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar\Chromium.lnk

Start Menu (System):
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Chromiumin.ink

Start Menu(User):
C:\Users\%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Chromium.lnk
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Chromium.lnk

Quick Launch:
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\Chromium.lnk

Right-click on the shortcut and choose "Properties" from the menu that appears.

Within the Properties dialog box, you'll find a field labeled "Target." After the existing text in this field, add a space.

To customize Chrome's print behavior, you can add one of the following options to the end of the Target field:


--enable-print-preview: This option enables Chrome's print preview feature.
--disable-print-preview: This option disables Chrome's print preview, utilizing the Windows print dialog instead.
--kiosk-printing: With this option, all print dialogs are bypassed, and printing occurs directly to the Windows default printer, with no confirmation.
Remember, these modifications only apply to shortcuts and won't work if you directly launch the browser's executable program.


After adding the desired option, click "Apply" and then "OK" to save your changes. This applies to most Chromium-based browsers, with Google Chrome used here as an example.

Alternatively, you can also launch by using the 'Run' program dialog box (WIN+R) to apply it once:

such as: chrome.exe --disable-print-preview or msedge.exe --disable-print-preview

Method 2 (Professional or Enterprise version) - Group Policy

Another way to do this is to do it by the group policy template:

  1. Download the Group Policy Template:
  2. Unzip the Contents:
    • Extract the contents of the downloaded file on the domain controller.
  3. Open the "Configuration" Folder:
    • Navigate to the unzipped folder and open the "Configuration" or "windows" directory.
  4. Open the "admx" Folder:
    • In the folder, locate and open the "admx" folder.
  5. Copy the ADMX File and Language Folder:
    • Copy the browser-specific ADMX file (e.g., Chrome.admx, msedge.admx, Brave.admx) and the appropriate language folder (e.g., en-US) into your PolicyDefinitions folder, typically located at: C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions
  6. Open Group Policy Management:
    • Launch the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) or gpedit.msc on your domain controller.
  7. Select or Create a Group Policy Object (GPO):
    • Choose the policy you want to use to push the configuration for the browser or create a new GPO.
  8. Navigate to the Policy Settings:
    • Go to: Computer Configuration > Policies > Administrative Templates > [Browser Name] > Printing Replace [Browser Name] with the specific browser you are configuring (e.g., Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave).
  9. Configure the "Disable Print Preview" Setting:
    • In the Printing section, double-click on "Disable Print Preview."
    • Set the policy to "Enabled."
  10. Save the Policy:
    • Click "OK" to save your changes.
Method 3 (Microsoft Edge) - Registry Editor

Open Command Prompt as Administrator, copy and paste the following command into the Command Prompt and press Enter to disable browser print preview:

reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge" /v UseSystemPrintDialog /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

If needed enable browser print preview again, change 1 to 0 to zero.

Here is a .zip file for you to download that accomplishes the same task.

Mac OS:

Google Chrome:

  1. Quit Google Chrome:
    • Ensure that Google Chrome is completely closed before proceeding.
  2. Open Terminal:
    • Use Spotlight Search (the magnifying glass icon in the top-right corner of the screen) to search for "Terminal" and open it.
  3. Enter the Command:
    • In the Terminal window, type the following command and press Enter: defaults write com.google.Chrome DisablePrintPreview -bool true
  4. Close Terminal and Reopen Google Chrome:
    • Close the Terminal application.
    • Open Google Chrome to see the changes.

Microsoft Edge:

  1. Quit Microsoft Edge.
  2. Open Terminal.
  3. Enter the Command: defaults write com.microsoft.Edge DisablePrintPreview -bool true
  4. Close Terminal and Reopen Microsoft Edge.

Brave:

  1. Quit Brave.
  2. Open Terminal.
  3. Enter the Command: defaults write com.brave.Browser DisablePrintPreview -bool true
  4. Close Terminal and Reopen Brave.

Opera (not tested):

  1. Quit Opera.
  2. Open Terminal.
  3. Enter the Command: defaults write com.operasoftware.Opera DisablePrintPreview -bool true
  4. Close Terminal and Reopen Opera.

These steps should help you modify the print preview settings for various Chromium-based browsers on a Mac.

Firefox Based Browser

Windows/Mac OS:

The Mozilla team has introduced a hidden preference to restore the classic system Print Preview dialog box in newer versions of Firefox. To enable this feature, follow these steps suitable for both Mac and Windows versions of Firefox:

  1. Open Firefox and type about:config in the address bar, then press Enter.
  2. Accept the risk and continue.
  3. Search for print.tab_modal.enabled.
  4. Set this preference to false restore the classic Print Preview dialog.

If this doesn't work, you can try an alternative preference (For version 101 and Later):

  1. Search for print.prefer_system_dialog.
  2. Set this preference to true.

For an additional option, which is not recommended because it sends the print job directly to the printer without showing a confirmation or copy amount:

  1. Search for print.always_print_silent.
  2. Set this preference to true.

By modifying these settings, you can adjust the print preview and dialog behavior according to your preferences on both Mac and Windows versions of Firefox.

Alternatively, you can use the group policy method to change it: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/customizing-firefox-using-group-policy-windows

Bring Back the Legacy Print Dialog in Windows 11

To be clear, you don't need that if your current print dialog is functional correctly. After making the changes and rebooting, you may notice system updates appearing even though there is nothing to update. This can cause issues such as the print dialog crashing in applications or taking forever to load. Additionally, you may be unable to make changes in 'Devices and Printers.' To resolve these issues, undo the changes, reboot, and then redo the modifications and reboot will help, then test it couple of times to be sure functioning correctly.

In addition to the previous browser printing dialog we discussed, you may also notice the new Windows 11 printing dialog. In the Windows 11 22H2 version or later, Microsoft has replaced the legacy Print Dialog for all classic (win32) apps, such as browsers (when clicking 'print using system dialog') and Notepad++, etc., with a new dialog. However, users have reported issues with the modern print dialog, such as the preview pane always showing "No preview available" and the new dialog may also fail to print, the job is deleted from the print queue but never printed on the printer.

To resolve these issues, you can bring back the old print dialog by following the method below:

Method: Using Command Prompt

  1. Open Command Prompt:
    • Press Win + R, type cmd, and press Enter.
  2. Enter the Command:
    • Copy and paste the following command into the Command Prompt window and press Enter: reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Print\UnifiedPrintDialog" /v "PreferLegacyPrintDialog" /d 1 /t REG_DWORD /f
  3. If the command was executed correctly, you should see the message “The operation completed successfully.” If you want to go back to the new printing dialog, simply change the command value from "1" to "0".

Note: HKCU (current user), needs to be done on the actual user.

By following these steps, you can restore the old print dialog in Windows 11 22H2 or later, ensuring a smoother printing experience with your classic applications.

Related Post

Sometimes you may want to skip the browser-integrated PDF viewer and simply print from the file itself, which you can accomplish by following this post:

How to Disable the PDF Viewer Application in Browsers