How Do I Delete a Windows XP Print Job?

If you don't want your printer to print, cancel the job.

You may remember a last detail to add to that report after clicking "Print," or maybe you have a stack of documents clogging up your print queue and need to make room for a higher-priority document. Whatever your reason for canceling a print job in Windows XP, you can reverse the decision to print with a few clicks of the mouse. The Microsoft Support site offers a handful of methods for canceling a print job.

Instructions

1. Locate and press the printer's physical "Cancel" button or navigate to the "Cancel" command on the screen (the location of this command will vary depending on the printer). Click "Cancel." If the printer lacks this button or the "Cancel" command fails to stop the print job, proceed to Step 2.

2. Press the printer's power button to turn it off. Press it again to turn the printer back on. According to Microsoft Support, powering some printers off and on again will cancel any pending print jobs. If you still are unable to cancel the print job, proceed to Step 3.

3. Cancel the job through the computer's Control Panel. Click the "Start" button and click "Run." A box titled "Open" will appear. Type the words "control printers" into the text field and click "OK." Locate and right-click the icon representing your printer. Select "Open" from the drop-down menu. Right-click the print job you would like to cancel. Select "Cancel" from the drop-down menu. If you still are unable to cancel the print job, proceed to Step 4.

4. Cancel the job by using Notepad. Access the "Open" box as in Step 3. Type "notepad" into the text field and click "OK." A new Notepad document will appear. Type the text "del %systemroot%\system32\spool\printers\*.shd del %systemroot%\system32\spool\printers\*.spl net start spooler" into the Notepad document. From the Notepad "File" menu, select "Save As." Type "C:\DeletePrintJobs.cmd" into the "File Name" field. Click the "Start" button and "Run." Type "C:\DeletePrintJobs.cmd" into the text field. Click "OK." Windows XP should cancel the print job.

Tips & Warnings

• In steps 3 and 4, the quotation marks surrounding typed text appear for editorial clarity; do not type the quotation marks themselves into the text fields.

References

• Microsoft Support: How to Cancel Printing or to Delete a Print Job that is Stuck in the Print Queue in Windows XP

Resources

• Microsoft: Windows XP