Cancel Print Job in Windows 11: A Step-by-Step Guide

This post shows students and new users steps to cancel a print job in Windows 11. When you print in Windows, what you print first goes to the print queue. In most cases, this goes pretty fast, and you wouldn’t know if you only print a few pages.

Once in a while, you may face errors when printing in Windows. This is usually the case when a job in the print queue fails to print and holds up other jobs. To start printing again, you may have to cancel the bad job for other jobs.

Windows allows users to view and cancel print jobs after accessing the print queue via the notification area or the Windows Settings app.

Our previous post showed you how to view a print queue in Windows 11. You can find that post below:

How to view a print queue in Windows 11

Below is how one can cancel a print job in Windows 11.

How to cancel a print job in the printer queue in Windows 11

One can quickly access the print queue from the notification area in Windows 11. When a user prints in Windows, a printer icon is usually displayed in the Windows notification area or the taskbar corner overflow menu.

Right-click the printer icon from the taskbar area or the corner overflow menu and select Open All Active Printers.

That will open the printer queue.

How to open printer queue from Windows Settings

If you do not see a printer icon on the Taskbar or corner overflow menu, use the Windows Settings app to open the printer queue. To do that,  select the Start menu, then click on Settings.

On the Settings pane, click-click Bluetooth & devices ==> Printers & scanner as highlighted in the image below.

On the Printers & scanner settings pane, click the printer you sent to print the job from the list.

Select Open Print Queue on the printer settings pane to see what’s printing and the upcoming print order.

In the print queue, right-click on the print job you want to cancel and select Cancel.

Some print jobs may take a while to cancel. If the print job does not cancel in a few seconds, wait at least 15 seconds before trying again.

That should do it!

Conclusion:

• Canceling a print job in Windows 11 is a straightforward process that can be done from both the notification area and the Windows Settings app.
• Keeping the print queue manageable helps prevent delays in printing and ensures other jobs can proceed without interruption.
• Patients may be necessary when canceling some print jobs, so allow a few moments if the job doesn’t cancel immediately.
• Regularly checking the print queue can help maintain efficient printing and troubleshoot any potential issues sooner.
• For more detailed steps on viewing the print queue, refer to our previous post.