Print options are now too limited

[Tom4tot]

Hello,
I'm regularly updating SumatraPDF to the latest prerelease and I have noticed a lot of changes that are welcome.
However, the print UI has slightly changed and most important settings are unavailable hidden, e.g. color vs black and white, 1 sided vs 2 sided, etc.

Before recent updates, I could get access to the full settings page from my printer, like it's still the case with Notepad++ for example:
https://i.imgur.com/r236llt.png
https://i.imgur.com/NFqZL6i.png

But with SumatraPDF, I only see this when clicking on more settings:
https://i.imgur.com/hdsfeLF.png
https://i.imgur.com/OtagHXv.png

I think it would be better to revert the changes, or more options need to be shown in the dialog menu.

Thank you in advance for your answer!!

[GitHubRulesOK]

note your images need replacing for others to see as imgur is a regional blocker for some users
but github cut and paste should be visible to many.

[Tom4tot]

(sumatra pdf print page)

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(sumatra "more options")

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Notepad++ "more options" (used as an example)

[kjk]

Thanks for the report with the comparison screenshots - they made the cause easy to find. Two changes are now in, and both will be in the next pre-release build.

Why the settings disappeared

SumatraPDF recently started using the Windows 11 print dialog (the one with the print preview). Notepad++ uses the old common print dialog, which has a Preferences button that Windows wires straight to your printer driver's own property sheet - that is where color vs black and white, 1-sided vs 2-sided and the rest live, and every app that uses that old dialog gets it for free.

The Windows 11 dialog works differently. It builds its More settings pane only from the list of options the app publishes, and it has no way at all to open the driver's property sheet. We were publishing just the paper tray, so everything else was missing.

What changed

1. The More settings pane now offers the printer's own settings: color vs black and white, 1-sided vs 2-sided, collation, paper size, paper type, quality, pages per sheet, input tray, binding, stapling and hole punch. Settings your particular printer doesn't support are left out automatically.

2. A new advanced setting, PrinterUI, chooses which dialog Ctrl+P opens:

   • empty or auto - current behaviour: the Windows 11 dialog where it is available, the classic one everywhere else
   • modern - the Windows 11 dialog
   • classic - always the classic dialog, the one with the Preferences button

   Set it in Settings / Advanced Options (PrinterUI = classic). Use this if you want the driver's full property sheet back, or need a driver setting that isn't offered in More settings - the Windows 11 dialog genuinely cannot show that sheet, so this is the only way to reach it.

Note that modern cannot force the new dialog where Windows won't show it - before Windows 11, when SumatraPDF runs elevated, or when printing a selection - it falls back to the classic dialog in those cases.

Once the pre-release is out, please check whether the options you were missing are now in More settings for your printer. If any are still missing there, PrinterUI = classic will get you the old dialog in the meantime, and it would be useful to know which ones.

[Tom4tot]

Thank you, that is appreciated and your new advanced setting seems to offer the best of both worlds. The modern dialog might be sufficient if you include all the settings mentioned.

[Tom4tot]

I have just updated to latest prerelease, can confirm both settings work.

"Classic" setting is different to the previous UI but is fine for me:

"Modern" UI is still missing a lot of options though (still color vs black and white, 1 sided vs 2 sided). Printers and their drivers are notorious for their poor quality so maybe there is nothing you can do about it.

Main UI

"More settings"