Who else hates "Let Windows Manage my default printer"?

[Brys]

  On 21/03/2017 at 16:48, warwagon said:

For the record, I'm aware that this can be disabled inside Printers and Scanners.

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oooooooooooh ! I wasn't ! Thanks, I'll have to try to see if disabling this fixes my problem.

 

I usually only had one printer but these days with all the "print to PDF" and "office document something or other" appearing nowadays, in the printer list, looks like every time my network printer is disconnected windows tries to fix me up with another default printing "device".

[oldtimefighter]

  On 30/03/2017 at 11:26, Fahim S. said:

IOK... when you take over the forum, you are welcome to try to ban me.

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When that day comes I will be a fair tyrant and allow you 30 days to clean up your act.

[d5aqoëp]

  On 30/03/2017 at 11:18, Dot Matrix said:

Since when? Windows has always downloaded the correct drivers for me. When I plugged in my new printer a few weeks ago, it recognized it as an HP, and directed me to the correct place for the correct drivers. 

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I have Samsung SCX-3406W wireless printer and default Windows driver works perfect. But still Windows will download a Universal Print Driver v3 and install it by itself. This causes margin errors, refilled/fake toner notifications.

 

Since when you started understanding Windows behavior based only on your own hardware? If it installs correct driver for you does not mean it installs correct drivers for millions of other hardware combinations out there in the whole world.

 

You instantly dismiss anyone with genuine problems because you do not face it. It's this dismissive attitude is what hurting Neowin more than pure trolling.

[devHead]

  On 21/03/2017 at 16:54, oldtimefighter said:

Anyone who votes yes should have their Neowin account banned...

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Why?  Windows picked the same printer I always print to.  Is it so horrible that it picked it, since it notes that it's the printer I always print to.  Now, if it tried to always set the XPS Viewer as the default printer, then I'd be upset.  But it always picks the exact same printer I would choose as my default printer.  Explain the need to ban me. (Aside from the larger font at the end there)

[devHead]

  On 21/03/2017 at 18:00, warwagon said:

Well actually, Microsoft Print to PDF is a printer and XPS is a printer too or "Send to Onenote" ... all of which were randomly selected when that feature was turned on.

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Well, Windows never ever picked any of those; it always picked my actual and only real printer.  In fact, only recently did I realize Windows was doing this, because I have one real printer and Windows always selected it as my default printer.  Seems to me like we need to find some other things to fixate and rage over. This seems marginally benign.

[devHead]

  On 30/03/2017 at 11:12, d5aqoëp said:

The problem with Windows managing our printer is Windows will download some crappy driver and it will mess up your printouts with wrong margins or nag you to buy a genuine toner because the new driver can now detect a refilled toner.

 

 

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No, it would have always done that in the past, regardless of whether it was in charge of determining your default printer.  Of course, none of those things has ever happened with any printer I've ever used on any version of Windows.  It's not managing your printer, it's just setting the default based on your usage.  I can bet you that there are millions of clueless folks out there who didn't know how to select their default printer, or would automatically click 'No' to the dialog asking them if they wanted to set the default printer, then wondering why they can't print to the new printer they just installed.  Believe me, I know these people personally.

[d5aqoëp]

  On 31/03/2017 at 04:49, devHead said:

No, it would have always done that in the past, regardless of whether it was in charge of determining your default printer.  Of course, none of those things has ever happened with any printer I've ever used on any version of Windows.  It's not managing your printer, it's just setting the default based on your usage.  I can bet you that there are millions of clueless folks out there who didn't know how to select their default printer, or would automatically click 'No' to the dialog asking them if they wanted to set the default printer, then wondering why they can't print to the new printer they just installed.  Believe me, I know these people personally.

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Alright relax. With my Samsung SCX-3406W printer, if I let Windows to manage it, the new Samsung Universal Print driver is installed from Windows Update regardless of any other settings.

 

I understand that it is an odd behavior, but is this the first time you are hearing Windows forcing a driver through Windows Update?

[Dot Matrix]

  On 31/03/2017 at 03:58, d5aqoëp said:

You instantly dismiss anyone with genuine problems because you do not face it. It's this dismissive attitude is what hurting Neowin more than pure trolling.

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I do PC troubleshooting for a living, and rarely encounter issues with Windows downloading incorrect or basic drivers. There are folks on here, whom I believe to purely over exaggerate their issues. Do I believe it happens? Yes, but not in the frequency as people on here claim.  

[+Biscuits Brown MVC]

  On 31/03/2017 at 08:38, d5aqoëp said:

Alright relax. With my Samsung SCX-3406W printer, if I let Windows to manage it, the new Samsung Universal Print driver is installed from Windows Update regardless of any other settings.

 

I understand that it is an odd behavior, but is this the first time you are hearing Windows forcing a driver through Windows Update?

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If Windows is downloading the new Samsung Universal Print driver and that driver was in fact created by Samsung, then you can't blame Microsoft for your printer issues.  Microsoft is just providing you with the driver Samsung certified for Windows. Sounds like your issue is with Samsung to me. 

[+Random Stranger Subscriber¹]

  On 21/03/2017 at 16:54, oldtimefighter said:

Anyone who votes yes should have their Neowin account banned...

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11 peeps so far

[Zidane]

I help manage over 1000 workstations across many many companies and this setting is the loathe of my existence. Those of you with one printer that keep replying "I don't see the issue, it chooses my printer!"...well no ###### it does, the setting only makes it so that the LAST printer you've printed to becomes the default immediately. If you have only one printer and never make use of print to PDF/XPS then the setting will never fail. Seriously, use common sense...

 

...now in a business environment that has 2, 5, 10, 15 printers and some of them are for VERY specific purposes, pre Windows 10 behavior was fine. In warwagon's example, a label printing software would use the printer stored in the application and perform the print. As of Windows 10, that label printer will now become the default printer (again, printed to it last) and the one time that the user doesn't pay attention and blindly prints, boom! A massive mess..

 

While the user's ignorance at checking to make sure the proper printer is being chosen is not Microsoft's issue, introducing a setting that only really benefits a minority (in the case of constantly moving to new locations as was mentioned above) yet enabling it for the vast majority is very asinine and is bad design.

[devHead]

  On 31/03/2017 at 08:38, d5aqoëp said:

Alright relax. With my Samsung SCX-3406W printer, if I let Windows to manage it, the new Samsung Universal Print driver is installed from Windows Update regardless of any other settings.

 

I understand that it is an odd behavior, but is this the first time you are hearing Windows forcing a driver through Windows Update?

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Yep, it's never happened with my HP Printer, the OfficeJet 8600.  But maybe I've been fortunate.

[farmeunit]

  On 31/03/2017 at 13:45, Zidane said:

I help manage over 1000 workstations across many many companies and this setting is the loathe of my existence. Those of you with one printer that keep replying "I don't see the issue, it chooses my printer!"...well no ###### it does, the setting only makes it so that the LAST printer you've printed to becomes the default immediately. If you have only one printer and never make use of print to PDF/XPS then the setting will never fail. Seriously, use common sense...

 

...now in a business environment that has 2, 5, 10, 15 printers and some of them are for VERY specific purposes, pre Windows 10 behavior was fine. In warwagon's example, a label printing software would use the printer stored in the application and perform the print. As of Windows 10, that label printer will now become the default printer (again, printed to it last) and the one time that the user doesn't pay attention and blindly prints, boom! A massive mess..

 

While the user's ignorance at checking to make sure the proper printer is being chosen is not Microsoft's issue, introducing a setting that only really benefits a minority (in the case of constantly moving to new locations as was mentioned above) yet enabling it for the vast majority is very asinine and is bad design.

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Totally agree with this.  We are at about 1000 workstations, as well.  Our biggest issue is with Adobe Reader, though.  Other software, even though it defaults to the wrong one, will still let you print to any other.  Adobe Reader, 90% of the time will ONLY print to default.  Sometimes it actually does work....

[Zidane]

  On 31/03/2017 at 14:13, farmeunit said:

Totally agree with this.  We are at about 1000 workstations, as well.  Our biggest issue is with Adobe Reader, though.  Other software, even though it defaults to the wrong one, will still let you print to any other.  Adobe Reader, 90% of the time will ONLY print to default.  Sometimes it actually does work....

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This is off topic but I thought I'd throw in here that whoever at Microsoft wrote the code for Microsoft Edge to take over as the default pdf viewer when Windows 10 updates (occasionally) ought to be taken out back and shot. Unlike Microsoft, I get to contend with an angry client after the third time this has changed back to Edge and they can't figure out how to print from it and they need this printout for a meeting, NOW (or Edge just simply doesn't show the PDF correctly or crashes..)

 

Is their inability to open Adobe Reader and THEN open the PDF in question Microsoft's issue? No but yet again we find another "feature" that is very asinine and reeks of bad design.