Deferred printing happens automatically for portable computers, such as laptops, that are not connected to their printers. You can turn on this feature manually for portable computers or network printers by using the Work Offline command in the Printers folder. For a local printer, you can use the Pause Printing command.

To use a printer that is not currently connected:

Open the Printers folder (Start, Settings, Printers).

Click the icon for the printer that you want to print to.

On the File menu, click Work Offline, or right-click the printer and select Work Offline there.

When you send a document to this printer, it will be stored until you turn the printer online by clicking the Work Offline command again. The Work Offline command is available only for portable computers or for computers using a network printer.

Notes: If you have a laptop computer with a docking station and you start Windows while the computer is undocked, your print jobs are automatically saved. Then, when you start Windows when your computer is docked, the documents are sent to the printer. If you have turned off spooling in your printer properties, you cannot print offline.