What to do when Windows 10 Print Management is missing
IT administrators might need to find the Print Management Console for a variety of reasons, but sometimes it is nowhere to be found. Learn the steps to take in a situation like this.
The Windows 10 Print Management Utility, better known as the Print Management Console, has been a part of the Windows operating system for decades, so it is critical to ensure this utility is accessible.
This console can help desktop administrators with numerous settings such as hardware preferences and default printers.
However, IT professionals are increasingly discovering that the Print Management Console is missing from their Windows deployments. As a desktop administrator, you should make sure you can access the Print Management Console and know what to do when the console is inaccessible.
How to access the Print Management Console
In the past, the Print Management Console was installed within Windows 10 by default. To find out whether the Print Management Console exists on your system, right-click on the Start button and then click Run.
Next, enter the PrintManagement.msc command at the Run prompt. If the Print Management Console is installed, you will see it open, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. The Print Management Console that has popped up after running the command.
What are the Print Management Console use cases?
For some, the Print Management Console's absence is a nonissue. After all, Windows 10 allows you to install and use printers without having to open the Print Management Console. Even so, the Print Management Console can be extremely useful for Windows administrators, particularly in an office environment.
Although many IT professionals are quick to dismiss the Print Management Console as being one of those tools that exists mostly for use on server operating systems (OSes), the Print Management Console definitely has its place within a desktop-centric environment.
For example, if you have a printer that is expensive to operate or used for a special purpose, such as printing checks, then you can use the Print Management Console to control who is allowed to print to the printer.
One of the reasons why the Print Management Console is useful is because it simplifies the process of working with multiple printers. Rather than having to navigate the Printers and Scanners settings or the legacy Control Panel -- which Microsoft will soon remove from Windows -- the Print Management Console acts as a single pane of glass interface for managing all of your printers.
These printers do not have to be directly attached to your PC. Network printers are also exposed through the Print Management Console. You can use the Print Management Console to update device drivers and configure all the various print settings.
Another reason why the Print Management Console is so useful is that it allows access to the print queues for individual printers -- or print device, as Microsoft likes to call it -- so you can see the individual jobs that exist within the print queue. You can delete a "stuck" print job if necessary. You can also cancel a print job or even change the order in which print jobs will be printed.
Microsoft allows you to use the Print Management Console to apply access controls and other security settings to individual printers. For example, if you have a printer that is expensive to operate or used for a special purpose, such as printing checks, then you can use the Print Management Console to control who is allowed to print to the printer. You can also control who is allowed to manage the documents within the print queue.
Why is the Print Management Console missing?
There are two main reasons why the Print Management Console might be missing from your Windows 10 deployment. The first reason is that not every Windows edition includes the Print Management Console. You can find the Print Management Console in Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, and Education. However, the Print Management Console is not included with Windows 10 Home.
Additionally, the Print Management Console is technically an optional feature as of Windows 10 version 2004 -- the May 2020 update. This meant that the Print Management Console was no longer installed by default.
In some cases, you might find that a Windows 10 still includes the Print Management Console in spite of running a build that is newer than 2004. Assuming the Print Management Console was not manually installed, this could happen is that if the PC was originally running an older Windows 10 build but was later upgraded to a more current build. In some specific circumstances, you might discover that the update process did not cause the Print Management Console to be removed.
However, if installation media used for deploying a machine's original Windows 10 installation is build 2004 or higher, then the Print Management Console will not be installed by default. In those situations, you will need to manually install the Print Management Console.
How to install the Print Management Console
If you find that the Print Management Console is missing from your Windows 10 deployment, there are two techniques you can use to install it. Keep in mind that both methods require running a supported Windows 10 Edition and that the Print Management Console is not supported with Windows 10 Home Edition.
Install the Print Management Console with PowerShell
The first technique for installing the Print Management Console involves Windows PowerShell. Begin by opening an elevated PowerShell session. Then, enter the following command:
This simple command will install the Print Management Console (Figure 2).
Figure 2. The PowerShell command that will install the Print Management Console on Windows desktops that can support it.
Installing the Print Management Console via the Windows GUI
If you would prefer not to have to use the Windows command line, you can install the Print Management Console from the Windows desktop without needing PowerShell. To do so, open Settings and then click on System. Next, click on the Optional Features tab. Now, scroll through the list of optional features until you locate the Print Management Console. Select the Print Management Console checkbox and then click the Add button (Figure 3).
Figure 3. The option to add the Print Management Console via the Optional features settings menu.
Upon doing so, the Print Management Console will install.
Brien Posey is a former 22-time Microsoft MVP and a commercial astronaut candidate. In his more than 30 years in IT, he has served as a lead network engineer for the U.S. Department of Defense and a network administrator for some of the largest insurance companies in America.
