Windows 10: Microsoft Print to PDF Creates an Empty File (XPS too, if you use it)

Hello,


First, some keywords to help search engines find this page.


Microsoft

Print

To

PDF

Empty

Zero

Length

File

Not

Working

Administrator


It's clear that the number of people with this problem is vast.

While I don't claim to be able to solve the problem for all of you, this is what worked for me:


My problem was that no matter where I printed a PDF to, it would allways result in an empty file.

I found that if I ran the program I was printing from as Administrator, a PDF print would work.


I found that the problem was with the permissions granted to the Print Server, not the the Pinter device.


To change the permissions, you need an Administrator level user account.


Press the Windows key an type "print", that should be enought to show "Printers and Scanners", select it to open the Printers and Scanners settings window.


On the right hand side, look for Related Settings and click the Print server properties link.


In the window that opens, select the Advanced tab. See the button at the bottom called Change Advanced Settings? Click it.


In the next window that pops up, select the Security tab.


Now, click the Add... button.


In the new window that pops up, enter the user name or group name into the Enter the object names to select text box and click the Check Names button.

If you've entered a name that Windows recognises, then you should see the name you typed in change to the computer name, a back slash "\" and the name you typed in, all underligned.

Assuming this is the case, click OK.


This will return you to the prior security window, you should now see your user name listed with all the others.

Click on the user name to highlight it.


Now, in the Permissions for [your username] make sure that all the Allow boxes are ticked.


Click OK.


Try printing a document using the Microsoft Print to PDF printer. If all is well, you should now have a working PDF file.


Please feel free to critique Microsoft for persisting this problem for literally years and making the solution so opaque it has MVP level Mods on their own website unable to find a solution

:)

 

Occasionally "Microsoft print to pdf" creates empty files


Have already done all of the steps suggested in that link.
The problem only happens occasionally; maybe two or three times a day.
Happening on several PC's, the only way to catch it before it goes to customers is the size of the file created.
If it is 0 or 1kb, it's a blank document.
Microsoft Print to pdf was working fine until about two weeks ago.
Thank You

 

Windows 10 - "Microsoft XPS Document Writer" and "Microsoft Print To PDF" no longer working

On your question, you said that you tried to uninstall the feature using the 'Turning Windows features on or off', let's try another approach:

• Search for Device Manager, or do Win + R and then DEVMGMT.MSC.
  
• Go to 'Print queues' then uninstall both the PDF and XPS print queues.
  
• Search for 'Advanced Printer Setup', or look this option in the Control panel.
  
• Select 'The printer that I want isn't listed', in the next window choose 'Add a local printer or network printer with manual settings', select 'Use an existing port:' then in the dropdown select 'FILE: (Print to File)'.
  
• In the next window, it will appear a list. Select Microsoft then in the second list select 'Microsoft Print to PDF' and next.
  
• Select 'Replace the current driver' and then next
  
• Give the printer a name (I suggest the original name) then next and it shall reinstall the printer and its driver.
  
• Repeat the process but now instead of selecting 'Microsoft Print to PDF' in the list, select the XPS one.
  
• Restart and see if it prints now.
  

 

Microsoft "Print to PDF" prints out Garbage

Hi,

To better assist you regarding Microsoft Print to PDF, we just have a few questions for you:

• What are the documents that you're trying to save as a PDF file?
  
• Can you provide us a step-by-step screenshot of how you print your documents as PDF?