Stop a print job on Windows, Mac, or Linux

The fastest way to stop a print job depends on your operating system. On Windows, open Settings, go to Devices, then Printers & Scanners. Find your printer, click it, and select "Open queue." Right-click the job you want to stop and choose "Cancel." On Mac, go to System Preferences, select Printers & Scanners, find your printer, and click "Open Print Queue." Select the job and click the delete button. On Linux, use the command line tool cancel followed by the job number, or access the CUPS web interface at localhost:631.

If the job has already started printing, cancelling it from your computer may not stop the pages that are already coming out of the printer. The printer itself may have a Cancel or Stop button on its control panel — check your printer's manual for the exact location. Some printers also let you cancel jobs directly from their touchscreen or web interface if you know the printer's IP address.

Key Takeaways

  • Windows users access the print queue through Settings > Devices > Printers & Scanners, then right-click the job to cancel it.
  • Mac users open System Preferences > Printers & Scanners, select the printer, and click the delete button next to the job.
  • Linux users can cancel jobs using the command line or through the CUPS web interface at localhost:631.
  • If a job has already begun printing, the printer's physical Cancel or Stop button may be the only way to halt it mid-job.
  • Some network printers allow you to cancel jobs through their own web interface or touchscreen panel without using your computer.

Cancel a job stuck in the queue

A print job sometimes gets stuck and won't cancel through the normal method. On Windows, restart the Print Spooler service: press Windows Key + R, type services.msc, find "Print Spooler," right-click it, and select "Restart." On Mac, open Terminal and type cancel -a to cancel all jobs, or lpstat -o to see which jobs are queued before cancelling a specific one.

If restarting the spooler does not work, you can manually delete the print queue files. On Windows, navigate to C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS and delete the files inside. On Mac, open Terminal and type rm /var/spool/cups/*. Be careful with this step — only do it if the normal cancellation methods have failed, and make sure no other programs are trying to print at the same time.

Cancel a job on a network printer

Network printers — those connected directly to your office or home network rather than through a single computer — often have their own control panel or web interface. Look for the printer's IP address on its settings menu or printed network configuration page. Open a web browser and type the IP address into the address bar (for example, 192.168.1.100). Log in if prompted, then look for a "Jobs," "Queue," or "Active Jobs" section where you can select and delete pending print jobs.

Some network printers also let you cancel jobs from their touchscreen display. Press the Menu or Settings button, navigate to "Jobs" or "Print Queue," and select the job you want to stop. The exact steps vary by printer model and manufacturer, so check your printer's manual if the web interface method does not work.

What happens after you cancel

Once you cancel a job, it should disappear from the queue within a few seconds. If the printer was already printing that job, the pages currently in the output tray are already printed and cannot be recovered. Pages that were queued but not yet started will not print.

If you cancelled the wrong job by mistake, you will need to send the print job again from your application. There is no way to recover a cancelled job — you must resubmit it. If you are cancelling a large job to save paper or ink, consider using Print Preview before sending the job to the printer so you can catch mistakes before they print.

Prevent accidental print jobs

The easiest way to avoid needing to cancel is to use Print Preview before sending anything to the printer. In most applications, this is File > Print Preview or File > Print, then look for a Preview button. This shows you exactly what will print, including how many pages, what size paper it expects, and whether margins are correct.

You can also set a default printer and double-check which printer is selected before you print. Some applications default to the last printer you used, which may not be the one you want. In your print dialog, always confirm the printer name matches where you want the output to go.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I cancel a print job after it has started printing?

Cancelling from your computer will not stop pages already coming out of the printer. Use the printer's physical Cancel or Stop button on its control panel to halt printing immediately. Pages already printed cannot be recovered.

What if the cancel button does not work?

Restart the Print Spooler service (Windows) or use the command line to cancel all jobs (Mac). If that fails, manually delete files from the print queue folder. As a last resort, restart your computer or the printer itself.

How do I cancel a job on a printer I do not own?

If the printer is on a shared network, you may not have permission to cancel other people's jobs. Ask the printer administrator or the person who sent the job to cancel it. On some office printers, only the person who submitted the job can cancel it.

Will cancelling a print job damage my printer?

No. Cancelling a job is a normal operation and will not harm your printer. The printer will simply stop processing that job and move on to the next one in the queue, or return to idle if no other jobs are waiting.