Displaying the printer history – is that possible?

To keep track of which documents you have printed, you can display the printer history. This is possible under Windows as well as directly at the printer – if you have activated the correct options beforehand and your printer supports the function. We will show you how to do this in this practical tip.

Display printer history under Windows

If the corresponding function was previously activated under Windows, you can display all print jobs.

• Go to “Settings” ☻ “Devices” ☻ “Printers and Scanners”.

• From the list of available printers, click to select the printer for which you want to activate logging.
• If you are using Windows 10, click on “Open queue” under the respective printer. In the new window, now select the option “Properties” under “Print” (see Figure 1).

• In the tab “Advanced” you can now check the option “Do not delete print jobs after printing” (see picture 2).
• You can now track the print jobs via the directory “C:\WINDOWS\system32\spool\PRINTERS”.
• Confirm the new settings by clicking on “OK”.
• The files with the extension “.shd” or “.splv” can then be read out with a tool such as the “Universal Viewer Portable”.