Need to stop word from saving to One Drive

Question

Don’t need one drive, and word will not print …. So frustrating after paying good money year after year

Answer 1

[---] word will not print

Print troubleshooting is discussed in the support article at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/troubleshoot-printing-problems-in-microsoft-365-apps .

Answer 2

Don’t need one drive

To prevent Word from saving to OneDrive, set a local folder as the default. In Word for Windows, you can do this via File > Options > Save. Since the Documents folder synchronizes to OneDrive by default, you must choose some folder which is outside of Documents.

If you never want to save to OneDrive, see the "Unlink OneDrive from your computer" section in the article at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/onedrive/turn-off-disable-or-uninstall-onedrive . The screen shot below displays the instructions for Windows from the article. (You will find the corresponding instructions for MacOS in that same article.)

Answer 3

Hi!

Are you trying to print to PDF or to a printer? What is the printer's model and manufacturer?

Can you print from other apps or the browser?

Need to stop Word from saving to OneDrive

Are you experiencing any other problems with OneDrive, or just this problem with printing in Word?

Please send me more details.

Answer 4

To stop Word from defaulting to OneDrive, change the default save location in Word:

1. Open Word.
2. Go to File > Options.
3. Select Save.
4. Turn on Save to Computer by default.
5. Under Default local file location, select Browse and choose a folder on the PC.

If OneDrive still keeps appearing as the save location, unlink the PC from OneDrive or remove it from Word account settings so it no longer shows as the preferred save option.

For the printing problem, the behavior described usually means Word is sending the job to a virtual printer such as Microsoft Print to PDF instead of the physical printer. Check this first:

1. In Word, select File > Print.
2. In the Printer dropdown, make sure the actual printer is selected.
3. Confirm the printer status shows Ready.
4. Make sure Print to PDF or Print to file is not selected.

If it still does not print:

1. Try printing a different file from Word.
2. Try printing from another app such as Notepad or Paint. If that works, the issue is likely Word-specific.
3. Print a Windows test page:
   • Windows 11: Start > Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners > select the printer > Printer properties > Print Test Page
   • Windows 10: Start > Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners > select the printer > Manage > Printer properties > Print Test Page
4. Repair Microsoft 365:
   • Start > Settings > Apps > Installed apps
   • Select Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Office
   • Select Modify or Advanced options
   • Run Quick Repair first, then Online Repair if needed
5. Restart the print spooler:
   • Press Windows key + R
   • Type services.msc
   • Find Print Spooler
   • Right-click it and select Restart
6. Update or reinstall the printer driver from Device Manager.

If the problem started because files are opening from OneDrive, save a copy locally first and print that local copy.

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• Fix printing problems in Word, Excel, or other apps
• Fix printing problems in Word, Excel, or other apps