GetDefaultPrinter function

Article
01/07/2021

The GetDefaultPrinter function retrieves the printer name of the default printer for the current user on the local computer.

Syntax

BOOL GetDefaultPrinter(
  _In_    LPTSTR  pszBuffer,
  _Inout_ LPDWORD pcchBuffer
);

Parameters

pszBuffer [in]: A pointer to a buffer that receives a null-terminated character string containing the default printer name. If this parameter is NULL, the function fails and the variable pointed to by pcchBuffer returns the required buffer size, in characters.
pcchBuffer [in, out]: On input, specifies the size, in characters, of the pszBuffer buffer. On output, receives the size, in characters, of the printer name string, including the terminating null character.

Return value

If the function succeeds, the return value is a nonzero value and the variable pointed to by pcchBuffer contains the number of characters copied to the pszBuffer buffer, including the terminating null character.

If the function fails, the return value is zero.

Value	Meaning
ERROR_INSUFFICIENT_BUFFER	The pszBuffer buffer is too small. The variable pointed to by pcchBuffer contains the required buffer size, in characters.
ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND	There is no default printer.

Remarks

Note

This is a blocking or synchronous function and might not return immediately. How quickly this function returns depends on run-time factors such as network status, print server configuration, and printer driver implementation factors that are difficult to predict when writing an application. Calling this function from a thread that manages interaction with the user interface could make the application appear to be unresponsive.

Requirements

Requirement	Value
Minimum supported client	Windows 2000 Professional [desktop apps only]
Minimum supported server	Windows 2000 Server [desktop apps only]
Header	Winspool.h (include Windows.h)
Library	Winspool.lib
DLL	Winspool.drv
Unicode and ANSI names	GetDefaultPrinterW (Unicode) and GetDefaultPrinterA (ANSI)