Windows 8 In Depth

Printing from Your Applications

To print from Windows 8–style apps, use the Devices charm.

On the desktop, most Windows applications have a Print menu item. The traditional place for the Print selection was always on the File menu, thanks to IBM’s Common User Access initiative, which has provided structure and continuity in program menus for over 25 years. In applications that use Microsoft’s ribbon interface, it could be anywhere. Microsoft Word 2007, for example, put it in an unlabeled round button in the upper-left corner. Word 2010 put it in the File ribbon. Good luck guessing where it will be in the next...oh, but, I digress.

The Print menu selection usually displays a Print dialog box that lets you select a printer. There is usually a ...