Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line (WMIC) is a powerful tool for managing various aspects of a Windows system, including printers. WMIC allows administrators to perform tasks such as querying printer status, configuring printer settings, and managing printer drivers from the command line. This can be particularly useful for automating tasks, managing multiple printers, or troubleshooting printer issues without needing to navigate through the graphical user interface.

In this article, we will explore how to use WMIC to manage printers in a Windows environment. We will cover basic commands for listing printers, checking printer status, and configuring printer settings.

Examples:

1. Listing All Printers: To list all printers installed on a system, you can use the following WMIC command:

   wmic printer get name, printerstatus

   This command will display a list of all printers along with their status.

2. Checking Printer Status: To check the status of a specific printer, use the following command:

   wmic printer where name="PrinterName" get printerstatus

   Replace "PrinterName" with the actual name of the printer you want to check.

3. Setting a Printer as Default: To set a specific printer as the default printer, use the following command:

   wmic printer where name="PrinterName" call setdefaultprinter

   Replace "PrinterName" with the actual name of the printer you want to set as default.

4. Adding a New Printer: While WMIC itself does not directly support adding new printers, you can use the rundll32 command in conjunction with WMIC to achieve this. Here is an example:

   rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /if /b "PrinterName" /f "C:\Path\To\Driver.inf" /r "PortName" /m "PrinterModel"

   • /b "PrinterName": Specifies the name of the printer.
   • /f "C:\Path\To\Driver.inf": Specifies the path to the printer driver.
   • /r "PortName": Specifies the port name.
   • /m "PrinterModel": Specifies the printer model.

5. Removing a Printer: To remove a printer, use the following command:

   wmic printer where name="PrinterName" delete

   Replace "PrinterName" with the actual name of the printer you want to delete.

6. Listing Printer Drivers: To list all printer drivers installed on the system, use the following command:

   wmic printerdriver get name