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Fix Printer Tray 2 Missing in Word and Excel on Mac
Question details
The user is unable to select printer Tray 2 when printing documents from Microsoft Word or Excel on a Mac, despite the tray functioning correctly for PDFs.
- Product
- Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel
- Device & OS
- Mac
- Scenario
- Printing multi-page documents or specific paper sizes from Microsoft Office to a multi-tray printer (like a Brother MFC-L8900CDW).
- Observed behavior
- Tray 2 does not appear as an available paper source in the Word and Excel print dialogs, while it is fully visible and selectable when printing PDF files.
Ensure your Mac is connected to the printer and that you are using the official manufacturer's printer driver rather than the default macOS generic AirPrint driver.
Configure Print Settings in the Application Dialog
Manually locate and select the correct paper feed settings within the Word or Excel print dialog, as application interfaces can differ.
Microsoft Office applications often have a different print dialog layout compared to native Mac applications like Preview. The paper source settings might be hidden under specific dropdown menus.
Open your document in Word or Excel and press Cmd + P to launch the Print window.
If the print dialog is collapsed, click on 'Show Details' at the bottom to expand all available printing options.
Click the dropdown menu currently labeled 'Copies & Pages' or 'Word/Excel' and select 'Printer Features', 'Printer Options', or 'Print Settings'.
Find the 'Paper Feed' or 'Paper Source' section and manually change the selection from 'Auto Select' to 'Tray 2'.
Install the Full Manufacturer Printer Driver Package
Reinstalling the printer using the full manufacturer driver ensures that macOS recognizes advanced hardware features like secondary trays.
Try WPS Office for Seamless Printing on Mac
If Microsoft Word and Excel continually struggle with your printer's tray settings or driver compatibility, consider switching to WPS Office. It provides a lightweight, highly compatible alternative with straightforward print management on macOS.
- 1. Download WPS Office: Visit the WPS website and download the free WPS Office suite for Mac.
- 2. Open Your Document: Launch WPS Office and open your existing Word or Excel files seamlessly.
- 3. Print with Ease: Press Cmd + P to access the clean WPS print dialog and select your preferred printer tray without hassle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Tray 2 show up for PDFs but not Word documents?
PDF readers like Adobe Acrobat or Mac Preview interact with printer drivers differently than Microsoft Office applications. Office apps sometimes rely on different software protocols that may not automatically load advanced hardware configurations, requiring manual setup in the Print Settings.
How do I know if I'm using the basic AirPrint driver on my Mac?
Go to System Settings > Printers & Scanners, click on your printer, and check the 'Driver Version' or 'Kind' field. If it says 'AirPrint', you are using the default Apple driver instead of the manufacturer's full-featured driver.
Can I set Tray 2 as the default paper source for all prints in Word?
Yes. After selecting Tray 2 in the Print dialog's Paper Feed settings, click on the 'Presets' dropdown menu at the top of the dialog and select 'Save Current Settings as Preset'. You can then apply this preset for future print jobs to automatically pull from Tray 2.
