This is another of those “representative” questions that I get a lot; more than I would expect, to be honest.
But when you think about it, with all the changes that Hotmail users have been through in the last few years, it’s understandable that the latest change to Outlook.com would lead to a lot of confusion.
It turns out it’s not hard at all to print an email in Outlook.com. You just need to get used to looking in a new place for some additional options.
Let me show you. (Now with video!)
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Actions are the key
Here’s a typical email message displayed in Outlook.com:
The trick is to notice that little “Actions” label at the upper right of the message (please see below if you do not have an “Actions” menu):
Apparently, a lot of people miss it. Click that and it’ll drop down a menu of options:
Click that and Outlook.com displays a window showing only the message:
And it will then effectively click the Print button for you. Here’s what pops up using Google Chrome:
Chrome includes an immediate print preview (as well as a Save as PDF function, for those so inclined), so you can see what the printed message will look like.
No Actions? No Problem!
Outlook.com appears to be migrating to a user interface that does away with the Actions menu. Instead you’ll find the Print option here:
Clicking on the “three dots” near the top of the window (actually an ellipsis meaning that the menu bar is “continued”) drops down an additional menu that contains the print action.
Remember that a message must be selected or open in order for either the Actions menu or the ellipsis to be displayed.
Video
Enough people were expressing difficulty seeing what I see that I thought I’d add this video walking through the process:
Download the video: printing_outlook_com.mp4 (13M).
Now, if you don’t see the same controls in Outlook.com that I do, I can only surmise that Microsoft is rolling out changes slowly and we’re not all seeing the same thing at the same time. Unfortunately what you see above is, indeed, what I see – in two different accounts. If that changes I’ll update this post and the video.
Mr. Notenboom: So many obscure questions. So few answers! Why must microsoft make so
many changes? I had just smoothed out all the wrinkles between my computer and hotmail when
I had to start dealing with outlook, which is even less intuitive, IMO. I’m glad I found the post-it that had your info on it from several years back. You’ve helped me with my problem.
Many thanks!
Julie,
I know how you feel. Seems like computers keep changing and changing. But I’ve realized that if I don’t keep up with what is available now I’ll be completely lost in a few years. Seems like it’s just best to keep up with the changes as they happen. I really love this article from Leo: http://ask-leo.com/the_most_important_attitude.html
Leo: regarding how to print email in Outlook. I do not have an “Actions” label. I have 3 dots (ellipses, pretty obscure to me!), which when selected shows several options, one of which is
print. I must say that I really do dislike Outlook. To me nothing is improved. Thank you microsoft!
Once again they’ve succeeded in “fixin’ somethin that ain’t broke.”
Julie
Interesting. Make sure we’re talking about Outlook.com, and not Outlook (the program). Two unrelated things. (Thanks Microsoft :-) ).
I’m using IE9 and there also isn’t a action section,using outlook.com.
If it doesn’t show up in IE9, you might try and see if it works using Firefox or Google Chrome.
Leo – on the top bar I have ‘move to’ which you do not have (just to right of ‘sweep’), and then the three dots others are mentioning. Where you have ‘actions’, there is nothing.
Now printing is available in the top bar line, under the … button.
I use outlook.com and have the 3 dots also and it prints fine from there. Cheers
I used to be able to print from the … drop down menu and hitting “print”. NOW when I hit print, I don’t get the print box, I get this box that is telling me how to “undo and action” ! When I right click and print, it only prints part of the message. aaaahhhhhh !
Clicking on the 3 dots gives you a pulldown menu which also includes the print option. I personally have the actions menu when I read my mail, so I have no idea why it doesn’t appear in yours.
Thanks for that information about the three dots, I didn’t know to go look in there. It really was a big help.
Thank you. Finally I could print thanks to Mark Jacobs info. about the three dots.
Sure no action drop down. 3 dots come down and when pressing on print goes into box but tells me to be logged in but has a problem. I’m not that stupid because I’m logged in and message is open. My office manager is really swift with computer knowledge and can’t figure this out. I’ve been sending messages to her email and printing from her account. Hotmail was so easy nothing about outlook.com is easy. Not friendly [rogram at all. The person that creative it needs to rethink is knowledge on computers just saying . I’m not happy.
Often when I am having with a website it helps to clear the browser cache:
See this article: What’s a browser cache, how do I “clear” it, and why would I want to?
Sometimes a browser’s cache can become corrupt or just somewhat confused and as a result can cause a variety of issues.
Look at the top bar for three dots (should be next to Categories). Click on it, and choose Print. From there what Leo wrote is correct.
Thank you very much. I was experiencing the same problem with printing & didn’t have the actions menu but when I pressed on the 3 dots & clicked print it worked. Wow, this was painful. Thanks again.
I also have just the ellipses, which don’t say anything until you actually click on them. I would never have done that if I hadn’t seen this article. Thank you!
Hi Leo,
I Have the actions tab, but there is no print tab in the list below. Suggestions?
Thanks!
Jami
I get the three dots and the preview page but when I click print, I get no response. Everything is on and working but no printing.
I don’t have a print option under my three dots.
Leo, I don’t have an “action” label on my Outlook.com messages.
Is there a something you have to set to make this label appear?
Tom
Clicking on the 3 dots gives you a pulldown menu which includes the print option.
Thank you for the information. Finally I could print.
I have the 3 dots but no print option
Tom,
I couldn’t find it at first either and had to look real close at Leo’s illustration. He is showing only the screen with the actual email body in there, not the email list. It’s actually under the subject line,, and only AFTER you’ve actually selected a message. No wonder so many people can’t find it!
I don’t have 3 dots or an “action” label
I surely must be overlooking something, but where is the spellchecker in Outlook? A misspelled word will show up with an underline, but nothing happens when clicking on the misspelled word. Help please.
Right click on the miss-spelled word and you’ll be given a list of words to choose from.
I don’t have an action button or three dots, and this is the new outlook from hotmail. When I try to file > print, it only prints the first page. If it’s a long email, i send it to my yahoo mail and print from there.
Outlook has either changed or mine has not caught up yet. My “Actions” button is no more than three periods: …
Would supply a screen shot if required…
I have now used outlook.com on two different computers, using different browsers and different OSs. (win 8 and Vista) None of them show the action option only the three dots… Connie Delaney’s solution does not work.
I see the three dots too… but they are up in the top, blue, tool bar. I only see the “Actions” dropdown link when I click on the email and open it. Actually, I see it in the preview pane, and also when I double-click to open the email. It doesn’t show unless an individual email is selected.
Thank you, Connie! I couldn’t find the dots until you said – blue bar! Whew!
Thank you Leo, for your answer to a question I never thought to ask. I thought I just had to live with it, along with all the other inconveniences and problems with Hotmail, now Outlook. I don’t have the “action” button either, but now that I know the three dots give me the same options, I’m happy. I only wish there was an answer to why the font sometimes changes in certain sections of e-mails that I send. I don’t know if the recipient sees it that way, but that’s how it looks when I open an e-mail I sent. Glad I signed up for your newsletter. Your choice of questions to answer is impeccable!
little different problem relating to Outlook. I use Win 7, IE 10, and ATT as my email. When I click on an embedded hyperlink that leads to a web page, I always get the following message: “Could not preform this operation because the default mail client is not properly set up.” How can I work around this,? I don’t want to change my e-mail or my browser on the MS Program Access screen that can be checked off, so I use custom. Love the newsletter.
I have the three dots with a drop down menu including “Print”
There’s no Actions button with “Print message”
Dear Leo,
How can i force a PDF file to be open and work on or edit it with CorelDraw X3?
or for that mater how can I open any file extension to work and edit in CorelDraw X3
Thanks,
Conrad Vilanueva
[email address removed]
Conrad
It is inadvisable to post your email address on public forums.as you could receive unwelcome spam
Following this comment thread makes me glad I use gmail.
Some people on the Gmail forum have been quite upset about recent changes there. It just confirms that these email providers ALL go through changes, and shows that every user is different in their willingness or ability to adapt to change.
Outlook.com through the web browser does not have full functionality when running under Vista basic.
also it keeps prompting to update IE (or use the mobile/ smartphone version) even though IE is up to date.
Don’t have the “action”, but do have the three dots. So thanks for the advice and showing your replies. I’m using Gmail primarily and find it generally good. Mostly I use Firefox and Chrome; haven’t used IE8 in a long time although Windows XP insists on bringing it up every day–so I just ignore it.
Even if you don’t use IE, it’s generally best to upgrade to the latest version of IE. IE is an integral part of Windows, and it’s a good idea to keep it up-to-date even if you use another browser.
Should I Install Internet Explorer 8? Internet Explorer 9?
Thank you for the read. I was looking for the print button and could not find it. Located it only due to the hint given in this thread – the three dots. Those appear only on the upper menu of the whole thing and seem not to be linked to the message opened as such. Nevertheless, it enables to print the message that was selected. How stupid can you go, would be my first and the only question but I will not require an answer to this. Someone must have an experiment running on us. I have been using computers and different e-mail programmes for almost 20 years. Thanks for the help!
I’ve seen a lot of comments and questions here about people not seeing the “Actions” link or the 3 dots. I’ve seen cases where the bigger email providers roll out interface and features changes to different users at different times. I saw that happen with Yahoo Mail, and the Outlook.com interface was rolled out to different people at different times. That may be what’s happening in this case.
I too can not see “actions” or the “three dots” in Google Chrome. I had actions for a while, but both gone. I can not print emails in Outlook.com for weeks now. So frustrating! After just checking, I do see the “three dots” in IE, but not in Chrome. Neither of these browsers show “actions” though. Clearing the cache in Chrome does nothing. Nor does going incognito. Definitely a Microsoft bug. So when I need to print, I guess I need to open Internet Explorer and print from there.
A few days ago I checked everywhere for the print button in IE and Chrome and couldn’t find it. I even recall looking under the three dots. I did find the print option under the three dots in both Chrome and IE this morning. Thanks for the tips.
Printing problems in converted Hotmail to Outlook. The “actions” menu is not available in my converted Hotmail to Outlook conversion. I found the solution is in the menu across the top as “…” three dots. If you select the 3 dots it open up a menu selection with the print selection available. My comment to that is what were they thinking??
I am using IE v8 and only saw the three dots. I have been programming since 1974. I was going to ask who designed Outlook (Hotmail) but it is obvious they never went through a design phase and jumped straight to code. I would bet the person who did the code was also the tester. I would love to know why “Flagging” is more important than printing an email.
Thank you. Your suggestion worked for me.
No good, no ‘actions’ tag. Nothing.
Like so many others here, I have no ‘action’ on my Outlook either. Finally discovered that three dots means print. My God why couldn’t I work that out, after months of copying mails to Word and printing out as a word file. Outlook is in trouble with a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for Pool. Right here in River City.
Hey folks, John has got it right. The OUTLOOK.COM blue menu bar ends with a ellipsis, e.g., … Those three dots open a menu list and PRINT is right there and it works fine when I send to the printer and when I send to ONE NOTE 2013.
Definitely not very intuitive on Microsoft’s part, BUT, now I know how to do it and am glad it is there. I hope the folks at Microsoft pay attention to post like these and learn from them…
YEP. I read the article and since it was written the OUTLOOK.COM must have been updated. the ellipsis … on the blue menu bar at the far right is the way to get the menu to print.
I also do not have the ‘Actions’ menu but do have the … However how do I forward e-mails without the actions function ?
Bob,
That’s interesting. Try another browser and see what you can find. Different browsers will read pages slightly differently and it may make the difference. Also. very often in gmail I find that stuff is actually there, it’s just tough for me to find it.
Bob,
You can find the Forward tool under the Reply tab at the top.
Hope this helps. Anyway it is there under windows 8. :}
How do you print from Outlook (Hotmail) in Windows 8 from the Start Screen? I also do not see account options anymore…
When I go to print an email, it always prints only PART of my body of text. It always prints all the ancillary text on the sides, top, and bottom. So it cuts off the actual text of the email and includes those sidebars of irrelevant info. Help!
The simplest solution is to copy and paste the text into Notepad, Wordpad or a word processing program and print it from there. That way you can clean it up and format it however you like. That’s how I do it.
Thanks. It is the three dots across the top menu bar above the email.
I did what you said but the header http only prints. How to I get the message to print
Thanks
Thank you, Leo. I’ve spent much of the morning wasting time trying to find out how to print. Why on earth was the print icon removed? Hope I remember your help as printing is now so quick and easy.
Thank you so much! It was so frustrating not being able to print emails properly. You made me smile!
I was wondering how to get print out of my email thread on hotmail. This post helped me out. Wonderful post, Thanks alot
I switched to Yahoo years ago, but my wife still uses Hotmail so I found the answer to her problem here. Thanks for the post and the follow-up on the three … Makes you wonder why anyone continues to use Microsoft software — it’s NOT user friendly!
I’ve got a friend who has just inherited a laptop with Windows 8 but when I try to print an e-mail for her fron Outlook.com (I think) there are no options visible. I can only see the following icons:
1. Trash
2. Respond
3. Forward
Definitely no print options. Can anyone advise, please? Thank you.
Iggy,
I’m assuming you are trying to print from Outlook.com (the online website) since you are posting on that article. The trick in almost any email program is that you have to actually open the email in order to print it. Also, try typing ctrl-p. That’s the global print command and could bring up some hidden options.
I am using IE10 and the former hotmail email that is now outlook.com. I have the 3 dots and the print shows up. when I go to print a window pops up with the email I want to print and and I press print. But the paper is blank. Any ideas. I can print from other websites and Outlook2010
Thank.
No clue why that would happen, but here’s a little test you could do to help narrow it down. Get CutePDF Writer, and then print the email to a pdf file. If that works then you know it has something to do with your printer, perhaps the printer driver. If that gives you a blank page too… then let’s hope Leo answers!!
Here’s an article about CutePDF Writer and how it works:
http://ask-leo.com/cutepdf_writer_create_pdfs_from_any_application_that_can_print_.html
Unbelievable that only the three dots appears on my Hotmail.site. Why not options or the old printer symbol. Who are these guys that change something that is so simple to something that is so ridiculous. Ah! gues that is progress. We all should know three dots means options!!!!
Dear Leo,
Thanks very much for the article about printing the whole of the email.
I had an important email that I needed a complete printout of and your article
saved the day and made an old man happy (65) and saved me a lot of anguish as well.
The article was posted on the 25th of May 2013, under “Ask Leo” and headed “How do I print an email in Outlook.com (formerly Hotmail)?”
Thanks again, have a nice Christmas!
George at 16.15hrs on Monday the 25thof November 2013
Hi Leo, I cant see three dots nor “action”. Do I need to doo something?
Yes. Select the email you are wanting to print first. The dots don’t show when you are looking at the inbox list.
Thank you Connie . Still cant find the three dots or the action button.
Thanks Leo for your well laid out and easy reply. However I too do not have the ‘Actions’ label on anytype of email message, whether from private person or from a company. But your answer made me search harder and I too found the 3 dots- drop down menu and then Print instruction which laid out the message correctly.
I use several email programs and they all differ in various ways, none stands out as better than others I feel but I do know that you need to ‘look at’ all the headings; drop down menu’s etc to get full use of their facilites – which is why I feel so stupid at not clicking on the 3 dots…….!
Thanks again one and all.
I too do not have an “Action” drop down, but have the 3 dots “…” to the right of Categories. As much as I like Microsoft products, I don’t think 3 dots is very intuitive to any user. The usual File/Print menu option and “printer” icon is however visibly available, unfortunately this prints the entire Outlook.com page including my Folders…
HJS… You couldn’t have said it better. Sometimes “Actions” turn into an “Active View”. I could not believe after 22 years of being computer literate I actually had to Google how to print an email…. sigh. And the 3 dots? To the general public that means “etc” which to me indicated lesser used functions that I probably wouldn’t use and since printing messages is a daily occurrence for many I, like you, fail to see the logic in this. How is this not super OBVIOUS to Microsoft??
Microsoft and intuitive in the same sentence is an oxymoron. I’ve seen a lot of questions on Ask Leo! from people who don’t have the actions menu choice. What I believe might be happening is that MS is gradually shifting people to the newer less intuitive menu. If they switched everybody at the same time, it wouldn’t be so bad as sites like Ask Leo! would simply be able to tell people about the change. As it works now, I’m finally realizing that this probably isn’t a bug some people have, but a change MS is making, creating a very confusing situation.
A late followup to this but my friend cant print from outlook. i had a look and in all the print options are there but the box that pops up showing the email you’re trying to print only show a photo and says login. no other oprions. We are already logged in as we have the emails in front of us. You can use the web page print option but you get all the adds and menus from the webpage. In a last bid attempt i installed chrome which works as you show above. So we can use that from now on but i think there must be something with in IE that is set wrong. although my friend hasny changed any thing, it just stopped working as it had done. Its not blocked pop ups or anything. Any ideas ???? MikeS
Internet Explorer is notorious for not being code compliant in all areas. The solution is to do exactly what you did – use Chrome. It’s beyond any of our abilities to fix IE’s code.
Do not have actions in my Outlook.com. Cannot print with the …. This problem has been going on since the last update to Outlook. I thought turning off the protected mode would help but no. I have internet explorer 11. I can print from Outlook that is part of Microsoft office and not through the internet just fine. I had read that Outlook is trying to correct but when will this happen. In the mean time I have to use light shot if I am to print. I have tried just about every little fix that has come around except adding the line to my registry which is not going to happen by my hand.
Thanks,
Phyllis
Have you tried another browser like Firefox or Chrome? That might work. One thing I’d try before that is to clear the browser cache. It doesn’t always work, but so many problems are caused by a “confused” browser cache. What’s a browser cache? How do I clear it? Why would I want to?
I did not have an “Actions” option. But your second suggestion worked for me.
Thank you!
I just read about the three dots here after discovering them by accident three hours ago after 24 hours of fuming and cursing and giving up and asking online. Is printing such a rarely used function that they had to tuck it under three dots? I thought those three dots were a decorative element until my cursor tripped over it in a random sweep. I already vented my rhetorical fury on Outlook, but I’m feeling the rage again. Whose idea was that??!! Now I think I understand what’s pissing off Godzilla. And then they ask me how likely I am to recommend Outlook to a friend. A friend!
Thanks Leo, have until now wasted so much time as a result of not knowing how to print from Outlook.
No longer a problem, first class article.
Excellent instructions, I would never have guessed what those three dots were for (…). Thanks for supplying this information.
Thank you! Your post was soooo helpful and much appreciated!
Thank you so much Leo! I’ve been struggling with this for longer than I care to admit! No one could help me. I can’t thank you enough for teaching me this simple trick.
I get the Print option from the “Actions” drop down menu and also from the “three dots”. When I select “print message” I get the window showing the message and “Print” in the top left corner, when I click on print I get the printer dialogue box asking me to choose a printer. When I select a printer I go back to the message, when I click on print I’m asked to choose a printer and this rotation continues ad infinitum.
What the hell is wrong?
It might be a problem with the browser cache. Sometimes the browse gets “confused” by stored copies of the site you are visiting. Clearing the cache often helps. Ctrl+Shift+Del is a shortcut to clearing browser history in most browsers.
What’s a browser cache? How do I clear it? Why would I want to?
If things the action button was available, printing would not be a problem. However I have searched all over the page and there is no action button available. So now what? How do i get my email to print? Microsoft needs to fix this problem and fix it immediately. Every year I get a little more disappointed by the stuff that is shoved at us to make them more money. Does it make my life a little easier? Hell no!
Check out the section of this article which says No Actions? no Problem! It explains that some versions of the Outlook.com website no longer have the Actions menu and the 3 dots is the way to get to the Print menu.
You are a saviour
I found the print function under … and the pop up box shows the page to be printed. However when I click print all I get at the top of the page is page 1 of 1, and the date at the bottom. The actual message doesnt print – help!!
I help my wife with Hotmail and the above printing directions (we have three parallel lines that lead to print) are fine but you are led to a print page that has, on the right hand side, all the ads, so when it prints you don’t get the whole page. I tried both portrait and landscape. Landscape gives you more, but not the whole thing.
I have printing issues with hotmail/outlook since 9/26/2014. I use the … to print my emails was working but now I get this error message “something went wrong and we can’t sign you in right now, please try again later.” Been trying since 9/26/2014 and on different computers still unable to print the email. In fact the email will not display in the print screen mode. Is there a solution or is outlook just messed up?
I’d first see if clearing your browser cache would help. I don’t have the link handy, but if you search Ask Leo! for “clear browser cache” you’ll find the how-to article.
Here’s the link Leo’s referring to:
http://askleo.com/whats_a_browser_cache_how_do_i_clear_it_and_why_would_i_want_to/
Leo: I hope you’re not mad at me for doing people’s homework for them ;)
Nope. Thanks for doing mine. :-)
Thanks very much, so easy when you know how, your instuctions were clear and precise
thank somuch Leo!
Thanks Leo ! – I would never have found Print in those 3 dots…
So helpful! Thanks!
I was nearly going mad trying to work out why my emails in Hotmail weren’t printing correctly. I was getting the folder box to the left plus ads to the right and that was being printed with little of the email I wanted printed. Thank you Leo for pointing out the word ACTIONS to the top right of the email but take note people that to see the ACTIONS box you have to open the email that you want to print FIRST. Click on PRINT NOW and in all of 5 seconds you will get your email printed exactly how it used to print.
Many thanks Leo for your expertise. You have been a great help
Best wishes
Marilyn
Yes, a big thanks to Leo as I was having the same trouble as Marilyn. Mine turned out to be the three little dots and having found them I printed my first successful email in about 16 years. Will visit again if I get stuck on anything.
So, with my Windows 8, Outlook does not print when I go through these steps, but only allows me to save as a pdf . Then I can open the pdf file and print it, but another useless step. I don’t mind change, if it’s better. Maybe it’s time to buy a book of stamps, and go back to snail mail, lol.
Thank you Leo, Muchas Gracias; this problem was a little frustrating.
Thanks for the information. I had been absent-mindedly struggling to print e-mails for the past year!
Thank you. I found the three dots. It’s kinda shady of Microsoft/Outlook to make it hard to find this print option. They want the average user to print the ad on the side of the screen. That’s how rich corporations do things. Very shady.
Hi,
I am having the following problem. Basically I am trying to print an entire email thread out for documentation purposes. However, if that thread contains an email with an attachment, it prints out to that email and then stops. No idea why, and it is causing much mental pain! :)
Anyone else have this problem? Or know what to do to get around it?
Cheers,
Chy
It may be helpful to understand that email programs are not written for printing. For instance, one of Microsoft Word’s prime functions is to create printed documents. Email programs, on the other hand, have printing as an add-on minor function. Email works best read as threads inside your email client. It doesn’t make your job any easier, but will hopefully help ease the frustration. If you really need those emails printed, just take your time and do it the best you can. Make yourself a nice cup of tea and don’t get stressed because there is no easy way to do it!
Why do you put a “print” command in such a stupid place where most people will not look, including me. Change is not always for the better.
Awesome info. I didn’t have the actions button but found the 3 dots … And started printing emails immediately. Thank you. Don
I was wondering how I can print an email from Outlook.com that has been grouped together by sender. My Outlook.com groups all the emails from the same sender one after the other, but how can I print just one of those emails. The same goes with reply or forward. If I just want to reply, forward or print one of those emails, how can I? When I print, all the previous emails print too…..
Try double clicking on the message in the list – that should open just the one.
Hi, My print was working just fine until last week and now when I click on the three dots and then print a log-in window comes up. Where did my print window go. I can’t print anything… Help Kerry
To print a full email page without the ads, I try using the three dots and the print option as suggested. A new window opens with the full email page but when I proceed to print, it STILL prints out only the portion of the page minus the right hand edge. I don’t get what the print window shows. I finally highlighted it, copied to windows and printed from that. What is the problem?
Hi Leo, many thanks indeed…your instructions are very well explained and I found them very helpful. Thanks again. Nicoletta Baffi
Thanks very much, your instructions are greatly appreciated, worked perfectly…
Thank you so much Leo for your help. You have just saved a woman on the edge, from pulling her hair out in frustration, as I couldn’t download hotel and plane reservations without the adverts getting in the way. Ann Robbins
I click on Print in the 3-box drop-down, and get the screen as above, but when I click print in the upper left of the document, nothing happens
In all likelihood your browser has pop-ups blocked as the default. You need to go into options to allow pop-ups from Outlook.com. Because they now have the “print” command pop-up the message first before asking you where you want to print to.
Hey Bert, try opening the folder you want to print, right clicking anywhere on that page> Open new page> Right click the new page> Print
Thanks
Hi Leo! Last year we had problems printing emails in Hotmail/Outlook. We followed your directions of clicking on the three dots which enabled us to print “All the Pages” in a long email. However about two weeks ago, things changed. Even though the Print Box says Print All, it only prints the first page of an email. What is wrong? How can we again print all the pages in an email? Also, how do you get rid of that obnoxious “Advertising Box” on the right side of the screen? Your expertise is much appreciated.
I don’t see any change in printing in my Hotmail account. So the problem is likely with your computer. The first place to start is in clearing your browser cache (https://askleo.com/whats_a_browser_cache_how_do_i_clear_it_and_why_would_i_want_to/). Definitely do a full reboot after that, including turning the printer all the way off.
If that does not clear up the problem then you’ll need to dive into your printer settings. Perhaps even update your browser.
I recently got outlook and a printer. I have followed all the directions precisely, and not only is there no Actions option, the three dots provide no printing option. Instead, you get nitpicky things that have nothing to do with a vital function like printing. Pin, unpin, flag, unflag, with ignore and create rule bringing up the rear. I have searched every icon and symbol. There is no print option on my Outlook.
Okay, guys. this was stupid. Now, you have to go into the message, and find the REPLY button (with a spiffy little arrow next to it), and under REPLY is a PRINT command. What a ridiculous way to go about printing a message. I hope this helps somebody else. It had me pulling out my hair.
And as soon as you figure it out they’ll change it again!
I just checked and I found the print command under the 3 dots. I wonder if clearing your browser cache might help.
What’s a browser cache? How do I clear it? Why would I want to?
Very helpful. Thank you. Tried to print screen and it never worked so found this site. I didn’t have an Actions button so found the three dots and voila. Thank you so much!!! :)
Thanks for your help in printing emails. Most emails print okay when I right click and print
or push control P, but some don’t work at all until i tried …… that you suggested.
Regards Milton
Thank you so very much! Your advice worked wonderfully!!!
Happy Holidays!
Dear Leo, I’ve had problems printing out emails for ages, years, only the left hand side printed out and I couldn’t figure out why.
It was so frustrating so today 6th Jan 2016 I searched internet for “Print out emails” and found your advice page.
You helped me with the answer and surprisingly it was so simple !
I found the 3 dots (ellipsis) as you advised and the drop down menu to Print and it worked !
I was overjoyed to see the whole email page printed out.
It’s not often that the solutions to a problem are so easy. I never knew what the 3 dots were but I do now thanks to you.
I can’t thank you enough for your helpful advice.
Re. the printing of emails on Outlook , thank you so much for taking the time to help all of us out . I received an email regarding the effects that a Statin drug has had on my friends wife and it was imperative to have it copied so a doctor here in Illinois could analyze . Directly related to the Statin , she has been hospitalized for over two (2) months ………… very serious !
So your knowledge of how to accomplish certain tasks with a computer , touches many different people in many different ways . This my seem very academic to you , but to us it was urgent and necessary .
Can’t thank you enough ,
Paul
Thank you Leo – this was driving me crazy and I couldn’t find how to fix it online. Your page quickly gave me the solution!
Leo – HELP – I am in Outlook.com – I can select the email I want to print – I see the 3 dots (ellipsis)… – I press “print” and I get the print page but it shows my FOLDERS Listing on the Left of the email along with a PARTIAL print of the email not the whole email? What am I doing wrong?
One of the first things to try when your browser doesn’t behave is to clear the browser cache. Sometimes the contents can get corrupted and cause the browser to get confused.
https://askleo.com/whats_a_browser_cache_how_do_i_clear_it_and_why_would_i_want_to/
In the past I selected the text then [print selection], your way is much more helpful thank you. You impressed at least three people at this office.
Thanks, got it. I found it on the ellipsis drop down thingy, but it still won’t give a print preview so the actual printing is all over the place, completely different to whats on the screen and a massive waste of paper. Just one more of the countless reasons I have to stay away from these things.
Using an email program like Thunderbird, Windows Live Mail or Outlook yield better printing results and generally give you more control of your emails.
https://askleo.com/thunderbird_a_free_open_source_and_powerful_email_client/
https://askleo.com/what_is_imap_and_how_can_it_help_me_manage_my_email/
I used to have a Windows Live mail account set up as I NEVER ever could get anything to print using the Outlook e-mail. I tried for months to no avail.
Recently Windows LIVE died as they are no longer supporting it so now I am back to not being able to print a useable paper e-mail or receipt.
The only way I can get anything to copy is to put the cursor on the body of the e-mail , do a right click, scroll down and click on print. It will print but it is useless and a waste of paper as on the left side it copies a list of your e-mail folders, with a list of your most recent in box e-mails just to the right of that. Then there is about a two inch wide section of the e-mail I WANT to copy, overlaid on the right side with all the ads they force on me. Tis is the same as what shows on the screen. I used to be able to double click on the message when opening it and it woul make it full screen but that also no longer works.
If I click on the three dots I do get the drop down box, but nothing ever happens when I click on print.
Can you tell me how to actually make a decent print using Outlook?
Thanks, David
Windows Live Mail 2012 is still supported. It’s ONLY that the mechanism it uses to hook up to your email account that has changed. (YOu need to switch to IMAP. I’ve written an article on the topic: https://askleo.com/4-alternatives-windows-live-mail-outlook-com/ (be sure to read the entire article).
Windows Live Mail is alive and well. It’s just no longer able to use the mail synchronization function. It must now be set up to use IMAP or POP3 and SMTP to manage your outlook.com email accounts. Or you can use another email client like Thunderbird. That would give you more control over the printing.
https://askleo.com/4-alternatives-windows-live-mail-outlook-com/
https://askleo.com/what_are_outlookcom_imap_pop3_and_smtp_settings/
I was just in messing with it again and noticed in the new Outlook when I open an e-mail, just over to the right of where it shows who the e-mail is from, there is a drop down box with a list of options. One of these says print, but none of them appear to work either…at least on my computer.
Leo,
THANKS a million! I read your article and I did download the Mozilla Thunderbird email. What an IMMEDIATE difference and so much simpler and easier to use I am amazed. EVERYTHING works on it just like you would imagine it should! Maybe Outlook should take some lessons from them?
I only wish I had found your site and directions a long, long, l-o-n-g, while back. If I had, I would have been able to spend at least a couple days of my life doing other much more enjoyable and less frustrating things than constantly trying to get a simple e-mail or receipt printed!
I sure do appreciate your help.
David
Using Outlook.com, I’ve recently received a few emails where the sender’s name is displayed, but not the sender’s email address. The printed version used show the sender’s email address even if it did not appear onscreen, but recently only the name shows up on the printed version. Placing the cursor over the sender’s name onscreen does cause the sender’s email address to appear in a bubble. But the address does not appear the printed version. Is there a setting I’ve missed? (If it matters, the sender is not in the contact list associated with my Outlook.com account.)
Hi, Im trying to help a buddy who now cannot print his hotmail files through Outlook on a Mac. We can see the ‘print’ command under the (…) but the preview just shows a blank sheet of paper with a header and footer? Same for cmd+P. Anyone else using MacOS with this problem/solution please?
BR Tony
I like to print hotmail from my Samsung phone,it is not work. I have HP all in one and I download HP print service plugin.
It print Gmail but not hotmail.
Any solution ?
Not exactly a solution, but a workaround which should work would be to route or forward your Hotmail emails to Gmail and print them from there.
https://askleo.com/how_do_i_route_my_email_through_gmail/
https://askleo.com/how-do-i-automatically-forward-hotmail-in-outlook-com/
I am having problems printing an attachment on an email. I open the attachment but can’t find a print button anywhere. Help!!
When you open an attachment, it should open in the default associated application, eg. a .docx file would open in Word or Libre Office writer, a .pdf would open in Adobe or Foxit Reader. You should be able to print from those programs in the normal manner. Wht kind of file are you trying to open?
You gave me my sanity back by showing me the method used to print my hotmail emails, thank you so much.
I have been very frustrated for a long time when printing emails from Outlook. The print was too small and the left hand sidebar was always shown. I came across this site today and finally learned that instead of clicking on the three vertical dots near the top of the screen I should be clicking on the three horizontal dots at the top of the actual message. When I do this the sidebar is not shown and the print is large and clear. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Ken