Run As Logged In User
In a typical installation of the direct print service, the printing process runs in a service context. A service can be set up to run as a specific user or a generic Windows service account. This is set up in the Windows Service Manager under the service properties. The user context matters because Windows printing is configured per user.
Some printer drivers will not run in a service context, and others will even crash the printing process if you try to use them in a service context. Luckily, this is not normal, but it happens.
If you are troubleshooting printing and suspect the user context is the issue, you can run the direct printing process in the current logged-in user's context.
Go to the Control tab in the Direct Print user interface.
- Stop the current process by clicking the blue stop button.
- Uncheck the Run as a Windows service.
- Check the Show communication windows.
- Start the process by clicking the green start button.
A console window will open, showing what the process is doing. The output in the console window matches the log file.