Printing from Windows 7 command line

I'm looking to automate some printing in Windows 7. Ideally from command line. Just as if I would've right-clicked and selected "Print".

Tried the command:

C:\>print /D:"CutePDF Writer" test.txt

That printer is supposed to created PDF files (like the XPS printer) but haven't managed to get anything show up in the printer queue. Ideas?

Answer

The print command uses the following synatx for the /d: switch:

Specifies the printer on which you want to print the job. You can specify a local printer by specifying the port on your computer to which the printer is connected. Valid values for parallel ports are LPT1, LPT2, and LPT3. Valid values for serial ports are COM1, COM2, COM3, and COM4. You can also specify a network printer by its queue name (\ServerName\ShareName). If you do not specify a printer, the print job is sent to LPT1.

This means you can't use "CutePDF Writer" as an argument.

There are two ways that should work:

• 
  

  Assign a COM port to your printer.

  
  
  
  
  1. Open Start → Control Panel → Devices and Printers.
  
  
  2. Right-click the CutePDF Writer and select Printer Properties.
  
  
  3. In the Ports tab, assign an unused port from COM1: to COM4: to your printer.
  
  
  4. 
     

     If you chose, e.g., COM3, print using the following command:

     
     

     print /d:COM3 test.txt
     

  
  
  
  


• 
  

  Share the printer.

  
  
  
  
  1. Open Start → Control Panel → Devices and Printers.
  
  
  2. Right-click the CutePDF Writer and select Printer Properties.
  
  
  3. In the Sharing tab, decide to share the printer and assign a share name to it.
  
  
  4. 
     

     If you chose, e.g., CutePDF, print using the following command:

     
     

     print /d:\\%COMPUTERNAME%\CutePDF test.txt