Larry Austin Jr.

Q: Contacts App does not print or shutdown in El Capitan.

I believe my OS "upgrade" has disabled printing in the Contacts app.  Also, Contacts will not shutdown from the print screen and a force quit much be made.  Has anyone else experienced this?  I used to print envelopes but now I can only make PDF files and print as a PDF.

Mac Book Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Oct 25, 2015 11:36 PM

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Q: Contacts App does not print or shutdown in El Capitan.

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  • by brenden dv,

    brenden dv brenden dv Oct 27, 2015 10:04 AM in response to Larry Austin Jr.
    Community Specialists
    Oct 27, 2015 10:04 AM in response to Larry Austin Jr.

    Hi Larry,

     

    Thank you for using the Apple Support Communities! I'm sure we can help you figure this out, but we may need a bit more information on what exactly you are seeing:

     

    1. When you try to print from Contacts, what exactly are you seeing? Do you see a "Show Details" or "Hide Details" button in the bottom left hand corner? Do you see the "Cancel" and "Print" buttons in the bottom right?

     

    2. In the preview window in the center of the Print screen, what format does it appear to be using? Is it set to print a list of addresses, a mailing label, etc?

     

    3. Is there a reason you are trying to quit the Contacts application directly from the Print window? Are you able to select "Cancel" in the bottom right hand corner of the Print window, then quit Contacts normally? 

     

    Thanks

  • by GolfTart66,

    GolfTart66 GolfTart66 Dec 2, 2015 10:35 AM in response to brenden dv
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 2, 2015 10:35 AM in response to brenden dv

    Brenden - this same thing is happening on my boss' MacBook and we are pulling our hair out trying to print his Christmas list.  PLEASE HELP.

     

    When attempting to print from Contacts, XMas List, we get the print window (which opens up bigger than full screen - so big that we can't see the Cancel/Print buttons unless clicking the Contacts Icon and then selecting "Open Windows" - then we can see the Cancel/Print buttons).

     

    We have it set to print on mailing labels.

     

    After bringing up the print window though, and selecting Print - NOTHING HAPPENS.  When I try to cancel - NOTHING HAPPENS.  Cannot close the print window nor get back to Contacts.  The only option is to Force Quit the program and start over.  Which the same thing happens over and over.  I am able to print e-mails and pics but cannot print in Contacts program.

  • by John Blanchard1,

    John Blanchard1 John Blanchard1 Dec 3, 2015 11:06 AM in response to GolfTart66
    Level 5 (5,302 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 3, 2015 11:06 AM in response to GolfTart66

    Does this happen with all of your printers? Is there anything in Console? If you open /Applications/Utilities/Console, select All Messages in the Log List, and do a search for Contacts?

  • by GolfTart66,

    GolfTart66 GolfTart66 Dec 3, 2015 11:35 AM in response to John Blanchard1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 3, 2015 11:35 AM in response to John Blanchard1

    Yes and it's actually happening on my MacBook also.  I brought mine into to work to print my contacts and the same exact issue.  I called tech support - was elevated to a higher level and she cannot figure it out either.  She is going to consult with an "engineer" and get back to me.

     

    What we have discovered is the issue appears to be caused by the print window expanding to beyond a "full screen" that when you click on Contacts and then select "All Windows" to make the print window small enough to see and click on "Cancel" or "Print", that causes the program to freeze.  If you are working on a Mac with monitor this doesn't happen. Appears to be limited to macbooks with smaller screen.  We tried changing the screen resolution and still didn't help.  She can't figure out why the print menu/window expands to beyond the screen size.

     

    There are no issues printing emails/pictures/web pages - it's limited to the Contacts program.

  • by John Blanchard1,

    John Blanchard1 John Blanchard1 Dec 3, 2015 1:28 PM in response to GolfTart66
    Level 5 (5,302 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 3, 2015 1:28 PM in response to GolfTart66

    Does using the Hide/Show Details button help at all? Are there any diagnostic reports in Console that explain the freeze?

  • by GolfTart66,

    GolfTart66 GolfTart66 Dec 3, 2015 1:48 PM in response to John Blanchard1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 3, 2015 1:48 PM in response to John Blanchard1

    No and No. Still haven't heard back from tech support since 11:15 a.m.

  • by helper apple,

    helper apple helper apple Dec 9, 2015 3:44 PM in response to GolfTart66
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 9, 2015 3:44 PM in response to GolfTart66

    I am having the same problem. Have you found a solution?

  • by helper apple,

    helper apple helper apple Dec 9, 2015 3:52 PM in response to brenden dv
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 9, 2015 3:52 PM in response to brenden dv

    When I choose a group of addresses to print labels or a list and click print, the window is so large that no options to select are visible. In the print window, I see the last label in my list of contacts. From the tool bar there is no option to print and the only way to get out of it is to use force quit. Help!

  • by GolfTart66,

    GolfTart66 GolfTart66 Dec 9, 2015 4:19 PM in response to helper apple
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 9, 2015 4:19 PM in response to helper apple

    First - at this time there is no resolution.  I was on the phone with tech support (Kathryn) last week for quite a while.  She called me back Friday night to say that the Engineers are aware of this issue and are working on a resolution.

     

    Second - if you hit "escape" you will get out of the print window.

     

    Third - Kathryn and I tried something that, for some reason, worked.  I created a new "dummy" user account and ONLY accessed the contacts - I DID NOT set anything else up under that account.  When I did that and then selected print to print the one contact that was in there - the print window was normal sized and I was able to print.  Kathryn said the "work around" at this point is to have the "dummy" account and sign into iCloud to pull in your contacts and print from the dummy account.

     

    Now, I have not gone that far because I was trying to print out a group for my boss on his computer and encountered this issue.  When I attempted to print my contacts - I had the same issue.  Because it took so long for tech support to give me the work around, it was too late for what my boss needed.  I have no need to print my contacts so I didn't pull them into the dummy account to try out the "work around".  I suggest you try it and see if that works.  It SHOULD because I was able to print the lone contact that was in there.  Let me know how it works.

     

    FYI - this problem does not exist for those using Macs - only macbook users are encountering this issue.

  • by cottesmore,

    cottesmore cottesmore Jun 13, 2016 8:26 AM in response to GolfTart66
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 13, 2016 8:26 AM in response to GolfTart66

    I have a mac mini and have the same problem -cannot print labels. When I click file-print a screen appears with Printer, default settings, copies, pages.  Can only exit with force quit.There is no longer a style pop-up menu or show/hide details as previous. Print is greyed out .HELP! Have managed to print lists (I run 2 society memberships using contacts) by exporting as PDF then printing. This is very frustrating as I cannot select lists as previously.

  • by cottesmore,

    cottesmore cottesmore Jul 24, 2016 9:24 AM in response to cottesmore
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 24, 2016 9:24 AM in response to cottesmore

    Disappointing that this problem still exists with latest update. Can only print list by exporting as PDF, still no way to print labels.