Printing from Preview app causes the Print Options box to shift down below the bottom of the screen

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Printing from Preview app causes the Print Options box to shift down below the bottom of the screen

When I print from the Preview app on my MacBook Pro running MacOS Ventura, the print options window drops in a way that the lower part of the print options windows shifts below the display. You can then barely see the print button. I then have to move my dock to the side or set it to vanishing mode to access the print button.

Has anyone had this problem? Any suggestions on how to fix this?

MacBook Pro 13″

Posted on Nov 24, 2022 8:24 PM

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Answer 1

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Suthran Author

Level 1

25 points

Nov 28, 2022 8:41 PM in response to Chris_D13

Dear Chris_D13,

Thank you for your suggestions. I appreciate the time you have taken to try and help.

Changing the resolution of my display wasn't a solution I wanted to try as my screen resolution is set up for my comfortable viewing. It would be a pain to switch the resolution back and forth every time I wanted to print from the Preview Application.

My Mac is always updated to the latest software version. It is running Ventura 13.0.1.

I have found a work around for the print bug and this is the solution if anyone else comes across it:

When you are in the Preview Application and you print, the Print dialogue window opens up.
If the bottom portion of the window with the buttons PDF, Cancel and Print are below your screen, this is what you have to do:
- Click on the tiny arrow pointing downward which looks like a 'v' to the left side of the Preview options list.
- Then click on the '>' arrow on the left side of the Media and Quality options located below the Preview options.
- This will resize the print dialogue window to reveal the bottom sections.

Regards.

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Answer 2

Chris_D13

Community Specialist

Nov 26, 2022 3:07 PM in response to Suthran

Hi Suthran,

To help work around the issue, see if you can view the complete dialog options after changing the resolution. These steps should help the full application appear. To do so, click the Apple menu > System Settings > Displays, then choose More Space.

Additionally, ensure macOS is updated: Update macOS on Mac - Apple Support

"Use Software Update

Before installing new software, it's a good idea to back up your Mac.

From the Apple menu  in the corner of your screen:

Choose System Settings. Then click General in the sidebar, and Software Update on the right.
Or choose System Preferences. Then click Software Update.

2.If Software Update finds new software, click the Update Now or Upgrade Now button to install it."

Reach out to Apple Support directly to help investigate the behavior if the issue continues. You can use the following link to reach out: Contact - Official Apple Support

Kind regards.

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Answer 3

Nov 28, 2022 9:13 PM in response to Chris_D13

You could just reduce the height of the Preview window before you select the Print option. This has the effect of drawing the print preview sheet dialog closer to the top of the screen. If you size the window vertically smaller than the size of the print sheet dialog it will be all the way at the top of the screen.

The workaround mentioned is quite clever because when you expand the carets the height of the print sheet dialog adjusts itself vertically but only by a small amount (which it seems is just enough per the author). But I think resizing the entire Preview window vertically will cover more scenarios. The sheet dialog is centered on the Preview window, changing the size of the Preview window re-positions the sheet dialog.

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Answer 4

Suthran Author

Level 1

25 points

Nov 29, 2022 8:33 PM in response to James Brickley

The resolution is set at 1280 x 800, with a screen size of 13".

My point of view is that the print dialogue window should adjust to the screen size irrespective of resolutions set on the screen. This is clearly a bug, don't you think?

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Answer 5

Nov 29, 2022 9:50 PM in response to Suthran

Yes, Apple did make the print dialog taller in vertical height. On Monterey I would receive a warning when attempting to set the 14" MacBook Pro's 3024x1964 Retina display to the lowest scaled resolution of 1024x665. "Are you sure you want to switch to this scaled resolution? When using this scaled resolution, some applications may not fit entirely on the screen.

In your case, the Ventura Preview print sheet dialog barely fits on the screen from top to bottom and the buttons are obscured by the Dock icons. If you dropped your resolution any lower the bottom of the sheet dialog would go off the bottom of the screen entirely.

I would see about running at a higher resolution. Most modern monitors run at higher than 1280x800. If you can do at least 1440x900 that might be just enough screen real estate.

Technically the sheet dialog fits on screen it's just the Dock that is in the way. You could hide the dock or move it to the right or left side of the screen as a workaround.

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Answer 6

Suthran Author

Level 1

25 points

Nov 29, 2022 10:15 PM in response to James Brickley

I agree with you on setting the screen resolution a notch higher to the default setting of 1440 x 900. This would solve this particular problem and give me more screen real estate. However, my eyes are comfortable reading letters, especially in a browser, at the slightly lower resolution of 1280 x 800.

Being past mid 40, my eyesight is not exactly top notch.

I’ll see if I can get the best of both worlds of having more screen real estate and having default system font size increased.

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Answer 7

Dec 1, 2022 5:03 PM in response to Suthran

You are the dude, Suthran! The workaround clicking on the 'v' and the '>' worked perfectly for me. This has been a real problem since every time I needed to print a PDF I had to resize the resolution to tiny print, then print, then resize resolution back to large text so I can read my computer. You have saved me much frustration. Thanks again!

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Answer 8

Dec 23, 2022 3:42 PM in response to Suthran

In settings under Display, when you select the option of Larger Text, then you loose the bottom of the print dialogue box in Preview. If you select the next text size to the right, then the print box works fine and the bottom shows up.

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