Microsoft OneDrive Adds Universal Print Capability

Microsoft introduced their Universal Print service earlier this year as a way for Microsoft 365 commercial and education customers to use the cloud to manage printing hardware across an organization. This Azure cloud-based printing service allows authorized users access to organizational printer resources. That simplicity of the Universal Print service is now coming to Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage system.

Universal Print Service Benefits

Typically, to access an organizational printer, a device needs to be configured so it’s recognized as a safe device controlled by an approved user. So what happens in a workplace where users typically have more than one device? Prior to this Universal Print service, it meant a lot of work:  Each potential printer a user would need had to be configured on their devices separately by the IT department.

Universal Print removes that configuration requirement. In addition, according to Microsoft, the printing experience will now be the same across all of their browsers and devices, which makes the process more familiar and easier to use.

Adding Universal Print to Microsoft OneDrive enables this same ease-of-use capability without the need to locally store a cloud-based file on a device just to print it out.

How Universal Print Works on Microsoft OneDrive

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While browsing their files on OneDrive, a user simply selects the file and then selects the Print button that appears in the web user interface toolbar above the file list in the web browser.

The user can then search and select the organizational printer plus modify other basic print settings such as the number of copies, orientation, color, paper size, printing on both sides, and how many pages per sheet. An option is also available directly below the printer drop down box to print the document from the web to a local printer that is attached to the device currently in use.

Note: Some of these options will depend upon the capabilities of the target printer.

Availability and Support for Universal Print in OneDrive

Microsoft confirmed the new cloud-based universal printing service and experience will be available for Microsoft 365 customers this week.

Initial support includes PDF, XPS, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint file types with additional options being added in the future.