Windows 11 – Quickly Open the Manual Printer Add Dialog<

Windows 11 hides many legacy but extremely useful administrative tools behind modern UI layers. One of these is the classic PrintUI utility, which allows you to quickly access advanced printer installation dialogs without navigating through multiple Settings menus.

This is especially useful for IT administrators, MSP technicians, and anyone troubleshooting printer installs, driver issues, or legacy devices.

Open the Manual Printer Add Dialog Using Run

You can instantly open the Add Printer Manually dialog by using the Windows Run prompt.

Steps

1. Open the Run dialog using one of the following methods:
   • Press Windows Key + R
   • Right click the Start button and select Run
2. Enter the following command:

printui /im

You can think of /im as shorthand for install manually. This immediately launches the classic manual printer installation dialog.

If the Command Does Not Work

On some systems, you may need to explicitly call the executable:

printui.exe /im

Helpful PrintUI Commands and Switches

If you enter printui by itself in the Run dialog, Windows will display a help screen showing additional switches that can be used with the utility.

Some particularly useful examples include:

Install a Network Printer Directly

printui /in \\ServerName\PrinterName

This installs a shared network printer without using the Settings app.

Open the Legacy Add Printer Dialog

printui /il

This opens the older Add Device dialog, which can be helpful when dealing with legacy drivers, manual ports, or printers that fail to appear through modern discovery.

Why This Matters

Microsoft continues to move printer management into the Settings app, but many advanced options still rely on legacy interfaces. Knowing how to access PrintUI can save significant time when:

• Manually installing printers by IP or local port
• Troubleshooting driver or detection issues
• Working with older print servers or devices
• Supporting users remotely where UI navigation is limited

This command is a small but powerful tool worth keeping in your IT toolkit.