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Windows 11 25H2 Upgrade Causes Duplicate Print Copies in PowerBuilder

Symptom

After upgrading Windows 11 from version 24H2 to 25H2, PowerBuilder applications print twice the number of copies specified in the Copies property. For example, setting Copies = 2 produces 4 printed copies instead of 2.

This issue affects all PowerBuilder versions running on Windows 11 25H2.

Cause

Windows 11 25H2 introduces a redesigned print dialog that caches the Copies value from the most recent print job and incorrectly applies it to subsequent jobs. When a PowerBuilder application sends a new print request with its own Copies value, the new dialog multiplies the application-specified count by the cached value, resulting in duplicate output.

For example:

  • Previous print job used Copies = 2

  • Next print job also specifies Copies = 2

  • Printer outputs 2 × 2 = 4 copies

Note

The legacy print dialog used in Windows 10 and earlier versions of Windows 11 does not exhibit this behavior because it does not cache the Copies value between print jobs.

Resolution

Choose one of the following solutions depending on the desired scope:

  • Solution 1 affects only the specified PowerBuilder applications.

  • Solution 2 affects all applications on the system.

Solution 1: Use the Legacy Print Dialog for Specific Applications

Add the executable paths of the affected PowerBuilder applications to the PreferLegacyAppList registry value. Only the listed applications will use the legacy print dialog; all other applications continue to use the new Windows 11 25H2 dialog.

Property Value
Registry hive HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Key path SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Print\UnifiedPrintDialog
Value name PreferLegacyAppList
Value type REG_MULTI_SZ

Steps

  1. Open Registry Editor (regedit).

  2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Print\UnifiedPrintDialog.

  3. Create a new REG_MULTI_SZ value named PreferLegacyAppList.

  4. Add the full executable path of each affected PowerBuilder application, one path per line: 

    C:\Program Files\program1\program1.exe
C:\Program Files\program2\program2.exe
C:\Program Files\program3\program3.exe

  5. Close Registry Editor and restart the affected applications.

Solution 2: Use the Legacy Print Dialog for All Applications

Set PreferLegacyPrintDialog to 1 to force the legacy print dialog for every application on the system, reverting to the Windows 10 print dialog behavior globally.

Property Value
Registry hive HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Key path SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Print\UnifiedPrintDialog
Value name PreferLegacyPrintDialog
Value type REG_DWORD
Value data 1 (enable legacy dialog)

Steps

  1. Open Registry Editor (regedit).

  2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Print\UnifiedPrintDialog.

  3. Create a new REG_DWORD value named PreferLegacyPrintDialog.

  4. Set the value data to 1.

  5. Close Registry Editor. The change takes effect immediately.

Caution

Solution 2 affects all applications on the system, not just PowerBuilder. Use Solution 1 if you only need to target specific applications.

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