On a Mac, a queue refers to a line of documents or print jobs waiting to be printed by a printer. When you send a document to be printed, it doesn’t immediately start printing. Instead, it joins a queue, which is essentially a waiting line for printing. This is similar to waiting in line at a store or a ticket counter.
The print queue is managed by the operating system, and it keeps track of the order in which documents were sent for printing. You can think of it as a virtual line where each document waits for its turn to be printed.
When you send a document to the printer, it is added to the end of the queue. The printer starts printing the documents in the order they were added to the queue. This means that if there are multiple documents in the queue, the printer will start printing the first document in the queue and then move on to the next one once it’s done.
To help you keep track of the print queue, your Mac may display a printer icon in the dock or in the menu bar. This icon indicates that there are documents waiting to be printed. You can click on the printer icon to view the print queue and see which documents are currently in line.
Having a print queue is useful because it allows you to send multiple documents for printing without having to wait for each document to finish before sending the next one. You can simply send all the documents to the queue, and the printer will take care of printing them in the correct order.
It’s important to note that the print queue can sometimes get stuck or encounter issues. For example, if there is a problem with the printer or with one of the documents in the queue, it may cause the entire queue to stop. In such cases, you may need to troubleshoot the issue by canceling the problematic print job or restarting the printer.
A print queue on a Mac is a line of documents waiting to be printed by a printer. It allows you to send multiple documents for printing and ensures that they are printed in the correct order. The print queue can be managed and monitored through the printer icon in the dock or menu bar.