Control method and information processing device

Abstract

The present invention relates to a control method and an information processing device. The control method is implemented in an information processing device by executing at least one processor of print control software, and the control method comprises: registering a print queue with first identification information in the print control software; when the print queue with the first identification information is registered in the print control software, determining whether there is a device with the first identification information on a network to which the information processing device is connected; and when it is determined that there is a device with the first identification information on the network, changing the identification information of the print queue registered in the print control software from the first identification information to second identification information different from the first identification information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a control method and an information processing device. Background Art

[0002] There is a technology for providing a standard printing function (hereinafter referred to as an OS standard printing function) using an operating system without using printer-specific software (hereinafter referred to as a printer-specific driver) provided by a printer vendor (see Japanese Patent No. 5806783). The OS determines whether the printer supports the OS standard printing function based on information acquired from the printer, and if the printer supports the OS standard printing function, print data generated by the OS standard printing function is sent to the printer. Summary of the invention

[0003] According to one aspect of the present invention, a control method is implemented in an information processing device by executing at least one processor of print control software, the control method comprising: registering a print queue set with first identification information in the print control software; in a case where the print queue set with the first identification information is registered in the print control software, determining whether there is a device set with the first identification information on a network to which the information processing device is connected; and in a case where it is determined that there is a device set with the first identification information on the network, changing the identification information of the print queue registered in the print control software from the first identification information to second identification information different from the first identification information.

[0004] According to another aspect of the present invention, an information processing device includes: a first registration unit, which is configured to register a print queue with first identification information in print control software; a determination unit, which is configured to determine whether there is a device with the first identification information on a network to which the information processing device is connected, when the print queue with the first identification information is registered in the print control software; and a change unit, which is configured to change the identification information of the print queue registered in the print control software from the first identification information to second identification information different from the first identification information, when it is determined that there is a device with the first identification information on the network.

[0005] Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] Figure 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a printing system according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0007] Figure 2is a schematic diagram showing a printer list screen, a printer registration screen, and a printer setting screen of the print conversion utility.

[0008] Figure 3 1 is a schematic diagram showing a printer list screen and a printer registration screen of an operating system (OS) printing system.

[0009] Figure 4 : is a schematic diagram showing a print setting screen of the OS print system.

[0010] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing a print queue re-registration process performed by the print conversion utility.

[0011] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing a print queue re-registration process performed by the print conversion utility.

[0012] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram showing a screen for prompting the user to change the printer name.

[0013] Figure 8 is a flowchart showing a print queue re-registration process performed by the print conversion utility.

[0014] Fig. 9 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] There are cases where the printer does not support an operating system (OS) standard print function, and therefore the printer cannot interpret print data generated by the OS standard print function. There are also cases where, even when the printer supports the OS standard print function, the user wants the printer to perform printing based on print settings more detailed than the OS standard print function.

[0016] An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a technology capable of issuing an appropriate printing instruction using an OS standard printing function.

[0017] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following exemplary embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention as described in the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the exemplary embodiments are essential to the present invention.

[0018] Figure 101 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a printing system according to a first exemplary embodiment. A personal computer (PC) 01 is connected to each of a printer 30, a printer 40, and a printer 50 via a network 20 to communicate with each of these printers. In the present exemplary embodiment, a local area network (LAN) is used as the network 20, but a wide area network (WAN) may be used instead. The connection configuration of the network may be wired or wireless, or a mixture of the two. PC 01 controls the printer 30, the printer 40, and the printer 50 connected via the network 20.

[0019] <Hardware Configuration>

[0020] Here, we will refer to Fig. 9 The block diagram in describes the hardware configuration of the printing system according to the present exemplary embodiment. Fig. 9 An example of a printing system in which the PC 01 serving as a host computer and the printer 30 can communicate with each other is shown. Fig. 9 The hardware configuration of the printer 30 is shown, and the printer 40 and the printer 50 each have a hardware configuration similar to that of the printer 30 .

[0021] PC 01 is an example of an information processing device. PC 01 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 201, a read-only memory (ROM) 202, a random access memory (RAM) 203, a display unit 204, an input unit 205, an external storage device 206, and an interface (I / F) unit 207. PC 01 of the present exemplary embodiment may be a desktop PC or any other type of device, including a notebook PC, a tablet PC, and a smartphone.

[0022] The PC 01 sends, for example, instructions, print data, and setting commands for controlling the printer 30 to the printer 30. The CPU 201 controls the various components of the PC 01, and executes control programs such as an OS and a print conversion utility 07 to be described later. The ROM 202 stores an OS for controlling system operations. The RAM 203 is a memory provided with a work area for use by the CPU 201. The external storage device 206 stores various control programs such as an application program and the print conversion utility 07.

[0023] The input unit 205 is an input device including a keyboard and a mouse for operating the PC 01. The display unit 204 is a display device that displays information for confirmation, user interface screens of the OS and application programs, and messages input from the input unit 205. The I / F unit 207 is a communication module for transmitting and receiving data to and from the printer 30.

[0024] The printer 30 used as a printing device is, for example, an inkjet printer. The printer 30 includes a CPU 211, a ROM 212, a RAM 213, a print engine 214, and an I / F unit 215. The CPU 211 controls each of those components which will be specifically described later. The ROM 212 stores a program for controlling the print engine 214. The RAM 213 temporarily stores a program for the operation of the print engine 214 and data such as setting values received from the PC 01.

[0025] The print engine 214 performs printing on a print medium based on the print data sent from the PC 01. The I / F unit 215 is a communication module that receives the print data from the PC 01, and has functions such as the function of sending the current status information of the printer 30 from the printer 30 to the PC 01. The status information here is status data indicating the status of the printer 30, and this status data can be sent from the printer 30 in response to a request from the PC 01 connected via the I / F unit 215. The status data is information for notifying the operating status of the printer 30 such as "printing" or "standby state", and the abnormal status of the printer 30 such as "out of paper", "cover open", or "no remaining ink".

[0026] <Software configuration of the PC 01>

[0027] will be described with reference to Figure 1 the software configuration of the PC 01. An illustration application 02, an OS print system 03, a network (NW) communication control unit 06, and a print conversion utility 07 are operably installed inside the PC 01 used as an information processing device. Although Figure 1 not shown in an OS is built in the PC 01, and the resources of the PC 01 (for example, each block in the PC 01) are managed by the OS. In the present exemplary embodiment,

[0028] is used as the OS built in the PC 01.

[0029] When a print request is made, the drawing application 02 outputs the generated drawing data to the OS printing system 03. Based on the acquired drawing data and information related to the print setting, the OS printing system 03 generates a print job. The generated print job is input to the print queue 05 of the OS standard print function. The print setting can be set by the user in a setting screen provided by the OS printing system 03 (to be referred to later). Figure 4 The information related to the print setting includes information such as paper size, paper type, and information indicating which print queue is to be used for printing. The OS printing system 03 sequentially processes the print request from the drawing application 02 as a job for each printer connected to the PC 01.

[0030] The OS printing system 03 is OS standard printing software having a standard function for print data generation (OS standard printing function). The OS printing system 03 spools the drawing data generated by the drawing application 02, and generates print data in a predetermined format (hereinafter, may also be referred to as "standard format") conforming to the OS standard printing function. A printer supporting the OS standard printing function can interpret the print data in the standard format. Therefore, the OS printing system 03 sends the generated print data to the printer supporting the OS standard printing function via the NW communication control unit 06.

[0031] Furthermore, the OS printing system 03 acquires the device model information of the printer via the NW communication control unit 06 to determine whether the printer supports the OS printing system 03. The information to be acquired for support determination is not limited to the device model information of the printer, but may be other types of information such as capability information of the printer, etc. Various types of processing in the OS printing system 03 are controlled by the OS standard printing control unit 04 in the OS printing system 03.

[0032] The print conversion utility 07 is print control software for being able to issue a print instruction to a printer that does not support the OS standard print function using the OS standard print function, and is appropriately installed on the PC 01. The print conversion utility 07 has a function of converting print data in a standard format into print data in a format specific to a printer vendor. Hereinafter, this function is referred to as a "vendor driver 08", but the vendor driver 08 may not be a function equivalent to that of a conventional printer-specific driver, and it may be sufficient if the vendor driver 08 has at least a function of converting print data into print data in a format specific to a printer vendor. After the print data is converted into print data in a format specific to a printer vendor by the print conversion utility 07, the converted print data is sent to the printer that does not support the OS standard print function via the NW communication control unit 06.

[0033] Even if a printer that does not support the OS standard print function receives print data in a standard format generated by the OS print system 03, the printer cannot interpret the print data in the standard format. Therefore, in the present exemplary embodiment, the print conversion utility 07 converts the print data in the standard format into print data in a format specific to the printer vendor that can be interpreted by the printer. Thus, the printer that does not support the OS standard print function can perform printing using the standard function of the OS print system 03.

[0034] Specifically, in the case of a print job for a printer that does not support the OS standard printing function, the OS printing system 03 sends the generated print data in the standard format to the virtual printer 10 started by the print conversion utility 07. The virtual printer 10 is able to function as a printer that supports the OS standard printing function via the NW communication control unit, and receive print jobs for the OS standard printing function. In other words, the OS printing system 03 regards the virtual printer 10 as a printer that supports the OS standard printing function, and outputs the print job to the virtual printer 10. The print conversion utility 07 converts the print data in the standard format received by the virtual printer 10 into print data in a format specific to the printer vendor, and sends the converted print data to the printer via the NW communication control unit 06. Figure 1 In the present exemplary embodiment, the virtual printer 10 is separate from the print conversion utility 07. However, in the present exemplary embodiment, the virtual printer 10 may be provided as a function of the print conversion utility 07. In addition, although the virtual printer 10 exists in the same PC as the PC provided with the OS printing system 03, the virtual printer 10 may exist in a different server or PC.

[0035] Even in the case where the printer supports the OS printing system 03 (that is, even in the case where the printer can interpret the print data in the standard format), if a print instruction is issued to a printer that supports the print conversion utility 07, the print conversion utility 07 can be used. More functions can be provided by using the print conversion utility 07. For example, the OS standard function provided by the OS printing system 03 does not support detailed print quality settings such as color matching processing and adjustment of color sense and brightness. In other words, the OS standard printing function is limited. However, by using the print conversion utility 07, it is possible to provide functions equivalent to printer drivers specific to printer vendors.

[0036] Here, in order to use the print conversion utility 07 from the drawing application 02, it may be desirable to register both the print queue 05 included in the OS printing system 03 for receiving a print request from the drawing application 02 and the print queue 09 included in the print conversion utility 07. The print queue 09 included in the print conversion utility 07 is a queue for controlling print data output from the virtual printer 10. Without registering these two print queues, the drawing application 02 cannot convert print data using the print conversion utility 07. Registering the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 enables the print conversion utility 07 to start the virtual printer 10. Subsequently, the print conversion utility 07 specifies the virtual printer 10 and automatically registers the print queue 05 in the OS printing system 03.

[0037] The print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 is stored in the storage area of ​​each user. In other words, the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 for user A and the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 for user B are registered in respective storage areas different from each other. On the other hand, the print queue 05 of the OS printing system 03 is stored in the public area of ​​the system. In other words, the print queue 05 of the OS printing system 03 is shared by user A and user B. Hereinafter, the print queue 05 of the OS printing system 03 may be referred to as the print queue 05 of the OS standard printing function.

[0038] <Software Configuration of Printer>

[0039] The printer 30, the printer 40, and the printer 50 each include a NW communication control unit 31, a print control unit 32, and a printing unit 33. The print control unit 32 receives print data from the PC 01 via the NW communication control unit 31, and controls the printing unit 33 based on the print data to perform printing. In the present exemplary embodiment, the printers 30 and 40 do not support the OS standard print function, and the printer 50 supports the OS standard print function. The printer may be an inkjet printing device, or may be an electrophotographic printing device.

[0040] <Registration of Print Queues in the Print Conversion Utility>

[0041] Next, transition of screens to be displayed in the PC 01 will be described to show the registration flow of the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 .

[0042] Figure 2The printer list screen 60 to be provided by the print conversion utility 07 is shown. The printer list screen 60 includes: the names 61 of the printers registered in the print conversion utility 07; a "Set" button 62 for setting the printer; an "Add" button 63 for registering the printer; and a "Delete" button 64 for deleting the printer. Figure 2 , the following status is shown: “Printer 30 (Print Conversion Utility)” is displayed as the name of the printer 61, and the print queue of the printer 30 has been registered in the Print Conversion Utility 07. The words “(Print Conversion Utility)” added to the end of “Printer 30” indicate that the printer 30 supports the OS standard print function via the Print Conversion Utility 07.

[0043] When the user presses the "Set" button 62 of the printer list screen 60, the print conversion utility 07 opens the printer setting screen 70. The printer setting screen 70 includes a printer name edit field 71, a printer setting location edit field 72, a "Cancel" button 73, and an "OK" button 74. The print conversion utility 07 displays the name information of the print queue 09 and the printer setting location information currently registered in the print conversion utility 07 in the printer name edit field 71 and the printer setting location edit field 72, respectively. In the printer setting screen 70, the user can edit the contents displayed in the printer name edit field 71 and the printer setting location edit field 72. When the user presses the "OK" button 74, the print conversion utility 07 updates the setting information of the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 based on the contents of the printer name edit field 71 and the printer setting location edit field 72. When the user presses the "Cancel" button 73, the print conversion utility 07 closes the printer setting screen 70.

[0044] When the user presses the "Add" button 63 of the printer list screen 60, the print conversion utility 07 opens the printer registration screen 80. The printer registration screen 80 includes a printer list 81. The printer list 81 displays all printers connected to the PC 01 and that do not support the OS standard function. Here, the printer 30 and the printer 40 that do not support the OS standard print function are displayed. When a printer is selected in the printer list 81, the name of the selected printer is displayed in the printer name text field 82, and the setting location of the selected printer is displayed in the printer setting location text field 83. When the user presses the "Register" button 85, based on the contents entered in the printer name text field 82 and the printer setting location text field 83, the print queue 09 of the printer currently selected in the printer list 81 is registered in the print conversion utility 07 as a new print queue.

[0045] When the print queue of the printer is registered in the print conversion utility 07, the print conversion utility 07 adds the support information for the OS standard print function generated internally based on the information related to the registered printer, and starts the virtual printer 10. Specifically, the print conversion utility 07 starts the virtual printer 10 based on the information related to the printer (model name, name of the printer, and setting location information of the printer) and the support information (universally unique identifier (UUID) and capability information). Thus, the print conversion utility 07 newly registers the virtual printer 10, which is associated with the registered print queue 09 and is set with the same name as the name (identification information) of the registered print queue 09. Then, the virtual printer 10 can start to respond to the OS printing system 03. At the time of registration, the word "print conversion utility" is added to the name of the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 and the name of the virtual printer 10. When the print queue 09 is registered in the print conversion utility 07 and the virtual printer 10 associated with the print queue 09 is started, the print conversion utility 07 executes a registration command for the print queue 05 of the OS standard print function based on the information returned to the OS printing system 03. The print queue 05 is also automatically registered in the OS printing system 03 by this process without the intervention of a user operation on the screen of the OS printing system 03.

[0046] When the user presses the "Delete" button 64 in the printer list screen 60, the print conversion utility 07 deletes the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 of the selected printer. In addition, the print conversion utility 07 stops the virtual printer 10 associated with the deleted print queue 09. In other words, the print conversion utility 07 deletes the virtual printer 10 associated with the deleted print queue 09. In addition, the print conversion utility 07 executes a delete command for the print queue 05 of the OS standard print function, thereby deleting the print queue 05 of the OS standard print function. Registration and deletion of the print queue 05 of the OS standard print function can be performed manually from the OS printing system 03 to be described later.

[0047] <Registration of Print Queues in the OS Printing System>

[0048] Next, transition of screens to be displayed in the PC 01 will be described to show the registration flow of the print queue 05 of the OS printing system 03 . Figure 31 is a diagram showing a printer list screen 90 to be provided by the OS printing system 03. The printer list screen 90 includes a printer list 91 that can print, which displays all printers that can be selected when printing. When the user selects a printer in the printer list 91 that can print and presses a "Set" button 92, the OS printing system 03 displays a printer setting screen 100.

[0049] The printer setting screen 100 includes a printer name edit field 101, a printer setting location edit field 102, a “cancel” button 103, and an “OK” button 104. The print conversion utility 07 displays the name information of the print queue 05 of the printer currently registered in the OS standard print function and its setting location information in the printer name edit field 101 and the printer setting location edit field 102, respectively. In the printer setting screen 100, the user can edit the contents displayed in the printer name edit field 101 and the printer setting location edit field 102. When the user presses the “OK” button 104, the OS printing system 03 updates the setting information of the print queue 05 of the OS standard print function based on the contents of the printer name edit field 101 and the printer setting location edit field 102. When the user presses the “cancel” button 103, the OS printing system 03 closes the printer setting screen 100. When the user presses the “delete” button 94, the OS printing system 03 deletes the print queue of the selected printer and also deletes the printer from the list of printers that can print 91.

[0050] When the user presses the "add" button 93 in the printer list screen 90, the OS printing system 03 displays the printer registration screen 110. The printer registration screen 110 includes a registered printer list 111 that displays all printers connected to the PC 01 and supporting the OS standard printing function. Here, from the printer 50 connected to the PC 01 and supporting the OS normal printing function, the OS printing system 03 acquires the name and capability information including the support information of the OS normal printing function for the printer 50, and displays the information in the registered printer list 111 based on the acquired information. In addition, the OS printing system 03 also acquires the name and capability information of the virtual printer 10 from the virtual printer 10 started by the print conversion utility 07. Here, the printer 30 is the operation object of the print conversion utility 07, and the virtual printer 10 corresponding to the printer 30 is started (registered). Therefore, the OS printing system 03 acquires the capability information of the virtual printer 10 from the virtual printer 10 corresponding to the printer 30 and started by the print conversion utility 07, and displays the information in the registered printer list 111 based on the acquired capability information. In the registered printer list 111 , the OS printing system 03 displays a virtual printer name “Printer 30 (Print Conversion Utility)” as the name of the printer 30 , and displays “Network” as the connection method.

[0051] When the user selects a printer from the registered printer list 111 in the printer registration screen 110 and presses a “register” button 113, the OS printing system 03 generates a print queue 05 of the selected printer in the OS printing system 03 and closes the printer registration screen 110. When the user presses a “cancel” button 112, the OS printing system 03 closes the printer registration screen 110 without registering the print queue of the printer.

[0052] Figure 3 The printer list screen 90 in FIG. 1 shows the status that the print queue of the printer 30 and the print queue of the printer 50 are registered in the OS printing system 03. Although the printer 30 does not support the OS standard printing function, as a result of the registration of the print queue of the printer 30 in the print conversion utility 07, a virtual printer 10 corresponding to the printer 30 exists. In this way, the OS printing system 03 acquires the name and capability information of the virtual printer 10 from the virtual printer 10 corresponding to the printer 30, thereby registering the print queue of the virtual printer 10 in the OS printing system 03. As shown in FIG. Figure 2As described above, the name of the virtual printer 10 is the same as the name of the print queue registered in the print conversion utility 07. Therefore, by registering the print queue of the virtual printer 10 corresponding to the printer 30, the OS printing system 03 can be regarded as having the print queue of the printer 30 registered.

[0053] <Print settings screen>

[0054] Figure 4 1 is a diagram showing a print setting screen 120 of the OS printing system 03. The print setting screen 120 is a screen for the user to perform print settings for print data generated in the drawing application 02.

[0055] The user can specify a printer for printing in the printer selection pop-up menu 121. The OS printing system 03 displays the printers registered in Figure 3 The printers in the printer list screen 90 shown are registered as printers that can be selected. In the present exemplary embodiment, the printer 30 that is artificially regarded as supporting the OS standard printing function due to the intervention of the print conversion utility 07 and the printer 50 that supports the OS standard printing function are registered as printers that can be selected. Therefore, these printers are displayed in the printer selection pop-up menu 121. The user can set the number of prints in the print quantity setting text column 122. The user can use the page setting radio button 123 and the page designation text column 124 to set the (one or more) pages to be printed. The user can set the paper size for printing in the paper size setting pop-up menu 125. The user can set any paper size among A4, A5, L size and postcard that can be printed by the printer. When the user presses the print button 127, the OS printing system 03 inputs the print job based on the settings in the screen and closes the screen. When the user presses the cancel button 126, the OS printing system 03 closes the screen without inputting the print job.

[0056] As described above, in the case of a printer that does not support the OS standard print function, the default value of the name of the print queue to be registered in the OS printing system 03 is the name (identification information) of the virtual printer associated with the printer. The virtual printer 10 is associated with the print queue of the print conversion utility 07. In other words, the default name of the virtual printer 10 is the name of the print queue of the print conversion utility 07.

[0057] Here, in the present exemplary embodiment, when the name of the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 is set and then the virtual printer 10 is started using the set name, it is determined whether a device (here, a printer) with the same name as the changed name already exists on the network to which the PC 01 is connected. In order for the OS printing system 03 to recognize a printer capable of using the OS standard printing function, it is expected that there is only one printer with the same name on the network to which the PC 01 is connected. Therefore, when a device (here, a printer) with the same name as the name of the virtual printer 10 already exists on the network, a number is added to the end of the name of the virtual printer 10 in accordance with the discovery protocol to distinguish it from the name of the existing device.

[0058] However, in this case, the name of the virtual printer 10 and the name of the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 are different, making it difficult for the user to determine that these names are the same. In view of this, in the present exemplary embodiment, in the case where the name of the virtual printer 10 started exists on the network, the name of the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 associated with the virtual printer 10 whose name has been changed is updated.

[0059] The following will refer to Figure 5 The details of the above-mentioned processing are described. Figure 5 07 is a flowchart showing the flow of the registration process of the print conversion utility 07 . Figure 5 The process in is started in response to the user starting the print conversion utility 07. Figure 5 In the example, the print conversion utility 07 is started, and the name of the print queue 09 registered in the print conversion utility 07 is set. The print conversion utility 07 will be described below as executing each step of the processing, but in fact, the CPU 201 executes the corresponding program to realize the corresponding function. All steps do not have to be executed sequentially in one processing, but the processing can be transferred to the OS side once and then called from the OS again. For convenience, Figure 5 The flow in FIG. 1 shows the main processing of the print conversion utility 07 in a simplified manner.

[0060] In step S01 , the print conversion utility 07 registers the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 using the set name.

[0061] In step S02 , the print conversion utility 07 activates the virtual printer 10 based on the information about the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 (model name, name of the printer, setting location information of the printer) and the support information (UUID and capability information).

[0062] In step S03, the print conversion utility 07 determines whether the name of the virtual printer 10 to be started has been changed by the discovery protocol. Specifically, first, the print conversion utility 07 determines whether there is a device with the same name as the name to be set in the virtual printer 10 to be started on the network to which the PC 01 is connected. In the case where the print conversion utility 07 determines that there is a device with the same name on the network, a number is added to the end of the name of the virtual printer 10 in accordance with the discovery protocol to avoid assigning the same name. For example, it is assumed that "printer 50" is set as the name of the print queue 09 of the printer 30 registered in the print conversion utility 07 in step S01 instead of "printer 30 (print conversion utility)". In this case, the name of the virtual printer 10 is also "printer 50", but the name "printer 50" has been assigned to the printer 50 existing on the network to which the PC 01 belongs. Therefore, in this case, the number 2 is added to the end of the name so that the virtual printer 10 is assigned the name "printer 50 (2)". If the name of the virtual printer 10 is changed ("Yes" in step S03), the process proceeds to step S04. The determination of whether or not a device having the same name exists on the network may be performed based on a device name (eg, a Bonjour name) included in information transmitted from each device.

[0063] In step S04, the print conversion utility 07 changes the name of the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 to match the name of the virtual printer 10 changed in step S03. For example, when the name of the virtual printer 10 is changed to "printer 50 (2)" in step S03, the name of the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 is also changed to "printer 50 (2)".

[0064] In step S05, the print conversion utility 07 specifies the virtual printer 10 having the name set in step S03, and performs processing for registering the print queue 05 of the OS standard print function. For example, in the case where the name of the virtual printer 10 is changed to "printer 50 (2)" in step S03, the print conversion utility 07 registers the print queue 05 named "printer 50 (2)" in the OS print system 03 as the print queue 05 associated with the virtual printer 10.

[0065] In the present exemplary embodiment, in the case where the name of the virtual printer 10 started by the print conversion utility 07 is changed through the discovery protocol, the name is reflected in the name of the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 through the above-mentioned processing. As a result, the name of the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07, the name of the virtual printer 10, and the name of the print queue 05 of the OS standard print function are made consistent. This makes it easier for the user to identify the printer used for printing, and produces the effect of being able to issue appropriate printing instructions. In the above example, step S03 is executed after step S02, but the present exemplary embodiment is not limited to this order. Before starting the virtual printer 10, it can be determined whether there is a device with the same name on the network. Subsequently, in the case where it is determined that there is a device with the same name on the network, the virtual printer 10 can be started using the changed name.

[0066] Next, a second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. In the following description, points common to the first exemplary embodiment will not be described, but only different points will be described. In the present exemplary embodiment, the print conversion utility 07 notifies the user that a network device with the same name already exists.

[0067] The following will refer to Figure 6 The details of the above-mentioned processing are described. Figure 6 07 is a flowchart showing the flow of the registration process of the print queue of the print conversion utility 07 . Figure 6 The process starts in response to the user starting the print conversion utility 07. Figure 6 In the example, the print conversion utility 07 is started, and the name of the print queue 09 registered in the print conversion utility 07 is set. The print conversion utility 07 will be described below as executing each step of the processing, but in fact, the CPU 201 executes the corresponding program to realize the corresponding function. All steps do not have to be executed sequentially in one processing, but the processing can be transferred to the OS side once and then called from the OS again. For convenience, Figure 6 The flow in FIG. 1 merely shows the flow of main processing of the print conversion utility 07 in a simplified manner.

[0068] Figure 6 Steps S10 to S12 in the first exemplary embodiment are different from those in the first exemplary embodiment. Figure 507. For example, it is assumed that "printer 50" is set as the name of the print queue 09 of the printer 30 registered in the print conversion utility 07 instead of "printer 30 (print conversion utility)" in step S10. In this case, the name of the virtual printer 10 is also "printer 50", but the name "printer 50" has been assigned to the printer 50 existing on the network to which the PC 01 belongs. Therefore, in this case, the determination result in step S12 is yes, and the processing proceeds to step S13.

[0069] In step S13, the print conversion utility 07 displays Figure 7 The printer name edit screen 130 shown in FIG. 1 includes a message for notifying the user that a printer with the set name already exists. The printer name edit screen 130 also includes a printer name edit text field 131 that displays the name of the print queue 09 currently set by the print conversion utility 07. The printer name edit text field 131 is an input item that enables the user to edit the input printer name (user input) based on the message prompting the user to change the name in the printer name edit screen 130. When the user presses an "OK" button 132 in the printer name edit screen 130, the print conversion utility 07 changes the name of the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 based on the content of the printer name edit text field 131.

[0070] The above-mentioned processing is repeated until the name of the virtual printer 10 does not coincide with the name of the network device (here, the printer) existing on the network. For example, it is assumed that "printer 30 (print conversion utility)" is set as the name of the print queue 09 of the printer 30 registered in the print conversion utility 07 in step S10. In this case, the name of the virtual printer 10 is also "printer 30 (print conversion utility)", and the name is different from the name of any other printer existing on the network to which the PC 01 belongs. Therefore, in this case, the determination result in step S12 is No, and the processing proceeds to step S14.

[0071] In step S14, the print conversion utility 07 specifies the virtual printer 10 started in step S11, and performs processing for registering the print queue 05 of the OS standard print function. For example, the print conversion utility 07 registers the print queue 05 named "printer 30 (print conversion utility)" in the OS printing system 03 as the print queue 05 associated with the virtual printer 10 named "printer 30 (print conversion utility").

[0072] As described above, in the present exemplary embodiment, the print conversion utility 07 notifies the name of the registered print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 that already exists on the network. This notification enables the user to change the name of the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 again. According to the present exemplary embodiment, the name of the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07, the name of the virtual printer 10, and the name of the print queue 05 of the OS standard print function are made consistent. In addition, it is possible to avoid a situation where the virtual printer 10 has a name that the user does not want, such as a name formed by adding a number to the end of the name of the virtual printer 10 according to the discovery protocol. This makes it easier for the user to identify the printer used for printing, and produces an effect that an appropriate print instruction can be issued. In the above example, step S12 is performed after step S11, but the present exemplary embodiment is not limited to this order. It can be determined whether there is a device with the same name on the network before starting the virtual printer 10. Subsequently, in the case where it is determined that there is a device with the same name on the network, the user can be notified in step S13.

[0073] Next, a third exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. In the first exemplary embodiment and the second exemplary embodiment, the operation when registering the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 is described. Here, the print conversion utility 07 is an application installed on the PC 01, so when the operation of the PC 01 is terminated, the operation of the print conversion utility 07 is also terminated. Optionally, the user can terminate the operation of the print conversion utility 07. When the operation of the print conversion utility 07 is terminated, the operation of the virtual printer 10 is also terminated. Subsequently, when the print conversion utility 07 is started again, the print conversion utility 07 restarts the virtual printer 10 associated with the registered print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07. At this time, there is a possibility that the name of the restarted virtual printer 10 is the same as the name of the network device existing on the network. For example, there is a possibility that in the case where the user connects a printer of the same model to the network by using another PC, the connected printer may be given the same network device name (hereinafter, also referred to as the Bonjour name). In this case, the name of the restarted virtual printer 10 is changed by the discovery protocol. In the present exemplary embodiment, in this case, the name of the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 is changed, or the user is prompted to change the name of the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 again.

[0074] The following will refer to Figure 8 The details of the above-mentioned processing are described. Figure 8 07 is a flowchart showing the flow of the registration process of the print conversion utility 07 . Figure 8The process in is started in response to the user's activation of the print conversion utility 07. The print conversion utility 07 will be described below as executing the individual steps of the process, but in reality, the CPU 201 executes the corresponding program to implement the corresponding function. All steps do not have to be executed sequentially in one process, but the process may be transferred to the OS side once and then called again from the OS. For convenience, Figure 8 The flow in FIG. 1 merely shows the flow of main processing of the print conversion utility 07 in a simplified manner.

[0075] In step S20, the print conversion utility 07 initializes the index number (n=1).

[0076] In step S21 , the print conversion utility 07 starts looping through the number of print queues 09 registered in the print conversion utility 07 .

[0077] In step S22 , the print conversion utility 07 starts the virtual printer 10 associated with the nth print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 based on the information about the nth print queue 09 .

[0078] In step S23, the print conversion utility 07 determines whether the name of the virtual printer 10 started in step S22 has been changed by the discovery protocol. Specifically, first, the print conversion utility 07 determines whether there is a device with the same name as the name set in the virtual printer 10 to be started on the network to which the PC 01 is connected. In the case where the print conversion utility 07 determines that there is a device with the same name on the network, a number is added to the end of the name of the virtual printer 10 according to the discovery protocol to avoid giving the same name.

[0079] In step S24 , the print conversion utility 07 deletes the print queue 05 of the OS standard print function associated with the n-th print queue 09 , and the process proceeds to step S25 .

[0080] In step S25, the print conversion utility 07 executes the first exemplary embodiment. Figure 5 Alternatively, the processing of step S04 and step S05 of the second exemplary embodiment may be performed in step S25. Figure 6 The processing of step S13 and after step S13 in .

[0081] As described above, in the present exemplary embodiment, the print conversion utility 07 is controlled so that the started virtual printer 10 does not have the same name as any other device on the network even when it is restarted. In addition, in the case where the name of the virtual printer 10 is changed, the print conversion utility 07 changes the name of the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07 and re-registers the print queue 05 of the OS standard print function. Thus, the name of the print queue 09 of the print conversion utility 07, the name of the virtual printer 10, and the name of the print queue 05 of the OS standard print function are consistent. This makes it easier for the user to identify the printer used for printing, and produces an effect that an appropriate print instruction can be issued.

[0082] <Other Implementation Methods>

[0083] The embodiments of the present invention can also be implemented by the following method: software (program) that performs the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments is provided to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and a computer or central processing unit (CPU) or microprocessing unit (MPU) of the system or device reads and executes the program.

[0084] The present disclosure provides a technology capable of issuing an appropriate printing instruction using an OS standard printing function.

[0085] While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications, equivalent structures and functions.

Claims

1. A control method, the control method being implemented in an information processing device by at least one processor executing print control software, the control method comprising: Registering a print queue having first identification information in the print control software; In a case where a print queue provided with the first identification information is registered in the print control software, determining whether there is a device provided with the first identification information on a network to which the information processing device is connected; as well as When it is determined that a device having the first identification information is present on the network, the identification information of the print queue registered in the print control software is changed from the first identification information to second identification information different from the first identification information. When it is determined that there is a device with the first identification information on the network, the virtual printer with the second identification information is registered as a virtual printer that communicates with operating system standard printing software (OS standard printing software) and is associated with the print queue.

2. The control method according to claim 1, in, When a virtual printer provided with the second identification information is registered, the identification information of the print queue registered in the print control software is changed from the first identification information to the second identification information.

3. The control method according to claim 1, wherein: When it is determined that a device set with the first identification information exists on the network, a virtual printer in which identification information formed by adding a number to the end of the first identification information is set as the second identification information is registered according to a discovery protocol.

4. The control method according to claim 1, in, If it is determined that a device provided with the first identification information exists on the network, an input item for receiving a change in the identification information of the print queue registered in the print control software is displayed; and In which, when the identification information of the print queue registered in the print control software is changed from the first identification information to the second identification information through user input of the input item, the virtual printer set with the second identification information is registered as a virtual printer that communicates with the OS standard print software and is associated with the print queue.

5. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising: If it is determined that there is no device provided with the second identification information on the network, a process for registering a print queue of the virtual printer provided with the second identification information in the OS standard print software is executed.

6. The control method according to claim 5, further comprising: When the print control software is activated, if it is determined that a device to which the second identification information is set exists on the network, the print queue to which the second identification information is set and which is registered in the OS standard print software is deleted.

7. The control method according to claim 1, wherein: When the printing device communicating with the information processing device does not support print data in a standard format, the print data in a standard format generated by the OS standard print software is sent to the virtual printer to be converted by the print control software into print data in a format that can be interpreted by the printing device.

8. An information processing device, comprising: A first registration unit configured to register a print queue provided with first identification information in the print control software; a determination unit configured to determine whether a device provided with the first identification information exists on a network to which the information processing apparatus is connected, if a print queue provided with the first identification information is registered in the print control software; as well as a changing unit configured to change the identification information of the print queue registered in the print control software from the first identification information to second identification information different from the first identification information when it is determined that a device provided with the first identification information exists on the network; When it is determined that a device provided with the first identification information exists on the network, a virtual printer provided with the second identification information is registered as a virtual printer that communicates with OS standard printing software and is associated with the print queue.

9. The information processing device according to claim 8, in, When a virtual printer provided with the second identification information is registered, the identification information of the print queue registered in the print control software is changed from the first identification information to the second identification information.

10. The information processing device according to claim 8, wherein: When it is determined that a device set with the first identification information exists on the network, a virtual printer in which identification information formed by adding a number to the end of the first identification information is set as the second identification information is registered according to a discovery protocol.

11. The information processing device according to claim 8, in, If it is determined that a device provided with the first identification information exists on the network, an input item for receiving a change in the identification information of the print queue registered in the print control software is displayed; and In which, when the identification information of the print queue registered in the print control software is changed from the first identification information to the second identification information through user input of the input item, the virtual printer set with the second identification information is registered as a virtual printer that communicates with the OS standard print software and is associated with the print queue.

12. The information processing device according to claim 8 further includes an execution unit, which is configured to execute processing for registering a print queue of a virtual printer provided with the second identification information in an OS standard printing software when it is determined that there is no device provided with the second identification information on the network.

13. The information processing device according to claim 12 further includes a deletion unit, which is configured to delete the print queue that is set with the second identification information and registered in the OS standard printing software if it is determined that there is a device set with the second identification information on the network when the printing control software is started.

14. The information processing device according to claim 8, wherein: When the printing device communicating with the information processing device does not support print data in a standard format, the print data in a standard format generated by the OS standard print software is sent to the virtual printer to be converted by the print control software into print data in a format that can be interpreted by the printing device.

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