Information Processing Apparatus and Computer Program Product

Abstract

The present invention provides an information processing apparatus and a computer program product, which enable a user to easily grasp the correspondence between each page and printing attributes as compared with a case where printing attributes set in a page are not represented using areas corresponding to the printing attributes. The information processing apparatus includes: a file management unit that manages files; and a display control unit that causes a printing view screen (45) and a printing preview screen (46) to be displayed on the same screen. Printing attribute areas (53) to (56) set corresponding to the printing attributes are displayed in the printing view screen (45). Each page (43) stored in a folder is displayed in the printing attribute areas (53) to (56) corresponding to the set printing attributes. Further, by moving the page (43) between the printing attribute areas (53) to (56) through a drag-and-drop operation, its printing attributes are changed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and a computer program product. Background Art

[0002] In Patent Document 1, in the case where a document is composed of a plurality of chapters, not only can printing attributes be set for the entire document, but also printing attributes can be set for each chapter or each page. Further, in the case where printing attributes are set for a chapter, when the setting of the printing attributes is different from the setting of the document, the setting for the chapter overrides the setting for the document, thereby giving priority to the setting for the chapter. Moreover, in the case where printing attributes are set for a page, when the setting of the printing attributes of the page is different from the settings of the document and the chapter, the setting for the page overrides the settings for the document and the chapter, thereby giving priority to the setting for the page.

[0003] [Prior Art Documents]

[0004] [Patent Documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 5643866

[0006] [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent No. 5389072

[0007] [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-328516 Summary of the Invention

[0008] [Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

[0009] Sometimes, it is desired to refer to the printing attributes set for each page and confirm the pages separated according to the set printing attributes. However, conventionally, it has not been possible to confirm the printing attributes set for each page in an overview manner, that is, separated according to the printing attributes.

[0010] An object of the present invention is to make it easier for a user to grasp the correspondence between each page and the printing attributes as compared with a case where, when printing attributes are set for pages constituting a document, a region corresponding to the printing attributes is not used to represent the printing attributes set for the pages.

[0011] [Means for Solving the Problems]

[0012] The information processing apparatus of the present invention includes a processor that displays regions corresponding to settings of printing attributes and displays each page constituting a document to be printed within the regions corresponding to the printing attributes set for the pages.

[0013] Furthermore, the processor causes an image of a printed matter obtained by printing the document to be displayed on the same screen as the screen on which the area is displayed.

[0014] Furthermore, the processor causes the images of the printed matter to be displayed in the order of printing.

[0015] Furthermore, the processor causes an area including non-printing pages to be displayed.

[0016] Furthermore, the processor sets the printing attribute corresponding to the area that is the destination of the movement of the page as the printing attribute of the page by moving the page to the area.

[0017] Furthermore, the processor causes the first area corresponding to the first printing attribute and the second area corresponding to the second printing attribute to be displayed in such a manner that at least a part of them overlaps, and sets the first printing attribute and the second printing attribute for the page by moving the page to a third area formed by the overlap of the first area and the second area.

[0018] Furthermore, in a case where a movement operation of moving the area corresponding to the second printing attribute to the area corresponding to the first printing attribute has been performed, when it is not possible to set both the first printing attribute and the second printing attribute on one page, the processor performs a matching process for eliminating a mismatch of the printing attributes.

[0019] Furthermore, the matching process rejects the movement operation.

[0020] Furthermore, the matching process changes the first printing attribute to the second printing attribute.

[0021] Furthermore, the matching process does not integrate the area corresponding to the first printing attribute and the area corresponding to the second printing attribute, but retains the area corresponding to both the first printing attribute and the second printing attribute.

[0022] Furthermore, in a case where priorities for settings that can be taken for the printing attributes are prescribed in advance, the matching process sets the first printing attribute or the second printing attribute in accordance with the priorities.

[0023] Furthermore, the page is displayed as a reduced image representing the page.

[0024] A computer program product of the present invention includes a program that causes a computer to implement the following functions: a function of causing an area to be displayed corresponding to a setting of a printing attribute; and a function of causing each page constituting a document to be printed to be displayed within the area corresponding to the printing attribute set in the page.

[0025] [Effects of the Invention]

[0026] According to the embodiment described in Technical Solution 1, compared with the case where when printing attributes are set for the pages constituting a document, regions corresponding to the printing attributes are not used to represent the printing attributes set in the pages, it enables users to easily grasp the correspondence between each page and the printing attributes.

[0027] According to the embodiment described in Technical Solution 2, users can confirm the images of the grouped pages to be printed.

[0028] According to the embodiment described in Technical Solution 3, users can confirm the images of the grouped pages to be printed in the printing order.

[0029] According to the embodiment described in Technical Solution 4, users can easily confirm the pages that are not printing targets.

[0030] According to the embodiment described in Technical Solution 5, printing attributes can be set for each page through operations on the screen.

[0031] According to the embodiment described in Technical Solution 6, multiple printing attributes can be set for a page through one operation.

[0032] According to the embodiment described in Technical Solution 7, it is possible to prevent the setting of printing attributes in an opposite relationship from being set on one page.

[0033] According to the embodiment described in Technical Solution 8, it is possible to avoid setting printing attributes in an opposite relationship on one page.

[0034] According to the embodiment described in Technical Solution 9, regions can be integrated through the setting of the first printing attribute.

[0035] According to the embodiment described in Technical Solution 10, the settings of both printing attributes can be retained.

[0036] According to the embodiment described in Technical Solution 11, it is possible to change in such a way that the setting of the first printing attribute is made consistent with the setting of the second printing attribute in accordance with the priority of the setting of the printing attributes.

[0037] According to the embodiment described in Technical Solution 12, pages can be represented by reduced images.

[0038] According to the embodiment described in Technical Solution 13, compared with the case where when printing attributes are set for the pages constituting a document, regions corresponding to the printing attributes are not used to represent the printing attributes set in the pages, it enables users to easily grasp the correspondence between each page and the printing attributes. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0039] Figure 1 It is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the information processing apparatus of the present invention.

[0040] Figure 2 It is a flowchart showing the print attribute setting process in this embodiment.

[0041] Figure 3 It is a diagram showing an example of a screen display of pages saved in a folder in this embodiment.

[0042] Figure 4 It is a diagram showing an example of a display screen when expanding and displaying a page in this embodiment.

[0043] Figure 5 It is a diagram showing an example of items of print attributes and set values of each item.

[0044] Figure 6 It is used to explain Figure 4 a method of setting a print attribute area on the print view screen shown.

[0045] Figure 7 It is shown in Figure 4 a diagram of an example of a screen display of a state in which a print attribute area is set.

[0046] Figure 8 It is a diagram showing a situation where print attributes to be set in a page conflict in this embodiment.

[0047] Figure 9 It is a diagram showing an example of a screen display for presetting a response to a conflict in this embodiment.

[0048] Figure 10 It is a diagram showing an example of a screen display when giving priority to the print attribute corresponding to the print attribute area of the movement destination in the case of a conflict in this embodiment.

[0049] Figure 11 It is a diagram showing an example of a screen display when giving priority to the print attribute corresponding to the print attribute area of the movement source in the case of a conflict in this embodiment.

[0050] Figure 12 It is a diagram showing an example of a confirmation screen displayed at the time of a conflict in this embodiment.

[0051] Figure 13 It is a diagram showing an example of a setting when giving priority to print attributes in this embodiment.

[0052] Figure 14 It is a diagram showing the data structure of management information in this embodiment.

[0053] [Description of Symbols]

[0054] 1: Information processing device

[0055] 10: File management section

[0056] 11: Print attribute area setting section

[0057] 12: Matching processing section

[0058] 20: User interface (UI) processing section

[0059] 21: Operation reception section

[0060] 22: Display control section

[0061] 30: Print control section

[0062] 40: File storage section Detailed implementation manners

[0063] Hereinafter, preferred implementation manners of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings.

[0064] The information processing device in the present implementation manner can be implemented by using general-purpose hardware that has existed in the past, such as a personal computer (PC). That is, the information processing device has a central processing unit (CPU), a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a storage unit such as a hard disk drive (HDD), an input unit such as a mouse or a keyboard, and a user interface unit such as a display provided as a display unit, and a network interface provided as a communication unit.

[0065] Figure 1 It is a block diagram showing an implementation manner of the information processing device 1 of the present invention. The information processing device 1 in the present implementation manner has a file management section 10, a user interface (UI) processing section 20, a print control section 30, and a file storage section 40. In addition, components that are not used in the description of the present implementation manner are omitted from the figure.

[0066] A file including one or more pages is saved in the file storage unit 40. The file management unit 10 performs management such as registration, change, and deletion of the files saved in the file storage unit 40. Moreover, the file management unit 10 sets and changes the printing attributes of the files according to the instruction operations performed by the user. The file management unit 10 includes a printing attribute area setting unit 11 and a matching process unit 12. The printing attribute area setting unit 11 sets an area corresponding to the printing attribute on the printing view screen according to a specified user operation when the printing view screen is displayed. As will be described in detail later, when a user operation such as setting opposite printing attributes for one page is performed, the matching process unit 12 performs a matching process to eliminate the mismatch of the printing attributes.

[0067] The user interface processing unit 20 includes an operation reception unit 21 and a display control unit 22. The operation reception unit 21 receives user operations using a mouse, keyboard, etc. The display control unit 22 controls the display on the display according to an instruction from the file management unit 10. The printing control unit 30 controls the execution of printing according to the set printing attributes.

[0068] Each component 10, 20, 30 in the information processing device 1 is realized by the cooperation of a computer forming the information processing device 1 and a program operating on the CPU mounted in the computer. Moreover, the file storage unit 40 is realized by the HDD mounted in the information processing device 1. Alternatively, an external storage unit can also be used via a network.

[0069] Moreover, the program used in this embodiment can of course be provided by the communication unit, and can also be provided by being saved in a computer-readable recording medium such as a Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM) or a universal serial bus (USB) memory. The program provided by the communication unit or the recording medium is installed in the computer, and the CPU of the computer sequentially executes the program, thereby realizing various processes.

[0070] In this embodiment, by displaying the area set corresponding to the printing attribute (hereinafter referred to as "printing attribute area") as a screen, and displaying each page constituting the document to be printed in the printing attribute area corresponding to the printing attribute set in the page, each page can be displayed separately according to the printing attribute. In order to enable such display, in this embodiment, a user interface for setting the printing attribute for each page is provided. Hereinafter, for the characteristic printing attribute setting process in this embodiment using the said user interface, Figure 2 the flowchart shown is used for explanation.

[0071] The user uses a specified file management application to select a folder containing the pages to be set as printing attributes. After the operation reception unit 21 receives the folder selection operation performed by the user, the file management unit 10 causes the display control unit 22 to display a screen of the pages and the like saved in the specified folder (step 101).

[0072] Figure 3 It is a diagram showing an example of the display of the screen displayed according to the user operation. In Figure 3 thumbnail images of file 41, file 42, and page 43 are shown (hereinafter referred to as "thumbnails"). "Page" 43 is the unit that constitutes a file. In the case of a single page, that is, when it contains only one page, the thumbnail of the page 43 is displayed. "File" 41 and "file" 42 are composed of one or more pages 43. File 41 and file 42 select and display the thumbnails of the pages representing the files 41 and 42, for example, the thumbnail of the first page. In the following description, for the sake of simplicity of explanation, when referring to the thumbnails of file 41, file 42, and page 43, there are also cases where the word "thumbnail" is appropriately omitted and they are referred to as file 41, file 42, and page 43 for explanation.

[0073] When the user selects Figure 3 the "Open Print View" button 44 on the displayed screen as shown, the operation reception unit 21 receives the selection operation of the "Open Print View" button 44. The file management unit 10 retrieves the information related to each page saved in the folder from the file storage unit 40 and causes the display control unit 22 to display the screen (step 102).

[0074] Figure 4 It is a diagram showing an example of the display of the screen displayed when the user selects the "Open Print View" button 44 in the present embodiment.

[0075] As Figure 4 shown, when the "Open Print View" button 44 is selected, the print view screen 45 and the print preview screen 46 on the right side of the print view screen 45 are arranged and displayed.

[0076] In the print view screen 45, files 41 and 42 are expanded, and each page 43 contained therein is displayed page by page. A print page number 47 is assigned to each page 43. In Figure 4 an example of displaying the print page number 47 near the left corner of each page 43 is shown. The print page number 47 is the serial number of the page 43 saved in the folder and corresponds to the printing order when printing all the pages 43 saved in the print folder. In the print preview screen 46, the images of the printed matter obtained by printing each page 43 are arranged and displayed in the printing order corresponding to the current setting content in the print view screen 45.

[0077] The printing setting toolbar 48 is displayed in the upper right within the print view screen 45. In the printing setting toolbar 48, an icon 49 which is a reduced image corresponding to the printing attributes is displayed. In Figure 4 , for convenience, icons which are display elements of three printing attributes are displayed, but the types or quantities of the printing attributes are not limited to this example. Also, the composition of the displayed printing attributes 49 can be appropriately changed. In the following description, regarding the icon 49 corresponding to the printing attributes, the word "icon" is appropriately omitted and it is described as "printing attribute 49".

[0078] Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of items of printing attributes and set values of each item. Among the printing attributes 49, any printing attribute is selected and displayed from the Figure 5 displayed printing attributes.

[0079] When the "Close Print View" button 50 is selected in the Figure 4 displayed screen, it returns to the Figure 3 displayed screen. Also, when the "Execute Printing" button 51 is selected, each page 43 is printed in the order displayed in the print preview screen 46 as an image that can be confirmed in the print preview screen 46.

[0080] In the present embodiment, printing attributes are set for the page 43 on the print view screen 45. That is, after the user selects the printing attribute 49 that they want to set from the printing setting toolbar 48, they drag the mouse cursor 52 as shown in Figure 6 to move it to the position of the mouse cursor 52a like arrow A, thereby specifying the area. The printing attribute area setting unit 11 sets a printing attribute area 53 corresponding to the printing attribute 49 (in the Figure 6 shown example, "double-sided printing (long-edge binding)") selected from the printing setting toolbar 48 according to the user operation (step 103). Also, the display control unit 22 displays the set printing attribute area 53 on the screen. In the present embodiment, the printing attribute area is represented by a dotted line. The file management unit 10 sets the printing attribute of double-sided printing (long-edge binding) for the pages with print page numbers 1 to print page number 3 according to the user operation. Thus, in the present embodiment, the printing attributes can be collectively set for multiple pages 43.

[0081] In addition, the size of the printing attribute area can be adjusted even after setting. If the number of pages 43 included increases, the user can operate to increase the size of the printing attribute area to adjust the display so that the pages within the printing attribute area do not overlap. Of course, when the number of pages decreases, it can be adjusted by reducing the size of the printing attribute area.

[0082] Moreover, after the user selects printing attributes 49 different from those just selected from the printing settings toolbar 48, the user similarly designates a region by mouse operation. The printing attribute region setting unit 11 sets a printing attribute region corresponding to the printing attributes 49 selected from the printing settings toolbar 48 according to the user operation, the display control unit 22 displays the set printing attribute region on the screen, and the file management unit 10 sets printing attributes corresponding to the printing attribute region for the pages located within the printing attribute region. In the present embodiment, by a simple operation of mouse operation for selecting the printing attributes 49 and setting the printing attribute region corresponding to the printing attributes, printing attributes can be set for the page 43.

[0083] Figure 7 FIG. is a diagram showing an example of a screen display indicating a state in which printing attributes are set for the page 43 by the user repeatedly performing the setting of the printing attribute region described above. In Figure 7 a black-and-white printing attribute region 54 set by the user operation is shown.

[0084] Moreover, in Figure 7 an example in which a two-up printing attribute region 55 is set in a double-sided printing (long-edge binding) printing attribute region 53 is shown. In addition, "two-up" refers to an attribute value used in a collation printing function in which pages are collated and printed on one sheet of paper, for printing two pages on one sheet of paper. Regarding this, after the user selects printing attributes 49 of a collation printing function in which the attribute value of two-up is set in the collation printing attributes from the printing settings toolbar 48, the user performs a mouse operation on the printing attribute region 53 in such a way as to include pages with printing page numbers 1 to printing page number 2. The printing attribute region setting unit 11 sets a printing attribute region 55 corresponding to two-up according to the user operation, and the display control unit 22 displays the set printing attribute region 55 on the screen. Moreover, the file management unit 10 further sets the printing attribute of two-up for the pages 43 with printing page numbers 1 to printing page number 2 for which double-sided printing (long-edge binding) printing attributes are set.

[0085] The printing control unit 30 updates the printed image displayed on the print preview screen 46 according to the setting of the printing attributes. According to the setting example of the printing attributes, the printing attributes are set such that the pages with printing page numbers 1 and 2 are printed two-up, and the pages with printing page numbers 1 and 2 and the page with printing page number 3 are printed double-sided. Along with this, the printing control unit 30 displays the pages with printing page numbers 1 and 2 in a display form 57 on the print preview screen 46 so that it can be visually recognized that they are printed two-up, and displays the page with printing page number 3 in a display form 58 so that it can be visually recognized that it is printed on the back side thereof.

[0086] As described above, in the present embodiment, by setting the printing attribute area in a so-called nested state, multiple printing attributes can be set for the pages. In Figure 7 the shown display example, a state where the printing attribute areas are nested is shown, that is, an example where the printing attribute area 55 corresponding to another printing attribute (two-up) is set so as to be completely included in the printing attribute area 53 corresponding to one printing attribute (double-sided printing (long-edge binding)), but it does not have to be set to be included. For example, when the printing attribute area setting unit 11 sets the printing attribute area (referred to as "first area") corresponding to one printing attribute (referred to as "printing attribute 1") and the printing attribute area (referred to as "second area") corresponding to another printing attribute (referred to as "printing attribute 2") in such a way that at least a part thereof overlaps, the display control unit 22 overlaps and displays a part of the first area and the second area. Thus, the printing attribute 1 is set for the pages in the part of the first area where the first area and the second area do not overlap. Moreover, the printing attribute 2 is set for the pages in the part of the second area where the first area and the second area do not overlap. And, both the printing attribute 1 and the printing attribute 2 are set for the pages in the printing attribute area (referred to as "third area") where the first area and the second area overlap.

[0087] Moreover, as Figure 7As shown, it is possible to set a printing attribute area 56 for "not printing". Regarding this, when an icon corresponding to "not printing" is displayed in the printing setting toolbar 48 and the user selects the icon and then designates an area in the same manner, the printing attribute area setting unit 11 sets a printing attribute area 56 corresponding to "not printing" according to the user operation, and the display control unit 22 displays the set printing attribute area 56 on the screen. As the literal meaning indicates, the page 43 included in the printing attribute area 56 is not an object to be printed. Therefore, since pages 43 with printing page numbers 4 and 5 become non-printing objects according to the setting of the "not printing" printing attribute, the document management unit 10 removes the assigned printing page numbers and reassigns printing page numbers 4 to 8 to the pages with printing page numbers 6 to 10 for subsequent printing.

[0088] Moreover, the printing control unit 30 updates the printing image displayed on the printing preview screen 46 according to the setting of the printing attribute. That is, in Figure 7 the pages located in the printing attribute area 56 for "not printing" are removed from the printing preview screen 46.

[0089] However, there are cases where printing attributes are implicitly set, generally referred to as default or initial settings (hereinafter referred to as "default settings"). In contrast, the pages included in any printing attribute area are equivalent to cases where the printing attributes are explicitly set through user operations. In Figure 7 pages 43 with printing page numbers 4 to 6 do not belong to any printing attribute area. This means that the printing attributes are not explicitly set by the user, and only the default settings are set as the printing attributes.

[0090] In the above description, the printing attribute area is set on the printing view screen 45 that expands and displays the pages saved in the folder. Therefore, for the pages at the setting positions of the printing attribute area, the printing attributes of the printing attribute area corresponding to the positions of the respective pages are set. Thus, in the present embodiment, the page 43 can be moved by having the user perform a prescribed operation. For example, by dragging and dropping a page 43, the page 43 is moved into the printing attribute area corresponding to the printing attribute that the user wants to set for the page 43. Moreover, even if it is not in units of page 43 to be moved, the printing attribute area can be moved in such a way that the nested state is formed. When the printing attribute area is moved, the pages 43 within the printing attribute area to be moved are also moved together. The display control unit 22 displays the page or the printing attribute area at the movement destination according to the movement operation of the page or the printing attribute area performed by the user (step 104). The document management unit 10 sets the printing attribute corresponding to the printing attribute area that is the movement destination of the page for the page 43 according to the movement of the page or the printing attribute area.

[0091] For example, by moving page 43 to the overlapping portion of the print attribute area 53 and the print attribute area 55 shown in Figure 7 the figure, multiple print attributes (in this example, both double-sided printing (long-edge binding) and two-up printing) can be set for the page 43 at once.

[0092] However, when a user operation is performed to move a print attribute area to another print attribute area, in other words, when a user operation is performed to make the print attribute areas in a nested state, the file management unit 10 investigates whether the print attributes corresponding to the print attribute area and the print attributes corresponding to the other print attribute area conflict. "Conflict" means, for example, a situation where print attributes that cannot coexist on one page, i.e., opposite print attributes, such as the relationship between black-and-white printing and color printing, are set. In the present embodiment, for the above-mentioned opposite settings, the term "conflict" is used, and when a user performs an operation that may cause a conflict, matching processing is performed in a manner that eliminates the mismatch of the print attributes.

[0093] In Figure 8 the figure, an example is shown where the user performs a drag-and-drop operation in such a way that the print attribute area 59 with color printing attributes is included in the print attribute area 54 with black-and-white printing attributes as shown by the arrow B. As described above, the black-and-white printing attribute and the color printing attribute are in a conflicting relationship. In addition, when no conflict occurs (No (N) in step 105), the file management unit 10 may set the print attributes corresponding to the print attribute area of the movement destination as the print attributes of the page to be moved as described above (step 106).

[0094] The file management unit 10 in the present embodiment presets the response to conflicts in print attributes. In addition, in the description here, the print attribute area that is the movement destination of another print attribute area 59, such as the print attribute area 54 in Figure 8 the figure, is called the "movement destination print attribute area", and the print attribute area that is to be moved to another print attribute area 54, such as the print attribute area 59 in Figure 8 the figure, is called the "movement source print attribute area" for explanation.

[0095] Figure 9 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display for presetting the response to conflicts. In Figure 9In the case where, when the user selects "Make the conflicting print settings non-selectable", there is a conflict between the print attributes corresponding to the movement destination print attribute area and the print attributes corresponding to the movement source print attribute area, moving the movement source print attribute area to the movement destination print attribute area is rejected. For example, when attempting to perform a drag-and-drop operation to move the movement source print attribute area into the movement destination print attribute area, the cursor of the mouse to be moved switches from the display element of the general arrow shown in Figure 6 to a display element indicating that it cannot be dropped, notifying the user that the movement source print attribute area cannot be moved to the movement destination print attribute area.

[0096] When the user selects "In conflicting print settings, give priority to the movement destination", moving the movement source print attribute area to the movement destination print attribute area is allowed. However, at this time, the print attributes corresponding to the movement destination print attribute area are given priority. That is, in the matching process, by integrating the movement source print attribute area and the movement destination print attribute area, only the movement destination print attribute area is retained, and the print attributes set in the pages included in the movement source print attribute area are changed to the print attributes corresponding to the movement destination print attribute area. In the case where, as shown in Figure 8 , a user operation is performed to move the print attribute area 59 of the color print attribute to the print attribute area 54 of the black-and-white print attribute, as shown in Figure 10 , the matching processing unit 12 sets the black-and-white print attribute for the page 43a included in the print attribute area 59 of the color print attribute.

[0097] When the user selects "In conflicting print settings, give priority to the movement source", moving the movement source print attribute area to the movement destination print attribute area is allowed. However, at this time, the print attributes corresponding to the movement source print attribute area are given priority. That is, in the matching process, the movement source print attribute area and the movement destination print attribute area are not integrated, and these two print attribute areas are retained. In the case where, as shown in Figure 8 , a user operation is performed to move the print attribute area 59 of the color print attribute to the print attribute area 54 of the black-and-white print attribute, as shown in Figure 11 , the document management unit 10 maintains the setting of the color print attribute for the page 43a included in the print attribute area 59 of the color print attribute as it is. In this case, the setting of the black-and-white print attribute for the pages included in the print attribute area 54 is also maintained as it is. Moreover, since the page 43a included in the print attribute area 59 is no longer included in the print attribute area 54, the print attribute area setting unit 11 can automatically or according to the user's operation change the size of the print attribute area 54 to become smaller.

[0098] When the user selects "Confirm with User", the user is asked each time which printing attribute, the printing attribute in the mobile source printing attribute area or the mobile destination printing attribute area, should take precedence. An example of the screen for asking the user is shown in Figure 12 .

[0099] In Figure 12 , as the printing attributes that may conflict, examples of black-and-white printing and color printing are shown. The user will select either printing attribute from the said screen.

[0100] When the user checks the checkbox "Set the automatically prioritized setting to be automatically prioritized", the file management unit 10 makes its own judgment on what to prioritize according to a specified algorithm. However, when the radio button "Make conflicting printing settings unselectable" is selected, the display control unit 22 grays out the said checkbox and displays it as unable to be set. When other radio buttons are selected, setting changes can be made.

[0101] The setting of automatic prioritization is specifically as shown in Figure 13 . In Figure 13 , the magnitude of the priority is shown using the inequality sign (<). That is, it means that when the printing attribute on the left conflicts with the printing attribute on the right, the printing attribute on the right takes precedence. Thus, when the priorities for the settings that can be made for the printing attributes are pre-specified, in the matching process, the printing attributes of any page included in the mobile destination printing attribute area and the mobile source printing attribute area are set and changed according to their priorities, thereby eliminating the mismatch of the printing attributes.

[0102] When the printing attribute corresponding to the mobile destination printing attribute area and the printing attribute corresponding to the mobile source printing attribute area conflict (Yes (Y) in step 105), the matching processing unit 12 performs matching processing according to the said setting to appropriately change the printing attributes (step 107) in such a way as to eliminate the state of mismatch of the printing attributes.

[0103] By the user selecting the "Close Print View" button 50 or the "Execute Print" button 51 from the print view screen 45 (Yes (Y) in step 108), this processing ends. In the case of other operations (No (N) in step 108), it migrates to step 104 to accept a new operation from the user.

[0104] Figure 14This is a diagram of the data structure of the management information 60 representing the printing attributes when the printing attributes are set for the page 43 from the printing view screen 45 as described above. In the management information 60, the printing attributes corresponding to the printing attribute areas set on the printing view screen 45, the page 43 for which the printing attributes are set, and the relationships with the files 41 and 42 containing the page 43 are defined. By using the management information 60 in other information processing devices, in other information processing devices, even without setting the printing attributes for each page, the settings of the printing attributes for each page can be inherited. At this time, the management information 60 can also have information indicating the range of the printing attribute areas, etc.

[0105] In the above description, the case of setting the printing attributes for the page through the printing attribute setting process has been described. Therefore, by referring to the management information 60, each page saved in the folder can be distinguished and displayed according to the printing attributes. Thus, the user can Figure 7 confirm the printing attributes set in each page in the screen shown. For example, a page with two or more printing attributes set is displayed in the overlapping part of the printing attribute area 53 and the printing attribute area 55, in other words, the part in the nested state. Moreover, the page that is not the printing object is displayed in the printing attribute area 56 corresponding to "not printed". The case of not printing can also be confirmed through the printing preview screen 46 displayed on the same screen as the printing view screen 45.

[0106] Moreover, the user can also be enabled to Figure 7 change the printing attributes set in the page from the screen (e.g.

[0107] In addition, when a page is selected by the user in the print preview screen 46, the page selected in the print preview screen 46 and displayed on the print view screen 45 can also be displayed in a form that is distinguishable from other pages. Examples of the distinguishable form include highlighting the page by surrounding it with a colored frame, or attaching text notifying that the selection has been made in the print preview screen 46 to the page.

[0108] When the user confirms the image of the printed matter in the print preview screen 46 and there is a page for which the print attributes are to be changed, the user can select the page in the print preview screen 46, grasp the page in the print view screen 45, and change the print attributes of the page on the print view screen 45. Therefore, by notifying the user in a corresponding manner that the page has been selected in the print preview screen 46 with respect to the pages on the print view screen 45, the user can easily change the print attributes of the page when confirming the print preview screen 46. In addition, it is also possible to enable the display of print properties by right-clicking on the page in the print preview screen 46 and changing the print attributes from the print properties.

[0109] In the present embodiment, the print attributes can be set for the pages saved in the folder as described above from the print view object, or for each page included in the file. Moreover, since the pages are displayed in the print view screen in print attribute regions corresponding to the print attributes, it is possible to present to the user in a state where the correspondence between each page and the print attributes can be easily grasped.

[0110] In the above-described embodiment, the processor refers to a processor in a broad sense, and also includes a general-purpose processor (such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), etc.), or a dedicated processor (such as a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a programmable logic device, etc.).

[0111] Moreover, the operations of the processor in the above-described embodiment can be achieved not only by one processor, but also by multiple processors existing at physically separated positions cooperating with each other. Also, the order of each operation of the processor is not limited to the order described in each of the above-described embodiments, and can be changed as appropriate.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus, characterized in that, Including processor, The processor displays the area corresponding to the printing attribute. causing one or more pages constituting a document to be printed to be displayed in a first area corresponding to a first printing attribute set in the page, When the one or more pages are moved from the first area to a second area corresponding to a second printing attribute, the second printing attribute is set to the page. The first area corresponding to the first printing attribute and the second area corresponding to the second printing attribute are displayed in such a manner that at least a portion of the first area corresponding to the first printing attribute overlaps with a portion of the second area corresponding to the second printing attribute, and When the one or more pages are moved to a third area formed by overlapping the first area and the second area, the first printing attribute and the second printing attribute are set in the pages.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The processor displays an image of a printed product obtained by printing the document on the same screen as a screen on which the area is displayed.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The processor arranges and displays the images of the printed matter in the order in which they were printed.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The processor causes a region including pages not to be printed to be displayed.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, When an overlapping operation is performed to overlap at least a portion of the second area corresponding to the second printing attribute and the first area corresponding to the first printing attribute, if both the first printing attribute and the second printing attribute cannot be set on the one or more pages, the processor performs matching processing to eliminate the mismatch of the printing attributes.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that, The matching process is a process of rejecting the overlapping operation.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that, The matching process is a process of changing the printing attributes set in the one or more pages from the first printing attributes to the second printing attributes.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that, The matching process does not integrate the first region corresponding to the first printing attribute and the second region corresponding to the second printing attribute, but retains regions corresponding to both the first printing attribute and the second printing attribute.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that, When priorities are predetermined for possible settings of the printing attributes, the matching process sets the first printing attribute or the second printing attribute to the one or more pages according to the priorities.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The page is displayed with a reduced image representing the page.

11. A computer program product, which includes a program for causing a computer to implement the following functions: A function of displaying a region corresponding to printing attributes; A function of causing one or more pages constituting a document to be printed to be displayed in a first region corresponding to a first printing attribute set in the page; When the one or more pages are moved from the first area to a second area corresponding to a second printing attribute, a function of setting the second printing attribute to the page; A function of displaying the first area corresponding to the first printing attribute and the second area corresponding to the second printing attribute in such a manner that at least a portion of the first area corresponding to the first printing attribute and the second area corresponding to the second printing attribute overlap; as well as A function of setting the first printing attribute and the second printing attribute to the page when the one or more pages are moved to a third area formed by overlapping the first area and the second area.

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