Support program

Abstract

The invention relates to a support program, and provides a technology for easily utilizing default printing settings stored in a printer in an information processing device in which an OS standard general-purpose printing program is installed. The auxiliary program (42) is a program corresponding to the printer (2) and supporting a general-purpose print program (41) included in the OS (21) of the PC (1). When a selection instruction for selecting a printer (2) is made to a general-purpose print program (41) from an editing application (43) installed in a PC (1), an auxiliary program (42) causes a CPU (11) of the PC (1) to acquire a default print setting stored in the printer (2), and causes the acquired default print setting to be stored in a memory (12) as default information. The auxiliary program (42) causes the CPU (11) to read the default information stored in the memory (12) when the default print setting of the printer (2) is used.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The technical field disclosed in this specification relates to a support program for supporting the control of a printer. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, a technology has been put into practical use in which a printer is controlled by using a general print program compliant with the OS standard that is part of an operating system (OS), instead of using a printer driver provided by a printer vendor. In this technology, when the OS detects a printer, it establishes an association with the general print program compliant with the OS standard. Thereafter, when a print instruction for the printer is received, print data is generated by using the general print program compliant with the OS standard instead of the printer driver provided by the printer vendor, thereby enabling printing based on the general print program compliant with the OS standard.

[0003] As a document that discloses a technology related to a general print program compliant with the OS standard, for example, there is Patent Document 1. Patent Document 1 discloses the following structure: a support program for supporting a general print program, in which, at the timing of displaying a detailed print setting screen or at the timing when a reset button on the detailed print setting screen is operated, the default print settings stored in the printer are acquired, and the acquired default print settings are reflected on the detailed print setting screen.

[0004] Prior Art Documents

[0005] Patent Documents

[0006] Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2022-144355 Summary of the Invention

[0007] Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0008] Sometimes, communication with the printer takes time. In the case of acquiring the default print settings from the printer at the timing of displaying a detailed print setting screen or at the timing when a reset button on the detailed print setting screen is operated as disclosed in Patent Document 1, sometimes it takes time until the settings are reflected on the detailed print setting screen. Therefore, there is room for improvement in the technology that uses the default print settings stored in the printer.

[0009] Means for Solving the Problems

[0010] A support program made for the purpose of solving the above problems can be executed by a computer of an information processing device, and supports a general printing program included in the operating system of the information processing device, corresponding to a printer connected to the information processing device. The support program is configured such that, when a selection instruction for the printer is made to the general printing program from an editing application loaded in the information processing device, the computer executes an acquisition process and a caching process. The acquisition process is a process of acquiring default print settings stored in the printer, and the caching process is a process of storing the default print settings acquired in the acquisition process in a memory of the information processing device. The computer is further made to execute a reading process, which is a process of reading out the default print settings stored in the memory when using the default print settings stored in the printer.

[0011] Regarding the support program disclosed in this specification, when a corresponding printer is selected in an editing application, the computer of the information processing device acquires the default print settings of the printer stored therein and stores them in the memory. Further, when using the default print settings of the printer, the support program causes the computer to read out the default print settings stored in the memory. As a result, there is a high possibility of immediately using the default print settings of the printer.

[0012] An information processing device loaded with the above support program, a computer-readable storage medium storing the support program, a control method for implementing the functions of the support program, and a printing system including the support program and a printer are also novel and useful.

[0013] Advantages of the Invention

[0014] According to the technology disclosed in this specification, a technology is realized in which it is easy to use the default print settings stored in a printer in an information processing device loaded with a general printing program conforming to an OS standard. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the electrical configuration of a PC.

[0016] Figure 2 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a printer selection process.

[0017] Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a print setting screen.

[0018] Figure 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a print setting process.

[0019] Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a detailed setting screen.

[0020] Figure 6 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a print execution process.

[0021] Figure 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a process regarding an exclusive resolution process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] Hereinafter, regarding a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as "PC") using the support program of the present mode, while referring to the attached Figure 1 it will be described in detail. This specification discloses a support program executed by a PC.

[0023] As Figure 1 shown, the PC1 of the present mode includes a controller 10 including a CPU 11 and a memory 12. The PC1 is an example of an information processing device. The CPU 11 is an example of a computer. In addition, the PC1 includes a user interface (hereinafter referred to as "user IF") 13 and a communication interface (hereinafter referred to as "communication IF") 14, which are electrically connected to the controller 10. It should be noted that Figure 1 the controller 10 in [] is a general term for the hardware and software used in the control of the PC1, and does not necessarily indicate a single hardware actually existing in the PC1.

[0024] The CPU 11 of the PC1 executes various processes according to the program read from the memory 12 and based on the user's operation. The memory 12 includes a non-volatile memory 121 and a volatile memory 122. The volatile memory 122 is also used as a work area when executing various programs, for example. The buffer included in the CPU 11 is also an example of the memory 12. It should be noted that an example of the memory 12 is not limited to a ROM, a RAM, an HDD, etc. built in the PC1, and may also be a storage medium that can be read and written by the CPU 11, such as a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM.

[0025] The user IF 13 includes a hardware that displays a screen for reporting information to the user, that is, a display 13a, and hardware that accepts the user's operation. It should be noted that the user IF 13 may be a group of a display 13a that can display information and a mouse, a keyboard, etc. having an input acceptance function, or may be a touch panel having the functions of the display 13a and the input acceptance function.

[0026] The communication IF 14 includes hardware for communicating with an external device such as a printer 2. The communication standard of the communication IF 14 is Ethernet (registered trademark), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), USB, etc. The PC1 can also be connected to the Internet via the communication IF 14. The PC1 may also include a plurality of communication IFs 14 corresponding to a plurality of communication standards.

[0027] In the non-volatile memory 121 of the memory 12, as Figure 1 shown, various programs and various data including an operating system (hereinafter referred to as "OS") 21 that includes a general printing program 41, an auxiliary program 42, and an editing application 43 are stored. The auxiliary program 42 is an example of a support program. The editing application 43 is an example of an editing application program.

[0028] The OS 21 is a multi-tasking OS that can process multiple tasks in parallel by managing and switching between multiple tasks. The OS 21 is, for example, Windows (registered trademark), macOS (registered trademark), Linux (registered trademark), iOS (registered trademark), Android (registered trademark).

[0029] The general printing program 41 is included in the OS 21. The general printing program 41 is an OS standard program prepared by the vendor of the OS 21 and provided as a part of the OS 21. That is, the OS 21 with the general printing program 41 is installed on the PC 1. The general printing program 41 is not configured to use the printer driver inherent to each printer.

[0030] The general printing program 41 is a program having a function of causing printers of multiple models provided by different vendors to perform printing based on a user's instruction. The general printing program 41 supports a general function that can perform printing on many printers. Different from the printer driver inherent to each printer, the general printing program 41 does not support the functions inherent to each printer and printer driver, especially functions that require complex processing.

[0031] The general printing program 41 is a program including the following functions: based on a user's instruction, receiving image data specified as a printing object in a printing instruction output from various applications, and generating intermediate data based on the image data. The intermediate data is, for example, XPS data. The general printing program 41 also has a function of generating print data in a form that can be used for printing in various printers based on the intermediate data. The print data is, for example, PWGRaster data or PDF data. In addition, the general printing program 41 has a function of sending the generated print data to the printer of the device designated to perform printing via the communication function of the OS 21.

[0032] The auxiliary program 42 is a program or a group of programs that executes processing based on instructions from the OS 21 following the processing of the general printing program 41, and is a program that supports the control of the target hardware. The auxiliary program 42 of this method corresponds to the model of the printer 2 connected to the PC 1 and is provided by, for example, the supplier of the printer 2. In the case where the printer 2 is selected as the device for executing printing, in the case where an instruction for detailed printing settings is received in the state where the printer 2 is selected, in the case where an instruction for causing the printer 2 to execute printing is received, etc., the general printing program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2. The auxiliary program 42 is, for example, called a Print Support Application (abbreviation, PSA) or a Hardware Support Application (abbreviation, HSA).

[0033] It should be noted that the auxiliary program 42 can be a combination of multiple programs that each receive an execution command, or can be a single program that can execute different processes according to commands. In addition, the auxiliary program can also be a program prepared by the printer supplier for each type of printer. For example, an auxiliary program for an inkjet printer and an auxiliary program for a laser printer can be prepared separately. Not limited to each type of printer, there can also be auxiliary programs prepared for each model of the printer and each series of the printer models.

[0034] The OS 21 of the PC 1 can, for example, download a suitable auxiliary program from the server of the printer supplier or the like and load it into the PC 1 according to the type and model of the printer connected to the PC 1 when a new printer is connected to the PC 1. The OS 21 stores the identification information of the loaded auxiliary program in correspondence with the printer information of the newly connected printer in the memory 12.

[0035] The editing application 43 is, for example, a program for creating and editing image data and document data. The editing application 43 can be, for example, Word (registered trademark), PowerPoint (registered trademark), etc. manufactured by Microsoft (registered trademark), or can also be a program provided by the supplier of the printer 2. The editing application 43 can receive, for example, a print execution instruction for causing the printer 2 to execute printing via the user IF 13. It should be noted that the editing application 43 is not limited to a program for creating and editing data, and can also be a program having a function of receiving display instructions and print instructions for various information such as map information and web pages according to user requirements.

[0036] The PC 1 of this method is connected via the communication IF 14 as Figure 1is connected to the printer 2 as shown. The printer 2 is a device having at least a printing function and a communication function. For example, when the printer 2 receives print data from the PC 1 or the like, it can perform printing based on the received print data. The printer 2 may be a device capable of color printing or a device capable of performing only monochrome printing.

[0037] For example, the printer 2 of this method stores the default print settings set at the time of shipment or delivery from the factory in the non-volatile memory of the printer 2. In the items of the default print settings, for example, there are double-sided printing, paper feed tray, paper discharge tray, color printing, energy saving mode, accumulation printing, toner saving, color tone, special red, N-in-1, watermark. And, in the default print settings, for each item, default parameters are included.

[0038] The default print settings may vary depending on the country of the shipping destination or the destination of shipment. For example, in other countries, single-sided printing is the default, but depending on the country of the shipping destination, double-sided printing may become the default in pursuit of environmentally friendly printing. The same applies to the energy saving mode. In addition, for example, in China and Arabia, there is an expectation to customize red to a preferred color tone, and sometimes the setting using the customized red becomes the default.

[0039] Each parameter of the default print settings is stored in the printer 2 in advance and will not be changed by user operations such as the operation panel. For example, when the printer 2 receives an instruction to execute printing, it can receive an instruction to set the print settings to be applied to the printing via the operation panel or via a management device that manages the printer 2. On the other hand, even if the print settings are changed during printing execution, the default print settings will not be changed. For example, when an instruction to restore to the default print settings is received via the operation panel or the management device, the printer 2 can read out the default print settings stored in the non-volatile memory of the printer 2 and restore to the read-out print settings.

[0040] Next, the procedures of various processes related to printing in the PC 1 and the printer 2 of this method will be described. It should be noted that each process other than the user operations in this method basically represents the processing of the CPU 11 according to the commands described in programs such as the auxiliary program 42. In this specification, for convenience, various processes performed by the controller 10 or the CPU 11 according to programs such as the auxiliary program 42, the general print program 41, and the OS 21 may be described as each program performing various processes as the main body. The processing performed by the CPU 11 also includes the control of hardware using the API of the OS 21. In this specification, the detailed description of the OS 21 is omitted and the operations of each program are described. In addition, "acquire" is used in a concept that does not require a request.

[0041] First, the printer selection process for selecting a printer to be used in printing will be described with reference to Figure 2 the sequence diagram of. The editing application 43 can perform the production and editing of articles and images based on user instructions. And when the user wants to print the article or image being displayed, the user selects Print (A01) in the editing application 43. The user can select Print from the menu of the operation items provided in the editing application 43, for example.

[0042] If the editing application 43 receives the selection of printing, it requests the general printing program 41 of the OS 21 to display a screen for receiving instructions related to printing (A02). The general printing program 41 displays a print setting screen on the user IF 13 according to the request (A03). The print setting screen is a screen for receiving user instructions regarding various print settings that can be accepted in the general printing program 41. It should be noted that the editing application 43 can also display the print setting screen.

[0043] In Figure 3 an example of the print setting screen is shown. Figure 3 The print setting screen D2 of the example includes a printer selection bar 51, an information display bar 52, a selection bar 53 for basic print settings, a detailed setting button 54, and a print button 55. The printer selection bar 51 is a bar for accepting the selection of the device to execute printing. The information display bar 52 is a bar for displaying information specified by the auxiliary program corresponding to the device selected in the printer selection bar 51. For example, when the selection instruction of selecting Printer 2 is received in the printer selection bar 51 or when a print instruction is received in the state where Printer 2 is set as the commonly used printer in the OS 21, the general printing program 41 can start the auxiliary program 42 and display the image prepared by the auxiliary program 42 in the information display bar 52.

[0044] The selection bar 53 for basic print settings is a bar for accepting basic settings such as the number of copies to be printed and the orientation of the original. The detailed setting button 54 is a button for accepting an instruction to perform detailed settings not included in the selection bar 53 for basic print settings. The print button 55 is a button for accepting an instruction to execute printing under the selected print settings.

[0045] For example, when the selection instruction of selecting Printer 2 as the device to execute printing is received in the printer selection bar 51 (A11) or when a print selection of A01 is received in the state where Printer 2 is selected as the device to execute printing, the editing application 43 submits the information indicating that Printer 2 has been selected to the general printing program 41 (A12). The general printing program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to Printer 2 and submits the information indicating that Printer 2 has been selected (A13).

[0046] If the auxiliary program 42 is started according to the instruction of A13, it acquires the capability information of the printer 2. Specifically, the auxiliary program 42 requests the general printing program 41 to acquire the capability information (A21). The general printing program 41 sends a command to request the capability information to the printer 2 and acquires the capability information from the printer 2 (A22). The general printing program 41 delivers the acquired capability information to the auxiliary program 42 (A23). Thus, the auxiliary program 42 can acquire the capability information of the printer 2. In the capability information of the printer 2, there is information indicating the default print settings stored in the printer 2. A23 is an example of the acquisition process.

[0047] It should be noted that in A22, the general printing program 41 communicates with the printer 2 via the OS21, for example, through communication corresponding to IPP (abbreviation of Internet Printing Protocol). It should be noted that the auxiliary program 42 may directly acquire the capability information from the printer 2 by using, for example, MIB (abbreviation of Management Information Base) instead of requesting the general printing program 41.

[0048] In the capability information acquired from the printer 2, in addition to the information of the default print settings, there are also various types of information as follows: information on parameters that can be set as print settings; information on items related to the paper feed trays available in the printer 2; information on items related to the paper discharge trays available in the printer 2; information on whether each function such as the duplex printing function and the sorting function of printed papers is supported; and information on the printable resolution that can be supported, etc. As the information on items related to the paper feed trays, for example, there is information on the paper feed trays that can be selected, the paper size, paper type, and other paper information of the papers that can be loaded into each paper feed tray. In the capability information, for example, there may also be the following information indicating the status of the printer 2: information on the presence or absence of papers loaded in each paper feed tray; paper size, paper type, and other paper information of the papers set in each paper feed tray or detected in each paper feed tray; and information on the remaining amount of consumables, etc.

[0049] The auxiliary program 42 generates default information indicating the default print settings based on the acquired capability information (A31). In the default information, there is information indicating the parameters of the items related to the paper feed trays, the information of the paper discharge tray specified by the default print settings, the information indicating whether duplex printing is specified by default, the information of the resolution specified by default, etc. In the parameters of the items related to the paper feed trays, for example, there is the paper feed tray specified by the default print settings, and the paper size and paper type information of the paper feed tray specified by the default print settings.

[0050] Then, the auxiliary program 42 stores the generated default information in the memory 12 (A32). In A32, the auxiliary program 42 stores the default information in both the volatile memory 122 and the non-volatile memory 121. Specifically, the auxiliary program 42 stores the default information in the volatile memory 122, and generates a file containing the default information, i.e., the default information file, and stores the generated default information file in the non-volatile memory 121. A32 is an example of cache processing. It should be noted that the capability information may also include information other than the default information, and the auxiliary program 42 may also store the capability information including information other than the default information in A32.

[0051] If the default information is stored in the volatile memory 122, the auxiliary program 42 can read the default information from the volatile memory 122 in a shorter time compared with the case of reading the default information file from the non-volatile memory 121. Therefore, the auxiliary program 42 can utilize the default information quickly.

[0052] However, the auxiliary program 42 stores the default information in the area of the volatile memory 122 that can be utilized in the current process. The area that can be utilized in the current process is released when the process ends. Therefore, the default information stored in the volatile memory 122 may be erased when the process ends and may become unreadable. For example, in Figure 2 the process shown, the auxiliary program 42 can read the default information stored in the volatile memory 122 during the period when the editing application 43 is started, but becomes unreadable when the editing application 43 is ended by the user.

[0053] On the other hand, the default information file stored in the non-volatile memory 121 is not erased even when the process ends as long as the erasing process is not performed. Since the auxiliary program 42 also stores the default information as the default information file in the non-volatile memory 121, the default information can also be read when the process ends and is executed again.

[0054] Moreover, the auxiliary program 42 submits the default information to the general printing program 41 (A33). The general printing program 41 causes the default information submitted from the auxiliary program 42 to be reflected in the print setting screen D2 shown in A03 (see Figure 3 ) and is displayed (A35). The general printing program 41 may also submit the default information to the editing application 43.

[0055] It should be noted that in the print setting screen D2, there is an information display bar 52 capable of displaying the image prepared by the auxiliary program 42. The auxiliary program 42 can also cause the information of the print setting including the default information to be displayed in the information display bar 52. In addition, when the general print program 41 receives an operation on the print setting screen D2, it can submit the information of this operation to the auxiliary program 42. Therefore, for example, the auxiliary program 42 can also cause an information screen including a button for accepting an instruction to restore the print setting to the default of the printer 2 to be displayed in the information display bar 52, enabling the user to accept an operation on this button. Moreover, when an operation on this button is received, the auxiliary program 42 can read out the default information stored in A32, submit the read default information to the general print program 41, thereby reflecting the default information in the currently displayed print setting screen D2.

[0056] Next, regarding the print setting process of accepting the user's operation on the currently displayed print setting screen D2, it will be described with reference to Figure 4 the sequence diagram of. At the start of the process in Figure 4 , in the state where the printer 2 is selected as the device for performing printing, the print setting screen D2 as shown in Figure 3 is displayed on the user IF13.

[0057] The user can give an instruction for detailed print setting related to the printing in the printer 2 by operating the detailed setting button 54 (B01) in the currently displayed print setting screen D2. If an operation on the detailed setting button 54 is received, the editing application 43 outputs an instruction for detailed setting, that is, an instruction to display a setting screen for accepting detailed print setting, to the general print program 41 (B02). The general print program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2 and submits an instruction to start accepting detailed print setting (B03). It should be noted that in B03, the general print program 41 submits the information of the print setting currently set in the editing application 43 together with the instruction to start.

[0058] Based on the print setting information received in B03, the auxiliary program 42 causes a detailed setting screen to be displayed on the user IF13 (B05), enabling the user to accept an operation. B05 is an example of display processing. For example, as shown in Figure 5As shown, the auxiliary program 42 causes the detailed setting screen 60 including the Restore to Default button 61, the OK button 62, and the Cancel button 63 and capable of accepting various print settings to be displayed. The detailed setting screen 60 is an example of a setting screen and an example of a detailed print setting screen. The Restore to Default button 61 is a button that accepts an instruction to restore the print settings to the default print settings of the printer 2 and is an example of a prescribed operation unit. In B05, the auxiliary program 42 causes the detailed setting screen 60 in the state where the print settings submitted from the editing application 43 are selected to be displayed.

[0059] In the detailed setting screen 60 displayed by the auxiliary program 42, for each item of the print settings, parameters within the range that can be executed in the printer 2 are included as options. It should be noted that since there are many items of print settings that can be accepted in the detailed setting screen 60, the auxiliary program 42 can also accept an instruction to switch the selectable item through multiple labels, for example.

[0060] When the auxiliary program 42 is started by the instruction of B03, it further determines whether default information is cached (B11). The auxiliary program 42 first determines whether default information is stored in the volatile memory 122. When it is determined that default information is not stored in the volatile memory 122, the auxiliary program 42 determines whether default information is stored in the non-volatile memory 121, that is, whether there is a default information file.

[0061] When it is determined that default information is stored in the volatile memory 122 or the non-volatile memory 121 (alt: [there is a cache]), the auxiliary program 42 reads out the stored default information from the volatile memory 122 or the non-volatile memory 121 (B21). B21 is an example of a read process.

[0062] It should be noted that in B21, the auxiliary program 42 preferably reads out only the information supported by the auxiliary program 42 and displayed on the detailed setting screen 60 from the default information. For example, if the printer 2 has only one paper output tray, the selection of the paper output tray is not accepted. Therefore, the auxiliary program 42 causes the detailed setting screen 60 that does not include the item for accepting the selection of the paper output tray to be displayed. In this case, the default information also includes information indicating the setting of the paper output tray, but the auxiliary program 42 does not need to obtain the information indicating the setting of the paper output tray in B21.

[0063] On the other hand, in the case where it is determined that the default information is not stored in either the volatile memory 122 or the non-volatile memory 121 (alt: [no cache]), the auxiliary program 42 acquires the capability information of the printer 2. Specifically, the auxiliary program 42 requests the acquisition of the capability information from the general printing program 41 (B31), and receives the capability information (B32) acquired by the general printing program 41 from the general printing program 41 (B33). B31 to B33 are the same processes as Figure 2 A21 to A23 of. B31 to B33 are an example of the set-time retry process.

[0064] The auxiliary program 42 acquires the information displayed on the detailed setting screen 60 in the default information based on the capability information acquired in B33 (B35). In the case where the default information is not cached, the auxiliary program 42 displays the detailed setting screen 60, and acquires the default information related to the display at the timing of receiving the user's operation. It should be noted that the auxiliary program 42 can also store the default information in the memory 12 based on the capability information acquired in B33, similarly to Figure 2 A32 of.

[0065] It should be noted that in B31, the auxiliary program 42 can also specify a part of the capability information of the printer 2 and request the general printing program 41 to acquire it. Specifically, the auxiliary program 42 can request the capability information that only includes the information displayed on the detailed setting screen 60.

[0066] Then, the auxiliary program 42 accepts the user's operation on the detailed setting screen 60 displayed in B05. When the auxiliary program 42 accepts the operation on each item displayed on the detailed setting screen 60, it changes the displayed parameters based on the user's operation and displays them. It should be noted that the auxiliary program 42 copies the print setting information received in B03 and changes the copied information based on the user's operation.

[0067] When the user's operation on the button 61 to restore to the default is accepted (opt: [default], B41), the auxiliary program 42 changes each parameter displayed on the detailed setting screen 60 to the default setting based on the default information acquired in B21 or B35, and displays the detailed setting screen 60 reflecting the changed print setting (B42). B42 is an example of the reflection process. For example, in the case where the default information of the printer 2 includes information indicating that the paper type is plain paper, the print quality is standard (standard resolution), the original size is A4, the color setting is color, the print orientation is portrait, the layout is 2-in-1, the "double-sided / booklet" item is double-sided printing, and the paper feeding method is tray 1, the auxiliary program 42 reflects each default parameter to each setting item on the detailed setting screen 60 and displays it.

[0068] If the default information is stored in the memory 12, then if an operation is performed on the restore-to-default button 61, the auxiliary program 42 can immediately display the detailed setting screen 60 that reflects the default print settings of the printer 2. That is, a user who wants to use the default print settings stored in the printer 2 only needs to perform an operation on the restore-to-default button 61. Therefore, the labor of the user in the case of wanting to instruct printing under the default print settings is reduced.

[0069] It should be noted that the auxiliary program 42 can also perform the determination of B11 after receiving the operation on the restore-to-default button 61, and perform B31 - B33, B35 if there is no cache. However, if the default information is read in advance at the startup of the detailed setting screen 60, the auxiliary program 42 can immediately use the default information at the timing of receiving the operation on the restore-to-default button 61. And, in the case where the default information is requested by the operation on the restore-to-default button 61, the auxiliary program 42 can easily display the detailed setting screen 60 that applies the default information in a short time.

[0070] When ending the operation on the detailed setting screen 60, the user operates the OK button 62 or the cancel button 63. The OK button 62 is a button that accepts an instruction to confirm the displayed print settings. In the case of receiving the operation on the OK button 62 (alt: [OK], B45), the auxiliary program 42 submits the information of the displayed print settings to the general printing program 41 (B46). Thus, the information of the print settings received from the editing application 43 is updated to the information received in the detailed setting screen 60.

[0071] The cancel button 63 is a button that accepts an instruction to cancel all operations received in the detailed setting screen 60 and keep the print settings before displaying the detailed setting screen 60 unchanged. In the case of receiving the operation on the cancel button 63 (alt: [Cancel], B48), the auxiliary program 42 discards the copy of the print settings information and does not submit the print settings information received in the detailed setting screen 60 to the general printing program 41.

[0072] Then, the auxiliary program 42 notifies the general printing program 41 of the end of the detailed setting (B51). The general printing program 41 notifies the editing application 43 of the end of the detailed setting (B52). Thus, the editing application 43 reflects the information based on the user's operation and displays the print setting screen D2 (refer to Figure 3 )

[0073] Next, regarding the print execution process, refer to Figure 6This will be illustrated by a sequence diagram. After the user has determined the image of the printing object and the printing settings in the printer 2, an instruction to execute printing (C01) is input in the editing application 43. For example, when the editing application 43 accepts an operation on the print button 55 in the print setting screen D2 shown in Figure 3 Since the general printing program 41 is loaded in the OS 21 of the PC 1, for the general printing program 41, it is determined that an execution instruction to print the selected image by the printer 2 has been accepted.

[0074] The editing application 43 outputs the information of the received print instruction to the general printing program 41 (C02). The general printing program 41 obtains the image data representing the image of the printing object and the information representing the print settings as the information of the print instruction from the editing application 43.

[0075] The general printing program 41 transforms the form of the image data of the image of the printing object into the form of intermediate data based on the information obtained from the editing application 43, thereby generating intermediate data (C03). The image data included in the editing application 43 is various types of image data, and the general printing program 41 transforms the image data of the printing object into intermediate data suitable for the generation of print data. It should be noted that if the image data of the printing object is data suitable for the generation of print data, the generation of intermediate data may also be omitted and used as intermediate data as it is.

[0076] It should be noted that the general printing program 41 may also start the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the specified device, i.e., the printer 2, before generating the intermediate data, and notify the start of the print job processing. When the auxiliary program 42 is started from the general printing program 41, it can submit the information representing various instructions used when generating the intermediate data to the general printing program 41 as needed.

[0077] After generating the intermediate data, the general printing program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 by outputting an execution instruction to the auxiliary program 42 (C05). For example, the auxiliary program 42 can obtain the intermediate data and print settings generated by the general printing program 41 by requesting the general printing program 41. And the auxiliary program 42 can edit the information of the intermediate data and print settings received from the general printing program 41 as needed.

[0078] The auxiliary program 42 determines whether it includes an exclusive setting based on the obtained information of the print settings (C11). The exclusive setting is a setting that includes a combination of parameters that cannot be set or parameters that cannot be set simultaneously. When accepting a print job with a print setting that includes an exclusive setting, the printer 2 may malfunction and be unable to print.

[0079] Note that, regarding the exclusive setting of a part of the printer 2, information on the exclusive setting and information indicating a solution method for solving the exclusive setting are stored, and information related to the exclusive setting can be included in the capability information and output. In addition, the auxiliary program 42 may previously have information related to the exclusive setting in the printer 2, or may obtain information related to the exclusive setting in the printer 2 from the capability information of the printer 2.

[0080] When it is determined that there is an exclusive setting (opt: [there is an exclusive]), the auxiliary program 42 determines whether default information (C12) is stored. C12 is the same processing as Figure 4 B11 of. Then, the auxiliary program 42 executes a process (C21) for exclusive resolution based on the determinations of C11 and C12.

[0081] Regarding the exclusive resolution process executed in C21, it will be described with reference to Figure 7 the sequence diagram of. In Figure 6 when it is determined in C11 that there is no exclusive setting (alt: [no exclusive]), the auxiliary program 42 requests the acquisition of the capability information (D01) from the general printing program 41, and obtains the capability information of the printer 2 (D03) via the general printing program 41 (D02). Note that, in D01, the auxiliary program 42 is different from Figure 2 A21~A23 of, and requests the general printing program 41 in such a way as to obtain only the information necessary for the execution of printing. That is, the acquisition request amount in D01 is less than that in A21, and the time required for D01~D03 is shorter than the time required for A21~A23.

[0082] In addition, in Figure 6 when it is determined in C11 that there is an exclusive setting and it is determined in Figure 6 C12 that default information is stored (alt: [there is an exclusive and there is a cache]), the auxiliary program 42 requests the acquisition of the capability information (D11) from the general printing program 41, and obtains the capability information of the printer 2 (D13) via the general printing program 41 (D12). In D11~D13, the auxiliary program 42 does not need to newly acquire default information, and only acquires the information necessary for the execution of printing.

[0083] Moreover, the auxiliary program 42 reads out the default information (D15) stored in the memory 12. Then, the auxiliary program 42 changes the print setting (D16) in such a way as to solve the exclusive setting determined to be included in the print setting in Figure 6 C11. D16 is an example of the change process.

[0084] Among various exclusive settings, there are exclusive settings that include solution information in the capability information of the printer 2 and exclusive settings that do not include solution information in the capability information of the printer 2. When the auxiliary program 42 determines in C11 of Figure 6 that the exclusive setting included in the print setting can be resolved based on the solution information included in the capability information stored in the memory 12, it performs resolution based on the solution information. When the auxiliary program 42 determines in C11 of Figure 6 that the exclusive setting included in the print setting cannot be resolved based on the solution information, it changes each print setting determined to be exclusive to the default print setting based on the default information stored in the memory 12.

[0085] When a print instruction based on a print setting that includes an exclusive setting, i.e., an unconfigurable print setting, is generated, the auxiliary program 42 reads the solution information and default information stored in the memory 12 at the time of printer selection, and uses the read solution information and default information to change to a print setting that can resolve the exclusive setting. Thus, a print job including an exclusive setting is prevented from being sent to the printer 2. Note that the auxiliary program 42 may resolve the exclusive setting only by the default information without using the solution information.

[0086] In addition, when it is determined in C11 of Figure 6 that an exclusive setting is included and it is determined in C12 of Figure 6 that the default information is not stored (alt: [there is an exclusive setting and no cache]), the auxiliary program 42 requests acquisition of the capability information from the general print program 41 (D21), and acquires the capability information of the printer 2 via the general print program 41 (D22) (D23). In D21 to D23, the auxiliary program 42, unlike D01 and D11, requests the capability information including a lot of information in the same manner as B31 to B33 of Figure 4 . In D21 to D23, the auxiliary program 42 may also request the capability information including all information in the same manner as A21 to A23 of Figure 2 . D21 to D23 are an example of a retry process at the time of printing.

[0087] Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 acquires the solution information and default information based on the acquired capability information (D25). Then, the auxiliary program 42 changes the print setting (D26) in such a way as to resolve the exclusive setting determined to be included in the print setting in C11 of Figure 6 . D26 is an example of a change process. Note that the auxiliary program 42 may resolve the exclusive setting only by the default information without using the solution information.

[0088] Since the auxiliary program 42 obtains the solution information and default information from the printer 2 at this timing if the default information is not stored, it is highly likely that the obtained information can be used to solve the exclusive setting. For example, when the auxiliary program 42 cannot solve based on the solution information, it is highly likely that it can be solved by using the default printing settings of the printer 2. It should be noted that the auxiliary program 42 may also store the default information obtained in D25 in the memory 12.

[0089] Return Figure 6 Description of the print execution process. When the exclusive setting is solved, the auxiliary program 42 submits the changed printing settings and intermediate data to the general printing program 41 and requests the generation of print data from the general printing program 41 (C31). The general printing program 41 rasterizes the intermediate data and generates print data including bitmap data, i.e., raster data (C32). Then, the general printing program 41 submits the generated print data to the auxiliary program 42 (C33).

[0090] The auxiliary program 42 instructs the general printing program 41 to send a print instruction to the printer 2 by submitting the print data to the general printing program 41 (C35). The general printing program 41 sends a print job including the print data to the printer 2 (C36). C35 is a process for causing the printer 2 to perform printing and is an example of a printing process. The printer 2 executes printing based on the received print data (C38). Thus, a printed matter based on the print instruction output from the editing application 43 is generated.

[0091] It should be noted that the auxiliary program 42 may perform rasterization instead of the general printing program 41. In this case, the auxiliary program 42 performs rasterization based on the intermediate data received in the execution instruction and generates raster data. If rasterization is performed in the auxiliary program 42, there is a higher degree of freedom compared to the case where rasterization is performed in the general printing program 41, and it is highly likely that raster data suitable for printing in the printer 2 can be generated. On the other hand, if rasterization is performed using the general printing program 41, the processing of the auxiliary program 42 becomes less, and the program size of the auxiliary program 42 can be reduced.

[0092] Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 may also obtain the raster data generated by the general printing program 41 or the auxiliary program 42 and process it as needed. For example, the auxiliary program 42 may encode the raster data into PDL data suitable for the printer 2 to generate print data. It should be noted that the PDL data generated by the auxiliary program 42 may also be in a form that can be used for printing on printers other than the model of the printer 2.

[0093] In addition, although it is set to send a print job from the general print program 41 to the printer 2, it is also possible that the auxiliary program 42 sends a print command and print data indicating the execution of printing to the printer 2. For example, when the auxiliary program 42 includes settings related to image processing that can be executed in the printer 2 as print settings, it can also generate a print command that includes information about this processing. In this case, the auxiliary program 42 can also notify the general print program 41 of the completion information after the transmission of the print data is completed.

[0094] As described in detail above, when the printer 2 is selected in the editing application 43, the auxiliary program 42 of this method causes the CPU 11 of the PC 1 to obtain the default print settings stored in the printer 2 and stores the default information in the memory 12. Moreover, when using the default print settings of the printer 2, the auxiliary program 42 reads out the default information stored in the memory 12. Thus, there is a high possibility of immediately using the default print settings stored in the printer 2. In addition, by storing the default information when the printer 2 is selected, the auxiliary program 42 can also handle the case where the default information of the printer 2 has changed after the first startup.

[0095] It should be noted that the embodiments disclosed in this specification are merely examples and do not limit the present invention in any way. Therefore, the technologies disclosed in this specification can of course be variously improved and deformed without departing from its gist. For example, the device connected to the PC 1 is not limited to the printer 2, and any device with a printing function such as a multifunction machine, a copying machine, a FAX device, etc. is acceptable. In addition, the number of printers 2 connected to the PC 1 is not limited to the example shown in the figure, and it can also be two or more.

[0096] In addition, for example, the examples of the screens displayed on the user IF 13 are all just examples and are not limited to the examples shown in the figure. In addition, the statements, shapes of objects, backgrounds, etc. displayed in each of the illustrated screens can be arbitrary. In addition, for example, in Figure 3 a print setting screen D2 including one information display bar 52 is shown, but the configuration, shape, size, number, etc. of the information display bar 52 are not limited to the example in this figure. In addition, the information display bar 52 may not be present.

[0097] In addition, in Figure 4In the printing setting process shown, the following processes are shown: After the detailed setting screen 60 is displayed in B05, the presence or absence of a cache is determined. In the case where there is no cache, the capability information of the printer 2 is acquired. However, the timing for determining the presence or absence of a cache and the timing for acquiring the capability information are not limited to this. For example, the auxiliary program 42 may also only determine the presence or absence of a cache after B05, and in the case where an operation on the button 61 to restore to the default is received, if there is no cache, the capability information is acquired. Additionally, the auxiliary program 42 may also determine the presence or absence of a cache after receiving an operation on the button 61 to restore to the default.

[0098] Furthermore, in this specification, when the auxiliary program 42 includes an exclusive setting in the print setting of a print instruction, it resolves the exclusivity (D16, D26) based on the default information, but it may also notify the exclusivity to allow the user to change the print setting. Or, the auxiliary program 42 may also change all the parameters of the print setting to the default print setting in the case where an exclusive setting is included.

[0099] Moreover, in this specification, the auxiliary program 42 stores the default information in both the volatile memory 122 and the non-volatile memory 121, but it may also store it only in either one.

[0100] Also, it may be that when the general printing program 41 changes the normally used printer from another printer to the printer 2 via the OS21 by a user's operation after the print setting screen D2 is displayed by the general printing program 41, the general printing program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42. Additionally, the auxiliary program 42 is not limited to starting when printing is selected. For example, it may also start the auxiliary program 42 when the printer 2 is selected as a device setting. Even in these cases, the auxiliary program 42 may display a setting screen including an operation unit for receiving an instruction to apply the default print setting.

[0101] In addition, in the embodiment, only the printing operation is described in detail as the operation of the auxiliary program 42, but the auxiliary program 42 may also have other functions. Also, the program for executing the processing of this mode is not limited to the auxiliary program 42, as long as it is a program that receives an instruction from the OS21 or the general printing program 41 when performing printing using the general printing program 41. For example, it may be a print workflow application whose specifications are publicly disclosed by Microsoft Corporation.

[0102] Furthermore, the execution timing of the auxiliary program 42 is not limited to the example in the embodiment. For example, it may be directly instructed to execute from the OS21, or it may also be a resident auxiliary program 42. In the case of being resident, the auxiliary program 42 only needs to receive an execution command and perform the foregoing operations.

[0103] In addition, in any of the flowcharts disclosed in the embodiments, among any plurality of steps, the plurality of processes can be arbitrarily changed in the execution order within the range where the processing contents do not conflict, or can be executed in parallel.

[0104] In addition, the processing disclosed in the embodiments can also be executed by a single CPU, multiple CPUs, hardware such as an ASIC, or a combination thereof. In addition, the processing disclosed in the embodiments can be implemented in various ways such as a recording medium or a method that records a program for executing the processing.

[0105] Description of Reference Numerals

[0106] 1 PC

[0107] 2 Printer

[0108] 11 CPU

[0109] 13 User IF.

Claims

1. A support program that can be executed by a computer of an information processing device, corresponding to a printer connected to the information processing device, and supports a general printing program of the operating system of the information processing device, wherein, The support program is configured to: When a selection instruction of the printer is made to the general printing program from an editing application loaded in the information processing device, cause the computer to execute an acquisition process and a caching process, the acquisition process being a process of acquiring default print settings stored in the printer, and the caching process being a process of storing the default print settings acquired in the acquisition process in a memory of the information processing device, Cause the computer to further execute a reading process, the reading process being a process of reading out the default print settings stored in the memory when using the default print settings stored in the printer.

2. The support program according to claim 1, wherein, The support program is configured to: Cause the computer to execute a display process, the display process being a process of displaying a setting screen for accepting print settings used in printing in the printer using a user interface of the information processing device, and the setting screen includes a specified operation unit, Cause the computer to further execute a reflection process, the reflection process being a process of reflecting the default print settings read out in the reading process to the setting screen when an operation on the specified operation unit is performed.

3. The support program according to claim 2, wherein, When a display instruction for displaying the setting screen is output from the editing application to the general printing program, the support program causes the computer to execute the display process, The support program is configured to: In the display process, display a detailed print setting screen included in the support program as the setting screen, In the reflection process, reflect the default print settings read out in the reading process to the detailed print setting screen.

4. The support program according to claim 3, wherein, The support program is configured to: Cause the computer to execute the reading process according to the start of the detailed print setting screen through the display process.

5. The support program according to claim 4, wherein, The support program is configured to: When the detailed print setting screen is started through the display process, If the default print settings are stored in the memory, cause the computer to execute the reading process, If the default print settings are not stored in the memory, instead of causing the computer to execute the reading process, cause the computer to execute a setting retry process for acquiring default print settings from the selected printer.

6. The support program according to claim 1, wherein, The support program is configured to: When a print instruction for causing the printer to perform printing is output from the editing application to the general printing program, the computer is caused to execute a printing process, which is a process for causing the printer to perform printing based on print data of an image representing a print object according to the print instruction and a print setting according to the print instruction.

7. The support program according to claim 6, wherein the support program is configured to when there is an unconfigurable parameter in the print setting according to the print instruction, cause the computer to execute the reading process, cause the computer to execute a change process, which is a process of changing the print setting according to the print instruction to a print setting that will not be unconfigurable based on the default print setting read out in the reading process, and cause the computer to execute the printing process for causing the printer to perform printing according to the changed print setting.

8. The support program according to claim 7, wherein the support program is configured to when there is an unconfigurable parameter in the print setting according to the print instruction, if the default print setting is stored in the memory, cause the computer to execute the reading process, if the default print setting is not stored in the memory, do not cause the computer to execute the reading process, but cause the computer to execute a print retry process of obtaining the default print setting from the printer specified by the print instruction, and in the change process, change the print setting according to the print instruction to a print setting that will not be unconfigurable based on the default print setting obtained in the print retry process.

9. The support program according to claim 1, wherein the support program is configured to in the default print setting obtained from the printer in the obtaining process, include items related to the tray.

10. The support program according to claim 1, wherein in the memory of the information processing device, there are a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory, in the caching process, the support program stores the default print setting obtained in the obtaining process in the volatile memory, and moreover, creates a file written with the default print setting and stores the created file in the non-volatile memory. The default print setting stored in the volatile memory is stored during the period when the process in which the caching process is executed is started, and is erased when the process ends. The file stored in the non-volatile memory is still stored even when the process ends, the support program is further configured to in the reading process, if the default print setting is stored in the volatile memory, read out the default print setting from the volatile memory, and if the default print setting is not stored in the volatile memory but stored in the non-volatile memory, read out the file from the non-volatile memory.

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