Application program, storage medium, method, and information processing apparatus

Abstract

To provide a technique enabling a user to check necessary information without explicitly giving instructions to display a screen of an extended application.SOLUTION: A program to be executed by a computer of an information processing device and expanding a function in association with print data generation software available for a plurality of different printing devices, causes the computer to execute: acquisition processing of acquiring information from a printing device; determination processing of determining information to be displayed on a print setting screen of an operating system of the information processing device based on the information acquired from the printing device; and notification processing of notifying the operating system of the information processing device of screen definition information defining information to be displayed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for expanding a printing function. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, standard class drivers (hereinafter also referred to as "standard drivers") that can be commonly used for printing devices provided by multiple vendors have been provided in Windows (registered trademark) and the like. Such standard drivers are included in the operating system (hereinafter referred to as "OS") package. The standard driver is configured to be able to specify print functions according to PrintCapabilities generated based on information acquired from the connected printing device. This allows a user who uses the standard driver to specify print functions according to the capabilities of the connected printing device. An application for function expansion (hereinafter also referred to as "expansion application") can be associated with the standard driver. The expansion application is provided by the vendor that provides the printing device. By providing the expansion application, the vendor can provide functions (expansion functions) that cannot be realized by the standard driver alone. Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for expanding functions such as a stamp function by the expansion application. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-74906 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] To use the extended functions of an extended application, the user must explicitly perform an operation to display the screen of the extended application itself. This increases the number of operations performed by the user, which may impair convenience. In addition, some information provided by extended applications (such as status information on a printing device) cannot be viewed by the user at any time.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a technique that enables a user to check necessary information without explicitly instructing a display of an extension application screen. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the information processing device of the present invention is an information processing device equipped with print data generation software that can be used on multiple different printing devices, and an extension application that is associated with the print data generation software and extends its functions, and is characterized in that the extension application has screen definition information that defines information to be displayed on a print setting screen of the operating system of the information processing device, and a notification means that notifies the operating system of the information processing device of default setting values ​​regarding print settings related to the information to be displayed. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it becomes possible for a user to check necessary information without explicitly instructing the display of a screen of an extension application. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] Block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the printing system [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing system. [Diagram 3] A sequence diagram showing an example of a printing process [Figure 4]A flowchart showing an example of a display item determination process for a print setting screen expansion unit. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of screen definition information. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a print setting screen. [Figure 7] A flowchart showing an example of a display item determination process for a print setting screen expansion unit. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of screen definition information. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a print setting screen. [Figure 10] A flowchart showing an example of a process of a print setting screen expansion unit. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a print setting screen. [Figure 12] A flowchart showing an example of a process of a print setting screen expansion unit. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of screen definition information. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a print setting screen. [Figure 15] A sequence diagram showing an example of a printing process [Figure 16] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a process of a print data editing unit. [Figure 17] A flowchart showing an example of a process of a print setting screen expansion unit. [Figure 18] A flowchart showing an example of a process of a print setting screen expansion unit. [Figure 19] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of screen definition information. [Figure 20] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a print setting screen. [Figure 21] A flowchart showing an example of a process of a print setting screen expansion unit. [Figure 22] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of screen definition information. [Figure 23] Figure showing an example of the print settings screen of the OS displayed according to the screen definition information DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the subject matter of the present disclosure, and not all combinations of features described in the present embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the present disclosure. Note that the same components are given the same reference numbers and descriptions are omitted.

[0010] <<First embodiment>> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a printing system in this embodiment. The printing system includes a host computer 101, and FIG. 1 mainly shows a block configuration of the host computer. The host computer 101 is an example of an information processing device. The host computer 101 has an input interface 110, a CPU 111, a ROM 112, a RAM 113, an external storage device 114, an output interface 115, an input / output interface 116, and a network interface (NETIF) 120. Input devices such as a keyboard 118 and a pointing device 117 are connected to the input interface 110, and a display device such as a display unit 119 is connected to the output interface 115. The NETIF 120 performs control for transferring data between the host computer 101 and an external device via a network. In the example of FIG. 1, the display unit 119, the pointing device 117, and the keyboard 118 are described as examples of devices separate from the host computer 101, but these may be included in the host computer 101. The display unit 119 may be a touch panel display equipped with the function of an input / output device.

[0011] An initialization program is stored in the ROM 112. An application program group, an operating system (OS), print data generation software, and various other data are stored in the external storage device 114. The RAM 113 is used as a work memory or the like when executing various programs stored in the external storage device 114, and this enables the various programs to operate in the host computer 101. In this embodiment, the PU 111 executes the functions and processes described below in the host computer 101 by executing the processes according to the procedures of the programs stored in the ROM 112. The printing device 102, which is an output device, is connected to the host computer 101 via an input / output interface 116. In the example of FIG. 1, the host computer 101 and the printing device 102 are shown as separate devices, but they may be configured as one information processing device.

[0012] Note that the printing device will be described as an inkjet printing device that prints by ejecting ink onto a paper surface, but printing may be performed by other methods (for example, electrophotography). The host computer 101 may be a desktop personal computer, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a notebook computer. The input / output interface 116 may be wired or wireless. The host computer 101 and the printing device 102 may be connected via a LAN or a WAN such as the Internet.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing system. Here, the description is based on the premise that the printing system uses a host computer 101 equipped with Windows 10 by Microsoft (registered trademark) as the OS. FIG. 2(a) is a diagram showing a general configuration in a case where an extended application 204 is not associated with the print data generation software 202 and the printing device 102. That is, it is a diagram showing the configuration of a printing system in which the extended application 204 is not used. On the other hand, FIG. 2(b) is a diagram showing the configuration of a printing system of this embodiment in which the extended application 204 is associated with the print data generation software 202 and the printing device 102. First, an example of a printing system with a general configuration will be described with reference to FIG. 2(a). The printing system with a general configuration includes a drawing application 201 and print data generation software 202. In addition, print function information 203 is stored in the RAM 113 or the external storage device 114. The drawing application 201 and the print data generation software 202 are programs that can be operated by the host computer 101. The drawing application 201 is software that creates content (drawing data) to be printed. Examples of the drawing application 201 include various applications operated by a user, such as a word processing application or a spreadsheet application. When the drawing application 201 receives a print request from a user, it issues a print instruction to the OS. The print instruction includes print setting information for instructing the operations of the print data generation software 202 and the printing device 102. The print setting information is also called a PrintTicket (hereinafter abbreviated as "PT"). In order to set the print setting information (PT), the drawing application 201 can display a print setting screen provided by any of the print data generation software 202, the OS, and the drawing application 201. The print setting screen includes setting items (hereinafter also referred to as "control items") indicating configurable print functions and control items indicating their setting values. The control items are displayed on the print setting screen according to capability information (information that can be set as print settings) acquired from the print data generation software 202.The capability information is also called PrintCapabilities (hereinafter, abbreviated as "PC"). The print data generation software 202 determines the PC based on the print capability information 203. The print capability information 203 is data indicating all print functions that can be set, their setting values, and the exclusive relationship between the setting values. The print capability information 203 is also called PDC (Print Device Capabilities). The print capability information 203 is included in a configuration file of the print data generation software 202 and is arranged in the external storage device 114 as an unchangeable file. Alternatively, the print capability information 203 can be dynamically generated by the print data generation software 202. Specifically, the print data generation software 202 or the OS can be configured to acquire attribute data of the printing device from the printing device 102 and generate the print capability information 203 according to the attribute information in the acquired attribute data. When the print capability information 203 is dynamically generated, the generated print capability information 203 is editable. The attribute data of the printing device acquired from the printing device 102 is response data acquired by issuing a Get-Printer-Attributes operation of IPP to the printing device. IPP stands for Internet Print Protocol. The response includes attribute information indicating functions (capabilities of the printing device) that can be specified by the printing device 102 and setting values ​​related to the attribute information. The data of this response is stored in the RAM 113. By configuring in this way, the print data generation software 202 can be configured so that the user can specify print functions available on each printing device 102 according to the connected printing device 102. That is, even if printing devices with different functions or printing devices developed by different vendors are connected, the print data generation software 202 can be configured so that the user can specify print functions available on the connected printing device. Here, a configuration using the IPPClassDriver installed in Windows (registered trademark) 10 is described as the print data generation software 202.IPPClassDriver is a printing device driver that executes print processing according to the specifications of a standard printing protocol called IPP, and is included in the OS package. IPPClassDriver is not a specific printing device driver according to the model of the printing device 102, but a standard class driver that can be commonly used for multiple printing devices. In addition, IPPClassDriver acquires attribute information of the connected printing device 102 so that the user can specify the printing functions supported by the connected printing device 102, and generates print function information 203 based on the information. In this way, IPPClassDriver, which is the print data generation software 202, can dynamically generate print function information 203 (PDC). The print setting information (PT) specified through a print setting screen displayed based on a PC based on such print function information 203 (PDC) is included in the print instruction output from the drawing application 201. Note that the print instruction output from the drawing application 201 includes data to be drawn in addition to the print setting information (PT). The OS generates intermediate data (also called input data) based on the print instruction output from the drawing application 201, and passes it to the print data generation software 202. The data output by the drawing application 201 for printing is data in GraphicDeviceInterface format (GDI format data) or data in XMLPaperSpecification format (XPS format data). When IPPClassDriver is used as the print data generation software 202, if the data output by the drawing application 201 is data in GDI format, the OS converts the data format. That is, the OS converts the data in GDI format output from the drawing application 201 into data in XPS format. Then, it passes the converted data in XPS format to the print data generation software 202 as intermediate data. On the other hand, if the data output by the drawing application 201 is data in XPS format, the OS passes the data in XPS format to the print data generation software 202 as intermediate data.The intermediate data includes drawing data, which is information on an image to be formed on paper, and print setting information (PT) set by the user. The print data generation software 202 converts the acquired intermediate data into print data that can be interpreted by the printing device 102, and transmits it to the printing device 102. The print data includes drawing data, which is information on an image to be formed on paper, and print setting attribute information (attribute information specifying print settings) generated based on the print setting information set by the user. The print setting attribute information includes attribute information indicating functions (capabilities of the printing device) that can be specified by the printing device 102, and setting values ​​related to the attribute information. The printing device 102 performs printing on paper based on the print data sent from the print data generation software 202. At this time, the printing device 102 forms the drawing data included in the print data on paper by operating in accordance with the print setting attribute information included in the print data. The print setting attribute information includes attribute information for specifying print quality (image quality priority or speed priority, etc.), double-sided printing, etc., and its setting value. For example, if the print setting attribute information includes attribute information that specifies double-sided printing, the printing device 102 executes double-sided printing.

[0014] FIG. 2B is a diagram showing the configuration of this embodiment when the extension application 204 is associated with the print data generation software 202 and the printing device 102. Note that configurations and processes not specifically mentioned below are equivalent to the configurations and processes of FIG. 2A. The extension application 204 is software for extending the function of the print data generation software 202, and is software that is not included (bundled) in advance in the OS. Therefore, the user operates the host computer 101 to download the extension application 204 from a server via the Internet and install it in the host computer 101. Alternatively, the extension application 204 may be automatically installed in the host computer 101 based on the connection of the printing device 102 to the host computer 101. Specifically, when the printing device 102 is connected to the host computer 101, the OS acquires device identification information from the printing device 102. The OS may download the extension application 204 corresponding to the acquired device identification information from a server via the Internet and install it in the host computer 101. In this way, the print data generation software 202 and the extension application 204 are held as separate files in the host computer 101. The print data generation software 202 and the extension application 204 may be updated and upgraded, but these update processes are also performed at different times. In other words, the timing at which the host computer 101 acquires the print data generation software 202 is different from the timing at which the extension application 204 is acquired. In addition, the trigger at which the host computer 101 acquires the print data generation software 202 is different from the trigger at which the host computer 101 acquires the extension application 204. When the extension application 204 is installed, the OS associates the extension application 204 with the print data generation software 202 and the corresponding printing device 102.The extension application 204 described in this embodiment includes a print setting screen extension unit 205, a skip control unit 206, a print function extension unit 207, a print data editing unit 208, and a notification unit 209. The extension application 204 also includes shared information 210 that can be commonly accessed by each unit. The entity of the shared information 210 is a file stored in the external storage device 114, or information stored on the RAM 113. The extension application 204 writes and reads information to the shared information 210 by using an API (Application Program Interface) provided by the OS. The extension application 204 may end its operation each time the processing of each unit is completed. In that case, the OS will start the extension application 204 each time a request to use each unit is received. Another form is also possible. For example, when the processing of the print setting screen extension unit 205 is completed, the OS ends the operation of the extension application 204, but even if the processing of the skip control unit 206 is completed, the OS may keep the extension application 204 running. Furthermore, the extension application 204 may cancel processing during the processing of each unit. When the extension application 204 cancels processing, the job being processed in the print queue is deleted by the OS. The print support system 211 is a component provided by the OS. The print support system 211 mediates various instructions and information transmissions exchanged between the drawing application 201, the print data generation software 202, the printing device 102, and the extension application 204. When the drawing application 201 receives a print request from a user, it issues a print instruction to the print support system 211. The print instruction includes print setting information (PT) as in the configuration of FIG. 2(a). Even in the configuration of FIG. 2(b), the drawing application 201 can display a print setting screen for specifying the print setting information (PT) as in the configuration of FIG. 2(a). In the configuration of FIG. 2(b), the print setting screen provided by the extension application 204 is displayed.Specifically, the print setting screen provided by the print setting screen extension unit 205 included in the extension application 204 is displayed. That is, the print setting screen extension unit 205 controls the display of the print setting screen. Whether the print setting screen provided by the print setting screen extension unit 205 is displayed depends on the user's operation. The print setting screen extension unit 205 can also extend the display items of the print setting screen provided by the OS from information acquired from the printing device 102 and information about the drawing application 201. This function will be described later with reference to FIG. 3. When the drawing application 201 accepts a print request from a user and issues a print instruction to the print support system 211, the print support system 211 starts the skip control unit 206. The skip control unit 206 performs control processing to determine whether or not to perform skip processing to skip the processing of the print data generation software 202. The skip control unit 206 cannot acquire intermediate data and print setting information. After the skip control process of the skip control unit 206, the print support system 211 generates intermediate data based on the print instruction output from the drawing application 201, and passes the intermediate data to the print data generation software 202. Here, if the skip process is not performed by the skip control unit 206, the intermediate data is processed by the print data generation software 202 into print data that can be interpreted by the printing device 102, and passed to the print data editing unit 208. On the other hand, if the skip process of the print data generation software 202 is performed, the intermediate data is passed to the print data editing unit 208 without being processed by the print data generation software 202. This makes it possible to process the intermediate data in the print data editing unit 208. An example of a case where it is preferable to skip the process of the print data generation software 202 is when it is desired to perform a scaling process in the print data editing unit 208. The intermediate data can be held in a vector format. The vector format data is less degraded when scaling compared to the raster format data.Therefore, in a form in which the print data generation software 202 outputs an image in a raster format, it is generally preferable to skip the processing of the print data generation software 202 and process the intermediate data in the print data editing unit 208. The print data editing unit 208 edits the intermediate data passed from the print data generation software 202 via the print support system 211 or the print data processed by the print data generation software 202. Taking layout printing as an example of the editing content, the print data editing unit 208 changes the layout of the intermediate data or the print data based on the print setting information of layout printing received from the OS. Layout printing is, for example, printing N pages of data by layouting them on one page, and is called Nin1 or N-up (N indicates the number of pages). In addition, the print data editing unit 208 can display a UI screen on the display unit 119, and can display the layout result of the intermediate data or the print data as a preview screen. After the print data editing unit 208 edits the print data, the print data is passed to the printing device 102 via the print support system 211. The printing device 102 prints on paper based on the received print data. If the print data generation software 202 is skipped by the skip control unit 206, the print data editing unit 208 may convert the received intermediate data into print data that can be interpreted by the printing device 102. The extension application 204 also has a print function extension unit 207. The print function extension unit 207 can edit the print function information 203 (PDC) generated by the print data generation software 202 or the OS. In other words, the print function extension unit 207 can change the print function information 203 even if the print function information 203 is placed in the external storage device 114 as an unchangeable file. In this way, the extension application 204 has a function for editing the print function information 203 (PDC). The print function extension unit 207 can add functions provided by the extension application 204.The print function extension unit 207 can also add a function that is supported by the printing device 102 but not supported by the print data generation software 202, and add an exclusive relationship between the setting values ​​of the print functions. The OS starts the print function extension unit 207 when the extension application 204 is first associated with the printing device 102 and the print data generation software 202. Furthermore, the OS may start the print function extension unit 207 at any other timing, such as when the OS is started. In this way, in a case where an optional device (e.g., a finisher, etc.) is added to the printing device 102 later and the functions related to printing are extended, the print function extension unit 207 can detect the extended function and add it to the print function information 203. The extension application 204 also has a notification unit 209. The notification unit 209 can display a notification to the user in response to the occurrence of an error in the printing device 102. For example, when a paper-out error occurs in the printing device 102, the print support system 211 detects the error. Then, the print support system 211 uses a notification function called toast notification, which is a function of the OS, to display a message on the display unit 119. When the user presses this toast notification, the OS calls the notification unit 209 of the extended application 204, and the UI screen of the notification unit 209 is displayed. On the UI screen of the notification unit 209, for example, a detailed message of the no-paper error or a paper refilling method can be displayed. Note that pressing includes a click operation of a mouse or the like, as well as a touch or tap operation on a touch panel display. Note that the configuration of the extended application 204 for realizing this embodiment is not limited to one having all of the above-mentioned functions (units), and may have only a part of the functions or other functions. Also, the extended application 204 may simply be called print software. As described above, the extended application 204 has at least one of the following functions.The functions are a function for displaying a print setting screen (print setting screen expansion unit 205), a function for controlling whether or not to skip processing of the print data generation software 202 (skip control unit 206), a function for editing print data input to the printing device (print data editing unit 208), and a function for expanding functions that can be specified by the print data generation software 202 (print function expansion unit 207). Also, a function for displaying a screen in response to the occurrence of an error in the printing device 102 (notification unit 209).

[0015] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a process flow of the display item expansion process of the print setting screen of the OS by the print setting screen expansion unit 205 in this embodiment. First, the drawing application 201 starts the process upon receiving an instruction from the user (S301). Next, the drawing application 201 accepts the designation of the file to be printed from the user (S302), and displays the contents of the selected file to the user by drawing the designated file on the application screen (S303). Next, the drawing application 201 accepts an instruction to display the print setting screen from the user in order to print the file displayed in S303 (S304). Following S304, the drawing application 201 issues an instruction to display the print setting screen of the OS to the print support system 211 provided by the OS (S305). Furthermore, the print support system 211 also has a role of adding display items to the print setting screen of the OS based on the screen definition information notified from the print setting screen expansion unit 205. After that, the print support system 211 executes the display item determination process of the print setting screen expansion unit 205 (S306). The display item determination process is a process in which the print setting screen extension unit 205 determines items to be displayed on the print setting screen of the OS. The print setting screen extension unit 205, which has received the instruction in S306, determines items to be displayed on the print setting screen of the OS (S307). After that, the print setting screen extension unit 205 generates screen definition information based on the display items determined in S307 (S308), and notifies the print support system 211 of the generated screen definition information (notification process) (S309). Details of S307 and S308 will be described later with reference to FIG. 4. The print support system 211, which has been notified of the screen definition information in S309, adds display items to the print setting screen of the OS according to the notified information, and displays the print setting screen to the user (S310). In order to obtain a desired print result, the user performs print setting operations on the print setting screen displayed by the print support system 211 (S311). One example of the operations is changing the paper size or paper type. When S311 is completed, the user issues a print execution instruction to the print support system 211 (S312).The print support system 211 that has received the print execution instruction inputs the print data generated by the print data generation software 202 and causes the print data editing unit 208 to execute print data editing processing (S313). The print data editing unit 208 edits the print data based on the print settings specified by the user in S311 (S314), and transmits the edited print data to the printing device 102 (S315). Note that the processes of S307 and S308 executed by the print setting screen expansion unit 205 are executed as background processing without displaying the screen of the print setting screen expansion unit 205 itself.

[0016] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing details of the display item determination process (S307, S308) of the print setting screen expansion unit 205. First, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 acquires a communication interface provided by the OS (S401). The communication interface is associated with the printing device 102 and provides the print setting screen expansion unit 205 with a function of sending and receiving arbitrary information using a communication protocol (e.g., IPP) supported by the printing device 102. Next, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 acquires status information from the printing device 102 via the printing device communication interface (S402). In S402, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 acquires ink remaining amount information and error information. After that, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 determines whether the information acquisition in S402 was successful (S403). If it is determined Yes in S403, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 checks whether there is an ink with a low remaining amount value among the inks attached to the printing device 102 from the information acquired in S402 (S404). As an example of a specific method of determination in S404, there is a method of determining whether or not there is any ink remaining amount value below a predetermined reference value for each ink attached to the printing device 102. As another method, if there is information that explicitly indicates which ink is low in the status information acquired from the printing device 102, that information may be referenced. If the result of the determination in S404 is Yes, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 generates ink remaining amount screen definition information (S405). On the other hand, if the result of the determination in S404 is No, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 checks whether or not an error that makes it impossible to execute printing has occurred in the printing device 102 (S406). As an example of a specific method of determination in S406, there is a method of checking whether or not a character string or a numerical value indicating the occurrence of an error is present in the information acquired in S402. If the result of the determination in S406 is Yes, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 generates error screen definition information including information about the error that has occurred (S407). On the other hand, if the result of S406 is No, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 generates manual screen definition information that explains how to operate the printing device 102 (S408).On the other hand, if the result of S403 is No, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 generates communication failure screen definition information including information indicating that communication with the printing device 102 has failed (S409). The print setting screen expansion unit 205 notifies the print support system 211 of the screen definition information generated by any of the processes of S405, S407, S408, and S409 (S410). After that, the print support system 211 adds display items to the print setting screen of the OS according to the screen definition information notified by the print setting screen expansion unit 205. Note that a specific example of the screen definition information generated in S405, S407, S408, and S409 is shown in FIG. 5.

[0017] 5(a) to (d) are diagrams showing specific examples of screen definition information generated by the print setting screen extension unit 205 in S405, S407, S408, and S409, respectively. The screen definition information is expressed in JavaScript Object Notation (hereinafter also referred to as JSON) format, and items to be displayed by the print support system 211 on the print setting screen of the OS are described in the "display" tag. In FIG. 5(a), the inks installed in the printing device 102 and the remaining amount of each ink are expressed by the information in the "inkBar" tag. The name of each ink is expressed in the "name" tag, and the remaining amount of each ink is expressed in the "value" tag. In addition, the configuration of the button to be displayed on the print setting screen of the OS is defined in the "button" tag, the button name is indicated in the "title" tag, and the URL of the ink purchase page to be displayed when the button is pressed is indicated in the "url" tag. Note that the URL indicated in the "url" tag may reflect the remaining ink amount acquired from the printing device 102. A print setting screen displayed by the screen definition information in FIG. 5(a) is specifically illustrated in FIG. 6(a). In FIG. 5(b), information about an error that has occurred in the printing device 102 is expressed by information in the "printerError" tag. The "errorCode" tag contains a numerical value that identifies the error, and the "description" tag contains an explanation of the error that has occurred. The "button" tag defines the configuration of the button to be displayed on the print setting screen of the OS, the "title" tag contains the button name, and the "url" tag contains the URL of a web page that shows how to resolve the error and is displayed when the button is pressed. A more specific example of the print setting screen that is displayed based on the screen definition information in FIG. 5(b) is shown in FIG. 6(b). In FIG. 5(c), information related to the operating method manual for the printing device 102 is expressed by information in the "text" tag. The "description" tag contains explanatory text that guides the user to refer to a manual page on the web that shows how to operate the printing device 102.In addition, the configuration of the button to be displayed on the print setting screen of the OS is defined in the "button" tag, the button name is indicated in the "title" tag, and the URL of the manual page on the Web to be displayed when the button is pressed is indicated in the "url" tag. A print setting screen displayed based on the screen definition information of FIG. 5(c) is specifically illustrated in FIG. 6(c). In FIG. 5(d), an explanatory text indicating that communication between the printing device 102 and the information processing device was not possible is expressed by the information in the "text" tag. A print setting screen displayed based on the screen definition information of FIG. 5(d) is specifically illustrated in FIG. 6(d). Note that the screen definition information may be expressed in a format other than the JSON format. For example, it is also possible to define display items in a different format such as Extensible Markup Language (hereinafter also referred to as XML).

[0018] Figures 6(a) to (d) are diagrams showing examples of the print setting screen of the OS displayed in S310 of the print support system 211 according to the screen definition information of each of Figures 5(a) to (d). Figure 6(a) shows the state in which remaining ink information is displayed on the print setting screen of the OS according to the screen definition information of Figure 5(a). Area 601 is an area that displays the items indicated by the screen definition information notified by the print setting screen extension unit 205. The following are arranged as other print setting items. Name of the printing device that performs the printing process (area 603) Print orientation (area 604) Number of copies printed (area 605) Paper size (area 606) Paper type (area 607) ·Print quality (area 608) Print execution button (button 609) A button for closing the print settings screen (button 610) Preview image of print data (area 611) Furthermore, an area 612 is a link for displaying a GUI screen provided by the print setting screen extension unit 205. When the user selects the area 612, the GUI display process of the print setting screen extension unit 205 is executed. In the area 601, a button (button 602) for displaying the remaining amount information of each ink and an ink purchase page included in the screen definition information of FIG. 5(a) is displayed. By pressing the area 602, the URL defined by the "url" tag in FIG. 5(a) is displayed by the Web browser. FIG. 6(b) shows how information about an error occurring in the printing device 102 is displayed according to the screen definition information of FIG. 5(b). An area 613 is an area for displaying items indicated by the screen definition information notified by the print setting screen extension unit 205. Others having the same configuration as FIG. 6(a) will not be described. In the area 613, a numerical value for identifying the error included in the screen definition information of FIG. 5(b) and an explanatory text about the error are displayed. Also, a button (button 614) for opening a Web page showing how to solve the error is displayed. By pressing the area 614, the URL defined by the "url" tag in FIG. 5(b) is displayed by the Web browser. FIG. 6(c) shows how information about the manual showing how to operate the printing device 102 is displayed according to the screen definition information in FIG. 5(c). Area 615 is an area that displays items indicated by the screen definition information notified by the print setting screen extension unit 205. Others similar to those in FIG. 6(a) are not described. In area 615, an explanatory text that guides the user to refer to the manual page on the Web included in the screen definition information in FIG. 5(c) and a button (button 616) that displays the Web manual page are displayed. By pressing the button 616, the URL defined by the "url" tag in FIG. 5(c) is displayed by the Web browser. FIG. 6(d) shows how an explanatory text indicating that communication between the printing device 102 and the information processing device could not be established is displayed according to the screen definition information in FIG. 5(d). Area 617 is an area that displays items indicated by the screen definition information notified by the print setting screen extension unit 205. In the area 617, the explanatory text included in the screen definition information of FIG.By checking this display, the user can recognize on the print setting screen of the OS that there is a problem with the connection between the printing device 102 and the information processing device before executing print processing.

[0019] According to this embodiment, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 generates screen definition information according to status information acquired from the printing device 102, and notifies the OS of the generated information, thereby making it possible to display information of high importance on the print setting screen of the OS. This allows the user to check information of high importance without performing complicated operations.

[0020] <<Second embodiment>> In this embodiment, a configuration will be described in which multiple pieces of information are displayed on the print setting screen of the OS in the display item determination process of the print setting screen expansion unit 205. Note that the basic hardware configuration and software configuration are similar to the example described in the first embodiment, so the description will be omitted.

[0021] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing details of the display item determination process (S307, S308) of the print setting screen expansion unit 205 in this embodiment. First, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 acquires a communication interface provided by the OS (S701). Next, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 acquires status information from the printing device 102 via the communication interface (S702). In S702, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 acquires remaining ink information and error information. Next, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 checks whether there is any ink with a low remaining amount value among the inks installed in the printing device 102 from the information acquired in S702 (S703). If it is determined that the answer is Yes in S703, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 generates remaining ink screen definition information (S704). Next, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 checks whether an error that makes it impossible to execute printing has occurred in the printing device 102 from the information acquired in S702 (S705). If the result of S705 is Yes, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 generates error screen definition information including information about the error that has occurred (S706). On the other hand, if the results of S703 and S705 are No, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 skips the processes of S704 and S706. After that, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 generates manual screen definition information that describes the operation method of the printing device 102 (S707). Next, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 determines whether the screen definition information generated up to S707 can be displayed in the display area of ​​the print setting screen of the OS (S708). As an example of a specific method of determination, there is a method of determining whether the number of pieces of generated screen definition information is equal to or less than a predetermined number. Another possible method is to determine whether the size of the area required to display all of the generated screen definition information fits in the display area of ​​the print setting screen of the OS by calculating the size of the area required to display all of the generated screen definition information. If the result of the determination in S708 is No, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 deletes part of the screen definition information that has been generated so far (S709).As an example of a method for determining the screen definition information to be deleted, a method is given in which the priority is determined from the contents of the screen definition information, and the screen definition information with the lowest priority is deleted until it fits within the display area of ​​the print setting screen of the OS. Specifically, a numerical value indicating the priority is written in the screen definition information, and the print setting screen expansion unit 205 refers to the information and determines the priority from the magnitude of the value. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in S708 is Yes, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 skips S709. Thereafter, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 combines the screen definition information generated up to S709 (S710), and notifies the print support system 211 of the generated new screen definition information (S711). A specific example of the screen definition information combined in S710 is illustrated in FIG. 8.

[0022] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a specific example of the screen definition information that the print setting screen extension unit 205 has combined in S710. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the screen definition information generated in S704 and S706 has been combined. In the "display" tag, the remaining ink information indicated by the "inkBar" tag and the error information indicated by "printerError" are described as items that the print support system 211 should display on the print setting screen of the OS. The information in the "inkBar" tag expresses the inks installed in the printing device 102 and the remaining ink value of each ink. The "name" tag expresses the name of each ink, and the "value" tag expresses the remaining ink value of each ink. In addition, the "button" tag defines the configuration of the buttons to be displayed on the print setting screen of the OS, the "title" tag expresses the button name, and the "url" tag expresses the URL of the ink purchase page to be displayed when the button is pressed. The information in the "printerError" tag expresses information about an error that has occurred on the printing device 102. The "errorCode" tag expresses a numerical value that identifies the error, and the "description" tag expresses an explanation of the error that has occurred. The "button" tag defines the configuration of the buttons to be displayed on the OS print settings screen, the "title" tag indicates the button name, the "url" tag indicates the URL of the web page that is displayed when the button is pressed and shows how to resolve the error, and the "priority" tag indicates a number that indicates the priority of each screen.

[0023] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display command of the print setting screen of the OS in S310, which is displayed according to the screen definition information shown in FIG. 8. An area 901 is an area that displays items indicated by the screen definition information notified by the print setting screen extension unit 205. In the area 901, remaining ink amount information and a button (button 902) that displays an ink purchase page included in the screen definition information of FIG. 8 are displayed. By pressing the button 902, a URL defined by the "url" tag arranged at the same level as the "inkBar" tag in FIG. 8 is displayed by the Web browser. Furthermore, in the area 901, a numerical value that identifies an error included in the screen definition information of FIG. 8 and an explanatory text about the error are displayed. Also, a button (button 903) that opens a Web page showing how to solve the error is displayed. By pressing the button 903, a URL defined by the "url" tag arranged at the same level as the "printerError" tag in FIG. 8 is displayed by the Web browser.

[0024] According to this embodiment, the print setting screen extension unit 205 generates multiple screen definition information within a predetermined display area of ​​the print setting screen of the OS according to the status information acquired from the printing device 102. Therefore, it is possible to display more information with high importance on the print setting screen of the OS. This allows the user to comprehensively check information with high importance without performing complicated operations. Note that, in this embodiment, it has been described on the assumption that the priority of each screen added by the print setting screen extension unit 205 is fixed for each screen, but a configuration in which the user can specify any priority may be used. For example, the print setting screen extension unit 205 provides a means by which the user can specify the priority for each screen on the print setting screen of the OS or the print setting screen provided by the print setting screen extension unit 205 itself. Then, the priority determination may be performed according to the priority input by the user using the means.

[0025] <<Third embodiment>> In this embodiment, a configuration will be described in which the display item determination process of the print setting screen expansion unit 205 selects appropriate default values ​​for print settings based on information acquired from the printing device 102. Note that the basic hardware configuration and software configuration are similar to the example described in the first embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0026] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing details of the display item determination process (S307, S308) of the print setting screen expansion unit 205 in this embodiment. First, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 acquires a communication interface provided by the OS (S1001). Next, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 acquires a print setting change interface provided by the OS (S1002). The print setting change interface provides the print setting screen expansion unit 205 with a function for adding or deleting display items of each print setting displayed on the print setting screen of the OS and changing the default value of each print setting. Next, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 acquires status information from the printing device 102 via the communication interface (S1003). In S1003, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 acquires remaining ink information, error information, and paper information currently set in the printing device 102. The paper information also includes remaining paper information set in front of each paper feed slot attached to the printing device 102. Thereafter, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 judges whether the information acquisition process of S1003 was successful (S1004). If it is judged as Yes in S1004, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 checks whether there is an ink with a low remaining amount value among the inks installed in the printing device 102 from the information acquired in S1003 (S1005). If it is judged as Yes in S1005, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 generates ink remaining amount screen definition information (S1006). Next, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 specifies "low quality" as the default print quality via the print setting change interface acquired in S1002 (S1007). Furthermore, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 specifies double-sided printing settings via the print setting change interface (S1008). On the other hand, if it is judged as No in S1005, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 judges whether an error has occurred in the printing device 102 from the information acquired in S1003 (S1009). If it is determined as Yes in S1009, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 subsequently generates error screen definition information including information about the error that has occurred (S1010).Furthermore, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 judges whether the error that has occurred is a paper out error in a specific paper feed port (S1011). If the judgment in S1011 is Yes, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 designates a paper feed port with a sufficient amount of paper remaining (a paper feed port with a predetermined amount of paper remaining) as a default value (S1012). On the other hand, if the judgment in S1009 is No, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 generates manual screen definition information that explains how to operate the printing device 102 (S1013). On the other hand, if the judgment in S1004 is No, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 generates communication failure screen definition information that includes information indicating that communication with the printing device 102 has failed (S1014). Finally, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 notifies the print support system 211 of the screen definition information generated in any of S1006, S1010, S1013, and S1014 (S1015).

[0027] 11(a)-(b) are diagrams showing an example of a print setting screen of the OS displayed in S310 of the print support system 211 according to the screen definition information generated through the processes of S1006-S1008 and S1010-S1012, respectively. Note that the display examples based on the screen definition information generated in S1013 and S1014 are similar to those in FIG. 6(c) and FIG. 6(d), respectively, and therefore will not be described. FIG. 11(a) is a diagram showing an example of a print setting screen of the OS displayed according to the screen definition information generated through the processes of S1006-S1008 and the default setting value of the print setting when it is determined that the ink remaining value of the printing device 102 is low. An area 1101 is an area that displays items indicated by the screen definition information notified by the print setting screen extension unit 205. In the area 1101, remaining ink information of each ink included in the screen definition information of FIG. 8 and a button (button 1104) that displays an ink purchase page are displayed. In addition, the values ​​specified in S1006 and S1007 in FIG. 10 are set as defaults for the values ​​of "Duplex Printing" (area 1103) and "Quality" (area 1104). FIG. 11B is a diagram showing an example of a print setting screen of the OS that is displayed according to the screen definition information generated by the processes of S1010 to S1012 and the default values ​​of the print settings when it is determined that an out-of-paper error has occurred in a specific paper feed slot of the printing device 102. A number that identifies the out-of-paper error and an explanation of the error are displayed in area 1105. Also displayed is a button that opens a Web page that shows how to resolve the error. In addition, the value of "Paper Feed Slot" (area 1106) is set as the default value to the paper feed slot specified in S1012.

[0028] According to this embodiment, when the print setting screen expansion unit 205 determines from the status information acquired from the printing device 102 that the ink level is low, it changes the default values ​​of some of the print settings to suppress the ink consumption. This allows the user to apply appropriate print settings that allow printing to be continued while suppressing the ink consumption, without changing the print settings themselves. Furthermore, when the print setting screen expansion unit 205 determines from the status information acquired from the printing device 102 that the paper level is low in a specific paper feed port, it sets the paper feed port with sufficient paper remaining as the default value. This allows the user to select a paper feed port with sufficient paper remaining, without changing the print settings themselves. Note that in this embodiment, the settings of "double-sided printing" and "quality" are changed, but the items to be changed are not limited to these two. Also, in this embodiment, the default values ​​of the print settings are changed based only on the ink level information of the printing device 102, but the default values ​​may be determined according to the content to be printed, not only the ink level information. One example is a method of changing the print settings to suppress the ink consumption when the ink level value is low and the printing target is a document that can be printed with a relatively small ink consumption. Furthermore, when the print setting screen expansion unit 205 changes the default values ​​of the print settings, it may display within the area 1101 a description that the default values ​​of the print settings have been changed.

[0029] <<Fourth embodiment>> In this embodiment, a configuration will be described in which the display item determination process of the print setting screen expansion unit 205 selects appropriate default values ​​for print settings based on information acquired from the printing device 102. Note that the basic hardware configuration and software configuration are similar to the example described in the first embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0030] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing details of the display item determination process (S307, S308) of the print setting screen expansion unit 205 in this embodiment. First, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 acquires a print setting change interface provided by the OS (S1201). Next, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 acquires information on the drawing application 201 provided by the print support system 211 (S1202). Examples of the information acquired in S1202 include the name of the drawing application 201, an application identifier for identifying the drawing application 201, or a file type supported by the drawing application. Next, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 determines whether the drawing application is an application for postcard printing from the information acquired in S1202 (S1203). An example of a method of determination in S1203 is a method of determining whether the application name acquired in S1202 includes "postcard". Another method is also possible of determining whether the application identifier acquired in S1202 matches an identifier indicating a postcard printing application. If the result of S1203 is Yes, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 generates screen definition information that guides the user how to set postcard paper (S1204). A specific example of the screen definition information generated in S1204 is shown in FIG. 13. Next, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 specifies "postcard" as the default paper size via the print setting change interface acquired in S1201 (S1205). Furthermore, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 specifies "postcard" as the default paper type via the print setting change interface (S1206). After that, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 notifies the print support system 211 of the screen definition information generated in S1204 (S1207). On the other hand, if the result of S1203 is No, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 skips the processes from S1204 to S1207.

[0031] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing screen definition information generated by the process shown in FIG. 12 when the drawing application 201 is an application for printing postcards. The items that the print support system 211 should display on the print setting screen of the OS are described in the "display" tag. The information in the "text" tag expresses information that guides the user how to load postcard paper. The "description" tag expresses explanatory text that guides the user to refer to a web page that shows how to load postcard paper. The "button" tag defines the configuration of the button to be displayed on the print setting screen of the OS, the "title" tag expresses the button name, and the "url" tag expresses the URL of the web page to be displayed when the button is pressed.

[0032] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a display example of the print setting screen of the OS displayed according to the screen definition information shown in FIG. 13. An area 1401 is an area for displaying items indicated by the screen definition information notified by the print setting screen extension unit 205. In the area 1401, an explanatory text for inviting a user to refer to a web page showing how to set postcard paper included in the screen definition information of FIG. 13 and a button (button 1402) for displaying a web page showing how to set postcard paper are displayed are displayed. By pressing the button 1402, the URL defined by the "url" tag in FIG. 13 is displayed by the web browser. Note that, although the display of a web page by the web browser is exemplified as a guide on how to set postcard paper, other methods are also conceivable. As another example, guidance may be given using an image illustrating how to set postcard paper. In that case, the image information to be displayed may be set in the screen definition information generated by the print setting screen extension unit 205, and the specified image may be displayed in the area of ​​the area 1401 on the print setting screen of the OS.

[0033] According to this embodiment, it is possible to set appropriate default print settings according to the application of the drawing application 201 from information about the drawing application 201 provided by the print support system 211. As a result, when a user executes printing from a drawing application for a specific application (postcard printing in this embodiment), the user can refer to information about the specific application on the print setting screen of the OS. In addition, the print settings optimal for the specific application are automatically selected to prevent unintended print results. Note that, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the drawing application 201 is an application for postcard printing as an example of a specific application, but other applications are also possible. As another example, if the drawing application 201 is an application for photo printing, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 may reflect the print settings optimal for photo printing as default values.

[0034] <<Fifth embodiment>> In this embodiment, a configuration will be described in which appropriate default values ​​of print settings are selected based on the user's print history information in the display item determination process of the print setting screen expansion unit 205. Note that the basic hardware configuration and software configuration are similar to the example described in the first embodiment, so the description will be omitted.

[0035] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a process flow of the display item expansion process of the print setting screen of the OS by the print setting screen expansion unit 205 in this embodiment. S1501 to S1506 are the same as S301 to S306 in FIG. 3, and therefore the description will be omitted. Following S1506, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 determines items to be displayed on the print setting screen of the OS from print setting history information updated by the print data editing unit 208 described later (S1507). Thereafter, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 generates screen definition information based on the display items determined in S1507 (S1508), and notifies the print support system 211 of the generated screen definition information (S1509). Details of S1507 and S1508 will be described later with reference to FIG. 17. S1510 to S1513 are the same as S310 to S313 in FIG. 3, and therefore the description will be omitted. In S1514, the print data editing unit 208 acquires values ​​of various print setting items set in the print data, and updates the print setting history information using the acquired information. After that, the print data editing unit 208 edits the print data based on the print settings specified by the user in S1511 (S1515), and transmits the edited print data to the printing device 102 (S1516). Details of S1514 to S1516 will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0036] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing details of the processing of S1514 to S1516 of the print data editing unit 208 in FIG. 15. When the print support system 211 starts the print data editing processing of the print data editing unit 208, the print data editing unit 208 first acquires a print setting information acquisition interface provided by the OS (S1601). The print setting information acquisition interface provides the print data editing unit 208 with a function of acquiring various print settings set for the print data. Next, the print data editing unit 208 acquires values ​​of various print setting items set for the print data via the print setting information acquisition interface (S1602). Specific examples of the print settings to be acquired include paper size, paper type, whether double-sided printing is enabled, and print quality. After that, the print data editing unit 208 updates the print setting history information using the various print settings acquired in S1602 (S1603). The print setting history information is used to manage the setting frequency of each setting item in each print setting item for each user. By referring to this information, it is possible to determine the print setting items that are frequently used for each user. The print setting history information is stored in the shared information 210. Next, the print data editing unit 208 edits the print data based on the print settings specified by the user in S1511 (S1604), and transmits the edited print data to the printing device 102 (S1605).

[0037] Fig. 17 is a diagram showing details of the processing of S1507 and S1508 of the print setting screen expansion unit 205 in Fig. 15. First, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 acquires a print setting change interface provided by the OS (S1701). Next, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 acquires the print setting history information updated by the print data editing unit 208 in S1603 from the shared information 120 (S1702). The print setting screen expansion unit 205 determines a combination of print settings that is frequently used by the user from the information acquired in S1702 (S1703). The print setting screen expansion unit 205 sets the determined combination of print settings as a default value via the print setting change interface (S1704).

[0038] According to this embodiment, the print data editing unit 208 updates the history information of each print setting item set in the print data each time printing is performed. The print setting screen expansion unit 205 refers to this information to set frequently used print setting items as default values ​​to be displayed on the print setting screen of the OS. As a result, by repeatedly printing, combinations of frequently used print settings are automatically reflected in the print setting items of the OS, and the user does not need to set the frequently used print settings by manually inputting them. In addition, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 may display the frequently used print items among the print setting items at the top of the print setting screen of the OS. This makes it easy for the user to check important frequently used print setting items even when the display area of ​​the print setting screen of the OS is small and all print setting items cannot be displayed on the screen.

[0039] <<Sixth embodiment>> In this embodiment, a configuration is described in which the display item determination process of the print setting screen expansion unit 205 estimates the time required to complete printing based on the attribute information of the print data, and the estimated time is displayed on the print setting screen of the OS. Note that the basic hardware configuration and software configuration are the same as the example described in the first embodiment, so the description is omitted.

[0040] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing details of the display item determination process (S307, S308) of the print setting screen expansion unit 205 in this embodiment. First, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 acquires a print data attribute information acquisition interface provided by the OS (S1801). The print data attribute information acquisition interface provides the print setting screen expansion unit 205 with an acquisition function of attribute information related to the print data that the user has executed for printing. Next, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 acquires attribute information of the print data via the print data attribute information acquisition interface acquired in S1801 (S1802). Specific examples of the acquired attribute information include the size of the print data, the contents of the content (text or photo), the number of pages, and the file name of the file that is the source of the print data. Next, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 calculates an estimated time until printing is completed based on the attribute information acquired in S1802 (S1803). Next, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 generates screen definition information including the print completion time estimated in S1803 (S1804), and notifies the print support system 211 of the generated screen definition information (S1805). The print support system 211 then adds display items to the print setting screen of the OS according to the screen definition information notified by the print setting screen expansion unit 205. Note that a specific example of the screen definition information generated in S1804 is shown in FIG.

[0041] 19 is a diagram showing a specific example of screen definition information generated by the print setting screen expansion unit 205 in S1804. The items that the print support system 211 should display on the print setting screen of the OS are described in the "display" tag. Also, the print completion time estimated by the print setting screen expansion unit 205 in S1803 is expressed as a character string in the "description" tag within the "text" tag.

[0042] Fig. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a display of the print setting screen of the OS displayed according to the screen definition information shown in Fig. 19. An area 2001 is an area for displaying items indicated by the screen definition information notified by the print setting screen expansion unit 205. The estimated print completion time included in the screen definition information of Fig. 19 is expressed in the area 2001.

[0043] According to this embodiment, the print data editing unit 208 can estimate the time required to complete printing based on the attribute information of the print data, and display the estimated print completion time on the print setting screen of the OS. This allows the user to predict the time required to complete printing before executing printing. In addition, the print completion time may be estimated from the attribute information of the print data and other information based on each print setting selected by the user (such as the number of physical sheets of paper required for printing).

[0044] <<Seventh embodiment>> In this embodiment, a configuration will be described in which a guide to execute an initial setting process for the printing device 102 is displayed based on information acquired from the printing device 102 in a display item determination process of the print setting screen expansion unit 205. Note that the basic hardware configuration and software configuration are similar to the example described in the first embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0045] FIG. 21 is a diagram showing details of the display item determination process (S307, S308) of the print setting screen expansion unit 205 in this embodiment. First, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 acquires a communication interface provided by the OS (S2101). Next, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 acquires status information for the printing device 102 via the communication interface (S2102). In S2102, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 acquires information on whether the initial setting process (such as removing packaging materials and installing ink) for the printing device 102 has been completed. Thereafter, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 determines whether the initial setting process of the printing device 102 is incomplete based on the information acquired in S2102 (S2103). If the result in S2103 is Yes, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 determines whether an application (hereinafter referred to as an initial setting process application) that provides guidance for the initial setting process of the printing device 102 has been installed in the information processing device (S2104). If it is determined as Yes in S2104, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 then generates screen definition information for inducing the start of an initial setting processing application (S2105). On the other hand, if it is determined as No in S2104, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 generates screen definition information for inducing the installation of an initial setting processing application (S2106). Thereafter, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 notifies the print support system 211 of the screen definition information generated in S2105 or S2106 (S2107). On the other hand, if it is determined as No in S2103, the print setting screen expansion unit 205 skips the processes from S2104 to S2107. Note that a specific example of the screen definition information generated in S2105 or S2106 is illustrated in FIG. 22.

[0046] 22(a) and (b) are diagrams showing specific examples of screen definition information generated by the print setting screen expansion unit 205 in S2105 and S2106, respectively. In FIG. 22(a), the "description" tag in the "text" tag contains a message indicating that the initial setting process of the printing device 102 is not complete and guiding the user to execute the initial setting process. In addition, the "button" tag defines the configuration of the button to be displayed on the print setting screen of the OS, the "title" tag contains the button name, and the "url" tag contains information on the initial setting process application to be started when the button is pressed. On the other hand, in FIG. 22(b), the "description" tag in the "text" tag contains a message indicating that the initial setting process of the printing device 102 is not complete and guiding the user to install the initial setting process application and execute the initial setting process. In addition, the "button" tag contains a configuration of the button to be displayed on the print setting screen of the OS. The "title" tag contains the button name, and the "url" tag contains a link to a web page to which the initial setting process application to be displayed when the button is pressed is distributed.

[0047] Fig. 23 is a diagram showing a display example of the print setting screen of the OS displayed according to the screen definition information shown in Fig. 22(a). Area 2301 is an area that displays items indicated by the screen definition information notified by the print setting screen extension unit 205. In area 2301, a message guiding the execution of the initial setting process included in the screen definition information of Fig. 22(a) and a button (button 2302) for starting the initial setting process are displayed. Pressing button 2302 starts the initial setting process application indicated by the "url" tag in Fig. 23(a). Note that when the screen definition information shown in Fig. 22(b) is applied, pressing button 2302 causes the web browser to display a web page to which the initial setting process application indicated by the "url" tag in Fig. 23(b) is distributed.

[0048] According to this embodiment, it is possible to display a guide for executing the initial setting process for the printing device 102 on the print setting screen of the OS based on information acquired from the printing device 102 in the display item determination process of the print setting screen expansion unit 205. This allows the user to recognize that the initial setting process for the printing device 102 is incomplete before printing is executed.

[0049] <<Other embodiments>> The present invention can also be realized by a process in which a program for implementing one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more of the functions.

Claims

An application program that collaborates with print data generation software for generating print data printable by a plurality of printing devices provided by a plurality of vendors, causing a computer to execute a notification process of notifying a default value of print setting values to be displayed on a print setting screen of an operating system of the information processing device to the operating system of the information processing device, characterized in that.

2. For the computer, as information to be displayed on the print setting screen of the operating system of the information processing device, further execute a process of notifying the operating system of the information processing device of information indicating that the remaining amount of consumables of a certain printing device among the plurality of printing devices is low. The application program according to claim 1, characterized in that.

3. The default setting value regarding the print setting is a duplex print setting, and the application program according to claim 1, characterized in that.

4. The default setting value regarding the print setting is a setting such that the print quality becomes low quality, and the application program according to claim 1, characterized in that.

5. For the computer, as information to be displayed on the print setting screen of the operating system of the information processing device, further execute a process of notifying the operating system of the information processing device of error information regarding paper in the printing device. The application program according to claim 1, characterized in that.

6. The default setting value regarding the print setting is a setting of a paper feed port having a predetermined remaining paper amount, and the application program according to claim 1, characterized in that.

7. For the computer, an acquisition process of acquiring information from a printing device, and further execute a determination process of determining information to be displayed on the print setting screen of the operating system of the information processing device based on the information acquired from the printing device. The application program according to claim 1, characterized in that.

8. A storage medium storing the application program according to any one of claims 1 to 7. A method for supporting print data generation software for generating print data printable by a plurality of printing devices provided by a plurality of vendors, A method characterized by executing a notification process of notifying a default value of a print setting value to be displayed on a print setting screen of an operating system of the information processing apparatus to the operating system of the information processing apparatus by executing an application program that cooperates with the print data generation software.

10. An information processing apparatus having print data generation software for generating print data printable by a plurality of printing apparatuses provided by a plurality of vendors, and an application program that cooperates with the print data generation software, The information processing apparatus characterized by having an execution means for executing a notification process of notifying a default value of a print setting value to be displayed on a print setting screen of an operating system of the information processing apparatus to the operating system of the information processing apparatus by executing the application program.

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