Server, and computer program for server

Abstract

To provide a server which, upon reception of an email with a plurality of addresses designated, allows proper switching regarding whether or not to cause a printer to print.SOLUTION: A server according to the present invention receives, from a first external apparatus, a first email having a first print address and a first general address as destination addresses, and transmits a first print request to a first printer. The server also receives a second email having the first print address and a second general address as destination addresses from a second external apparatus and transmits a second print request to the first printer when the server determines that the second email is not one generated by using the first email. If the server determines that the second email is one generated by using the first email, the server does not transmit the second print request to the first printer.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This specification discloses a technique for a server that receives e-mail from an external device and sends a print request to a printer. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a network system including an image forming device and a terminal device. When the image forming device receives an email, it extracts an address set as the destination of the email. When one address is extracted, the image forming device executes a print process based on the email, and when multiple addresses are extracted, it does not execute a print process based on the email. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-23019 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above technique, even if a user desires to execute a print process based on an email that includes multiple addresses as destination addresses, the print process is not executed. This specification provides a technique for appropriately switching whether or not to cause a printer to execute printing when a server receives an email containing multiple addresses as destination addresses. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The server disclosed in the present specification includes a memory that stores, for each of one or more email addresses, an email address associated with printer identification information that identifies a printer; a first receiving unit that receives a first email including a first image file from a first external device, the first email including, as destination addresses, a first print address that is an email address stored in the memory and a first general address that is an email address not stored in the memory; and a first print request sending unit that sends a first print request to a first printer when the first email is received from the first external device, the first print request being a signal requesting printing of a first image corresponding to the first image file included in the first email, the first printer being a printer identified by the first printer identification information stored in the memory in association with the first print address included in the first email. The electronic mail system includes a second receiving unit that receives a second e-mail including a second image file from a second external device after the first e-mail is received, the second e-mail including, as destination addresses, the first print address and a second general address that is an e-mail address not stored in the memory; a determination unit that determines whether the second e-mail is generated using the first e-mail when the second e-mail is received from the second external device; and a second print request sending unit that sends a second print request to the first printer when it is determined that the second e-mail is not generated using the first e-mail, the second print request being a signal requesting printing of a second image corresponding to the second image file included in the second e-mail, and the second print request sending unit may not be sent to the first printer when it is determined that the second e-mail is generated using the first e-mail.

[0006] According to the above configuration, when the server receives a first e-mail including the first print address and the first general address as destination addresses from the first external device, the server transmits a first print request to the first printer. Then, after receiving the first e-mail from the first external device, the server receives a second e-mail including the first print address and the second general address as destination addresses from the second external device. When the server determines that the second e-mail is not an e-mail generated using the first e-mail, the server transmits a second print request to the first printer. On the other hand, when the server determines that the second e-mail is an e-mail generated using the first e-mail, the server does not transmit the second print request to the first printer. In this way, when the server receives a second e-mail including multiple addresses as destination addresses, the server can appropriately switch whether or not to cause the first printer to execute printing depending on whether or not the second e-mail is an e-mail generated using the first e-mail.

[0007] A control method for implementing the above-mentioned server, a computer program, and a computer-readable recording medium storing the computer program are also novel and useful. Also, a communication system including the above-mentioned server and another device (e.g., a first printer, etc.) is novel and useful. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 shows the configuration of a communication system. [Diagram 2] A sequence diagram of the setup process is shown. [Diagram 3] 13 shows a flowchart of a server process. [Figure 4] 1 shows a flowchart of a printing process. [Diagram 5] 13 shows a sequence diagram of case A in which an email containing one print address as a destination address is sent. [Figure 6] The sequence of case B in which the email printing function is executed after case A is shown. [Figure 7] 13 shows the sequences of cases C and D in which the mail print function is not executed after case A. [Figure 8] 13 shows a sequence diagram of case E in which an email containing two print addresses as destination addresses is sent. [Figure 9] 13 shows a sequence diagram of case F in which an email containing an incorrect email address as a destination address is sent. [Figure 10] 13 shows a sequence diagram of case G in which the email printing function is not executed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] (First Example) (Configuration of communication system 2: Figure 1) 1, communication system 2 includes a plurality of printers 10A, 10B, a plurality of PCs 100A-100C, and a server 200. Printers 10A, 10B are connected to a LAN (abbreviation of Local Area Network) 4. LAN 4 is connected to the Internet 6. PCs 100A-100C and server 200 are connected to the Internet 6. Printers 10A, 10B, PCs 100A-100C, and server 200 are capable of communicating with each other via the Internet 6.

[0010] (Configuration of printers 10A and 10B) The printer 10A is a peripheral device capable of executing a printing function (i.e., a peripheral device such as the PC 100A). The printer 10A may be a multi-function device capable of executing a scanning function, a FAX function, and the like in addition to the printing function. The printer 10A is further configured to be capable of executing an email printing function. The email printing function is a function for printing an image corresponding to an image file included in an email. In a modified example, the email printing function may be a function for printing an image corresponding to an image file inserted in the body of an email. The printer 10A includes an operation unit 12, a display unit 14, a print execution unit 16, a communication interface (hereinafter, the interface will be referred to as "I / F") 20, and a control unit 30. The printer 10A is assigned a printer ID "pr1" that is information for identifying the printer 10A.

[0011] The operation unit 12 has a plurality of keys. A user can input various instructions to the printer 10A by operating the operation unit 12. The display unit 14 is a display for displaying various information. The display unit 14 also functions as a so-called touch panel (i.e., an operation unit). The print execution unit 16 is a printing mechanism such as an inkjet type or a laser type. The communication I / F 20 is connected to the LAN 4. The communication I / F 20 may be a wireless I / F or a wired I / F.

[0012] The control unit 30 includes a CPU 32 and a memory 34. The CPU 32 executes various processes in accordance with a program 36 stored in the memory 34. The memory 34 is composed of a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, etc. The printer 10B is similar to the printer 10A, except that the printer 10B is assigned a printer ID "pr2".

[0013] (PC100A~100C configuration) PCs 100A to 100C are PCs used by users who can use printer 10A. PC 100A is a PC used by a user who uses email address "u1@user.com". PC 100B is a PC used by a user who uses email address "u2@user.com". PC 100C is a PC used by a user who uses email address "u3@user.com". PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C are set to receive emails that include email addresses "u1@user.com", "u2@user.com", and "u3@user.com" as destination addresses, respectively.

[0014] (Configuration of Server 200) The server 200 is installed on the Internet 6 by the vendor of the printers 10A and 10B. In a modified example, the server 200 may be installed on the Internet 6 by a business entity other than the vendor. The server 200 executes communication for causing the printers 10A and 10B to execute the email printing function. The server 200 is configured to receive emails that include an email address that includes the domain "print.com" of the server 200 as a destination address.

[0015] The server 200 includes a communication I / F 220 and a control unit 230. The communication I / F 220 is connected to the Internet 6. The control unit 230 includes a CPU 232 and a memory 234. The CPU 232 executes various processes in accordance with a program 236 stored in the memory 234. The memory 234 stores a notification list 238 and an address table 240 in addition to the program 236.

[0016] Email addresses corresponding to users who are permitted to use the email printing function are stored in the notification list 238. The email addresses in the notification list 238 are registered by users who use the printers 10A and 10B and administrators of the printers 10A and 10B. In a modified example, the email addresses in the notification list 238 may be registered by an administrator of the server 200. In the following, the email addresses in the notification list 238 may be referred to as "notification addresses."

[0017] In the address table 240, a printer ID, an access token, a print address, and a priority order are stored in association with each other. The access token is authentication information for establishing an XMPP (short for eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol) session with the corresponding printer. The print address is an e-mail address for identifying the printer that should execute the mail print function. The print address is generated by the server 200. The priority order is information used to determine which printer should execute the mail print function when two or more printers that should execute the mail print function are specified. In this embodiment, the priority order is set by a user who uses the printers 10A and 10B, or an administrator of the printers 10A and 10B. In a modified example, the priority order in the notification list 238 may be set by the administrator of the server 200. In a modified example, the priority order may be set in descending order of the number of times that the printer is specified as a printer that executes the mail print function. In another modified example, the server 200 is configured to periodically receive information indicating the status of each printer (such as "on standby", "in error", "printing in progress" etc.), and the priority order may be set according to the status of each printer. For example, the printer that indicates "on standby" is set to the highest priority.

[0018] (Setup process: Figure 2) With reference to FIG. 2, a setup process will be described in which information used for communication to execute the mail printing function is registered in the server 200 and an XMPP session is established between the printers 10A, 10B and the server 200. Note that, in the following, for ease of understanding, the processes executed by each CPU of each device (e.g., CPU 232 of the server 200) may be described as being mainly each device (e.g., server 200) rather than each CPU. Also, in the following, communication is executed between the printers 10A, 10B and the server 200 via the LAN 4 and the Internet 6. Also, communication is executed between the PCs 100A to 100C and the server 200 via the Internet 6. In the following, unless otherwise specified, the descriptions "via the LAN 4" and "via the Internet 6" will be omitted.

[0019] When printer 10A receives an operation to change the email printing setting of printer 10A from "disabled" to "enabled" from the administrator of printer 10A in T10, printer 10A changes the email printing setting from "disabled" to "enabled." The email printing setting indicates whether or not execution of the email printing function is permitted. "Disabled" indicates that execution of the email printing function is prohibited, and "enabled" indicates that execution of the email printing function is permitted. The email printing setting indicates "disabled" by default. Next, printer 10A transmits a registration request to server 200 in T12, requesting registration of information used for communication to execute the email printing function. The registration request includes the printer ID "pr1."

[0020] When the server 200 receives a registration request from the printer 10A in T12, the server 200 generates a print address "p1@print.com" in T14. The print address "p1@print.com" includes a local part "p1" and the domain name "print.com" of the server 200. Next, the server 200 associates the printer ID "pr1" with the print address "p1@print.com" and registers them in the address table 240 in T16. Next, the server 200 generates a PIN code C in T20. The server 200 associates the printer ID "pr1" with the PIN code C and temporarily stores them in the memory 234. Next, the server 200 transmits the PIN code C to the printer 10A in T22.

[0021] When the printer 10A receives the PIN code C from the server 200 in T22, the printer 10A transmits an establishment request for requesting the establishment of an XMPP session to the server 200 in T24. The establishment request includes the printer ID “pr1” and the PIN code C.

[0022] When the server 200 receives the establishment request from the printer 10A in T24, it executes authentication of the PIN code C in the establishment request. The server 200 determines that the authentication has been successful because the printer ID "pr1" and the PIN code C in the establishment request match the printer ID "pr1" and the PIN code C in the memory 234 of the server 200. Next, the server 200 generates an access token AT1 in T30, and registers the access token AT1 in the address table 240 in association with the printer ID "pr1" in T32. Next, the server 200 transmits the access token AT1 to the printer 10A in T34.

[0023] When the printer 10A receives the access token AT1 from the server 200 in T34, the printer 10A establishes an XMPP session with the server 200 in T40 using the access token AT1. By using the XMPP session, the server 200 can transmit a request to the printer across a firewall (e.g., a firewall formed by a router) of the LAN4 to which the printer belongs, even if the server 200 does not receive a request from the printer. Note that the mechanism for transmitting a request from the server 200 to the printer may be other than the XMPP session. For example, a session according to HTTPS (short for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) may be established between the printer and the server 200. Next, the printer 10A transmits a print address request including the printer ID "pr1" to the server 200 in T50. The print address request is a signal requesting transmission of a print address corresponding to the printer ID in the print address request.

[0024] When the server 200 receives a print request from the printer 10A in T50, it identifies the print address "p1@print.com" associated with the printer ID "pr1" in the print request in the address table 240, and generates print data including the print address "p1@print.com" as a character string in T52. Next, the server 200 transmits the print data including the print address "p1@print.com" as a character string to the printer 10A in T54.

[0025] When the printer 10A receives the print data from the server 200 at T56, it executes printing of an image corresponding to the print data. As a result, the print address "p1@print.com" is printed on the print paper. The administrator of the printer 10A then informs the print address "p1@print.com" to the user who is permitted to execute the email print function using the printer 10A. As a result, it becomes possible to execute the email print function using the printer 10A. In the following, when communication is executed between the printer 10A and the server 200, the access token AT1 is used, but a description of the "access token AT1" is omitted.

[0026] Furthermore, when the same processes as those in T10 to T56 are executed between the printer 10B and the server 200, the mail printing function using the printer 10B can be executed. Note that in T12 executed between the printer 10B and the server 200, a registration request including the printer ID "pr2" is communicated. In addition, the server 200 generates a print address "p2@print.com" corresponding to the printer 10B in T14, and registers the printer ID "pr2" and the print address "p2@print.com" in the address table 240 in association with each other in T16. In addition, the server 200 generates an access token AT2 in T30, and registers the access token AT2 in the address table 240 in association with the printer ID "pr2" in T32. In addition, the server 200 generates print data including the print address "p2@print.com" as a character string in T52, and transmits the print data including the print address "p2@print.com" as a character string to the printer 10B in T54. At T56, the printer 10B executes printing of an image corresponding to the print data that includes the print address "p2@print.com" as a character string. After that, the administrator of the printer 10B informs the print address "p2@print.com" to the user who is permitted to execute the email print function using the printer 10B. This enables the execution of the email print function using the printer 10B. In the following, when communication is executed between the printer 10B and the server 200, the access token AT2 is used, but a description of the "access token AT2" is omitted.

[0027] (Server processing; Figure 3) Next, a server process executed by the CPU 232 of the server 200 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. When the power supply of the server 200 is turned on, the process of Fig. 3 starts.

[0028] In S10, the CPU 232 monitors whether an e-mail with an image file attached is received from the PC. If an e-mail is received from the PC, the CPU 232 determines YES in S10 and proceeds to S12.

[0029] In S12, the CPU 232 identifies one or more destination addresses included in the email received in S10 (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "received email"). The destination address is an e-mail address described in a destination address field (e.g., 304 in FIG. 5), which is an area indicating "to" of an e-mail. In a modified example, the destination address may include an e-mail address described in an area indicating "cc" of an e-mail.

[0030] In S14, CPU 232 determines whether the destination address identified in S12 (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "identified destination address") includes a general address. A general address is an email address that does not include the domain name "print.com" of server 200, and is an email address that is assigned to a user, not a printer. If the identified destination address includes a general address (YES in S14), CPU 232 proceeds to S20. On the other hand, if the identified destination address does not include a general address (NO in S14), CPU 232 proceeds to S30.

[0031] In S20, the CPU 232 determines whether the received email is an email generated using an email that the server 200 has received in the past. In this embodiment, the CPU 232 determines whether a print address is described in the body field (e.g., 310 in FIG. 5), which is an area indicating the "body" of the received email. If a print address is described in the body field (YES in S20), the CPU 232 ends the process in FIG. 3. On the other hand, if a print address is not described in the body field (NO in S20), the CPU 232 proceeds to S30.

[0032] In S30, the CPU 232 executes a print process. The print process is a process for causing the printer to execute an email print function. When S30 ends, the CPU 232 ends the process of FIG.

[0033] (Printing process; Figure 4) Next, the print processing executed in S30 of Fig. 3 will be described. In S40, CPU 232 determines whether or not the email address described in the sender address field of the received email (hereinafter, may be referred to as "sender address") is registered in notification list 238. If the sender address is registered in notification list 238 (YES in S40), CPU 232 proceeds to S50. On the other hand, if the sender address is not registered in notification list 238 (NO in S40), CPU 232 proceeds to S90.

[0034] In S90, the CPU 232 creates an e-mail containing the sender address included in the received e-mail as the destination address, and sends the e-mail. The e-mail contains a reception completion message indicating that the server 200 has received the e-mail. This allows the user to know that the e-mail has been received. When the process of S90 ends, the CPU 232 ends the process of FIG. 4.

[0035] Also, in S50, CPU 232 determines whether the specified destination addresses include an unstored address. An unstored address is an e-mail address that includes the domain name "print.com" of server 200 but is not registered in address table 240. For example, an unstored address is an e-mail address that the user inputs incorrectly. If the specified destination addresses include an unstored address (YES in S50), CPU 232 proceeds to S52. On the other hand, if the specified destination addresses do not include an unstored address (NO in S50), CPU 232 skips S52 and S54 and proceeds to S60.

[0036] In S52, the CPU 232 excludes the unstored addresses from the identified destination addresses.

[0037] In S54, the CPU 232 judges whether the specified destination address includes zero printing addresses. If the specified destination address includes zero printing addresses (YES in S54), the CPU 232 ends the process of FIG. 4. On the other hand, if the specified destination address includes one or more printing addresses (NO in S54), the CPU 232 proceeds to S60. Note that YES in S50 and YES in S54 are cases where all email addresses included in the specified destination address are unstored addresses.

[0038] In S60, the CPU 232 judges whether the specified destination address includes two or more print addresses. If the specified destination address includes two or more print addresses (YES in S60), the CPU 232 proceeds to S62. On the other hand, if the specified destination address includes one print address (NO in S60), the CPU 232 proceeds to S70.

[0039] In S62, the CPU 232 identifies, in the address table 240, a priority associated with each of two or more print addresses included in the identified destination address.

[0040] In S64, the CPU 232 uses the priority order determined in S64 to identify a target printer. The target printer is a printer that is to execute the email printing function. The CPU 232 identifies the printer ID corresponding to the print address with the highest priority order in the address table 240, and identifies the printer corresponding to the printer ID as the target printer.

[0041] In S70, the CPU 232 identifies a printer ID corresponding to one print address included in the identified destination addresses in the address table 240, and identifies the printer corresponding to the printer ID as the target printer.

[0042] In S80, the CPU 232 converts the image file attached to the received e-mail to generate print data, and transmits a print request to the target printer. After that, when the CPU 232 receives a print data request from the target printer, it transmits the generated print data to the target printer.

[0043] In S82, the CPU 232 receives a print completion notification from the target printer. The print completion notification is a notification indicating that printing of an image corresponding to the print data sent to the target printer has been completed.

[0044] In S84, the CPU 232 creates an email containing the sender address as the destination address, and sends the email. The email contains a print completion message indicating that printing has been completed. This allows the user to know that the email print function has been executed. The notification received from the target printer in S82 may be an error notification indicating that printing of the image has failed. In this case, the CPU 232 sends an email containing an error message indicating that printing of the image has failed in S84. When S84 ends, the CPU 232 ends the processing of FIG. 4. In a modified example, the processing of S82 and S84 can be omitted.

[0045] (Specific cases: Figures 5 to 9) Next, specific cases realized by the processing in FIGS. 3 and 4 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0046] (Case A; Figure 5) With reference to FIG. 5, a case A in which an email 300 including one printing address as a destination address is sent will be described. The initial state of case A is the state after the setup process of FIG. 2 is completed. Therefore, the address table 240 of the server 200 stores the printer ID "pr1", the access token AT1, and the printing address "p1@printer.com" in association with each other. The address table 240 also stores the printer ID "pr2", the access token AT2, and the printing address "p2@printer.com" in association with each other. In the address table 240, the printer ID "pr1" is associated with a priority level "1", and the printer ID "pr2" is associated with a priority level "2". In addition, the notification list 238 has the email addresses "u1@user.com" and "u2@user.com" registered.

[0047] PC 100A creates email 300 when it receives an operation to create an email, an operation to add email addresses "u2@user.com" and "p1@print.com" to the destination address field, an operation to write a character string "aaa" in the title field, an operation to write a character string "Hello" in the text field, and an operation to attach an image file with the file name "zzz.pdf". In email 300, the sender address "u1@user.cm" is written in sender address field 302, the destination addresses "u2@user.com" and "p1@print.com" are written in destination address field 304, the title "aaa" is written in title field 306, the file name "zzz.pdf" is written in file name field 308, and the text "Hello" is written in text field 310. Next, PC 100A receives an operation to send email 300, and sends email 300 in T110. An email 300 is sent to PC 100B and server 200 because it includes the email addresses "u2@user.com" and "p1@print.com" as destination addresses.

[0048] When the server 200 receives the email 300 from the PC 100A in T110 (YES in S10 of FIG. 3), it identifies the destination addresses "u2@user.com" and "p1@print.com" of the email 300 (S12). Next, the server 200 determines that the identified destination addresses include the general address "u2@user.com" (YES in S14), and determines that a print address is not described in the body field 310 (NO in S20). Next, the server 200 determines that the sender address "u1@user.com" of the email 300 is registered in the notification list 238 (YES in S40), determines that the identified destination addresses do not include an unstored address (NO in S50), and determines that the identified destination addresses include one print address "p1@print.com" (NO in S60). Next, the server 200 identifies the printer ID "pr1" corresponding to the print address "p1@print.com" in the address table 240, and identifies the printer 10A corresponding to the printer ID "pr1" as the target printer (S70). Next, the server 200 converts the image file "zzz.pdf" attached to the email 300 to generate print data PD1 in T120. Next, the server 200 sends a print request to the printer 10A in T122 (S80), receives a print data request from the printer 10A in T124, and sends the print data PD1 to the printer 10A in T126.

[0049] When the printer 10A receives the print data PD1 from the server 200 in T126, the printer 10A executes printing of an image corresponding to the print data PD1 in T130. That is, the email printing function is executed. Next, the printer 10A transmits a print completion notification to the server 200 in T132.

[0050] When the server 200 receives a print completion notification from the printer 10A in T132 (S82), it creates an email 320 and sends the email 320 in T140 (S84). In the email 320, the sender address "p1@print.com" is described in the sender address field 322, the destination address "u1@user.com" is described in the destination address field 324, the title "Re:aaa" is described in the title field 326, and a print completion message (character string "Print has been completed") is described in the body field 330. Since the email address "u1@user.com" is included as the destination address, the email 320 is sent to the PC 100A. By opening the email 320, the user who uses the PC 100A can know that the email print function has been executed.

[0051] (Case B; Figure 6) Next, a case B in which the email printing function is executed after the email 300 is sent from the PC 100A will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Case B is the state after case A. That is, the PC 100B has already received the email 300.

[0052] When PC 100B receives an operation to create an e-mail, an operation to add the e-mail address "p1@print.com" to the destination address field, an operation to write the character string "bbb" in the title field, and an operation to attach an image file having the file name "yyy.pdf", PC 100B creates an e-mail 400. In the e-mail 400, the sender address "u2@user.cm" is written in the sender address field 402, the destination address "p1@print.com" is written in the destination address field 304, the title "bbb" is written in the title field 406, and the file name "yyy.pdf" is written in the file name field 408. The text field 410 is "empty". Next, PC 100B receives an operation to send the e-mail 400, and sends the e-mail 400 in T210. Since the e-mail address "p1@print.com" is included as a destination address, the e-mail 400 is sent to the server 200.

[0053] When the server 200 receives the email 400 from the PC 100B in T210 (YES in S10 of FIG. 3), it identifies the email address "p1@print.com" described in the destination address field 404 of the email 400 as an identified destination address (S12). Next, the server 200 determines that the identified destination addresses do not include a general address (NO in S14), determines that the sender address "u2@user.com" of the email 400 is registered in the notification list 238 (YES in S40), and determines that the identified destination addresses do not include an unstored address (NO in S50 of FIG. 4). Next, the server 200 identifies the printer ID "pr1" corresponding to the print address "p1@print.com" included in the identified destination addresses in the address table 240, and identifies the printer 10A corresponding to the printer ID "pr1" as the target printer (NO in S60, S70). Next, in T220, the server 200 converts the image file "yyy.pdf" attached to the email 400 to generate print data PD2. T222 to T240 are the same as T122 to T140 in FIG. 5, except that print data PD2 and email 420 are communicated. The contents described in the sender address field 422, the title field 426, and the text field 430 of the email 420 are the same as the contents described in the sender address field 322, the title field 326, and the text field 330 of the email 320 in FIG. 5, respectively. The sender address "u2@user.com" is described in the destination address field 424 of the email 420.

[0054] (Case C; Figure 7) Next, a case C in which the email printing function is not executed after the email 300 is sent from the PC 100A will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Case C is the state after case A. That is, the PC 100B has already received the email 300.

[0055] When PC 100B receives an operation to reply to email 300 and an operation to attach an image file having the file name "yyy.pdf", it creates email 500. In this case, PC 100B creates email 500 in which the sender address "u2@user.com" is described in sender address field 502, the destination addresses "u1@user.com" and "p1@print.com" are described in destination address field 504, the title "Re:aaa" is described in title field 506, and the contents related to email 300 (the sender address, destination address, and body of email 300) are described in body field 510. In this case, the user of PC 100B desires to use email 300 to send an image file having the file name "yyy.pdf" to PC 100A. Therefore, the user of PC 100B needs to execute an operation to delete the email address "p1@print.com" from the destination address field 504, and execute an operation to delete the character string including "p1@print.com" written in the text field 510. However, in this case, the user of PC 100B executes the operation to send email 500 without executing the operation to delete the email address "u1@user.com" from the destination address field 504, and the operation to delete the contents related to email 300 in the text field 510. When PC 100B accepts the operation to send email 500, it sends email 500 in T310. Since email addresses "u1@user.com" and "p1@print.com" are included as destination addresses, email 500 is sent to PC 100A and server 200.

[0056] When the server 200 receives the email 500 from the PC 100B at T310 (YES in S10 of FIG. 3), it identifies the destination addresses "u1@user.com" and "p1@print.com" of the email 500 (S12). Next, the server 200 determines that the identified destination addresses include the general address "u1@user.com" (YES in S14), and determines that the print address "p1@print.com" is described in the body field 510 (YES in S20). In this case, the server 200 does not send a print request to the printer 10A. In this way, when the user does not want the email print function to be executed but a print address is described in the body field 510 of the email 500, it is possible to prevent the email print function from being executed.

[0057] (Case D; Figure 7) Next, case D in which the email printing function is not executed after the email 300 is sent from the PC 100A will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Case D is the state after case A. That is, the PC 100B has already received the email 300.

[0058] When PC 100B receives an operation to transfer email 300 and an operation to add email addresses "u3@user.com" and "p1@print.com" to the destination address field, it creates email 600. The contents of each field 602, 610 of email 600 are the same as the contents of each field 502, 510 of email 500. The contents of file name field 608 are the same as the contents of file name field 308 of email 300 in FIG. 5. In addition, in email 600, destination addresses "u3@user.com" and "p1@print.com" are described in destination address field 604, and "Fw:aaa" is described in title field 606. In this case, the user using PC 100B wants to transfer the image file attached to email 300 to the user using PC 100C. In this case, the user using PC 100B just needs to add email address "u3@user.com" to the destination address field. However, in this case, the user of PC 100B adds the email address "u3@user.com" to the destination address, and then adds the email address "p1@print.com", and then executes the operation to send email 600. When PC 100B accepts the operation to send email 600, it sends email 600 in T410. Since the email addresses "u3@user.com" and "p1@print.com" are included as destination addresses, email 600 is sent to PC 100C and server 200.

[0059] When the server 200 receives the email 600 from the PC 100B at T410 (YES in S10 of FIG. 3), it identifies the destination addresses "u3@user.com" and "p1@print.com" of the email 600 (S12). Next, the server 200 determines that the identified destination addresses include the general address "u3@user.com" (YES in S14), and determines that the print address "p1@print.com" is described in the body field 610 (YES in S20). In this case, the server 200 does not send a print request to the printer 10A.

[0060] (Case E; Figure 8) Next, a case E in which an email 700 including two print addresses as destination addresses is sent will be described with reference to Fig. 8. The initial state of case E is similar to the initial state of case A.

[0061] When PC 100A receives an operation to create an e-mail, an operation to add the e-mail addresses "u2@user.com", "p1@print.com", and "p2@print.com" to the destination address field, an operation to write the character string "aaa" in the title field, an operation to write the character string "Hello" in the body field, and an operation to attach an image file having the file name "zzz.pdf", PC 100A creates an e-mail 700. The contents of each of the fields 702, 706, 708, and 710 of the e-mail 700 are the same as the contents of each of the fields 302, 306, 308, and 310 of the e-mail 300 in FIG. 5. In addition, in the e-mail 700, the destination addresses "u2@user.com", "p1@print.com", and "p2@print.com" are written in the destination address field 704. Next, when PC 100A receives an operation to send the e-mail 700, PC 100A sends the e-mail 700 in T510. An email 700 is sent to PC 100B and server 200 because it includes the email addresses "u2@user.com," "p1@print.com," and "p2@print.com" as destination addresses.

[0062] When the server 200 receives the email 700 from the PC 100A at T510 (YES in S10 of FIG. 3), it identifies the destination addresses "u2@user.com", "p1@print.com", and "p2@print.com" of the email 700 (S12). Next, the server 200 determines that the identified destination addresses include the general address "u2@user.com" (YES in S14), and determines that a print address is not described in the body field 710 (NO in S20). Next, the server 200 determines that the sender address "u1@user.com" of the email 700 is registered in the notification list 238 (YES in S40), determines that the identified destination addresses do not include an unstored address (NO in S50), and determines that the identified destination addresses include two print addresses "p1@print.com" and "p2@print.com" (YES in S60). Next, the server 200 identifies the priorities "1" and "2" associated with the two print addresses "p1@print.com" and "p2@print.com" in the address table 240 (S62). Next, the server 200 identifies the printer ID "pr1" associated with the print address "p1@print.com" with the higher priority in the address table 240, and identifies the printer 10A corresponding to the printer ID "pr1" as the target printer (S64). Next, the server 200 generates print data PD1 in T520. T522 to T532 are the same as T122 to T132 in FIG. 5. The server 200 transmits the email 720 in T540. The contents of the columns 722, 724, 726, and 730 of the email 720 are the same as the contents of the columns 322, 324, 326, and 330 of the email 320.

[0063] (Effect of Case E) As shown in case E, when an email 700 containing two print addresses, "p1@print.com" and "p2@print.com" as destination addresses is received, the server 200 transmits a print request only to the printer 10A corresponding to the high priority in the memory 234 (T522). With this configuration, when an email containing two print addresses is received, it is possible to prevent the email print function from being executed by the two printers. For example, when an email containing two print addresses is received from a third party who has learned the two print addresses, it is possible to prevent the email print function from being executed by the two printers. This makes it possible to prevent unnecessary printing from being executed.

[0064] (Case F; Figure 9) Next, case F in which email 800 including an incorrect email address as a destination address is sent will be described with reference to Fig. 9. The initial state of case F is the same as the initial state of case A in Fig. 5. In this case, it is assumed that a user of PC 100A inputs the email address "p3@print.com" instead of the email address "p1@print.com".

[0065] When PC 100A receives an operation to create an e-mail, an operation to add the e-mail addresses "u2@user.com", "p3@print.com" and "p2@print.com" to the destination address field, an operation to write the character string "aaa" in the title field, an operation to write the character string "Hello" in the body field, and an operation to attach an image file having the file name "zzz.pdf", PC 100A creates an e-mail 800. The contents of each of the fields 802, 806, 808, 810 of the e-mail 800 are the same as the contents of each of the fields 302, 306, 308, 310 of the e-mail 300 in FIG. 5. Furthermore, the e-mail addresses "u2@user.com", "p3@print.com" and "p2@print.com" are written in the destination address field 804 of the e-mail 800. Next, when PC 100A receives an operation to send the e-mail 800, PC 100A sends the e-mail 800 in T610. An email 800 is sent to PC 100B and server 200 because it contains the email addresses "u2@user.com" and "p2@print.com" as destination addresses.

[0066] When the server 200 receives the email 800 from the PC 100A in T610 (YES in S10 of FIG. 3), it identifies the destination addresses "u2@user.com", "p3@print.com" and "p2@print.com" of the email 800 (S12). Next, the server 200 determines that the identified destination addresses include the general address "u2@user.com" (YES in S14), and determines that a print address is not described in the body field 810 (NO in S20). Next, the server 200 determines that the sender address "u1@user.com" of the email 800 is registered in the notification list 238 (YES in S40), determines that the specified destination addresses include the unstored address "p3@print.com" (YES in S50), excludes the unstored address "p3@print.com" from the specified destination addresses (S52), and determines that one print address "p2@print.com" is included in the email 800 (NO in S54, NO in S60). Next, the server 200 identifies the printer ID "pr2" corresponding to the print address "p2@print.com" included in the specified destination addresses in the address table 240, and identifies the printer 10B corresponding to the printer ID "pr2" as the target printer (S70). Next, the server 200 generates print data PD1 in T620. T622 to T632 are the same as T122 to T132 in Fig. 5, except that the communication target is printer 10B. In T640, server 200 sends email 820. The email address "p2@print.com" is entered in sender address field 822 of email 820. The contents of subject field 826 and body field 830 of email 820 are the same as the contents of subject field 326 and body field 310 of email 320 in Fig. 5, respectively.

[0067] (Effect of Case F) As shown in case F, when the server 200 receives the email 800, it excludes "p3@print.com", which includes the server 200's domain "print.com" and is not stored in the memory 234, from the specified destination addresses "u2@user.com", "p3@print.com", and "p2@print.com". After "p3@print.com" has been excluded from the specified destination addresses, the server 200 identifies "p2@print.com" from the specified destination addresses and sends a print request to the printer 10B (T622). With this configuration, the time required for data printing can be shortened.

[0068] (Case G; Figure 10) Next, case G in which the email printing function is not executed will be described with reference to Fig. 10. The initial state of case G is the same as the initial state of case A, except that the email address "u1@user.com" is not registered in the notification list 238.

[0069] First, PC 100A creates email 900. The contents of each of columns 902, 904, 906, 908, and 910 of email 900 are the same as the contents of each of columns 302, 304, 306, 308, and 310 of email 300 in Fig. 5. Next, when PC 100A accepts an operation to send email 900, it sends email 900 in T710.

[0070] When the server 200 receives the email 900 from the PC 100A in T710 (YES in S10 of FIG. 3), it identifies the destination addresses "u2@user.com" and "p1@print.com" of the email 900 (S12). Next, the server 200 determines that the identified destination addresses include the general address "u2@user.com" (YES in S14), and determines that the print address is not described in the body field 910 (NO in S20). Next, the server 200 determines that the sender address "u1@user.com" of the email 900 is not registered in the notification list 238 (NO in S40), and creates an email 920 including a reception completion message (character string "Email has been received") indicating that the email 900 has been received. The contents of the respective fields 922, 924, and 926 of the email 920 are the same as the contents of the respective fields 322, 324, and 326 of the email 320. A reception completion message is written in the body field 930 of the email 920. The server 200 transmits the email 920 in T715 (S90). Since the email 920 includes the email address "u1@user.com" as a destination address, the email 920 is transmitted to the PC 100A.

[0071] (Effects of Cases A and G) As shown in case A of Fig. 5, when the sender address "u1@user.com" of the email 300 is stored in the notification list 238 and a print completion notification is received from the printer 10A (T132), the server 200 sends the email 320 including the email address "u1@user.com" as a destination address. On the other hand, as shown in case G of Fig. 10, when the sender address "u1@user.com" of the email 900 is not stored in the notification list 238, the server 200 sends the email 920 including a reception completion message (T915 of Fig. 10). With this configuration, it is possible to appropriately switch between sending an email including a print completion message and sending an email including a reception completion message depending on whether the sender address is stored in the notification list 238 or not.

[0072] Also, as shown in case A of FIG. 5, if the sender address "u1@user.com" of the email 300 is stored in the notification list 238, the server 200 sends a print request to the printer 10A (T122). On the other hand, as shown in case G of FIG. 10, if the sender address "u1@user.com" of the email 900 is not stored in the notification list 238, the print request is not sent. With this configuration, it is possible to appropriately switch whether or not to send a print request depending on whether or not the sender address is stored in the notification list 238. Therefore, the users of the printers 10A and 10B and the administrators of the printers 10A and 10B can appropriately manage the users who are permitted to use the email printing function.

[0073] Also, as shown in case A of FIG. 5, when the sender address "u1@user.com" of the email 300 is stored in the notification list 238, the server 200 sends a print request to the printer 10A (T122), and when a print completion notification is received from the printer 10A (T132), the server 200 sends an email 320 including a print completion message (T140). On the other hand, as shown in case G of FIG. 10, when the sender address "u1@user.com" of the email 900 is not stored in the notification list 238, the server 200 sends an email 920 including a reception completion message (T915), and does not send a print request. With this configuration, the server 200 can appropriately switch between an email including a print completion message and an email including a reception completion message to be sent, depending on whether the user using the sender address is able to use the email printing function. Also, the user corresponding to the email address registered in the notification list 238 is a user who is permitted to use the email printing function. It is useful to provide the user with information about the printers 10A and 10B. On the other hand, a user corresponding to an e-mail address not registered in the notification list 238 is a user who is not permitted to use the mail printing function. Such users may include users who use the printers 10A and 10B, and third parties other than the users who use the printers 10A and 10B. It is undesirable from the viewpoint of security to provide information about the printers 10A and 10B to third parties. According to the above configuration, when the server 200 receives an e-mail containing an e-mail address corresponding to a third party as a sender address (YES in S10 of FIG. 3), the server 200 determines that the e-mail address is not registered in the notification list 238 (NO in S40 of FIG. 4), and sends an e-mail containing a reception completion message without sending an e-mail containing a print completion message (S90). Therefore, the security of the information about the printers 10A and 10B can be improved.

[0074] (Effects of cases A to G) When the server 200 receives the email 300 including the print address "p1@print.com" and the general address "u2@print.com" as destination addresses from the PC 100A (T110 in FIG. 3), the server 200 sends a print request to the printer 10A (T122 in FIG. 5). After receiving the email 300 from the PC 100A, the server 200 receives the emails 400, 500, and 600 including the print address "p1@print.com" and the general address "u2@user.com" as destination addresses from the PC 100B (T210 in FIG. 6, T310, T410 in FIG. 7). When the server 200 determines that the email 400 was not generated using the email 300, the server 200 sends a print request to the printer 10A (T222 in FIG. 6). On the other hand, when the server 200 determines that the emails 500 and 600 are emails generated using the email 300, it does not send a print request to the printer 10A. In this way, when the server 200 receives the emails 400, 500, and 600 with multiple addresses specified as destination addresses, it can appropriately switch whether or not to cause the printer 10A to execute printing depending on whether or not the emails 400, 500, and 600 are emails generated using the email 300. In particular, in this embodiment, when the email address (i.e., the print address) stored in the address table 240 of the memory 234 is described in the body of the email 500 and 600 (see FIG. 7), the server 200 determines that the email 500 and 600 are emails generated using the email 300, and when the email address (i.e., the print address) stored in the address table 240 of the memory 234 is not described in the body of the email 400 (see FIG. 6), it determines that the email 400 is not email generated using the email 300. As shown in the body 510 of the email 500 in FIG. 7, when an operation is performed to execute a reply to the email 300, the email body includes the destination address of the original email 300.Therefore, depending on whether or not a print address is written in the body of the email, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the emails 400 and 500 were generated using the email 300. The same applies to forwarded emails.

[0075] (Correspondence) The printer 10A is an example of a "first printer". The printer ID is an example of "printer identification information". The PC 100A and the PC 100B are examples of a "first external device" and a "second external device", respectively. The memory 234 of the server 200 is an example of a "memory". The email 300 in FIG. 5, the email 700 in FIG. 8, and the email 800 in FIG. 9 are examples of a "first email". An image file with the file name "zzz.pdf" is an example of a "first image file". The print address "p1@print.com" is an example of a "first print address". The general address "u2@user.com" is an example of a "first general address". The print request of T122 in FIG. 5, the print request of T522 in FIG. 8, and the print request of T622 in FIG. 9 are examples of a "first print request". The printer ID "pr1" is an example of a "first printer identification information". Email 400 in FIG. 6 and emails 500 and 600 in FIG. 7 are examples of a "second email." An image file with the file name "zzz.pdf" and an image file with the file name "yyy.pdf" are examples of a "second image file." The general addresses "u2@user.com" and "u3@user.com" are examples of a "second general address." The print request of T222 in FIG. 6 is an example of a "second print request."

[0076] The domain "print.com" of the server 200 is an example of a predetermined domain. The email address "p3@print.com" in Fig. 9 is an example of a "specific email address".

[0077] The printer 10B is an example of a "second printer". The printer ID "pr2" is an example of a "second printer identification information". The print address "p2@print.com" is an example of a "second print address". In the address table 240, the priority "1" associated with the print address "p1@print.com" and the priority "2" associated with the print address "p2@print.com" are examples of the "first priority" and "second priority", respectively. The email address registered in the notification list 238 is an example of a "notification address". "u1@user.com" described in the sender address column 502 of the email 500 in FIG. 5 and "u1@user.com" described in the sender address column 902 of the email 900 in FIG. 10 are examples of a "sender address". The email 320 in FIG. 5 is an example of a "third email". The print completion message is an example of "print completion information". The email 920 in FIG. 10 is an example of a "fourth email". The reception completion message is an example of "reception information."

[0078] S10 in Fig. 3 is an example of a process realized by a "first receiving unit" and a "second receiving unit". S80 in Fig. 4 is an example of a "first print request transmitting unit" and a "second print request transmitting unit". S20 in Fig. 3 is an example of a process executed by a "determination unit".

[0079] (Second Example) In this embodiment, the process executed in S20 of Fig. 3 is different from that of the first embodiment. In S20 of Fig. 3, the CPU 232 of the server 200 judges whether the received email is an email generated using an email that the server 200 has received in the past by judging whether the subject field of the email received in S12 contains the character string "Re" or "Fw". If the subject field of the received email contains the character string "Re" or "Fw" (YES in S20), the CPU 232 ends the process of Fig. 3. On the other hand, if the subject field of the received email does not contain the character string "Re" or "Fw" (NO in S20), the CPU 232 proceeds to S30.

[0080] For example, in case B of FIG. 6, the server 200 determines that the subject field 406 of the email 400 does not contain the character string "Re" or "Fw" (NO in S20 of FIG. 3). In this case, as in the first embodiment, the server 200 sends a print request to the printer 10A in T222. On the other hand, in case C of FIG. 7, the server 200 determines that the subject field 506 of the email 500 contains the character string "Re" (YES in S20). In this case, as in the first embodiment, the server 200 does not send a print request to the printer 10A.

[0081] 7, when an operation for executing a reply to the email 300 is performed, the character string "Re" is written in the subject field of the email. Therefore, depending on whether the character string "Re" is written in the subject field of the email, it is possible to appropriately determine whether the emails 400, 500 are emails generated using the email 300. The same applies to forwarded emails.

[0082] (Third Example) In this embodiment, the process executed in S20 of FIG. 3 is different from that in the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the CPU 232 of the server 200 is configured to store the file name described in the file name field of the email in the memory 234 when receiving an email with an image file attached. In S20 of FIG. 3, the CPU 232 determines whether the received email is an email generated using an email that the server 200 has received in the past by determining whether the file name described in the file name field of the email received in S12 (hereinafter, may be referred to as the "target file name") matches the file name stored in the memory 234. If the file names match (YES in S20), the CPU 232 ends the process of FIG. 3. On the other hand, if the file names do not match (NO in S20), the CPU 232 proceeds to S30.

[0083] For example, in case A of FIG. 5, when the server 200 receives the email 300, it stores the file name "zzz.pdf". Then, in case B of FIG. 6, the server 200 determines that the file name "yyy.pdf" described in the file name column 408 of the email 400 does not match the file name "zzz.pdf" stored in the memory 234 (NO in S20 of FIG. 3). In this case, similar to the first embodiment, the server 200 transmits a print request to the printer 10A in T222. On the other hand, in case D of FIG. 7, the server 200 determines that the file name "zzz.pdf" described in the file name column 508 of the email 500 matches the file name "zzz.pdf" stored in the memory 234 (YES in S20). In this case, similar to the first embodiment, the print request is not transmitted to the printer 10A.

[0084] When an email is received with an image file attached that is similar to an image file received in the past, it is highly likely to be a forwarded email. Therefore, by determining whether the file name written in the file name field of the received email matches the file name stored in memory 234, it is possible to appropriately determine whether email 500 is an email generated using email 300.

[0085] Although specific examples of the present invention have been described above in detail, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and alterations of the specific examples exemplified above. Modifications of the above-mentioned embodiments are listed below.

[0086] (First Modification) A "server" may be made up of two or more servers.

[0087] (Second Modification) In S20 of Fig. 3, the CPU 232 of the server 200 may determine whether or not a print address is described in the body field (e.g., 310 in Fig. 5), which is an area showing the "body" of a received e-mail, and may also determine whether or not the character string "Re" or "Fw" is included in the subject field of the e-mail received in S12. The CPU 232 may execute a combination of two or more of the processes of S20 in the first to third embodiments.

[0088] (Third Modification) S50 to S54, S60, S62, and S70 in FIG. 4 may be omitted. In this modification, in S64, the CPU 232 of the server 200 extracts the first e-mail address described at the top of the destination address field of the received e-mail from among the e-mail addresses including the domain "print.com" of the server 200. Then, the CPU 232 judges whether the first e-mail address is an unstored address or not, and if the first e-mail address is not an unstored address (i.e., if it is a print address), it identifies the printer ID associated with the first e-mail address in the address table 240, and executes the process from S80 onwards. On the other hand, if the first e-mail address is an unstored address, the CPU 232 extracts the second e-mail address described next to the first e-mail address in the destination address field of the received e-mail, and judges whether the second e-mail address is an unstored address or not. The CPU 232 repeats the above process until the print address is identified. If it is determined that all email addresses including the domain "print.com" of server 200 are unstored addresses, CPU 232 executes the process of S90 and ends the process of Fig. 4. The order in which one email address is extracted from two or more email addresses described in the destination address field of a received email may be random. In this modified example, the "exclusion unit" and the "address identification unit" can be omitted.

[0089] (Fourth Modification) Priority order may not be stored in the address table 240 of the server 200. In this modification, the server 200 may specify, in S64, all printers corresponding to two or more print addresses written in the destination address field of the received email as target printers.

[0090] (Fifth Modification) Memory 234 of server 200 does not have to store notification list 238. In this modification, S40 and S90 in FIG. 4 can be omitted. In this modification, the "second e-mail sending unit" can be omitted. Furthermore, S84 can be omitted. In this modification, the "first e-mail sending unit" can be omitted.

[0091] (Sixth Modification) Notification list 238 of server 200 may register email addresses corresponding to users who are prohibited from using the email printing function.

[0092] (Seventh Modification) After S90 in FIG. 4, processes similar to S50 to S82 may be executed. In this modified example, the email address registered in the notification list 238 is the email address to which the email containing the print completion message should be sent.

[0093] (Eighth Modification) In a modification of the third embodiment, when the server 200 receives an e-mail with an image file attached, the server 200 may store the sender address of the e-mail and the general address described in the destination address field in association with the file name described in the file name field of the e-mail. In this modification, the CPU 232 determines in S20 of Fig. 3 whether the target file name matches the file name stored in the memory 234 and whether the sender address of the received e-mail matches the e-mail address associated with the target file name in the memory 234.

[0094] (Ninth Modification) It may be possible to set whether or not to cause the server 200 to execute the process (S40 in FIG. 4) using the notification list 238 (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "notification list process"). In this modification, the memory 234 of the server 200 stores notification list information indicating either a value of "ON" indicating that execution of the notification list process is permitted, or "OFF" indicating that execution of the notification list process is not permitted. The notification list information is set by the user of the printers 10A and 10B, or the administrator of the printers 10A and 10B. In this modification, the CPU 232 executes the processes of S40 to S90 when the notification list information is "ON". On the other hand, the CPU 232 executes the processes of S50 to S84 when the notification list information is "OFF". According to this configuration, when the server 200 receives an e-mail from the target PC with an e-mail address registered in the notification list 238 (i.e., an e-mail address corresponding to a user who is permitted to use the e-mail printing function) as a destination address while the notification list information is "ON", the server 200 sends a print request to the printer 10A, 10B. Also, when the server 200 receives an e-mail from the target PC with an e-mail address not registered in the notification list 238 (i.e., an e-mail address corresponding to a user who is not permitted to use the e-mail printing function) as a destination address while the notification list information is "ON", the server 200 does not send a print request to the printer 10A, 10B. Also, when the server 200 receives an e-mail from the target PC with the notification list information "OFF", the server 200 sends a print request to the printer 10A, 10B regardless of the sender address of the e-mail. Therefore, the users of the printers 10A, 10B and the administrators of the printers 10A, 10B can more appropriately manage the users who are permitted to use the e-mail printing function. It should be noted that the CPU 232 may omit S82 and S84 when the notification list information is "OFF." In this case, the CPU 232 executes S80 and S90 after S64 or S70.With this configuration, when the notification list information is "OFF," it is possible to prevent emails containing information about printers 10A, 10B (e.g., a print completion message) from being sent to users using email addresses that are not registered in the notification list.

[0095] (Tenth Modification) The server 200 may store notification lists corresponding to the printers 10A and 10B. In this modification, the CPU 232 of the server 200 executes the same process as S40 after S64 and S70 in FIG. 4. That is, after the target printer is specified, the CPU 232 uses the notification list corresponding to the target printer to determine whether the sender address of the received mail is registered in the notification list. In this modification, when the CPU 232 determines that the sender address of the received mail is registered in the notification list, it executes the process from S80 onwards. On the other hand, when the CPU 232 determines that the sender address of the received mail is not registered in the notification list, it executes S90. In a further modification, the notification list information may be stored in the memory 234 of the server 200. In this modification, the CPU 232 determines whether the notification list information is "ON" after S64 and S70. When the notification list information is "ON", the CPU 232 executes the same process as S40. Then, the CPU 232 executes the process from S80 onwards when the sender address of the received email is registered in the notification list corresponding to the target printer. On the other hand, the CPU 232 executes the process of S90 when the sender address of the received email is not registered in the notification list corresponding to the target printer. Furthermore, the CPU 232 executes the process from S80 onwards when the notification list information is "OFF". Note that the CPU 232 may omit S82 and S84 when the notification list information is "OFF". Furthermore, when the CPU 232 omits S82 and S84, it may execute S90 after S64 or S70, and then execute S80.

[0096] (Eleventh Modification) In the above embodiment, a print address is described in the sender address field of an email sent from server 200. For example, the print address "p1@print.com" is described in sender address field 322 of email 320 in Fig. 5. In a modification, an email address for server 200 (for example, "server@print.com") may be described in the sender address field of an email sent from server 200.

[0097] (Twelfth Modification) In each of the above embodiments, the processes in FIGS. 2 to 10 are realized by software (for example, programs 36, 236), but at least one of these processes may be realized by hardware such as a logic circuit.

[0098] In addition, the technical elements described in this specification or drawings exert technical utility alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the technologies exemplified in this specification or drawings achieve multiple objectives simultaneously, and achieving one of those objectives is itself technically useful. [Explanation of symbols]

[0099] 2: communication system, 4: LAN, 6: Internet, 10A, 10B: printer, 12: operation unit, 14: display unit, 16: print execution unit, 20: communication I / F, 30: control unit, 32: CPU, 34: memory, 36: program, 100A, 100B, 100C: PC, 200: server, 220: communication I / F, 230: control unit, 232: CPU, 234: memory, 236: program, 238: notification list, 240: address table

Claims

1. A server, a memory that stores, for each of one or more email addresses, the email address and printer identification information that identifies the printer in association with each other; a first receiving unit that receives a first e-mail including a first image file from a first external device, the first e-mail including, as destination addresses, a first print address that is an e-mail address stored in the memory and a first general address that is an e-mail address not stored in the memory; a first print request transmission unit that transmits a first print request to a first printer when the first e-mail is received from the first external device, the first print request being a signal requesting printing of a first image corresponding to the first image file included in the first e-mail, and the first printer being a printer identified by first printer identification information stored in the memory in association with the first print address included in the first e-mail; a second receiving unit that receives a second e-mail including a second image file from a second external device after receiving the first e-mail from the first external device, the second e-mail including the first print address and a second general address that is an e-mail address not stored in the memory as destination addresses; a determination unit that, when the second email is received from the second external device, determines whether the second email is an email generated using the first email; a second print request sending unit that sends a second print request to the first printer when it is determined that the second email is not an email generated using the first email, the second print request being a signal requesting printing of a second image corresponding to the second image file included in the second email; If it is determined that the second email is an email generated using the first email, the second print request is not sent to the first printer.

2. The determination unit is If any of the email addresses stored in the memory is described in the body of the second email, it is determined that the second email is an email generated using the first email, 2. The server of claim 1, further comprising: a server configured to determine that the second email is not an email generated using the first email if none of the email addresses stored in the memory is described in the body of the second email.

3. The determination unit is If the subject of the second email contains a predetermined character string indicating a reply or a forwarding, the second email is determined to be an email generated using the first email; 3. The server according to claim 1, further comprising: a server configured to determine that the second email is not an email generated using the first email if the title of the second email does not include the specified character string.

4. The determination unit is If the file name of the first image file and the file name of the second image file match, it is determined that the second email is an email generated using the first email; A server according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which determines that the second email is not an email generated using the first email if the file name of the first image file and the file name of the second image file do not match.

5. each of the one or more email addresses stored in the memory includes a predetermined domain; the first email further includes, as a destination address, a specific email address that includes the predetermined domain and is not stored in the memory; The server further comprises: an address specification unit that specifies the first print address, which is the destination address, from the first print address, the first general address, and the specific email address, and which includes the predetermined domain and is stored in the memory, when the first email is received from the first external device; The server according to claim 1 , wherein the first printer is a printer identified by the first printer identification information stored in the memory in association with the identified first print address.

6. the memory stores, for each of the one or more e-mail addresses, the e-mail address, the printer identification information, and a priority level in association with the e-mail address; The first e-mail further includes, as a destination address, a second print address that is an e-mail address stored in the memory, the second print address being different from the first print address; a first priority stored in the memory in association with the first printing address is higher than a second priority stored in the memory in association with the second printing address; the first print request transmission unit transmits the first print request only to the first printer corresponding to a higher priority among the first printer and the second printer; 6. A server according to claim 1, wherein the second printer is a printer identified by second printer identification information stored in the memory in association with the second print address included in the first email.

7. The memory further stores a notification address, which is an email address to which an email including print completion information indicating that printing of the image is completed is to be sent; The server further comprises: a first e-mail sending unit that, when a sender address included in the first e-mail is the notification address and, after the first print request is sent to the first printer, receives a print completion notification from the first printer indicating that printing of the first image is completed, sends a third e-mail that includes the sender address as a destination address, the third e-mail including specific print completion information indicating that printing of the first image is completed; The server according to claim 1 , wherein the third email is not sent if the sender address is not the notification address.

8. The server further comprises:

8. The server according to claim 7, further comprising a second email sending unit that sends, when the sender address is not the notification address, a fourth email that includes the sender address as a destination address and that includes receipt information indicating that the first email has been received.

9. the first print request transmission unit transmits the first print request to the first printer when the first e-mail is received from the first external device and the sender address is the notification address; 9. The server according to claim 7 or 8, wherein when the first email is received from the first external device and the sender address is not the notification address, the first print request is not sent to the first printer.

10. A computer program for a server, comprising: the server includes a memory for storing, for each of one or more email addresses, the email address and printer identification information for identifying a printer in association with each other; The computer program controls the server computer to include the following units: a first receiving unit that receives a first e-mail including a first image file from a first external device, the first e-mail including, as destination addresses, a first print address that is an e-mail address stored in the memory and a first general address that is an e-mail address not stored in the memory; a first print request transmission unit that transmits a first print request to a first printer when the first e-mail is received from the first external device, the first print request being a signal requesting printing of a first image corresponding to the first image file included in the first e-mail, and the first printer being a printer identified by first printer identification information stored in the memory in association with the first print address included in the first e-mail; a second receiving unit that receives a second e-mail including a second image file from a second external device after receiving the first e-mail from the first external device, the second e-mail including the first print address and a second general address that is an e-mail address not stored in the memory as destination addresses; a determination unit that, when the second email is received from the second external device, determines whether the second email is an email generated using the first email; a second print request sending unit that sends a second print request to the first printer when it is determined that the second email is not an email generated using the first email, the second print request being a signal requesting printing of a second image corresponding to the second image file included in the second email, and when it is determined that the second email is an email generated using the first email, the second print request is not sent to the first printer; A computer program that functions as a

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