Information processing program, information processing method, and information processing device

Abstract

To provide an information processing program, an information processing method, and an information processing device that can improve usability.SOLUTION: In a PC for executing functions such as an operating system (OS), application, and print server by reading and executing a prescribed program, a print server 5 is provided with: a search unit 80 for searching for a printer on a network; a priority acquisition unit 81 for acquiring, from a detected printer, functions available to the printer; a determination unit 82 for determining, based on the printer's functions, whether or not to create a virtual printer, which is a destination for print jobs sent from the OS to the printer; and a virtual printer creation unit 83 for creating a virtual printer for the printer for which a virtual printer is determined to be created at the determination unit 82.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 15

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing program, an information processing method, and an information processing apparatus, and is suitably applied to an information processing apparatus that performs printing in an image forming apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, an information processing device has been proposed that stores print setting information and associates it with a print queue (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] When an image forming device is used from an information processing device, a printer driver corresponding to the image forming device is generally installed in an OS (Operating System) that runs on the information processing device. Meanwhile, in recent years, printing systems that enable printing without using a printer driver by using a specific protocol have been introduced into the OS. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2011-76227 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In this case, if the information processing device were to search for and register all image forming devices that it detects using a specific protocol in the OS, it would become difficult for the user to select an appropriate image forming device, resulting in a problem of reduced usability.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to propose an information processing program, an information processing method, and an information processing device that can improve usability. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve such problems, the information processing program of the present invention causes an information processing device having an operating system to execute a search step for searching for printers on a network, a priority acquisition step for acquiring, from the printer detected in the search step, a priority for creating a virtual printer for the printer detected in the search step, a decision step for deciding based on the priority whether to create a virtual printer to which a print job will be sent from the operating system for the printer detected in the search step, and a virtual printer creation step for creating a virtual printer for the printer for which it has been decided in the decision step to create a virtual printer.

[0008] In addition, the information processing method of the present invention includes a search step for searching for printers on a network, a priority acquisition step for acquiring, from the printer detected in the search step, a priority for creating a virtual printer for the printer detected in the search step, a decision step for deciding based on the priority whether to create a virtual printer to which a print job will be sent from the operating system to the printer detected in the search step, and a virtual printer creation step for creating a virtual printer for the printer for which it has been decided in the decision step to create a virtual printer.

[0009] Furthermore, the information processing device of the present invention is provided with a search unit which searches for printers on the network, a priority acquisition unit which acquires from the printer detected by the search unit a priority for creating a virtual printer for the printer, a decision unit which decides based on the priority whether to create a virtual printer to which a print job will be sent from the operating system to the printer detected by the search unit, and a virtual printer creation unit which creates a virtual printer for the printer for which it has been decided by the decision unit to create a virtual printer.

[0010] The present invention can present to the user a number of virtual image forming devices that is less than the number of all image forming devices searched for using a specific protocol, making it easier for the user to select an image forming device. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to present to the user a number of virtual image forming devices that is less than the number of all image forming devices searched for using a specific protocol, making it easier for the user to select an image forming device, thereby realizing an information processing program, information processing method, and information processing device that can improve usability. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a PC. [Diagram 2] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of a print queue management UI before a printer is added. [Diagram 3] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating the configuration of a printer addition UI and a printer use recommendation message. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of a print queue management UI after a printer is added. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a print setting UI. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an additional print setting UI. [Figure 7] 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating an example of setting information of a virtual printer. [Figure 8] FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of acquired setting information. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart showing a print server operation process procedure. [Figure 11] 13 is a flowchart showing a printing process procedure. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart showing a virtual printer creation process. [Figure 13] 13 is a flowchart showing a notification display process procedure. [Figure 14] 13 is a flowchart showing a search response process procedure. [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the print server; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] [1. PC configuration] 1, PC 1 is a so-called personal computer, and is controlled as a whole by a control unit 2. This control unit 2 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. (not shown), and executes functions such as an operating system (OS) 3, an application 4, and a print server 5 by reading and executing a predetermined program. PC 1 also transmits a print job to an external printer (not shown) serving as an image forming device (hereinafter also referred to as a real printer), causing the printer to execute printing.

[0015] [2. OS configuration] The OS 3 is basic software for controlling the PC 1, and is, for example, macOS (registered trademark) or Windows (registered trademark). The OS 3 has a print system 10, an external connection I / F 11, and a display control unit 12. For example, a print system compatible with AirPrint (registered trademark) or Mopria (registered trademark) is introduced in this OS 3, and a print job can be generated and sent to a printer without a printer driver compatible with the printer being installed in the OS 3.

[0016] [2-1. Print system configuration] The print system 10 includes a print queue management unit 14, a print setting UI control unit 15, and a print job generation unit 16, and performs various controls related to printing.

[0017] [2-1-1. Print Queue Management Unit Configuration] When printing is performed on PC 1, the print queue management unit 14 creates a logical printer called a print queue and associates information about the printer to which the printed matter is to be output. When a print queue is selected by the user as the printer to be used when printing, PC 1 generates a print job using the print job generation unit 16 based on the information associated with the selected print queue, and sends the print job to the printer.

[0018] 2 shows an example of a print queue management UI 17, which is a dialog box displayed on the display unit 6 by the print queue management unit 14 via the display control unit 12 in response to a user's operation to check the list of print queues. The display unit 6 is configured, for example, from a liquid crystal display, and displays various information. The print queue management UI 17 is configured from a print queue list display unit 18, an add button 19, and a delete button 20.

[0019] The print queue list display unit 18 has print queue display sections 22a and 22b (hereinafter collectively referred to as print queue display section 22) that display each print queue that has been created. Each print queue display section 22 has a name display section 23 and a status display section 24. The name display section 23 displays the printer name, which is a name unique to each printer and identifies the printer associated with the print queue. The status display section 24 displays the printer status. For example, in the case of the print queue displayed in the print queue display section 22a, the name of the printer associated with the print queue is "Printer A-001," and the printer is currently offline.

[0020] When the user selects the Add button 19 in the print queue management UI 17, the print queue management unit 14 causes the display control unit 12 to display an Add Printer UI 29, which is a dialog box shown in Fig. 3, on the display unit 6. The Add Printer UI 29 is composed of a printer list display unit 25 and an Add button 26. When the print queue management unit 14 displays the Add Printer UI 29, it broadcasts a printer search request using the Bonjour protocol, and displays the name 27 and connection method 28 of each printer that responded to the printer search request in the printer list display unit 25. Here, the response from the printer includes information such as the printer name, the type of connection method, and the driverless protocol that the printer supports, and only printers that support a driverless protocol that can be used by OS3 are displayed in the printer list display unit 25.

[0021] When the user selects a printer that he or she wishes to add as a print queue in the printer list display section 25 (for example, a printer name is "Printer B-002-spot color printing") and then selects the Add button 26, the print queue management section 14 closes the printer addition UI 29 as shown in FIG. 4, and displays a print queue display section 22c showing the added print queue in the print queue list display section 18 of the print queue management UI 17.

[0022] On the other hand, when the user selects the print queue display section 22 of the print queue that he or she wishes to delete in the print queue list display section 18 of the print queue management UI 17 and then selects the Delete button 20, the print queue management section 14 deletes the print queue display section 22 of that print queue and also deletes the print queue itself.

[0023] [2-1-2. Configuration of the print settings UI control unit] When printing is instructed from the application 4, the print setting UI control unit 15 allows the user to select print settings by displaying a print setting UI 30, which is a dialog box shown in Fig. 5, on the display unit 6 via the display control unit 12. The print setting UI 30 is made up of a printer selection unit 31, a number of copies designation unit 32, a double-sided printing designation unit 33, a paper size selection unit 34, a print orientation selection unit 35, a print button 36, and a cancel button 37.

[0024] The printer selection unit 31 allows the user to select a print queue to be used for printing from a drop-down list. This drop-down list displays all printer names indicated by the name display areas 23 in the print queue display areas 22 displayed in the print queue list display area 18 (FIG. 4).

[0025] The number of copies specification section 32, double-sided printing specification section 33, paper size selection section 34 and print direction selection section 35 are sections where the user can select print settings defined in the driverless protocol, and each section allows the user to select and specify the number of copies, double-sided printing, paper size and print direction.

[0026] When the user selects the print button 36, the print job generation unit 16, which will be described later, starts the print process with the print settings selected and specified by the user in the print setting UI 30. On the other hand, when the user selects the cancel button 37, the print job generation unit 16 does not start the print process, and the print setting UI control unit 15 closes the print setting UI 30.

[0027] [2-1-3. Configuration of the print job generation unit] In the printing process, the print job generating unit 16 generates a print job based on the document data created by the application 4 and the print settings selected and specified in the print setting UI 30 (FIG. 5). Then, the print job generating unit 16 transmits the generated print job via the external connection I / F 11 to the printer associated with the print queue selected in the printer selection unit 31 (FIG. 5).

[0028] [2-2. External connection I / F configuration] The external connection I / F 11 is a communication means for sending and receiving data to and from other PCs and peripheral devices connected to PC 1. This external connection I / F 11 supports multiple connection methods, and uses the network connection I / F 40 for network connection and the USB connection I / F 41 for USB connection. The network connection I / F 40 specifies the access destination by a combination of a network address and a port number, and can communicate with the print server 5 running on PC 1 by making the network address PC 1's own.

[0029] [2-3. Configuration of the display control unit] The display control unit 12 displays various types of information on the display unit 6, thereby presenting various types of information to the user.

[0030] [3. Application configuration] The application 4 is software that allows the user to view and edit document files, graphic files, etc., and to instruct printing.

[0031] [4. Print Server Configuration] The print server 5 has an event receiving processing unit 43, a response generation unit 44, an event response unit 45, a printer detection unit 46, a virtual printer creation control unit 47, a virtual printer 48 (virtual printers 48a, 48b and 48c), an additional print setting UI control unit 49, a print history 50, a notification control unit 51 and a data transmission unit 52.

[0032] [4-1. Event reception processing unit configuration] The event reception processing unit 43 receives printer search requests and print jobs sent from the print system 10, and also receives events such as the connection of a new printer detected by the printer detection unit 46, and performs processing according to the event.

[0033] [4-2. Configuration of the response generation unit] When the event received by the event reception processing unit 43 is a printer search request sent from the print system 10, the response generation unit 44 imitates a real printer that supports a driverless protocol and generates a printer search response that is a response to the printer search request. At this time, the response generation unit 44 generates a printer search response using the Bonjour protocol only for printer search requests using the Bonjour protocol, for example, but does not generate a printer search response for printer search requests using protocols other than the Bonjour protocol.

[0034] [4-3. Event response section configuration] The event response unit 45 responds to the event sender with the result of the process performed by the event reception processing unit 43 in response to the event, or the printer search response generated by the response generation unit 44.

[0035] [4-4. Printer detection unit configuration] The printer detection unit 46 monitors the external connection I / F 11, and when it detects that a new real printer has been connected to the PC 1, it notifies the event reception processing unit 43.

[0036] [4-5. Virtual printer creation control unit configuration] The virtual printer creation control unit 47 determines whether or not to create a virtual printer 48, and if so, determines a virtual printer name that represents the characteristics of the virtual printer 48, and creates a virtual printer 48 having setting information 54 that includes the virtual printer name, for example, as shown in Figure 7.

[0037] [4-6. Virtual printer configuration] A plurality of virtual printers 48 (virtual printers 48a, 48b, and 48c) are created as necessary, and in this embodiment, three virtual printers 48, virtual printers 48a, 48b, and 48c, are created. Hereinafter, the virtual printers 48a, 48b, and 48c are also collectively referred to as virtual printers 48. The virtual printer 48 has a print job conversion unit 53 and setting information 54. The print job conversion unit 53 generates a print job by converting the print job transmitted from the print system 10 into a format that can be processed by the real printer, based on the print settings selected and specified by the user in the print setting UI 30 (FIG. 5) and the additional print settings, which are print settings selected by the user in the additional print setting UI 55 (FIG. 6) described later.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 7, the setting information 54 is information acquired from the real printer corresponding to the virtual printer 48, and stores information on attributes such as a printer name 60, a function 61, and a connection destination 62 and the values ​​of those attributes. The printer name 60 indicates a virtual printer name that identifies the virtual printer 48. The function 61 indicates an additional function that is not defined in the driverless protocol and cannot be set in the print setting UI 30 (FIG. 5), but can be used in the real printer corresponding to the virtual printer with the virtual printer name indicated by the printer name 60. The connection destination 62 indicates the connection destination of the real printer corresponding to the virtual printer with the virtual printer name indicated by the printer name 60. For example, for a printer with the printer name "Printer B-002-spot color printing", the spot color printing, toner saving, and trapping functions cannot be set in the print setting UI 30 (FIG. 5), but the spot color printing, toner saving, and trapping functions are available as indicated by the function 61.

[0039] The response generation unit 44 (FIG. 1) references the attribute value of the printer name 60 in the setting information 54 (FIG. 7) and includes that value in the printer search response. The print queue management unit 14 displays the attribute value of the printer name 60 included in the printer search response in the name 27 portion in the printer list display unit 25 of the printer addition UI 29 (FIG. 3).

[0040] [4-7. Configuration of Additional Print Settings UI Control Unit] The additional print setting UI control unit 49 allows the user to select additional print settings during print processing by displaying the additional print setting UI 55, which is a dialog box shown in FIG. 6, on the display unit 6 by the display control unit 12. That is, since only basic functions defined in the driverless protocol can be set in the above-mentioned print setting UI 30 (FIG. 5), the PC 1 allows the user to set other functions available in the printer in the additional print setting UI 55. The additional print setting UI 55 is composed of a spot color printing designation unit 56, a toner saving designation unit 57, a trapping designation unit 58, and a print button 59. The spot color printing designation unit 56, the toner saving designation unit 57, and the trapping designation unit 58 are areas for selecting other print settings that are not defined in the driverless protocol but are available in the printer, and allow the user to select ON / OFF of spot color printing, toner saving, and trapping, respectively. The additional print setting UI control unit 49 refers to the value of the attribute of the function 61 in the setting information 54 (FIG. 7), and displays a drop-down list in the additional print setting UI 55 for selecting ON / OFF of the function indicated by the value. For this reason, the functions that can be set in the additional print setting UI 55 will differ depending on the actual printer. In addition, the additional print setting UI control unit 49 acquires the additional print settings set by the user in the additional print setting UI 55 (FIG. 6), and saves the functions used by the user in this printing, which are indicated by the additional print settings, in the print history 50.

[0041] [4-8. Print history configuration] As shown in Fig. 8, the print history 50 saves information about the functions selected in the additional print settings UI 55 (Fig. 6), and stores information about a function name 64, number of uses 65, and last used date 66. The function name 64 indicates the function name that identifies the additional print settings function that was used. The number of uses 65 indicates the number of times the function with the function name indicated by the function name 64 has been used. The last used date 66 indicates the date on which the function with the function name indicated by the function name 64 was last used.

[0042] [4-9. Notification control section configuration] The notification control unit 51 (Figure 1) determines whether a new virtual printer 48 has been added to PC 1, and if so, obtains the virtual printer name of the virtual printer 48 and sends a notification request to the display control unit 12 of OS 3, indicating that a message should be displayed recommending to the user to use the printer indicated by the virtual printer name.

[0043] [4-10. Data transmission section configuration] The data transmission unit 52 transmits the print job converted by the print job conversion unit 53 via the external connection I / F 11 to the printer associated with the print queue selected in the printer selection unit 31 (FIG. 5).

[0044] [5. Print server operation process] Next, a specific procedure of the print server operation process by the print server 5 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 10. When the power of the PC 1 is turned on, the control unit 2 starts the print server operation process procedure RT1 (Fig. 10) and proceeds to step SP1. Here, the print server 5 always operates in the background and waits until it receives some event.

[0045] In step SP1, the print server 5 receives an event through the event receiving processor 43, and proceeds to step SP2. In step SP2 (print job receiving step), the print server 5 determines whether the received event is a print job. If a positive result is obtained, the print server 5 proceeds to step SP3. In step SP3, the print server 5 performs printing by executing the print processing procedure SRT1 shown in FIG. 11, and proceeds to step SP10.

[0046] On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP2, the print server 5 proceeds to step SP4. In step SP4 (search step), the print server 5 determines whether the received event was a connection of a new real printer. If a positive result is obtained here, the print server 5 proceeds to step SP5. In step SP5, the print server 5 executes the virtual printer creation processing procedure SRT2 shown in FIG. 12 to create a virtual printer 48 as necessary, and proceeds to step SP10.

[0047] On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP4, then the print server 5 proceeds to step SP6. In step SP6 (search request receiving step), the print server 5 determines whether or not the received event was a printer search request. If a positive result is obtained here, the print server 5 proceeds to step SP7. In step SP7, the print server 5 executes a notification display processing procedure SRT3 shown in FIG. 13 to send a notification request to the OS 3 indicating that a message recommending the user to use the virtual printer 48 should be displayed, and then proceeds to step SP8. In step SP8, the print server 5 executes a search response processing procedure SRT4 shown in FIG. 14 to return a printer search response to the printer search request to the OS 3, and then proceeds to step SP10.

[0048] On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP6, this indicates that the received event is not a print job, a new printer connection, or a printer search request, and the print server 5 then proceeds to step SP9. In the driverless protocol, various events occur other than print jobs, new printer connections, or printer search requests, such as inquiries about the printer status or information about the print job. Therefore, in step SP9, the print server 5 performs other response processes corresponding to such events using the event reception processing unit 43, and then proceeds to step SP10.

[0049] In step SP10, the print server 5 judges whether or not to end the process due to, for example, the power supply of the PC 1 being cut off. If a positive result is obtained here, the print server 5 proceeds to step SP11 and ends the print server operation process procedure RT1. On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP10, the print server 5 proceeds to step SP1 and repeats the above-mentioned process.

[0050] [5-1. Printing process] Next, a specific processing procedure of the print processing by the print server 5 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 11. In step SP3 of the print server operation processing procedure RT1 (Fig. 10), the control unit 2 starts a print processing procedure SRT1 (Fig. 11) in the print server 5, and proceeds to step SP21. In step SP21, the print server 5 acquires the print settings included in the received print job by the event reception processing unit 43, and proceeds to step SP22. The print settings are those set in the print setting UI 30 (Fig. 5).

[0051] In step SP22 (additional print setting step), the print server 5 causes the additional print setting UI control unit 49 to display the additional print setting UI 55 (FIG. 6) on the display unit 6, and waits until the user selects additional print settings and then selects the print button 59. When the print button 59 is selected, the process proceeds to step SP23.

[0052] In step SP23, the print server 5 acquires the additional print settings set by the user in the additional print settings UI 55 (FIG. 6) by the additional print settings UI control unit 49, and proceeds to step SP24. In step SP24 (print history saving step), the print server 5 updates the print history 50 by saving the functions used by the user in this printing, which are indicated by the additional print settings, in the print history 50 by the additional print settings UI control unit 49, and proceeds to step SP25.

[0053] In step SP25 (print job conversion step), the print server 5 generates a print job by the print job conversion unit 53 based on the print settings acquired in step SP21 and the additional print settings acquired in step SP23, and proceeds to step SP26. In step SP26 (print job transmission step), the print server 5 transmits the generated print job by the data transmission unit 52 via the external connection I / F 11 to the real printer associated with the print queue selected in the printer selection unit 31 (FIG. 5), proceeds to step SP27, ends the print processing procedure SRT1, and proceeds to step SP10 in the print server operation processing procedure RT1 (FIG. 10).

[0054] [5-2. Virtual printer creation process] Next, a specific processing procedure of the virtual printer creation processing by the print server 5 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 12. In step SP5 of the print server operation processing procedure RT1 (FIG. 10), the control unit 2 starts the virtual printer creation processing procedure SRT2 (FIG. 12) in the print server 5, and proceeds to step SP31. In step SP31 (priority acquisition step), the print server 5 acquires the functions related to printing that the real printer can use from the real printer newly connected to the PC1, for example, as acquired setting information 70 (acquired setting information 70a (FIG. 9(A)), 70b (FIG. 9(B)), and 70c (FIG. 9(C))) shown in FIG. 9 by the printer detection unit 46, and proceeds to step SP32. In step SP32 (print history acquisition step), the print server 5 acquires the print history 50 by the virtual printer creation control unit 47, refers to the functions used by the user in the past, and proceeds to step SP33.

[0055] In step SP33 (decision step), the print server 5 uses the virtual printer creation control unit 47 to determine whether or not to create a virtual printer 48 by comparing the printer functions acquired in step SP31 with the functions previously used by the user acquired in step SP32. The following two conditions, for example, can be considered as criteria for determining whether or not to create a virtual printer 48. The first condition is that a virtual printer 48 is not created for a printer that does not have functions previously used by the user. The second condition is that a virtual printer 48 is preferentially created for a printer that has functions frequently used by the user.

[0056] For example, as shown in an example of acquired setting information 70 in FIG. 9, assume that three real printers, "Printer B-001" (acquired setting information 70a), "Printer B-002" (acquired setting information 70b), and "Printer B-003" (acquired setting information 70c), are newly connected to PC1, and the print history 50 at that time is in the state shown in FIG. 8. In this case, all the printers ("Printer B-001", "Printer B-002", and "Printer B-003") can use at least one of the functions (spot color printing, toner saving, and trapping) present in the print history 50, and therefore do not meet the first condition. Therefore, the virtual printer creation control unit 47 creates a virtual printer 48 for "Printer B-002" that has more functions that are frequently used by the user, in accordance with the second condition, but does not create virtual printers 48 for the other two printers ("Printer B-001" and "Printer B-003"). Since it has been determined that the virtual printer 48 of "Printer B-002" is to be created, the print server 5 obtains a positive result in step SP33, and proceeds to step SP34.

[0057] In step SP34 (virtual printer name determination step), the print server 5 determines, by the virtual printer creation control unit 47, a name that represents the characteristics of the virtual printer 48 as the virtual printer name, and proceeds to step SP35. For example, in the above-mentioned example, the virtual printer creation control unit 47 determines the virtual printer name, which is the name of the virtual printer 48, to be "Printer B-002-spot color printing" by adding spot color printing, which has been used the most by the user (30 times) and has been last used on the most recent date (September 14, 2022), to the printer name as shown in the print history 50 (FIG. 8).

[0058] In step SP35 (virtual printer creation step), the print server 5 creates a virtual printer 48 having setting information 54 shown in FIG. 7, which includes the virtual printer name determined in step SP34, by the virtual printer creation control unit 47, proceeds to step SP36, ends the virtual printer creation processing procedure SRT2, and proceeds to step SP10 in the print server operation processing procedure RT1 (FIG. 10). Here, although the actual printer name of the real printer added in the above example was "Printer B-002", the printer name of the virtual printer 48 created by the print server 5 will be "Printer B-002-spot color printing". Therefore, the setting information 54 of this virtual printer 48 will be as shown in FIG. 7.

[0059] On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP33, it has been determined that there is no printer for which to create a virtual printer 48, so the print server 5 skips steps SP34 and SP35 and proceeds to step SP36, terminates the virtual printer creation processing procedure SRT2, and proceeds to step SP10 in the print server operation processing procedure RT1 (Figure 10).

[0060] [5-3. Notification display processing] Next, a specific processing procedure of the notification display processing by the print server 5 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 13. In step SP7 of the print server operation processing procedure RT1 (FIG. 10), the control unit 2 starts the notification display processing procedure SRT3 (FIG. 13) in the print server 5, and proceeds to step SP41. In step SP41, the print server 5 checks whether or not a virtual printer 48 has been newly added to the PC 1 since the notification display processing procedure SRT3 was last executed, and the notification control unit 51 determines whether or not a new virtual printer 48 has been added. If a positive result is obtained here, this indicates that a newly added virtual printer 48 exists, and the print server 5 proceeds to step SP42. In step SP42, the print server 5 obtains the virtual printer name from the printer name 60 of the setting information 54 (FIG. 7) of the newly added virtual printer 48 by the notification control unit 51, and proceeds to step SP43.

[0061] In step SP43 (notification control step), the print server 5 sends a notification request to the print queue management unit 14 of the OS 3 via the notification control unit 51 to display on the display unit 6 a message recommending to the user to use the printer indicated by the acquired virtual printer name, then proceeds to step SP44, terminates the notification display processing procedure SRT3, and proceeds to step SP8 in the print server operation processing procedure RT1 (Figure 10).

[0062] Here, when the user performs an operation to check the list of print queues before the print server 5 performs the notification display process, the print queue management unit 14 displays the print queue management UI 17 (FIG. 2) on the display unit 6. When the user selects the Add button 19 on the print queue management UI 17, the print queue management unit 14 displays the Add Printer UI 29 (FIG. 3) on the display unit 6. At the same time, the print queue management unit 14 sends a printer search request. When the print server 5 determines in step SP6 of the print server operation processing procedure RT1 (FIG. 10) that the received event is this printer search request, it starts the notification display processing procedure SRT3 (FIG. 13).

[0063] Next, when the print queue management unit 14 receives the notification request in step SP43 from the print server 5, it displays a printer usage recommendation message 76 on the display unit 6 as shown in FIG. 3. The printer usage recommendation message 76 indicates the content of presenting the user with a printer recommended for use. Specifically, the printer usage recommendation message 76 indicates the content of recommending the use of the printer with the virtual printer name "Printer B-002-spot color printing" created in step SP35 in the virtual printer creation processing procedure SRT2 (FIG. 12) and acquired in step SP42 in the notification display processing procedure SRT3 (FIG. 13). By checking the printer usage recommendation message 76, the user can understand which printer should be preferentially selected from the printers displayed in the printer list display unit 25 of the printer addition UI 29 and added to the print queue.

[0064] On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP41 (FIG. 13), this indicates that no newly added virtual printer 48 has been added, and in this case the print server 5 skips steps SP42 and SP43 and proceeds to step SP44, terminates the notification display processing procedure SRT3, and proceeds to step SP8 in the print server operation processing procedure RT1 (FIG. 10).

[0065] [5-4. Search response processing] Next, a specific processing procedure of the search response processing by the print server 5 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 14. In step SP8 of the print server operation processing procedure RT1 (Fig. 10), the control unit 2 starts a search response processing procedure SRT4 (Fig. 14) in the print server 5, and proceeds to step SP51. In step SP51, the print server 5 generates a printer search response including the virtual printer name, function, and connection destination information of the virtual printer 48 in response to the printer search request, by the response generation unit 44, and proceeds to step SP52. At this time, the response generation unit 44 generates a printer search response including the virtual printer name "Printer B-002-spot color printing" determined in step SP34 of the virtual printer creation processing procedure SRT2 (Fig. 12).

[0066] In step SP52 (response step, notification control step), the print server 5 sends the generated printer search response to the print queue management unit 14 of the OS 3 that originated the request via the event response unit 45, then proceeds to step SP53, terminates the search response processing procedure SRT4, and proceeds to step SP10 in the print server operation processing procedure RT1 (Figure 10).

[0067] As shown in Fig. 3, the printer addition UI 29 displays the printers included in the printer search response returned in response to the printer search request. In the present embodiment, virtual printers 48 were not created for "Printer B-001" and "Printer B-003", but a virtual printer 48 was created for "Printer B-002". Therefore, for "Printer B-001", "Printer B-002", and "Printer B-003", the printer names included in the printer search response from the real printers are displayed. In contrast, only for "Printer B-002", the virtual printer name "Printer B-002-spot color printing", which is included in the printer search response from the virtual printer 48, is displayed along with the printer name of the real printer.

[0068] [6. Print server functional configuration] Next, a description will be given of the functional configuration of the print server 5. The control unit 2 (FIG. 1) of the image forming apparatus 1 reads out and executes a print server operation processing program prestored in the ROM, thereby forming each functional block as shown in FIG.

[0069] The search unit 80 corresponds to the printer detection unit 46 and the event reception processing unit 43 (FIG. 1), and searches for a printer (real printer) on the network. The priority acquisition unit 81 corresponds to the printer detection unit 46 (FIG. 1), and acquires from the printer detected by the search unit 80 the functions available to the printer (FIG. 9), which are the priorities for creating a virtual printer 48 for the printer. The decision unit 82 corresponds to the virtual printer creation control unit 47 (FIG. 1), and decides whether to create a virtual printer 48 that is a destination of a print job from the OS 3 for the printer detected by the search unit 80, based on the printer's functions. The virtual printer creation unit 83 corresponds to the virtual printer creation control unit 47 (FIG. 1), and creates a virtual printer 48 for the printer that the decision unit 82 has decided to create a virtual printer 48 for.

[0070] The search request receiving unit 84 corresponds to the event receiving processing unit 43 (FIG. 1), and receives a printer search request from the OS 3. The responding unit 85 corresponds to the event responding unit 45 (FIG. 1), and in response to the printer search request, transmits a printer search response, which is information indicating the created virtual printer 48. The print job receiving unit 86 corresponds to the event receiving processing unit 43 (FIG. 1), and receives a print job from the OS 3, with the virtual printer 48 as the destination, based on the printer search response. The print job transmitting unit 87 corresponds to the data transmitting unit 52 (FIG. 1), and transmits the received print job to the printer corresponding to the virtual printer 48.

[0071] The notification control unit 88 corresponds to the notification control unit 51 (FIG. 1), and notifies the user by displaying the real printer directly detected by the OS 3 and the virtual printer 48 in different modes on the display unit 6. The additional print setting unit 89 corresponds to the additional print setting UI control unit 49 (FIG. 1), and accepts instructions for print settings (additional print settings) that are more multifunctional than the print settings in the OS 3. The print job conversion unit 90 corresponds to the print job conversion unit 53 (FIG. 1), and applies the additional print settings set in the additional print setting unit 89 to the print job received by the print job receiving unit 86. The print history saving unit 91 corresponds to the additional print setting UI control unit 49 (FIG. 1), and saves the print history 50, which is a history of the print settings set in the additional print setting unit 89.

[0072] [7. Effects, etc.] In the above configuration, the PC 1 determines whether or not to create a virtual printer 48 for a real printer newly connected to the PC 1 based on the print-related functions (FIG. 9) of the real printer newly connected to the PC 1 as a priority and the print history 50 (FIG. 8) as the user's past usage history of the print-related functions. Therefore, the PC 1 can prevent the user from being forced to do the cumbersome task of selecting a real printer for creating a virtual printer 48 from multiple real printers newly connected to the PC 1, thereby improving usability.

[0073] Furthermore, when multiple real printers are connected to the PC 1, the PC 1 creates virtual printers 48 only for printers that have functions that the user uses most frequently, thereby preventing the number of virtual printers displayed in the printer addition UI 29 (FIG. 3) from becoming unnecessarily large. This allows the PC 1 to allow the user to easily select a printer to add to the print queue, improving usability.

[0074] Furthermore, by creating a virtual printer 48, PC1 can print using functions that are not supported by the driverless protocol, such as toner saving, spot color printing, and trapping, thereby providing the user with more printing functions and improving usability.

[0075] Furthermore, when PC1 is moved and the network to which it is connected is changed and it is connected to a new network, particularly when the number of actual printers belonging to the newly connected network is enormous, the user does not have to select a printer to create virtual printer 48, and can easily select a printer to add to the print queue.

[0076] Furthermore, in the name of the virtual printer 48 (for example, "Printer B-002-spot color printing"), PC 1 includes, in addition to the name of the real printer corresponding to the virtual printer 48 (for example, "Printer B-002"), the name of a function of the real printer that is not set in the print setting UI 30 (Fig. 5) in OS 3 (for example, spot color printing). Therefore, PC 1 can make it easier for the user to recognize, in the add printer UI 29 (Fig. 3), printers that are likely to have functions that the user wants to use, and can assist the user in making a decision when selecting which printer to add to the print queue.

[0077] Furthermore, when PC1 adds a printer print queue to OS3, if a virtual printer 48 is created, PC1 requests OS3 via print server 5 to display a pop-up printer usage recommendation message 76 (FIG. 3) recommending adding the virtual printer 48 (for example, "Printer B-002-spot color printing") to the print queue. This makes it easier for PC1 to allow the user to select a printer that is likely to have the functions the user desires to use.

[0078] In this way, when a print queue of a printer is added to the OS3, the PC1 displays, as the virtual printer name of the virtual printer 48, in the printer addition UI 29 (FIG. 3), a virtual printer name to which characters such as "spot color printing" indicating the function of the printer corresponding to the virtual printer 48 are added. That is, the PC1 displays the real printers ("Printer B-001", "Printer B-002" and "Printer B-003" in the printer addition UI 29 (FIG. 3)) directly searched by the OS3 and the virtual printer 48 ("Printer B-002"-spot color printing in the printer addition UI 29 (FIG. 3)) in different modes from each other in the printer addition UI 29 (FIG. 3). Also, when a print queue of a printer is added to the OS3, the PC1 displays a printer usage recommendation message 76 that recommends the addition of the virtual printer 48, "Printer B-002-spot color printing". That is, when a print queue of a printer is added to the OS3, the PC1 notifies the user of the virtual printer 48 and the real printer in different modes.

[0079] In the above configuration, the print server 5 is provided with a search unit 80 that searches for printers on the network, a priority acquisition unit 81 that acquires from the printer detected by the search unit 80 the functions available to the printer, which is the priority for creating a virtual printer 48 for the printer, a decision unit 82 that decides based on the printer's functions whether to create a virtual printer 48 that is a destination for print jobs from the OS 3 to the printer detected by the search unit 80, and a virtual printer creation unit 83 that creates the virtual printer 48 for the printer for which it has been decided by the decision unit 82 to create the virtual printer 48.

[0080] This allows the print server 5 to present to the user a smaller number of virtual printers than the total number of printers found by a specific protocol, making it easier for the user to select a printer.

[0081] 8. Other embodiments In the above embodiment, the PC1 has described a case where, in the virtual printer creation process procedure SRT2 (FIG. 12), the PC1 determines whether to create a virtual printer 48 for a real printer newly connected to the PC1 based on the printing-related functions (FIG. 9) of the real printer and the printing history 50 (FIG. 8) as the user's past usage history of the printing-related functions. The present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the PC1 may give a higher priority to creating a virtual printer 48 for a printer that is closer to the PC1 (i.e., the user), and may not create a virtual printer 48 for a printer with a lower priority. In this case, the PC1 may, for example, infer that the stronger the radio wave strength of the Wi-Fi (registered trademark) between the PC1 and the printer is, the shorter the distance is, or that the faster the network response from the printer is, the shorter the distance is. In addition, the PC1 may give a higher priority to creating a virtual printer 48 when the PC1 has access rights to the printer in an environment where the printer is access-controlled, or the administrator may set a priority for each printer in advance.

[0082] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the PC1 has been described as determining in the virtual printer creation processing procedure SRT2 (FIG. 12) whether or not to create a virtual printer 48 for a real printer based on the print-related functions (FIG. 9) of the real printer newly connected to the PC1 as a priority and the print history 50 (FIG. 8) as the user's usage history of the print-related functions. The present invention is not limited to this, and the PC1 may determine whether or not to create a virtual printer 48 for a real printer based only on the print-related functions (FIG. 9) of the real printer newly connected to the PC1 as a priority.

[0083] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the PC1 selects only one of the real printers newly connected to the PC1 in the virtual printer creation processing procedure SRT2 (FIG. 12), and creates a virtual printer 48 for that real printer. The present invention is not limited to this, and the PC1 may select various numbers of real printers, two or more, from the real printers newly connected to the PC1, and create a virtual printer 48 for the real printers. However, if the PC1 creates virtual printers 48 for the real printers newly connected to the PC1 by reducing the number of real printers as much as possible from the real printers newly connected to the PC1, the PC1 can reduce the number of virtual printers 48 displayed in the printer addition UI 29 (FIG. 3), and this makes it easier for the user to select a printer to add to the print queue.

[0084] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the PC 1 may use various other conditions as criteria for determining whether or not to create the virtual printer 48, rather than being limited to the above-described two conditions.

[0085] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, when a printer print queue is added to the OS 3, the PC 1 displays the name of the virtual printer 48 on the printer addition UI 29 (FIG. 3) including the name of the real printer corresponding to the virtual printer 48 as well as the names of the functions of the real printer. The present invention is not limited to this, and the PC 1 may display the name of the virtual printer 48 including various other characters such as "multi-function" in addition to the name of the real printer corresponding to the virtual printer 48. In short, it is sufficient to use a name that allows the user to easily recognize that the printer is likely to be equipped with the functions that the user wants to use.

[0086] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the PC 1 has been described as displaying a printer usage recommendation message 76 that recommends adding a virtual printer 48 when a print queue for a printer is added to the OS 3. The present invention is not limited to this, and the PC 1 may display the name 27 and the characters of the connection method 28 of the virtual printer 48 in the printer addition UI 29 (FIG. 3) in a form different from that of other real printers, or may not display the printer usage recommendation message 76. The point is that it is sufficient to make it easy for the user to recognize the virtual printer 48 that is recommended for addition.

[0087] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment and other embodiments. That is, the scope of application of the present invention extends to an embodiment in which the above-mentioned embodiment and the other embodiments are combined in part or in whole in any manner. The scope of application of the present invention also extends to an embodiment in which a part of the configuration described in any of the above-mentioned embodiment and other embodiments is extracted and replaced or diverted with a part of the configuration of any of the above-mentioned embodiment and other embodiments, or an embodiment in which a part of the extracted configuration is added to any of the embodiments.

[0088] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the print server 5 as an information processing device is configured by the search unit 80 as a search unit, the priority acquisition unit 81 as a priority acquisition unit, the determination unit 82 as a determination unit, and the virtual printer creation unit 83 as a virtual printer creation unit. The present invention is not limited to this, and the information processing device may be configured by a search unit, a priority acquisition unit, a determination unit, and a virtual printer creation unit having various other configurations. [Industrial Applicability]

[0089] The present invention can be used when performing printing in an image forming apparatus. [Explanation of symbols]

[0090] 1...PC, 2...control unit, 3...OS, 4...application, 5...print server, 6...display unit, 10...print system, 11...external connection I / F, 12...display control unit, 14...print queue management unit, 15...print setting UI control unit, 16...print job generation unit, 17...print queue management UI, 18...print queue list display unit, 19...add button, 20...delete button, 22...print queue display unit, 23...name display unit, 24...status display unit, 25...printer list display unit, 26...add button, 27...name, 28...connection method, 29...add printer UI, 30...print setting UI, 31...printer selection unit, 32...number of copies designation unit, 33...double-sided printing designation unit, 34...paper size selection unit, 35...print orientation selection unit, 36...print button, 37...cancel button, 40...network connection I / F, 41...USB connection I / F, 43...event reception processing unit, 44...response generation unit, 45...event response section, 46...printer detection section, 47...virtual printer creation control section, 48...virtual printer, 49...additional print setting UI control section, 50...print history, 51...notification control section, 52...data transmission section, 53...print job conversion section, 54...setting information, 55...additional print setting UI, 56...spot color printing designation section, 57...toner save designation section, 58...trapping designation section, 59...print button, 60...printer name, 61...function, 62...connection Destination, 64...Function name, 65...Number of uses, 66...Last used date, 70...Acquired setting information, 74...Printer addition UI, 76...Printer use recommendation message, 80...Search unit, 81...Priority acquisition unit, 82...Determination unit, 83...Virtual printer creation unit, 84...Search request receiving unit, 85...Response unit, 86...Print job receiving unit, 87...Print job sending unit, 88...Notification control unit, 89...Additional print setting unit, 90...Print job conversion unit, 91...Print history storage unit.

Claims

1. For an information processing device having an operating system, a searching step of searching for a printer on a network; a priority acquisition step of acquiring a priority for creating a virtual printer for the printer detected in the search step; a determination step of determining, based on the priority, whether or not to create a virtual printer that is a destination of a print job from the operating system to the printer detected in the search step; a virtual printer creating step of creating a virtual printer for the printer for which it has been determined in the determining step that the virtual printer is to be created; An information processing program that executes the above.

2. a search request receiving step of receiving a printer search request from the operating system; a response step of transmitting information indicating the created virtual printer in response to the printer search request; The information processing program according to claim 1 , further comprising:

3. The virtual printer creation step includes: Based on the printing-related functions of the printer, which are the priorities, it is determined whether or not to create the virtual printer of the printer. The information processing program according to claim 1 .

4. The virtual printer creation step includes: Based on the priority, ie, the print-related functions of the printer and the usage history of the print-related functions, it is determined whether or not to create the virtual printer of the printer. The information processing program according to claim 3.

5. a notification control step of displaying, on a display unit, a real printer, which is the printer directly searched for by the operating system, and the virtual printer in different modes when a print queue of the printer is added to the operating system; The information processing program according to claim 2 , further comprising:

6. The notification control step includes: When the virtual printer is created, the operating system is notified to use the virtual printer.

6. An information processing program according to claim 5.

7. The notification control step includes: causing the operating system to display a pop-up of the name of the virtual printer.

7. An information processing program according to claim 6.

8. The virtual printer creation step includes: The name of the created virtual printer includes the name of a function that is included in the printer corresponding to the virtual printer and that is not set in the print settings in the operating system.

6. An information processing program according to claim 5.

9. a print job receiving step of receiving the print job having the virtual printer as a transmission destination from the operating system based on the response; a print job sending step of sending the received print job to the printer corresponding to the virtual printer; The information processing program according to claim 2 , further comprising:

10. an additional print setting step of receiving an instruction for additional print setting having more functions than the print setting in the operating system; a print job conversion step of applying the additional print setting to the print job received in the print job receiving step; and The print job transmitting step transmits the print job to which the additional print setting has been applied in the print job converting step to the printer corresponding to the virtual printer. The information processing program according to claim 9.

11. a print history storage step for storing a history of the additional print settings set in the additional print setting step; The information processing program according to claim 10, further comprising:

12. a searching step of searching for a printer on a network; a priority acquisition step of acquiring a priority for creating a virtual printer for the printer detected in the search step; a determination step of determining, based on the priority, whether or not to create a virtual printer that is a destination of a print job from an operating system to the printer detected in the search step; a virtual printer creating step of creating a virtual printer for the printer for which it has been determined in the determining step that the virtual printer is to be created; An information processing method comprising the steps of:

13. a search unit for searching for a printer on a network; a priority acquisition unit that acquires a priority for creating a virtual printer of the printer detected by the search unit; a determination unit that determines whether or not to create a virtual printer that is a destination of a print job from an operating system to the printer detected by the search unit based on the priority; a virtual printer creation unit that creates a virtual printer for the printer determined by the determination unit to create the virtual printer; An information processing device having the above configuration.

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