Method for controlling information processing apparatus, program, information processing apparatus

Abstract

To solve the problem in which: a function of an option device mounted in a printer cannot be grasped from a printer driver installed in an information processing apparatus, and settings not corresponding to the option device may be made.SOLUTION: Provided is a method for controlling an information processing apparatus connected to a printer via a network, and the method includes: an acquisition step of acquiring configuration information including a function of an option device connected to the printer; and a setting step of displaying, on display means, a screen on which settings of the function can be made and performing the settings on the basis of the configuration information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a control method and program for an information processing apparatus which creates and transmits print data to a printing apparatus connected via a network, and an information processing apparatus in which the program is installed. [Background technology]

[0002] A printer driver installed in an information processing device that creates and transmits print data to a printing device connected via a network converts data from various applications running on the information processing device into the print data. Output option devices that can fold printed paper into thirds have been available on the market for some time, but in recent years, output option devices have also been introduced that allow the user to freely specify the positions of the two folds in the third fold. For example, Patent Document 1 listed below discloses a technique for visually displaying the actual folded shape, including the position and orientation (mountain fold, valley fold) of creases at the folding position. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-018189 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] By the way, in addition to the optional device that can fold in three and specify the folding position, there is a printing device that can also be equipped with a conventional optional device for folding in three (folding position cannot be specified). The printer driver cannot tell which optional device is connected, and it is possible to set the folding position for the latter (optional device that cannot specify the folding position), which causes the output result to differ from the settings of the printer driver. An object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for matching the functions of an optional device with the functions that can be set in a printer driver. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present invention is a control method for an information processing device connected to a printing device via a network, characterized in that it includes an acquisition step of acquiring configuration information including functions of an optional device connected to the printing device, and a setting step of displaying and setting a screen on a display means on which the functions can be set based on the configuration information. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to the present invention, there is an advantage that the functions of an option device connected to a printing device and the functions that can be set by a printer driver match. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] Overall configuration of the printing system [Diagram 2] Block diagram of information processing device [Diagram 3] Printer driver module configuration diagram [Figure 4] Example of saving the printer specification description file on the OS [Diagram 5] Block diagram of the software configuration of the information processing device [Figure 6] Printer property display process flow in an embodiment [Figure 7] Printer setting change processing flow in the embodiment [Figure 8A] Printer driver setting display screen according to an embodiment [Figure 8B] Printer driver setting display screen according to an embodiment [Figure 8C] Printer driver setting display screen according to an embodiment [Figure 8D] Printer driver setting display screen according to an embodiment [Figure 8E] Printer driver setting display screen according to an embodiment [Figure 9A] Sub-processing flow of detailed folding settings in the embodiment [Figure 9B] Sub-processing flow of detailed folding settings in the embodiment [Figure 10A] Printer driver setting display screen according to an embodiment [Figure 10B] Printer driver setting display screen according to an embodiment [Figure 11A] Printer driver setting display screen according to another embodiment [Figure 11B] Printer driver setting display screen according to another embodiment [Figure 12] Sub-processing flow of folding width setting in another embodiment [Figure 13] Display screen of the printer driver according to another embodiment [Figure 14] Sub-processing flow of folding width setting in another embodiment DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] [First embodiment] A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10B. The components described in the embodiments are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. System Configuration FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a printing system according to this embodiment, in which an information processing apparatus 101 and printing apparatuses 102 and 103 are connected via a network 100 so as to be able to communicate with each other. -Hardware configuration of information processing device FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the information processing device 101. As shown in FIG. The CPU 201 performs overall control of each device connected to a system bus 204 in accordance with a program loaded in a RAM 202 . The RAM 202 functions as a main memory, a work area, and the like for the CPU 201 . The ROM 203 stores various basic programs and data for the system. A display operation unit I / F 205 controls the display of information on a display operation unit 206 . The display operation unit 206 has a display function and also functions as a touch panel to control input from the user. A network I / F 207 controls a network module 208 and realizes network communication. An external memory I / F 209 controls access to an external memory 211 such as a flash memory or a solid state disk. The external memory 211 stores an operating system program (hereinafter referred to as "OS") 212, various applications 213, and a printer driver 214, and functions as a storage medium on which the information processing apparatus 101 can save or read data.

[0009] Printer drivers Next, the printer driver 214 will be described. The printer driver 214 is stored in the external memory 211 of the information processing apparatus, and is read into the RAM 202 and executed by the CPU 201 . 3, the printer driver 214 is composed of a graphic rendering module 302, a UI control module 303, a printer specification description file 304, a color processing module 305, and an input / output control module 306. Note that depending on the functions of the printer driver, it may be composed of other modules. In this embodiment, the input / output control module 306 acquires configuration information including the functions of the printing devices 102 and 103 (hereinafter, the printing device will be referred to as “102”), and changes the display content of the UI control module 303. This printer driver 214 can be configured to process a single printer or can be configured to process multiple printers, depending on the configuration of modules that the printer driver has. For example, to support multiple printers with one printer driver, the graphic rendering module 302 and UI control module 303 are created to support multiple printers. Also, the printer specification description file 304 is included in the printer driver for each supported printer. In this method, the UI control module 303 controls the display of the UI in accordance with the printer specification description file 304. Also, the graphic rendering module 302 is configured to issue a page description language and printer control commands that are suited to each printer.

[0010] Printer configuration information Table 400 in Fig. 4 shows an example of configuration information acquired from the printing device. The acquired information includes "paper size" and "paper type" supported by the printing device, the presence or absence of "duplex function" which is one of the capabilities of the printing device, whether or not "C-folding" related to the present invention is possible, and information 402 related to the C-fold fine adjustment. Details of C-folding will be described later.

[0011] -System configuration of information processing device FIG. 5 is a system block diagram of the information processing apparatus 101 in which the printer driver 214 is installed. A graphic rendering module 302, a color processing module 305, a UI control module 303, a printer specification description file 304, and an input / output control module 306 are modules of the printer driver 214, the same as those in FIG. The back-end module 807 is provided by the OS 212 and is a module for passing print data generated by the graphic rendering module 302 to the input / output control module 306 for transmission to the printer. The printer specification description file 304 is for the entire printer driver, and the printer specification description file (P) 810 records the current setting values.

[0012] Printer property display process FIG. 6 shows a flow of printer property display processing in the first embodiment of the present invention. Printer properties are the settings of various printer drivers that the user can display by right-clicking on the printer queue installed in the OS, etc. For example, in Windows 10 (registered trademark), the printer driver queue is displayed in Devices and Printers in the Control Panel. In the following, an embodiment will be described using as an example a folding method (hereinafter referred to as a "C fold") in which the printer's function of folding printed paper into thirds results in a product in which both folds are mountain folds (or both are valley folds) as an example. In the following, each processing step will be represented by "S". This processing is realized by the CPU 201 of the information processing device 101 expanding a program on the RAM 202 and executing it.

[0013] First, this process starts when the properties screen of the printer driver is displayed from the printer queue of the OS. In step S1201, the CPU 201 acquires various pieces of configuration information about the printing apparatus 102 that is the destination of a port registered as a port of the printer driver. In S1202, the CPU 201 determines whether or not the configuration information of the printing device 102 has been successfully acquired. If it is determined in S1202 that the configuration information of the printing device 102 has been successfully acquired (Yes in S1202), the CPU 201 proceeds to S1203. On the other hand, if it is determined in S1202 that the configuration information has not been successfully acquired (No in S1202), the CPU 201 proceeds to S1204. In S1203, processing is performed to reflect various settings of the printer driver 214 that correspond to the configuration and capabilities of the acquired printing device 102 (a specific example will be described later). On the other hand, if the configuration information of the printing device 102 cannot be obtained normally in S1202, no changes are made to the various settings in S1204. Note that, in this embodiment, it has been explained in S1201 that the various configuration information of the printing device is obtained when the printer properties are displayed, but a button for obtaining the configuration information may be provided in the printer properties so that the user can do so. The method for acquiring the configuration information may be any method as long as it is a print protocol that allows communication between the printing device 102 and the information processing device 101 . Information that can be acquired by acquiring configuration information includes the configuration of optional devices connected to the printing device 102, and capabilities that can be realized according to these configurations. (Details of the setting reflection process: S1203) Next, regarding the processing of S1203, a detailed flow relating to this embodiment is shown in FIG. 7, and display examples of the printer driver are shown in FIGS. 8A to 8E. In step S1301, the CPU 201 records the configuration information of the printing device 102 acquired in step S1201 in the RAM 202 or the like. In S1302, CPU 201 determines whether the configuration information of the printing device recorded in S1301 includes information 402 indicating that the optional device is capable of fine-tuning the C-fold. If it is determined in S1302 that information 402 indicating that the optional device is capable of fine-tuning the C-fold is included (Yes in S1203), CPU 201 proceeds to S1303, and if not (No in S1203), CPU 201 proceeds to S1304. In S1303, the CPU 201 sets a flag (not shown) for displaying a user interface (hereinafter referred to as "UI") for designating fine adjustment of a C-fold. In S1304, the current setting values ​​of various setting items of the printer driver are changed according to the configuration information of the printing device recorded in S1301, and this process then ends. C-fold fine adjustment is a function that specifies the location of the two mountain folds (or valley folds) to be made on the paper, for example, the distance from the edge of the paper.

[0014] FIG. 8A shows an example of printer properties 1400 after the configuration information has been obtained. A check box 1404 indicates whether or not an optional device (not shown) capable of folding paper is connected to the printing device 102 . A drop-down list 1405 is used to select the specific way in which paper can be folded using the connected optional device. In Fig. 8A, "C / Z fold" indicates that the optional device is capable of both "C fold" and "Z fold" which folds paper in both mountain and valley directions. As an example of the process at this time, the configuration of the printing device in the driver settings immediately before acquiring the configuration information is an optional device that does not allow fine adjustment of C-folding, and the acquired configuration information includes information indicating that the optional device allows fine adjustment of C-folding. In this case, a flag (not shown) indicating that fine adjustment of C-folding is possible is set. Then, when the flag is set, the folding details screen 1420 in FIG. 8C is displayed. A check box 1421 is used to set “adjust the folding width” on the folding details screen 1420 . The "Detailed folding width settings" button 1422 becomes selectable when the check box 1421 is selected, and when the check box 1421 is not selected, the button is in an unselectable state, for example, grayed out. On the other hand, if the configuration of the printing device in the driver settings immediately before and after obtaining the configuration information is an optional device that does not support C-fold fine adjustment, the flag (not shown) that allows C-fold fine adjustment is not set or will not be set. In this case, the function related to C-fold fine adjustment is not displayed as in the folding details screen 1440 of FIG. 8E. 8D shows a folding width detailed setting screen 1430, which is an example of the folding width detailed setting screen that is displayed by clicking the [Folding Width Detailed Setting] button 1422. In this example, only the length of side A 1432 (the top edge of the paper) is entered, and the other side B 1433 (the middle side of the C-fold) and side C 1434 (the bottom edge of the paper) are automatically calculated. Details of the automatic calculation will be described later.

[0015] (C-fold detailed setting process) FIG. 9A shows the process flow of the printer driver after the [Folding details] button 1413 in FIG. 8B is clicked. First, in S1501, the CPU 201 determines whether a flag enabling fine adjustment of the C-fold is set. If the flag is not set (No in S1501), the UI control module 303 displays the fold width details screen 1440 without the check box for adjusting the fold width 1421. If the flag is set (Yes in S1501), the CPU 201 advances the process to S1502. In S1502, the UI control module 303 displays the folding details screen 1420 and displays an "Adjust folding width" check box 1421. Additionally, when this check box 1421 is checked, a selectable [Detailed folding width setting] button 1422 is also displayed. In S1503, the CPU 201 determines whether or not the [Adjust folding width] check box 1421 is checked. If it is checked (Yes in S1503), the CPU 201 advances the process to S1504. In S1504, a "Fold width detailed setting" button 1422 is displayed so as to be selectable. When the "Fold width detailed setting" button 1422 is pressed, a screen for folding width detailed setting 1430 in Fig. 8D is displayed, and a sub-processing in Fig. 9B described later is executed. In S1505, if the [OK] button is clicked on screen 1420 or 1440 (Yes in S1505), the process proceeds to S1506. In S1506, the contents that have been set up to that point are set (saved), and this process ends. (Sub-process to determine folding width) FIG. 9B shows a process flow illustrating an example of automatic calculation for determining the folding width (the length of each of the ABC sides). In S1511, information on the length of the long side of the current paper size, which is perpendicular to the folding direction, is obtained from the printer specification description file 304 or the like. In S1512, the initial value of side A 1432, which corresponds to the front side when folded in C, is set to one third the length of the paper. In S1513, side C 1434, which is folded inside the C fold, is set to be shorter than side B 1433 by a specified length (3 mm in the illustrated example), and the lengths of the three sides are finalized. The relationship between side B 1433 and side C 1434 is not changed, and the user specifies the value of side A between the upper limit ("124.0" in the example of FIG. 8D) and lower limit ("68.0" in the example of FIG. 8D) of side A 1432 based on the paper transport path, folding function, etc. Once the value of side A 1432 is specified, side B 1433 and side C 1434 are also changed to values ​​that maintain the relationship between them (C=B-3 in this embodiment), and this sub-processing ends. If a value larger than these upper limit values ​​or smaller than the lower limit values ​​is entered, the value is rounded to the maximum or minimum value, or a message is displayed to warn the user that a value outside the range has been entered. Incidentally, a [Restore to Default] button 1435 is used to restore the settings to the initial values ​​described in the printer specification description file (P) 810. The function of this button is not limited to this screen, but is the same for other screens. The above explanation was an example in which the [Vertical] check box 1601 was checked for the print orientation on the folding width detailed setting screen 1600 in Fig. 10A. In contrast, if the [Horizontal] check box 1602 is selected, the icon 1611 displayed on the folding width detailed setting screen 1610 in Fig. 10B also indicates the folding status when the paper print orientation is horizontal. Note that the icon 1611 on the folding width detailed setting screen (1430 or 1610) may be changed according to the paper size or type, or the lengths of sides A, B, and C. The above embodiment has the advantage that the folding position can be specified by the printer driver only when it is determined that the information indicating that the optional device has a folding position is included.

[0016] In the above first embodiment, the case where settings are made for folding each sheet has been described. Setting of folding positions when folding a bundle of multiple sheets will be described below as a second embodiment. [Second embodiment] 11A, the number of sheets in one bundle can be specified in a "Number of sheets in one bundle" field 1701. When folding this bundle of papers together, the amount of the fold width (the length of each side) needs to be adjusted. Field 1711 of detailed folding width setting screen 1710 in FIG. 11B shows an example in which the maximum value of side A 1432 is set to "120.0" by comparing it with "124.0" on screen 1430 in FIG. 8D, but this may also be used to adjust side B 1433 or side C 1434 during automatic calculation.

[0017] (Folding width setting according to the number of sheets in a stack) FIG. 12 shows the process flow for determining the length of each side depending on the number of cards in a stack. The value (m) of the [Number of sheets in one stack] field 1701 currently set in S1801 is obtained. In S1802, length information (L) of the side (usually the long side) perpendicular to the direction in which C-folding is performed is obtained from the currently set paper size information. In S1803, the length of side A is determined by a predetermined formula. Here, the number of sheets in one bundle is set to "1" as the initial value, and the more sheets in one bundle, the shorter the side A becomes. As an example, Length of side A = L / 3 × 100 / (99+m) In S1804, the lengths of both sides are determined based on the relationship that side C is 3 mm shorter than side B, and this sub-processing is terminated.

[0018] [Third embodiment] In the third embodiment, a process for automatically adjusting the folding position depending on the paper type, such as thick paper, will be described. 13 shows a screen 1900 for setting the paper type in the printer driver. The paper type 1901 on this screen is "Thick Paper 1 (106-128 [g / m 2 The default paper type, plain paper, has a basis weight (the range of values ​​in parentheses) of 64-75 [g / m 2 ], when the thick paper or the like having a larger basis weight than the plain paper 1 is selected, the maximum value of the side A may be adjusted.

[0019] (Fold width setting according to paper weight) FIG. 14 shows a process flow for determining the length of each side according to the currently set paper type (grammage). In step S2001, the CPU 201 acquires the currently set paper type 1901, and also acquires the basis weight information (x) of that paper type. In step S2002, the CPU 201 acquires length information (L) of the side (usually the long side) perpendicular to the direction in which C-folding is performed from the currently set paper size information. In S2003, the initial value of the paper type (plain paper 1 in the figure) is used to obtain the initial value of the paper type based on the basis weight information (y) of the paper type. In S2004, the length of side A is determined using a predetermined formula. Here, the basis weight of plain paper 1 is divided by the basis weight of the current paper type obtained in S2001, and the result is multiplied by the value. The larger the basis weight of the paper type, the shorter the side A will be. For example, Length of side A = L / 3 × y / x In S2005, the lengths of both sides are determined based on the relationship that side C is 3 mm shorter than side B, and this sub-processing is terminated.

[0020] In the above explanation, the initial value for the length of side A is set to one-third of the paper or the number of stacks is set to 1, but it is also possible to obtain this information from the printing device and reflect it in the driver settings. According to the above embodiment, it is possible to set an appropriate upper limit for the C-fold position depending on the number of sheets to be bundled and the basis weight.

[0021] (Other Examples) In the above embodiment, for the function of fine-tuning the tri-fold position, the printer driver is configured to display only the functions that can be set depending on whether or not an adjustable optional device is connected, but the configurable functions are not limited to this. The present invention can also be realized by a process in which a program for implementing one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more of the functions. The disclosure of this embodiment includes the following configuration, method, and program. (Method 1) A method for controlling an information processing device connected to a printing device via a network, comprising: acquiring configuration information including functions of an optional device connected to the printing device; a setting step of displaying a screen on which the function can be set on a display means based on the configuration information and setting the function; 13. A method for controlling an information processing apparatus comprising the steps of: (Method 2) The function is a function for specifying the folding position of the optional device's three-fold function. 2. A method for controlling an information processing device according to claim 1. (Method 3) A process to determine the folding width of other parts based on one folding position specified by the user. The method for controlling the information processing device according to method 2, further comprising: (Method 4) The determining step determines the different folding width based on the type of paper. 4. The method for controlling the information processing device according to method 3. (Method 5) The determining step determines the different folding width based on the basis weight of the paper. 5. The method for controlling the information processing device according to method 3 or 4. (Method 6) The determining step sets the different folding width based on the number of sheets in the stack of paper to be folded. 7. The method for controlling an information processing device according to any one of Methods 2 to 6, (Program 1) A program implemented by a computer when the method for controlling an information processing device according to any one of Methods 1 to 6 is executed. (Program 2) The program is a printer driver The program according to Program 1, (Configuration 1) An information processing device in which the program recited in Program 1 or 2 is installed. [Explanation of symbols]

[0022] 100 Network 101 Information processing device 102 Printing device 103 Printing device

Claims

1. A method for controlling an information processing device connected to a printing device via a network, comprising: acquiring configuration information including functions of an optional device connected to the printing device; a setting step of displaying a screen on which the function can be set on a display means based on the configuration information and setting the function; 13. A method for controlling an information processing apparatus comprising the steps of:

2. The function is a function for specifying the folding width of the tri-fold function of the optional device.

2. The method for controlling an information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

3. A process of determining another folding width based on the folding width designated by the user.

3. The method for controlling an information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

4. The determining step determines the different folding width based on the type of paper.

4. The method for controlling an information processing apparatus according to claim 3.

5. The determining step determines the different folding width based on the basis weight of the paper.

5. The method for controlling an information processing apparatus according to claim 4.

6. The determining step sets the other folding position based on the number of sheets in the stack of paper to be folded.

4. The method for controlling an information processing apparatus according to claim 3.

7. A program implemented by a computer when the method for controlling an information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is executed.

8. The program is a printer driver 8. The program according to claim 7 .

9. An information processing device having the program according to claim 7 installed therein.

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