Program

Abstract

To prompt a user to select a file of an appropriate data format even when the user selects a file of a data format incompatible with a program.SOLUTION: A program, which is operable on an operating system, causes a computer of an information processing apparatus having an operation environment on the OS running as a host OS and on a guest OS, to execute: a display control step of executing a process to cause a file management program corresponding to the OS to display a file selection screen; a notification step of executing, when a data format of a file selected on the file selection screen is not a predetermined data format, a predetermined notification process based on the data format of the file selected on the file selection screen not being the predetermined data format; and a processing step of executing, when the data format of the file selected on the file selection screen is the predetermined data format, a process based on the file selected on the file selection screen.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Programs that run on information processing devices such as smartphones and PCs may have a printing function. For example, a printing application program is known that performs a series of processes, such as searching for a printing device on a LAN via Wi-Fi, converting a document file stored in the terminal into PDL data, and generating a print job with print settings such as the number of copies to be printed, and sending the print job to the printing device. Patent Document 1 discloses a method of printing on a printing device suitable for a document file to be printed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-71664 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, depending on the OS of the information processing device, a file in a data format that is not compatible with a program running on the OS may be displayed. Even if a user selects such a file and instructs a specific function, the specific function will not be executed properly.

[0005] Therefore, even if a file in a data format that is not compatible with the program is selected, some measure is required to allow the user to select a file in an appropriate data format. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a program operable on an operating system (OS), the program causing a first information processing device computer having a first operating environment on a first OS operating as a host OS but not on a guest OS to execute a first display control step of executing a process to cause a first file management program corresponding to the first OS to display a first file selection screen, and a first processing step of executing a predetermined process based on a file selected on the first file selection screen, and a second information processing device computer having a second operating environment on a second OS operating as the host OS and on the guest OS to execute a process to cause a second file management program corresponding to the second OS to display a second file selection screen, a notification step of executing a predetermined notification process based on the fact that the data format of the file selected on the second file selection screen is not the predetermined data format, if the data format of the file selected on the second file selection screen is not the predetermined data format, and a second processing step of executing a process based on the file selected on the second file selection screen, if the data format of the file selected on the second file selection screen is the predetermined data format. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent a user from selecting a file having a data format that is not compatible with a program. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a software configuration of the information processing device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication application. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a screen displayed by a communication application. [Diagram 5]13 is a flowchart showing a process executed by a communication application. [Figure 6] 11 is a flowchart showing a process executed by a first host OS. [Figure 7] 13 is a flowchart showing a process executed by a second host OS. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 illustrates a file selection screen. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a screen displayed by a communication application. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a screen displayed by a communication application. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a screen displayed by a communication application. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 illustrates a file selection screen. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, it should be understood that the scope of the present invention includes any modifications and improvements to the embodiments described below that are made based on the ordinary knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0010] (First embodiment) An information processing device and a communication device included in the communication system of the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, a smartphone is exemplified as the information processing device, but the present embodiment is not limited thereto, and various devices such as a mobile terminal, a notebook PC, a tablet terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), and a digital camera can be applied. In addition, various devices that can perform wireless communication with the information processing device can be applied as the communication device. For example, if it is a printer, it can be applied to an inkjet printer, a full-color laser beam printer, a monochrome printer, and the like. In addition to printers, it can be applied to scanners, copiers, facsimile machines, mobile terminals, smartphones, notebook PCs, tablet terminals, PDAs, digital cameras, music playback devices, televisions, smart speakers, and the like. In addition, it can be applied to multifunction machines having multiple functions such as a copying function, a FAX function, a printing function, and a scanner function. In the present embodiment, the communication device is a multifunction printer having a printing function, a scanner function, and the like.

[0011] <Hardware configuration of each device> First, the configuration of an information processing device included in the communication system of this embodiment and a communication device capable of communicating with the information processing device will be described with reference to the block diagram of Fig. 1. In addition, the following configuration will be described as an example in this embodiment, but the functions are not particularly limited to those shown in this diagram.

[0012] The information processing device 101 includes an input interface 102, a CPU 103, a ROM 104, a RAM 105, an external storage device 106, an output interface 107, an operation display unit 108, a communication unit 109, a short-range wireless communication unit 110, an image capturing device 111, and the like.

[0013] The input interface 102 is an interface for receiving data input and operational instructions from a user, and is composed of a physical keyboard, buttons, a touch panel, etc. Note that the output interface 107 described below and the input interface 102 may be configured in the same manner, so that the screen output and the reception of operations from the user are performed by the same configuration.

[0014] The CPU 103 is a system control unit, and controls the entire information processing device 101 .

[0015] The ROM 104 stores fixed data such as a control program and a data table executed by the CPU 103, and an embedded operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) program. In this embodiment, each control program stored in the ROM 104 performs software execution control such as scheduling, task switching, and interrupt processing under the management of the embedded OS stored in the ROM 104. In this embodiment, the OS held by the ROM 104 and running on the information processing device 101 is the Android (registered trademark) OS provided by Google Inc. or the Chrome (registered trademark) OS provided by Google Inc. If the OS running on the information processing device 101 is the Chrome OS, the ROM 104 also holds a virtual Android OS for running an application program for the Android OS, which will be described later, on the information processing device 101. In the following, the application program is described as an app.

[0016] The RAM 105 is composed of a static random access memory (SRAM) that requires a backup power source. Since the RAM 105 holds data using a primary battery (not shown) for data backup, it can store important data such as program control variables without volatilizing the data. The RAM 105 also has a memory area for storing setting information for the information processing device 101, management data for the information processing device 101, and the like. The RAM 105 is also used as the main memory and work memory for the CPU 103.

[0017] The external storage device 106 includes an application program (hereinafter, referred to as a communication application) having a function of communicating with the communication device 151. The communication application is specifically, for example, an application having a print function for causing the communication device 151 to execute printing, or a scan function for causing the communication device 151 to execute scanning. However, the communication application is not limited to this form, and may be an application having either a print function or a scan function, or may be an application having other functions. The external storage device 106 also includes various programs such as a print information generation program for generating print information that can be interpreted by the communication device 151, and an information transmission / reception control program for transmitting / receiving information to / from the communication device 151 connected via the communication unit 109. The external storage device 106 stores various information used by these programs. The external storage device 106 also stores image data obtained from other information processing devices or the Internet via the communication unit. In this embodiment, the communication application is an application for the Android OS.

[0018] The output interface 107 is an interface that controls the operation display unit 108 to display data and notify the status of the information processing device 101 .

[0019] The operation display unit 108 is composed of an LED (light emitting diode) and an LCD (liquid crystal display), and displays data and notifies the status of the information processing device 101. Note that a soft keyboard having keys such as numeric input keys, a mode setting key, a decision key, a cancel key, and a power key may be provided on the operation display unit 108 to accept input from the user via the operation display unit 108.

[0020] The communication unit 109 is configured to connect to a device such as the communication device 151 and execute data communication. For example, the communication unit 109 can be connected to an access point (not shown) in the communication device 151. When the communication unit 109 is connected to the access point in the communication device 151, the information processing device 101 and the communication device 151 can communicate with each other. Hereinafter, the access point may be expressed as AP. The communication unit 109 may directly communicate with the communication device 151 by wireless communication, or may communicate via an access point 131 that is located outside the information processing device 101 and outside the communication device 151. In this embodiment, the communication standard of the IEEE802.11 series is used as the wireless communication method. The communication standard of the IEEE802.11 series is Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

[0021] Moreover, the access point 131 may be, for example, a device such as a wireless LAN router. In this embodiment, a method in which the information processing device 101 and the communication device 151 are directly connected to each other without going through an external access point is called a direct connection method. Also, a method in which the information processing device 101 and the communication device 151 are connected to each other through an external access point 131 is called an infrastructure (hereinafter, referred to as infrastructure) connection method.

[0022] The short-range wireless communication unit 110 is configured to perform data communication by wirelessly connecting to a device such as the communication device 151 at a short distance, and performs communication by a communication method different from that of the communication unit 109. Examples of the short-range wireless communication method used by the short-range wireless communication unit 110 include Bluetooth (registered trademark) and NFC (Near Field Communication). Bluetooth may be Bluetooth Classic or Bluetooth Low Energy. The short-range wireless communication unit 110 is connectable to a short-range wireless communication unit 157 in the communication device 151.

[0023] The photographing device 111 is a device that converts an image photographed by a photographing element into digital data. The digital data is temporarily stored in the RAM 105. After that, the digital data is converted into a predetermined image format by a program executed by the CPU 154, and is stored in the external storage device 106 as image data.

[0024] The ROM 152 stores fixed data such as the control program executed by the CPU 154, data tables, and the OS program.

[0025] The communication device 151 includes a ROM 152, a RAM 153, a CPU 154, a print engine 155, a communication unit 156, a short-range wireless communication unit 157, an input interface 158, an output interface 159, an operation display unit 160, and a scan control unit 161. The communication device 151 can operate in a connection mode (communication mode) that is set by the connection mode being set.

[0026] The communication unit 156 is a component for the communication device 151 to communicate with other devices, and in this embodiment, the communication unit 156 communicates according to the IEEE802.11 series of communication standards. The communication unit 156 has an access point for connecting to devices such as the information processing device 101 as an access point inside the communication device 151. The access point can be connected to the communication unit 109 of the information processing device 101. The communication unit 156 may directly communicate with the information processing device 101 by wireless communication, or may communicate via the access point 131. The communication unit 156 may include hardware that functions as an access point, or may operate as an access point by software for functioning as an access point. In this embodiment, the communication unit 156 and the short-range wireless communication unit 157 are realized by one wireless chip. That is, in this embodiment, a combo chip that supports both the communication function of the IEEE802.11 series of communication standards and the communication function by the short-range wireless communication method is used. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and the communication unit 156 and the short-range wireless communication unit 157 may be realized by separate wireless chips.

[0027] The RAM 153 is composed of a DRAM or the like that requires a backup power source. Since the RAM 153 holds data by being supplied with a data backup power source (not shown), it can store important data such as program control variables without volatilizing the data. The RAM 153 is also used as the main memory and work memory of the CPU 154, and stores a reception buffer for temporarily storing print information received from the information processing device 101, etc., and various other information.

[0028] ROM 152 stores fixed data such as control programs, data tables, and OS programs executed by CPU 154. In this embodiment, each control program stored in ROM 152 performs software execution control such as scheduling, task switching, and interrupt processing under the management of an embedded OS stored in ROM 152. ROM 152 also has a memory area for storing data that needs to be held even when power is not supplied, such as setting information for communication device 151 and management data for communication device 151.

[0029] The CPU 154 is a system control unit, and controls the entire communication device 151 .

[0030] Based on the information stored in the print engine 155 and the RAM 153 and the print job received from the information processing device 101, etc., an image is formed on a recording medium such as paper using a recording agent such as ink, and the print result is output. At this time, the print job transmitted from the information processing device 101, etc., has a large amount of transmission data and requires high-speed communication, so it is received via a communication unit 156 that can communicate faster than the short-range wireless communication unit 157.

[0031] The short-range wireless communication unit 157 is a component for wirelessly connecting to a device such as the information processing device 101 at a short distance and performing data communication, and performs communication by a communication method different from that of the communication unit 156. Examples of the short-range wireless communication method used by the short-range wireless communication unit 110 include Bluetooth (registered trademark) and NFC. Bluetooth may be Bluetooth Classic or Bluetooth Low Energy. The short-range wireless communication unit 157 is connectable to the short-range wireless communication unit 110.

[0032] The input interface 158 is an interface for receiving data input and operation instructions from the user, and is composed of a physical keyboard, buttons, a touch panel, etc. Note that the output interface 159 described below and the input interface 158 may have the same configuration, and may output the screen and receive operations from the user with the same configuration. The output interface 159 is an interface that controls the operation display unit 160 to display data and notify the status of the communication device 151.

[0033] The operation display unit 160 is composed of a display unit such as an LED (light emitting diode) or an LCD (liquid crystal display), and displays data and notifies the state of the communication device 151. Note that a soft keyboard having keys such as numeric input keys, a mode setting key, a decision key, a cancel key, and a power key may be provided on the operation display unit 160 to accept input from the user via the operation display unit 160.

[0034] The scan control unit 161 includes an image sensor unit (reading unit) that scans the document placed on the document tray or ADF shown in the attached drawings. The image sensor unit includes a light source that irradiates the document with light and an image sensor in which elements that read the reflected light and perform photoelectric conversion are arranged. The scan control unit 161 acquires image data by A / D (analog / digital) conversion of an analog electrical signal obtained by reading the document with the image sensor unit. The scan control unit 161 also includes a circuit that performs DMA (direct memory access) transfer to store the acquired image data in the RAM 153.

[0035] <Software configuration of the information processing device 101> Next, the software configuration of the information processing device 101 in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 2(a) is an example of the software configuration of the information processing device 101 in the case where the host OS operating on the information processing device 101 is the Android OS. In this embodiment, an application for the Android OS operates on the Android OS. In this embodiment, the software configuration of the information processing device 101 does not include the Chrome OS. In this embodiment, an environment in which the OS operating on the lowest layer of the information processing device 101 is the Android OS (not the Chrome OS) is referred to as the first environment below. Specifically, the first environment is, for example, an environment in which the information processing device 101 is equipped with a host OS but not with a guest OS, and a communication application operates on the host OS. Also, for example, the first environment is, for example, an environment in which the information processing device 101 is equipped with both the host OS and the guest OS, but the communication application operates on the host OS and does not go through the guest OS (does not operate on the guest OS). Note that the host OS is a host operating system, and the guest OS is a guest operating system.

[0036] FIG. 2(b) is an example of the software configuration of the information processing device 101 in the case where the host OS running on the information processing device 101 is the Chrome OS. In this embodiment, a virtual Android OS, which is a virtual OS, runs on the Chrome OS. An application for the Android OS runs on the virtual Android OS. In this embodiment, the OS running on the lowest layer of the information processing device 101 is the Chrome OS, and an environment in which the virtual Android OS runs on the Chrome OS is hereinafter referred to as a second environment. In this embodiment, the virtual OS is a program for running an application that is not compatible with the host OS on the host OS, and is a guest OS. The virtual OS may be the entire existing OS such as the Android OS, may be an existing OS with some modules omitted, or may be a program created separately from the existing OS. The virtual OS is realized by a virtualization technology such as a Virtual Machine method or a container method. In the following description, the host OS (Android OS) in the first environment may be called the first OS, and the host OS (Chrome OS) in the second environment may be called the second host OS.

[0037] Problems that arise when an application for Android OS is operated in the second environment are described below. Also, as an example, an example in which the above-mentioned communication application is installed and executed in each of the first environment and the second environment is also described. Note that the communication application is described as an example of a print application that communicates with a communication device 151 having a print function and provides a function for executing printing of data such as documents and images. Also, an application developed in compliance with the Android OS so as to be executed on the Android OS is sometimes called an application for Android.

[0038] In the second environment, when a communication application is operated as an application for Android OS, when a print function of the communication application is executed, the communication application instructs the guest OS to execute display of a file. The communication application also instructs the guest OS of a data format corresponding to the print function. The guest OS that has received an instruction from the communication application transmits an instruction similar to the instruction received from the communication application to the Chrome OS, which is the host OS. As a result, the Chrome OS displays a list of files in a data format corresponding to the print function of the communication application on the screen by an OS filer described later. On the other hand, the Chrome OS may display an interface capable of displaying a file in a data format different from the data format instructed by the communication application, for example. For example, when a user operates the interface and a file in a data format not corresponding to the communication application is displayed, a file in a data format not corresponding to the print function of the communication application may be selected. When a user selects a file in a data format not corresponding to the print function of the communication application and instructs the print function, the communication application cannot properly execute the print function. For example, an error or timeout may occur in the process for executing the print function by the communication application 300. Therefore, even if a file in a data format that is not compatible with the communication application is selected, some measure is required to allow the user to select a file in an appropriate data format.

[0039] An application program operable on an OS in this embodiment causes a computer of an information processing device 101 having a second operating environment on a second host OS and a guest OS to execute the following processes. The program causes a second file management program corresponding to the guest OS to execute a second display control for executing a process for displaying a second file selection screen. When the data format of a file selected on the second file selection screen is not compatible with the functions of the communication app, the program causes a notification to be executed for executing a notification process based on the data format being incompatible with the functions of the communication app. On the other hand, when the data format of a file selected on the second file selection screen is compatible with the functions of the communication app, the program causes a process based on the file selected on the second file selection screen to be executed. With such a program, even when a file of a data format incompatible with the communication app is selected, the user can select a file of an appropriate data format.

[0040] (Configuration of communication application (communication app)) The communication application will be described below. See Fig. 3. Fig. 3 shows the configuration of the communication application stored in the ROM 104, the external storage device 106, etc. of the information processing device 101. The communication application is an application having a printing function for causing the communication device 151, which functions as a printer or a printing device, to print data such as document files and image files in the information processing device 101, as will be described later. The communication application also has a function for importing image data, document data, etc. scanned by the communication device 151 into the information processing device 101.

[0041] The communication application 300 includes an operation reception unit 301, an operating environment determination unit 302, a display control unit 303, an image data acquisition unit 304, an application determination unit 305, a print control unit 306, and the like. Each program module is executed by the CPU 103 to realize each function. In this embodiment, the communication application 300 receives an operation performed on the operation display unit 108 by the operation reception unit 301. The operating environment determination unit 302 determines whether the current operating environment of the communication application 300 is a first environment provided by the Android OS or a second environment provided by a virtual Android OS built on the Chrome OS. This determination can be made based on a response obtained by making an inquiry to the OS, or by referring to a predetermined storage location.

[0042] The display control unit 303 controls the display on the operation display unit 108 by the communication application 300. For example, when the icon of the communication application 300 displayed on the operation display unit 102 of the information processing device 101 is pressed by the user, the display control unit 303 displays a home screen, which will be described later, on the operation display unit 108. In addition, for example, when the communication application 300 acquires a file selected by the user from the second host OS of the information processing device 101 as described later, if the acquired file is not in a predetermined data format, the display control unit 303 performs display control to display a predetermined notification.

[0043] The data acquisition unit 304 acquires data such as document files and image files from the OS of the information processing device 101. The data acquisition unit 304 may also acquire data such as document files and image files from a data provider such as a cloud server. The data acquired by the data acquisition unit 304 is sent to the communication device 151 under the control of the print control unit 306 and printed, or is stored in the external storage device 106 of the information processing device 101.

[0044] The print control unit 305 performs a process of transmitting data to be printed to the connected communication device 151 and printing the data. The print control unit 305 may perform a process of converting the data to be printed into a predetermined data format, for example. The data to be printed is, for example, data acquired by the data acquisition unit 304 from the OS. Alternatively, the data may be data such as a document file or an image file that is saved when the communication application 300 is started. Alternatively, the data may be data acquired from a cloud server or the communication device 151. Alternatively, the data may be data acquired from another data source. In the following, the process described as the process executed by the configuration shown in FIG. 3 and the configuration in the communication application is, to be precise, a process that is realized by the CPU 103 reading the communication application 300 stored in the ROM 104 or the like into the RAM 105 and executing the communication application 300.

[0045] (Communication app display screen) FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a home screen of the communication application 300 in the present embodiment. The home screen of the communication application 300 may be displayed, for example, by a user operating an icon indicating the communication application 300 displayed on the operation display unit 108 of the information processing device 101. The home screen displayed by the communication application 300 displays interfaces 401 to 404 capable of receiving an instruction to execute each function provided by the communication application 300. The communication application 300 in the present embodiment has, for example, a print job transmission function, a scan job transmission function, a copy job transmission function, and the like. The print job transmission function is, for example, a function of transmitting a print job to the printer 121 to cause the communication device 151 to print image data selected by a user on the information processing device 101. The scan job transmission function is, for example, a function of transmitting a scan job to the printer 121 to cause the printer 121 to execute a scan and transmit image data obtained by the scan to the information processing device 101. The copy job transmission function is, for example, a function of transmitting a print job to the printer 121 to cause the communication device 151 to print image data captured by the information processing device 101 .

[0046] The document print button 401 is an interface capable of receiving, for example, an instruction to execute a print job transmission function (document print function) for a document file. When the user presses the document print button 401, the user can select a document file to be printed on the information processing device 101 and perform print settings and an instruction to execute printing.

[0047] The document file is a file in a data format compatible with the print job transmission function. For example, the data format compatible with the document file (the data format that the communication application 300 can print using the document print function) is, for example, a data format compatible with Portable Document Format (hereinafter, PDF), a data format compatible with Microsoft Word, a data format compatible with Microsoft Excel, a data format compatible with Microsoft PowerPoint, etc. Note that the data format is not limited to the above, and other data formats may also be used.

[0048] The photo print button 402 is an interface capable of receiving an instruction to execute, for example, a print job transmission function (photo print function) for an image file. An image file is a file in a data format compatible with the print job transmission function.

[0049] For example, when communication application 300 operates in the first environment, the data format corresponding to the image file may be a data format corresponding to Joint Photographic Experts Group (hereinafter, JPEG), a data format corresponding to Graphics Interchange Format (hereinafter, GIF), a data format corresponding to Portable Network Graphics (hereinafter, PNG), a data format corresponding to Microsoft Windows Bitmap Image (hereinafter, BMP), a data format corresponding to High Efficiency Image File Format (hereinafter, HEIF), etc.

[0050] Furthermore, when the communication application 300 runs on the second OS, the data format corresponding to the image file (the data format that can be printed by the communication application 300 using the photo printing function) is, for example, a data format corresponding to JPEG, a data format corresponding to GIF, a data format corresponding to PNG, a data format corresponding to BMP, etc. Note that the data format is not limited to the above-mentioned ones, and other data formats may also be used.

[0051] The scan button 403 is, for example, an interface capable of accepting execution of the above-mentioned scan job transmission function. The copy button 404 is, for example, an interface capable of accepting an instruction to execute the above-mentioned copy job transmission function. The icon 405 may be, for example, an icon indicating the communication device 151 currently connected to the information processing device 101. The icon 405 may display, for example, identification information (SSID or device name) of the communication device 151 currently connected to the information processing device 101. Note that the display of the home screen of the communication application 300 is not limited to the interface shown in the figure, and other interfaces may be displayed.

[0052] (Communication app processing) Fig. 5 is a flow chart showing an example of an operation executed by the communication application 300 in this embodiment. In this flow chart, the process executed by the communication application 300 is realized, for example, by the CPU 103 expanding a control program stored in a memory such as the ROM 104 into the RAM 105 and executing the program. The process in Fig. 5 may be started, for example, when the user presses a document print button 701 on the home screen displayed by the above-mentioned communication application 300. The process in Fig. 5 will be described below separately for the case where the communication application 300 operates in the first environment and the case where the communication application 300 operates in the second environment.

[0053] (Processing when a communication app runs in the first environment) First, the process when the communication application 300 operates in the first environment will be described.

[0054] In S501, the communication application 300 designates a data format capable of executing the document printing function (a data format that the communication application 300 can print by the document printing function) to the first host OS, and instructs the OS filer to be started. The OS filer started in the first environment is the first OS filer, and the first OS filer is, for example, a first file management application corresponding to the first host OS. Note that, like the host OS, the OS filer is an OS standard program that is pre-installed in the information processing device 101 when the information processing device 101 arrives. In other words, the OS filer is an application that is not installed by a store application that is an application for installing various applications in the information processing device 101 via the Internet. Also, the data format capable of executing the document printing function is, for example, a data format corresponding to PDF, a data format corresponding to Microsoft Word, a data format corresponding to Microsoft Excel, a data format corresponding to Microsoft PowerPoint, and the like, as described above. Note that the first OS filer is displayed in a form that is superimposed on the screen of the communication application 300 on the window displaying the communication application 300. That is, when the first OS filer is displayed, a new separate window is not displayed. In a form in which the first OS filer is displayed in a separate window, when an operation to change the window to be displayed is performed, an operation on the communication application 300 becomes executable even though the first OS filer is in a running state. On the other hand, in a form in which the first OS filer and the communication application 300 are displayed in the same window, even if an operation to change the window to be displayed is performed while the first OS filer is in a running state, the communication application 300 is not operated. However, the present invention is not limited to this form, and the first OS filer may be displayed in a window separate from the communication application 300.

[0055] Here, the processing by the first OS filer started by the processing of S501 will be described. Please refer to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation executed by the first OS filer started by the first OS in this embodiment. In this flow chart, the processing executed by the first OS filer is realized, for example, by CPU 103 expanding a control program stored in a memory such as ROM 104 into RAM 105 and executing it.

[0056] In S601, the first OS filer displays only files in a data format (a data format printable by the communication application 300 using a document print function) corresponding to the document file specified by the communication application 300 in S501 among files stored in the external storage device 106 or the like, so that the files can be selected. That is, in S601, the first OS filer displays files in a data format other than the data format corresponding to the document file so that the files cannot be selected. For example, the first OS filer executes display control to display files in a data format not corresponding to the document file as not accepting the selection of the files. For example, the first OS may hide files in a data format not corresponding to the document file, or may display them in grayscale. Note that the files displayed by the first OS filer are not limited to files stored in the external storage device 106 or the like. For example, the files may be files stored in an external server (not shown) accessible from the information processing device 101. Note that, unlike a screen displayed by a second OS filer described later, an operation for displaying files in a data format other than the data format corresponding to the document file cannot be executed on the screen displayed by the first OS filer. Therefore, a file selected by the user on the file selection screen displayed by the first OS filer is always in a data format that can be printed by the communication application 300 using the document printing function.

[0057] Here, the file selection screen displayed in the processing of S601 will be described. Please refer to Fig. 12. Fig. 12 is an example of a screen (file selection screen 1200) that allows the selection of a file displayed on the operation display unit 102 by the first OS filer in S601. The file selection screen 1200 displays, for example, a file storage location display unit 1201, a file display unit 1202, and the like.

[0058] The file storage location display section 1201 displays information indicating the storage location of the file displayed in the file display section 1202. The file display section 1202 displays, for example, files selectable by the user. As described above, the first OS filer displays only files in a data format corresponding to the document file specified by the communication application 300 in S501 so as to be selectable. Therefore, FIG. 12 shows an example in which a file in a data format corresponding to PDF is displayed in the file display section 1202 by the first OS filer. Note that the files displayed in the file display section 1202 are not limited to PDF files. For example, files in a data format corresponding to Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, etc. may be displayed. The first OS filer waits for the user to select a file on the file selection screen 1200.

[0059] Referring again to FIG. 6, in S602, the first OS filer determines whether or not a file has been selected by the user on the file selection screen 1200. If the first OS filer determines that a file has been selected, the process proceeds to S603. On the other hand, if the first OS filer determines that a file has not been selected, the process proceeds to S604. Specifically, for example, the first OS filer may determine that a file has been selected when an instruction to select any file is received from the user on the file display section 1202. Also, for example, the first OS filer may determine that no file has been selected when an instruction to select any file is not received on the file display section 1202. Note that, on the file selection screen 1200, only one of the multiple files displayed on the file selection screen 1200 can be selected. However, the present invention is not limited to this form, and multiple files may be selectable on the file selection screen 1200.

[0060] In S603, the first OS filer instructs the first host OS to transmit the file selected on the file selection screen 1200 to the communication application 300.

[0061] In S604, the first OS filer determines whether the selection of the file on the file selection screen 1200 has been canceled. If the first OS filer determines that the selection of the file has been canceled, the process proceeds to S605. On the other hand, if the first OS filer determines that the selection of the file has not been canceled, the process proceeds to S602. Specifically, for example, the first OS filer may determine that the selection of the file has been canceled when an operation to return to the previous screen is received while the file selection screen 1200 is being displayed. Also, for example, the first OS filer may determine that the selection of the file has not been canceled when an operation to return to the previous screen is not received.

[0062] In S605, the first OS filer instructs the first OS to transmit a cancellation notification to the communication application 300, indicating that the file selection has been cancelled by the user.

[0063] In S606, the first OS filer executes a termination process for closing the file selection screen 1200 in FIG. 12, and ends the process in FIG.

[0064] Referring again to Fig. 5, in S502, the communication application 300 acquires predetermined information from the first host OS. Specifically, the predetermined information is the file instructed to be transmitted by the first OS filer in S603 of Fig. 6 or the cancellation notification instructed to be transmitted by the first OS filer in S605.

[0065] In S503, the communication application 300 determines whether or not the file has been received from the first host OS. If the communication application 300 has acquired a file from the first host OS in S502, it determines that the file has been received, and proceeds to S504. The file acquired here is the file selected on the file selection screen displayed by the OS filer, and the selected file is identified as the file to be printed. On the other hand, if the communication application 300 has acquired a cancellation notice from the first host OS in S502, it determines that the file has not been received, and ends the processing of FIG. 5.

[0066] In S504, the communication application 300 judges whether it is operating on a specific OS. The specific OS is, for example, a guest OS, and the case where it is judged that the communication application 300 is operating on the specific OS corresponds to the case of the second environment described above. On the other hand, the case where it is judged that the communication application 300 is not operating on the specific OS corresponds to the case of the first environment described above. That is, this judgment corresponds to a process of judging whether the operating environment of the communication application is the second environment (first environment). In S504, for example, the communication application 300 acquires information on the operating environment using the API of the first host OS, and the judgment is made based on the acquired result. Here, it is assumed that the communication application 300 is operating in the first environment. In the following, a case where it is assumed that the communication application 300 is not operating on the specific OS in S504 and the process proceeds to S506 will be described. It is assumed that if the judgment result in S504 is NO, the judgment in S505 described later is not executed. This is because, if the determination result of S504 is NO, the file to be printed is selected from the files displayed by the first OS filer, and the file selected as the file to be printed is necessarily in a data format that can be printed by the communication application 300 using the document printing function.

[0067] In S506, the communication application 300 performs display control to display a preview screen on the home screen of the communication application 300. Here, FIG. 9 is referred to. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a preview screen displayed by the communication application 300. The preview screen displays, for example, a preview portion 901, print page information 902, and a print button 903. The preview portion 901 is an area in which a print preview of a document file selected by a user is displayed. The print page information 902 is, for example, information indicating the number of copies. The print button 903 is an interface capable of receiving an instruction to transmit a print job to the communication device 151 for printing the document file selected by the user by the communication device 151.

[0068] 5 again. In S507, the communications application 300 determines whether or not a print instruction has been received on the preview screen displayed in S506. If the print button 903 has been pressed on the preview screen, the communications application 300 proceeds to S508. On the other hand, if the print button has not been pressed on the preview screen, the communications application 300 repeats the determination of S507.

[0069] In S508, the communication application 300 instructs the communication device 151 to execute printing. Specifically, the communication application 300 transmits a print job for printing the document file selected by the user by the communication device 151 to the communication device 151, and ends the processing in FIG.

[0070] (Processing when a communication app runs in the second environment) Next, a process in which the communication application 300 operates in the second environment will be described.

[0071] In S501, the communication application 300 designates a data format capable of executing a document print function to the guest OS and instructs the OS filer to be started. The guest OS that has received the instruction from the communication application 300 transmits the same instruction as that received from the communication application to the Chrome OS, which is the host OS. As a result, the Chrome OS starts the OS filer. The OS filer started in the second environment is a second OS filer, and the second OS filer is, for example, a second file management application corresponding to the second host OS. In addition, the data format capable of executing the document print function is, for example, a data format corresponding to PDF, a data format corresponding to Microsoft Word, a data format corresponding to Microsoft Excel, a data format corresponding to Microsoft PowerPoint, etc., as described above. Note that the second OS filer is displayed in a window different from the window displaying the communication application 300. In the second environment, the information processing device 101 is capable of displaying multiple windows in parallel. Therefore, by starting the second OS filer, the window displaying the communication application 300 and the window displaying the second OS filer are displayed in parallel. In this manner, when the above two windows are displayed in parallel, control may be performed so that operations on the screen within the window displaying communication application 300 are disabled. This control may be performed by the OS or by communication application 300.

[0072] Here, the processing by the second OS filer started by the processing of S501 will be described. Please refer to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation executed by the second OS filer started by the second host OS as a result of the communication application 300 giving an instruction to the guest OS in this embodiment. In this flowchart, the processing executed by the second OS filer is realized by, for example, CPU 103 expanding a control program stored in a memory such as ROM 104 into RAM 105 and executing it.

[0073] In S701, the second OS filer displays only files (data formats printable by the communication application 300 using the document print function) that are in a data format corresponding to the document file specified by the communication application 300 in S501 among files stored in the external storage device 106 or the like, so that they can be selected. That is, in S701, the second OS filer displays files in a data format other than the data format corresponding to the document file so that they cannot be selected. For example, the second OS filer executes display control to display files in a data format that is not incompatible with the document file as being unacceptable for selection. For example, the second host OS may hide files in a data format that is not incompatible with the document file, or may display them in grayscale. As will be described later, an operation can be executed on the screen displayed by the second OS filer to enable selection of files in a data format other than the data format printable by the communication application 300 using the document print function. When the operation is executed, files in a data format other than the data format printable by the communication application 300 using the document print function are also displayed on the screen displayed by the second OS filer. In the following, FIG. 8(a) shows a screen that is displayed when the operation is not performed, and FIG. 8(b) shows a screen that is displayed after the operation is performed.

[0074] Here, the screen displayed in the processing of S701 will be described. See Fig. 8(a). Fig. 8(a) is an example of a screen (file selection screen 800) that allows the selection of a file displayed on the operation display unit 102 by the second OS filer in S701. The file selection screen 800 displays, for example, a file selection interface 801, a data format interface 802, a cancel button 803, an OK button 804, and the like.

[0075] The file display section 801 displays, for example, files that can be selected by the user. The files displayed on the file display section 801 by the second OS filer may be changed based on, for example, the operation of a data format interface 802 described later. The file display section 801 may display, for example, an interface capable of accepting an instruction to select a file, a file name, information indicating the size of the file, information indicating the data format of the file, and the like. It is assumed that the file initially displayed on the file display section 801 is a file in any one of the data formats corresponding to the document file specified by the communication application 300 in S501. When the user wants to change the file displayed on the file display section 801, the user operates the data format interface 802 as described below.

[0076] The data format interface 802 is, for example, an interface capable of receiving an instruction to select the data format of a file to be displayed on the file display section 801. In this example, the data format interface 802 is operated by a user, and an item (PDF document) that displays a file in a data format corresponding to PDF is selected. Then, an example is shown in which a file in a data format corresponding to PDF is displayed on the file display section 801 by a second OS filer. The data format interface 802 displayed by the second OS filer is not limited to an item that displays a PDF file. For example, an item that displays a file in a data format corresponding to Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, etc. may be selectable.

[0077] The cancel button 803 is, for example, an interface capable of receiving an instruction to cancel file selection. The OK button 804 is, for example, an interface capable of receiving an instruction to confirm file selection.

[0078] Next, FIG. 8(b) is referred to. FIG. 8(b) shows an example of a file selection screen 800 displayed by the second OS filer. The file selection screen 800 shown in FIG. 8(b) is displayed when, for example, the data format interface 802 in FIG. 8(a) is operated by the user and an item (ALL Files) displaying files of all data formats is selected. That is, the data format interface 802 displayed by the second OS filer allows the selection of an item displaying files of all data formats in addition to an item displaying files of a data format corresponding to a document file. The file item of all data formats may be, for example, all files stored in the external storage device 106 or the like, or may be all files stored in an external server (not shown) accessible from the information processing device 101.

[0079] The file display section 806 in Fig. 8(b) shows an example of files displayed when the user selects ALL Files in the data format interface 802. When the user selects ALL Files, for example, files in a data format that does not correspond to document files may also be displayed in the file display section 806. Fig. 8(b) shows an example in which a JPEG format file 807 is displayed in the file display section 801 as a file in a data format that does not correspond to document files.

[0080] Referring again to FIG. 7, in S702, the second OS filer determines whether or not a file has been selected by the user on the file selection screen 800 of FIG. 8. If the second OS filer determines that a file has been selected, the process proceeds to S703. On the other hand, if the second OS filer determines that a file has not been selected, the process proceeds to S704. Specifically, for example, the second OS filer may determine that a file has been selected when it receives an instruction to select a file from the user on the file display section 801 of the file selection screen 800 and receives an instruction to confirm the file selection with the OK button 801. Also, for example, the second OS filer may determine that a file has not been selected when it does not receive an instruction to confirm the file selection with the OK button 801 on the file selection screen 800.

[0081] In S703, the second OS filer instructs the second host OS to transmit the file selected on the file selection screen 800 to the communication application 300. The second host OS executes an instruction to the guest OS similar to the instruction received from the second OS filer. As a result, the guest OS transmits the file selected on the file selection screen 800 to the communication application.

[0082] In S704, the second OS filer determines whether the data format of the file displayed on the file selection screen 800 has changed. If the second OS filer determines that the data format has changed, the process proceeds to S706. On the other hand, if the second OS filer determines that the data format has not changed, the process proceeds to S706. Specifically, when the user operates the data format interface 802 and selects an item with a data format different from the data format of the file displayed in the file display section 801, the data format may be determined to have changed. On the other hand, when the data format interface 802 has not been operated by the user, the second OS filer may determine that the data format has not changed.

[0083] In S705, the second OS filer displays files of the data format selected by the user in the data format interface 802 on the file selection screen 800. For example, in Fig. 8(a), if the user changes the item from PDF document to ALL Files in the data format interface 802, a screen like that in Fig. 8(b) is displayed by the processing of S705.

[0084] 6, the description of the process of S706 will be omitted. In S707, the second OS filer instructs the second host OS to send a cancellation notification to the communication application 300, indicating that the file selection has been canceled by the user. The second host OS executes an instruction to the guest OS similar to the instruction received from the second OS filer. As a result, the guest OS sends a cancellation notification to the communication application 300.

[0085] In S708, the second OS filer executes a termination process for closing the file selection screen 800, and ends the process of FIG.

[0086] Referring again to Fig. 5, in S502, the communication application 300 acquires predetermined information from the guest OS. Specifically, the predetermined information is the file instructed to be transmitted by the second OS filer in S703 of Fig. 7 described above, or the cancellation notification instructed to be transmitted by the second OS filer in S706.

[0087] In S503, the communication application 300 determines whether or not the file has been received from the guest OS. If the communication application 300 has acquired a file from the guest OS in S502, it determines that the file has been received, and proceeds to S504. The file acquired here is the file selected on the file selection screen displayed by the OS filer, and the selected file is identified as the file to be printed. On the other hand, if the communication application 300 has acquired a cancellation notice from the guest OS in S502, it determines that the file has not been received, and ends the processing of FIG. 5.

[0088] In S504, the communication application 300 judges whether or not it is running on a predetermined OS. In S504, for example, the communication application 300 acquires information on the operating environment using the API of the guest OS, and the judgment is made based on the acquired result. The judgment in this process is similar to the judgment described above, and therefore the explanation is omitted. Note that, since it is assumed here that the communication application 300 is running in the second environment, the case where the communication application 300 judges in S504 that it is running on a predetermined OS and the process proceeds to S505 will be explained.

[0089] In S505, the communications application 300 determines whether the file acquired from the guest OS in S502 is in a data format that can be printed by the communications application 300 using the document printing function. If the communications application 300 determines that the data format is printable by the document printing function, the process proceeds to S505. On the other hand, if the communications application 300 determines that the data format is not printable by the document printing function, the process proceeds to S509. Specifically, the communications application 300 determines whether the data format is compatible with a document file based on the extension of the file acquired from the second OS.

[0090] The processes from S506 to S508 are similar to those when the communication application 300 operates in the first environment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0091] In S509, the communication application 300 performs a predetermined notification process based on the determination result in S508. The predetermined notification process is a notification process that indicates a data format corresponding to a document file. Specifically, in S509, the communication application 300 displays a predetermined interface on the home screen of the operation display unit 102. Here, FIG. 10 is referred to. FIG. 10 shows an example of a predetermined interface 1000 displayed by the communication application 300 in S509. In the interface 1000, for example, a notification 1001, a cancel button 1002, a next button 1003, and the like are displayed. The notification 1001 is a notification that indicates a data format of a printable file. In the notification 1001, for example, a data format corresponding to a text file is displayed. The cancel button 1002 is, for example, an interface that can accept an instruction to stop execution of a document print function. The next button 1003 is, for example, an interface that can accept an instruction to reselect a file. In this way, even if a file in a data format that is not compatible with the communication application 300 is selected, the notification 1001 allows the user to select a file in an appropriate data format. Furthermore, the next button 1003 allows the user to select a file again, even if a file in a data format that is not compatible with the communication application 300 is selected. Furthermore, the notification 1001 allows the user to recognize the data format of a document file that can execute the print job transmission function.

[0092] In S510, the communication application 300 determines whether or not an instruction to reselect a file has been received. If the communication application 300 determines that an instruction to reselect a file has been received, the process proceeds to S501 again. On the other hand, if the communication application 300 determines that an instruction to reselect a file has not been received, the process proceeds to S511. Specifically, if the user presses the Next button 1003 on the interface 1000 shown in FIG. 10, the communication application 300 determines that an instruction to reselect a file has been received. On the other hand, if the user presses the Cancel button 1002 or if the user does not perform any operation, the communication application 300 determines that an instruction to reselect a file has not been received.

[0093] In S511, the communication application 300 determines whether or not a cancel instruction has been received. If the communication application 300 determines that a cancel instruction has been received, the process of FIG. 5 ends. On the other hand, if the communication application 300 determines that a cancel instruction has not been received, the process proceeds to S510. Specifically, if the user presses the cancel button 1002 in the interface shown in FIG. 10, the communication application 300 determines that a cancel instruction has been received. On the other hand, if no operation is performed by the user, the communication application 300 determines that a cancel instruction has not been received. That is, in S511, it is determined whether or not to stop the execution of the document print function.

[0094] As described above, in this embodiment, when the communication application 300 operates in the second environment, a file in a data format that is not compatible with the print job transmission function of the document file may be selected by the user. When a file in a data format that is not compatible with the print job transmission function of the document file is selected by the user, the communication application 300 issues a notification indicating selectable data formats of the document file. Even if a file in a data format that is not compatible with the communication application 300 is selected by such a notification, the notification 1001 allows the user to select a file in an appropriate data format.

[0095] In this embodiment, the communication application 300 can execute a photo print function as a print function other than the document print function, as described above. The photo print function is executed based on the user pressing the photo print button 402 on the home screen. In this embodiment, the data format that the communication application 300 can print using the document print function is different from the data format that the communication application 300 can print using the photo print function. In addition, in this embodiment, the items that can be set on the print setting screen displayed by the communication application 300 in the document print function are different from the items that can be set on the print setting screen displayed by the communication application 300 in the photo print function. Specifically, for example, the items that can be set on the print setting screen displayed by the communication application 300 in the photo print function include items related to borderless printing and items related to sharpness. On the other hand, the items that can be set on the print setting screen displayed by the communication application 300 in the document print function do not include items related to borderless printing and items related to sharpness. Then, when the document print button 401 is pressed, a file selection screen for selecting a file to be printed in the document print function is displayed. The file selection screen displayed here may also be displayed by the OS filer. Therefore, the process characteristic of this embodiment (the process corresponding to the process in FIG. 5) may be executed based on the user pressing the photo print button 402 on the home screen. That is, in the above description, the case where the process in FIG. 5 is executed based on the user pressing the document print button 401 on the home screen has been described as an example, but the case where the process corresponding to the process in FIG. 5 is executed is not limited to this. Specifically, when the photo print button 402 is pressed, the communication application 300 may specify a data format corresponding to the image file (a data format that the communication application 300 can print using a photo print function) to the first host OS or guest OS in S501.

[0096] In the present embodiment, when the communication application 300 operates in the second environment, an example has been described in which it is determined whether or not the file selected by the user corresponds to the data format of a document file, but it may also be determined whether or not it corresponds to an image file (S505). For example, when a file of a data format that is not compatible with an image file is selected by the user, the communication application 300 may notify the user that a file of a data format that is not compatible with an image file has been selected (S509). Note that the process executed when the photo print button 402 is pressed is not limited to this form. For example, the OS filer started in the photo print function may be a filer that does not display any files of a data format other than the data format that the communication application 300 can print by the photo print function. That is, in the file selection screen displayed by the OS filer started in the photo print function, a file of a data format that the communication application 300 can print by the photo print function may always be selected. In this form, the determination corresponding to S505 may not be executed.

[0097] Second embodiment The second embodiment will be described below with respect to the differences from the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, when the communication application 300 operates in the second environment, if it is determined that the file selected by the user has a data format that does not support the print job transmission function for document files (the document printing function described above), the interface 1000 in Fig. 10 is displayed. In this embodiment, a case will be described where the file selected by the user has a data format that does not support the print job transmission function for document files, but has a data format that supports the print job transmission function for image files (the photo printing function described above).

[0098] Hereinafter, a case where the communication application 300 in this embodiment operates in the second environment will be described. In the process of Fig. 5 in this embodiment, if the communication application 300 determines in S505 that the file selected by the user is not a file capable of executing the print job transmission function of a document file, the communication application 300 may perform the following determination.

[0099] For example, the communication application 300 may determine whether the file selected by the user is in a data format capable of executing the print job transmission function of an image file. Specifically, the communication application 300 may perform the determination based on the extension of the file selected by the user. The data format capable of executing the print job transmission function of an image file is, as described above, a data format corresponding to JPEG, a data format corresponding to GIF, a data format corresponding to PNG, a data format corresponding to BMP, and the like. When the communication application 300 determines that the data format is not capable of executing the print job transmission function of an image file, the process proceeds to S509, and the interface 1000 of FIG. 10 described above may be displayed on the home screen. On the other hand, when the communication application 300 determines that the data format is capable of executing the print job transmission function of an image file, the communication application 300 may perform a notification process indicating that the file selected by the user is an image file. The notification process in this embodiment will be described below.

[0100] Please refer to Fig. 11. Fig. 11 is a diagram for explaining the notification process executed by the communication application 300 in this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 11, the home screen of the communication application 300 displays a notification as an interface 1011 capable of executing a print job transmission function for an image file. The interface 1011 displays a notification 1012, a document print button 1013, a photo print button 1014, a cancel button 1015, and the like.

[0101] The notification 1012 includes, for example, a notification indicating that the file selected by the user is an image file and not a document file, and a notification indicating a data format corresponding to a print job transmission function of the document file. In this way, by notifying the notification 1012 on the home screen, the user can recognize that the selected file is a file corresponding to photo printing. In addition, the user can recognize a data format that can execute the print job transmission function of the document file. In other words, the convenience when the user uses the communication application 300 can be improved.

[0102] The document print button 1013 is an interface capable of receiving an instruction to reselect a file. For example, when the document print button 1013 is pressed by a user, the communication application 300 may execute the process of S501. In other words, the document print button 1013 can be said to be a button for starting the second OS filer again in order to execute the print job transmission function of the document file.

[0103] The photo print button 1014 is an interface capable of receiving an instruction to display a print preview of an image file selected by the user. For example, when the photo print button 1013 is pressed by the user, the communication application 300 may execute the process of S501 or may execute the process of S506. The cancel button 1015 is similar to the cancel button 1002 in FIG. 10 described above, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0104] As described above, according to this embodiment, when a file selected by a user has a data format that is not compatible with the print job transmission function for document files, but is compatible with the print job transmission function for image files, an interface capable of executing the print job transmission function for image files is displayed. This allows the user to recognize that the selected file is compatible with photo printing, even if the user selects a file with a data format that is not compatible with the print job transmission function for document files, thereby improving convenience.

[0105] 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.

[0106] The disclosure of the present embodiment includes the following system, image forming apparatus, information processing apparatus, method, and program. (Item 1) A program that can run on an operating system (OS), A computer of a first information processing apparatus having a first operating environment on a first OS that operates as a host OS but not on a guest OS, a first display control step of executing a process for causing a first file management program corresponding to the first OS to display a first file selection screen; a first processing step of executing a predetermined process based on a file selected on the first file selection screen; Run the command, A computer of a second information processing apparatus having a second operating environment on a second OS operating as the host OS and on the guest OS, a second display control step of executing a process for causing a second file management program corresponding to the second OS to display a second file selection screen; a notification step of executing a predetermined notification process based on the fact that the data format of the file selected on the second file selection screen is not a predetermined data format when the data format of the file selected on the second file selection screen is not the predetermined data format; a second processing step of executing a process based on the file selected on the second file selection screen when the data format of the file selected on the second file selection screen is the predetermined data format; A program characterized by executing the above. (Item 2) The program is a process for causing the first file management program to display the first file selection screen in the first display control step, the process comprising: specifying the predetermined data format; In the first display control step, On the first file selection screen, files having a data format other than the predetermined data format are displayed so as not to be selectable. 2. The program according to item 1, (Item 3) In the second display control step, On the second file selection screen, files in a data format other than the predetermined data format are also displayed so as to be selectable. 3. The program according to item 2, (Item 4) The program is a process for causing the second file management program to display the second file selection screen in the second display control step, the process comprising: specifying the predetermined data format; In the second display control step, Based on the execution of the process, only files having at least one of the specified data formats are displayed on the second file selection screen, When a predetermined operation is performed on the second file selection screen, files in a data format other than the predetermined data format are also displayed in a selectable manner on the second file selection screen. 4. The program according to item 3, (Item 5) The predetermined notification process includes: A notification process indicating the predetermined data format. 5. The program according to any one of items 1 to 4. (Item 6) The predetermined notification process includes: A notification process for allowing the user to select a file again on the second file selection screen. 6. The program according to item 5, (Item 7) If the file selected on the second file selection screen is not in the predetermined data format but is in a data format corresponding to a predetermined function of the program, The predetermined notification process includes: A notification process for notifying the predetermined function as an executable interface. 7. The program according to item 5 or 6, (Item 8) When an interface capable of executing the predetermined function is operated, a preview screen for printing the file selected on the second file selection screen by the predetermined function is displayed. 8. The program according to item 7, (Item 9) The process based on the file selected on the first file selection screen includes: A process of displaying a preview screen for printing the file selected on the first file selection screen. 9. The program according to any one of items 1 to 8, (Item 10) The process based on the file selected on the second file selection screen includes: A process of displaying a preview screen for printing the file selected on the second file selection screen. 10. The program according to item 9, (Item 11) In the second operating environment, it is determined whether or not the data format of the file selected on the second file selection screen is a predetermined data format. In the first operating environment, it is not determined whether or not the data format of the file selected on the first file selection screen is a predetermined data format. 11. The program according to any one of items 1 to 10. (Item 12) The host OS in the first operating environment is an Android OS, the host OS in the second operating environment is a Chrome OS, and the guest OS in the second operating environment is a virtual Android OS. 12. The program according to any one of items 1 to 11, (Item 13) further executing a determination step of determining whether the environment in which the program is operating is the second operating environment; Whether or not the predetermined notification process is executed is controlled based on a result of the determination in the determination step. 13. The program according to item 12, (Item 14) The predetermined data format is At least one of the following data formats is included: a data format compatible with Portable Document Format (PDF), a data format compatible with Microsoft Word, a data format compatible with Microsoft Excel, and a data format compatible with Microsoft PowerPoint. 14. The program according to any one of items 1 to 13, (Item 15) The data format corresponding to the predetermined function of the program is In the second environment, at least one of the following data formats is included: a data format compatible with Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), a data format compatible with Graphics Interchange Format (GIF), a data format compatible with Portable Network Graphics (PNG), or a data format compatible with Microsoft Windows Bitmap Image (BMP); 15. The program according to any one of items 1 to 14.

[0107] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are appended to apprise the public of the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0108] 101 Information processing devices, 151 Communication devices, 300 Communication applications

Claims

1. A program operable on an operating system (OS), A computer of a first information processing apparatus having a first operating environment on a first OS that operates as a host OS but not on a guest OS, a first display control step of executing a process for causing a first file management program corresponding to the first OS to display a first file selection screen; a first processing step of executing a predetermined process based on a file selected on the first file selection screen; Run the command, a computer of a second information processing apparatus having a second operating environment on the second OS operating as the host OS and on the guest OS; a second display control step of executing a process for causing a second file management program corresponding to the second OS to display a second file selection screen; a notification step of executing a predetermined notification process based on the fact that the data format of the file selected on the second file selection screen is not a predetermined data format when the data format of the file selected on the second file selection screen is not the predetermined data format; a second processing step of executing a process based on the file selected on the second file selection screen when the data format of the file selected on the second file selection screen is the predetermined data format; A program characterized by executing the above.

2. The program is a process for causing the first file management program to display the first file selection screen in the first display control step, the process comprising: specifying the predetermined data format; In the first display control step, On the first file selection screen, files having a data format other than the predetermined data format are displayed so as not to be selectable.

2. The program according to claim 1 .

3. In the second display control step, on the second file selection screen, files in a data format other than the predetermined data format are also displayed so as to be selectable; 3. The program according to claim 2 .

4. The program is a process for causing the second file management program to display the second file selection screen in the second display control step, the process comprising: specifying the predetermined data format; In the second display control step, Based on the execution of the process, only files having at least one of the specified data formats are displayed on the second file selection screen, When a predetermined operation is performed on the second file selection screen, files in a data format other than the predetermined data format are also displayed in a selectable manner on the second file selection screen.

4. The program according to claim 3.

5. The predetermined notification process includes: A notification process indicating the predetermined data format.

5. The program according to claim 4.

6. The predetermined notification process includes: A notification process for allowing the user to select a file again on the second file selection screen.

6. The program according to claim 5 .

7. If the file selected on the second file selection screen is not in the predetermined data format but is in a data format corresponding to a predetermined function of the program, The predetermined notification process includes: A notification process for notifying the predetermined function as an executable interface.

6. The program according to claim 5 .

8. When an interface capable of executing the predetermined function is operated, a preview screen for printing the file selected on the second file selection screen by the predetermined function is displayed.

8. The program according to claim 7 .

9. The process based on the file selected on the first file selection screen includes: A process of displaying a preview screen for printing the file selected on the first file selection screen.

2. The program according to claim 1 .

10. The process based on the file selected on the second file selection screen includes: a process of displaying a preview screen for printing the file selected on the second file selection screen; 10. The program according to claim 9 .

11. In the second operating environment, it is determined whether or not the data format of the file selected on the second file selection screen is a predetermined data format. In the first operating environment, it is not determined whether or not the data format of the file selected on the first file selection screen is a predetermined data format.

2. The program according to claim 1 .

12. The host OS in the first operating environment is an Android OS, the host OS in the second operating environment is a Chrome OS, and the guest OS in the second operating environment is a virtual Android OS.

2. The program according to claim 1 .

13. further executing a determination step of determining whether the environment in which the program is operating is the second operating environment; Whether or not the predetermined notification process is executed is controlled based on a result of the determination in the determination step.

13. The program according to claim 12 .

14. The predetermined data format is At least one of a data format corresponding to Portable Document Format (PDF), a data format corresponding to Microsoft Word, a data format corresponding to Microsoft Excel, and a data format corresponding to Microsoft PowerPoint is included.

2. The program according to claim 1 .

15. The data format corresponding to the predetermined function of the program is In the case of the second environment, at least one of a data format corresponding to Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), a data format corresponding to Graphics Interchange Format (GIF), a data format corresponding to Portable Network Graphics (PNG), and a data format corresponding to Microsoft Windows Bitmap Image (BMP) is included.

8. The program according to claim 7 .

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