Information processing method and program

Abstract

To enhance the convenience of a printer driver.SOLUTION: When installing a printer driver 113 composed of multiple files into an administrator information processing apparatus 110, an installation unit 120 stores, among the multiple files, installation driver information 114 necessary for enabling the printer to be used with the administrator information processing apparatus 110, and separately stores temporary saving information 115 being the file different from the installation driver information 114, among the multiple files as distinguished from the installation driver information 114. A package creation unit 122 generates an installation package including the installation driver information 114 and the temporary saving information 115 for executing installation on a general user information processing apparatus.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing method and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, a technique has been known in which a printer driver is installed in an information processing device using an installer in order to enable printing with a printer (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-148853 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, for example, an administrator needs a downloaded printer driver to generate an installer to distribute to general users, which creates problems in terms of convenience, such as the hassle of managing downloaded printer drivers.

[0005] Therefore, one or more aspects of the present disclosure aim to improve the convenience of printer drivers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An information processing method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is characterized in that, when an installation unit installs a printer driver consisting of multiple files on a first device, the installation unit stores a first file from among the multiple files that is necessary to enable the printer to be used on the first device, and stores a second file from the multiple files that is different from the first file separately from the first file, and a package creation unit generates an installation package that includes the first file and the second file and is used to perform installation on a second device that is different from the first device.

[0007] A program according to one aspect of the present disclosure causes a computer to function as a storage unit and an installation unit that, when installing a printer driver consisting of multiple files on the computer, stores in the storage unit a first file among the multiple files that is necessary to enable the printer to be used on the computer, and stores in the storage unit a second file among the multiple files that is different from the first file, separately from the first file; the first file includes information indicating the location where the second file is to be stored, and the installation unit stores the second file in the location in the storage unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the convenience of the printer driver can be improved. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a management system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an information processing device for an administrator. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a printer driver. [Figure 4]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a configuration file. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a selection screen. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a package configuration file. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a PC. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing device for general users. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an operation of installing a printer driver in an information processing device for an administrator. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an operation of the administrator information processing device to generate an installation package. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an operation in which an information processing device for general users executes an installation package to install a printer driver. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a management system 100 according to an embodiment. The management system 100 includes a printer 101, a server 102, an administrator information processing device 110, and one or more general user information processing devices 130. The administrator information processing device 110 is also referred to as a first device, and the general user information processing device 130 is also referred to as a second device. The printer 101 , the server 102 , the information processing device for administrator 110 , and one or more information processing devices for general users 130 are connected to a network 103 .

[0011] The printer 101 prints an image on a medium such as paper. The printing method of the printer 101 may be any of electrophotographic, inkjet, thermal, thermal transfer, and dot impact methods.

[0012] The server 102 is a storage device that stores a printer driver for executing printing using the printer 101 and an installer, which is a program for installing the printer driver. In response to a request from another device such as the administrator information processing device 110, the server 102 transmits the printer driver and installer to that device.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the administrator information processing device 110. As shown in FIG. The administrator information processing device 110 includes a storage unit 111 , a control unit 118 , a communication unit 124 , a display unit 125 , and an input unit 126 .

[0014] The storage unit 111 stores management information 112, a printer driver 113, installation driver information 114, temporary save information 115, and an installation package 116. As will be described later, the install driver information 114, the temporary save information 115, and the install package 116 are information generated by processing in the administrator information processing device 110.

[0015] The control unit 118 includes an OS (Operation System) unit 119 , an installation unit 120 , a driver unit 121 , and a package creation unit 122 . As will be described later, the installation unit 120, the driver unit 121, and the package creation unit 122 are function blocks that are generated by processing in the administrator information processing device 110.

[0016] The management information 112 is information necessary for the OS section 119 to perform basic operations on the administrator information processing device 110 , and is managed by the OS section 119 . The management information 112 includes CPU type information indicating the type of CPU (Central Processing Unit) of the administrator information processing device 110, language information indicating the language used in the administrator information processing device 110, and the like.

[0017] The printer driver 113 is a program for using the printer 101 . For example, the printer driver 113 is downloaded from the server 102 shown in FIG.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the printer driver 113. The printer driver 113 includes a common file 113a, a language-specific file 113b, a CPU-specific file 113c, and a configuration file 113d. The common file 113a is a file that is commonly used and does not depend on the environment of the device in which the printer driver 113 is installed. An example of the common file 113a is a resource module that configures the screen layout.

[0019] The language-specific files 113b are files prepared for each language used in the device on which the printer driver 113 is installed. An example of the language-specific files 113b is a resource module that configures character string information to be displayed on the screen. The language-specific files included in the language-specific files 113b are selectively installed according to the language used in the device on which the printer driver 113 is installed.

[0020] The CPU-specific files 113c are files that depend on the CPU of the device on which the printer driver 113 is installed. An example of the CPU-specific files 113c is a print processing module that operates only on a 32-bit CPU or a 64-bit CPU. The CPU-specific files included in the CPU-specific files 113c are selectively installed depending on the CPU used in the device on which the driver is installed.

[0021] Configuration file 113d includes configuration information indicating the files required to configure the printer driver, and temporary save destination information for files that are no longer needed when printer driver 113 is installed on a device. When printer driver 113 is installed on a device, only the files appropriate for the device's environment are installed, so the temporary save destination information defines the location where files not used during installation are saved. The save destination may be a local directory of the device or the registry.

[0022] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration file 113d. As shown in FIG. 4, the configuration file 113d contains configuration information and temporary save destination information for the printer driver 113.

[0023] 2, the install driver information 114 is information including files and the like necessary for installing the printer driver 113 in the administrator information processing device 110 and for the installed program to function as a driver. Here, all files necessary for the driver unit 121 (described later) to function as a driver for the printer 101 are stored in the storage unit 111 as the install driver information 114. The install driver information 114 is information managed by the OS unit 119, which will be described later. Note that the configuration file shown in FIG.

[0024] The temporary save information 115 is information that includes at least files of the printer driver 113 that were not installed as the install driver information 114. Note that the temporary save information 115 may be the printer driver 113 itself. Here, the temporary save information 115 is not information required when the administrator information processing device 110 causes the printer 101 to perform printing, and therefore does not need to be managed by the OS unit 119 .

[0025] The installation package 116 is a program created by the package creation unit 122 (described later) for installing the driver for the printer 101 on the information processing device for general users 130 in the manner desired by the administrator of the information processing device for administrator 110.

[0026] The control unit 118 controls the processing in the information processing device for administrator 110 . The OS unit 119 is a functional block formed by installing system software that controls the operation of the administrator information processing device 110. The OS unit 119 manages the operation of the administrator information processing device 110 using management information 112.

[0027] The installation unit 120 is a functional block formed by executing an installer for installing the printer driver 113 . Here, the OS unit 119 downloads an installer from the server 102 via the communication unit 124 and executes the installer, thereby forming the installation unit 120 .

[0028] When installing the printer driver 113, which is made up of a plurality of files, on the administrator information processing device 110, the installation unit 120 stores a first file, which is a file necessary for enabling the printer 101 to be used on the administrator information processing device 110, among the plurality of files. Here, the installation unit 120 stores the first file in the storage unit 111 as installation driver information 114. Furthermore, when installing the printer driver 113 in the administrator information processing device 110, the installer 120 stores a second file, which is different from the first file, among the multiple files that make up the printer driver 113, separately from the first file. Here, the installer 120 stores the second file in the storage unit 111 as temporary save information 115. The second file is the remaining file, excluding the first file, among the multiple files that make up the printer driver 113.

[0029] Here, as explained using Figure 4, the first file contains information indicating the location where the second file is to be stored, and the installation unit 120 simply stores the second file in that location in the administrator information processing device 110. The installer 120 stores the first file and the second file in association with the print queue when the printer 101 is used.

[0030] The driver unit 121 is a functional block formed when the installer 120 installs the printer driver 113 . When the driver unit 121 is installed or started up, it associates the settings required for printing with the printer 101 with the print queue and stores them in the installed driver information 114 or the management information 112. Here, the print queue is used as identification information for identifying the printer driver 113 to be installed in the general user information processing device 130 and the settings.

[0031] The package creation unit 122 creates an installation package 116, which is a program for installing the driver for the printer 101 in the general user information processing device 130 in a manner desired by the administrator of the administrator information processing device 110. The created installation package 116 is stored in the storage unit 111 and transmitted to the general user information processing device 130 via the communication unit 124.

[0032] For example, the package creation unit 122 generates an installation package that includes the installation driver information 114 and the temporary save information 115 and is used to perform installation on the general user information processing device 130 .

[0033] Furthermore, the package creation unit 122 acquires the content set in association with the print queue in order to use the printer 101, and includes print queue information indicating the acquired content in the installation package. Here, it is desirable that the package creation unit 122 be able to select the content to be included in the print queue information from a plurality of contents set in association with the print queue.

[0034] Specifically, when the package creation unit 122 receives an instruction to create an installation package via the input unit 126, it displays, for example, a selection screen 104 as shown in FIG. 5 on the display unit 125 and accepts the selection of the contents set in the administrator information processing device 110 to be handed over to the general user information processing device 130.

[0035] The selection screen 104 includes, for example, a printer name selection checkbox 104a, a port selection checkbox 104b, a print setting value selection checkbox 104c, a device option selection checkbox 104d, a tray number selection radio button 104e, a double-sided printing selection radio button 104f, and a create execution button 104g.

[0036] The printer name selection check box 104a is a selection field that is checked when the print queue name used in the information processing device for administrator 110 is to be reflected in the information processing device for general users 130 as well. The port selection check box 104b is a selection field to be checked when the port name used in the information processing device for administrator 110 is to be reflected in the information processing device for general users 130 as well. The print setting value selection check box 104c is a selection field to be checked when the print setting values used in the information processing device for administrator 110 are to be reflected in the information processing device for general users 130 as well. The device option selection check box 104d is a selection field to be checked when the setting value of an option used in the information processing device for administrator 110 is to be reflected in the information processing device for general users 130 as well. The tray number selection radio button 104e is a selection field to be checked when the number of trays used in the information processing device for administrator 110 is to be reflected in the information processing device for general users 130 as well. The double-sided printing selection radio button 104f is a selection field that is checked when the double-sided printing setting values used in the information processing device for administrator 110 are to be reflected in the information processing device for general users 130 as well. The create execution button 104g is a button for instructing the start of creation of a printer driver installation package with the content selected on the selection screen 104.

[0037] 5, the settings reflect the printer name, connection port name, device options, and number of trays among the information associated with the print queue installed in the administrator information processing device 110. Conversely, the print setting values and double-sided printing are set to the defaults of the printer driver 113 or depend on the general user information processing device 130.

[0038] According to the selections made on the selection screen 104, a package configuration file to be included in the installation package 116 is generated. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a package configuration file. The package configuration file 105 shown in FIG. 6 has a format in which the printer name is recorded in the section and each item is recorded in the key.

[0039] Specific examples of keys include a Printer key for printer name information, a PortName key for connection port information, a PrinterSetting key for print setting value information, and a DeviceOption key for device option information. Each key value also records three items: whether or not to reflect the installation information of the administrator's information processing device 110, the setting value or information storage location, and supplementary information.

[0040] In the print queue for Printer1, the printer name is set to be reflected (name is PrinterA), the connection port is set to be reflected (port is 192.168.100.100), the print setting values are set to not be reflected, and the device options are set to be reflected (target is the number of trays, information storage location is the registry path shown).

[0041] Similarly, in the print queue for Printer2, the printer name is set to be reflected (the name is PrinterB), the connection port is set to be reflected (the port is 192.168.100.101), the print setting values are set to be reflected (the information storage location is the path shown), and the device options are set not to be reflected (the information for Printer 101 is reflected).

[0042] As a result of the above, the package creation unit 122 can use the installation driver information 114 and the temporary save information 115 to perform installation on the general user information processing device 130, and can include an installer in the installation package that sets the contents indicated in the print queue information on the general user information processing device 130.

[0043] The package creation unit 122 may generate an installation package when the input unit 126 receives the selection of a print queue.

[0044] Returning to FIG. 2, the display unit 125 displays various screens. The input unit 126 accepts input of instructions.

[0045] The above-described information processing device for administrator 110 can be realized by a computer such as the PC 10 shown in FIG. The PC 10 includes storage 11 such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and an SSD (Solid State Drive), memory 12, a processor 13 such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a communication I / F (Interface) 14 such as a NIC (Network Interface Card), an input I / F 15 such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a display 16.

[0046] For example, the storage unit 111 can be realized by the processor 13 using the storage 11 or the memory 12. The control unit 118 can be realized by loading a program stored in the storage 11 into the memory 12 and having the processor 13 execute the program. The communication unit 124 can be realized by the communication I / F 14 . The input unit 126 can be realized by the input I / F 15 . The display unit 125 can be realized by the display 16 .

[0047] The program may be downloaded to the storage 11 from a recording medium (not shown) via a reader / writer (not shown) or from the network 103 via the communication I / F 14, and then loaded onto the memory 12 and executed by the processor 13. Alternatively, the program may be directly loaded onto the memory 12 from a recording medium via the reader / writer or from the network 103 via the communication I / F 14, and then executed by the processor 13. In other words, the program may be provided by a program product such as a recording medium.

[0048] FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the general user information processing device 130. As shown in FIG. The general user information processing device 130 includes a storage unit 131 , a control unit 135 , a communication unit 141 , a display unit 142 , and an input unit 143 .

[0049] The storage unit 131 stores management information 132, an installation package 116, and installation driver information 133. As will be described later, the install driver information 133 is information generated by processing in the general user information processing device 130.

[0050] The control unit 135 includes an OS unit 136 , a package execution unit 137 , an installation unit 138 , and a driver unit 139 . As will be described later, the driver unit 139 is a functional block generated by processing in the general user information processing device 130.

[0051] The management information 132 is information necessary for the OS unit 136 to perform basic operations on the general user information processing device 130 .

[0052] The installation package 116 is a program created for installing the driver for the printer 101 in the general user information processing device 130 in a manner desired by the administrator of the administrator information processing device 110. Here, it is assumed that the OS unit 136 receives the installation package 116 from the administrator information processing device 110 via the communication unit 141 and stores it in the storage unit 131.

[0053] The install driver information 133 is information including files and the like necessary for installing a printer driver in the general user information processing device 130 based on the install package 116 and for the installed program to function as a driver. Here, the install package 116 specifies the contents of the information set in the administrator information processing device 110 to be handed over to the general user information processing device 130, and therefore such contents are reflected in the install driver information 133 and the management information 132.

[0054] The control unit 135 controls the processing in the general user information processing device 130 . The OS unit 136 is a functional block formed by installing system software that controls the operation of the general user information processing device 130. The OS unit 136 uses the management information 132 to manage the operation of the general user information processing device 130.

[0055] The package execution unit 137 is a functional block formed by executing the installation package 116 .

[0056] The installation unit 138 is a functional block formed when the package execution unit 137 executes the installer for the printer driver included in the installation package 116 . The installation unit 138 installs the printer driver included in the installation package 116 into the general user information processing device 130.

[0057] The driver section 139 is a functional block formed when the installer 138 installs the printer driver included in the installation package 116 . When the driver unit 139 is installed, it stores the settings required for printing on the printer 101 in the installed driver information 133 and the management information 132 in association with the print queue.

[0058] The display unit 142 displays various screens. The input unit 143 accepts input of instructions.

[0059] The general user information processing device 130 described above can also be realized by a computer such as the PC 10 shown in FIG. For example, the storage unit 131 can be realized by the processor 13 using the storage 11 or the memory 12. The control unit 135 can be realized by loading a program stored in the storage 11 into the memory 12 and having the processor 13 execute the program. The communication unit 141 can be realized by the communication I / F 14 . The input unit 143 can be realized by the input I / F 15 . The display unit 142 can be realized by the display 16 .

[0060] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, an administrator as a user of the management system 100 installs a printer driver 113 in the information processing device 110 for the administrator, and then uses the package creation unit 122 to create an installation package 116 . The created installation package 116 is distributed to the general user information processing device 130, and a driver for using the printer 101 is installed in the general user information processing device 130 with the settings desired by the administrator. This will be explained below.

[0061] FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of installing the printer driver 113 in the information processing device 110 for the administrator. Here, it is assumed that the installer has already been downloaded from the server 102 to the administrator information processing device 110 .

[0062] First, the administrator executes an installer downloaded from server 102, for example (S10). As a result, an installation unit 120 is formed in control unit 118, and installation unit 120 downloads printer driver 113 from server 102 via communication unit 124, stores printer driver 113 in storage unit 111, and starts installation (S11).

[0063] The installation unit 120 acquires environmental information of the administrator information processing device 110 in which the printer driver 113 is to be installed (S12) by referring to the management information 112 stored in the storage unit 111. The environmental information includes CPU type information of the administrator information processing device 110, etc.

[0064] Next, the installation unit 120 refers to the management information 112 stored in the memory unit 111 to obtain language information indicating the language used in the administrator information processing device 110 that installs the printer driver 113 (S13).

[0065] Next, based on steps S12 and S13, the installation unit 120 identifies a group of files to be installed on the administrator information processing device 110 from among the group of files included in the printer driver 113 (S14). The group of files identified here includes configuration files such as those shown in FIG.

[0066] Then, the installation unit 120 stores the files identified in step S14 in the memory unit 111 as installation driver information 114, and updates the necessary information in the management information 112 managed by the OS unit 119, thereby installing the printer driver 113 (S15).

[0067] As a result, the installation unit 120 completes the installation of the printer driver 113 (S16). As a result, a driver unit 121 and a package creation unit 122 are formed in the control unit 118 of the administrator information processing device 110.

[0068] Then, the installer 120 acquires the installed driver information 133, which is the group of installed files (S17).

[0069] Next, the installer 120 reads out the files that were not installed from the printer driver 113 as temporary save information (S18).

[0070] Then, by referring to the configuration file included in the information acquired in step S17, the installation unit 120 stores the temporary save information read out in step S18 in the temporary save destination, which is the address at which the temporary save information is stored in the memory unit 111 (S19). This makes it possible to temporarily store files that will no longer be needed after installation, and can be used when generating an installation package.

[0071] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the information processing device for administrator 110 to generate an installation package. First, the administrator starts the package creation unit 122 to start creating an installation package (S20).

[0072] The package creation unit 122 acquires various information set in the administrator information processing device 110 from the print queue installed in the administrator information processing device 110 (S21). Examples of this information include the names of the printers that make up the print queue and the printer drivers associated with the print queues. Since some items are not uniquely set in the administrator information processing device 110, the package creation unit 122 stores information associated with the print queues using the printer names, which are uniquely set in the administrator information processing device 110, as keys.

[0073] Next, the package creation unit 122 causes the display unit 125 to display a selection screen such as that shown in FIG. 5 (S22). As a result, the package creation unit 122 receives a selection of information to be handed over to the general user information processing device 130 from among the information set in the administrator information processing device 110 (S23). Here, the information acquired in step S21 is also displayed, allowing the administrator to select a print queue as needed. This allows the administrator to hand over the desired settings to general users even if multiple print queues are created for one printer 101 and operation or testing is performed with multiple settings. 5, the selection screen 104 may accept input of administrator logon information and the like for distribution to the general user information processing device 130. The user may also be able to select the operation of the installation program, i.e., how the printer driver is installed on the general user information processing device 130. For example, the user may be able to select the operation to be performed when the printer driver is being upgraded or when a print queue with the name of the printer to be installed already exists.

[0074] Then, when the package creation unit 122 receives an instruction from the administrator, for example, by clicking the create execution button 104g on the selection screen 104 (S24), it starts generating an installation package.

[0075] 4 included in the install driver information 114 installed in the administrator information processing device 110, and acquires configuration information indicating the group of files required to configure the printer driver to be included in the installation package (S25). The configuration information is complete configuration information indicating what files should be arranged and how to arrange them as the printer driver.

[0076] The package creation unit 122 creates the overall framework of the printer driver in accordance with the acquired configuration information (S26).

[0077] Next, the package creation unit 122 acquires the installed driver information 114 stored in the storage unit 111 as a file group of the printer driver 113 installed in the administrator information processing device 110 (S27).

[0078] Next, the package creation unit 122 also acquires the temporary save information 115 stored in the storage unit 111 as a group of files of the temporarily saved printer driver 113 (S28). The storage destination of the temporary save information 115 can be determined by referring to the temporary save information in the configuration file 113d.

[0079] Next, the package creation unit 122 creates a base configuration, which is a program similar to the printer driver 113, by inserting the information acquired in steps S27 and S28 into the framework created in step S26 (S29).

[0080] Next, the package creation unit 122 acquires the information selected to be handed over on the selection screen 104 as print queue information from the management information 112 (S30).

[0081] Then, package creation unit 122 compresses the base configuration created in step S29, incorporates the print queue information acquired in step S30, and incorporates an installer for installing the base configuration corresponding to the printer driver, thereby creating installation package 116 (S31). As described above, installation package 116 is a program that includes the base configuration corresponding to the printer driver, print queue information, and an installer.

[0082] The package creation unit 122 stores the installation package 116 created as described above in the storage unit 111, thereby completing the creation of the installation package 116 (S32).

[0083] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the general user information processing device 130 executing the installation package 116 to install a printer driver. Here, it is assumed that the OS section 136 has already received the installation package 116 from the administrator information processing device 110 via the communication section 141 and stored it in the storage section 131.

[0084] First, when a general user executes the installation package 116, for example, via the input unit 143, a package execution unit 137 is formed in the control unit 135, and the package execution unit 137 starts installing the printer driver included in the installation package 116 (S40).

[0085] For example, the package execution unit 137 unpacks the base configuration of the installation package 116 (S41).

[0086] Then, the package execution unit 137 executes the installer included in the installation package 116 (S42). As a result, an installation unit 138 is formed in the control unit 135 of the general user information processing device 130.

[0087] The installation unit 138 analyzes the package configuration files contained in the unzipped base configuration (S43). The installation unit 138 then installs the printer driver based on the base configuration (S44). For example, among the files included in the base configuration, files necessary for the general user information processing device 130 are stored in the storage unit 131 as installation driver information 133.

[0088] Here, the installation unit 138 determines whether the print queue information to be installed is set to reflect device options based on the analysis results in step S43, and if it is set not to reflect device options, in other words, if it is set (configured) to acquire information from the printer 101, it acquires option information from the printer 101 (S45).

[0089] Then, the installation unit 138 similarly reflects other print queue information, such as print setting values, in the information associated with the print queue of the general user information processing device 130 according to the analysis results in step S43 (S46). Note that these reflection processes are realized by linking the installation unit 138 and the printer driver and exchanging specific file information, but this is not limited to this method. Any method can be used as long as the information to be reflected can be notified to the printer driver, such as via some API or other processing program.

[0090] As a result, the installation unit 138 completes the installation of the printer driver for causing the printer 101 to perform printing in the general user information processing device 130 (S47).

[0091] As described above, the operations from generating the installation package to installing the printer driver have been explained, but the behavior of the installation unit 138 of the information processing device for general users 130 is not limited to what has been described here, and it is also possible to extend the behavior of the installation unit 138 depending on various conditions.

[0092] For example, in the example of Figure 11, the description "config" causes the process to reflect the information of the printer 101, but if a specific identifier is linked to the process, multiple conditions can be specified in the package creation unit 122 of the administrator's information processing device 110.

[0093] As described above, in this embodiment, the content installed on the administrator information processing device 110 can be packaged and distributed using the printer driver 113 already installed on the administrator information processing device 110, resulting in the following advantages (1) to (4). (1) There is no need to prepare a new information processing program. (2) Even if you have an information processing program at hand, there may be cases where you do not know which printer it is compatible with, and even in such cases, you can easily deal with the problem. (3) The operation for generating a desired package can be simplified. (4) The programs included in the installation package to be distributed can be limited to the version of the printer driver 113 installed in the administrator information processing device 110. In other words, it is guaranteed that a verified version will be distributed.

[0094] In the embodiment described above, the administrator information processing device 110 is provided with the package creation unit 122 separately from the installation unit 120, but the embodiment is not limited to this example. For example, the installation unit 120 may execute the processes executed by the package creation unit 122. In such a case, the package creation unit 122 may not be provided. Then, the installation unit 120 may create the installation package 116 immediately after installing the printer driver 113. [Explanation of symbols]

[0095] 100 management system, 101 printer, 102 server, 110 information processing device for administrator, 111 memory unit, 112 management information, 113 printer driver, 114 installation driver information, 115 temporary backup information, 116 installation package, 118 control unit, 119 OS unit, 120 installation unit, 121 driver unit, 122 package creation unit, 124 communication unit, 125 display unit, 126 input unit, 130 information processing device for general users, 131 memory unit, 132 management information, 116 installation package, 133 installation driver information, 135 control unit, 136 OS unit, 137 package execution unit, 138 installation unit, 139 driver unit, 141 communication unit, 142 display unit, 143 input unit.

Claims

1. When an installation unit installs a printer driver consisting of a plurality of files into a first device, the installation unit stores a first file among the plurality of files that is necessary to enable the printer to be used in the first device, and stores a second file among the plurality of files that is different from the first file, separately from the first file; a package creation unit generating an installation package including the first file and the second file, the installation package being for performing installation on a second device different from the first device; An information processing method comprising:

2. the first file includes information indicating a location where the second file is to be stored; The installation unit stores the second file in the location on the first device.

2. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein:

3. The installation unit stores the first file and the second file in association with a print queue when the printer is used.

3. The information processing method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein:

4. When an input unit receives the selection of the print queue, the package creation unit generates the installation package.

4. The information processing method according to claim 3, wherein:

5. The package creation unit acquires the content set in association with the print queue in order to use the printer, and includes print queue information indicating the content in the installation package.

4. The information processing method according to claim 3, wherein:

6. The package creation unit is configured to select the content to be included in the print queue information from a plurality of content items set in association with the print queue.

6. The information processing method according to claim 5, wherein:

7. the package creation unit executes installation on the second device using the first file and the second file, and includes in the installation package an installer that sets the content indicated by the print queue information on the second device.

6. The information processing method according to claim 5, wherein:

8. Computer, A storage unit, and When a printer driver consisting of a plurality of files is installed on the computer, the storage unit stores a first file, among the plurality of files, that is necessary to enable the printer to be used on the computer, and the storage unit stores a second file, among the plurality of files, that is different from the first file, separately from the first file; the first file includes information indicating a location where the second file is to be stored; The installation unit stores the second file at the location in the storage unit. A program characterized by.

9. the installation unit reads the first file and the second file from the storage unit, and generates an installation package including the first file and the second file, for performing installation on a computer different from the computer. The program according to claim 8,

10. and causing the computer to further function as a package creation unit that reads the first file and the second file from the storage unit and generates an installation package that includes the first file and the second file and is used to perform installation on another computer different from the computer. The program according to claim 8,

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