Program and method for controlling information processing device

Abstract

To provide a printing system capable of obtaining desired print results by executing processing for adding a desired margin.SOLUTION: A second printing control software program, which operates on an information processing device installed with first printing control software and differs from the first printing control software causes the computer of the information processing device to function as: acquisition means for acquiring first print data generated by the first printing control software; display control means for controlling the display of an acceptance screen which accepts user instructions on margin settings; and generation means for generating second print data with a margin based on the contents set by the instruction accepted by the acceptance screen on the basis of the first print data acquired by the acquisition means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a program and a control method for an information processing apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] There is a technology in which the operating system (hereinafter referred to as the OS) provides standard printing functions (hereinafter referred to as the OS standard printing functions) without requiring a printer driver (hereinafter referred to as the specific printer driver), which is printer-specific software provided by the printer vendor. Based on information obtained from the printer, the OS determines whether the printer is compatible with the OS standard printing functions (in other words, whether the printer supports the OS standard printing functions). If the determination shows that the printer is compatible with the OS standard printing functions, print data created using the OS standard printing functions is sent to the printer.

[0003] However, some printers do not support the OS's standard printing functions and may be unable to interpret print data created using the OS's standard printing functions. Even if a printer supports the OS's standard printing functions, there may be cases where you want the printer to print based on print settings that are more detailed than those of the OS's standard printing functions. To address these situations, a print data conversion utility is known that allows you to use the OS's standard printing functions by making it appear as if the printer supports the OS's standard printing functions without installing a specific printer driver.

[0004] Incidentally, the information handled by a printer includes size information called the printable area, which indicates the maximum area of a sheet of paper that can be printed. For example, if a printer requires 3mm margins on all four sides of an A4-sized sheet (210mm x 297mm) due to its mechanical requirements, the printable area for this A4 size sheet is 204mm x 291mm. The printable area may differ depending on the paper type and the printer's paper feed slot. In such cases, multiple printable areas must be set for a single paper size. Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that solves the problem of multiple print paths between an information processing device and a printer, each with a different printable area. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-53403 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] There is an issue that the functions supported by the specific printer driver cannot be supported by the OS's standard printing functions.

[0007] An object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a printing system that can obtain a desired print result by executing a process for inserting a desired margin. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] One embodiment of the present invention is a program for second printing control software that is different from the first printing control software and that operates on an information processing device on which the first printing control software is installed, and that causes the computer of the information processing device to function as an acquisition means that acquires first printing data generated by the first printing control software, a display control means that controls the computer to display a reception screen that accepts user instructions regarding margin settings, and a generation means that generates second printing data having margins based on the contents set by the instructions accepted on the reception screen, based on the first printing data acquired by the acquisition means. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a printing system that can obtain a desired print result by executing a process for inserting a desired margin. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] Block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the printing system [Figure 2] Block diagram showing the software configuration of the host computer [Figure 3] Schematic diagram of the GUI screen provided by the print data conversion utility [Figure 4] Schematic diagram of the print settings dialog in a drawing application [Figure 5] Illustration showing print setting information [Figure 6] 1 is a flowchart showing the flow of each process executed by the print data conversion utility in the first embodiment; [Figure 7] A diagram showing the data table stored in the model information database. [Figure 8] Schematic diagram showing data creation in the print data conversion utility [Figure 9] Schematic diagram showing the print result preview in the print data conversion utility and warning messages when printing [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of each process executed by the print data conversion utility in the second embodiment. [Figure 11] Figure showing the print data created by the print data conversion utility [Figure 12] GUI screen presented to the user when creating custom paper setting information [Figure 13] Schematic diagram showing a custom paper setting file [Figure 14] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of each process executed by the print data conversion utility in the third embodiment. [Figure 15] Schematic diagram showing the custom paper selection dialog in the print data conversion utility DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the present invention, and not all of the combinations of features described below are necessarily essential to solving the problems of the present invention.

[0012] [First embodiment] <Printing system configuration> The hardware configuration of a printing system in this embodiment will be described below with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 shows, as an example of a printing system to which this embodiment can be applied, a system in which a host computer 11 and a printer 12 are communicatively connected via a communication bus 121 such as Ethernet (registered trademark) or USB. Note that, although the example of Fig. 1 shows a printing system with one printer, the printing system may have multiple printers, and any number of printers can be connected to the host computer via the communication bus 121.

[0013] The host computer 11 is an example of an information processing device. An operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) is installed in the host computer 11. The OS includes an OS-standard printing system 202, which is OS-standard printing software, as will be described later.

[0014] The host computer 11 is, for example, a personal computer (PC), and includes a CPU 101, a ROM 102, a RAM 103, a display unit 104, an input unit 105, an external storage device 106, and an interface (hereinafter abbreviated as I / F) unit 107. The host computer 11 to which this embodiment can be applied is not limited to a desktop PC, but may also be a notebook PC, a tablet PC, or a smartphone.

[0015] The host computer 11 transmits instructions for controlling the printer 12, print data, setting commands, etc. to the printer 12. The CPU 101 is a central processing unit that controls each part of the host computer 11 and executes various control programs such as the OS and the print data conversion utility 203 described below. The ROM 102 stores the OS, etc. The RAM 103 is used as a work area for the CPU 101. The external storage device 106 stores various control programs such as application programs and the print data conversion utility 203.

[0016] The input unit 105 is an input device including a keyboard, a mouse, etc. for operating the host computer 11. The display unit 104 is a display device that displays information for the user to confirm via the input unit 105, displays a graphical user interface screen of the OS or application, displays messages, etc. The I / F unit 107 is a communication module that transmits and receives data to and from the printer 12.

[0017] The printer 12, which is a printing device, is, for example, an inkjet printer. The printer 12 has a CPU 111, a ROM 112, a RAM 113, a print engine 114, and an I / F unit 115. The CPU 111 is a central processing unit that controls each unit of the printer 12. The ROM 112 is a read-only memory. The ROM 112 stores a program that controls the print engine 114. The RAM 113 temporarily stores the program required for the operation of the print engine 114, setting value data received from the host computer 11, etc.

[0018] The print engine 114 forms an image on a medium (such as recording paper, also referred to as a media) by executing printing based on print data sent from the host computer 11. The I / F unit 115 transmits and receives data to and from the host computer 11, receives print jobs from the host computer 11, and transmits status information of the printer 12 to the host computer 11. The status information here refers to information that indicates the current status of the printer 12, which the printer 12 can transmit as a response to a request from the host computer 11 connected via the I / F unit 115. The status information is information that notifies an external device such as the host computer 11 of the operating status of the printer 12, such as "printing" or "standby," or an error status of the printer 12, such as "out of paper," "cover open," or "out of ink."

[0019] <Software configuration> 2 is a block diagram showing the software configuration of the host computer 11 in this embodiment. The host computer 11 is operatively equipped with an OS-standard printing system 202, which is OS-standard printing software, and a print data conversion utility 203, which is print control software. The host computer 11 also has a drawing application 201 installed.

[0020] The drawing application 201 is software that creates drawing data based on user instructions. The application here refers to software that runs on the OS, which is the basic software of the host computer 11. The drawing application 201 has a function for printing based on the created drawing data, and examples of the drawing application 201 include word processing software for document creation, image editing software, and software for creating New Year's cards. The drawing data created by the drawing application 201 is, for example, data in PDF (Portable Document Format).

[0021] After creating the drawing data, the drawing application 201 makes a print request to the OS standard printing system 202 based on a user instruction. When a print request is made, instructions regarding print settings may be received from the user via a setting graphical user interface screen (hereinafter referred to as a GUI screen) provided by the print data conversion utility 203. When a print request is made from the OS standard printing system 202, a print job including information regarding the print settings created by the print data conversion utility 203 and the drawing data created by the drawing application 201 is passed to the OS standard printing system 202. The information regarding the print settings includes information such as the paper size and paper type, and which print queue to print in.

[0022] The OS-standard printing system 202 is OS-standard printing software equipped with standard functions required for creating print data. It spools the drawing data created by the drawing application 201 and creates print data in a predetermined format (also referred to as standard-format print data). The OS-standard printing system 202 then outputs the created standard-format print data to the print data conversion utility 203. Alternatively, the OS-standard printing system 202 directly outputs the standard-format print data to the print communication unit 204 without outputting it to the print data conversion utility 203 in order to send the data directly to the printer 12. The OS-standard printing system 202 also acquires identification information, such as model information, of the printer 12 via the print communication unit 204 to determine whether the printer 12 supports the OS-standard printing system 202. The information acquired for the support determination is not limited to model information of the printer 12, but may also include capability information of the printer 12. Various processes in the OS-standard printing system 202 are controlled by a system control unit 211 within the OS-standard printing system 202.

[0023] The print data conversion utility 203 is software that converts print data in a standard format output by the OS standard print system 202 into print data in a format specific to a printer vendor (also called specific format print data).

[0024] Here, the printer 12 is described as not supporting the OS-standard printing system 202. Even if a printer 12 that does not support the OS-standard printing system 202 receives print data in a standard format created by the OS-standard printing system 202, it cannot interpret the received print data. For this reason, in this embodiment, the host computer 11 is equipped with a print data conversion utility 203. The print data conversion utility 203 converts print data in the standard format into print data in a printer vendor-specific format (hereinafter also referred to as "individual format") that can be interpreted by the printer 12. This makes it possible to cause a printer 12 that does not support the OS-standard printing system 202 to perform printing using the standard functions of the OS-standard printing system 202.

[0025] Note that even if a printer supports the OS standard printing system (that is, even if the printer can interpret print data in a standard format), the print data conversion utility 203 may be used. Using the print data conversion utility 203 enables the printing system to provide more functions. For example, the standard functions provided by the OS standard printing system 202 do not include stamp functions or detailed print quality setting functions. This is because the OS standard printing system 202 supports a wider range of printers and therefore cannot support functions that are only available on a limited number of printers. Therefore, using the print data conversion utility 203 enables the printing system to provide functions equivalent to those of a printer driver specific to a printer vendor (specific printer driver).

[0026] The print data conversion utility 203 has a data conversion unit 212 and a printer driver unit 213, and receives print data in a standard format and print setting information from the OS standard printing system 202, and performs the processing necessary for print control. Specifically, the print data conversion utility 203 first obtains model information from the printer 12 via the print communication unit 204, and determines whether the printer 12 supports the OS standard printing system 202. Note that the information obtained to determine support is not limited to model information of the printer 12, and may also be capability information of the printer 12, etc.

[0027] If the print data conversion utility 203 determines that the printer 12 does not support the OS-standard printing system 202, it performs a virtual printer creation process to virtually treat the printer 12 as if it supports the OS-standard printing system 202. As mentioned above, even if the printer supports the OS-standard printing system 202, this virtual printer creation process may be performed if functionality equivalent to a printer vendor-specific printer driver is to be provided. The print data conversion utility 203 also converts the standard-format print data and print setting information received from the OS-standard printing system 202 into custom-format print data using the data conversion unit 212 and printer driver unit 213. By converting the data using the printer driver unit 213, it is possible to provide functionality equivalent to a printer vendor-specific printer driver even if the OS-standard printing system 202 provides fewer functions. In this embodiment, the OS-standard printing system 202 exchanges data with the print data conversion utility 203 using the standard printing protocol IPP (Internet Printing Protocol).

[0028] The print communication unit 204 is a communication module that transmits print data in a standard format output by the OS standard print system 202 or print data in an individual format output by the print data conversion utility 203 to the printer 12. The print communication unit 204 also receives (acquires) data such as status information transmitted from the printer 12.

[0029] <Outline of the print data conversion utility> An overview of the print data conversion utility 203 according to this embodiment will be described below. FIG. 3 shows a GUI screen provided by the print data conversion utility 203. A main window 31 contains a registered printer list display section 32, which displays a list of printers registered in the print data conversion utility 203. When a printer is selected from the list in the registered printer list display section 32, a selected printer information display section 33 displays information about the selected printer. A printer print setting menu 34, which is a print setting menu for the selected printer, and a paper size menu 35 and a paper type menu 36, which are detailed print setting menus, are also displayed. The user selects the size and type of paper actually loaded in the printer 12 in the paper size menu 35 and the paper type menu 36. For printers with multiple paper feeders, the paper size menu 35 and the paper type menu 36 have the same settings as the number of paper feeders. The GUI screen provided by the print data conversion utility 203 also includes a print job management window 37, which is used to manage print jobs submitted to the print data conversion utility 203 and display job status. The print job management window 37 includes a print job progress confirmation section 38 that displays the progress of the print job, and a job status display section 39 that displays the state of the print job.

[0030] <Print settings in drawing applications> FIG. 4 shows an example of a print dialog 41 provided by the drawing application 201. The print dialog 41 is displayed when a user creates drawing data using the drawing application 201 and then instructs printing on the drawing application screen. The print dialog 41 includes a printer menu 42 for selecting a printer to print from, a print preview area 43, a print button 44 for instructing printing, and a cancel button 45 for closing the print dialog 41 and returning control to the drawing application. The print dialog 41 also includes a paper size menu 46 and a number of copies setting item 47 for specifying print settings, as well as an advanced settings menu 48 for configuring other advanced settings. The advanced settings menu includes a menu such as a paper type menu 49. Of these menus, the paper size menu 46, the number of copies setting item 47, and the paper type menu 49 are provided by the OS standard printing system 202, not the drawing application 201.

[0031] The printer menu 42 allows the selection of printers that support the OS standard printing system 202, as well as the aforementioned virtual printer created by the print data conversion utility 203. When a virtual printer is selected in the printer menu 42, various print settings supported by the virtual printer are displayed. These print settings are displayed when the print data conversion utility 203 transmits print setting information to the OS standard printing system 202. The paper size menu 46 displays standard sizes with the same outer shape but different printable areas. For example, if the outer size is A4, in addition to the standard A4 size, an A4 borderless size, in which the margins are 0 and the printable area is equal to the outer size, is displayed. Printing with the OS standard printing system 202 may only support up to two printable areas for one outer size. In this case, the third size supported by the native printer driver, i.e., a size with larger margins than the standard standard size (hereinafter referred to as the "large margin size"), cannot be supported and is not displayed in the paper size menu 46.

[0032] <Data conversion processing by a print data conversion utility> The following describes the process when a print instruction is issued via the print dialog 41 provided by the drawing application 201. The drawing application 201 passes standard-format print data and print setting information based on the print settings in the print dialog 41, including the paper size menu 46, to the print data conversion utility 203 via the OS standard printing system 202. FIG. 5 shows an example of print setting information. The print setting information shown in FIG. 5 is expressed using IPP, one example of implementation using the OS standard protocol. FIG. 5 shows an example when A4 standard size is selected in the paper size menu 46 and "Auto Select" is selected in the paper type menu 49. Paper width information 51, paper height information 52, paper margin information 53, and paper type information 54 are set as print setting information. The print data conversion utility 203 first compares the settings in the paper size menu 35 and paper type menu 36 in the main window 31 with the settings in the paper width information 51, paper height information 52, paper margin information 53, and paper type information 54. During the comparison, information such as the outline of the paper size set in the paper size menu 35 is stored in a model information database maintained by the printer driver unit 213, and the information is retrieved from the model information database. If the comparison results in a match between the two print settings, the print data conversion utility 203 creates print data based on the two print settings. Specifically, the print data conversion utility 203 converts standard-format print data into individual-format print data using the data conversion unit 212 and the printer driver unit 213. On the other hand, if the comparison results in a mismatch between the two print settings, the print data conversion utility 203 displays an error in the print job management window 37 indicating a mismatch in the settings and aborts printing. Note that if the setting information (setting value) of the paper type information 54 is set to auto, the print data conversion utility 203 does not compare the setting information of the paper type information 54 with the setting information of the paper type menu 36, but operates based on the setting in the paper type menu 36. In this case, a paper type may be selected in the paper type menu 36 that requires a large margin size to achieve the desired print results.In this case, when the data conversion unit 212 and the printer driver unit 213 are used to convert the data into print data in an individual format, a process for inserting desired margins is performed, thereby making it possible to obtain a desired print result.

[0033] 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of each process executed by the print data conversion utility 203. The following flow starts when the user issues a print instruction on the drawing application 201.

[0034] In step S601, the data conversion unit 212 acquires print data in a standard format and print setting information created by the drawing application 201. Note that hereinafter, "step S~" will be abbreviated to "S~".

[0035] In S602, the data conversion unit 212 acquires print setting information set via the main window 31, specifically, print setting information such as the paper size menu 35 and paper type menu 36.

[0036] In S603, the data conversion unit 212 determines whether the content of the print setting information acquired in S601 matches the content of the print setting information acquired in S602. If the result of this match determination step is true, the process proceeds to S604, whereas if the result is false, the process proceeds to S605.

[0037] First, a case where the determination result in S603 is false (NO in S603) will be described. In this case, in S605, the print data conversion utility 203 displays a message on the print job management window 37 indicating that the contents of the print setting information acquired in S601 do not match the contents of the print setting information acquired in S602. After this step, the series of processes by the print data conversion utility 203 ends.

[0038] Next, a case where the determination result in S603 is true (YES in S603) will be described. In this case, in S604, the data conversion unit 212 executes a conversion process of the print data. This conversion process is a process of creating raster data that can be read by the printer driver unit 213 based on the print data in the standard format and the print setting information acquired in S601.

[0039] In S606, the data conversion unit 212 determines whether the medium to be printed requires large margin data larger than the normal standard size margins when printing, based on the paper type setting content from the print setting information acquired in S601 and S602. This medium determination process is performed by obtaining information stored in a model information database held by the printer driver unit 213, indicating whether large margin data is required for each paper type. FIG. 7 shows an example of a data table stored in the model information database. As shown in FIG. 7, information on whether large margin data is required for each paper type and the required margin amount are managed, making it possible to make a determination based on the paper type setting. If the determination result in this step is true, the process proceeds to S607; if the determination result is false, the process proceeds to S608.

[0040] In S607, the data conversion unit 212 executes a process to insert the necessary amount of margin into the print data. The amount of margin to be inserted in S607 can be obtained by referencing the data table shown in Fig. 7. If the result of S606 is NO, that is, if printing is possible without any problems with the normal standard size margin, the process of S607 is skipped.

[0041] In S608, the printer driver unit 213 performs print data conversion processing to create print data in an individual format based on the raster data and print setting information, and then completes the data conversion.

[0042] Finally, in S609, the print communication unit 204 transmits the print data acquired in S608 to the printer 12, and the series of processes ends.

[0043] <Margin specification processing> The user may be allowed to select the margin insertion method when the data conversion unit inserts margins into the print data created in S604 in S607. As shown in FIG. 8 , there are two methods for inserting margins: method 82, which deletes data in the margin area from original data 81, and method 83, which reserves margin area and fits the image data within the print area. The desired print result from these two methods may vary from user to user, so allowing the user to select the desired result in advance can make it easier to achieve the desired result. In this case, a GUI screen such as margin specification screen 84 may be presented to the user. Via margin specification screen 84, a GUI screen provided by the print data conversion utility 203, the user can select either forced margin addition mode 85 or fitting mode 86. If the user selects forced margin addition mode 85, the print result will be the same as method 82, which deletes data in the margin area. If the user selects fitting mode 86, the print result will be the same as method 83, which reserves margin area and fits the data within the print area. The module that inserts the margins into the print data may be the printer driver unit 213 instead of the data conversion unit 212 .

[0044] <Notification of print results to the user> Before the data conversion unit adds margins to the print data created in S604 in S607, the printer 12 may perform display control to display a preview of the print result with margins added in the print job management window 37. The printer 12 may also notify the user in advance in the print job management window 37 that part of the image in the original data will be missing if printing is performed with margins added. If part of the image is unintentionally missing or the layout is changed in the print result, it may not be what the user wanted. By presenting information about the print result to the user in advance, the user can confirm whether the result will be what they want before printing.

[0045] FIG. 9(a) shows an example of a print result preview, and FIG. 9(b) shows an example of a warning message informing users that part of the print result will be missing. The print result preview screen 91 displays a print result preview image 92 on the print job management window 37 when margins are added to the print data. The user can check the print result preview screen 91 to see if it is OK to continue printing, and when the user presses the OK button 93, the print process begins. On the other hand, if the print result is not what the user wanted and the user wants to cancel the printing, the user can press the Cancel button 94 to stop printing.

[0046] The print result confirmation message screen 95 shown in Fig. 9(b) is a GUI screen that displays a message to the user on the print job management window 37 informing them that adding margins to the print data may result in the print result being cut off or reduced in size. As with the print result preview screen 91 described above, the user looks at the print result confirmation message screen 95 and confirms whether it is OK to continue printing, and when the user presses the OK button 97, the print process begins. On the other hand, if the print result is not what the user wanted and the user wants to cancel the printing, the user can cancel the printing by pressing the Cancel button 96.

[0047] <Skipping margin insertion process according to the actual margin amount of print data> Furthermore, when the data conversion unit inserts margins into the print data in S607, it may derive the actual amount of margins in the standard format print data created by the drawing application 201 and determine whether it is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. If the derived amount of margins is sufficient, i.e., equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, the margin insertion process in S607 may be skipped. The reason for this is that some users may create data with margins secured in advance on the drawing application 201, in which case the margin insertion step is unnecessary.

[0048] [Second embodiment] In the first embodiment, the print data conversion utility performs a margin insertion process on the print data. In contrast, in this embodiment, the print data conversion utility does not perform the margin insertion process, but instead adds margin information to the print data as print setting information so that the necessary margins can be inserted during printing by the printer 12. Note that the following description will omit descriptions of content common to the first embodiment as appropriate, and will focus on differences.

[0049] Fig. 10 shows a flowchart illustrating the processing of the print data conversion utility 203 in this embodiment. The flow from S601 to S606 in Fig. 10 is the same as in the first embodiment, so a description of each step of this processing will be omitted (see Fig. 6).

[0050] If the determination result in S606 is true, that is, if data with large margins is required, in S1001, the data conversion unit 212 adds margin information as print setting information in the print data.

[0051] FIG. 11 shows an example of print data in this embodiment. The print data 1101 in this embodiment is assumed to be composed of a print setting section 1102 and an image data section 1103. The print setting section 1102 contains margin information 1104, and the printer 12 adds margins to the received print data based on this margin information 1104. The margin information 1104 is set by acquiring the required margin amount for each paper type stored in the model information database (see FIG. 7). In S608, the printer driver unit 213 converts the print data 1101, including the print setting section 1102 containing the margin information 1104, into print data in a specific format. Then, in S609, the print data conversion utility 203 transmits the print data in the specific format to the printer 12 via the print communication unit 204. This allows the printer 12 to reference the margin information 1104 and add margins during printing.

[0052] [Third embodiment] As described above, the OS standard printing function can perform printing based on setting information for custom paper (hereinafter referred to as custom paper setting information) created by the user. Therefore, the user can create custom paper setting information in advance using the drawing application 201. However, even if custom paper setting information for a printable area different from the standard size is created, if the outer dimensions are the same, the OS standard printing function may recognize it as a printable area of the normal standard size. This embodiment is intended to address such cases. Note that the following description will omit descriptions of content common to the first embodiment as appropriate and will mainly focus on differences.

[0053] <Creating custom paper setting information> The custom paper setting information creation function, which is a standard OS printing function, will be described below with reference to FIG. 12. FIG. 12 shows a menu screen for creating custom paper setting information in this embodiment. A dialog 1201 can be opened on the screen of the drawing application 201. The dialog 1201 contains a custom paper list 1202, an add custom paper button 1203, a delete custom paper button 1204, and a copy setting information button 1205. The custom paper list 1202 is a list that displays custom papers for which custom paper setting information has been created. The add custom paper button 1203 is a button for creating new custom paper setting information. The delete custom paper button 1204 is a button for deleting previously created custom paper setting information. The copy setting information button 1205 is a button for creating a copy of previously created custom paper setting information to create new custom paper setting information.

[0054] The dialog 1201 also includes custom paper setting menus: a custom paper width menu 1206, a custom paper height menu 1207, and a custom paper margin menu 1208. The custom paper width menu 1206 is a menu for inputting the paper width. The custom paper height menu 1207 is a menu for inputting the paper height. The custom paper margin menu 1208 is a menu for inputting the margins of the custom paper. When creating new custom paper setting information, default values are entered into these custom paper setting menus. The user creates custom paper setting information by entering the desired width, height, and margins and setting the desired custom paper. Furthermore, when the user selects a custom paper for which custom paper setting information has already been created in the custom paper list 1202, the user can confirm the width, height, and margins of the selected custom paper on the screen. When the user has completed creating the custom paper setting information, the user presses the OK button 1209 to close the dialog 1201.

[0055] 12 shows a state in which custom paper setting information for a size that is the same as A4 size (210 mm x 297 mm) but differs from the standard size only in the margins (hereinafter referred to as "custom A4 large margin size") has been created and the custom A4 large margin size has been selected. In this case, the top, bottom, left, and right margins for the standard A4 size are assumed to be 5 mm each, while the top, bottom, left, and right margins for the custom A4 large margin size are assumed to be 20 mm each and 5 mm each.

[0056] <Printing process when custom paper is selected> When custom paper setting information has been created by the user, it is possible to select custom paper in the paper size menu 46 (see FIG. 4) and execute printing on the selected custom paper. Now, consider the case where the aforementioned custom A4 with large margins size is selected in the paper size menu 46 and printing is executed. In this case, the drawing application 201 outputs standard format print data and print setting information for the custom A4 with large margins size based on the print settings in the paper size menu 46. The expected operation is that this standard format print data and print setting information are passed to the print data conversion utility 203 via the OS standard printing system 202.

[0057] However, the OS standard printing system 202 may pass to the print data conversion utility 203 print data and print setting information in the same standard format as when the A4 standard size is selected in the paper size menu 46. In this case, the print data conversion utility 203 cannot determine whether the A4 standard size or the custom A4 with large margins size is selected in the paper size menu 46.

[0058] <Reference to custom paper setting information> Therefore, in this embodiment, the OS-standard printing system 202 references the custom paper setting information stored within the system, and the print data conversion utility 203 performs processing based on the custom paper setting information. Fig. 13 shows a custom paper setting information file 1301 stored by the OS-standard printing system 202. As shown in Fig. 13, for custom paper setting information created via the dialog 1201, width information 1302, height information 1303, and margin information 1304 are saved in the custom paper setting information file 1301. Note that this custom paper information is written in markup language.

[0059] The information in the custom paper setting information file 1301 is used when displaying custom paper size and margin information in the paper size menu 46 and dialog 1201. The information in the custom paper setting information file 1301 is also used when the OS standard printing system 202 passes standard format print data and print setting information to the print data conversion utility 203.

[0060] In this embodiment, the print data conversion utility 203 cannot distinguish between the standard A4 size and the custom A4 with large margins selected in the paper size menu 46 when it receives the print data and print setting information. In other words, regardless of which size is selected, the print setting information for the standard A4 size shown in FIG. 5 is transmitted to the print data conversion utility 203. When the print data conversion utility 203 receives standard size print data and print setting information, it determines whether a paper type has been selected in the paper type menu 36 that requires a large margin size, which has larger margins than the standard size, to obtain the desired print results. As with the first embodiment, the print data conversion utility 203 performs this determination by obtaining the necessary information from the data table stored in the model information database shown in FIG. 7. Next, the print data conversion utility 203 references the custom paper setting information file 1301 to determine whether information on a custom paper type identical to the standard size is available. If the custom paper setting information file 1301 contains information about custom paper of the same type as the standard size, it is highly likely that custom A4 with large margins was selected in the paper size menu 46. Therefore, the print data conversion utility 203 instructs the data conversion unit 212 and printer driver unit 213 to perform processing based on the information about custom paper of the same type as the standard size listed in the custom paper setting information file 1301.

[0061] Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing the processing of the print data conversion utility 203 in this embodiment. Since the flow from S601 to S606 in Fig. 14 is the same as in the first embodiment, a description of each step of this processing will be omitted (see Fig. 6).

[0062] If the determination result in S606 is true, that is, if data with large margins is required, in S1401, the data conversion unit 212 determines whether the paper size information in the current print setting information indicates a standard size. If the determination result in this step is true, the process proceeds to S1402, whereas if the determination result is false, the process proceeds to S608.

[0063] First, we will explain the case where the determination result in S1401 is false (NO in S1401), that is, the case where print settings for custom paper have been made. In this case, printing can be performed according to the print settings for custom paper, and the print data entered via the paper size menu 46 can be executed. Therefore, the process proceeds to S608 without performing any special processing, and in S609, the print communication unit 204 sends the print data to the printer 12.

[0064] Next, we will explain what happens when the determination result in S1401 is true (YES in S1401), that is, when print settings have been made for standard-sized paper. In this case, even though the user selected custom paper in the paper size menu 46, the OS-standard printing system 202 may have set the paper size information to indicate a standard size. Therefore, in S1402, the data conversion unit 212 references the custom paper setting information file 1301 and obtains the information stored in the custom paper setting information file 1301.

[0065] In S1403, the data conversion unit 212 determines, based on the information acquired in S1402 and the current print setting information, whether information about custom paper of the same outer size as the size indicated by the paper size information in the print setting information is included in the custom paper setting information file 1301.

[0066] A false determination in S1403 simply means that a standard size was selected in the paper size menu 46. Printing cannot be performed in combination with the selected standard size and a paper type that will not produce the desired print results unless a large margin size with larger margins than the normal standard size is selected. Therefore, in this case, in S1404, the print data conversion utility 203 displays a setting error in the print job management window 37, and the process ends.

[0067] On the other hand, if the determination result in S1403 is true (YES in S1403), it can be determined that the OS standard printing system 202 has changed the paper size information to correspond to the standard size, even though a custom paper of the same size as the standard size was selected in the paper size menu 46. Therefore, in S1405, the data conversion unit 212 performs processing to insert margins into the print data based on the custom paper setting information acquired from the custom paper setting information file 1101.

[0068] Thereafter, the process proceeds to S608 and S609, the print data is sent to the printer, and the series of processes ends.

[0069] <Processing that takes into account multiple custom paper types of the same type> In step S1403, if multiple pieces of custom paper setting information stored in the custom paper setting information file 1301 match the print setting information, the user can be allowed to select which custom paper setting information to use for printing on the print job management window 37. This is because if multiple pieces of custom paper exist with the same outline but different margins, it is not possible to uniquely determine which custom paper setting information to use. By having the user select which custom paper to use, the desired print results can be provided.

[0070] 15 shows an example of the custom paper selection dialog. A list of custom paper options 1502 is displayed in the custom paper selection dialog 1501 on the print job management window 37. When the user selects the custom paper they want to use for printing from the list and then presses the OK button 1503, the print process using the selected custom paper information begins.

[0071] <Processing taking into account the margins of custom paper> Furthermore, even if the custom paper setting information saved in the custom paper setting information file 1301 matches the print setting information in S1403, custom paper setting information may have been created with insufficient margins. Specifically, the required margin for the selected paper type is obtained from the data table (see FIG. 7) stored in the model information database, and the custom paper margin is compared with the required margin. In this case, the custom paper margin may not meet the required margin. Since the desired print results will not be obtained in the end, processing may be performed to exclude the custom paper from the candidates for use.

[0072] [Other embodiments] The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., an ASIC) that realizes one or more functions. Elements of the above-described embodiments may also be used in appropriate combinations. [Explanation of symbols]

[0073] 11 Host Computer 12 Printers 101 CPU 201 Applications 202 OS standard printing system 203 Print data conversion utility 211 System Control Unit 212 Data Conversion Unit 213 Printer driver section

Claims

1. A program of second print control software different from the first print control software, which operates on an information processing device in which first print control software is installed, comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires first print data generated by the first print control software; a display control means for controlling to display a reception screen for receiving user instructions for setting margins; a generating means for generating second print data having a margin based on the content set by the instruction received on the reception screen, based on the first print data acquired by the acquiring means; A program to function as a

2. The program according to claim 1, characterized in that the reception screen is a screen that accepts instructions for one of a plurality of methods, including a first method in which part of the data to be printed is deleted by margins, and a second method in which the data to be printed is reduced so that part of the data to be printed is not deleted by margins.

3. The program according to claim 2, characterized in that the generating means sets margins for the first print data based on the method selected by the user on the reception screen, either the first method or the second method.

4. 4. The program according to claim 1, wherein the first print data is print data in a raster format.

5. The second print control software further includes a determination unit that determines whether a paper type in the print settings set in the drawing application matches a paper type received by the second print control software in response to a user instruction, A program according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that when it is determined that the paper types match, the generation means sets margins in the first print data using the second print control software.

6. 6. The program according to claim 1, wherein the display control means further controls to display a preview of a print result based on the second print data in which a margin is set.

7. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the display control means further controls the second printing control software to display a message warning that the print result based on the print data of the second format in which margins have been set may differ from the print result based on the print data before the margins were set.

8. 8. The program according to claim 7, wherein the message indicates at least one of the following: that there is a possibility that the printed result will be cut off when margins are added, and that the printed result will be reduced.

9. A program according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the generation means does not set margins for print data in the second format when the amount of margin of the print data generated by the drawing application by the second print control software is greater than or equal to a predetermined value.

10. 10. The program according to claim 1, wherein the first print control software is software provided by an operating system installed in the information processing apparatus.

11. A program according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the second printing control software is software provided by a vendor of a printing device that is connected to the information processing device and performs printing based on the second print data.

12. 12. The program according to claim 1, wherein the second print data is sent to a printing device that cannot interpret the first print data.

13. A method for controlling an information processing device by second print control software different from the first print control software, the method operating on the information processing device in which first print control software is installed, comprising: an acquiring step of acquiring first print data generated by the first print control software; a display control step of controlling to display a reception screen for receiving a user instruction for setting the margins; a generating step of generating second print data having a margin based on the content set by the instruction received on the reception screen, based on the first print data acquired in the acquiring step; 1. A method for controlling an information processing device, comprising:

14. A computer readable program according to any one of claims 1 to 12. Removable storage media.

15. First printing control software and a second printing control software different from the first printing control software. An information processing device in which printing control software is installed, A computer program comprising the means of any one of claims 1 to 12. An information processing device.

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