Support program

Abstract

To provide a technique to display information on the status of a printer before a print instruction in an information processing apparatus having built therein an OS-standard general purpose printing program.SOLUTION: A general purpose printing program 41 built in advance in an OS 21 of a PC 1 can deal with data for displaying a print setting screen on a display 13a of the PC 1. When an auxiliary program 42 supporting the general purpose printing program 41 receives a request for processing from the general purpose printing program 41 due to selection of a printer 2, the auxiliary program acquires status information 31 indicating the status of the printer 2, generates notification data indicating the details a user is notified of on the basis of the acquired status information 31, and passes the generated notification data to the general purpose printing program 41 to cause the notification data to be displayed on the print setting screen displayed on the display 13a.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The technical field disclosed in this specification relates to a support program that supports control of a printer. [Background technology]

[0002] A widely known technique for controlling a printer from an information processing device such as a personal computer is to install a printer driver in the information processing device, generate print data using the printer driver, and send the print data to the printer (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The printer driver is provided by the printer manufacturer and corresponds to the various functions of the printer, allowing the printer to be used to its full potential. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-134718 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In recent years, a technology has been put into practical use that controls printers using a general-purpose printing program that is built into the operating system (OS) as standard, without using the printer driver mentioned above. With this technology, when the OS detects a printer, it associates it with the OS's standard general-purpose printing program, and thereafter, when a print command for that printer is received, printing can be performed using the OS's standard general-purpose printing program without using a printer driver.

[0005] However, in an information processing device that uses a general-purpose printing program that is standard for the OS, there is no known configuration for displaying information about the printer status before issuing a print command. Therefore, even if an error such as a paper jam occurs in the printer, the user may issue a print command without knowing this, so there is room for improvement. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A support program developed for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems is executable by a computer of an information processing device, corresponds to a printer connected to the information processing device, and supports a general-purpose printing program that is pre-installed in the operating system of the information processing device, wherein the general-purpose printing program is capable of handling data for displaying a print setting screen on the display of the information processing device, and is configured to cause the computer to execute, when processing is requested from the general-purpose printing program due to the printer being selected, an acquisition process for acquiring status information indicating the status of the printer, a generation process for generating notification data indicating the notification content to be notified to the user based on the status information acquired in the acquisition process, and a display process for passing the notification data generated in the generation process to the general-purpose printing program and displaying the notification data on the print setting screen displayed on the display of the information processing device.

[0007] When a corresponding printer is selected, the support program disclosed in this specification acquires printer status information, generates notification data based on the status information, passes it to the general-purpose printing program, and causes the general-purpose printing program to display the notification data on the print setting screen. This allows an information processing device using the OS-standard general-purpose printing program to display information about the printer status before issuing a print command, allowing the user to know the information about the printer status before entering a print command.

[0008] An information processing device incorporating the above support program, a computer-readable storage medium storing the support program, a control method for realizing the functions of the support program, and a printing system including the support program and a printer are also novel and useful. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The technology disclosed in this specification realizes a technology for displaying information about the printer status before issuing a print instruction in an information processing device that has an OS-standard general-purpose print program installed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of the electrical configuration of a PC. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a procedure when printing is selected. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an information screen. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a print setting screen. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for a notification data generation process. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a notification image. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a notification image. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of priority order. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a procedure when a change in print settings is accepted. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a procedure when a print instruction is received. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] A personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a "PC") that uses the support program of the present embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. This specification discloses a support program executed on a PC.

[0012] As shown in Fig. 1, the PC 1 of this embodiment includes a controller 10 including a CPU 11 and a memory 12. The PC 1 is an example of an information processing device. The CPU 11 is an example of a computer. The PC 1 also includes a user interface (hereinafter referred to as "user IF") 13 and a communication interface (hereinafter referred to as "communication IF") 14, which are electrically connected to the controller 10. Note that the controller 10 in Fig. 1 is a collective term for hardware and software used to control the PC 1, and does not necessarily represent a single piece of hardware that actually exists in the PC 1.

[0013] The CPU 11 executes various processes in accordance with programs read from the memory 12 and based on user operations. Various programs and various data are stored in the memory 12. The memory 12 is also used as a work area when various processes are executed. The buffer provided in the CPU 11 is also an example of memory. Note that the memory 12 is not limited to a ROM, RAM, HDD, etc. built into the PC 1, but may also be a storage medium readable and writable by the CPU 11, such as a recording medium, such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM.

[0014] The user IF 13 includes a display 13a, which is hardware that displays a screen for notifying the user of information, and hardware that accepts operations by the user. Note that the user IF 13 may be a combination of the display 13a capable of displaying information and a mouse, keyboard, or the like that has an input acceptance function, or may be a touch panel that has the display 13a and an input acceptance function.

[0015] The communication IF 14 includes hardware for communicating with an external device such as the printer 2. The communication IF 14 may use a communication standard such as Ethernet (registered trademark), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), or USB. The PC 1 may be connectable to the Internet via the communication IF 14. The PC 1 may also be provided with multiple communication IFs 14 compatible with multiple communication standards.

[0016] 1, the memory 12 of the PC 1 stores an operating system (hereinafter referred to as "OS") 21 including a general-purpose printing program 41, an auxiliary program 42, and various application programs (hereinafter referred to as "apps"). The OS 21 is, for example, Windows (registered trademark), macOS (registered trademark), Linux (registered trademark), iOS (registered trademark), or Android (registered trademark). The auxiliary program 42 is an example of a support program.

[0017] The PC 1 of this embodiment incorporates various applications, such as an information application 43. The information application 43 is, for example, a map application, a calendar application, or a browser, and has a function of displaying various information on the display 13a in response to a user request. The information application 43 is an example of an application program. Note that the information application 43 itself does not necessarily have a function of printing the displayed information.

[0018] The generic printing program 41 is an OS standard program provided together with the OS 21, and has a function for causing the printer 2 or the like to print information displayed on the display 13a by the information application 43 or the like. The generic printing program 41 of this embodiment is a program that includes a function for generating intermediate image data based on the image data to be printed. The generic printing program 41 supports functions that can be used in common by multiple models of printers provided by various printer vendors. Unlike printer drivers that are specific to various printers, the generic printing program 41 does not support all of the functions that are specific to various printers, and the functions it supports are limited to generic ones.

[0019] The auxiliary program 42 is a program or group of programs that executes processing based on instructions from the OS 21 in conjunction with the processing of the general-purpose printing program 41, and is a program that supports the control of the target hardware. The auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment corresponds to the model of the printer 2 connected to the PC 1, and is launched from the general-purpose printing program 41 when, for example, an instruction to cause the printer 2 to execute printing using the general-purpose printing program 41 is received. The auxiliary program 42 is, for example, called a print support app (abbreviated as PSA) or a hardware support app (abbreviated as HSA).

[0020] The auxiliary program 42 may be a combination of multiple programs that each accept an execution command, or a single program that can execute different processes depending on the command. The auxiliary program may also be a program prepared by a printer vendor for each printer type. For example, an auxiliary program for inkjet printers and an auxiliary program for laser printers may be prepared. A separate auxiliary program may be prepared not only for each printer type, but also for each printer model or series of printer models.

[0021] For example, when a new printer is connected to the PC 1, the OS 21 of the PC 1 can download an appropriate auxiliary program from a server or the like according to the type and model of the connected printer and install it in the PC 1. The OS 21 associates the identification information of the installed auxiliary program with the printer information of the newly connected printer and stores it in the memory 12.

[0022] 1, the PC 1 of this embodiment is connected to a printer 2. The printer 2 is a device that has at least a printing function and a communication function.

[0023] The printer 2 of this embodiment stores status information 31 that indicates the status of the printer 2. The printer 2 status can be, for example, ready, printing, error, or warning. Ready is a status in which the printer is waiting for a print job, error is a status in which printing cannot be performed, and warning is a status that alerts the user that printing can be performed but that printing may become impossible in the near future.

[0024] If the printer 2 status is an error or warning, the status information 31 includes more detailed information. For example, if the status is an error, the detailed information may include type information indicating the type of error, guide information indicating how to resolve the error, and contact information indicating the contact information of a person in charge. Examples of type information indicating the type of error include malfunction, paper jam, no paper, no colorant, and cover open. Examples of type information indicating the type of warning if the status is a warning include low colorant and password unchanged. Note that password unchanged includes cases where the initial password has not been changed and cases where the same password has been used for a long period of time.

[0025] Next, the printing procedure including the operation of the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment, which is the procedure when printing is selected in the information application 43, will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of Fig. 2. Note that Fig. 2 and other sequence diagrams described later show the operation when the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2 is installed in the PC 1.

[0026] Note that the processes and each processing step of the flowchart in this embodiment basically represent processing by the CPU 11 in accordance with instructions written in a program such as the auxiliary program 42. The processing by the CPU 11 also includes hardware control using the API of the OS 21. In this specification, the operation of each program will be explained without a detailed description of the OS 21. Also, the term "obtain" is used as a concept that does not necessarily require a request.

[0027] At the beginning of the procedure, the user launches the information application 43 (A01). In response to a user instruction, the information application 43 displays an information screen including various pieces of information on the display 13a (A02). If the user wants to print an image of the displayed information screen, the user selects print on the information screen (A03). For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the information screen D1 includes a settings button SW1. When the user presses the settings button SW1, a pull-down menu DL including "print" is displayed, as shown in FIG. 3. When the user selects "print" in the pull-down menu DL, the information application 43 passes a display request and data of the information screen to the general-purpose print program 41 of the OS 21 (A04).

[0028] In response to a request, the general-purpose printing program 41 displays a print setting screen on the display 13a (A06). The print setting screen is a screen that accepts instructions for print settings and instructions for printing. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the print setting screen D2 includes a printer selection field 51 that accepts the selection of a printer, a notification field 52 that displays a notification image, a print setting field 53 that accepts the specification of various print settings, a preview field 54 that includes an image of the image to be printed, a detailed settings button SW2 that accepts instructions to make detailed print settings, and a print button SW3 that accepts instructions to execute printing. The notification image displayed in the notification field 52 is an image that indicates the content of the notification to be sent to the user. The general-purpose printing program 41 can handle data to be displayed on the print setting screen D2.

[0029] The user can select a printer by operating the printer selection field 51 on the currently displayed print setting screen D2 (A07). If the selected printer is printer 2, the general-purpose print program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to printer 2 and requests processing corresponding to the selected printer (A08). In A08, the general-purpose print program 41 passes information about the selected printer and information about the print settings that were set when the printer was selected to the auxiliary program 42.

[0030] When printer 2 is set as the printer to be normally used by the OS 21, the general-purpose printing program 41 displays the print setting screen D2 with printer 2 selected (A06), as shown in Fig. 4, and starts the auxiliary program 42 (A08). That is, printer 2 is automatically selected by the OS 21, and the general-purpose printing program 41 executes A08 based on the information of the selected printer 2. In this case, the user does not need to operate A07.

[0031] Note that instead of the general-purpose printing program 41 displaying the print setting screen D2, the information application 43 may be configured to display the print setting screen D2. In this case, the information application 43 starts the general-purpose printing program 41 in response to the selection of printing in A03, obtains data to be displayed on the print setting screen D2 from the general-purpose printing program 41, and displays the print setting screen D2 on the display 13a. Then, in response to the selection of printer 2 or in response to the selection of printer 2 in A07, the information application 43 passes information about the selected printer 2 to the general-purpose printing program 41. As a result, the general-purpose printing program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to printer 2 in A08.

[0032] In response to being started, the auxiliary program 42 outputs a capability acquisition request to the OS 21, requesting capability information about the printer 2 (A11). In response to the capability acquisition request from the auxiliary program 42, the OS 21 transmits a capability transmission request to the printer 2, requesting the capability information, and receives the capability information from the printer 2 (A12). When the printer 2 receives the capability transmission request from the general-purpose printing program 41 of the OS 21, it transmits capability information indicating the capabilities of the printer 2 to the general-purpose printing program 41.

[0033] The OS 21 passes the capability information received from the printer 2 to the auxiliary program 42 (A13). The auxiliary program 42 stores the capability information received from the OS 21 in a predetermined area in the memory 12 that can be used by the auxiliary program 42 (A14). If the capability information has already been stored in the memory 12, the auxiliary program 42 overwrites the stored capability information and stores the current capability information.

[0034] The OS 21 communicates with the printer 2, for example, using IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) communications. Note that the auxiliary program 42 may obtain capability information directly from the printer 2, for example, using MIB (Management Information Base), instead of making a request to the OS 21.

[0035] The capability information acquired from the printer 2 includes information on parameters that can be set as print settings, as well as, for example, information on remaining amounts of consumables, information on the installed trays, information on the paper type set for each tray, and information on the print resolution that can be supported. The printer 2 may also have a function for performing image processing based on a received print job and printing based on the processed data, such as a function for performing aggregate printing such as Nin1, composite printing such as watermark printing, and economical printing that saves coloring agents. If the printer 2 has an image processing function that it can execute, the printer 2 may pass information on that function to the OS 21 as capability information.

[0036] The auxiliary program 42 further requests the printer 2 to notify it of its status, and acquires the status information 31 from the printer 2 (A15). The auxiliary program 42 acquires the status of the printer 2 based on the status information 31 acquired from the printer 2. The request for the status information 31 sent to the printer 2 in A15 is an example of a specific request, and A15 is an example of an acquisition process.

[0037] It should be noted that two or more types of status may occur simultaneously in the printer 2. In such cases, the printer 2 transmits all of the occurring statuses as status information 31. In other words, the status information 31 acquired by the auxiliary program 42 at A15 may include information indicating multiple statuses.

[0038] The status information 31 may be information included in the capability information. In that case, the auxiliary program 42 can acquire the status information 31 from the capability information notified in A13. In this case, A11 and A12 are an example of an acquisition process. If the capability information includes the status information 31, the auxiliary program 42 does not need to make the request in A15. Furthermore, instead of directly requesting the status information 31 from the printer 2, the auxiliary program 42 may request the OS 21 to acquire the status information 31 separately from the capability information.

[0039] If the auxiliary program 42 obtains the status information 31 directly from the printer 2, the process for extracting the status information 31 from the capability information is not required, making the process simpler than when the status information 31 is obtained together with the capability information. Also, the status information 31 can be obtained at a timing different from the timing at which the capability information is obtained, increasing the flexibility in the timing at which the status information 31 is obtained. On the other hand, if the auxiliary program 42 requests the general-purpose printing program 41 to obtain the status information 31 from the printer 2 together with the capability information, the communication load with the printer 2 is reduced, compared to when the status information 31 is obtained separately from the capability information.

[0040] The auxiliary program 42 executes a notification data generation process (A21) based on the status information 31 acquired in A15. The notification data generation process is a process for generating notification data indicating a notification image to be displayed in the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2. The notification image to be displayed in the notification field 52 may include, for example, text, a still image, a video, an object with a link that embeds a URL, or a combination of these. The display form of the object may be text, a button, or a banner. The notification data generation process will be described in detail later.

[0041] Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 passes display information including the generated notification data and information on print setting values ​​based on the capability information to the general-purpose printing program 41 (A22), and ends the processing. Based on the display information received from the auxiliary program 42, the general-purpose printing program 41 displays a notification image in the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2 displayed on the display 13a (A23). In A23, a notification image based on the notification data is displayed in the notification field 52, and information based on the capability information of the printer 2 is displayed in the print setting field 53 as the initial value of each print setting. A22 is an example of display processing. Note that, in the processing of A23, when the information application 43 is configured to display the print setting screen D2, the information application 43 receives the notification data and displays the notification image in the notification field 52.

[0042] 4 shows the print setting screen D2 including one notification field 52, but the layout, shape, size, number, etc. of the notification field 52 are not limited to the example shown in this figure. The auxiliary program 42 may acquire information about the notification field 52 from the general-purpose printing program 41 and determine the notification data to be displayed in the notification field 52 based on the acquired information. For example, if there are multiple layouts in which the notification field 52 can be displayed and the display location can be specified by the auxiliary program 42, the auxiliary program 42 may pass notification data including information specifying the display location to the general-purpose printing program 41. Furthermore, if the size of the notification field 52 can be selected, the auxiliary program 42 may pass information specifying the size to the general-purpose printing program 41.

[0043] Next, the procedure of the notification data generation process executed in A21 will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 5. The notification data generation process is executed by the CPU 11 of the PC 1 based on the description of the auxiliary program 42.

[0044] In the notification data generation process, the CPU 11 first determines the type of status based on the status information 31 included in the capability information acquired at A13 in Fig. 2 (S101). Note that if the status information 31 includes multiple statuses, the CPU 11 determines each status one by one.

[0045] If it is determined that the status being judged is an error (S101: Error), the CPU 11 stores error information in a storage area available to the auxiliary program 42 (S103). The CPU 11 stores, as the error information, for example, the type of error, detailed information about the error, the date and time the error occurred, or the date and time the status information 31 was acquired, in association with the identification information of the printer 2.

[0046] Then, CPU 11 adds an error notification, which is a message notifying that an error has occurred, to the notification content (S104). Furthermore, CPU 11 determines whether the type of error is one that can be resolved by the user, based on the detailed information included in status information 31 (S105). Specifically, if the type of error is a malfunction, CPU 11 determines NO in S105. If the type of error is, for example, a paper jam, no paper, no coloring material, or an open cover, CPU 11 determines YES in S105.

[0047] If it is determined that the error cannot be resolved by the user (S105: NO), the CPU 11 adds contact information indicating the contact point for a service call to the notification content (S106). On the other hand, if it is determined that the error can be resolved by the user (S105: YES), the CPU 11 adds guide information showing the procedure for resolving the error to the notification content (S107). By notifying the user of the guide information for resolving the error, the possibility that the user will be able to quickly resolve the error increases.

[0048] The auxiliary program 42 is provided with a message for notifying an error for each type of error. Then, in S104, the CPU 11 determines the message to be notified depending on the type of error. Note that the error notification, contact information, guide information, etc. may be included in the status information 31, may be stored in the auxiliary program 42, or may be obtained from an external device such as the printer 2 or a server. Also, the guide information and contact information may be an object with a link in which the URL of a web page is embedded.

[0049] An example of a notification image including an error notification and guide information is shown in Fig. 6. The notification image in the example of Fig. 6 is an example of the case where an out-of-paper error has occurred, and includes button 61 with a link embedded with the URL of a web page that shows how to insert paper. By displaying the notification image including the error notification in notification field 52 of print settings screen D2, the user can easily understand on print settings screen D2 that an error has occurred in printer 2.

[0050] When it is determined that the status to be determined is a warning (S101: warning), the CPU 11 adds a warning notification, which is a message notifying the warning, and detailed information about the warning to the notification content (S111). In this case, the detailed information is, for example, information indicating the type of warning, how to deal with it, etc.

[0051] If it is determined that the status being judged is neither an error nor a warning (S101: Other), the CPU 11 adds a status notification, which is a message notifying the status, to the notification content (S121). An example of a notification image including a status notification is shown in FIG. 7. By displaying the notification image including the status notification in the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2, the user can easily understand the status of the printer 2 on the print setting screen D2.

[0052] After any of S106, S107, S111, and S121, the CPU 11 determines whether or not another status is included in the acquired status information 31 (S131). If it is determined that there is still another status to be determined (S131: YES), the CPU 11 returns to S101 with the next status as the determination target.

[0053] When it is determined that the processing of all statuses included in the acquired status information 31 has been completed (S131: NO), the CPU 11 generates notification data indicating an image to be displayed in the notification field 52 based on the added notification content (S132). S132 is an example of the generation processing.

[0054] When the status information 31 includes multiple statuses and multiple pieces of information are added to the notification content, the CPU 11 notifies information about a status with a higher priority than information about a status with a lower priority, for example, based on the priority stored in the auxiliary program 42. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the priority is highest for a failure, followed by an error that makes printing impossible. A warning has a lower priority than an error.

[0055] Note that giving priority to notification means, for example, displaying the notification at the top or first in notification column 52, displaying in large characters, displaying in color characters, displaying with a display frame added, or flashing. Also, CPU 11 may generate notification data showing a single image in which all of the added notification contents are lined up, or may generate notification data showing a switching video in which the notification contents are switched in sequence.

[0056] Furthermore, if there are multiple pieces of information added to the notification content, CPU 11 may not notify information relating to a status with a lower priority. Furthermore, if there is no added notification content because the status could not be acquired, CPU 11 may generate notification data in which notification field 52 is left blank, or may generate notification data showing a predetermined image such as a vendor logo or the latest information.

[0057] Furthermore, CPU 11 determines whether or not the currently determined status information 31 includes a status indicating an error (S133). If it is determined that the currently determined status information 31 does not include a status indicating an error (S133: NO), CPU 11 deletes the stored error information from memory 12 if error information is stored in memory 12 (S134). After S134, or if it is determined that the currently determined status information 31 includes a status indicating an error (S133: YES), CPU 11 ends the notification data generation process and returns to the process in the sequence diagram of FIG.

[0058] 2, the auxiliary program 42 passes the notification data generated in S132 to the general-purpose printing program 41. As a result, in A23, a notification image based on the notification data is displayed in the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2. That is, an image based on the notification data generated by the auxiliary program 42 is displayed on the print setting screen D2.

[0059] The auxiliary program 42 can also display the information itself, instead of generating notification data and passing it to the general-purpose printing program 41. In this case, however, a screen separate from the print setting screen D2 is displayed, which can be cumbersome and stressful for the user. Displaying the information within the print setting screen D2 of the general-purpose printing program 41 of the OS 21 simplifies the display and avoids stress for the user.

[0060] Next, the procedures performed by each program when an instruction to change the print settings is received through a user operation in the print settings field 53 while the print settings screen D2 shown in Fig. 4 is displayed will be described with reference to the sequence diagram in Fig. 9. As described above, the print settings screen D2 can receive an instruction to change the print settings through an operation in the print settings field 53, and an instruction to execute printing through an operation on the print button SW3.

[0061] The general-purpose printing program 41 changes the display contents of the print setting field 53 on the print setting screen D2 (B02) based on a user instruction to change the print settings (B01). Furthermore, when the print settings are changed, the general-purpose printing program 41 also starts the auxiliary program 42 and requests processing corresponding to the change in print settings (B03). In B03, the auxiliary program 42 receives information on the changed print settings from the general-purpose printing program 41.

[0062] In response to being started due to a change in print settings, the auxiliary program 42 determines (B04) whether error information is stored in the memory 12. The error information is information stored in the memory 12 in S103 of the notification data generation process described above, and is information indicating that the previously acquired status information 31 contained an error.

[0063] If it is determined that error information is stored (alt: [Error information present]), the auxiliary program 42 requests the status information 31 from the printer 2 and acquires the status information 31 from the printer 2 (B12). The auxiliary program 42 acquires the current status of the printer 2 based on the received status information 31. B12 is the same process as A15. B12 is an example of acquisition processing. Note that the auxiliary program 42 may acquire the status information 31 via the OS 21 in B12.

[0064] Based on the status acquired this time, the auxiliary program 42 executes the notification data generation process shown in Fig. 5 again (B14). In the notification data generation process executed in B14, S132 is also an example of generation processing. Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 passes the notification data generated in the notification data generation process of B14 to the general-purpose print program 41 (B15), and ends the processing. B15 is an example of display processing.

[0065] Based on the notification data received from the auxiliary program 42, the general-purpose printing program 41 updates the notification image displayed in the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2 (B21). Even on the print setting screen D2 updated in B21, the general-purpose printing program 41 can accept changes to the print settings made by the user. When an instruction to change the print settings is accepted on the currently displayed print setting screen D2, the general-purpose printing program 41 again executes the procedure in the sequence diagram shown in FIG.

[0066] Note that when updating the display of the print setting screen D2, the general-purpose printing program 41 may be configured not to change the display of the notification field 52, or may leave the notification field 52 blank, if it has not received any notification data from the auxiliary program 42. If the display is not changed, the auxiliary program 42 may not pass the notification data in B15 if the notification data generated in B15 is the same as the notification data generated in the notification data generation process of A21. Alternatively, if the same error occurs again, the auxiliary program 42 may pass notification data that is more emphasized than the previous time.

[0067] On the other hand, if it is determined in B04 that no error information is stored in the memory 12, the auxiliary program 42 does not execute B12 to B21 and notifies the general-purpose printing program 41 of the end of processing. In this case, the notification image displayed in the notification field 52 is not changed. If no error has occurred, the processing load of the auxiliary program 42 is reduced by not reacquiring the status information 31.

[0068] The auxiliary program 42 may also acquire the status information 31 again and execute the notification data generation process even if no error is stored. However, acquiring the status information 31 every time the print settings are changed increases the communication load with the printer 2. By executing B12 to B21 only when an error state occurs that prevents printing, the latest status is notified in the notification field 52 on the print settings screen D2 without increasing the processing load too much. In other words, if the error has been resolved, the status after resolution is displayed, allowing the user to obtain information about the latest status before issuing a print execution instruction.

[0069] Next, the procedures performed by each program when a print instruction is received by a user operating the print button SW3 while the print setting screen D2 shown in Fig. 4 is displayed will be described with reference to the sequence diagram in Fig. 10. The print instruction from the user may be input directly to the general-purpose print program 41, or may be input to the information application 43 and output from the information application 43 to the general-purpose print program 41.

[0070] Based on a user's instruction to execute printing (C01), the general-purpose printing program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 and requests processing corresponding to the instruction to execute printing (C02). In C02, the auxiliary program 42 receives from the general-purpose printing program 41 information on the print settings that were set when the instruction to execute printing was received. The general-purpose printing program 41 may also pass image data indicating the image to be printed to the auxiliary program 42. The general-purpose printing program 41 also closes the print setting screen D2 that is currently being displayed. As a result, the information screen of the information application 43 becomes active.

[0071] In response to the print instruction, the auxiliary program 42 acquires the information on the main body capabilities of the printer 2 stored in A14 of FIG. 2 (C03). Note that in C03, the auxiliary program 42 may communicate with the printer 2 and acquire the information on the main body capabilities from the printer 2. The information on the main body capabilities may include, for example, information on image processing that can be executed by the printer 2. The auxiliary program 42 checks the print setting information received in C02 based on the acquired information on the main body capabilities (C04). In C04, the auxiliary program 42 checks, for example, whether there is any discrepancy between the print settings and the main body capabilities of the printer 2. Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 passes the print setting information of the confirmation result to the general-purpose printing program 41 (C05).

[0072] Depending on the result of the confirmation in C04, the auxiliary program 42 may change the print settings and pass them on in C05. For example, if the print settings received in C02 include information about image processing that is better executed by the printer 2 than by the general-purpose print program 41 or the auxiliary program 42, the auxiliary program 42 may change the print settings to exclude that image processing. In this case, the auxiliary program 42 may store the excluded print setting information so that it can be passed to the printer 2 in a later procedure, and pass the changed print setting information to the general-purpose print program 41 in C05.

[0073] Furthermore, if error information is stored in the memory 12, the auxiliary program 42 may reacquire the status information 31 in C03. If the status information 31 contains an error, the auxiliary program 42 may notify the user of the error before proceeding to C05. For example, the auxiliary program 42 may display a pop-up screen on the display 13a notifying the user of the error.

[0074] The general-purpose printing program 41 uses the print settings received from the auxiliary program 42 to convert the format of the image data of the image to be printed into the format of intermediate image data, thereby generating intermediate image data, and passes the generated intermediate image data to the auxiliary program 42 (C11). The image data contained in the information application 43 is of various types, and the general-purpose printing program 41 converts the image data to be printed into intermediate image data suitable for generating print data. Note that if the image data to be printed is suitable for generating print data, the generation of intermediate image data may be omitted and the image data may be used as is as intermediate image data. The intermediate image data may be, for example, XPS data.

[0075] The auxiliary program 42 performs rasterization based on the intermediate image data received in C11, and generates print data representing the image to be printed (C12). The print data generated in C12 is data in a format that can be used for printing by the printer 2, for example, PDL data dedicated to the model of the printer 2.

[0076] Rasterizing with the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2 allows for greater flexibility than rasterizing with the general-purpose print program 41, and is more likely to generate print data suitable for printing on the printer 2. Note that the print data generated by the auxiliary program 42 may be in a format that can also be used for printing on printers other than the printer 2 model.

[0077] The auxiliary program 42 sends the print data generated in C12 to the printer 2 together with a print command instructing execution of printing (C13). C13 is an example of a sending process. If there is image processing determined to be executed by the printer 2 in C04, the auxiliary program 42 generates a print command including information about that processing. The auxiliary program 42 may further notify the general-purpose printing program 41 that transmission of the print data has been completed.

[0078] Upon receiving the print data and print command, the printer 2 prints the image of the print data based on the received print command (C15), thereby generating a printed matter.

[0079] Note that instead of the auxiliary program 42 generating the print data, the general-purpose printing program 41 may generate the print data. For example, the auxiliary program 42 may pass the intermediate image data and print execution information received in C11 to the general-purpose printing program 41, and the general-purpose printing program 41 may rasterize the intermediate image data to generate the print data. In this case, the general-purpose printing program 41 passes the generated print data to the auxiliary program 42. Then, when the auxiliary program 42 receives print data from the general-purpose printing program 41, it sends the print data received from the general-purpose printing program 41 to the printer 2 together with a print command instructing the execution of printing.

[0080] The print data generated by the general-purpose print program 41 is print data in a format that can be used for printing on various printers, such as PWGRaster data or PDF data. If the print data is rasterized by the general-purpose print program 41, the processing of the auxiliary program 42 is reduced, which is expected to prevent an increase in processing time and reduce the program size of the auxiliary program 42.

[0081] The general-purpose printing program 41 may transmit the print data and print commands to the printer 2. In other words, the auxiliary program 42 may pass the generated print data to the general-purpose printing program 41 so that the data is sent from the PC 1 to the printer 2 as the destination. In this case, the general-purpose printing program 41 transmits the print data, etc. received from the auxiliary program 42 to the printer 2. In this case, the process in which the auxiliary program 42 passes the print data, etc. to the general-purpose printing program 41 is an example of a transmission process.

[0082] As explained in detail above, when the printer 2 is selected, the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment acquires the status information 31 of the printer 2 and passes notification data based on the acquired status information 31 to the general-purpose printing program 41. As a result, the general-purpose printing program 41 displays an image based on the notification data in the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2. In other words, on the PC 1 using the general-purpose printing program 41 standardized by OS 21, information about the status of the printer 2 is displayed before a print instruction is given. Therefore, the user can know the information about the status of the printer 2 before inputting a print instruction.

[0083] Furthermore, when the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment is started in response to a user's instruction to change the print settings, if the previous status contains an error, it acquires the status information again and updates the notification data displayed in the notification field 52, so that the user can know the latest status.

[0084] Also, there may be restrictions on the information that can be displayed in the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2. The auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment prioritizes the statuses, and when multiple statuses are acquired, it notifies information related to the status with the highest priority first, so that there is little chance that an important notification or a notification with a high degree of urgency will be overlooked due to being mixed in with other notifications.

[0085] The embodiments disclosed in this specification are merely examples and do not limit the present invention in any way. Therefore, the technology disclosed in this specification can naturally be improved and modified in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the device connected to PC1 is not limited to a printer, but may be any device with a printing function, such as a multifunction device, copier, or fax machine. Furthermore, the number of printers connected to PC1 is not limited to the illustrated example, and may be two or more.

[0086] 6 and 7 are merely examples and are not limited to the examples shown. Furthermore, the wording, object shapes, background, etc. displayed in the notification image may be any.

[0087] Also, for example, in this embodiment, if it is determined in B04 of FIG. 9 that the previous status contains an error, the status information is acquired again in B12, but it is not necessary to acquire it again. For example, the determination in B04 of FIG. 9 and the processes in B12 to B21 may be omitted. Simply notifying the user of an error when selecting a printer is likely to allow the user to resolve the error. By not acquiring the status information again, the time until printing can be shortened. On the other hand, if the status is notified again, the user can grasp the latest information.

[0088] In addition, if the user changes the normally used printer from another printer to printer 2 via OS21 after the print setting screen D2 is displayed by the general-purpose print program 41, the general-purpose print program 41 may also start the auxiliary program 42. In this case, the auxiliary program 42 may execute the notification data generation process and pass the notification data to the general-purpose printing program 41, just as when the printer 2 is selected.

[0089] In the embodiment, only the printing operation is described in detail as the operation of the auxiliary program 42, but the auxiliary program 42 may have other roles as well. The program that executes the processing of this embodiment is not limited to the auxiliary program 42, and may be any program that receives instructions from the OS 21 or the general-purpose print program 41 when printing using the general-purpose print program 41. For example, it may be a print workflow application (Print workflow) whose specifications have been made public by Microsoft.

[0090] Furthermore, the execution timing of the auxiliary program 42 is not limited to that of the embodiment. For example, the auxiliary program 42 may be executed in response to a direct execution instruction from the OS 21, or may be a resident auxiliary program 42. If the auxiliary program 42 is resident, it may simply receive an execution command and perform the above-described operation.

[0091] Furthermore, in any flowchart disclosed in the embodiments, the execution order of multiple processes in any multiple steps can be changed or they can be executed in parallel as long as no contradiction occurs in the processing content.

[0092] The processes disclosed in the embodiments may be executed by hardware such as a single CPU, multiple CPUs, or ASIC, or a combination thereof. The processes disclosed in the embodiments may be realized in various ways, such as a recording medium on which a program for executing the processes is recorded, or a method. [Explanation of symbols]

[0093] 1 PC 2. Printer 11 CPU 13a Display

Claims

1. A support program that can be executed by a computer of an information processing device, corresponds to a printer connected to the information processing device, and supports a general-purpose printing program that is pre-installed in an operating system of the information processing device, the general-purpose printing program being capable of handling data for displaying a print setting screen on a display of the information processing device; The computer, When the printer is selected and a process is requested from the general-purpose printing program, an acquisition process for acquiring status information indicating the status of the printer; a generation process for generating notification data indicating notification content to be notified to a user based on the status information acquired in the acquisition process; a display process for passing the notification data generated in the generation process to the general-purpose print program and displaying the notification data on the print setting screen displayed on the display of the information processing device; Execute A support program configured to:

2. 2. The support program according to claim 1, In the acquisition process, a capability acquisition request is output to the general-purpose printing program, and the status information included in the capability information passed from the general-purpose printing program is acquired; when the capability acquisition request is input from the support program, the general-purpose printing program sends a capability transmission request to the printer, receives the capability information from the printer, and passes the received capability information to the support program; when the printer receives the capability transmission request from the general-purpose printing program, the printer transmits the capability information including the status information to the general-purpose printing program. A support program configured to:

3. 2. The support program according to claim 1, In the acquisition process, a support program configured to acquire the status information by sending a specific request to the printer and receiving the status information from the printer, and the printer sending the status information to the support program when the printer receives the specific request from the support program.

4. 4. The support program according to claim 1, The computer, When a process is requested from the general-purpose printing program due to a change in print settings on the print setting screen, A support program configured to determine whether the status indicated in the status information acquired in the acquisition process executed last time indicated an error, and to execute the acquisition process, the generation process, and the display process even if it is determined that the status indicated an error.

5. 5. The support program according to claim 1, The statuses shown in the status information have a display priority order, and two or more types of status may occur simultaneously in the printer, and the status information can include multiple statuses; In the generation process, When the status information acquired in the acquisition process includes a plurality of statuses, the notification data is generated to indicate notification content that gives priority to notifying information about the status with a higher priority over information about the status with a lower priority. A support program configured to:

6. 6. The support program according to claim 1, In the generation process, If the status indicated in the status information acquired in the acquisition process indicates an error, the notification data is generated including guide information indicating a procedure for resolving the error. A support program configured to:

7. 7. The support program according to claim 1, The computer, When a print instruction is output from an application program installed in the information processing device, the print instruction being to cause the printer to print an image to the general-purpose print program, and processing is requested from the general-purpose print program, acquiring image data representing the image from the general-purpose printing program, and executing a transmission process for transmitting a print command to the printer based on the image data; A support program configured to:

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