Support program

Abstract

To provide a technique to, when a connection error occurs with a printer, display information on the connection error 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 D2 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 due to selection of a printer 2, the auxiliary program checks the connection with the printer 2, when confirming a connection error during the connection checking, generates notification data indicating the details of notification to notify a user of a failure in connection with the printer 2, passes the generated notification data to the general purpose printing program 41, and causes the notification data to be displayed on the print setting screen D2 displayed on the display 13a of the PC 1.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] Conventionally, a configuration is known in which a printer driver is used to notify the connection status with a printer. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an information processing device including a printer diagnostic correction unit and a printer driver, in which, when a print instruction is received from a print application program, the printer driver generates a print job and instructs the printer diagnostic correction unit to check for any problems, and if any problems are found, the printer diagnostic correction unit displays information related to the problems. Patent Document 1 also lists offline connection with the printer as one of the problems. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-135666 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In recent years, a technology has been put into practical use in which a printer is controlled by a general-purpose printing program that is built into an operating system (OS) as standard, without using a printer driver. With this technology, when the OS detects a printer, it associates it with the OS's standard general-purpose printing program, and then when a print instruction is received for that printer, 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 with the OS, there is no known configuration that notifies the connection status with the printer before a print command is issued. The printer driver disclosed in Patent Document 1 notifies the user of problem information when a print command is issued, so the user cannot know that the printer is offline before entering a print command. Therefore, even if a connection error has occurred with the printer, the user may still 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 a confirmation process for confirming connection with the printer when processing is requested from the general-purpose printing program due to the printer being selected, and further cause the computer to execute a first generation process for generating first notification data indicating notification content notifying the user that connection to the printer has failed when a connection error is confirmed in the confirmation process, and a first display process for passing the first notification data generated in the first generation process to the general-purpose printing program and displaying the first notification data on the print setting screen displayed on the display of the information processing device.

[0007] When a printer is selected via a general-purpose printing program, the support program disclosed in this specification checks the connection with the printer, and if a connection error is detected, passes notification data to the general-purpose printing program and displays it on the print setting screen. This allows a user of an information processing device using the OS's general-purpose printing program to know the connection status with the printer 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] According to the technology disclosed in this specification, in an information processing device incorporating an OS-standard general-purpose printing program, if a connection error occurs between the information processing device and the printer, the information is notified before issuing a print instruction. [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 pop-up screen. [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 a notification image. [Figure 9]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 indicating the status of the printer 2 and user information 32 indicating users who are authorized to use 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] Furthermore, the user information 32 may be, for example, only identification information indicating users who are authorized to use the printer, or information that associates a list of users with information indicating whether each user is authorized to use the printer. The user information 32 may also include, for example, the number of printable sheets and available print settings for each user. If the printer 2 receives a print instruction from a user who is not authorized to use the printer based on the user information 32, the printer 2 will not execute printing.

[0026] 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.

[0027] 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.

[0028] 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).

[0029] 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 displays an image of the information screen to be printed, a detailed settings button SW2 that accepts instructions for detailed print settings, and a print button SW3 that accepts instructions for printing. The notification image displayed in the notification field 52 is an image that indicates the content of the notification to be notified to the user. The general-purpose printing program 41 can handle data for displaying the print setting screen D2.

[0030] 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.

[0031] 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.

[0032] 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.

[0033] 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 a reply 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 sender of the request.

[0034] The capability information that can be acquired from the printer 2 includes, in addition to information on parameters that can be set as print settings, information on the remaining amount 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 that performs image processing based on a received print job and prints based on the processed data, such as a function that performs 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 can be executed by the printer 2, the printer 2 may pass information on that function to the OS 21 as capability information.

[0035] 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.

[0036] In response to the capability acquisition request of A11, the general-purpose printing program 41 of the OS 21 notifies the auxiliary program 42 of the result information (A13). When the general-purpose printing program 41 receives a reply from the printer 2, it notifies the auxiliary program 42 of the information returned from the printer 2 as result information. For example, if the information received from the printer 2 is appropriate capability information, the auxiliary program 42 can acquire the capability information based on the result information acquired from the general-purpose printing program 41 in A13. The auxiliary program 42 determines whether or not appropriate capability information has been acquired based on the result information received in A13.

[0037] If it is determined that the appropriate capability information of the printer 2 has been acquired (alt: [Connection successful]), 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). Note that 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.

[0038] 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.

[0039] The status information 31 may be information included in the capability information. In this case, the auxiliary program 42 can obtain the status information 31 from the capability information notified in A13. 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 obtain the status information 31 separately from the capability information.

[0040] 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.

[0041] On the other hand, the result information passed from the general-purpose printing program 41 at A13 may not include appropriate capability information. For example, if the communication status between PC1 and printer 2 is poor, the general-purpose printing program 41 cannot receive information from printer 2. If printer 2 cannot communicate properly because, for example, it is not turned on, is offline, or is communicating with another device, it cannot receive a request from PC1. Also, if a communication failure occurs or the address specified for printer 2 cannot be found, PC1 cannot send a request to printer 2.

[0042] The OS21 determines that a timeout has occurred if it is unable to send a capability transmission request to the printer 2 in A12, or if a predetermined time has passed without receiving a reply from the printer 2 after sending the capability transmission request to the printer 2. In this case, the general-purpose printing program 41 of the OS21 notifies the auxiliary program 42 of information indicating a timeout as result information in A13.

[0043] Furthermore, if the printer 2 has a low firmware version, for example, if it does not support IPP communication or does not have appropriate capability information, the printer 2 will not be able to return information containing appropriate capability information in response to the request of A12. In this case, the printer 2 may return capability information including version information. When the general-purpose printing program 41 of the OS 21 receives information from the printer 2, it notifies the auxiliary program 42 of the received information as result information, regardless of its content.

[0044] Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment may pass a capability acquisition request including an instruction for user authentication to the general-purpose printing program 41 at A11. In this case, the capability transmission request sent from the OS 21 to the printer 2 includes an instruction for user authentication and user information indicating the user currently logged in to the PC 1. When the printer 2 receives the capability transmission request including an instruction for user authentication, it performs user authentication based on the user information 32 stored in the printer 2 and the user information included in the received capability transmission request.

[0045] If the printer 2 determines that the user authentication was successful, it sends the capability information to the OS 21 at A12, as described above. On the other hand, if the printer 2 determines that the user authentication was unsuccessful, it sends information indicating the authentication failure to the OS 21 at A12, instead of the capability information. If the identification information of the user currently logged in to the PC 1 is not included in the user information 32, or if the identification information is included but the user does not have the authority to connect to the printer 2, the printer 2 determines that the authentication has failed.

[0046] Regardless of the authentication result, the general-purpose printing program 41 of the OS 21 notifies the auxiliary program 42 of the information received from the printer 2 as result information. In other words, the auxiliary program 42 can determine whether or not user authentication at the printer 2 was successful based on the result information received at A13.

[0047] If it is determined based on the result information received in A13 that appropriate capability information could not be obtained from the printer 2, the auxiliary program 42 determines that a connection error has occurred and does not execute A14 and A15. In other words, the process in A11 in which the auxiliary program 42 requests the OS 21 for capability information about the printer 2 is also a process for confirming the connection with the printer 2. A11 is an example of a confirmation process. The auxiliary program 42 also determines the cause of the connection error from the result information received in A13. Causes of the connection error include, for example, poor communication, a version error, or authentication failure.

[0048] The auxiliary program 42 executes a notification data generation process (A21) based on the status information 31 acquired in A15 or the result information acquired in A13. 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, or 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.

[0049] Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 passes display information including the generated notification data to the general-purpose printing program 41 (A22), and ends the processing. If the auxiliary program 42 has acquired appropriate capability information, it also passes information on print setting values ​​based on that capability information to the general-purpose printing program 41. 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 values ​​of each print setting.

[0050] In the process of A23, if the information application 43 is configured to display the print setting screen D2, the information application 43 receives the notification data and displays a notification image in the notification field 52. Furthermore, if the auxiliary program 42 is unable to acquire appropriate capability information due to a connection error with the printer 2, the auxiliary program 42 may pass default information stored in the auxiliary program 42 as the initial value of the print setting value.

[0051] 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.

[0052] 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.

[0053] In the notification data generation process, the CPU 11 first determines whether a connection error with the printer 2 has been confirmed based on the result information received at A13 in FIG. 2 (S101). If it determines that a connection error has been confirmed (S101: YES), the CPU 11 adds a connection failure notification to the notification content (S103). The connection failure notification is a notification that includes a message indicating that connection with the printer 2 has failed, and is an example of failure information.

[0054] Furthermore, the CPU 11 adds guide information indicating procedures for resolving the connection error to the notification content (S104). The guide information includes, for example, instructions to check the status of the printer 2, messages prompting the installation of dedicated programs or firmware updates, and contact information for an administrator who manages user information. The guide information may be an image including an object with a link embedded in it, which has an embedded URL of a web page indicating how to connect to the printer 2. By displaying an object with a link embedded in it, the user can easily access the web page indicated by the URL by operating the object, and can learn the procedures for resolving the connection error based on the web page. Including procedures for resolving the connection error in the notification content makes it easier for the user to quickly resolve the error.

[0055] The CPU 11 generates notification data indicating an image to be displayed in the notification field 52 based on the added notification content (S105). S105 is an example of a first generation process. The notification data generated in S105 is an example of first notification data. The auxiliary program 42 passes the generated notification data to the general-purpose printing program 41, as shown in A22 of FIG. 2. As a result, at A23 of FIG. 2, a notification image including a connection failure notification and guide information 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. A22 in this case is an example of a first display process.

[0056] CPU 11 further generates pop-up data for displaying a pop-up notification content notifying the user that a connection error has been confirmed (S106). S106 is an example of a first generation process. The pop-up data may be the same information as the information added to the notification content in S103 and S104, i.e., the information displayed in notification field 52 of print setting screen D2, or may be only a message or image for attracting the user's attention. CPU 11 then displays a pop-up screen on display 13a based on the generated pop-up data (S107). S107 is an example of a pop-up display process and an example of a first display process.

[0057] An example of the pop-up screen is shown in Fig. 6. The pop-up screen 71 in the example of Fig. 6 includes a message indicating a connection error due to poor communication, and a button 61 with a link embedded with a URL of a web page showing how to connect. When a connection error occurs, the pop-up screen 71 is displayed separately from the print setting screen D2 that is currently being displayed, making it easy for the user to understand that the connection to the printer 2 has failed. Note that Fig. 6 is an example in which the same image as the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2 is displayed as the pop-up screen 71.

[0058] On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no connection error (S101: NO), that is, if the capability information and status information 31 have been properly acquired, the CPU 11 adds a status notification notifying the status of the printer 2 to the notification content based on the status information 31 acquired in A15 (S111). For example, if an error has occurred in the printer 2, a status notification including information about the error is added to the notification content. If the status is an error or warning, the auxiliary program 42 further adds information indicating the details to the notification content.

[0059] The CPU 11 generates notification data indicating an image to be displayed in the notification field 52 based on the added notification content (S112). S112 is an example of a second generation process. The notification data generated in S112 is an example of second notification data. In this case, the auxiliary program 42 also passes the generated notification data to the general-purpose printing program 41 at A22 in FIG. 2. As a result, at A23, a notification image indicating the status of the printer 2 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. A22 in this case is an example of a second display process.

[0060] An example of a notification image when the printer 2 status is an error is shown in Fig. 7. The notification image in the example of Fig. 7 is an example when an out-of-paper error has occurred, and includes a button 62 with a link embedded with the URL of a web page that shows how to insert paper. By displaying a notification image that includes a message indicating the error 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.

[0061] An example of a notification image when the status of printer 2 is neither an error nor a warning is shown in Fig. 8. The notification image in the example of Fig. 8 is a notification when the status of printer 2 is ready. By displaying a notification image including status information in notification field 52 of print setting screen D2, the user can easily understand on print setting screen D2 that printing is possible.

[0062] The status notification added in S111 is not limited to the status of the printer 2, but may also include, for example, information about services that are enabled on the printer 2, information about services that are not enabled but can be used on the printer 2, and advertisements for models other than the printer 2. Furthermore, when multiple notifications are added, the CPU 11 may, for example, prioritize notifications with higher priority over notifications with lower priority based on the priority stored in the auxiliary program 42, or may generate notification data showing a switching video in which the notification content switches in sequence.

[0063] Furthermore, if there is no notification to be notified, the CPU 11 may generate notification data that leaves the notification field 52 blank, or may generate notification data that shows a predetermined image such as a vendor's logo or the latest information. After S107 or S112, the CPU 11 ends the notification data generation process and returns to the process of the sequence diagram of FIG.

[0064] 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 is displayed will be described with reference to the sequence diagram in Fig. 9. 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.

[0065] 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.

[0066] Upon receiving the print instruction, the auxiliary program 42 checks the connection with the printer 2 (C03). For example, the auxiliary program 42 requests the printer 2 for status information 31 and determines whether appropriate status information 31 has been received from the printer 2. C03 is an example of the last confirmation process. Note that instead of directly requesting the printer 2 for status information 31, the auxiliary program 42 may request the OS 21 to acquire the status information 31.

[0067] If the auxiliary program 42 confirms a connection error in C03 (alt:[Connection Error]), it notifies the user of the connection error (C11). C11 is an example of notification processing. The notification content may be the same as that generated in S105 or S106 of the notification data generation processing described above. If the print setting screen D2 has already been closed, the auxiliary program 42 does not display the notification in the notification field 52, but rather notifies the user by, for example, displaying a pop-up screen or outputting a warning sound.

[0068] By checking the connection when a print instruction is received and notifying the user if a connection error occurs, the user can recognize that the print instruction cannot be printed. Note that the auxiliary program 42 may execute the connection check in C03 only if a connection error is confirmed in A13 of Figure 2. After notifying the general-purpose printing program 41 of the connection error in C11, the auxiliary program 42 may notify the general-purpose printing program 41 of the end of processing.

[0069] On the other hand, if the connection is successful in C03 (alt:[Connection successful]), the auxiliary program 42 acquires the printer 2's main body capability information stored in A14 of FIG. 2 (C21). The auxiliary program 42 may request the status information 31 and the main body capability information in C03. The main body capability information includes, for example, information about 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 main body capability information (C22). In C22, the auxiliary program 42 checks, for example, whether there is any discrepancy between the print settings and the printer 2's main body capability. Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 passes the print setting information of the confirmation result to the general-purpose printing program 41 (C23).

[0070] Depending on the result of the confirmation in C22, the auxiliary program 42 may change the print settings in C23 and pass them on. For example, if the print settings received in C22 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 information about the excluded print settings 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 C23.

[0071] 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 (C24). 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.

[0072] The auxiliary program 42 performs rasterization based on the intermediate image data received in C24, and generates print data representing the image to be printed (C25). The print data generated in C25 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.

[0073] 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.

[0074] The auxiliary program 42 sends the print data generated in C25 to the printer 2 together with a print command instructing execution of printing (C26). C26 is an example of a sending process. If there is image processing determined in C22 to be executed by the printer 2, the auxiliary program 42 generates a print command that also includes 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.

[0075] Upon receiving the print data and print command, the printer 2 prints the image of the print data based on the received print command (C27), thereby generating a printed matter.

[0076] 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 by C24 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.

[0077] 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.

[0078] 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.

[0079] As explained in detail above, when the printer 2 is selected via the general-purpose printing program 41, the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment checks the connection with the printer 2, and if a connection error is confirmed, passes notification data to the general-purpose printing program 41 to display on the print setting screen D2. Therefore, on the PC 1 using the general-purpose printing program 41 of the OS 21, the user can know the connection status with the printer 2 before inputting a print command.

[0080] Furthermore, when a connection error is confirmed, the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment not only displays a notification image in the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2 but also displays a pop-up screen, making it easier for the user to recognize that there is a connection error. Note that, although an example in which notification is displayed in both the notification field 52 and the pop-up screen has been shown in this embodiment, it is also possible to display only the pop-up screen and not the notification field 52. Also, the user may be able to select whether to display the notification in the notification field 52 or the pop-up screen.

[0081] Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment also checks the connection when a print instruction is given, and if a connection error is detected, notifies the user of this, so that the user can easily recognize that there is a connection error.

[0082] 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.

[0083] 6 to 8 are merely examples and are not limited to the examples shown. Furthermore, the wording, object shapes, backgrounds, etc. displayed on the notification image or pop-up screen may be any.

[0084] Also, for example, the auxiliary program 42 may check the connection at a timing other than the timing described in this embodiment. For example, after being started from the general-purpose printing program 41 at A08 in Fig. 2, the auxiliary program 42 may directly communicate with the printer 2 to check the connection before passing the capability acquisition request to the general-purpose printing program 41 at A11.

[0085] The auxiliary program 42 may also be started by the general-purpose printing program 41 when an instruction to change the print settings is received on the print setting screen D2. In this case, the auxiliary program 42 may check the connection with the printer 2 in response to being started. Alternatively, if a connection error is confirmed in the connection check performed when the printer 2 is selected, the auxiliary program 42 may also check the connection when started by an instruction to change the print settings or an instruction to execute printing.

[0086] 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.

[0087] 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.

[0088] 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.

[0089] 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.

[0090] 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]

[0091] 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, Execute a confirmation process to confirm connection with the printer; Furthermore, the computer If a connection error is confirmed in the confirmation process, a first generation process for generating first notification data indicating notification content for notifying a user that connection to the printer has failed; a first display process for passing the first notification data generated in the first generation process to the general-purpose print program and displaying the first 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, The computer, If a connection error is confirmed in the confirmation process, executes a pop-up display process for displaying a pop-up screen on the display of the information processing device, separately from the print setting screen, to notify the user that connection to the printer has failed; A support program configured to:

3. The support program according to claim 1 or 2, The computer, If no connection error is found in the confirmation process, a second generation process for generating second notification data indicating notification content for notifying a user of information obtained from the printer; a second display process for passing the second notification data generated in the second generation process to the general-purpose print program and displaying the second notification data on the print setting screen displayed on the display of the information processing device; Execute A support program configured to:

4. 4. The support program according to claim 3, In the second generation process, acquiring status information indicating the status of the printer, determining whether printing is possible or not based on the acquired status information, and if it is determined that printing is impossible, generating the second notification data indicating the content of a notification to notify the user that printing is impossible; A support program configured to:

5. 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 computer, When the printer is selected and a process is requested from the general-purpose printing program, Execute a confirmation process to confirm connection with the printer; Furthermore, the computer If a connection error is confirmed in the confirmation process, a first generation process for generating first notification data indicating notification content for notifying a user that connection to the printer has failed; a first display process for displaying a pop-up screen on a display of the information processing device to notify a user of the first notification data generated in the first generation process; Execute A support program configured to:

6. 6. The support program according to claim 1, In the first generation process, generating the first notification data including, in the notification content, failure information indicating that the connection to the printer has failed and guide information indicating a procedure for resolving the connection error; A support program configured to:

7. 7. The support program according to claim 6, In the first generation process, generating the first notification data including in the notification content the failure information and the guide information including a link with an embedded URL indicating a web page, the web page including information regarding a procedure for resolving the connection error; A support program configured to:

8. 8. 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, executes a last-minute confirmation process for confirming connection with the printer; Furthermore, the computer If a connection error is confirmed in the immediately preceding confirmation process, executes a notification process for notifying that a connection to the printer has failed; A support program configured to:

9. 9. 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:

Images