Support program

Abstract

To provide a technology for enabling various applications for using a printer to be managed easily, in an information processing device equipped with an OS-standard general-purpose printing program.SOLUTION: An auxiliary program 42 is requested to execute processing by a general-purpose print program 41 in response to a print instruction output from an editing application 43 or the like. Further, the auxiliary program 42 is requested to execute processing by the general-purpose print program 41 in response to an OS 21 receiving a start instruction with a printer 2 selected. When the auxiliary program 42 is requested to execute processing in response to the OS 21 receiving the start instruction, the auxiliary program causes a CPU 11 of a PC 1 to acquire capability information indicating capability of the printer 2 via the general-purpose print program 41, display a list of information indicating applications using the capability indicated by the acquired capability information among a plurality of managed applications, and receive an instruction to execute one of the displayed applications.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] 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.

[0003] In addition, various application programs (apps) that can use printers are known, and furthermore, apps that manage multiple apps are also known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an information processing device that includes an app management unit that manages apps and a printer management unit that manages printers, and that displays the current status of a printer corresponding to a selected app. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-88109 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] As mentioned above, there is a known technology for managing printers in association with applications. Even in an environment where a general-purpose printing program that is standard for the OS is used, it is desirable to be able to manage various applications that can use printers. However, the general-purpose printing program that is standard for the OS does not have an interface for managing applications, so there is room for improvement. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A support program made for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems is a support program that can be executed by a computer of an information processing device, corresponds to a specific printer, and supports a general-purpose printing program that is pre-installed in an operating system of the information processing device, the operating system is capable of receiving a start instruction for a program that corresponds to a selected printer, the general-purpose printing program has a program that requests processing in response to the start instruction associated with the printer, the support program manages a plurality of application programs, and the support program has information indicating the capabilities to be used for each of the application programs that it manages, and the support program outputs to the computer a print instruction that is output from an application program installed in the information processing device and that causes the general-purpose printing program to print an image on the specific printer. When a print instruction is received and processing is requested from the general-purpose printing program, the computer is configured to acquire image data representing the image from the general-purpose printing program and execute processing to send a print command to the specific printer based on the image data, and further, when a processing is requested from the general-purpose printing program when the operating system accepts the start instruction with the specific printer selected, the computer is configured to execute an acquisition process to acquire capability information indicating the capabilities of the specific printer via the general-purpose printing program, and a management process to display a list of information indicating specific application programs, among the multiple application programs to be managed, that are application programs that utilize the capabilities indicated in the capability information acquired in the acquisition process, and to accept execution instructions for the displayed specific application programs.

[0007] The support program disclosed in this specification is also requested to process when the OS receives a startup instruction, in addition to a print instruction from an application program. When processing is requested by a startup instruction from the OS, the support program acquires capability information for a specific printer, displays a list of specific applications that use the acquired capabilities among the managed applications, and accepts an instruction to run the displayed specific applications. This allows the user to identify specific applications based on the operation of entering a startup instruction and even run the specific applications at times other than printing, which is highly convenient.

[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 that allows easy management of various applications that can use a printer in an information processing device that has an OS-standard general-purpose printing 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 illustrating an example of a processing procedure by an auxiliary program. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen for accepting a device management instruction. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a detailed management screen. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for an application information display process. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a list display screen. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of the electrical configuration of a PC. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a printing procedure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] A personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a "PC") that uses the auxiliary program of this embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. This specification discloses an auxiliary 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 hardware for displaying a screen for notifying the user of information and hardware for accepting user operations. The user IF 13 may be a combination of a display capable of displaying information and a mouse or keyboard having an input acceptance function, or may be a touch panel having a display function 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. As shown in FIG. 1, the PC 1 of this embodiment is connected to the printer 2 via the communication IF 14. The printer 2 is a device having at least a printing function and a communication function. The printer 2 is an example of a specific printer.

[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") such as an editing app 43. 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 generic printing program 41 is an OS standard program provided together with the OS 21, and has the function of causing the printer 2, etc., to execute printing. The generic printing program 41 of this embodiment is a program that includes the function of 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.

[0018] The auxiliary program 42 is a program or a group of programs that support the control of the target hardware. The auxiliary program 42 in this embodiment corresponds to the model of the printer 2 connected to the PC 1, and is started from the general-purpose printing program 41 when, for example, an instruction to cause the printer 2 to execute printing is received using the general-purpose printing program 41. The auxiliary program 42 is, for example, a print support application (abbreviated as PSA) or a hardware support application (abbreviated as HSA).

[0019] 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.

[0020] 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 depending on the type and model of the connected printer and install it in the PC 1. The OS 21 stores the identification information of the installed auxiliary program in the memory 12 in association with the printer information of the newly connected printer, and generates a printer queue for each printer.

[0021] The editing application 43 is, for example, an application for creating and editing image data and document data. The editing application 43 may be, for example, Microsoft Word (registered trademark) or PowerPoint (registered trademark), or may be an application provided by the vendor of the printer 2. The editing application 43 can receive, via the user IF 13, for example, a print execution instruction for causing the printer 2 to execute printing.

[0022] Next, the processing procedure by the OS 21 and auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of Fig. 2. This procedure is executed when the printer 2 is connected to the PC 1 and the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2 is stored in the memory 12.

[0023] Note that each processing step in this embodiment basically indicates 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.

[0024] The OS 21 can accept user instructions to set each component, and can accept device management instructions, including instructions to display information about various devices connected to the PC 1 and instructions to change settings, on a screen for accepting setting instructions. For example, when the OS 21 accepts a setting instruction and a device management instruction (A01), it can further accept device selection, as shown in FIG. 3. For example, when the OS 21 accepts an operation on the "Printers and Scanners" button 512 on the device setting screen 51 (FIG. 3(A)) displayed upon accepting an operation on the "Devices" button 511, it displays a device management screen 52, as shown in FIG. 3(B) (A02).

[0025] The device management screen 52 is a screen that includes a list of various devices that are connected to the PC 1 and are capable of performing image processing, such as printers and scanners. The user can select a device to manage from the list displayed on the device management screen 52 (A03). For example, when an operation is received on the button 521 that specifies Printer 2 on the device management screen 52, the OS 21 displays a detailed management screen 53, as shown in FIG. 4 (A04).

[0026] The detailed management screen 53 displays an "Open Printer Queue" button 531, a "Launch App" button 532, a "Print Test Page" button 533, and the like. The "Open Printer Queue" button 531 is a button that accepts an instruction to check the status of the printer queue corresponding to the selected printer. The "Launch App" button 532 is a button that accepts an instruction to start a program corresponding to the selected printer. The "Print Test Page" button 533 is a button that accepts an instruction by the OS 21 to send a test image to the selected printer. On the detailed management screen 53, the OS 21 can accept user operations on the buttons 531, 532, 533, and the like.

[0027] When an instruction to start a program is received by operating the "Launch App" button 532 on the detailed management screen 53 displayed after printer 2 is selected (A11), the OS 21 passes information about printer 2, the selected printer, and an instruction to start a program corresponding to that printer to the general-purpose printing program 41. When the general-purpose printing program 41 receives this instruction from the OS 21, it starts a program associated with the printer information about printer 2. In this embodiment, since identification information for the auxiliary program 42 is stored in association with the printer information about printer 2, the general-purpose printing program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 (A12).

[0028] When the auxiliary program 42 is started from the general-purpose printing program 41 in response to a start instruction from the user, it acquires main body information of the printer 2 via the OS 21. The auxiliary program 42 first requests connection information of the printer 2 from the OS 21 (A21), and acquires the connection information from the OS 21 (A22). The connection information is, for example, an IP address.

[0029] The auxiliary program 42 uses the connection information acquired in A22 to request main body information including capability information from the printer 2 (A23), and acquires the main body information including capability information from the printer 2 (A24). The capability information is information indicating the capabilities of the printer 2, i.e., information indicating functions that can be executed by the printer 2 and information on parameters that can be set as print settings. A24 is an example of acquisition processing, and an example of main body acquisition processing.

[0030] In addition to capability information, the main body information may also include information indicating the status of the main body of printer 2, such as status information, information on remaining consumables, information on accessories such as installed optional trays, information on the paper size and paper type set for each tray, information on main body settings such as the language used and network settings, firmware version information, printing history information, and the number of waiting print jobs.

[0031] The printer 2 of this embodiment is equipped with an operation panel, which includes a display that displays information and operation buttons that accept input operations from the user. The operation panel may include a touch panel. The printer 2 can display information about the printer 2 on the operation panel and can also accept various instructions input through the operation panel. The printer 2 can accept instructions via the operation panel, such as instructions to set the paper size and paper type for each tray, and instructions to change the main unit settings and network settings. The printer 2 may pass information indicating the various settings accepted via the operation panel to the auxiliary program 42 as main unit information.

[0032] The printer 2 may also have a function to perform image processing based on the received print job and print based on the data after the image processing, such as aggregate printing such as Nin1, composite printing such as watermark, and economical printing that saves coloring agent. If the printer 2 has an image processing function that can be executed by the printer 2, the printer 2 may pass information about that function to the auxiliary program 42 as main body information.

[0033] The auxiliary program 42 can obtain information that is not understood by the OS 21 by obtaining information directly from the printer 2 using, for example, an MIB (abbreviation for Management Information Base). The auxiliary program 42 temporarily stores the information obtained from the printer 2 in the memory 12 (A25).

[0034] The auxiliary program 42 may output to the OS 21, instead of A21, an acquisition request for main body information including the capability information of the printer 2. In this case, the OS 21 acquires information from the printer 2 by communication according to, for example, IPP (abbreviation for Internet Printing Protocol), and passes the acquired information to the auxiliary program 42. The auxiliary program 42 may both request information from the OS 21 and acquire main body information by direct communication.

[0035] Next, the auxiliary program 42 executes an application information display process (A31). The procedure of the application information display process will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 5. The application information display process is a process for classifying and displaying various applications compatible with the printer 2 according to the application status. The application information display process is executed by the CPU 11 of the PC 1 based on the contents of the auxiliary program 42.

[0036] The CPU 11 acquires a list of applications that can be applied to the printer 2 (S101). In S101, the CPU 11 creates a list of applications that utilize the capabilities of the printer 2, for example, based on the capability information of the printer 2. The applications listed in S101 are examples of specific application programs. The capabilities supported by each application and the capabilities indicated in the capability information may include printer functions such as printing, scanning, and faxing, as well as capabilities and configurations related to special printing provided by the application, such as printing on postcards, printing disc labels, and printing labels. The CPU 11 may also list the applications based on the model information of the printer 2.

[0037] The auxiliary program 42 manages various applications that are applicable to various printers corresponding to the auxiliary program 42. For example, an auxiliary program 42 that supports multiple models of printers will manage an application if it can be executed on at least one of the corresponding models. Examples of applications that can be managed include a printing application, a scanning application, and a fax sending application. Examples of printing applications include a disc label printing application, a New Year's card printing application, and a label printing application.

[0038] For each managed app, the auxiliary program 42 can obtain app information such as the name of the app, information about the printer capabilities and configuration required to run the app, information indicating whether the app is already installed on PC1, version information for the installed app, and information indicating the save location of the installed app.

[0039] The auxiliary program 42 may obtain information about each application to be managed by reading out model information and application correspondence information incorporated in the auxiliary program 42, or by making an inquiry to a server provided by a vendor or the like of the printer 2. The auxiliary program 42 may also be able to accept settings of information about each application to be managed by an administrator or the like of the PC 1.

[0040] The CPU 11 classifies each application included in the list acquired in S101 in order. Specifically, the CPU 11 classifies each listed application into three categories: an executable list, a warning list, and a not-installed list. The executable list is a list of applications that can be executed on the current printer 2. The warning list is a list of applications that have warning information. The not-installed list is a list of applications that are compatible with the printer 2 but are not installed in the PC 1. At the start of the application information display process, the executable list, warning list, and not-installed list are all empty lists.

[0041] The CPU 11 determines (S102) whether the application to be classified has already been installed on the PC 1. If it is determined that the application has not been installed (S102: NO), the CPU 11 adds the application to a list of applications that have not been installed (S103).

[0042] If it is determined that the application is already installed (S102: YES), the CPU 11 determines whether an optional configuration such as an optional tray is required to execute the application to be classified (S105). For example, to execute an application that prints on a disc label such as a CD, an optional disc tray must be attached. Also, for example, to properly print on fabric such as a T-shirt, fabric ink must be used.

[0043] If it is determined that an optional configuration is required (S105: YES), the CPU 11 determines whether or not the required optional configuration is installed in the printer 2 based on the main body information (S106). If it is determined that an optional configuration is not required (S105: NO), or if it is determined that the required optional configuration is installed (S106: YES), the CPU 11 determines whether or not the main body settings are compatible with the application to be classified (S107).

[0044] For example, when printing using a New Year's card printing app, postcard-sized paper must be loaded. If postcard-sized paper is set in at least one of the trays of the printer 2, the CPU 11 determines in S107 that the application is compatible. If it determines that the application is compatible (S107: YES), the CPU 11 adds the application to be classified to the executable list (S111).

[0045] On the other hand, if it is determined that the required optional configuration is not installed (S106: NO), or if it is determined that the main body settings are not compatible with the application to be classified (S107: NO), the CPU 11 adds the application to be classified to a warning list (S112). Applications added to the warning list are applications that have been installed but cannot be executed in the current state of the printer 2.

[0046] Furthermore, the CPU 11 adds warning information as information about the application added to the warning list (S113). The warning information includes, for example, information about optional configurations that are required but not installed, and information about incompatible settings. The warning information is an example of application information, and S113 is an example of application acquisition processing.

[0047] After S111 or S113, the CPU 11 determines whether an update is available for the app to be classified (S115). The CPU 11 can determine whether the app is the latest version by, for example, comparing the version information of the app to be classified with information about the latest version of the app. The auxiliary program 42 can obtain information about the latest version of each app from, for example, a server provided by the vendor.

[0048] If it is determined that the version is not the latest, that is, that an update is available (S115: YES), the CPU 11 adds update information to the app (S116). The update information is information indicating that an update is available. The update information is an example of app information, and S116 is an example of app acquisition processing.

[0049] After S103, after S116, or when it is determined that there is no update (S115: NO), the CPU 11 determines whether or not there is an unclassified app among the apps included in the list created in S101 (S121). If it is determined that there is a next app to be classified (S121: YES), the CPU 11 returns to S102 and classifies the next app in the same way.

[0050] When it is determined that classification has been completed for all applications included in the lists acquired in S101 (S121: NO), the CPU 11 causes the user IF 13 to display a list based on each classified list (S122), terminates the application information display process, and returns to the procedure in Fig. 2. For example, the CPU 11 causes the user IF 13 to display a list display screen 54 as shown in Fig. 6. The list display screen 54 is an example of a list screen, and S122 is an example of a management process.

[0051] The list display screen 54 is a screen that displays the icons of the applications included in the executable list added in S111, the warning list added in S113, and the not-installed list added in S103, in a manner that distinguishes them from one another. Specifically, the list display screen 54 includes an executable area 541 that includes the icons of the applications included in the executable list, a warning area 542 that includes the icons of the applications included in the warning list, and a not-installed area 543 that includes the icons of the applications included in the not-installed list.

[0052] The list display screen 54 may further include an end button 544 for receiving an instruction to end the display, and information indicating the status of the printer 2. The auxiliary program 42 may display, for example, the status of the printer 2, information on the remaining amount of consumables, setting information for each tray, etc., on the list display screen 54 based on the main body information acquired in A24 of FIG.

[0053] Each icon included in the executable area 541 is an icon that can accept an instruction to execute the app. When an operation on an icon included in the executable area 541 is accepted, the auxiliary program 42 outputs an execution instruction to the app indicated by the operated icon. Note that in this case, the execution instruction is input with the printer queue corresponding to printer 2 selected, so the executed app executes processing using printer 2.

[0054] On the list display screen 54, for apps to which update information or warning information has been added, an icon with a badge indicating the additional information is displayed. For example, FIG. 6 shows an example in which update information is available for "app C" included in the executable area 541, and a badge 71 indicating an update is displayed on the icon of "app C." S122, which displays the badge 71 indicating an update, is an example of update display processing. By displaying information based on the update information or warning information of the app as a badge on the app icon, the user can be notified that there is additional information related to the app.

[0055] When an operation on an icon included in the executable area 541 and having update information attached thereto is received, the auxiliary program 42 may selectively receive an execution instruction or an update instruction. Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 may simply notify the user that an update is available, or may display a link to the app's download site, as the update information. If there is a specific app that can be updated, displaying the update information as well can be expected to encourage the user to perform an update operation for the specific app that can be updated.

[0056] On the other hand, the icons included in the warning area 542 and the non-installed area 543 are icons that restrict acceptance of execution instructions. When an operation on an icon included in the warning area 542 is accepted, the auxiliary program 42 does not execute the application, but displays, for example, detailed warning information. When an operation on an icon included in the non-installed area 543 is accepted, the auxiliary program 42 does not execute the application, but displays installation information indicating the installation of the program.

[0057] For example, Fig. 6 shows an example in which "application D" included in warning area 542 is an application that prints on disc labels, and an optional tray for discs is not installed in printer 2. Therefore, a badge 72 indicating warning information is displayed on the icon for "application D." For example, when an operation is received on the icon for "application D" in Fig. 6, auxiliary program 42 may display information indicating that a required optional configuration is not installed.

[0058] Furthermore, even if a required optional component is installed, if the settings of the main unit are not compatible with the application, the auxiliary program 42 adds the application to the warning list and displays the application's icon in the warning area 542. In this case, when an operation on the icon is received, the auxiliary program 42 may be able to receive, for example, an instruction to change the settings of the main unit to be compatible with the application. Then, when the settings are changed to be compatible with the application, the auxiliary program 42 may be able to receive an instruction to run the application.

[0059] The auxiliary program 42 displays warning information based on the device information. By displaying the device information in association with the application, the user can also see the device information required to use the application on the list display screen 54.

[0060] Also, for example, the icons displayed in the not-installed area 543 are icons indicating apps that can be applied to the printer 2 by installing them. When an operation on an icon in the not-installed area 543 is accepted, the auxiliary program 42 displays, as installation information, for example, information indicating the content of the app, information for executing a program that accepts the installation of the app, and information indicating a link to a download site for the app. The process of displaying the list display screen 54 including the installation information of the app is an example of installation display processing.

[0061] If there is an app that is applicable to printer 2 but not installed, the app is displayed as an icon in not-installed area 543, allowing the user to understand that the app is not installed and encouraging the user to install it. Apps in the not-installed list can be distinguished from installed apps by displaying them in a separate area, or by not displaying them, or by displaying them as icons of different sizes or shapes, or by displaying them in a different font, or by graying them out.

[0062] Returning to the explanation of Fig. 2, after the application information display process (A31) ends, the auxiliary program 42 becomes able to accept an operation on the currently displayed list display screen 54. That is, the user can perform an operation on each icon displayed on the list display screen 54. For example, when a user operation on an icon included in the executable area 541 is accepted (A41), the auxiliary program 42 determines that an instruction to execute the application has been accepted, and executes the application (A42). A41, which receives an instruction to execute an application, is an example of a management process. The auxiliary program 42 may output an instruction to execute the application via the OS 21.

[0063] After displaying the list display screen 54, the auxiliary program 42 may be able to receive instructions to change the settings of each displayed app, as well as instructions to install, update, or uninstall the app, in addition to instructions to execute the app. The auxiliary program 42 may also be able to receive instructions to change the settings of the printer 2.

[0064] 7, the PC 1 may incorporate an integrated program 44 that manages printers and applications. The integrated program 44 is a program for managing, for example, various printers provided by the vendor of the printer 2 and various applications compatible with the various printers. The integrated program 44 has information on various applicable applications based on, for example, model information of each printer.

[0065] In the PC 1 in which the integrated program 44 is installed, the auxiliary program 42 may start the integrated program 44 and cause the integrated program 44 to display information about the application, instead of executing the application information display process itself. For example, the auxiliary program 42 may pass main body information of the printer 2 to the integrated program 44, thereby causing the integrated program 44 to execute the application information display process.

[0066] If the integrated program 44 manages the applications, the processing of the auxiliary program 42 becomes simpler, reducing the number of steps required for the auxiliary program 42. On the other hand, if the auxiliary program 42 manages the applications, there is no need to incorporate the integrated program 44.

[0067] Next, the printing procedure including the operation of the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. 8. The auxiliary program 42 is also executed when a user instructs the general-purpose printing program 41 to print on the printer 2. The user can use the editing application 43 or the like to select an image to be printed, specify a printer to print on, and instruct the printer 2 to print. FIG. 8 shows the operation of each program when the editing application 43 receives a user instruction to print on the printer 2. The user's instruction to print may also be input directly to the general-purpose printing program 41.

[0068] When the editing application 43 receives a print execution instruction from the general-purpose printing program 41 to cause the printer 2 to print the selected image (B01), the editing application 43 passes the print instruction to the general-purpose printing program 41 via the OS 21 (B02). The general-purpose printing program 41 obtains, in the print instruction, information indicating image data of the image to be printed and information indicating print settings.

[0069] The general-purpose printing program 41 generates intermediate image data by converting the format of the image data included in the received print instruction into the format of intermediate image data (B03), and generates a print job including the intermediate image data. The image data passed from the editing application 43 can be of various types, and the general-purpose printing program 41 converts the received image data into intermediate image data suitable for generating print data. Note that if the image data included in the print instruction 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.

[0070] The general-purpose printing program 41 further outputs an execution instruction to the auxiliary program 42, which is a program corresponding to the printer 2 (B04), and requests processing from the auxiliary program 42. In the execution instruction, the intermediate image data generated in B03 and information indicating the print settings are passed to the auxiliary program 42.

[0071] The auxiliary program 42 performs rasterization based on the received intermediate image data and print settings to generate print data (B05). The print data generated in B05 is data in a format that can be used for printing by the printer 2, such as PDL data dedicated to the model of the printer 2. The auxiliary program 42 may execute B05 using the printer information acquired in A24. The auxiliary program 42 may also acquire printer information, etc. from the printer 2 again before B05.

[0072] The auxiliary program 42 sends the generated print data and a print command instructing the printer 2 to print (B06). Upon receiving the print data and the print command, the printer 2 prints the image of the print data based on the received print command (B11). This produces a printed product.

[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] Furthermore, instead of the auxiliary program 42 generating the print data, the general-purpose printing program 41 may generate the print data. That is, the auxiliary program 42 may pass intermediate image data, print setting information, and print execution information to the general-purpose printing program 41. The general-purpose printing program 41 may generate print data based on the intermediate image data and print settings received from the auxiliary program 42, and pass the generated print data to the auxiliary program 42. 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.

[0075] 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 generated 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 also reduce the program size of the auxiliary program 42.

[0076] Furthermore, the general-purpose printing program 41 may transmit the print data, etc. to the printer 2. In other words, the auxiliary program 42 may pass the generated print data, etc. to the general-purpose printing program 41 so that the data is transmitted from the PC 1 to the printer 2 as the transmission 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 via the OS 21.

[0077] The printer 2 may also have a function for rasterizing intermediate image data. If the printer 2 has a rasterization function, the auxiliary program 42 may send a print command including intermediate image data of the image to be printed and print settings to the printer 2 without generating print data for the image to be printed.

[0078] When the transmission of the print data is completed, the auxiliary program 42 notifies the general-purpose printing program 41 of the end of processing (B21). As a result, the general-purpose printing program 41 ends the processing of the print instruction accepted in B02. The general-purpose printing program 41 may also notify the editing application 43 of the end of processing.

[0079] As described above in detail, the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment is requested to process by the general-purpose printing program 41 when the OS 21 receives a startup instruction via the operation of the "Start App" button 532, separate from a print instruction from the editing application 43 or the like. When processing is requested via a startup instruction from the OS 21, the auxiliary program 42 acquires capability information of the corresponding printer, printer 2, displays a list of managed applications that use the acquired capabilities, and accepts an instruction to run the displayed applications. This allows the user to identify applications that correspond to printer 2 based on the operation of inputting a startup instruction at a time other than printing, and furthermore, to run the applications, which is highly convenient.

[0080] 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.

[0081] 6 is merely an example and is not limited to the illustrated example. For example, the wording, icon shape, arrangement, background, etc. displayed on the screen may be any. Also, for example, the auxiliary program 42 may display only executable apps.

[0082] In addition, for example, in the present embodiment, update information and warning information are displayed as badges, but this is not limiting. For example, the auxiliary program 42 may display the app with the added information by changing the color or shape of the icon, or may display the information in a separate column from each icon.

[0083] In the embodiment, only the display operation of application information and the printing operation are described in detail as the operation of the auxiliary program 42, but the auxiliary program 42 may have other roles as well. Furthermore, 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.

[0084] 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.

[0085] 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.

[0086] 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]

[0087] 1 PC 2. Printer 11 CPU

Claims

1. A support program that can be executed by a computer of an information processing device, corresponds to a specific printer, and supports a general-purpose print program that is pre-installed in an operating system of the information processing device, wherein the operating system is capable of receiving a start instruction for a program that corresponds to a selected printer, and the general-purpose print program has a program that requests processing in response to the start instruction associated with the printer, the support program manages a plurality of application programs, and further the support program has information indicating the capabilities that can be used for each of the application programs that it manages; 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 general-purpose print program to print an image on the specific printer, 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 process for transmitting a print command to the specific printer based on the image data; Furthermore, the computer When the specific printer is selected and the operating system receives the startup instruction, a process is performed to acquire capability information indicating the capabilities of the specific printer via the general-purpose printing program, in response to which a process is requested from the general-purpose printing program. a management process for displaying a list of information indicating specific application programs that utilize the capabilities indicated in the capability information acquired in the acquisition process among the plurality of application programs to be managed, and for receiving an instruction to execute the specific application programs that are displayed; Execute A support program configured to:

2. 2. The support program according to claim 1, In the management process, displaying a list screen that displays a list of information indicating the specific application program, and accepting the execution instruction for the specific application program displayed via an operation on the list screen; A support program configured to:

3. 2. The support program according to claim 1, an integrated program having a function of receiving the execution instruction for the application program to be managed can be installed in the information processing device; In the management process, starting the integrated program, causing the integrated program to display a list of information indicating the specific application program, and causing the integrated program to receive the execution instruction for the specific application program displayed; A support program configured to:

4. 4. The support program according to claim 1, The computer, When the specific printer is selected and the operating system receives the startup instruction, and processing is requested from the general-purpose printing program, if the specific application program is available for updating, an update display process is executed to display update information indicating an update of the program. A support program configured to:

5. 5. The support program according to claim 1, The computer, When the specific printer is selected and the operating system receives the startup instruction, and processing is requested from the general-purpose printing program, if there is the specific application program that is not installed in the information processing device, an installation display process is executed to display installation information indicating installation of the program. A support program configured to:

6. 6. The support program according to claim 1, In the management process, displaying the specific application program not installed in the information processing device in a manner that distinguishes it from the specific application program installed in the information processing device, and restricting acceptance of the execution instruction for the specific application program not installed in the information processing device; A support program configured to:

7. 7. The support program according to claim 1, The computer, When the specific printer is selected and the operating system receives the startup instruction, a process is requested from the general-purpose printing program, and a device acquisition process is executed to acquire device information from the specific printer via the general-purpose printing program. In the management process, displaying a list of information indicating the specific application program, displaying information based on the device information acquired in the device acquisition process, and accepting the execution instruction for the displayed specific application program; A support program configured to:

8. 8. The support program according to claim 1, The computer, When the specific printer is selected and the operating system receives the startup instruction, a process is requested from the general-purpose printing program. The process executes an application acquisition process for acquiring application information related to the specific application program. In the management process, a list of icons corresponding to the application programs is displayed as information indicating the specific application program, and information based on the application information acquired in the application acquisition process is displayed as a badge in association with the icons; A support program configured to:

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