Support program

Abstract

To allow a plurality of printers to easily use common print setting in an information processing apparatus in which an OS standard general-purpose print program is incorporated.SOLUTION: In PC1, the general-purpose print program 41 activates the auxiliary program 42 and requests the auxiliary program 42 to execute processing regardless of which printer is requested to execute processing among the plurality of printers 2 to 4 connected to PC1, that is, regardless of which print queue corresponding to which printer is selected. The activated auxiliary program 42 reads the common setting file 45 from the memory 12 and changes the setting values of the current print settings set for the printers 2 to 4 to be processed, that is, the setting values of the print settings stored in the print queue to the common setting values written in the common setting file 45, so that the common setting values can be displayed on the print setting screen regardless of which printer of the printers 2 to 4 is selected.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] A widely known technique for controlling a printer from an information processing device such as a personal computer is to install a printer driver in the information processing device, generate print data using the printer driver, and send the print data to the printer (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Another known technique is for the operating system (OS) of the information processing device to provide a print queue for each printer to be controlled, and manage the print setting values ​​that can be set for each printer for each print queue. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

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

[0004] In recent years, a technology has been put into practical use that controls printers using a general-purpose printing program that is built into the 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 command is received for that printer, printing can be performed using the OS's standard general-purpose printing program without using a printer driver.

[0005] Even when controlling a printer using the OS-standard general-purpose printing program described above, a print queue is provided for each printer, just like a printer driver. Therefore, if a user wants to use common print settings across multiple printers, they must change the settings managed by each print queue, which is time-consuming. [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 information processing device is capable of controlling multiple printers, the operating system is capable of providing a print queue for each printer to be controlled, and the general-purpose printing program is capable of requesting processing from the support program regardless of which of the multiple printers a print queue corresponding to is selected, and is configured to cause the computer to execute, when processing is requested from the general-purpose printing program, a specific process that identifies which of the multiple printers the processing is requested for, a read process that reads setting data in which common setting values ​​indicating setting values ​​of print settings used in common by the multiple printers are written, and a change process that changes the setting values ​​of the print settings corresponding to the printer identified in the specific process based on the common setting values ​​written in the setting data read in the read process.

[0007] When there are multiple target printers, the support program having the above configuration is launched regardless of which of the multiple target printers is requested to be processed, i.e., regardless of which print queue corresponding to the selected printer is selected. The launched auxiliary program reads the setting data and changes the current print setting values ​​set for the target printer to the common setting values ​​written in the setting data. Therefore, by having the user of the information processing device prepare the setting data in advance, it is possible to reduce the user's effort when setting common print settings for multiple printers from the information processing device using the OS's general-purpose printing program.

[0008] An apparatus, a system, a control method for realizing the functions of the support program, and a computer-readable storage medium storing the support program are also novel and useful. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The technology disclosed in this specification realizes a technology that makes it easy to use common print settings across multiple printers in an information processing device that has an OS-standard general-purpose print program installed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of the electrical configuration of a PC. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of a print queue and a common setting file. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a procedure when printing is selected. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a general-purpose print setting screen. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for a setting value change process. [Figure 6] 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a procedure when a print instruction is received. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a common setting value setting screen. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a procedure when an instruction to display a detailed setting screen is received. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a procedure when a print instruction is received. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

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

[0012] (First embodiment) 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 13a capable of displaying information and a mouse or keyboard having an input acceptance function, or may be a touch panel having the display 13a and an input acceptance function.

[0015] The communication IF 14 includes hardware for communicating with external devices such as the printers 2 to 4. The communication IF 14 may be compatible with 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 equipped 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 printers 2 to 4 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 data based on 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 specific to various printers, the generic printing program 41 does not support all of the functions 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 printers 2 to 4 connected to the PC 1, and is started from the general-purpose printing program 41 when, for example, an instruction to cause one of the printers 2 to 4 to execute printing is received using the general-purpose printing program 41. 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 in response to commands. The auxiliary program 42 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] PC1 is communicably connected to printers registered in OS21 and can control those printers. In this embodiment, PC1 and printers 2 to 4 are communicably connected to network 8. OS21 acquires printer information from printers 2 to 4 via network 8 and stores it in memory 12, and PC1 controls printers 2 to 4.

[0022] Printers 2 to 4 are devices that have at least a printing function and a communication function. Printers 2 to 4 receive print data and print settings from an external device such as PC 1 and print according to the print settings. Examples of print setting items include the number of copies, print orientation, print quality, paper size, paper tray, paper type, double-sided printing, color printing, borderless printing, layout printing (Nin1), colorant-saving printing, and a PIN setting used for user authentication when printing. Print setting items may also be related to post-processing performed on printed materials, such as stapling, which fastens printed materials with staples.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 2(a), the OS 21 prepares a print queue for each printer to be controlled. The OS 21 of this embodiment is provided with a print queue 201 for printer 2, a print queue 202 for printer 3, and a print queue 203 for printer 4. The OS 21 uses the print queues to accumulate print jobs to be sent to each printer. The print queue also stores, for example, printer information for the corresponding printer. The print queue also stores, for example, currently set values ​​for each print setting item supported by the corresponding printer.

[0024] Returning to FIG. 1, for example, when a new printer is connected to PC 1, OS 21 of 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 PC 1. OS 21 associates the identification information of the installed auxiliary program with the printer information of the newly connected printer and stores the associated information in memory 12. Auxiliary program 42 in this embodiment corresponds to the models of printers 2 to 4. OS 21 stores the printer information of printers 2 to 4 in association with the identification information of auxiliary program 42, and when one of printers 2 to 4 is selected, auxiliary program 42 is launched from OS 21 or general-purpose printing program 41.

[0025] The general-purpose printing program 41 can, for example, display a general-purpose printing setting screen on the display 13a and accept print settings for functions supported by the general-purpose printing program 41 and printer selection. The auxiliary program 42 can also display a detailed setting screen on the display 13a and accept print settings specific to a printer. The detailed setting screen may also accept print settings for functions supported by the general-purpose printing program 41. The general-purpose printing setting screen and the detailed setting screen are examples of print setting screens.

[0026] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1, the PC 1 stores a common setting file 45 in the memory 12. As shown in FIG. 2(b), the common setting file 45 stores common setting values ​​for each item. The common setting values ​​are information indicating the setting values ​​of print settings that are commonly used by multiple printers. Examples of common setting values ​​include setting values ​​for standard items that can be supported by the general-purpose printing program 41, such as paper size, color / monochrome setting, and double-sided / single-sided setting. The common setting values ​​may also include setting values ​​for items based on printer-specific functions, such as economy printing, watermark settings, and PIN (authentication information) settings.

[0027] The common setting file 45 is a file used by the auxiliary program 42, and may be stored in a predetermined area of ​​the memory 12 with a predetermined file name, or the path of the common setting file 45 to be read may be registered in the auxiliary program 42. The common setting file 45 may be a text file or a file in a predetermined format such as json, csv, or xml. The common setting file 45 is set by a common setting value setting process described below. The common setting file 45 is an example of setting data.

[0028] Next, the printing procedure including the operation of the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment, and the procedure performed by each program when printing is selected in the information application 43, will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of Fig. 3. Note that Fig. 3 and other sequence diagrams described later show the operation when the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printers 2 to 4 is installed in the PC 1.

[0029] 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.

[0030] At the beginning of the procedure, the user launches the information application 43 (A01). The information application 43 displays an information screen containing various information on the display 13a in response to a user instruction (A02). When printing is selected on the displayed information screen (A03), the information application 43 sends a display request and data for the information screen to the general-purpose print program 41 of the OS 21 (A04).

[0031] In response to the display request, the general-purpose print program 41 displays a general-purpose print setting screen on the display 13a (A06). The general-purpose print setting screen is a screen that accepts instructions for print settings and instructions for printing. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the general-purpose print setting screen D2 includes a printer selection field 51 that accepts the selection of a printer, 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 an instruction to make detailed print settings, and a print button SW3 that accepts an instruction to execute printing.

[0032] In the print setting field 53, the general-purpose printing program 41 can display print setting items and accept parameter settings. Examples of items that can be set via the print setting field 53 include the number of copies, paper type, paper tray, paper size, double-sided printing, color mode, and page layout printing. Items that can be set via the print setting field 53 may also include print orientation, print quality (resolution), stapling, print range, paper type, borderless printing, and scaling. To facilitate print setting, the print setting field 53 may display only the main items, and when other settings are operated, other items may be additionally displayed. The print setting field 53 may also display items specific to printers 2 to 4.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 4, the user can select a printer by operating the printer selection field 51 on the currently displayed general-purpose print setting screen D2 (A07 in FIG. 3). The printer selection field 51 displays printers registered in the OS 21 so that they can be selected. If the printer selected in the printer selection field 51 is one of printers 2 to 4, the general-purpose print program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to printer 2 to 4 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.

[0034] Note that, for example, if printer 2 is set as the printer to be normally used in the OS 21, the general-purpose printing program 41 displays the general-purpose printing setting screen D2 with printer 2 selected (A06) and starts the auxiliary program 42 (A08), as shown in Fig. 4. In other words, 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.

[0035] Note that instead of the general-purpose printing program 41 displaying the general-purpose printing setting screen D2, the information application 43 may be configured to display the general-purpose printing 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 general-purpose printing setting screen D2 from the general-purpose printing program 41, and displays the general-purpose printing setting screen D2 on the display 13a. Then, for example, 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.

[0036] When the auxiliary program 42 is started, it requests capability information indicating the printer capabilities from the OS 21 (A11). In response to the request from the auxiliary program 42, the OS 21 transmits an acquisition request for capability information to the printer selected on the general-purpose print setting screen D2, and acquires the capability information from the selected printer (A12). The OS 21 passes the capability information acquired from the selected printer to the auxiliary program 42 (A13). A13 is an example of a capability acquisition process.

[0037] The OS 21 communicates with the selected printer using, for example, IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) communications. Note that the auxiliary program 42 may obtain capability information directly from the selected printer using, for example, MIB (Management Information Base) instead of requesting the OS 21.

[0038] The capability information acquired from the selected printer includes information on parameters that can be set as print settings. The capability information also includes information indicating an appropriate combination of print settings. The capability information also includes, for example, status information, information on remaining consumables, information on the installed trays, information on the paper set for each tray, and information on the print resolution that can be supported. The selected printer may also have a function for performing image processing based on the accepted print job and printing based on the processed data, such as a function for performing aggregate printing such as Nin1, composite printing such as watermark printing, and colorant-saving printing. If the selected printer has an image processing function that can be executed by the selected printer, the selected printer may pass information on that function to the OS 21 as capability information.

[0039] The auxiliary program 42 may associate the acquired capability information with the printer information and store it in the memory 12, and may omit the steps A11 to A13 from the next time, or may acquire the capability information again after a certain period of time has passed and store it in the memory 12.

[0040] The auxiliary program 42 identifies the printer that will be the target of the processing requested in A08 (A21). That is, the auxiliary program 42 identifies the printer that will perform printing from printers 2 to 4 connected to the PC. For example, the auxiliary program 42 requests the general-purpose printing program 41 to send printer identification information for the selected printer, and identifies the printer based on that printer identification information. When the processing of A08 is requested, the auxiliary program 42 may receive printer identification information from the general-purpose printing program 41 and identify the printer based on that printer identification information. Also, if the capability information notified in A13 includes printer information, the auxiliary program 42 may identify the printer based on that printer information. A21 is an example of the identification processing.

[0041] The auxiliary program 42 reads the common setting file 45 from the memory 12 (A22). Then, the auxiliary program 42 performs a setting value change process (A23). The setting value change process is a process that changes the setting values ​​of the current print settings received via the general-purpose print setting screen D2, i.e., the setting values ​​of the print settings set in the print queue of the selected printer, to the common setting values ​​written in the common setting file 45. A22 is an example of a read process. A23 is an example of a change process. The setting value change process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5. The process of FIG. 5 is executed by the CPU 11.

[0042] The CPU 11 compares the print setting values ​​set in the printer queue of the printer identified in A21 with the common setting values ​​in the common setting file 45 read in A22 (S1) and determines whether they all match (S2). For example, if print settings are set while a printer is selected on the general-purpose print setting screen D2, the settings are set in the print queue of the selected printer. If the setting values ​​set in the print queue of the selected printer include all of the common setting values ​​included in the common setting file 45 shown in FIG. 2(b), the CPU 11 determines that the print setting values ​​and the common setting values ​​all match (S2: YES). In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the CPU 11 ends the setting value change process without changing the print setting values ​​of the print queue 201 to the common setting values.

[0043] In response to this, if the print setting values ​​set in the printer queue of the printer identified in A21 do not include any one of the common setting values ​​included in the common setting file 45 shown in FIG. 2(b), the CPU 11 determines that the print setting values ​​do not match the common setting values ​​(S2: NO). For example, if "A3 size" is set in the "Paper size" item on the general print setting screen D2, that setting value differs from the common setting value "A4 size" for "Paper size" in FIG. 2(b). In this case, the CPU 11 determines that the print setting values ​​do not match the common setting values.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 5, when the CPU 11 determines that the setting values ​​of the print settings and the common setting values ​​do not match, it displays, for example, a mismatch notification screen D4 shown in FIG. 6(a) on the display 13a of the PC 1 (S3).

[0045] The mismatch notification screen D4 shown in FIG. 6(a) displays a message notifying the user that the current print setting values ​​for the selected printer differ from the common setting values ​​in the common setting file 45, and a message prompting the user to confirm whether or not to change the current print setting to common printing. The mismatch notification screen D4 may specifically display the content of the mismatch. The mismatch notification screen D4 includes a "Yes" button SW41 that instructs the user to change the current print setting to common printing, and a "No" button SW42 that instructs the user not to change the current print setting to common printing. The operation of the "Yes" button SW41 or the "No" button SW42 is an example of a first input operation.

[0046] 5, the CPU 11 determines whether an instruction to change the set value of the print settings has been accepted in response to the operation of the “Yes” button SW41 or the “No” button SW42 (S4). S4 is an example of a first acceptance process.

[0047] When the CPU 11 accepts operation of the "Yes" button SW41 on the mismatch notification screen D4 via the user IF 13, it determines that the setting values ​​of the current print settings should be changed to the common setting values ​​in the common setting file 45 (S4: YES). In this case, the CPU 11 reads the capability information acquired in A13 of FIG. 3 (S5). If the memory 12 stores the capability information in association with the printer information of the printer to be processed, the CPU 11 may read the capability information from the memory 12.

[0048] Based on the capability information read in S5, CPU 11 determines (S6) whether the common setting values ​​in common setting file 45 are compatible with the printer identified in A21 of Fig. 3. For example, printer 2 and printer 3 connected to PC 1 are printers that can execute all of the common setting values ​​of the setting items shown in Fig. 2(b), while printer 4 is a printer that can print in monochrome but cannot print in color.

[0049] If the selected printer is printer 4, CPU 11 determines that printer 4 cannot support the common setting value "color" set in the "color mode" of common setting file 45 (NO in S6 of FIG. 5). In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, CPU 11 ends the setting value change process without changing the setting value of the current print setting set in print queue 203 of printer 4 shown in FIG. 2 to the common setting value. At this time, CPU 11 may display a screen on display 13a of PC 1 notifying the user that printer 4 cannot support the common setting. At this time, CPU 11 may prompt the user to change the selected printer or the common setting value.

[0050] If the selected printer is printer 3, the CPU 11 changes the current print setting values ​​to the common setting values ​​(S7) as shown in FIG. 5 because all of the common setting values ​​in the common setting file 45 are compatible with printer 3 (S6: YES in FIG. 5). For example, the print queue 202 corresponding to printer 3 in FIG. 2(a) has the "Paper Size" set to "A4 size," the "Layout Printing" item set to "Standard (1 in 1)," the "Economy Printing" item set to "OFF," and the "PIN Setting" item set to "Disabled." These setting values ​​differ from the common setting values ​​in the common setting file 45 in FIG. 2(b). Therefore, the CPU 11 changes the "Paper Size" setting from "A3 size" to the common setting value "A4 size" among the print settings stored in the print queue 202. Similarly, the setting values ​​of "Layout Printing," "Economy Printing," and "PIN Setting" are changed to "2 in 1," "ON," and "Enabled (1234)," respectively.

[0051] Suppose the print setting values ​​and the common setting values ​​do not match, and the selected printer is printer 2. In this case, printer 2 can support all of the common setting values ​​in the common setting file 45. For example, for the print queue 201 corresponding to printer 2 in FIG. 2(a), of the items included in the common setting file 45, only the "layout printing" item differs from the common setting value. Therefore, the CPU 11 changes the setting value of "layout printing" among the print settings stored in the print queue 201 from "4 in 1" to the common setting value "2 in 1."

[0052] In this way, regardless of whether printer 2 or printer 3 is selected, the common setting values ​​are reflected in the current print setting values ​​set in print queues 201 and 202 at the timing of printer selection. Therefore, if the user wants to use common print settings when printing using printer 2 and when printing using printer 3, the user does not need to manually input the common setting values ​​into general print setting screen D2.

[0053] In response to the above, if the CPU 11 receives an operation of the "No" button SW42 on the mismatch notification screen D4 shown in Fig. 6(a) via the user IF 13, it determines not to change the print setting values ​​to the common setting values ​​(S4: NO). In this case, the CPU 11 displays, for example, a common setting value change confirmation screen D5 shown in Fig. 6(b) on the display 13a of the PC 1 (S8).

[0054] The common setting value change confirmation screen D5 shown in FIG. 6(b) displays a message confirming whether or not to overwrite the common setting values ​​in the common setting file 45 with the settings of the currently set print settings. The common setting value change confirmation screen D2 may also display the rewrite contents. The common setting value change confirmation screen D5 is provided with a "Yes" button SW51 that accepts an instruction to change the common setting values ​​in the common setting file 45, and a "No" button SW52 that accepts an instruction not to change the common setting values ​​in the common setting file 45. The operation of the "Yes" button SW51 or the "No" button SW52 is an example of a second input operation.

[0055] 5, the CPU 11 determines whether an instruction to change the common setting value has been accepted in response to the operation of the “Yes” button SW51 or the “No” button SW52 (S9). S9 is an example of the second acceptance process.

[0056] When the CPU 11 receives an operation of the "Yes" button SW51 on the common setting value change confirmation screen D5 shown in FIG. 6(b) via the user IF 13, it determines that the common setting values ​​should be changed (S9: YES). When printer 3 is selected, the CPU 11 rewrites the common setting values ​​in the common setting file 45 shown in FIG. 2(b) to the setting values ​​of the print settings stored in the print queue 202 for printer 3 shown in FIG. 2(a) (S10). In other words, the auxiliary program 42 can easily change the common setting values ​​based on the setting values ​​of the current print settings without executing the common setting value setting process described below. Thereafter, the CPU 11 ends the setting value change process. S10 is an example of the rewriting process.

[0057] In this case, for example, if the printer to be selected is subsequently changed from printer 3 to printer 2, the print setting values ​​set in the print queue 201 of printer 2 are changed using the changed common setting values.

[0058] If the CPU 11 receives an operation of the "No" button SW52 on the common setting value change confirmation screen D5 shown in FIG. 6(b) via the user IF 13, it determines that the common setting value will not be changed (S9: NO) and terminates the setting value change process.

[0059] 3, the auxiliary program 42 that executed the setting value change process sends an end notification in response to the process request in A08 to the general-purpose printing program 41 (A31). At this time, the auxiliary program 42 passes the currently set print setting values ​​to the general-purpose printing program 41. That is, for example, if the print setting values ​​are changed to common setting values ​​in the setting value change process, the auxiliary program 42 passes the changed print setting values ​​together with the end notification to the general-purpose printing program 41. Upon receiving the end notification, the general-purpose printing program 41 displays the information added to the end notification on the general-purpose printing setting screen D2 (A32).

[0060] As described above, the auxiliary program 42 can automatically change the print setting values ​​to the common setting values ​​through the setting value change process, regardless of whether printer 2 or printer 3 is selected, and pass the changed print setting values ​​along with a completion notification to the general-purpose printing program 41. Therefore, regardless of whether printer 2 or printer 3 is selected, the general-purpose printing program 41 can display the general-purpose printing setting screen D2 that reflects the common setting values. In other words, regardless of whether printer 2 or printer 3 is selected, the common setting values ​​are automatically displayed on the general-purpose printing setting screen D2 without the user having to manually enter them.

[0061] The general-purpose printing program 41 may not change the setting values ​​of items that are not included in the common setting values ​​among the print settings, such as "paper type," "paper feed tray," "watermark," and "staple" shown in Figure 2(a), or may change them to the setting values ​​(initial values) set in the print queue of the selected printer.

[0062] Next, the procedures performed by each program when a print instruction is received through a user's operation of the print button SW3 while the general-purpose print setting screen D2 shown in FIG. 4 is displayed will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. 7. For example, the general-purpose print setting screen D2 is provided with the print button SW3, and a print instruction is received through operation of the print button SW3. Since the general-purpose print setting screen D2 is displayed in response to a request from the information application 43, this means that operations on the general-purpose print setting screen D2 are received by the information application 43. Therefore, in this embodiment, the print instruction is received by the information application 43, and a print instruction is output from the information application 43 to the general-purpose print program 41 in response to the instruction. Note that the information application 43 may also directly receive a print instruction separately from the general-purpose print setting screen D2, and in this case, a print instruction is also output from the information application 43 to the general-purpose print program 41 in response to the instruction.

[0063] When the general-purpose printing program 41 receives a print command from a user (D01), it uses the print settings received on the general-purpose print setting screen D2 to convert the format of the data on the information screen received from the information application 43 into the format of intermediate data to generate intermediate data (D02), and passes the generated intermediate data to the auxiliary program 42 (D03). The image data contained in the information application 43 can be of various types, and the general-purpose printing program 41 converts the image data to be printed into intermediate 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 data may be omitted and the intermediate data may be used as is. The intermediate data may be, for example, XPS data.

[0064] The auxiliary program 42 processes the intermediate data received in D03 so that it reflects the print settings (D04). The auxiliary program 42 rasterizes the processed intermediate data and generates print data representing the image to be printed (D05). The print data generated in D05 is data in a format that can be used for printing by the selected printer, such as PDL data dedicated to the selected printer model.

[0065] Rasterizing with the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the selected printer provides greater flexibility and is more likely to generate print data suitable for printing on the selected printer than rasterizing with the general-purpose print program 41. 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 selected printer model.

[0066] The auxiliary program 42 sends the print data generated in D05 to the selected printer along with a print command instructing the printer to print (D06). D06 is an example of a sending process. If the auxiliary program 42 has determined that the selected printer should execute image processing, it 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 it has finished sending the print data (D08).

[0067] The printer that receives the print data and the print command prints the image of the print data based on the received print command (D07), thereby generating a printed product.

[0068] Note that the general-purpose printing program 41 may generate the print data instead of the auxiliary program 42. For example, the auxiliary program 42 may pass the intermediate data processed in D03 and print execution information to the general-purpose printing program 41, and the general-purpose printing program 41 may rasterize the intermediate 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 selected printer together with a print command instructing the execution of printing.

[0069] 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.

[0070] The general-purpose printing program 41 may transmit the print data and print commands to the selected printer. 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 selected printer 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 selected printer. 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.

[0071] Next, the procedure for setting the common setting values ​​will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 8(a). The common setting values ​​are set using a common setting value setting screen D3 shown in Fig. 8(b). The common setting value setting screen D3 is displayed by the auxiliary program 42. For example, the auxiliary program 42 has an executable file for setting the common setting values, and when the PC 1 receives an instruction to execute the executable file, the CPU 11 starts the common setting value setting process shown in Fig. 8(a).

[0072] The CPU 11 first displays a common setting value setting screen D3 shown in FIG. 8(b) on the display 13a of the PC 1 (S21) and determines whether a registration instruction has been received (S22). The common setting value setting screen D3 shown in FIG. 8(b) is a screen for receiving input of common setting values. The common setting value setting screen D3 displays a plurality of items for which common setting values ​​are to be set. The items for which common setting values ​​are to be set include standard items as indicated by 61 in the figure and printer-specific items as indicated by 62 in the figure. The common setting value setting screen D3 can selectably display parameters that can be set for each item. The common setting value setting screen D3 has a check box CH3 for selecting whether or not to set a common setting value for each item. The common setting value setting screen D3 has a registration button SW31 for instructing that the contents input on the common setting value setting screen D3 be registered in the memory 12. The common setting value setting screen D3 is an example of a setting screen. S21 is an example of a setting process.

[0073] If the registration button SW31 is not operated via the user IF 13, the CPU 11 determines that a registration instruction has not been accepted (S22: NO) and waits while displaying the common setting value setting screen D3. If the registration button SW31 is operated via the user IF 13, the CPU 11 determines that a registration instruction has been accepted (S23: YES). In this case, the CPU 11 generates a common setting file 45 based on the setting contents input on the common setting value setting screen D3 and stores it in the memory 12 (S23). S23 is an example of a storage process.

[0074] For example, the CPU 11 sets items for which check boxes CH3, such as "paper size" and "color mode" in FIG. 8B, as targets for which common setting values ​​are to be set. The CPU 11 writes the parameters set for the items for which common setting values ​​are to be set as common setting values ​​to the common setting file 45. For example, the CPU 11 writes the common setting value for "paper size" as "A4 size" to the common setting file 45. Similarly, the CPU 11 writes "color," "double-sided printing," "2 in 1," "ON," and "enabled (1234)" to the common setting file 45 as common setting values ​​for "color mode," "double-sided printing," "layout printing," "economy printing," and "PIN setting."

[0075] On the other hand, the CPU 11 does not set common setting values ​​for items for which the checkbox CH3 is not checked, such as "Paper Type" and "Paper Tray" in Figure 8(b). In this embodiment, for items for which a selection not to set a common setting value is accepted, nothing is written to the common setting file 45, but information indicating that no common setting value is set may be written to the common setting file 45. The CPU 11 stores the common setting file 45 with the written common setting value in the memory 12 and ends the common setting value setting process.

[0076] As described above, the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment processes the multiple printers 2 to 4 connected to the PC 1, and is launched regardless of which of the printers 2 to 4 is requested to be processed, i.e., regardless of which print queue corresponding to which printer is selected. The launched auxiliary program 42 reads the common setting file 45 from the memory 12 and changes the current print setting values ​​set for the target printers 2 to 4 to the common setting values ​​written in the common setting file 45. Therefore, by having the user of the PC 1 prepare the common setting file 45 in advance, the user can save time and effort when setting common print settings for the multiple printers 2 to 4 corresponding to the auxiliary program 42 from the PC 1 using the general-purpose printing program 41 of the OS 21.

[0077] If a printer that is not supported by the auxiliary program 42 is connected to the PC 1 and a print queue for that printer is provided, the print setting values ​​for that printer queue are not changed by the auxiliary program 42. In other words, if there are multiple printers that the auxiliary program 42 supports, the auxiliary program 42 uses the common setting file 45 to change the setting values ​​of the print queues for those supported printers.

[0078] In addition, the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment reflects the common setting values ​​in the print settings when the printer is selected, and as a result, the reflected results are displayed on the general-purpose print setting screen D2 provided by the general-purpose print program 41, the information application 43, etc., so that the user can check the contents of the common setting values ​​before entering a print instruction.

[0079] (Second embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the technology disclosed in this specification will be described. Fig. 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the procedure when an instruction to display a detailed settings screen is received. In this embodiment, the print setting values ​​are changed to common setting values ​​when the detailed settings screen is displayed. This differs from the first embodiment in that the print setting values ​​are changed when a printer is selected. In other words, A21 to A23 in Fig. 3 are not executed when a printer is selected. Here, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and configurations and processes common to the first embodiment will be designated by the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment, and descriptions thereof will be omitted where appropriate.

[0080] 9, when the general-purpose printing program 41 receives a specific instruction by user operation of the detailed settings button SW2 while the general-purpose printing setting screen D2 of FIG. 4 is displayed (B01), the general-purpose printing program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 and requests processing (B02). In B02, the auxiliary program 42 receives the print settings received via the general-purpose printing setting screen from the general-purpose printing program 41.

[0081] The auxiliary program 42 acquires the capability information of the selected printer (B11 to B13). The processing of B11 to B13 is similar to A11 to A13 in FIG. 2, so a description thereof will be omitted. B13 is an example of a capability acquisition processing. Note that if the capability information is acquired and stored in the memory 12 when the printer is selected, the auxiliary program 42 may omit the processing of B11 to B13 and read the capability information from the memory 12.

[0082] The auxiliary program 42, which has acquired the capability information, identifies the printer for which processing is requested (B21), reads the common setting file 45 from the memory 12 (B22), and executes the setting value change processing (B23). B21, B22, and B23 are similar to the processing A21, A22, and A23 in Figure 3, so their explanation will be omitted. B21 is an example of the identification processing, B22 is an example of the reading processing, and B23 is an example of the change processing.

[0083] After executing the setting value change process, the auxiliary program 42 displays a detailed setting screen on the display 13a of the PC 1 (B31). If the print setting values ​​have been changed to common setting values ​​in B23, the changed print setting values, i.e., setting values ​​reflecting the common setting values, are automatically displayed in each item on the detailed setting screen. The detailed setting screen has an Apply button that sets the print settings accepted via the detailed setting screen. When the auxiliary program 42 accepts operation of the Apply button via the user IF 13 (B32), it passes a completion notification for the processing request shown in B02 to the general-purpose printing program 41 (B34). The general-purpose printing program 41 may or may not reflect the print settings accepted via the detailed setting screen on the general-purpose printing setting screen D2. In other words, the general-purpose printing setting screen D2 may or may not display the common setting values ​​in the print setting items.

[0084] The auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment executes a setting value change process in the same manner as in the first embodiment when a specific instruction is received on the general-purpose print setting screen D2 provided by the general-purpose print program 41, thereby reflecting the common setting values ​​in the common setting file 45 in the print settings set in the printer queue of the selected printer. Therefore, if the user of PC 1 prepares the common setting file 45 in advance, it is possible to reduce the user's effort when setting common print settings for multiple printers 2 to 4 corresponding to the auxiliary program 42 from PC 1 using the general-purpose print program 41 of OS 21. Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment can reflect the common setting values ​​from the general-purpose print setting screen D2 at a timing selected by the user in response to the operation of the advanced settings button SW2.

[0085] (Third embodiment) Next, a third embodiment of the technology disclosed in this specification will be described. Fig. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the procedure when a display instruction to display a detailed settings screen is received. In this embodiment, the print setting values ​​are changed to common setting values ​​when a print instruction is received. This differs from the first embodiment, in which the print setting values ​​are changed when a printer is selected. In other words, A21 to A23 in Fig. 3 are not executed when a printer is selected. Here, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and configurations and processes common to the first embodiment will be designated by the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment, and descriptions thereof will be omitted where appropriate.

[0086] 10, when the general-purpose printing program 41 receives a print instruction through a user operation of the print button SW3 (D01) with a printer corresponding to the auxiliary program 42 selected on the general-purpose printing setting screen D2 in FIG. 4, the general-purpose printing program 41 generates intermediate data (D02), starts the auxiliary program 42, and passes the intermediate data to the auxiliary program 42 (D03). In D03, the general-purpose printing program 41 passes the print settings received via the general-purpose printing setting screen D2 to the auxiliary program 42.

[0087] The started auxiliary program 42 acquires capability information indicating the capabilities of the selected printer (D11 to D13). The processing of D11 to D13 is similar to A11 to A13 in FIG. 2, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. D13 is an example of a capability acquisition process. Note that if the capability information is acquired and stored in memory 12 when the printer is selected, the auxiliary program 42 may omit the processing of D11 to D13 and read the capability information from memory 12.

[0088] The auxiliary program 42, which has acquired the capability information, identifies the printer for which processing is requested (D21), reads the common setting file 45 from the memory 12 (D22), and executes the setting value change processing (D23). D21, D22, and D23 are similar to the processing A21, A22, and A23 in Fig. 3, so their explanation will be omitted. D21 is an example of the identification processing, D22 is an example of the reading processing, and D23 is an example of the change processing.

[0089] After executing the setting value change process, the auxiliary program 42 processes the intermediate data (D31). At this time, if the setting values ​​of the print settings set on the general-purpose print setting screen have been changed to common setting values, the auxiliary program 42 processes the intermediate data based on the setting values ​​that reflect the common setting values. The auxiliary program 42 generates print data based on the processed intermediate data (D05), sends it to the selected printer (D06), and causes the selected printer to execute printing (D07).

[0090] The auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment executes a setting value change process in the same way as in the first embodiment when a print instruction is received, thereby reflecting the common setting values ​​in the common setting file 45 in the print settings. Therefore, if the user of PC 1 prepares the common setting file 45 in advance, the user can save time and effort when setting common print settings for multiple printers 2 to 4 corresponding to the auxiliary program 42 from PC 1 using the general-purpose print program 41 of OS 21. Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment can use the common setting values ​​every time printing is executed, which promotes printing using the common setting values.

[0091] In addition, in this embodiment, because the change to the common setting value is made after the print command is entered, after the print setting value is automatically changed to the common setting value, the changed setting value cannot be manually changed. Therefore, according to this embodiment, printing using the common setting value can be more reliably achieved across multiple printers. On the other hand, if the common setting values ​​are changed when the printer is selected before a print instruction is received, as in the first embodiment, or when the common setting values ​​are changed when the detailed setting screen is displayed before a print instruction is received, as in the second embodiment, the changed setting values ​​can be manually changed after the automatic change to the common setting values, making it possible to customize print settings for each individual print.

[0092] 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.

[0093] Also, the processes of S4 and S8 to S10 in Fig. 5 may be omitted. However, if the common setting values ​​are changed at the timing when a print instruction is given, there is a possibility that printing will be performed in an unintended manner by the user. Therefore, the auxiliary program 42 inquires of the user whether or not to change the set values ​​of the print settings, and when an input to change them is received, changes the set values ​​to the common set values, thereby making it possible to avoid printing that is not intended by the user.

[0094] 5, if an instruction to change the setting value is not received (S4: NO), the processes of S8 to S10 may be omitted. However, if the setting value is not to be changed to a common setting value, the auxiliary program 42 inquires of the user whether or not to change the common setting value in the common setting file 45, and if an input to change is received, the auxiliary program 42 rewrites the common setting value in the common setting file 45 with the setting value of the current print setting, so that the setting value of the current print setting can be commonly used in the future.

[0095] 5 may be omitted. However, the auxiliary program 42 determines whether the selected printer can support the common setting values ​​based on the capability information acquired from the selected printer, and if the printer cannot support the common setting values, does not change them to the common setting values, thereby avoiding problems such as printer errors.

[0096] 8(a) may be omitted, and the common setting values ​​in the common setting file 45 may be fixed. Alternatively, a program other than the auxiliary program 42 may display the common setting value setting screen D3 and accept the setting of the common setting values. However, by having the auxiliary program 42 provide the common setting value setting screen D3 for writing the common setting values ​​to the common setting file 45, it becomes easier for the user to edit the common setting values.

[0097] 8(b), the check box CH3 may be omitted, and a single selection may be made for all print setting items as to whether or not to write the common setting values ​​to the common setting file 45. However, by allowing the auxiliary program 42 to select whether or not to write the common setting values ​​to the setting data for each print setting item, it becomes possible to distinguish between items that are used in common and items that are not used in common in the setting data, thereby increasing the degree of freedom in operation.

[0098] The general-purpose printing program 41 may also be provided with a common setting button that reflects common setting values ​​on the general-purpose printing setting screen D2, and may accept specific instructions in response to the operation of the common setting button.

[0099] 8(b), the common setting value setting screen D3 may omit the standard settings shown in 61 in the figure, and set common setting values ​​only for items unique to the printer, so that the common setting values ​​are reflected only for items unique to the printer. The same applies to standard items.

[0100] 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.

[0101] 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.

[0102] 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.

[0103] 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]

[0104] 1...PC, 2...printer, 11...CPU, 13a...display, 21...OS, 41...general-purpose printing program, 42...auxiliary program

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 print program that is pre-installed in an operating system of the information processing device, wherein the information processing device can control a plurality of printers, the operating system can provide a print queue for each printer that is the control target, and the general-purpose print program can request processing from the support program regardless of which print queue corresponding to which printer among the plurality of printers is selected; The computer, When a process is requested from the general-purpose printing program, a process of identifying which of the plurality of printers is requested to process; a read process for reading setting data in which common setting values ​​indicating setting values ​​of print settings commonly used by the plurality of printers are written; a change process for changing the setting values ​​of the print settings corresponding to the printer identified in the identification process based on the common setting values ​​written in the setting data read in the read process; Execute A support program configured to:

2. 2. The support program according to claim 1, The computer, When the printer is selected and a process is requested from the general-purpose printing program, the specifying process, the reading process, and the changing process are executed. A support program configured to:

3. 2. The support program according to claim 1, the general-purpose printing program is capable of displaying a print setting screen on a display of the information processing device, and the print setting screen is capable of accepting a specific instruction that requests processing by the support program; The computer, When a process is requested from the general-purpose printing program as a result of the specific instruction being accepted on the print setting screen, the specific process, the read process, and the change process are executed. A support program configured to:

4. 2. The support program according to claim 1, The computer, a print instruction output from an application program installed in the information processing device, and when a process is requested from the general-purpose print program in response to the print instruction to the general-purpose print program, the specific process, the read process, and the change process are executed; A support program configured to:

5. 2. The support program according to claim 1, The computer, executes a first reception process for receiving, via a user interface of the information processing device, a first input operation which is an input operation as to whether or not to change the setting value of the print setting when the common setting value written in the setting data read in the reading process differs from the setting value of the print setting corresponding to the printer identified in the identification process; When the first input operation for changing a setting value of a print setting is received in the first reception process, the change process is executed; When the first input operation that does not change the setting value of the print setting is received in the first reception process, the change process is not executed. A support program configured to:

6. 6. The support program according to claim 5, The computer, when the first input operation that does not change the setting value of the print setting is received in the first reception process, a second reception process is executed to receive, via the user interface of the information processing device, a second input operation that is an input operation as to whether or not to change the common setting value; When the second input operation for changing the common setting value is accepted in the second acceptance process, a rewrite process is executed to rewrite the common setting value written in the setting data read in the reading process to a setting value of the print setting corresponding to the printer identified in the identification process. A support program configured to:

7. 7. The support program according to claim 1, The computer, When a process is requested from the general-purpose printing program, Execute a capability acquisition process to acquire capability information indicating the capabilities of the printer; In the change process, If the common setting value written in the setting data read in the reading process can be handled by the capabilities indicated in the capability information, the setting value of the print setting corresponding to the printer identified in the specification process is changed based on the common setting value, and if the common setting value cannot be handled by the capabilities indicated in the capability information, the setting value of the print setting corresponding to the printer identified in the specification process is not changed. A support program configured to:

8. 8. The support program according to claim 1, The computer, a setting process for displaying a setting screen for receiving input of the common setting value on a display of the information processing device; a storage process of storing the setting data into which the common setting values ​​input on the setting screen are written in a memory of the information processing device; Execute In the reading process, reading the setting data stored in the storage process; A support program configured to:

9. 9. The support program according to claim 8, In the setting process, The print setting includes a plurality of items, and the setting screen for accepting a selection of whether or not to set the common setting value for each of the items and an input of the common setting value is displayed on the display of the information processing device; In the storage process, writing the common setting value input on the setting screen into the setting data for the item for which the selection of setting the common setting value has been accepted among the print settings; A support program configured to:

10. 10. 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