Support programs and printing systems

Abstract

To provide a technology that facilitates the use of stapling functionality in information processing devices that incorporate the OS standard general-purpose printing program. [Solution] The auxiliary program 42 causes the CPU 11 to acquire capability information, including staple compatibility information indicating whether or not the stapling function is supported, and tray compatibility information indicating the output tray that supports the stapling function. The program then displays the extended screen 620 on the display 13a and allows the setting of items related to stapling included in the extended screen 620 if the printer 2 supports the stapling function and has an output tray that supports the stapling function. If the printer 2 does not support the stapling function, or if the printer supports the stapling function but does not have an output tray that supports the stapling function, the setting of items related to stapling is disabled.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The technical field disclosed in this specification relates to a support program for controlling a printer and a printing system.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, a technology for controlling a printer by using a general-purpose printing program compliant with an operating system (OS) that forms part of the OS, without using a printer driver provided by a printer vendor, has been put into practical use. In this technology, when the OS detects a printer, it associates the printer with the general-purpose printing program compliant with the OS. Thereafter, when a print instruction for the printer is received, the general-purpose printing program compliant with the OS generates print data without using the printer driver provided by the printer vendor, enabling printing by the general-purpose printing program compliant with the OS.

[0003] As a document that discloses a printing technology using a general-purpose printing program compliant with the OS, for example, there is Patent Document 1. Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which an auxiliary program for supporting printer control acquires capability information from a printer, adds commands related to functions that the printer can support to print data, and transmits the print data to the printer via the general-purpose printing program.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] According to the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, if a printer is capable of performing stapling as a post-processing step, a support program can send commands related to the stapling function to the print data, thereby enabling the printer to perform stapling, a function specific to the printer, even when printing with a general-purpose printing program. On the other hand, some printers may have output trays that cannot accommodate stacks of paper that have been stapled. Patent Document 1 does not consider the setting of the output destination when performing stapling, so there is room for improvement. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The support program designed to address the aforementioned issues is: A support program that is executable by the computer of an information processing device, corresponds to a printer connected to the information processing device, and supports a general-purpose printing program of the operating system of the information processing device, To the aforementioned computer, An acquisition process for acquiring capability information, which includes capability information indicating the capabilities of the printer, including staple compatibility information indicating whether or not a staple function is supported, and tray compatibility information indicating the output tray that supports the staple function; A setting screen display process that displays a setting screen, which accepts print settings for printing on the aforementioned printer and includes items related to stapling, using the user interface of the information processing device, Make it run, In the aforementioned settings screen display process, Based on the staple compatibility information and tray compatibility information included in the capability information acquired in the acquisition process, if the printer supports the staple function and has an output tray that supports the staple function, the settings for the staple-related items included in the settings screen are enabled. If the printer does not support the staple function, or if the printer supports the staple function but does not have an output tray that supports the staple function, the settings for the staple-related items are disabled. It is configured in this way.

[0007] The support program disclosed herein determines whether stapling-related settings can be configured on a computer, taking into account not only whether the printer itself supports stapling, but also whether there is an output tray necessary for performing stapling. This provides an appropriate settings screen for stapling.

[0008] A new and useful information processing device incorporating the above-mentioned support program, a storage medium readable by a computer that stores 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 herein enables the use of a stapling function in an information processing device that incorporates a general-purpose printing program that is a standard for the operating system. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This block diagram shows an overview of the electrical configuration of a PC. [Figure 2] This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the printer selection and advanced settings procedure. [Figure 3] This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the basic screen of the detailed settings screen. [Figure 4]This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the extended screen of the detailed settings screen (when the first combination is used). [Figure 5] This diagram shows the correspondence between printer capabilities and the display patterns of the checkboxes. [Figure 6] This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the extended screen of the detailed settings screen (when the second combination is used). [Figure 7] This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the extended screen of the detailed settings screen (when the third combination is used). [Figure 8] This figure shows an example of a notification when the output tray is inappropriate. [Figure 9] This figure shows an example of a notification when the printer does not have a stapling function. [Figure 10] This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the printing procedure. [Figure 11] This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the printer's processing procedure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] The following describes in detail a printing system including a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as "PC") that utilizes the support program of this form and a printer connected to that PC, with reference to the attached drawings. This specification discloses a support program that runs on a PC.

[0012] The printing system 100 in this embodiment includes a PC1 and a printer2, as shown in Figure 1. The PC1 includes a controller 10, which includes a CPU 11 and memory 12, as shown in Figure 1. The PC1 is an example of an information processing device. The CPU 11 is an example of a computer. The PC1 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 Figure 1 is a general term encompassing the hardware and software used to control the PC1, and does not necessarily represent a single piece of hardware actually present in the PC1.

[0013] The CPU 11 of PC1 executes various processes according to the program read from the memory 12 and based on the user's operations. The memory 12 stores various programs and various data. The memory 12 is also used, for example, as a work area when executing various programs. The buffer included in the CPU 11 is also an example of the memory 12. Note that an example of the memory 12 is not limited to a ROM, RAM, HDD, etc. built into the PC1, but may also be a storage medium readable and writable by the CPU 11, such as a recording medium like a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc.

[0014] The user IF 13 includes a display 13a, which is hardware for displaying a screen for notifying the user of information, and hardware for receiving operations by the user. Note that the user IF 13 may include a combination of a display 13a capable of displaying information and a mouse, keyboard, etc. having an input reception function, or may include a touch panel having the functions of the display 13a and the input reception function.

[0015] The communication IF 14 includes hardware for communicating with an external device of the printer 2. The communication standard of the communication IF 14 is Ethernet (registered trademark), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), USB, etc. The PC1 may be connected to the Internet via the communication IF 14. The PC1 may be provided with a plurality of communication IF 14 corresponding to a plurality of communication standards.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, the memory 12 stores various programs and various data, including an operating system (hereinafter referred to as "OS") 21 including a general-purpose printing program 41, an auxiliary program 42, and an editing app 43. The auxiliary program 42 is an example of a support program. The editing app 43 is an example of an application program.

[0017] OS21 is a multitasking operating system that can process multiple tasks in parallel by managing and switching between them. Examples of OS21 include Windows®, macOS®, Linux®, iOS®, and Android®.

[0018] OS21 includes a general-purpose printing program 41. The general-purpose printing program 41 is a standard OS program provided by the OS21 vendor and included as part of OS21. In other words, PC1 is equipped with OS21, which includes the general-purpose printing program 41. The general-purpose printing program 41 is not configured to utilize printer drivers specific to each printer.

[0019] The general-purpose printing program 41 is a program that has the functionality to perform printing on multiple types of printers, each provided by multiple vendors, based on user instructions. The general-purpose printing program 41 supports general-purpose functions that enable printing on many printers. Unlike printer drivers specific to each printer, the general-purpose printing program 41 does not support functions unique to each printer or printer driver, especially functions that require complex processing.

[0020] The general-purpose printing program 41 is a program that, based on user instructions, receives image data designated as the target for printing in print instructions output from various application programs, and includes a function to generate intermediate data based on that image data. The intermediate data is, for example, XPS data. The general-purpose printing program 41 further has a function to generate print data in a format that can be used for printing on various printers, based on the intermediate data. The print data is, for example, PWGRaster data or PDF data. The general-purpose printing program 41 also has a function to send the generated print data to the printer designated as the device to execute the print job, via the communication function of the OS 21.

[0021] The auxiliary program 42 is a program or group of programs that performs processing based on instructions from the OS 21 in conjunction with the processing of the general-purpose printing program 41, and is an application program that supports the control of the target hardware. In this form, the auxiliary program 42 corresponds to the model of the printer 2 connected to the PC 1, and is provided, for example, by the vendor of the printer 2. The general-purpose printing program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2 when the printer 2 is selected as the device to perform printing, when the printer 2 is selected and instructions for detailed print settings are received, when the instructions to perform printing on the printer 2 are received, etc. The auxiliary program 42 is called, for example, a print support application (abbreviated as PSA) or a hardware support application (abbreviated as HSA).

[0022] The auxiliary program 42 may be a combination of multiple programs, each accepting execution commands, or it may be a single program capable of executing different processes depending on the command. Furthermore, the number of printers that the auxiliary program supports may be two or more. For example, it may be a program provided by a printer vendor for each type of printer. For instance, separate auxiliary programs may be provided for inkjet printers and laser printers. In addition to being limited to each printer type, auxiliary programs may also be provided for each printer model or series of printer models.

[0023] For example, when a new printer is connected to PC1, the OS21 of PC1 can download appropriate auxiliary programs from the printer vendor's server or storage specified by OS21, depending on the type and model of the connected printer, and install them into PC1. The OS21 associates the identification information of the installed auxiliary programs with the printer information of the newly connected printer and stores it in memory 12.

[0024] The editing application 43 is, for example, a program for creating and editing image data and document data. The editing application 43 may be, for example, Microsoft Word or PowerPoint, or a program provided by a printer vendor. The editing application 43 can receive a print execution command via the user interface 13, for example, to print to printer 2. The editing application 43 is not limited to a program for creating and editing data, but may also be a program that has the function of receiving instructions to display or print various types of information such as map information and web pages, according to the user's request.

[0025] In this configuration, PC1 is connected to printer2 via communication IF14, as shown in Figure 1. Printer2 is a device having at least printing and communication functions. Therefore, printer2 may be a multifunction printer, copier, fax machine, etc. When printer2 receives print data from PC1, etc., it can perform printing based on the received print data. Printer2 may be a device capable of color printing, or it may be a device capable of monochrome printing only.

[0026] Furthermore, printer 2 can be fitted with a finisher 22 that has a stapling function for binding printed papers one by one using staples, and also has a main tray 23 which is a standard output tray for printer 2. Printer 2 may have more than one main tray 23. In addition, printer 2 may be fitted with other optional trays that function as output trays, in addition to the finisher 22.

[0027] The finisher 22 may have functions other than stapling, such as sorting, binding, folding, and punching. The finisher 22 may have a tray that supports stapling (hereinafter referred to as the "staple-compatible tray") 221 and a tray that does not support stapling (hereinafter referred to as the "non-staple-compatible tray") 222. The finisher 22 does not have to have the non-staple-compatible tray 222. The finisher 22 may also have a multi-purpose tray that does not support stapling in its initial state but becomes capable of supporting stapling after a predetermined operation is performed. When the multi-purpose tray is made capable of supporting stapling, it becomes the staple-compatible tray 221, and when the multi-purpose tray is in its initial state, it becomes the non-staple-compatible tray 222. The main tray 23 may be used as one of the trays of the finisher 22 when the finisher 22 is installed.

[0028] Next, the procedures for various processes related to printing on printer 2 in PC1 of this configuration will be described. Note that, in this configuration, processes other than user operations basically refer to the processing of the CPU 11 according to instructions written in programs such as auxiliary program 42. In this specification, for convenience, various processes performed by the controller 10 or CPU 11 according to programs such as auxiliary program 42, general-purpose printing program 41, and OS 21 may be described as if each program independently performs the various processes. The processing by CPU 11 also includes hardware control using the OS 21 API. In this specification, a detailed description of OS 21 is omitted, and the operation of each program is explained. Also, "acquisition" is used as a concept that does not necessarily require a request.

[0029] First, the selection and setting procedure for PC1, which accepts the selection of the printer to be used for printing and the specification of print settings, will be explained with reference to the sequence diagram in Figure 2. The editing application 43 can create and edit documents and images based on user instructions. If the user wants to print the currently displayed documents or images, the user selects "Print" in the editing application 43 (A01). The user can select "Print" from, for example, the menu of operation items provided in the editing application 43.

[0030] Since the general-purpose printing program 41 is built into the OS21 of PC1, when the editing application 43 accepts the selection to print, it requests the general-purpose printing program 41 of OS21 to display a screen that accepts instructions regarding printing (A02). The general-purpose printing program 41 displays the print settings screen to the user IF13 in response to the request (A03). The print settings screen is a screen that accepts instructions from the user regarding various print settings that can be accepted by the general-purpose printing program 41. Note that the editing application 43 may also display the print settings screen. In addition, the print settings screen may have an area that can display information specified by an auxiliary program corresponding to the selected printer.

[0031] For example, if the print settings screen receives a selection instruction to select printer 2 as the device to perform printing, or if the print selection for A01 is received while printer 2 is selected as the device to perform printing, the editing application 43 passes information indicating that printer 2 has been selected to the general-purpose printing program 41. Then, if the instruction to perform detailed print settings is received while printer 2 is selected as the device to perform printing (A11), the general-purpose printing program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to printer 2 and passes an instruction to the auxiliary program 42 to start accepting detailed print settings (A12).

[0032] When the auxiliary program 42 is activated in response to the instruction in A12, it acquires the capability information of printer 2. Specifically, the auxiliary program 42 requests the general-purpose printing program 41 to acquire the capability information (A13). The general-purpose printing program 41 sends a command to printer 2 requesting the capability information and acquires the capability information from printer 2 (A14). The general-purpose printing program 41 passes the capability information acquired from printer 2 to the auxiliary program 42 (A15). As a result, the auxiliary program 42 can acquire the capability information of printer 2. A13 is an example of the acquisition process.

[0033] The general-purpose printing program 41 communicates with the printer 2 via the OS 21 in A14, for example, by communication corresponding to IPP (Internet Printing Protocol). Alternatively, the auxiliary program 42 may obtain capability information directly from the printer 2 using, for example, the MIB (Management Information Base), instead of requesting it from the general-purpose printing program 41. Furthermore, the capability information that the auxiliary program 42 can obtain from the printer 2 may contain more information than the capability information obtained via the OS 21.

[0034] The capability information obtained from Printer 2 includes information on items that can be set as print settings and parameters that can be set for each item. The information on parameters that can be set for each item may be the values ​​that can be set as parameters themselves, or a range of values ​​that can be set. Specifically, the capability information may include, for example, information on parameters related to the paper feed tray and paper output tray that are available on Printer 2, and information on parameters related to paper size and paper type. The capability information may also include information on printing functions that Printer 2 supports, such as double-sided printing, color printing, and stacking printing, information on image processing functions such as print resolution, image scaling, and image rotation, information on extended functions such as power saving control and silent control, and status information such as remaining consumables. In addition, the capability information may include information on the main unit settings, which are setting values ​​set on Printer 2, such as default values ​​for print settings.

[0035] In this configuration, the system acquires information specifically regarding the stapling function and the output tray as capability information. The information regarding the stapling function includes whether or not the printer supports stapling. For example, if the printer 2 has a finisher 22 installed, it includes information indicating that the printer supports stapling. The information regarding the output tray includes the supported paper sizes and paper types for each tray. Furthermore, for trays that support stapling, the output tray information includes staple tray information indicating that the tray supports stapling. In other words, trays that do not support stapling do not include staple tray information. Staple tray information is an example of compatibility information. Note that trays that do not support stapling may also include information indicating that they do not support stapling.

[0036] Furthermore, the capability information includes information about the output trays of the finisher 22. Therefore, the information about the output trays includes, for example, information about the staple-compatible tray 221 if the finisher 22 has a staple-compatible tray 221, and information about the non-staple-compatible tray 222 if the finisher 22 has a non-staple-compatible tray 222, without any information about the staple-compatible tray. On the other hand, if the finisher 22 does not have a staple-compatible tray 221, the information about the staple-compatible tray 221 is not included.

[0037] Based on the acquired capability information, the auxiliary program 42 displays an advanced settings screen on the user interface 13's display 13a, which accepts detailed print settings (A17). The auxiliary program 42 can display the advanced settings screen 60 on the user interface 13, for example, as shown in Figure 3. Since there are many print setting items that can be accepted on the advanced settings screen 60, the auxiliary program 42 can accept screen switching instructions, for example, by switching between the basic tab 61 and the advanced tab 62, and the basic tab 61 is selected when the program is started. A17 is an example of the settings screen display process.

[0038] The basic screen 610, which constitutes the basic tab 61 of the detailed settings screen 60 shown in Figure 3, includes objects for setting parameters for each item such as paper type, paper size, paper tray, color, print orientation, layout that accepts selection of collated printing such as Nin1 printing, and double-sided printing or booklet printing, as well as a preview 63 based on the set parameters and an OK button 64. The parameters that can be set for each item are determined based on capability information.

[0039] The extended screen 620, which constitutes the extended tab 62 of the detailed settings screen 60 shown in Figure 4, includes objects for setting parameters for each item: scaling, flipping vertically, output tray settings, and stapling, as well as a preview 63 based on the set parameters and an OK button 64. The parameters that can be set for each item are determined based on capability information.

[0040] Of the parameters that can be set on the extended screen 620, the output tray setting can be set using the drop-down list 71. By selecting one of the options in the drop-down list 71, you can set the output tray to which the printed material will be output. The list in the drop-down list 71 includes the output trays currently available on printer 2. For example, if printer 2 is equipped with a finisher 22 and the finisher 22 has both a staple-compatible tray 221 and a non-staple-compatible tray 222, then the main tray 23, the staple-compatible tray 221, and the non-staple-compatible tray 222 will be included in the list of options. For example, if printer 2 is not equipped with a finisher 22, or if printer 2 is equipped with a finisher 22 but the finisher 22 does not have either a staple-compatible tray 221 or a non-staple-compatible tray 222, then the main tray 23 will be included in the list of options, and the staple-compatible tray 221 and the non-staple-compatible tray 222 will not be included in the list of options.

[0041] Of the parameters that can be set on the extended screen 620, stapling can be set using checkbox 72. Checking checkbox 72 enables stapling. When stapling is enabled, a stapling command is sent to printer 2 to perform stapling. Upon receiving this command, printer 2 performs stapling using finisher 22. Note that stapling is also called a stapler.

[0042] The display mode of checkbox 72 varies depending on the content of the capability information obtained from printer 2. Specifically, the display mode of checkbox 72 is determined according to the correspondence table shown in Figure 5, based on the combination of whether or not printer 2 has a stapling function and whether or not there is an output tray corresponding to the stapling function. The presence or absence of an output tray corresponding to the stapling function can be determined by whether or not the capability information includes information about the stapling tray.

[0043] In the state shown in the first combination, where printer 2 has a stapling function and an output tray compatible with the stapling function, the display mode of checkbox 72 becomes "configurable," and as shown in Figure 4, checkbox 72 is displayed in a way that allows operation. That is, when printer 2 has a finisher 22 attached and the finisher 22 has a stapling-compatible tray 221, stapling can be performed, and therefore checkbox 72 is displayed in a configurable display mode related to stapling.

[0044] On the other hand, if printer 2 has a stapling function but does not have an output tray that corresponds to the stapling function, as shown in the second combination, the display mode of checkbox 72 will be "grayed out," and as shown in Figure 6, checkbox 72 will be displayed in a grayed-out state, meaning it is displayed but the settings related to stapling are unavailable. In other words, if printer 2 has a finisher 22 installed but the finisher 22 does not have a stapling tray 221, stapling cannot be performed at present. However, since it can be performed if the necessary operations are carried out to make the finisher 22 have a stapling tray 221, checkbox 72 will be displayed in a state where it is displayed but the settings are unavailable. The necessary operations mentioned above include, for example, installing a stapling unit (not shown) or installing an auxiliary tray (not shown) necessary for stapling. Furthermore, even if the stapling function is malfunctioning but paper output is still possible, the printer can be in the state shown in the second combination, which has a stapling function but does not have an output tray that corresponds to the stapling function. In this case, repairing the malfunctioning stapling function is also an example of a necessary operation.

[0045] Furthermore, in the third combination where printer 2 does not have a stapling function, the display mode of checkbox 72 becomes "hidden," and as shown in Figure 7, checkbox 72 is not included in the extended screen 620 and is not displayed. In other words, if printer 2 does not have the finisher 22 attached, stapling cannot be performed, and therefore, as a display mode indicating that stapling settings are unavailable, checkbox 72 itself is not displayed.

[0046] The extended screen 620 can notify the user of the printer 2's capabilities by changing the display of the checkbox 72 corresponding to the stapling item according to the capability information obtained from the printer 2. Furthermore, if the printer 2 does not have the finisher 22 installed, or if the finisher 22 does not have a stapling tray 221, the checkbox 72 will be grayed out or hidden, making it impossible to set the stapling option. This prevents the stapling option from being set even though the printer 2 cannot perform the stapling process.

[0047] Returning to the explanation in Figure 2, when the auxiliary program 42 receives an instruction to apply the print settings by pressing the OK button 64 on the detailed settings screen 60 (A21), it determines whether the settings on the detailed settings screen 60 are appropriate (A22). If there are any inappropriate settings (Alt: Inappropriate), it notifies the user that the settings are inappropriate (A23). For example, if stapling is set using checkbox 72, and the staple-compatible tray 221 is not selected for the output tray using the drop-down list 71, a message box 81 indicating that the output tray setting is inappropriate will be displayed, as shown in Figure 8. Notification via message box 81 is an example of the second notification process. Alternatively, the user may be prompted to change to the staple-compatible tray 221, or the program may automatically switch to the staple-compatible tray 221. If there are inappropriate settings, the display contents of the detailed settings screen 60 will not be set, and the detailed settings screen 60 will not be closed even after pressing the OK button 64.

[0048] On the other hand, if the settings are appropriate (Alt: appropriate), the auxiliary program 42 stores the print settings information set on the detailed settings screen 60 and the capability information obtained in A15 in memory 12 (A24).

[0049] The auxiliary program 42 passes the determined print settings information to the general-purpose print program 41 (A25) and exits the detailed settings screen 60. The auxiliary program 42 may also pass the capability information obtained in A15 to the general-purpose print program 41. The general-purpose print program 41 may also display the print settings screen again based on the information passed from the auxiliary program 42. The general-purpose print program 41 may also store the capability information passed from the auxiliary program 42 in memory 12, or pass it to the editing application 43 and share it with the editing application 43.

[0050] The capability information stored in memory 12 by the auxiliary program 42, and the capability information passed to the general-purpose printing program 41 and the editing application 43, may include all of the capability information obtained from the printer 2, or it may include only a portion of the capability information obtained from the printer 2. For example, the capability information passed to the general-purpose printing program 41 and the editing application 43 may only include information regarding print settings that the general-purpose printing program 41 and the editing application 43 can accept. By passing the capability information of the printer 2 to the general-purpose printing program 41 and the editing application 43, the print settings screen will display options that match the capabilities of the printer 2.

[0051] Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 accepts an instruction to apply the print settings by pressing the OK button 64, which serves as both an instruction to apply the settings and an instruction to exit the screen. However, in addition to the OK button 64, an Apply button could be provided that only accepts an instruction to apply the settings and does not accept an instruction to exit the screen. The program could then execute the processes from A22 onwards when it receives an operation on this Apply button.

[0052] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, the auxiliary program 42 changes the display of the checkbox 72 corresponding to the stapling item depending on whether the printer 2 does not have a stapling function or whether it has a stapling function but does not have a stapling tray 221. However, in either case, it is sufficient if stapling is not set, and the display can be the same. That is, in either case, the checkbox 72 may be displayed in a way that makes it impossible to set, as shown in Figure 6, or the checkbox 72 may be hidden, as shown in Figure 7.

[0053] Furthermore, if the printer 2 does not have a stapling function, or if it does have a stapling function but does not have a stapling tray 221, the auxiliary program 42 switches the display mode of the checkbox 72 corresponding to the stapling item to disable stapling. Ultimately, however, it is sufficient if stapling is not set.

[0054] For example, if printer 2 has a stapling function, checkbox 72 may be set regardless of whether or not there is a staple-compatible tray 221. In this case, if stapling is set by checkbox 72 and the OK button 64 is pressed, and printer 2 does not have a staple-compatible tray 221, it may be determined that the setting is inappropriate and the display content of the detailed settings screen 60 may not be set. In this case as well, it is sufficient to notify that the setting is inappropriate, for example, as shown in Figure 9, a message box 82 indicating that printer 2 does not have a staple-compatible tray is displayed. Notification by message box 82 is an example of the first notification process. Alternatively, the user may be prompted to install the finisher 22 which has a staple-compatible tray 221, or the system may automatically switch to a state where stapling is not set.

[0055] Next, the printing procedure will be explained with reference to the sequence diagram in Figure 10. After the user decides on the image to be printed and the print settings, the user inputs a print command in the editing application 43 (B01). When the editing application 43 receives the print command from the user, it determines that it has received an execution command to the general-purpose printing program 41 to print the selected image to printer 2, since the general-purpose printing program 41 is built into the OS 21 of PC1. The editing application 43 outputs the information of the received print command to the general-purpose printing program 41 (B02).

[0056] The general-purpose printing program 41 obtains image data indicating the image to be printed and information indicating the print settings from the editing application 43 as print instruction information. Based on the information obtained from the editing application 43, the general-purpose printing program 41 generates intermediate data by converting the format of the image data of the image to be printed into an intermediate data format (B03). The image data included in the editing application 43 is 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. If the image data to be printed is suitable for generating print data, the generation of intermediate data can be omitted and the data can be used as intermediate data as is.

[0057] Furthermore, the general-purpose printing program 41 may, before generating intermediate data, start an auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the specified device, printer 2, to notify it that it has started processing the print job. When the auxiliary program 42 is started by the general-purpose printing program 41, it can pass information indicating various instructions used when generating intermediate data to the general-purpose printing program 41 as needed.

[0058] The general-purpose printing program 41 generates intermediate data and then starts the auxiliary program 42 by outputting an execution instruction to the auxiliary program 42 (B05). The auxiliary program 42 obtains intermediate data and print setting information generated by the general-purpose printing program 41 by making a request to the general-purpose printing program 41, for example (B06). The intermediate data obtained in B06 is intermediate data indicating the image to be printed, and is intermediate data generated by the general-purpose printing program 41 based on the image data obtained from the editing application 43 in B02.

[0059] Based on the print settings obtained in B06, if image data editing is required (opt:[Edit Required]), auxiliary program 42 executes an intermediate data editing process to edit the image data according to the parameters set in the print settings (B11). For example, if the print settings include a layout that fits multiple pages onto one sheet, the intermediate data editing process will reduce and rearrange the images.

[0060] Furthermore, if stapling is set in the print settings, the auxiliary program 42 will determine that image data editing is necessary. In that case, the auxiliary program 42 will add a staple command to the intermediate data during the intermediate data editing process.

[0061] Furthermore, if the print settings do not include parameters that require image data editing, or if stapling is not set, the auxiliary program 42 will not perform intermediate data editing processing, and the staple command will not be added to the intermediate data.

[0062] The auxiliary program 42 passes the intermediate data edited in the intermediate data editing process of B11, or the intermediate data received from the general-purpose printing program 41 in B06, to the general-purpose printing program 41 and instructs the general-purpose printing program 41 to generate print data (B21). As a result, the general-purpose printing program 41 performs necessary processing such as rasterizing the intermediate data to generate print data (B22), and passes the generated print data to the auxiliary program 42 (B23). If a staple command was attached to the intermediate data, the staple command will also be attached to the print data.

[0063] The auxiliary program 42 processes the print data obtained from the general-purpose printing program 41 as needed and passes it to the general-purpose printing program 41, instructing it to send the print data to the printer 2 (B24). As a result, the general-purpose printing program 41 sends the print data to the printer 2 (B25).

[0064] Printer 2 receives the print data and performs printing based on the print data (B31). Furthermore, if a staple command is attached to the received print data (opt:[staple command present]), it uses finisher 22 to perform stapling on the printed paper and outputs the stapled portion of the paper to staple-compatible tray 221 (B32).

[0065] Alternatively, the auxiliary program 42 may add the staple command to the print data and pass it to the general-purpose print program 41, instead of adding it to the intermediate data. The auxiliary program 42 may also incorporate the staple command into the header information of the print data, for example. Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 may send the staple command separately from the print data.

[0066] Alternatively, the auxiliary program 42 may perform rasterization and generate print data instead of the general-purpose printing program 41. In this case, the auxiliary program 42 may perform rasterization based on the intermediate data to generate print data, and then pass the generated print data and print settings to the general-purpose printing program 41 to instruct it to send them to the printer 2. The auxiliary program 42 may also process the print data generated by the general-purpose printing program 41 or the auxiliary program 42 as needed. The print data sent to the printer 2 only needs to be in a format that can be printed by the printer 2.

[0067] If print data is generated using auxiliary program 42, there is greater flexibility compared to generating print data using general-purpose print program 41, and there is a higher probability that print data suitable for printing on printer 2 will be generated. On the other hand, if print data is generated using general-purpose print program 41, the processing of auxiliary program 42 is reduced, and the program size of auxiliary program 42 can be reduced.

[0068] Alternatively, instead of having the general-purpose printing program 41 send the print data to the printer 2, the auxiliary program 42 may send a print command instructing the printer to execute the print job, along with the print data, to the printer 2. For example, if the print settings include settings related to image processing that can be performed on the printer 2, the auxiliary program 42 may generate a print command that also includes information about that processing.

[0069] Next, we will explain the procedures for the printer 2's processing, as shown in the sequence diagrams in Figures 2 and 10, with reference to the flowchart in Figure 11. In the following explanation of the printer 2's processing, it is assumed that the printer 2 has the finisher 22 installed, and that the finisher 22 has a staple-compatible tray 221.

[0070] While the printer 2 is powered on, it determines whether it has received a command from the PC 1 requesting capability information (A13 in Figure 2) (S10). If it has received a command requesting capability information (S10: YES), the printer 2 responds with capability information indicating its own capabilities (S11). If the printer 2 is equipped with a finisher 22 that has a staple-compatible tray 221, the capability information will include information indicating that it is capable of stapling and staple tray information associated with the staple-compatible tray 221.

[0071] After S11, or if no command requesting capability information has been received (S10: NO), printer 2 determines whether or not it has received print data (B25 in Figure 10) sent from PC1 (S30). If print data has been received (S30: YES), printer 2 executes a print process to print the image shown in the print data (S31). If the instruction information stored in S21 contains commands for processes to be executed during printing, those processes are also executed in conjunction with the print process.

[0072] When the printing process is executed, printer 2 determines whether the staple-compatible tray 221 is set as the output destination in the print settings (S32). If the staple-compatible tray 221 is not set (S32: NO), printer 2 ejects the printed material to the output tray set in the print settings (S33).

[0073] If the staple-compatible tray 221 is configured (S32:YES), the printer 2 determines whether a staple command is attached to the print data, that is, whether stapling is configured in the print settings (S40). If stapling is configured in the print settings (S40:YES), the printer 2 performs stapling using the finisher 22 (S42) and ejects the stapled stack into the staple-compatible tray 221 (S41). On the other hand, if stapling is not configured in the print settings (S40:NO), the printer 2 ejects the printed material into the staple-compatible tray 221 without performing stapling (S42).

[0074] After S42 or S33, or if no print data has been received (S30: NO), the process proceeds to S10, waiting for data to be sent from PC1. In this configuration, when the OK button 64 on the detailed settings screen 60 is pressed on PC1, the system determines whether the settings are appropriate, and if stapling is enabled, no tray other than the staple-compatible tray 221 is set. Therefore, if the staple-compatible tray 221 is not set, the system does not determine whether stapling is enabled or not. However, it would be acceptable to determine whether stapling is enabled or not and output an error if stapling is enabled.

[0075] As explained in detail above, the auxiliary program 42 determines whether or not the stapling function of the printer 2 is supported by the CPU 11, as well as whether or not there is a staple-compatible tray 221, which is the paper output tray necessary for performing the stapling process, and determines whether or not the stapling-related items on the extended screen 620 can be set. In other words, if the printer 2 does not have a stapling function, or if it has a stapling function but does not have a staple-compatible tray 221, the checkbox 72 that accepts the stapling setting will be disabled or hidden. Alternatively, the setting will not be accepted as an inappropriate setting based on the judgment made when the OK button 64 is pressed. This ensures that an appropriate setting screen for stapling is provided.

[0076] The embodiments disclosed herein are merely illustrative and do not limit the present invention in any way. Therefore, the technology disclosed herein can naturally be improved and modified in various ways without departing from its essence.

[0077] For example, the examples of screens displayed in User IF13 are all just examples and are not limited to those shown in the illustration. Furthermore, the text, object shapes, backgrounds, etc., displayed in each illustrated screen can be anything.

[0078] Furthermore, if, after the print settings screen is displayed by the general-purpose print program 41, the user changes the default printer from another printer to printer 2 via the OS 21, the general-purpose print program 41 may also start the auxiliary program 42. In addition, the auxiliary program 42 may be started not only when printing is selected, but also, for example, when printer 2 is selected as a device setting. In these cases as well, the auxiliary program 42 may be able to perform a procedure to update capability information.

[0079] Furthermore, although the embodiment describes only the printing operation as the operation of the auxiliary program 42 in detail, the auxiliary program 42 may have other roles as well. Also, the program that executes the processing of this embodiment is not limited to the auxiliary program 42, but can be any program that receives instructions from the OS 21 or the general-purpose printing program 41 when printing using the general-purpose printing program 41. For example, the Print Workflow application whose specifications have been published by Microsoft may also be used.

[0080] Furthermore, the execution timing of the auxiliary program 42 is not limited to the examples of this embodiment. For example, it may be executed by direct execution instruction from the OS 21, or it may be a resident auxiliary program 42. In the case of a resident auxiliary program, the auxiliary program 42 should perform the operations described above upon receiving an execution instruction.

[0081] Furthermore, in any flowchart disclosed in the embodiments, the execution order of any multiple processes in any multiple steps can be arbitrarily changed or executed in parallel, as long as no inconsistencies arise in the processing content.

[0082] Furthermore, the processes disclosed in the embodiments may be executed by a single CPU, multiple CPUs, hardware such as an ASIC, or a combination thereof. Also, the processes disclosed in the embodiments can be implemented in various forms, such as a recording medium or method that stores a program for executing the process. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0083] 1 PC 2 Printer 11 CPU 22 Finisher 221 staple-compatible tray 222 non-staple tray 41 General-purpose printing program 42 Support Programs 43 Editing Apps 100 Printing Systems

Claims

1. A support program that is executable by the computer of an information processing device, corresponds to a printer connected to the information processing device, and supports a general-purpose printing program of the operating system of the information processing device, To the aforementioned computer, An acquisition process for acquiring capability information, which includes capability information indicating the capabilities of the printer, including staple compatibility information indicating whether or not a staple function is supported, and tray compatibility information indicating the output tray that supports the staple function; A setting screen display process that displays a setting screen, which accepts print settings for printing on the aforementioned printer and includes items related to stapling, using the user interface of the information processing device, Make it run, In the aforementioned settings screen display process, Based on the staple compatibility information and tray compatibility information included in the capability information acquired in the acquisition process, if the printer supports the staple function and has an output tray that supports the staple function, the settings for the staple-related items included in the settings screen are enabled. If the printer does not support the staple function, or if the printer supports the staple function but does not have an output tray that supports the staple function, the settings for the staple-related items are disabled. A support program configured in this way.

2. A support program as described in claim 1, The capability information obtained in the aforementioned acquisition process includes: If the printer has an output tray that corresponds to the stapling function, the tray correspondence information is included. If the printer does not have an output tray that corresponds to the stapling function, the tray correspondence information is not included. In the aforementioned settings screen display process, If the capability information acquired in the acquisition process includes staple compatibility information indicating that the printer supports the staple function, and also includes tray compatibility information, the settings for items related to stapling in the settings screen are enabled. If the staple compatibility information indicating that the printer supports the staple function is not included, or if the staple compatibility information indicating that the printer supports the staple function is included but the capability information does not include the compatibility information, the settings for items related to stapling are disabled. A support program configured in this way.

3. A support program as described in claim 1, In the aforementioned settings screen display process, Based on the staple compatibility information and tray compatibility information included in the capability information acquired in the acquisition process, if the printer supports the staple function and has an output tray that supports the staple function, the items related to stapling included in the settings screen are displayed in a configurable state; if the printer does not support the staple function, or if the printer supports the staple function but does not have an output tray that supports the staple function, the items related to stapling are not displayed. A support program configured in this way.

4. A support program as described in claim 1, To the aforementioned computer, Based on the staple compatibility information and tray compatibility information included in the capability information acquired in the acquisition process, if the printer supports the staple function and has an output tray that supports the staple function, the staple-related items included in the settings screen are displayed as configurable in the first mode; if the printer does not support the staple function, the staple-related items are displayed as unconfigurable in the second mode; and if the printer supports the staple function and does not have an output tray that supports the staple function, the staple-related items are displayed as unconfigurable in the third mode. A support program configured in this way.

5. A support program as described in claim 4, The first aspect is an aspect in which input operations can be accepted for the items related to staples. The second aspect described above is an aspect in which the item relating to the staples is hidden, The third aspect is an aspect in which input operations are not accepted for the item related to the staples. A support program configured in this way.

6. A support program as described in claim 1, To the aforementioned computer, The settings screen allows the user to apply the settings of the items displayed, and the items displayed on the settings screen include an item for setting one of the output trays of the printer as the output destination. When the application operation is accepted while the parameter indicating that the stapling function is enabled is set, Based on the staple compatibility information and tray compatibility information included in the capability information acquired in the acquisition process, if the printer supports the staple function and has an output tray that supports the staple function, the parameters set in the staple-related items included in the settings screen are applied; if the printer does not support the staple function, or if the printer supports the staple function but an output tray that supports the staple function is not set in the output destination item, the parameters set in the staple-related items are not applied. A support program configured in this way.

7. A support program according to claim 6, To the aforementioned computer, When the application operation is accepted while the parameter indicating that the stapling function is enabled is set, If the printer does not have an output tray corresponding to the stapling function, the parameters set in the item related to the stapling function are not applied, and a first notification process is executed to notify that the printer does not have an output tray corresponding to the stapling function. A support program configured in this way.

8. A support program according to claim 6, To the aforementioned computer, When the application operation is accepted while the parameter indicating that the stapling function is enabled is set, If the printer supports the stapling function and the output tray corresponding to the stapling function is not set in the output destination item, the parameters set in the item related to the stapling function will not be applied, and a second notification process will be executed to notify that the setting of the output destination item is inappropriate. A support program configured in this way.

9. A printing system comprising a printer and a support program that is executable by the computer of an information processing device, corresponds to the printer connected to the information processing device, and supports a general-purpose printing program of the operating system of the information processing device, The aforementioned printer is When requested by the information processing device, the printer responds with capability information indicating the capabilities of the printer, and the capability information includes staple compatibility information indicating whether or not a stapling function is supported, and tray compatibility information indicating the output tray that supports the stapling function. The support program is installed on the computer, An acquisition process for acquiring capability information indicating the capabilities of the printer, A setting screen display process that displays a setting screen, which accepts print settings for printing on the aforementioned printer and includes items related to stapling, using the user interface of the information processing device, Make it run, In the aforementioned settings screen display process, Based on the staple compatibility information and tray compatibility information included in the capability information acquired in the acquisition process, if the printer supports the staple function and has an output tray that supports the staple function, the settings for the staple-related items included in the settings screen are enabled; if the printer does not support the staple function, or if the printer supports the staple function but does not have an output tray that supports the staple function, the settings for the staple-related items are disabled. The support program further provides the computer with: A print instruction output from an application program incorporated in the information processing device, in which the general-purpose printing program is instructed to print an image to the printer, An acquisition process for acquiring image data representing the image from the general-purpose printing program, A process to control the sending of print data based on the image data acquired in the acquisition process to the printer, associating it with the parameters set on the settings screen, Make it run, If the printer is a compatible printer that supports the stapling function and has an output tray that supports the stapling function, The aforementioned compatible printer is When print data is received from the information processing device, the device performs printing based on the print data. Furthermore, if the output tray corresponding to the stapling function is not specified as a parameter associated with the received print data, the printed paper is ejected to the specified output tray. If the output tray corresponding to the stapling function is specified and the parameter to enable the stapling function is set, the device performs stapling on the printed paper and ejects the stapled paper to the output tray corresponding to the stapling function. If the output tray corresponding to the stapling function is specified and the parameter to enable the stapling function is not set, the device does not perform stapling on the printed paper and ejects the stapled paper to the output tray corresponding to the stapling function. A printing system configured as follows.

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