Information processing device, control method thereof, and program

Abstract

To improve the convenience of programs that can execute program cooperation.SOLUTION: A program causes a computer of an information processing apparatus to execute an execution step of, when predetermined information stored by the other application program is acquired, executing, with a predetermined application program, processing based on the predetermined information stored by the other application program, and a display step of displaying, with the predetermined application program, a predetermined area for urging a user to install the other application program.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, a control method thereof, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Information processing devices such as mobile terminals and smartphones are known. In such information processing devices, a technology called program linkage is generally used in which programs such as applications installed in the information processing device work in cooperation with each other. Specifically, program linkage is a technology that enables, for example, processing based on information acquired in a specific program to be executed in a program other than the specific program.

[0003] Patent document 1 describes a technology in which a first application (hereinafter referred to as "app") stores information to be shared between the first app and a second app in an information sharing area, and the second application retrieves the shared information from the information sharing area, thereby allowing the first app and a second app to share information. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-219961 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] As program linkage becomes more widespread, there is a demand for improving the convenience of programs that can implement program linkage.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to improve the convenience of programs capable of executing program linkage. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the program of the present invention comprises: A predetermined application program that cannot obtain predetermined information related to a communication device by a predetermined method, The computer of the information processing device an acquisition step of acquiring, by the predetermined application program, the predetermined information stored by the other application program when the predetermined information is stored by the other application program that is different from the predetermined application program and that can acquire the predetermined information by the predetermined method; an execution step of executing, by the predetermined application program, a process based on the predetermined information stored by the other application program when the predetermined information stored by the other application program is acquired; A process of executing, by a store application program, a process for displaying a manual including a predetermined screen for installing the other application program by the store application program. Steps and The present invention is characterized in that the above-mentioned is executed.

[0008] In addition, the program of the present invention is A predetermined application program that cannot obtain predetermined information related to a communication device by a predetermined method, The computer of the information processing device an acquisition step of acquiring, by the predetermined application program, the predetermined information stored by the other application program when the predetermined information is stored by the other application program that is different from the predetermined application program and that can acquire the predetermined information by the predetermined method; an execution step of executing, by the predetermined application program, a process based on the predetermined information stored by the other application program when the predetermined information stored by the other application program is acquired; a display step of displaying, by the predetermined application program, a predetermined area for prompting a user to start the predetermined application program after registering the communication device by the other application program; Run the command, the process based on the predetermined information stored by the other application program is a process of registering the communication device corresponding to the predetermined information in the predetermined application program as a device that communicates with the predetermined application program; The predetermined information is stored when the communication device corresponding to the predetermined information is registered in the other application program as a device that communicates with the other application program. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the convenience of programs capable of executing program linkage. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a mobile terminal 100. [Diagram 2] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a use case of cooperative startup of an application B110. [Diagram 3] 13 is a flowchart showing a process executed by the mobile terminal 100 using the application A109. [Figure 4] 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing executed by the mobile terminal 100 using the application B110. [Diagram 5] 13 is an example of a screen displayed by a store application 108. [Figure 6] 13 is an example of a screen displayed by the application A109. [Figure 7] 13 is a flowchart showing a process executed by the mobile terminal 100 using the application B110. [Figure 8] 13 is an example of a screen including a notification area. [Figure 9] 13 is an example of a screen including a manual. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] The information processing device according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the present invention, and not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the present invention.

[0012] (First embodiment) An information processing device to which the present invention is applied will be described. In this embodiment, a mobile terminal is exemplified as the information processing device, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, various devices in which a program can be installed, such as a notebook PC, a tablet terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a digital camera, a music playback device, a television, etc., can be applied as the information processing device. In addition, in this embodiment, a smartphone is exemplified as an example of a mobile terminal. A smartphone is a multi-function mobile phone equipped with a camera function, an Internet browser function, an email function, and the like in addition to a mobile phone function.

[0013] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a mobile terminal 100 which is an information processing device of this embodiment. Fig. 1(a) shows the hardware configuration of the mobile terminal 100, and Fig. 1(b) shows the software configuration of the mobile terminal 100.

[0014] The mobile terminal 100 comprises a CPU 101, an operation unit 102, a network interface 103, a memory 104, a display unit 105, and a storage device 106, all of which are connected via a system bus.

[0015] The CPU 101 performs overall control of the mobile terminal 100. The operation unit 102 is an operation unit that allows the user to give instructions to the mobile terminal 100, and includes, for example, buttons, a touch panel, and the like.

[0016] The memory 104 is a random access memory (RAM) that serves as a working area for the CPU 101, and is used as a temporary storage area for various received data and stores various setting data.

[0017] The storage device 106 is, for example, a flash memory or the like, and stores various control programs such as applications and an operating system (hereinafter, referred to as OS).

[0018] The network interface 103 is an interface for connecting to a network. The mobile terminal 100 can be connected to a network via the network interface 103, and is configured to be connectable to an external device such as a printer or the Internet via the network. In this embodiment, the network interface 103 can execute communication (communication by Wi-Fi (registered trademark)) conforming to the IEE802.11 series. Note that the communication is not limited to this, and communication by other methods such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) may be executed by the network interface 103. The mobile terminal 100 may have a plurality of network interfaces. For example, the mobile terminal 100 may have a network interface capable of executing communication by Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy (BLE) in addition to the network interface 103. For example, the mobile terminal 100 may have a network interface capable of executing communication by Near Field Communication (NFC).

[0019] The display unit 105 is a unit that displays various information and is composed of a liquid crystal panel or the like. The operation unit 102 is a unit for accepting operations from a user. In this embodiment, the operation unit 102 and the display unit 105 have the same configuration, and are configured to be capable of both accepting operations by a user and displaying various information with one configuration. That is, the operation unit 102 and the display unit 105 are composed of a touch display. A user can give various instructions to the mobile terminal 100 and operate the mobile terminal 100 by tracing or tapping the touch display with a finger or the like. A user can also give various instructions to the mobile terminal 100 by operating the touch display with an operator other than a finger, for example, a pen for an electrostatic touch panel such as a stylus pen. The operation unit 102 and the display unit 105 do not need to have the same configuration. For example, the operation unit 102 may be a physical keyboard or the like equipped with physical keys.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1(b), in this embodiment, the mobile terminal 100 can use three or more application programs, including an OS 107 and a store application program 108. The mobile terminal 100 can use the three or more application programs, which are an application program A 109, an application program B 110, and an application program C 111. Hereinafter, the application programs are referred to as apps. In the following description, the processes executed by the apps are actually realized by the CPU 101 reading the apps into the memory 104 and executing them.

[0021] The store application 108 is an application for downloading and installing other applications such as application A109, application B110, and application C111 to the mobile terminal 100. The user can download and install the selected application to the mobile terminal 100 by selecting a desired application in the store application 108 and performing a predetermined operation for downloading (tapping a download button, password authentication, etc.). The user can also start an application already installed in the mobile terminal 100 via the store application 108 by performing a predetermined operation (tapping an "Open" button, etc.) on a screen displayed by the store application 108. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed by the store application 108. FIG. 5 is a screen for starting the application B110 in a state in which the application B110 has already been installed in the mobile terminal 100. As described above, the application B110 is started by tapping the "Open" button. The application C111 can also be downloaded, installed, and started from the store application 108, similar to the application B110.

[0022] The application A109, the application B110, and the application C111 are applications that are downloaded to the mobile terminal 100 by the store application 108 via a network or the like. The application A109, the application B110, and the application C111 may not be downloaded via the store application 108, but may be downloaded from a storage medium or the like in which each application is stored. For example, the application may be downloaded via a Web browser or the like. The downloaded application is installed in the mobile terminal 100 and becomes available on the mobile terminal 100. The application A109 may be held in advance in the mobile terminal 100 at the time of arrival. In this embodiment, the application A109, the application B110, and the application C111 are applications that transmit a print job to a printer having a printing function and execute printing based on the transmitted print job. The application A109, the application B110, and the application C111 may have other functions in addition to the function of causing the printer to execute printing. For example, the printer may have a function of transmitting a scan job to a printer and executing a scan based on the transmitted scan job.

[0023] The store application 108, application A 109, application B 110, and application C 111 operate via the OS 107. These pieces of software are stored in the storage device 106, loaded into the memory 104, and executed by the CPU 101.

[0024] In this embodiment, the applications A109 and B110, and the applications A109 and C111 operate in cooperation with each other. Specifically, the application B110 operates using information used by the application A109. Also, the application C111 operates using information used by the application A109. Hereinafter, the operation of each program in cooperation with each other is referred to as program cooperation, and in particular, the operation of each application in cooperation with each other is referred to as application cooperation. Note that, specifically, the application cooperation is a technology that enables, for example, processing based on information used in the application A109 (shared information, described later) to be executed in another program (for example, application B110) that can be started from the application A109.

[0025] In this embodiment, there are two methods of launching an application: independent launch and cooperative launch. Independent launch means that an application is launched, for example, by tapping an application icon on a home screen displayed by the OS, or by an operation on a screen displayed by the store application 108. In this embodiment, the store application 108 and the application A109, application B110, and application C111 can all be independently launched. Cooperative launch means that an application is launched by an operation on a screen displayed by another application that is a sharing source of information (shared information described later) used by the application. In this embodiment, at least the application B110 and application C111 can be cooperatively launched by an operation on a screen displayed by the application A109. When the application B110 and application C111 are cooperatively launched, information on the application (application A109) that is the source of the cooperative launch is notified. Therefore, the CPU 101 can grasp whether the launch method of the application B110 and application C111 is cooperative launch or independent launch.

[0026] FIG. 6 is an example of a screen displayed by the application A109. An icon 601 indicates a printer registered in the application A109. The registration of a printer will be described later. In a state where a printer is not registered in the application A109, the icon 601 is not displayed. In this case, instead of the icon 601, an area including a message or an icon for prompting the registration of the printer may be displayed. The icons 602 and 603 are buttons for sending a print job to a printer registered in the application A109 and printing a photo or document stored in the mobile terminal 100. The icon 604 is a button for sending a scan job to a printer registered in the application A109 and executing a scan. The icon 605 is a button for executing a cloud print function for causing a printer to print image data stored in an external server. The icon 606 is a button for sending a copy job to a printer registered in the application A109 and making a copy of a document, and the icon 607 is a button for sending a print job to a printer and executing printing on a disk medium. For example, in order to execute printing on a disk medium, an application other than the application A109 (application for printing on a disk medium) may be necessary. In such a case, when the application for printing on a disk medium is installed in the mobile terminal 100 and an operation on the icon 607 is received, the CPU 101 performs a cooperative start of the application for printing on a disk medium. The icon 608 is a button for launching a Web page showing an operation method of the application A109 and the like. The icon 609 is a button for cooperative start of the application B110. When the application B110 is installed in the mobile terminal 100 and an operation on the icon 609 is received, the CPU 101 performs a cooperative start of the application B110. Note that, for example, when a printer that is not compatible with the application B110 is registered in the application A109, the CPU 101 may gray out or hide the icon 609 so as not to receive an operation on the icon 609. The icon 610 is a button for cooperative start of the application C111.When the CPU 101 receives an operation on the icon 610 while the application C111 is installed in the mobile terminal 100, the CPU 101 starts the application C111 in cooperation with the application C111. Note that, for example, when a printer that is not compatible with the application C111 is registered in the application A109, the CPU 101 may gray out or hide the icon 610 so as not to receive an operation on the icon 610.

[0027] The application A109 is an application for making the printer execute printing based on image data photographed by the mobile terminal 100 or image data selected by the user from among image data downloaded by the mobile terminal 100. On the other hand, the application B110 is, for example, an application for making the printer execute printing based on image data previously stored in the application B110. Also, the application B110 is, for example, an application for making the printer execute printing based on image data acquired via a network from an external server corresponding to the application B110. Also, the application B110 may be, for example, an application for printing on disk media or an application for making the printer execute printing on New Year's cards. The application C111 may also be an application having various functions, similar to the example of the application B110.

[0028] A use case in which application B110 is started in cooperation with application A109 through application B110 in a state where application A109 and application B110 are already installed in mobile terminal 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 2(a). First, when CPU 101 determines that a printer has been registered (printer registration information has been generated) by the printer registration process, CPU 101 stores the generated registration information as shared information 202 in information sharing area 201. Here, shared information 202 is information that CPU 101 can use in the operation of application A109. Also, information sharing area 201 is a storage area in which shared information 202 is stored. Information sharing area 201 may be, for example, a common folder that can be accessed both when application A109 is operating and when application B110 is operating, or may be something like a clipboard or pasteboard managed by the OS. Also, the common folder may be, for example, an area included in a memory in mobile terminal 100 such as storage device 106, an area included in an external storage medium such as an SD card or HDD, or an area on a network server. As long as the format is such that information that can be used in both the operation of application A 109 and the operation of application B 110 can be stored, there is no restriction on the format.

[0029] Next, when CPU 101 specifies that app B110 is to be launched in cooperation, for example by receiving an operation on icon 609, CPU 101 launches app B110 in cooperation. When CPU 101 launches app B110 in cooperation, app B110 acquires shared information 202 by referring to information sharing area 201. CPU 101 then determines whether or not the acquired shared information 202 is information usable by app B110 (whether or not shared information 202 corresponds to app B110). Hereinafter, this determination is referred to as a usability determination. When CPU 101 determines that shared information 202 is information usable by app B110, CPU 101 executes a process based on shared information 202. When CPU 101 determines that shared information 202 is not information usable by app B110, CPU 101 does not execute a process based on shared information 202.

[0030] The usability determination is performed using information included in the acquired shared information 202. For example, it is assumed that the shared information 202 includes a printer model name. In this case, as the usability determination, the CPU 101 determines whether or not a model name included in the shared information 202 is included in a model name list of printers compatible with the application B110. If the model name list includes a model name included in the shared information 202, the CPU 101 determines that the acquired shared information 202 is information that can be used by the application B110. If the model name list does not include a model name included in the shared information 202, the CPU 101 determines that the acquired shared information 202 is not information that can be used by the application B110. Here, the model name list does not necessarily need to be held by the application B110, and may be included in an area on a network server or in an external storage medium such as an SD card or HDD.

[0031] Also, for example, it is assumed that the shared information 202 includes an application name list corresponding to the shared information 202. In this case, as a usability determination, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the application name list corresponding to the shared information 202 includes the application B110. If the application name list includes the application B110, the CPU 101 determines that the acquired shared information 202 is information usable by the application B110. If the application name list does not include the application B110, the CPU 101 determines that the acquired shared information 202 is not information usable by the application B110.

[0032] Next, the behavior of the CPU 101 will be described with reference to FIG. 2B when the application B110 is started independently without the application A109 in a state where the application A109 and the application B110 have already been installed in the mobile terminal 100.

[0033] As in FIG. 2A, when the CPU 101 determines that printer registration information has been generated by, for example, a printer registration process, the CPU 101 stores the generated registration information as shared information 202 in the information sharing area 201. In this embodiment, the CPU 101 also refers to the information sharing area 201 when the application B110 is independently launched. If the shared information 202 is stored in the information sharing area 201, the CPU 101 acquires the shared information 202. The CPU 101 then executes a usability determination. If the CPU 101 determines that the shared information 202 is information that can be used by the application B110, the CPU 101 executes a process based on the shared information 202. If the CPU 101 determines that the shared information 202 is not information that can be used by the application B110, the CPU 101 does not execute a process based on the shared information 202.

[0034] Thus, in this embodiment, the application A109 saves the shared information 202 in the information sharing area 201 when the printer is registered (when the printer registration information is generated). The application B110 acquires the shared information 202 regardless of whether the application is started in a coordinated or independent manner, and when the application B110 acquires the shared information 202, it determines whether the acquired shared information 202 is usable. With this configuration, the CPU 101 can appropriately execute application cooperation between the applications A109 and B110, regardless of whether the application B110 is started in a coordinated or independent manner.

[0035] Next, using FIG. 2(c), the behavior of CPU 101 will be described when an operation for linking and launching app B110 is performed on a screen displayed by app A109 when app B110 is not installed on mobile terminal 100.

[0036] As in FIG. 2A, when the CPU 101 determines that printer registration information has been generated by, for example, a printer registration process, the CPU 101 stores the generated registration information in the information sharing area 201 as shared information 202.

[0037] Even if an operation for linking and launching app B110 is performed on a screen displayed by app A109, if app B110 is not installed on mobile terminal 100, CPU 101 cannot naturally start app B110. Furthermore, in order to install app B110 on mobile terminal 100, it is generally necessary to use store app 108. Therefore, if an operation for linking and launching app B110 is performed on a screen displayed by app A109 when app B110 is not installed on mobile terminal 100, CPU 101 executes the following process.

[0038] First, the CPU 101 starts the store application 108. The CPU 101 can display a screen for downloading the target application on the display unit 105 by starting the store application 108 using information (hereinafter, application identification information 203) capable of identifying an application to be downloaded (hereinafter, target application). At this time, the CPU 101 starts the store application 108 using the application identification information 203 in which the target application is the application B110. As a result, a screen for downloading the application B110 is displayed on the display unit 105, and the CPU 101 accepts an operation from the user to download and install the application B110. At this time, the CPU 101 may automatically download the application B110 without accepting an operation from the user. After that, the CPU 101 accepts an operation on the application icon corresponding to the application B110 on the home screen and an operation on the screen displayed by the store application 108 (an operation on the open button in FIG. 5). Then, CPU 101 starts up application B110 in response to these operations, and executes the same process as that shown in Fig. 2(b) In other words, CPU 101 executes the process that would be executed if application B110 were started up independently.

[0039] In this way, when an operation for linking and launching app B110 is performed on a screen displayed by app A109 while app B110 is not installed on mobile terminal 100, CPU 101 downloads app B110 via store app 108. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2B, even during standalone launch, CPU 101 refers to information sharing area 201 and determines whether shared information 202 can be used by app B110. Therefore, even when app B110 is launched independently via store app 108, printer registration information of app A109 can be appropriately linked to app B110 as shared information 202.

[0040] In the above description, the information sharing area 201 is always referred to whether the application B110 is started in cooperation or independently, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in this embodiment, the application A109 and the application B110 can register a printer separately. Therefore, the user may intentionally register different printers in the application A109 and the application B110. In such a case, if the application A109 and the application B110 are cooperated and the printer registered in the application A109 is registered in the application B110, a printer not intended by the user may be overwritten and registered in the application B110. In addition, the same printer may already be registered in the application A109 and the application B110. In such a case, if the printer registered in the application A109 is registered in the application B110 again, the application B will execute a process based on the shared information 202 every time the application B is started, and the processing load at the time of starting the application B may be high.

[0041] Therefore, when the CPU 101 starts the application B110, it determines whether or not a printer has already been registered in the application B110, and if a printer has already been registered in the application B110, it does not execute application linkage, i.e., it does not change the printer already registered in the application B110.

[0042] Even if a printer has already been registered in the app B110, if the currently stored shared information 202 has been updated or changed from the shared information 202 previously used in the app cooperation, the app B110 may execute the app cooperation again. For example, the shared information 202 includes information on the update date and time of the shared information 202. The app B110 stores information on the update date and time when the shared information 202 was previously used in the app cooperation. The app B110 compares the update date and time information included in the newly acquired shared information 202 with the update date and time information when the shared information 202 was previously used in the app cooperation, thereby determining whether or not to execute the app cooperation using the newly acquired shared information 202. At this time, the comparison target of the update date and time information included in the newly acquired shared information 202 may be other information. For example, it may be information on the date and time of the most recent registration of the printer to the app B110.

[0043] Also, if the printer already registered in the app B110 is different from the printer registered by the shared information 202, a dialog box may be displayed to allow the user to select whether or not to execute the app linkage. Specifically, for example, if the printer has not been registered in the app B110, the CPU 101 registers the printer registered in the app A109 in the app B110 after the usability determination determines that the shared information 202 is information usable by the app B110. As described above, the process of registering the printer registered in the app A109 in the app B110 is, in other words, app linkage. This is because, if the printer has not been registered in the app B110, a problem does not occur in which the printer registered in the app B110 is changed to a printer not intended by the user. On the other hand, if the printer has been registered in the app B110, the CPU 101 displays a dialog box to allow the user to select whether or not to execute the app linkage after the usability determination determines that the shared information 202 is information usable by the app B110. In other words, the dialog is a dialog for allowing the user to select whether or not to use the shared information 202 and whether or not to register the printer registered in the application A109 in the application B110. When an input indicating that application interoperation is to be executed is selected by the user, the CPU 101 executes the application interoperation. When an input indicating that application interoperation is not to be executed is selected by the user, the CPU 101 does not execute the application interoperation. In other words, the printer registered in the application B110 is not changed. This makes it possible to prevent the printer registered in the application B110 from being changed to a printer not intended by the user. Note that the usability determination may be performed after the dialog is displayed and the input indicating that application interoperation is to be executed is selected by the user.

[0044] Incidentally, even if the shared information 202 is acquired by the app B110, the shared information 202 is not deleted from the information sharing area 201. That is, even after the shared information 202 is acquired by the app B110, the shared information 202 can be used in app cooperation by an app different from the app B110 (for example, the app C111). With this configuration, after the app B110 acquires the shared information 202 and executes the app cooperation, the shared information 202 is not updated in the app A109, and even if the app C111 is started, the app C111 can also execute the app cooperation. With this configuration, the convenience in the configuration in which a plurality of apps can execute the app cooperation is improved. Incidentally, the shared information 202 is deleted, for example, in response to the app A109 being deleted (uninstalled) from the mobile terminal 100, or the like.

[0045] As described above, in this embodiment, the application A109, the application B110, and the application C111 have a printing function that causes a printer with which the mobile terminal 100 can communicate to print an image. The application A109, the application B110, and the application C111 can execute the printing function by registering a device that executes printing. The process of registering a device in the application (registration process) is, in other words, a process of setting and registering the device to be registered as a device that communicates with the application (setting process). In this embodiment, for example, information about the printer registered in the application A109 (hereinafter, referred to as registration information) can be applied as the shared information 202. The registration information is specifically, for example, MAC address, Bonjour name, IP address, model information such as the model name of the printer, capability information such as available setting values, information about the registration date and time, etc. The registration date and time is, for example, the date and time when the registration information is acquired. When a printer is registered in the application A109, an icon 601 is displayed on a screen displayed by the application A109, and the user is informed of the type of printer registered in the application A109. Therefore, the icon 601 may include information indicating the name and model number of the printer registered in the application A109, the status of ink held by the printer registered in the application A109, the error status of the printer registered in the application A109, etc.

[0046] Then, for example, when the printer is registered in the application A109, the CPU 101 stores the registration information of the printer as the shared information 202 in the information sharing area 201. As a result, the CPU 101 can execute a process of registering the printer registered in the application A109 in the application B110 as a process based on the shared information 202 at the time of starting the application B110, by the application B110. By adopting such a configuration, the CPU 101 can register the printer in the application B110, for example, without executing a process of searching for the printer by the application B110. Note that, if all of the information required to register the printer cannot be accommodated in the information sharing area 201, at least a part of the information required to register the printer may be applied as the shared information 202. Even in such a configuration, for example, an effect such as suppressing the time required for the process of searching for the printer can be achieved. Note that the registration of the printer using the shared information 202 as described above can also be executed in the application C111.

[0047] A plurality of methods may be prepared as a method for registering a printer. In other words, a registration method is a method for acquiring registration information of a printer. A first registration method executable by the application A109 will be described. In the first registration method, the application A109 searches for a printer corresponding to the application A109 on a Wi-Fi network to which the mobile terminal 100 belongs. The Wi-Fi network to which the mobile terminal 100 belongs is, for example, a network configured by a wireless LAN router (external access point) to which the mobile terminal 100 is connected via Wi-Fi. The application A109 registers the printer selected by the user in the application A109 by acquiring registration information from the printer selected by the user among the printers found by this search process via the Wi-Fi network. Specifically, the printer found by this search is, for example, a printer connected by Wi-Fi to the wireless LAN router to which the mobile terminal 100 is connected via Wi-Fi. At this time, if the application A109 finds only one printer in the search, it may automatically register the printer without inquiring of the user. Furthermore, when the application A109 finds multiple printers in the search, the application A109 may register the multiple printers found. In this embodiment, based on the printers being registered in this manner, the application A109 stores the registration information of the printers in the information sharing area 201 as shared information 202.

[0048] In addition, the Wi-Fi network to which the mobile terminal 100 belongs may be a network formed between the printer and the mobile terminal 100 by the Wi-Fi Direct standard. That is, the mobile terminal 100 may be wirelessly connected (P2P connected) to the printer by the Wi-Fi Direct standard without going through a wireless LAN router. In this case, a printer search is performed on the Wi-Fi network to which the mobile terminal 100 belongs, but naturally only one printer is found. The application A109 registers the printer in the application A109 by acquiring registration information from the printer found by this search through the network of the Wi-Fi Direct standard. However, in this embodiment, based on the printer connected to the mobile terminal 100 being registered by the Wi-Fi Direct standard, the application A109 does not store the registration information of the printer in the information sharing area 201 as the shared information 202. This is because some applications cannot execute communication by the Wi-Fi Direct standard. For example, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the application B110 cannot execute communication by the Wi-Fi Direct standard.

[0049] A second registration method executable by the application A109 will be described. The application A109 searches for printers that exist around the mobile terminal 100 and have a specific access point enabled by Wi-Fi. The printer enables the specific access point when a specific operation for Wi-Fi setup is received from the user or when initial setup is performed after unpacking. The application A109 wirelessly connects the printer selected by the user from among the printers found by this search to the mobile terminal 100 by Wi-Fi without going through a wireless LAN router (P2P connection). At this time, if the application A109 finds only one printer in the search, it may automatically connect to the printer by P2P without inquiring of the user. The application A109 performs Wi-Fi setup of the printer wirelessly connected to the mobile terminal 100 by Wi-Fi.

[0050] As the Wi-Fi setup, the application A109, for example, transmits connection information for connecting to a wireless LAN router to the printer via a P2P connection, thereby connecting the printer and the wireless LAN router via Wi-Fi. After that, if the mobile terminal 100 also belongs to a Wi-Fi network configured by the wireless LAN router, the mobile terminal 100 can communicate with the printer via the wireless LAN router via Wi-Fi. Therefore, after connecting the printer and the wireless LAN router via Wi-Fi, the application A109 registers the printer in the application A109 by acquiring registration information from the printer via the wireless LAN router. At this time, the Wi-Fi connection between the wireless LAN router and the mobile terminal 100 is maintained without being disconnected by the application A109. This enables the application A109 to send a print job to the printer via the wireless LAN router. In this embodiment, based on the printer being registered in this way, the application A109 stores the registration information of the printer in the information sharing area 201 as shared information 202.

[0051] Also, as a Wi-Fi setup, the application A109 receives, for example, connection information from the printer for connecting to another access point (internal access point of the printer) that is different from the predetermined access point and is enabled within the printer. After transmitting the connection information to the application A109, the printer enables the other access point. Then, the application A109 uses the received connection information to wirelessly connect (P2P connection) the printer that enables the other access point to the mobile terminal 100 by Wi-Fi without going through a wireless LAN router. Then, the application A109 registers the printer in the application A109 by acquiring registration information from the printer via the P2P connection. This P2P connection is maintained without being disconnected by the application A109. Therefore, the application A109 becomes able to send a print job to the printer via the P2P connection. Then, in this embodiment, based on the printer being registered in this way, the application A109 stores the registration information of the printer in the information sharing area 201 as shared information 202.

[0052] In the above description, the Wi-Fi setup is performed by connecting the mobile terminal 100 and the printer by Wi-Fi, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the Wi-Fi setup may be performed by connecting the mobile terminal 100 and the printer by BLE. In this case, for example, the app A109 searches for printers that exist around the mobile terminal 100 and have a BLE communication function enabled by Wi-Fi. Specifically, the printer that has a BLE communication function enabled is, for example, a printer that operates as an advertiser in the BLE standard. The app A109 wirelessly connects the mobile terminal 100 to a printer selected by the user among the printers found by this search (BLE connection) by BLE. At this time, if the app A109 finds only one printer in the search, it may automatically connect the printer to the BLE without inquiring of the user. The app A109 then performs Wi-Fi setup for the printer wirelessly connected to the mobile terminal 100 by BLE. The application A109 may have both a function of executing Wi-Fi setup via a Wi-Fi connection and a function of executing Wi-Fi setup via a BLE connection.

[0053] A third registration method executable by the application A109 will be described. The application A109 searches for printers that exist around the mobile terminal 100 and operate as advertisers in the BLE standard by using BLE. Then, the application A109 wirelessly connects the mobile terminal 100 to a printer selected by the user among the printers found by this search by using BLE. Then, the application A109 acquires connection information for establishing a P2P connection with the printer by Wi-Fi from the printer connected to the mobile terminal 100 by using BLE. Specifically, the connection information is the SSID of an access point enabled in the printer and a password for connecting to the access point. After that, the application A109 wirelessly connects (P2P connects) the printer that has enabled the access point to the mobile terminal 100 by using the acquired connection information without going through a wireless LAN router by Wi-Fi to the printer that has enabled the access point and the mobile terminal 100. Then, the application A109 acquires registration information from the printer wirelessly connected to the mobile terminal 100 by using P2P connection, thereby registering the printer in the application A109. If only one printer is found in the search, the app A109 may automatically connect to the printer via BLE without inquiring of the user, and automatically register the printer. After the registration is completed, the app A109 disconnects the P2P connection between the printer and the mobile terminal 100. After that, when the user instructs printing, the app A109 uses the connection information again to re-establish the P2P connection between the printer and the mobile terminal 100 and transmits the print job. The third registration method may be executed, for example, based on the fact that no printer was found in the printer search in the first registration method. In this embodiment, based on the fact that the printer is registered by the third registration method, the app A109 does not store the registration information of the printer in the information sharing area 201 as the shared information 202. This is because, after the printer is registered by the third registration method, the P2P connection between the printer and the mobile terminal 100 is disconnected, and the printer cannot be easily used by apps other than the app A109.

[0054] A fourth registration method executable by the application A109 will be described. The application A109 searches for printers that exist around the mobile terminal 100 and operate as P2P Devices or Group Owners in the Wi-Fi Direct standard. Note that a P2P Device in the Wi-Fi Direct standard is a device that has not executed Group Owner Negotiation and is neither a Group Owner nor a Client. At this time, the application A109 searches for printers by a known discovery process in the Wi-Fi Direct standard. Then, among the printers found by this search, a printer selected by the user is wirelessly connected to the mobile terminal 100 by the Wi-Fi Direct standard without going through a wireless LAN router. Note that at this time, if the application A109 finds only one printer in the search, it may automatically wirelessly connect the printer to the Wi-Fi Direct standard without inquiring of the user. Then, the application A109 registers the printer in the application A109 by acquiring registration information from the printer wirelessly connected to the mobile terminal 100 by the Wi-Fi Direct standard via the wireless connection. Even after registration, the wireless connection between the printer and the mobile terminal 100 based on the Wi-Fi Direct standard is maintained. In this embodiment, when the printer is registered by the fourth registration method, the application A109 does not store the printer registration information in the information sharing area 201 as the shared information 202. This is because some applications cannot execute communication based on the Wi-Fi Direct standard.

[0055] A fifth registration method executable by the application A109 will be described. It is assumed that the application A109 is capable of executing communication by NFC. When the mobile terminal 100 approaches the printer with image data selected in the application A109, the application A109 acquires connection information for establishing a connection with the printer by Wi-Fi from the printer by NFC communication. Specifically, the connection information is the SSID of an access point enabled in the printer and a password for connecting to the access point. After that, the application A109 uses the acquired connection information to wirelessly connect the printer and the mobile terminal 100 by Wi-Fi without going through a wireless LAN router (P2P connection). Note that before the wireless connection, the application A109 may execute an instruction to enable the access point in the printer by NFC communication. Then, the application A109 registers the printer in the application A109 by acquiring registration information from the printer via the P2P connection. Then, the application A109 transmits a print job for printing the selected image data to the printer via the P2P connection. When the transmission of the print job is completed, the application A109 disconnects the P2P connection between the printer and the mobile terminal 100. In this embodiment, the application A109 does not store the registration information of the printer as the shared information 202 in the information sharing area 201 based on the fact that the printer is registered by the fifth registration method. This is because, after the printer is registered by the fifth registration method, the P2P connection between the printer and the mobile terminal 100 is disconnected, and therefore the printer cannot be easily used by any application other than the application A109. Note that the communication performed by NFC in the fifth registration method may be performed by Classic Bluetooth, BLE, or the like instead of NFC.

[0056] As described above, in this embodiment, when a printer is registered in the application A109, depending on the registration method, the registration information of the printer is or is not saved as the shared information 202. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to make only the registration information of an appropriate printer to be used in application cooperation available to other applications as the shared information 202.

[0057] In the above, a pattern has been described in which even if a printer is registered in the application A109, the printer registration information is not saved as the shared information 202. However, these patterns may include a pattern in which the printer registration information is saved as the shared information 202. In other words, in at least one of the above-mentioned patterns, the printer registration information should not be saved as the shared information 202 in the information sharing area 201. Therefore, for example, the printer registration information may be saved as the shared information 202 in the information sharing area 201 based on the printer being registered by the third registration method or the fourth registration method.

[0058] In this embodiment, it is assumed that the shared information 202 is updated every time a new printer is registered in the application A109 when the shared information 202 has already been saved in the information sharing area 201. Of course, if the shared information 202 is not saved, the shared information 202 is not updated. Also, when a new printer that is the same as an already registered printer is registered, the shared information 202 does not have to be updated.

[0059] Furthermore, a registration process may be performed for a plurality of printers, so that a plurality of printers may be registered for one application. In this case, the application A109 transmits a print job to a printer selected as a selected device among the plurality of registered printers. Note that the user can appropriately select and change the selected device from among the plurality of registered printers on the screen displayed by the application A109. Also, when a new printer is registered while an existing printer is selected as a selected device, the newly registered printer is selected as the selected device regardless of the registration method. Note that, on the screen of FIG. 6, an icon 601 corresponding to the printer selected as the selected device is displayed, and an icon 601 corresponding to a registered printer not selected as a selected device is not displayed.

[0060] In a case where a plurality of printers can be registered for one application, registration information on the registered printers may be stored in the information sharing area 201 as the shared information 202. On the other hand, registration information on only one of the registered printers (for example, a printer selected as a selected device) may be stored in the information sharing area 201 as the shared information 202. For example, it is assumed that printer A is registered by the second registration method, and registration information on printer A is stored in the information sharing area 201 as the shared information 202, and printer B is newly registered by the second registration method. In that case, both printer A and printer B are registered in the application A109, but the shared information 202 stored in the information sharing area 201 is updated to registration information on the newly registered printer B. In addition, it is assumed that printer A is subsequently selected by the user as a selected device. In that case, the shared information 202 stored in the information sharing area 201 is updated to registration information on printer A. Also, for example, in a state where printer A is registered by the second registration method and the registration information about printer A is stored in information sharing area 201 as shared information 202, printer B is newly registered in a pattern in which shared information 202 is not stored. As described above, a pattern in which shared information 202 is not stored is, for example, a pattern in which printer B is registered by the third or fourth registration method. In that case, both printer A and printer B are registered in application A 109, but the shared information 202 stored in information sharing area 201 is not updated to the registration information about printer B and remains as the registration information about printer A.

[0061] In this embodiment, the application A109 can be registered using a plurality of registration methods, whereas the application B110 and the application C111 can be registered only using the first registration method. That is, the application A109 has a higher performance registration function than the application B110 and the application C111. The application B110 and the application C111 may also be registered using a registration method other than the first registration method.

[0062] The shared information 202 saved as described above is acquired by an application (e.g., application B110) other than application A109 that saved the shared information 202 when the application is started. Then, the shared information 202 is used by the application, making it possible to share information between application A109 and the application other than application A109. Also, it becomes possible to register printers that cannot be registered by the registration method that application B110 or application C111 can execute in application B110 or application C111.

[0063] 3 is a flowchart showing a process executed by mobile terminal 100 using application A109. The process shown in this flowchart is realized, for example, by CPU 101 reading a program corresponding to application A109 stored in storage device 106 or the like into memory 104 and executing the program. The process shown in this flowchart is assumed to be started in a state in which a screen for executing the function of application A109 is displayed on display unit 105 by application A109.

[0064] First, in S301, the CPU 101 executes the printer registration process in the application A 109. As described above, the registration method used in the registration process executed at this time includes the first to fifth registration methods.

[0065] Next, in S302, the CPU 101 determines whether or not to save the printer registration information acquired in S301 as the shared information 202 in the information sharing area 201. Specifically, the CPU 101 first identifies the registration method used in the registration process executed in S301. Then, if any one of the third, fourth, and fifth registration methods is identified, it is determined that the printer registration information is not to be saved as the shared information 202 in the information sharing area 201. Even if the first registration method is identified, if the registered printer is a printer to which the mobile terminal 100 is connected according to the Wi-Fi Direct standard, it is determined that the printer registration information is not to be saved as the shared information 202 in the information sharing area 201. On the other hand, if the second registration method is identified, it is determined that the printer registration information is to be saved as the shared information 202 in the information sharing area 201. Furthermore, if the first registration method is specified and the registered printer is a printer connected to a wireless LAN router via Wi-Fi, it is determined that the printer registration information is to be saved as shared information 202 in the information sharing area 201. If the result of this determination is YES, the CPU 101 proceeds to S303, and if the result of this determination is NO, the CPU 101 proceeds to S304 without saving the printer registration information as shared information 202 in the information sharing area 201.

[0066] In step S303, the CPU 101 stores the printer registration information acquired in step S301 in the information sharing area 201 as shared information 202.

[0067] In S304, the CPU 101 accepts a cooperative start-up operation for the application B 110. Specifically, for example, the CPU 101 accepts an operation on the icon 609 from the user.

[0068] It is not necessary that S304 is executed immediately after S303 or S302. For example, after the shared information 202 is saved in S302, the icon 602 may be operated, and a print job may be sent in the application A109, before the process of S303 is executed. Also, for example, the process of S303 may be executed after the activation of the application A109 is terminated once, and then the application A109 is activated again.

[0069] In S305, the CPU 101 determines whether the application B110 is installed in the mobile terminal 100. If it is determined that the application B110 is installed in the mobile terminal 100, the CPU 101 issues an instruction to start the application B110 by a known method using a URL scheme in S306. As a result, the application B110 is started in cooperation. Thereafter, the CPU 101 executes the process shown in FIG. 4, which will be described later, by the application B110. On the other hand, if it is determined that the application B110 is not installed in the mobile terminal 100, the CPU 101 issues an instruction to start the store application 108 by, for example, a known method using a URL scheme in S307. At this time, the application identification information 203 for the store application 108 to identify the application B110 is added to the URL scheme to issue the instruction. As a result, a screen for downloading the application B110 is displayed together with the start of the store application 108. In this state, by accepting an operation for downloading the application B110 from the user, the CPU 101 can download and install the application B110. After the application B110 is installed, an area for starting the application B110 is displayed in the store application 108. Then, the area for starting the application B110 is operated by the user to start the application B110. When the application B110 is started in this manner, the CPU 101 executes the process shown in FIG. 4, which will be described later, by the application B110.

[0070] By adopting the above-mentioned configuration, it is possible to appropriately control whether or not to save the printer registration information as shared information depending on the printer registration method. In other words, it is possible to appropriately control whether or not the information acquired by the application A109 is acquired and used in other applications (application cooperation is executed) depending on the acquisition method of the information held by the application A109.

[0071] Here, the problem of the present invention will be described. As described above, the application B110 and the application C111 can acquire the information acquired by the application A109 as the shared information 202. However, naturally, if the application A109 is not installed in the mobile terminal 100, the shared information 202 is not stored in the information sharing area 201, and therefore the application B110 and the application C111 cannot acquire the shared information 202. In this case, there is a problem that the application B110 and the application C111 cannot register a device in an environment where the device can only be registered by a registration method that the application B110 and the application C111 cannot execute. In addition, for example, if the application B110 and the application C111 are applications that can only register a device by acquiring the shared information 202, there is a problem that the registration of the device cannot be executed. That is, when the user uses the application B110 and the application C111, it is desirable that the application A109 is installed in the mobile terminal 100.

[0072] In this embodiment, a form will be described in which, when the application A109 that is an application that stores the shared information 202 is not installed in the mobile terminal 100, notification is performed by the application B110 or the application C111.

[0073] 4 is a flowchart showing a process executed by mobile terminal 100 using application B 110. Note that this flowchart is realized, for example, by CPU 101 reading a program corresponding to application B 110 stored in storage device 106 or the like into memory 104 and executing the program.

[0074] First, in S401, the CPU 101 starts the application B 110. Note that the processing of S401 is executed, for example, when a cooperative start-up operation of the application B 110 is accepted via the application A 109, an instruction to start the application B 110 is accepted via the store application 108, an instruction to start the application B 110 is accepted via the home screen, or the like is triggered.

[0075] In S402, the CPU 101 determines whether the shared information 202 exists in the information sharing area 201. When the CPU 101 determines that the shared information 202 exists in the information sharing area 201, the process proceeds to S403, where the CPU 101 acquires the shared information 202. In this embodiment, even when the CPU 101 acquires the shared information 202 by the application B110, the CPU 101 does not delete the shared information 202 from the information sharing area 201. On the other hand, when the CPU 101 determines that the shared information 202 does not exist in the information sharing area 201, the CPU 101 ends the process without executing the process of registering the printer registered in the application A109 in the application B110 (without executing application cooperation). The situation in which the shared information 202 is not saved in the information sharing area 201 is, for example, a situation in which the information sharing area 201 is an external server or the like, and the mobile terminal 100 cannot access the external server by the application A109 due to a communication error, an authentication error, or the like. Also, for example, a situation in which the printer registration process has not yet been executed in the application A109.

[0076] In S404, the CPU 101 executes a usability determination. If it is determined that the acquired shared information 202 is information that can be used by the application B 110, the CPU 101 proceeds to S405. On the other hand, if it is determined that the acquired shared information 202 is not information that can be used by the application B 110, the CPU 101 ends the process without executing the process of registering the printer registered in the application A 109 in the application B 110 (without executing application cooperation).

[0077] In S405, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the printer has been registered in the application B 110 (whether or not a device to communicate with is set by the application B 110). If it is determined that the printer has not been registered in the application B 110, the CPU 101 proceeds to S410. On the other hand, if it is determined that the printer has been registered in the application B 110, the CPU 101 proceeds to S406.

[0078] In S406, the CPU 101 judges whether the printer corresponding to the shared information 202 and the printer registered in the application B 110 are the same printer. In other words, this judgment is a process of judging whether the shared information 202 and the registration information of the printer registered in the application B 110 are the same printer. If the CPU 101 judges that they are the same printer, it proceeds to S407, and if it judges that they are not the same printer, it proceeds to S408. Note that there are cases where multiple printers are registered in the application B 110. In this case, if the printer corresponding to the shared information 202 is the same as any one of the multiple printers, the CPU 101 proceeds to S407, and if the printer corresponding to the shared information 202 is different from all of the multiple printers, it proceeds to S408.

[0079] In S407, the CPU 101 judges whether or not to execute application cooperation. In this judgment, for example, the CPU 101 compares information on update date and time included in the newly acquired shared information 202 with information on update date and time when the shared information 202 was previously used for application cooperation. If the former date and time is later than the latter date and time, the CPU 101 judges to execute application cooperation, and if the former date and time is earlier than the latter date and time, the CPU 101 judges not to execute application cooperation. In addition, in this judgment, for example, the CPU 101 compares information on update date and time included in the newly acquired shared information 202 with information on the date and time of the most recent registration of the printer to the application B 110. If the former date and time is later than the latter date and time, the CPU 101 judges to execute application cooperation, and if the former date and time is earlier than the latter date and time, the CPU 101 judges not to execute application cooperation. If the CPU 101 judges to execute application cooperation, the process proceeds to S410. If the CPU 101 judges not to execute application cooperation, the process ends without executing the process of registering the printer registered in the application A 109 in the application B 110 (without executing application cooperation).

[0080] It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which S407 is not executed and in the case of S406--YES, the process always proceeds to S410.

[0081] In S408, the CPU 101 displays a dialog box for prompting the user to select whether or not to register the printer registered in the application A 109 in the application B 110 (whether or not to execute application cooperation).

[0082] In S409, it is determined whether or not the user has selected to execute application cooperation in the dialog displayed in S408. If the user has selected to execute application cooperation, CPU 101 proceeds to S410. If the user has selected not to execute application cooperation, CPU 101 ends the process without executing the process of registering the printer registered in application A 109 in application B 110 (without executing application cooperation).

[0083] In addition, S408 and S409 may not be executed, and in the case of S407-NO, the process of registering the printer registered in application A109 in application B110 may not be executed (application linkage may not be executed) and the process may end.

[0084] In S410, the printer registered in the application A 109 is registered in the application B 110 by using the shared information 202. Note that in this embodiment, even if the printer registered in the application A 109 is registered in the application B 110, the shared information 202 is not deleted from the information sharing area 201.

[0085] Although the process executed by the application B110 has been described with reference to FIG. 4, the same process is executed by the application C111.

[0086] By adopting the above-mentioned configuration, both application B 110 and application C 111 can obtain shared information 202 and execute application cooperation with application A 109 regardless of the timing of startup.

[0087] After the app B110 is started and the process shown in FIG. 4 is executed, the home screen of the app B110 is displayed. If the shared information 202 is stored in the information sharing area 201 when the app B110 is started and the app cooperation is executed, information about the printer registered in the app B110 through the app cooperation is displayed on the home screen. On the other hand, if the shared information 202 is not stored in the information sharing area 201 when the app B110 is started and the app cooperation is not executed, an area for prompting the user to register the printer is displayed on the home screen. The home screen also includes an area for registering the printer. When the area is operated, the app B110 starts the process by the first registration method. Specifically, first, the app B110 searches for a printer corresponding to the app B110 on the Wi-Fi network to which the mobile terminal 100 belongs. Then, the app B110 displays the printer found by the search. At this time, if there is no printer compatible with the app B110 on the Wi-Fi network to which the mobile terminal 100 belongs, the app B110 cannot display any printer information. As a result, if application cooperation cannot be executed and the printer is not found by the first registration method, the printer cannot be registered by the app B110.

[0088] Even if there is no printer that can run app B110, there may be a printer that can be discovered by a registration method that cannot run app B110 but can run app A109. Therefore, if application linking cannot be executed and the printer is not discovered by the first registration method, it is desirable to register the printer by app A109 and then register the printer in app B110 by application linking. In other words, it is desirable to prompt the user to install app A109, prompt the user to register the printer by application linking, or notify the user of a registration method that cannot be executed by app B110.

[0089] In consideration of the above-mentioned problems, in this embodiment, the application B110 executes an appropriate notification process.

[0090] Specifically, the application B displays a notification area on a screen (list screen) that displays printers found by a search using the first registration method. The notification area is an area for urging the user to install the application A109, urging the user to register a printer by application cooperation, and notifying the user of a registration method that the application B110 cannot execute. FIG. 8 shows a screen 800 including a notification area 801. FIG. 8 shows a screen in a state where a printer is found by a search using the first registration method, but the notification area 801 is also displayed naturally when no printer is found by a search using the first registration method. In this embodiment, the notification area 801 functions as a link, and when the notification area 801 is operated, the application B starts a Web browser to display a manual. FIG. 9 shows a screen 900 on which the manual is displayed. The manual includes a message that urges the user to install the application A109 and a message that urges the user to register a printer by application cooperation. Specifically, the message prompting the user to register a printer through application cooperation is, for example, a message prompting the user to start application B 110 after registering a printer with application A 109. In addition, application B 110 includes a message for notifying the user of an unexecutable registration method or for explaining the details of the registration method.

[0091] The manual displayed when the notification area 801 is operated may be displayed on the application B110 instead of on a web browser. Also, the application B110 may directly display the manual on a list screen or the like, without going through a link such as the notification area 801. Also, the manual may include an area for displaying a screen for installing the application A109 by starting a store application.

[0092] By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to improve the usability of an app in which some of the multiple registration methods cannot be executed.

[0093] (Other embodiments) In the above embodiment, the notification area is displayed on the list screen, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the notification area may be displayed on another screen, such as the home screen of the application B110.

[0094] In the above-described embodiment, the notification area is displayed regardless of whether the shared information 202 is stored in the information sharing area 201, but this is not limiting. If the shared information 202 is stored in the information sharing area 201 when the application B110 is started or when the area for executing printer registration is operated, the notification area may not be displayed. Also, if the shared information 202 is not stored in the information sharing area 201 when the application B110 is started or when the area for executing printer registration is operated, the notification area may be displayed based on the fact that the shared information 202 is not stored in the information sharing area 201. That is, for example, 4 Whether or not the notification area is displayed may be controlled based on the result of the determination in 02.

[0095] In addition, cases in which the shared information 202 is not stored in the information sharing area 201 include a case in which the application A109 is not installed, and a case in which the application A109 is installed but the registration process is not executed by the application A109. 4 In step 02, when it is determined that the shared information 202 is not stored in the information sharing area 201, it may be further determined whether or not the application A109 is installed. Then, when it is determined that the application A109 is installed, a notification process may be executed to prompt the user to execute a registration process by the application A109. Also, when it is determined that the application A109 is not installed, a notification process may be executed to prompt the user to install the application A109.

[0096] Also, S 4Instead of the determination in 02, it may be determined whether or not the application A109 is installed. If it is determined that the application A109 is installed, the notification area may not be displayed, and if it is determined that the application A109 is not installed, the notification area may be displayed.

[0097] Also, there may be a case where the mobile terminal 100 is in an environment where the application A109 cannot be installed. The environment where the application A109 cannot be installed is, for example, an environment where Internet communication is not possible. Therefore, before a notification process for prompting the user to install the application A109 is executed, it may be determined whether or not the mobile terminal 100 is in an environment where the application A109 cannot be installed. Then, if it is determined that the mobile terminal 100 is in an environment where the application A109 cannot be installed, a process for notifying the user of a registration method that the application B110 can execute may be executed. Also, if it is determined that the mobile terminal 100 is in an environment where the application A109 can be installed, a notification process for prompting the user to install the application A109 may be executed.

[0098] In the above embodiment, the download of the application B110 is executed by the store application 108, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the CPU 101 may download the application B110 from a Web page. In this case, in the above embodiment, the process of starting the store application 108 is the process of starting a program for displaying a Web page. When starting the program for displaying a Web page, the Web page for downloading the target application can be directly displayed by using information about the target application. After the CPU 101 downloads the application B110 by the store application 108, the installation of the application B110 may be performed by an installer. The CPU 101 may download and install the application B110 from a personal computer.

[0099] In the above embodiment, the CPU 101 refers to the information sharing area 201 and acquires the shared information 202, whether the app B110 is launched independently or launched in cooperation. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the app B110 is launched in cooperation, the information added to the URL scheme may be used as the shared information 202 to perform application cooperation. Therefore, in this case, when a cooperation launch operation is performed on the app B110, the CPU 101 also adds information to the URL scheme.

[0100] In the above-described embodiment, the application A109, the application B110, and the application C111 are exemplified as print applications, and the shared information 202 is exemplified as registered information, but the present invention is not limited to this form. That is, the application A109 and the application B110 may be applications that can share information with each other, and the functions thereof are not limited. For example, the device registered in each application may be a device other than a printer. The contents of the shared information 202 are also not limited. For example, each application may be an application for remotely controlling a camera, and a camera may be registered in each application. For example, each application may be an application for controlling a smart speaker, and a smart speaker may be registered in each application. For example, the application A109 may be a camera application, and the application B110 may be a photo album creation application. In that case, the shared information 202 may be, for example, image data that can be arranged in a photo album. In this case, specific processing in the application cooperation is processing for displaying the shared information 202 (image data) as a thumbnail, processing for storing the shared information 202 in an area that the application B 110 can refer to, and the like.

[0101] In the above embodiment, the cooperation between the application A109, the application B110, and the application C111 has been described, but the shared information 202 handled by the application A109 can be used not only by the application B110 and the application C111, but also by other applications. That is, by executing the same process as when the application B110 or the application C111 is started in the other applications, the shared information 202 handled by the application A109 can be used by a plurality of applications.

[0102] In the above embodiment, the embodiment has been described in which whether or not to store the registration information in the information sharing area 201 is controlled depending on the registration method, but the embodiment is not limited to this embodiment. For example, regardless of the registration method, the registration information is stored in the information sharing area 201, but whether or not to acquire the registration information by the application B110 or the application C111 may be controlled depending on the registration method. In this embodiment, for example, the application A109 stores, in the information sharing area 201, information on the registration method, communication path, and communication method used to acquire the registration information together with the registration information. Then, before acquiring the registration information, the application B110 or the application C111 acquires information on the registration method, communication path, and communication method used to acquire the registration information, and determines whether or not to acquire the registration information based on the matter specified by the information. In the above embodiment, when it is specified that the registration information has been acquired by the registration method (for example, the second registration method) when the registration information is saved in the information sharing area 201, the application B110 or the application C111 acquires the registration information and executes application cooperation. On the other hand, in the above embodiment, if it is determined that the registration information has been acquired using a registration method (for example, the third registration method) in which the registration information is not stored in the information sharing area 201, the application B110 and the application C111 do not acquire the registration information and do not execute application cooperation. Even with this configuration, application cooperation can be executed appropriately.

[0103] The above-described embodiment can also be realized by executing the following process. That is, software (programs) that realize the functions of the above-described embodiment are shared with a system or device via a network or various storage media, and a computer (CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or device reads and executes the program. The program may be executed by one computer, or may be executed by multiple computers in cooperation with each other. It is not necessary to realize all of the above-described processes by software, and some or all of the processes may be realized by hardware such as ASIC. The CPU is also not limited to one that performs all processes by one CPU, and multiple CPUs may perform processes while appropriately coordinating with each other. [Explanation of symbols]

[0104] 100 Mobile Devices 101 CPU

Claims

1. A predetermined application program that cannot obtain predetermined information related to a communication device by a predetermined method, The computer of the information processing device an acquisition step of acquiring, by the predetermined application program, the predetermined information stored by the other application program when the predetermined information is stored by the other application program that is different from the predetermined application program and that can acquire the predetermined information by the predetermined method; an execution step of executing, by the predetermined application program, a process based on the predetermined information stored by the other application program when the predetermined information stored by the other application program is acquired; a processing step of executing, by a store application program, a process for displaying a manual including a predetermined screen for installing the other application program by the predetermined application program; A program characterized by executing the above.

2. The program according to claim 1, characterized in that the processing based on the specified information stored by the other application program is processing for registering the communication device corresponding to the specified information in the specified application program as a device that communicates via the specified application program.

3. 3. The program according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined application program is capable of acquiring the predetermined information by a method other than the predetermined method.

4. The other method includes a search process for searching for one or more communication devices on a network to which the information processing device belongs, 4. The program according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined information is acquired from one or more of the one or more communication devices found by the search process.

5. a screen display step of displaying a screen including the one or more communication devices found by the search process; an area for displaying the manual is displayed on the screen; 5. The program according to claim 4, wherein the manual is displayed when an area for displaying the manual is operated.

6. The program according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the other method includes a method of obtaining the specified information from the communication device connected to an external access point to which the information processing device is connected, via the external access point.

7. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the specified method includes a method in which information regarding an external access point is transmitted to the communication device via a connection between the information processing device and the communication device, and the specified information is obtained via the external access point after a connection between the external access point and the communication device is established based on the transmitted information regarding the external access point.

8. The predetermined method includes a method in which information regarding an internal access point of the communication device is transmitted to the information processing device via a connection between the information processing device and the communication device, and a first connection between the internal access point and the information processing device is established based on the transmitted information regarding the internal access point, and then the predetermined information is acquired via the first connection; 8. The program according to claim 1, wherein the first connection is maintained even after the predetermined information is acquired.

9. the other application program is capable of acquiring the predetermined information by a specific method different from the predetermined method and the other method, the predetermined application program is capable of acquiring the predetermined information stored in a predetermined memory area, The program according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that when the other application program acquires the specified information in the specified manner, it stores the specified information in the specified memory area, and when the other application program acquires the specified information in the specific manner, it does not store the specified information in the specified memory area.

10. 10. The program according to claim 9, wherein the specific method includes a method of acquiring the predetermined information from the communication device to which the information processing device is connected via Wi-Fi Direct (registered trademark).

11. 11. The program according to claim 1, wherein the process for displaying the manual includes a process for displaying a link for displaying the manual.

12. 12. The program according to claim 11, wherein, when the link is operated, the manual is displayed by a Web browser.

13. The program described in claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the processing for displaying the manual includes processing for launching a Web browser based on the link being operated and displaying the manual using the Web browser.

14. The program described in any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the specified screen includes an area for prompting the user to install the other application program.

15. 15. The program according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined screen includes an area for explaining the predetermined method.

16. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that, when the specified application program is installed on the information processing device, the specified application program is launched based on a specified operation being performed on a screen displayed by the other application program.

17. 17. The program according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined application program and the other application program are programs for generating a print job for causing the communication device to execute printing corresponding to the predetermined information.

18. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that the specified information includes at least one of a MAC address, a Bonjour name, an IP address, a model name of the communication device, capability information of the communication device, and information regarding the date and time when the specified information was acquired.

19. A method for controlling an information processing device having a predetermined application program that cannot acquire predetermined information related to a communication device by a predetermined method, comprising the steps of: an acquisition step of acquiring, by the predetermined application program, the predetermined information stored by the other application program when the predetermined information is stored by the other application program that is different from the predetermined application program and that can acquire the predetermined information by the predetermined method; an execution step of executing, by the predetermined application program, a process based on the predetermined information stored by the other application program when the predetermined information stored by the other application program is acquired; a processing step of executing, by a store application program, a process for displaying a manual including a predetermined screen for installing the other application program by the predetermined application program; A control method comprising the steps of:

20. An information processing device having a predetermined application program that cannot acquire predetermined information related to a communication device by a predetermined method, an acquisition means for acquiring, when the predetermined information is stored by another application program different from the predetermined application program and capable of acquiring the predetermined information by the predetermined method, the predetermined information stored by the other application program by the predetermined application program; an execution means for executing, by the predetermined application program, a process based on the predetermined information stored by the other application program when the predetermined information stored by the other application program is acquired; a processing means for executing a process for displaying a manual including a predetermined screen for installing the other application program by a store application program; 13. An information processing device comprising:

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