Information processing apparatus, method, and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing device which, on the basis of sheet information acquired from a printing device, enables a user to customize the sheet information.SOLUTION: An information processing device includes: first acquisition means for acquiring sheet information supported by a printing device from the printing device; second acquisition means for acquiring printing function information for allowing a user to designate a function of the printing device; and editing means for editing the printing function information acquired by the second acquisition means on the basis of customizable sheet information included in the sheet information acquired by the first acquisition means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, method, and program.

Background Art

[0002] A configuration is known in which a printer driver installed on a host computer as software for controlling a printing device is used to give a print instruction to a printing device connected to the host computer. An operating system (OS), which is basic software, is installed on the host computer. The printer driver is configured according to the specifications defined by the OS and is called from the OS to operate. A vendor providing a printing device can provide a configuration for instructing printing on the printing device using the OS by providing a printer driver that conforms to the specifications of the OS.

[0003] In recent years, in Windows (registered trademark), a standard class driver (hereinafter also referred to as a "standard driver") that can be commonly used among printing devices provided by multiple vendors has been provided. Such a standard driver is included in the OS package and can be easily used by connecting an arbitrary printing device to the host computer. Therefore, there is no need to separately install a model-specific printer driver suitable for the printing device, which is highly convenient. Also, the standard driver is configured to be able to specify a printing function according to PrintCapabilities generated based on information acquired from the connected printing device. Thus, a user using the standard driver can specify a printing function according to the capabilities of the connected printing device even though using one standard driver.

[0004] The standard driver can be associated with an application for function expansion (hereinafter, also referred to as "expansion application"). The expansion application can be provided by the vendor that provides the printing device. By providing the expansion application, the vendor can provide functions (expansion functions) that cannot be realized by the standard driver alone. Patent Document 1 describes that an auxiliary program excludes paper sizes that are unlikely to be used based on environmental information from the main body capability values.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] However, Patent Document 1 does not describe that the user can arbitrarily set the paper size.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus, method, and program that enable a user to customize sheet information based on sheet information acquired from a printing device.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] To solve the above problems, the information processing apparatus according to the present invention A program of an application that collaborates with an IPP (Internet Print Protocol) class driver, comprising: a first acquisition means for acquiring sheet information supported by the printing device from the printing device; a second acquisition means for acquiring printing function information for enabling a user to specify the functions of the printing device; an editing means for editing the printing function information acquired by the second acquisition means based on custom information included in the sheet information acquired by the first acquisition means and used by the user to set the sheet size; and a reception means for receiving a user-defined sheet size from the user based on the custom information, as an information processing device's functions a computer wherein the custom information is a parameter in which at least the maximum value and the minimum value of the sheet sizes supported by the printing device are defined, and the reception means is characterized by receiving, from the user, a value within the range of the maximum value and the minimum value as the user-defined sheet size .

Effects of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to enable a user to customize sheet information based on sheet information acquired from a printing device.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although a plurality of features are described in the embodiments, not all of these plurality of features are essential for the invention, and the plurality of features may be arbitrarily combined. Further, in the accompanying drawings, the same or similar configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0012] [First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a printing system. In FIG. 1, host computer 101 is an example of an information processing apparatus and has an input interface 110, a CPU 111, a ROM 112, a RAM 113, an external storage device 114, an output interface 115, and an input / output interface 116. Further, input devices such as a keyboard 118 and a pointing device 117 are connected to the input interface 110, and display devices such as a display unit 119 are connected to the output interface 115. NETIF 120 is a network interface and controls data transfer with external devices via a network.

[0013] An initialization program is stored in the ROM 112. Application programs, an operating system (OS), print data generation software, and other various data are stored in the external storage device 114. The RAM 113 is used as a work memory and the like when executing various programs stored in the external storage device 114, and various programs can operate within the host computer 101.

[0014] In this embodiment, the CPU 111 executes the functions described below in the host computer 101 and the processes according to the flowchart described below by performing processes according to the procedures of the programs stored in the ROM 112. The printing device 102, which is a device, is connected to the host computer 101 via the input / output interface 116. Here, the host computer 101 and the printing device 102 are separately configured, but they may be configured as one information processing device. Note that the printing device 102 will be described by taking an inkjet printer that prints by ejecting ink onto the paper surface as an example, but printing may be executed by other methods (for example, an electrophotographic method). Also, the host computer 101 may be a desktop personal computer, a smartphone, or a notebook personal computer. Also, when the host computer 101 and the printing device 102 are connected via a network, the network may be a wired network, a wireless network, or a network including both. Also, the network may include devices different from the host computer 101 and the printing device 102, such as a router operating as an access point.

[0015] FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) are diagrams schematically showing the configuration of a printing system centered on software. Here, a printing system using the host computer 101 equipped with Microsoft (registered trademark) Windows (registered trademark) 11 as the OS will be described as a premise. FIG. 2(a) is a diagram showing a general configuration when the extended application 210 is not associated with the print data generation software 202 and the printing device 102.

[0016] The drawing application 201 is software that creates printable content (drawing data). For example, it corresponds to a document creation application or a spreadsheet application. When the drawing application 201 receives a print request from the user, it issues a print instruction to the OS. The print instruction includes print setting information for instructing the operation of the print data generation software 202 and the printing device 102. The print setting information is also called a PrintTicket (hereinafter, "PT").

[0017] The drawing application 201 can display a print settings screen provided by any of the print data generation software 202, the OS, or the drawing application 201 in order to output print settings information. The print settings screen includes setting items (hereinafter also referred to as "control items") indicating printable functions that can be set according to the capability information (information that can be set as print settings) obtained from the print data generation software 202, and control items indicating the set values thereof. The capability information is also called PrintCapabilities (hereinafter "PC"). The print data generation software 202 determines the PC based on the print function information 203. The print function information 203 is data indicating all printable functions that can be set, their set values, and the print functions indicating the exclusive relationship between the set values. The print function information 203 is also called PDC (Print Device Capabilities). The print function information 203 is included in the configuration file of the print data generation software 202 and is arranged in the external storage device 114 as a non-modifiable file. Alternatively, the print function information 203 can also be dynamically generated by the print data generation software 202. Specifically, the print data generation software 202 or the OS can be configured to obtain the attribute data of the printing device from the printing device 102 and generate the print function information 203 according to the attribute information in the obtained attribute data. The attribute information is, for example, the paper information (sheet information) supported by the printing device 102. When the print function information 203 is dynamically generated, the generated print function information 203 can be edited. The attribute data of the printing device obtained from the printing device 102 is a response obtained by issuing the Get-Printer-Attributes operation of IPP (Internet Print Protocol) to the printing device 102. The response includes attribute information indicating the functions (capabilities of the printing device) that can be specified by the printing device 102 and the set values related to the attribute information. This response is stored in the RAM 113.

[0018] By configuring in this way, the print data generation software 202 can be configured so that the user can specify the print functions available on each connected printing device 102 according to the connected printing device 102. That is, even when printing devices with different functions or printing devices developed by different vendors are connected, the print data generation software 202 can be configured so that the user can specify the print functions available according to the connected printing device. Here, as an example of the print data generation software 202, a configuration using the IPP Class Driver installed in Windows (registered trademark) 11 will be described. The IPP Class Driver is a printer driver that executes print processing according to the specifications of a standard print protocol called IPP (Internet Print Protocol) and is included in the OS package. The IPP Class Driver is not a specific printer driver corresponding to the model of the printing device 102, but a standard class driver that can be commonly used on multiple printing devices. Also, the IPP Class Driver acquires the capability information of the connected printing device 102 so that the user can specify the print functions supported by the connected printing device 102, and generates print function information 203 based on that information.

[0019] The OS generates intermediate data (also referred to as input data) based on the print instruction output from the drawing application 201 and passes it to the print data generation software 202. Note that the data output by the drawing application 201 for printing is data in the Graphic Device Interface format (GDI format data) or data in the XML Paper Specification format (XPS format data). Assume that an IPP Class Driver is used as the print data generation software 202. In that case, if the data output by the drawing application 201 is GDI format data, the OS converts the GDI format data output from the drawing application 201 into XPS format data. Then, the converted XPS format data is passed to the print data generation software 202 as intermediate data. If the data output by the drawing application 201 is XPS format data, the OS passes the XPS format data to the print data generation software 202 as intermediate data. Note that the intermediate data includes drawing data, which is information about the picture formed on the paper, which is the recording medium, and print setting information set by the user. Note that in this embodiment, "paper" is cited as an example of the recording medium for explanation.

[0020] The print data generation software 202 converts the acquired intermediate data into print data interpretable by the printing device 102 and transmits it to the printing device 102. Note that the print data includes drawing data, which is information about the picture formed on the paper, and print setting attribute information (attribute information specifying the print settings) generated based on the print setting information set by the user. The print setting attribute information includes attribute information indicating functions (capabilities of the printing device) that can be specified by the printing device 102 and setting values related to the attribute information. The print data generation software 202 has a function of converting at least a part of the print setting information set by the user into attribute information defined by IPP and using it as the print setting attribute information.

[0021] The printing device 102 performs printing on paper based on the print data sent from the print data generation software 202. At this time, the printing device 102 forms the drawing data included in the print data on the paper by operating according to the print setting attribute information included in the print data. The print setting attribute information includes attribute information and its setting values for specifying print quality (image quality priority, speed priority, etc.), double-sided printing, etc. For example, when the print setting attribute information includes attribute information specifying double-sided printing, the printing device 102 executes double-sided printing.

[0022] Figure 2(b) is a diagram showing the configuration when the extended application 204 is associated with the print data generation software 202 and the printing device 102. Note that for configurations and processes not specifically mentioned below, the configuration is the same as that in Figure 2(a).

[0023] The extended application 210 is software for extending the functions of the print data generation software 202, and it is not pre-included (not bundled) in the OS. Therefore, the user operates the host computer 101 to download the extended application 210 from the server via the Internet and install it. Alternatively, it may be automatically installed based on the connection of the printing device 102 to the host computer 101. Specifically, when the printing device 102 is connected to the host computer 101, the OS acquires device identification information from the printing device 102. The OS may download and install the extended application 210 corresponding to the acquired device identification information from the server via the Internet. That is, the print data generation software 202 and the extended application 210 are held in the host computer 101 as separate files.

[0024] Note that the print data generation software 202 and the extended application 210 may be updated and upgraded, and this update process is also performed at different timings. That is, the timing at which the print data generation software 202 is acquired by the host computer 101 is different from the timing at which the extended application 210 is acquired. Also, the trigger for the host computer 101 to acquire the print data generation software 202 is different from the trigger for the extended application 210 to be acquired. When the extended application 210 is installed, the OS associates the extended application 210 with the print data generation software 202 and the printing device 102.

[0025] The extended application 210 in this embodiment includes a print setting screen extension unit 211, a skip control unit 214, a printing function extension unit 213, a print data editing unit 214, and a notification unit 215. The extended application 210 also includes shared information 216 that can be commonly accessed from each unit. The actual form of the shared information 216 is, for example, a file stored in the external storage device 114 or information stored on the RAM 113. The extended application 210 writes and reads information to and from the shared information 216 by using the API (Application Program Interface) provided by the OS.

[0026] Note that the extended application 210 may end its operation each time the processing of each unit is completed. In that case, the OS will start the extended application 210 each time a request to use each unit is received. Also, another form may be used. For example, when the processing of the print setting screen extension unit 211 is completed, the OS ends the operation of the extended application 210, but even when the processing of the skip control unit 214 is completed, the OS may keep the extended application 210 running. Furthermore, the extended application 210 may cancel the processing during the processing of each unit. When cancelled, the job being processed on the print queue is deleted by the OS.

[0027] When the drawing application 201 receives a print request from the user, it issues a print instruction to the OS. Even in this configuration, similar to the configuration of Fig. 2(a), the drawing application 204 can display a print settings screen. In this configuration, the print settings screen provided by the extension application 210 is displayed. Specifically, the print settings screen provided by the print settings screen extension unit 211 included in the extension application 210 is displayed. Note that whether the print settings screen provided by the print settings screen extension unit 211 is displayed may depend on the user's operation.

[0028] Also, when the drawing application 201 receives a print request from the user and a print instruction is issued to the OS, the OS activates the skip control unit 214. The skip control unit 214 controls whether to skip the processing of the print data generation software 202. The skip control unit 214 does not acquire intermediate data or print setting information. After the skip control process of the skip control unit 214, the OS generates intermediate data based on the print instruction output from the drawing application 201, and the intermediate data is passed to the print data generation software 202. Here, when skip control is not performed by the skip control unit 214, the intermediate data is processed by the print data generation software 202 into print data interpretable by the printing device 102 and passed to the print data editing unit 214. On the other hand, when the skip of the print data generation software 202 is performed, the intermediate data is not processed by the print data generation software 202 and is passed to the print data editing unit 214. Thereby, it becomes possible to process the intermediate data in the print data editing unit 214.

[0029] The print data editing unit 214 edits the intermediate data passed from the print data generation software 202 or the print data processed by the print data generation software 202. Taking "assigned printing" as an example of the editing content, the print data editing unit 214 changes the layout of the intermediate data or the print data based on the print setting information of "assigned printing" received from the OS. Also, the print data editing unit 214 can display a UI screen on the display unit 119 and can display the layout result of the intermediate data or the print data as a preview screen. Note that in the print data editing unit 214, the print data is not transmitted to the printing device 102 while the screen is open, and the transmission process of the print data operates by closing the screen.

[0030] After the print data editing unit 214 edits the print data, the print data is transmitted to the printing device 102 via the OS. The printing device 102 performs printing on the paper surface based on the received print data. Note that when the print data generation software 202 is skipped by the skip control unit 214, the print data editing unit 214 may convert the received intermediate data into print data interpretable by the printing device 102. Also, the functions provided by the OS may be used to convert the intermediate data into print data.

[0031] In addition, the extended application 210 has a printing function extension unit 213. The printing function extension unit 213 can edit the printing function information 203 (PDC) generated by the printing data generation software 202 or the OS. Thereby, the printing function extension unit 213 can add functions provided by the extended application 210, add functions that the printing device 102 supports but the printing data generation software 202 does not support, and so on. Also, the printing function extension unit 213 can add an exclusive relationship between the set values of the printing functions, and so on. The OS activates the printing function extension unit 213 when the extended application 210 is first associated with the printing device 102 and the printing data generation software 202. Further, the OS may activate the printing function extension unit 213 at other timings, for example, when the OS is started. By doing so, in a case where an option device is added to the printing device 102 later and the functions related to printing are extended, the printing function extension unit 213 can detect the extended function and add it to the printing function information 203. Note that the option device is, for example, a two-stage roll unit or a finisher.

[0032] In addition, the extended application 210 has a notification unit 215. The notification unit 215 can display a notification to the user in response to an error occurrence in the printing device 102. For example, when a paperless error occurs in the printing device 102, the printing data software 202 detects it, and the OS uses a notification function called toast notification, which is a function of the OS, to display a message on the display unit 119. When the user presses this toast notification, the notification unit 215 of the extended application 210 is called by the OS, and the UI screen of the notification unit 215 is displayed. On the UI screen of the notification unit 215, for example, a detailed message about the paperless error and a paper filling method can be displayed.

[0033] Note that once the extended application 210 has transmitted print data to the printing device 102, it cannot display a screen such as a guide associated with the print data during the processing of each unit.

[0034] Note that the configuration of the extended application 210 for realizing the present embodiment is not limited to having all of the above-described functions (units), and it may have only a part of the functions or may have other functions. Also, the extended application 210 may sometimes be simply called print software. As described above, it can be said that the extended application 210 includes at least one of the following. · A function of displaying a setting screen or a display control function for controlling the display of the setting screen (print setting screen extension unit 211) · A function of controlling whether to skip the processing of the print data generation software 202 (skip control unit 214) · A function of editing the print data to be transmitted to the printing device 102 (print data editing unit 214) · A function of extending functions that can be specified by the print data generation software 202 (print function extension unit 213) · A function of displaying a screen in response to an error occurrence in the printing device 102 (notification unit 215) FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a PDC generated by the print data generation software 202 by acquiring print function information supported by the printing device 102. The PDC 301 includes information on functions (Features) supported by the printing device 102 and information on setting values (Options) in a certain function. Also, the PDC 301 in FIG. 3 shows a PDC edited by the process in FIG. 4.

[0035] The information 302 indicates that it supports a setting value (Option) of A4 size (ISOA4) as the paper size (PageMediaSize). Also, the information 302 indicates that the paper size has a width (MediaSizeWidth) of 210000 micrometers and a height (MediaSizeHeight) of 297000 micrometers.

[0036] The information 303 indicates a vendor-specific customizable size called UserDefinition1. Also, the information 303 indicates that the width (MediaSizeWidth) and height (MediaSizeHeight) are arbitrary parameters, which are shown as PageMediaSizeMediaSizeWidth1 and PageMediaSizeMediaSizeHeight1 in FIG. 3. For the arbitrary parameters PageMediaSizeMediaSizeWidth1 and PageMediaSizeMediaSizeHeight1, the maximum value, minimum value, and initial value are defined in the information 304. The maximum value is represented by MaxValue, the minimum value is represented by MinValue, and the initial value is represented by DefaultValue. These parameters are ultimately parameters that can be set as print settings (PrintTicket: PT). By specifying the width and height of the paper size as PT, these parameters can be used as any paper size defined by the user (user-defined paper size).

[0037] Similarly, UserDefinition2 and UserDefinition3 are also associated with different arbitrary parameters respectively. Thus, a total of three user-defined paper sizes, namely UserDefinition1, UserDefinition2, and UserDefinition3, can be used as user-defined paper sizes. In this embodiment, an example of using three user-defined paper sizes is shown, but the number can be other values as well.

[0038] Thus, in this embodiment, the print function expansion unit 213 edits the PDC to add a description of the user-defined paper size. At this time, the height and width of each user-defined paper size are defined as custom sizes, and for these custom sizes, the maximum value, minimum value, and initial value supported by the printing device 102 are defined. With the PDC edited in this way, the user can customize the paper within the range of values supported by the printing device 102.

[0039] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process when the print function extension unit 213 edits print function information 203 (PDC203) when the extended application 210 is first associated with the printing apparatus 102 and the print data generation software 202. The process of FIG. 4 is realized, for example, by the CPU 111 reading a program stored in the ROM 112 into the RAM 113 and executing it.

[0040] In S401, the print function extension unit 213 acquires paper size information from the printing apparatus 102. Next, in S402, if there is no paper size information acquired from the printing apparatus 102 in the PDC203, the print function extension unit 213 edits the PDC203 by adding the information. Thereafter, in S403, the print function extension unit 213 adds N pieces of custom size information to the PDC. In the present embodiment, an example when three pieces of custom size information are added will be described. For each piece of custom size information added here, the user can define and use it as an arbitrary paper size. When the drawing application 201 receives an instruction to display a print setting screen by a user operation, the print setting screen provided by the print setting screen extension unit 211 of the extended application 210 is displayed. Note that in S403, the print function extension unit 213 also adds information corresponding to 304 in FIG. 3 to the PDC.

[0041] FIG. 5(a) is a diagram showing an example of a print setting screen provided by the print setting screen extension unit 211 when the display of the print setting screen provided by the drawing application 201 is instructed. The print setting screen 501 includes a combo box for the paper size 502 and a user-defined paper setting button 503 for displaying a screen for editing the user-defined paper size. FIG. 5(b) shows a state when the combo box for the paper size 502 is selected, and each setting value 504 of the paper size can be selected by the user. Each setting value 504 of the paper size displays the paper size defined in the PDC (PDC301) edited by the process of FIG. 4. Therefore, the three custom sizes (UserDefinition1 to 3) added in S403 are displayed as User Definition 1, User Definition 2, and User Definition 3.

[0042] FIG. 6(a) is a diagram showing an example of a user-defined paper setting screen displayed when the user-defined paper setting button 503 of the print setting screen 501 is pressed. The user-defined paper setting screen 601 lists the names and lengths of the currently registered custom sizes in the paper list 602, and the user can select a user-defined paper size to change the size. The paper list 602 shows a state where User Definition 1 is selected. The user-defined paper setting screen 601 includes a display unit 603, and the units of the sizes displayed in the paper list 602 and the sizes displayed in the paper size setting 604 can be changed to millimeters or inches. The paper size setting 604 displays the user-defined paper size selected in the paper list 602, and the user can change the value.

[0043] Figure 6(b) shows an example of the display when the size of User Definition 1 is changed to a width of 500 millimeters and a height of 600 millimeters. The user selects the user-defined paper size for which the size is to be changed from the paper list 602. Then, the user inputs the width and height to be changed at the paper size 604 and presses the registration button 605. Then, as shown in Figure 6(b), the width and height of User Definition 1 are changed. At this time, the parameters associated as the width and height of User Definition 1 in the print settings (PT) are updated, and the management data stored as the initial value at startup is also updated.

[0044] Figure 7 shows an example of the display when the display unit 603 in Figure 6(b) is switched to inches. When the display unit 603 is changed to inches, the sizes of the paper list 602 and the paper size 604 are displayed in inches. Note that when the user-defined paper setting screen 601 is closed by pressing the OK button 606, the display unit 603 is retained and is displayed in the same display unit the next time the user-defined paper setting screen 601 is opened. When the user-defined paper setting screen 601 is closed by pressing the cancel button 607, the display unit may not be retained.

[0045] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of print settings (PT) when User Definition 1 is set with paper size 502 in the user-defined paper size setting of FIG. 6(b). In PT701, as information 702, User Definition 1 is set as the paper size (PageMediaSize). As information 703, the width (PageMediaSizeMediaSizeWidth1) is set to 500000 micrometers and the height (PageMediaSizeMediaSizeHeight1) is set to 600000 micrometers. Also, the width and height of User Definition 2 are set as information 704, and the width and height of User Definition 3 are set as information 705. Since the print settings (PT) in FIG. 8 are temporary data when printing, the data will disappear when the drawing application 201 that has the print settings open is terminated. Therefore, the set user-defined paper size is retained and left as non-volatile data so that the same user-defined paper size can be used when the print settings are launched next time.

[0046] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of management data that stores the values of user-defined paper sizes when the print settings are launched next time, and the Option name, width, and height corresponding to each user-defined paper size are stored. This management data is stored in the shared information 216 as non-volatile data.

[0047] When the drawing application 201 receives an instruction to display the print settings screen by a user operation, the print settings screen provided by the print settings screen extension unit 211 of the extension application 210 is displayed.

[0048] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the process of displaying the print settings screen provided by the print settings screen extension unit 211. The process in FIG. 10 is realized, for example, by the CPU 111 reading out the program stored in the ROM 112 and executing it in the RAM 113.

[0049] In S901, the print setting screen extension unit 211 acquires print settings (PT) from the OS. Next, in S902, the print setting screen extension unit 211 determines whether there is management data for user-defined paper sizes in the shared information 216. If it is determined that there is management data for user-defined paper sizes, the process proceeds to S903. If it is determined that there is no management data for user-defined paper sizes, the process proceeds to S904. For example, at the first startup, it is determined that there is no management data for user-defined paper sizes.

[0050] In S904, the print setting screen extension unit 211 acquires the default values defined in the information 304 of the PDC 301, and based on the default values, creates management data for user-defined paper sizes in the shared information 216. On the other hand, in S903, the print setting screen extension unit 211 acquires each user-defined paper size from the management data. The default values are the values defined in 304 of FIG. 3.

[0051] In S905, the print setting screen extension unit 211 reflects the width and height of the user-defined paper sizes acquired in S903 or S904 in the print settings (PT). In S906, the print setting screen extension unit 211 registers each user-defined paper size as an item in the combo box of the paper 502 on the print setting screen 501, and displays the print setting screen. When registering the user-defined paper size as an option for the paper size, it may be registered with a unique name. For example, in this embodiment, as shown in the paper size option 504, it is registered as User Defined 1, User Defined 2, and User Defined 3.

[0052] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the processing of the print setting screen extension unit 211 executed when the user-defined paper setting button 503 is pressed on the print setting screen 501. The processing in FIG. 11 is realized, for example, by the CPU 111 reading the program stored in the ROM 112 into the RAM 113 and executing it.

[0053] When the user-defined paper setting button 503 is pressed, in S1001, the print setting screen extension unit 211 displays the user-defined paper setting screen 601. In S1002, the print setting screen extension unit 211 displays a list of the names, widths, and heights of each user-defined paper size acquired in S903 or S904. The name displayed here is the same as the name registered in the paper size option 504. In S1003, the print setting screen extension unit 211 sets the user-defined paper size at the top of the setting list 602 as selected, and displays the width and height of the selected user-defined paper size in the paper size setting 604.

[0054] Figure 12 is a flowchart showing the processing of the print setting screen extension unit 211 executed when the registration button 605 is pressed on the user-defined paper setting screen 601. The processing in Figure 12 is realized, for example, by the CPU 111 reading out the program stored in the ROM 112 and executing it in the RAM 113.

[0055] When the registration button 605 is pressed on the user-defined paper setting screen 601, in S1101, the print setting screen extension unit 211 updates the management data of the user-defined paper size selected in the paper list 602 with the width and height input in the paper size setting 604. In S1102, the print setting screen extension unit 211 updates the print setting (PT) of the user-defined paper size selected in the paper list 602 with the width and height input in the paper size setting 604. In S1103, the print setting screen extension unit 211 updates the width and height of the user-defined paper size selected in the paper size list 602 with the width and height input in the paper size setting 604.

[0056] As described above, in the printing system according to the present embodiment, the user can register a plurality of arbitrary paper sizes by the extension application, and the user can set and print any registered paper size.

[0057] [Second Embodiment] The following describes the second embodiment, which is different from the first embodiment. In this embodiment, a configuration will be described that enables display (registration), non-display (deletion), and display with an arbitrary name for user-defined paper sizes.

[0058] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the processing executed when the print setting screen is displayed by the print setting screen extension unit 211 in this embodiment. The processing in FIG. 13 is realized, for example, by the CPU 111 reading the program stored in the ROM 112 into the RAM 113 and executing it.

[0059] S1301 to S1303 and S1305 are the same as the descriptions in S901 to S903 and S905 in FIG. 10, so their descriptions are omitted.

[0060] When it is determined in S1302 that there is no management data, in S1304, the print setting screen extension unit 211 creates management data with each user-defined paper size obtained from the PDC 301 as unregistered.

[0061] An example of the management data created in S1304 is shown in FIG. 14. Different from FIG. 9, in this embodiment, as management data, the display name and whether it is registered or not are further managed. When creating management data as unregistered, as shown in FIG. 14, the item of "registered" is managed as "FALSE" indicating unregistered. Thereby, the user-defined paper sizes that are registered and those that are not registered are managed in an identifiable manner.

[0062] In S1306, the print setting screen extension unit 211 registers only the registered user-defined paper sizes as data in the paper size combo box. That is, the user-defined paper sizes managed as unregistered are not registered as data in the paper size combo box. Thereby, when the user has not registered a user-defined paper size, the user-defined paper size is not displayed in each set value 504 of the paper size.

[0063] FIG. 15(a) is a diagram showing an example of a user-defined paper setting screen that is displayed when the user-defined paper setting button 503 on the print setting screen 501 is pressed. The user-defined paper setting screen 1401 in the present embodiment includes a paper list 1402 that displays the registered user-defined paper sizes. FIG. 15(a) shows an example when all the user-defined paper sizes are not registered, and nothing is displayed in the paper list 1402.

[0064] The user-defined paper size name column 1403 is an input field for registering a user-defined paper size with the entered name. The paper size 1404 can input the width and height of the user-defined paper size to be registered, and the support range obtained from the printing apparatus 102 is displayed. When the register button 1406 is pressed by the user, the user-defined paper size is registered with the name entered in the user-defined paper size name column 1403 and the width and height entered in the paper size 1404.

[0065] FIG. 15(b) shows the user-defined paper setting screen after the register button 1406 is pressed with "200x300" entered in the user-defined paper size name column 1403, "200.0" entered in the width of the paper size 1404, and "300.0" entered in the height. The registered user-defined paper size is displayed in the paper list 1402. At that time, the set name and paper size are displayed.

[0066] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of management data after registration by the register button 1406. As shown in FIG. 16, for the Option of UserDefinition1, the item of "registered" is "TRUE", and the name, width, and height entered on the user-defined paper setting screen 1401 are saved. Here, when the user registers the second user-defined paper size, it is registered as the Option of UserDefinition2.

[0067] The delete button 1405 can delete the user-defined paper size selected in the paper list 1402. On the user-defined paper settings screen in Fig. 15(b), the user selects the user-defined paper size of "200x300" in the paper list 1402 and presses the delete button 1405. Then, the "TRUE" in the "registered" item of the management data is changed to "FALSE" indicating unregistered. As a result, it will no longer be displayed in the paper list 1402.

[0068] In this way, with the configuration of only displaying the registered user-defined paper sizes, it becomes easier for the user to recognize the user-defined paper sizes they have registered.

[0069] In Fig. 15, an example of only displaying the registered user-defined paper sizes in the paper list display of the user-defined paper settings screen 1401 is shown. However, as shown in the paper list 1601 in Fig. 17(a), a "registration" column can be provided and all areas of the user-defined paper sizes in the management data can be displayed. Fig. 17(a) shows a state where all user-defined paper sizes in the management data are unregistered, and there is no mark in the registration column. Fig. 17(b) is an example where the first user-defined paper size is registered with an arbitrary name and size. Therefore, in the paper list 1601, the registration column of the first user-defined paper size is marked, and the name and size at the time of registration are displayed.

[0070] Fig. 18 is a diagram showing the set value of the paper size on the print settings screen 501 after registering the user-defined paper size of "200x300". The set value 1701 of the paper size only shows the user-defined paper size of "200x300" registered as the user-defined paper size, and other unregistered user-defined paper sizes are not displayed.

[0071] Figures 19(a) and 19(b) are flowcharts showing the processing of the print setting screen expansion unit 211 executed when the user-defined paper setting button 503 is pressed on the print setting screen 501 of the present embodiment. Figure 19(a) is a flowchart showing the display processing of the user-defined paper setting screen of FIG. 15. The processing in FIG. 19(a) is realized, for example, by the CPU 111 reading out the program stored in the ROM 112 and executing it in the RAM 113.

[0072] When the user-defined paper setting button 503 is pressed, in S1801, the print setting screen expansion unit 211 displays only the registered user-defined paper sizes in the paper list 1402 from the information obtained in S1303 or S1304. In S1802, the print setting screen expansion unit 211 displays the support ranges of width and height in the paper size 1404 from the support paper sizes obtained from the printing device 102. As the support ranges, the minimum and maximum values of width and height are displayed. The minimum and maximum values of this width and height can be displayed by referring to the information in 304 of FIG. 3.

[0073] Figure 19(b) is a flowchart showing the display processing of the user-defined paper setting screen of FIG. 17. The processing in FIG. 19(b) is realized, for example, by the CPU 111 reading out the program stored in the ROM 112 and executing it in the RAM 113.

[0074] In S1811, the print setting screen expansion unit 211 displays all the user-defined paper sizes in the setting list 1601. In S1812, the print setting screen expansion unit 211 displays a registered mark on the registered user-defined paper sizes on the setting list 1601 from the information obtained in S1303 or S1304. In S1813, the print setting screen expansion unit 211 displays the support ranges of width and height in the paper size 1404 from the support paper sizes obtained from the printing device 102. As the support ranges, the minimum and maximum values of width and height are displayed.

[0075] Figure 20 is a flowchart showing the processing of the print setting screen extension unit 211 that is executed when the registration button 1406 on the user-defined paper setting screen 1401 is pressed. The processing in Figure 20 is realized, for example, by the CPU 111 reading a program stored in the ROM 112 into the RAM 113 and executing it.

[0076] In S1901, the print setting screen extension unit 211 refers to the management data and determines whether there is unregistered data. If it is determined that there is no unregistered data, in S1902, the warning screen in Figure 21(a) is displayed. The warning screen in Figure 21(a) warns that the number of user-defined paper sizes that can already be registered has been reached. When the user presses the OK button in Figure 21(a), the print setting screen extension unit 211 ends the processing in Figure 20 and returns to the display of the user-defined paper setting screen 1401. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is unregistered data, the process proceeds to S1903.

[0077] In S1903, the print setting screen extension unit 211 determines whether the user-defined paper size name field 1403 on the user-defined paper setting screen 1401 is not empty. If it is determined that the user-defined paper size name field 1403 is empty, in S1904, the print setting screen extension unit 211 displays the warning screen in Figure 21(b). The warning screen in Figure 21(b) warns that the name, which is information necessary for the management of the management data, has not been input. When the user presses the OK button in Figure 21(b), the print setting screen extension unit 211 ends the processing in Figure 20 and returns to the display of the user-defined paper setting screen 1401. On the other hand, if it is determined that the user-defined paper size name field 1403 is not empty, the process proceeds to S1905.

[0078] In S1905, the print setting screen extension unit 211 determines whether the width and height entered in the paper size 1404 of the user-defined paper setting screen 1401 are within the range of the support sizes of the printing device 102 acquired in S1802. If it is determined that they are not within the range of the support sizes, that is, outside the range, in S1906, the print setting screen extension unit 211 displays the warning screen in Fig. 21(c). The warning screen in Fig. 21(c) warns that the value is outside the support range of the printing device 102. When the user presses the OK button in Fig. 21(c), the print setting screen extension unit 211 ends the process in Fig. 20 and returns to the display of the user-defined paper setting screen 1401. On the other hand, if it is determined that they are within the support range, the process proceeds to S1907.

[0079] In S1907, the print setting screen extension unit 211 updates the management data. Specifically, for example, when updating the management data in Fig. 14, set the "TRUE" indicating registered for the unregistered Option at the beginning of the management data as shown in Fig. 16. Then, use the name entered in the user-defined paper size name column 1403 of the user-defined paper setting screen 1401 as the display name, and save the width and height of the paper size 1404 in the user-defined paper setting screen 1401 as the width and height of the management data. If the units of the width and height of the paper size 1404 in the user-defined paper setting screen 1401 are different from the units of the width and height of the management data, convert the units before saving.

[0080] In S1908, the print setting screen extension unit 211 updates the custom size parameters of the print setting (PT) corresponding to the Option of the registered user-defined paper size with the width and height of the paper size 1404 input on the user-defined paper setting screen 1401. In this embodiment, as an example, since the Option of UserDefinition1 is updated, PageMediaSizeMediaSizeWidth1 and PageMediaSizeMediaSizeHeight1 are updated. Note that when the units of the width and height of the paper size 1404 input on the user-defined paper setting screen 1401 and the custom size parameters of the print setting (PT) are different, the units are converted and set.

[0081] In S1909, the print setting screen extension unit 211 displays the user-defined paper sizes registered in the paper list 1402 of the user-defined paper setting screen 1401 with the registered names and sizes. Note that in this process, the case where the paper list on the user-defined paper setting screen 1401 only displays the registered user-defined paper sizes like the paper list 1402 is described. However, all user-defined paper sizes may be displayed like the paper list 1601, and the display of the user-defined paper sizes marked with a mark in the registration column may be updated.

[0082] FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the processing of the print setting screen extension unit 211 executed when the user presses the delete button 1405 in a state where the user-defined paper size to be deleted is selected in the paper list 1402 of the user-defined paper setting screen 1401. The processing in FIG. 22 is realized, for example, by the CPU 111 reading out the program stored in the ROM 112 into the RAM 113 and executing it.

[0083] When the delete button 1405 on the user-defined paper setting screen 1401 is pressed, in S2101, the print setting screen extension unit 211 changes the management data of the Option corresponding to the user-defined paper size selected in the paper list 1402 or the paper list 1601 to "unregistered". Specifically, for example, when the delete button 1405 is pressed with the user-defined paper size of "200x300" in Fig. 15(b) selected, the "TRUE" in the "registered" item of UserDefinition1 in Fig. 16 is changed to "FALSE" indicating unregistered.

[0084] In S2102, the print setting screen extension unit 211 makes the user-defined paper size selected in the paper list 1402 invisible in the paper list 1402. In this process, the paper list on the user-defined paper setting screen 1401 is described as a case where only the registered user-defined paper sizes are displayed like the paper list 1402. However, it may be possible to display all user-defined paper sizes like the paper list 1601 and update the display of the user-defined paper sizes marked with a registration mark in the registration column.

[0085] Fig. 23 is a flowchart showing the processing of the print setting screen extension unit 211 executed when the user presses the OK button 606 or the cancel button 607 on the user-defined paper setting screen 1401. The processing in Fig. 23 is realized, for example, by the CPU 111 reading the program stored in the ROM 112 into the RAM 113 and executing it.

[0086] When the OK button 606 or the cancel button 607 on the user-defined paper setting screen 1401 is pressed, in S2201, the print setting screen extension unit 211 closes the user-defined paper setting screen 1401. In S2202, the print setting screen extension unit 211 displays only the registered user-defined paper sizes in the paper size selection options 1701.

[0087] As described above, according to this embodiment, the extended application can control the display of paper sizes based on the registration and deletion of arbitrary paper sizes by the user. As a result, the user-defined paper sizes registered by the user can be displayed in an identifiable manner, and the usability can be further improved.

[0088] [Third Embodiment] Hereinafter, the third embodiment will be described with respect to the points different from the first and second embodiments. In this embodiment, a configuration will be described in which a paper size database (FormDB) provided by the OS (Windows) is used as management data for user-defined paper sizes.

[0089] FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing a process executed when the printing function extension unit 213 edits the printing function information 203 when the extended application 210 is first associated with the printing device 102 and the printing data generation software 202. The process of FIG. 24 is realized, for example, by the CPU 111 reading a program stored in the ROM 112 into the RAM 113 and executing it.

[0090] S2301 to S2303 are the same as the descriptions in S401 to S403 of FIG. 4, so their descriptions are omitted.

[0091] In S2304, the printing function extension unit 213 acquires information on custom sizes within the support paper size range acquired in S2301 from the FormDB.

[0092] FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of the FormDB. In the FormDB, the margins on the top, bottom, left, and right are also managed, and a custom size (i.e., a user-defined paper size) that satisfies the conditions is set as a size whose width and height are within the support range of the printing device 102 and whose support margins are of the same size. Note that since the standard sizes supported by the printing device 102 acquired in S2301 may also be registered in the FormDB, the same sizes as the standard sizes may be excluded from the determination target of the custom sizes that satisfy the conditions.

[0093] For example, assume that the printing device 102 connected in this embodiment supports paper sizes with a margin of 50 millimeters, a width of 100 to 610 millimeters, and a height of 200 to 4000 millimeters. In that case, on the FormDB of FIG. 25, from Size1 to Size5 are determined to meet the conditions. Since Size6 is outside the margin support, it is not determined to meet the conditions. Also, since Size7 has a width outside the supported range, it is not determined to meet the conditions. Further, since Size8 has a height outside the supported range, it is not determined to meet the conditions. Also, since Size9 is the same as the standard size provided by the printing device 102, it is not determined to meet the conditions.

[0094] In S2305, the printing function expansion unit 213 determines whether the number of custom sizes determined to meet the conditions in the FormDB is greater than the number of custom sizes added in S2303. If it is determined to be greater, in S2306, the printing function expansion unit 213 adds the custom size information of the PDC301 so that the number is the same as the number of supported sizes in the FormDB. Specifically, for example, when 3 custom sizes are added in S2303 by the printing setting screen expansion unit 211, in the FormDB of FIG. 25, 5 custom sizes are applicable. Therefore, the areas of the remaining 2 custom sizes are added to the PDC301. The FormDB is an area that can be commonly used for any driver and is variable. Therefore, in this embodiment, by adjusting the number of custom sizes added to the PDC203, it is made to follow the number of custom sizes that meet the conditions in the FormDB.

[0095] FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing the processing of the printing setting screen expansion unit 211 when the printing setting screen is displayed by the printing setting screen expansion unit 211 in this embodiment. The processing in FIG. 26 is realized, for example, when the CPU 111 reads out the program stored in the ROM 112 and executes it in the RAM 113.

[0096] S2501 is the same as the description of S901 in FIG. 10, so the description thereof is omitted.

[0097] In S2502, the print setting screen extension unit 211 acquires information on the user-defined paper size from FormDB. Here, as described above, which custom size is determined as the user-defined paper size on FormDB.

[0098] In S2503, the print setting screen extension unit 211 registers the width and height of each user-defined size acquired in S2501 in the print setting (PT). In S2504, the print setting screen extension unit 211 registers, as data in the paper size combo box, the name of the user-defined paper size acquired from FormDB.

[0099] FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing the processing of the print setting screen extension unit 211 executed when the delete button 1405 is pressed in a state where the user-defined paper size to be deleted in the paper list 1402 is selected in the present embodiment. The processing in FIG. 27 is realized, for example, by the CPU 111 reading out the program stored in the ROM 112 into the RAM 113 and executing it.

[0100] When the delete button 1405 on the user-defined paper setting screen 1401 is pressed, in S2601, the print setting screen extension unit 211 deletes the data in FormDB corresponding to the user-defined paper size selected in the paper list 1402 or the paper list 1601.

[0101] As described above, according to the present embodiment, the user can register a plurality of arbitrary paper sizes using FormDB by the extension application, and the user can set and print any registered paper size. Also, by using FormDB, the same user-defined paper size can be used in a shared environment using the same OS.

[0102] The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

[0103] The disclosure of this embodiment includes the following information processing apparatus, method, and program. (Item 1) A first acquisition means for acquiring sheet information supported by the printing apparatus from the printing apparatus, A second acquisition means for acquiring printing function information for making the functions of the printing apparatus specifiable by a user, An editing means for editing the printing function information acquired by the second acquisition means based on the customizable sheet information included in the sheet information acquired by the first acquisition means, An information processing apparatus characterized by comprising: (Item 2) The information processing apparatus according to Item 1, wherein the editing by the editing means is an addition of the customizable sheet information to the printing function information. (Item 3) The information processing apparatus according to Item 1 or 2, further comprising a display control means for causing a display unit to display a printing setting screen based on the printing function information edited by the editing means. (Item 4) The information processing apparatus according to Item 3, wherein the customizable sheet information is displayed so as to be selectable by a user on the printing setting screen. (Item 5) The information processing apparatus according to Item 3 or 4, further comprising a storage means for storing the customizable sheet information. (Item 6) The information processing apparatus according to Item 5, wherein the storage means further stores identification information for identifying the customizable sheet information set by a user on the printing setting screen. (Item 7) The information processing apparatus according to item 6, wherein the display control means causes the display unit to display the customizable sheet information set by the user. (Item 8) The information processing apparatus according to item 7, wherein the display control means causes the display unit to display the customizable sheet information for which no setting has been made by the user. (Item 9) The information processing apparatus according to item 8, wherein the display control means causes the display unit to display the customizable sheet information set by the user and the customizable sheet information for which no setting has been made by the user in a distinguishable manner. (Item 10) The information processing apparatus according to item 7, wherein the display control means does not cause the display unit to display the customizable sheet information for which no setting has been made by the user. (Item 11) The information processing apparatus according to any one of items 6 to 10, wherein the setting by the user includes at least one of a name and a size. (Item 12) The information processing apparatus according to any one of items 5 to 11, further comprising deletion means for deleting the customizable sheet information from the storage means when an instruction to delete the customizable sheet information is received on the print setting screen. (Item 13) The information processing apparatus according to any one of items 5 to 11, further comprising update means for updating the customizable sheet information stored in the storage means corresponding to the deletion instruction when an instruction to delete the customizable sheet information is received on the print setting screen. (Item 14) The information processing apparatus according to any one of items 5 to 13, wherein the storage means stores the customizable sheet information as non-volatile data. (Item 15) The information processing apparatus according to any one of items 5 to 13, wherein the storage means is a database of an operating system. (Item 16) The information processing apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 15, wherein the customizable sheet information included in the sheet information acquired by the first acquisition means includes at least one of a maximum value and a minimum value as a customizable size. (Item 17) The information processing apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 16, wherein the first acquisition means, the second acquisition means, and the editing means are included in an application program that extends the functions of a printer driver. (Item 18) The information processing apparatus according to item 17, wherein the printer driver is a class driver. (Item 19) A method executed in an information processing apparatus, a first acquisition step of acquiring, from a printing apparatus, sheet information supported by the printing apparatus; a second acquisition step of acquiring printing function information for making the functions of the printing apparatus specifiable by a user; an editing step of editing the printing function information acquired in the second acquisition step based on customizable sheet information included in the sheet information acquired in the first acquisition step; characterized by comprising the above. (Item 20) A program for causing a computer to function as each means of the information processing apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 18.

[0104] The invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, claims are attached to disclose the scope of the invention.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0105] 101 Information processing device: 111 CPU: 112 ROM: 113 RAM

Claims

A program for an application that collaborates with an IPP (Internet Print Protocol) class driver, comprising: first acquisition means for acquiring sheet information supported by the printing apparatus from the printing apparatus; second acquisition means for acquiring printing function information for enabling a user to specify functions of the printing apparatus; editing means for editing the printing function information acquired by the second acquisition means based on custom information included in the sheet information acquired by the first acquisition means and used by the user to set a sheet size; reception means for receiving a user-defined sheet size from the user based on the custom information; causing a computer of an information processing apparatus to function as; wherein the custom information is a parameter in which at least a maximum value and a minimum value of sheet sizes supported by the printing apparatus are defined, and the reception means receives, from the user, a value within the range of the maximum value and the minimum value as the user-defined sheet size; A program characterized by the above. The program according to claim 1, wherein the editing by the editing means is an addition of the custom information to the printing function information. The program according to claim 1, further causing the computer of the information processing apparatus to function as display control means for displaying a print setting screen on a display unit based on the printing function information edited by the editing means. The program according to claim 3, wherein the custom information is displayed selectably by the user on the print setting screen. The program according to claim 3, further causing the computer of the information processing apparatus to function as storage control means for storing the user-defined sheet size received from the user by the reception means in a storage means. The program according to claim 5, wherein the storage control means further stores, in the storage means, identification information for identifying the user-defined sheet size received from the user by the reception means. The reception means is a sheet setting screen displayed based on the print setting screen, The program according to claim 6, wherein the user-defined sheet size received from the user by the reception means is displayed on the sheet setting screen. **Claim 8**: The program according to claim 7, wherein on the sheet setting screen, custom information for which the user-defined sheet size has not been received from the user by the receiving means is displayed on the print setting screen. **Claim 9**: The program according to claim 8, wherein on the sheet setting screen, the user-defined sheet size received from the user by the receiving means and the custom information for which the user-defined sheet size has not been received from the user by the receiving means are displayed on the print setting screen in a distinguishable manner. **Claim 10**: The program according to claim 7, wherein on the sheet setting screen, the custom information for which the user-defined sheet size has not been received from the user by the receiving means is not displayed on the print setting screen. **Claim 11**: The program according to claim 1, wherein the receiving means further receives a name. **Claim 12**: The program according to claim 7, wherein when the storage control means receives an instruction to delete the user-defined sheet size on the sheet setting screen, the storage control means deletes the user-defined sheet size from the storage means. **Claim 13**: The program according to claim 7, wherein when the storage control means receives an instruction to delete the user-defined sheet size on the sheet setting screen, the storage control means changes the management data of the user-defined sheet size corresponding to the deletion instruction stored in the storage means. **Claim 14**: The program according to claim 5, wherein the storage control means stores the user-defined sheet size in the storage means as non-volatile data. **Claim 15**: The program according to claim 5, wherein the storage control means stores the user-defined sheet size in the storage means as a database of the operating system. **Claim 16**: The program according to claim 1, wherein the custom information is the parameter for which an initial value is further defined. **Claim 17**: A method executed in an information processing apparatus having an IPP (Internet Print Protocol) class driver, comprising: In an application that cooperates with the IPP class driver, a first acquisition step of acquiring sheet information supported by the printing device from the printing device; a second acquisition step of acquiring printing function information for enabling a user to specify functions of the printing device in the application; an editing step of editing the printing function information acquired in the second acquisition step in the application based on custom information included in the sheet information acquired in the first acquisition step and used by the user to set a sheet size; a reception step of receiving a user-defined sheet size from the user based on the custom information in the application; characterized by comprising: the custom information is a parameter in which at least a maximum value and a minimum value of sheet sizes supported by the printing device are defined, and in the reception step, a value within the range of the maximum value and the minimum value is received from the user as the user-defined sheet size; A method characterized by the above. **Claim 18**: An information processing apparatus having an IPP (Internet Print Protocol) class driver, in an application that cooperates with the IPP class driver, a first acquisition means for acquiring sheet information supported by the printing device from the printing device; a second acquisition means for acquiring printing function information for enabling a user to specify functions of the printing device in the application; an editing means for editing the printing function information acquired by the second acquisition means in the application based on custom information included in the sheet information acquired by the first acquisition means and used by the user to set a sheet size; a reception means for receiving a user-defined sheet size from the user based on the custom information in the application; characterized by comprising: the custom information is a parameter in which at least a maximum value and a minimum value of sheet sizes supported by the printing device are defined, and the reception means receives a value within the range of the maximum value and the minimum value from the user as the user-defined sheet size; An information processing apparatus characterized by the above.

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