Support program

Abstract

To display information on whether print settings can be performed in an information processing apparatus having built therein an OS-standard general purpose printing program.SOLUTION: An auxiliary program 42 is built in a PC 1, the auxiliary program designed for a printer 2 connected to the PC 1 and supporting a general purpose printing program 41 built in advance in an OS 21 of the PC 1. The general purpose printing program 41 can deal with data for displaying a print setting screen D2 on a display 13a of the PC 1. In the PC 1, an information application 43 uses the general purpose printing program 41 to display the print setting screen D2 on the display 13a, and the auxiliary program 42 determines the suitability of the combination of print settings changed on the print setting screen D2, and when determining that the changed print settings are an unsuitable combination, generates notification data indicating that the print settings are unsuitable and causes the generated notification data to be displayed on the print setting screen D2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The technical field disclosed in this specification relates to a support program for supporting the control of a printer.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a technique for displaying information regarding the availability of print settings using a printer driver has been known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a printer driver having a prohibition function for restricting the setting of a specific function, and a configuration for displaying a screen showing which setting should be selected to enable printing when the prohibition function is operated.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In recent years, a technique for controlling a printer using a general-purpose printing program incorporated as a standard in an operating system (OS) without using a printer driver has been put into practical use. In this technique, when the OS detects a printer, it associates the printer with the general-purpose printing program standard for the OS, and thereafter, when a print instruction for the printer is received, printing can be performed by the general-purpose printing program standard for the OS without using a printer driver.

[0005] However, in an information processing apparatus using a general-purpose printing program standard for the OS, a configuration for displaying information regarding the availability of print settings before printing, such as a printer driver, is not known. Therefore, there is room for improvement in the display technology in an environment using a general-purpose printing program standard for the OS.

[0006] The technology disclosed in this specification is made for the purpose of displaying information regarding the availability of print settings in an information processing apparatus in which a general-purpose print program compliant with an OS standard is incorporated.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0007] A support program made for the purpose of solving the above-described problem is executable by a computer of the information processing apparatus, corresponds to a printer connected to the information processing apparatus, and is a support program that supports a general-purpose print program pre-incorporated in the operating system of the information processing apparatus. The general-purpose print program is capable of handling data for causing a display of the information processing apparatus to display a print settings screen. The computer is caused to execute an ability acquisition process for acquiring ability information indicating the capabilities of the printer. Further, when a process is requested from the general-purpose print program due to a change in print settings on the print settings screen, the computer is caused to execute a setting acquisition process for acquiring the changed print settings, and a determination process for determining the appropriateness of the print settings acquired in the setting acquisition process based on the ability information acquired in the ability acquisition process. Further, when it is determined in the determination process that the print settings are inappropriate, the computer is caused to execute a first generation process for generating first notification data indicating that the print settings are inappropriate, pass the first notification data generated in the first generation process to the general-purpose print program, and execute a first display process for causing the first notification data to be displayed on the print settings screen displayed on the display of the information processing apparatus.

[0008] The support program configured as described above acquires the printer's capability information and, when the print settings are changed, generates notification data indicating that the changed print settings are inappropriate if the changed print settings are determined to be inappropriate based on the capability information. The support program passes the generated notification data to a general-purpose print program to be displayed on the print settings screen. The general-purpose print program is a print program different from the printer driver corresponding to each printer model. As a result, in an information processing apparatus using the general-purpose print program of the OS, it becomes possible to notify that the print settings are inappropriate among the print settings screens displayed using the general-purpose print program. As a result, since the user knows information regarding whether the print settings can be set, the possibility of avoiding an unintended print result is increased.

[0009] An apparatus, a control method, and a computer-readable storage medium storing the support program for realizing the functions of the support program described above are also novel and useful.

Effects of the Invention

[0010] According to the technology disclosed in this specification, a technology for displaying information regarding whether print settings can be set is realized in an information processing apparatus in which a general-purpose print program compliant with the OS standard is incorporated.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Hereinafter, a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as "PC") that uses the support program of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. This specification discloses a support program executed on a PC.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, the PC1 of this embodiment includes a controller 10 including a CPU 11 and a memory 12. The PC1 is an example of an information processing apparatus. The CPU 11 is an example of a computer. Further, the PC1 includes a user interface (hereinafter referred to as "user IF") 13 and a communication interface (hereinafter referred to as "communication IF") 14, and these are electrically connected to the controller 10. Note that the controller 10 in FIG. 1 is a general term for the hardware and software used for the control of the PC1, and does not necessarily represent a single piece of hardware actually existing in the PC1.

[0014] The CPU 11 executes various processes according to the program read from the memory 12 and based on the user's operations. The memory 12 stores various programs and various data. The memory 12 is also used as a work area when various processes are executed. The buffer included in the CPU 11 is also an example of a memory. Note that an example of the memory 12 is not limited to the ROM, RAM, HDD, etc. built into the PC 1, but may be a storage medium that can be read from and written to by the CPU 11, such as a recording medium like a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM.

[0015] The user IF 13 includes hardware for displaying a screen for notifying the user of information and hardware for receiving operations by the user. Note that the user IF 13 may be a combination of a display 13a capable of displaying information and a mouse, keyboard, etc. having an input reception function, or may be a touch panel having the display 13a and an input reception function. The user IF 13 includes an example of a display.

[0016] The communication IF 14 includes hardware for communicating with an external device such as a printer 2. The communication standard of the communication IF 14 is Ethernet (registered trademark), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), USB, etc. The PC 1 may be connectable to the Internet via the communication IF 14. Also, the PC 1 may be provided with a plurality of communication IF 14 corresponding to a plurality of communication standards.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, the memory 12 of the PC 1 stores an operating system (hereinafter referred to as "OS") 21 including a general-purpose printing program 41, an auxiliary program 42, and various application programs (hereinafter referred to as "apps"). The OS 21 is, for example, Windows (registered trademark), macOS (registered trademark), Linux (registered trademark), iOS (registered trademark), Android (registered trademark). The auxiliary program 42 is an example of a support program.

[0018] In the PC1 of this embodiment, various applications are incorporated, for example, an information application 43. The information application 43 is, for example, a map application, a calendar application, a browser, and has a function of displaying various information on the display 13a in response to a user's request. The information application 43 is an example of an application program. Note that the information application 43 itself may not have a function of printing the displayed information.

[0019] The general-purpose printing program 41 is an OS standard program provided together with the OS 21, and has a function of printing the information displayed on the display 13a by the information application 43 or the like on the printer 2 or the like. The general-purpose printing program 41 of this embodiment is a program including a function of generating intermediate image data based on the image data to be printed. The general-purpose printing program 41 supports functions that can be commonly used by a plurality of types of printers models provided by various printer vendors. Different from the printer driver specific to each type of printer, the general-purpose printing program 41 does not correspond to all the functions specific to each type of printer, and the supported functions are limited to general-purpose ones.

[0020] The auxiliary program 42 is a program or a group of programs that execute processing based on an instruction from the OS 21 following the processing of the general-purpose printing program 41, and is a program that supports the control of the target hardware. The auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment corresponds to the model of the printer 2 connected to the PC1, and is started from the general-purpose printing program 41, for example, when an instruction to execute printing on the printer 2 using the general-purpose printing program 41 is received. The auxiliary program 42 is, for example, what is called a print support application (abbreviation, PSA) or a hardware support application (abbreviation, HSA).

[0021] Note that the auxiliary program 42 may be a combination of a plurality of programs each of which receives an execution instruction, or may be a single program capable of executing different processes according to instructions. Further, the auxiliary program 42 may be a program prepared for each type of printer by the printer vendor. For example, an auxiliary program for an inkjet printer and an auxiliary program for a laser printer may be prepared respectively. Not limited to each type of printer, there may be an auxiliary program prepared for each printer model or each series of printer models.

[0022] When a new printer is connected to the PC1, for example, the OS 21 of the PC1 can download an appropriate auxiliary program from a server or the like and incorporate it into the PC1 according to the type and model of the connected printer. The OS 21 associates the identification information of the incorporated auxiliary program with the printer information of the newly connected printer and stores it in the memory 12.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 1, the PC1 of this embodiment is connected to the printer 2. The printer 2 is a device having at least a printing function and a communication function. The printer 2 receives print data and print settings from an external device such as the PC1 and performs printing according to the print settings. Examples of the setting items of the print settings include the number of copies, print orientation, paper feed tray, paper size, paper type, double-sided printing, color printing, and borderless printing.

[0024] As examples of the setting items for print settings, in addition to the setting items described above, there are processing options for processing the image to be printed. Examples of the processing options include collated printing, split printing, and scaled printing. Collated printing is a printing method in which images of N (N is a plurality) pages are reduced and arranged on one sheet of paper for printing. Examples of collated printing include imposition printing (Nin1) and booklet printing. In imposition printing, the images of the original manuscript are arranged on one sheet of paper in the order of the pages. In booklet printing, the images are rearranged so that the pages of the original manuscript are arranged in order when the paper is folded like a booklet, and the images of the original manuscript are arranged on the front and back of the paper. Split printing is a printing method in which an image for one page is split and printed on M (M is a plurality) sheets of paper. An example of split printing is poster printing in which a margin for pasting the printed papers is provided for printing. Scaled printing is a printing method in which an image for one page is enlarged or reduced to a specified magnification for printing.

[0025] Printer 2 can receive print settings based on the functions that Printer 2 has. Also, Printer 2 can receive settings for processing options such as imposition printing (Nin1) in which Printer 2 can perform image processing. Note that the processing options can also be realized by image processing by the auxiliary program 42. Printer 2 does not receive settings for processing options in which Printer 2 cannot perform image processing and the auxiliary program 42 performs image processing. For example, when the auxiliary program 42 performs reduction and rearrangement of an image, Printer 2 does not receive the setting for collated printing. That is, Printer 2 stores parameters for each item that can be set according to the capabilities of Printer 2. Printer 2 stores information indicating an appropriate combination for the print settings that can be set in Printer 2.

[0026] The auxiliary program 42 has a function of displaying a print setting screen dedicated to Printer 2 (hereinafter referred to as the "detailed setting screen"). In addition to the items for which Printer 2 can receive settings, as described above, the auxiliary program 42 causes the detailed setting screen to display items for which Printer 2 cannot perform image processing and the auxiliary program 42 performs image processing, and can receive settings.

[0027] The auxiliary program 42 determines the suitability of combinations based on the capabilities of the printer 2 and restricts issuing print instructions for inappropriate combinations of print settings. For example, assume that the printer 2 cannot transport envelopes from tray 2. In this case, on the detailed settings screen of the auxiliary program 42, when the setting value "tray 2" is set for the setting item "paper feed tray", it is made impossible to set "envelope size" for the setting value of the setting item "paper size".

[0028] The general-purpose printing program 41 accepts print settings via the print settings screen for the functions it supports. Since the general-purpose printing program 41 supports multiple types of printers, it does not perform processing to restrict inappropriate combinations of print settings like the auxiliary program 42. For example, the general-purpose printing program 41 can select the printer 2 that cannot transport envelopes from tray 2 and set "envelope size" for the setting value of the setting item "paper size" while the setting value "tray 2" is set for the setting item "paper feed tray".

[0029] Next, regarding the printing procedure including the operation of the auxiliary program 42 in this embodiment, the procedures by each program when printing is selected in the information app 43 will be described with reference to the sequence diagram in FIG. 2. Note that in FIG. 2 and other sequence diagrams described later, the operation when the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2 is incorporated in the PC1 is shown.

[0030] Note that each processing step of the processing and flowchart in this embodiment basically shows the processing of the CPU 11 according to the instructions described in programs such as the auxiliary program 42. The processing by the CPU 11 also includes hardware control using the API of the OS 21. In this specification, the detailed description of the OS 21 is omitted and the operations of each program are described. Also, "acquire" is used as a concept that does not require a request to be essential.

[0031] At the beginning of the procedure, the user launches the information application 43 (A01). The information application 43 causes the information screen containing various types of information to be displayed on the display 13a in response to the user's instruction (A02). When the user wants to print the image of the information screen being displayed, the user selects printing on the information screen (A03). For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the information screen D1 includes a setting button SW1. When the setting button SW1 is pressed by the user's operation, as shown in FIG. 3, a pull-down menu DL including "Print" is displayed. When "Print" in the pull-down menu DL is selected by the user, the information application 43 sends a display request and the data of the information screen to the general-purpose printing program 41 of the OS 21 (A04).

[0032] In response to the display request, the general-purpose printing program 41 causes a print setting screen to be displayed on the display 13a (A06). The print setting screen is a screen that accepts instructions for print settings and instructions for executing printing. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the print setting screen D2 includes a printer selection column 51 for accepting selection of a printer, a notification column 52 for displaying a notification image, a print setting column 53 for accepting specification of various print settings, a preview column 54 showing the image of the information screen to be printed, a detailed setting button SW2 for accepting an instruction to perform detailed print settings, and a print button SW3 for accepting an instruction to execute printing.

[0033] In the print setting column 53, items for print settings are displayed for the functions supported by the general-purpose printing program 41, and print setting values can be accepted. Examples of items that can be set via the print setting column 53 include the number of copies, print orientation, double-sided printing, collated printing (N in 1), paper size, paper feed tray, print range, paper type, color, borderless printing, scaling, and print quality (resolution). In the print setting column 53, only the main items may be displayed to facilitate print settings, and other items may be additionally displayed when other settings are operated.

[0034] The notification image displayed on the notification bar 52 is an image indicating the content of the notification to the user. The general-purpose printing program 41 can handle data for displaying the printing settings screen D2.

[0035] As shown in FIG. 2, the user can select a printer by operating the printer selection field 51 on the currently displayed printing settings screen D2 (A07). When the selected printer is Printer 2, the general-purpose printing program 41 activates the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to Printer 2 and requests processing corresponding to the printer selection (A08). In A08, the general-purpose printing program 41 passes the information of the selected printer and the information of the printing settings set at the time of printer selection to the auxiliary program 42.

[0036] Note that when Printer 2 is set as the printer normally used in the OS 21, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the general-purpose printing program 41 displays the printing settings screen D2 with Printer 2 selected (A06) and activates the auxiliary program 42 (A08). That is, Printer 2 is automatically selected by the OS 21, and the general-purpose printing program 41 executes A08 based on the information of the selected Printer 2. In this case, the operation of A07 by the user is not required.

[0037] Note that instead of the general-purpose printing program 41 displaying the printing settings screen D2, a configuration in which the information app 43 displays the printing settings screen D2 may be used. In that case, the information app 43 activates the general-purpose printing program 41 in response to printing being selected in A03, obtains data for displaying the printing settings screen D2 from the general-purpose printing program 41, and displays the printing settings screen D2 on the display 13a. Then, the information app 43 passes the information of the selected Printer 2 to the general-purpose printing program 41 in response to Printer 2 being selected or in response to Printer 2 being selected in A07. Thereby, the general-purpose printing program 41 activates the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to Printer 2 in A08.

[0038] Upon being activated, auxiliary program 42 requests the capability information of printer 2 from OS 21 (A11). Upon receiving the request from auxiliary program 42, OS 21 sends an acquisition request to request the capability information from printer 2 and acquires the capability information from printer 2 (A12). OS 21 passes the capability information acquired from printer 2 to auxiliary program 42 (A13). A11 to A13 are an example of the capability acquisition process.

[0039] OS 21 communicates with printer 2, for example, through communication according to IPP (abbreviation for Internet Printing Protocol). Note that instead of requesting from OS 21, auxiliary program 42 may directly acquire the capability information from printer 2, for example, using MIB (abbreviation for Management Information Base).

[0040] The capability information acquired from printer 2 includes information on parameters that can be set as print settings. The capability information also includes information indicating an appropriate combination of print settings. The capability information also includes, for example, status information, remaining amount information of consumables, information on installed trays, paper information of the paper set for each tray, information on printable resolutions that can be supported. Printer 2 may also have a function of performing image processing based on the received print job and printing based on the data after image processing, for example, combined printing such as Nin1, synthetic printing such as watermark, and saving printing that saves colorants. If printer 2 has a function of executable image processing, printer 2 may pass the information of that function to OS 21 as capability information.

[0041] Auxiliary program 42 stores the capability information notified by OS 21 in A13 in a predetermined area that can be used by auxiliary program 42 in memory 12 (A14). Note that if the capability information is already stored in memory 12, auxiliary program 42 overwrites the stored capability information and stores the current capability information.

[0042] The auxiliary program 42 executes an exclusive information acquisition process for acquiring exclusive information based on the acquired capability information (A15). The exclusive information is information indicating an inappropriate combination of print settings. There are several inappropriate combinations of print settings. An example of a combination that cannot be set is shown in FIG. 5. For example, as shown in Exclusion No. 1 and Exclusion No. 2 in FIG. 5(a), depending on the paper feeding method (paper feed tray), there are paper types and sizes that cannot be conveyed. Also, as shown in Exclusion No. 3 and Exclusion No. 4, depending on the paper type and size, there are cases where borderless printing or double-sided printing cannot be performed. Furthermore, as shown in Exclusion No. 5, depending on the printing method, there are combinations of printing methods that cannot be used together due to their nature.

[0043] Specifically explain the exclusive information acquisition process. The auxiliary program 42 extracts an inappropriate combination of print settings by calculating backward the appropriate combination of print settings included in the capability information acquired at A13. Then, the extracted inappropriate combination is described in the exclusion list data shown in FIG. 5(a). The exclusion list data is stored in the storage area for the auxiliary program 42 in the memory 12. The exclusion list data is described, for example, by Print Device Capabilities (a file in XML format). The exclusion list data is an example of exclusive information. The exclusive information may be the acquired capability information itself.

[0044] For example, assume that the printer 2 has trays 1 and 2, and can feed glossy paper from tray 1 but cannot supply glossy paper from tray 2. In this case, the setting of setting the set value "tray 1" in the setting item "paper feed tray" (hereinafter, such a setting is abbreviated as "paper feed tray: tray 1") and "paper type: glossy paper" are included in the acquired capability information as an appropriate combination of print settings. On the other hand, "paper feed tray: tray 2" and "paper type: glossy paper" are not included in the acquired capability information as an appropriate combination of print settings. Therefore, as shown in Exclusion No. 1 in FIG. 5(a), the auxiliary program 42 describes the combination of "paper feed tray: tray 2" and "paper type: glossy paper" in the exclusion list data as exclusive information.

[0045] The capabilities of the printer vary depending on the printer model. The auxiliary program 42 acquires different capability information according to the selected printer model. As a result, different exclusive list data will be stored according to the model.

[0046] As shown in Fig. 5(b), the printer 2 cannot perform image processing, and there are also some inappropriate combinations among the processing options for which the auxiliary program 42 performs image processing. The inappropriate combinations of processing options include combinations of processing options and printing settings as shown in Exclusive No. 11 and Exclusive No. 13, and combinations of processing options as shown in Exclusive No. 12. Data indicating the inappropriate combinations of processing options for which the printer 2 cannot perform image processing and the auxiliary program 42 performs image processing is also stored in the storage area for the auxiliary program 42 provided in the memory 12.

[0047] Returning to Fig. 2, the auxiliary program 42 executes notification data generation processing based on the capability information notified at A13 (A21). The notification data generation processing is processing for generating notification data indicating a notification image to be displayed in the notification column 52 of the print settings screen D2. The notification image to be displayed in the notification column 52 may include, for example, text, a still image, a video, or a combination thereof. For example, in the notification data generation processing at A15, notification data including the logo of the printer manufacturer and an advertisement is generated. The notification data may be empty data when nothing is to be displayed in the notification column 52.

[0048] Note that in the data generation processing, the propriety of the print settings may be determined based on the capability information notified at A13 and the exclusive information acquired at A15, and notification data corresponding to the propriety may be generated. Since this processing is the same as C04, C11, and C12 in Fig. 8 described later, the description thereof is omitted.

[0049] Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 passes display information including the generated notification data and information on print setting values based on the capability information to the general-purpose print program 41 (A22) and ends the process. The general-purpose print program 41 displays a notification image in the notification bar 52 of the print setting screen D2 displayed on the display 13a based on the display information received from the auxiliary program 42 (A23). In A23, not only is a notification image based on the notification data displayed in the notification bar 52, but information based on the capability information of the printer 2 is also displayed in the print setting column 53 as the initial value of each print setting. Note that in the case of a configuration where the information app 43 displays the print setting screen D2, the information app 43 receives the notification data and displays a notification image in the notification bar 52.

[0050] In the example of FIG. 4, a print setting screen D2 including one notification bar 52 is shown, but the arrangement, shape, size, number, etc. of the notification bars 52 are not limited to the example of this figure. The auxiliary program 42 may acquire information on the notification bar 52 from the general-purpose print program 41 and determine the notification data to be displayed in the notification bar 52 based on the acquired information. For example, if there are a plurality of arrangements where the notification bar 52 can be displayed and the auxiliary program 42 can specify the display location, the auxiliary program 42 may pass notification data including information specifying the display location to the general-purpose print program 41. Also, if the size of the notification bar 52 can be selected, the auxiliary program 42 may pass information specifying the size to the general-purpose print program 41.

[0051] Note that instead of generating the notification data and passing it to the general-purpose print program 41, the auxiliary program 42 can also display the information by itself. However, in that case, since a screen will be displayed separately from the print setting screen D2, the display may become complicated and may cause stress to the user. Displaying it within the print setting screen D2 of the general-purpose print program 41 of the OS 21 will simplify the display and avoid stress on the user.

[0052] Next, with reference to FIG. 6, the procedures of each program when, during the display of the print settings screen D2 shown in FIG. 4, an instruction for detailed settings is received due to a user operation on the detailed settings button SW2 will be described.

[0053] As shown in the sequence diagram of FIG. 6, the general-purpose print program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 (B02) based on an instruction for detailed settings by the user (B01). The general-purpose print program 41 passes the print settings set in the print settings column 53 of the print settings screen D2 to the auxiliary program 42 and requests a process for accepting detailed settings.

[0054] The auxiliary program 42 causes the detailed settings screen D3 shown in FIG. 7 to be displayed on the display 13a, for example. On the detailed settings screen D3, a detailed settings column 61 and an apply button SW22 are displayed (B03). In the detailed settings column 61, various print setting items are displayed regarding the functions supported by the auxiliary program 42. The print settings received from the general-purpose print program 41 are reflected in each item. In the detailed settings column 61, in addition to the items that can be set on the print settings screen D2 (see FIG. 4), it is also possible to set print setting values for items that cannot be set on the print settings screen D2, such as poster printing, booklet printing, and stapling. On the detailed settings screen D3, it is also possible to set processing options not included in the capability information of the printer 2, such as poster printing and booklet printing. B03 and B04 are examples of setting processes. Note that for processing options that the general-purpose print program 41 can handle, such as collated printing, they can be set via the print settings screen D2 (FIG. 4). The process of setting processing options via the print settings screen D2 is also an example of a setting process.

[0055] When the auxiliary program 42 receives an instruction to change the print settings by operating the application button SW22, it changes the print settings received at B02 using the print settings set in the detailed settings column 61 (B04). The auxiliary program 42 passes the changed print settings to the general-purpose print program 41 and ends the process (B05). For items that cannot be set on the print settings screen D2, they are stored in the memory area for the auxiliary program 42. The general-purpose print program 41 displays, in the print settings column 53 of the print settings screen D2 shown in FIG. 4, those of the changed print settings received from the auxiliary program 42 that are displayable (B06). Note that the auxiliary program 42 cannot accept inappropriate combinations of print settings. Therefore, the auxiliary program 42 does not generate notification data.

[0056] Next, with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. 8, the procedures of each program when an instruction to change the print settings by the user's operation on the print settings column 53 is received while the print settings screen D2 shown in FIG. 4 is being displayed will be described. Note that, as described above, on the print settings screen D2, it is possible to receive an instruction to change the print settings by operating the print settings column 53 or an instruction to execute printing by operating the print button SW3.

[0057] Based on an instruction from the user to change the print settings (C01), the general-purpose print program 41 changes the display content of the print settings column 53 of the print settings screen D2 (C02). Further, even when the print settings are changed, the general-purpose print program 41 activates the auxiliary program 42 and requests processing corresponding to the change in the print settings (C03). In C03, the auxiliary program 42 receives information on the changed print settings from the general-purpose print program 41. C03 is an example of setting acquisition processing.

[0058] The auxiliary program 42 performs an appropriateness determination process for determining the appropriateness of the print settings (C04). When the auxiliary program 42 determines in the appropriateness determination process that the print settings are inappropriate (alt: inappropriate), it generates inappropriate notification data indicating that the print settings are inappropriate (C11). On the other hand, when the auxiliary program 42 determines in the appropriateness determination process that the print settings are appropriate (alt: appropriate), it generates appropriate notification data indicating that the print settings are appropriate (C12). The auxiliary program 42 passes the notification data generated in C11 and C12 to the general-purpose print program 41 (C13). The general-purpose print program 41 displays the received notification data in the notification column 52 of the print settings screen D2 in FIG. 4 (C14). That is, an image based on the inappropriate notification data generated by the auxiliary program 42 is displayed on the print settings screen D2 launched and displayed from the information application 43. C04 and C11 to C14 will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

[0059] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of the appropriateness determination process shown in C04 shown in FIG. 8. The appropriateness determination process is executed by the CPU 11 of the PC 1 based on the description of the auxiliary program 42.

[0060] In the appropriateness determination process, the CPU 11 first reads out the exclusive information generated at A15 in FIG. 2 from the memory 12 (S11). The CPU 11 collates the read exclusive information with the changed print settings received in C03 in FIG. 8, and determines whether the changed print settings include a combination corresponding to the exclusive information (S12). That is, the CPU 11 determines whether the changed print settings are an inappropriate combination of the print settings shown in FIG. 5(a). S11 and S12 are examples of the determination process.

[0061] For example, assume that the printer 2 cannot perform double-sided printing on envelopes. In this case, on the print settings screen D2 shown in FIG. 4, the setting value "A4 size" is set for the setting item "Paper size", and "Double-sided printing" is set for the setting item "Double-sided printing", and it is assumed that the print settings are properly combined. In this state, when the paper size is changed to "envelope size" on the print settings screen D2, the combination of the envelope size and double-sided printing corresponds to the inappropriate combination shown in Exclusive No. 4 in FIG. 5(a). In this case, since the changed print settings include a combination corresponding to the exclusive information (S12: YES), the CPU 11 determines that the changed print settings are inappropriate (S13) and ends the process.

[0062] As shown in FIG. 8, when the auxiliary program 42 determines that the changed print settings are inappropriate based on the exclusive information (alt: inappropriate), the auxiliary program 42 generates inappropriate notification data indicating that the print settings are inappropriate (C11). For example, the auxiliary program 42 generates different notification information for each setting value of the setting item of the inappropriate print settings, and generates inappropriate notification data including the notification information. The inappropriate notification data may include guide information for making the print settings appropriate. The inappropriate notification data may include an image indicating an inappropriate combination. Note that either or both of the guide information and the still image may be omitted from the inappropriate notification data. Further, the inappropriate notification data may include, for example, a video for making the print settings appropriate. In this case, the inappropriate notification data is an example of the first notification data. In this case, C11 is an example of the first generation process.

[0063] The auxiliary program 42 passes the inappropriate notification data generated at C11 to the general-purpose printing program 41 (C13). As shown in, for example, Fig. 10(a), the general-purpose printing program 41 causes the inappropriate notification data received from the auxiliary program 42 to be displayed in the notification column 52 (see Fig. 4) of the print settings screen D2 (C14). In the notification column 52, for example, notification information M5 explaining that the envelope size and double-sided printing cannot be set together is displayed. Also, in the notification column 52, for example, when priority is given to envelope printing, guide information GM5 is displayed that conveys how to change the double-sided printing setting to single-sided printing, or when double-sided printing is given priority, how to change the paper size to a size other than the envelope size. Further, in the notification column 52, for example, an image IM5 is displayed that gives the impression that envelope printing and double-sided printing cannot be used together. C13 in this case is an example of the first display process.

[0064] As shown in Fig. 9, when the changed print settings do not include a combination corresponding to the exclusive information (S12: NO), the CPU 11 determines whether there is a setting for a processing option (S14). As shown in Fig. 5(b), the processing options that the printer 2 cannot set are not included in the exclusive information. The processing options that the printer 2 cannot set cannot be set on the print settings screen D2 of Fig. 4 and are set on the detailed settings screen D3 of Fig. 7. Therefore, the CPU 11 refers to the memory 12 and determines the presence or absence of a processing option based on the print settings set in the auxiliary program 42.

[0065] When the CPU 11 determines that a processing option is set (S14: YES), it reads out from the memory 12 information indicating an inappropriate combination of the processing options shown in Fig. 5(b) (C15).

[0066] The CPU 11 determines whether the changed print settings include print settings that cannot be combined with the processing options set in the auxiliary program 42 (S16). S15 and S16 are examples of the option determination process.

[0067] For example, in poster printing, since the original document is divided and printed on M sheets of paper, single-sided printing is required. Assume that in the detailed settings screen D3 shown in FIG. 7, with the radio button corresponding to "Do" in "Poster Printing" being operated, in the printing settings screen D2 shown in FIG. 4, the setting value of "Double-sided printing" is changed from "Single-sided printing" to "Double-sided printing". Since the combination of the changed printing settings corresponds to an inappropriate combination of processing options shown in Exclusion No. 13 in FIG. 5(b) (S16: YES), the CPU 11 determines that the changed printing settings are inappropriate (S13) and ends the process.

[0068] As shown in FIG. 8, when the auxiliary program 42 determines that the changed printing settings are inappropriate based on the processing options set in the auxiliary program 42 (alt: inappropriate), the auxiliary program 42 generates inappropriate notification data indicating that the printing settings are inappropriate (C11). The inappropriate notification data in this case is an example of the third notification data. C11 in this case is an example of the third generation process.

[0069] The auxiliary program 42 passes the inappropriate notification data generated in C11 to the general-purpose printing program 41 (C13). As shown in FIG. 10(b), for example, the general-purpose printing program 41 displays the inappropriate notification data received from the auxiliary program 42 in the notification bar 52 (see FIG. 4) of the printing settings screen D2 (C14). In the notification bar 52, for example, notification information M6 explaining that double-sided printing and poster printing cannot be set together is displayed. Also, in the notification bar 52, for example, when double-sided printing is prioritized, the corresponding method of setting "Do not" for poster printing in the detailed settings screen, or when poster printing is prioritized, the corresponding method of changing the double-sided printing setting to single-sided printing is conveyed as guide information GM6. Further, in the notification bar 52, for example, an image IM6 that gives the impression that poster printing is not possible is displayed. C13 and C14 in this case are examples of the third display process.

[0070] In FIGS. 10(a) and 10(b), instead of the guide information GM5 and GM6, an object with a link embedded with the URL of the web page that displays the guide information GM5 and GM6 may be displayed in the notification bar 52.

[0071] As shown in FIG. 9, when the CPU 11 determines that the changed print setting does not include a print setting that cannot be combined with the processing option set in the auxiliary program 42 (S16: NO), it determines that the changed print setting is appropriate (S17) and ends the process.

[0072] As shown in FIG. 8, when the auxiliary program 42 determines that the changed print setting is appropriate (alt: appropriate), it generates appropriate notification data indicating that the print setting is appropriate (C12). The appropriate notification data is an example of the second notification data. C12 is an example of the second generation process.

[0073] The auxiliary program 42 passes the generated appropriate notification data to the general-purpose print program 41 (C13) and causes it to be displayed in the notification bar 52 of the print setting screen D2 (C14). For example, as shown in FIG. 10(c), notification information M11 indicating that the print setting is appropriate is displayed in the notification bar 52. Also, an image IM11 indicating that the print setting is appropriate is displayed in the notification bar 52.

[0074] As shown in FIG. 9, when the changed print setting does not include an inappropriate combination corresponding to the exclusive information (S12: NO) and the auxiliary program 42 does not have a processing option set (S14: NO), the CPU 11 determines that the changed print setting is appropriate (S17) and ends the process. In this case, C12 to C14 shown in FIG. 8 are performed in the same manner as above, and notification data indicating that it is appropriate is displayed in the notification bar 52.

[0075] Next, with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. 11, the procedure of each program when an instruction to execute printing is received by the user's operation on the print button SW3 during the display of the print settings screen D2 shown in FIG. 4 will be described. Note that the instruction to execute printing by the user may be directly input to the general-purpose printing program 41, or may be input to the information application 43 and output from the information application 43 to the general-purpose printing program 41.

[0076] When the general-purpose printing program 41 receives an instruction to execute printing by the user (D01), it generates intermediate image data (D02) by converting the format of the image data indicating the image to be printed into the format of intermediate image data using the print settings received on the print settings screen D2, and passes the generated intermediate image data to the auxiliary program 42 (D03). The image data included in the information application 43 is of various types, and the general-purpose printing program 41 converts the image data to be printed into intermediate image data suitable for generating print data. If the image data to be printed is data suitable for generating print data, generation of the intermediate image data may be omitted and it may be used as the intermediate image data as it is. The intermediate image data is, for example, XPS data.

[0077] The auxiliary program 42 reflects the print settings set in the auxiliary program 42 on the intermediate image data received in D03 and processes the intermediate image data (D04). For example, when poster printing (1 in 2×2) is set, the auxiliary program 42 divides the image data to be printed into two in the vertical and horizontal directions and generates divided image data. The processed intermediate image data is an example of processed data. D04 is an example of a processing process.

[0078] The auxiliary program 42 executes rasterization on the processed intermediate image data to generate print data indicating the image to be printed (D05). The print data generated in D05 is data in a format that can be used for printing by the printer 2, and is, for example, PDL data dedicated to the model of the printer 2.

[0079] By rasterizing with the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2, the degree of freedom is much greater compared to the case of rasterizing with the general-purpose printing program 41, and there is a high possibility that print data suitable for printing by the printer 2 will be generated. Note that the print data generated by the auxiliary program 42 may be data in a format that can also be used for printing by printers other than the model of the printer 2.

[0080] The auxiliary program 42 transmits the print data generated at D05 to the printer 2 together with a print command instructing the execution of printing (D06). D06 is an example of a transmission process. When there is image processing determined to be executed by the printer 2, the auxiliary program 42 generates a print command including information on the processing. The auxiliary program 42 may further notify the general-purpose printing program 41 that the transmission of the print data has ended (D08).

[0081] The printer 2 that has received the print data and the print command executes the printing of the image of the print data based on the received print command (D07). Thereby, a printed matter is generated.

[0082] Note that instead of the auxiliary program 42 generating the print data, the general-purpose printing program 41 may generate the print data. For example, the auxiliary program 42 may pass the intermediate image data processed at D03 and the information on print execution to the general-purpose printing program 41, and the general-purpose printing program 41 may rasterize the intermediate image data to generate the print data. In that case, the general-purpose printing program 41 passes the generated print data to the auxiliary program 42. Then, when the auxiliary program 42 receives the print data from the general-purpose printing program 41, the auxiliary program 42 transmits the print data received from the general-purpose printing program 41 to the printer 2 together with a print command instructing the execution of printing.

[0083] The print data generated by the general-purpose printing program 41 is print data in a format that can be used for printing on various printers, for example, PWGRaster data or PDF data. If rasterized by the general-purpose printing program 41, the processing of the auxiliary program 42 is less, it is expected to avoid an increase in processing time, and the program size of the auxiliary program 42 can be suppressed.

[0084] Note that the general-purpose printing program 41 may transmit the print data and print commands to the printer 2. That is, the auxiliary program 42 may pass the generated print data to the general-purpose printing program 41 so that it is transmitted from the PC1 with the printer 2 as the transmission destination. In that case, the general-purpose printing program 41 transmits the print data and the like received from the auxiliary program 42 to the printer 2. In this case, the process of the auxiliary program 42 passing the print data and the like to the general-purpose printing program 41 is an example of the transmission process.

[0085] As described above, the auxiliary program 42 of the present embodiment acquires the capability information of the printer 2, and when the print setting is changed, if the changed print setting is determined to be inappropriate based on the capability information, it passes notification data indicating that the print setting is inappropriate to the general-purpose printing program 41 and displays it in the notification column 52 of the print setting screen D2. Thereby, in the PC1 using the general-purpose printing program 41 of the OS21, it is possible to notify that the print setting is inappropriate. As a result, since the user knows information regarding whether the print setting can be set, the possibility of avoiding an unintended print result is increased.

[0086] Note that the embodiments disclosed in this specification are merely examples and do not limit the present invention in any way. Therefore, the technology disclosed in this specification can naturally be variously improved and modified without departing from the gist thereof. For example, the device connected to the PC1 is not limited to a printer, and may be any device having a printing function such as a multifunction printer, a copier, a FAX device, etc. Also, the number of printers connected to the PC1 is not limited to the illustrated example, and two or more may be used.

[0087] For example, each example of the notification images in FIG. 10 is just an example and is not limited to the illustrated examples.

[0088] The acquisition of the capability information is not limited to the time of printer selection on the print setting screen D2 (A07 to A13 in FIG. 2), but may also be at the time of installation of the auxiliary program 42 or each time the print setting is changed. Also in this case, the auxiliary program 42 stores information based on the acquired capability information (which may be the capability information itself or, for example, a list of exclusive setting information generated based on the capability information) in the memory 12 and uses it in the appropriateness determination process (C04 in FIG. 8).

[0089] For example, in the above embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 10(a) and 10(b), different notification data was generated for each set value of the setting items of the inappropriate print settings, and different notification images were displayed in the notification bar 52. In contrast, when the print setting is inappropriate, the same notification data may be generated and the same notification image may be displayed in the notification bar 52. However, as shown in FIGS. 10(a) and 10(b), by displaying different notification information, guide information, or images for each combination of the setting items that became inappropriate, it is easy for the user to understand which setting item is inappropriate.

[0090] Also, the guide information GM5, GM6 shown in FIGS. 10(a) and 10(b) may not be displayed. However, by displaying guide information for making the print setting appropriate in the notification bar 52 when the print setting is inappropriate, it becomes easier for the user to change to an appropriate print setting.

[0091] Also, when the print settings are appropriate, by not performing the processes of C12 to C14 in FIG. 8, it is possible not to display the appropriate notification data in the notification bar 52. In this case, information other than the appropriateness of the print settings, such as the printer manufacturer's logo mark or advertisement, may be displayed in the notification bar 52. According to this, it is possible to reduce the annoyance of the display being switched every time the print settings are appropriately changed, and to avoid giving stress to the user. However, as in the above-described embodiment, when the print settings are appropriate, by displaying the notification data indicating this in the notification bar 52, on the PC1 using the general-purpose print program 41 of the OS 21, the user can know the information regarding whether the print settings can be set or not.

[0092] Also, S14 to S16 in FIG. 9 may be omitted. However, in a state where a processing option for processing the image to be printed is set in the auxiliary program 42, when the changed print settings are determined to be inappropriate, by passing the notification data indicating that the print settings are inappropriate to the general-purpose print program 41 and displaying it in the notification bar 52 of the print settings screen D2, on the PC1 using the general-purpose print program 41 of the OS 21, the user can know the information regarding the appropriateness of the print settings based on the processing option.

[0093] Also, when changing the print settings, ability information may be acquired, and exclusive information based on the ability information may be generated. However, by generating the exclusive information when selecting the printer, the time for determining whether the print settings can be set can be shortened compared to the case of acquiring the ability information and generating the exclusive information when changing the print settings.

[0094] Also, after the print settings screen D2 is displayed by the general-purpose print program 41, when the printer normally used is changed from another printer to the printer 2 by the user's operation via the OS 21, the general-purpose print program 41 may also start the auxiliary program 42. Also in that case, similar to the case where the printer 2 is selected, the auxiliary program 42 may execute the notification data generation process and pass the notification data to the general-purpose print program 41.

[0095] Also, in the embodiment, only the printing operation is described in detail as the operation of the auxiliary program 42, but the auxiliary program 42 may have other roles. Further, the program that executes the processing of this embodiment is not limited to the auxiliary program 42, and any program that receives instructions from the OS 21 or the general-purpose printing program 41 when performing printing using the general-purpose printing program 41 may be used. For example, a print workflow app published by Microsoft may be used.

[0096] Also, the execution timing of the auxiliary program 42 is not limited to the example of the embodiment. For example, it may be directly executed upon receiving an execution instruction from the OS 21, or it may be an auxiliary program 42 that is resident. When it is resident, the auxiliary program 42 may perform the above-described operations upon receiving an execution instruction.

[0097] Also, in any flowchart disclosed in the embodiment, the plurality of processes in any plurality of steps can be arbitrarily changed in execution order or executed in parallel within a range where there is no contradiction in the processing content.

[0098] Also, the processing disclosed in the embodiment may be executed by a single CPU, a plurality of CPUs, hardware such as an ASIC, or a combination thereof. Further, the processing disclosed in the embodiment can be realized in various forms such as a recording medium recording a program for executing the processing, or a method.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0099] 1 PC 2 Printer 11 CPU 13a Display 21 OS 41 General-purpose printing program 42 Auxiliary program

Claims

1. A support program that can be executed by a computer of an information processing apparatus, corresponds to a printer connected to the information processing apparatus, and supports a general-purpose printing program pre-installed in the operating system of the information processing apparatus. The general-purpose printing program can handle data for displaying a print setting screen on a display of the information processing apparatus, the computer is caused to execute an ability acquisition process for acquiring ability information indicating the capabilities of the printer, furthermore, the computer is caused to when a process is requested from the general-purpose printing program due to a change in print settings on the print setting screen, execute a setting acquisition process for acquiring the changed print settings, and a determination process for determining the appropriateness of the print settings acquired in the setting acquisition process based on the ability information acquired in the ability acquisition process, and is caused to furthermore, the computer is caused to when it is determined in the determination process that the print settings are inappropriate, execute a first generation process for generating first notification data indicating that the print settings are inappropriate, and a first display process for passing the first notification data generated in the first generation process to the general-purpose printing program and displaying the first notification data on the print setting screen displayed on the display of the information processing apparatus, and is caused to be configured as such a support program.

2. In the support program according to claim 1, in the first generation process, the first notification data corresponding to the set value of the setting item of the print settings that were inappropriate is generated, and is configured as such a support program.

3. In the support program according to claim 2, in the first generation process, the first notification data corresponding to the set value of the setting item of the print settings that were inappropriate and including guide information for making the print settings appropriate is generated, and is configured as such a support program.

4. In the support program according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the computer is caused to when it is determined in the determination process that the print settings are appropriate, not execute the first generation process and the first display process, and not display information regarding the appropriateness of the print settings on the print setting screen, and is configured as such a support program.

5. In the support program according to any one of claims 1 to 3, to cause the computer to when it is determined in the determination process that the print settings are appropriate, a second generation process for generating second notification data indicating that the print settings are appropriate; a second display process for passing the second notification data generated in the second generation process to the general-purpose print program and causing the second notification data to be displayed on the print settings screen; to execute a support program configured as described above.

6. In the support program according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, to cause the computer to execute a setting process for setting processing options for processing an image to be printed, and further to cause the computer to when a print instruction is given to cause the general-purpose print program to print an image on the printer in a state where the processing options are set in the setting process, acquire image data indicating the image to be printed from the general-purpose print program, and execute a processing process for generating processed data indicating a processed image obtained by processing the image based on the acquired image data; and further to cause the computer to when a process is requested from the general-purpose print program due to a change in the print settings on the print settings screen in a state where the processing options are set in the setting process, execute an option determination process for determining the appropriateness of the print settings acquired in the setting acquisition process based on the processing options set in the setting process; and further to cause the computer to when it is determined in the option determination process that the print settings are inappropriate, a third generation process for generating third notification data indicating that the print settings are inappropriate; a third display process for passing the third notification data generated in the third generation process to the general-purpose print program and causing the third notification data to be displayed on the print settings screen displayed on the display of the information processing apparatus; to execute a support program configured as described above.

7. In the support program according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, the setting items on the print settings screen include selection of a printer, to cause the computer to when a process is requested from the general-purpose print program by selecting the printer, execute the capability acquisition process, and store exclusive information based on the acquired capability information in a memory In the determination process, the exclusive information stored in the memory is read, and based on the read exclusive information, the suitability of the print settings acquired in the setting acquisition process is determined. A support program configured as described above. **Claim 8** In the support program according to any one of claims 1 to 7, when the computer receives a print instruction output from an application program incorporated in the information processing apparatus, and the print instruction causes the printer to print an image with respect to the general-purpose print program, and thus when processing is requested from the general-purpose print program, acquire image data indicating the image from the general-purpose print program, and execute transmission processing for transmitting a print command to the printer based on the image data. A support program configured as described above.

Images