Support Program

Abstract

To display information based on sheet characteristics obtained from a printer 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 auxiliary program 42 acquires main body information on sheet characteristics stored for every paper feeding from the printer 2, and when print settings are changed on a print setting screen D2 displayed on a display 13a with the use of the general purpose printing program 41, acquires the changed print settings from the general purpose printing program 41. The auxiliary program 42 generates, on the basis of the main body information acquired from the printer 2, notification data including sheet information indicating the sheet characteristics of a paper feed tray having the changed print settings, passes the generated data to the general purpose printing program 41, and causes the 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 that supports control of a printer. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a technique for displaying information about paper characteristics obtained from a printer using a printer driver. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which a host computer incorporating a printer driver acquires the paper size notified from the printer, compares it with the paper size set in an application program, and, if the paper size notified from the printer is smaller than the paper size set in the application program, displays a screen showing the relative size of the two paper sizes. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-11946 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In recent years, a technology has been put into practical use that controls printers using a general-purpose printing program that is built into the operating system (OS) as standard, without using a printer driver. With this technology, when the OS detects a printer, it associates it with the OS's standard general-purpose printing program, and thereafter, when a print instruction for that printer is received, printing can be performed using the OS's standard general-purpose printing program without using a printer driver.

[0005] However, in an information processing device that uses a general-purpose printing program that is standard for an OS, there is no known technology that can acquire paper characteristics from a printer, such as a printer driver, and display information based on the acquired paper characteristics. Therefore, there is room for improvement in display technology in an environment that uses a general-purpose printing program that is standard for an OS. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A support program made for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems is a support program that can be executed by a computer of an information processing device, corresponds to a printer connected to the information processing device, and supports a general-purpose print program that is pre-installed in the operating system of the information processing device, the general-purpose print program is capable of handling data for displaying a print setting screen on a display of the information processing device, print setting items that can be set on the print setting screen include paper characteristics and paper feed trays, the printer has at least one paper feed tray, and the printer stores main body information that indicates the paper characteristics for each paper feed tray, and the computer The computer is configured to execute a first acquisition process to acquire the stored main body information, and further execute a second acquisition process to acquire the print settings from the general-purpose print program when processing is requested from the general-purpose print program due to a change in print settings on the print setting screen, a generation process to generate notification data including paper information indicating the paper characteristics of the paper feed tray set in the print settings acquired by the second acquisition process based on the main body information acquired by the first acquisition process, and a display process to pass the notification data generated by the generation process to the general-purpose print program and display the notification data on the print setting screen displayed on the display of the information processing device.

[0007] In an information processing device incorporating a support program having the above configuration, the support program acquires from the printer main information regarding the paper characteristics stored for each paper feed tray, and when the print settings are changed via the print setting screen, it passes notification data including paper information indicating the paper characteristics of the paper feed tray set in the changed print settings to a generic print program (a print program different from the printer driver corresponding to each printer model) and displays it on the print setting screen. This allows an information processing device using the OS's generic print program to be notified of paper characteristic information that matches the print settings before a print command is entered. As a result, the user knows information regarding the suitability of the paper characteristics, increasing the likelihood of avoiding errors due to inappropriate paper characteristics during printing.

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

[0009] The technology disclosed in this specification realizes a technology for displaying information based on paper characteristics obtained from a printer in an information processing device in which an OS-standard general-purpose printing program is installed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of the electrical configuration of a PC. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a procedure when printing is selected. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an information screen. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting screen. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a procedure when a change in print settings is accepted. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of notification data. [Figure 7]FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a procedure when a print instruction is received. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

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

[0012] As shown in Fig. 1, the PC 1 of this embodiment includes a controller 10 including a CPU 11 and a memory 12. The PC 1 is an example of an information processing device. The CPU 11 is an example of a computer. The PC 1 also includes a user interface (hereinafter referred to as "user IF") 13 and a communication interface (hereinafter referred to as "communication IF") 14, which are electrically connected to the controller 10. Note that the controller 10 in Fig. 1 is a collective term for hardware and software used to control the PC 1, and does not necessarily represent a single piece of hardware that actually exists in the PC 1.

[0013] The CPU 11 executes various processes in accordance with programs read from the memory 12 and based on user operations. Various programs and various data are stored in the memory 12. The memory 12 is also used as a work area when various processes are executed. The buffer provided in the CPU 11 is also an example of memory. Note that the memory 12 is not limited to a ROM, RAM, HDD, etc. built into the PC 1, but may also be a storage medium readable and writable by the CPU 11, such as a recording medium, such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM.

[0014] The user IF 13 includes hardware that displays a screen for notifying the user of information and hardware that accepts user operations. The user IF 13 may be a combination of a display 13a capable of displaying information and a mouse, keyboard, or the like that has an input acceptance function, or may be a display 13a and a touch panel that has an input acceptance function. The user IF 13 includes an example of a display.

[0015] The communication IF 14 includes hardware for communicating with an external device such as the printer 2. The communication IF 14 may use a communication standard such as Ethernet (registered trademark), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), or USB. The PC 1 may be connectable to the Internet via the communication IF 14. The PC 1 may also be provided with multiple communication IFs 14 compatible with multiple communication standards.

[0016] 1, the memory 12 of the PC 1 stores an operating system (hereinafter referred to as "OS") 21 including a general-purpose printing program 41, an auxiliary program 42, and various application programs (hereinafter referred to as "apps"). The OS 21 is, for example, Windows (registered trademark), macOS (registered trademark), Linux (registered trademark), iOS (registered trademark), or Android (registered trademark). The auxiliary program 42 is an example of a support program.

[0017] The PC 1 of this embodiment incorporates various applications, such as an information application 43. The information application 43 is, for example, a map application, a calendar application, or a browser, and has a function of displaying various information on the display 13a in response to a user request. The information application 43 is an example of an application program. Note that the information application 43 itself does not necessarily have a function of printing the displayed information.

[0018] The generic printing program 41 is an OS standard program provided together with the OS 21, and has a function for causing the printer 2 or the like to print information displayed on the display 13a by the information application 43 or the like. The generic printing program 41 of this embodiment is a program that includes a function for generating intermediate image data based on the image data to be printed. The generic printing program 41 supports functions that can be used in common by multiple models of printers provided by various printer vendors. Unlike printer drivers that are specific to various printers, the generic printing program 41 does not support all of the functions that are specific to various printers, and the functions it supports are limited to generic ones.

[0019] The auxiliary program 42 is a program or group of programs that executes processing based on instructions from the OS 21 in conjunction with the processing of the general-purpose printing program 41, and is a program that supports the control of the target hardware. The auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment corresponds to the model of the printer 2 connected to the PC 1, and is launched from the general-purpose printing program 41 when, for example, an instruction to cause the printer 2 to execute printing using the general-purpose printing program 41 is received. The auxiliary program 42 is, for example, called a print support app (abbreviated as PSA) or a hardware support app (abbreviated as HSA).

[0020] The auxiliary program 42 may be a combination of multiple programs that each accept an execution command, or a single program that can execute different processes in response to commands. The auxiliary program 42 may also be a program prepared by a printer vendor for each printer type. For example, an auxiliary program for inkjet printers and an auxiliary program for laser printers may be prepared. A separate auxiliary program may be prepared not only for each printer type, but also for each printer model or series of printer models.

[0021] For example, when a new printer is connected to the PC 1, the OS 21 of the PC 1 can download an appropriate auxiliary program from a server or the like according to the type and model of the connected printer and install it in the PC 1. The OS 21 associates the identification information of the installed auxiliary program with the printer information of the newly connected printer and stores it in the memory 12.

[0022] As shown in Figure 1, the PC 1 of this embodiment is connected to the printer 2. The printer 2 is a device that has 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 PC 1, and performs printing according to the print settings. Examples of setting items in the print settings include the number of copies, print orientation, paper tray, paper size, paper type, double-sided printing, color printing, and borderless printing.

[0023] The printer 2 can accept print settings based on the functions of the printer 2. The printer 2 stores main body information. The main body information includes information indicating paper characteristics for each tray. The printer 2 of this embodiment has, for example, two fixed trays and one manual feed tray. For example, the main body information stores information that "Tray 1" can accommodate "A4 size," "B5 size," "envelope size," "L size," "glossy paper," and "plain paper," and that Tray 2 can accommodate "A4 size," "B5 size," "letter size," and "plain paper." In other words, the printer 2 of this embodiment stores, as main body information, information including all compatible paper sizes and paper types for each paper feed tray. "Paper size" and "paper type" are examples of "paper characteristics."

[0024] For example, suppose that the user sets "L size" in the "Paper Size" field and "Glossy Paper" in the "Paper Type" field for "Tray 1" in the printer 2, sets "A4 size" in the "Paper Size" field and "Plain Paper" in the "Paper Type" field for "Tray 2," and sets "A4 size" in the "Paper Size" field and "Plain Paper" in the "Paper Type" field for "Manual Feed Tray" in this case. In this case, the printer 2 may store, as main body information, information including only the paper size and paper type set by the user for each paper feed tray.

[0025] For example, if the printer 2 has a sensor for detecting the paper size and paper type in each tray, information including the paper size and paper type detected by the sensor may be stored as main body information for each paper feed tray.

[0026] In addition, an additional tray can be attached to or detached from the printer 2, and if an additional tray is attached, the paper characteristics of the additional tray are also included in the printer information.

[0027] The general-purpose printing program 41 can accept print settings via a print setting screen. Items that can be set on the print setting screen include "paper feed tray," "paper size," and "paper type." The auxiliary program 42 can display a print setting screen (detailed setting screen) dedicated to the printer 2 on the display 13a separately from the print setting screen of the general-purpose printing program 41, and can accept settings for each print setting item in the same way as the printer 2.

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

[0029] Note that the processes and each processing step of the flowchart in this embodiment basically represent processing by the CPU 11 in accordance with instructions written in a program such as the auxiliary program 42. The processing by the CPU 11 also includes hardware control using the API of the OS 21. In this specification, the operation of each program will be explained without a detailed description of the OS 21. Also, the term "obtain" is used as a concept that does not necessarily require a request.

[0030] At the beginning of the procedure, the user launches the information application 43 (A01). In response to a user instruction, the information application 43 displays an information screen containing various information on the display 13a (A02). If the user wants to print an image of the displayed information screen, the user selects print on the information screen (A03). For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the information screen D1 includes a settings button SW1. When the user presses the settings button SW1, a pull-down menu DL including "print" is displayed, as shown in FIG. 3. When the user selects "print" in the pull-down menu DL, the information application 43 sends a display request and data of the information screen to the general-purpose print program 41 of the OS 21 (A04).

[0031] In response to the display request, the general-purpose printing program 41 displays a print setting screen on the display 13a (A06). The print setting screen is a screen that accepts instructions for print settings and instructions for printing. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the print setting screen D2 includes a printer selection field 51 that accepts the selection of a printer, a notification field 52 that displays a notification image, a print setting field 53 that accepts the specification of various print settings, a preview field 54 that displays an image of the information screen to be printed, a detailed settings button SW2 that accepts an instruction to make detailed print settings, and a print button SW3 that accepts an instruction to execute printing.

[0032] The print setting field 53 displays print setting items for functions supported by the general-purpose print program 41, and allows the user to enter print setting values. Examples of items that can be set via the print setting field 53 include the number of copies, print orientation, double-sided printing, layout printing (N in 1), paper size, paper tray, print range, paper type, color, borderless printing, scaling, and print quality (resolution). To facilitate print settings, the print setting field 53 may display only the main items, and when other settings are operated, additional items may be displayed. The print setting field 53 may also display items specific to the printer 2.

[0033] When the advanced settings button SW2 is pressed, the general-purpose printing program 41 launches the auxiliary program 42 to accept detailed print settings. When the auxiliary program 42 is requested by the general-purpose printing program 41 to make advanced settings, it displays a detailed settings screen that accepts print settings for various functions of the printer 2. On the detailed settings screen, it is also possible to set print setting items specific to the printer 2. When an instruction to apply print settings is received on the detailed settings screen, the general-purpose printing program 41 receives the print settings set on the detailed settings screen from the auxiliary program 42. The general-purpose printing program 41 displays the print settings received from the auxiliary program 42 in the print settings field 53 of the print settings screen D2. Print settings that are not displayed on the print settings screen D2 are stored in a memory area for the auxiliary program 42.

[0034] The notification image displayed in the notification field 52 is an image that indicates the content of the notification to be sent to the user. The general-purpose printing program 41 can handle data for displaying the print setting screen D2.

[0035] 2, the user can select a printer by operating the printer selection field 51 on the currently displayed print setting screen D2 (A07). If the selected printer is printer 2, the general-purpose print program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to printer 2 and requests processing corresponding to the selected printer (A08). In A08, the general-purpose print program 41 passes information about the selected printer and information about the print settings that were set when the printer was selected to the auxiliary program 42.

[0036] When printer 2 is set as the printer to be normally used by the OS 21, the general-purpose printing program 41 displays the print setting screen D2 with printer 2 selected (A06), as shown in Fig. 4, and starts 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 user does not need to operate A07.

[0037] Note that instead of the general-purpose printing program 41 displaying the print setting screen D2, the information application 43 may be configured to display the print setting screen D2. In this case, the information application 43 starts the general-purpose printing program 41 in response to the selection of printing in A03, obtains data to be displayed on the print setting screen D2 from the general-purpose printing program 41, and displays the print setting screen D2 on the display 13a. Then, in response to the selection of printer 2 or in response to the selection of printer 2 in A07, the information application 43 passes information about the selected printer 2 to the general-purpose printing program 41. As a result, the general-purpose printing program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to printer 2 in A08.

[0038] When the auxiliary program 42 is started, it requests the OS 21 for the printer 2's capability information (A11). In response to the request from the auxiliary program 42, the OS 21 sends an acquisition request to the printer 2 requesting the capability information, and acquires the capability information from the printer 2 (A12). The printer 2 incorporates the printer information in addition to the extended information in the extended area of the capability information, and responds with the capability information including the printer information to the general-purpose printing program 41. By acquiring the capability information from the printer 2, the OS 21 acquires the extended information and printer information associated with the capability information from the printer 2. The OS 21 passes the capability information including the printer information acquired from the printer 2 to the auxiliary program 42 (A13). In other words, the auxiliary program 42 acquires the printer information included in the capability information from the printer 2 via the general-purpose printing program 41. A11 to A13 are an example of a first acquisition process.

[0039] The OS 21 communicates with the printer 2, for example, using IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) communications. Note that the auxiliary program 42 may obtain the capability information and main body information directly from the printer 2, for example, using MIB (Management Information Base), instead of making a request to the OS 21. The main body information may be obtained in a different way from the capability information.

[0040] The printer information acquired from the printer 2 includes information on the installed trays and information indicating the paper sizes and paper types supported by each tray. The capability information acquired from the printer 2 includes information on parameters that can be set as print settings. The capability information also includes information indicating appropriate combinations of print settings. The capability information also includes, for example, status information, information on the remaining amount of consumables, information on the installed trays, paper information on the paper set for each tray, and information on supported print resolutions. The printer 2 may also have a function for performing image processing based on a received print job and printing based on the processed data, such as a function for performing aggregate printing such as Nin1, composite printing such as watermark printing, and colorant-saving printing. If the printer 2 has an image processing function that it can execute, the printer 2 may pass information on that function to the OS 21 as capability information.

[0041] The auxiliary program 42 stores the capability information notified by the OS 21 in A13 in a predetermined area in the memory 12 that can be used by the auxiliary program 42 (A14). That is, the auxiliary program 42 stores the main body information included in the capability information in a predetermined storage area together with capability information other than the main body information. Note that if the capability information is already stored in the memory 12, the auxiliary program 42 overwrites the stored capability information and stores the current capability information. That is, the auxiliary program 42 rewrites the main body information each time it acquires it. This allows the auxiliary program 42 to store main body information that reflects the changes, for example, even if the paper size or paper type settings are changed on the printer 2 side or paper of a different size or paper type is transferred to the paper feed tray between the last time the printer 2 was selected and the time the printer 2 is selected this time.

[0042] The auxiliary program 42 executes a notification data generation process (A21) based on the main body information included in the capability information notified in A13. The notification data generation process is a process for generating notification data indicating a notification image to be displayed in the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2. The notification image to be displayed in the notification field 52 may include, for example, text, a still image, or a video, or a combination of these. For example, the notification data generation process of A15 generates notification data including the printer manufacturer's logo or an advertisement. The notification data may be empty data if nothing is to be displayed in the notification field 52.

[0043] 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 printing program 41 (A22), and ends the processing. Based on the display information received from the auxiliary program 42, the general-purpose printing program 41 displays a notification image in the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2 displayed on the display 13a (A23). In A23, a notification image based on the notification data is displayed in the notification field 52, and information based on the capability information of the printer 2 is displayed in the print setting field 53 as the initial value of each print setting. Note that in the processing of A23, if the information application 43 is configured to display the print setting screen D2, the information application 43 receives the notification data and displays the notification image in the notification field 52.

[0044] 4 shows the print setting screen D2 including one notification field 52, but the layout, shape, size, number, etc. of the notification field 52 are not limited to the example shown in this figure. The auxiliary program 42 may acquire information about the notification field 52 from the general-purpose printing program 41 and determine the notification data to be displayed in the notification field 52 based on the acquired information. For example, if there are multiple layouts in which the notification field 52 can be displayed and the display location can be specified by the auxiliary program 42, the auxiliary program 42 may pass notification data including information specifying the display location to the general-purpose printing program 41. Furthermore, if the size of the notification field 52 can be selected, the auxiliary program 42 may pass information specifying the size to the general-purpose printing program 41.

[0045] The auxiliary program 42 can also display the information itself, instead of generating notification data and passing it to the general-purpose printing program 41. In this case, however, a screen separate from the print setting screen D2 is displayed. Displaying the information within the print setting screen D2 of the general-purpose printing program 41 of the OS 21 simplifies the display and reduces user stress.

[0046] Next, the procedures performed by each program when an instruction to change the print settings is received through a user operation in the print settings field 53 while the print settings screen D2 shown in Fig. 4 is displayed will be described with reference to the sequence diagram in Fig. 5. As described above, the print settings screen D2 can receive an instruction to change the print settings through an operation in the print settings field 53, and an instruction to execute printing through an operation on the print button SW3.

[0047] The general-purpose printing program 41 changes the display contents of the print setting field 53 on the print setting screen D2 (C02) based on a user instruction to change the print settings (C01). Furthermore, when the print settings are changed, the general-purpose printing program 41 also starts the auxiliary program 42 and requests processing corresponding to the change in print settings (C03). In C03, the auxiliary program 42 receives information on the changed print settings from the general-purpose printing program 41. C03 is an example of a second acquisition process.

[0048] The auxiliary program 42 reads out the main body information stored in the memory 12 together with the capability information at A14 in FIG. 2 (C10). The auxiliary program 42 generates notification data based on the read main body information and the changed print settings received from the general-purpose printing program 41 at C03 (C11). The auxiliary program 42 passes the generated notification data at C11 to the general-purpose printing program 41 (C13). The general-purpose printing program 41 displays the received notification data in the notification field 52 of the print setting 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 setting screen D2 launched and displayed by the information application 43. C10 and C11 are examples of a generation process. C13 is an example of a display process. C03 and C10 to C14 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. 6.

[0049] For example, assume that printer 2 is equipped with two paper feed trays, "Tray 1" and "Tray 2," and one "manual feed tray." The auxiliary program 42 acquires from printer 2 main body information indicating paper characteristics for "Tray 1," "Tray 2," and the "manual feed tray," and stores the information in memory 12. This main body information includes, for example, information indicating that the paper sizes that "Tray 1" can accommodate are "L size," "A4 size," and "B5 size," that the paper sizes that "Tray 2" can accommodate are "letter size," "A4 size," and "B5 size," that the paper types that "Tray 1" can accommodate are "glossy paper" and "plain paper," and that the paper type that "Tray 2" can accommodate is only "plain paper."

[0050] With the auxiliary program 42 storing this main body information in memory 12, suppose that a parameter for one of the items is changed in the print setting field 53 of the print setting screen D2 that the general-purpose print program 41 is displaying on the display 13a as shown in Fig. 4. The general-purpose print program 41 passes the print settings changed in the print setting field 53 to the auxiliary program 42 (C03 in Fig. 5). The changed print settings include not only the parameters for the changed items, but also the parameters for the unchanged items.

[0051] For example, if the parameter set for "Paper Tray" is "Auto Select" in the changed print settings received by the auxiliary program 42 from the general-purpose printing program 41, the auxiliary program 42 reads information indicating the paper size and paper type for all paper trays included in the main body information from the memory 12 (C10 in FIG. 5) and generates notification data (C11 in FIG. 5).

[0052] If "Auto Select" is set for "Paper Tray" in the changed print settings, the paper source during printing will depend on the settings or specifications of the printer 2. Therefore, the auxiliary program 42 generates notification data including text information describing the compatible paper sizes and paper types for all of the paper trays that the printer 2 has. The notification data may also include image data. The auxiliary program 42 passes the generated notification data to the general-purpose print program 41, and displays the text information and image data included in the notification data in the notification field 52 of the print settings screen D2 (C13 in FIG. 5).

[0053] 6(a), the notification field 52 is provided with a first display area 521 for displaying text information and a second display area 522 for displaying image data. In the first display area 521, for example, the text information 110 included in the notification data is displayed.

[0054] In the text information 110, as indicated by reference numerals 111, 112, and 113, the paper sizes and paper types that can be supported by each tray are explained. As indicated by reference numerals 111 and 112 in the figure, information based on the printer's information is shown for "Tray 1" and "Tray 2." The printer's information cannot identify the "paper sizes" and "paper types" that can be supported by the "manual feed tray." Therefore, as indicated by reference numeral 113 in the figure, the auxiliary program 42 displays a predetermined explanation for the "manual feed tray" in the notification field 52. The manual feed tray is an example of a specific tray. The specific tray may be a removable tray that can be removed from the printer. The notification content indicated by reference numeral 113 in the figure is an example of specific notification content.

[0055] Image data included in the notification data is displayed in second display area 522. For example, image data 210 indicating the positions of "Tray 1," "Tray 2," and "Manual Tray" of printer 2 is displayed in second display area 522.

[0056] By looking at the notification field 52, the user can learn all the paper sizes and paper types that can be printed on the printer 2. The notification field 52 displays the compatible paper sizes and paper types for each paper feed tray in a distinguishable manner. This makes it easy for the user to understand the compatible paper sizes and paper types for the paper feed tray set on the print setting screen D2. Furthermore, as shown by reference numeral 113 in FIG. 6, the auxiliary program 42 displays a predetermined explanation for the "manual feed tray" in the notification field 52, so that the user can receive a notification appropriate for the manual feed tray.

[0057] Note that if the paper feed tray on the print setting screen D2 is set to one of "Tray 1," "Tray 2," and "Manual Tray" instead of "Auto Select," only information corresponding to the selected tray may be displayed. For example, if "Tray 2" is set as the paper feed tray on the print setting screen D2, the auxiliary program 42 may generate notification data including only the information indicated by reference numeral 112 and display it in the first display area 521. This makes it easier for the user to understand the paper sizes and paper types that the paper feed tray selected on the print setting screen D2 can accommodate.

[0058] On the other hand, for example, even if "Tray 2" is set as the paper feed tray on the print setting screen D2, the paper sizes and paper types for all trays may be displayed in the notification field 52, as shown in FIG. 6(a). In other words, not only the selected tray "Tray 2" but also the unselected "Tray 1" and "Manual Feed Tray" may be displayed in the notification field 52. This allows the user to know the paper sizes and paper types that can be used for all trays provided in the selected printer 2. As a result, it becomes easier for the user to perform print settings by appropriately combining paper feed trays with paper sizes or paper types.

[0059] 6(b), the first display area 521 of the notification field 52 may list the "paper sizes" and "paper types" that the printer 2 can support, without distinguishing between trays. For example, if "Tray 2" is set as the "paper feed tray" in the changed print settings, the paper characteristics of the selected "Tray 2" may be displayed with priority over the paper characteristics of non-selected paper feed trays, as shown at 121 in the figure. Examples of a method of displaying with priority include changing the order of the information so that the "paper sizes" and "paper types" that "Tray 2" can support are displayed first, or highlighting the "paper sizes" and "paper types" that "Tray 2" can support by using a larger font than the others.

[0060] The priority display method may be either the first display or the highlighted display. Another example of the priority display method is a method in which, when the information indicating the paper size and paper type that a paper feed tray can support is switched for each tray, the set paper feed tray "Tray 2" is displayed before the unset paper feed tray "Tray 1." The "paper size" and "paper type" of "Tray 2" are examples of first paper characteristics, and the "paper size" and "paper type" of "Tray 1" are examples of second paper characteristics.

[0061] In this way, by displaying the "paper size" and "paper type" that the selected paper feed tray "Tray 2" can support in preference to the "paper size" and "paper type" that the unselected paper feed tray "Tray 1" can support, the user can easily recognize from the display in notification field 52 whether or not there is an error in the current print settings on print setting screen D2.

[0062] The general-purpose printing program 41 is a printing program that is pre-installed in the OS 21 and is different from the printer driver and auxiliary program 42 that correspond to each printer model. Therefore, the general-purpose printing program 41 does not know the correspondence between paper feed trays and paper characteristics. The print setting screen D2 that the general-purpose printing program 41 displays on the display 13a may accept print settings that use a combination of parameters that the printer 2 cannot set.

[0063] For example, assume that in printer 2, "Tray 1" can accommodate "envelope size," but "Tray 2" cannot. In this case, the auxiliary program 42 stores in memory 12 main body information in A14 of FIG. 2, which indicates that "envelope size" is included in the paper sizes that "Tray 1" can accommodate, but "envelope size" is not included in the paper sizes that "Tray 2" can accommodate. In this state, the general-purpose printing program 41 may change the print settings via the print setting screen D2 by setting "Tray 2" as the "paper feed tray" and "envelope size" as the "paper size." The general-purpose printing program 41 passes the changed print settings, including "Tray 2" and "envelope size," to the auxiliary program 42.

[0064] As described above, the main body information stored in memory 12 does not include "envelope size" as a paper size that "Tray 2" can handle. From this main body information, auxiliary program 42 can determine that the paper size "envelope size" included in the changed print settings is not a paper size that "Tray 2" can handle. Therefore, auxiliary program 42 generates notification data that includes text information explaining the paper size error and image data, passes it to general-purpose printing program 41, and displays it in notification field 52 on print setting screen D2.

[0065] For example, as shown in FIG. 6(c), first display area 521 of notification field 52 displays error information 130 indicating an error in paper characteristics. Error information 130 includes, for example, first information 131 describing a paper size mismatch, second information 132 describing paper sizes compatible with the paper feed tray set on print setting screen D2, and third information describing paper feed trays compatible with the paper size set on print setting screen D2. Note that error information 130 may be composed of any one of first information 131, second information 132, and third information 133, or may include other information. Second display area 522 displays image data 230 showing an image of an error that would occur if printing were performed with the specified envelope size.

[0066] According to this, before operating print button SW3 on print setting screen D2 to input a print instruction, the user can be expected to learn from error information 130 and image data 230 displayed in notification field 52 that the combination of "paper feed tray" and "paper size" set on print setting screen D2 is inappropriate for the selected printer 2, and change the print settings to appropriate settings. In particular, because the user can learn specific ways to deal with the error from second information 132 and third information 133, it is easy for the user to change the settings on print setting screen D2 to appropriate combination of paper feed tray and paper size.

[0067] Although Figure 6(c) describes a paper size mismatch, the auxiliary program 42 may also generate notification data including error information indicating a paper type mismatch and display it in the notification field 52 in the case of a paper type mismatch.

[0068] Next, the procedures performed by each program when a print instruction is received by a user operating the print button SW3 while the print setting screen D2 shown in Fig. 4 is displayed will be described with reference to the sequence diagram in Fig. 7. The print instruction from the user may be input directly to the general-purpose print program 41, or may be input to the information application 43 and output from the information application 43 to the general-purpose print program 41.

[0069] When the general-purpose printing program 41 receives a print execution instruction from the user (D01), it uses the print settings received on the print setting screen D2 to convert the format of the image data representing the image to be printed into the format of intermediate image data to generate intermediate image data (D02), and passes the generated intermediate image data to the auxiliary program 42 (D03). The image data contained 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. Note that if the image data to be printed is suitable for generating print data, the generation of intermediate image data may be omitted and the image data may be used as is as intermediate image data. The intermediate image data may be, for example, XPS data.

[0070] The auxiliary program 42 processes the intermediate image data received in D03 so as to reflect the print setting contents (D04). For example, when poster printing (1 in 2 x 2) is set, the auxiliary program 42 divides the image data to be printed in two, vertically and horizontally, to generate divided image data.

[0071] The auxiliary program 42 rasterizes the processed intermediate image data and generates print data representing the image to be printed (D05). The print data generated in D05 is data in a format that can be used for printing by the printer 2, for example, PDL data dedicated to the model of the printer 2.

[0072] Rasterizing with the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2 allows for greater flexibility than rasterizing with the general-purpose print program 41, and is more likely to generate print data suitable for printing on the printer 2. Note that the print data generated by the auxiliary program 42 may be in a format that can also be used for printing on printers other than the printer 2 model.

[0073] The auxiliary program 42 sends the print data generated in D05 to the printer 2 together with a print command instructing the printer 2 to execute printing (D06). D06 is an example of a sending process. If the auxiliary program 42 has determined that the printer 2 should execute image processing, it generates a print command that also includes information about that processing. The auxiliary program 42 may further notify the general-purpose printing program 41 that it has finished sending the print data (D08).

[0074] Upon receiving the print data and print command, the printer 2 prints the image of the print data based on the received print command (D07), thereby generating a printed matter.

[0075] 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 in D03 and print execution information 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 this case, the general-purpose printing program 41 passes the generated print data to the auxiliary program 42. Then, when the auxiliary program 42 receives print data from the general-purpose printing program 41, it sends the print data received from the general-purpose printing program 41 to the printer 2 together with a print command instructing the execution of printing.

[0076] The print data generated by the general-purpose print program 41 is print data in a format that can be used for printing on various printers, such as PWGRaster data or PDF data. If the print data is rasterized by the general-purpose print program 41, the processing of the auxiliary program 42 is reduced, which is expected to prevent an increase in processing time and reduce the program size of the auxiliary program 42.

[0077] The general-purpose printing program 41 may transmit the print data and print commands to the printer 2. In other words, the auxiliary program 42 may pass the generated print data to the general-purpose printing program 41 so that the data is sent from the PC 1 to the printer 2 as the destination. In this case, the general-purpose printing program 41 transmits the print data, etc. received from the auxiliary program 42 to the printer 2. In this case, the process in which the auxiliary program 42 passes the print data, etc. to the general-purpose printing program 41 is an example of a transmission process.

[0078] As described above, in the PC 1 incorporating the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment, the auxiliary program 42 acquires main body information related to the paper characteristics stored for each paper feed tray from the printer 2, and when the print settings are changed via the print setting screen, the auxiliary program 42 passes notification data including paper information indicating the paper characteristics of the paper feed tray set in the changed print settings to the general-purpose print program 41, which is then displayed on the print setting screen D2. This allows the PC 1 using the general-purpose print program 41 of the OS 21 to notify the user of information about paper characteristics that match the print settings before entering a print command. As a result, the user knows information about the suitability of the paper characteristics, increasing the likelihood of avoiding errors due to inappropriate paper characteristics during printing.

[0079] The embodiments disclosed in this specification are merely examples and do not limit the present invention in any way. Therefore, the technology disclosed in this specification can naturally be improved and modified in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the device connected to PC1 is not limited to a printer, but may be any device with a printing function, such as a multifunction device, copier, or fax machine. Furthermore, the number of printers connected to PC1 is not limited to the illustrated example, and may be two or more.

[0080] For example, the printer information may be acquired from the printer 2 not only when the printer is selected, but also when the auxiliary program 42 is installed or each time the print settings are changed. The printer information may be acquired at any one of these times, or at multiple times. In these cases, the auxiliary program 42 stores the printer information in the memory 12 and uses it to generate notification data. When the printer information is acquired during installation, notification data can be generated based on the printer information even if the communication environment between the PC 1 and the printer 2 is poor, for example, when the printer is selected or the print settings are changed. Furthermore, when the printer information is acquired each time the print settings are changed, the latest printer information can be acquired from the printer 2 and notification data can be generated. However, acquiring the printer information when the printer is selected reduces the number of communications with the printer and the communication load compared to acquiring the information each time the print settings are changed. Furthermore, acquiring the printer information when the printer is selected increases the likelihood of responding to printer setting changes compared to acquiring the printer information when the auxiliary program 42 is installed.

[0081] For example, when selecting a printer in A07 of FIG. 2, the auxiliary program 42 may be started by the general-purpose printing program to acquire printer information (A08-A14), and then generate notification data based on the print settings received from the general-purpose printing program 41 in A08 and the printer information stored in the memory 12 in A14 (see A21). In this case, A21 generates notification data similarly to C10 and C11 of FIG. 5. The auxiliary program 42 passes the generated notification data to the general-purpose printing program 41 and displays it in the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2 (see A22). This allows the auxiliary program 42 to display the paper characteristics of the paper feed tray set in the print settings obtained from the general-purpose printing program 41 in the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2 even when selecting a printer. This allows the user to immediately know information about the paper characteristics of the selected printer. In this case, A08 is an example of a second acquisition process, A21 is an example of a generation process, and A22 is an example of a display process.

[0082] For example, the examples of the notification images in FIG. 6 are merely examples and are not limited to the examples shown.

[0083] Furthermore, if the user changes the default printer from another printer to printer 2 via the OS 21 after the print setting screen D2 is displayed by the general-purpose printing program 41, the general-purpose printing program 41 may also start the auxiliary program 42. In this case, the auxiliary program 42 may execute the notification data generation process and pass the notification data to the general-purpose printing program 41, just as when printer 2 is selected.

[0084] In the embodiment, only the printing operation is described in detail as the operation of the auxiliary program 42, but the auxiliary program 42 may have other roles as well. The program that executes the processing of this embodiment is not limited to the auxiliary program 42, and may be any program that receives instructions from the OS 21 or the general-purpose print program 41 when printing using the general-purpose print program 41. For example, it may be a print workflow application (Print workflow) whose specifications have been made public by Microsoft.

[0085] Furthermore, the execution timing of the auxiliary program 42 is not limited to that of the embodiment. For example, the auxiliary program 42 may be executed in response to a direct execution instruction from the OS 21, or may be a resident auxiliary program 42. If the auxiliary program 42 is resident, it may simply receive an execution command and perform the above-described operation.

[0086] Furthermore, in any flowchart disclosed in the embodiments, the execution order of multiple processes in any multiple steps can be changed or they can be executed in parallel as long as no contradiction occurs in the processing content.

[0087] The processes disclosed in the embodiments may be executed by hardware such as a single CPU, multiple CPUs, or ASIC, or a combination thereof. The processes disclosed in the embodiments may be realized in various ways, such as a recording medium on which a program for executing the processes is recorded, or a method. [Explanation of symbols]

[0088] 1 PC 2. Printer 11 CPU 13a Display 21 OS 41 General-purpose printing program 42 Subsidy Programs

Claims

1. A support program that can be executed by a computer of an information processing device, corresponds to a printer connected to the information processing device, and supports a general-purpose print program that is pre-installed in an operating system of the information processing device, wherein the general-purpose print program is capable of handling data for displaying a print setting screen on a display of the information processing device, and print setting items that can be set on the print setting screen include paper characteristics and paper feed trays, the printer has at least one paper feed tray, and the printer stores main body information that indicates paper characteristics for each paper feed tray, The computer, executes a first acquisition process for acquiring the main body information stored in the printer; Furthermore, the computer When a process is requested from the general-purpose printing program due to a change in print settings on the print setting screen, a second acquisition process for acquiring the print settings from the general-purpose print program; a generation process for generating notification data including paper information indicating paper characteristics of the paper feed tray set in the print settings acquired in the second acquisition process based on the main body information acquired in the first acquisition process; a display process for passing the notification data generated in the generation process to the general-purpose print program and displaying the notification data on the print setting screen displayed on the display of the information processing device; Execute A support program configured to:

2. 2. The support program according to claim 1, In the generation process, If the paper feed tray set in the print settings acquired in the second acquisition process is an automatic selection, the notification data is generated including the paper information indicating the paper characteristics of all the paper feed trays indicated in the main body information acquired in the first acquisition process. A support program configured to:

3. The support program according to claim 1 or 2, The paper feed trays of the printer include a specific tray, which is a paper feed tray for which paper characteristics are not set; In the generation process, If the paper feed tray set in the print settings acquired in the second acquisition process is the specific tray, the notification data including a predetermined specific notification content is generated. A support program configured to:

4. 4. The support program according to claim 1, In the generation process, generating the notification data including the paper information indicating first paper characteristics, which are paper characteristics of the paper feed tray set in the print settings acquired in the second acquisition process, and second paper characteristics, which are paper characteristics of a paper feed tray other than the paper feed tray set in the print settings acquired in the second acquisition process, based on the main body information acquired in the first acquisition process; A support program configured to:

5. 5. The support program according to claim 4, In the generation process, generating the notification data, which includes the paper information indicating the first paper characteristics and the second paper characteristics, based on the main body information acquired in the first acquisition process, and is used to notify the first paper characteristics with priority over the second paper characteristics; A support program configured to:

6. 6. The support program according to claim 1, The computer, When the printer is selected and a process is requested from the general-purpose printing program, the first acquisition process is executed, and the acquired main body information is stored in a memory; In the generation process, the main body information stored in the memory is read, and the notification data including the paper information indicating the paper characteristics of the paper feed tray set in the print setting acquired in the second acquisition process is generated based on the read main body information. A support program configured to:

7. 7. The support program according to claim 6, The computer, When a process is requested from the general-purpose printing program as a result of the printer being selected, the first acquisition process is executed, the acquired main body information is stored in the memory, and then the second acquisition process, the generation process, and the display process are executed. A support program configured to:

8. 8. The support program according to claim 1, In the generation process If the paper characteristics set in the print settings acquired in the second acquisition process are not the paper characteristics of the paper feed tray set in the print settings acquired in the second acquisition process, the notification data is generated including error information indicating an error in the paper characteristics. A support program configured to:

9. 9. The support program according to claim 1, The computer, When a print instruction is output from an application program installed in the information processing device, the print instruction being to cause the printer to print an image to the general-purpose print program, and processing is requested from the general-purpose print program, acquiring image data representing the image from the general-purpose printing program, and executing a transmission process for transmitting a print command to the printer based on the image data; A support program configured to:

Images