Information processing device, control method and program for information processing device

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus that is able to obtain printer capability information for setting items different from setting items that can be set by a general-purpose printer driver when using the general-purpose printer driver.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus in this embodiment is configured to: acquire capability information related to a first setting item that can be set by a printer driver from a cloud print service based on the installation of the printer driver for transmitting print data to the cloud print service in which printer information is registered; after the acquisition of the capability information related to the first setting item is completed, acquire capability information related to a second setting item that is not supported by the printer driver from the cloud print service; and display an object for selecting a setting value of the second setting item based on the capability information related to the second setting item acquired by second acquisition means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] In recent years, generic printer drivers using industry-standard protocols such as the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) have been considered. Generic printer drivers include local printer drivers that connect directly to printers and cloud printer drivers that send print data to cloud print services.

[0003] A generic printer driver can communicate with printers from multiple printer vendors, so by using a generic printer driver, users can send print data to image forming devices and cloud print services without having to install a vendor-specific printer driver.

[0004] Because the generic printer drivers described above handle print jobs to be printed on printers from various vendors, the items and functions that can be set as print settings are limited. Therefore, as in Patent Document 1, it has been considered to expand the print queue linked to the printer driver by using the identification information of the printer linked to the printer driver. This makes it possible to realize a vendor-specific print setting UI and print job editing function. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-124791 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Even when printing using a generic driver, improved convenience is required.. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An application program that cooperates with a generic printer driver, the generic printer driver being capable of displaying a print setting screen based on device capability information managed by an operating system of an information processing device, the application program causing the information processing device to include in the device capability information information for displaying an object for accepting settings related to job name abbreviation from a user, and the information processing device being able to display the object by including the information in the device capability information. . [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] In the present invention The application program improves convenience even when printing is performed using a general-purpose driver. It is possible. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sequence illustrating a process of installing a print setting extension application in the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a client terminal 101 in this embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of configuration information stored in a cloud print-compatible printer 104 in this embodiment. [Figure 6A] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of device configuration information included in the OS 313 in this embodiment. [Figure 6B] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of device configuration information after being extended with information acquired from a cloud print service 321 in this embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an extended setup information file acquired from an online support service in this embodiment. [Figure 8] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of a sequence showing a process from making print settings with a print setting extending application to transmitting print data in the present embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting screen displayed when a print setting extension application is not installed in the present embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting screen that is displayed when a print setting extension application is installed in the present embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting screen displayed by a document generation application in the present embodiment. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process for installing a print setting extension application on a client terminal in the present embodiment. [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process for performing print settings using a print setting extension application and generating print data in this embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] 1 shows a configuration diagram of a printing system for cloud printing according to this embodiment. A client terminal 101, a cloud print server 102, an application management server 103, a cloud print-compatible printer 104, and an online support server 105 are connected via a network 107.

[0012] Although FIG. 1 shows one client terminal 101 and one cloud print compatible printer 104, there may be a plurality of client terminals 101 and a plurality of cloud print compatible printers 104.

[0013] Furthermore, the cloud print server 102, the application management server 103, and the online support server 105 may be a server system configured with a plurality of information processing devices. By configuring each server as a server system configured with a plurality of information processing devices, it is possible to distribute the load among the plurality of information processing devices.

[0014] Furthermore, the cloud print server 102, the application management server 103, and the online support server 105 may be virtually configured within one physical information processing apparatus.

[0015] The network 107 is assumed to be a WAN such as the Internet for connection to cloud services, but may be a closed environment such as an in-house LAN.

[0016] The client terminal 101 is an information processing device such as a PC, tablet, or smartphone, and is a terminal that is directly operated by a user. Any application software can be executed on the client terminal 101.

[0017] The cloud print-compatible printer 104 is a device that actually prints on a recording medium such as paper, and is an image forming apparatus that converts print data received via a network 107 into image data and prints it.

[0018] The cloud print-compatible printer 104 can receive print data from the client terminal 101 via the cloud print server 102, or can receive print data directly from the client terminal 101 without going through the cloud print server 102.

[0019] The cloud print-compatible printer 104 receives print data generated by a cloud printer driver 311 of the client terminal 101 via the cloud print server 102. The cloud print-compatible printer 104 also receives print data generated by a local printer driver 314 of the client terminal 101 without going through the cloud print server 102.

[0020] The cloud print server 102 receives print instructions and print data from an external device, and then transmits the received print data to a predetermined cloud print-compatible printer 104.

[0021] The application management server 103 holds and manages various applications. The application management server 103 receives application identification information and a download request from the client terminal 101, and transmits to the client terminal 101 the application identified based on the received identification information.

[0022] The online support server 105 is a server device that provides an online support service 351. The online support service 351 is a server device that provides the client terminal 101 with an extended setup information file that describes information for extending the functions of the client terminal 101.

[0023] Next, the hardware configuration of the system of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0024] FIG. 2( a ) is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the client terminal 101 .

[0025] The client terminal 101 includes a display unit 216 , an operation unit 217 , a storage unit 214 , a control unit 211 , and a network communication unit 215 .

[0026] The storage unit 214 refers to a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk or SSD, which is capable of storing and rewriting digital data.

[0027] The control unit 211 is composed of a CPU 212 and a memory 213, and controls the overall operation of the client terminal 101. The CPU 212 loads programs stored in the storage unit 214 into the memory 213 and executes them. The memory 213 is the main storage memory of the CPU 212 and is used as a work area and a temporary storage area for loading various programs.

[0028] The network communication unit 215 is a device that communicates with the external network 107, and inputs and outputs digital data to and from external servers, client terminals, and the like via the network 107.

[0029] The display unit 216 is a device for displaying visual information to the user, such as a liquid crystal display. The operation unit 217 is a device for receiving input from the user via a keyboard, mouse, etc. A device having the functions of both the display unit 216 and the operation unit 217, such as a touch panel, may also be used.

[0030] 2B is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the cloud print server 102. The cloud print server 102 includes a storage unit 224, a control unit 221, and a network communication unit 225.

[0031] The description of the storage unit 224, the control unit 221, and the network communication unit 225 is omitted because they are the same as those of the client terminal 101.

[0032] Although the cloud print server 102 is described as being configured with one information processing device having the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 2(b), the cloud print server 102 may also be configured with multiple information processing devices as shown in FIG. 2(b).

[0033] 2(c) is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the application management server 103. The application management server 103 includes a display unit 236, an operation unit 237, a storage unit 234, a control unit 231, and a network communication unit 235.

[0034] The display unit 236, operation unit 237, storage unit 234, control unit 231, and network communication unit 235 are the same as those of the client terminal 101, and therefore will not be described here.

[0035] Although the application management server 103 will be described as being configured as one information processing device having the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 2(c), the application management server 103 may be configured as a plurality of information processing devices.

[0036] 2(d) is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the cloud print-compatible printer 104. The cloud print-compatible printer 104 includes a display unit 246, an operation unit 247, a storage unit 244, a control unit 241, a network communication unit 245, and a printing unit 248.

[0037] The display unit 246 is a device, such as a touch panel or LED, provided on the cloud print-compatible printer 104, for displaying information to the user.

[0038] The operation unit 247 is a device for receiving input from the user, and may include hard keys such as a numeric keypad in addition to a touch panel. The storage unit 244 and the control unit 241 are the same as those in the client terminal 101, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0039] The network communication unit 245 is a device that communicates with the external network 107, and is mainly responsible for receiving print data and transmitting information about the status of the cloud print-compatible printer 104, such as errors, to an external server or the like.

[0040] The printing unit 248 is a device that performs printing processing by carrying out a series of operations, including paper feeding, printing, and paper ejection, on paper prepared in a cassette or tray. The printing method is not particularly limited, and may be electrophotographic or inkjet. Finishing devices, such as a duplex unit used during paper ejection, staples, and punching, are also included in the printing unit 248.

[0041] In this embodiment, a single-function printer that performs only a printing function is described as an example of the cloud print-compatible printer 104, but a multi-function printer (complex device) that also has a scanner function and a fax function may also be used.

[0042] FIG. 2(e) is a hardware block diagram showing details of the online support server 105. In this embodiment, the online support server 105 is described as being configured with one information processing device, but it may be configured with multiple information processing devices. The online support server is configured with a display unit 256, an operation unit 257, a memory unit 254, a control unit 251, and a network communication unit 255. The display unit 256 and the operation unit 257 are similar to the display unit 216 and the operation unit 217 of the client terminal 101, and therefore description thereof will be omitted. The memory unit 254 is a memory device such as an HDD or SSD. The memory unit 254 stores an extension setup information file, which is a file containing information for extending the functions provided by the client terminal 101.

[0043] The control unit 251 is composed of a CPU 252 and a memory 253. The CPU 252 controls the entire online support server 105. The memory 253 is used for processing executed by the CPU 252. The network communication unit 255 is an interface that enables the online support server 105 to communicate with the client terminal 101. The online support server 105 receives a request to acquire a file stored in the memory unit 254 via the network communication unit 255, and transmits the corresponding file to the client terminal 101.

[0044] Next, an example of a user procedure and a sequence between each piece of software and the print service in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0045] First, the cloud print-compatible printer 104 accepts a printer registration operation from the user to register the cloud print-compatible printer 104 with the cloud print service 321. The cloud print-compatible printer 104 transmits a printer registration request together with the device identification information of the printer to the cloud print service 321 (S3001). Here, the device identification information transmitted to the cloud print service 321 is, for example, an HWID (hardware ID) assigned to each printer model. Note that the device identification information may be any information as long as it can identify the printer model.

[0046] When the cloud print service 321 receives the registration request, it sends the URL of the cloud print service 321 for printer registration to the cloud print-compatible printer 104. When the user accesses the URL from the cloud print-compatible printer 104 or an information processing device, an input screen for inputting a user ID and password is displayed on the display unit of the terminal that accessed the URL. The user inputs a user ID and password for using the cloud print service 321 and logs in to the cloud print service 321. When the user's login is successful, the cloud print service 321 sends a request to the cloud print-compatible printer 104 to obtain information necessary for printer registration. The cloud print-compatible printer 104 sends printer information to the cloud print service 321 in response to the request.

[0047] Next, the cloud print service 321 that has received the printer registration request registers information about the cloud print-compatible printer 104 and generates a print queue for the cloud print-compatible printer 104. At this time, the cloud print service 321 acquires capability information about the cloud print-compatible printer 104 and links it to the generated print queue. The capability information is information that indicates the functions that the printer has, and refers to information that is necessary for the user to set as print settings when printing, such as double-sided printing capability information, color printing capability information, and stapling capability information.

[0048] FIG. 5 shows an example of capability information. The capability information is composed of item names and attribute values. Item names correspond to print setting items. Attribute values ​​correspond to the setting values, options, and value ranges that can be set for each setting item. The cloud print-compatible printer 104 stores item names and attribute values ​​defined by printer vendors in addition to item names and attribute values ​​defined as industry standards by the IPP. For example, among the item names shown in FIG. 5, "Store Job in Printer," "Shortened Job Name," and "Stapleless Binding" and their associated attribute values ​​are item names and attribute values ​​defined by printer vendors. "Store Job in Printer" is a setting item for setting whether the printer stores print data received from the cloud print service 321 after printing. "Shortened Job Name" is a setting item for setting whether the printer displays abbreviated names for print data when displaying bibliographic information for print data received from the cloud print service 321 on the printer's display. "Stapleless binding" is an item for setting whether or not the printer will bind output sheets based on print data received from the cloud print service 321 without using staples. Binding without staples means, for example, binding sheets by pressure bonding. Note that printer vendors may define their own attribute values ​​as attribute values ​​corresponding to item names defined as industry standard specifications. For example, "folding settings" is an item name defined by IPP. Meanwhile, "saddle fold," one of the attribute values ​​of "folding settings," is a function that folds and ejects one or more sheets of paper together without stapling them, and is an attribute value defined independently by printer vendors.

[0049] In this embodiment, capability information is transmitted to the cloud print service 321 in accordance with IPP as a communication protocol. The cloud print-compatible printer 104 registers capability information using a command prepared for the cloud print-compatible printer 104 to register capability information with the cloud print service 321. The cloud print-compatible printer 104 notifies the cloud print service 321 of the item names shown in FIG. 5 and the attribute values ​​and default values ​​corresponding to each item name. The capability information notified here is independent of whether each item and attribute value is defined in IPP. For example, the item names and attribute values ​​of "Store job in printer," "Shortened job name," and "Stapleless binding" shown in FIG. 5 are also notified to the cloud print service 321. In addition, "saddle fold," which is one of the attribute values ​​of "folding settings" and is unique to the printer vendor, is also registered with the cloud print service 321 as one of the attribute values ​​of "folding settings."

[0050] Next, a description will be given of installation of the print setting extension application 312 that is performed when the user performs a setup operation on the client terminal 101 to print with the cloud print-compatible printer 104. When registering the cloud print-compatible printer 104 on the client terminal 101, a standard print function, which is one of the functions of the OS (operating system) 313 of the client terminal 101, is used.

[0051] The OS 313 of the client terminal 101 accepts a printer addition operation, which is a setup operation of the cloud print-compatible printer 104 by the user (S3002). The setup operation of the cloud print-compatible printer 104 is, for example, the following operation. FIG. 4 shows a screen related to printers registered in the client terminal 101, displayed by the OS 313 of the client terminal 101. When the user selects an object 401, a printer search instruction is input to the OS 313.

[0052] Upon receiving the printer search instruction, the OS 313 determines whether it holds a token for the cloud print service 321. If the OS 313 does not hold a token, the OS 313 displays a screen for inputting user information (login name and password, not shown). The OS 313 of the client terminal 101 transmits the user information input via the screen to the cloud print service 321 and requests user authentication and an access token (S3003).

[0053] The cloud print service 321 performs authentication processing (S3004) using the user information received from the client terminal 101. Upon completing the authentication processing, the cloud print service 321 notifies the client terminal 101 of the result of the authentication processing.

[0054] If the user authentication is successful, the OS 313 of the client terminal 101 acquires an access token from the cloud print service 321 (S3005).

[0055] If the user authentication fails in S304, the cloud print service 321 notifies the OS 313 of the client terminal 101 of an authentication error (S3006). The OS 313 of the client terminal 101 stops processing based on the received authentication error information (S3007). If the access token cannot be acquired, the OS 313 of the client terminal 101 ends the processing described in FIG. 3.

[0056] If the OS 313 holds an access token or if the OS 313 has acquired a token in step S3005, the OS 313 of the client terminal 101 proceeds to step S3008. The OS 313 searches for printers registered in the cloud print service 321 and printers connected to the network 107.

[0057] The OS 313 of the client terminal 101 transmits a request to obtain printer information registered with the cloud print service 321 and searches for printers (S3008). In S3008, the OS 313 of the client terminal 101 transmits the request to obtain printer information, together with the access token, to the cloud print service 321.

[0058] The cloud print service 321 transmits information about the printer that the user identified by the access token attached to the acquisition request is permitted to use to the client terminal 101 (S3009). The printer information transmitted to the client terminal 101 in S3009 is the printer name assigned to the printer registered in the cloud print service 321 and the HWID of the printer.

[0059] The OS 313 of the client terminal 101 acquires the printer list and the device identification information of each printer sent by the cloud print service 321. In parallel with the processing of S3008 and S3009, the OS 313 of the client terminal 101 searches for printers connected to the same network as the client terminal 101. This is a device search using mDNS, Bonjour, or the like.

[0060] The OS 313 displays a printer list on the client terminal 101 based on the printer information acquired from the cloud print service 321 and the printer information detected by searching the network 107. In area 402 of FIG. 4, the printer information received from the cloud print service 321 is displayed in a list. Among the items displayed in area 402, "Cloud Printer 001 / 002 / 003" is information about printers registered in the cloud print service 321. On the other hand, "Printer XX" is a printer that the client terminal 101 detected by searching the network 107. In this manner, the printer information acquired from the cloud print service 321 and the printer information detected by searching the network 107 are displayed in a list. The printer information received from the cloud print service 321 is displayed with an icon 403 added. On the other hand, the printer information detected by searching the network 107 is displayed with an icon 404 added. In this manner, the printer information received from the cloud print service 321 and the printer information detected by searching the network 107 can be displayed in a distinguishable manner. The client terminal 101 may display only the information about the printers registered in the cloud print service 321.

[0061] Next, the user selects the printer information corresponding to the printer that the user wants to register in the client terminal 101 from the printer information displayed in the area 402 .

[0062] The OS 313 of the client terminal 101 queries the cloud print service 321 for printer capability information corresponding to the selected printer information (S3010). The specifications of the OS 313 determine which setting items the OS 313 of the client terminal 101 queries for capability information, and this is set in the OS 313. The OS 313 of the client terminal 101 queries for capability information by specifying a setting item stored in advance. The items set in advance in the OS 313 are setting items defined as standard specifications by the IPP, such as "paper size," "paper type," and "color mode."

[0063] The cloud print service 321 responds with the capability information of the cloud print-compatible printer 104 to the OS 313 of the client terminal 101 (S3011).

[0064] Note that in this embodiment, it is assumed that the information registered in the cloud print service 321 at the time of registration in S3001 is transmitted to the client terminal 101 in S3011. However, the capability information registered in the cloud print service 321 may be transmitted to the client terminal 101 at a timing other than the above. For example, the capability information registered in the cloud print service 321 may be transmitted to the client terminal 101 in response to a change in the capability information of the cloud print-compatible printer 104. Also, the user may instruct an update of the capability information on a user interface provided by the cloud print service 321, and the updated capability information in response to the instruction may be transmitted to the client terminal 101. Also, the cloud print service 321 may acquire the capability information from the cloud print-compatible printer 104 in S3010 and notify the client terminal 101 of the acquired capability information.

[0065] In S3011, the cloud print service 321 responds with attribute values ​​and default values ​​corresponding to the setting items specified by the client terminal 101. Here, the attribute values ​​responded are all attribute values ​​registered in the cloud print service 321, regardless of whether they are attribute values ​​defined as standard. The default values ​​are values ​​that are initially set when the client terminal 101 displays the print setting screen. Note that if the cloud print service 321 does not store a response to the attribute inquired by the OS 313 of the client terminal 101, it does not respond to the OS 313.

[0066] Next, the OS 313 starts installing the cloud printer driver 311 based on the device identification information and printer name of the printer selected by the user.

[0067] The OS 313 then generates a print queue for the cloud printer driver 311 that includes the basic device capability information included with the OS 313 (S3012). Device capability information refers to definition information required to generate print setting capability information for the printer driver, such as information written in XML, such as PrintDeviceCapabilities. FIG. 6A shows an example of the initial device capability information included with the OS 313. For example, "Feature" indicates that "PageMediaSize," which represents the paper size, is a setting item. "Option" indicates the options corresponding to "PageMediaSize." As shown in FIG. 6A, the initial values ​​of the device capability information include only two options for paper size: "A4" and "LETTER." This information is associated with the print queue when the print queue is generated and stored, and is managed by the OS 313. The initial device capability information is fixed, regardless of the information about the connected printer.

[0068] The OS 313 then updates the device capability information constituting the cloud printer driver 311 using the capability information acquired from the cloud print service 321. FIG. 6B shows an example of device capability information updated using the capability information acquired from the cloud print service 321. For example, an "Option" other than "A4" and "LETTER" is added to "PageMediaSize," which indicates the paper size, as a paper size that the cloud print-compatible printer 104 can print. In this manner, the client terminal 101 first associates the cloud printer driver 311 with the device capability information included in the OS 313 and registers them in the print queue. Then, the OS 313 updates the device capability information linked to the print queue with the capability information acquired from the cloud print service 321. At this time, the OS 313 updates the device capability information using only attribute values ​​defined in industry-standard specifications from the capability information acquired from the cloud print service 321. Therefore, for example, even if a vendor-specific attribute value is acquired as the paper type when acquiring the capability information, the vendor-specific attribute value is not added to the device capability information.

[0069] By doing so, it becomes possible to set print setting values ​​that cannot be set using the device capability information included in the OS 313.

[0070] This completes the installation of the cloud printer driver 311. By performing the processes up to this point, it becomes possible to send print data from the client terminal 101 to the print queue for the cloud print-compatible printer 104 created in the cloud print service 321.

[0071] Next, the OS 313 starts the installation process of an application that is linked to the printer and that extends the cloud print driver.

[0072] First, the OS 313 performs an additional identification information assignment process on the device identification information. This process is necessary when acquiring the extended setup information file 700 from the online support server 105, and the character string may be different from normal device identification information. In this embodiment, to distinguish the application from applications of other devices, the OS 313 assigns additional identification information ("PrinterApp_") to the device identification information, indicating that the application is compatible with the printer. Note that "PrinterApp_" is just an example, and other character strings, numbers, or symbols may also be used. As a result of the above process, for example, if the device identification information of the cloud print-compatible printer 104 is device001, the device identification information after the additional identification information assignment process will be PrinterApp_device001.

[0073] The OS 313 sends a search request for the extended setup information file 700 including the target device identification information with additional information to the online support service 351 (S3013). In S3013, “PrinterApp_devoce001” with the additional identification information is notified to the online support service 351.

[0074] The online support service 351 stores an extended setup information file shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 7 shows an example of an extended setup information file 700. The extended setup information file is created by the vendor of the cloud print-compatible printer 104 and registered in the online support service 351.

[0075] The extended setup information file 700 describes an application identifier for identifying a print setting extension application used to set print data sent to the cloud print-compatible printer 104. In the extended setup information file shown in Fig. 7, the item "PackageFamilyName" is identification information for the print setting extension application. Meanwhile, "PrinterHardwareID" describes a character string in which additional identification information has been added to the identification information of the cloud print-compatible printer 104.

[0076] The online support service 351 stores extended setup information files that describe the identification information of print setting extension applications, as well as extended setup information files that describe the identification information of printer drivers. In the extended setup information files that describe the printer driver identifiers, the printer driver identifiers are described in "PackageFamilyName." Furthermore, the "PrinterHardwareId" in the extended setup information files describes device identification information without any additional identification information.

[0077] In this way, both an extended setup information file describing the printer driver identifier and an extended setup information file describing the print setting application identifier are stored in the online support service 351. Therefore, the OS 313 adds additional identification information to the device identification information in order to appropriately acquire the necessary extended setup information file.

[0078] The online support service 351 that receives the search request identifies an extended setup information file whose "PackageFamilyName" matches the device identification information with the additional identification information specified in the request.

[0079] If the search result shows that the online support service 351 stores an extended setup information file 700 containing the target device identification information, the online support service 351 returns the extended setup information file 700 to the OS 313 (S3014). At this time, the contents of the extended setup information file are written to the registry of the OS 313.

[0080] Next, the OS 313 links the extended setup information written in the extended setup information file acquired from the online support service 351 with the print queue generated in S3012 and installs it (S3015).

[0081] Next, the OS 313 extracts the application ID from the installed extended setup information (S3016). The application ID is an identifier defined by "PackageFamilyName" in the extended setup information file. The above is the processing when an extended setup file corresponding to the cloud print-compatible printer 104 is stored in the online support service 351.

[0082] As a result of the search, the online support service 351 may not find the extended setup information file 700 containing the target device identification information. In this case, the OS 313 completes the installation of the cloud print driver and stops the application installation process (S3017). The OS 313 executes the process described in S3017 if it is unable to receive the extended setup file within a predetermined time from the search request in S3013 or if it receives an error notification from the online support service 351.

[0083] The process from S3018 onwards will be explained when the extended setup file can be acquired and the application ID can be extracted in S3916.

[0084] The OS 313 requests the application management service 331 to search for an application that matches the extracted application ID (S3018). The application management service 331 stores the application running on the client terminal 101 in association with the application ID, which is an identifier of the application. The application and application ID are registered in the application management service 331 by the vendor that provides the cloud print-compatible printer 104.

[0085] If the application management service 331 holds a print setting extension application that matches the requested application ID, the application management service 331 returns the print setting extension application 312 to the client terminal 101 (S3019). Here, the returned print setting extension application 312 is an application that has been assigned the same ID as the transmitted application ID.

[0086] The OS 313 installs the acquired print setting extension application 312 in association with the print queue on the client side (S3020). The OS 313 saves the application ID in the registry as print queue information. The print setting extension application 312 also sets the OS 313 so that the print queue associated with the application notifies the OS 313 of an event at the timing set on the print setting screen. The installed print setting extension application 312 is launched after the client terminal 101 is powered on and the OS 313 is launched, and after launching, it operates as a background task.

[0087] If the application management service 331 does not have a print setting extension app that matches the requested application ID, the OS 313 stops the application installation process (S3021). In this case, the generated print queue and the cloud printer driver 311 are linked and installed, and the print setting extension app 312 is not linked to the print queue and the process ends.

[0088] In the above description, the search for the extended setup file was performed by adding a predetermined character string to the device identification information of the cloud print-compatible printer 104. However, if the file for installing the printer driver can be distinguished, the search may be performed without adding the predetermined character string.

[0089] Next, an example of a user procedure and a sequence between each piece of software and the print service in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0090] The document generation application 315 is an application such as an application for creating document data, an application for creating presentation materials, or an application for displaying photographs or image data.

[0091] The document generation application 315 displays a print setting screen (FIG. 11) for selecting a print queue as the print setting initial screen. In this embodiment, the document generation application 315 displays the print setting initial screen, but a similar screen may be displayed by the OS 313. The print setting initial screen displays an object 1101 for selecting a print queue, an object 1102 for configuring various print settings, and a print preview image 1103. The OS 313 selects a print queue linked to the printer set as the default printer (S801). In this embodiment, it is assumed that the cloud print-compatible printer 104 has been selected as the default printer. Note that the processing from S801 onwards is also executed when the user operates the object 1101 to change the printer to be used.

[0092] Next, the OS 313 queries the cloud print-compatible printer 104's capability information from a queue on the cloud of the cloud print service 321 that corresponds to the cloud print-compatible printer 104 (S802). The specifications of the OS 313 predetermine which setting item the capability information is queried for. Therefore, the capability information acquired at this time is the same as that acquired in S3001 of FIG. 3. This query is made to the cloud print-compatible printer 104 using a standard protocol command defined by IPP, such as Get-print-Attributes. When Get-print-Attributes is used, the capability information determined by the OS 313 is queried in list format.

[0093] The cloud print service 321 replies to the OS 313 with the capability information of the cloud print-compatible printer 104 from the list of capability information sent by Get-print-Attributes (S803). For example, assume that a media size attribute is specified by Get-print-Attributes (IPP). If the cloud print service 321 has a media size attribute, it replies with a value associated with that attribute (A4, B5, Letter, etc.). If the attribute specified by Get-print-Attributes does not exist in the queue of the cloud print-compatible printer 104 of the cloud print service 321, the cloud print service 321 does not respond with the associated value. The capability information acquired in S803 is capability information that is queried regardless of the type or capability of the printer to which the OS 313 is connected.

[0094] The OS 313 updates the device capability information using the capability information acquired from the cloud print service 321. The OS 313 adds the capability information acquired in S803 of Fig. 8 to the device capability information generated in S3012 of Fig. 3 (S804). If there is an update to the device capability information, performing S803 makes it possible to update the device capability information managed by the client terminal 101. Note that when updating the device capability information in S804, only attribute values ​​defined by industry standard specifications are updated in the device capability information.

[0095] Next, the OS 313 notifies the print setting extension application 312 of the event and the API used to edit the device capability information (S805). The notification timing of this event is registered when the print setting extension application 312 is installed in the OS 313 of the client terminal 101.

[0096] When the print setting extension application 312 receives this event, it requests the cloud print service 321 to acquire capability information. The capability information acquired here is for writing setting items and attribute values ​​that are uniquely defined by the printer vendor into the device capability information.

[0097] When the print setting extension application 312 receives the event from the OS 313, it inquires about the capability information of the cloud print-compatible printer 104 via the cloud print service 321 (S806). At this time, the print setting extension application 312 inquires about the capability information of the setting items including printer vendor-specific setting items and attribute values ​​specific to the printer vendor to the cloud print service 321. The inquiry is made using Get-print-Attributes, as in S802 of FIG. 8, and the capability information is acquired by specifying the item name of the setting item to inquire about as the item name. Note that in this embodiment, it is described that in S806, capability information is acquired about setting items that are uniquely defined by the printer vendor and setting items that include attribute values ​​uniquely defined by the printer vendor. Capability information may also be acquired about setting items that have already been acquired by the OS 313.

[0098] When the cloud print-compatible printer 104 receives an inquiry about its own capability information from the print setting extension application 312, it responds to the print setting extension application 312 via the cloud print service 321 (S807). The response method here is the same as S3011 in FIG. 8 described above. In this embodiment, in S807, the cloud print service 321 responds with the capability information of the cloud print-compatible printer 104 stored in the cloud print service 321. Note that, upon receiving the request in S806, the cloud print service 321 may reacquire the capability information from the cloud print-compatible printer 104 and respond to the client terminal 101.

[0099] When the print setting extension application 312 acquires capability information from the cloud print-compatible printer 104, it edits the device capability information managed by the OS 313 via the configuration information object. The configuration information object is a collection of data required to edit the device capability information. The print setting extension application 312 cannot directly edit the device capability information held by the OS 313. Therefore, it uses this configuration information object to change the device capability information held by the OS 313. The print setting extension application 312 converts capability information such as "stapleless binding" and "save job to printer" acquired in S807 of FIG. 8 into device capability information and adds it to the configuration information object, thereby editing the device capability information (S808). By performing the processing up to S808, in addition to capability information related to the standard setting items acquired in response to the inquiry from the OS 313, printer vendor-specific setting items and attribute values ​​are stored in the device capability information.

[0100] Next, the print setting extension application 312 passes the edited device capability information to the OS 313 (S809). The OS 313 associates the device capability information acquired from the print setting extension application 312 with the print queue and stores it.

[0101] When the OS 313 updates the device capability information, it enables an object that triggers the display of the UI of the print setting extension application 312 (S810). An example of the object that triggers the display of the UI of the print setting extension application 312 is object 1104 in FIG. 11. Until the processing of S810 is completed, object 1104 is grayed out, and the print setting screen of the print setting extension application 312 is not displayed even if the user clicks on it. When the processing of S810 is completed, the grayed-out state of object 1104 is removed, and the user can select object 1104.

[0102] When the user selects the object 1104, the print setting extension application 312 is started and displays a print setting screen as shown in Fig. 10 (S811). This print setting screen does not depend on the type of document generation application 315 used.

[0103] If the print setting extension application 312 is not linked to the selected print queue, the standard print setting screen pre-installed in the OS 313 is displayed, as shown in FIG. 9A. Pressing the Advanced Settings button 901 on the standard print screen displays the advanced print screen shown in FIG. 9B, which allows you to set setting items that cannot be displayed in FIG. 9A. The advanced print screen shown in FIG. 9B can be scrolled by operating the scroll bar, and print settings can be configured for multiple setting items supported by the OS 313, as shown in FIGS. 9C and 9D. Selecting the OK button 902 saves the set print settings and returns to the screen shown in FIG. 9A. The Apply button 903 in FIG. 9A saves the print settings, and the Cancel button 904 returns to the screen shown in FIG. 11 without saving the print settings. Selecting the OK button 905 saves the print settings and returns to the screen shown in FIG. 11. Print setting items and attribute values ​​uniquely defined by printer vendors cannot be set in FIGS. 9A to 9D.

[0104] Returning to the print setting extension application 312, the print setting extension application 312 receives print setting information generated by the OS 313 based on print setting capability information generated from device capability information, and displays the extended print setting screen shown in Fig. 10(a). The extended print setting screen can be scrolled by operating the scroll bar as shown in Figs. 10(a) to 10(e), and setting values ​​for various print setting items can be set.

[0105] For example, the output paper size of the setting item 1001 in Figure 10 is print setting information generated from psk:PageMediaSize in Figure 6(b). Also, the A4 option for output paper size is generated and displayed by the print setting extension application 312 based on the print setting information psk:IOSA4. In this way, the print setting extension application 312 converts device capability information into setting values ​​and displays the extended print setting screen. Because the extended print setting screen is generated from device capability information that includes capability information related to printer vendor-specific setting items, it is possible to set setting items and setting values ​​that cannot be set on the screen shown in Figure 9 provided by the OS 313.

[0106] The user selects object 1002 on the screen of FIG. 10 displayed by the print setting extension application 312. Object 1002 is an object for finalizing print settings. The print setting extension application 312 provides a function that allows the user to change print settings arbitrarily, and saves the setting values ​​when the settings are changed. For example, assume that the user changes the media size on the UI from A4 to Letter. In this case, the print setting information held by the print setting extension application 312 changes from A4 to Letter. When object 1002 is selected, the print setting extension application 312 acquires print setting information processed within the control of the print setting screen from the print setting screen and passes the print setting information to the OS 313. After passing the print setting information to the OS 313, the print setting extension application 312 ends the display of the print setting screen shown in FIG. 10 (S812). When the processing of S812 is completed, the print setting screen shown in FIG. 11 is displayed. At this time, the displayed print setting screen is a screen on which the setting values ​​set by the print setting extension application 312 are set.

[0107] 11, a print instruction is input to the OS 313. The OS 313 executes a process related to printing based on the instruction input via the document generation application 315 (S813).

[0108] When a print execution instruction is issued, the OS 313 generates intermediate data and passes the generated intermediate data and the print setting information edited on the print setting screen to the print setting extension application 312 (S814). Intermediate data is data generated before conversion into print data such as PDL, such as XPS data. The print setting information is also included in this intermediate data.

[0109] When the print setting extension application 312 receives the intermediate data and the print setting information from the OS 313, it generates print data based on the intermediate data and print capability information based on the print setting information (S815). The print data refers to a PDL such as a PDF file, and the print capability information is specifically information in which the print setting information is described using attribute values ​​defined in IPP.

[0110] After generating the print data, the print setting extension application 312 passes the generated print data and printing capability information to the print queue of the OS 313 (S816).

[0111] Steps S814 to S816 are performed when the print setting extension application 312 associated with the print queue is installed in the client terminal 101. If the print setting extension application 312 is not installed in the client terminal 101, the client terminal 101 executes the process described below in step S816. The OS 313 generates XPS data, edits the page layout, converts the XPS data into a predetermined format, and generates print data and printing capability information (step S817). The predetermined format is, for example, PDF or PWG-Raster.

[0112] The OS 313 transmits the print data and printing capability information passed from the print setting extension application 312 or the print data and printing capability information generated by the OS 313 to the cloud print service 321 via the print queue (S818).

[0113] The cloud print service 321 transmits the print data and printing capability information passed from the client terminal 101 to the cloud print-compatible printer 104 (S819). In this embodiment, when the cloud print service 321 receives the print data and printing capability information, it transmits the received print data and capability information to the cloud print-compatible printer 104. The cloud print-compatible printer 104 may periodically make an inquiry to the cloud print service 321 to acquire unprinted print data and printing capability information corresponding to the print data.

[0114] By doing as described above, print data that reflects the print settings made using the print setting extension application 312 can be transmitted to the cloud print-compatible printer 104 via the cloud print service 321.

[0115] 12 is a flowchart showing the processing of the OS 313 up to the installation of a print setting extension application in the client terminal 101. A program for executing the processing described in this flowchart is stored in the storage unit 214 of the client terminal 101. The processing is realized by the CPU 212 executing the program.

[0116] The CPU 212 displays the screen shown in Fig. 4 and accepts a printer search instruction (S1201) When the user selects the object 401 in Fig. 4, the CPU 212 accepts the printer search instruction.

[0117] The CPU 212 determines whether an access token for the cloud print service 321 is stored (S1202). The client terminal 101 stores an access token for acquiring information from the cloud print service 321 for each user who logs in to the client terminal 101. The CPU 212 determines whether an access token associated with the user who is logged in to the client terminal 101 is stored. If an access token is stored, the CPU 212 proceeds to step S1206, which will be described later. If an access token is not stored, the CPU 212 sends an authentication request to the cloud print service 321 (S1203). Then, the CPU 212 receives a URL from the cloud print service 321 to display a screen for entering information required for authentication.

[0118] The CPU 212 accesses the received URL and displays a screen for inputting information used for authentication (S1204). The information used for authentication is, for example, a user ID (user identifier) ​​and a password.

[0119] The CPU 212 transmits the input information used for authentication to the cloud print service 321 and acquires an access token (S1205). Note that if authentication to the cloud print service 321 fails, the CPU 212 cannot acquire an access token and ends the processing shown in FIG.

[0120] The CPU 212 uses the access token to send to the cloud print service 321 a request to obtain information about the printers registered in the cloud print service 321 (S1206). The cloud print service 321 selects information about printers that can be used by the user identified by the received access token and sends it to the client terminal 101. Here, the printer name and the HWID of the printer that are registered in association with the printer that can be used by the user identified by the access token received from the client terminal 101 are sent to the client terminal 101.

[0121] The CPU 212 displays the printer information acquired from the cloud print service 321 on the display unit of the client terminal 101 (S1207). By performing the display in S1207, the printer information is displayed in a list in the area 402 in FIG.

[0122] The CPU 212 determines whether or not printer information has been selected (S1208). The CPU 212 repeats the process of S1208 until printer information has been selected. If printer information has been selected, the CPU 212 executes the process described in S1209.

[0123] The CPU 212 transmits a request to acquire capability information of the selected printer to the cloud print service 321 (S1209). Here, an inquiry is made to the cloud print service 321 about setting items registered in advance in the OS 313.

[0124] The CPU 212 updates the printer capability information stored in the client terminal 101 based on the information acquired from the cloud print service 321, and generates a print queue.

[0125] The CPU 212 sends a request to acquire the extended setup information file to the online support service 351 (S1211). This request includes the HWID of the printer.

[0126] The CPU 212 determines whether or not the acquisition of the extended setup information file was successful (S1212). If the acquisition of the extended setup information file was successful, the CPU 212 proceeds to step S1213. If the acquisition of the extended setup information file was unsuccessful, the CPU 212 ends the process shown in FIG.

[0127] The CPU 212 transmits a request to acquire the print setting extension application described in the acquired extended setup information file to the application management service 331 (S1213). The CPU 212 acquires the application identifier of the print setting extension application from the extended setup information file, and transmits the request to acquire the print setting extension application to the application management service 331 by specifying the acquired application identifier.

[0128] The CPU 212 determines whether or not the acquisition of the print setting extending application was successful (S1214). If the acquisition of the print setting extending application was unsuccessful, the CPU 212 ends the process shown in Fig. 12. If the acquisition of the print setting extending application was successful, the CPU 212 executes the process shown in S1215.

[0129] The CPU 212 installs the acquired print setting extension app and registers the app identifier of the print setting extension app in association with the print queue. Furthermore, the CPU 212 performs event registration indicating the timing of notification to the OS 313. Here, the CPU 212 performs registration so that an event is notified to the print setting extension app when a print queue associated with the print setting extension app is selected on the print setting screen displayed by the document app.

[0130] The above is the process up to registering the print setting extension application in the client terminal 101.

[0131] Next, a process of making print settings using the installed print setting extension application and generating print data will be described with reference to Fig. 13. A program for executing the process shown in Fig. 13 is stored in the print setting extension application 312, and the program is loaded into the memory 213 of the client terminal 101 and executed by the CPU 212.

[0132] The CPU 212 determines whether an event notification has been received (S1301). The event is an event issued by the OS 313, and is an event for notifying the print setting extension application 312 that the timing registered in S1215 of FIG. 12 has arrived. If the CPU 212 has not received an event notification, it repeats the process described in S1301. If the CPU 212 has received an event notification, it executes the process described in S1302.

[0133] The CPU 212 transmits a capability information acquisition request to the cloud print service 321 (S1302). The CPU 212 transmits the capability information acquisition request to the cloud print service 321 for the setting items set in the print setting extension application 312. Here, capability information is also acquired for the setting items that were not acquired in S1206 of FIG. 12 .

[0134] The CPU 212 determines whether or not the acquisition of the capability information has been completed (S1303). If the acquisition of the capability information has not been completed, the CPU 212 repeats the process described in S1303. If the acquisition of the capability information has been completed, the CPU 212 executes the process described in S1304.

[0135] The CPU 212 updates the device capability information with the acquired capability information (S1304). By performing the process of S1304, the capability information of the setting items that the OS 313 does not acquire is also stored in the client terminal 101.

[0136] The CPU 212 determines whether an instruction to display a print setting screen by the print setting expansion app has been received (S1307). An instruction to display a print setting screen by the print setting expansion app is an instruction issued based on a user operation such as selection of object 1104 in FIG. 11, for example. If an instruction to display the print setting screen has not been received, the CPU 212 proceeds to S1309. If an instruction to display the print setting screen has been received, the CPU 212 executes the process described in S1306.

[0137] 10 based on the printer device information updated in S1304 (S1306), and then accepts a user operation to select a setting value via the displayed print setting screen.

[0138] The CPU 212 determines whether an instruction to end the display of the print setting screen by the print setting expansion app has been given (S1307). If an instruction to end the display of the print setting screen has not been given, the CPU 212 performs the process described in S1307. If an instruction to end the display of the print setting screen has been given, the CPU 212 performs the process described in S1308.

[0139] The CPU 212 edits the print setting information with the setting values ​​selected on the print setting screen displayed by the print setting expansion application (S1308), and then ends the display of the print setting screen by the print setting expansion application.

[0140] The CPU 212 determines whether the print setting extension application 312 has received intermediate data from the OS 313 (S1309). If the intermediate data has not been received, the CPU 212 returns the process to S1305. If the intermediate data has been received, the process proceeds to S1310.

[0141] The CPU 212 generates print data and printing capability information based on the intermediate data received by the print setting extension application 312 (S1310). The CPU 212 generates image data in a predetermined format based on the intermediate data and the print setting information. The CPU 212 also generates printing capability information described with attribute values ​​defined in IPP based on the print setting information. In addition to the attribute values ​​defined in IPP, the printing capability information can also be freely described. Therefore, setting items and attribute values ​​uniquely defined by the printer vendor can also be described in the printing capability information.

[0142] The CPU 212 provides the generated print data to the OS 313 (S1312). The OS 313 transmits the data received via the print queue to the cloud print service 321.

[0143] The above is a flowchart showing the process of performing print settings using the print setting extension application 312 and generating print data and printing capability information.

[0144] By performing the above process, when selecting a print queue linked to a general-purpose cloud printer driver or a local printer driver and sending print data, it is possible to set the setting values ​​of printer vendor-specific setting items.

[0145] <Other embodiments> The present invention can also be realized by executing the following process. That is, software (programs) that realize the functions of the above-described embodiments are supplied to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or device reads and executes the program code. In this case, the computer program and the storage media storing the computer program constitute the present invention.

Claims

1. An application program that cooperates with a generic printer driver, The generic printer driver can display a print setting screen on the information processing device based on device capability information managed by an operating system of the information processing device, The application program is installed in the information processing device. The device capability information includes information for displaying an object for receiving settings related to job name abbreviation from a user; The application program is characterized in that the information processing device is able to display the object by including the information in the device capability information.

2. The application program described in Claim 1, characterized in that the object is displayed by performing a predetermined operation on a setting screen that the application program displays on the information processing device.

3. The application program described in Claim 2, characterized in that the specified operation is a scrolling operation of the settings screen.

4. An application program as described in Claim 2, characterized in that the setting screen is displayed in response to a specified object being selected on another print setting screen displayed by a document generation app.

5. The setting screen is generated from the device capability information, The application program according to claim 4, characterized in that the application program accepts the selection of a print queue on the other print setting screen, obtains capability information of an image forming device linked to the selected print queue, and includes at least a portion of the information contained in the capability information in the device capability information, after which the specified object becomes selectable.

6. The application program described in Claim 1, characterized in that the information processing device cannot display the object if the device capability information does not include the information.

7. The application program described in Claim 1, characterized in that the device capability information is PrintDeviceCapability.

8. The application program described in Claim 1, characterized in that the setting regarding job name abbreviation is a setting for job name abbreviation.

9. The application program described in Claim 1, characterized in that the setting regarding job name abbreviation is a setting regarding whether or not to abbreviate and display the name assigned to the print data.

10. The application program according to claim 9, further comprising causing the information processing device to accept a setting of a character string to be deleted from the name.

11. The application program according to claim 1, characterized in that the setting regarding job name shortening can accept ON or OFF as a setting value.

12. The application program described in Claim 1, characterized in that the generic printer driver is capable of outputting print instructions to an image forming device via communication using the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP).

13. The application program as described in claim 1, further characterized in that the information processing device is caused to acquire setting information regarding job name abbreviation through communication in accordance with IPP.

14. The application program according to claim 1, further comprising causing the information processing device to obtain information on settings relating to the job name abbreviation using Get-Printer-Attributes.

15. The application program according to claim 1, wherein the universal printer driver is capable of outputting print instructions to a plurality of image forming devices provided by a plurality of different parties.

16. The application program is installed on the information processing device, 2. The application program according to claim 1, wherein the device capability information managed by the operating system is edited so that the information is included in the device capability information.

17. The application program is installed on the information processing device, 2. The application program according to claim 1, wherein the device capability information managed by the operating system is updated so that the information is included in the device capability information.

18. The application program of claim 1, wherein the operating system manages the device capability information by linking it to the print queue of the generic printer driver.

19. A method for controlling an information processing device having a generic printer driver and an application program that cooperates with the generic printer driver, comprising: the generic printer driver can cause the information processing device to display a print setting screen based on device capability information managed by an operating system of the information processing device; The application program is installed in the information processing device. The device capability information includes information for displaying an object for receiving settings related to job name abbreviation from a user; The control method, characterized in that the information processing device is able to display the object by including the information in the device capability information.

20. An information processing device having a generic printer driver and an application program that cooperates with the generic printer driver, the generic printer driver can cause the information processing device to display a print setting screen based on device capability information managed by an operating system of the information processing device; The application program is installed in the information processing device. The device capability information includes information for displaying an object for receiving settings related to job name abbreviation from a user; The information processing apparatus is characterized in that the information processing apparatus is capable of displaying the object by including the information in the device capability information.

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