Support Program

Abstract

To provide a technology capable of easily instructing a printer to execute special processing, in an information processing device on which an OS-standard general-purpose printing program is installed.SOLUTION: An auxiliary program 42 is requested to execute processing by a general-purpose printing program 41 in response to a print instruction output from an editing application 43 or the like. The auxiliary program 42 is requested to execute processing by the general-purpose printing program 41 also in response to an OS 21 receiving an activation instruction in a state in which a printer 2 has been selected. When the auxiliary program 42 is requested to execute processing in response to the OS 21 receiving an activation instruction, the auxiliary program 42 causes a CPU 11 of a PC 1 to acquire body information held by the selected printer 2 and to transmit, to the printer 2, a body command for causing the printer 2 to execute processing based on the acquired body information.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] 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 the printer driver mentioned above. 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 command for that printer is received, printing can be performed using the OS's standard general-purpose printing program without using a printer driver.

[0003] Furthermore, as a process that a printer executes in addition to normal printing, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a test print instruction is received from the printer's operation unit and a test pattern is printed. Also, as a printer driver technology, a configuration in which a printer is controlled by outputting a command from the printer driver to execute a special process that the printer has, as a process that the printer executes in addition to normal printing based on a print instruction from an application program, is known. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-15246 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] As mentioned above, processes that a printer can execute in addition to normal printing include special processes such as test printing and cleaning, and there are known techniques for instructing the printer's operation unit or printer driver to execute these special processes.Even in an environment where an OS-standard general-purpose printing program is used, it is desirable to be able to instruct the information processing device to execute these special processes in addition to normal printing based on print instructions from an application program, but the OS-standard general-purpose printing program does not have an interface for accepting such instructions, so there is room for improvement. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A support program made for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems is executable by a computer of an information processing device, corresponds to a specific printer, and supports a general-purpose printing program pre-installed in an operating system of the information processing device, wherein the operating system is capable of accepting a startup instruction for a program corresponding to a selected printer, and the general-purpose printing program has a program associated with the printer that requests processing in response to the startup instruction, and the computer is configured to, when processing is requested from the general-purpose printing program in response to a print instruction output from an application program installed in the information processing device, the print instruction instructing the general-purpose printing program to print an image on the specific printer, acquire image data representing the image from the general-purpose printing program and execute a process to send a print command to the specific printer based on the image data, and further, when processing is requested from the general-purpose printing program in response to the operating system accepting the startup instruction with the specific printer selected, execute an acquisition process to acquire main body information held by the specific printer, and a transmission process to send to the specific printer a main body command that causes the specific printer to execute processing based on the main body information acquired in the acquisition process.

[0007] The support program disclosed in this specification acquires printer information about a specific printer when a startup instruction is received by the OS, separate from a print instruction from an application program, and transmits a command to the specific printer to instruct the specific printer to execute a process based on the printer information. Therefore, a user can instruct the specific printer to execute a process other than normal printing based on a print instruction from an application program by inputting a startup instruction.

[0008] An information processing device incorporating the above support program, a computer-readable storage medium storing the support program, a control method for realizing the functions of the support program, and a printing system including the support program and a printer are also novel and useful. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The technology disclosed in this specification realizes a technology that allows an information processing device incorporating an OS-standard general-purpose printing program to easily instruct a printer to execute special processing. [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 illustrating an example of a processing procedure by an auxiliary program. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen for accepting a device management instruction. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a detailed management screen. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an instruction acceptance screen. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a processing procedure by an auxiliary program. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a printing procedure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] A personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a "PC") that uses the auxiliary program of this embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. This specification discloses an auxiliary 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 for displaying a screen for notifying the user of information and hardware for accepting user operations. The user IF 13 may be a combination of a display capable of displaying information and a mouse or keyboard having an input acceptance function, or may be a touch panel having a display function and an input acceptance function.

[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. As shown in FIG. 1, the PC 1 of this embodiment is connected to the printer 2 via the communication IF 14. The printer 2 is a device having at least a printing function and a communication function. The printer 2 is an example of a specific printer.

[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") such as an editing app 43. 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 generic printing program 41 is an OS standard program provided together with the OS 21, and has the function of causing the printer 2, etc., to execute printing. The generic printing program 41 of this embodiment is a program that includes the function of 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.

[0018] The auxiliary program 42 is a program or a group of programs that support the control of the target hardware. The auxiliary program 42 in 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 is received using the general-purpose printing program 41. The auxiliary program 42 is, for example, called a print support app (abbreviated as PSA) or a hardware support app (abbreviated as HSA).

[0019] 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 depending on the command. The auxiliary program 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.

[0020] 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 depending on the type and model of the connected printer and install it in the PC 1. The OS 21 stores the identification information of the installed auxiliary program in the memory 12 in association with the printer information of the newly connected printer, and generates a printer queue for each printer.

[0021] The editing application 43 is, for example, an application for creating and editing image data and document data. The editing application 43 may be, for example, Microsoft Word (registered trademark) or PowerPoint (registered trademark), or may be an application provided by the vendor of the printer 2. The editing application 43 is capable of receiving, via the user IF 13, for example, a print execution instruction for causing the printer 2 to execute printing.

[0022] Next, the processing procedure by the OS 21 and auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of Fig. 2. This procedure is executed when the printer 2 is connected to the PC 1 and the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2 is stored in the memory 12.

[0023] Note that each processing step in this embodiment basically indicates 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.

[0024] The OS 21 can accept user instructions to set each component, and can accept device management instructions, including instructions to display information about various devices connected to the PC 1 and instructions to change settings, on a screen for accepting setting instructions. For example, when the OS 21 accepts a setting instruction and a device management instruction (A01), it can further accept device selection, as shown in FIG. 3. For example, when the OS 21 accepts an operation on the "Printers and Scanners" button 512 on the device setting screen 51 (FIG. 3(A)) displayed upon accepting an operation on the "Devices" button 511, it displays a device management screen 52, as shown in FIG. 3(B) (A02).

[0025] The device management screen 52 is a screen that includes a list of various devices that are connected to the PC 1 and are capable of performing image processing, such as printers and scanners. The user can select a device to manage from the list displayed on the device management screen 52 (A03). For example, when an operation is received on the button 521 that specifies Printer 2 on the device management screen 52, the OS 21 displays a detailed management screen 53, as shown in FIG. 4 (A04).

[0026] The detailed management screen 53 displays an "Open Printer Queue" button 531, a "Launch App" button 532, a "Print Test Page" button 533, and the like. The "Open Printer Queue" button 531 is a button that accepts an instruction to check the status of the printer queue corresponding to the selected printer. The "Launch App" button 532 is a button that accepts an instruction to start a program corresponding to the selected printer. The "Print Test Page" button 533 is a button that accepts an instruction by the OS 21 to send a test image to the selected printer. On the detailed management screen 53, the OS 21 can accept user operations on the buttons 531, 532, 533, and the like.

[0027] When an instruction to start a program is received by operating the "Launch App" button 532 on the detailed management screen 53 displayed after printer 2 is selected (A11), the OS 21 passes information about printer 2, the selected printer, and an instruction to start a program corresponding to that printer to the general-purpose printing program 41. When the general-purpose printing program 41 receives this instruction from the OS 21, it starts a program associated with the printer information about printer 2. In this embodiment, since identification information for the auxiliary program 42 is stored in association with the printer information about printer 2, the general-purpose printing program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 (A12).

[0028] When the auxiliary program 42 is started from the general-purpose printing program 41 in response to a start instruction from the user, it acquires main body information of the printer 2 via the OS 21. The auxiliary program 42 first requests connection information of the printer 2 from the OS 21 (A21), and acquires the connection information from the OS 21 (A22). The connection information is, for example, an IP address.

[0029] The auxiliary program 42 uses the connection information acquired in A22 to request main body information from the printer 2 (A23), and acquires the main body information from the printer 2 (A24). The main body information includes capability information that indicates the capabilities of the printer 2, and may further include information that indicates the main body status of the printer 2. A24 is an example of the acquisition process.

[0030] The capability information is, for example, information indicating functions that can be executed by the printer 2 and information on parameters that can be set as print settings. Information indicating the status of the printer 2 main body may include, for example, status information, information on the remaining amount of consumables, information on accessories such as attached optional trays, information on the paper size and paper type set for each tray, information on main body settings such as the language used and network settings, firmware version information, print history information, and the number of print jobs waiting.

[0031] The printer 2 of this embodiment is equipped with an operation panel. The operation panel of the printer 2 includes a display 201 (see FIG. 1) that displays information, and operation buttons that accept user input operations. The operation panel may include a touch panel that has the functions of the display 201. The printer 2 can display information about the printer 2 on the display 201, and can also accept various instructions entered through input operations on the operation panel.

[0032] The printer 2 can accept, via the operation panel, instructions to change some of the setting values ​​set in the printer 2. For example, when the printer 2 receives, via the operation panel, an instruction to change the paper size or paper type for each tray or an instruction to change the network settings, the printer 2 displays selectable setting values ​​on the display 201 and accepts the user's selection. On the other hand, some setting values ​​of the printer 2 are not displayed on the operation panel or cannot be changed via the operation panel. The printer 2 may be configured not to display, for example, information on access restrictions to the printer 2 or information on the printing history on the display 201.

[0033] In response to a request from A23, the printer 2 passes both information to be displayed on the display 201 and information not to be displayed on the display 201 to the auxiliary program 42. In other words, the auxiliary program 42 can obtain, in A24, as main body information, both information to be displayed on the display 201, such as various settings received via the operation panel of the printer 2, and information not to be displayed on the display 201, such as various settings received in response to instructions from an external device. The information displayed on the display 201 is an example of first main body information, and the information not to be displayed on the display 201 is an example of second main body information.

[0034] The printer 2 may also have a function to perform image processing based on the received print job and print based on the data after the image processing, such as aggregate printing such as Nin1, composite printing such as watermark, and economical printing that saves coloring agent. If the printer 2 has an image processing function that can be executed by the printer 2, the printer 2 may pass information about that function to the auxiliary program 42 as main body information.

[0035] The auxiliary program 42 can obtain information that is not understood by the OS 21 by obtaining information directly from the printer 2 using, for example, an MIB (abbreviation for Management Information Base). The auxiliary program 42 temporarily stores the information obtained from the printer 2 in the memory 12 (A25).

[0036] The auxiliary program 42 may output an acquisition request for the main body information of the printer 2 to the OS 21 instead of A21. In this case, the OS 21 acquires information from the printer 2 by communication according to IPP (abbreviation for Internet Printing Protocol), for example, and passes the acquired information to the auxiliary program 42. The auxiliary program 42 may both request information from the OS 21 and acquire main body information by direct communication.

[0037] The auxiliary program 42 creates a command list based on the device information acquired in A24 (A31). The command list is a list of processes that can be executed by the printer 2 by sending commands from the PC 1. The auxiliary program 42 determines the commands to be included in the command list based on the device information of the printer 2. Specifically, the auxiliary program 42 includes only commands that can be executed by the printer 2 based on the capability information of the printer 2 in the command list, and does not include commands that cannot be executed.

[0038] For example, if printer 2 is a printer capable of color printing, auxiliary program 42 creates a command list that includes a test print command for printing an image for adjusting color misalignment, and if printer 2 is a printer that is not capable of color printing, creates a command list that does not include a test print command for printing an image for adjusting color misalignment. Also, for example, if printer 2 is an inkjet printer, auxiliary program 42 creates a command list that includes a print command for a nozzle check pattern, and if printer 2 is a laser printer, creates a command list that does not include a print command for a nozzle check pattern.

[0039] Furthermore, if the printer 2 is capable of borderless printing, the auxiliary program 42 creates a command list including print commands for a borderless adjustment pattern, and if the printer 2 is capable of ruled line printing, the auxiliary program 42 creates a command list including print commands for a ruled line adjustment pattern. Furthermore, if the printer 2 has a function for accepting selection of a red hue, the auxiliary program 42 creates a command list including print commands for printing a catalog of reddish color patches.

[0040] It is pointless to send main body commands for processes that cannot be executed by the printer 2. The auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment avoids this waste by identifying processes that can be executed by the printer 2 and creating a command list that includes only processes that can be executed by the printer 2. The auxiliary program 42 may also determine the commands to be included in the command list based on model information about the printer 2.

[0041] Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 displays an instruction acceptance screen 54, for example, as shown in Fig. 5, on the user IF 13 based on the created command list (A32). A32 is an example of display processing. The instruction acceptance screen 54 is a screen that displays information about the printer 2, including some of the main body information acquired in A24, and further includes buttons for accepting output instructions for the commands included in the command list created in A31.

[0042] Specifically, the instruction acceptance screen 54 includes a first display area 541 containing information to be displayed on the display 201 of the printer 2, a second display area 542 containing information not to be displayed on the display 201 of the printer 2, and a third display area 543 containing information corresponding to commands included in the command list. The first display area 541 displays, for example, the setting status of the paper feed trays of the printer 2 and the estimated remaining ink level, and includes buttons 61 and 62 for changing the settings of each paper feed tray and a button 63 for accepting a setting print instruction. The second display area 542 displays, for example, a portion of the print history, and includes a button 64 for accepting a print instruction for the print history. The third display area 543 includes buttons 65, 66, and 67 for accepting an instruction to execute various test prints based on the command list, for example.

[0043] The auxiliary program 42 may request user authentication before displaying information in the second display area 542. Information that is not displayed on the display 201 of the printer 2 may be highly confidential. For example, in A32, the auxiliary program 42 may display the first display area 541 and the third display area 543, and, in response to a user request to display the second display area 542, display a screen for accepting input of authentication information and accept the input of authentication information. The auxiliary program 42 may then send the accepted authentication information to the printer 2, cause the printer 2 to perform user authentication, and display information if it is determined that the user is an administrator of the printer 2.

[0044] The instruction acceptance screen 54 may further include a display of various main body information such as printer 2 status information, network information, firmware version information, etc., a button for accepting an instruction to display detailed information, an end button 544 for accepting an instruction to end the display of the instruction acceptance screen 54, etc.

[0045] The auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment displays an instruction acceptance screen 54 including main body information acquired from the printer 2, so the user can view the main body information of the printer 2 simply by issuing a startup instruction by operating the "Launch App" button 532 (FIG. 4). The auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment can also display information that is not displayed on the display 201 of the printer 2, making the display highly useful. The auxiliary program 42 also displays information in a command list of commands compatible with the printer 2 based on a startup instruction by operating the "Launch App" button 532 (FIG. 4), so the user can issue an appropriate test printing instruction to the printer 2.

[0046] Then, the auxiliary program 42 becomes able to accept an operation on the currently displayed instruction acceptance screen 54. That is, the user can operate each button displayed on the instruction acceptance screen 54. The procedure of each program when an operation on the instruction acceptance screen 54 is accepted will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG.

[0047] When the auxiliary program 42 receives an instruction input by the user operating each button on the instruction receiving screen 54 (B01), it determines the content of the received instruction (B02). B01 is an example of an output instruction receiving process. Specifically, the auxiliary program 42 determines whether the received instruction is an instruction to change the tray setting by operating buttons 61-62, an instruction to print the setting information of the printer 2 by operating button 63, or an instruction to test print various information by operating buttons 64-67. The auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment performs processing when it receives an instruction from the user, thereby avoiding the execution of unnecessary processing.

[0048] For example, when the auxiliary program 42 determines that an instruction to change the settings of tray 1 has been received through a user operation on button 61 included in first display area 541 (alt:[change settings]), it displays a list containing options for setting values ​​that can be set for tray 1 on user IF 13 (B11) and receives the user's selection (B12). An instruction to change the setting value through operation of button 61 is an example of an instruction to output a main body command. The tray setting is an example of a setting value set in printer 2, and B12 is an example of a setting change reception process.

[0049] The auxiliary program 42 sends a change command, which is an instruction to change the setting value of tray 1, and information about the new setting value selected by the user's operation to the printer 2 (B13). The change command is an example of a main command, and B13 is an example of a transmission process. Based on the received change command, the printer 2 sets the new setting value associated with the change command as the setting value of tray 1 (B14).

[0050] The auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment accepts, on the instruction acceptance screen 54, an instruction to send a change command to the printer 2 to change the setting value. This allows the user to make the printer 2 change the setting value based on the start-up instruction issued by operating the "start application" button 532 (FIG. 4).

[0051] Furthermore, if the auxiliary program 42 determines that it has received an instruction to print information about setting values ​​set in the printer 2, for example, through a user's operation on button 63 included in the first display area 541 (alt:[Print settings]), it sends a print setting value command to the printer 2 (B21). The print setting value instruction issued through operation on button 63 is an example of an output instruction of a main command. The print setting value command is an example of a main command, and B21 is an example of a transmission process.

[0052] Based on the received print setting value command, the printer 2 prints information on various setting values ​​of the printer 2 (B22). The printer 2 prints the setting values ​​of predetermined items in a format that the printer 2 has in advance.

[0053] The auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment receives, on the instruction receiving screen 54, an instruction to send a setting value print command to the printer 2 to print information on the setting values. This allows the user to cause the printer 2 to print information on the setting values ​​based on a start instruction given by operating the "Launch App" button 532 (FIG. 4).

[0054] Furthermore, when the auxiliary program 42 determines that it has received an instruction to print various information by, for example, a user operating button 64 included in second display area 542 or buttons 65 to 67 included in third display area 543 (alt:[print information]), it determines whether the information to be printed is information for which an image needs to be determined by the auxiliary program 42. An instruction to print information by operating buttons 64 to 67 is an example of an instruction to output a main command.

[0055] The information print instruction includes an instruction to print an image stored in the printer 2, such as a test image, as is, and an instruction to print an image based on information that varies depending on the situation or information selected by the user. If the received print instruction is an instruction to print the information stored in the printer 2 as is, the auxiliary program 42 simply sends a command to instruct printing to the printer 2. On the other hand, if an instruction to print information that varies depending on the situation or information selected by the user is received, the auxiliary program 42 must determine the image to be printed.

[0056] For example, when an instruction to print information based on the main information is received by operating button 65 included in third display area 543, auxiliary program 42 determines that it is necessary to determine an image to be printed (alt: [image required]) and determines the image to be printed (B31). In this case, auxiliary program 42 extracts the information to be printed from the main information of printer 2, and determines, based on the extracted information, an image into which at least a portion of the main information has been written as the image to be printed. The image to be printed into which at least a portion of the main information of printer 2 has been written is an example of a first edited test image.

[0057] The auxiliary program 42 may accept a selection of information to be printed. For example, when the auxiliary program 42 accepts an operation on the button 65, the auxiliary program 42 may display a list of information items that can be extracted as the information to be printed and accept the user's selection. In this way, only the necessary information can be printed.

[0058] For example, when an instruction to print information set in the auxiliary program 42 is received by operating the button 66 included in the third display area 543, the auxiliary program 42 determines that it is necessary to determine an image to be printed (alt: [image required]) and determines the image to be printed (B31). In this case, the auxiliary program 42 generates an image including the information set in the auxiliary program 42 and determines it as the image to be printed.

[0059] The information set in the auxiliary program 42 includes, for example, the default print settings of the auxiliary program 42, the user's profile settings, the user name, and information about the OS 21. The auxiliary program 42 may accept a selection of information to be printed and generate an image to be printed. The image to be printed, into which information about the auxiliary program 42 has been written, is an example of a second edited test image.

[0060] Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 sends a test print command and image data representing the image determined in B31 to the printer 2 (B32). The test print command is an example of a main command, and B32 is an example of a transmission process. Based on the received test print command, the printer 2 executes test printing, printing a test image including an image of the received image data (B33).

[0061] If the auxiliary program 42 generates a test image in which at least a portion of the main body information of the printer 2 is written and sends the test image to the printer 2, the user can know the main body information written in the printed image by looking at the printed matter. Also, if the auxiliary program 42 generates a test image in which information about the auxiliary program 42 is written and sends the test image to the printer 2, the user can know the information about the auxiliary program 42 by looking at the printed matter.

[0062] On the other hand, if it is determined that the instruction received in B01 is an instruction to print an image that the printer 2 has, such as a test image (alt: [no image required]), the auxiliary program 42 determines the test image to be printed and sends a test print command specifying the determined test image to the printer 2 (B35). The auxiliary program 42 may determine the image to be printed from multiple test images. The test print command is an example of a main command, and B35 is an example of a transmission process. The printer 2 executes test printing to print the specified test image based on the received test print command (B36).

[0063] For example, when auxiliary program 42 receives an instruction to print a nozzle check pattern by operating button 67 included in third display area 543, it sends to printer 2 a test print command that specifies the nozzle check pattern provided in printer 2. If the instruction is to print an image provided in printer 2, auxiliary program 42 only needs to specify the image to be printed, and does not need to send image data.

[0064] In this embodiment, the auxiliary program 42 receives a print instruction on the instruction receiving screen 54, including the designation of the image to be test printed, so that the user can print an image containing the desired information based on a start instruction issued by operating the "Launch App" button 532 (FIG. 4). If the auxiliary program 42 determines the test image to be printed and sends a test print command containing image data of that image, the printer 2 does not need to prepare the test image to be printed, thereby saving memory in the printer 2. On the other hand, if the instruction is to print an image stored in the printer 2, the auxiliary program 42 does not need to determine the test image to be printed, and the processing of the auxiliary program 42 is simplified.

[0065] The auxiliary program 42 may also request user authentication before sending a command depending on the information specified as the print target. For example, when the auxiliary program 42 receives an instruction to print information on each user's access restrictions or authentication information, the auxiliary program 42 may receive input of authentication information and cause the printer 2 to perform user authentication. Also, for example, when an instruction to print information of a user other than the user logged in to the PC 1 is received, the auxiliary program 42 may request input of authentication information and send the command only if it is determined that the user is the administrator of the printer 2.

[0066] The auxiliary program 42 may also be capable of receiving an instruction to update the firmware installed in the printer 2 on the instruction receiving screen 54. For example, when executing printing using the printer 2, the auxiliary program 42 may obtain information about the latest version of the firmware from a server of the printer manufacturer or the like and store the information in the memory 12. Then, if it is determined that the firmware of the printer 2 is not the latest version based on the main body information obtained in A24, the auxiliary program 42 may display a button on the instruction receiving screen 54 to receive an instruction to update the firmware.

[0067] Next, the printing procedure including the operation of the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. 7. The auxiliary program 42 is also executed when a user instructs the general-purpose printing program 41 to print on the printer 2. The user can use the editing application 43 or the like to select an image to be printed, specify a printer to print on, and instruct the printer 2 to print. FIG. 7 shows the operation of each program when the editing application 43 receives a user instruction to print on the printer 2. The user's instruction to print may also be input directly to the general-purpose printing program 41.

[0068] When the editing application 43 receives a print instruction from the general-purpose printing program 41 to cause the printer 2 to print the selected image (C01), the editing application 43 passes the print instruction to the general-purpose printing program 41 via the OS 21 (C02). The general-purpose printing program 41 obtains, in the print instruction, information indicating the image data of the image to be printed and information indicating the print settings.

[0069] The general-purpose printing program 41 generates intermediate image data by converting the format of the image data included in the received print instruction into the format of intermediate image data (C03), and generates a print job including the intermediate image data. The image data passed from the editing application 43 can be of various types, and the general-purpose printing program 41 converts the received image data into intermediate image data suitable for generating print data. Note that if the image data included in the print instruction 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 general-purpose printing program 41 further outputs an execution instruction to the auxiliary program 42, which is a program corresponding to the printer 2 (C04), and requests processing from the auxiliary program 42. In the execution instruction, the intermediate image data generated in C03 and information indicating the print settings are passed to the auxiliary program 42.

[0071] The auxiliary program 42 performs rasterization based on the received intermediate image data and print settings to generate print data (C05). The print data generated in C05 is data in a format that can be used for printing by the printer 2, such as PDL data dedicated to the model of the printer 2. The auxiliary program 42 may execute C05 using the printer information acquired in A24. The auxiliary program 42 may also acquire the printer information, etc. from the printer 2 again before C05.

[0072] The auxiliary program 42 sends the generated print data and a print command instructing the printer 2 to print (C06). Upon receiving the print data and print command, the printer 2 prints the image of the print data based on the received print command (C11). This generates a printed product.

[0073] 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.

[0074] Furthermore, instead of the auxiliary program 42 generating the print data, the general-purpose printing program 41 may generate the print data. That is, the auxiliary program 42 may pass intermediate image data, print setting information, and print execution information to the general-purpose printing program 41. The general-purpose printing program 41 may generate print data based on the intermediate image data and print settings received from the auxiliary program 42, and pass the generated print data to the auxiliary program 42. 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.

[0075] 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 generated 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 also reduce the program size of the auxiliary program 42.

[0076] Furthermore, the general-purpose printing program 41 may transmit the print data, etc. to the printer 2. In other words, the auxiliary program 42 may pass the generated print data, etc. to the general-purpose printing program 41 so that the data is transmitted from the PC 1 to the printer 2 as the transmission 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 via the OS 21.

[0077] The printer 2 may also have a function for rasterizing intermediate image data. If the printer 2 has a rasterization function, the auxiliary program 42 may send a print command including intermediate image data of the image to be printed and print settings to the printer 2 without generating print data for the image to be printed.

[0078] When transmission of the print data is complete, the auxiliary program 42 notifies the general-purpose printing program 41 of the end of processing based on the instruction in C04 (C21). As a result, the general-purpose printing program 41 ends processing of the print instruction accepted in C02. The general-purpose printing program 41 may also notify the editing application 43 of the end of processing.

[0079] As described above in detail, when a startup instruction is received by the OS 21, the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment acquires main body information of the selected printer, that is, the printer 2, and transmits a main body command instructing the printer 2 to execute a process based on the main body information, separately from a print instruction from the editing application 43 or the like. This allows the user to instruct the printer 2 to execute a process other than normal printing based on the print instruction, based on the operation of inputting the startup instruction.

[0080] 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.

[0081] 3 to 5 are merely examples and are not limited to the examples shown. Furthermore, the wording, shape, placement, background, etc. of objects displayed in the notification image may be any. Furthermore, the type of information displayed is not limited to the examples shown.

[0082] Furthermore, for example, although the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment is described as accepting an instruction to select a command to be executed by the printer 2, it may not necessarily accept such an instruction. For example, when the auxiliary program 42 is started by an instruction to start the program by operating the "Start App" button 532 (FIG. 4), it may automatically transmit a predetermined main command. However, transmitting a main command for a process that does not need to be executed is pointless. The auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment performs the process when it accepts an instruction from the user, thereby avoiding the execution of unnecessary processes.

[0083] Furthermore, for example, when the auxiliary program 42 is started by a start instruction input by operating the "start application" button 532 (FIG. 4), the auxiliary program 42 may perform other processing in addition to obtaining main body information and transmitting a main body command. The auxiliary program 42 may perform other processing even if an instruction to output a main body command is not input.

[0084] Furthermore, although the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment is capable of generating a test image including information about the printer 2 and the auxiliary program 42 and printing it on the printer 2, it is not necessary to generate an image. For example, the auxiliary program 42 does not need to send image data when sending a test print command.

[0085] Furthermore, the program that executes the processing of this embodiment is not limited to the auxiliary program 42, but may be any program that receives instructions from the OS 21 or the general-purpose print program 41 when printing is performed 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.

[0086] 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 resident. If the auxiliary program 42 is resident, it may simply receive an execution command and perform the above-described operation.

[0087] Furthermore, in any flowchart disclosed in the embodiments, the execution order of multiple processes in any multiple steps can be arbitrarily changed or can be executed in parallel, as long as no contradiction occurs in the processing content.

[0088] 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]

[0089] 1 PC 2. Printer 11 CPU

Claims

1. A support program that can be executed by a computer of an information processing device, corresponds to a specific printer, and supports a general-purpose printing program that is pre-installed in an operating system of the information processing device, wherein the operating system is capable of receiving a start instruction for a program that corresponds to a selected printer, and the general-purpose printing program has a program associated with the printer that requests processing in response to the start instruction; 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 general-purpose print program to print an image on the specific printer, 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 process for transmitting a print command to the specific printer based on the image data; Furthermore, the computer When the specific printer is selected and the operating system receives the startup instruction, a process is requested from the general-purpose printing program. an acquisition process for acquiring main body information of the specific printer, the main body information including capability information indicating the capability of the specific printer; a first screen display process for displaying a screen capable of accepting an output instruction of a main body command for causing a printer to execute a process, the process being of multiple types, and accepting an output instruction of the main body command corresponding to the process that can be executed by the specific printer based on the capability information included in the main body information acquired in the acquisition process, and not accepting an output instruction of the main body command corresponding to the process that cannot be executed by the specific printer; a transmission process for transmitting, when an instruction to output the main command is accepted on the screen, the main command corresponding to the accepted output instruction to the specific printer; Execute A support program configured to:

2. 2. The support program according to claim 1, The type of processing to be executed by the printer includes printing an image for adjusting color misregistration, In the first screen display process, if the specific printer is capable of color printing based on the capability information included in the main body information acquired in the acquisition process, the main body command for executing printing of the image for color misregistration adjustment is accepted, and if the specific printer is not capable of color printing, the main body command for executing printing of the image for color misregistration adjustment is not accepted, and the screen is displayed. A support program configured to:

3. 2. The support program according to claim 1, The type of processing to be executed by the printer includes printing of a borderless adjustment pattern, In the first screen display process, if the specific printer is capable of borderless printing based on the capability information included in the main body information acquired in the acquisition process, the main body command to execute printing of the borderless adjustment pattern is accepted, and if the specific printer is not capable of borderless printing, the main body command to execute printing of the borderless adjustment pattern is not accepted, and the screen is displayed. A support program configured to:

4. 2. The support program according to claim 1, The type of processing to be executed by the printer includes printing of a ruled line adjustment pattern, In the first screen display process, if the specific printer is capable of printing ruled lines based on the capability information included in the main body information acquired in the acquisition process, the main body command for executing printing of the ruled line adjustment pattern is accepted, and if the specific printer is not capable of printing ruled lines, the main body command for executing printing of the ruled line adjustment pattern is not accepted, and the screen is displayed. A support program configured to:

5. A support program that can be executed by a computer of an information processing device, corresponds to a specific printer, and supports a general-purpose printing program that is pre-installed in an operating system of the information processing device, wherein the operating system is capable of receiving a start instruction for a program that corresponds to a selected printer, and the general-purpose printing program has a program associated with the printer that requests processing in response to the start instruction; 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 general-purpose print program to print an image on the specific printer, 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 process for transmitting a print command to the specific printer based on the image data; Furthermore, the computer When the specific printer is selected and the operating system receives the startup instruction, a process is requested from the general-purpose printing program. an acquisition process for acquiring main body information of the specific printer; a display process for displaying at least a part of the main body information acquired in the acquisition process; a transmission process of transmitting to the specific printer a main body command for causing the specific printer to execute a process based on the main body information acquired in the acquisition process; Execute the main body information acquired in the acquisition process includes first main body information and second main body information, the first main body information is information displayed on a display of the specific printer, and the second main body information is information not displayed on the display of the specific printer; In the display process, at least the second main body information is displayed from among the information included in the main body information acquired in the acquisition process. A support program configured to:

6. 6. The support program according to claim 5, The main body information acquired in the acquisition process includes information on setting values ​​set in the specific printer, The computer, After executing the acquisition process, display the information on the setting value acquired in the acquisition process, execute a setting change acceptance process for accepting an instruction to change the setting value and a new setting value, and execute the transmission process when the instruction to change the setting value is accepted in the setting change acceptance process; In the transmission process, a change command for causing the specific printer to execute a process for changing a setting value, the change command being associated with the new setting value accepted in the setting change acceptance process, and transmitted to the specific printer; and when the specific printer receives the change command, the specific printer sets the new setting value associated with the received change command. A support program configured to:

7. A support program that can be executed by a computer of an information processing device, corresponds to a specific printer, and supports a general-purpose printing program that is pre-installed in an operating system of the information processing device, wherein the operating system is capable of receiving a start instruction for a program that corresponds to a selected printer, and the general-purpose printing program has a program associated with the printer that requests processing in response to the start instruction; 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 general-purpose print program to print an image on the specific printer, 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 process for transmitting a print command to the specific printer based on the image data; Furthermore, the computer When the specific printer is selected and the operating system receives the startup instruction, a process is requested from the general-purpose printing program. a second screen display process for displaying a screen for receiving a setting value print instruction for instructing printing of the setting values ​​set in the specific printer; a transmission process for transmitting, when the instruction to print setting values ​​is accepted on the screen, a setting value print command to the specific printer to cause the specific printer to print the setting values ​​set in the specific printer; and when the specific printer receives the setting value print command, the specific printer prints the setting values ​​that are set in the specific printer. A support program configured to:

8. A support program that can be executed by a computer of an information processing device, corresponds to a specific printer, and supports a general-purpose printing program that is pre-installed in an operating system of the information processing device, wherein the operating system is capable of receiving a start instruction for a program that corresponds to a selected printer, and the general-purpose printing program has a program associated with the printer that requests processing in response to the start instruction; 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 general-purpose print program to print an image on the specific printer, 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 process for transmitting a print command to the specific printer based on the image data; Furthermore, the computer When the specific printer is selected and the operating system receives the startup instruction, a process is requested from the general-purpose printing program. an acquisition process for acquiring main body information of the specific printer; a transmission process for determining a test image to be used for test printing based on the main body information acquired in the acquisition process as a main body command for causing the specific printer to execute a process based on the main body information acquired in the acquisition process, and transmitting a test print command including the determined test image to the specific printer as the main body command; and when the specific printer receives the test print command, the specific printer prints the test image included in the received test print command. A support program configured to:

9. The support program according to claim 8, In the transmission process, determining the test image to be used for the test printing based on the main information acquired in the acquisition process, and transmitting the test print command, which includes a first edited test image in which at least a part of the main information acquired in the acquisition process is written into the determined test image, to the specific printer as the main command, and when the specific printer receives the test print command, printing the first edited test image included in the received test print command. A support program configured to:

10. The support program according to claim 8, In the transmission process, determining the test image to be used for the test printing based on the main body information acquired in the acquisition process, and transmitting the test print command including a second edited test image in which information about the support program is written into the determined test image to the specific printer as the main body command, and when the specific printer receives the test print command, printing the second edited test image included in the received test print command. A support program configured to:

Images