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

Abstract

To solve the problem in which: even when an input field is corresponding to a web keyboard, if a touch operation is performed on the input field on a web browser, the web browser provides a common keyboard common to all contents, and input cannot be performed on the web keyboard.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus is connected to a network, recognizes an input field of an acquired web content, and acquires information on a web keyboard corresponding to the input field, and the information processing apparatus has display control means that, when there is the corresponding web keyboard and a user performs input to the input field, does not display a common keyboard common to all contents but displays the corresponding web keyboard.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a control method for the information processing apparatus, and a program that provide a function of activating an input keyboard according to display content.

Background Art

[0002] Generally, among MFPs (Multi Function Peripherals, hereinafter referred to as "image forming apparatuses") equipped with scanners and printers, some also have web browsers. To enter characters in an input field displayed by a web browser (for example, a login ID or password for authentication), the user performs a touch operation. When the touch operation is recognized, the web browser provides an input keyboard (hereinafter referred to as a "common keyboard") corresponding to all content. The common keyboard enhances convenience by providing the common keyboard when a touch operation is performed in an input field of a plurality of functions available in the image forming apparatus (for example, a copy function or a transmission function). In recent years, there is also a keyboard (hereinafter referred to as a "web keyboard") corresponding to an input field of web content displayed by a web browser. It is common for the web keyboard to provide a keyboard with only characters that can be input for prohibited rules and to provide it for each language for multilingual input. It is also common to provide options for a plurality of pre-prepared keyboards when the user inputs in the input field (Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Incidentally, when an input field supports a web keyboard, touching the input field in a web browser sometimes causes the web browser to display its own shared keyboard. In this case, the user is unable to input using the web keyboard, leading to increased use of the shared keyboard and a decrease in convenience. In view of the above issues, the present invention aims to provide a system that allows keyboard input using either a web keyboard or a common keyboard on a web browser, depending on the settings. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present invention is an information processing device that recognizes input fields of web content acquired via a network connection and acquires web keyboard information corresponding to the input fields, A setting means for setting which keyboard to display preferentially, either the aforementioned web keyboard or a common keyboard that is common to all content, and based on the setting of the setting means, before Note Web keyboard and The aforementioned Display control means for controlling the display to show one of the common keyboards. and, It is characterized by the following: [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] If a web keyboard is available for the input field, activating it allows the user to input text using the web keyboard, thus improving convenience. Furthermore, the priority setting allows keyboard input using either the web keyboard or the common keyboard, improving usability. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] Overall diagram of the image processing system in an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 2] Hardware configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] Software configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4]Flowchart of Web Keyboard Registration Process [Figure 5] Flowchart of Web Keyboard Activation Process [Figure 6] Image Diagram of Each Management Table [Figure 7A] Application Examples of Received Web Content [Figure 7B] Application Examples of Received Web Content [Figure 8] Image Diagram of Displayed Web Keyboard [Figure 9] Image Diagram of Displayed Web Content [Figure 10] Image Diagram of Displayed Keyboard Candidate List Screen [Figure 11] Flowchart of Web Keyboard Registration Process [Figure 12] Flowchart of Web Keyboard Registration Process [Figure 13] Flowchart of Web Keyboard Registration Process [Figure 14] Flowchart of Web Keyboard Activation Process

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential for the solution means of the invention. An image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0009] (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is an overall view of an image processing system in the first embodiment. In a network 110, an image forming apparatus 101, which is an information processing apparatus, and a server 102 are connected to each other so as to be communicable.

[0010] Hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus 101 which is an information processing apparatus. A control unit 210 including a CPU 211 controls the operation of the entire image forming apparatus 101. The CPU 211 reads out a control program stored in a ROM 212 and executes various control processes such as reading control and transmission control. A RAM 213 is used as a temporary storage area such as a main memory and a work area of the CPU 211. An HDD 214 stores image data and various programs. An operation unit I / F 215 connects an operation unit 219 and the control unit 210. The operation unit 219 is provided with a liquid crystal display unit having a touch panel function, a keyboard, and the like. A printer I / F 216 connects a printer 220 and the control unit 210. Image data to be printed by the printer 220 is transferred from the control unit 210 to the printer 220 via the printer I / F 216 and is printed on a recording medium by the printer 220. A scanner I / F 217 connects a scanner 221 and the control unit 210. The scanner 221 reads an image on a document to generate image data and inputs the image data to the control unit 210 via the scanner I / F 217. The network interface 218 connects the control unit 210 to the network 110. When the user specifies the URL address of the server 102 to be accessed using the web browser displayed on the liquid crystal display, the network interface 218 sends a request to an external device (e.g., server 102) on the network 110. Upon receiving the request, server 102 returns a response of the corresponding web content to the web browser. The web content response is generally written using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc. The web browser installed in the image forming apparatus 101 converts the web content obtained from server 102 into input fields, etc. (generally referred to as browser rendering). The web browser displays the rendering result on the liquid crystal display. Figure 9(a) is an image diagram of the web content displayed by the web browser. The user specifies a password by touching the password input field 901. Figure 9(b) is an image diagram of the common keyboard 902 that corresponds to all web content provided by the web browser through touch operation.

[0011] Software configuration of an image forming apparatus Figure 3 is a software configuration diagram of the control programs stored in the ROM 212 of the image forming apparatus 101, which is an information processing device. The CPU 211 executes these control programs to realize the various controls of the image forming apparatus 101. The web browser 300 includes a content recognition unit 3001, a content management unit 3002, a common keyboard management unit 3003, an input field determination unit 3004, and a corresponding content recognition unit 3005. Furthermore, the web browser 300 also includes a web keyboard determination unit 3006, a startup target management unit 3007, an input field recognition unit 3008, a startup target determination unit 3009, a web keyboard startup unit 3010, and a common keyboard startup unit 3011. The content recognition unit 3001 receives a response of web content from the server 102, recognizes the acquired web content, and returns multiple content elements that constitute the acquired web content. The content management unit 3002 registers web content for each content element and provides the registered content. Figure 6(a) is an image of the content management table. Specifically, it manages input field names 6001 and attributes 6002. Attributes are values ​​used by the web browser 300 for display. Specifically, they specify things like position and font size. The common keyboard management unit 3003 manages the common keyboard provided for inputting strings corresponding to input fields. Figure 6(b) is an image of the common keyboard management table. Specifically, it manages the name, the application to be launched, and the 6006 input keys. The input field determination unit 3004 determines whether a content element is an input field. The corresponding content recognition unit 3005 recognizes the Web content, which is the information corresponding to the input field, and returns the recognized result. For example, if the Web content corresponding to the input field is a Web keyboard, it returns that. The Web keyboard determination unit 3006 determines whether the web content is a Web keyboard. The startup target management unit 3007 manages the keyboard to be activated for each input field. Figure 6(c) is an illustrative diagram of the startup target management table. Specifically, it manages the input field name 6003, the keyboard to be activated 6004, and the application to be activated 6005. The input field recognition unit 3008 recognizes a specific input field name when a specific input field is touched. The startup target determination unit 3009 determines whether the keyboard to be started corresponding to the input field is a web keyboard. The Web keyboard activation unit 3010 activates a specific Web keyboard and displays it on the LCD screen. This allows the user to input characters using the Web keyboard. The common keyboard activation unit 3011 activates the common keyboard and displays it on the LCD screen. This allows the user to input characters using the common keyboard.

[0012] Web keyboard registration process In this embodiment, the Web keyboard registration process in which the Web browser 300 of the MFP101 receives a response of Web content from the server 102, recognizes the acquired Web content, and executes it will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 4. Each step shown in the flowchart in Figure 4 is executed by the CPU 211 of the MFP101 loading a control program stored in memory such as ROM 212 into RAM 213 and executing it. In S401, the CPU 211 uses the content recognition unit 3001 to recognize that the web browser 300 has received a web content response from the server 102. Between S402 and S406, the CPU 211 uses the content recognition unit 3001 to read multiple content elements that make up the web content, repeating this process in a loop for the number of elements. Once the loop is complete, this process terminates. In S403, CPU211 registers a specific content element with content management unit3002. In S404, the CPU 211 passes a specific content element to the input field determination unit 3004 to determine whether it is an input field. If it is an input field (Yes in S404), it proceeds to S405; otherwise (No in S404), it proceeds to S406 and loops to the next element. In S405, the CPU 211 passes a specific content element to the corresponding content recognition unit 3005 to recognize the Web content corresponding to the input field. In S407, the CPU 211 passes the corresponding web content recognized in S405 to the web keyboard determination unit 3006 to determine whether a web keyboard exists. If a web keyboard exists (Yes in S407), the process transitions to S408; otherwise, it transitions to S409. In S408, the CPU 211 registers the Web keyboard recognized by the corresponding content recognition unit 3005 as a target for activation in the activation target management unit 3007 for a specific content element, then transitions to S406 and loops to the next element. In S409, CPU211 registers the common keyboard managed by the common keyboard management unit 3003 as the target for activation with the activation target management unit 3007 for a specific content element, then transitions to S406 and loops to the next element.

[0013] Web keyboard startup process In this embodiment, the web keyboard activation process, which is executed when a user touches an input field in the web browser 300 of the MFP101 and the CPU 211 recognizes the touch on the input field of the web browser 300, will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 5. Each step shown in the flowchart in Figure 5 is executed by the CPU 211 of the MFP101 loading a control program stored in memory such as ROM 212 into RAM 213 and executing it. In S501, the CPU 211 recognizes a specific input field that has been touched using the input field recognition unit 3008. In S502, the CPU 211 obtains the keyboard to be launched that matches the input field identified in S501 from the content elements managed by the launch target management unit 3007. In S503, CPU211 passes the keyboard acquired in S502 to boot target determination unit3009 to determine whether the target keyboard is a web keyboard. If it is a web keyboard (Yes in S503), it proceeds to S504; otherwise (No in S503), it proceeds to S505. In S504, CPU211 passes the Web keyboard startup application acquired in S502 to Web keyboard startup unit3010. The Web keyboard startup unit3010 starts a specific Web keyboard and controls the display to show it on the LCD screen. This allows the user to input characters using the Web keyboard. Then this process ends. In S505, CPU211 passes the common keyboard startup application acquired in S502 to common keyboard startup unit3011. The common keyboard startup unit3011 starts the common keyboard and controls the display to show it on the LCD screen. This allows the user to input characters using the common keyboard. Then this process ends.

[0014] (Example of operation: Registering and launching a web keyboard) Examples of the operation when the web keyboard registration process and the web keyboard activation process are executed will be explained using Figures 7A and 7B (hereinafter, Figures 7A and 7B are collectively referred to as "Figure 7") (a) and Figure 8. The web browser 300 receives the response of the web content 700 from the server 102, recognizes the acquired web content 700 (Figure 7(a)), and executes the web keyboard registration process shown in Figure 4. In S401, the CPU 211 uses the content recognition unit 3001 to recognize that the web browser 300 has received a response of web content 700 from the server 102. Between S402 and S406, the CPU 211 uses the content recognition unit 3001 to read multiple content elements that make up the web content, looping through the number of elements. It recognizes content element 701. In S403, CPU211 registers content element 701 with content management unit 3002. Input field name 6001 is set to register the ID "PASSWORD", and attribute 6002 is set to register content element 701. In S404, the CPU 211 passes a specific content element 701 to the input field determination unit 3004 to determine whether it is an input field. The input field determination unit 3004 determines that the content element 702 is an input field and proceeds to S405. In S405, the CPU 211 passes a specific content element 701 to the corresponding content recognition unit 3005 to recognize the Web content 703 corresponding to the input field. In S407, the CPU 211 passes the corresponding Web content 703 recognized in S405 to the Web keyboard determination unit 3006 to determine whether a Web keyboard exists. The Web keyboard determination unit 3006 determines that a Web keyboard exists for the Web content 703 and proceeds to S408. In S408, the CPU 211 registers the Web content 703 recognized by the corresponding content recognition unit 3005 for a specific content element 703 as a target to be launched in the launch target management unit 3007. The ID "PASSWORD" is registered in the input field name 6003, "Web keyboard" in the launch keyboard 6004, and the Web content 703 in the launch application 6005.

[0015] Next, the web browser 300 displays a specific content element 703 on the LCD screen, and the user touches the input field. The web keyboard activation process, which is executed when the web browser 300 recognizes the touch on the input field, will be described below. In S501, the CPU 211 uses the input field recognition unit 3008 to recognize a specific input field that has been touched. It recognizes the input field name "PASSWORD". In S502, the CPU 211 obtains the target keyboard for startup from the content elements managed by the startup target management unit 3007 that matches the input field ("PASSWORD") identified in S501. In this example, the startup keyboard 6004 and the startup application 6005 are obtained. In S503, the CPU 211 passes the startup keyboard 6004 obtained in S502 to the startup target determination unit 3009 to determine whether the keyboard to be started is a web keyboard. In this application example, since it is a web keyboard, the process proceeds to S504. In S504, the CPU 211 passes the Web keyboard startup application 6005 acquired in S502 to the Web keyboard startup unit 3010. The Web keyboard startup unit 3010 starts a specific Web keyboard 6005 and controls the display to show it on the LCD screen, thereby enabling character input using the Web keyboard. Figure 8 is an image of the Web keyboard 801 being displayed. For example, the Web keyboard 801 can provide a keyboard that allows only necessary characters to be entered according to the character restriction conditions, thereby improving usability.

[0016] (Second embodiment) This section describes an embodiment that allows users to switch between a web keyboard and a common keyboard, prioritizing their use based on settings, when a web keyboard is provided through web content. Parts identical to those described in the first embodiment will be omitted, and the focus will be on the differences. Software configuration of an image forming apparatus Figure 3 is a software configuration diagram of the control programs stored in the ROM 212 of the image forming apparatus 101. The CPU 211 executes these control programs to realize the various controls of the image forming apparatus 101. The web browser 300 is composed of the control programs described in the first embodiment, plus a priority setting value determination unit 3012. The priority setting determination unit 3012 determines whether the priority setting of the recognized corresponding content is a web keyboard.

[0017] Web keyboard registration process The Web keyboard registration process performed by the MFP101's Web browser 300 upon recognizing the response to the Web content 700 (Figure 7(b)) received from the server 102 will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 11. Each step shown in the flowchart in Figure 11 is executed by the MFP101's CPU 211 loading a control program stored in memory such as ROM 212 into RAM 213 and executing it. In S1101, the CPU 211 passes the corresponding Web content 704 recognized in S405 to the priority setting value determination unit 3013 to determine whether the priority setting value is Web keyboard. If the priority setting value is Web keyboard, the process transitions to S407; otherwise, it transitions to S409.

[0018] (Example of operation: Register a web keyboard, Priority: Web keyboard) An example of applying the web keyboard registration process will be explained using Figure 7(b). The web browser 300 receives the response of the web content 700 from the server 102, recognizes the acquired web content 700, and executes the web keyboard registration process shown in Figure 11. In S1101, the CPU 211 passes the corresponding content 704 recognized in S405 to the priority setting value determination unit 3013 to determine whether the priority setting value is Web keyboard. In this operation, it is determined that the priority setting value is set to Web keyboard, and the process proceeds to S407. Subsequent processing will be the same as in the first embodiment. In this embodiment, by setting a priority value, it is possible to switch between prioritizing the launch of the web keyboard or the common keyboard.

[0019] (Third embodiment) This section describes cases where the system is configured to prioritize the common keyboard when a web keyboard is provided by web content, but changes to use the web keyboard in specific cases. Specifically, these cases involve situations where the web keyboard offers more characters than the common keyboard. The following explanation focuses on the differences from the first and second embodiments. Software configuration of an image forming apparatus Figure 3 is a software configuration diagram of the control programs stored in the ROM 212 of the image forming apparatus 101. The CPU 211 executes these control programs to realize the various controls of the image forming apparatus 101. In addition to the control programs described in the first embodiment, the web browser 300 is composed of a display language recognition unit 3013, a common keyboard input key recognition unit 3014, a web keyboard input key recognition unit 3015, and an input key determination unit 3016. The display language recognition unit 3013 recognizes the specific display language displayed by the web browser 300. The common keyboard input key recognition unit 3014 recognizes keys that can be input using the common keyboard. The web keyboard input key recognition unit 3015 recognizes the input keys of the web keyboard for the content. The input key determination unit 3016 determines whether the key for the recognized display language exists among the inputable keys recognized by the common keyboard input key recognition unit 3014 or the web keyboard input key recognition unit 3015.

[0020] Web keyboard registration process In this embodiment, the Web keyboard registration process in which the Web browser 300 of the MFP 101 receives a response of Web content from the server 102, recognizes the acquired Web content, and executes it will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 12. Each step shown in the flowchart in Figure 12 is executed by the CPU 211 of the MFP 101 loading a control program stored in memory such as ROM 212 into RAM 213 and executing it. First, let's explain how S1101 determined that the common keyboard was set as the priority and proceeded to S1201. In S1201, the CPU 211 uses the display language recognition unit 3013 to recognize the specific display language displayed by the web browser 300. In S1202, the CPU 211 uses the common keyboard input key recognition unit 3014 to recognize the input-enabled keys managed by the common keyboard management unit 3003. In S1203, the CPU 211 passes the display language recognized in S1201 and the keys that can be entered on the common keyboard, recognized in S1202, to the input key determination unit 3016. The input key determination unit 3016 determines whether the keys for the display language exist on the keys that can be entered on the common keyboard. If all the keys for the display language exist on the keys that can be entered on the common keyboard (Yes in S1203), the program proceeds to S409; otherwise (No in S1203), the program proceeds to S1204. In S1204, the CPU 211 uses the Web keyboard input key recognition unit 3015 to recognize the keys that can be input using the Web keyboard of the corresponding content recognized in S405. In S1205, the CPU 211 passes the display language recognized in S1201 and the inputtable keys recognized in S1204 to the input key determination unit 3016. The input key determination unit 3016 determines whether the display language is present on an inputtable key. If an inputtable key exists (Yes in S1205), the process transitions to S407; otherwise, it transitions to S409.

[0021] (Example operation: Common keyboard: English, Japanese; Web browser display language: Swahili) Examples of applying the web keyboard registration process are explained using Figures 6(b) and 7(c). The input-enabled key 6006 of the common keyboard management unit 3003 has "English, Japanese" stored in it, and the specific display language displayed by the web browser 300 is set to Swahili. The web browser 300 receives the response of the web content 700 from the server 102, recognizes the acquired web content 700, and executes the web keyboard registration process shown in Figure 12. In S1101, the CPU 211 passes the corresponding content 705 recognized in S405 to the priority setting value determination unit 3013 to determine whether the priority setting value is Web keyboard. In this example, it is determined that the priority setting value is set to common keyboard, and the process proceeds to S1201. In S1201, the CPU 211 uses the display language recognition unit 3013 to recognize the specific display language displayed by the web browser 300. In this example, it identifies "Swahili". In S1202, the CPU 211 uses the common keyboard input key recognition unit 3014 to recognize the input-enabled keys managed by the common keyboard management unit 3003. In this example, the input-enabled key 6006 is recognized as "English, Japanese". The CPU 211 passes the "Swahili" language recognized in S1201 and the "English, Japanese" languages ​​recognized in S1202 to the input-enabled key determination unit 3016. The input-enabled key determination unit 3016 determines whether the display language exists on an input-enabled key. In this application example, it does not exist, so the process proceeds to S1204. In S1204, the CPU 211 uses the Web keyboard input key recognition unit 3015 to recognize the keys that can be entered using the Web keyboard of the corresponding content 706 recognized in S405. In this application example, "English, Japanese, and Swahili" are recognized. In S1205, the CPU 211 passes the display language "Swahili" recognized in S1201 and the inputtable keys "English, Japanese, Swahili" recognized in S1204 to the inputtable key determination unit 3016. The inputtable key determination unit 3016 determines whether the display language exists on an inputtable key. In this example, it exists, so the process proceeds to S407. Subsequent processing will be the same as in the first and second embodiments. This embodiment improves the usability of text input by providing the web keyboard when it has more input keys than the common keyboard, even if the common keyboard is set as the preferred keyboard.

[0022] (Fourth embodiment) This section describes an embodiment that provides a list of available keyboard options to a user when a web keyboard is provided from web content, and it is not possible to specify in advance whether to use a web keyboard or a common keyboard. The description of parts that are the same as in the first embodiment will be omitted, and the differences will be described. Software configuration of an image forming apparatus Figure 3 is a software configuration diagram of the control programs stored in the ROM 212 of the image forming apparatus 101. The CPU 211 executes these control programs to realize the various controls of the image forming apparatus 101. In addition to the control programs described in the first embodiment, the web browser 300 is composed of a startup candidate management unit 3017, a startup candidate display unit 3018, and a startup candidate selection unit 3019. The boot candidate management unit 3017 registers and provides the boot candidates that have been provided. Figure 6(d) is an illustrative diagram of the boot candidate management table. Specifically, it manages the target keyboard and the application to be launched. The startup candidate display unit 3018 controls the display to show a list of startup candidates obtained from the startup candidate management unit 3017. The startup candidate selection unit 3019 recognizes the startup candidates that can be selected from the list displayed by the startup candidate display unit 3018.

[0023] Web keyboard registration process In this embodiment, the Web keyboard registration process in which the Web browser 300 of the MFP101 receives a response of Web content 700 from the server 102, recognizes the acquired Web content 700, and executes it will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 13. Each step shown in the flowchart in Figure 13 is executed by the CPU 211 of the MFP101 loading a control program stored in memory such as ROM 212 into RAM 213 and executing it. In S1301, the CPU 211 registers the web keyboard and its execution application, which were recognized by the compatible content recognition unit 3005, with the launch candidate management unit 3017. In S1302, the CPU 211 obtains the common keyboard and its execution application from the common keyboard management unit 3003 and registers them with the startup candidate management unit 3017.

[0024] Keyboard startup process In this embodiment, the Web keyboard activation process, which is executed when a user touches an input field in the Web browser 300 of the MFP101 and the Web browser 300 recognizes the touch to the input field, will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 14. Each step shown in the flowchart in Figure 14 is executed by the CPU 211 of the MFP101 loading a control program stored in memory such as ROM 212 into RAM 213 and executing it. In S503, CPU211 passes the keyboard acquired in S502 to the boot target determination unit3009 to determine whether the keyboard to be booted is a web keyboard. If it is a web keyboard, the process transitions to S1401; otherwise, it transitions to S505. In S1401, the CPU 211 uses the boot candidate display unit 3018 to control the display so that the boot candidate management unit 3017 can display a list of boot candidates on the liquid crystal display unit. In S1402, the CPU 211 uses the boot candidate selection unit 3019 to recognize a specific boot candidate selected by the user from the list of boot candidates displayed by the boot candidate display unit 3018. In S503, the CPU 211 passes the keyboard recognized in S1402 to the boot target determination unit 3009 to determine whether the keyboard to be booted is a web keyboard. If it is a web keyboard, the process transitions to S504; otherwise, it transitions to S505.

[0025] Examples of applying the web keyboard registration process and the web keyboard activation process are explained using Figures 7(a), 6(d), and 10. (Example of operation: Web keyboard registration) The web browser 300 receives the response of the web content 700 from the server 102, recognizes the acquired web content 700, and executes the web keyboard registration process shown in Figure 13. In S1301, CPU211 registers the Web keyboard recognized by the compatible content recognition unit3005 with the startup candidate management unit3017. The target keyboard for startup is registered as Web keyboard6007, and the startup application is registered as the execution application6008 recognized by the compatible content recognition unit3005. In S1302, CPU211 obtains the common keyboard from the common keyboard management unit 3003 and registers it with the boot candidate management unit 3017. The target keyboard for booting is the common keyboard 6009, and the application to be booted is the application 6010 that executes the obtained common keyboard. (Example of operation: Keyboard activation) The web keyboard activation process, which is executed when a user touches an input field in the web browser 300 of the MFP101 in this embodiment and the web browser 300 recognizes the touch to the input field, will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 14. In S503, the CPU 211 passes the keyboard acquired in S502 to the boot target determination unit 3009 to determine whether the keyboard to be booted is a web keyboard. In this application example, it is determined to be a web keyboard and the process proceeds to S1401. In S1401, the CPU 211 uses the boot candidate display unit 3018 to control the display so that the boot candidate management unit 3017 can display a list of boot candidates on the liquid crystal display. Figure 10 is an image of the keyboard candidate list screen to be displayed. It is possible to select either the Web keyboard 1001 or the common keyboard 1002.

[0026] According to this embodiment, when a web keyboard is provided from web content, a list of selectable options—either the web keyboard or a common keyboard—is provided, allowing the user to choose a keyboard according to their preference, thereby improving the usability of text input. In the embodiments described above, an image forming apparatus was used as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to any information processing device that is connected to a network and on which a web browser is launched and a soft keyboard for input is displayed. Specifically, this technology is applicable to any device such as a tablet terminal, PC, or mobile phone. It is also applicable when accessing web content stored within the information processing device without being connected to a network.

[0027] (Other examples) The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that implements one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and by having one or more processors in the computer of that system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., an ASIC) that implements one or more functions. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0028] 211 CPU 3005 Compatible Content Recognition Unit 3008 Input Field Recognition Unit 3010 Web Keyboard Startup Unit 3011 Common Keyboard Startup Unit 3012 Priority setting value determination unit

Claims

1. An information processing device that recognizes input fields of web content acquired via a network connection and acquires web keyboard information corresponding to the input fields, A setting means for setting which keyboard to display preferentially, either the aforementioned web keyboard or a common keyboard that is common to all content, A display control means that controls the display to show either the web keyboard or the common keyboard based on the settings of the setting means, An information processing device characterized by having the following features.

2. An information processing device that recognizes input fields of web content acquired via a network connection and acquires web keyboard information corresponding to the input fields, The system includes a display control means that displays a list of keyboards, including the aforementioned web keyboard and a common keyboard common to all content, in a way that the user can select, and controls the display to show the keyboard selected by the user. An information processing device characterized by the following:

3. If the display control means does not have information for the web keyboard, it will display the common keyboard. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

4. If the common keyboard is configured by the setting means, and it is not possible to input characters corresponding to the web content into the input field, the display control means will display the web keyboard. The information processing apparatus according to feature 1.

5. If the language of the Web content includes characters that are not available on the common keyboard, the display control means displays the Web keyboard. The information processing apparatus according to feature 4.

6. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the information processing apparatus is an image forming apparatus.

7. A control method for an information processing device that recognizes input fields of web content acquired via a network connection and acquires web keyboard information corresponding to the input fields, A setting process to set which keyboard to display preferentially, either the aforementioned web keyboard or a common keyboard that is common to all content, A display control step that controls the display to show either the web keyboard or the common keyboard based on the settings of the setting step, A control method characterized by having the following features.

8. A control method for an information processing device that recognizes input fields of web content acquired via a network connection and acquires web keyboard information corresponding to the input fields, The system includes a display control step that displays a list of keyboards, including the aforementioned web keyboard and a common keyboard common to all content, in a way that the user can select, and controls the display to show the keyboard selected by the user. A control method characterized by the following:

9. A program for causing a computer to execute the control method for an information processing device described in claim 7 or 8.

Images