Method for modifying an image forming apparatus, program, and documentation.

Abstract

To reduce the time and effort of a user compared with a case where correction of print processing is performed for every image forming apparatus.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus has a processor, and the processor receives correction from a user for processing of printing a first document, the processing to be executed by the apparatus, and when a predetermined condition is established, which indicates that a second document to be printed by another image forming apparatus is related to the first document, transmits, to the another image forming apparatus, correction information for reflecting the influence of correction on the processing of printing the second document.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a program, and a method for correcting a document.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes that when a server device that instructs printing of first print data to a printing apparatus receives correction data from a correction operation reception apparatus integrated with the printing apparatus, the first print data is updated based on the correction data, the number of reprint pages required for the update is calculated, and the printing apparatus is instructed to print second print data corresponding to the reprint pages.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Printing of a document may be shared among a plurality of image forming apparatuses. After printing is instructed to each image forming apparatus, when the user approaches any of the image forming apparatuses, an error may be found in the printing of the document assigned to that image forming apparatus. In this case, the user needs to correct the error and re-instruct printing. Here, when the documents shared by each image forming apparatus are related, if correction is made to the printing of the document assigned to one image forming apparatus, correction may also be required for the printing of the documents assigned to other image forming apparatuses. However, performing correction for each image forming apparatus is troublesome for the user. The image forming apparatus etc. of the present invention reduces the user's labor compared to the case where correction of the printing process is performed for each image forming apparatus.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The invention according to claim 1 has a processor, the processor is The device outputs a screen that accepts modifications regarding the process of printing the first document for which it is responsible for printing, and Regarding the process of printing the first document, we accept corrections from the user. Information regarding the printing process for a second document, which is to be printed by another image forming apparatus, is obtained. With respect to the second document, if predetermined conditions are met indicating that it is related to the first document, The aforementioned To another image forming apparatus, in the process of printing the second document The user received the above This is an image forming apparatus that transmits correction information to reflect the effects of the aforementioned correction. The invention according to claim 2 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined conditions include matters common to the second document and the first document. The invention according to claim 3 is that the processor accepts the modification which replaces at least some of the common matters contained in the first document with other matters. If The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the correction information transmits information for replacing the common items contained in the second document with the other items. The invention according to claim 4 is, The aforementioned processor, The first document and the second document but The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the common items include a common string, and when the apparatus accepts the modification which replaces the common string included in the first document with another string that has a different number of characters from the common string, it notifies the user that the number of characters is different. The invention according to claim 5 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition is that the first document and the second document are each parts obtained by dividing a common source document into multiple parts. The invention according to claim 6 is an image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the processor does not transmit the modification information if, in the original document, the second document is a portion prior to the first document. The invention according to claim 7 is an image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor receives a request to output the printed material produced by printing the first document in a different manner as the modification, and transmits information for outputting the printed material produced by printing the second document in the other manner as the modification information. The invention according to claim 8 is an image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor displays an image on a display unit showing the content of the second document reflecting the effects of the modifications when requested by the user. Claim 9 The invention relating to this is a computer, A function to output a screen that accepts corrections regarding the process of printing the first document for which the device is responsible for printing, and the aforementioned The process of printing the first document includes a function to accept user modifications, A function to acquire information regarding the printing process for a second document whose printing is handled by another image forming apparatus, and the With respect to the second document, if predetermined conditions indicating its relationship to the first document are met, the other image forming apparatus shall perform the process of printing the second document. The user received the above This is a program that implements a function to send correction information to reflect the effects of the aforementioned correction. Claim 10 The invention relating to this is A method performed by a computer, comprising the steps of outputting a screen that accepts modifications to the process of printing a first document for which a first image forming apparatus is responsible for printing, and the Regarding the process of printing the first document, there is a step for accepting corrections from the user, A step of acquiring information regarding the printing process for a second document for which the second image forming apparatus is responsible for printing, and With respect to the second document, if predetermined conditions are met indicating that it is related to the first document, The aforementioned The second image forming apparatus is used for the process of printing the second document. The user received the above A method for modifying a document, comprising the steps of: transmitting modification information to reflect the effects of the modification; and reflecting the effects of the modification in the process of printing the second document based on the modification information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] Claim 1, 9 ~ 10 According to the invention described herein, the user's workload is reduced compared to the case where the printing process is modified for each image forming apparatus. According to the invention described in claims 2 and 5, the relationship between the first document and the second document is automatically determined. According to the invention described in claim 3, compared with the case of making individual corrections, the labor involved in correcting the common matters between the first document and the second document is reduced. According to the invention described in claim 4, compared with the case where no notification is made, it becomes easier to grasp the collapse of the layout due to the difference in the number of characters before and after the correction. According to the invention described in claim 6, compared with the case of transmitting correction information regardless of the order of the first document and the second document in the original document, an unintended change to the process of printing the second document by the user is suppressed. According to the invention described in claim 7, compared with the case of individually correcting the form of the printed matter, the labor of the user is reduced. According to the invention described in claim 8, the influence of the correction reflected in the second document is grasped by the user.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007] [Figure 1] It is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the information processing system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 2] It is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus to which the present embodiment is applied. [Figure 3] It is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus to which the present embodiment is applied. [Figure 4] It is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the management server according to the present embodiment. [Figure 5] It is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of each apparatus in the present embodiment. [Figure 6] It is a diagram showing an example of the screen displayed on the image forming apparatus. (A) is a screen showing print jobs held by the own apparatus and other apparatuses, and (B) is a screen including a preview image. [Figure 7] It is a diagram showing an example of the screen transition related to the correction of the character string in the image forming apparatus. (A) is a screen before correcting the character string, (B) is a screen when inputting the correct character string, and (C) is a screen after performing the correction. [Figure 8] It is a diagram showing an example of the notification to the terminal device when the original document is divided. [Figure 9] This is a diagram for explaining the change in layout when a certain string is modified into strings with different numbers of characters. (A) is a preview image corresponding to the document before modifying the string, and (B) is a preview image corresponding to the document after modifying the string into a string with a different number of characters. [Figure 10] This is a diagram showing an example of notification to the user when a certain string is modified into a string with a different number of characters.

Embodiments for Carrying out the Invention

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "the present embodiments") will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Information Processing System 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration example of the information processing system according to the present embodiments. The information processing system 1 includes an image forming apparatus 10 (10a, 10b, 10c) having a printing function of forming an image on a recording material based on a print job, a terminal device 30 operated by a user of the image forming apparatus 10, and a management server 20 that transmits a print job registered from the terminal device 30 to a designated image forming apparatus 10. In the information processing system 1, the image forming apparatus 10, the terminal device 30, and the management server 20 can communicate with each other via a network 90. The network 90 is not particularly limited as long as it can be used for data communication between devices. For example, it may be realized by a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), the Internet, a telephone line, etc. Also, regardless of whether it is wired or wireless, these may be used in combination. Further, a relay device such as a gateway device, a router, an access point, etc. may be used to connect each device via a plurality of networks or communication lines.

[0009] The image forming apparatus 10 to which this embodiment is applied executes a held print job based on the operation of a user utilizing the information processing system 1. The image forming apparatus 10 has basic functions used for forming images on paper or other recording materials as a printing function. In this embodiment, a print job is information that includes a data file of the document to be printed, print settings that define the form of the printed material to be output, operation settings that define the operating conditions of the image forming apparatus 10 that prints the document, and information for identifying the print job (job ID / JOB-ID), and is information for instructing the image forming apparatus 10 to process the printing of the target document. Print settings are any settings that define the form of the printed material, and include, for example, settings for printing multiple pages of a document together on the same recording material, paper size when paper is used as the recording material, color / black and white settings, and binding settings for the printed material. The document is an electronic document and may contain images in addition to text, or it may contain only images without text. The document data file may include information used when converting the document to an image, as well as information such as the update date and time of the electronic document, paper size, number of pages, and keywords within the electronic document. Furthermore, the act of the image forming apparatus 10 holding a print job targeting a document may be described as "being responsible for printing the document."

[0010] Furthermore, as will be described in more detail later, the image forming apparatus 10 has a job modification function that enables various modifications to the print job. In addition, the image forming apparatus 10 may have various communication functions, such as a function to connect to the Internet via a WAN (Wide Area Network) or LAN (Local Area Network), a function to connect to a telephone network, and a function to connect to other image forming apparatuses 10 without going through terminal devices 30 or management servers 20. In the example shown in Figure 1, the information processing system 1 has three image forming apparatuses 10, but the number of image forming apparatuses 10 is not limited.

[0011] In this embodiment, the terminal device 30 is a terminal that transmits print jobs to the image forming apparatus 10 via the management server 20. Each terminal device 30 is also provided with a display unit (not shown) consisting of a liquid crystal display panel or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display panel, etc., which displays images, text information, etc., to the user. The terminal device 30 can be implemented, for example, by a computer, a tablet-type information terminal, a smartphone, or other information processing device. In the case of Figure 1, one terminal device 30 is provided in the information processing system 1, but multiple terminal devices 30 may be provided.

[0012] In this embodiment, the management server 20 provides the function of sending print jobs uploaded and registered from the terminal device 30 to the image forming apparatus 10. In addition, the management server 20 may also provide the function of managing the contents of print jobs as history after they have been sent to the image forming apparatus 10, and the function of storing and managing data files and information received from other devices such as the image forming apparatus 10. The management server 20 is implemented by a server machine such as a computer device, but the number of server machines is not limited. Alternatively, the management server 20 may be implemented by distributing its functions across multiple virtual server machines in a so-called cloud environment.

[0013] In the following, we assume a scenario where a user who has sent a print job from terminal device 30 to image forming apparatus 10 moves to the location where image forming apparatus 10 is installed and individually instructs the execution or stopping of the print job. In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 performs user authentication and authorizes the execution of print jobs registered by the authenticated user.

[0014] Here, we will briefly describe the functions of the image forming apparatus 10 to which this embodiment is applied. First, each image forming apparatus 10 holds print jobs acquired from the user's terminal device 30 via the management server 20. Then, in response to user operations on any of the image forming apparatuses 10, it modifies the print jobs held by that image forming apparatus 10. When the image forming apparatus 10 operated by the user is modified, it sends modification information to the other image forming apparatuses 10 that hold related print jobs, so that the effects of the modification can be reflected in the print jobs held by each apparatus.

[0015] As mentioned earlier, a print job is information that includes the document data file, print settings, and operation settings. In this embodiment, modifying a print job modifies the process of printing the target document. Furthermore, "relationship" in print jobs refers to the fulfillment of predetermined conditions that indicate a relationship between a document targeted for printing in one print job and a document targeted for printing in another print job. These predetermined conditions will be described in detail later.

[0016] Because the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment has the functions described above, any modifications made by the user to a print job held by one image forming apparatus 10 are reflected in the print jobs held by other image forming apparatuses 10. This eliminates the need for the user to operate each image forming apparatus 10 individually to modify print jobs. Thus, in this embodiment, the user's workload is reduced compared to the case where the process of printing a document is modified for each image forming apparatus 10.

[0017] [Image forming apparatus 10] Figure 2 shows an example of the hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus 10 to which this embodiment is applied. The image forming apparatus 10 according to this embodiment includes an arithmetic processing unit 11 that performs digital arithmetic processing according to a predetermined program during operation, a secondary storage unit 12 which is implemented by, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) that records various data, and a communication unit 13 that sends and receives information via a network 90 (see Figure 1). It also includes an input unit 14 such as keys, a touch panel, or a card reader that accepts input operations from the user, a display unit 15 which is made up of a liquid crystal display panel or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display panel that displays images and text information to the user, an image forming unit 16 that realizes a printing function, and an image reading unit 17 that realizes a scanning function.

[0018] The arithmetic processing unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11a that controls the entire device as an example of a processor, RAM (Random Access Memory) 11b used as working memory for the CPU 11a, and ROM (Read Only Memory) 11c where programs executed by the CPU 11a are stored. It also includes a rewritable non-volatile memory 11d that can retain data even if the power supply is interrupted, and an interface unit 11e that controls various parts such as the input unit 14 connected to the arithmetic processing unit 11. The non-volatile memory 11d is composed of, for example, SRAM or flash memory backed up by a battery. In addition, the secondary storage unit 12 stores various data, as well as programs executed by the arithmetic processing unit 11. The image forming apparatus 10 executes each process by reading the programs stored in this secondary storage unit 12 from the arithmetic processing unit 11.

[0019] The secondary storage unit 12 is composed of, for example, a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or semiconductor memory. The secondary storage unit 12 stores image data read by the image reading unit 17, fax data received via fax communication, and image data received from external sources via communication. Some of the image data received from external sources via communication is data files of documents included in print jobs received via the management server 20. In addition, the secondary storage unit 12 stores programs executed by the arithmetic processing unit 11, print jobs, and information of the user who registered the print job.

[0020] The image forming unit 16 is composed of a printer engine, such as a laser printer or an inkjet printer, and forms an image on a recording material such as paper in response to instructions from the arithmetic processing unit 11, and outputs it as a printed document. In this embodiment, the image forming unit 16 realizes the printing function by forming the content of the print data on paper and outputting it as a paper document.

[0021] The image reading unit 17 is composed of an image scanner or the like, and reads an image formed on a recording material such as paper in response to instructions from the arithmetic processing unit 11, and outputs the corresponding electronic data.

[0022] Figure 3 shows the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment. The arithmetic processing unit 11 in this embodiment includes a job management unit 111, a job modification unit 112, a related job identification unit 113, a modification information creation unit 114, a notification creation unit 115, a user authentication unit 116, a display control unit 117, an operation reception unit 118, a communication control unit 119, and a print processing unit 120 as functional units for realizing various functions. This section primarily describes the functions related to printing and job modification, but the image forming apparatus 10 may have other functions as well.

[0023] The job management unit 111 manages the print jobs received by the communication unit 13. In this embodiment, the job management unit 111 links the received print job with the information of the user who instructed the registration of the print job, and stores and manages them in the secondary storage unit 12. The job management unit 111 also deletes the print job when it has been executed and completed. Furthermore, the job management unit 111 does not need to determine whether a print job was received via the management server 20 (see Figure 1) or via another receiving path. Other receiving paths include, for example, a path from a terminal device 30 (see Figure 1) without going through the management server 20, or a path from another image forming apparatus 10. In this embodiment, the same processing is uniformly applied to all received print jobs.

[0024] The job modification unit 112 modifies the print jobs held within its own device based on the modification instructions received by the operation reception unit 118. Modifications to print jobs may include, for example, modifying the content of the document to be printed or modifying the print settings. More specifically, the job modification unit 112 in this embodiment is a functional unit that has the function of editing documents, and based on user operations, it performs processes such as deleting text and images contained in the document, and adding new text and images. It is also a functional unit that has the function of changing print settings, and based on user operations, it performs processes such as changing the form of the output paper document, for example, changing the paper size or binding method. Furthermore, the job modification unit 112 according to this embodiment reflects the effects of modifications made by other image forming apparatuses 10 on print jobs held within its own apparatus, in accordance with modification information received from other image forming apparatuses 10.

[0025] The related job identification unit 113 identifies print jobs that are related to the print jobs held by its own device (sometimes referred to as "related jobs") from among the print jobs held by other image forming apparatuses 10. More specifically, the related job identification unit 113 acquires other-device job information, which is information relating to print jobs held by other image forming apparatuses 10. Based on the acquired other-device job information, it determines whether predetermined conditions indicating a relationship between the documents targeted by the print jobs held by the other image forming apparatuses 10 and the documents targeted by the print jobs held by the own apparatus are met. If these predetermined conditions are met, the print jobs held by the other image forming apparatuses 10 are identified as related jobs. In this case, the documents targeted by the print jobs held by the own apparatus are an example of the first document, and the documents targeted by the related jobs held by the other image forming apparatuses 10 are an example of the second document. Then, when the related job identification unit 113 receives a request to modify a print job held by its own device, it identifies another image forming apparatus 10 that holds the related job as the destination for the modification information.

[0026] The identification of related jobs in this embodiment will be explained in more detail. Here, we will explain using the example of a case where the image forming apparatus 10a operated by the user holds print job A targeting document "Report A", and print job B targeting document "Report B" held by another image forming apparatus 10b is identified as a related job. When a document is referred to as " ", the text within the quotation marks corresponds to the name of the document.

[0027] In this embodiment, the related job identification unit 113 determines that report B is a document related to report A, based on the fact that print job B was registered by the same user as print job A and that the document names contain a common string, and identifies print job B as a related job to print job A. More specifically, the related job identification unit 113 acquires other device job information for print jobs held by other image forming apparatuses 10, including the name of the target document and the identification information of the user who registered the print job. Then, from the acquired other device job information, it determines that among the print jobs held by other image forming apparatuses 10, print job B was registered by the same user as print job A and that the document names report A and report B contain the same string "report", and identifies print job B as a related job. Here, "the print jobs were registered by the same user" and "the document names contain a common string" are examples of predetermined conditions that indicate a relationship between documents. Also, "the document names contain a common string" is an example of containing common information.

[0028] Furthermore, the other device job information is information related to the print job and only needs to include information necessary for determining the conditions indicating the relationship between documents. In this embodiment, the other device job information is obtained, including the identification information of the user who registered the print job and the name of the document to which the print job is applied, in accordance with the conditions that "the print jobs were registered by the same user" and "the document names contain a common string." The other device job information can also be obtained, for example, by making a request to the management server 20. Alternatively, it can be obtained, for example, by making a request to another image forming apparatus 10.

[0029] The correction information creation unit 114 creates correction information in response to corrections to print jobs held by its own device. The correction information only needs to include information that reflects the effects of the corrections received by its own device to print jobs held by other image forming apparatuses 10. In other words, it is sufficient that other image forming apparatuses 10 can reflect the effects of the corrections according to the correction information. Here, we will explain the correction information in more detail using the example of a case where the image forming apparatus 10a operated by the user holds print job A targeting document "Report A," and another image forming apparatus 10b holds print job B targeting document "Report B." Print job B is assumed to be identified as a related job to print job A. Furthermore, document "Report A" is an example of a first document, and document "Report B" is an example of a second document.

[0030] For example, two documents, "Report A" and "Report B," may contain the same typographical error. In this case, if the image forming apparatus 10a corrects the typographical error in "Report A," this correction will necessitate a similar correction in the image forming apparatus 10b for the typographical error in "Report B." In other words, the correction of the typographical error in "Report A" requires that the same correction be reflected in "Report B." In this example, the correction information transmitted from the image forming apparatus 10a to the image forming apparatus 10b includes information for replacing the typographical error with the correct string, including at least the information for the string before and after the correction. Furthermore, similar correction information can be used when simply replacing a string or image that is common to both "Report A" and "Report B" with another string or image, rather than correcting a typographical error. Thus, in this embodiment, if a modification is made to replace at least a portion of the common items in document "Report A" with other items, modification information is transmitted to replace the common items in document "Report B" with other items.

[0031] For example, there are cases where it is desirable to unify the format of the paper documents output in print job A and print job B. In this case, if the print settings of print job A are modified in the image forming apparatus 10a, the print settings of print job B must be modified in the image forming apparatus 10b as a result of this modification. In other words, as a result of modifying the print settings of print job A, the same print setting modification must be reflected in print job B. In this example, the modification information transmitted from the image forming apparatus 10a to the image forming apparatus 10b includes at least the modified print settings. Thus, in this embodiment, when a request is received to output the paper document to be printed by print job A in a different manner, that is, when a modification of the print settings is received, modification information is sent to print job B to modify the paper document to be printed in a different manner, that is, to perform the same modification of the print settings on print job B.

[0032] The notification creation unit 115 creates information to be notified to other devices such as other image forming apparatuses 10 and terminal devices 30. More specifically, the notification creation unit 115 in this embodiment creates information to be notified to other devices in response to user instructions received by the operation reception unit 118 or to various processes performed on its own device.

[0033] The user authentication unit 116 performs an authentication process to identify the user who intends to operate the device. For example, the user authentication unit 116 obtains information to identify the user from code information, an IC card, a part of the user's body, a terminal the user possesses, etc., and performs the authentication process. Alternatively, for example, the user authentication unit 116 may obtain an ID and password based on the operation performed by the user via the input unit 14 and perform the authentication process. Although the description above describes a case where the image forming apparatus 10 performs user authentication on its own, it is also possible to perform user authentication by requesting authentication from an external device such as an authentication server and receiving the authentication result.

[0034] The display control unit 117 controls the types and content of images, various icons, and text displayed on the display unit 15, as well as the display characteristics such as the position and size of the displayed images. The display control unit 117, for example, controls the display of a list of print jobs held by the device as a screen for accepting print job execution requests from the user. It also controls the display of a list of print jobs held by other image forming apparatuses 10 acquired as other device job information, and a list of related jobs identified by the related job identification unit 113. Furthermore, when a print job is modified, it controls the display of a screen to accept the modification. An example of a screen to accept the modification is screen 160, which will be described later using Figure 7.

[0035] The operation reception unit 118 receives user instructions in response to user operations via the input unit 14. These user instructions include, for example, instructions to modify a print job, such as instructions to modify the content of a document or to modify print settings. They also include instructions to display an image showing the content of the document corresponding to the registered print job, or an image showing the content of the document corresponding to the modified print job. Furthermore, they include instructions to execute a held print job or to stop a print job that is currently running.

[0036] The communication control unit 119 controls the transmission and reception of information with other devices via the communication unit 13. For example, it receives various types of information such as print jobs sent from the terminal device 30, correction information sent from other image forming apparatuses 10, and other device job information sent from other image forming apparatuses 10 or the management server 20. Furthermore, for example, it transmits various types of information to other devices. Specifically, it transmits correction information created by the correction information creation unit 114 to other image forming apparatuses 10, and transmits notifications created by the notification creation unit 115 to other image forming apparatuses 10 and terminal devices 30. It also transmits information indicating the content of the processing performed by its own device, as well as information transmitted to other image forming apparatuses 10 or terminal devices 30, to the management server 20 for management as history. In addition, it transmits information to the management server 20 indicating that a print job has been executed and completed, for management purposes. In addition, the communication control unit 119 transmits various instructions to other devices.

[0037] The print processing unit 120 reads and executes a print job from the secondary storage unit 12. More specifically, the print processing unit 120 reads and executes a print job based on whether the user has instructed the execution of a print job or whether another image forming apparatus 10 has instructed the execution of a print job. Specifically, the print processing unit 120 reads the print job that has been instructed to be executed from the secondary storage unit 12 and controls the image forming unit 16 to execute printing. Furthermore, the print processing unit 120 will stop an ongoing print job in response to a stop instruction received by the operation reception unit 118. In addition, if an ongoing print job is modified by the job modification unit 112, it will also stop the process.

[0038] [Management server 20, and terminal device 30] Figure 4 shows an example of the configuration of the management server 20 according to this embodiment. The management server 20 according to this embodiment includes a calculation processing unit 21 that controls the operation of the entire device, a secondary storage unit 22 that records various information such as print jobs, and a communication unit 23 that sends and receives information via a communication line.

[0039] The arithmetic processing unit 21 includes a CPU 21a that controls the entire device as an example of a processor, RAM 21b used as working memory for the CPU 21a, and ROM 21c that stores programs executed by the CPU 21a. The arithmetic processing unit 21 also includes a rewritable non-volatile memory 21d that can retain data even if the power supply is interrupted, and an interface unit 21e that controls various parts such as the communication unit 23 connected to the arithmetic processing unit 21. The non-volatile memory 21d consists of, for example, SRAM or flash memory backed up by a battery, and stores document data files, configuration information, etc. Furthermore, the arithmetic processing unit 21 reads programs stored in the secondary storage unit 22, thereby executing various processes of the management server 20.

[0040] The secondary storage unit 22 is composed of, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD) or semiconductor memory. The secondary storage unit 22 stores, for example, programs executed by the arithmetic processing unit 21, print jobs, user information, and so on.

[0041] The management server 20 receives and manages print jobs and related information from the terminal devices 30, and also receives information indicating the content of the processes performed by each image forming apparatus 10, and manages it as a history. In addition, the management server 20 transmits and provides various information such as print jobs and related information to the image forming apparatus 10. Furthermore, the management server 20 in this embodiment receives information from each image forming apparatus 10 indicating that a print job has been executed and completed. This allows the server to manage whether the print jobs sent to each image forming apparatus 10 are currently running, not yet executed, or have been executed.

[0042] Here, the hardware configuration of the terminal device 30 according to this embodiment is the same as the hardware configuration of the management server 20 described above, except that it includes an input unit that accepts user input such as a keyboard or mouse, and a display unit that consists of a liquid crystal display or the like, so a detailed explanation and drawings are omitted here.

[0043] The terminal device 30 receives user instructions based on user operations entered via the input unit. These user instructions include, for example, instructions to select any document stored in the terminal device 30, or instructions to print the selected document. Furthermore, the terminal device 30 generates a print job for the document that the user has instructed to print.

[0044] The terminal device 30 then sends the generated print job to the specified destination. In this embodiment, the final destination of the generated print job is the image forming apparatus 10 (see Figure 1). The terminal device 30 sends the print job to the image forming apparatus 10, for example, via the management server 20 (see Figure 1). Alternatively, the terminal device 30 may send the print job to the image forming apparatus 10 without going through the management server 20. However, in this embodiment, by sending the print job via the management server 20, the management server 20 manages the history of the print jobs. Furthermore, the terminal device 30 may acquire various types of information, such as notifications, transmitted by the communication control unit 119 of the image forming apparatus 10, and display them on the display unit.

[0045] [Operation of each device] Next, the operation of each device related to print job registration and document modification will be explained using Figures 5 to 7. Figure 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of each device in this embodiment. Figure 6 shows an example of a screen displayed in the image forming apparatus 10a, where (A) is a screen 150 showing print jobs held by the apparatus and other apparatuses, and (B) is a screen 160 including a preview image 161. Figure 7 shows an example of screen transitions related to correcting text in an image forming apparatus, where (A) is screen 160 before correcting the text, (B) is screen 170 when entering the correct text, and (C) is screen 160 after the correction has been made.

[0046] Here, we will explain using an example where, regarding the interrelated documents "Report A," "Report B," and "Report C," the image forming apparatus 10a holds print job A for document "Report A," the image forming apparatus 10b holds print job B for document "Report B," and the image forming apparatus 10c holds print job C for document "Report C." In the diagram, document "Report A" is simply referred to as "Report A." Similarly, for other documents, only the document name is indicated. Furthermore, to distinguish between the image forming apparatuses 10a, 10b, and 10c, they may be referred to as "Printer A," "Printer B," and "Printer C," respectively.

[0047] First, the terminal device 30 receives instructions from the user to print multiple documents (S501). In this example, it receives instructions from one user to print three documents, "Report A," "Report B," and "Report C." Next, the terminal device 30 sends print jobs A, B, and C, which were generated for each document, to the management server 20 (S502).

[0048] Next, the management server 20 sends the received print jobs to the image forming apparatus 10 responsible for printing (S503). In this example, the management server 20 sends print job A, targeting document "Report A", to image forming apparatus 10a; print job B, targeting document "Report B", to image forming apparatus 10b; and print job C, targeting document "Report C", to image forming apparatus 10c. Each image forming apparatus 10 holds the received print job.

[0049] Furthermore, the decision of which print job to send to each image forming apparatus 10 may be made based on user instructions. For example, when the terminal device 30 receives instructions to print documents "Report A," "Report B," and "Report C," it may determine the destination of the print jobs based on the instructions received to assign document "Report A" to image forming apparatus 10a, document "Report B" to image forming apparatus 10b, and document "Report C" to image forming apparatus 10c. Alternatively, for example, the management server 20 may automatically determine the destination of the print job. More specifically, the management server 20 may assign a priority to all image forming apparatuses 10 belonging to the information processing system 1 and determine the destination of the print job according to this priority. The priority may be predetermined, or it may be determined according to the processing capacity of the image forming apparatus 10, the number of print jobs currently running or not running, and other circumstances.

[0050] At this point, the user who was operating the terminal device 30 moves to the location where the image forming apparatus 10a is installed and operates the image forming apparatus 10a. The image forming apparatus 10a performs authentication processing for the user operating the apparatus (S504). The image forming apparatus 10a authenticates the user operating the apparatus based on the information entered by the user. In other words, the image forming apparatus 10a identifies the authenticated user as the user operating the apparatus.

[0051] Next, the image forming apparatus 10a requests other device job information from the management server 20 (S505). In this embodiment, for all print jobs held by other image forming apparatuses 10, the image forming apparatus 10a requests other device job information, which includes the identification information of the user who registered the print job and the name of the document to which the print job is to be printed. The management server 20 transmits the requested job information for other devices to the image forming apparatus 10a (S506). In other embodiments, job information from other devices may be requested from and obtained from other image forming apparatuses 10.

[0052] In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10a can accept a user's selection of a mode that also displays information on print jobs held by other image forming apparatuses 10 (hereinafter referred to as the "cooperative output mode"). Upon accepting the selection of the cooperative output mode, the image forming apparatus 10a displays a list of print jobs held by its own apparatus and other image forming apparatuses 10 (S507). In this embodiment, the display of the print job list is based on other apparatus job information obtained from the management server 20. In other embodiments, information for displaying the print job list may be obtained as information different from other apparatus job information.

[0053] In this embodiment, the screen 150 shown in Figure 6(A) is displayed as a list of print jobs in the image forming apparatus 10a. The screen 150 includes a job list 151 (151a, 151b, 151c) that shows a list of print jobs held by each image forming apparatus 10, a "Preview" button 152 for instructing the display of an image showing the contents of a document, and a "Coordinated Printing" button 153 for instructing the execution of multiple print jobs at once.

[0054] The job list 151 displays the print jobs held by each image forming apparatus 10, using the names of the target documents. In this example, the job list 151 includes list 151a, which lists the print jobs for documents "Report A", "Report", and "Invoice" held by image forming apparatus 10a ("Printer A"); list 151b, which lists the print jobs for documents "Report B", "Approval Request", and "Investigation Report" held by image forming apparatus 10b ("Printer B"); and list 151c, which lists the print jobs for documents "Report A", "Report B", and "Report C" held by image forming apparatus 10c ("Printer C"). Furthermore, in this embodiment, the job list 151 functions as a button that accepts the selection of each print job displayed in the list. For example, "Report A" in the job list 151 functions as a button that accepts the selection of a print job targeting the document "Report A" held by the image forming apparatus 10a.

[0055] The "Preview" button 152 accepts the instruction to display an image (hereinafter referred to as the "preview image") that shows the contents of the target document for the selected print job. More specifically, when the "Preview" button 152 is pressed after a print job has been selected in the job list 151, the screen transitions to the screen 160 shown in Figure 6(B). Screen 160 includes a preview image 161 corresponding to the target document of the selected print job, a "Print" button 162 to instruct the execution of the selected print job, an "Edit" button 163 to instruct the display of a screen that accepts modifications to the selected print job (described later using Figure 7), and a "Back" button 164 to instruct the transition back to screen 150. The user can check the contents of the document targeted by the selected print job using the displayed preview image 161.

[0056] Furthermore, if a print job held by another image forming apparatus 10 is selected and the "Preview" button 152 is pressed, the data file or print job of the target document is obtained from the management server 20 or the other image forming apparatus 10, and the preview image 161 is displayed. For example, if document "Report B" held by image forming apparatus 10b is selected by image forming apparatus 10a and the "Preview" button 152 is pressed, image forming apparatus 10a requests and obtains the data file or print job of document "Report B" from the management server 20 or image forming apparatus 10b.

[0057] When executing a print job, the user selects one of the print jobs and instructs it to run. For example, by selecting three print jobs A, B, and C targeting documents "Report A," "Report B," and "Report C" from the job list 151 on screen 150 and pressing the "Coordinated Printing" button 153, the execution of print job A is instructed in image forming apparatus 10a, print job B is instructed in image forming apparatus 10b, and print job C is instructed in image forming apparatus 10c. Each image forming apparatus 10 will start executing the instructed print job if there are no other print jobs running. If there are other print jobs running, the image forming apparatus 10 will start executing the instructed print job after the other print jobs have finished. For example, the user selects print job A, which targets document "Report A," from the job list 151 on screen 150, and presses the "Preview" button 152 to display screen 160, which includes a preview image 161 of document "Report A." Then, by pressing the "Print" button 162, the user instructs the execution of print job A.

[0058] Here, the user may review the printed document while the print job is running and find errors regarding the document's content or appearance. Alternatively, they may review the preview image 161 before running the print job and find errors. For example, suppose the user notices that the underlined string "A Research Company" in the preview image 161 shown in Figure 7(A) is a typographical error. The user presses the "Edit" button 163 to display the screen 170 for editing the document shown in Figure 7(B). In this example, screen 170 includes an editable image 171 that shows the content of the document and accepts editing input from the user, a keyboard 172 that accepts user input related to editing, a scroll bar 173 that allows scrolling to change the display area of ​​the editable image 171, and a "Done" button 174 to instruct the user to correct the document.

[0059] The user uses keyboard 172 to delete the incorrect string "A Research Company" and add the correct string "B Research Company". This deletion and addition is reflected in edited image 171, and the part that was "A Research Company" underlined in Figure 7(A) is replaced with "B Research Company" underlined in Figure 7(B). Once the user has corrected the error, they press the "Complete" button 174. When the "Complete" button 174 is pressed, the corresponding document is modified according to the edits received in the edited image 171. As a result, the corresponding string "A Research Company" is corrected to "B Research Company" in the data file of the corresponding document. In other words, the data file of the document included in the print job is modified, and the print job is modified to target the corrected document. In this embodiment, when the "Complete" button 174 is pressed and the modification of the print job is complete, the screen transitions to screen 160, as shown in Figure 7(C), and a preview image 161 showing the content of the modified document is displayed.

[0060] While the explanation above describes correcting errors in a document, the content of the corrections is not limited. For example, changes to the appearance of text in the document, such as color or size, or changing images in the document to different images may be considered corrections. Alternatively, changes to print settings may also be considered corrections. Figure 7(B) shows an example where a keyboard 172 is provided to accept corrections of errors, but various instruction sections may be provided to instruct changes to text appearance, images, print settings, etc., depending on the content of the corrections to be accepted.

[0061] Furthermore, on screen 170, when a correction of a typographical error is received, the system may extract strings that appear to be similar typographical errors within the document and present them to the user. More specifically, if the same string as the original string exists in a different location in the document than where the user's correction was received, the system may notify the user of this fact. For example, in Figure 7(B), the string "A Research Company" is also found in a different location than where the correction was received (the string indicated by the underline), on the first line of the document. In this case, a text notification such as "The phrase 'A Research Company' also appears in other locations in the document" may be provided. Alternatively, the system may highlight the extracted string from a different location. Furthermore, if the same string as the original string exists in a different location than where the correction was accepted, the user may be asked whether they want the same correction made in the other location as well. If the user instructs to do so, the same correction may be made in the other location. For example, in the example in Figure 7(B), the instruction to replace all instances of "A Research Company" with "B Research Company" in document "Report A" may be accepted.

[0062] In this example, if the "Edit" button 163 is pressed for a print job that is running or has been instructed to run, the execution of the print job will be stopped or suspended. Alternatively, an instruction section for stopping or suspending the execution of a print job may be provided on screens 150, 160, 170, or as a hardware key, and the "Edit" button 163 may be pressed after the job has been stopped or suspended.

[0063] Returning to Figure 5, and referring to the steps from S508 onwards, we will explain using the example of when modifications are made to print job A for document "Report A". Here, we will assume that modifications are made to print job A after the execution of three print jobs A, B, and C, which target documents "Report A", "Report B", and "Report C", has been instructed.

[0064] The image forming apparatus 10a accepts a modification to print job A of document "Report A" (S508). As mentioned above, in this embodiment, the execution of print job A is stopped or suspended as a result.

[0065] Next, the image forming apparatus 10a identifies related jobs associated with print job A, which has been modified (S509). In this embodiment, related jobs are identified based on the fact that the print jobs were registered by the same user and that the document names contain a common string. Here, print job B for document "Report B" held by the image forming apparatus 10b and print job C for document "Report C" held by the image forming apparatus 10c are identified as related jobs.

[0066] Furthermore, when related jobs are identified, the image forming apparatus 10a may display information indicating the identified related jobs. For example, as shown in Figure 6(A), the job list 151 may be displayed, and the print job A to be modified and the related print jobs B and C may be highlighted (shown as shading in the figure) to indicate which print jobs have been identified as related jobs.

[0067] Then, the image forming apparatus 10a instructs the image forming apparatuses 10b and 10c, which are holding the identified related jobs, to stop or suspend the related jobs (S510). Upon receiving the instruction, the image forming apparatuses 10b and 10c stop or suspend the execution of print jobs B and C (S511). In this example, after instructions to execute print jobs A, B, and C have been given, a modification to print job A has been accepted, so the process of stopping or suspending the execution of print jobs A, B, and C is performed. If print job A has been modified before instructions to execute print jobs A, B, and C have been given, the process of stopping or suspending the print jobs is unnecessary.

[0068] The image forming apparatus 10a performs modifications to print job A (S512). At this time, the notification generation unit 115 of the image forming apparatus 10a may create a notification indicating that modifications have been made to print job A and send it to the user's terminal device 30. Then, correction information is created to reflect the impact of the modification to print job A, and sent to the image forming apparatuses 10b and 10c that hold the related jobs (S513). The correction information may also be sent to the management server 20 for management as history. It may also be sent to the terminal device 30 of the user who registered print jobs A, B, and C, and at this time, a notification indicating that a modification has been made to print job A may be sent.

[0069] The image forming apparatuses 10b and 10c reflect the effects of the corrections to the print jobs B and C held by their respective apparatuses, according to the correction information received (S514). For example, if a typographical error in document "Report A" is corrected, the apparatus receives correction information containing information on the typographical error and the correct typographical error, and similarly corrects the typographical errors in documents "Report B" and "Report C". Also, for example, if the print settings in print job A are corrected, the apparatus receives correction information containing the content of the corrected print settings, and similarly changes the print settings of print jobs B and C. At this time, the image forming apparatus 10a may issue a notification indicating that the effects of the corrections have been reflected. Furthermore, at any point before the execution of operation S514, the image forming apparatus 10a may accept instructions from the user regarding whether or not to reflect the effects of the modifications. If the user is instructed to reflect the modifications, the operations from S514 onward will be executed. If the user is instructed not to reflect the modifications, the apparatus may modify only print job A and not reflect the effects on print jobs B and C.

[0070] Furthermore, after S514, that is, after the effects have been reflected in the image forming apparatus 10b and 10c, the user can select "Report B" or "Report C" from the job list 151 on screen 150 (see Figure 6(A)) and press the "Preview" button 152 to instruct the display of preview images 161 corresponding to the documents "Report B" and "Report C" to which the effects of the modifications have been reflected. In this way, by displaying the preview images 161 corresponding to the documents to which the effects of the modifications have been reflected, in accordance with the user's request, the user can understand the effects of the modifications that are being reflected. Alternatively, when the effects have been reflected in the image forming apparatus 10b and 10c, the corresponding preview images 161 may be displayed regardless of the user's instructions, allowing the user to understand the effects of the modifications.

[0071] Then, the image forming apparatuses 10a, 10b, and 10c resume print jobs A, B, and C that were stopped or held (S515). Alternatively, if modifications to print job A and the resulting changes to print jobs B and C are made before instructions to execute print jobs A, B, and C are given, the apparatuses start executing print jobs A, B, and C after receiving instructions from the user.

[0072] Furthermore, if a print job is stopped while it is running, that is, after at least some paper documents have been printed, and modifications or the impact of those modifications are made, the print job may be restarted from the beginning rather than being restarted. In other words, the number of copies specified in advance by the user when they instruct the printer to print may be printed. For example, if print job A is a process to print 10 copies of document "Report A", and modifications are made after 5 copies have been printed, restarting the print job and printing the remaining 5 copies will result in 5 copies of the original paper document and 5 copies of the modified paper document. On the other hand, restarting the print job from the beginning will result in 10 copies of the modified paper document, obtaining the number of copies specified in advance by the user. Furthermore, if a print job is stopped while it is running, that is, after at least some paper documents have been output, and corrections or the reflection of those corrections are made, the pages in the document that have been corrected or the reflection of those corrections may be reprinted. For example, if print job A prints 10 copies of a 3-page document "Report A," and after 5 copies have been printed, corrections are made only to page 2, then 5 copies of the corrected page 2 should be printed to replace the 5 copies that have already been printed. The remaining 5 copies should then be printed as paper documents that include the corrected page 2.

[0073] In this embodiment, the operations in S501 to S515 reflect the effects of modifications made to print job A by the image forming apparatus 10a onto print jobs B and C held by the image forming apparatuses 10b and 10c. This reduces the effort required from the user compared to when the user individually operates the image forming apparatuses 10b and 10c to modify print jobs B and C, or when the user re-registers the modified print jobs B and C at the terminal device 30.

[0074] In Figure 5, we illustrate with an example where image forming apparatus 10a handles print job A for document "Report A," while image forming apparatuses 10b and 10c handle print jobs B and C for documents "Report B" and "Report C," which are different from document "Report A." In order to reduce printing time, a document may be divided into multiple parts, and the printing of each part may be distributed among multiple image forming apparatuses 10. Hereafter, the original document will be referred to as the original document, and the documents corresponding to each part will be referred to as divided documents. In other words, when all the divided documents are combined, they become the original document. For example, if you want to print an original document D consisting of 100 pages, you can divide it into divided document D1 corresponding to pages 1-33, divided document D2 corresponding to pages 34-66, and divided document D3 corresponding to pages 67-100, and print 100 copies each of divided documents D1, D2, and D3.

[0075] For example, the terminal device 30 may divide the original document into divided documents D1, D2, and D3, and distribute them to each image forming apparatus 10 as different print jobs D1, D2, and D3. In this case, the original document is divided, for example, by the user editing and dividing the original document using the terminal device 30 to generate the divided documents D1, D2, and D3, or by the terminal device 30 dividing the original document into predetermined page counts and generating the divided documents D1, D2, and D3.

[0076] Alternatively, for example, when a print job D of the original document D is sent to the management server 20, the management server 20 may divide the original document D into predetermined number of pages to generate divided documents D1, D2, and D3, and generate print jobs D1, D2, and D3 for each divided document. Then, the print jobs D1, D2, and D3 may be sent to each image forming apparatus 10 for distribution. In this case, the user information and print settings included in print jobs D1, D2, and D3 will use the information included in print job D of the original document D. The management server 20 may determine the destination for print jobs D1, D2, and D3 depending on the number of print jobs held by each image forming apparatus 10, the content of the print jobs held, the processing capacity of each image forming apparatus 10, etc.

[0077] Furthermore, for example, if a print job D of the original document D is registered in the image forming apparatus 10, the image forming apparatus 10 may divide the original document D into predetermined number of pages to generate divided documents D1, D2, and D3, and generate print jobs D1, D2, and D3 for each divided document. Then, some or all of the print jobs D1, D2, and D3 may be sent to other image forming apparatus 10 for distribution. In this case as well, the user information and print settings included in print jobs D1, D2, and D3 will use the information included in print job D of the original document D.

[0078] Whether the image forming apparatus 10 and the management server 20 split the original document may be determined according to the number of pages in the original document, the number of copies to be printed, and the number of printed pages, which is the product of the number of pages and the number of copies. For example, if the number of pages in the original document, the number of copies to be printed, or the number of printed pages exceeds a predetermined threshold, a split document may be generated and a corresponding print job may be generated.

[0079] Furthermore, when the image forming apparatus 10, management server 20, and terminal device 30 divide the original document, each divided document is given a name containing a common string so that the print job for each divided document can be identified as a related job. For example, the names of the divided documents "Report_202202181920_1", "Report_202202181920_2", and "Report_202202181920_3", which are created by dividing the original document "Report", contain a string corresponding to the name of the original document, the date and time the division was performed (2022 / 02 / 18 19:20), and the number of the divided document (1, 2, or 3 at the end). In this case, each divided document will contain the common string "Report_202202181920". The "number of the divided document" indicates the position of each divided document when the divided documents are arranged in order and correspond to the original document. The number of the divided document may be included in the document name or in the print job.

[0080] In this case, when the original document is divided by the image forming apparatus 10 or the management server 20 and printing is carried out by multiple image forming apparatuses 10, the user who instructed the printing of the original document may be notified of this. For example, the terminal device 30 may notify the user that the document has been divided and will be printed by each image forming apparatus 10.

[0081] Figure 8 shows an example of notification to the terminal device 30 when the original document is split. Here, an example is shown where, for a print job (JOB-ID XXX) sent to the image forming apparatus 10a, the target document is used as the original document, the image forming apparatus 10a generates three split documents, and the print jobs for each split document are divided among the image forming apparatuses 10a, 10b, and 10c. On the display unit 35 of the terminal device 30, the screen 350 includes an icon 351 indicating that there is a notification regarding printing, and a message 352 indicating that the document has been split and the printing will be divided among the image forming apparatuses 10a, 10b, and 10c (labeled as printers A, B, and C in the figure). By checking the message 352, the user can understand that the printing of the original document (JOB-ID XXX) that they instructed will be divided among the image forming apparatuses 10a, 10b, and 10c.

[0082] In the example shown in Figure 8, both a "Print Execution" button 353 for instructing the execution of a print job for each divided document and a "Cancel Printing" button 354 for instructing the cancellation of a print job for each divided document are displayed. In addition to instructing the image forming apparatus 10 to execute a print job for each divided document, the user can also instruct execution using this "Print Execution" button 353.

[0083] Furthermore, if instructions are given to print two or more copies of a document, the task may be divided among multiple image forming apparatuses 10. For example, if 100 copies of document E are to be printed, image forming apparatus 10a may be responsible for printing 33 copies, image forming apparatus 10b for 33 copies, and image forming apparatus 10c for 34 copies. In other words, the process of printing 100 copies of document E may be divided into three print jobs: print job E1 for 33 copies of document E, print job E2 for 33 copies of document E, and print job E3 for 33 copies of document E, and each print job may be executed by image forming apparatuses 10a, 10b, and 10c. In this way, when dividing a common original print job into multiple print jobs (sometimes called "divided jobs") according to the number of copies to be printed, the print jobs can be divided at the image forming apparatus 10, management server 20, or terminal device 30, similar to the document division described above, and each divided print job can be assigned to each image forming apparatus 10.

[0084] By the way, when correcting errors in a document, if the number of characters before and after the correction differs, the document's layout may be disrupted. Figure 9 illustrates the layout changes when a string is modified to a string of a different length, where (A) is a preview image 161 corresponding to the document before the string modification, and (B) is a preview image 161 corresponding to the document after the string has been modified to a string of a different length. This figure shows an example of a notification sent to a user when a string is modified to a string of a different length.

[0085] If there is no change in the number of characters before and after correcting a typographical error, for example, if the original string "A Research Company" has 5 characters and the corrected string "B Research Company" has 5 characters, then, as shown in Figures 7(A) and (C), no layout disruption occurs due to the correction, and the layout as it was when the user created the document is maintained. However, if the number of characters increases before and after correcting a typographical error, for example, if the original string "A Research Company" has 5 characters and the corrected string "XXXX Research Company" has 8 characters, the string may overflow onto the next line, increasing the number of lines and potentially disrupting the layout, as shown in Figure 9(A). Furthermore, the increase in lines may cause the string to overflow onto the next page, disrupting the layout. Conversely, if the number of characters decreases before and after correcting a typographical error, the reduction in lines may also disrupt the layout.

[0086] Therefore, in this embodiment, when the image forming apparatus 10 receives a request to modify a string with a different number of characters than the original string, it notifies the user that the number of characters is different. As a more specific example, as shown in Figure 10, the user is notified by displaying message 180. In this example, message 180 includes the text "There is a difference between the number of characters before and after the modification," indicating that the number of characters is different before and after the modification; the text "The layout may be disrupted," mentioning the possibility of layout disruption; and the text "Do you want to perform the modification?" asking whether to perform the modification. On screen 160, along with message 180, a "Execute Correction" button 181 is displayed to instruct the user to execute the correction, and a "Cancel Correction" button 182 is displayed to instruct the user to cancel the correction. By checking message 180, the user understands the possibility of layout disruption. If they still wish to make the correction, they press the "Execute Correction" button 181; if they do not wish to make the correction, they press the "Cancel Correction" button 182. This prevents unintended layout disruption from occurring in the corrected document.

[0087] Furthermore, when correcting similar errors in related jobs held by other image forming apparatuses 10 according to the correction information, similar layout distortions may occur. The image forming apparatus 10 may also notify the user that layout distortions may occur in related jobs held by other image forming apparatuses 10. The user can then decide whether or not to perform the corrections, taking into account the layout distortions in related jobs.

[0088] Furthermore, if the printing of the divided documents is divided among multiple image forming apparatuses 10, if a layout problem occurs in any of the divided documents, when the paper documents output from each image forming apparatus 10 are combined to form a paper document corresponding to the original document, a layout problem may occur overall. For example, suppose that in the divided documents D1, D2, and D3 described above, an increase in lines occurs in divided documents D1, D2, and D3, resulting in an additional page consisting of only one line of text as the final page. When these paper documents D1, D2, and D3 are combined to form a paper document of the original document D, there will be pages consisting of only one line of text between the part corresponding to divided document D1 and the part corresponding to divided document D2, and between the part corresponding to divided document D2 and the part corresponding to divided document D3, resulting in a paper document with a distorted layout. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the image forming apparatus 10 receives a revision in a divided document in which the number of characters before and after the revision differs, it notifies the user that the overall layout may be disrupted when the paper documents are combined.

[0089] [Examples of applications and variations] (Identifying related jobs) In this embodiment, the system is configured to determine related documents and identify related jobs based on predetermined conditions: "the print jobs were registered by the same user" and "the document names contain a common string of characters." As stated above, the predetermined conditions used to determine related documents are not limited, and the condition may also be "that the documents are split documents created by dividing a common source document." In this case, the print job of the split documents should include information to identify the source document. For example, the name of the source document can be used as information to identify the source document.

[0090] Furthermore, while this embodiment specifies that the document names must contain a common string of characters, the condition could also be that the document content must contain a common string of characters or a common image. Note that "the document content must contain a common string of characters or a common image" is just one example of including common elements. In this case, the image forming apparatus 10 acquires information, for example, other device job information, which includes data files of documents that are the target of print jobs held by other image forming apparatuses 10. Furthermore, split jobs based on a common print job will have the same target document and will contain common strings or images. Therefore, the image forming apparatus 10 determines that the target document of one split job is related to the target document of another split job based on the same print job. In this case, the split job includes information to identify the original print job. For example, the job ID of the original print job can be used as information to identify the original print job.

[0091] Furthermore, in other embodiments, the condition that "the print job was registered by the same user" may not be required. Instead, print jobs registered by other users may be identified as related jobs, and the effects of the modifications may be reflected. When reflecting the effects of modifications on print jobs registered by other users, the other user's terminal device 30 may be notified accordingly. Furthermore, instead of requiring that "the print jobs were registered by the same user," the condition could be that the attributes of the users who registered the print jobs are the same. User attributes include, for example, the organization to which the user belongs and their rank within that organization.

[0092] Furthermore, while the image forming apparatus 10 according to this embodiment determines the relationship between documents using two conditions, in other embodiments, the determination may be made using only one condition, or using three or more conditions. In other words, the number of predetermined conditions indicating the relationship between documents is not limited.

[0093] Furthermore, in the example shown in Figure 5, the image forming apparatus 10a was described as acquiring job information from other devices and identifying related jobs to print job A after receiving a modification request for print job A. The acquisition of job information from other devices and the identification of related jobs may be performed at other times, and it is sufficient that they are performed at least before the modification information is sent. For example, the acquisition of job information from other devices and the identification of related jobs may be performed at the time print job A is registered in the image forming apparatus 10a. Furthermore, the identification of related jobs may be performed by the management server 20, and the system may be configured to transmit information indicating the identified related jobs to the image forming apparatus 10a.

[0094] (Correction Information) In this embodiment, the case in which the image forming apparatus 10 transmits information about the strings before and after modification, and the contents of the changed print settings, etc., as modification information has been described. If the image forming apparatus 10 obtains data files of print jobs or target documents held by other image forming apparatuses 10 as other device job information, it may modify these contents and transmit them as modification information. For example, if image forming apparatus 10a holds print job A for document "Report A", image forming apparatus 10b holds print job B for document "Report B", and image forming apparatus 10c holds print job C for document "Report C", then image forming apparatus 10a obtains print jobs B and C as other device job information. It may then apply the same modifications to print jobs B and C as those made to print job A, and then transmit the modified print jobs B and C to image forming apparatuses 10b and 10c. Image forming apparatuses 10b and 10c can replace the print jobs B and C that they originally held with the modified print jobs B and C received as modification information, thereby reflecting the effects of the modifications.

[0095] (Reflection of the impact) Here, with respect to a print job modified by one image forming apparatus 10 and a related job held by another image forming apparatus 10, conditions may be set according to the attributes of the document that the related job is related to, and if the conditions are met, the modification information will be sent, and if the conditions are not met, the modification information will not be sent. For example, with respect to a document that is the target of a print job modified in the image forming apparatus 10, modification information may be sent to the image forming apparatus 10 holding the related job, provided that the document that is the target of the related job is either a downstream document or an upstream document. Here, a "downstream document" is a document that comes after a document when arranged in order with another document. Conversely, an "upstream document" is a document that comes before a document when arranged in order with another document. For example, if there are documents "Volume 1," "Volume 2," and "Volume 3," Volume 1 is an upstream document to Volume 2, and Volume 3 is a downstream document to Volume 2. Similarly, if there are documents "No. 1," "No. 2," and "No. 3," No. 1 is an upstream document to No. 2, and No. 3 is a downstream document to No. 2.

[0096] Thus, the image forming apparatus 10 may determine the order of documents from the names of the documents targeted by the related jobs, decide whether or not to send correction information, and ensure that the impact is reflected only for print jobs targeting downstream or upstream documents. Furthermore, when determining the order of split documents, the determination may be made based on the name of the split document or the number of the split document included in the print job.

[0097] (Image forming apparatus 10 that reflects the effects of the correction) In this embodiment described above, the effects of the modifications made to print job A in the image forming apparatus 10a are reflected in print jobs B and C in the image forming apparatuses 10b and 10c, and print jobs B and C are modified. In this case, image forming apparatuses 10b and 10c can be considered to modify a print job when they receive information from image forming apparatus 10a, which holds a print job related to a print job held by one of their own apparatuses, to modify that print job.

[0098] (Image forming apparatus 10 operated by the user) When a user instructs the terminal device 30 to print a document, they may pre-specify the image forming apparatus 10 they will operate. For example, when registering print jobs A, B, and C, if the user specifies image forming apparatus 10a as the target of operation, image forming apparatus 10a may identify the related jobs for print job A even before identifying the user.

[0099] (Presentation of information) In the embodiment described above, various types of information, such as notifications from each device, were explained to be presented to the user by display on the display unit. However, the means of presenting information are not limited. For example, various known means such as email or voice notifications may be used.

[0100] (How to revise the document) Furthermore, the above-described embodiment can also be understood as a method for modifying a document using the image forming apparatus 10. More specifically, this embodiment can be considered a method for modifying a document, characterized by comprising: a step of receiving modifications from a user for print job A, which is handled by the image forming apparatus 10a; a step of transmitting modification information to the image forming apparatuses 10b and 10c when predetermined conditions are met indicating that the documents "Report B" and "Report C," which are the targets of print jobs B and C, handled by the image forming apparatuses 10b and 10c, are related to the document "Report A," which is the target of print job A; and a step of reflecting the effects of the modifications in print jobs B and C based on the modification information.

[0101] In the embodiments, applications, and modifications described above, the programs executed by CPUs 11a (see Figure 2) and 21a (see Figure 4), which are examples of processors, are provided to the arithmetic processing units 11 and 21 while stored on computer-readable recording media such as magnetic recording media (magnetic tape, magnetic disk, etc.), optical recording media (optical disk, etc.), magneto-optical recording media, and semiconductor memory. Alternatively, the programs executed by CPUs 11a and 21a may be downloaded to the image forming apparatus 10, terminal device 30, and management server 20 using communication means such as the Internet. In each embodiment, "processor" refers to a processor in a broad sense, including general-purpose processors (e.g., CPUs) and dedicated processors (e.g., GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, programmable logic device, etc.). Furthermore, the operation of the processor may not be performed by a single processor, but by multiple processors located in physically separate locations working together. Also, the order of the processor's operations is not limited to the order described in each embodiment and may be changed.

[0102] The processing performed by the information processing system in each embodiment is provided, for example, as a program such as application software. This program can be provided not only by means of communication, but also by being stored on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0103] 1...Information processing system, 10...Image forming apparatus, 11a, 21a...CPU, 20...Management server, 30...Terminal device

Claims

1. It has a processor, The aforementioned processor, The device outputs a screen that accepts modifications to the process of printing the first document for which it is responsible for printing. Regarding the process of printing the first document described above, the system accepts modifications from the user. Information regarding the printing process for a second document, which is to be printed by another image forming apparatus, is obtained. With respect to the second document, if predetermined conditions indicating its relationship to the first document are met, the system transmits correction information to the other image forming apparatus to reflect the effects of the correction received from the user in the process of printing the second document. Image forming apparatus.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined conditions include matters common to the second document and the first document.

3. The aforementioned processor, If the above-mentioned modification is accepted, which replaces at least some of the common items contained in the first document with other items, As the correction information, information is transmitted to replace the common items contained in the second document with the other items. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2.

4. The processor is The first document and the second document contain a common string of characters as the common item, When the modification is accepted which replaces the common string contained in the first document with another string that has a different number of characters, the user is notified that the number of characters is different. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition is that the first document and the second document are each parts obtained by dividing a common source document into multiple parts.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the processor does not transmit the modification information if, in the original document, the second document is a portion prior to the first document.

7. The aforementioned processor, As a modification, we accept the request to output the printed material produced by printing the first document in a different manner. As the aforementioned correction information, information is transmitted for outputting the printed material produced by printing the second document in the aforementioned other manner. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor, when requested by the user, displays an image on the display unit showing the content of the second document reflecting the effects of the modification.

9. On the computer, A function that outputs a screen to accept corrections regarding the process of printing the first document for which the device is responsible for printing, The process of printing the first document described above includes a function to accept corrections from the user, A function to acquire information regarding the printing process for a second document whose printing is handled by another image forming apparatus, With respect to the second document, if predetermined conditions indicating its relationship to the first document are met, a function is provided to transmit correction information to the other image forming apparatus to reflect the effects of the correction received from the user in the process of printing the second document; A program to achieve this.

10. A method performed by a computer, A process of outputting a screen that accepts corrections regarding the process of printing a first document, which is to be printed by the first image forming apparatus, The process of printing the first document includes a step of accepting corrections from the user, A step of acquiring information regarding the printing process for a second document, which is to be printed by a second image forming apparatus, With respect to the second document, if predetermined conditions indicating that it is related to the first document are met, the process of transmitting correction information to the second image forming apparatus to reflect the effects of the correction received from the user in the process of printing the second document, A step of reflecting the impact of the corrections in the process of printing the second document based on the correction information, A method for modifying a document that includes [a specific feature / feature].

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