Information processing device, program

Abstract

To provide a technique enabling a user to check necessary information without explicitly giving instructions to display a screen of an extended application.SOLUTION: A program to be executed by a computer of an information processing device and expanding a function in association with print data generation software available for a plurality of different printing devices, causes the computer to execute: acquisition processing of acquiring information from a printing device; determination processing of determining information to be displayed on a print setting screen of an operating system of the information processing device based on the information acquired from the printing device; and notification processing of notifying the operating system of the information processing device of screen definition information defining information to be displayed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for extending printing functions. [Background Art]

[0002] In recent years, in operating environments such as Windows (registered trademark), standard class drivers (hereinafter also referred to as "standard drivers") that can be commonly used for printing apparatuses provided by a plurality of vendors have been provided. Such a standard driver is included in a package of an operating system (hereinafter referred to as "OS"). The standard driver is configured to allow designation of a printing function in accordance with PrintCapabilities generated based on information acquired from a connected printing apparatus. Accordingly, a user using the standard driver can designate a printing function according to the capability of the connected printing apparatus. A function extension application (hereinafter also referred to as an "extension application") can be associated with the standard driver. The extension application is provided by a vendor that provides the printing apparatus. By providing the extension application, the vendor can provide functions (extended functions) that cannot be realized only by the standard driver. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for extending functions such as a stamp function using an extension application. [Prior Art Documents] [Patent Documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2019-74906 [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

[0004] To utilize the extended features of an extension application, users must explicitly display the extension application's screen. This increases the number of user actions required, potentially impairing usability. Furthermore, some information provided by the extension application (such as printer status information) cannot be viewed by the user at any time.

[0005] This invention was made in view of the circumstances described above. Specifically, its purpose is to provide a technology that allows users to check necessary information without explicitly instructing the display of an extended application screen. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To solve the above problems, the program in the present invention is: It is a program, On the computer, An output step of outputting a predetermined instruction from the program to a predetermined application program, and from the predetermined application program that has received the predetermined instruction, Based on status information Ku We accept information The reception process and , The information received from the aforementioned specified application program Using information, The print settings screen of the program, which includes information regarding the print status. Display the print settings screen. The display process involves the following steps: the status information is information about the state of the printing device obtained from the printing device, and a receiving unit that receives instructions to display a print setting screen different from the print setting screen is selected, thereby displaying the GUI screen of the predetermined application program. It is characterized by the following: [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, users can check the necessary information without explicitly instructing the display of the extended application screen. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] Block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the printing system [Figure 2] A schematic diagram showing the configuration of the printing system. [Figure 3] Sequence diagram showing an example of the printing process. [Figure 4] A flowchart illustrating an example of the process for determining the display items of the print settings screen extension unit. [Figure 5] A diagram showing an example of screen definition information. [Figure 6] Diagram showing an example of a print setting screen [Figure 7] Flowchart showing an example of display item determination processing for a print setting screen expansion unit [Figure 8] Diagram showing an example of screen definition information [Figure 9] Diagram showing an example of a print setting screen [Figure 10] Flowchart showing an example of processing for a print setting screen expansion unit [Figure 11] Diagram showing an example of a print setting screen [Figure 12] Flowchart showing an example of processing for a print setting screen expansion unit [Figure 13] Diagram showing an example of screen definition information [Figure 14] Diagram showing an example of a print setting screen [Figure 15] Sequence diagram showing an example of print processing [Figure 16] Flowchart showing an example of processing for a print data editing unit [Figure 17] Flowchart showing an example of processing for a print setting screen expansion unit [Figure 18] Flowchart showing an example of processing for a print setting screen expansion unit [Figure 19] Diagram showing an example of screen definition information [Figure 20] Diagram showing an example of a print setting screen [Figure 21] Flowchart showing an example of processing for a print setting screen expansion unit [Figure 22] Diagram showing an example of screen definition information [Figure 23] Diagram showing a display example of an OS print setting screen displayed in accordance with screen definition information DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Preferred embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments are not limiting to the scope of this disclosure, and not all combinations of features described in these embodiments are necessarily essential to the solutions of this disclosure. The same reference numerals are used for identical components, and their descriptions are omitted.

[0010] <<First Embodiment>> Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the printing system in this embodiment. The printing system includes a host computer 101, and Figure 1 mainly shows the block configuration of the host computer. The host computer 101 is an example of an information processing device. The host computer 101 has an input interface 110, a CPU 111, a ROM 112, a RAM 113, an external storage device 114, an output interface 115, an input / output interface 116, and a network interface (NETIF) 120. Input devices such as a keyboard 118 and a pointing device 117 are connected to the input interface 110, and display devices such as a display unit 119 are connected to the output interface 115. The NETIF 120 controls data transfer to and from external devices via a network. In the example in Figure 1, the display unit 119, the pointing device 117, and the keyboard 118 are described as examples of devices separate from the host computer 101, but they may be included in the host computer 101. Also, the display unit 119 may be a touch panel display equipped with input / output device functionality.

[0011] The ROM 112 stores the initialization program. The external storage device 114 stores application programs, the operating system (OS), print data generation software, and various other data. The RAM 113 is used as work memory when executing the various programs stored in the external storage device 114, thereby enabling the various programs to run on the host computer 101.

[0012] In this embodiment, the PU111 performs the functions and processes described later on the host computer 101 by following the procedures of the program stored in the ROM112.

[0013] The output device, the printer 102, is connected to the host computer 101 via the input / output interface 116. While Figure 1 shows an example where the host computer 101 and the printer 102 are separate, they may be configured as a single information processing unit. The printer is described using an inkjet printer as an example, but printing may be performed by other methods (e.g., electrophotography). The host computer 101 may be a desktop PC, smartphone, tablet, or laptop computer. The input / output interface 116 may be wired or wireless. Furthermore, the host computer 101 and the printer 102 may be connected via a LAN or a WAN such as the Internet.

[0014] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a printing system. Here, we will explain a printing system using a host computer 101 equipped with Microsoft's Windows 10 as the operating system. Figure 2(a) shows a typical configuration when the extended application 204 is not associated with the print data generation software 202 and the printing device 102. In other words, it shows the configuration of a printing system in which the extended application 204 is not used. On the other hand, Figure 2(b) shows the configuration of the printing system of this embodiment in which the extended application 204 is associated with the print data generation software 202 and the printing device 102. First, we will explain an example of a typical printing system using Figure 2(a). A typical printing system includes a drawing application 201 and print data generation software 202. In addition, print function information 203 is stored in RAM 113 or external storage device 114. The drawing application 201 and the print data generation software 202 are programs that can run on the host computer 101. The drawing application 201 is software that creates the content (drawing data) to be printed. Examples of drawing applications 201 include various user-operated applications such as word processing applications or spreadsheet applications. When a drawing application 201 receives a print request from a user, it issues a print command to the OS. The print command includes print setting information to instruct the operation of the print data generation software 202 and the printing device 102. Print setting information is also called a PrintTicket (hereinafter abbreviated as "PT"). In order to set the print setting information (PT), the drawing application 201 can display a print setting screen provided by the print data generation software 202, the OS, or the drawing application 201 itself. The print setting screen includes setting items (hereinafter also called "control items") that indicate the configurable printing functions and control items that indicate their setting values. The print setting screen displays control items according to the capability information (information that can be set as print settings) obtained from the print data generation software 202.Capability information is also called PrintCapabilities (hereinafter abbreviated as "PC"). The print data generation software 202 determines the PC based on the print function information 203. The print function information 203 is data indicating the print function, which describes all configurable print functions, their settings, and the mutual exclusion relationships between the settings. The print function information 203 is also called PDC (PrintDeviceCapabilities). The print function information 203 is included in the configuration file of the print data generation software 202 and is placed on the external storage device 114 as an immutable file. Alternatively, the print function information 203 can be dynamically generated by the print data generation software 202. Specifically, the print data generation software 202 or the OS can be configured to acquire attribute data of the printing device from the printing device 102 and generate the print function information 203 according to the attribute information in the acquired attribute data. When the print function information 203 is dynamically generated, the generated print function information 203 is editable. The attribute data of the printer obtained from the printer 102 is the response data obtained by issuing the IPP Get-Printer-Attributes operation to the printer. IPP stands for InternetPrintProtocol. The response includes attribute information indicating the functions that can be specified by the printer 102 (printer capabilities) and setting values ​​related to that attribute information. This response data is stored in RAM 113. With this configuration, the print data generation software 202 can be configured so that the user can specify the printing functions available on each printer 102, depending on the connected printer 102. In other words, even when connecting printers with different functions or printers developed by different vendors, the print data generation software 202 can be configured so that the user can specify the printing functions available on the connected printer. Here, we will describe a configuration using the IPPClassDriver included in Windows® 10 as the print data generation software 202.IPPClassDriver is a printer driver that performs printing according to the specifications of a standard printing protocol called IPP, and is included in the OS package. IPPClassDriver is not a printer driver specific to the model of printer 102, but a standard class driver that can be used in common with multiple printers. Furthermore, IPPClassDriver acquires attribute information of the connected printer 102 so that the user can specify the printing functions supported by the connected printer 102, and generates print function information 203 based on that information. In this way, IPPClassDriver, which is the print data generation software 202, can dynamically generate print function information 203 (PDC). The print setting information (PT) specified through the print setting screen displayed based on the PC based on this print function information 203 (PDC) is included in the print instruction output from the drawing application 201. Note that the print instruction output from the drawing application 201 includes not only the print setting information (PT) but also the data to be drawn. The OS generates intermediate data (also called input data) based on the print instructions output from the drawing application 201 and passes it to the print data generation software 202. The data output by the drawing application 201 for printing is either GraphicDeviceInterface format data (GDI format data) or XMLPaperSpecification format data (XPS format data). When using IPPClassDriver as the print data generation software 202, if the data output by the drawing application 201 is in GDI format, the OS performs a data format conversion. That is, the OS converts the GDI format data output from the drawing application 201 to XPS format data. Then, it passes the converted XPS format data to the print data generation software 202 as intermediate data. On the other hand, if the data output by the drawing application 201 is in XPS format, the OS passes the XPS format data to the print data generation software 202 as intermediate data.The intermediate data includes drawing data, which is information about the image to be formed on the paper, and print setting information (PT) set by the user. The print data generation software 202 converts the acquired intermediate data into print data that can be interpreted by the printing device 102 and transmits it to the printing device 102. The print data includes drawing data, which is information about the image to be formed on the paper, and print setting attribute information (attribute information that specifies the print settings) generated based on the print setting information set by the user. The print setting attribute information includes attribute information that indicates the functions that can be specified by the printing device 102 (capabilities of the printing device) and setting values ​​related to that attribute information. The printing device 102 prints on the paper based on the print data sent from the print data generation software 202. At this time, the printing device 102 forms the drawing data included in the print data on the paper in accordance with the print setting attribute information included in the print data. The print setting attribute information includes attribute information and setting values ​​for specifying print quality (image quality priority or speed priority, etc.) and double-sided printing, etc. For example, if the print setting attribute information includes attribute information that specifies double-sided printing, the printer 102 will perform double-sided printing.

[0015] Figure 2(b) shows the configuration of this embodiment when the extended application 204 is associated with the print data generation software 202 and the printing device 102. Note that configurations and processes not specifically mentioned below are equivalent to those in Figure 2(a). The extended application 204 is software for extending the functionality of the print data generation software 202 and is not pre-installed (not bundled) with the OS. Therefore, the user operates the host computer 101 to download the extended application 204 from a server via the Internet and install it on the host computer 101. Alternatively, the extended application 204 may be automatically installed on the host computer 101 based on the connection of the printing device 102 to the host computer 101. Specifically, when the printing device 102 is connected to the host computer 101, the OS obtains device identification information from the printing device 102. The OS may download the extended application 204 corresponding to the obtained device identification information from a server via the Internet and install it on the host computer 101. Thus, the print data generation software 202 and the extended application 204 are stored as separate files on the host computer 101. Note that the print data generation software 202 and the extended application 204 may be updated and upgraded, but these update processes also occur at different times. In other words, the timing at which the host computer 101 acquires the print data generation software 202 is different from the timing at which the extended application 204 is acquired. Furthermore, the triggers for the host computer 101 acquiring the print data generation software 202 and the triggers for acquiring the extended application 204 are also different. When the extended application 204 is installed, the OS associates the extended application 204 with the print data generation software 202 and the corresponding printing device 102.The extended application 204 described in this embodiment includes a print settings screen extension unit 205, a skip control unit 206, a print function extension unit 207, a print data editing unit 208, and a notification unit 209. The extended application 204 also includes shared information 210 that can be accessed from all units. The shared information 210 is in the form of a file stored in an external storage device 114 or information stored in RAM 113. The extended application 204 writes to and reads information from the shared information 210 using an API (Application Program Interface) provided by the OS. The extended application 204 may terminate its operation each time the processing of each unit is completed. In that case, the OS will start the extended application 204 each time a request to use each unit is received. Another form is also possible. For example, the OS may terminate the operation of the extended application 204 when the processing of the print settings screen extension unit 205 is completed, but the OS may keep the extended application 204 running even after the processing of the skip control unit 206 is completed. Furthermore, the extended application 204 may cancel processing within the processing of each unit. If the extended application 204 cancels processing, the OS deletes the jobs currently being processed on the print queue. The print support system 211 is a component provided by the OS. The print support system 211 mediates various instructions and information exchanges between the drawing application 201, the print data generation software 202, the printing device 102, and the extended application 204. When the drawing application 201 receives a print request from the user, it issues a print instruction to the print support system 211. The print instruction includes print setting information (PT), similar to the configuration in Figure 2(a). Under the configuration in Figure 2(b), the drawing application 201 can also display a print setting screen for specifying print setting information (PT), similar to the configuration in Figure 2(a). Under the configuration in Figure 2(b), the print setting screen provided by the extended application 204 is displayed.Specifically, the print settings screen provided by the print settings screen extension unit 205, which is included in the extended application 204, is displayed. In other words, the display of the print settings screen is controlled by the print settings screen extension unit 205. Whether or not the print settings screen provided by the print settings screen extension unit 205 is displayed depends on the user's operation. The print settings screen extension unit 205 can also extend the display items of the print settings screen provided by the OS based on information obtained from the printing device 102 and information related to the drawing application 201. This function will be described later using Figure 3. When the drawing application 201 receives a print request from the user and a print instruction is issued to the print support system 211, the print support system 211 starts the skip control unit 206. The skip control unit 206 performs control processing to determine whether or not to perform skip processing to skip the processing of the print data generation software 202. The skip control unit 206 cannot obtain intermediate data or print setting information. After the skip control processing by the skip control unit 206, the print support system 211 generates intermediate data based on the print instruction output from the drawing application 201 and passes the intermediate data to the print data generation software 202. If the skip control unit 206 does not perform skip processing, the intermediate data is processed by the print data generation software 202 into print data that can be interpreted by the printing device 102 and passed to the print data editing unit 208. On the other hand, if the print data generation software 202 performs skip processing, the intermediate data is not processed by the print data generation software 202 and is passed to the print data editing unit 208. This makes it possible for the print data editing unit 208 to process the intermediate data. An example where it is preferable to skip processing by the print data generation software 202 is when scaling is to be performed by the print data editing unit 208. The intermediate data can be stored in vector format. Vector format data degrades less when scaled compared to raster format data.Therefore, in cases where the print data generation software 202 outputs images in raster format, it is generally preferable to skip the processing of the print data generation software 202 and process the intermediate data with the print data editing unit 208. The print data editing unit 208 edits the intermediate data passed from the print data generation software 202 via the print support system 211 or the print data processed by the print data generation software 202. As an example of editing content, in the case of layout printing, the print data editing unit 208 changes the layout of the intermediate data or print data based on the layout printing setting information received from the OS. Layout printing is, for example, the process of allocating data for N pages to one page for printing, and is called Nin1 or N-up (where N represents the number of pages). The print data editing unit 208 can also display a UI screen on the display unit 119, and can display the layout result of the intermediate data or print data as a preview screen. After the print data editing unit 208 has edited the print data, the print data is passed to the printing device 102 via the print support system 211. The printing device 102 prints on the paper based on the received print data. If the print data generation software 202 is skipped by the skip control unit 206, the print data editing unit 208 may convert the received intermediate data into print data that the printing device 102 can interpret. The extended application 204 also has a print function extension unit 207. The print function extension unit 207 can edit the print function information 203 (PDC) generated by the print data generation software 202 or the OS. In other words, the print function extension unit 207 can change the print function information 203 even if it is stored in the external storage device 114 as an immutable file. Thus, the extended application 204 has the function to edit the print function information 203 (PDC). The print function extension unit 207 can add functions provided by the extended application 204.Furthermore, the printing function expansion unit 207 can also add functions that are supported by the printing device 102 but not by the print data generation software 202, and add mutual exclusion relationships between printing function settings. The OS starts the printing function expansion unit 207 when the expansion application 204 is first associated with the printing device 102 and the print data generation software 202. In addition, the OS may start the printing function expansion unit 207 at any other time, such as when the OS starts up. This allows the printing function expansion unit 207 to detect the expansion and add it to the printing function information 203 in cases where optional devices (e.g., finishers) are later added to the printing device 102, thereby expanding the printing functions. The expansion application 204 also has a notification unit 209. The notification unit 209 can display a notification to the user in response to an error occurring in the printing device 102. For example, if a no-paper error occurs in the printing device 102, the printing support system 211 detects that error. The print support system 211 then uses a notification function called a toast notification, which is a function of the OS, to display a message on the display unit 119. When the user presses this toast notification, the notification unit 209 of the extended application 204 is called by the OS, and the UI screen of the notification unit 209 is displayed. The UI screen of the notification unit 209 can display, for example, a detailed message about a paperless error or instructions on how to load paper. Pressing includes not only a click operation with a mouse, but also a touch or tap operation on a touch panel display. The configuration of the extended application 204 for realizing this embodiment is not limited to having all of the above-mentioned functions (units), but may have only some of the functions, or have other functions. The extended application 204 is also sometimes simply called print software. As described above, the extended application 204 has at least one of the following functions.The functions include a function to display the print settings screen (print settings screen extension unit 205), a function to control whether or not to skip processing in the print data generation software 202 (skip control unit 206), a function to edit the print data input to the printing device (print data editing unit 208), and a function to extend the functions that can be specified in the print data generation software 202 (print function extension unit 207). There is also a function to display a screen in response to an error occurring in the printing device 102 (notification unit 209).

[0016] Figure 3 shows the processing flow of the OS print settings screen display item expansion process by the print settings screen expansion unit 205 in this embodiment. First, the drawing application 201 starts processing upon receiving instructions from the user (S301). Next, the drawing application 201 receives a specification of the file to be printed from the user (S302) and displays the contents of the selected file to the user by drawing the specified file on the application screen (S303). Subsequently, the drawing application 201 receives an instruction from the user to display the print settings screen in order to print the file displayed in S303 (S304). Following S304, the drawing application 201 instructs the print support system 211 provided by the OS to display the OS print settings screen (S305). Furthermore, the print support system 211 also has the role of adding display items to the OS print settings screen based on the screen definition information notified from the print settings screen expansion unit 205. After that, the print support system 211 executes the display item determination process of the print settings screen expansion unit 205 (S306). The display item determination process is the process in which the print settings screen extension unit 205 determines the items to be displayed on the OS print settings screen. Upon receiving the instruction in S306, the print settings screen extension unit 205 determines the items to be displayed on the OS print settings screen (S307). Subsequently, the print settings screen extension unit 205 generates screen definition information based on the display items determined in S307 (S308) and notifies the print support system 211 of the generated screen definition information (notification process) (S309). Details of S307 and S308 will be described later using Figure 4. Upon receiving the screen definition information in S309, the print support system 211 adds the display items to the OS print settings screen according to the notified information and displays the print settings screen to the user (S310). The user performs print setting operations on the print settings screen displayed by the print support system 211 in order to obtain the desired print result (S311). An example of such operation is changing the paper size or paper type. Once S311 is complete, the user issues a print execution command to the print support system 211 (S312).Upon receiving a print execution command, the print support system 211 takes the print data generated by the print data generation software 202 as input and performs print data editing processing on the print data editing unit 208 (S313). The print data editing unit 208 edits the print data based on the print settings specified by the user in S311 (S314) and sends the edited print data to the printing device 102 (S315). Note that the processes in S307 and S308, which are performed by the print settings screen extension unit 205, are executed as background processes without displaying the screen of the print settings screen extension unit 205 itself.

[0017] Figure 4 shows the details of the display item determination process (S307, S308) of the print settings screen extension unit 205. First, the print settings screen extension unit 205 obtains a communication interface provided by the OS (S401). The communication interface is associated with the printer 102 and provides the print settings screen extension unit 205 with the function to send and receive arbitrary information using a communication protocol (e.g., IPP) supported by the printer 102. Next, the print settings screen extension unit 205 obtains status information from the printer 102 via the printer communication interface (S402). In S402, the print settings screen extension unit 205 obtains ink level information and error information. After that, the print settings screen extension unit 205 determines whether or not it succeeded in obtaining the information in S402 (S403). If it determines Yes in S403, the print settings screen extension unit 205 checks from the information obtained in S402 whether or not there is any ink with a low remaining amount among the inks installed in the printer 102 (S404). One example of a specific determination method for S404 is to check whether the remaining amount of each ink installed in the printer 102 falls below a predetermined standard value. Alternatively, if there is information in the status information obtained from the printer 102 that explicitly indicates which ink is low, that information may be referred to. If S404 is determined to be Yes, the print setting screen extension unit 205 generates ink level screen definition information (S405). On the other hand, if S404 is determined to be No, the print setting screen extension unit 205 checks whether an error has occurred in the printer 102 that makes printing impossible (S406). One example of a specific determination method for S406 is to check the information obtained in S402 for the presence of a string or number indicating the occurrence of an error. If S406 is determined to be Yes, the print setting screen extension unit 205 generates error screen definition information that includes information about the error that has occurred (S407). On the other hand, if the result in S406 is determined to be No, the print settings screen extension unit 205 generates manual screen definition information that explains how to operate the printing device 102 (S408).On the other hand, if No is determined in S403, the print settings screen extension unit 205 generates communication failure screen definition information that includes information indicating that communication with the printing device 102 failed (S409). The print settings screen extension unit 205 notifies the print support system 211 of the screen definition information generated by any of the processes in S405, S407, S408, or S409 (S410). Subsequently, the print support system 211 adds display items to the OS print settings screen according to the screen definition information notified by the print settings screen extension unit 205. Specific examples of the screen definition information generated in S405, S407, S408, and S409 are illustrated in Figure 5.

[0018] Figures 5(a) to 5(d) show specific examples of screen definition information generated by the print settings screen extension unit 205 in S405, S407, S408, and S409, respectively. The screen definition information is expressed in JavaScript Object Notation (hereinafter also referred to as JSON) format, and the "display" tag contains the items that the print support system 211 should display on the OS print settings screen. In Figure 5(a), the information in the "inkBar" tag represents the ink installed in the printer 102 and the remaining amount of each ink. The "name" tag represents the name of each ink, and the "value" tag represents the remaining amount of each ink. In addition, the "button" tag defines the configuration of the buttons to be displayed on the OS print settings screen, the "title" tag shows the button name, and the "url" tag shows the URL of the ink purchase page to be displayed when the button is pressed. The URL indicated by the "url" tag may also reflect the ink remaining amount obtained from the printer 102. The print settings screen displayed by the screen definition information in Figure 5(a) is specifically illustrated in Figure 6(a). In Figure 5(b), the information within the "printerError" tag represents information about errors occurring in the printer 102. The "errorCode" tag contains a numerical value identifying the error, and the "description" tag provides a description of the error. The "button" tag defines the configuration of buttons to be displayed on the OS print settings screen, with the "title" tag displaying the button name and the "url" tag displaying the URL of a web page showing how to resolve the error when the button is pressed. The print settings screen displayed by the screen definition information in Figure 5(b) is specifically illustrated in Figure 6(b). In Figure 5(c), the information within the "text" tag represents information related to the printer 102 operation manual. The "description" tag contains explanatory text that directs users to refer to the web-based manual page that explains how to operate the printer.Furthermore, the "button" tag defines the configuration of the buttons to be displayed on the OS print settings screen, the "title" tag shows the button name, and the "url" tag shows the URL of the web manual page to be displayed when the button is pressed. The print settings screen displayed by the screen definition information in Figure 5(c) is specifically illustrated in Figure 6(c). In Figure 5(d), the information in the "text" tag expresses an explanatory text indicating that communication between the printing device 102 and the information processing device was not possible. The print settings screen displayed by the screen definition information in Figure 5(d) is specifically illustrated in Figure 6(d). Note that the screen definition information may be expressed in a format other than JSON. For example, it is possible to define display items in a different format such as Extensible Markup Language (hereinafter also referred to as XML).

[0019] Figures 6(a) to 6(d) show examples of the OS print settings screen displayed in S310 of the print support system 211, according to the respective screen definition information in Figures 5(a) to 5(d). Figure 6(a) shows how the ink level information is represented on the OS print settings screen according to the screen definition information in Figure 5(a). Area 601 is the area that displays the items indicated by the screen definition information notified by the print settings screen extension unit 205. The following are other print setting items: • Name of the printing device that performs the printing process (Area 603) • Print orientation (area 604) • Number of copies printed (area 605) • Paper size (area 606) • Paper type (area 607) ·Print quality (area 608) • Print execution button (button 609) • Button to exit the print settings screen (Button 610) • Preview image of print data (area 611)

[0020] Furthermore, area 612 is a link to display the GUI screen provided by the print settings screen extension unit 205. By selecting area 612, the GUI display process of the print settings screen extension unit 205 is activated. Area 601 displays the remaining ink levels and ink purchase page information included in the screen definition information of Figure 5(a), and a button (button 602) is displayed. By pressing area 602, the URL defined by the "url" tag in Figure 5(a) is displayed by the web browser. Figure 6(b) shows how information regarding errors occurring in the printer 102 is displayed according to the screen definition information of Figure 5(b). Area 613 is an area that displays the items indicated by the screen definition information notified by the print settings screen extension unit 205. Other items with the same configuration as in Figure 6(a) are omitted from the explanation. Area 613 displays a numerical value identifying the error included in the screen definition information of Figure 5(b) and a description of the error. A button (button 614) that opens a web page showing how to resolve the error is also displayed. Pressing area 614 displays the URL defined by the "url" tag in Figure 5(b) via a web browser. Figure 6(c) shows how information regarding the manual for operating the printer 102 is displayed according to the screen definition information in Figure 5(c). Area 615 is an area that displays items indicated by the screen definition information notified by the print settings screen extension unit 205. Other areas with the same configuration as in Figure 6(a) are omitted from explanation. Area 615 displays explanatory text that guides the user to refer to the web manual page included in the screen definition information in Figure 5(c), and a button (button 616) that displays the web manual page. Pressing button 616 displays the URL defined by the "url" tag in Figure 5(c) via a web browser. Figure 6(d) shows how explanatory text indicating that communication between the printer 102 and the information processing device could not be established is displayed according to the screen definition information in Figure 5(d). Area 617 is an area that displays items indicated by the screen definition information notified by the print settings screen extension unit 205. The explanatory text included in the screen definition information of Figure 5(d) is displayed within area 617.By checking this display, users can recognize on the OS print settings screen that there is a problem with the connection between the printer 102 and the information processing device before executing the print process.

[0021] According to this embodiment, the print settings screen extension unit 205 generates screen definition information in accordance with the status information acquired from the printing device 102 and notifies the OS of this information, thereby enabling the display of highly important information on the OS's print settings screen. As a result, users can check highly important information without having to perform complex operations.

[0022] <<Second Embodiment>> This embodiment describes a configuration in which multiple pieces of information are displayed on the OS print settings screen during the display item determination process of the print settings screen extension unit 205. Note that the basic hardware and software configurations are the same as those described in the first embodiment, so their explanation is omitted.

[0023] Figure 7 shows the details of the display item determination process (S307, S308) of the print settings screen extension unit 205 in this embodiment. First, the print settings screen extension unit 205 acquires a communication interface provided by the OS (S701). Next, the print settings screen extension unit 205 acquires status information from the printer 102 via the communication interface (S702). In S702, the print settings screen extension unit 205 acquires ink level information and error information. Next, the print settings screen extension unit 205 checks from the information acquired in S702 whether there is any ink with a low remaining amount among the inks installed in the printer 102 (S703). If it is determined to be Yes in S703, the print settings screen extension unit 205 generates ink level screen definition information (S704). Next, the print settings screen extension unit 205 checks from the information acquired in S702 whether there is an error in the printer 102 that makes printing impossible (S705). If the result in S705 is Yes, the print settings screen extension unit 205 generates error screen definition information that includes information about the error that has occurred (S706). On the other hand, if the result in S703 and S705 is No, the print settings screen extension unit 205 skips the processing in S704 and S706. After that, the print settings screen extension unit 205 generates manual screen definition information that explains how to operate the printer 102 (S707). Subsequently, the print settings screen extension unit 205 determines whether the screen definition information generated up to S707 can be displayed in the display area of ​​the OS print settings screen (S708). One example of a specific determination method is to determine whether the number of generated screen definition information is less than or equal to a predetermined number. Another method is to determine whether the size of the area required to display all of the generated screen definition information fits within the display area of ​​the OS print settings screen. If the result in S708 is determined to be No, the print settings screen extension unit 205 deletes some of the screen definition information that has been generated so far (S709).One example of a method for determining which screen definition information to delete is to determine the priority from the content of the screen definition information and delete the screen definition information with the lowest priority until it fits within the display area of ​​the OS print settings screen. Specifically, the screen definition information contains a numerical value indicating priority, and the print settings screen extension unit 205 refers to this information and determines the priority based on the magnitude of the value. On the other hand, if Yes is determined in S708, the print settings screen extension unit 205 skips S709. After that, the print settings screen extension unit 205 synthesizes the screen definition information generated up to S709 (S710) and notifies the print support system 211 of the newly generated screen definition information (S711). A specific example of the screen definition information synthesized in S710 is illustrated in Figure 8.

[0024] Figure 8 shows a specific example of screen definition information synthesized by the print settings screen extension unit 205 in S710. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the screen definition information generated in S704 and S706 has been synthesized. The "display" tag contains the ink level information indicated by the "inkBar" tag and the error information indicated by "printerError" as items that the print support system 211 should display on the OS print settings screen. The information in the "inkBar" tag represents the ink installed in the printer 102 and the remaining amount of each ink. The "name" tag represents the name of each ink, and the "value" tag represents the remaining amount of each ink. In addition, the "button" tag defines the configuration of the buttons to be displayed on the OS print settings screen, with the "title" tag showing the button name and the "url" tag showing the URL of the ink purchase page to be displayed when the button is pressed. The information in the "printerError" tag represents information about errors occurring in the printer 102. The "errorCode" tag shows a numerical value that identifies the error, and the "description" tag shows a description of the error that has occurred. Furthermore, the "button" tag defines the configuration of the buttons to be displayed on the OS print settings screen. The "title" tag contains the button name, and the "url" tag contains the URL of the web page showing how to resolve any errors displayed when the button is pressed. The "priority" tag also contains a numerical value indicating the priority of each screen.

[0025] Figure 9 shows the display instructions for the OS print settings screen in S310, as shown according to the screen definition information in Figure 8. Area 901 is the area that displays the items indicated by the screen definition information notified by the print settings screen extension unit 205. Within area 901, a button (button 902) is displayed that displays the remaining ink levels for each ink included in the screen definition information in Figure 8 and the ink purchase page. Pressing button 902 displays the URL defined by the "url" tag, which is located at the same level as the "inkBar" tag in Figure 8, in a web browser. Furthermore, within area 901, a numerical value identifying the error included in the screen definition information in Figure 8 and a description of the error are displayed. A button (button 903) is also displayed that opens a web page showing how to resolve the error. Pressing button 903 displays the URL defined by the "url" tag, which is located at the same level as the "printerError" tag in Figure 8, in a web browser.

[0026] According to this embodiment, the print settings screen extension unit 205 generates multiple screen definition information within a predetermined display area of ​​the OS print settings screen, in accordance with the status information acquired from the printing device 102. This makes it possible to display more important information on the OS print settings screen. As a result, the user can comprehensively check important information without performing complex operations. In this embodiment, the priority of each screen added by the print settings screen extension unit 205 is assumed to be fixed for each screen, but it is also possible to configure it so that the user can specify any priority. For example, the print settings screen extension unit 205 provides a means for the user to specify the priority of each screen in the OS print settings screen or the print settings screen provided by the print settings screen extension unit 205 itself. Then, priority determination may be performed according to the priority entered by the user using this means.

[0027] <<Third Embodiment>> In this embodiment, a configuration is described in which the display item determination process of the print setting screen extension unit 205 selects appropriate default print settings based on information obtained from the printing device 102. Note that the basic hardware and software configurations are the same as those described in the first embodiment, so their description is omitted.

[0028] Figure 10 shows the details of the display item determination process (S307, S308) of the print settings screen extension unit 205 in this embodiment. First, the print settings screen extension unit 205 acquires a communication interface provided by the OS (S1001). Next, the print settings screen extension unit 205 acquires a print setting change interface provided by the OS (S1002). The print setting change interface provides the print settings screen extension unit 205 with the ability to add or delete display items for each print setting displayed on the OS print settings screen, and to change the default values ​​of each print setting. Next, the print settings screen extension unit 205 acquires status information from the printer 102 via the communication interface (S1003). In S1003, the print settings screen extension unit 205 acquires ink level information, error information, and paper information currently set in the printer 102. The paper information also includes information on the remaining amount of paper set in front of each paper feed slot of the printer 102. Subsequently, the print settings screen extension unit 205 determines whether the information acquisition process in S1003 was successful or not (S1004). If it is determined to be Yes in S1004, the print settings screen extension unit 205 checks from the information acquired in S1003 whether there are any inks with low remaining amounts among the inks installed in the printer 102 (S1005). If it is determined to be Yes in S1005, the print settings screen extension unit 205 generates ink level screen definition information (S1006). Next, the print settings screen extension unit 205 specifies "Low Quality" as the default print quality via the print setting change interface acquired in S1002 (S1007). Furthermore, the print settings screen extension unit 205 specifies duplex printing settings via the print setting change interface (S1008). On the other hand, if it is determined to be No in S1005, the print settings screen extension unit 205 determines from the information acquired in S1003 whether an error has occurred in the printer 102 (S1009). If the result in S1009 is determined to be Yes, the print settings screen extension unit 205 then generates error screen definition information that includes information about the error that has occurred (S1010).Furthermore, the print settings screen extension unit 205 determines whether the error that has occurred is a no-paper error at a specific paper feed slot (S1011). If the determination in S1011 is Yes, the print settings screen extension unit 205 designates a paper feed slot with sufficient remaining paper (a paper feed slot with a predetermined amount of remaining paper) as the default value (S1012). On the other hand, if the determination in S1009 is No, the print settings screen extension unit 205 generates manual screen definition information explaining how to operate the printer 102 (S1013). On the other hand, if the determination in S1004 is No, the print settings screen extension unit 205 generates communication failure screen definition information including information indicating that communication with the printer 102 failed (S1014). Finally, the print settings screen extension unit 205 notifies the print support system 211 of the screen definition information generated in S1006, S1010, S1013, or S1014 (S1015).

[0029] Figures 11(a) and 11(b) show examples of the OS print settings screen displayed in S310 of the print support system 211, according to the screen definition information generated through the processes S1006 to S1008 and S1010 to S1012, respectively. Note that the display examples based on the screen definition information generated in S1013 and S1014 are the same as those in Figures 6(c) and 6(d), respectively, so their explanation is omitted. Figure 11(a) shows an example of the OS print settings screen displayed when the ink level of the printer 102 is determined to be low, according to the screen definition information generated by the processes S1006 to S1008 and the default settings of the print settings. Area 1101 is an area that displays the items indicated by the screen definition information notified by the print settings screen extension unit 205. Within area 1101, the remaining ink level information for each ink included in the screen definition information of Figure 8 and a button (button 1104) that displays the ink purchase page are displayed. Furthermore, the values ​​for "Duplex Printing" (area 1103) and "Quality" (area 1104) are set to the default values ​​specified in S1006 and S1007 in Figure 10. Figure 11(b) shows an example of the OS print settings screen displayed according to the screen definition information and print settings default values ​​generated by the S1010-S1012 process when it is determined that a no-paper error has occurred in a specific paper feed slot of the printer 102. Area 1105 displays a numerical value identifying the no-paper error and a description of the error. A button to open a web page showing how to resolve the error is also displayed. In addition, the value for "Paper Feed Slot" (area 1106) is set to the default value of the paper feed slot specified in S1012.

[0030] According to this embodiment, if the print settings screen extension unit 205 determines from the status information obtained from the printer 102 that the ink level is low, it changes the default values ​​of some print settings to suppress ink consumption. This allows the user to apply appropriate print settings that allow printing to continue while suppressing ink consumption without having to change the print settings themselves. Furthermore, if the print settings screen extension unit 205 determines from the status information obtained from the printer 102 that the paper level is low in a particular paper feed slot, it sets the paper feed slot with sufficient paper remaining as the default value. This allows the user to select a paper feed slot with sufficient paper remaining without having to change the print settings themselves. In this embodiment, the settings for "double-sided printing" and "quality" were changed, but the items that can be changed are not limited to these two. Also, in this embodiment, the default values ​​of the print settings were changed based only on the ink level information of the printer 102, but the default values ​​may be determined not only based on the ink level information but also based on the content to be printed. For example, if the ink level is low and the content to be printed is a document that can be printed with relatively little ink consumption, the print settings can be changed to suppress ink consumption. Furthermore, if the default values ​​of the print settings screen extension unit 205 are changed, it may display an explanation in area 1101 indicating that the default values ​​of the print settings have been changed.

[0031] <<Fourth Embodiment>> In this embodiment, a configuration is described in which the display item determination process of the print setting screen extension unit 205 selects appropriate default print settings based on information obtained from the printing device 102. Note that the basic hardware and software configurations are the same as those described in the first embodiment, so their description is omitted.

[0032] Figure 12 shows the details of the display item determination process (S307, S308) of the print settings screen extension unit 205 in this embodiment. First, the print settings screen extension unit 205 obtains a print setting change interface provided by the OS (S1201). Next, the print settings screen extension unit 205 obtains information about the drawing application 201 provided by the print support system 211 (S1202). Examples of information obtained in S1202 include the name of the drawing application 201, an application identifier to identify the drawing application 201, or the file types supported by the drawing application. Next, the print settings screen extension unit 205 determines from the information obtained in S1202 whether or not the drawing application is an application for postcard printing (S1203). One example of the determination method in S1203 is to determine whether or not the application name obtained in S1202 contains "postcard". Another method is to determine whether or not the application identifier obtained in S1202 matches an identifier indicating a postcard printing application. If the result in S1203 is Yes, the print settings screen extension unit 205 generates screen definition information that guides the user on how to set the postcard paper (S1204). A specific example of the screen definition information generated in S1204 is shown in Figure 13. Next, the print settings screen extension unit 205 specifies "postcard" as the default paper size via the print settings change interface obtained in S1201 (S1205). Furthermore, the print settings screen extension unit 205 specifies "postcard" as the default paper type via the print settings change interface (S1206). After that, the print settings screen extension unit 205 notifies the print support system 211 of the screen definition information generated in S1204 (S1207). On the other hand, if the result in S1203 is No, the print settings screen extension unit 205 skips the processes from S1204 to S1207.

[0033] Figure 13 shows the screen definition information generated by the process described in Figure 12, assuming that the drawing application 201 is an application for postcard printing. The "display" tag contains the items that the print support system 211 should display on the OS print settings screen. The "text" tag contains information guiding the user on how to load postcard paper. The "description" tag contains explanatory text that directs the user to a web page showing how to load postcard paper. The "button" tag defines the configuration of the buttons to be displayed on the OS print settings screen, with the "title" tag indicating the button name and the "url" tag indicating the URL of the web page to be displayed when the button is pressed.

[0034] Figure 14 shows an example of the OS print settings screen displayed according to the screen definition information shown in Figure 13. Area 1401 is the area that displays the items indicated by the screen definition information notified by the print settings screen extension unit 205. Within area 1401, there is an explanatory text that guides the user to refer to a web page that shows how to load postcard paper, which is included in the screen definition information of Figure 13, and a button (button 1402) that displays the web page showing how to load postcard paper. By pressing button 1402, the URL defined by the "url" tag in Figure 13 is displayed in the web browser. Although the display of a web page by a web browser is used as an example to guide the user on how to load postcard paper, other methods are also possible. As another example, the guidance may be provided using an image illustrating how to load postcard paper. In that case, the image to be displayed may be set in the screen definition information generated by the print settings screen extension unit 205, and the specified image may be displayed in area 1401 on the OS print settings screen.

[0035] According to this embodiment, it is possible to set appropriate default print settings according to the intended use of the drawing application 201 based on the information about the drawing application 201 provided by the print support system 211. As a result, when a user prints from a drawing application intended for a specific purpose (postcard printing in this embodiment), they can refer to information about that specific purpose on the OS print settings screen. In addition, the automatic selection of the optimal print settings for the specific purpose prevents unintended printing results. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the drawing application 201 is an application for postcard printing as an example of a specific purpose, but other uses are also possible. As another example, if the drawing application 201 is an application for photo printing, the print settings screen extension unit 205 may reflect the print settings optimal for photo printing as the default value.

[0036] <<Fifth Embodiment>> In this embodiment, a configuration is described in which the display item determination process of the print settings screen extension unit 205 selects appropriate default print settings based on the user's print history information. Note that the basic hardware and software configurations are the same as those described in the first embodiment, so their description is omitted.

[0037] Figure 15 is a diagram showing the processing flow of the display item extension process for the OS print settings screen by the print settings screen extension unit 205 in this embodiment. S1501 to S1506 are the same as S301 to S306 in Figure 3, so their explanation is omitted. Following S1506, the print settings screen extension unit 205 determines the items to be displayed on the OS print settings screen from the print settings history information updated by the print data editing unit 208, which will be described later (S1507). After that, the print settings screen extension unit 205 generates screen definition information based on the display items determined in S1507 (S1508), and notifies the print support system 211 of the generated screen definition information (S1509). Details of S1507 and S1508 will be described later using Figure 17. S1510 to S1513 are the same as S310 to S313 in Figure 3, so their explanation is omitted. In S1514, the print data editing unit 208 obtains the values ​​of various print setting items set in the print data and updates the print setting history information using the obtained information. Subsequently, the print data editing unit 208 edits the print data based on the print settings specified by the user in S1511 (S1515) and sends the edited print data to the printing device 102 (S1516). Details of S1514 to S1516 will be described later with reference to Figure 16.

[0038] Figure 16 is a diagram showing the details of the processing S1514 to S1516 of the print data editing unit 208 in Figure 15. When the print data editing process of the print data editing unit 208 is started by the print support system 211, the print data editing unit 208 first obtains a print setting information acquisition interface provided by the OS (S1601). The print setting information acquisition interface provides the print data editing unit 208 with the function to acquire various print settings set for the print data. Next, the print data editing unit 208 obtains the values ​​of various print setting items set for the print data via the print setting information acquisition interface (S1602). Specific examples of print settings to be acquired include paper size, paper type, whether double-sided printing is enabled or disabled, and print quality. After that, the print data editing unit 208 updates the print setting history information using the various print settings acquired in S1602 (S1603). The print setting history information manages the setting frequency of each setting item for each print setting item for each user. By referring to this information, it becomes possible to determine the print settings items that are frequently used by each user. The print setting history information is stored in shared information 210. Next, the print data editing unit 208 edits the print data based on the print settings specified by the user in S1511 (S1604), and sends the edited print data to the printing device 102 (S1605).

[0039] Figure 17 shows the details of the processing in S1507 and S1508 of the print settings screen extension unit 205 in Figure 15. First, the print settings screen extension unit 205 obtains the print settings change interface provided by the OS (S1701). Next, the print settings screen extension unit 205 obtains the print settings history information updated by the print data editing unit 208 in S1603 from the shared information 120 (S1702). From the information obtained in S1702, the print settings screen extension unit 205 determines the combination of print settings that are frequently used by the user (S1703). The print settings screen extension unit 205 sets the determined combination of print settings as the default value via the print settings change interface (S1704).

[0040] According to this embodiment, the print data editing unit 208 updates the history information of each print setting item set in the print data each time printing is performed. The print setting screen extension unit 205 refers to this information and sets frequently used print setting items as default values ​​to be displayed on the OS print setting screen. As a result, combinations of frequently used print settings are automatically reflected in the OS print setting items as printing is performed repeatedly, eliminating the need for the user to manually input frequently used print settings. The print setting screen extension unit 205 may also display frequently used print setting items at the top of the OS print setting screen. This makes it easier for the user to check frequently used and important print setting items even when the display area of ​​the OS print setting screen is narrow and not all print setting items can be displayed on the screen.

[0041] <<Sixth Embodiment>> In this embodiment, we will describe a configuration in which the display item determination process of the print settings screen extension unit 205 estimates the time required until printing is completed based on the attribute information of the print data, and displays the estimated time on the OS print settings screen. Note that the basic hardware and software configurations are the same as those described in the first embodiment, so we will omit the explanation.

[0042] Figure 18 shows the details of the display item determination process (S307, S308) of the print settings screen extension unit 205 in this embodiment. First, the print settings screen extension unit 205 obtains a print data attribute information acquisition interface provided by the OS (S1801). The print data attribute information acquisition interface provides the print settings screen extension unit 205 with a function to acquire attribute information related to the print data that the user has printed. Next, the print settings screen extension unit 205 obtains attribute information of the print data via the print data attribute information acquisition interface obtained in S1801 (S1802). Specific examples of attribute information to be acquired include the size of the print data, the content (text or photograph), the number of pages, and the file name of the source file for the print data. Next, the print settings screen extension unit 205 calculates the estimated time until printing is completed based on the attribute information obtained in S1802 (S1803). Next, the print settings screen extension unit 205 generates screen definition information including the estimated print completion time in S1803 (S1804), and notifies the print support system 211 of the generated screen definition information (S1805). Subsequently, the print support system 211 adds display items to the OS print settings screen according to the screen definition information notified by the print settings screen extension unit 205. A specific example of the screen definition information generated in S1804 is illustrated in Figure 19.

[0043] Figure 19 shows a specific example of screen definition information generated by the print settings screen extension unit 205 in S1804. The "display" tag contains the items that the print support system 211 should display on the OS print settings screen. The "description" tag within the "text" tag represents the print completion time estimated by the print settings screen extension unit 205 in S1803 as a string.

[0044] Figure 20 shows an example of the OS print settings screen displayed according to the screen definition information shown in Figure 19. Area 2001 is the area that displays the items indicated by the screen definition information notified by the print settings screen extension unit 205. The estimated print completion time included in the screen definition information of Figure 19 is represented within area 2001.

[0045] According to this embodiment, the print data editing unit 208 can estimate the time required to complete printing based on the attribute information of the print data, and display the estimated print completion time on the OS print settings screen. This allows the user to predict the time required to complete printing before executing the print job. Alternatively, the print completion time may be estimated from the attribute information of the print data and other information based on each print setting selected by the user (for example, the number of physical sheets of paper required for printing).

[0046] <<Seventh Embodiment>> In this embodiment, a configuration is described in which, in the display item determination process of the print settings screen extension unit 205, guidance for executing the initial setup process for the printer 102 is displayed based on information obtained from the printer 102. Note that the basic hardware and software configurations are the same as those described in the first embodiment, so their description is omitted.

[0047] Figure 21 shows the details of the display item determination process (S307, S308) of the print settings screen extension unit 205 in this embodiment. First, the print settings screen extension unit 205 acquires a communication interface provided by the OS (S2101). Next, the print settings screen extension unit 205 acquires status information from the printing device 102 via the communication interface (S2102). In S2102, the print settings screen extension unit 205 acquires information on whether the initial setup process (such as removing packaging materials and installing ink) for the printing device 102 has been completed. After that, the print settings screen extension unit 205 determines whether the initial setup process of the printing device 102 is incomplete based on the information acquired in S2102 (S2103). If it is determined to be Yes in S2103, the print settings screen extension unit 205 determines whether an application that provides guidance for the initial setup process of the printing device 102 (hereinafter referred to as the initial setup process application) is installed on the information processing device (S2104). If the result in S2104 is Yes, the print settings screen extension unit 205 then generates screen definition information that prompts the launch of the initial setup processing application (S2105). On the other hand, if the result in S2104 is No, the print settings screen extension unit 205 generates screen definition information that prompts the installation of the initial setup processing application (S2106). After that, the print settings screen extension unit 205 notifies the print support system 211 of the screen definition information generated in S2105 or S2106 (S2107). On the other hand, if the result in S2103 is No, the print settings screen extension unit 205 skips the processes from S2104 to S2107. A specific example of the screen definition information generated in S2105 or S2106 is illustrated in Figure 22.

[0048] Figures 22(a) and (b) show specific examples of screen definition information generated by the print settings screen extension unit 205 in S2105 or S2106, respectively. In Figure 22(a), the "description" tag within the "text" tag contains text indicating that the initial setup process for the printer 102 is incomplete and guiding the user to perform the initial setup process. The "button" tag defines the configuration of buttons to be displayed on the OS print settings screen, the "title" tag contains the button name, and the "url" tag contains information about the initial setup application that is launched when the button is pressed. On the other hand, in Figure 22(b), the "description" tag within the "text" tag contains text indicating that the initial setup process for the printer 102 is incomplete and guiding the user to install the initial setup application and perform the initial setup process. The "button" tag defines the configuration of buttons to be displayed on the OS print settings screen. The "title" tag contains the button name, and the "url" tag contains a link to the web page where the initial setup application to be displayed when the button is pressed is distributed.

[0049] Figure 23 shows an example of the OS print settings screen displayed according to the screen definition information shown in Figure 22(a). Area 2301 is the area that displays the items indicated by the screen definition information notified by the print settings screen extension unit 205. Within area 2301, there is text instructing the user to execute the initial setup process included in the screen definition information of Figure 22(a), and a button (button 2302) to start the initial setup process. Pressing button 2302 launches the initial setup process application indicated by the "url" tag in Figure 23(a). If the screen definition information shown in Figure 22(b) is applied, pressing button 2302 will display the web page where the initial setup process application indicated by the "url" tag in Figure 23(b) is distributed via a web browser.

[0050] According to this embodiment, the display item determination process of the print settings screen extension unit 205 makes it possible to display a message on the OS print settings screen indicating that the initial setup process for the printer 102 should be performed, based on information obtained from the printer 102. This makes it possible for the user to recognize that the initial setup process for the printer 102 is not yet complete before printing.

[0051] <<Other Embodiments>> 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.

Claims

1. A program for a computer, An output step of outputting a predetermined instruction from the program to a predetermined application program, A receiving step in which information based on status information is received from the predetermined application program that has received the predetermined instructions, A display step of displaying the print settings screen of the program, which includes information about the print status, using the information received from the predetermined application program. Make it run, The status information is information about the state of the printing device obtained from the printing device. When a receiving unit that receives instructions to display a print settings screen different from the aforementioned print settings screen is selected, the GUI screen of the predetermined application program is displayed. A program characterized by the following features.

2. The program according to claim 1, characterized in that the predetermined instruction is an instruction to cause the predetermined application program to determine the items to be displayed on the print settings screen.

3. The program according to claim 1, characterized in that the information based on the status information is screen definition information generated by the predetermined application program.

4. The program according to claim 1, characterized in that the status information is information obtained from the printing device by the predetermined application program.

5. The program according to claim 1, characterized in that the program is an operating system having an IPP class driver.

6. The program according to claim 1, characterized in that, if the status information indicates that the remaining amount of consumables for the printing device is low, the remaining amount of the consumables is displayed on the print settings screen.

7. The program according to claim 6, wherein the consumable is ink, and the program displays the remaining amount of the consumable in different colors.

8. The program according to claim 1, characterized in that, if the status information indicates that the remaining amount of consumables for the printing device is low, a button for purchasing the consumables is displayed on the print settings screen.

9. The program according to claim 1, characterized in that the status information is information relating to an error occurring in the printing device.

10. The program according to claim 9, characterized in that the error is that no paper is loaded.

11. The program according to claim 9, characterized in that it displays an explanatory text regarding the error on the print settings screen.

12. The program according to claim 9, characterized in that a button for displaying a method for resolving the aforementioned error is displayed on the print settings screen.

13. The program according to claim 1, characterized in that if the status information cannot be obtained from the printing device, it displays information on the print settings screen indicating that there is a problem with the connection to the printing device.

14. A control method for an information processing device having a program and a predetermined application program, wherein by executing the program, An output step of outputting a predetermined instruction from the program to a predetermined application program, A receiving step in which information based on status information is received from the predetermined application program that has received the predetermined instructions, A display step of displaying the print settings screen of the program, which includes information about the print status, using the information received from the predetermined application program. The information processing device is made to execute the above, The status information is information about the state of the printing device obtained from the printing device. When a receiving unit that receives instructions to display a print settings screen different from the aforementioned print settings screen is selected, the GUI screen of the predetermined application program is displayed. A control method characterized by the following:

15. An information processing device having a program and a predetermined application program, wherein by executing the program, An output step of outputting a predetermined instruction from the program to a predetermined application program, A receiving step in which information based on status information is received from the predetermined application program that has received the predetermined instructions, A display step of displaying the print settings screen of the program, which includes information about the print status, using the information received from the predetermined application program. The information processing device is made to execute the above, The status information is information about the state of the printing device obtained from the printing device. When a receiving unit that receives instructions to display a print settings screen different from the aforementioned print settings screen is selected, the GUI screen of the predetermined application program is displayed. An information processing device characterized by the following:

Images