Support program

Abstract

The present invention reduces the work involved in selecting a unit system at an information processing device that incorporates a universal printing program of an OS. An auxiliary program 42 is associated with a printer 2 and a printer 3 and supports a universal printing program 41 of an OS 21 of a PC 1. In response to a request from the universal printing program 41, the auxiliary program 42 causes a user IF 13 of the PC 1 to display a setting screen such as a print setting screen or a detail setting screen that is to receive settings for printing by the printer 2 or the printer 3. The setting screen includes a specific item that indicates size. The auxiliary program 42 determines a unit system for the size indicated by the specific item included on the setting screen in accordance with a prescribed condition and causes the size indicated by the specific item included on the setting screen to be displayed in the determined unit system.

Description

Support Program

[0001] The technical field disclosed in this specification relates to a support program for supporting the control of a printer.

[0002] In recent years, a technology for controlling a printer by a general-purpose printing program provided by an operating system (OS) without using a printer driver provided by a printer vendor has been put into practical use. In this technology, when the OS detects a printer, it associates with the general-purpose printing program provided by the OS, and thereafter, when receiving a print instruction for the printer, without using the printer driver provided by the printer vendor, the general-purpose printing program provided by the OS generates print data, enabling printing by the general-purpose printing program provided by the OS.

[0003] As a document that discloses a printing technology using a general-purpose printing program provided by an OS, for example, there is Patent Document 1. In Patent Document 1, an extended program not previously included in the OS is used to display a user-defined paper setting screen, and by operating radio buttons, the size displayed in the paper list and the unit system of the size displayed in the paper size setting can be switched between millimeters and inches.

[0004] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2024 - 130260

[0005] According to the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the size can be displayed in the unit system selected by the user. However, the operation of selecting the unit system is troublesome for the user, and there is room for improvement.

[0006] The support program, which was created for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems, is executable by the computer of the information processing device, corresponds to a printer connected to the information processing device, and is a support program that supports a general-purpose printing program of the operating system of the information processing device. The support program is configured to cause the computer to execute a setting screen display process that displays a setting screen on the user interface of the information processing device that accepts settings for causing the printer to execute printing in response to a request from the general-purpose printing program, the setting screen includes a specific item which is an item indicating size, and the computer further executes a unit system determination process that determines the unit system of the size indicated by the specific item according to predetermined conditions, and the setting screen display process displays the size indicated by the specific item included in the setting screen in the unit system determined by the unit system determination process.

[0007] The support program disclosed herein automatically determines the unit system for sizes indicated in specific items on a settings screen, according to predetermined conditions, when displaying a settings screen that accepts settings for printing to the printer. Therefore, the user is saved the trouble of having to manually determine the unit system.

[0008] A new and useful information processing device incorporating the above-mentioned support program, a storage medium readable by a computer that stores the support program, a control method for realizing the functions of the support program, and a printing system including the support program and a printer are also novel and useful.

[0009] The technology disclosed herein provides for an information processing device incorporating a general-purpose printing program of an operating system, which reduces the effort required to select a unit system.

[0010] This is a block diagram showing an overview of the electrical configuration of a PC. This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the selection and setting procedure. This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the detailed settings screen. This is a flowchart showing an example of the decision processing procedure. This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the duplex setting screen. This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the duplex setting screen. This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the printing procedure. This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the detailed settings screen. This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the custom paper setting screen.

[0011] The personal computer (hereinafter referred to as "PC") that utilizes the support program of the embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. This specification discloses a support program that runs on a PC.

[0012] As shown in Figure 1, the PC1 in this configuration includes a CPU 11 and a controller 10 which includes memory 12. The PC1 is an example of an information processing device. The CPU 11 is an example of a computer. The PC1 also includes a user interface (hereinafter referred to as "user IF") 13 and a communication interface (hereinafter referred to as "communication IF") 14, which are electrically connected to the controller 10. Note that the controller 10 in Figure 1 is a general term for the hardware and software used to control the PC1, and does not necessarily represent a single piece of hardware actually present in the PC1.

[0013] The CPU 11 of PC1 executes various processes according to programs read from memory 12 and based on user operations. Memory 12 stores various programs and various data. Memory 12 is also used as a workspace when executing various programs, for example. The buffer provided by the CPU 11 is also an example of memory 12. PC1 is not limited to built-in ROM, RAM, HDD, etc., but may also utilize storage media that the CPU 11 can read and write to, such as recording media such as CD-ROM and DVD-ROM.

[0014] The user interface 13 includes a display 13a, which is hardware that displays a screen for informing the user of information, and hardware that accepts user operations. The user interface 13 may also include a combination of a display 13a capable of displaying information and a mouse or keyboard with an input acceptance function, or it may include a touch panel that has the functions of a display 13a and an input acceptance function.

[0015] Communication IF 14 includes hardware for communicating with external devices such as printer 2 and printer 3. The communication standards for communication IF 14 include Ethernet®, Wi-Fi®, and USB. PC 1 may be able to connect to the internet via communication IF 14. PC 1 may also have multiple communication modes that support multiple communication standards. If multiple communication modes are provided, PC 1 will use one of them to communicate with printer 2 and printer 3, depending on the user's selection and hardware configuration. The communication mode for printer 2 and the communication mode for printer 3 may be different. Printer 2 and printer 3 are examples of a first printer and a second printer.

[0016] As shown in Figure 1, the memory 12 stores various programs and data, including an operating system (hereinafter referred to as "OS") 21 containing a general-purpose printing program 41, an auxiliary program 42, an editing application 43, and unit information 44. The auxiliary program 42 is an example of a support program. The editing application 43 is an example of an application program.

[0017] The unit information 44 indicates the unit system to be used for expressing size when the auxiliary program 42 displays information including various sizes to the user interface 13. The unit information 44 is stored in a predetermined non-volatile memory area 22 for the auxiliary program 42. The auxiliary program 42 can use millimeters (metric system) and inches (yard-pound system) as units of length. Specifically, the information stored in the unit information 44 indicates whether to use millimeters or inches as the unit of size for the expression.

[0018] OS21 is a multitasking OS that can process multiple tasks in parallel by managing and switching between them. Examples of OS21 include Windows®, macOS®, Linux®, iOS®, and Android®.

[0019] OS21 includes a general-purpose printing program 41. The general-purpose printing program 41 is a program provided by the OS21 vendor and is included as part of the OS21. In other words, PC1 is equipped with OS21 which includes the general-purpose printing program 41. The general-purpose printing program 41 can be said to be a program that is standard in OS21, or a program that is pre-installed in OS21. The general-purpose printing program 41 is packaged with OS21 and installed on PC1 together with OS21. The general-purpose printing program 41 is not configured to use printer drivers specific to each printer.

[0020] The general-purpose printing program 41 is a program that has the function of performing printing on multiple types of printers, each provided by multiple vendors, based on user instructions. The general-purpose printing program 41 supports general-purpose functions that enable printing on many printers. Unlike printer drivers specific to each printer, the general-purpose printing program 41 does not support functions unique to each printer or printer driver, especially functions that require complex processing.

[0021] The general-purpose printing program 41 is a program that, based on user instructions, receives image data designated as the print target in print instructions output from various application programs and includes a function to generate intermediate data based on that image data. The intermediate data is, for example, XPS data. The general-purpose printing program 41 further has a function to generate print data in a format that can be used for printing on various printers, based on the intermediate data. The print data is, for example, PWGraster data or PDF data. The general-purpose printing program 41 also has a function to send the generated print data to the printer designated as the device to execute the print job, via the communication function of the OS 21.

[0022] The auxiliary program 42 is a program or group of programs that executes processing based on instructions from the OS 21 in conjunction with the processing of the general-purpose printing program 41, and is an application program that supports the control of the target hardware. In this form, the auxiliary program 42 is provided, for example, by the vendor of the printer 2 or printer 3 connected to the PC 1. Note that printer 2 and printer 3 are devices from the same vendor, but may be the same model or different models. The auxiliary program 42 is compatible with either the model of printer 2 or the model of printer 3.

[0023] The general-purpose printing program 41 starts an auxiliary program 42, which is a program corresponding to the selected printer, when printer 2 or printer 3 is selected as the device to perform printing, when it receives instructions for detailed print settings while printer 2 or printer 3 is selected, when it receives instructions to perform printing on printer 2 or printer 3, etc. The auxiliary program 42 is, for example, called a print support application (abbreviated as PSA) or a hardware support application (abbreviated as HSA).

[0024] The auxiliary program 42 may be a combination of multiple programs, each accepting an execution command, or it may be a single program capable of executing different processes in response to commands. Furthermore, the auxiliary program may be compatible with two or more printers, and may be a program provided by the printer vendor for each type of printer. For example, separate auxiliary programs may be provided for inkjet printers and laser printers. In addition to being limited to each type of printer, there may also be auxiliary programs provided for each printer model or series of printer models.

[0025] For example, when a new printer is connected to PC1, the OS21 of PC1 downloads the appropriate auxiliary program installer 101 from the printer vendor's server 100 or storage specified by the OS21, depending on the type and model of the connected printer. Furthermore, the auxiliary program is installed on PC1 by the installer 101. The OS21 associates the identification information of the installed auxiliary program with the printer information of the newly connected printer and stores it in memory 12.

[0026] The editing application 43 is, for example, an application program for creating and editing image data or document data. The editing application 43 may be, for example, Microsoft Word or PowerPoint, or it may be a program provided by the vendor of printer 2 or printer 3. The editing application 43 can receive a print execution command via the user interface 13, for example, to print to printer 2 or printer 3. The editing application 43 is not limited to a program for creating and editing data, but may also be a program that has the function of receiving instructions to display or print various types of information such as map information or web pages, according to the user's request.

[0027] In this configuration, PC1 is connected to printers 2 and 3 via communication IF 14, as shown in Figure 1. Printers 2 and 3 are devices that have at least printing and communication functions. Specifically, printers 2 and 3 may be multifunction printers, copiers, fax machines, etc. Both printers 2 and 3 can perform printing based on the received print data when they receive print data from PC1, etc. Printers 2 and 3 may be devices capable of color printing, or devices capable of monochrome printing only.

[0028] Next, the procedure for printing using printer 2 or printer 3 in PC 1 of this configuration will be described. Note that, in this configuration, processes other than user operations basically refer to the processing of the CPU 11 according to instructions written in programs such as auxiliary program 42. In this specification, for convenience, various processes performed by the controller 10 or CPU 11 according to programs such as auxiliary program 42, general-purpose printing program 41, and OS 21 may be described as if each program independently performs its own processes. The processing by the CPU 11 also includes hardware control using the OS 21 API. In this specification, a detailed description of OS 21 is omitted, and the operation of each program is explained. Also, "acquisition" is used as a concept that does not necessarily require a request.

[0029] First, the selection procedure for PC1, which accepts the selection of the printer to be used for printing and the specification of print settings, will be explained with reference to the sequence diagram in Figure 2. Note that the procedure when printer 3 is selected is the same as when printer 2 is selected, and the procedure when printer 2 is selected will be explained below.

[0030] The editing application 43 can create and edit text and images based on user instructions. If the user wants to print the currently displayed text or image, the user selects print in the editing application 43 (A01). A01 includes the procedure for selecting printer 2. Note that if printer 2 is set as the default printer or the printer used for the last print job, the user does not need to explicitly select printer 2.

[0031] Upon receiving the operation A01, the editing application 43 requests the general-purpose printing program 41 of the OS 21 to display a screen that accepts instructions regarding printing (A02). In response to the request, the general-purpose printing program 41 displays the print settings screen to the user IF 13 (A03). The print settings screen is a screen that accepts user instructions regarding various print settings that can be accepted by the general-purpose printing program 41. Note that the editing application 43 may also display the print settings screen.

[0032] Furthermore, when the general-purpose printing program 41 displays a print settings screen that can accept printing instructions, it may also display a screen that includes the display generated by the auxiliary program 42. In that case, the general-purpose printing program 41 may request display data indicating the screen to be displayed from the auxiliary program 42, and display the print settings screen based on the display data received from the auxiliary program 42. If the screen to be displayed by the general-purpose printing program 41 includes an item indicating the size, the auxiliary program 42 should determine the unit system in the same manner as described later, and pass the display data using the determined unit system to the general-purpose printing program 41.

[0033] When printer 2 is selected as the device to perform printing, and the program receives instructions from the user to perform detailed print settings (A11), the general-purpose printing program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to printer 2 and passes an instruction to the auxiliary program 42 to start accepting detailed print settings (A12).

[0034] When the auxiliary program 42 is activated in response to the instruction in A12, it acquires the capability information of printer 2. Specifically, the auxiliary program 42 requests the general-purpose printing program 41 to acquire the capability information (A13). The general-purpose printing program 41 sends a command to printer 2 requesting the capability information and acquires the capability information from printer 2 (A14). The general-purpose printing program 41 passes the capability information acquired from printer 2 to the auxiliary program 42 (A15). This allows the auxiliary program 42 to acquire the capability information of printer 2. The capability information includes the main unit settings information set on printer 2. A13 is a process for acquiring the capability information of printer 2 and is an example of a main unit setting acquisition process.

[0035] The capability information obtained from printer 2 includes information on the settings that can be set as print settings and the parameters that can be set for each setting. The capability information may also include, for example, information on the paper feed trays and output trays available on printer 2, such as information on the selectable paper feed trays and output trays, information on the paper size and paper type set for each paper feed tray, information on the paper feed tray and output tray used by default, and information on the paper sizes that can be fed from each paper feed tray. In addition, the device setting information included in the capability information may include, for example, information on the language used for the names of messages and icons displayed on the printer 2's control panel.

[0036] Furthermore, the information on available paper sizes may include information on custom paper, which is paper defined and registered by the user. Custom paper information may include at least the length and width dimensions, and may also include information such as paper type and paper thickness. In addition, the capability information may include information on the print resolutions that printer 2 can handle, information on the image processing functions that printer 2 can perform, information indicating the status of printer 2 such as the remaining amount of consumables, information indicating the default print settings, and information indicating whether or not stacked printing is possible. Furthermore, if printer 2 has various image processing functions, detailed capability information for each function may also be included.

[0037] Furthermore, when the auxiliary program 42 obtains information about the printer 2, it may request the general-purpose printing program 41 to obtain the information, as shown in A13 to A15, or it may request and obtain the information directly from the printer 2. The general-purpose printing program 41 can obtain information from the printer 2 via the OS 21, for example, through communication corresponding to IPP (Internet Printing Protocol). For example, the general-purpose printing program 41 can send a command to the printer 2 to request capability information and pass the information obtained from the printer 2 to the auxiliary program 42. Alternatively, instead of requesting from the general-purpose printing program 41, the auxiliary program 42 can obtain various types of information directly from the printer 2, for example, using MIB (Management Information Base).

[0038] Next, the auxiliary program 42 executes a determination process (A16), which is the process of determining the unit system. The procedure for the determination process will be explained with reference to the flowchart in Figure 4. The determination process is executed by the CPU 11 of PC1 based on the description in the auxiliary program 42.

[0039] In the decision process, the CPU 11 first reads unit information 44 from memory 12 (B01). The unit information 44 is stored in a non-volatile storage area 22 provided for the auxiliary program 42 in memory 12, so that it can be read and written in response to requests from the auxiliary program 42. The storage area 22 is a common storage area for all printers that the auxiliary program 42 can support, regardless of which printer is selected. In other words, the auxiliary program 42 can store information in the unit information 44 and read information from the unit information 44, whether the selected printer is printer 2 or printer 3.

[0040] The unit information 44 is stored by the auxiliary program 42 based on the user's selection, for example, when the program receives an instruction to switch the unit system by user operation, or when the program receives a user selection regarding the default paper size. In other words, the unit information 44 is information that indicates the user's selection.

[0041] The memory area 22 may be a directory created in memory 12 by the installer 101 (see Figure 1) as a memory area that can be read from and written to in response to requests from the auxiliary program 42 during the installation of the auxiliary program 42. The installer 101 may also be able to accept the selection of a unit system by user operation during installation. If an instruction to select a unit system is received, the installer 101 may be able to store information indicating the unit system as unit information 44 in a directory created in memory 12.

[0042] The CPU 11 then determines whether or not information indicating the unit system is stored in the unit information 44 (B02). The information indicating the unit system indicates whether the units used to express various sizes are millimeters or inches. In the following, when various sizes are expressed in millimeters, it may be written as "the unit system is millimeters," "the unit system is millimeters," etc. Similarly, when various sizes are expressed in inches, it may be written as "the unit system is inches," "the unit system is inches," etc.

[0043] If the CPU determines that the read unit information 44 contains information indicating a unit system (B02: YES), the CPU 11 determines the unit system based on the unit information 44. That is, if the unit information 44 contains information indicating millimeters as a unit system (B05: millimeters), the CPU 11 determines that the unit system is millimeters (B06). Also, if the unit information 44 contains information indicating inches as a unit system (B05: inches), the CPU 11 determines that the unit system is inches (B07). The condition that the unit information 44 contains information indicating a unit system is an example of a predetermined condition and is an example of the first condition. B02 is an example of the unit system determination process.

[0044] On the other hand, when it is determined that the unit information 44 does not store information indicating the unit system (B02: NO), the CPU 11 acquires at least one of the region information indicating the region where the PC 1 is installed and the language information indicating the type of language used in the OS 21 of the PC 1 from the OS 21 of the PC 1 (B11). B11 is an example of the environment information acquisition process.

[0045] The CPU 11 determines whether it can determine the unit system based on the acquired region information or language information (B12). When it is determined that the unit system can be determined based on the region information or language information (B12: YES), the CPU 11 determines the unit system based on that information. B12 is an example of the unit system determination process.

[0046] The region information and language information set in the OS 21 are elements for inferring a unit system suitable for the user of the PC 1. For example, when the region information indicates within Japan or the language information indicates Japanese, the CPU 11 determines that it is an environment where millimeters are mainly used (B05: millimeter) and determines that the unit system is millimeter (B06). Also, for example, when the region information indicates within the United States of America, the CPU 11 determines that it is an environment where inches are mainly used (B05: inch) and determines that the unit system is inch (B07). The conditions based on the region information or language information are an example of a predetermined condition and an example of a second condition. Since the auxiliary program 42 determines the unit system based on the region information or language information, the possibility of determining a unit system suitable for the user is increased.

[0047] When it is determined that the unit system cannot be determined based on the region information or language information (B12: NO), the CPU 11 acquires the main body setting indicating the set value set in the main body of the printer 2 based on the ability information acquired in A13 to A15 of FIG. 2 (B21). B21 is an example of the main body setting acquisition process. In the case where the ability information has not been acquired, the CPU 11 may request the general-purpose printing program 41 to acquire the ability information, similar to A13 of FIG. 2.

[0048] The CPU 11 determines whether it can determine the unit system based on the acquired main body settings (B22). When it is determined that the unit system can be determined based on the main body settings (B22: YES), the CPU 11 determines the unit system based on the main body settings. For example, when the language setting used for the display of the operation panel is acquired as the main body setting in the printer 2, the CPU 11 may make the same determination as B12. B22 is an example of the unit system determination process.

[0049] The main body settings set in the printer 2 are elements for inferring a unit system suitable for the user. For example, if the language used for the display of the operation panel is Japanese, the CPU 11 determines that it is an environment where millimeters are mainly used (B05: millimeter), and determines that the unit system is millimeter (B06). The conditions based on the main body settings are an example of predetermined conditions and an example of the second conditions. Since the auxiliary program 42 determines the unit system based on the main body settings, the possibility of being displayed in a unit system suitable for the user is increased.

[0050] Also, the CPU 11 may determine the unit system based on, for example, the default value of the paper size set as the main body setting. Specifically, if the default value of the paper size is a size mainly represented in millimeters such as A4 size or A5 size, the CPU 11 determines that millimeters are mainly used in the printer 2 (B05: millimeter), and determines that the unit system is millimeter (B06). Also, if the default value of the paper size is a size mainly represented in inches such as letter size or legal size, the CPU 11 determines that inches are mainly used in the printer 2 (B05: inch), and determines that the unit system is inch (B07). If the default value of the paper size is letter size, since it is presumed that the usage environment of the printer 2 is in the United States, it is desirable to set the unit system to inch.

[0051] The auxiliary program 42 uses a plurality of conditions to determine the unit system, so it is easy to determine the unit system. In particular, since the auxiliary program 42 determines the conditions of the unit information 44 with priority over the regional information, language information, and main body settings, the possibility of determining a more suitable unit system for the user is increased.

[0052] If the CPU 11 determines that it cannot determine the unit system based on the main unit settings (B22: NO), it decides to set the unit system to millimeters (B06). If the unit system cannot be determined using any of the unit information 44, regional information, language information, or main unit settings, the CPU 11 sets the unit system to millimeters. When it is not possible to obtain information that can determine the unit system, the auxiliary program 42 increases the likelihood that it can display the size appropriately by deciding to set the unit system to millimeters, which are widely used worldwide.

[0053] After B06 or B07, the CPU 11 terminates the decision process and returns to the procedure shown in Figure 2. Then, if the auxiliary program 42 displays an item indicating size on the screen it displays, it displays it using the unit system determined in the decision process.

[0054] Returning to the explanation of Figure 2, the auxiliary program 42 displays a detailed settings screen on the user IF 13's display 13a that accepts detailed print settings, based on the capability information acquired in A13 to A15 and the unit system determined in the decision process in A16 (A17). The auxiliary program 42 can display a detailed settings screen 60 on the display 13a that accepts user operations for various items related to print settings, as shown in Figure 3, for example. The detailed settings screen 60 is an example of a settings screen that accepts settings for printing to the printer 2. A17 is an example of the settings screen display process. Note that the detailed settings screen 60 may include selectable settings items and parameters that cannot be accepted by the general-purpose print program 41.

[0055] The detailed settings screen 60 shown in Figure 3 is an example where the unit system is set to millimeters during the A16 decision process. In this detailed settings screen 60, for example, A4 size is selected as the default setting for the paper size item 61, and the specific value of that size is expressed in millimeters. The paper size item 61 is an example of an item that indicates size, and is an example of a specific item.

[0056] The auxiliary program 42 can accept instructions for double-sided printing in the double-sided printing item 62 of the detailed settings screen 60 that is currently displayed. If double-sided printing is selected in the double-sided printing item 62, the auxiliary program 42 will make the double-sided printing setting button 63 operable and will be able to accept instructions for detailed settings related to double-sided printing.

[0057] Then, when the operation of the double-sided printing setting button 63 is accepted (A21), the auxiliary program 42 displays the double-sided setting screen, which is a screen that accepts settings for binding method and binding margin in double-sided printing (A23). A23 is an example of the setting screen display process. The double-sided setting screen includes, for example, an item indicating the length of the binding margin. The auxiliary program 42 displays the item indicating the length of the binding margin included in the double-sided setting screen using the unit system determined in the determination process of A16.

[0058] The duplex setting screen 70 includes, for example, a radio button 71, a radio button 72, an input field 73, range information 74, an OK button 75, a Cancel button 76, a "Restore to Default" button 77, and a "Register as Default" button 78, as shown in Figure 5. Radio button 71 accepts selection of four binding methods: long edge binding (left), long edge binding (right), short edge binding (top), and short edge binding (bottom). The duplex setting screen 70 is an example of a setting screen that accepts settings for printer 2 to perform printing.

[0059] Radio button 72 is a button that accepts the selection of a unit system for the numerical value indicating the length of the binding margin entered in input field 73. Input field 73 is a field that accepts the input of the binding margin length within the range of numerical values ​​indicated in range information 74. Range information 74 is information that indicates the range of numerical values ​​that can be entered in input field 73 when using the unit system selected in radio button 72. In other words, the length of the binding margin is set by the numerical value entered in input field 73 using the unit system selected in radio button 72. Input field 73 and range information 74 are examples of items that indicate size, and examples of specific items. Note that the binding margin is a blank space created on one of the four sides of the paper by shifting the image to be printed one page at a time, separate from the margins.

[0060] When the auxiliary program 42 displays the double-sided setting screen 70, it uses the unit system determined in the decision process (A16). If the unit system determined in the decision process (A16) is millimeters, the auxiliary program 42, in A23, sets the radio button 72 to millimeters as shown in Figure 5, and displays the range information 74 as [0.0-203.2], which is the range when the unit system is millimeters. If the unit system determined in the decision process (A16) is inches, the auxiliary program 42, in A23, sets the radio button 72 to inches as shown in Figure 6, and displays the range information 74 as [0.0-8.0], which is the range when the unit system is inches.

[0061] The auxiliary program 42 then accepts operations on the currently displayed double-sided setting screen 70. If the user operates on the currently displayed double-sided setting screen 70 using the radio button 72 and instructs a change in the selected unit system (A31), the auxiliary program 42 changes the unit system used for displaying the double-sided setting screen 70 and displays the double-sided setting screen 70 (A32). For example, if the unit system is changed from millimeters to inches, the auxiliary program 42 changes the display of the double-sided setting screen 70 shown in Figure 5 to the double-sided setting screen 70 shown in Figure 6. Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 stores information indicating the unit system selected by the radio button 72 in the unit information 44 (A33). A31 is an example of selection processing. A32 is an example of switching processing. A33 is an example of storage processing.

[0062] As a result, in the next decision process (A16), the auxiliary program 42 determines that information indicating the unit system is stored in the unit information 44 (YES in B02 of Figure 4), and therefore determines the unit system based on the information stored in the unit information 44.

[0063] The user can operate the radio button 72 any number of times until they press the OK button 75 or the Cancel button 76. Furthermore, each time the auxiliary program 42 receives an operation on the radio button 72, it changes and displays the double-sided setting screen 70 and stores the selected unit system information as unit information 44. In A33, if there is information stored as unit information 44, the auxiliary program 42 overwrites and updates the current information. Therefore, the unit information 44 stores the information of the most recently selected unit system. By storing the information of the most recently selected unit system, the likelihood of the display using a unit system suitable for the user who made that selection increases.

[0064] The "Register as Default" button 78 is a button that accepts an instruction to register the settings currently displayed on the duplex settings screen 70 as the default print settings for duplex printing. When the "Register as Default" button 78 is pressed (A35), the auxiliary program 42 registers the various settings currently displayed on the duplex settings screen 70 as the default settings (A36). For example, the auxiliary program 42 registers information indicating the length of the binding margin as the default binding margin length based on the numerical value entered in the input field 73. A36 is an example of the registration process.

[0065] Furthermore, if a command to change the unit system is received before the operation of the "Register as default" button 78 is accepted, the auxiliary program 42 stores the unit information 44 in A33 according to that command. Therefore, in A36, the auxiliary program 42 does not need to store the unit system selection status in the unit information 44, while registering the setting value. The auxiliary program 42 may store the default setting value as information that applies only to the currently selected printer, or as information that can be applied to multiple compatible printers.

[0066] The unit information 44 is independent of the selected printer. In other words, the unit information 44 stored when printer 2 is selected remains valid even when printer 3 is selected. Specifically, whether the operation to determine the unit system is received when printer 2 is selected or when printer 3 is selected, the auxiliary program 42 stores the information of the unit system selected by the user as unit information 44 in the storage area 22. Then, in the next print command, regardless of whether the selected printer is printer 2 or printer 3, for example, when displaying the duplex setting screen 70 in response to an A21 instruction, the auxiliary program 42 reads the unit information 44 from the storage area 22 and determines the unit system based on the read unit information 44. Therefore, regardless of the selected printer, the display will use the unit system previously selected by the user, thus reducing the effort required of the user to select a unit system.

[0067] Furthermore, the "Restore Defaults" button 77 is a button that accepts an instruction to return the display of the duplex setting screen 70 to the default print settings registered by the operation of the "Register as Default" button 78. When the auxiliary program 42 accepts the operation of the "Restore Defaults" button 77 and displays the default settings, it also determines and displays the unit system based on the unit information 44. In other words, even if the operation of the "Restore Defaults" button 77 is accepted, the unit system selected by the radio button 72 is not changed.

[0068] The OK button 75 is a button that accepts an instruction to confirm the settings displayed on the duplex setting screen 70. When the OK button 75 is pressed (A37), the auxiliary program 42 stores the settings displayed on the duplex setting screen 70 as the print settings for duplex printing (A38). If the Cancel button 76 is pressed, the auxiliary program 42 discards all operations received on the duplex setting screen 70. However, information stored in the unit information 44 and information registered as defaults are not discarded. When the OK button 75 or Cancel button 76 is pressed, the auxiliary program 42 ends the display of the duplex setting screen 70 and returns to the display of the detailed settings screen 60 shown in Figure 3.

[0069] Next, the printing procedure, which involves determining the print settings and executing the print job, will be explained with reference to the sequence diagram in Figure 7. For example, after the duplex setting screen 70 is displayed and the print settings for duplex printing are determined, the auxiliary program 42 returns to displaying the detailed settings screen 60 (C01). If the auxiliary program 42 has stored a unit system indicating inches in the unit information 44 at A33 in Figure 2, it may display the detailed settings screen 60, as shown in Figure 8, with "Letter (8.5 x 11 inches)" selected in the paper size item 61, instead of the detailed settings screen 60 shown in Figure 3. The paper size item 61 is just one example of a specific item.

[0070] The user can give instructions for print settings on the displayed detailed settings screen 60 (C11). For example, if the program accepts an operation on the paper size item 61, the auxiliary program 42 displays various selectable paper size options. The paper size options include custom paper options, and if the program accepts an operation on the custom paper option, the auxiliary program 42 displays a custom paper settings screen 80 that accepts settings related to custom paper, for example, as shown in Figure 9. The custom paper settings screen 80 is an example of a settings screen.

[0071] The custom paper setting screen 80 includes, for example, a list 81 of the names of registered custom paper forms, an information field 82 that displays various information about the selected custom paper form, a save button 85, and a cancel button 86, as shown in Figure 9. The information field 82 includes a radio button 83 that accepts the selection of a unit system, and input fields 84 for the width and height of the custom paper form displayed using the selected unit system. When the radio button 83 is clicked, the auxiliary program 42 stores the unit information 44 based on the user's operation and changes the display of the input field 84. The input field 84 is an example of a specific item.

[0072] When the save button 85 or cancel button 86 is clicked on the custom paper settings screen 80, the auxiliary program 42 terminates the display of the custom paper settings screen 80 and returns to the display of the detailed settings screen 60.

[0073] Once the user has decided on the print settings, they complete the print settings by operating the OK button on the detailed settings screen 60 (C12). When the auxiliary program 42 receives an instruction to decide on the print settings by operating on the detailed settings screen 60, it stores the information of the decided print settings in the memory 12 (C15). Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 responds to the detailed settings instruction received at A12 in Figure 2 by passing the information of the decided print settings to the general-purpose printing program 41 (C16). The general-purpose printing program 41 passes the information of the decided print settings to the editing application 43 (C17). As a result, the editing application 43 becomes able to accept instructions related to printing.

[0074] Furthermore, when the editing application 43 receives instructions regarding printing, such as specifying the image to be printed and instructing printer 2 to execute printing (C21), it passes the print instruction information and image data indicating the image to be printed to the general-purpose printing program 41 (C22). The general-purpose printing program 41 generates intermediate data based on the information received from the editing application 43 (C23).

[0075] The general-purpose printing program 41 generates intermediate data by converting the image data format of the image to be printed into an intermediate data format. The image data included in the editing application 43 is of various types, and the general-purpose printing program 41 converts the image data to be printed into intermediate data suitable for generating print data. If the image data to be printed is already suitable for generating print data, the generation of intermediate data can be omitted, and the data can be used directly as intermediate data.

[0076] Furthermore, the general-purpose printing program 41 may, before generating intermediate data, start an auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the specified device, printer 2, to notify it that it has started processing the print job. When the auxiliary program 42 is started by the general-purpose printing program 41, it can pass information indicating various instructions used when generating intermediate data to the general-purpose printing program 41 as needed.

[0077] The general-purpose printing program 41 generates intermediate data and then outputs an execution instruction (C25) to the auxiliary program 42. The auxiliary program 42 can obtain the intermediate data and print setting information generated by the general-purpose printing program 41 by making a request to the general-purpose printing program 41, for example.

[0078] The auxiliary program 42 can edit the intermediate data obtained from the general-purpose printing program 41 as needed (C26). The auxiliary program 42 may edit the intermediate data based, for example, on the print settings information stored in C15 or the capabilities information of the printer 2. In addition, if the received print settings include processing that can be executed by the printer 2, the auxiliary program 42 may generate a command to cause the printer 2 to execute that processing.

[0079] The auxiliary program 42 passes the edited intermediate data to the general-purpose printing program 41 and instructs the general-purpose printing program 41 to generate print data and send it to the printer 2 (C31). As a result, the general-purpose printing program 41 performs necessary processing such as rasterizing the intermediate data to generate print data (C32) and sends the print job containing the generated print data to the printer 2 (C33). The printer 2 executes printing based on the received print job (C34).

[0080] Alternatively, the auxiliary program 42 may perform rasterization and generate print data instead of the general-purpose printing program 41. In this case, the auxiliary program 42 may perform rasterization based on the intermediate data to generate print data, and then pass the generated print data and print settings to the general-purpose printing program 41 to instruct it to send them to the printer 2. The auxiliary program 42 may also receive the print data generated by the general-purpose printing program 41 and process it as needed. The print data sent to the printer 2 only needs to be in a format that can be printed by the printer 2.

[0081] Rasterizing with auxiliary program 42 offers greater flexibility compared to rasterizing with general-purpose printing program 41, and is more likely to generate print data suitable for printing on printer 2. On the other hand, rasterizing with general-purpose printing program 41 reduces the processing load on auxiliary program 42, allowing for a smaller program size for auxiliary program 42.

[0082] Alternatively, instead of having the general-purpose printing program 41 send the print data to the printer 2, the auxiliary program 42 may send a print command instructing the printer to execute the print job, along with the print data, to the printer 2. For example, if the print settings include settings related to image processing that can be executed on the printer 2, the auxiliary program 42 may generate a print command that also includes information about that processing.

[0083] As explained in detail above, the auxiliary program 42 displays various setting screens for printing to the printer 2 on the user interface 13. At that time, the auxiliary program 42 automatically determines the unit system for the sizes included in the various setting screens according to predetermined conditions. This eliminates the need for the user to manually determine the unit system.

[0084] The embodiments disclosed herein are merely illustrative and do not limit the present invention in any way. Therefore, the technology disclosed herein can naturally be improved and modified in various ways without departing from its essence. For example, the number of printers corresponding to the auxiliary program 42 is not limited to two, but may be three or more.

[0085] Furthermore, the detailed settings screen 60 shown in Figure 3 is just one example and is not limited to the illustrated example. For example, the text, object shapes, background, etc. displayed in the illustrated screen can be anything. For example, the "Restore to default" button 77 and the "Register as default" button 78 on the double-sided settings screen 70 are not required.

[0086] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the auxiliary program 42 is determined to use either millimeters or inches as the unit system, but it may also be possible to select other unit systems. If other unit systems are selectable, the auxiliary program 42 may determine which unit system to use from a plurality of unit systems, including the other unit systems, according to predetermined conditions.

[0087] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the auxiliary program 42 sets the unit system to millimeters if it cannot determine the unit system using any of the unit information 44, regional information, language information, or main unit settings (B06 in the case of NO in B22 of Figure 4). However, it may also determine the unit system by, for example, querying the user.

[0088] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the auxiliary program 42 stores unit information 44 whenever it receives an instruction to change the unit system while, for example, the double-sided setting screen 70 is being displayed (A33 in Figure 2), but it is not limited to this. For example, when the auxiliary program 42 receives an operation to the OK button and receives an instruction to confirm the setting (A37), it may store the selected unit system as unit information 44.

[0089] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the auxiliary program 42 stores the unit information 44 in a predetermined storage area 22 of the memory 12, but this is not limited to this. For example, if the OS 21 of the PC 1 is Windows®, a storage area for the auxiliary program 42 can be provided in the registry. In that case, the auxiliary program 42 may write the unit information 44 to the registry.

[0090] Furthermore, if, after the print settings screen is displayed by the general-purpose print program 41, the user changes the default printer from another printer to printer 2 via the OS 21, the general-purpose print program 41 may also start the auxiliary program 42. In addition, the auxiliary program 42 may be started not only when printing is selected, but also, for example, when printer 2 is selected as a device setting. In these cases as well, the auxiliary program 42 may be able to accept the selection of a unit system, and if it accepts the selection of a unit system, it may be able to store the information of the accepted unit system in the unit information 44.

[0091] Furthermore, although the operation of the auxiliary program 42 is described in detail only in terms of printing operations, the auxiliary program 42 may have other roles. Also, the program that executes the processing in this embodiment is not limited to the auxiliary program 42, but can be any program that receives instructions from the OS 21 or the general-purpose printing program 41 when printing using the general-purpose printing program 41. For example, the Print Workflow application whose specifications have been published by Microsoft may also be used.

[0092] Furthermore, the execution timing of the auxiliary program 42 is not limited to the examples of this embodiment. For example, it may be executed by direct execution instruction from the OS 21, or it may be a resident auxiliary program 42. In the case of a resident auxiliary program, the auxiliary program 42 should perform the operations described above upon receiving an execution instruction.

[0093] Furthermore, in any flowchart disclosed in the embodiments, the execution order of any multiple processes in any multiple steps can be arbitrarily changed or executed in parallel, as long as no inconsistencies arise in the processing content.

[0094] Furthermore, the processes disclosed in the embodiments may be executed by a single CPU, multiple CPUs, hardware such as an ASIC, or a combination thereof. Also, the processes disclosed in each embodiment can be implemented in various ways, such as by recording a program for executing the process on a recording medium or by a method.

[0095] 1 PC 2 Printer 11 CPU 12 Memory 14 Communication Interface

Claims

1. A support program that is executable by the computer of an information processing device, corresponds to a printer connected to the information processing device, and supports a general-purpose printing program of the operating system of the information processing device, wherein the support program is configured to cause the computer to execute a setting screen display process that displays a setting screen on the user interface of the information processing device that accepts settings for causing the printer to execute printing in response to a request from the general-purpose printing program, the setting screen includes a specific item which is an item indicating size, the computer further executes a unit system determination process that determines the unit system of the size indicated in the specific item according to predetermined conditions, and the setting screen display process displays the size indicated in the specific item included in the setting screen in the unit system determined by the unit system determination process.

2. A support program as described in claim 1, wherein the memory of the information processing device is provided with a storage area for the support program, the storage area is capable of storing unit information indicating a unit system selected by the user, the computer is capable of reading the unit information stored in the storage area regardless of whether a first printer or a second printer is selected as the printer connected to the information processing device, and the unit system for the size indicated in the specific item is determined based on the read unit information, regardless of whether a first printer or a second printer is selected.

3. A support program as described in claim 2, wherein the support program is configured to cause the computer to perform a selection process to accept the selection of a unit system for a size indicated in a specific item from among a plurality of unit systems; a storage process to store the unit information indicating the unit system selected in the selection process in the storage area when the selection of a unit system is accepted in the selection process; and a switching process to switch the display of the size indicated in the specific item included in the setting screen based on the unit system selected in the selection process.

4. A support program according to claim 3, wherein the computer is configured to perform a registration process to register the setting values ​​displayed on the setting screen as default values, and in the registration process, the setting values ​​displayed on the specific item are registered as the default values ​​for the specific item, while the selected state of the size unit system shown for the specific item displayed on the setting screen is not registered.

5. A support program according to claim 2, wherein in the unit system determination process, whether the first printer is selected or the second printer is selected, if, as a predetermined condition, there is unit information stored in the storage area by the installer of the support program, the unit system of the size indicated in the specific item is determined based on the unit system indicated in the unit information stored by the installer, the installer is configured to allow the user to select a unit system and to store the unit information indicating the selected unit system in the storage area.

6. A support program as described in claim 1, wherein the support program is configured such that the computer performs an environmental information acquisition process to acquire at least one of regional information indicating a region and language information indicating a type of language from the operating system, and in the unit system determination process, the unit system of the size indicated in the specific item is determined as a predetermined condition based on the regional information or language information acquired in the environmental information acquisition process.

7. A support program as described in claim 1, wherein the computer is capable of executing a main unit setting acquisition process to acquire main unit settings, which are setting values ​​set on the printer, via the communication interface of the information processing device, and the unit system determination process is configured such that, as a predetermined condition, the unit system of the size shown in the specific item is determined based on the main unit settings acquired in the main unit setting acquisition process.

8. A support program according to claim 7, wherein the main unit settings obtained in the main unit setting acquisition process include a default value for the paper size, and the unit system determination process is configured such that, as a predetermined condition, if the default value for the paper size included in the main unit settings obtained in the main unit setting acquisition process is a value indicating letter, the unit system for the size indicated in the specific item is determined to be inches.

9. A support program according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined conditions include a first condition and a second condition different from the first condition, the first condition may or may not determine the unit system for the size indicated in the specific item, and the unit system determination process is configured such that the first condition takes precedence over the second condition, and if the unit system for the size indicated in the specific item cannot be determined using the first condition, the unit system for the size indicated in the specific item is determined using the second condition.

10. A support program as described in claim 9, wherein the memory of the information processing device is provided with a storage area for the support program, the storage area is capable of storing unit information indicating a unit system selected by the user, the computer is capable of reading the unit information stored in the storage area regardless of whether a first printer or a second printer is selected as the printer connected to the information processing device, the computer is further capable of executing an environment information acquisition process to acquire at least one of region information indicating a region and language information indicating a type of language from the operating system, and the unit system determination process is configured such that, regardless of whether a first printer or a second printer is selected, as a first condition, the unit information is read from the storage area, and the unit system of the size indicated in the specific item is determined based on the read unit information, and as a second condition, if the unit information is not stored in the storage area, the unit system of the size indicated in the specific item is determined based on the region information or language information acquired in the environment information acquisition process.

11. A support program as described in claim 9, wherein the memory of the information processing device is provided with a storage area for the support program, the storage area is capable of storing unit information indicating a unit system selected by the user, the computer is capable of reading the unit information stored in the storage area regardless of whether a first printer or a second printer is selected as the printer connected to the information processing device, the computer is further capable of executing a main unit setting acquisition process to acquire main unit settings, which are setting values ​​set for the printer, via the communication interface of the information processing device, the unit system determination process is configured such that, regardless of whether a first printer or a second printer is selected, as a first condition, the unit information is read from the storage area, and based on the read unit information, the unit system for the size indicated in the specific item is determined, and as a second condition, if the unit information is not stored in the storage area, the unit system for the size indicated in the specific item is determined based on the main unit settings acquired in the main unit setting acquisition process.

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