Support program
Patent Information
- Application Number
- PCT/JP2026/004775
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2025-02-28
- Filing Date
- 2026-02-10
- Publication Date
- 2026-09-03
Smart Images
Figure JP2026004775_03092026_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
Support Program
[0001] The technical field disclosed herein relates to a support program that supports control of a printer.
[0002] In recent years, a technology for controlling a printer by a general-purpose printing program provided in 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, the OS associates the printer with the general-purpose printing program. Thereafter, when a print instruction for the printer is received, the general-purpose printing program generates print data without using the printer driver provided by the printer vendor, thereby enabling printing by the general-purpose printing program.
[0003] As a document disclosing printing technology using a general-purpose printing program, for example, Patent Document 1 can be mentioned. Patent Document 1 discloses an extended application for extending functions not supported by print data generation software corresponding to a general-purpose printing program. It further discloses a configuration in which the extended application, on a computer, acquires information related to printing modes by a connected printing device, and displays a screen with a different configuration for each printing device based on the acquired information.
[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2024-18088
[0005] As in the extended application disclosed in Patent Document 1, a configuration is known in which a screen corresponding to a selected printing device is displayed by a support program, which is a program associated with a general-purpose printing program and supports printer control. There are multiple triggers for starting this support program, and a new technology is desired for displaying a post-startup screen by the support program.
[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 and is a support program that supports a general-purpose printing program of the operating system of the information processing device. When the computer is started by the operating system in response to a startup instruction for the support program, it executes a screen display process that displays a predetermined screen on the user interface of the information processing device. In the screen display process, if the startup instruction includes specific information for identifying a printer, it displays a first screen containing information about the printer identified by the specific information as the predetermined screen to be displayed on the user interface. If the startup instruction does not include the specific information, it displays a second screen containing information about at least one printer as the predetermined screen to be displayed on the user interface, which allows the user to select one of the at least one printers on which the information is displayed.
[0007] The support program disclosed herein displays a first screen containing information about the printer identified by the specific information when the startup instruction includes specific information. Therefore, the first screen containing information of high value to the user who made the startup instruction is displayed. On the other hand, if the startup instruction does not include specific information, the support program displays a second screen, which is different from the first screen, containing information about at least one printer and prompting the user to select one of the at least one printers on which information is displayed. This allows the support program to display a screen of high value even when the printer is not identified when the program is started.
[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 a new technique for displaying a screen after startup by a support program in an information processing device incorporating a general-purpose printing program.
[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 print setup procedure. This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the print screen of a general-purpose printing program. This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the advanced settings screen. This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the device information screen. This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the printer information screen. This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the printer information screen. This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the startup procedure. This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the store screen. This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the app list screen. This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the printer selection screen. This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the command prompt screen. This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the command prompt 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 various external devices such as printers. The communication standards for communication IF 14 include Ethernet®, Wi-Fi®, and USB. PC1 may be able to connect to the internet via communication IF 14. PC1 may also have multiple communication modes that support multiple communication standards. If multiple communication modes are available, PC1 will use one of them to communicate with external devices such as printers, depending on the user's selection and hardware configuration. PC1 may also communicate using different communication modes depending on the type of external device.
[0016] In this configuration, PC1 is connected to printers 2, 3, and 4 via a communication interface 14, as shown in Figure 1. Each of the printers 2 to 4 is a device having at least printing and communication functions. Specifically, each of the printers 2 to 4 may be a multifunction printer, copier, fax machine, etc. Each of the printers 2 to 4 can execute printing based on the received print data when it receives print data from PC1, etc. Each of the printers 2 to 4 may be a device capable of color printing, or a device capable of monochrome printing only.
[0017] 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 custom paper information 44. The auxiliary program 42 is an example of a support program. The editing application 43 is an example of an application program.
[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®. OS21 includes a general-purpose printing program 41. The general-purpose printing program 41 is a standard OS program provided by the OS21 vendor and offered as part of OS21. In other words, PC1 is equipped with OS21, which includes the standard OS general-purpose printing program 41.
[0019] The general-purpose printing program 41 is packaged together with the OS 21 and installed on PC1 together with the OS 21. It can be said that PC1 is equipped with the OS 21 which contains the general-purpose printing program 41, or that the OS 21 contains the OS standard general-purpose printing program 41. The OS standard general-purpose printing program 41 is a program that can communicate with various printing devices according to the IPP (Internet Printing Protocol), and is, for example, an IPP Class Driver.
[0020] The general-purpose printing program 41 is a program that has the function of executing printing on multiple types of printers 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 specific to each printer or printer driver, especially functions that require complex processing. Furthermore, the general-purpose printing program 41 is not configured to utilize printer drivers specific to each printer.
[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 a program that can be used with any of the printers 2 to 4 connected to the PC 1, and is provided by the vendor of printers 2 to 4. Note that each printer is a device from the same vendor, but may be the same model or a different model. The auxiliary program 42 is called, for example, a print support application (abbreviated as PSA) or a hardware support application (abbreviated as HSA). Hereafter, the auxiliary program 42 may be referred to as "PSA".
[0023] Furthermore, auxiliary programs may be programs provided for each type of printer. For example, separate auxiliary programs may be provided for inkjet printers and laser printers. Auxiliary programs may also be provided for each printer model or series of printer models, not just for each type of printer.
[0024] For example, when a new printer is connected to PC1, the OS21 of PC1 can download appropriate auxiliary programs from the printer vendor's server or storage specified by the OS21, depending on the type and model of the connected printer, and install them into PC1. The OS21 associates the identification information of the installed auxiliary programs with the printer information of the newly connected printer and stores it in memory 12.
[0025] 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 a program provided by various printer vendors. The editing application 43 can receive print execution instructions via the user interface 13 to print to various printers. 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.
[0026] Next, the procedure for starting the auxiliary program 42 in the PC1 of this configuration and displaying information for each printer using the auxiliary program 42 will be described. The auxiliary program 42 is started based on user operation, for example, from the OS 21 or the general-purpose printing program 41. When starting the auxiliary program 42, if the printer to be processed has been determined, the OS 21 or the general-purpose printing program 41 can pass a startup instruction containing the information of that printer to the auxiliary program 42.
[0027] As an example of the procedure by which the auxiliary program 42 is started by a startup instruction that includes printer information, the print setting procedure for receiving print setting instructions for printing using the general-purpose printing program 41 will be explained with reference to the sequence diagram in Figure 2.
[0028] In the procedure shown in Figure 2, if the user wants to print an image selected in the editing application 43 to the printer 2, for example, they select "Print" in the editing application 43 (A01). Since the PC 1 has a general-purpose printing program 41 installed, the editing application 43 passes information to the general-purpose printing program 41 indicating that printing has been selected. Specifically, the editing application 43 requests the OS 21's general-purpose printing program 41 to display a screen that accepts instructions regarding printing (A02).
[0029] The editing application 43 or the general-purpose printing program 41 can accept the selection of a device to be used for printing. The PC 1 is provided with a printer queue corresponding to each device available for printing, and when one of the printer queues is selected, the editing application 43 or the general-purpose printing program 41 can identify the corresponding device. For example, if a printer queue corresponding to printer 2 is provided, the user can select printer 2 as the device to print to. Note that if printer 2 is set as the printer to be used normally or the printer used for the last print job, the user does not need to explicitly select a printer. In this case as well, printer 2 will be selected as the device to print to.
[0030] If a printer to be used for printing has already been selected, the editing application 43 also passes information indicating the selected printer to the general-purpose printing program 41 via A02. The following describes the case where printer 2 is selected as the printer to be used for printing.
[0031] The general-purpose printing program 41 displays a general-purpose print screen on the user interface 13 that can accept various printing instructions based on the information passed from the editing application 43 (A03). When the general-purpose printing program 41 receives information about printer 2 and information indicating that printing has been selected, or when the device used for printing is changed from another printer to printer 2, it displays a general-purpose print screen 50 indicating that the printer queue corresponding to printer 2 has been selected, for example, as shown in Figure 3. The printer queue corresponding to printer 2 is an example of a specific printer queue.
[0032] The general-purpose print screen 50 shown in Figure 3 includes a "Printer Properties" button 51 that accepts a command to display information about printer 2, and a print button 52 that accepts a command to execute printing. When printer 2 is selected, button 51 accepts a command to start accepting detailed print settings for printing on printer 2. The print button 52 is a button that accepts a print command. The editing application 43 or the general-purpose printing program 41 is a program that can accept print commands. In Figure 3 and other figures, printer 2 is referred to as "Printer A".
[0033] The general-purpose printing program 41 can accept user instructions to perform detailed print settings by accepting an operation on button 51 when printer 2 is selected (A11). When an operation on button 51 is accepted, the general-purpose printing program 41 identifies auxiliary program 42 as the program corresponding to printer 2 and starts auxiliary program 42 (A12). A12 is an example of an application screen startup instruction. In A12, the general-purpose printing program 41 passes a startup instruction to auxiliary program 42 that includes information indicating the selected printer 2 and information indicating an instruction to start accepting detailed print settings. The information indicating the selected printer 2 is an example of identification information for identifying the printer.
[0034] When the auxiliary program 42 receives a startup command, it determines whether the startup command includes information that identifies the printer to be processed. If the auxiliary program 42 receives a startup command that includes information that identifies the printer, it can display various screens that include information about the identified printer. A startup command (A12) based on the operation of button 51 with the printer to be used for printing selected is a startup command that includes identifying information.
[0035] Furthermore, the editing application 43 may be able to launch the auxiliary program 42 from the print screen displayed by the editing application 43. For example, the user can display the print screen of the editing application 43 by selecting print in the editing application 43. The editing application 43 may then be able to accept instructions for printer selection and detailed settings on that print screen. Even if printer 2 is selected on the print screen of the editing application 43 and instructions for detailed settings are accepted, the auxiliary program 42 will be launched by a launch instruction that includes information indicating printer 2. In this case, the editing application 43 may pass a launch instruction that includes information indicating printer 2 to the general-purpose printing program 41, and the general-purpose printing program 41 may pass a launch instruction that includes information indicating printer 2 to the auxiliary program 42, thereby launching the auxiliary program 42. Furthermore, the information indicating printer 2 included in the launch instruction passed by the editing application 43 and the launch instruction passed by the general-purpose printing program 41 may be different. It is sufficient that each launch instruction contains information that can identify printer 2.
[0036] In response to the startup instruction in A12, the auxiliary program 42 displays an advanced settings screen on the user interface 13's display 13a that accepts detailed print settings (A15). A15 is an example of screen display processing. The auxiliary program 42 displays an advanced settings screen 55 that includes information about the printer 2 and accepts print settings related to printing on the printer 2, as shown in Figure 4, for example. The advanced settings screen 55 is an example of a predetermined screen and is an example of the first screen.
[0037] The detailed settings screen 55 displays information about the printer 2, such as default print settings, information indicating the paper tray, information about the paper size and type set in the paper tray, and information indicating the capabilities of the printer 2, such as double-sided printing and booklet printing functions. The detailed settings screen 55 may also display information indicating the status of the printer 2, information indicating the remaining amount of consumables such as colorants in the printer 2, and information about selectable paper trays and output trays. The detailed settings screen 55 may also include selectable settings and parameters that are not accepted by the general-purpose printing program 41.
[0038] However, the detailed settings screen 55 does not include information about printers other than the selected printer 2. For users who have selected to print on printer 2, information about other printers is unnecessary. Because the detailed settings screen 55 does not include information about other printers, the screen is simpler and easier for the user to understand.
[0039] The auxiliary program 42 may store information about the printer 2 to be displayed in memory 12 in advance, or it may obtain it from the printer 2 as needed. For example, the auxiliary program 42 may obtain information about the printer 2 via the general-purpose printing program 41 by passing an instruction to the general-purpose printing program 41 to obtain information from the printer 2.
[0040] The auxiliary program 42 accepts print setting instructions from the user through user interaction with the displayed detailed settings screen 55 (A16). When the user clicks the OK button on the detailed settings screen 55, the auxiliary program 42 determines the various settings currently displayed as print settings. The auxiliary program 42 then terminates the display of the detailed settings screen 55 and passes information indicating that the print settings have been completed to the general-purpose print program 41. Subsequently, the general-purpose print program 41 displays the general-purpose print screen 50 shown in Figure 3 again, and becomes capable of accepting print execution instructions from the user.
[0041] As another example of a procedure for starting the auxiliary program 42, there is a display instruction to display device information as setting information of the OS 21. When the OS 21 receives an instruction to display setting information related to "printers and scanners", for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the OS 21 causes a device information screen 60 showing a list of available printer queues from the PC 1 to be displayed. The device information screen 60 is an example of a list screen. In FIG. 5, a printer queue corresponding to the printer 2, a printer queue corresponding to the printer 3 (referred to as "Printer B" in the figure), and a printer queue corresponding to the printer 4 (referred to as "Printer C" in the figure) are displayed.
[0042] A user can issue an instruction to display information of a printer corresponding to the selected printer queue by selecting one of the printer queues displayed on the device information screen 60. On the device information screen 60, one of the printer queues can be selectively selected. The device information screen 60 shown in FIG. 5 shows a state in which the printer queue corresponding to the printer 2 is selected. The printer queue selected on the device information screen 60 is an example of a specific printer queue.
[0043] The device information screen 60 shown in FIG. 5 includes an "open printer application" button 62 and a "manage" button 63 as buttons capable of accepting instructions related to the selected printer 2. The "open printer application" button 62 is a button that accepts an instruction to start the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2. The "manage" button 63 is a button that accepts an instruction to manage settings of the printer 2.
[0044] When an operation on the "open printer application" button 62 or the "manage" button 63 is received, the OS 21 starts the auxiliary program 42 associated with the printer 2. In this case, the OS 21 passes a start instruction including specific information identifying the printer 2 to the auxiliary program 42. That is, the instruction to start the auxiliary program 42 based on an operation on the "open printer application" button 62 or the "manage" button 63 is an example of an OS screen start instruction.
[0045] When the auxiliary program 42 receives an activation instruction including information about the printer 2, which is not an instruction for print settings, it causes the information screen 65 including information about the printer 2 to be displayed on the user IF 13, for example, as shown in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7. The information screen 65 is an example of the first screen. The processing of the auxiliary program 42 that displays the information screen 65 is an example of screen display processing.
[0046] When the auxiliary program 42 is activated from the OS 21 in response to an operation on the "Open printer app" button 62 on the device information screen 60 shown in Fig. 5, it displays the information screen 65 including model information 66 indicating the model name of the printer 2, status information 67 indicating the status of the printer 2, and consumable information 68 indicating the remaining amount of consumables of the printer 2, for example, as shown in Fig. 6.
[0047] When the auxiliary program 42 is activated from the OS 21 in response to an operation on the "Manage" button 63 on the device information screen 60 shown in Fig. 5, it displays the information screen 65 including the model information 66 and setting information 69 indicating default print settings of the printer 2, for example, as shown in Fig. 7.
[0048] Both the operation on the "Open printer app" button 62 and the operation on the "Manage" button 63 are activation instructions including information about the printer 2. The operation on the "Open printer app" button 62 is an example of a first operation, and the operation on the "Manage" button 63 is an example of a second operation. Further, information indicating that an operation on the "Open printer app" button 62 has been received is an example of first information, and information indicating that an operation on the "Manage" button 63 has been received is an example of second information. In addition, the status information 67 included in the information screen 65 of Fig. 6 is an example of first printer information, and the setting information 69 included in the information screen 65 of Fig. 7 is an example of second printer information. Note that the above first and second may be reversed.
[0049] For example, if the information screen 65 displays the status information 67 and consumable information 68 of printer 2, the user can check the status of printer 2 via the information screen 65. Also, if the information screen 65 displays the settings information 69, the user can check the default print settings of printer 2 via the information screen 65. Note that the information screen 65 does not include information on printers other than printer 2. Since the information screen 65 does not include information on printers other than the selected printer 2, the risk of the user misunderstanding the status of printer 2 due to information from other printers is avoided.
[0050] If the program is launched with a specific printer queue selected on the print screen displayed by the editing application 43 or the general-purpose printing program 41, or on the device information screen 60 displayed by the OS 21, the auxiliary program 42 displays a detailed settings screen 55 or an information screen 65 containing information about the printer corresponding to the selected printer queue. This display is highly valuable to the user because, for example, it provides information about the functions available for the selected printer queue.
[0051] On the other hand, the auxiliary program 42 may also be started by the OS 21 using a startup instruction that does not include information about the selected printer. For example, the OS 21 can start the auxiliary program 42 using a procedure different from the printing procedure. Next, an example of a procedure in which the auxiliary program 42 is started using a startup instruction that does not include information about the printer will be explained with reference to the sequence diagram in Figure 8.
[0052] In the procedure shown in Figure 8, the user selects the auxiliary program 42 as the program to be executed (B01). The OS 21 can display a store screen 70 on the user interface 13 that can accept instructions for installing various application programs, as well as instructions for updating and executing installed application programs, as shown in Figure 9. The OS 21 can also display an application list screen 75 on the user interface 13 that shows a list of installed application programs, as shown in Figure 10.
[0053] The user can select the auxiliary program 42 from the displayed store screen 70 or app list screen 75. The store screen 70 and app list screen 75 are examples of app selection screens. In Figures 9 and 10, the auxiliary program 42 is referred to by its abbreviation, "PSA". Note that not all application programs installed on PC1 are necessarily displayed on the store screen 70 or app list screen 75.
[0054] The user can then instruct the OS 21 to execute the selected auxiliary program 42 (B02). The OS 21, upon receiving the user's instruction, passes a startup command to the auxiliary program 42 (B03). In this case, the startup command does not include information that identifies the printer.
[0055] If the auxiliary program 42 is already installed on PC1 via the store screen 70, the store screen 70 includes an "Open" button 71 that accepts the selection of the auxiliary program 42 and the instruction to execute it. When the store screen 70 accepts an operation on the "Open" button 71, the OS 21 starts the specified program, the auxiliary program 42. In this case, since no printer is specified, the OS 21 starts the auxiliary program 42 with a startup instruction that does not include printer information. The operation on the "Open" button 71 on the store screen 70 is an example of an application selection startup instruction.
[0056] Furthermore, if the auxiliary program 42 is already installed on PC1, the application list screen 75 will include an icon 76 representing the auxiliary program 42. The application list screen 75 may also include a larger icon 77 representing the auxiliary program 42. When the application list screen 75 receives an operation on icon 76 or the larger icon 77, the OS 21 starts the specified program, the auxiliary program 42. In this case as well, since no printer is specified, the OS 21 starts the auxiliary program 42 with a startup command that does not include printer information. The operation on icon 76 or the larger icon 77 on the application list screen 75 is an example of an application selection startup command.
[0057] When the auxiliary program 42 is started by a startup instruction that does not include printer information, it displays a selection screen (B04) that includes information on at least one printer among the printers connected to PC1 that the auxiliary program 42 can handle, and allows the user to select one of the displayed printers. The process of displaying the selection screen in B04 is an example of screen display processing.
[0058] The auxiliary program 42 displays a selection screen 80 containing information about printer 2 (referred to as "printer A" in the figure), which is the printer associated with the auxiliary program 42, as shown in Figure 11, and allows the user to select one of the printers displayed on the selection screen 80. For example, based on the associated and stored device information, the auxiliary program 42 displays information about the printer associated with the auxiliary program 42 as a "registered device" and makes it available for selection. The selection screen 80 is an example of a predetermined screen and is an example of a second screen.
[0059] The selection screen 80 shown in Figure 11 is an example where only printer 2 is associated with the auxiliary program 42, and includes an option 81 that accepts the selection of printer 2. Printer 2 is an example of a Type 1 printer. The selection screen 80 displays information about printer 2, such as printer 2 model information and consumable information.
[0060] Then, when the auxiliary program 42 receives an operation to select option 81 on the displayed selection screen 80 (alt: [Select Printer] in Figure 8, B11), it displays an information screen containing information about printer 2, for example, the information screen 65 shown in Figure 6 (B12). In this case, the information screen 65 is an example of a third screen. If there are multiple printers associated with the auxiliary program 42, the selection screen 80 will display information for all printers associated with the auxiliary program 42, each of which can be selected.
[0061] If a printer is associated with the auxiliary program 42, the user is likely to be using that printer. The auxiliary program 42 displays a selection screen 80 that allows the user to select printer 2, which is the printer associated with the auxiliary program 42, so the user can select printer 2 on the selection screen 80. Furthermore, when printer 2 is selected by the user, the auxiliary program 42 displays an information screen 65 that contains information about the selected printer, making the selection screen 80 highly useful for users of the auxiliary program 42. Note that the screen displayed when printer 2 is selected on the selection screen 80 does not need to be the same as the information screen 65, as long as it contains information about printer 2.
[0062] When the auxiliary program 42 is launched by selecting it from the store screen 70 or the app list screen 75, the launch command does not include printer information. When the auxiliary program 42 is launched by a launch command that does not include printer information, it displays a selection screen 80 that includes information about the device associated with the auxiliary program 42, so that the user can see a list of available printers. Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 can accept printer selection on the displayed selection screen 80, making the selection screen 80 highly useful.
[0063] On the other hand, printers 3 and 4 shown in Figure 1 are printers that can be handled by auxiliary program 42, but they are not associated with auxiliary program 42. Printers 3 and 4 are examples of Type 2 printers. When auxiliary program 42 is started by a startup instruction that does not include printer information, it searches for printers and, if there are printers that it can handle but are not associated with, it displays a selection screen 80 that includes information about those printers.
[0064] For example, the selection screen 80 shown in Figure 11 displays printer 3 (labeled "Printer B" in the figure) and printer 4 (labeled "Printer C" in the figure), which are printers that can be handled by the auxiliary program 42 but are not associated with the auxiliary program 42, as selectable options. However, since these printers are not associated with the auxiliary program 42, they cannot be used for printing via the auxiliary program 42 as they are. The auxiliary program 42 distinguishes between associated printers and printers and displays information about printers that are not associated.
[0065] If there are compatible printers that are not yet associated with the auxiliary program 42, the auxiliary program 42 displays a selection screen that allows the user to request the association of those printers. For example, the selection screen 80 shown in Figure 11 is provided with registration buttons 82 and 83. Registration button 82 is a button that accepts a registration request to associate printer 3 with the auxiliary program 42, and registration button 83 is a button that accepts a registration request to associate printer 4 with the auxiliary program 42. The auxiliary program 42 can be associated with multiple printers simultaneously.
[0066] When the system receives an operation to the registration button 82 or 83 on the selection screen 80 (alt: [Registration Instruction] in Figure 8), the auxiliary program 42 performs association processing (B16). B16 is an example of association processing. For example, when the system receives an operation to the registration button 82, the auxiliary program 42 requests the OS 21 to create a printer queue corresponding to printer 3 and passes information indicating the association between the created printer queue and itself to the OS 21. Also, for example, when the system receives an operation to the registration button 83, the auxiliary program 42 requests the OS 21 to create a printer queue corresponding to printer 4 and passes information indicating the association between the created printer queue and itself to the OS 21. Once registration with the OS 21 is complete, printers 3 and 4 become selectable as registered devices.
[0067] Even if a printer is not associated with auxiliary program 42, if it is a printer that can be supported by auxiliary program 42, auxiliary program 42 may be able to obtain information about that printer. Auxiliary program 42 can display a selection screen 80 that includes information about compatible but unassociated printers and accept registration instructions, making the selection screen 80 highly useful.
[0068] The auxiliary program 42 can also be launched, for example, by an execution command from the command prompt or from Explorer. Since the auxiliary program 42 is stored in a predetermined memory area of memory 12, the user can execute the auxiliary program 42 (shown as "psa" in the figures) by specifying the path to that memory area and entering a command prompt, as shown in Figures 12 and 13. In this case as well, the OS 21 outputs a launch command to the auxiliary program 42.
[0069] Note that execution instructions via the command prompt may or may not include arguments. Figure 12 shows an example of a command prompt without arguments. If the command prompt entered by the user does not include arguments, or if the included arguments are not information that identifies a printer, the OS 21 starts the auxiliary program 42 with a startup instruction that does not include information that identifies the printer. Figure 13 shows an example of a command prompt that includes information that identifies printer 2 as an argument. If the command prompt entered by the user includes information that identifies a printer as an argument, the OS 21 starts the auxiliary program 42 with a startup instruction that includes information that identifies the printer.
[0070] Even when launched by a command prompt, the auxiliary program 42 displays different screens depending on whether the launch instruction includes information that identifies the printer. Specifically, when launched based on the command prompt shown in Figure 12, the auxiliary program 42 displays the printer selection screen 80 as shown in Figure 11. On the other hand, when launched based on the command prompt shown in Figure 13, the auxiliary program 42 displays an information screen 65 containing information about the printer 2 as shown in Figure 6.
[0071] As explained in detail above, when the program is started by a startup instruction that includes information identifying the printer, the auxiliary program 42 displays a screen containing information about the printer identified by that instruction, for example, an information screen 65 as shown in Figure 6. On the other hand, when the program is started by a startup instruction that does not include information identifying the printer, the auxiliary program 42 displays a screen that includes information about at least one printer and allows the user to select a printer, for example, a printer selection screen 80 as shown in Figure 11. Therefore, whether the printer is identified or not, a screen containing information of high value to the user who issued the startup instruction is displayed.
[0072] 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 connected to PC1 is just one example.
[0073] Furthermore, the screen examples shown in each figure are merely examples and are not limited to those illustrated. For example, the text, objects, icon shapes, arrangements, backgrounds, etc., displayed in the illustrated screens can be anything.
[0074] Furthermore, OS21 may pass a startup instruction containing the same information to the auxiliary program 42 when the "Open Printer App" button 62 is operated and when the "Manage" button 63 is operated on the device information screen 60 shown in Figure 5. In this case, the auxiliary program 42 may display the information screen 65 shown in Figure 6, or the information screen 65 shown in Figure 7, or an information screen containing both types of information. Also, even if the startup instructions passed when the "Open Printer App" button 62 is operated and when the "Manage" button 63 is operated contain different information, the auxiliary program 42 may display the same information screen in both cases.
[0075] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the auxiliary program 42 displays information about printers that are not associated with the auxiliary program 42 on the selection screen 80 shown in Figure 11, but this display is not required. Also, the auxiliary program 42 may not be able to accept instructions to associate a printer.
[0076] Furthermore, if the auxiliary program 42 is started by a startup instruction that does not include printer information, and there is no printer associated with the auxiliary program 42, it may perform a search for a compatible printer. If a compatible printer is not found even after the search, the auxiliary program 42 may display instructions on how to connect the printer to the network.
[0077] Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 may have roles other than printing. Also, the program that executes the processing in this form 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 (registered trademark) may also be used.
[0078] Furthermore, in any sequence diagram 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.
[0079] 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.
[0080] 1 PC 2, 3, 4 Printer 11 CPU 13 User Interface
Claims
1. A support program that is executable by the computer of an information processing device and supports a general-purpose printing program of the operating system of the information processing device, wherein the computer, when started by the operating system in response to a startup instruction for the support program, executes a screen display process to display a predetermined screen on the user interface of the information processing device, wherein the screen display process, if the startup instruction includes specific information for identifying a printer, displays a first screen containing information about the printer identified by the specific information as the predetermined screen to be displayed on the user interface, and if the startup instruction does not include the specific information, displays a second screen containing information about at least one printer, which allows the user to select one of the at least one printers on which the information is displayed, as the predetermined screen to be displayed on the user interface.
2. A support program as described in claim 1, wherein, as a startup instruction, when an OS screen startup instruction is given to start the support program associated with a printer corresponding to a specific printer queue, with a specific printer queue selected via a list screen displayed by the operating system showing a list of printer queues, the OS screen startup instruction, which is the startup instruction, includes the identification information for identifying the printer corresponding to the specific printer queue, and the support program is configured to cause the computer to execute the screen display process, which causes the computer to display the first screen containing information about the printer corresponding to the specific printer queue identified by the identification information, when it is started by the operating system due to the OS screen startup instruction.
3. A support program as described in claim 2, wherein the operating system is capable of receiving a first operation and a second operation different from the first operation as an OS screen startup instruction when the specific printer queue is selected, and whether the OS screen startup instruction is based on the first operation or the second operation, the OS screen startup instruction includes the identification information for identifying the printer corresponding to the specific printer queue, and the support program is configured to cause the computer to execute the screen display process, which causes the computer to display the first screen including information of the printer corresponding to the specific printer queue identified by the identification information, whether the computer is started by the operating system due to an OS screen startup instruction based on the first operation or by an OS screen startup instruction based on the second operation.
4. A support program as described in claim 2, wherein the operating system is capable of receiving a first operation and a second operation different from the first operation as an OS screen startup instruction when the specific printer queue is selected, and if the OS screen startup instruction is based on the first operation, the OS screen startup instruction includes first information and specific information for identifying the printer corresponding to the specific printer queue, and if the OS screen startup instruction is based on the second operation, the OS screen startup instruction includes second information different from the first information and specific information for identifying the printer corresponding to the specific printer queue, and the computer is started by the operating system due to an OS screen startup instruction based on the first operation, and executes the screen display process to display the first screen which includes first printer information corresponding to the first information as information about the printer corresponding to the specific printer queue identified by the specific information, and if the computer is started by the operating system due to an OS screen startup instruction based on the second operation, A support program configured to perform the screen display process, which displays the first screen including second printer information corresponding to the second information as information about the printer corresponding to the specific printer queue identified by the specific information.
5. A support program as described in claim 1, wherein, as a startup instruction, there is an application screen startup instruction to start the support program associated with a printer corresponding to a specific printer queue, with a specific printer queue selected via the print screen which is a screen that can accept a print instruction, the application screen startup instruction which is a startup instruction includes the identification information for identifying the printer corresponding to the specific printer queue, and the support program is configured to cause the computer to execute the screen display process, which causes the computer to display the first screen containing information of the printer corresponding to the specific printer queue identified by the identification information, when the computer is started by the operating system as a result of the application screen startup instruction.
6. A support program as described in claim 1, wherein, as a startup instruction, an application selection screen displayed by the operating system is issued, which causes the user to select one application program from among a plurality of application programs incorporated in the information processing device, and an application selection startup instruction is issued to start the support program with the support program selected, the application selection startup instruction, which is the startup instruction, does not contain the specific information, and the support program is configured to cause the computer to display the second screen and execute the screen display process when it is started by the operating system as a result of the application selection startup instruction.
7. A support program according to claim 6, wherein the operating system includes an icon corresponding to the application program to be displayed on the application selection screen, the application program corresponding to the operated icon is selected when the icon is operated, and the support program is launched by the operating system when the computer is launched due to an application selection launch instruction resulting from the operation of the icon corresponding to the support program, and the support program is configured to display the second screen and execute the screen display process.
8. A support program according to claim 1, wherein the screen display process is configured such that, if the startup instruction does not include the specific information, the second screen is displayed as the predetermined screen, and if one of the at least one printers is selected on the second screen, a third screen containing information about the selected printer is displayed.
9. A support program according to claim 1, wherein the screen display process is configured such that, if the startup instruction includes the specific information, the first screen is displayed as the predetermined screen, and the first screen includes status information indicating the status of the printer identified by the specific information.
10. A support program according to claim 1, wherein the screen display process is configured such that, if the startup instruction includes the specific information, the first screen is displayed as the predetermined screen, and the first screen does not include information about any printer other than the printer specified by the specific information.
11. A support program according to claim 1, wherein in the screen display process, if the startup instruction does not include the specific information, the second screen is displayed as the predetermined screen, and if the second screen includes a first type printer which is a printer associated with the support program, the first type printer is included as the printer selected on the second screen.
12. A support program according to claim 11, wherein in the screen display process, if the startup instruction does not include the specific information, the second screen is displayed as the predetermined screen, and if there is a first type printer which is a printer associated with the support program, the first type printer is included as the printer selected on the second screen, and if there is a second type printer which is a printer that the support program can handle but is not associated with the support program, the second type printer is also included as the printer selected on the second screen, and the second type printer is displayed on the second screen separately from the first type printer.
13. A support program according to claim 12, wherein the support program is configured to cause the computer to perform an association process to associate the selected Type 2 printer with the support program when the Type 2 printer is selected on the second screen.