Shared Printing Condition Management Across Applications
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face a burden when trying to set and maintain the same printing conditions across different application programs, as existing techniques do not effectively share printing conditions between applications, requiring users to manually set conditions for each application.
Innovation Solution
A computer-readable medium with instructions that manage the display and storage of shared printing conditions, allowing a first application to set and store shared printing conditions, and then apply these conditions to other applications, reducing user burden by correlating identification information with shared settings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If printing conditions are set separately for each application program, then each application can have customized printing conditions, but users face a burden of manually setting the same printing conditions repeatedly across different applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments printing conditions into two types: application-specific conditions and shared conditions. By separating these functions, the system allows users to set conditions once at the shared level while still permitting application-specific overrides when needed, thus reducing repetitive manual setup while maintaining customization capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal shared printing condition setting that can be applied across multiple application programs. This multi-functional approach allows a single set of printing conditions to serve multiple applications simultaneously, eliminating the need to manually configure the same settings in each application while still allowing application-specific modifications when required.
2Ease of operation
If printing conditions are shared across different application programs, then user operation burden is reduced, but the system complexity increases due to need for managing shared settings and application correlations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary management layer that handles the correlation between application programs and shared printing conditions. This intermediary component automatically manages the complexity of matching applications with appropriate shared settings, shielding users from the underlying system complexity while enabling shared condition functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a copying mechanism where shared printing conditions are automatically copied and applied to multiple application programs. This copying approach simplifies the user experience by eliminating manual re-entry of settings while the system efficiently manages the replication and application of conditions across different programs.
3Extent of automation
If shared printing conditions are stored with application identification information, then conditions can be automatically applied to the correct applications, but storage and retrieval processes become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-storing the correlation between application identification information and printing conditions in a structured format. This advance preparation enables the system to automatically retrieve and apply the correct shared conditions when an application is launched, eliminating the need for complex real-time decision-making while maintaining automated application accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
A medium stores computer-executable instructions. In a case that a display instruction of a print setting screen is outputted by a first application program executed by an information processing apparatus, the instructions cause the information processing apparatus to perform: a display process for displaying the print setting screen on a display section; and a storage judgment process for judging whether a shared printing condition shared by different application programs is stored in a predetermined storage section. In a case that it is judged that the shared printing condition is not stored in the predetermined storage section, the instructions cause the information processing apparatus to perform: a shared printing condition accepting process for accepting setting of a new shared printing condition; and a storage process for storing the new shared printing condition and identification information of the first application program in the predetermined storage section being correlated with each other.