JP2007058685A - Printing control apparatus, its control method, printing processing system, and control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing control apparatus capable of accessing help information also in an environment without a printer driver. <P>SOLUTION: In the printing control apparatus and method capable of acquiring printing functions to be applied to a document as printing setting information, the apparatus is constituted of a configuration part for generating the setting information of the printing functions and a help information part for managing and storing help information describing printing functions; where a link to the help information describing the printing functions stored in the help information part is embedded into the printing setting information generated by the configuration part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a print control apparatus capable of acquiring a print function as print setting information, a control method therefor, a print processing system including the print control apparatus, and a control program for executing the control method.

  In order for an application program operating on the information processing apparatus to print a document created by a user, first, the print data of the document is transferred to a print-related processing program such as a printer driver through the operating system, and the printer driver then prints the print data. Is converted into command data dedicated to the printer device such as PDL and image data, and the command data is transmitted to the printer device. Data that the application program delivers to the printer driver is roughly divided into two types: print setting information that describes the appearance and input / output settings according to the printer device, and drawing data for reproducing an actual document.

  In order to use the various functions of the printer device, the printer driver must expand the print settings. The application program stores the print setting information in one area, but the contents are divided into two areas: the basic area provided by the operating system and the expansion area that the printer driver can freely expand. To do this, the printer driver packs its own settings in the extended area. Since the application program cannot directly know the data in the extended area, the user can set various functions of the printer by using the user interface or application programming interface (API) that the printer driver has. Set up.

  Conventionally, a DEVMODE data structure secured in a memory area has been used as a form for storing print setting information. The DEVMODE data structure is a data structure for defining print settings, and is used when printing is performed by Windows (registered trademark) (Microsoft), which is an OS (Operating System). The DEVMODE data structure is a binary data structure, and the printer driver can place data relatively freely in the extended area. However, because it can be expanded freely, it can not understand the contents of the extended area other than the printer driver that knows the specifications of the extended area internally, and it is highly dependent on the printer driver. was there.

On the other hand, recently, a print control method using a job ticket (print ticket) for storing print setting information in an XML format of a markup language in which data is described by a tag has become widespread (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Since this job ticket has a text data structure, the printer driver can acquire all data by reading the tag. Furthermore, since the job ticket is stored in text format, the print function set in the document can be read and reconfigured as long as the application program can understand it. Can be specified by an application program.
JP 2004-5576 A

  As described above, when the DEVMODE structure is used, the readability or resetting of the print function set in the document is limited to the information processing apparatus in which the printer driver exists. On the other hand, since the job ticket stored in the XML format is in the text format, even if the document is taken out to another information processing apparatus that does not have a printer driver, the print function setting information can be displayed by the application. is there.

  However, in the job ticket, the difference between the basic area and the extended area is made by dividing the name space. Even if the tag name is the same name space that the printer driver does not know, the printer driver will send the acquired data to the printer. I cannot understand which of the functions is supported. In other words, even in the case of a job ticket, there are still settings for extended functions depending on the printer device and manufacturer.

  Therefore, in order for the user to proceed with the setting work, it is necessary to refer to the help information describing the extended function. However, in an information processing apparatus that does not have a printer driver equipped with the help function, the help function is accessed. There is a problem that there is no means to do so, and the user cannot obtain the help information.

  In view of the above-described conventional problems, the present invention provides a print control apparatus, a control method thereof, a print processing system, and a control program that enable access to help information from an environment in which a printer driver equipped with a help function does not exist. The purpose is to provide.

  To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a print control apparatus capable of acquiring a print function as print setting information, setting information generating means for generating the print setting information, and print setting information generated by the setting information generating means. And a link embedding unit that embeds information relating to a link for accessing help information, which is an explanation of the printing function.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print processing system comprising: the print control apparatus according to claim 3 or 4; and a processing apparatus connected to the print control apparatus by a communication medium. And a help information section for holding the help information from the help information section based on the print setting information sent from the setting information transmitting means of the print control apparatus.

  The present invention is also a control method of a print control apparatus capable of acquiring a print function as print setting information, a setting information generation step for generating the print setting information, and a print setting generated in the setting information generation step A link embedding step of embedding information related to a link for accessing help information, which is an explanation of the printing function, is executed.

  The present invention also provides a computer-readable control program for executing a control method of a print control apparatus capable of acquiring a print function as print setting information, wherein the setting information generating step generates the print setting information. And a link embedding step of embedding information relating to a link for accessing help information, which is an explanation of the printing function, in the print setting information generated in the setting information generation step.

  Further, the present invention provides a specifying means for specifying information related to a link for accessing help information that is an explanation of a printing function embedded in the print setting information, and a help using information related to the link specified by the specifying means. And an acquisition means for acquiring information.

  In addition, the present invention provides a specifying process for specifying information related to a link for accessing help information that is an explanation of a printing function embedded in the print setting information, and using the information related to the link specified in the specifying process. And an acquisition step of acquiring information.

  The present invention also provides a computer-readable control program for executing a control method of a print control apparatus, and a link for accessing help information that is an explanation of a print function embedded in print setting information. The information processing method includes a specifying step of specifying information on the information and an acquisition step of acquiring help information using information on the link specified in the specifying step.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to access help information even from an environment where there is no print-related processing program such as a printer driver.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a print control apparatus, a control method thereof, a print processing system, and a control program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a print processing system having a print control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In particular, the inside of the information processing apparatus 100 is shown in detail.

  The CPU 101 controls the entire apparatus according to a program stored in the ROM 102, the RAM 103, or the storage device 105. The RAM 103 is used as a work area when the CPU 101 performs various processes. The storage device 105 records an operating system (OS) 1055, application software 1051, and the like.

  Input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse are devices for the user to give various instructions to the computer through the input I / F 104. The output I / F 106 is an interface for outputting data to the outside, and outputs data to a monitor or a printer.

  Reference numeral 107 denotes a common data bus for exchanging data. In addition, the network I / F 108 has a function of exchanging information with the server 110, the other information processing apparatus 120, the printer 130, and the like through a communication medium such as an intranet or the Internet from the information processing apparatus 100.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a module configuration of the print processing system shown in FIG.

  The user executes a printing process for the document 203 created using an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse or an application program (hereinafter simply referred to as an application) 1051 displayed on a monitor.

  When the printing process is executed by the user, the application 1051 understands the user's printing operation, and based on the document print setting 2031 and the drawing data 2012 of the document content, the printer driver 209 corresponding to the printer that executes printing (FIG. 1 is equivalent to the printer driver 1053), and the operating system 1055 is notified of the printing process.

  The operating system 1055 performs drawing on the spool file 206 and drawing on the designated printer driver 209 through the graphics engine 205, and the printer driver converts the data into a data language that can be understood by the printer. Manage the print processing schedule. The print manager 207 transmits print job data to the printer 130 via the I / O module 208 when the printer is ready for printing. As a result, printing is executed.

  The print setting 2031 of the document is created by an initial value created by the configuration module 2091 of the printer driver, and the print setting is changed and set so that the final print result desired by the user is obtained using the application or the user interface of the printer driver. I do.

<Job ticket according to this embodiment>
The print setting format of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment uses a job ticket. The job ticket is text data in XML format in a markup language using tags.

  3 and 4 are schematic diagrams illustrating an example of a job ticket that is a print setting format of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 illustrates an example of an initial job ticket, and FIG. 4 illustrates a setting job. An example of a ticket is shown.

  In the initial setting job ticket of FIG. 3, a list of functions that can be implemented by the printer and options that can be selected by the individual functions are listed. For example, in FIG. 3, the function MediaSize indicates that A4, A5, and “CustomMediaSize” indicating the user-defined size can be selected. The tag “Default” represents an option considered to be appropriate in the initial state where no selection is made. In this example, “A4” is set for the function MediaSize.

  The setting job ticket in FIG. 4 shows the job ticket that holds the settings that are actually applied to the document from the list of options for each function of the initial setting job ticket in FIG. 3, and is selected by the user from the list of descriptions in FIG. Other options have been deleted, leaving only one option. In this example, “A4” is selected for the function MediaSize.

  Tags 51, 52, and 53 in FIGS. 3 and 4 are tags related to help related to the present embodiment. The tags 51, 52, and 53 are expressed by “psf: Help” and have two attributes, a type attribute and a URI attribute. The Type attribute indicates whether the tag is the main help or context help for an individual function. The URI attribute holds link information for accessing the help information.

  The job ticket according to the present embodiment will be further described. Similarly to the DEVMODE structure, the job ticket has a public area and a private area. However, the job ticket described in the XML format does not have areas separated by boundary lines as in DEVMODE. The two are distinguished by a mechanism called a namespace, which is divided into sections in the internal structure of the tag.

  A namespace is specified as a prefix for each tag, and tags without a prefix are treated as not belonging to the namespace. The prefix is described as “psf: Feature” in front of the colon (:) symbol. This job ticket has five name spaces, each of which plays a different role. The psf namespace is a print schema framework that defines a job ticket framework.

  Also, in order to provide a structure that can be realized as a job ticket, basic tags such as “Feature”, “Option”, and “Value” are defined. “Feature” represents a print function, “Option” represents an option of the print function, and “Value” is defined in the form of an element value. The psk namespace defines job ticket keywords in the public area. As a specific keyword, there is “MediaSize” that specifies the size of the paper.

  The psf namespace and the psk namespace are defined in a form that is publicly disclosed in the form of a schema by the operating system, and an application can freely arrange data based on the definition. The xsi namespace and the xs namespace are generally defined as XML schema standards, and the xsi namespace defines built-in attributes and instances of the XML schema. The xs namespace is a default attribute of the XML schema. Each of the ns1 name spaces is a name space uniquely expanded by the printer driver. This name space is used to describe a printer and a manufacturer-dependent function (such as “Haftone”).

<Print settings dialog>
Next, an example in which the application 1051 displays the readable job ticket as described above as a print setting dialog to the user will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a screen diagram showing an example of a print setting dialog according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the job ticket is described in a readable text format, and if the application and the tag structure of the options are read, the application stores all the data in FIG. Can be displayed as shown. The application reads the tag of the text-format job ticket in the document and, as indicated by 32 in the figure, simply presents it in a list of the format “Function Feature”: “Option Option” to the user in the current document. The applied print setting information is shown.

  If necessary, the user clicks the underlined option part (eg, A4 part in the function MediaSize) with the mouse cursor 35 in the normal state and selects one of the choices from the pull-down option. By clicking on more options, you can select an option. For example, in the case of “MediaSize” shown in FIG. 3, selectable options are “A4”, “A5”, and “CustomMediaSize”.

  The selected option is passed to the configuration module 2091 as a setting job ticket as shown in FIG. 3 to resolve inconsistencies with other selected settings and reflected in the display of the print setting dialog. After setting satisfactory print setting information, the user can close the print setting dialog by pressing an OK button 34 and reflect the setting in the document.

  The print setting dialog usually has two buttons, a help display button 31 and a context help button 33, as means for displaying help information that describes the print function.

  The button 31 is a normal help display button. By clicking the button 31 with the mouse cursor 35 and clicking, the WEB browser 1054 can be started up and a help page can be displayed. The browser that displays the help function is not necessarily a WEB browser, and may be another browser such as an HTML help browser or WinHELP.

  The 33 buttons are called context help buttons. When this button 33 is clicked, the normal mouse cursor 35 becomes a mouse cursor 36 for context help. By clicking this mouse cursor according to each function, a text area as shown in 37 is brought to the front. The user can refer to simple help of the displayed and clicked function.

<Operation during print settings>
Next, the application 1051, the configuration module 2091 (or 212), and the help information module 2093 (or 211) when the user performs various operations in the print setting dialog of FIG. 5 using the timing chart of FIG. Will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing an operation at the time of print setting according to the present embodiment. Here, in order to simplify the description, it is assumed that the user selects print setting information in the following scenarios 1 to 4.

Scenario 1: The user opens the print setting dialog of the application. Scenario 2: The user uses the help function to understand the meaning of each function.

  Scenario 3: The user makes various settings in the print setting dialog.

Scenario 4: The user completes the print setting by pressing the OK button 34 in the print setting dialog. Hereinafter, internal operations (A), (B), (C), (D) for each user operation (scenarios 1 to 4). Will be explained.

(A) Scenario 1 (the user opens the print setting dialog of the application)
First, when the user presses the print button of the application 1051, a print setting dialog is opened (T401 in FIG. 6). The application 1051 requests the configuration module 2091 for an initial job ticket that includes a list that can be selected by each function (T402).

  The configuration module 2091 generates a job ticket including all the lists that can be selected by each function, and passes the job ticket to the application 1051 (T403). In this initial job ticket, a default option which is one option selected in the initial state of each function is specified. At that time, link information for accessing help information is embedded in the initial job ticket according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The application 1051 reads each function tag described in the initial job ticket (T404), and uses the default option in the function tag as an option to create an option display 32 for each function as shown in FIG.

(B) Scenario 2 (The user uses the help function to understand the meaning of each function)
The user requests display of help information using the Help button 31 or the context help button 33 of the print setting dialog (T405).

  The application 1051 identifies a URI that is an example of information related to a link for accessing help information that is an explanation of a print function embedded in a job ticket that is an example of print setting information.

  The application 10501 acquires help information using the URI specified by the application 1051.

  Note that the application 1051 determines whether the help information specified by the application 1051 is displayed when the web browser is activated or the help information is displayed on the user interface of the program that issues the print instruction. Specifically, when the help button 31 of the print setting dialog is pressed, for example, the URI 51 of FIG. 3 is specified, and the application 1051 determines to start the web browser. When the context help button 33 is pressed, for example, the URI 52 in FIG. 3 is specified and displayed on the user interface of the application 1051 which is a program for instructing printing using a display function of a tool tip or balloon help. .

  In order to obtain help information, the application 1051 obtains help information from the help information module 2093 using the URI in the help tag described in the job ticket (T406). FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of the operation of the application 1051 at this time. This process will be described later.

  The help information module 2093 returns help information indicated by the URI (T407). In this embodiment, help information is returned to the application 1051 in the HTML format. The application 1051 displays the help information in HTML format received from the help information module 2093 (T408).

(C) Scenario 3 (The user performs various settings in the print setting dialog)
The user selects a favorite option from the options of each function indicated by 32 in the print setting dialog (T409). The application 1051 creates the setting job ticket shown in FIG. 4 including only the options currently set in the print setting dialog, and transfers it to the configuration module 2091 (T410).

  The configuration module 2091 verifies whether there is a contradiction in the combination of each function included in the setting job ticket and the option selected by the function, and changes the state to a state in which there is no contradiction according to the priority order of the function. Thereafter, a consistent set job ticket is returned to the application 1051 (T411). At that time, link information for accessing help information is embedded in the set job ticket according to the flowchart shown in FIG. Details of this processing will be described later.

  In accordance with the setting job ticket received from the configuration module 2091, the application 1051 updates the display 32 of combinations of functions and options in the print setting dialog in FIG. 5 (T412).

  If the user likes the current setting, the process proceeds to scenario 4. If the user does not like the scenario, the above scenarios 2 and 3 are repeated (T413).

(D) Scenario 4 (The user presses the OK button to complete the print setting)
The user presses the OK button 34 in the print setting dialog, and saves the currently set job ticket in the document (T414). The application 1051 stores the current set job ticket together with the document (T415).

  In the above user scenarios 1 to 4, it is assumed that the printer driver 209 is always installed in the information processing apparatus 100. However, the print setting becomes a job ticket, and there is a request that the printer driver 209 wants to check the print setting information by taking out the document in an environment where the information processing apparatus 100 is not installed. In that case, instead of the printer driver 209, the operation shown in FIG. 6 can be executed using the help function module 211 or the configuration module 212 in the printer 130 or the external server 110 shown in FIG.

<Application process of HELP tag>
Next, processing in which the configuration module 2091 embeds a Help tag in a job ticket will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart of processing for applying a HELP tag to a job ticket. This process operates to ensure that the HELP tab is described in the job ticket whenever the configuration module 2091 receives a job ticket from the outside.

  First, information on the port to which the printer is linked is acquired from the IO module 208 (step S601), and it is determined whether the port is a network port (step S602). If the port is a network port, since the printer 130 is accessible from the network, the process advances to step S604. If the port is not a network port, the printer 130 may not be connected to the network, and the process advances to step S603 to provide link information for accessing alternative help means.

  In step S <b> 603, a description of a help tag “type attribute = main” is created with the homepage address of the external server 110. In step S604, since the printer 130 is accessible from the network, a help tag “type attribute = main” is created using the IP of the printer.

  Then, the “Feature” at the head of the job ticket is set to the current “Feature” (step S605), and the current “Feature” is determined to determine whether to repeat all of the “Feature” described in the job ticket. It is confirmed that it exists (step S606). When it exists, it progresses to step S607, and when it does not exist, a process is complete | finished.

  In step S607, as in step S602 described above, it is determined whether or not the network connection is established. If the port is a network port, the printer 130 is accessible from the network, and thus the process proceeds to step S609. If the port is not a network port, the printer 130 may not be connected to the network, and the process advances to step S608 to provide link information for accessing alternative help means.

  In step S608, an external WEB server is used as a server holding the help information module, and information such as the address is described in the help tag URI of “type attribute = context”. In step S609, since the printer 130 is accessible from the network, information about the help is described in the help tag URI in “type attribute = context” using the IP of the printer.

  In the next step S610, the next “Feature” is set as the current “Feature”.

<Help processing in the print settings dialog>
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing help processing in the print setting dialog of the application 1051. This process is a part of a user interface (UI) handler, and a thread is activated and repeated at a certain timing.

  First, it is determined whether or not the Help button 31 has been pressed (step S701). If it has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S702, and if not, the process proceeds to step S706.

  In step S702, a HELP description of “type attribute = Main” is searched from the job ticket to obtain a URI. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the URI of the Help tag has information for specifying help information such as Main help / Context help and corresponding function.

  Subsequently, it is confirmed whether the printer driver 209 exists in the information processing apparatus 100 (step S703). If it exists, the process proceeds to step S704, and if it does not exist, the process proceeds to step S705.

  In step S704, the WEB browser 1054 is activated, the URI acquired in step S702 is transferred to the help information module 2093 in the printer driver 209, and displayed as the main help menu using the returned HTML information. In step S705, the WEB browser 1054 is started, the URI acquired in step S702 is communicated with the external information server 110 and the help information module 211 in the printer 130, the URI is passed, and the returned HTML information is main. Display as a help menu.

  On the other hand, in step S706, it is determined whether the context help button 33 has been pressed. If it has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S707. If not, the process ends. In step S707, the cursor is changed to the context mouse cursor 36 and a mouse click is awaited. Then, it is determined whether or not the setting item has been clicked (step S708). If it has been clicked, the process proceeds to step S709, and if it has been clicked elsewhere, the process proceeds to step S713.

  In step S 709, “Feature” of the clicked function is searched from the job ticket, and the description of the HELP tag of “type attribute = context” in the “Feature” tag is searched to obtain the URI. Subsequently, it is confirmed whether the printer driver 209 exists in the information processing apparatus 100 (step S710). If it exists, the process proceeds to step S711, and if it does not exist, the process proceeds to step S712.

  In step S711, the URI is transferred to the help information module 2093 in the printer driver 209, and displayed using the returned HTML information until the mouse cursor is defocused in a balloon format as shown in 37 of FIG. In step S712, the URI is used to communicate with the information processing apparatus 100 external server 110 and the help information module 211 in the printer 130, pass the URI, and use the returned HTML information to create a balloon as indicated by 37 in FIG. Displays until the mouse cursor is out of focus.

  In step S713, the mouse cursor is returned to the normal standard cursor.

<Advantages of the embodiment>
According to the present embodiment, the print setting information stored in the job ticket includes the link information (URL and URI) for accessing the help information for explaining the print function, and the job ticket can be set. In order to display the help information on a simple application (print setting dialog), a help display button 31 and a context help button 33 are arranged.

  When the Help button 31 is pressed (step S701 in FIG. 8), a HELP description of “type attribute = Main” is searched from the job ticket to obtain a URI (step S702 in FIG. 8). Thereafter, if the information processing apparatus 100 does not have a printer driver, the WEB browser 1054 is activated, and the help information module 211 in the information processing apparatus external server 110 or printer 130 is specified by specifying the URI acquired in step S702. The obtained HTML information is displayed as a main help menu (step S705).

  On the other hand, when the context help button 33 is pressed and a setting item is clicked (steps S706 and S708), the job ticket is searched for a HELP description of “type attribute = context” to obtain a URI ( Step S709). After that, if the information processing apparatus 100 does not have a printer driver, the WEB browser 1054 is activated, and the acquired URI is designated to communicate with the information processing apparatus external server 110 and the help information module 211 in the printer 130. Then, the obtained HTML information is displayed in a balloon format (step S712).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the help function that has been provided depending on the printer driver can be provided by a job ticket, and the help information can be accessed even in an environment where the printer driver does not exist. Can do. Further, by providing the help function unit (help information module 211) in the printer 130 or server 110 outside the information processing apparatus 100, the application can display the latest help information by updating the printer firmware. Become.

  In the example of FIG. 5, only the description of the function using characters is shown. However, since HTML is used, it is possible to perform description including figures and tables using a bitmap or the like. Also, by sending the setting job ticket together with the URI to the help information module 2093 or 211, it is also possible to receive a function setting preview indicating how to apply functions such as stapling and paper size applied to the document as help.

  An object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium recording a program code of software for realizing the functions of the embodiment to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus is stored in the storage medium. It is also achieved by reading and executing the program code.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention.

  Examples of the storage medium for supplying the program code include a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a CD-RW, a DVD-ROM, a DVD-RAM, and a DVD. -RW, DVD + RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, etc. can be used. Alternatively, the program code may be downloaded via a network.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. A case where part or all of the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing is also included.

  Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. This includes a case where the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  In this case, the program is supplied by downloading directly from a storage medium storing the program or from another computer or database (not shown) connected to the Internet, a commercial network, a local area network, or the like.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a print processing system having a print control apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a module configuration of the print processing system illustrated in FIG. 1. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a job ticket that is a print setting format of the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a job ticket that is a print setting format of the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a screen diagram illustrating an example of a print setting dialog according to an embodiment. FIG. 6 is a timing chart illustrating an operation at the time of print setting according to the embodiment. It is a flowchart of the application process of a HELP tag to a job ticket. It is a flowchart which shows the help process in a print setting dialog.

Explanation of symbols

100 Information processing apparatus 101 CPU
102 ROM
103 RAM
110 External server 130 Printer 211, 2093 Help information module 212, 2091 Configuration module 1051 Application 1054 WEB browser 1055 OS

Claims (12)

In the print control device that can acquire the print function as print setting information,
Setting information generating means for generating the print setting information;
A print control apparatus comprising: a link embedding unit that embeds information related to a link for accessing help information that is an explanation of the print function in the print setting information generated by the setting information generation unit. The link embedding means is:
The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein information related to the link is described for each print function in the print setting information. Setting information transmission means for sending the print setting information to the link;
The print control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a display unit that displays information received from the link based on a transmission process of the setting information transmission unit.   The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print setting information is a job ticket having an XML tag structure that is readable by an external application software. A print processing system comprising the print control device according to claim 3 and a processing device connected to the print control device by a communication medium,
A help information unit for holding the help information in the processing device;
The print processing system, wherein the help information is acquired from the help information section based on the print setting information sent from the setting information transmitting means of the print control apparatus. A control method of a print control apparatus capable of acquiring a print function as print setting information,
A setting information generating step for generating the print setting information;
A print embedding step for embedding information relating to a link for accessing help information, which is an explanation of the print function, in the print setting information generated in the setting information generation step. Method. A computer-readable control program for executing a control method of a print control apparatus capable of acquiring a print function as print setting information,
A setting information generating step for generating the print setting information;
A control program comprising: a link embedding step for embedding information relating to a link for accessing help information, which is an explanation of the print function, in the print setting information generated in the setting information generation step. A specifying means for specifying information relating to a link for accessing help information that is an explanation of a print function embedded in the print setting information;
Obtaining means for obtaining help information using information relating to the link identified by the identifying means;
A printing control apparatus comprising:   A determination unit configured to determine whether the help information specified by the specifying unit is displayed by starting a web browser or whether the help information specified by the specifying unit is displayed in a user interface included in a program that issues a print instruction; The print control apparatus according to claim 8. A specific step of identifying information related to a link for accessing help information that is an explanation of a print function embedded in the print setting information;
An acquisition step of acquiring help information using information on the link specified in the specific step;
A control method for a printing control apparatus, comprising:   A determining step for determining whether the help information specified in the specifying step is displayed by starting a web browser or whether the help information specified in the specifying step is displayed in a user interface included in a program that issues a print instruction; The method of controlling a print control apparatus according to claim 10. A computer-readable control program for executing a control method of a printing control apparatus,
A specific step for identifying information relating to a link for accessing help information that is an explanation of a print function embedded in the print setting information;
An obtaining step for obtaining help information using information relating to the link identified in the identifying step;
A control program comprising:

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