JP2012083872A - Application program installation device and application program installation method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that, when a result of analyzing a license file specified by a user shows that the license file is not applicable to a combination of a desired application and node, the user needs to re-select other license file.SOLUTION: A user selects an application and a node previously registered in a device. The device extracts a license file applicable to each combination of the application and node selected by the user from among license files managed in the device. When plural licenses are extracted, an applicable license is determined according to a license file priority assigned by the user. After the license file applicable to each combination of the application and node is determined, the application is installed to the node.

Description

  The present invention relates to an application program installation technical field for installing an application from a remote location to a node connected to a network.

  Conventionally, a method for installing an application from a remote location to a node connected to a network has been proposed.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a user pre-registers an application program in an application program installation device and searches for a node in advance. When installing an application program, the user specifies a license file.

  The application program installation device analyzes the contents of the license file designated by the user, and acquires the identifier of the application program permitted to install and the identifier of the node.

  Then, the application program installation apparatus executes application program installation using pre-registered application programs and node information.

  The contents described in the license file are usually encrypted in order to prevent tampering by a third party.

JP 2009-205262 A

  However, in the conventional application program installation apparatus, the application program and the node cannot be specified unless the license file designated by the user is analyzed. As a result of analyzing the license file, if it is determined that the license file is not for the desired application program and node, the user has to reselect another license file.

  For this reason, when a plurality of application programs are installed on a plurality of nodes using a plurality of license files, the load on the user is very large.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides an application program installation apparatus that can reduce a user's load when installing a plurality of application programs on a plurality of nodes. With the goal.

  In an application program installation apparatus that installs an application that can be used by granting a license in an MFP, application management means for managing an application to be installed in the MFP, and an MFP for managing the MFP A management means, a license management means for managing a license for granting a license to the application, an application selection means for selecting the application, a multifunction machine selection means for selecting the multifunction machine, An application label for extracting an applicable license file from the license management unit for each combination of the application selected by the application selection unit and the multifunction device selected by the multifunction device selection unit. When a plurality of licenses are extracted by the sense extraction unit and the applied license extraction unit, the license file priority determination unit that determines the priority of the license file and the license file priority determination unit determine License file display means for rearranging and displaying license files according to priority, license file selection means for selecting any one of a plurality of license files displayed by the license file display means, Application installation means for installing the application selected by the application selection means in the multifunction peripheral selected by the multifunction peripheral selection means using the license file selected by the license file selection means. With features That application program installed equipment.

  According to the present invention, the application program installation apparatus can automatically select a license file when a user designates an application program and a node. Further, even when there are a plurality of target license files, priorities can be given to the user.

  For this reason, there is an effect that the user can surely and easily select an optimum license file when installing a desired application program on a desired node.

System configuration diagram of the first embodiment Internal configuration diagram of application program installation device Multi-function machine internal configuration diagram Software configuration diagram of application program installation device Configuration diagram of application file License file structure Hierarchical software module hierarchy diagram Flowchart of application program installation apparatus of first embodiment Application list example Example of MFP list Example license file list Application selection screen example Example of MFP selection screen Example of license priority selection screen Example license file selection screen Flowchart of application installation processing of the first embodiment

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  In this embodiment, an operation when the application program installation apparatus distributes one or more application programs to one or more nodes will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a system in which an application program installation apparatus operates.

  In this figure, reference numeral 101 denotes an application program installation apparatus according to this embodiment.

  Reference numerals 102 to 104 denote devices typified by multifunction peripherals.

  All these devices are connected to the network by the LAN 100.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the internal configuration of the application program installation apparatus.

  The application program installation apparatus 101 of the present embodiment is realized on a PC having the same configuration as a PC capable of realizing the application program installation apparatus as shown in the figure. A hard disk (HDD) 211 stores a program of information processing software according to the present embodiment, which is an operation subject in all the descriptions below. In all the descriptions below, unless otherwise specified, the execution subject is the CPU 201 in hardware. On the other hand, the subject of software control is information processing software stored in a hard disk (HDD) 211.

  A ROM 202 stores a BIOS and a boot program. A RAM 203 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 201. A keyboard controller (KBC) 205 controls input of instructions from a keyboard (KB) 209 or a pointing device (not shown). A display controller (DSPC) 206 controls display on the display (DSP) 210. A disk controller (DKC) 207 controls access to storage devices such as a CD-ROM (not shown), a hard disk (HDD) 211, and a floppy (registered trademark) disk controller (FDD) 212. A hard disk (HDD) 211, a floppy disk controller (FDD) 212, and the like store a boot program, an operating system, a database, an information processing application, and data thereof. An interface controller (IFC) 208 transmits and receives information to and from other network devices via a LAN (Local Area Network).

  These components are arranged on the system bus 204.

  In this embodiment, the OS is assumed to be, for example, Windows (registered trademark) (manufactured by Microsoft), but is not limited thereto.

  Note that the information processing program according to the present embodiment may be supplied in a form stored in a storage medium such as a floppy disk or a CD-ROM. In that case, the program is read from the storage medium by the floppy disk controller (FDD) 212 shown in FIG. 2 or a CD-ROM drive (not shown) and installed in the hard disk (HDD) 211.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the internal configuration of a multifunction device as an example of the devices 102, 103, and 104.

  In this figure, reference numeral 301 denotes a CPU that controls the entire MFP, and reference numeral 302 denotes a ROM that stores a print processing program executed by the CPU 301 and font data. Reference numeral 303 denotes a work area of the CPU 301, a reception buffer, and a RAM used for image drawing. A hard disk (HDD) 304 records application programs and the like. An operation panel 305 includes various switches and buttons and a liquid crystal display unit for displaying messages. The operation panel 305 can display a user authentication screen for the user to input or select user information (user ID, password, domain). Reference numeral 306 denotes a network interface for connecting to a network. Reference numeral 307 denotes a printer engine for printing on recording paper, 308 denotes a scanner for reading an original, and 309 denotes a communication unit for performing facsimile transmission / reception.

  The software functions of the components in FIG. 1 will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of software that runs on the application program installation apparatus 101.

  The UI control unit 401 provides a graphical user interface for an administrator of the multifunction machine to operate the software. The graphical user interface is configured to be displayed on a display 210 provided in the application program installation apparatus 101. Alternatively, it can be configured as a Web application that can be used from another client PC by using the HTTP protocol.

  The application management unit 402 manages application file information registered by the user. The application file is composed of one file by compressing a plurality of files such as a CAB file, a JAR (Java (registered trademark) ARchive) file, and a ZIP file.

  Further, the application management unit 402 receives the application file from the UI control unit 401, extracts the manifest file after decompressing the file.

  Further, the application management unit 402 analyzes the manifest file and extracts application attached information such as an application name, an application ID, and a version. Thereafter, it is stored in the application database 408 together with the application file.

  The multifunction device management unit 403 searches for a multifunction device connected to the network via the multifunction device search unit 406. The search for the multifunction peripheral can be realized by transmitting a search request packet such as SLP (Service Location Protocol) or SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol). It is also possible to acquire the detailed information (model name, serial number, capability, status, installed application, etc.) of the multifunction device via the multifunction device communication unit 407 for the multifunction device discovered by the search. is there. The location information (IP address) of the multifunction device and the information acquired from the multifunction device are stored in the multifunction device list on the multifunction device database 409. Information registered in the database can be browsed by the user via the UI control unit 401.

  Upon receiving an installation instruction from the UI control unit 401, the installation processing unit 404 connects to the multifunction device via the multifunction device communication unit 407, and executes processing for installing an application in the multifunction device.

  The license file management unit 405 receives the license file from the UI control unit 401. Thereafter, the license file management unit 405 extracts the application ID, the serial number of the target multifunction peripheral, and the like from the license file and stores them in the license file database 410 together with the license file.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an application file.

  In the figure, reference numeral 500 denotes an application file itself, which is composed of one file by compressing a plurality of files such as a CAB file, a JAR (Java ARchive) file, and a ZIP file.

  A manifest file 501 is stored inside the application file 500, and application ancillary information such as an application name, an application ID for uniquely identifying this application, and a version is described. The application program 502 in the application file 500 is encrypted to prevent a program from being altered by a third party. The application file is distributed to the user via a recording medium such as a CD or a medium such as the Internet.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the license file.

  Reference numeral 600 denotes the license file itself. The license file 600 describes an application ID (Application-Id) that is the subject of this license. In addition, information such as a serial number (Serial-No) of a multifunction peripheral that permits application installation and an expiration date (Validated-Period) is also described. The application ID is an identifier for uniquely identifying the application. Further, in order to prevent tampering by a third party, information such as a license key is encrypted and stored in the license file.

  The application user transmits the serial number of the device using the application and the license certificate number (ID) included in the application package to the license issuer in some form such as FAX, mail, telephone, e-mail, and the Internet.

  The license issuer generates a license file from the serial number and the license certificate number (ID), and distributes the license file to the application user via a recording medium such as a CD or a medium such as the Internet.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the software module hierarchy of the multifunction peripherals 102, 103, and 104.

  The software module has an operating system (OS) 701. A controller module 702 for controlling various devices is provided on the OS 701, and an interpreter 703 for sequentially executing programs is provided thereon. On the interpreter 703, an application management unit 704 for managing a plurality of dynamically detachable application groups is provided. Applications 707, 708, and 709 that realize various functions operate under the management of the application management unit 704. An application module for providing services of the multi-function peripheral can be operated via the interpreter 703. For example, in response to the application being installed in the multifunction peripheral by the application installer 705, the application management unit 704 adds the applications 707, 708, and 709 as management targets. Further, in response to the application program being deleted from the multifunction peripheral, the application management unit 704 can remove the applications 707, 708, and 709 from management targets.

  Further, the application installer 705 itself for performing the installation and uninstallation can be operated on the application management unit 704.

  The application cooperates with the multifunction peripheral to provide various processes to the user. For example, an application that processes and compresses an image, an application that performs department management such as printing restrictions, and a plug-in module that is incorporated as part of the application can be given as examples. An example is an application that remotely manages a multifunction device, an application that controls a unit such as a finisher of the multifunction device to perform binding, and a specific document data conversion / analysis application. Furthermore, a document creation program such as so-called word processing software, a schedule management program, a spreadsheet program, a database management program, and a server program for realizing a print service via the Internet are examples.

  The application installer 705 acquires an application file and a license file from the application program installation device via the network communication unit 706. Then, after verifying whether the format and information of the application file and the license file are genuine, the application installation process is executed. Furthermore, in order to prevent an installation instruction from an unauthorized user, a function for authenticating a user who accesses through the network communication unit 706 is provided.

  Now, in order for the application program installation apparatus 101 to install a plurality of application programs on a plurality of nodes, the application program installation apparatus 101 executes the flowchart of FIG.

  For example, the UI control unit 401 detects processing such as a user selecting a menu from the UI, and the UI control unit 401 activates the application management unit 402 to start the flowchart.

  In this figure, in step S 801, the application management unit 402 receives an application addition request from the user via the UI control unit 401 and stores it in the application list of the application database 408.

  The application addition request may include the entity of the application to be added, or the application entity may be arranged in an external device (for example, an FTP server) and include only path information to the entity. good.

  FIG. 9 is an example of an application list stored in the application database 408.

  900 is an application list itself.

  Reference numeral 901 denotes an application name, which is an area for storing the name of the application registered in this list.

  Reference numeral 902 denotes an application ID, which is an area for storing the IDs of applications registered in this list.

  A version 903 is an area for storing the version of the application registered in this list.

  Reference numeral 904 denotes path information, which is an area for storing the registration location of the application registered in this list.

  In the example of this figure, the registration locations of the application names “App1” and “App2” are in the same apparatus, but the registration location of the application name “App3” is in the FTP server.

  Returning to FIG.

  In step S <b> 802, the MFP management unit 403 searches for MFPs connected to the network via the MFP search unit 406. Further, the multifunction device management unit 403 acquires detailed information of the multifunction device searched through the multifunction device communication unit 407 and stores it in the multifunction device list of the multifunction device database 409.

  FIG. 10 is an example of a multifunction device list stored in the multifunction device database 409.

  1000 is the MFP list itself.

  Reference numeral 1001 denotes a serial number, which is an area for storing the serial number of the multifunction peripheral.

  Reference numeral 1002 denotes an IP address, which is an area for storing the IP address of the MFP.

  Reference numeral 1003 denotes a product name, which is an area for storing the product name of the multifunction peripheral.

Reference numeral 1004 denotes an installed application, which is an area for enumerating application programs installed in the multifunction peripheral.
In addition to the detailed information 1001 to 1004, the multifunction machine list 1000 may include information such as the nickname of the multifunction machine and the installation location of the multifunction machine, for example.

  Returning to FIG.

  In step S 803, the license file management unit 405 receives a license file addition request from the user via the UI control unit 401 and stores it in the license file list of the license file database 410.

  FIG. 11 is an example of a license file list stored in the license file database 410.

  Reference numeral 1100 denotes the license file list itself.

  A license file name 1101 is an area for storing the name of the license file. An example of a value stored in the license file name 1101 can be a file name of a license file, but is not limited to this.

  Reference numeral 1102 denotes an application ID, which is an area for storing the ID of the application that is the subject of this license.

  Reference numeral 1103 denotes a multifunction peripheral serial number, which is an area for storing the serial number of the multifunction peripheral permitted to install an application.

  An expiration date 1104 is an area for storing a period during which the application can be used in a multifunction peripheral permitted to use the application.

  Returning to FIG.

  In step S <b> 804, the UI control unit 401 receives an input from the user from the application selection screen and passes the input result to the application management unit 402.

  The application management unit 402 identifies the application selected by the user from the input result, and extracts application information from the application database 408.

  The application management unit 402 temporarily holds the extracted information in the RAM 203 or the HDD 211.

  FIG. 12 is an example of an application selection screen.

  1200 is an application selection screen itself.

  An application name 1201 displays the value of the application name 901 in FIG.

  A check box that can be selected by the user is arranged in front of the application name such as “App1”.

  An application ID 1202 displays the value of the application ID 902 shown in FIG. 9, and a version 1203 displays the value of the version 903 shown in FIG.

  When the user selects a check box in step S804 in FIG. 8, the UI control unit 401 delivers information about the selected application to the application management unit 402.

  Returning to FIG.

  In step S <b> 805, the UI control unit 401 receives a user input from the multifunction device selection screen, and passes the input result to the multifunction device management unit 403.

  The multifunction device management unit 403 identifies the multifunction device selected by the user from the input result, and retrieves information about the multifunction device from the multifunction device database 409.

  The multifunction machine management unit 403 temporarily holds the extracted information in the RAM 203 or the HDD 211.

  FIG. 13 is an example of a multifunction device selection screen.

  Reference numeral 1300 denotes a multifunction device selection screen itself.

  Reference numeral 1301 denotes a serial number, which displays the value of the serial number 1001 in FIG.

  A check box that can be selected by the user is arranged in front of the serial number such as “ABC123”.

  Reference numeral 1302 denotes an IP address, which displays the value of the IP address 1002 in FIG.

  Reference numeral 1303 denotes a product name, which displays the value of the product name 1003 in FIG.

  Reference numeral 1304 denotes an installed application, which displays the value of the installed application 1004 in FIG.

  When information other than the detailed information 1001 to 1004 is stored in the MFP list 1000, it may be displayed on the MFP selection screen 1300 as necessary.

  Returning to FIG.

  In step S806, the installation processing unit 404 combines the application selected in step S804 and the multifunction peripheral selected in step S805.

  For example, it is assumed that the user selects an application having application names “App1” and “App2”, and selects a multifunction peripheral having serial numbers “ABC123” and “DEF456”.

  In this case, the installation processing unit 404 creates four combinations of (App1, ABC123), (App1, DEF456), (App2, ABC123), and (App2, DEF456).

  Further, the installation processing unit 404 acquires a license file applicable for each of these combinations from the license file database 410 via the license file management unit 405. Thereafter, it is temporarily stored in the RAM 203 or the HDD 211 in association with the above combination.

  When the license file management apparatus 405 manages a plurality of license files for a set of applications / multifunction peripherals, the installation processing unit 404 holds the plurality of license files in the RAM 203 or the HDD 211.

  In step S807, the installation processing unit 404 determines whether there is a rule for determining a license file to be preferentially applied when there are a plurality of license files to be applied to the application.

  If a rule exists, the process proceeds to step S808.

  If no rule exists, the process proceeds to step S809.

  FIG. 14 is an example of a license file priority selection screen for the user to specify the rule for determining the license file to be applied with priority described in step S807.

  Reference numeral 1400 denotes the license file priority selection screen itself.

  Reference numeral 1401 denotes an available period radio button for determining whether to select a license file with a long usable period preferentially or to select a short one with a short one.

  For example, free trial licenses generally have a short usable period. If such a license is to be used preferentially, a high priority may be set although the usable period is short.

  Reference numeral 1402 denotes a target multi-function device radio button for deciding whether to preferentially select a multi-function device with a large number of serial numbers described in the license file or to select a low-priority device. is there.

  The items for determining the priority of the license file are not limited to the above 1401 and 1402, and other items may be defined.

  When a value is input to this screen by the user, the license file management apparatus 405 receives the value via the UI control unit 401 and stores it in the license file database 410.

  In the present embodiment, the priority of the license file is specified on the license file priority selection screen 1400, but it may be configured to refer to an external setting file. Further, the application program installation apparatus 101 may be configured to be fixed.

  Returning to FIG.

  In step S808, the installation processing unit 404 rearranges the license files associated with the application / multifunction device pair created in step 806 according to the rule specified in step S807.

  In step S809, the installation processing unit 404 delivers the result of step S808 to the UI control unit 401, and the UI control unit 401 displays a license file selection screen.

  FIG. 15 is an example of a license file selection screen.

  This figure shows a display example when “App1” and “App2” applications are selected on the application selection screen 1200, and “ABC123” and “DEF456” MFPs are selected on the MFP selection screen 1300. .

  1500 is a license file selection screen itself.

  An application name 1501 is the same as the application name 1201 in FIG.

  A serial number 1502 is the same as the serial number 1301 in FIG.

  Reference numeral 1503 denotes a license file name, which displays the license file name of the license file associated with the application / multifunction device pair created in step 806.

  The license file name to be displayed is the same as the license file name 1101 in FIG.

  Referring to the license file list 1100 in FIG. 11, there are three license files associated with the combination of the application name “App1” and the serial number “ABC123”: “license A”, “license B”, and “license C”. I understand that

  Since a plurality of license files are associated with the combination of the application name “App1” and the serial number “ABC123”, the UI control unit 401 displays a plurality of license files using a drop-down list. .

  In the license file list 1100, there is no license file associated with the combination of the application name “App2” and the serial number “ABC123”. For this reason, the UI control unit 401 displays “License does not exist” as the value of the license file name 1503.

  With respect to the combination of the application name “App1” and the serial number “DEF456” and the combination of the application name “App2” and the serial number “DEF456”, the value to be displayed in the license file name 1503 can be determined by the same procedure. .

  In this embodiment, when a plurality of license files are associated with a combination of an application and a multifunction peripheral, the user is prompted to select from a drop-down list. However, the highest priority license file is automatically selected. You may comprise so that it may select.

  In this case, the license file name 1503 does not display the UI control for prompting the user to select, but displays only the automatically selected license file name.

  Returning to FIG.

  In step S810, the UI control unit 401 determines on the license file selection screen 1500 whether or not the user has completed selection of the license file.

  If it is determined that the license file has been selected, the process advances to step S811.

  If it is determined that the selection of the license file has not been completed, step S810 is repeated.

  In step S811, the installation processing unit 404 temporarily stores the information of the license file selected by the user in step S810 in the RAM 203 or the HDD 211 in association with the application / multifunction device pair.

  In step S812, the installation processing unit 404 installs the application in the target multifunction peripheral via the multifunction peripheral communication unit 407 using the various information of the application, multifunction peripheral, and license file stored in step S811.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating in detail an example of the application installation process in step S812.

  First, in step 1601, the installation processing unit 404 acquires the IP address information of the application distribution target MFP from the MFP information stored in the RAM 203 or the HDD 211. Thereafter, the IP address information is used to connect to the application distribution target MFP via the MFP communication unit 407. As a communication protocol, for example, it is conceivable to use SOAP, but it is not limited to this.

  In step S1602, the installation processing unit 404 transmits an application installation request to the multi-function peripheral that has established communication in step S1601.

  In step S1603, the installation processing unit 404 reads application information and license file information held in the RAM 203 or the HDD 211. After that, the installation processing unit 404 transmits an application file and a license file suitable for the combination of the application and the connected multifunction device to the multifunction device via the multifunction device communication unit 407.

  The application distribution target MFP receives the installation request, the application file, and the license file from the application program installation apparatus 101 in steps S1602 and S1603. Thereafter, the application distribution target MFP executes application installation processing and returns the result to the application program installation apparatus 101.

  In step S 1604, the installation processing unit 404 of the application program installation apparatus 101 receives the result of the installation processing via the multifunction device communication unit 407 and stores the result in the RAM 203 or the HDD 211.

  In step S <b> 1605, the installation processing unit 404 determines whether or not installation processing for all application files has been executed for the communicating multifunction device.

  If it is determined that installation processing for all application files has been executed, the process advances to step S1606.

  If it is determined that the installation process for all application files has not been executed, the process returns to step S1603, and the processes of steps S1603 and S1604 are executed for the application files that have not been installed.

  In step S <b> 1606, the installation processing unit 404 disconnects communication with the MFP that is communicating via the MFP communication unit 407.

  In step S1607, it is determined whether application installation processing has been executed for all the multifunction peripherals held in the RAM 203 or the HDD 211.

  If it is determined that the application installation process has been executed for all the multifunction peripherals, this flowchart ends.

  If it is determined that the application installation process has not been executed for all the multifunction peripherals, the process returns to step S1601, and the processes of steps S1601 to S1606 are performed for the remaining multifunction peripherals.

  This is the end of the description of the flowchart of the application installation process in FIG.

  Returning to FIG.

  When the application installation process in step S812 ends, this flowchart ends.

  This is the end of the description of the flowchart of FIG.

  This is the end of the description of the present embodiment.

101 Application Program Installation Device 102 MFP 500 Application File 600 License File 900 Application List 1000 MFP List 1100 License File List

Claims (10)

In an application program installation device that installs an application that can be used by granting a license to a multifunction device,
Application management means for managing the applications installed in the MFP;
MFP management means (S802, 1000) for managing the MFP,
A license management means for managing a license for granting a license to the application;
Application selection means for selecting the application;
A multifunction device selection means for selecting the multifunction device;
An application license extracting unit for extracting an applicable license file from the license management unit for each combination of the application selected by the application selecting unit and the multi-function peripheral selected by the multi-function peripheral selecting unit;
A license file priority determining unit that determines the priority of a license file when a plurality of licenses are extracted by the application license extracting unit;
License file display means for rearranging and displaying the license files according to the priority determined by the license file priority determination means;
A license file selection means for selecting any one of the plurality of license files displayed by the license file display means;
Using the license file selected by the license file selection means, an application installation means for installing the application selected by the application selection means on the multifunction peripheral selected by the multifunction peripheral selection means;
An application program installation apparatus characterized by comprising:   2. The application program installation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the license file priority determination unit determines the priority based on the length of the license availability period. License file priority determination means
2. The application program installation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the priority is determined based on the number of MFPs to which the license can be applied.   2. The application program installation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the license file selection unit automatically selects a license file according to the priority determined by the license file priority determination unit.   2. The application program installation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the license file selection unit causes the user to select any one license file on the screen displayed by the license file display unit. In an application program installation method for installing an application that can be used by granting a license to a multifunction device,
An application management step for managing an application to be installed in the MFP;
MFP management step for managing the MFP,
A license management step for managing a license for granting a license to the application;
An application selection step for selecting the application;
A multifunction device selection step for selecting the multifunction device;
An application license extraction step for extracting an applicable license file from the license management step for each combination of the application selected in the application selection step and the multifunction device selected in the multifunction device selection step;
A license file priority determination step for determining the priority of a license file when a plurality of licenses are extracted in the applied license extraction step;
A license file display step for sorting and displaying the license files according to the priority determined in the license file priority determination step;
A license file selection step for selecting any one of the plurality of license files displayed in the license file display step;
Using the license file selected in the license file selection step, an application installation step for installing the application selected in the application selection step in the multifunction device selected in the multifunction device selection step;
An application program installation method characterized by comprising:   7. The application program installation method according to claim 6, wherein in the license file priority determination step, the priority is determined based on the length of the license availability period.   7. The application program installation method according to claim 6, wherein in the license file priority determination step, the priority is determined based on the number of MFPs to which the license can be applied.   7. The application program installation method according to claim 6, wherein the license file selection step automatically selects a license file according to the priority determined in the license file priority determination step. 7. The application program installation method according to claim 6, wherein in the license file selection step, the user selects any one license file on the screen displayed in the license file display step.