JP3509549B2 - Printer control device and method, and recording medium - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention sets a variety of information for printing in a predetermined printer and controls the printer based on the set various information, a method thereof, and a predetermined method. Relates to a recording medium in which a computer program for setting various information for printing in the printer is recorded.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, when a printer is connected to a computer and print data created by the computer is to be printed on the printer, it is necessary to incorporate software called a printer driver into the computer. The printer driver is the printer function and interface,
It is a computer program that controls various types of printer information, such as font information and control code, in the computer, and is prepared for each printer model to be printed.

The operator operates the computer to
The printer driver installed in the computer can be started and various information can be set. The setting is performed as follows. When the printer driver is activated, the computer displays a setting screen on the monitor. This setting screen is provided with data input fields for the various information described above, and the operator operates the keyboard and mouse to input data into these data input fields to set various information. .
Incidentally, it has been proposed that this setting screen is provided with not only a data input field but also a display field for displaying a list of a plurality of set information.

In addition, on the above setting screen, basically,
Although it was configured to input data manually (inputting data using keyboard and mouse) for all information, in order to facilitate setting,
Some computers can selectively set various information automatically. That is, on the setting screen,
A data input field is provided for preparing a detailed setting mode for manually setting various information and a simple setting mode for automatically setting various information as options.

[0005]

By the way, according to the above-mentioned conventional technique, an entry user who lacks computer knowledge uses the recommended setting mode exclusively.
Even in the recommended setting mode, the display field for displaying the list is displayed as it is as in the detailed setting mode. For this reason, the entry user may not know what the detailed contents of the various information displayed in the display column mean, and may be confused by seeing the detailed display. Therefore, there is a problem that the operator has a poor workability when setting various information.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and an object thereof is to improve the workability of an operator when setting various kinds of information.

[0007]

In order to solve such a problem, the first printer control apparatus of the present invention sets various information for printing in a predetermined printer, and the setting is performed. A printer control device for controlling the printer based on various types of information that has been set, and a detailed setting mode for setting the various types of information based on input data from an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard, and setting by the detailed setting mode. Mode selection that allows you to select one mode by displaying a setting screen with an input field prepared as a simple setting mode that automatically sets at least part of various possible information Means and
The display area is separate from the input field on the setting screen.
The display field for use provided, and a display control unit that the current settings to the list displayed on the display section of the various information, when the simple setting mode is selected by said mode selecting means, automatically by the simple setting mode The gist of the present invention is to include display prohibition control means for prohibiting display by the display control means for at least one piece of information that can be set to.

According to the first printer control device having this configuration, the mode selection means displays the setting screen on the monitor, and the setting mode is switched in the input field provided on the setting screen to display the information. Setting is performed, and the information to be set is displayed exclusively by the display control means.
When the simple setting mode is selected by the mode selecting means, at least one piece of information that can be automatically set in the simple setting mode is displayed by the display correction prohibition controlling means. Ban.

Therefore, when the operator selects the simple setting mode, the printer control device does not display the information (at least one) that can be automatically set in the simple setting mode in the display column . Therefore, the operator is not informed of information that is not useful to him or her on the screen. As a result, the workability of the operator when setting various information can be improved.

In the first printer controller having the above structure, a data input field for inputting the type of data to be printed by the printer is provided in a predetermined area on the setting screen,
The information prohibited from being displayed by the display prohibition control means may be changed according to the type of the input data.

According to this structure, it is possible to prevent the information which is not useful depending on the type of data printed by the printer from being displayed in the display field . As a result,
Since only the necessary information can be displayed on the screen, the workability of the operator when setting various information can be further enhanced.

A second printer control device of the present invention sets various information for printing in a predetermined printer,
A printer control device for controlling the printer based on the set various information, wherein image data of an individual setting card is prepared for each group obtained by dividing the various information into a plurality of groups, Card image selecting means for selecting the image data of one setting card from the image data of the setting card, and display control means for displaying the image data of the setting card selected by the card image selecting means on a monitor. , the card image of at least one of information of the information set by the other setting cards except setting card selected by the selecting means, a predetermined first setting cards displayed by the display control means advanced mode and an information display additional means for displaying the region, further, for setting the various kinds of information based mouse, the input data from the input device such as a keyboard , The input fields were prepared and simple setting mode as an alternative to automatically set at least some of the detailed various information that can be set by the setting mode, the on the display control means for setting the card displaying in First
Is provided in a second area that is separate from the area, and a mode selecting unit that enables selection of one mode; and when the simple setting mode is selected by the mode selecting unit, the simple setting mode is automatically set. The gist of the present invention is to include display prohibition control means for prohibiting the display by the information display addition means for at least one piece of information that can be set in (1).

With this configuration, even when a predetermined card is selected and data is input, the same operational effect as that of the first printer control device can be obtained. Then, the information set in other cards can be known from the selected card. As a result, the number of times the card displayed on the display screen is switched can be extremely reduced, and the labor of the operator can be reduced.

A printer control method according to the present invention is a printer control method for setting various kinds of information for printing in a predetermined printer and controlling the printer based on the various kinds of set information. A detailed setting mode for setting the various information based on input data from an input device such as a keyboard, and a simple setting mode for automatically setting at least a part of various information that can be set by the detailed setting mode. A step of displaying a setting screen having an input field prepared as an option on the monitor to enable selection of one mode; and (b) a region separate from the input field on the setting screen.
A display column dedicated to display is provided, and within the current settings of the above various information .
A step of displaying a list of contents on the display section, when the simple setting mode is selected in (c) said step (a), the at least one information among the may automatically set in the simple setting mode information For the above step (b)
The gist is to provide a step of prohibiting the display by.

According to the printer control method of this configuration,
Similar to the first printer control device described above, since the operator does not display the information that is not useful on the screen, the workability of the operator in setting the information can be improved.

The recording medium of the present invention is a recording medium in which a computer program for setting various kinds of information for printing in a predetermined printer and controlling the printer based on the various kinds of set information is recorded. (A) A detailed setting mode for setting the various information based on input data from an input device such as a mouse and a keyboard, and at least a part of various information that can be set in the detailed setting mode is automatically set. (B) the step of displaying a setting screen having an input field prepared as a choice with a simple setting mode to enable selection of one mode; and (b) the input field on the setting screen. In a separate area
A display column dedicated to display is provided, and the current settings of the above various information are set.
A step of displaying a list of contents on the display section, when the simple setting mode is selected in (c) said step (a), the at least one information among the may automatically set in the simple setting mode information For the above step (b)
The gist is that a computer program for causing a computer to execute the step of prohibiting the display by is recorded.

The recording medium having the above-described structure also has the same effects as those of the first printer control device and printer control method.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In order to further clarify the structure and operation of the present invention described above, the embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on Examples. 1 is an external view of a computer system to which a first embodiment of the present invention is applied.
This computer system includes a computer 10, and a CRT display 12 and a printer 14 as peripheral devices. The computer 10 includes a computer main body 16, a keyboard 18, and a mouse 20. The computer body 16 includes a floppy disk 22.
A floppy disk drive 24 for reading the contents of is loaded.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of hardware of a computer system. As shown in the figure, the computer main body 16 has a CPU 30, which is a central processing unit, as a center, and a ROM 31, a RAM 32, a display image memory 33, a mouse interface 34, a keyboard interface 35, which are mutually connected by a bus.
An FDC 36, an HDC 37, a CRTC 38, a printer interface 39 and an I / O port 40 are provided.

The ROM 31 is a read-only memory for storing various programs contained therein. RAM
Reference numeral 32 is a readable / writable memory that stores various data. The display image memory 33 is a memory that stores image data of an image displayed on the CRT display 12. The mouse interface 34 is an interface that controls the exchange of data and the like with the mouse 20. The keyboard interface 35 is an interface that controls key input from the keyboard 18. The FDC 36 is a floppy disk controller that controls the floppy disk drive (FDD) 24. HDC37 is
A hard disk controller that controls a hard disk drive (HDD) 41.

The CRTC 38 is a CRT controller which controls the display of an image on the CRT display 12 based on the display image data stored in the display image memory 33. The printer interface 39 is the printer 14
Is an interface that controls the input and output of data to and from.
The I / O port 40 has a serial output port, is connected to a modem 44, and is connected to a public telephone line 46 via the modem 44. The computer 10 is connected to an external network via a modem 44 and can connect to a specific server 48.

In this computer system, the operating system is stored in the HDD 41, and the HD
When the computer main body 16 is powered on according to the loader written in the boot block of D41, the RAM
It is loaded into 32 predetermined areas. Further, the printer driver is stored in advance on the floppy disk 22, and by activating a predetermined setup program,
It is installed in the computer main body 16 from the floppy disk drive 24. The installed printer driver is stored in the HDD 41, incorporated into the operating system and loaded into a predetermined area of the RAM 32 when the computer main body 16 is powered on.

The software program of this printer driver is stored in the floppy disk 22 as described above, but instead of this, the CD-
It may be configured to be stored in another portable recording medium (portable recording medium) such as a ROM, a magneto-optical disk, and an IC card. The software program described above may be obtained by downloading program data provided via a network from a specific server 48 connected to an external network and transferring the program data to the RAM 32 or the HDD 41. .

The state of printing by the computer system having the above-described hardware configuration will be described below. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a state of processing from image information handled by the computer main body 16 to printing. As shown in the figure, an image is displayed on the CRT display 12 via the video driver 52 while the image is processed by the application program 51 operating inside the computer main body 16. Also,
When the application program 51 issues a print command, the printer driver 53 in the computer main body 16 receives the image information from the application program 51 and converts it into a signal printable by the printer 14.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the printer driver 5
3, a rasterizer 54 for converting the image information handled by the application program 51 into color information in dot units, and the color development of the printer 14 for the image information (gradation data) converted into color information in dot units. A color correction module 55 that performs color correction according to the characteristics of the above, a halftone that generates so-called halftone image information that expresses the density in a certain area depending on the presence or absence of ink in dot units from the image information after color correction A module 56 is provided. Further, inside the printer driver 53, an information setting module 57 for setting various information for printing by the printer 14 is provided. As various information for printing, there are information about basic settings of printing such as print quality, color correction, and type of halftone, and information about paper settings such as paper size and printing direction.

The color correction information set by the information setting module 57 is sent to the color correction module 55, and the halftone type information is displayed in the halftone module 5.
Sent to 6. The information setting module 57 displays an image showing the setting contents on the CRT display 12 via the video driver 52. Since the operation of each module except the information setting module 57 is well known, the description thereof will be omitted in principle, and the information setting module 57 will be described below.

The printer driver 53 can variously control printing by the printer 14 by changing the settings, but the operator needs to make such settings in advance. The information setting module 57 executes the work of setting various kinds of information for printing. Here, this information setting module 5
What kind of screen is displayed on the CRT display 12 by the operation 7 will be described first. In this description, Windows 95 (trademark of Microsoft Corporation) will be taken as an example of an operating system on which the printer driver operates.

First, the operator operates the computer 10 as follows to display a dialog box for setting various information for printing on the CRT display 12. That is, [Start] → [Settings] → [Printer]
Open the "Printers" window by performing the operation. Then double-click the icon for the desired printer on that window to open the window for that printer. After that, perform the operation of [Printer]-> [Properties] from that window to display the property dialog box for setting various information about the printer.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view illustrating the dialog box DB1 when opened. As shown,
In the dialog box DB1, there are five types of cards CD1, CD2, "basic setting", "paper setting", "layout", "utility", and "configuration".
CD3, CD4, and CD5 are prepared, and a "basic setting" card CD1 is displayed on the front as a default. The "basic setting" card CD1 is for setting basic information relating to print quality. The "sheet setting" card CD2 is for setting various information about the sheet. "Layout" card CD3
Is for setting various kinds of information about the layout of the layout at the time of printing. The "utility" card CD4 is for setting other useful information. The "configuration" card CD5 is for setting information for changing the display form of the "basic setting" card CD1.

Any one of these cards CD1 to CD5 is selected by the operator operating the mouse 20, and is displayed in the dialog box DB1.

In this "basic setting" card CD1, there are three data input fields for accepting data input from the operator: "mode setting", "paper type", and "ink".
Two data entry fields E1, E2, E3 are provided.
The card CD1 is also provided with a data display field E4 for displaying some information of the current settings of the printer driver.

The data input field E1 for "mode setting" is used to select a basic setting mode. A "recommended setting (simple setting)" mode for automatically performing a predetermined setting and a manual setting mode are used. The "detailed setting" mode for making detailed settings can be selected by the buttons E11 and E12.

First, the operation when the button E12 is clicked to select the "detailed setting" mode will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, when the "detailed setting" mode is selected, the data input field E14 and the data input field E15 are activated. As a result, the type of document data can be input from the data input field E14, and a dialog box for manual setting can be opened from the data input field E15. The data input field E14 is for setting the type of data to be printed, and options such as word processor, graph, and photograph are prepared. Furthermore, when the "detailed setting" mode is selected, the contents of the data display field E4 are rewritten. The details of rewriting the contents of the data display field E4 will be described later.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a manual setting dialog box DB2 opened from the data input field E15. As shown, data input fields E21, E22, E23 for "print quality", "paper type", "ink", "halftone", "microweave", "bidirectional printing", "color adjustment", etc. , E24, E2
5, E26, E27 are provided.

The "print quality" data input field E21 is for setting the resolution to be printed, and three types of "draft", "fine" and "super fine" are prepared as options. Here, “draft”, “fine”, and “super fine” are 360 × 360 (d
ot), 720 x 360 (dot), 720 x 720
This shows the resolution of (dot).

The "paper type" data input field E22 is for setting the type of paper, and "plain paper", "super fine special paper", and "exclusive glossy paper" are prepared as options. The "ink" data input field E23 sets the type of ink used in the printer 14, and "color" and "black" are prepared as options. In addition, on the card CD3 of "basic setting", the same data input fields E2 and E3 as the data input fields E22 and E23 of "paper type" and "ink" are provided. The display of the data entry field that has been prioritized and entered first is changed according to the data entered later.

Data input field E24 for "halftone"
Sets the type of halftone, and "high-speed halftone" and "high-quality halftone" are available as options. The halftone type information is used by the halftone module 56 (FIG. 3).
The "microweave" data input field E25 is for turning on / off the function of the microweave. Here, the microweave is a function provided in the printer 14, and different heads scan the same line to overprint one dot, thereby improving print quality. Data input field E for "bidirectional printing"
Reference numeral 26 is for turning on / off the bidirectional printing function. Here, the bidirectional printing is a function provided in the printer 14, and it is possible to increase the printing speed by moving different heads in the left and right directions.

The data input field E27 for "color adjustment" is
Various information related to color correction is set. "Color correction by driver", "Video / digital TV camera mode", and "ICM" are available as options, and the intensity of brightness, contrast, and saturation are set. Can be set.

Next, the data input field E1 for "mode setting"
The operation when the button E11 is clicked to select the “recommended setting” mode will be described. Figure 6 shows the "basic settings" after the "recommended settings" mode is selected.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a dialog box in which the card CD1 of FIG. As shown in the figure, when this "recommended setting" mode is selected, the slide lever type button E1 is selected.
3 becomes active, which causes printer 1
It is possible to specify the quality of printing by No. 4.

More specifically, the characters "clean" and "fast" are clearly shown at both ends of the slide lever displayed as the button E13.
By dragging with 0, either “clean” or “fast” can be selected. Although the choices made by the button E13 are the parameter values such as "clean" and "fast" as described above, this is the case when "plain paper" is set in the "paper type" input field E2. It is a thing. On the other hand, "paper type"
When another paper type is set in the input field E2 of, a plurality of other parameter values, specifically, “cleaner”, “cleaner”, “standard”, and “faster” are selected. Any two parameter values are displayed. Here, “fast” means that the print speed is fast, but the print quality is somewhat inferior, and “fast” is also a kind of parameter value that determines the degree of print quality.

The parameter values such as "more clean", "clean", "standard", and "fast" determine the degree of print quality step by step. In this "recommended setting" mode, the slide lever is used. When one parameter value is selected by the button E13 of the shape, the computer 10 executes a process of automatically obtaining various quality information that determines the print quality from the selected parameter value. Here, the various quality information corresponds to the printing resolution, the type of halftone, and the functional division of microweave. These various types of quality information are the same as those included in the information input from the manually set dialog box DB2.

Further, when the "recommended setting" mode is selected, the contents of the data display field E4 are rewritten. The details of rewriting the contents of the data display field E4 will be described later.

The data display column E4 will be described below.
As shown in FIG. 4, the data display column E4 is for “paper size”, “printing direction”, “printing quality”, “microweave”, “bidirectional printing”, “color adjustment”, and “stamp mark”. Display areas E41, E for displaying information
42, E43, E44, E45, E46, E47 are provided. The details of the “paper size” and the “printing direction” displayed in the display areas E41 and E42 will be described later with respect to the card CD4 of the “paper setting”.

Further, display areas E43, E44, E4
5, the contents of "print quality", "microweave", "bidirectional printing", and "color adjustment" displayed at E46 are the data input and set using the above-mentioned "manual setting" dialog box DB2. is there. Furthermore, the display area E
The content of the "stamp mark" displayed at 47 is data of the stamp mark name input and set using the "layout" card CD3. Note that the "layout" card CD3 is not directly related to the content of the present invention, and therefore its description is omitted.

As described above, the data display field E4 includes 7 fields from "paper size" to "stamp mark".
Two display areas E41 to E47 are displayed, but this is when the "detailed setting" mode is selected as the mode setting. On the other hand, when the “recommended setting” mode is selected as the mode setting, only three display areas E41 to E43 of “paper size”, “printing direction”, and “print quality” are displayed, and other "Micro weave", "two-way printing", "color adjustment",
"Stamp mark" display areas E44 to E47
Is not displayed.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the dialog box DB1 in which the "paper setting" card CD2 is opened. As shown, this "paper setting" card CD2
"Paper size", "Number of copies", "Print direction",
Data input field F for setting each "printable area"
1, F2, F3, F4, and a display field F5 for displaying a three-dimensional stereoscopic image of the printer 14 by a plane image are provided.

The "paper size" data input field F1 is used to set the paper size to be used together with the type of paper.
For example, "A4 210 x 297 mm", "A4 width 2
10 x 297 mm "," Western envelope 120 x 235 ",
“Postcard 100 × 147 mm” or the like is prepared as an option.

The data input field F2 for the "number of copies" is used to set the number of copies to be printed. In addition to the number of copies, the printing order is whether or not to print in copy units, either normal order or reverse order. You can also specify whether to print by clicking the check box.

The "printing direction" data input field F3 indicates the printing direction on the paper, and is "vertical" and "horizontal".
And can be selected. The “printable area” data input field F4 sets a printable area on the sheet, and “normal” and “centering” can be selected.

As described above, the display field F5 shows a three-dimensional stereoscopic image of the printer 14 by a plane image, and is a plane image which shows the printing state of the printer 14. Specifically, the plane image is such that the following contents can be understood. Paper type and size Paper loading direction Paper feed path for printing Paper print direction Paper printable area on paper

The above-mentioned two-dimensional images are changed each time the setting contents of the data input fields F1 to F4 are changed. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the data input field F1 for “paper size” is “A4 210 × 297 m.
When set to “m”, the plane image in the display field F5 is
The paper has a size corresponding to A4 and is set in the vertical direction with respect to the printer. In addition, the "paper transport path during printing" is indicated by an arrow, the "print direction on the paper" is the direction of the letter "A", and the "printable area" is indicated by the position of the broken line drawn on the paper portion. There is.

The "paper size" data entered in the data entry field F1 and the "printing direction" data entered in the data entry field F3 are opened in the "basic setting" card CD1 described above. Then, the data is displayed in the display areas E41 and E42 of the data display field E4.

The screen display on the CRT display 12 is performed by the information setting module 5 of the printer driver 53.
The processing routine of No. 7 is performed by the CPU 30 processing. The processing routine of the information setting module 57 will be described next.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the processing routine of the information setting module 57. As described above, this processing routine starts the printer driver by performing the operation of [Printer] → [Properties] as described above,
It is repeatedly executed every predetermined time. As shown, C
When the processing is started, the PU 30 first has five types of card CDs of “basic setting”, “paper setting”, “layout”, “utility”, and “configration”.
It is determined whether or not there is an instruction to change the active card in 1 to CD 5 (step S2).
00). Here, the card in the active state is a card displayed on the CRT display 12 in a data input state. The command to change the card is a command generated by the operation of clicking the index of the card using the mouse 20.

If it is determined in step S200 that there is no command to change the active card,
Exit to "Return" to end the process. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S200 that there is a command to change the card in the active state, the changed card is then "basic setting", "paper setting", "layout", " It is determined which one of the five types of cards “utility” and “configration” CD1 to CD5 is applicable (step S210). Then, the processing routine of the mode corresponding to the corresponding card, that is, the processing routine of the basic setting mode, the paper setting mode, the layout mode, the utility mode or the configure mode is executed (steps S220 to S260). After that, the process returns to "return" and the process is terminated.

Next, the processing routine of the basic setting mode executed in step S220 will be described. Figure 9
It is a flow chart which shows a processing routine of basic setting mode. As shown in the figure, when the processing is started, the CPU 30 executes a card display processing routine for displaying image data showing the "basic setting" card CD1 on the CRT display 12 (step S300). After that, when the operator sees the display screen of the CRT display 12 and receives a data input operation using the keyboard 18 and the mouse 20, various data is input (step S40).
0). The input various data are stored in a predetermined position on the RAM 32 (step S500).

For example, in step S300, the image data of the "basic setting" card CD1 illustrated in FIG.
It is displayed on the T display 12. The operator is the C
Looking at the image data displayed on the RT display 12,
For example, “photograph”, which is one of the options, is selected from the data input field E14, but in step S400, the CP
U30 performs a process of fetching the data "photograph", and in step S500, the data is stored in the RAM 32.
Remember in place of the article.

When the data storing operation is completed in this way, the operator waits for the operator to click "OK" in the display screen of FIG. 4, exits to "return", and ends the processing.

Next, the card display processing routine executed in step S300 will be described in detail. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the card display processing routine. As shown in the figure, the CPU 30 causes the step S300.
When the processing shifts to, first, the base image data BD which is the base of the "basic setting" card CD1 is read from the HDD 41 (step S310), and the base image data B is read.
D is transferred to a predetermined work area in the RAM 32 (step S320). Here, the base image data DT is
The image of the card CD1 shown in FIG. 4 is shown by removing the portion determined by the input data, and this image is as shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 11, the buttons E11 and E1 in the input field E1 for "mode setting"
2, E13, etc. "Paper type" input field E2, "Ink"
The image data of the image in which the buttons in the input field E3, the data display field E4, and the like are blank are transferred to the display image memory 33 as the display image data. The image data in the work area thus obtained will be referred to as display image data hereinafter.

Returning to FIG. 10, subsequently, the CPU 30
Various data d1 to dn related to the "basic settings" up to the previous processing, input from the "basic settings" card CD1
(Where n is an arbitrary positive number) is read from the RAM 32 (step S330), and the various data d1 to dn are
A process of writing in a predetermined area of the display image data stored in the work area is performed (step S330). As a result, the display image data stored in the work area is as shown in FIG.
Button E in the "Mode setting" input field E1
11, E12, E13, "paper type" input field E2,
The buttons E31 and E32 of the "ink" input field E3 show images in which characters or patterns based on various data d1 to dn are drawn.

Display areas E43 and E4 showing information about "print quality", "microweave", "bidirectional printing", and "color adjustment" in the data display field E4.
4, E45, E46, various data d1 to dn
It shows an image in which a character based on is drawn. This is because the above-mentioned display area E is displayed from the "manual setting" dialog box DB2 opened from the "basic setting" card CD.
Since the data relating to 43 to E46 are input as any of the various data d1 to dn, the display areas E43 to E46 can be filled with these data.

Next, the CPU 30 selects the "paper size" and "printing direction" data da for the "paper setting" card CD2 from the latest data for the other cards stored in the RAM 32. db,
A process of reading the "stamp mark name" data dc of the "layout" card CD3 is performed (step S350). After that, the CPU 30 performs a process of writing these data da, db, dc in a predetermined area of the display image data stored in the work area (step S).
360). As a result, the display image data stored in the work area is the display areas E41, E42, which indicate information about the “paper size”, the “printing direction”, and the “stamp mark” in the data display field E4 in FIG. E47
Shows an image in which characters or patterns based on the respective data da, db, dc are drawn. These results,
The latest data is displayed in all the display areas E41 to E47 in the data display field E4.

After that, the CPU 30 determines whether or not the mode determination bit included in the various data d1 to dn regarding the "basic setting" has a value of 1 (step S370). The mode discrimination bit is for discriminating the latest mode setting input from the data input field E1 of "mode setting". When the latest mode setting is the mode of "recommended setting", the value 1 indicates the mode. The setting is "Detailed settings"
In this mode, the value 2 is stored respectively.
If it is determined in step S370 that the mode determination bit has a value of 1, that is, the mode is the "recommended setting" mode, the display areas E43 and E4 of the display image data in the work area are displayed.
Processing for correcting the portions corresponding to 4, E45, and E46 into spaces (step S380). Here, the display areas E43, E44, E45, and E46 are portions showing information about "microweave", "bidirectional printing", "color adjustment", and "stamp mark".

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S370 that the mode determination bit is not value 1, that is, the mode is the "detailed setting" mode, the process of step S380 is skipped. After that, the CPU 30 performs a process of displaying the display image data on the CRT display 12 (step S3).
90). As a result, when the mode setting is the "detailed setting" mode, all the display areas E41 to E47 in the data display column E4 are displayed, while when the mode setting is the "recommended setting" mode, the data display column is displayed. E
Only the three display areas E41 to E43 of “paper size”, “printing direction”, and “print quality” in No. 4 are displayed. After that, the process returns to "return" to end this process once.

Next, the data input processing routine executed in step S400 will be described in detail. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the data input processing routine. As illustrated, the CPU 30 causes the step S400.
When the process shifts to, first, a process of taking in various data input by the operation of the operator (operation of the mouse, keyboard, etc.) according to the "basic setting" card CD1 is performed (step S410).

After that, the CPU 30 executes step S410.
The data captured with is the buttons E11 and E for mode switching.
The special process SS when 12 indicates that it has been clicked is executed. In this special process SS, first, it is determined whether or not the button E11 for switching to the mode of "recommended setting" is clicked from the data taken in at step S410 (step S420). If it is determined that the button E11 has been clicked, the process of correcting the portion corresponding to the display areas E44 to E47 of the display image data in the work area to a space is performed, similarly to step S380 (step S430). At this time, the value of the data before being modified in this space is temporarily stored in the work area. As a result, when the mode setting is switched to the "recommended setting" mode,
The data display field E4 has four fields of “microweave”, “bidirectional printing”, “color adjustment” and “stamp mark”.
The two display areas E43 to E46 are switched to the erased state.

On the other hand, in step S420, the button E11
If it is determined that is not clicked, then it is determined whether or not the button E12 for switching from the data acquired in step S410 to the “detailed setting” mode is clicked (step S440). Here, button E1
When it is determined that 2 has been clicked, the state corresponding to the display areas E44 to E47 of the display image data in the work area is brought to an effective state. More specifically, if the portions corresponding to the display areas E44 to E47 have already been corrected to spaces in step S430 described above, the data once held in the work area is pulled out to display the display area E4.
Return to the portion corresponding to 4 to E47. If the space has not been corrected in step S430, the display image data display areas E44 to E44-E are displayed.
The part corresponding to 47 is left as it is. As a result, when the mode setting is switched to the "detailed setting" mode, all the display areas E41 to E47 in the data display field E4 are switched to the displayed state.

After executing step S430, step S45
After executing 0 or if a negative determination is made in step S440, the CPU 30 advances the process to step S460,
A process of displaying the display image data on the CRT display 12 is performed (step S460). Then, this process is once ended.

In the computer system according to the first embodiment, which has been described in detail above, the "recommended setting" mode in which predetermined setting is automatically performed and the "detailed setting" mode in which fine setting is manually performed And can be selected by buttons E11 and E12 provided in the data input field E1 of "mode setting", and further, the contents of various set information are provided on the same screen as the buttons E11 and E12. The data can be displayed in the data display column E4. Then, when the "recommended setting" mode is selected, display of some information that can be automatically set in the "recommended setting" mode in the data display field E4 is prohibited.

For this reason, in this computer system, the operator is not informed of information that is not useful to himself from the screen. Therefore, the workability of the operator when setting various types of information can be improved. Especially for entry users and others with little computer knowledge, it was only confusing that information that was incomprehensible was unnecessarily displayed. Become.

Further, in this computer system,
To know other card information such as "Paper setting" card CD2 and "Layout" card CD3 without opening these cards when selecting "Basic setting" card CD1 and inputting data. You can As a result, the number of times the card is switched can be extremely reduced, and the workability for switching the display screen can be improved.

The second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the first embodiment, the display area of the data display column E4 is changed according to the switching between the "recommended setting" mode and the "detailed setting" mode. However, instead of this, , In the second embodiment, "recommended setting"
In addition to switching between the mode of and the mode of "Detailed setting",
The display area of the data display field E4 is also changed depending on the type of print data input to the data input field E14. The other structure is the same as that of the first embodiment.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the data input field E14 with the menu field opened in the pull-down format.
In the data input field E14 provided in the "basic setting" card CD1, a menu field E14m is displayed in a pull-down format as shown in the drawing, and "Auto Photo Fine!
2 ”,“ high definition ”,“ photograph ”, ...,“ ICM ”, etc. are prepared as options.

In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, the "Auto Photo Fine!
When "2" is designated, as shown in FIG. 14, the display of the "color adjustment" display area E46 in the data display field E4 is prohibited. This is because the same "Auto Photo Fine! 2" is displayed in the display area E46 of "Color adjustment" when the setting of the data input field E14 is "Auto Photo Fine! 2". This is because it does not. Similarly, when "ICM" is specified in the data input field E14, the "color adjustment" display area E4 is also displayed.
The display of 6 can be prohibited.

FIG. 15 is a processing routine executed by the CPU 30 to change the data display column. This processing routine is actually included in a part of the card display processing routine and the data input processing routine. FIG.
As shown in, when the process is started, the CPU 30 first determines whether or not the setting of the data input field E14 is "autophotofine! 2" (step S500), and whether or not it is "ICM". Determine (step S51
0). If an affirmative determination is made in either step S500 or step S510, the process proceeds to step S520 to display the display image data in the work area E46.
Perform the process of modifying the portion corresponding to to a space. Then, the process proceeds to "return". On the other hand, step S
When a negative determination is made in either 500 or S510, the process of step S520 is skipped and this process is advanced to “return”.

According to the second embodiment configured as described above, it is possible to prevent the display of information that is not useful depending on the type of data printed by the printer on the screen. As a result, only the necessary information can be displayed on the screen, which further improves the workability of the operator when setting various information.

The above embodiment is applied to a computer system in which the printer 14 is directly connected to the local computer 10 by a cable, but instead of this, a plurality of printers connected to a server on the LAN are used. The configuration may be applied to a computer system shared by computers. Alternatively, the printer connected to a server connected to the Internet may be applied to a computer system controlled by a computer via the Internet.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the scope of the present invention. Of course, you can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a computer system to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of hardware of a computer system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a state of processing from image information handled by the computer main body 16 to printing.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a dialog box DB1 in which a “basic setting” card CD1 is opened.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a dialog box DB2 in which a “manual setting” card is opened.

FIG. 6 is a dialog box D in which the “basic setting” card CD1 is opened after the “recommended setting” mode is selected.
It is explanatory drawing which illustrates B1.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a dialog box DB1 in which a “paper setting” card CD2 is opened.

FIG. 8 is an information setting module 5 executed by the CPU 30.
It is a flowchart which shows the processing routine of 7.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a basic setting mode processing routine executed by the CPU 30.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a card display processing routine executed by the CPU 30.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an image represented by base image data DT.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a data input processing routine executed by the CPU 30.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a data input field E14 with a menu field opened in a pull-down format.

[Fig. 14] Card C of "basic setting" when "Auto Photo Fine! 2" is specified from the data input field E14
It is explanatory drawing which illustrates the dialog box DB1 in which D1 was opened.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a processing routine executed by the CPU 30 for changing the data display field.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Computer 12 ... CRT display 14 ... Printer 16 ... Computer body 18 ... Keyboard 20 ... Mouse 22 ... Floppy disk 24 ... Floppy disk drive 30 ... CPU 31 ... ROM 32 ... RAM 33 ... Display image memory 34 ... Mouse interface 35 ... Keyboard interface 36 ... FDC 37 ... HDC 38 ... CRTC 39 ... Printer interface 40 ... I / O port 41 ... HDD 44 ... Modem 46 ... Public telephone line 48 ... server 51 ... Application program 52 ... Video driver 53 ... Printer driver 54 ... Rasterizer 55 ... Color correction module 56 ... Halftone module 57 ... Information setting module

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 3/12 B41J 29/00 G06F 3/00 601

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A printer control device for setting various kinds of information for printing on a predetermined printer and controlling the printer based on the set various kinds of information, which is input from an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard. An input field is provided in which a detailed setting mode for setting the various information based on data and a simple setting mode for automatically setting at least a part of various information that can be set by the detailed setting mode are provided as options. The setting screen is displayed on the monitor and the mode selection means for selecting one mode and the input field on the setting screen are displayed in separate areas.
And a display control means for displaying a list of the current setting contents of the various types of information in the display field, and when the simple setting mode is selected by the mode selecting means, the simple setting mode is automatically set. And a display inhibition control unit that inhibits display by the display control unit for at least one piece of information that can be set in the printer control apparatus. 2. The printer control device according to claim 1, wherein a data input field for inputting a type of data to be printed by the printer is provided in a predetermined area on the setting screen, and the display prohibition control is performed. A printer control device for changing the information whose display is prohibited by the means according to the type of the input data. 3. A printer control device for setting various kinds of information for printing in a predetermined printer and controlling the printer based on the set various kinds of information, wherein the various kinds of information are obtained in a plurality of groups. Card image selecting means for preparing image data of individual setting cards for each set, and selecting image data of one setting card from the image data of the plurality of setting cards, and the card image selecting means. Display control means for displaying on the monitor the image data of the setting card selected by, and at least one of the information set by the setting cards other than the setting card selected by the card image selecting means information, and a predetermined first information display additional means for displaying a region of the setting card is displayed in the display control means further mouse, input such as a keyboard Details setting mode for setting the various kinds of information based on input data from the device, was prepared as an option and simple setting mode for automatically setting the at least some of the various types of information that can be set by the advanced mode An input field is provided in a second area, which is different from the first area on the setting card displayed by the display control means, to enable selection of one mode. Means for displaying at least one of information that can be automatically set in the simple setting mode when the simple setting mode is selected by the mode selecting means. A printer control device comprising a prohibition control means. 4. A printer control method for setting various information for printing in a predetermined printer and controlling the printer based on the set various information, comprising: (a) an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard. details setting mode for setting the various kinds of information based on input data from, and prepared as an option and simple setting mode for automatically setting the at least some of the various types of information that can be set by the advanced mode input A step of displaying a setting screen including columns on a monitor to enable selection of one mode; and (b) a region separate from the input column on the setting screen.
A display column dedicated to display is provided, and within the current settings of the above various information .
A step of displaying a list of contents on the display section, when the simple setting mode is selected in (c) said step (a), the at least one information among the may automatically set in the simple setting mode information For the above step (b)
And a step of inhibiting display by the printer. 5. A recording medium in which a computer program for setting various kinds of information for printing on a predetermined printer and controlling the printer based on the various kinds of set information is recorded. A detailed setting mode for setting the various information based on input data from an input device such as a keyboard, and a simple setting mode for automatically setting at least a part of various information that can be set by the detailed setting mode. A step of displaying a setting screen having an input field prepared as an option on the monitor to enable selection of one mode; and (b) a region separate from the input field on the setting screen.
A display column dedicated to display is provided, and the current settings of the above various information are set.
A step of displaying a list of contents on the display section, when the simple setting mode is selected in (c) said step (a), the at least one information among the may automatically set in the simple setting mode information For the above step (b)
A recording medium recording a computer program for causing a computer to execute the step of prohibiting display by.