JP4144393B2 - Printer driver uninstallation method, program, and uninstaller - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printer driver uninstallation method and program incorporated in an operating system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
When the software is uninstalled and excluded from the management of the operating system (OS) of the personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “PC”), the related file of the software is deleted. Due to such deletion processing of the related file, there is a possibility that an operational problem for the operating system may occur, for example, abnormal termination when another program is executed after uninstallation.
[0003]
In order to solve this problem, if it is determined that there is a risk of operating problems for the operating system, operating procedures for changing various settings related to software so that the problems do not occur Has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-92642
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 does not describe any inconvenience that the user's usability is impaired when the printer driver incorporated in the operating system of the PC is uninstalled.
[0006]
In other words, in general, when a printer driver to be uninstalled is set as a default printer driver (hereinafter referred to as “default setting”), that is, a target of “set as default printer” on the setting screen of the PC display. The operating system automatically determines a default printer driver after uninstallation. At this time, since the operating system does not consider the user's usability, there is a possibility that a default printer driver corresponding to a printer that the user does not want is set. Furthermore, there is a possibility that a printer driver corresponding to FAX, PDF Writer, or the like is set as a default against the general usage.
[0007]
Normally, after the printer driver is uninstalled, the PC is restarted. During this time, the user forgets the default setting of the desired printer driver and often notices after the print instruction. In this case, the user must reset the printer driver corresponding to his / her easy-to-use printer if the target of the default setting automatically performed is not desired. The technique described in Patent Document 1 does not take into account the inconvenience of impairing the user's usability when uninstalling the printer driver as described above, and presents a specific method for solving this problem. It is not a thing.
[0008]
The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to uninstall a printer driver capable of preventing inconvenience that the user's convenience is impaired when the printer driver is uninstalled. And providing a program.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The object of the present invention is achieved by the following means.
[0010]
(1) A procedure for detecting a deletion request for deleting a printer driver for controlling a printer, and the deletion request when the printer driver that is the target of the deletion request is set as a normal printer driver A program for causing a computer to execute a control procedure that prompts the user to set a printer driver that is different from the target printer driver as a normally used printer driver.
[0011]
(2) A program separated from an uninstaller for deleting a printer driver, wherein the procedure for detecting the deletion request is a procedure for detecting that the uninstaller has been activated. Program.
[0012]
(3) An uninstaller attached to the printer driver for deleting the printer driver, the uninstaller including the program described in (1) above.
[0013]
(4) An uninstaller for deleting the printer driver that is separated from the printer driver and can be incorporated in the operating system, and includes the program according to (1).
[0014]
(5) a step of detecting a deletion request for deleting a printer driver for controlling a printer, and when the printer driver that is the target of the deletion request is set as a normal printer driver, the deletion request A method for uninstalling a printer driver, comprising: a step of urging the user to set a printer driver that is different from the target printer driver to be a normally used printer driver.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0016]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system to which a printer driver uninstallation method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system includes a PC 100, printers 200A, 200B, and 200C. The printer 200A is directly connected (locally connected) between the PC 100 and the device. In this case, for example, an interface and a protocol such as USB and IEEE1284 are used. The PC 100 and the printers 200B and 200C are connected to each other via the network 300 so as to be able to communicate with each other. The network 300 includes a LAN according to a standard such as Ethernet (R), token ring, or FDDI, or a WAN in which LANs are connected by a dedicated line. The type and number of devices connected to the network 300 are not limited to the example shown in FIG.
[0018]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the PC 100 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the PC 100 includes a CPU 101 that controls the entire apparatus and various arithmetic processes, a ROM 102 for storing programs and data, a RAM 103 for temporarily storing programs and data as work areas, Hard disk 104 as an external storage device for storing programs and data, a display 105 for displaying various information, an input unit 106 including a keyboard and a mouse for inputting various instructions, and a network 300 A network interface 107 such as a LAN card and a local interface 108 for local connection to the printer 200A are included, and these are connected to each other via a bus 109 for exchanging signals.
[0019]
Note that the PC 100 may include components other than the components described above, or may not include some of the components described above.
[0020]
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a file tree configured in the hard disk 104. As shown in FIG. 3, the operating system 122 is stored as a directory in the logical drive 121 provided on the hard disk 104.
[0021]
When a printer driver for controlling the printer is installed in the PC 100, the printer driver is incorporated under the management of the operating system 122, accompanied by an uninstaller for deleting the printer driver. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the uninstaller is stored in the SYSTEM 123 that is a directory under the management of the operating system 122, and the printer driver is stored in the driver 124 that is a directory.
[0022]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating functions related to the printer driver when the printer driver is installed in the PC 100. The illustrated functions are realized by the CPU 101 and a storage unit such as the RAM 103.
[0023]
As shown in FIG. 4, the application 131 outputs print data to the operating system 122. The operating system 122 delivers the received print data to the printer driver 132. The printer driver 132 converts the delivered print data into a format that can be directly interpreted by the printer, including color space conversion (from RGB to CMYK) and conversion into a printer language when the data is color. The conversion process is performed. The spooler 133 stores print data that has undergone conversion processing. The port monitor 134 outputs the print data that has been stored in the spooler 133 to the network interface 107 or the local interface 108. The uninstaller 135 deletes the printer driver 132 based on a user operation.
[0024]
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing functions of the uninstaller 135 shown in FIG. The illustrated functions are realized by the CPU 101 and a storage unit such as the RAM 103.
[0025]
As shown in FIG. 5, the uninstaller 135 includes an uninstall activation unit 141 that controls activation of the uninstaller 135, a default setting target detection unit 142 for detecting a default printer driver, and the printer driver hard disk 104. An uninstall execution unit 143 for executing deletion from the computer, a setting screen display unit 144 for displaying a setting screen for setting a normally used printer driver based on a user operation on the display 105, and the above-described units are managed. An uninstall management unit 145 is provided.
[0026]
Next, a procedure for uninstalling the printer driver performed in the PC 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. The algorithm shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 is stored as a program in a storage unit such as the hard disk 104 of the PC 100 and is executed by the CPU 101.
[0027]
First, a printer driver deletion request based on a user operation is detected, and the uninstaller activation unit 141 is activated as a whole (S101).
[0028]
When the uninstaller 135 is activated, a default printer driver detection process is performed (S102). In other words, the uninstall management unit 145 instructs the default setting target detection unit 142 to detect a default-set printer driver. In response to this instruction, the default setting target detection unit 142 refers to a file in which various setting information managed by the operating system 122 is stored, and detects a printer driver set as default. The detection result is sent to the uninstall management unit 145.
[0029]
Upon receiving the detection result from the default setting target detection unit 142, the uninstall management unit 145 determines whether or not the printer driver that is the target of the deletion request detected in step S101 has been set by default (S103). If the printer driver that is the object of the deletion request is not set by default (NO in S103), it is determined that there is no possibility of impairing the user's convenience, and the process proceeds to step S107.
[0030]
If the printer driver that is the target of the deletion request is set by default (YES in S103), the uninstall management unit 145 sets a printer driver that is different from the printer driver that is the target of the deletion request as the printer driver that is normally used. Control to prompt the user. Specifically, the uninstall management unit 145 instructs the setting screen display unit 144 to display a setting screen for setting a normally used printer driver based on a user operation (S104).
[0031]
FIG. 7 shows an example of a setting screen for setting a normally used printer driver based on a user operation. As shown in FIG. 7, the setting screen 151 has a printer display window 152. The printer display window 152 displays the currently installed printer driver. However, in FIG. 7, printer drivers corresponding to more various devices than the device shown in FIG. 1 are displayed. A plurality of printer drivers may be installed corresponding to one printer.
[0032]
At the bottom of the printer display window 152, for example, “Default printer will be uninstalled. Select the printer to be defaulted after uninstallation and press OK. To cancel uninstallation, press Cancel. Is displayed. In the printer display window 152, a device such as a printer to be controlled by the printer driver is displayed as an icon. Here, the target of uninstallation or default setting is not actually a printer but a printer driver.
[0033]
In step S105, the uninstall management unit 145 determines whether or not the “OK” button 154 has been pressed after the user selects a desired printer driver on the setting screen 151 (S105).
[0034]
When the “OK” button 154 is pressed (YES in S105), a default setting process is performed (S106). That is, the uninstall management unit 145 instructs the operating system 122 to change the setting information related to the normally used printer driver based on the user's selection on the setting screen 151.
[0035]
Subsequently, an uninstall process is executed (S107). That is, the uninstall management unit 145 instructs the uninstall execution unit 143 to uninstall the printer driver that is the target of the deletion request detected in step S101. Then, the uninstall execution unit 143 deletes the file related to the printer driver that is the target of the deletion request from the hard disk 104.
[0036]
When the execution of the uninstall process is completed, the uninstall management unit 145 displays on the display 105 that the printer driver has been uninstalled, as shown in FIG. 8 (S108). At this time, if the user presses the “restart” button 162 on the display screen 161 indicating that the uninstallation has been completed, the operating system 122 of the PC 100 can recognize the printer driver after the uninstallation. When the user presses the “restart later” button 163, another application can be executed without restarting.
[0037]
On the other hand, if the “OK” button 154 is not pressed in step S105 (NO in S105), the uninstall management unit 145 determines whether or not the user has pressed the “cancel” button 155 on the setting screen 151. (S109). If the “cancel” button 155 has not been pressed (NO in S109), the process returns to step S105.
[0038]
When the “Cancel” button 155 is pressed (YES in S109), the uninstallation management unit 145 displays on the display 105 that the uninstallation of the printer driver is interrupted as shown in FIG. 9 (S110). . At this time, when the user presses the “OK” button 172 on the display screen 171 indicating that the uninstallation is interrupted, for example, another application can be executed.
[0039]
In this embodiment, the control (S104 and S105) for prompting the change of the default setting target is performed before the execution of the uninstall process (S107). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the uninstall process is performed. May be performed after the execution (S107).
[0040]
As described above, according to the printer driver uninstallation method of the present embodiment, a deletion request that requests deletion of a printer driver is detected, and the printer driver that is the target of the deletion request is set as a printer driver that is normally used. If the printer driver is the target of the deletion request, control is performed to prompt the user to set a printer driver different from the printer driver that is the target of the deletion request as the printer driver to be used normally.
[0041]
Therefore, when deleting the default printer driver, the user can easily and surely set the default printer driver corresponding to the user's easy-to-use printer as the next candidate. Since the target of the default setting is not as desired, there is no need to reset the default setting again. In this way, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience of impairing the user's convenience when uninstalling the printer driver.
[0042]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims.
[0043]
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is an uninstaller for deleting the printer driver 132 attached to the printer driver 132, and a procedure for detecting a deletion request that requests the printer driver 132 to be deleted. If the printer driver 132 that is the target of the deletion request is set as a normal printer driver, the control that prompts the user to set a printer driver that is different from the printer driver 132 that is the target of the deletion request as the normal printer driver Is provided as an uninstaller 135 including a program for causing a computer to execute a procedure for performing the above. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
[0044]
The present invention is, for example, an uninstaller for deleting a printer driver that is separated from the printer driver and can be incorporated into the operating system 122, and a procedure for detecting the deletion request and a procedure for performing the prompting control. Can also be provided as an uninstaller including a program for causing a computer to execute.
[0045]
Further, the present invention is a program separated from an uninstaller for deleting a printer driver, and when detecting that any uninstaller is activated, interrupts the processing of the uninstaller, and It can also be provided as a program for causing a computer to execute a procedure for performing control for prompting.
[0046]
In the above-described embodiment, a computer such as a workstation or a server may be used instead of the PC. Further, instead of the printer, an image forming apparatus such as a copier and a multi-function peripheral (MFP) may be used.
[0047]
The embodiments of the present invention described above include the inventions as shown in the following supplementary notes 1 to 6 in addition to the inventions described in claims 1 to 5.
[0048]
[Supplementary Note 1] The program according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the procedure for performing the prompting control is executed before a printer driver that is a target of the deletion request is deleted.
[0049]
[Supplementary Note 2] The program according to claim 1, wherein the procedure for performing the prompting control includes a procedure for displaying a setting screen for setting a normally used printer driver based on a user operation.
[0050]
[Supplementary Note 3] The uninstaller according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the procedure for performing the prompting control is executed before the printer driver that is the target of the deletion request is deleted.
[0051]
[Appendix 4] The uninstaller according to Claim 3, 4 or Appendix 3, wherein the procedure for performing the prompting control includes a procedure for displaying a setting screen for setting a normally used printer driver based on a user operation.
[0052]
[Supplementary Note 5] A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to any one of Claims 1, 2, and 1 or 2 is recorded.
[0053]
[Appendix 6] A computer-readable recording medium on which the uninstaller according to claim 3, 4, or appendix 3 or 4 is recorded.
[0054]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when deleting a default printer driver, the user can easily and surely set a default printer driver corresponding to the user's easy-to-use printer as a next candidate. In addition, since the target of the default setting that is automatically performed as in the past does not meet the hope, there is no need to reset the default setting again. In this way, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience of impairing the user's convenience when uninstalling the printer driver.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system to which a printer driver uninstallation method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a PC shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a file tree configured in a hard disk.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating functions related to a printer driver when the printer driver is installed in a PC.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing functions of an uninstaller shown in FIG.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for uninstalling a printer driver performed on a PC.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen for setting a normally used printer driver based on a user operation.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen indicating that uninstallation of a printer driver has been completed.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen indicating that uninstallation of a printer driver is interrupted.
[Explanation of symbols]
100 ... PC,
101 ... CPU,
102 ... ROM,
103 ... RAM,
104 ... Hard disk,
105 ... Display,
106 ... input section,
107: Network interface,
108 ... local interface,
109 ... Bus,
122 ... operating system,
132: Printer driver,
135 ... Uninstaller,
151 ... Setting screen,
200A-200C ... printer,
300: Network.

Claims (11)

A procedure for detecting a delete request requesting to delete a printer driver for controlling the printer;
When the printer driver that is the target of the deletion request is set as a normal printer driver, control is performed to prompt the user to set a printer driver that is different from the printer driver that is the target of the deletion request as a normal printer driver. A program that causes a computer to execute procedures. A program separated from the uninstaller for removing the printer driver,
The program according to claim 1, wherein the procedure for detecting the deletion request is a procedure for detecting that the uninstaller is activated.   An uninstaller for deleting the printer driver attached to the printer driver, the uninstaller including the program according to claim 1.   An uninstaller for deleting the printer driver, which is separated from the printer driver and can be incorporated into an operating system, and includes the program according to claim 1. Detecting a deletion request for deleting a printer driver for controlling the printer; and
When the printer driver that is the target of the deletion request is set as a normal printer driver, control is performed to prompt the user to set a printer driver that is different from the printer driver that is the target of the deletion request as a normal printer driver. And a printer driver uninstalling method.   The program according to claim 1, wherein the procedure for performing the prompting control is executed before a printer driver that is a target of the deletion request is deleted.   The program according to claim 1, wherein the procedure for performing the prompting control includes a procedure for displaying a setting screen for setting a normally used printer driver based on a user operation.   The uninstaller according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the procedure for performing the prompting control is executed before the printer driver that is the object of the deletion request is deleted.   The uninstaller according to claim 3, 4, or 8, wherein the procedure for performing the prompting control includes a procedure for displaying a setting screen for setting a normally used printer driver based on a user operation.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to claim 1, 2, 6, or 7 is recorded.   The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the uninstaller of Claim 3, 4, 8, or 9.

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