JP2000122832A - Printing job managing device, printing job managing method and storage medium with printing job management program stored therein - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform print processing of plural document data at a high speed by effectively utilizing fonts mounted on a printer and font data to be cashed to a cache buffer. SOLUTION: In a system in which plural information processors A to E share one or plural printers G through a network 13 and a printer server F, the printer server preliminarily registers printer information about the printers, e.g. fonts, printing speed or the like with a memory, analyzes document data sent from the plural information processors to the printers through the network and decides what orders plural document data sent from the plural information processors to the printers are subjected to print processing in by contrasting the analysis results and the printer information read from the memory in. For instance, the more the fonts of the printers coincide with the document data and the less the data quantity of the document data are, the higher of a priority is placed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plurality of information processing apparatuses, a printer server, and a plurality of information processing apparatuses connected via a network.
The present invention relates to a printing job management apparatus and a printing job management method in an information system (printing system) including one or a plurality of printers, and a storage medium storing a printing job management program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, all information devices in offices such as personal computers tend to operate in an environment connected via a network. In such an environment, although there are a plurality of information processing apparatuses on the same network, there is often only one printer, and all information processing apparatuses have to share the printer.

[0003]

In such a case, conventionally, a plurality of document data are transmitted from a plurality of information processing apparatuses regardless of the content of the document data sent to the printer or the font data mounted on the printer. If they were sent all at once, print processing was performed in the order they were sent.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and a first object of the present invention is to analyze the contents of document data so that fonts installed in a printer or a cache buffer can be used. An object of the present invention is to perform a print process of a plurality of document data at a high speed by effectively utilizing font data to be printed.

In some cases, a plurality of information processing apparatuses and printers exist on the same network. In such a case, conventionally, the user has appropriately selected and output a printer on the network regardless of the content of the document data to be output. However, if many information processing apparatuses are connected on one network and the load on one printer increases in output processing, the above-described printer selection method requires a long time until document data is output. There is a situation where you have to wait for time to go.

A second object of the present invention has been made in view of the above points, and analyzes the contents of document data to determine the font information installed in the printer, the operating state of the printer, or the status of each printer. The object of the present invention is to constantly check and compare the number of assigned document data awaiting output and the like, thereby enabling the output to be performed as soon as possible by an appropriate printer without the user's awareness.

[0007]

In order to achieve the first object, an invention of a printing job management apparatus according to the first aspect is an information system in which a plurality of information processing apparatuses share one printer via a network. A printer information registration unit that registers printer information relating to the printer; a document data analysis unit that analyzes document data sent from the plurality of information processing apparatuses to the printer via the network; By comparing the analysis result with the printer information read out from the printer information registration unit, a plurality of document data sent from the plurality of information processing apparatuses connected to the network to the printer can be printed in any order. And priority order determining means for determining whether to perform the determination.

[0008] In order to achieve the second object, a second aspect is provided.
In a printing job management apparatus invention, in an information system in which a plurality of information processing apparatuses share a plurality of printers via a network, printer information registration means for registering printer information related to the plurality of printers; and Document data analysis means for analyzing document data sent from the plurality of information processing devices to the printer; and a document by comparing the analysis result of the document data analysis means with the printer information read from the printer information registration means. Printer selection means for determining a printer to output data, and in which order the plurality of document data is to be printed when one printer is selected as the output destination of the plurality of document data by the printer selection means And priority determining means for determining

[0009] Preferably, the printer information registration means, the document data analysis means, and the priority determination means are each mounted on a printer server.

Preferably, the printer information registered by the printer information registration means is font information.

Preferably, the document data analyzing means analyzes a font used for the document data.

Preferably, when the document data is sent from the information processing device on the network to a printer server in a state where the printer is already executing a printing process, the document data analyzing means preferably outputs the document data. Analyze the data.

Preferably, the document data analysis means analyzes the document data when the document data is sent to the printer server and another document data is already sent to the printer server. I do.

[0014] Preferably, the document data analyzing means executes the print processing of the printer in a state where document data other than the document data being analyzed is not sent from the information processing apparatus on the network to the printer server. When the process is completed, the analysis of the document data is stopped, the document data is sent to the printer, and the printing process is performed.

[0015] Preferably, the priority order determination means is performed when a plurality of document data, for which the analysis of the document data has been completed, exist in the printer server.

Preferably, the priority order determining means counts the number of matches between fonts installed in the printer and fonts used in the document data from the printer information and the analysis result of the document data. Means, and means for giving higher priority to document data having a larger number of matches.

Preferably, the priority order determining means determines the font cached in the cache buffer based on the data in the cache buffer stored by the previously performed print processing and the analysis result of the document data. It comprises means for counting the number of matches with the font used in the document data, and means for giving higher priority to document data having a greater number of matches.

Preferably, when there is document data having the same number of font matches, the priority determining means sets the priority higher as the data amount of the document data is smaller.

Preferably, the priority determining means sets the priority of document data having a data amount exceeding a preset threshold value to the lowest.

Preferably, the priority order determining means performs the priority order determining process up to twice for each document data, and the priority order of the document data subjected to the priority order determining process twice is changed thereafter. Not done.

Preferably, the printer information registration means registers information of each printer in association with an address on the network.

Preferably, said printer selecting means is mounted on a printer server.

Preferably, the printer selecting means compares a font installed in each printer with a font used in the document data from the printer information, and determines whether the number of matching of the fonts is equal. Select more printers as output printers.

[0024] Preferably, the printer selection means includes a plurality of printers which have the largest number of matches between the fonts mounted on the printer and the fonts used in the document data. Among the printers, the printer with the highest printing speed is selected as the output printer.

Preferably, the printer selecting means includes a plurality of printers having the maximum number of matching between fonts installed in the printer and fonts used in the document data, and among the plurality of printers, If there are a plurality of printers with the highest printing speed, the printer with the shortest waiting time is selected as the output printer from among the plurality of printers.

Preferably, the printer information registered by the printer information registering means also includes printing speed information.

Preferably, the determination of the priority order is such that a plurality of document data, for which the analysis of the document data has been completed, exist in a printer server, and a plurality of document data are selected for one printer by the printer selecting means. It is performed when it is done.

In order to achieve the first object, a second aspect is provided.
The invention of the second printing job management method is a printer information registration step of registering printer information relating to the printer in an information system in which a plurality of information processing apparatuses share one printer via a network; A document data analysis step of analyzing document data sent to the printer from the plurality of information processing devices, and by comparing the analysis result of the document data analysis step with the printer information read from the printer information registration step, And a priority order determining step of determining in what order the plurality of document data sent from the plurality of information processing apparatuses connected to the network to the printer are to be printed.

In order to achieve the second object, a printing job management method according to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention is directed to an information system in which a plurality of information processing apparatuses share a plurality of printers via a network. A printer information registering step of registering printer information relating to the printer, a document data analyzing step of analyzing document data sent from the plurality of information processing apparatuses to the printer via the network, an analysis result of the document data analyzing step, and A printer selecting step of determining a printer to output document data by comparing the printer information read from the printer information registering step; and selecting one printer as an output destination of a plurality of document data in the printer selecting step. How do you use the multiple document data And having a priority determination step of determining a whether order printing process in which.

Here, preferably, the programs for the printer information registration step, the document data analysis step, and the priority order determination step are respectively mounted on a printer server.

[0031] Preferably, the printer information registered in the printer information registration step is font information.

Preferably, the document data analyzing step is performed when document data is sent from the information processing device on the network to a printer server while the printer is already executing print processing. Analyze the data.

Preferably, the document data analyzing step includes the step of analyzing the document data when the document data is sent to the printer server and another document data is already sent to the printer server. Is performed.

Preferably, in the document data analyzing step, the printing process of the printer is performed in a state where document data other than the document data being analyzed is not transmitted from the information processing device on the network to the printer server. When the processing is completed, the analysis of the document data is stopped,
The document data is sent to the printer and print processing is performed.

Preferably, the step of determining a priority order is performed when a plurality of document data for which analysis of the document data has been completed exist in the printer server.

Preferably, the priority order determining step counts the number of coincidences between the fonts installed in the printer and the fonts used in the document data from the printer information and the analysis result of the document data. And a step of giving higher priority to the document data having the greater number of matches.

[0037] Preferably, the priority order determining step includes determining a font cached in the cache buffer from the data in the cache buffer stored by the previously performed print processing and the analysis result of the document data. It comprises the steps of counting the number of matches with the font used in the document data, and the step of giving higher priority to document data with a larger number of matches.

[0038] Preferably, in the priority order determining step, the priority order becomes higher as the number of matches between the fonts mounted on the printer and the fonts used in the document data increases according to the printer information.

Preferably, in the priority order determining step, when there is document data having the same number of font matches, the priority becomes higher as the data amount of the document data becomes smaller.

Preferably, in the priority order determining step, document data having a data amount exceeding a preset threshold is given the lowest priority.

Preferably, in the priority order determining step, the priority order determining process is performed up to twice for each document data, and the priority order of the document data subjected to the priority order determining process twice is changed thereafter. Not done.

Preferably, the printer information registered in the printer information registration step is printing speed information.

Preferably, in the printer information registering step, each piece of information is registered in association with an address on the network.

Preferably, the document data analysis step is an analysis of a font used for the sentence storage data.

Preferably, the document data analyzing step is performed in a printer server.

Preferably, in the printer selecting step, a font installed in each printer is compared with a font used in the document data from the printer information, and the number of matching of the fonts is determined. Select more printers as output printers.

Preferably, in the printer selection step, when there are a plurality of printers having the largest number of matches between the fonts mounted on the printer and the fonts used in the document data, the plurality of printers are selected. Among the printers, the printer with the highest printing speed is selected as the output printer.

Preferably, in the printer selecting step, there are a plurality of printers having the maximum number of matching between fonts installed in the printer and fonts used in the document data, and among the plurality of printers, If there are a plurality of printers with the highest printing speed, the printer with the shortest waiting time is selected as the output printer from among the plurality of printers.

Preferably, the determination of the priority order is such that a plurality of document data for which the analysis of the document data has been completed exist in a printer server, and a plurality of document data are selected for one printer by the printer selecting step. It is performed when it is done.

In order to achieve the first object, an invention according to claim 44 is for managing, by a computer, a printing job in an information system in which a plurality of information processing apparatuses share one printer via a network. A storage medium storing a printing job management program, the management program causing a computer to register printer information on the printer, and analyze document data sent from the plurality of information processing apparatuses to the printer via the network. And comparing the analysis result with the printer information to determine in which order the plurality of document data sent from the plurality of information processing apparatuses connected to the network to the printer are to be printed. Is determined.

In order to achieve the second object, the invention according to claim 45 is directed to a printing method for managing, by a computer, a printing job in an information system in which a plurality of information processing apparatuses share a plurality of printers via a network. A storage medium storing a job management program, wherein the management program causes a computer to register printer information on the plurality of printers, and stores document data sent from the plurality of information processing apparatuses to the printer via the network. Analyzing and comparing the analysis result with the printer information allows the user to select a printer that outputs document data sent from the plurality of information processing devices connected to the network, and to a plurality of document data output destinations. When one printer is selected, the document data Any order thereby determining priority printing process in characterized.

Here, preferably, the printer information is font information.

Preferably, when the management program sends document data to the printer server from the information processing apparatus on the network while the printer is already executing the print processing, The document data is analyzed.

Preferably, when the document data has been sent to the printer server, and when another document data has already been sent to the printer server, the management program stores the document data in the computer. Perform analysis.

Preferably, the management program executes the print processing of the printer in a state where document data other than the document data being analyzed is not sent from the information processing apparatus on the network to the printer server. When the process is completed, the analysis of the document data is stopped, the document data is sent to the printer, and the printing process is performed.

Preferably, the management program stores the plurality of document data, for which the analysis of the document data has been completed, in the printer server.
The priorities are determined.

Preferably, the management program causes the computer to count the number of matches between the fonts installed in the printer and the fonts used in the document data from the printer information and the analysis result of the document data. The higher the number of matches, the higher the priority.

Preferably, the management program stores in the computer the font cached in the cache buffer based on the data in the cache buffer stored by the previously executed print processing and the analysis result of the document data. The number of matches with the font used in the document data is counted, and the document data with a larger number of matches is given a higher priority.

[0059] Preferably, the management program causes the computer to increase the priority according to the printer information as the number of matches between fonts mounted on the printer and fonts used in document data increases.

Preferably, when there is document data having the same number of font matches, the management program causes the computer to set the priority higher as the data amount of the document data is smaller.

Preferably, the management program causes a computer to set the priority to the lowest for document data having a data amount exceeding a preset threshold value. Preferably, the management program causes the computer to perform a priority determination process for each document data up to twice, and does not change the priority of the document data that has been subjected to the priority determination process twice thereafter. .

Preferably, the printer information is printing speed information.

Preferably, the management program causes a computer to register each piece of the information in association with an address on the network.

Preferably, the management program causes a computer to analyze a font used in the document data in the analysis of the document data.

Preferably, the management program causes a computer to analyze the document data in a printer server.

Preferably, the management program causes the computer to compare the fonts installed in each printer with the fonts used in the document data from the printer information and determine whether the fonts match. Select a printer with a large number as an output printer.

Preferably, when the management program has a plurality of printers in which the number of matches between the fonts installed in the printer and the fonts used in the document data is greatest, The printer having the highest printing speed among the plurality of printers is selected as the output printer.

Preferably, the management program includes, in a computer, a plurality of printers having the maximum number of matching between fonts installed in the printer and fonts used in the document data. If there are multiple printers with the fastest printing speed,
The printer having the shortest waiting time among the plurality of printers is selected as the output printer.

Preferably, the management program stores in the computer a plurality of document data for which the analysis of the document data has been completed, and selects a plurality of document data for one printer by the printer selection process. In this case, the priority order is determined.

[0070]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Basic Configuration) FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration of a computer system (control device) for executing printing job management according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a CPU.
(Central processing unit), which performs control and arithmetic processing of the entire apparatus. Reference numeral 2 denotes a RAM (random access memory), which is a storage area in which respective programs and data are loaded and executed for various processes. 3 is ROM
(Read-only memory), which is a storage area for system control programs, font data, and the like. 4 is KB
C (keyport control unit), 5 receives data by key input from a KB (keyboard),
Communicate to

Reference numeral 6 denotes a PRTC (printer control unit).
Reference numeral 7 denotes a PRT (printer device). This PRT7 is
For example, a dot printer such as a laser beam printer or a bubble jet printer is used. Reference numeral 8 denotes a CRTC (display control unit). Reference numeral 9 denotes a CRT (display device) which displays data sent from a DKC (disk control unit) 10. The DKC 10 controls data transmission and the like. 11 is FD (floppy disk device) or HD (hard disk device)
The external storage device stores programs and data, and refers to them or loads them into the RAM 2 as needed at the time of execution.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a system bus, which should serve as a path for data transfer between the above-mentioned components.

The computer system operates by the CPU 1 executing a basic I / O program, an OS (operation system), and a character pattern generation control program. The basic I / O program is written in the ROM 3, and the OS is written in the HD 11. When the power of the computer system is turned on, the OS is read from the HD 11 into the RAM 2 by the IPL (initial program loading) function in the basic I / O program, and the operation of the OS is started.

In the case of the present embodiment, the printing job management program according to the present invention and its related data are recorded in the FD or CD-ROM indicated by 11, and the structure of the recorded contents is shown in FIG. Shown in The character pattern generation control program and related data recorded on the FD or CD-ROM are as shown in FIG.
It can be loaded into the computer system through an FD drive or a CD-ROM drive. Insert this FD or CD-ROM into the FD drive or CD-R
When set in the OM drive, the character pattern generation control program and its related data are read from the FD or CD-ROM under the control of the OS and the basic I / O program. It is loaded into the RAM 2 and becomes operable.

FIG. 4 shows a memory map in a state where the printing job management program is loaded into the RAM 2 and becomes executable.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 5 shows a network 1 in which a plurality of information processing apparatuses A, B, C, D, and E, one printer server F, and one printer G are connected to one network.
3 shows an example of a printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, connected by three.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a printing job management procedure according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. S6-1 to S6-9 indicate each step.

First, in the first step S6-1, each of the information processing apparatuses A, B, C, D, and E sends document data created by an arbitrary application to the print server F for printing out.

In step S6-2, the printer server F
When the document data is sent to the printer server, it is checked whether or not there is a plurality of document data on the printer server. If there is no document data yet on the printer server F and the first sent document data, the process proceeds to step S6-5. If there is document data that has already been sent to the printer server F and there is more than one document data on the printer server F, the next step S6-3.
Proceed to.

In step S6-3, the printer server F
Analyzes the document data sent to. Next, the process proceeds to step S6-4, and based on the analysis result, the printer server F
Of the plurality of pieces of document data sent to the printer is determined.

This priority determination processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. S7-1 to S7-6
Indicates each step. First, in step S7-1, the fonts that are currently cached in the cache buffer mounted on the printer G are checked. Next, in step S7-2, the cached font is compared with the analysis result of the document data, and the number of font matches is counted.

Then, the flow shifts to step S7-3, where it is determined whether or not there is another document data having the same number of font matches as the result of the counting among the plurality of document data in the printer server F. I do. If there is no other document data with the same number of font matches, step S7-6.
If there is a document data group having the same number of font matches, the process proceeds to step S7-4.

In step S7-4, the data amounts of the document data having the same number of font matches are confirmed. Next, the process proceeds to step S7-5, where it is again checked whether there is any other document data group having the same number of font matches. If there is another document data group having the same number of font matches, the process returns to step S7-4, and the above processing is repeated.

If there is no other document data group having the same number of font matches, the process proceeds to step S7-6, where each document data is prioritized.

First, the priority is set higher as the number of font matches in step S7-2 is larger, and the priority is set higher as the data amount is smaller for document data having the same number of font matches. . Through the above processing, the print processing priority of the document data sent to the printer server F is determined.

Next, returning to FIG. 6, the process proceeds to step S6-5, and it is determined whether or not the printer G to be output is in a printing process. If the printer G is performing the print processing, the process proceeds to step S6-6, and it is confirmed whether new document data has not been sent to the printer server F by the time the printer G completes the print processing. . Printer server F
If no new document data is sent to the server, the process returns to step S6-5.

If new document data has been sent to the printer server F, the flow shifts to step S6-7 to check whether there is any document data that has not been subjected to document analysis.

The unanalyzed document data means that, when the document data is sent to the printer G, there is no other document data on the printer server F, and therefore, the document is not analyzed and the processing from step S6-2 to step S6- Document data that has proceeded to step 5. If there is no unanalyzed document data, the process returns to step S6-2 and the process is repeated.

If there is any document data that has not been analyzed, the process proceeds to step S6-8, where the document data is analyzed, the process returns to step S6-2, and the above process is repeated. If it is determined in step S6-5 that the printer G has not performed the printing process, the process proceeds to step S6-9, where the document data having the highest priority is sent to the printer G, and the printing process is performed.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a printing job management procedure according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Note that S8-1 to S8-11 indicate each step. Here, Step S8-1 to Step S8-3 are the same as Step S8 in FIG. 6 of the first embodiment.
Since it is the same as 6-1 to S6-3, the description is omitted. Next, the process proceeds to step S8-4, where the printer server F
It confirms how many times each of the plurality of document data has been subjected to the priority order determination processing. Next, the process proceeds to step S8-5, where the priority of the printing process is determined. The priority determination process performed here will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 9, S9-1 to S9-7 indicate each step. In step S9-1, first, it is confirmed whether or not there is document data that has already been performed twice in the number of times of the priority order determination process checked in the above process. If there is no document data that has been performed twice, the process proceeds to step S9-3. If there is document data that has been performed twice, the process proceeds to step S9-2, and the priority determination process is performed twice. For, the priority is fixed with the current priority.

That is, as shown in FIG. 10, sentence 1, sentence 2 and sentence 3 are added with sentence 8 and sentence 9,
If the priority is simply based on the number of matching fonts, the sentence 1 has priority 1 as it is, the sentence 2 has priority 4, and the sentence 3 has priority 7. However, these three pieces of document data have already been subjected to the priority determination processing twice, and the priorities are fixed.
The priority order is changed only for those that have not been done.

Then, the flow advances to step S9-3 to count the number of matches between the font installed in the printer and the font used in the document data from the analysis result of the document data and the printer information. Next, the process proceeds to step S9-4, and as a result of the count in step S9-3, it is confirmed whether or not document data having the same number of font matches exists. If there is no document data with the same number of font matches, the process proceeds to step S9-7. If it is determined in step S9-4 that there is a document data group having the same number of font matches, the process proceeds to step S9-5, and the respective data amounts of the document data having the same number of font matches are confirmed.

Then, the flow advances to step S9-6 to determine whether there is any other document data group having the same number of font matches. If there is a document data group having the same number of font matches, the process returns to step S9-5 to repeat the above processing. If there is no other document data group with the same number of font matches, the process proceeds to step S9-7.

In step S9-7, the order of priority is determined. In order to determine the priority, first, from the result of step S9-3, the document data having the larger number of font matches is given higher priority. Here, for the document data having the same number of font matches, step S9-5 is performed. As a result, document data having a smaller data amount is given a higher priority.

The priority order is determined by the above processing. Next, returning to FIG. 8, the process proceeds to step S8-7, and it is determined whether or not the output target printer G is performing a print process. If print processing is being performed, the process proceeds to step S8-8, and it is confirmed whether new document data has not been sent to the printer server F before the printer ends the print processing.

If no new document data has been sent to the printer server F, the flow returns to step S8-7. If new document data has been sent to the printer server F, the process proceeds to step S8-9 to check whether there is any document data that has not been subjected to document analysis. The unanalyzed document data means that when the document data is sent to the printer G, there is no other document data in the printer server F, and therefore the document data is not analyzed and the process proceeds from step S8-2 to step S8-7. Advanced document data.

If there is no document data that has not been subjected to the document analysis, the flow returns to step S8-2 to repeat the above processing. If any document data has not been analyzed,
The process proceeds to step S8-10, where the document data is analyzed, and the process returns to step S8-2 to repeat the above processing.

If it is determined in step S8-7 that the printer G has not performed the printing process, the flow advances to step S8-11 to send the document data having the highest priority to the printer G and perform the printing process.

(Third Embodiment) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The basic processing flow of the third embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of FIG. 6 of the first embodiment. Step S6-4 in FIG. 6, which is a feature of the present embodiment.
Will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In addition, S11-1 to S11-11 indicate each step.

First, in step S11-1, it is checked whether there is document data having a data amount exceeding a predetermined threshold. If all the document data in the printer server F has a data amount within this threshold, the process proceeds to step S11-
Proceed to 4.

If it is determined in step S11-1 that there is document data having a data amount exceeding the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S11-2.
Proceed to. In step S11-2, the document data having a data amount exceeding the threshold is prioritized. The above file is 1
If there is one, the last priority is assigned to all files. If there are a plurality of the files, the priority is assigned to the last of all the files in the order of increasing the priority as the data amount is smaller.

Then, the process proceeds to a step S11-3 to check whether or not there is any other document data in the printer server F having a data amount falling within the threshold range. If there is no such document data, the process proceeds to the exit of step S11-11, and the priority determination process ends. Step S11-3
If it is confirmed that there is document data having a data amount that falls within the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S11-4. Step S
In 11-4, the font currently cached in the cache buffer mounted on the printer G is checked.

Next, the process proceeds to step S11-5, and the number of matches between the cached font and the font used in the document data is counted from the analysis result of the document data.

Then, the flow advances to step S11-6 to check whether there is document data having the same number of font matches as a result of the counting. If there is no document data with the same number of font matches, the process proceeds to step S11-11. If there is a document data group having the same number of font matches, the process proceeds to step S11-7.

In step S11-7, the number of matches between the font used in the document data and the font installed in the printer is counted from the document data analysis result and the printer information this time.
Here, the higher the number of matches, the higher the priority.

Next, the flow advances to step S11-8, and as a result of the count in step S11-7, it is confirmed whether or not document data having the same number of font matches exists. If there is no document data with the same number of font matches, the process proceeds to step S11-10. If there is a document data group having the same font matching number in step S11-8, the process advances to step S11-9 to check the data amount of each document data having the same font matching number.

Then, the flow advances to step S11-10 to determine whether there is any other document data group having the same number of font matches. If there is such a document data group, the process returns to step S11-7, and the above processing is repeated.
If there is no other document data group having the same number of font matches, the process proceeds to step S11-11.

In step S11-11, the order of priority is determined. The method of determining the priority order is as follows.
The higher the number of matches between the cached font and the font used in the document data from the result of -5, the higher the priority, and the higher the priority of the font used in the document data from the result of step S11-7. And the document data with the greater number of fonts installed in the printer are given higher priority. For the document data having the same number of fonts, the results of step S11-9 show that the document data having a smaller data amount The higher the data, the higher the priority. The priority order is determined by the above processing. This is the end of the priority determination process. The subsequent processing returns to FIG. 6 and performs the same processing as in the first embodiment.

(Fourth Embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the case of the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the character pattern control program and related data are stored in the FD or CD indicated by reference numeral 11 shown in FIG.
-Recorded in the ROM, and the configuration of the data content recorded therein is the same as the configuration of FIG. 2 described above. The character pattern generation control program and related data recorded on the eleventh FD or CD-ROM are the same as those in FIG.
Through a drive, it can be loaded into a computer system. Then, the character pattern generation control program is loaded into the RAM 2 and the memory map in the executable state is the same as that in FIG. 4 described above.

FIG. 12 shows the configuration of a printing system according to the fourth embodiment. The point that a plurality of printers G, H, and I are connected via a printer server F is different from the printing system shown in FIG.
This is different from the case of FIG.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
11 shows a printing job management procedure in the embodiment. In addition, S13-1 to S13-8 indicate each step. Step S13-1 is performed by each of the information processing apparatuses A to E.
The document data created by an arbitrary application is sent to the print server F for printing. In step S13-2, the document data sent to the print server F is analyzed.

Then, the flow advances to step S13-3 to select a printer from among a plurality of printers G, H, and I connected to the same network 13 to output the document data. In this selection process, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, based on the printer information registered in the printer server F, the printer having the largest number of matches between the fonts installed in the printers G, H, and I and the fonts used in the document data based on the analysis result. Select

Then, the flow shifts to step S13-4, where it is checked whether there is a plurality of document data items in which the printer selected by the above-described printer selection process is selected as the output destination, and whether or not the printer is in an output waiting state. If there is no document data waiting to be output from the selected printer, the process proceeds to step S13-6. If there is already document data waiting to be output from the selected printer, the process proceeds to step S13-5.

In step S13-5, the print processing priority of a plurality of document data sent to the printer server is determined based on the analysis result. This priority order determination processing is the same as the processing of FIG. 7 described above, and a description thereof will be omitted. That is, the priority of the print processing of the document data sent to the printer server F is determined by the processing of FIG.

Thereafter, returning to FIG. 13, step S13-
6 and the selected output target printer (G, H,
I) is being printed. If the output destination printer is performing print processing, the process proceeds to step S13-7, and whether new document data has not been sent to the printer server F by the time the output destination printer ends the print processing. Check if. If new document data has been sent to the printer server F, the process returns to step S13-2, and the above processing is repeated. If no new document data is sent to the printer server F, the process returns to step S13-6.

If it is determined in step S13-6 that the output target printer is not performing the printing process, the flow advances to step S13-8 to send the document data having the highest priority to the output target printer. Perform print processing.

(Fifth Embodiment) FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a printing job management procedure according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. Note that S15-1 to S15-
9 indicates each step. In step S15-1, each of the information processing apparatuses A to E sends document data created by an arbitrary application to the print server F for printing.

Next, in step S15-2, the document data sent to the printer server F is analyzed. next,
The process proceeds to step S15-3 to select a printer from among a plurality of printers G, H, and I connected to the same network to output the document data.

This processing is shown in FIG. Note that S16-
1 to S16-3 indicate each step. Step S16-
In step 1, the number of matches between the font mounted on the printer based on the printer information and the font used in the document data based on the analysis result is checked for each printer. Here, if the number of printers with the highest number of matches is reduced to one,
Select that printer as the output destination printer.

If it is determined in step S16-2 that there are a plurality of printers having the maximum number of matches, the flow advances to step S16-3. In step S16-3, the printing speeds of the plurality of printers are compared. Here, the printer with the highest printing speed is selected as the output destination printer.

Next, returning to FIG. 15, step S15-4 will be described.
Then, it is confirmed whether or not there is a plurality of document data in which the printer selected by the above-described printer selection process is selected as the output destination and the printer is in an output waiting state. If there is no document data waiting to be output from the selected printer, step S1
Proceed to 5-7. If there is document data waiting to be output from the selected printer, the process proceeds to step S15-5.

Next, in step S15-5, it is confirmed how many times each of the plurality of document data awaiting output in the output target printer has been subjected to the priority order determination processing. Next, the process proceeds to step S15-6 to determine the priority of the printing process. The priority determination processing performed here is the same as the processing in FIG. 9 described above, and a description thereof will be omitted. That is, the priority order is determined in the processing of FIG.

Next, returning to FIG. 15, step S15-7 will be described.
To confirm whether or not the selected output target printer is performing print processing. If the output destination printer is performing print processing, the process proceeds to step S15-8, and whether new document data has not been sent to the printer server F by the time the output destination printer ends the print processing. Check if.

If new document data has been sent to the printer server F, the flow returns to step S15-2, and the above processing is repeated. If no new document data is sent to the printer server F, the process returns to step S15-7.

If it is determined in step S15-7 that the output target printer is not performing the printing process, the flow advances to step S15-9 to send the document data having the highest priority to the output target printer. Perform print processing.

(Sixth Embodiment) The basic processing flow of the sixth embodiment of the present invention is the same as the processing flow of FIG. 13 of the fourth embodiment described above. The printer selection processing in step S13-3 in FIG. 13 and the priority determination processing in step S13-5, which are features of the sixth embodiment, will be described.

First, the printer selection process will be described with reference to FIG. Note that S17-1 to S17-
5 indicates each step. In step S17-1, FIG.
4, each of the printers G, H,
The number of matches between the font mounted on I and the font used in the document data based on the analysis result is confirmed. next,
In step S17-2, it is checked whether or not the number of printers having the maximum number of matches can be reduced to one. When the number of printers with the highest number of matches is reduced to one, the printer is selected as the output destination printer.

If there is a plurality of printers having the maximum number of matches in step S17-2, the flow advances to step S17-3.
In step S10-3, the printing speeds of the plurality of printers are compared. Next, in step S17-4, it is checked whether the number of printers with the highest printing speed can be reduced to one. If only one printer has the highest printing speed, the printer is selected as the output destination printer. If there is a plurality of printers having the highest printing speed in step S17-4, the process proceeds to step S17-5.

In step S17-5, among the plurality of printers having the maximum number of matches between the fonts installed in the printer and the fonts used in the document data and having the fastest printing speed, the waiting time until the current print processing is executed is determined. Compare. Here, the printer with the shortest waiting time is selected as the output destination printer.

Next, the priority determination processing in step S13-5 in FIG. 13 is the same as the processing in FIG. 11 described above, and a description thereof will be omitted. That is, the priority order determination process ends with the process of FIG. Subsequent processing returns to FIG. 13, and the same processing as in the above-described fourth embodiment is performed.

(Other Embodiments) Even if the present invention is applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), an apparatus (one device) For example, the present invention may be applied to a copying machine, a facsimile machine, and the like.

An object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium (storage medium) recording software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and to provide a computer for the system or the apparatus. Needless to say, the present invention is also achieved when the CPU (or the CPU or the MPU) reads out and executes the program code stored in the recording medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium realizes the function of the above-described embodiment, and the recording medium on which the program code is recorded constitutes the present invention.

As a recording medium for recording the program code and variable data such as a table, for example, a floppy disk (FD), hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, Non-volatile memory card (IC memory card), ROM (mask ROM, flash EEPROM)
Etc.) can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the operating system (OS) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that an operating system) may perform some or all of the actual processing, and the processing may realize the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0138]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By analyzing the contents of the document data, font data installed in the printer and font data cached in the cache buffer can be effectively used, and a plurality of pieces of document data can be printed at high speed.

Further, according to the present invention, the contents of the document data are analyzed, and the font information installed in the printer, the operating state of the printer, the number of document data waiting for output assigned to each printer, and the like are always determined. By checking and comparing, the output can be performed as soon as possible by an appropriate printer without the user being conscious.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a computer system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of contents recorded on an FD or a CD-ROM in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation method of the printing job management program recorded on the FD or CD-ROM of FIG. 1;

4 is a diagram showing a memory map in a state where the printing job management program of FIG. 3 is executable.

FIG. 5 is a connection diagram illustrating a printing system configuration according to the first to third embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an entire process according to the first embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a priority order determination process according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow of overall processing according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a priority order determination process according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing priority switching when there is a document file for which the priority determining unit has been executed twice.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a priority order determination process in the process according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a connection diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system according to fourth to sixth embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the overall processing flow of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the contents of a printer selection process according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an entire process according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a printer selection process according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a printer selection process according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 CPU (Central Processing Unit) 2 RAM (Random Access Memory) 3 ROM (Read Only Memory) 4 KBC (Keyboard Control Unit) 5 KB (Keyboard) 6 PRTC (Printer Control Unit) 7 PRT (Printer Device) 8 CRTC (Display) Control unit) 9 CRT (display device) 10 DKC (disk control unit) 11 external storage device (FD: floppy disk device,
HD: Hard disk device, CD-ROM, etc.) A, B, C, D, E Information processing device F Printer server G, H, I Printer

Claims (64)

[Claims] 1. An information system in which a plurality of information processing apparatuses share one printer via a network, a printer information registration unit for registering printer information on the printer, and the plurality of information processing apparatuses via the network. A document data analyzing means for analyzing document data sent from the apparatus to the printer; anda printer connected to the network by comparing an analysis result of the document data analyzing means with the printer information read from the printer information registering means. And a priority order determining means for determining in what order the plurality of document data sent from the plurality of information processing devices to the printer are to be printed. 2. An information system in which a plurality of information processing apparatuses share a plurality of printers via a network, a printer information registration unit for registering printer information on the plurality of printers, and the plurality of information via the network. Document data analysis means for analyzing document data sent from the processing device to the printer; and outputting document data by comparing the analysis result of the document data analysis means with the printer information read from the printer information registration means. Printer selection means for determining a printer; and priority for determining in what order the plurality of document data is to be printed when one printer is selected as the output destination of the plurality of document data by the printer selection means. Printing job management characterized by having a rank determining means Location. 3. The printing job management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printer information registration unit, the document data analysis unit, and the priority order determination unit are respectively mounted on a printer server. 4. The printing job management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printer information registered by the printer information registration unit is font information. 5. The printing job management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the document data analysis unit analyzes a font used for the document data. 6. The document data analysis means analyzes document data when document data is sent from the information processing apparatus on the network to a printer server in a state where the printer is already executing print processing. The printing job management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing job management apparatus performs: 7. When the document data is sent to the printer server and another document data has already been sent to the printer server, the document data analysis unit may
7. The printing job management apparatus according to claim 6, wherein analysis of the document data is performed. 8. The printer according to claim 1, wherein said document data analyzing means terminates the printing process of said printer in a state where document data other than the document data being analyzed is not sent from said information processing apparatus on said network to said printer server. 8. The printing job management apparatus according to claim 6, wherein analysis of the document data is stopped, the document data is sent to the printer, and print processing is performed. 9. The printer according to claim 6, wherein said priority order determining means is performed when a plurality of document data for which analysis of said document data has been completed exist in said printer server. Printing job management device. 10. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the priority determining unit counts the number of matches between the fonts installed in the printer and the fonts used in the document data from the printer information and the analysis result of the document data. 10. The printing job management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for setting a higher priority for the document data having the greater number of matches. 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the priority determining unit determines the font cached in the cache buffer and the document data based on the data stored in the cache buffer and the analysis result of the document data stored in the print processing performed earlier. 11. The printing method according to claim 1, further comprising: means for counting the number of matches with the font used in the document; and means for giving higher priority to the document data having the greater number of matches. Job management device. 12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when there is document data having the same number of font matches, the priority determining unit sets the priority higher as the data amount of the document data is smaller. The printing job management device according to any one of 6 to 10. 13. The printing method according to claim 1, wherein the priority order determination unit sets the priority order of document data having a data amount exceeding a preset threshold value to the lowest. Job management device. 14. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said priority order determination means performs priority order determination processing for each document data up to twice.
14. The printing job management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the priority order of the document data for which the priority order determination process has been performed twice is not changed thereafter. 15. The printing job management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the printer information registration unit registers information of each printer in association with an address on the network. 16. The printing job management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said printer selection means is mounted on a printer server. 17. The printer selection means compares a font mounted on each of the printers with a font used for the document data from the printer information,
17. The printing job management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a printer having a large number of matching fonts is selected as an output printer. 18. When there are a plurality of printers having the largest number of matches between the fonts installed in the printer and the fonts used in the document data, the printer selection means selects one of the plurality of printers. 18. The printing job management apparatus according to claim 17, wherein a printer having the fastest printing speed is selected as an output printer. 19. The printer selection means includes a plurality of printers having the maximum number of matches between the fonts installed in the printer and the fonts used in the document data. 19. The printing job management apparatus according to claim 18, wherein when there are a plurality of fastest printers, a printer having the shortest waiting time is selected as an output printer among the plurality of printers. 20. The printing job management apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the printer information registered by the printer information registration unit includes printing speed information. 21. The determination of the priority order is performed when a plurality of document data for which analysis of the document data has been completed exist in a printer server and a plurality of document data is selected for one printer by the printer selection means. 21. The printing job management device according to claim 2, wherein the printing job management is performed. 22. An information system in which a plurality of information processing apparatuses share one printer via a network, a printer information registration step of registering printer information on the printer, and the plurality of information processing apparatuses via the network. A document data analysis step of analyzing document data sent from the device to the printer, and comparing the analysis result of the document data analysis step with the printer information read from the printer information registration step, thereby connecting to the network. And a priority order determining step of determining in what order the plurality of document data sent from the plurality of information processing devices to the printer are to be printed. 23. An information system in which a plurality of information processing apparatuses share a plurality of printers via a network, a printer information registration step of registering printer information relating to the plurality of printers, and the plurality of information via the network. A document data analysis step of analyzing document data sent from the processing device to the printer; and outputting document data by comparing an analysis result of the document data analysis step with the printer information read from the printer information registration step. A printer selecting step of determining a printer, and a priority of determining in what order the plurality of document data is to be printed when one printer is selected as an output destination of the plurality of document data in the printer selecting step. Order determination step. Printing job management method and. 24. The printing job management according to claim 22, wherein the programs for the printer information registration step, the document data analysis step, and the priority order determination step are respectively mounted on a printer server. Method. 25. The printing job management method according to claim 22, wherein the printer information registered in the printer information registration step is font information. 26. The document data analysis step includes, when the document data is sent from the information processing apparatus on the network to a printer server in a state where the printer is already executing a print process, analyzing the document data. The printing job management method according to any one of claims 22 to 25, wherein: 27. The document data analyzing step, wherein when the document data is sent to the printer server, if the other document data has already been sent to the printer server, the document data is analyzed. The printing job management method according to claim 26, wherein: 28. The document data analysis step, wherein the print processing of the printer is completed in a state where document data other than the document data being analyzed is not sent from the information processing device on the network to the printer server. 28. The printing job management method according to claim 22, further comprising: stopping the analysis of the document data, sending the document data to the printer, and performing print processing. 29. The method according to claim 22, wherein the priority order determining step is performed when a plurality of document data for which the analysis of the document data has been completed exist in the printer server. Printing job management method. 30. The priority order determining step includes: counting the number of matches between the fonts installed in the printer and the fonts used in the document data from the printer information and the analysis result of the document data; 30. The step of setting a higher priority for document data having a larger number of matches.
The printing job management method according to any one of the above. 31. The method according to claim 31, wherein the priority determining step comprises: determining the font cached in the cache buffer and the document data based on the data in the cache buffer stored by the previous print processing and the analysis result of the document data. 31. The method according to claim 23, further comprising the steps of: counting the number of matches with the font used in the document; and giving the document data having the greater number of matches the higher priority.
The printing job management method according to any one of the above. 32. The priority order determining step according to the printer information, wherein the higher the number of matches between fonts installed in the printer and fonts used in document data, the higher the priority order. Item 22
32. The printing job management method according to any one of the above items. 33. In the priority order determining step, when there is document data having the same number of font matches, the priority is set higher as the data amount of the document data is smaller. 33. The printing job management method according to any one of 22 to 32. 34. The apparatus according to claim 22, wherein in the priority order determining step, document data having a data amount exceeding a preset threshold is given the lowest priority.
The printing job management method according to any one of the above. 35. The priority order determining step, wherein the priority order determining process is performed up to twice for each document data, and the priority order of the document data that has been subjected to the priority order determining process twice is not changed thereafter. Claim 2
The printing job management method according to any one of Items 2 to 34. 36. The printing job management method according to claim 23, wherein the printer information registered in the printer information registration step is printing speed information. 37. The printing job management method according to claim 23, wherein in the printer information registration step, each piece of information is registered in association with an address on the network. 38. The printing job management method according to claim 23, wherein said document data analysis step is an analysis of a font used for sentence storage data. 39. The document data analyzing step is performed in a printer server.
39. The printing job management method according to any one of 3, 36 to 38. 40. The printer selecting step compares fonts mounted on each of the printers with fonts used for the document data from the printer information, and determines a printer having a large number of matching of the fonts. The output printer is selected as an output printer.
40. The printing job management method according to any one of 36 to 39. 41. If there are a plurality of printers having the largest number of matching fonts used in the document data with the fonts mounted on the printer, the printer selecting step includes the step of: 41. The printing job management method according to claim 40, wherein a printer having the fastest printing speed is selected as an output printer. 42. The printer selecting step, wherein there are a plurality of printers having the maximum number of matching between the fonts mounted on the printer and the fonts used in the document data, and among the plurality of printers, the printing speed is selected. 42. The printing job management method according to claim 41, wherein when there are a plurality of fastest printers, a printer having the shortest waiting time is selected as an output printer among the plurality of printers. 43. The determination of the priority order is performed when a plurality of document data for which analysis of the document data has been completed exist in a printer server and a plurality of document data is selected for one printer in the printer selecting step. The printing job management method according to claim 42, wherein the method is performed. 44. A storage medium storing a printing job management program for managing a printing job by a computer in an information system in which a plurality of information processing apparatuses share one printer via a network, the management program comprising: By causing a computer to register printer information about the printer, and to analyze document data sent from the plurality of information processing devices to the printer via the network, by comparing the analysis result with the printer information, Storing a printing job management program storing a printing job management program, wherein the printing job management program is configured to determine a priority order in which a plurality of document data sent from a plurality of information processing apparatuses connected to the network to a printer are to be printed. Medium. 45. A storage medium storing a printing job management program for managing a printing job by a computer in an information system in which a plurality of information processing apparatuses share a plurality of printers via a network, wherein the management program is By causing a computer to register printer information on the plurality of printers, analyzing document data sent from the plurality of information processing apparatuses to the printer via the network, and comparing the analysis result with the printer information. And selecting a printer to output document data sent from the plurality of information processing apparatuses connected to the network, and selecting one printer as an output destination of the plurality of document data. Priority of print processing in order The storage medium storing the printing job management program for causing determined. 46. A storage medium storing a printing job management program according to claim 44, wherein the printer information is font information. 47. The management program, when the document data is sent from the information processing apparatus on the network to a printer server in a state where the printer is already executing the print processing, The storage medium storing the printing job management program according to claim 44 or 46, wherein the printing job management program is analyzed. 48. The management program analyzes the document data when the document data is sent to the printer server or when another document data is already sent to the printer server. A storage medium storing the printing job management program according to claim 47. 49. The management program according to claim 1, wherein said printer terminates print processing in a state where document data other than the document data being analyzed is not transmitted from said information processing apparatus on said network to said printer server. 49. The storage medium storing a printing job management program according to claim 47, wherein the printing job management program according to claim 47, wherein the analysis of the document data is stopped, the document data is sent to the printer, and the printing process is performed. 50. The management program according to claim 47, wherein when a plurality of document data, for which the analysis of the document data has been completed, exist in the printer server, the management program determines the priority order. 50. A storage medium storing the printing job management program according to any one of claims to 49. 51. The management program causes a computer to count the number of matches between fonts installed in the printer and fonts used in document data from the printer information and the analysis result of the document data. The storage medium storing the printing job management program according to any one of claims 44 to 50, wherein the higher the number of document data, the higher the priority. 52. The management program, based on data in the cache buffer stored by the previously performed print processing and the analysis result of the document data, stores the font and the document data cached in the cache buffer. 52. The printing job management program according to claim 45, wherein the number of matches with the font used in the printing job is counted, and the priority is set higher for document data having a larger number of matches. Storage media. 53. The management program causes the computer to increase the priority according to the printer information as the number of matches between fonts installed in the printer and fonts used in document data increases. A storage medium storing the printing job management program according to any one of claims 44 to 51. 54. The management program according to claim 48, wherein, when there is document data having the same number of font matches, the computer sets the priority higher as the data amount of the document data is smaller. 47 to 5
A storage medium storing the printing job management program according to any one of the first to third aspects. 55. The management program according to claim 44, wherein said management program causes said computer to lower said priority order for document data having a data amount exceeding a preset threshold value. A storage medium storing the printing job management program according to 1. 56. The management program causes a computer to perform a priority determination process for each document data up to twice, and does not change the priority of the document data that has been subjected to the priority determination process twice thereafter. A storage medium storing the printing job management program according to any one of claims 44 to 55. 57. A storage medium storing a printing job management program according to claim 45, wherein said printer information is printing speed information. 58. The management program according to claim 45, wherein the management program causes a computer to register each piece of the information in association with an address on the network.
A storage medium storing the printing job management program according to 1. 59. The management program according to claim 45, wherein the management program causes a computer to analyze a font used for the text data in the analysis processing of the document data. A storage medium storing the printing job management program described above. 60. The printing job management program according to claim 45, wherein the management program causes a computer to analyze the document data in a printer server. Medium. 61. The management program causes a computer to compare a font installed in each printer with a font used in the document data from the printer information, and that the number of matching of the fonts is large. A storage medium storing the printing job management program according to any one of claims 44, 57 to 60, wherein the printer is selected as an output printer. 62. The management program, if the computer has a plurality of printers having the largest number of matching fonts used in the printer and the fonts used in the document data, sets the plurality of printers. 62. The storage medium storing a printing job management program according to claim 61, wherein a printer having the highest printing speed among printers is selected as an output printer. 63. The management program stores in a computer a plurality of printers which have the maximum number of matches between fonts installed in the printer and fonts used in the document data. 63. The printing job management program according to claim 62, wherein when there are a plurality of printers having the highest speeds, the printer having the shortest waiting time among the plurality of printers is selected as an output printer. Storage medium. 64. The management program according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of document data for which analysis of said document data has been completed exist in a printer server, and a plurality of document data are selected for one printer by the printer selection process. To
64. A storage medium storing a printing job management program according to claim 45, wherein said priority order is determined.