JP2000235466A - Image processor and print instruction method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the complication of a setting work at the time of instructing print, and to prevent any redundant operation such as the explicit registration of setting without reducing any function or the like. SOLUTION: A recommended print condition referring part 254 retrieves a recommended print condition coincident with a print purpose according to information stored in a printer information database 251 and the print purpose indicating the use of a document instructed by a user from a recommended print condition database 253. A display configuration deciding part 242 edits a set item stored in a set item database 243, and decides a display configuration corresponding to the print purpose according to the recommended print condition or data stored in a set history storing part 244 and a display configuration database 245. A display controlling part 241 displays the set screen following the display configuration on a monitor 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a document created using an application program (hereinafter simply referred to as an application) operating on a computer such as a personal computer (PC), which is directly connected to the computer or a network. The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that prints with a printer available via a printer and a print instruction method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the recent increase in the number of functions and the number of functions of OA equipment, it has become possible to easily accomplish tasks that have been impossible or extremely difficult in the past. The same is true for printers, where image quality adjustments and stapler stoppages that required a lot of manual work, which were conventionally thought to require specialized knowledge, are now only performed on the screen. So, even beginners can use it easily.

When printing from a computer,
Usually, a document is transmitted to a printer via software called a printer driver. The printer driver is
It corresponds to one or a plurality of printers, receives a document as a drawing command from an application, and converts it into a format that can be interpreted by the printer as necessary. The converted document data is sent to the printer using a predetermined method. At the same time as the document data, the setting information of the printer relating to the printing process of the document is transmitted. The printer setting information includes, for example, paper size, output destination (output tray), N-up / double-sided, image processing (image quality adjustment, halftone processing, etc.), font designation, and other device-dependent settings (option configuration, etc.). ) Is included. Further, depending on the printer driver, information related to management and maintenance of the printer may be communicated with the printer.

Generally, information other than the document data is set by a user using a setting screen (UI) of a printer driver. In other words, using this setting screen is the only way to use the functions of the printer. However, as described above, the setting screen is becoming complicated with the advancement of the functions and the functions of the printer, and a printer driver having dozens of setting items is not rare today. For this reason, especially for beginners and users who have trouble with their fingers, etc.
In some cases, it was accompanied by physical pain and it was difficult to fully utilize the functions.

In order to cope with the above-mentioned decrease in operability due to the complicated setting screen, the printer driver usually divides the screen into related items,
An ingenuity is adopted so that those which are infrequently used are not displayed unless otherwise specified. For example, one or more settings that are considered to be useful, referred to as “recommended settings,” are prepared in advance, and a method for allowing the user to select the settings at the time of printing, or the user himself / herself registers the settings and designates them as appropriate. so,
There is also a known technique that provides a function that does not need to be set every time printing is performed.

In the former method, a large number of setting items can be changed to appropriate setting values only by a user selecting a specification closest to a document to be printed, so that a novice user unfamiliar with the operation of a printer driver. The effect is large for users who rarely perform printing. On the other hand, the latter is capable of switching complicated settings at one time, which is effective when a user who is familiar with the functions of the printer and the printer driver quickly performs a printing operation. There is a disadvantage that it is necessary. In both cases, it is necessary to re-select the settings each time the document to be printed changes. However, since some applications save the previous print settings for each document, the setting operation for the second and subsequent times may be simplified by a combination with the above-described known technology.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-147118 discloses a method of storing print settings in association with an application name and displaying the print settings as appropriate, thereby simplifying the process of redoing the settings for each application. Has been proposed. This method also has a function of sequentially switching the setting screen using the “next candidate” button when a plurality of settings are stored under the same application name. Here, it is assumed that each setting is stored for each printer driver. If any of the settings stored in advance are not used, the settings stored as default values can be used. Further, when the default value is changed, this is registered as a new print setting. Therefore, it is possible to hold different print settings for each application, and it is not necessary to reset the settings each time the application is switched.

[0008]

However, in the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-147118, only the displayed print setting is selected, and when it is desired to change a part of the setting, the print setting is changed from the default value. You need to redo the settings,
There was a problem that the operation became complicated. When a large number of print settings are stored under the same application name, the user designates the print setting using the “next candidate” button. However, since the items to be checked increase in proportion to the number of candidates, There is a problem that complication cannot be avoided. Also, if the application saves the previous print settings for each document, the user would normally expect the previous settings for the document to be printed to be the first candidate, There is a problem that this cannot be guaranteed because it is associated only with the name.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an image processing apparatus which can eliminate the complicated work of setting a print instruction and eliminate the explicit registration of setting which is a redundant work. It is intended to provide a print instruction method.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a purpose setting means for setting a printing purpose of a document, and an instruction relating to a printing condition of the document are set. Display means for displaying a setting screen of
In accordance with an instruction set on the setting screen displayed by the display unit, a printing condition creating unit that creates a printing condition for printing the document, based on the printing condition created by the printing condition creating unit, Print instruction means for instructing an external device to print the document, wherein the display hand throwing is performed on the setting screen to be displayed according to the printing purpose set by the purpose setting means. The display mode is changed.

According to this invention, when the setting screen for setting the instruction regarding the printing condition of the document is displayed by the display means, the setting to be displayed is set according to the printing purpose set by the purpose setting means. Change the display mode of the screen, according to the instruction set on the setting screen, create a print condition for printing the document by a print condition creation unit, and, based on the created print condition, by a print instruction unit, A print instruction is issued to an external device to print the document. Therefore, by changing the display form of the setting screen when printing is instructed according to the printing purpose, etc., the complexity of the setting operation can be reduced, and redundancy such as explicit registration of settings without reducing functions etc. Operation can be eliminated.

[0012]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. A. First embodiment A-1. Configuration of First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a system including an image processing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a system 1 includes a print instruction device 11 and a CPU 12, a memory 13, a disk 14, an input device interface 15 for connecting input devices, an output device interface 16 for connecting output devices, and the system 1 of the present invention. It comprises a network interface 17 for connecting to a network, and these are interconnected via a bus 10. The display from the system is presented to the user via the monitor 2. Although details of the method of connecting the monitor 2 are not described, it is assumed that the monitor 2 can be connected to the system 1. Input devices such as a mouse 31 and a keyboard 32 are connected to the input device interface 15. Also, the local printer 41 is connected to the output device interface 16 by a network printer 42.
Are connected to the network interface 17, respectively.

A system program 18 monitors the entire system 1, displays on the monitor 2, transfers data between the memory 13 and the disk 14, and inputs data via the input device interface 15 in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 12. Data to be stored in the memory 13 and the output device interface 16 or the network interface 1
7 to execute processing such as output of data stored in the memory 13. Further, the system program 18
It also has a function of activating the application 19 and controlling its operation.

The print instruction device 11 is the application 1
In response to a print instruction from the printer 9, by controlling the output device interface 16 or the network interface 17, a print command is transmitted to the local printer 41 or the network printer 42 to execute printing. The print command includes document data and print conditions. The printing process may involve communication with the system program 18 or the application 19, reading of data from the memory 13 or the disk 14, display on the monitor 2, and data input via the input device interface. Further, communication with the network printer 42 or an external device (not shown) may be performed via the network interface 17. As a modification of the first embodiment, the system program 18 may include a printer driver, and the print instruction device 11 may be configured to be a part of the printer driver.

A-2. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the print instruction device 11 of the present invention. The application 19 and the monitor 2 are the same as those in FIG. In the figure, a printer 40 is a local printer 4
1 and the network printer 42. The execution environment 200 indicates the status of the system program 18 and the application 19, the work target document and its attributes, and the like. Specifically, the user ID, the function of the application 19, the current mode (internal state), the contents and attributes (color and size) of the work target document, and the like are managed by the print instruction apparatus 11 and the system program 18. Includes detectable information and instructions from the user. Further, the information may include information obtained from another application or an external device (for example, information from a schedule table of a user or a group).

The execution of printing is usually performed according to an instruction from a user, a system program 18, or the like. Upon receiving the print instruction, the application 19 prints the document data to be printed and various attributes associated with the document data,
A print command including all information necessary for printing, such as commands and parameters for various processes at 0, a printer control command, and the like, is sent to the data receiving unit 210. The print command is sent to the printer 40 via the data receiving unit 220. Generally, the print command issued by the application 19 is not in a format that the printer 40 can accept as it is, and therefore needs to be appropriately converted in format. This is, for example, Microsoft
Windows Operating System (hereafter Windows)
), GDI (Graphics Device Inte
An instruction set for drawing called rface) is used as a screen display and print instruction, and refers to a process of converting this into PostScript which is a page description language established by Adobe. Since the format conversion processing of such a print command is not included in the present invention, a detailed description is omitted.

A dialog screen is displayed on the monitor 2 in order to give the user an opportunity to set printing conditions prior to execution of printing. This is a standard operation when the user gives a print instruction from the application 19. However, this does not apply when the user does not use a direct print instruction. For example, this corresponds to a case where a print command for the application 19 is automatically issued by the setting of the system program 18 or another application.

The print instruction device 11 sets a print purpose in the purpose setting section 250 in response to the print instruction. The purpose setting unit 250 includes a printer information database 251 storing various information on the output destination printer 40, a purpose selecting unit 252 for inputting information for setting a printing purpose, and a recommended printing condition storing a plurality of predetermined recommended printing conditions. The display unit 2 selects a recommended printing condition based on information sent from the database 253, the printer information database 251, the purpose selection unit 252, and the recommended printing condition database 253.
Recommended printing condition reference unit 254 for causing display 40
Consists of

The printer information database 251 stores information such as the function, performance, option configuration, operation status, and use history of the printer 40. However, the printer information database 251 may be omitted when the print instruction device 11 and the printer 40 always correspond one-to-one, and the configuration is fixed and the operation status is not considered. For example, it is conceivable to incorporate information about a printer into the recommended print condition reference unit 254 and configure the print instruction device 11 for the local printer 41 as a part of a printer driver. The purpose selecting unit 252 sets a printing purpose according to information input from the application 19, the execution environment 200, and the data receiving unit 210.

The printing purpose indicates the purpose of the printed document and is assumed to be predetermined information. The information for setting the printing purpose includes the printing purpose and the conditions for specifying the printing purpose, user information (user ID and associated data, etc.), the function of the application 19 and the current mode (internal state), work The contents and attributes (color and size) of the target sentence are included. Table 1 shows a printing purpose referred to in the first embodiment, recommended printing conditions corresponding to the printing purpose, and setting items related to each recommended printing condition. In addition, although the printing purpose shown in Table 1 is four types, it is not limited to these. For example, in addition to the printing purpose shown in Table 1, storage, submission, proofreading / color proofing, and the like may be included. Further, “unspecified (default)” that does not specify a specific purpose may be prepared.

[Table 1]

The recommended printing condition database 253 is shown in Table 1
Is a database for associating the printing purpose and the recommended printing conditions shown in FIG. Here, default values are used for setting items not included in the recommended printing conditions. In the first embodiment, six setting items are targeted. Table 2 shows the setting items and their default values. A setting item whose “option” column is “○” is available only for a printer equipped with the option, and means that no display is performed for a system not equipped with the option. This information is assumed to be stored in the printer information database 251.

[Table 2]

The recommended printing condition reference unit 254 refers to the information stored in the printer information database 251 and the printing purpose set by the purpose selecting unit 252, and
A recommended printing condition matching this printing purpose is searched from the recommended printing condition database 253. In the first embodiment, the printing purpose is directly designated by the user from the four types shown in Table 1. The designation method is not particularly limited, but a menu, a radio button, a push button, or the like displayed on the monitor 2 can be used. The searched recommended printing conditions are sent to the display unit 240 and presented to the user by the monitor 2.

The display unit 240 performs construction of an initial screen presented to the user and interactive control. The display control unit 241 urges the user to set the printing conditions by displaying the screen on the monitor 2, and, when a setting change is requested by the user, notifies the printing conditions to the printing condition creating unit 230 and stores the changed contents. And update the screen to reflect the new settings. The display mode determining unit 242 receives the recommended printing conditions from the purpose setting unit 250, and determines the display mode using the setting items stored in the setting item database 243. The setting items include a numerical input section for setting the number of copies, a check box for turning on / off individual settings,
A menu or radio button for selecting a tray or the like, a tab for grouping related items, a button for instructing print execution, and the like. These setting items are embodied (creation of new items) by the display mode determination unit 242, and appropriate initialization is performed. As a result, each setting item is
The number of copies can be presented to the user in a meaningful form such as “1 copy” or the contrast is “strong”. The display mode determination unit 242 also refers to data stored in the setting history storage unit 244 and the display mode database 245.

The setting history storage unit 244 stores the setting history of the user for a predetermined period in the past, and uses the recommended printing condition reference unit 254 to reflect the setting history in selection of a recommended printing condition and determination of a display mode. Then, the information is fed back to the display mode determination unit 242. The setting history stored in the setting history storage unit 244 is statistical data, and is intended to check the use (setting) frequency of each of a plurality of setting items forming the screen. This statistical data is used to change the display mode. The display mode database 245 stores information necessary for determining the display mode of the setting screen. In the first embodiment, the information is data relating to the screen structure. Data stored in the display form database 245 will be described later.

A-3. Operation of First Embodiment Next, the operation of the above-described first embodiment will be described.
Here, FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing the operation of the display mode determination unit 242. The purpose setting unit 250 outputs recommended printing conditions corresponding to the printing purpose specified by the user. In the illustrated example, the output data 301 of the purpose setting unit 250 when “presentation” is designated as the printing purpose
Is shown. The data 301 is "" contrast "←"
"Strong" and "" Tray "←" Manual "", respectively, indicating that the initial value of "Contrast" is "High" and the initial value of "Tray" is "Manual". The display mode determination unit 242 takes out the setting items 302 stored in the setting item database 243 and initializes only the items included in the data 301 from among them.

The setting item 302 includes "" contrast "::
= RADIO (3, ("no adjustment", "strong", "weak"), "no adjustment"",or""tray" :: = MENU
(4, ("Auto", "1", "2", "Manual"), "Auto") "
It is expressed as etc. In the former, the setting item of "contrast" is "radio button (RADIO)", and (from the left)
Number of elements is 3, each element name is "Do not adjust", "Strong",
It indicates that "weak" and the default value is "do not adjust". Similarly, in the latter, the setting item of the “tray” is “menu (MENU)”, the number of elements is 4 (from the left), and each element name is “auto”, “1”, “2”, “manual feed”, The default value is "Auto". On the other hand, since the initial value of “contrast” is specified to be “strong” by the data 301, the display mode determination unit 242 specifies (creates) the setting item of “contrast” and then Initialize to "strong". That is, on the screen, the “strong” button is presented to the user in a state where it is selected in advance.

The display mode determining unit 242 stores the data 3
Special processing different from the other setting items is performed on the setting items included in 01. In the first embodiment, highlighting is performed as special processing. For example, FIG.
In (2), highlighting is performed by surrounding each with a thick line (304). Other highlights include color change, size and position change, addition of a mark such as an icon, animation display, and the like.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the data structure of the data 301 and the setting items 302. The purpose setting unit 250 sets the recommended printing conditions for each item.
Data including an item name “item”, an initial value “value”, and a link “next” to the next item is prepared, and a linear list of them is created (FIG. 4A). In this linear list, "next" is a special value (null).
To terminate. Setting item database 2
The setting items 302 stored in the item 43 are an item type “id”, the number of elements “nelt”, and an item name “lab”.
l ", and each element" elt # XXX (XXX = 0, 1,
2) ", a default value" default ", and a link" next "to the next item. The setting item 302 is expressed as a linear list similarly to the data 301.
Termination is performed by setting “next” to a special value (null) (FIG. 4B). The setting item 302 is a copy of the content stored in the setting item database 243. Therefore, even if the setting item 302 is changed, the setting item database 243 is not affected.

Next, FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the display mode determining unit 242. The illustrated flowchart illustrates a process for initializing and highlighting each setting item based on the recommended printing conditions. First, step S
In step 501, a variable ptr1 (in FIG. 5, variables to be used are shown in italics) is initialized to sequentially refer to the setting items 302. Similarly, in step S502, a variable ptr2 for referring to the data 301 is initialized.
Next, in step S503, ptr2-> item and ptr
Compare tr1-> label, and if they are the same, proceed to step S504. On the other hand, if these values are different,
Proceed to step S506. Note that “ptr2-> item
The notation “m” represents the element item of the setting item referred to by the variable ptr2.

In step S504, ptr1-> de
By substituting ptr2-> value for fault, the initial value of the setting item referenced by the variable ptr1 is set to pt
Replace with the value specified by r2-> value. As a result, the initial values of the setting items 302 can be adjusted to the recommended printing conditions. In the example shown in FIG. 4, this corresponds to, for example, setting the initial value of “contrast” to “strong”. Next, in step S505, ptr1->
A flag EM_MASK is set for id, and it is designated that the setting item should be highlighted. To change the display mode of the setting item to something other than the highlighted display, step S50
The processing in step 5 may be changed.

Next, when the two do not match in the comparison in step S503, or in step S505
When the process at step S506 is completed, the process proceeds to step S506, and the value of the variable ptr2 is updated so as to refer to the next item (ptr2-> next). In the example shown in FIG.
It will be updated to "tray". Next, step S5
At 07, the end check of the linear list of the data 302 is performed. That is, it is determined whether or not “next” is null. And if it is not the end (ptr2 @ null)
l), the process returns to step S503, and the next item is processed (L501). On the other hand, if it is the end, (ptr2 = null
1) In step S508, the value of ptr1 is updated so as to refer to the setting item (ptr1-> next) next to the setting item 302. In the example shown in FIG. 4B, for example, it is updated to “tray”. Step S50
In step 9, the end of ptr1 is checked, and unless it is the end (ptr ≠ null), the process returns to step S502,
The above processing is repeatedly executed (L502). When all the processes are completed, among the setting items 302, those included in the data 301 have their initial values changed, and the highlighting flag is set.

As described above, each setting item 303 embodied (created) by the display mode determination unit 242 is configured as a display screen in the display control unit 241 and output to the monitor 2. It is assumed that embodying (creation) is a part of the function of the system program 18. The configuration of the display screen refers to a process of embedding the setting items 303 in a template created in advance to define the structure of the screen.
The position and size of the embedding are described in the template. This template is sometimes called a resource. In the first embodiment, the template is stored in the display form database 245. Although not shown, this template is also expressed in the same structure as the linear list of the setting items shown in FIG. 4, and information on the screen and the position and size of each setting item is added. Further, the display control unit 241 monitors the operation of the user, and also changes the set value of each setting item and updates the display according to the operation.

By the processing described above, the construction of the initial screen and the initial display are performed. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the initial screen. When the “printing purpose” menu at the top is selected, the highlighting of the setting items at the bottom changes.
The user sets print conditions using this screen. The printing condition creation unit 230 receives a user operation output by the display control unit 241 and creates a printing condition by converting the user operation. This process is performed immediately before execution of printing. Further, as described above, the printing conditions depend on the printer 40 and are combined with the document data in the data transmission unit 220.

The printing condition creation unit 230 also outputs a user operation to the setting history storage unit 244 immediately before printing. The setting history storage unit 244 statistically processes and stores user operations, and the stored contents are used for adding and deleting setting items to recommended printing conditions, and for reflecting changes in the display mode. Here, FIG. 7 shows the setting history storage unit 244.
FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a data structure of a history (statistics of a user operation for each setting item: hereinafter, history data) processed in FIG. The history data includes a setting item name “item”, a usage frequency “cnt”, and a setting value “value”.
e "and is managed by the dictionary DICT.
In the illustrated example, “contrast” is “strong” and is used “three times”, and “tray” is “manually” and is used “one time”. Note that the dictionary DlCT is
A general hash table may be used. In addition, values of setting items not included in the history data are not particularly described.

Next, FIGS. 8 and 9 are flowcharts for explaining the operation of managing and using statistical data in the setting history storage unit 244. FIG. FIG. 8 shows an algorithm for reflecting the user operation input from the printing condition creation unit 230 in the statistical data. Here, “user operation” is a setting item operated by the user, and is shown in FIG.
It has a data structure similar to the data 301 shown in FIG. First, in step S701, a user operation is assigned to a variable ptr. Next, in step S702, pt
The dictionary DICT is searched using r-> item as a key, and the result is substituted for a variable idx. Search is in subroutine LO
Although this is performed by OKUP, this can be realized by using a general hash table, and thus the detailed description is omitted.
The subroutine LOOKUP returns a value (hash value in the case of a hash table) corresponding to the location if the item is registered in the dictionary DICT, and a constant NO if not registered.
It shall return TFOUND.

Next, in step S703, the dictionary search result is determined by comparing the variable idx with the constant NOTFOUND. Here, the setting item is the dictionary DICT
If not, the storage area is secured in step S704. Subroutine AL to secure area
LOCATE prepares a sufficient area for storing ptr-> item, and substitutes this for a variable idx to return the storage location. In step S707, DICT
[Idx]-> cnt is initialized to "1" and DICT
By substituting ptr-> item for [idx]-> Value, ptr-> item is registered in the dictionary DICT. In this case, the usage frequency of ptr-> item is "1", and the setting value is ptr-> Value. On the other hand, if the setting item has already been registered in the dictionary DICT, steps S703 to S705
To DICT [idx]-> Value and ptr-
The registered contents are checked by comparing the values of> Value. If the two values are the same, it means that the same content has already been registered. In step S706, the value of DICT [idx]-> cnt is increased by "1". On the other hand, if the two values are not the same, it means that the same content has not been registered, and thus the re-initialization is performed in step S707 described above. This makes it possible to check the use frequency for all items while tracing the list of setting items.

Next, FIG. 9 illustrates an algorithm for updating the contents of the recommended printing condition database 253 based on statistical data. First, step S801
The list of the setting items operated by the user is stored in the variable ptr1.
Substitute for Next, in step S802, the recommended condition 30
1 is assigned to a variable ptr2. The data structure of the recommended condition 301 is as shown in FIG. Subsequently, in step S803, ptr2-> item and ptr1-> item
The items included in the user operation are detected from the recommended conditions 301 by comparing the items. Here, ptr2
-> Item and ptr1-> item are the same,
Items operated by the user. If both match, in step S804, the dictionary DICT is searched using ptr2-> item as a key, and the result is substituted into a variable idx.

Next, in step S805, DICT which is the use frequency of the item of interest ptr2-> item
Compare [idx]-> cnt with Tupdate. Tupdate
Is a threshold for determining whether to actually update the recommended condition database 253. Usage frequency DICT [id
If x]-> cnt is larger than the update threshold Tupdate, the process proceeds to step S806, and the recommended condition database 2
53, the currently focused setting item ptr2->
Replace the value of value with the value of ptr1-> value. As a result, among the setting items operated by the user, the default values of the items used more than the number of times specified by Tupdate are changed. On the other hand, the usage frequency DICT [i
If dx]-> cnt is equal to or less than the update threshold Tupdate, the process proceeds to step S807 without changing the default value.

In step S807, the next item (ptr
2-> next), the value of the variable ptr2 is updated, and in step S808, "next" is set to null.
It is determined whether or not it is 1 and the end check of the linear list of the recommended condition 301 is performed. And if it is not the end (pt
(r2 ≠ null), the process returns to step S803, and the next item is processed (L801). On the other hand, if it is the terminal (ptr2
= Null), in step S809, the value of ptr1 is updated so as to refer to the next setting item (ptr1-> next) of the user operation, and then in step S509,
Check the end of ptr1 and, unless it is the end (pt
(r1 ≠ null), the process returns to step S802, and the above-described processing is repeatedly executed (L802). Then, when all the user operations are reflected in the default value, the process is terminated. By the above-described processing, accumulation of a user's operation history and reconstruction of a screen using the history can be realized.

B. Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Book second
In the embodiment, instead of the user directly specifying the print purpose, an output form for specifying the print purpose is given to the system, and only the method of specifying the print purpose is different from the first embodiment. Table 3 shows output forms to be designated by the user corresponding to the printing purpose. The printing purposes included in Table 3 are the same as those shown in Table 2.

[Table 3]

In Table 3, three types of output modes to be designated by the user, namely, "clear", "page", and "paper saving" are referred to, but other types may be used. The output form “clear” is intended mainly for printing on an OHP sheet. The output form “page” indicates that the document is composed of a plurality of pages. The output form “paper saving” is a designation for saving paper (number of sheets). The priority of the output form is “clear”>“page”> “paper saving”. When "clear" is designated, the printing purpose "presentation" is selected.
If "Pages" is specified, and if "Paper saving" is not specified, "Publication materials" for printing purposes
Is designated, the printing purpose "supplementary material" is selected. If only "paper saving" is designated, the printing purpose "reference / temporary use" is selected.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing a screen image of the monitor 2 in the second embodiment. As shown in the figure, at the top of the setting screen, check boxes for specifying “clear”, “page”, and “paper saving” are provided. Other setting items are displayed according to default values, and can be changed by the user as appropriate. As described above, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to specify the print purpose without directly specifying the print purpose by the user by appropriately setting the characteristics of the document and the viewpoint at the time of use. Becomes

B-1. Modification of Second Embodiment Next, a modification of the above-described second embodiment will be described. As a modification of the second embodiment described above, an item relating to the user of the document may be added to the output form. As a user of the document, the user (self) and another person should be distinguished. For example, if "output for another person" is added as an output form,
Only when this output mode is specified, the setting item “contrast” is changed to be highlighted. However, here, it is assumed that a document intended for another person attaches more importance to image quality adjustment than a document intended for the person (self). Such an output mode is handled differently from the output mode of the above-described second embodiment, and aims at performing fine adjustment in the printing purpose setting. For example, as an example for realizing an additional operation for fine adjustment in the printing purpose setting, a data structure equivalent to the setting item 301 shown in FIG. 4A is prepared, and its output form is designated ( Or not specified)
Only in such a case, it is possible to cancel the highlighting of the setting item registered therein. Therefore, in the above example, it can be realized by preparing a linear list including only “contrast”, and canceling the highlighted display when “for others” is not selected. This processing may be performed following the processing shown in FIG.

C. Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. Book 3
The embodiment includes a method for specifying a printing purpose from operating environment information without a user directly specifying a printing purpose or an output form. All other parts are the first
This is the same as the embodiment. The printing purpose is as shown in Table 1 described above. In the third embodiment of the present invention, the operating environment information targets “number of copies” and “application information”. The “number of copies” is not originally included in the operating environment information, but there are systems that allow the user to specify the number of copies before the user sets the printing conditions (the embodiment of the present invention). Since it can be handled in the same way as the environment information, the description will be made here by including it in the operation environment information. For example, Microsoft W running on Windows
In an ord (word processor) print instruction, a screen for designating the number of copies and a print range is first displayed, and a screen for further detailed print settings is separately prepared. . The information used for specifying the printing purpose may be a document attribute, a printer function, a document name, a user of the document, and the like, in addition to the operation environment information.

Here, FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a method for specifying a printing purpose in the third embodiment. The operating environment information includes an execution environment 200 (see FIG. 2).
Obtained from “Number of prints” is distinguished between one copy and two or more copies, and “application information” is discriminated by type. Here, only the presentation (PR) and the Web browser (WB) are limited, but other than these, a word processor, a draw, a spreadsheet, and the like may be included. Also, a “default” that does not belong to any other may be prepared. These are combined to form a discrimination tree as shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram showing the data structure of the discrimination tree shown in FIG. The discrimination tree is composed of nodes and links. The nodes include “item” indicating the type (or name) of the operating environment information and the document attribute, and “link” indicating the link. The value includes a value “value” corresponding to the current node, “node” indicating a lower node, and “next” indicating the next link. By following this discrimination tree, the printing purpose can be specified using information obtained from the execution environment 200 and the like. In order to follow the discrimination tree, an algorithm for a general search tree may be used.

C-1. Modification A of Third Embodiment Next, Modification A of the third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the modification A of the third embodiment, the setting items displayed on the monitor 2 immediately before printing can be changed. That is, the setting items to be displayed are directly obtained by using an algorithm similar to that for specifying the printing purpose described below. With this modification, it is possible to preferentially display setting items that are considered to be frequently used, thereby reducing the apparent complexity of the screen.

Here, FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing a screen image in Modification A of the third embodiment. On the initial screen, only the setting items that are considered to be frequently used are displayed, and the display range of the setting items is enlarged each time the “Details” button at the bottom of the setting screen is pressed. Setting items that are newly added by pressing the “Details” button can be displayed by enlarging the screen size, or by preparing “Next” and “Previous” buttons instead of the “Details” button. You may make it display, switching.

FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration of a discrimination tree in a modified example A of the third embodiment. The discrimination tree shown is a modification of the discrimination tree shown in FIG. 11, and is expanded to have a list of setting items. The rectangular box is
The setting items to be displayed on the setting screen are shown. Each link holds a setting item to be excluded, and FIG.
4 is represented as an elliptical box (dotted line). For example, if the “number of copies” is one, the setting items “staples” and “collation” are excluded, and if the “application information” is presentation (PR),
“N-up” and “both sides” are deleted. Therefore, the displayed setting items are limited to “contrast” and “tray”.

Next, FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram showing the data structure of the expanded discrimination tree shown in FIG. The data structure of the link includes "exclude" which indicates a display exclusion item.
s ", and" back "pointing to the link in front. "Exludes" while following "back"
By displaying the display exclusion items indicated by (return the link), the number of setting items presented at a time can be narrowed down to the minimum necessary, and the display range (number of items) of the setting items can be gradually expanded. It becomes possible. This enlargement of the display range prevents the setting items from being hidden and hidden from the user.

Next, FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram showing the structure of data referred to when changing the display of setting items while following the discrimination tree shown in FIG. In the figure, "item_
"list" is a list including all setting items. In the illustrated example, “contrast”, “tray”, “N-up”, “both sides”, “staple”, and “collate” are included. Next, “environ” is the execution environment 200
, And the order of each element corresponds to the expanded discrimination tree shown in FIG. Each list ends with a special value (eg, null).

Next, FIGS. 17 and 18 are flowcharts illustrating an algorithm for tracing the discrimination tree shown in FIG. FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a process of narrowing down the setting items to be displayed, and FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a process of gradually expanding the display range of the once narrowed down setting items. First, FIG.
In step S1401, the variables ilist and ptr
Is initialized. The variable ilist is a list of display candidate setting items having the data structure shown in FIG. The initial value includes all setting items. Variable e
nv is a list of information obtained from the execution environment 200 and having the data structure shown in FIG. Here, it is assumed that the list is made up of the values of the execution environment information corresponding to the structure of the discrimination tree. Next, the variable ptr is a variable indicating a node of the discrimination tree, and the initial value is a root.

Next, in step S1402, the end of the discrimination tree is checked. If the variable ptr is a special value (null) indicating the end, the process ends here.
If it is not the end, on the other hand, in step S1403, ptr
-> Substitute the execution environment information indicated by item into the variable val. Specifically, the execution environment information list “environ” shown in FIG. 16B is searched for information corresponding to ptr-> item. This is the subroutine LOOKU
Perform at P. Next, in step S1404, the value of ptr-> link, that is, the link (the top of the list) connected to the node is substituted for the temporary variable p, and a link holding the value corresponding to the execution environment information is searched. Loop L1402 for processing. Next, in step S1405, the end of the loop L1402 is checked. Variable p is null
If so, it means that all the links connected to the node of interest (ptr) have been examined, which means that there is no appropriate value. So, in this case,
In step S1406, default processing is performed.
As default processing, it is possible to display setting items narrowed down at that time, to use a default screen, or the like.

On the other hand, if it is not the end of the link list, in step S1407, the focused execution environment information val is compared with the value p-> Value held by the link. If they are not the same, in step S1410,
Update the variable p to refer to the following link (p: =
p-> next), and returns to step S1405. on the other hand,
If they are the same, in step S1408, the value p-> Value held by the link is deleted from the display candidate setting item list ilist (subroutine DIF).
F). This is nothing but a process of obtaining a difference set. In step S1409, the variable p is checked to check the next node.
Update tr and the variable env indicating the execution environment information list. The subroutine NEXT performs a process of advancing an item of the execution environment information list referred to by the variable env. Then, the process returns to step S1402, and the above-described processing is repeatedly executed (loop L1401). This narrows down the setting items to be displayed while following the discrimination tree.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of an algorithm for gradually expanding the display range of the setting items.
The processing shown in FIG. 18 is to be executed in response to a request from a user or the like, and the processing shown in FIG. 17 needs to be completed before the processing starts. Here, it is assumed that the variables p and ilist hold the values at the end of the process shown in FIG. That is, the variable p indicates the tip of the link (the part corresponding to the leaf of the discrimination tree), and the variable il
ist indicates a list of setting items whose display range is finally narrowed down. First, in step S1501, the value of p-> back is substituted for the variable p, thereby going back only one link. The link is traced back to the root of the discrimination tree (p
= Null), so that it is checked in step S1502 whether or not it is the end.

If the link can be traced back, in step S1503, the display range of the setting item is expanded by adding a list of the setting items held by the link before to the variable ilist. This process is il
is a calculation for obtaining the union of the setting items pointed to by ist and p-> excludes.
Executed in At this point, a new display range is determined, and this is displayed on the monitor 2 and presented to the user. Next, in step S1504, it is determined whether or not the display range needs to be further expanded. If the display range needs to be further expanded, the process returns to step S1501.
The above processing is repeated and executed (loop L150
1).

The setting items included in the display range obtained by the above-described processing are arranged on the same screen or another switchable screen. Alternatively, a more interactive configuration in which the user's confirmation is requested one by one may be used. The screen layout method is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the display position of each setting item is not predetermined, so that it becomes slightly complicated.

C-2. Modification B of Third Embodiment Next, Modification B of the third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the modified example B of the third embodiment, the display position of the setting item is changed. In this case, the display range is not changed. The display position is determined by a modification A of the third embodiment described above.
The method described in the above is used as it is. For example, setting items obtained by the algorithm shown in FIG. 17 may be arranged at the top of the screen. Here, FIG.
It is a conceptual diagram showing the screen image of modification B of this 3rd embodiment. In the figure, the printing purpose "presentation"
Is specified, the corresponding setting items “contrast” and “tray” are arranged at the top of the setting screen. Other setting items are arranged below them.

Next, FIG. 20 is a conceptual diagram showing a template used in the display form determining unit 242 to determine the screen layout in the modified example B of the third embodiment.
In the figure, the template includes the size “size” of the entire display screen on which setting items are arranged, and “items” indicating a list of setting items to be arranged. However, the setting items do not themselves constitute a linear list (as in FIG. 4B), but are connected via a connector. This is because the list of setting items referred to by the template is managed independently of the list of setting items handled in FIG. 17 (the display range is not changed in the modified example B of the third embodiment). By manipulating the order of the list of setting items connected by the connector, the arrangement of each setting item is determined. Also, a size for holding the size of the setting item is added.

When a list of setting items for determining the arrangement is obtained, each setting item is arranged on the setting screen. The simplest arrangement method is to arrange at the top of the screen from the top of the list, with the size of the template as the upper limit. If the size of the template is appropriately defined, the setting items are always arranged in the setting screen. By this process, setting items that are considered to be frequently used can be collected at the upper part of the setting screen. Further, it is conceivable to define the ordering among the setting items by separately preparing a dictionary. For example, if the “contrast” is defined such that it is always arranged at the upper part of the setting screen rather than the “tray”, it is possible to give a certain rule to the arrangement of the setting items. This is a problem of the sorting of the setting items in which the partial order is defined, and a topological sorting algorithm can be used. Because phase sorting is known,
Description is omitted.

[0061]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a setting screen for setting an instruction relating to a printing condition of a document is displayed on the display means, the printing purpose set by the purpose setting means is set. In addition, the display form of the setting screen is changed by using this information or by using the execution environment information, so that the complexity of the setting work when printing the document data is reduced, and the functions and the like are reduced. There is an advantage that redundant operations such as explicit registration of settings can be eliminated without the need.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a system including an image processing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the print instruction device 11 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an operation of a display mode determination unit 242.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a data structure of data 301 and a setting item 302.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a display mode determination unit 242.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an initial screen displayed on a monitor 2.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing a data structure of a history (statistics of user dependence on individual setting items) processed in a setting history storage unit 244.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of managing statistical data in the setting history storage unit 244.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of using statistical data in a setting history storage unit 244.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing a screen image of a monitor 2 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a method for specifying a printing purpose in a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram showing a data structure of a discrimination tree according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing a screen image in a modified example A of the third embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration of a discrimination tree in a modified example A of the third embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram showing a data structure of a discrimination tree according to a modified example A of the third embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram showing the structure of data referred to when changing the display of setting items while following a discrimination tree according to Modification A of the third embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating an algorithm for tracing a discrimination tree according to Modification A of the third embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an algorithm for tracing a discrimination tree according to Modification A of the third embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a conceptual diagram showing a screen image of Modification B of the third embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a conceptual diagram showing a template used in a display form determination unit 242 to determine a screen layout in Modification B of the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 System 10 Bus 11 Printing instruction device 12 CPU 13 Memory 14 Disk 15 Input device interface 16 Output device interface 17 Network interface 200 Execution environment 210 Data reception unit 220 Data transmission unit (print instruction unit) 230 Printing condition creation unit (Print condition creation) Means) 240 display unit 241 display control unit (display unit) 242 display mode determination unit (display unit) 243 setting item database 244 setting history storage unit 245 display mode database 250 purpose setting unit 251 printer information database 252 purpose selection unit (purpose setting) Means) 253 Recommended printing condition database (database) 254 Recommended printing condition reference section (recommended printing condition reference means)

Claims (29)

[Claims] An object setting unit configured to set a printing purpose of a document; a display unit configured to display a setting screen for setting an instruction regarding a printing condition of the document; and a setting screen displayed by the display unit. A print condition creation unit for creating print conditions for printing the document in accordance with the instruction given, and an external device for printing the document based on the print conditions created by the print condition creation unit. Image processing, comprising: printing instruction means for instructing printing, wherein the display hand throw changes a display form of the setting screen to be displayed according to a printing purpose set by the purpose setting means. apparatus. 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the purpose setting unit has a plurality of printing purposes set in advance, and sets one printing purpose selected from the plurality of printing purposes as a printing purpose of the document. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein the purpose setting unit prints the printing purpose corresponding to at least one output form selected from a plurality of preset output forms for specifying the printing purpose. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting is made as a purpose. 4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the output form includes a condition regarding whether or not the user of the document is the person who designates the printing purpose. 5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the purpose setting unit sets the printing purpose in accordance with an attribute of the document or operating environment information on an operating environment of the print instruction apparatus. 6. The document according to claim 5, wherein the document is created or edited by an application program running on the image processing apparatus, and the operating environment information includes information on the application program. The image processing apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims. 7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the operating environment information includes information on a printing device that prints the document. 8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the document attribute includes identification information for identifying the document. 9. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the document attribute includes information on a user who uses the document. 10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit changes a setting item for setting an instruction regarding a printing condition for printing the document according to the printing purpose set by the purpose setting unit. The image processing apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims. 11. The display unit changes a display form of at least a part of setting items for setting an instruction relating to a printing condition for printing the document according to the printing purpose set by the purpose setting unit. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 12. The display unit changes a display position of a setting item for setting an instruction relating to a printing condition for printing the document according to the printing purpose set by the purpose setting unit. The image processing device according to claim 1. 13. A database in which a printing purpose for printing a document is associated with a recommended printing condition for printing the document, a purpose setting unit for setting a printing purpose for printing the document, and a printing condition for the document. Display means for displaying a setting screen for setting an instruction relating to the printing, and recommended printing for displaying the recommended printing conditions according to the printing purpose set by the purpose setting means on the display means with reference to the database. Condition reference means, print condition creation means for creating print conditions for printing the document in accordance with an instruction set on the setting screen displayed by the display means, and the print condition creation means An image processing apparatus comprising: a print instruction unit that instructs an external device to print the document based on printing conditions. 14. The image processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the database is updated according to a history of instructions set on the setting screen. 15. The objective setting means has a plurality of preset printing objectives, and sets one printing objective selected from the plurality of printing objectives as the printing objective of the document. 14. The image processing device according to claim 13, wherein: 16. The printing apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the purpose setting unit prints the printing purpose corresponding to at least one output form selected from a plurality of preset output forms for specifying the printing purpose. 14. The image processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the setting is performed as a purpose. 17. The image processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said purpose setting means sets the printing purpose in accordance with an attribute of the document or operating environment information relating to an operating environment of the print instruction apparatus. 18. The document according to claim 17, wherein the document is created or edited by an application program running on the image processing apparatus, and the operating environment information includes information on the application program. An image processing apparatus as described in the above. 19. The operating environment information includes at least one of information on a printing device that prints the document, identification information for identifying the document, and information on a user who uses the document. The image processing apparatus according to claim 17, wherein: 20. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit changes a setting item for setting an instruction regarding a printing condition for printing the document according to the printing purpose set by the purpose setting unit. The image processing apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims. 21. The display unit changes at least a part of a display form among setting items for setting an instruction regarding printing conditions for printing the document according to the printing purpose set by the purpose setting unit. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 22. The display device according to claim 19, wherein the display unit changes a display position of a setting item for setting an instruction relating to a printing condition for printing the document according to the printing purpose set by the purpose setting unit. The image processing device according to claim 1. 23. When displaying a setting screen for setting an instruction relating to printing conditions of a document, displaying the printing purpose of the document on the setting screen so as to be selectable, and printing selected on the setting screen. Changing the display mode of the setting screen to be displayed according to the purpose; and creating printing conditions for printing the document in accordance with an instruction set on the setting screen displayed by the display unit. And instructing an external device to print the document based on the printing conditions. 24. When the setting screen is displayed, a plurality of preset output forms for specifying a printing purpose of the document are displayed so as to be selectable, and printing corresponding to at least one selected output form is performed. The print instruction method according to claim 23, wherein a purpose is set as a purpose of printing the document. 25. The print instruction method according to claim 23, wherein when changing the display mode of the setting screen, a setting item for setting an instruction regarding a print condition for printing the document is changed. 26. The method according to claim 23, wherein, when changing the display mode of the setting screen, at least a part of the display mode is changed among setting items for setting an instruction regarding print conditions for printing the document. Print instruction method described. 27. The print instruction method according to claim 23, wherein, when changing the display mode of the setting screen, a display position of a setting item for setting an instruction regarding print conditions for printing the document is changed. 28. A printing purpose for printing the document and a recommended printing condition for printing the document are stored in association with each other in advance as a database, and when the setting screen is displayed, the setting screen is displayed according to the printing purpose. The print instruction method according to claim 23, wherein the recommended print condition is displayed with reference to the database. 29. The print instruction method according to claim 28, further comprising a step of updating the database in accordance with a history of instructions set on the setting screen.