JP2006085611A - Installation program, printer driver and management method of printer driver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an installation program capable of limiting a change of printer driver setting information set in a printer driver, the printer driver and a management method of the printer driver. <P>SOLUTION: Printer driver setting information and non-changeable information are inputted in an input device, a printer driver installation part reads a printer driver file from an HD, expands the printer driver file, sets the printer driver setting information to the expanded printer driver file, incorporates it to a PC, and stores the non-changeable information in the HD. The printer driver confirms the presence/absence of non-changeable information in displaying a property screen, displays a property screen in which an item set to the non-changeable information cannot be changed when the presence of non-changeable information is confirmed, and displays a property screen in which all items can be changed when the absence of non-changeable information is confirmed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an installation program, a printer driver, and a printer driver management method, and more particularly, to an installation program for creating print data based on printer driver setting information, a printer driver, and a printer driver management method.

  In recent years, networking such as a LAN (Local Area Network) has progressed, and a plurality of PCs (Personal Computers) and printers are connected via the network to share printers, and each PC uses a printer. For this purpose, it is necessary to install a printer driver for creating print data in the PC, and printer driver setting information is set for the printer when the printer driver is installed in the PC.

  The user who uses the printer driver installed on the PC can obtain the desired print result by changing the printer driver setting information set in the printer driver when the printer driver is started. This printer driver setting information Various proposals have been made regarding the setting method.

  For example, a printing system and printer control that can completely save the setting values once set on the printer driver when printing a document, and freely use the saved setting values when printing various documents later There are an apparatus, a printer, and a printer control method (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Also, for example, print information for reading out a data file including paper type data stored in an external storage device and data related to various information corresponding to the paper type data, and setting various information based on the read data file There is a setting device, a method and a storage medium thereof, and a print information providing device and a method thereof (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  In addition, for example, there is a print information setting device that reads various data related to print quality stored in an external storage device and sets various information based on the read data file, a method thereof, and a computer program (For example, refer to Patent Document 3).

In addition, for example, there is a printer driver installation control method in which information set by a setting unit is read as an initial value by a printer driver to perform installation, and an installation program (see, for example, Patent Document 4).
JP-A-10-326167 JP 2000-185450 A JP 2002-304266 A JP 2003-280840 A

  There is a request for making it impossible to change certain printer driver setting information among a plurality of printer driver setting information. For example, an administrator of a printer system in which a plurality of PCs share a printer uses important printer driver setting information set in a printer driver installed on each PC (for example, designation of a paper feed tray, addition of a user name) Etc.) may want to make changes impossible by general users.

  However, it is difficult for the techniques described in Patent Documents 1, 2, 3 and 4 to meet the above requirements.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an installation program, a printer driver, and a printer driver management method capable of restricting changes in printer driver setting information set in a printer driver. To do.

  To achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in an installation program for installing a printer driver in a computer, a process for setting printer driver setting information in a file of the printer driver and the set printer driver setting information. A process for designating non-changeable information to make the change impossible, and a process for incorporating the printer driver file in which the printer driver setting information is set into the computer and storing the designated non-changeable information in the computer. The computer is operated.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, after the printer driver is installed in the computer, the printer driver setting information in which the unchangeable information is designated cannot be changed. And

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printer driver installed in the computer by the installation program, the non-changeable information is designated for the printer driver setting information when the printer driver is installed in the computer by the installation program. When the non-changeable information is stored in the computer, the computer is caused to operate a process for making it impossible to change the printer driver setting information in which the non-changeable information is designated.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the third aspect, when displaying the setting screen for the printer driver setting information, a process for confirming whether or not the unchangeable information is stored in the computer; When it is confirmed that the non-changeable information is stored, a process for generating and displaying a setting screen in which the printer driver setting information in which the non-changeable information is specified cannot be changed, and the non-changeable information is stored. If it is confirmed that the printer driver setting information has not been generated, the computer is caused to operate a process for generating and displaying a setting screen in which all printer driver setting information can be changed.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the management method for a printer driver installed in a computer, the installation program for installing the printer driver in the computer sets printer driver setting information in the printer driver file and sets the setting. Designate non-changeable information for making the change impossible for the printer driver setting information, incorporate the printer driver file in which the printer driver setting information is set in the computer, and save the designated non-changeable information in the computer The printer driver installed in the computer makes it impossible to change the printer driver setting information in which the non-changeable information is designated.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the fifth aspect, when the setting screen for the printer driver setting information is displayed, it is confirmed whether the unchangeable information is stored in the computer, and the unchangeable. If it is confirmed that the information is stored, a setting screen that cannot change the printer driver setting information in which the unchangeable information is specified is generated and displayed, and the unchangeable information is not stored. When confirmed, a setting screen in which all printer driver setting information can be changed is generated and displayed.

  According to the present invention, by restricting the change of the printer driver setting information set in the printer driver, it is not necessary to prepare the printer driver separately for the general user and the administrator, and all the users who use the printer Produces an effect that it becomes possible to obtain a desired printing result.

  Embodiments of an installation program, a printer driver, and a printer driver management method according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a print system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of PCs (Personal Computers) 2 that perform data processing using an application program (hereinafter referred to as an application) and the process for forming print data received from the PC 2 on a sheet are performed. The printer 3 is connected via the network 4. For connection of the network 4, any communication method may be used, whether wired or wireless.

  Here, a schematic configuration of the PC 2 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the PC 2 includes a CPU 5, a ROM 6, a RAM 7, an HD 8, and an I / F 9.

  A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 5 performs sequence control of the PC 2 main body based on an operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) which is basic software.

  A ROM (Read Only Memory) 6 stores a program executed when the PC 2 is activated.

  A RAM (Random Access Memory) 7 is used as a buffer area of a work area necessary for program execution.

  An HD (Hard Disk) 8 stores an OS, an application, a printer driver installation tool including an installation program according to the present invention, various data, and the like.

  An I / F (Interface) 9 controls communication via the network 4.

  Although not particularly illustrated, the PC 2 is connected to a display device capable of visually displaying various information such as an application screen, an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse, and the like.

  Next, the printer driver installation tool will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the printer driver installation tool 10.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the printer driver installation tool 10 includes an installation program file 11 that is a program file of an installation program according to the present invention, and a printer driver file 12 that is a program file of a printer driver according to the present invention. When the installation program is activated, the activated installation program reads the printer driver file 12 from the HD 8, expands the read printer driver file 12, and sets the printer driver setting information (for example, printer name, printer connection destination, Set whether or not to use normally, set the paper size, set various printing conditions, etc., and install the printer driver setting information file in the PC 2 Process).

  Next, the installation program will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the installation program 13 running on the PC 2.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the installation program 13 running on the PC 2 includes an input receiving unit 14, a printer driver installation unit 15, and a display control unit 16 as its functions.

  The input receiving unit 14 performs a process of receiving an instruction to start installing a printer driver, printer driver setting information, non-changeable information for the printer driver setting information, and the like input by the input device 17. Here, the unchangeable information is information that designates printer driver setting information that cannot be changed after installation.

  The printer driver installation unit 15 performs printer driver installation processing.

  The display control unit 16 performs a process of displaying on the display device 18 a printer driver setting information setting screen, the contents of the set printer driver setting information and non-changeable information, a screen showing the progress of installation processing, and the like.

  Next, functional processing performed by the installation program 13 will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the installation program 13 is activated on the PC 2, the display control unit 16 of the installation program 13 displays a printer driver setting information setting screen on the display device 18.

  When the user recognizes the printer driver setting information setting screen and inputs the printer driver setting information and the non-changeable information for the printer driver setting information on the input device 17, the input receiving unit 14 displays the printer driver setting information and the non-changeable information. And the received printer driver setting information and unchangeable information are passed to the printer driver installation unit 15. Note that when the user does not input the non-changeable information on the input device 17, the input reception unit 14 passes only the printer driver setting information to the printer installation unit 15.

  When all the printer driver setting information has been set, the printer driver installation unit 15 passes the set printer driver setting information and the unchangeable information to the display control unit 16, and the display control unit 16 receives the printer driver setting information and the change information. When the change-impossible information is received, a screen showing the contents of the printer driver setting information set in the printer driver and the item of the printer driver setting information designated as unchangeable is displayed on the display device 18. When the user does not input the non-changeable information on the input device 17, the display control unit 16 displays a screen showing only the contents of the printer driver setting information set in the printer driver on the display device 18.

  When the user inputs an instruction to start the installation process at the input device 17, the input reception unit 14 receives an instruction to start the installation process, and indicates that the printer driver installation unit 15 has been instructed to start the installation process. When the printer driver installation unit 15 receives the notification instructed to start the installation process, the printer driver installation unit 15 reads the printer driver file 12 from the HD 8, expands the read printer driver file 12, and applies the extracted printer driver file 12 to the printer driver file 12. The printer driver setting information is set and incorporated in the PC 2, and the printer driver installation unit 15 stores the non-changeable information 19 in the HD 8. Further, the printer driver installation unit 15 displays the progress of the installation process by the display control unit 16. Pass, the display control unit 16 displays a screen indicating progress of the installation process received from the printer driver installation section 15 to the display device 21.

  Next, a printer driver installation process performed by the installation program 13 will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

  The installation program is activated (step S401), and printer driver setting information is received (step S402). If non-changeable information is received together with the printer driver setting information (YES in step S403), the process proceeds to step S404. If non-changeable information is not received (NO in step S403), the process proceeds to step S407.

  When non-changeable information is received together with the printer driver setting information (YES in step S403), the contents of the received printer driver setting information and the printer driver information items designated to be unchangeable are displayed (step S404). Driver installation is started (step S405), change-impossible information is saved (step S406), and the process proceeds to step S409.

  If unchangeable information has not been accepted (NO in step S403), the contents of the accepted printer driver setting information are displayed (step S407), installation of the printer driver is started (step S408), and the process proceeds to step S409.

  Subsequently, when the installation of the printer driver is finished (step S409), the processing procedure for installing the printer driver is finished.

  Next, a screen transition of the display device 18 when the printer driver is installed by the installation program 13 will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the printer driver setting information setting screen 20 displayed on the display device 18.

  As shown in FIG. 5, printer driver setting information settings (for example, in FIG. 5, setting of a printer name, setting of whether to use a normal printer, setting of a local printer or a network printer, etc.) This can be done on the setting information setting screen 20.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the non-changeable information designation screen 21 displayed on the display device 18.

  The designation for making the change impossible for the printer driver setting information can be made on the non-changeable information designation screen 21. For example, in the non-changeable information designation screen 21 shown in FIG. 6, if a check is entered in the check box for fixing the paper feed tray, the setting of the paper feed tray (tray 1) cannot be changed after the printer driver is installed. It becomes possible.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the non-changeable information designation screen 21 displayed on the display device 18.

  For example, in the non-changeable information designation screen 21 shown in FIG. 7, if a check is entered in the check box for printing a fixed header / footer, after the printer driver is installed, the header / footer printing setting (print position “upper left”) is displayed. , The print item “date”) cannot be changed.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the printer driver setting information confirmation screen 22 displayed on the display device 18.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the printer driver setting information confirmation screen 22 includes the contents of the set printer driver setting information (for example, in FIG. 8, model name, installation image creation location, printer name, printer connection destination, printer sharing). Name, setting as to whether or not the printer is used normally), and contents of printer driver setting information designated to be unchangeable (for example, in FIG. 8, the paper feed tray is fixed to “Tray 1”, the header / Footer printing (fixed to print position “upper left” and print item “date”) is displayed.

  When the “Next” button on the printer driver setting information confirmation screen 22 is pressed, the printer driver is installed.

  Next, a printer driver installed in the PC 2 will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the printer driver 23 activated on the PC 2.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the printer driver 23 activated on the PC 2 includes, as its functions, a data reception unit 24, a print data creation unit 25, a print data transmission unit 26, an input reception unit 27, a display control unit 28, The printer driver setting information management unit 29 is provided.

  The data receiving unit 24 performs processing for receiving data such as documents and images from various applications 30 realized by application programs.

  The print data creation unit 25 performs processing for creating print data based on the data received by the data reception unit 24 and the printer driver setting information.

  The print data transmission unit 26 performs processing for transmitting the print data created by the print data creation unit 25 to the printer 3 via the I / F 9.

  The input receiving unit 27 performs a process of receiving an instruction for starting the printer driver 23, an instruction for printing, a change in the printer driver setting information 31, and the like input by the input device 18.

  The display control unit 28 performs processing for displaying the property screen of the printer driver 23 on the display device 17.

  The printer driver setting information management unit 29 performs processing for managing the printer driver setting information 31 set for the printer driver 23, and performs processing for changing the printer driver setting information 31.

  Next, functional processing performed by the printer driver 23 will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the data receiving unit 24 of the printer driver 23 receives data from the application 30 and the user inputs a property screen display instruction in the input device 17, the input receiving unit 24 receives a property screen display instruction. The display control unit 28 is instructed to display the property screen, and the printer driver setting information management unit 29 is notified that the display of the property screen has been instructed.

  When the printer driver setting information management unit 29 receives the notification instructed to display the property screen, the printer driver setting information management unit 29 reads the printer driver setting information 31 and passes the read printer driver setting information 31 to the display control unit 28.

  When the display control unit 28 receives an instruction to display the property screen and receives the printer driver setting information 31 from the printer driver setting information management unit 29, the display control unit 28 checks the presence / absence of the non-changeable information 19.

  When it is confirmed that the unchangeable information 19 is present, the display control unit 28 reads the unchangeable information 19, and the property screen in which the item of the printer driver setting information 31 in which the read unchangeable information 19 is designated cannot be changed. And the generated property screen is displayed on the display device 18. When it is confirmed that there is no unchangeable information 19, the display control unit 28 generates a property screen that can change all items of the printer driver setting information 31, and displays the generated property screen on the display device 18. To do.

  When the user recognizes the property screen and changes the printer driver setting information 31 on the input device 17, the printer driver setting information management unit 29 changes the printer driver setting information 31.

  When the user inputs a print instruction on the input device 17, when the input reception unit 27 receives the print instruction, the input reception unit 27 notifies the data reception unit 24 and the printer driver setting information management unit 29 that the print is instructed.

  When the data reception unit 24 receives a notification instructed to print, the data reception unit 24 passes the data received from the application 30 to the print data creation unit 25. When the printer driver setting information management unit 29 receives a notification instructed to print, the printer driver The setting information 31 is read, and the read printer driver setting information 31 is transferred to the print data creation unit 25.

  When the print data creation unit 25 receives the data and the printer driver setting information 31, the print data creation unit 25 creates print data based on the received data and the printer driver setting information 31, passes the created print data to the print data transmission unit 26, and print data When the transmission unit 26 receives the print data, the transmission unit 26 transmits the received print data to the printer via the I / F 9.

  Next, the processing procedure for changing the printer driver setting information 31 performed by the printer driver 23 when creating print data will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  Data is received from the application (step S1001). If the property screen is displayed (YES in step S1002), the process proceeds to step S1003. If the property screen is not displayed (NO in step S1002), the process proceeds to step S1007.

  When the property screen is displayed (YES in step S1002), the presence / absence of unchangeable information is confirmed (step S1003). If it is confirmed that there is non-changeable information (YES in step S1003), the process proceeds to step S1004. If it is confirmed that there is no non-changeable information (NO in step S1003), the process proceeds to step S1005.

  If it is confirmed that there is non-changeable information (YES in step S1003), a property screen in which the item of the printer driver setting information for which non-changeable information is specified cannot be changed (step 1004), and the process proceeds to step S1006. .

  If it is confirmed that there is no unchangeable information (NO in step S1003), a property screen that can change all items of the printer driver setting information is displayed (step S1005), and the process proceeds to step S1006.

  Subsequently, the contents of the printer driver setting information are changed (step S1006), and the process proceeds to step S1007.

  Subsequently, when an instruction to start printing is received (step S1007), print data is created based on the data and printer driver setting information (step S1008), the print data is transmitted to the printer (step S1009), and printer driver setting is performed. The information change processing procedure is terminated.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a page of an item of printer driver setting information in which non-changeable information is specified on the property screen 32.

  In the printer driver setting information item page in which the non-changeable information is specified in the property screen 32, the printer driver setting information in which the non-changeable information is specified (for example, in FIG. 11, in the setting of the paper feed tray, header / footer printing The printer driver setting information cannot be changed because (setting) is displayed in gray.

  Accordingly, there are a plurality of paper feed trays in the printer 3, and papers of different sizes and types are set in the paper feed trays. A general user can use only a fixed paper feed tray. When operating so that all the paper feed trays can be used, in the conventional printer driver, the general user can change the printer driver setting information at the time of printing. However, in the printer driver according to the present invention, it is not possible to limit the paper feed tray used by the general user. Setting this to disabled makes it impossible for general users to specify other paper trays when printing, and the printer administrator By not disabling the change of the paper feed tray used when installing on the PC 2 used by the printer administrator, the printer administrator can freely specify another paper feed tray for printing. . For this reason, it is not necessary to prepare printer drivers for general users and managers separately, and everyone who uses the printer 3 can obtain a desired print result.

  Furthermore, there is a function (hereinafter referred to as a header / footer printing function) for printing a specified character string (for example, date, user name, etc.) on the upper or lower edge of the paper as print data to be added by the printer driver. When printing a date on the top of all documents printed from a specific PC 2 in order to manage print documents, the printer driver setting information can be changed at the time of printing with a conventional printer driver, so the date is printed. Setting for printing other character strings such as the user name or the like, and the setting of the header / footer printing function could not be restricted. However, in the printer driver according to the present invention, the PC 2 Set the header / footer print function to “Print date at top” and disable the change when installing In, it becomes impossible to change the header / footer print function during printing, it is possible to obtain a print result of interest. Even when different settings are made on other PCs 2 (for example, the header / footer printing function is “print user name at bottom”), the settings are made when installing the printer driver according to the present invention on each PC 2. As a result, it becomes possible to obtain a desired print result on each PC 2.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a print system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a printer driver installation tool 10. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the installation program 13 currently started on PC2. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a printer driver installation process performed by an installation program 13; 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printer driver setting information setting screen 20 displayed on the display device 18. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an unchangeable information designation screen 21 displayed on the display device 18. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an unchangeable information designation screen 21 displayed on the display device 18. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printer driver setting information confirmation screen 22 displayed on the display device 18. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a printer driver 23 activated on a PC 2. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure for changing printer driver setting information 31 performed by the printer driver 23 when creating print data. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a page of an item of printer driver setting information in which non-changeable information is specified on a property screen.

Explanation of symbols

1 Printing system 2 PC
3 Printer 4 Network 5 CPU
6 ROM
7 RAM
8 HD
9 I / F
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Printer driver installation tool 11 Installation program file 12 Printer driver file 13 Installation program 14 Input reception part 15 Printer driver installation part 16 Display control part 17 Input device 18 Display apparatus 19 Unchangeable information 20 Printer driver setting information setting screen 21 Unchangeable information Designation screen 22 Printer driver setting information confirmation screen 23 Printer driver 24 Data reception unit 25 Print data creation unit 26 Print data transmission unit 27 Input reception unit 28 Display control unit 29 Printer driver setting information management unit 30 Application 31 Printer driver setting information 32 Property screen

Claims (6)

In the installation program that installs the printer driver on the computer,
Processing for setting printer driver setting information in the printer driver file;
A process of designating non-changeable information for making it impossible to change the set printer driver setting information;
An installation program, wherein a printer driver file in which the printer driver setting information is set is incorporated in the computer, and the processing for saving the designated non-changeable information in the computer is operated on the computer. The installation program according to claim 1, wherein after the printer driver is installed in the computer, the printer driver setting information in which the non-changeable information is designated cannot be changed. In the printer driver installed on the computer by the installation program,
When installation is performed on the computer by the installation program, non-changeable information is specified for the printer driver setting information, and the non-changeable information is stored in the computer,
A printer driver characterized by causing the computer to operate a process for making it impossible to change the printer driver setting information in which the non-changeable information is specified. A process of checking whether the non-changeable information is stored in the computer when displaying the setting screen of the printer driver setting information;
When confirming that the unchangeable information is stored, processing for generating and displaying a setting screen incapable of changing the printer driver setting information in which the unchangeable information is designated;
4. The process of generating and displaying a setting screen in which all printer driver setting information can be changed when the non-changeable information is confirmed to be stored, and causing the computer to operate. Printer driver. In the management method of the printer driver installed on the computer,
An installation program for installing the printer driver in the computer is:
Set printer driver setting information in the printer driver file,
Specify non-changeable information that disables change to the set printer driver setting information,
A printer driver file in which the printer driver setting information is set is incorporated into the computer, and the designated change-disabled information is stored in the computer.
The printer driver installed in the computer is
A printer driver management method, comprising: making it impossible to change printer driver setting information in which the unchangeable information is designated. When displaying the setting screen of the printer driver setting information, check whether the unchangeable information is stored in the computer,
If it is confirmed that the unchangeable information is stored, a setting screen that cannot change the printer driver setting information in which the unchangeable information is specified is generated and displayed.
6. The printer driver management method according to claim 5, wherein when it is confirmed that the unchangeable information is not stored, a setting screen in which all printer driver setting information can be changed is generated and displayed.

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