JP2006178747A - Print setting control device, and its control method and program therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a print setting control device capable of automatically applying a printing condition without performing complicated setting by a user interface for setting printing at the time of executing printing and capable of sharply reducing the load of user's operation. <P>SOLUTION: The print setting control device is provided with: an acquisition means for acquiring plotting instruction information; a storage means for storing the plotting instruction information acquired by the acquisition means; a comparing means for comparing the plotting instruction information stored in the storage means with another plotting instruction information acquired by the acquisition means; and a print setting information acquisition means for acquiring print setting information corresponding to the plotting instruction information whose coincidence is detected by the comparing means. As the other way, the print setting control device is provided with the acquisition means for acquiring plotting instruction information; the storage means for storing the plotting instruction information acquired by the acquisition means; the comparing means for comparing the plotting instruction information stored in the storage means with another plotting instruction information acquired by the acquisition means; an imaging means for imaging the plotting instruction information whose coincidence is detected by the comparing means; and the print setting information acquisition means for acquiring print setting information corresponding to image information imaged by the imaging means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a print setting control apparatus, a control method thereof, and a program, and more particularly to control of print condition settings applied each time printing is executed.

  The print control program or the printing apparatus normally executes printing under the initially set printing conditions unless the user changes the setting of the printing conditions. Therefore, when printing is performed under a printing condition different from the initial setting, the user must set a desired printing condition for each document to be printed. In view of the above, in recent years, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, a control method for reducing the labor of operations associated with setting of printing conditions by a user has been studied.

  In a conventional printer control device such as a printer driver, only one print mode, paper type, etc. can be set each time printing is performed. In order to change such a setting, the print setting must be performed a plurality of times, and printing must be performed a plurality of times for each print setting. As a result, there is a problem that the operation burden on the user is heavy and time is required. In Patent Document 1, this problem is solved, and documents having different printing conditions set by the user can be output at a time, and printing with the printing conditions specified in the document information can be efficiently and repeatedly performed with a simple operation. A printer control method is disclosed.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, when performing print settings when generating print data using a plurality of setting sheets, a single composite setting combining a plurality of setting items divided into a plurality of setting sheets is combined. When you select one of the composite settings registered in this composite setting list, you can register all the setting items of this composite setting on multiple setting sheets and display them. There is disclosed a control method that can provide an easy-to-use user interface that can collectively set the setting items.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-187384 JP 2000-222159 A

However, the print control systems described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 have the following problems.
In any of the methods disclosed in the above-mentioned patent documents, the user holds a print condition set in advance, and reads and applies the selected print setting information when the user executes the print. In order to take the form, in these inventions, it takes time and effort to search and apply the print setting information held by the user. Further, as the number of stored print setting information increases, it takes more time to search for a desired print setting, and the burden on the user also increases. Furthermore, an increase in the print setting information is likely to cause a mistake in application of the print settings, which leaves problems such as wasteful consumption of paper resources due to unintended output.

  In the market, many users create and output forms and specifications using predetermined templates. When such a standard template is used, the printing conditions generally set are often the same, for example, the specifications are always output with 4 pages / sheet and are filed. While there is such a need in the market, at present, even though the print settings that you want to apply to the document are known, you can set the settings across all sheets, or like the patent literature mentioned above, It is necessary to follow the procedure of reading the print settings registered in advance.

  The present invention can automatically apply printing conditions without performing complicated settings in a user interface (hereinafter referred to as UI) for print settings at the time of printing execution, greatly reducing the burden on the user's operation. An object of the present invention is to provide a print setting control apparatus, a control method therefor, and a program.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print setting control apparatus for controlling print settings for an image forming apparatus, an acquisition means for acquiring drawing command information, and the drawing command information acquired by the acquisition means. Storage means for storing, comparison means for comparing the drawing command information stored in the storage means with drawing command information acquired separately by the acquisition means, and print settings corresponding to the drawing command information matched by the comparison means And print setting information acquisition means for acquiring information.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the print setting control apparatus according to the first aspect, the storage unit stores drawing command information and print setting information in association with each other, and the print setting information acquisition unit includes: When the drawing command information matched by the comparison means and the drawing command information corresponding to the print setting information stored in the storage unit are compared and matched, the corresponding print setting information is acquired. And

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the print setting control apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the acquisition unit sequentially acquires drawing command information for one page for each page. To do.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the print setting control apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the acquisition unit acquires drawing command information for a specified page.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the print setting control apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, when there is no print setting information corresponding to the drawing command information, a new print setting information is stored. In response to the input, the input print setting information and the drawing command information are associated and registered in the storage unit.
The invention according to claim 6 is the print setting control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the storage unit stores the drawing command information acquired by the acquisition unit. Only drawing command information that is matched in the comparison by the comparison means is stored.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print setting control apparatus for controlling print settings for an image forming apparatus, an acquisition means for acquiring drawing command information, and a storage means for storing the drawing command information acquired by the acquisition means. Comparing means for comparing the drawing command information stored in the storage means with drawing command information obtained separately by the acquiring means, imaging means for imaging the drawing command information matched by the comparing means, And print setting information acquisition means for acquiring print setting information corresponding to the imaged image information.

  The invention according to claim 8 is a control method of a print setting control apparatus that automatically performs print settings by computer control, and obtains the drawing command information from the computer and the obtaining step. The drawing command information stored in the storage means, the drawing command information stored in the storing step and the drawing command information acquired separately in the acquiring step, and the comparing step match. And a step of acquiring print setting information corresponding to the drawing command information.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control method of a print setting control apparatus for automatically performing print settings by computer control, wherein the computer obtains drawing command information and obtains at the obtaining step. The drawing command information stored in the storage means, the drawing command information stored in the storing step and the drawing command information acquired separately in the acquiring step, and the comparing step match. The step of converting the drawing command information into an image and the step of acquiring print setting information corresponding to the imaged image information are executed.

  The invention according to claim 10 is a control program for a print setting control apparatus for automatically performing print settings by computer control, the step of acquiring drawing command information, and the drawing command information acquired in the acquiring step The drawing command information stored in the storing step, the drawing command information stored in the storing step and the drawing command information acquired separately in the acquiring step, and the drawing command information matched in the comparing step Obtaining corresponding print setting information.

  The invention according to claim 11 is a control program for a print setting control apparatus for automatically performing print settings by computer control, the step of acquiring drawing command information, and the drawing command information acquired in the acquiring step Storing the drawing command information stored in the storing step, the step of comparing the drawing command information stored in the storing step with the drawing command information acquired separately in the acquiring step, and the drawing command information matched in the comparing step An image forming step; and a step of acquiring print setting information corresponding to the imaged image information.

  According to the present invention, since print setting information corresponding to common drawing command information is automatically acquired, the acquired print can be performed without opening a user interface for allowing the user to set print conditions at the time of printing. By automatically applying the setting information, the burden on the user's operation can be greatly reduced. That is, the user can automatically apply the necessary printing conditions and perform printing without performing the troublesome operation of opening the UI for setting the printing conditions each time printing is performed and setting the printing conditions. Therefore, since the user only needs to execute printing without opening the print setting UI from the print instruction screen, the above-described problems can be solved.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printing system to which the present invention can be applied. Note that the present invention can be applied to a single device, a system composed of a plurality of devices, or a system connected to a network such as a LAN or WAN for processing. That is, the configuration of various terminals shown in the present embodiment is an example, and it goes without saying that there are various configuration examples depending on applications and purposes.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 3000 denotes a host computer. The ROM 103 or the external memory 111 includes a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) or an operating system program (hereinafter referred to as an OS) that is a control program of the CPU 101, and execution of each server or each PC. Various programs described below necessary for realizing the function to be performed are stored. The OS used in this embodiment is assumed to be, for example, Windows (registered trademark) XP (manufactured by Microsoft (registered trademark)), but is not limited thereto. The RAM 102 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 101. The CPU 101 implements various operations by loading a program necessary for execution of processing into the RAM 102 and executing the program.

  An input controller (input C) 105 controls input from a keyboard (KB) 109 or a pointing device such as a mouse (not shown). A video controller (VC) 106 controls display on a display device such as a CRT display (CRT) 110. The display may be a liquid crystal display or the like as well as a CRT. These are used by the administrator as needed.

  The memory controller (MC) 107 is an adapter to a hard disk (HD), flexible disk (FD), or PCMCIA card slot that stores a boot program, browser software, various applications, font data, user files, editing files, various data, and the like. Is used to control access to an external memory 111 such as a CompactFlash (registered trademark) memory connected via the network.

A communication I / F controller (communication I / FC) 108 is connected to an external device via a network for communication, and executes communication control processing on the network. For example, Internet communication using TCP / IP or data transmission / reception with the printer 1500 via the data transfer path 121 can be performed. Furthermore, various programs and data stored in the external memory 111 can be acquired via a network.
Note that the CPU 101 enables display on the CRT 110 by executing outline font rasterization processing on a display information area in the RAM 102, for example. Further, the CPU 101 enables a user instruction with a mouse cursor (not shown) on the CRT 110.

  In the printer 1500, the printer CPU 112 outputs to a printing unit (printer engine) 117 connected to the system bus 115 based on a control program stored in the program ROM of the ROM 113b or a control program stored in the external memory 114. An image signal as information is output. Further, a control program of the CPU 112 is stored in the program ROM of the ROM 113b. The font ROM of the ROM 113a stores font data used when generating the output information, and the data ROM of the ROM 113c is used on the host computer in the case of a printer having no external memory 114 such as a hard disk. Information to be stored is also stored.

  The CPU 112 can communicate with the host computer via the input unit 118 and is configured to notify the host computer 3000 of information in the printer 1500 and the like. A RAM 119 is a main memory of the CPU 112 and functions as a work area. The RAM 119 is configured such that the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown).

  The RAM 119 is also used for an output information expansion area, environment data storage area, NVRAM (Non Volatile RAM), and the like. Access to the above-described external memory 114 such as a hard disk (HD) or IC card is controlled by a memory controller (MC) 120. The external memory 114 is connected as an option and stores font data, an emulation program, form data, and the like. Reference numeral 118 denotes a switch for operation on the operation panel described above, an LED display, and the like.

  Further, the number of external memories is not limited to one, and at least one external memory is provided. In addition to the built-in font, an optional font card and a plurality of external memories storing programs for interpreting printer control languages of different language systems can be connected. May be. Further, an NVRAM (not shown) may be provided to store printer mode setting information from the operation panel 1501.

  In the present embodiment, the page description language (hereinafter referred to as PDL) supported by the printer 1500 is a relatively advanced PDL (Page Description Language) such as LBP Image Processing System (manufactured by Canon (registered trademark), hereinafter referred to as LIPS). ), But is not limited to this.

  A printing device control program (hereinafter referred to as a printer driver) for realizing the present invention is recorded in the external memory 111 and is executed by the CPU 101 by being loaded into the RAM 102 as necessary. Furthermore, definition files and various information tables used by the printer driver according to the present invention are also stored in the external memory 111, and detailed descriptions thereof will be described later.

  FIG. 2 is a main functional block diagram showing a flow when transmitting print job data from the host computer 3000 shown in FIG. 1 to the printer 1500.

An application program (hereinafter referred to as an application) 201, a graphic engine 202, a printer driver 203, and a print subsystem 204 in the host computer 3000 exist as files stored in the external memory 111 shown in FIG. , A program module that is loaded into the RAM 102 and executed by the OS or a module that uses the module.
The application 201 and the printer driver 203 can be added to the hard disk (HD) of the external memory 111 via an FD of the external memory 111, a CD-ROM (not shown), or a network described later.

  The application 201 stored in the external memory 111 is loaded into the RAM 102 and executed by the CPU 101. When printing is performed from the application 201 to the printer 1500, output (rendering) is performed using the graphic engine 202 that is similarly loaded into the RAM 102 and executed by the CPU 101.

  The graphic engine 202 activates the printer driver 203 prepared for each printing apparatus (the printer driver 203 is loaded from the external memory 111 to the RAM 102 and executed by the CPU 101). The graphic engine 202 uses the printer driver 203 to convert the output of the application 201 into a printer control command by PDL.

The printer control command converted by the printer driver 203 is output to the printer 1500 via the communication subsystem 108 via the print subsystem 204.
The print subsystem 204 is started up by the OS, loaded from the external memory 111 to the RAM 102 and executed by the CPU 101, scheduling of print jobs, connection control with the host computer with the printer, and printer status. Management.

  The printer driver 203 generates a printer control command in response to the output of the printing or drawing command instructed from the application 201 and instructs the printer to reflect it in the print output. And a function for performing settings for controlling the functions of the printer 1500 (hereinafter referred to as a user interface), a function for storing the settings, and a function for providing information about the capabilities of the printer driver 203 and the printer 1500 to the application and the OS. A function that generates a printer control command when the function set in the user interface is a function that the printer has, and a function that is performed by the printer driver when the function set in the user interface is an original function Has functions etc.

FIG. 3 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a printing system in which the host computer 3000 shown in FIG. 1 is used for client and server applications and a printer 1500 is connected.
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 denotes a network to which a plurality of host computers (client computers) 3000, a printer 1500, and a print server computer 4000 are connected. In this case, the communication I / F controller 108 of the host computer 3000 has a function of a network interface card (NIC).

  The printer 1500 is connected to the print server computer 4000 via the local interface 302 such as Centronics or USB, and is connected directly to the network 301 even when connected to the network 3000 via the print server 4000. It may be. Note that the input unit 118 of the printer 1500 directly connected to the network 301 has a function of a network interface card (NIC).

  When a print job is transmitted from each client computer 3000 to the printer 1500 connected to the network 301 via the print server computer 4000, first, each client computer 3000 transmits to the print server computer 4000 via the print subsystem 204. Send a print job. The print server computer 4000 transmits the print job transmitted from each client computer 3000 to the printer 1500 via a print subsystem on the print server computer 4000 (not shown). Thus, each client computer 3000 can transmit a print job to the printer 1500 via the print server computer 4000.

  When sending a print job from each client computer 3000 to the printer 1500 directly connected to the network 301, each client computer 3000 sends a print job to the printer 1500 directly connected to the network 301 via the print subsystem 204. Send.

Next, a basic processing flow of a printer driver suitable for applying the present invention will be described with reference to the status diagram of FIG.
FIG. 4 is a status diagram showing the flow of basic processing when printing is performed by the print setting control apparatus of the present invention. In particular, the processing of the application 201, graphic engine 202, and printer driver 203 shown in FIG. Correspond. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same thing as FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the application 201 does not directly communicate with the printer driver 203 and exchanges commands, but performs it through the graphics engine 202 of the OS. Exchanges with the engine 202. That is, the graphic engine 202 receives an instruction from the application 201 and instructs the printer driver 203.

  First, the application 201 notifies the graphic engine 202 of settings for printing such as single-sided / double-sided setting and the number of copies setting via a memory area secured in the RAM 102. The printer driver 203 receives from the graphic engine 202 an initialization request for a memory area newly secured on the RAM 102 that stores information necessary for the printer driver 203 to perform print processing based on the print settings ( S401). As a result, the printer driver 203 secures a memory area for holding information (printer driver information) necessary for the printer driver 203 to perform print processing, and initializes the memory area in accordance with the print settings.

  When the printer driver 203 completes the necessary processing by receiving the initialization request for the memory area referred to by the printer driver 203, the printer driver 203 gives the graphic engine 202 the printing capability of the printer driver 203 according to the print setting received in step S401. Notice. The application 201 acquires, from the graphic engine 202, a handle value necessary for associating a print job that is finally transmitted to the printer 1500 and a print setting that is reflected in the print job (S402).

  Next, when the application 201 makes a print start request to the graphic engine 202, the printer driver 203 receives the print start request from the graphic engine 202 (S403). As a result, the printer driver 203 starts PDL generation processing. First, the printer driver 203 generates a printer command necessary for the printer 1500 to start printing. Note that the printer 1500 generates a printer command necessary to start printing when the first page (first page) print processing starts (when the first page drawing instruction is received from the application). But it may be.

  The application 201 issues a drawing instruction for realizing drawing of a drawing object such as a character or an image to the graphic engine 202. The printer driver 203 receives the drawing instruction from the graphic engine 202 (S404). As a result, the printer driver 203 appropriately generates a printer control command reflecting a specified drawing object, a page break, and a request for changing print settings (not shown) in the middle, and outputs the printer control command to the printer 1500. Note that the number of pages to be printed depends on the designation from the application 201.

  Next, when the application 201 makes a print end request to the graphic engine 202, the printer driver 203 receives the print end request from the graphic engine 202 (S405). As a result, the printer driver 203 generates a printer command necessary for the printer 1500 to end printing, and ends the PDL generation processing.

  Next, the application 201 notifies the graphic engine 202 of the handle value discard request acquired in step S402, and the printer driver 203 stores information necessary for the printer driver 203 to perform print processing from the graphic engine 202. A request to discard information (printer driver information) in the memory area to be received is received. As a result, the printer driver 203 discards the printer driver information (S406).

  One job to be transmitted to the printer 1500 is generated by the processing in steps S403 to S405 described above.

  The printing system of this embodiment has a configuration in which print data from the application 201 is once spooled with intermediate code data in addition to the printing system including the printer and the host computer shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In this system, the contents of the intermediate code data once spooled can be processed. As a result, functions that the application does not have, such as enlargement / reduction or printing by reducing a plurality of pages into one page, can be realized with respect to the print data from the application 201.

  FIG. 5 shows a system configuration expanded to generate a spool file 504 consisting of an intermediate code once when a print command is sent from the graphic engine 202 to the printer driver 203. In the system shown in FIG. 5, the contents of the spool file 504 can be processed as described above. In order to process the print data, settings are normally made from a window (UI) provided by the printer driver 203, and the printer driver 203 stores the setting contents on the RAM 102 or the external memory 111.

Hereinafter, the details will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in the figure, in this expanded processing method, the dispatcher 501 receives a DDI function that is a print command from the graphic engine 202. When the print command (DDI function) received by the dispatcher 501 from the graphic engine 202 is based on the print command (GDI function) issued from the application 201 to the graphic engine 202, the dispatcher 501 stores it in the external memory 111. The spooler 503, which is an internal spool processing module, is loaded into the RAM 102, and a print command (DDI function) is sent to the spooler 503 instead of the normal print data creation processing 507.

  The spooler 503 analyzes the received print command, converts it into an intermediate code for each page, and outputs it to the spool file 504. The intermediate code spool file stored in units of pages is referred to as a page drawing file (PDF). Further, the spooler 503 acquires processing settings (bookbinding printing, Nup, double-sided, stapling, color / monochrome designation, etc.) relating to the print data set for the printer driver 203 from the printer driver 203 as a file for each job. Save to the spool file 504.

  At this time, the setting file stored in units of jobs is referred to as a job setting file (sometimes simply referred to as SDF: Spool Description File). This job setting file will be described later. The spool file 504 is generated as a file on the external memory 111, but may be generated on the RAM 102. Further, the spooler 503 loads the spool file manager 505 stored in the external memory 111 into the RAM 102 and notifies the spool file manager 505 of the generation status of the spool file 504. Thereafter, the spool file manager 505 determines whether printing can be performed in accordance with the contents of the processing settings relating to the print data stored in the spool file 504.

When the spool file manager 505 determines that printing can be performed using the graphic engine 202, the despooler 506 stored in the external memory 111 is loaded into the RAM 102, and the intermediate code described in the spool file 504 is loaded into the despooler 506. Instruct to print the page drawing file.
The despooler 506 processes the page drawing file of the intermediate code included in the spool file 504 according to the job setting file including the processing setting information included in the spool file 504, regenerates the GDI function, and again uses the GDI function via the graphic engine 202. Is output.

  On the other hand, when the print command (DDI function) received by the dispatcher 501 from the graphic engine 202 is based on the print command (GDI function) issued from the despooler 506 to the graphic engine 202, the dispatcher 501 uses the spooler 1103. Instead, a print command is sent to the normal print data creation processing 507 of the printer driver. The printer driver 203 generates a printer control command including PDL based on the DDI function acquired from the graphic engine 202 and outputs the printer control command to the printer 1500 via the print subsystem 204.

In the above description, the operation environment suitable for the present embodiment or the entire processing content of the printer driver 203 has been described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. The present embodiment will be described in detail.
The processing in this embodiment is executed when the printer driver 203 receives a print start request from the graphic engine 202 (S403). FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the entire process. FIG. 7 shows an example of detailed processing in S603 of FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 shows an example of detailed processing in S614 of FIG.

  902 in FIG. 9 shows a conceptual diagram of a template list registered in the external memory 111, and 901 shows a conceptual diagram of document print data. 12 shows a memory image when each template 902 in FIG. 9 is stored in the external memory 111. At the time of storage, a template NO (number) for identifying a template, a drawing command registered in advance or a drawing command group extracted as template information, and a print setting applied by the template are stored. That is, a group of these sets forms a template list.

  Reference numeral 1001 in FIG. 10 shows an example of a fixed template used for a document, and also shows a print image of the “template” shown in FIG. According to market needs, for example, a specification is created with a template as shown in 1001 of FIG. 10, and when filing, it is always output 4 pages / sheet (4 in 1) and duplex printing as shown in FIG. Exists. However, the template information is actually only a collection of drawing commands in the PDL. Therefore, the “template information” here refers to a collection of drawing commands, and the template shown in FIG. 9 is also the same. An example of outputting the drawing command (1002 in FIG. 10) is 1001 in FIG. It means that.

Here, this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
When the printer driver 203 receives a print start request from the graphics engine 202, the printer driver 203 reads the value (1101) corresponding to the control shown in FIG. 11 from the received print settings from the RAM 102, and performs automatic printing according to the present invention. Determine whether to apply the additional setting function. At this time, if a value indicating that this function is to be used is not set, normal printing is executed without changing the processing when the printer driver 203 accepts the print start request. On the other hand, if it has been set, the process proceeds to S602.

  In step S602, it is determined whether the document is data that covers a plurality of pages. As will be described later, when there are two or more pages, the drawing commands of each page are compared from the document, and the process proceeds to step S603 for extracting the template. Branches to step S604 for comparison with the template list already registered.

  If there is a template that matches the drawing command extracted in S604 in the template list registered in the external memory 111 (stored in the form shown in 1201 in FIG. 12) (S605), the template list is associated with the matching template information. The print setting is read out and applied (S613) to start printing. On the other hand, if they do not match, normal printing is executed as it is and the process is terminated. In step S604, the command 902 in FIG. 9 registered in the external memory 111 is compared with the command of the document to be printed.

  If the document is a multi-page data and the template information cannot be extracted (S606), the user is notified (S607). If it is left as it is, it will be output with the initial setting, giving the user an opportunity to set the printing conditions. If the print setting is made in S609, the printer driver UI is provided on the spot to let the user make the setting (S610). If not, the initial setting is kept (S611) and the process proceeds to the output process.

  On the other hand, if the template information can be extracted (S606), the registered template list is read from the external memory 111 (S615), and the extracted template information is compared with the drawing command of the read template. Proceed to (S612). If they match, the print setting associated with the matched template information is read out and applied (S613) to start printing.

  Whether or not the extracted template information matches the drawing command of the read template is determined by comparing the type of each drawing command with each of the drawing areas of the command, and the type of drawing command (for example, LineTo that draws a line) If the drawing area (for example, coordinate value) and the drawing area (for example, coordinate values) match, it is considered that the template information drawing command matches. When all the drawing commands included in the template information are matched by the above method, the matched template is applied.

  When drawing a line or rectangle using LineTo, Rectangle, etc., the line thickness and line type may be taken into account for comparison. In text drawing using TextOut, font information, color information, The comparison may be made in consideration of character size information and character thickness information. Note that various types of comparison information may not be provided as parameters of the drawing command, and may be information delivered when the drawing command is received from the graphic engine 202. Further, it may be information used when the printer driver 203 generates a printer drawing command. Further, when drawing graphic data, the comparison may be made based on information related to the drawing.

  If the template information has been extracted but there is no template that matches the drawing command group in the registered template list, the extracted template information is newly saved and the printing conditions are set as described later. A process (S614) of registering with association with (print setting) is performed. In consideration of errors, the commands may be regarded as the same command if they are within a certain range (for example, the coordinates are within + −10).

Each step in FIG. 7 is an example of detailed processing of template information extraction processing S603.
S701 acquires values corresponding to the controls indicated by 1101-1104 in FIG. 11 from the RAM 102, and S702 is a step of determining a page range to which the template information extraction process is applied. When “Extract from page 1 and page 2” (1102) is selected in the control shown in FIG. 11, the start page is the first page and the end page is the second page. When “Extract from all pages except“ ”(1103) is selected, the start page is the second page and the end page is the (N−1) th page.

  Similarly, when “Extract from all pages” (1104) is selected, the start page is the first page and the end page is the Nth page. However, the page can be arbitrarily designated. . In that case, in addition to the start page and the end page, pages that are not specified are stored, and pages that are not specified are not subjected to the processing of S703 to S710. In the present embodiment, the page range under the above-described conditions is assumed to be applied to the process. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the page range may be configured with various configurations and contents depending on the purpose and purpose.

  S703 to S710 are processing units that actually analyze drawing commands and extract templates. S710 indicates a loop processing end condition. S703 is a process for extracting a drawing command for the start page. If a drawing command other than text can be extracted (S704), the extraction result is recorded as template information (hereinafter, RESULT) in the external memory 111 (S705). ).

  S704 is a determination based on the assumption that there is a low possibility that a template is applied to the document when the drawing command is only a text command (that is, there is no corresponding template). This is aimed at obtaining better operation performance in the process of extracting template information from the drawing command, but is not limited to this, and the performance is improved with various configurations and contents depending on the purpose and purpose. It may be configured.

  In S706, the drawing command for the next page is extracted and compared with the drawing command stored in RESULT of the external memory 111 (S707). As a result of the comparison, only the matched part is overwritten in RESULT (S709), and when this is repeated until the last page as the end condition (S710), template information remains in RESULT. If there is no matching part in the loop process, the process ends at that point (S708).

Next, an example of detailed processing of S614 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
Steps S <b> 801 to S <b> 808 are processing when template information can be extracted from a document, but there is no template having a matching drawing command group in the registered template list. In this case, first, the user is notified in S801. Subsequently, the user is given an opportunity to set the printing conditions (S803). If the printing conditions are not set, no particular processing is performed and the initial setting is left (S805), and the process proceeds to the printing start process.

  When performing the print setting, the user is provided with the UI, and the print setting information is acquired from the storage unit such as the RAM 102 (S804). Thereafter, the print condition set and the extracted template information (RESULT) are associated with each other, and an inquiry is made as to whether or not new addition registration is performed in the template list of the external memory 111 (S806). When performing new addition registration, the extracted template information is associated with the set printing condition, and additionally stored in the template list (see 902 in FIG. 9) held in the external memory 111 (S808). Of course, when new addition registration is not performed, the set printing conditions are applied (S807), and only the print start processing is performed.

  In this embodiment, the drawing command is read from the RAM 102 and extracted. However, the drawing command is not limited to this, and can be read from the external memory 111 and extracted.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment described above, a list of drawing commands is stored in the external memory 111 as a template list. The drawing commands included in the templates in the template list and the drawing commands extracted from the document ( Templates were searched by comparing (template information). In the second embodiment, this drawing command is converted (imaged) into image data such as a bitmap and stored in the template list as an image data file. Similarly, a drawing command (template information) extracted from a document is also converted into an image data file, and a template is determined by comparing the image data.

  In the first embodiment, the template information is handled in the form of a drawing command as indicated by 1002 in FIG. 10, but in this embodiment, it is handled as image data as indicated by 1001 in FIG. When the image data is expressed as binary data, an image such as 1003 is obtained. FIG. 14 shows a process of extracting a drawing command (1401) from a document, converting it into image data (1403), comparing with image data in a template list (1402), and applying print settings (ie, detailed processing of FIG. 15). It is a conceptual diagram showing the flow of. As a matching method at this time, binary comparison of image data files is assumed, but it can also be realized by using a form recognition technique used in the OCR technique or the like. In this case, a correction function in the form recognition technique is used. Can be used.

The second embodiment can be realized by replacing S612 to S615 of FIG. 6 with FIG. 15 and S808 of FIG. 8 with FIG. 16 (the description of the same processing is omitted).
Here, S1501 is performed after S606, and the extracted drawing command is imaged. For example, it is converted into a bitmap. Of course, other forms may be used as long as they can be compared by image. Note that the processing when the document is one page, that is, the processing of S604 and S605 in FIG. 6, is replaced with S1501 to S1503. However, the extracted drawing command is a drawing command extracted from one page.

  After imaging in S1501, in S1502, the template image data (image information) in the template registered in the external memory 111 is acquired as in 1402 of FIG. 14, and matching processing is performed with the image data in S1501. The matching method is as described above. As a result of the comparison (S1503), if the image data match, the print setting application process associated with the image data is performed in S1504. If they do not match, the process proceeds to S1505.

  S1505 is processing when template information can be extracted from the document, but there is no matching image data in the registered template list. This is the same processing as S801 to S807 in FIG. S1601 in FIG. 16 is performed after S806, and the template information in the image data format and the print setting are associated with each other and added to the template list stored in the external memory 111. The only difference from S808 is that the image data format is used instead of the drawing command format.

  14 is a conceptual diagram of a template list registered in the external memory 111, and 1401 is a conceptual diagram of document print data. A memory image when each template 1402 in FIG. 14 is stored in the external memory 111 is shown in 1202 in FIG. At the time of storage, a template NO (number) for identifying a template, data obtained by imaging a drawing command extracted as template information, and print settings applied by the template are stored.

According to the present embodiment, it is possible to detect a template even if a drawing command used differs depending on a difference in application, OS, or other version.
Also, in the case of comparison by image, it can be recognized even if the size is shifted, and the template can be detected even if a change not intended by the user (template change) has been made during sentence creation. And the associated print settings can be applied.
The second embodiment has been described above.

  As described above, according to each of the embodiments described above, when printing is performed, the print condition setting associated with the extracted template information is read, and this is automatically performed without opening the UI for setting the print condition. Therefore, the user can obtain a desired output result without feeling the stress of operation.

  In each of the above embodiments, the client computer 3000 is configured. However, the printer server computer 4000 may perform template information storage, print data template information extraction processing, and the like. In this case, the template and the print setting can be shared by this, and the processing can be centralized, so that the processing of the client computer 3000 can be reduced.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printing system to which the present invention can be applied. FIG. 2 is a main functional block diagram showing a flow when transmitting print job data from a host computer shown in FIG. 1 to a printer. FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a printing system in which the host computer shown in FIG. 1 is used for client and server applications and a printer is connected. FIG. 6 is a status diagram illustrating a basic processing flow when printing is performed by the print setting control apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a main functional block diagram showing a flow when transmitting print job data from the host computer shown in FIG. 1 to the printer, and a block diagram showing the internal processing of the printer driver in more detail. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an algorithm from when a print start request is received until document template information is extracted and print condition settings are automatically applied. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an algorithm for comparing drawing commands for each page of print data and extracting template information. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an algorithm for adding template information newly extracted together with print settings to a list when template information not in a registered template list is extracted. FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a state in which information that matches template information extracted from a document is searched from a registered template list and settings corresponding to printing conditions are read out. It is a figure which shows an example of the "standard template" used for a document, the drawing command group corresponding to this, and binary data. It is a figure which shows the example of a dialog containing the control which operates the availability of the function of this invention. 4 is a conceptual diagram of a template list registered in an external memory 111. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example (4 pages / sheet) of setting of printing conditions applied to a template. FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing a state in which a template list (in the case of image data) that matches template information extracted from a document is searched for and the corresponding print condition settings are read out. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an algorithm for comparing drawing commands for each page of print data and extracting template information. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an algorithm for adding template information newly extracted together with print settings to a list when template information not in a registered template list is extracted.

Explanation of symbols

1500: Printer 1501 ... Operation unit 3000 ... Host computer (client computer)
4000 ... print server computer 101 ... CPU
102 ... RAM
103 ... ROM
104 ... System bus 105 ... Input controller (input C)
106 ... Video controller (VC)
107 ... Memory controller (MC)
108 ... Communication I / F controller (Communication I / FC)
109 ... Keyboard (KB)
110 ... CRT (monitor)
111 ... External memory (HD, FD)
112 ... CPU
113a ... Font ROM
113b ... Program ROM
113c: Data ROM
114 ... External memory 115 ... System bus 116 ... Printing section I / F
117: Printing unit 118 ... Input unit 119 ... RAM
120 ... Memory controller (MC)
121: Data transfer path 201 ... Application 202 ... Graphics engine 203 ... Printer driver 204 ... Print subsystem 301 ... Network 302 ... Local interface 501 ... Dispatcher 502 ... Internal spool processing 503 ... Spooler 504 ... Spool file 505 ... Spool fill manager 506 ... despooler 507 ... print data creation processing

Claims (11)

In a print setting control apparatus that controls print settings for an image forming apparatus,
Acquisition means for acquiring drawing command information;
Storage means for storing drawing command information acquired by the acquisition means;
A comparison means for comparing the drawing command information stored in the storage means with the drawing command information separately acquired by the acquisition means;
A print setting control device comprising: print setting information acquisition means for acquiring print setting information corresponding to the drawing command information matched by the comparison means.   The storage unit stores drawing command information and print setting information in association with each other, and the print setting information acquisition unit stores the drawing command information matched by the comparison unit and the print setting information stored in the storage unit. The print setting control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print setting information is acquired when the drawing command information corresponding to is matched with the drawing command information.   The print setting control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit sequentially acquires drawing command information for one page for each page.   The print setting control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires drawing command information for a specified page.   When there is no print setting information corresponding to the drawing command information, a new input of the print setting information is received, and the input print setting information and the drawing command information are associated and registered in the storage unit. The print setting control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.   6. The storage unit according to claim 1, wherein when storing the drawing command information acquired by the acquiring unit, only the drawing command information matched by the comparison by the comparing unit is stored. The print setting control apparatus described. In a print setting control apparatus that controls print settings for an image forming apparatus,
Acquisition means for acquiring drawing command information;
Storage means for storing drawing command information acquired by the acquisition means;
A comparison means for comparing the drawing command information stored in the storage means with the drawing command information separately acquired by the acquisition means;
Imaging means for imaging drawing command information matched by the comparison means;
A print setting control device comprising: print setting information acquisition means for acquiring print setting information corresponding to the imaged image information. A control method of a print setting control apparatus for automatically performing print settings by computer control,
In the computer,
Obtaining drawing command information;
Storing the drawing command information acquired in the acquiring step in a storage means;
Comparing the drawing command information stored in the storing step with the drawing command information acquired separately in the acquiring step;
And a step of acquiring print setting information corresponding to the drawing command information matched in the comparing step. A control method of a print setting control apparatus for automatically performing print settings by computer control,
In the computer,
Obtaining drawing command information;
Storing the drawing command information acquired in the acquiring step in a storage means;
Comparing the drawing command information stored in the storing step with the drawing command information acquired separately in the acquiring step;
Imaging the drawing command information matched in the comparing step;
And a step of acquiring print setting information corresponding to the imaged image information. A control program for a print setting control apparatus for automatically performing print settings by computer control,
Obtaining drawing command information;
Storing the drawing command information acquired in the acquiring step in a storage means;
Comparing the drawing command information stored in the storing step with the drawing command information acquired separately in the acquiring step;
And a step of acquiring print setting information corresponding to the drawing command information matched in the comparing step. A control program for a print setting control apparatus for automatically performing print settings by computer control,
Obtaining drawing command information;
Storing the drawing command information acquired in the acquiring step in a storage means;
Comparing the drawing command information stored in the storing step with the drawing command information acquired separately in the acquiring step;
Imaging the drawing command information matched in the comparing step;
Acquiring print setting information corresponding to the imaged image information.

Images