JP2007164271A - Information processor and information processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a print operator to recognize that print information is extracted/managed. <P>SOLUTION: This information processor is provided with an extraction means, which extracts print content to be managed as extraction target information from print data required to be printed according to a previously set extraction condition, and a warning screen display means displaying a warning screen, which contains a message showing that the print content of the print data is extracted and managed, before printing the print data when the extraction target information is extracted by the extraction means. In this way, the printing operator is strongly aware of the fact that the print content is to be extracted and stored. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method, and more particularly to a technique suitable for use in suppressing information leakage.

  In recent years, incidents of leakage of confidential information such as corporate customer information have occurred frequently. Once an information leakage case becomes public, in addition to losing credibility with the company that caused the information leakage, there are many cases where enormous expenses are compelled for damages and responses.

  In addition, there is a large-scale information leakage incident that cannot be compared with conventional information leakage incidents, and more appropriate information leakage countermeasures are required from the information management side. This is due to the fact that, along with the progress of digitalization, networking, and mobility of information, it has become possible to access a large amount of information at one time, and the portability of information has improved dramatically. Yes, these trends will continue to accelerate.

  Conventionally, as a technique widely used as a countermeasure against information leakage, there is a method of limiting who can access confidential information by setting access rights to confidential information or a storage server for storing the confidential information.

  However, recent information leak cases tend to have an overwhelming number of intentional internal crimes by persons who are permitted to access confidential information, and it is no longer enough to prevent information leaks by setting access rights. There was a problem that could not be said to be a leakage countermeasure.

  On the other hand, as information that should be protected from information leakage, it is necessary to take into account not only a large amount of information typified by customer information of large companies but also a small amount of information but qualitatively important information. Such information can be easily taken out as printed matter, and there is a demand for measures that are conscious of preventing information leakage in printing.

  Particularly in the network printing system, various means for preventing information leakage have been proposed. For example, the print server stores the print data in a reprintable state, acquires information such as a job name, a client name, and a user name, and adds a time stamp. Furthermore, a method of generating a bitmap from print data and storing it as a print log (for example, see Patent Document 1) has been proposed.

  In addition to the above, a method has been proposed in which a print log is also acquired on the printer side and stored in a server (see, for example, Patent Document 2). Similarly, the print server receives the print data from the client and at the same time receives information that can uniquely identify the user, generates a print log based on the print data and the user information, and enables search, browsing, and reprinting. A method (for example, see Patent Document 3) has been proposed.

JP 2002-149371 A JP 2003-330677 A JP 2004-118243 A

  However, in the method proposed by the above-described conventional example, the main point of the system is to store a printing log and enable tracing after the printing is executed. For this reason, the print executor is not strongly aware that print data and user information are extracted and stored as a log. As a result, there has been a problem that the suppressing power for preventing illegal printing and private printing in advance is not large. As a result, the effect on prevention of information leakage and cost reduction was insufficient.

  In view of the above-described problems, the present invention has an object to make a print performer recognize that print information is extracted and managed.

An information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes: an extraction unit that extracts, as print target information, print contents to be managed from print data requested to be printed according to a preset extraction condition; When the information to be extracted is extracted by the means, a check screen including a message indicating that the print content of the print data is extracted and managed is displayed on the display device before printing the print data. It is characterized by having a check screen display means.
Another feature of the information processing apparatus according to the present invention is that the contents of the print data are stored in the information storage apparatus as tracking target information, and the print contents to be managed are stored according to preset extraction conditions. An information processing apparatus used in a network printing system that enables tracking, an extraction unit that extracts extraction target information as tracking target information from the print content, and the information storage that stores the tracking target information extracted by the extraction unit At least one of a transmission means for transmitting to the apparatus and a message indicating that the tracking target information or the print target is extracted and managed before transmitting the tracking target information to the information storage apparatus. And a check screen display means for displaying a check screen including the display on the display device.

  A network printing system according to the present invention includes the information processing apparatus described above.

An information processing method according to the present invention includes an extraction step of extracting print contents to be managed as extraction target information from print data requested to be printed in accordance with a preset extraction condition, and the extraction When the extraction target information is extracted by a process, a check screen including a message indicating that the print contents of the print data are extracted and managed is displayed on the display device before the print data is printed. And a check screen display process.
Another feature of the information processing method according to the present invention is that the contents of the print data are stored in the information storage device as tracking target information, and the print contents to be managed are stored according to preset extraction conditions. An information processing method used in a network printing system that enables tracking, an extraction step of extracting extraction target information from the print content as tracking target information, and the information storage of the tracking target information extracted by the extraction step At least one of a transmission step for transmitting to the apparatus and a message indicating that the tracking target information or the print target is extracted and managed before transmitting the tracking target information to the information storage apparatus. And a check screen display step of displaying a check screen including the display on the display device.

The program of the present invention includes: an extraction step for extracting print contents to be managed as extraction target information from print data requested to be printed according to preset extraction conditions; and the extraction step When the extraction target information is extracted, before executing printing of the print data, a check screen including a message indicating that the print content of the print data is extracted and managed is displayed on the display device. An information processing method having a screen display step is executed by a computer.
Another feature of the program of the present invention is that the contents of the print data can be stored in the information storage device as tracking target information, and the print contents to be managed can be tracked according to preset extraction conditions. A program for causing a computer to execute an information processing method used in the network printing system, wherein an extraction step of extracting extraction target information from the print content as tracking target information, and tracking target information extracted by the extraction step A transmission step for transmitting to the information storage device, and the tracking target information before transmitting the tracking target information to the information storage device, or a message indicating that the print target is extracted and managed, A computer processing method having a check screen display step for displaying a check screen including at least one on a display device. Characterized in that to execute the data.

  The recording medium of the present invention is characterized by recording the program described above.

  According to the present invention, a check screen including a message indicating that print information is extracted and managed for printing is displayed on the display device before printing, so that information to be printed is extracted. In addition, it is possible to make the print performer recognize that it is managed. As a result, it is possible to increase the ability to suppress unauthorized printing and private printing for the print performer, to improve the ability to prevent information from being leaked in advance, and to reduce costs.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
"Configuration of chasing system (job tracking system)"
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The printing system according to this embodiment includes a host computer 3000, a printer 1500, a tracking information management server 1000, and a management client 4000 connected to a network 5000.

  The host computer 3000 receives a print request from the user, generates print data according to the content of the print request, and transmits it to the printer 1500. Further, the host computer 3000 extracts and generates tracking data that matches the print request, creates and displays check screen display data, and transmits the tracking data to the tracking information management server 1000. The printer 1500 executes print processing according to the received print data.

  The tracking information management server 1000 registers and stores tracking data indicating print contents received from the host computer 3000 as a database in a storage area built in itself or in another information device. As a result, the administrator can recognize at what timing what kind of printed matter has been printed from the host computer 3000, and can trace the leakage route of the printed matter. The tracking information management server is, in other words, a print content management server.

  The administrator client 4000 is used by the system administrator to search and browse tracking data registered in the database as necessary. The administrator client 4000 may be the same information device as the tracking information management server 1000.

“Configuration of Host Computer 3000 and Printer 1500”
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the host computer 3000 and the printer 1500. As long as the functions of the present embodiment are executed, a single device or a system composed of a plurality of devices is connected and processed via a network such as a LAN or WAN. The present invention can be applied even to a system.

  In FIG. 2, the computer 3000 includes a CPU 1 that operates based on a program ROM stored in the ROM 3 or a document processing program stored in the external memory 11. The CPU 1 controls the execution of a document process including a figure, an image, a character, a table (including a spreadsheet), and a print process based thereon including a process related to each embodiment of the present invention described later. .

  The CPU 1 summarizes the control of each device connected to the system bus 4. In addition, an operating system program (OS) that is a control program for the CPU 1 is stored in the program ROM of the ROM 3 or the external memory 11. The font ROM of the ROM 3 or the external memory 11 stores font data used for the document processing. Further, the data ROM of the ROM 3 or the external memory 11 stores various data used when performing the document processing or the like. The RAM 2 functions as a main memory and work area for the CPU 1.

  A keyboard controller (KBC) 5 controls key input from a keyboard 9 or a pointing device (not shown). A CRT controller (CRTC) 6 controls display on a CRT display (CRT) 10. A disk controller (DKC) 7 controls access to the external memory 11 such as a hard disk (HD) or floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD).

  The external memory 11 stores a boot program, various applications, font data, a user file, an editing file, a printer control command generation program (hereinafter referred to as a printer driver), a print content extraction program of the present embodiment, and the like. A printer controller (PRTC) 8 is connected to the printer 1500 via a bidirectional interface (interface) 21 and executes communication control processing with the printer 1500. The bidirectional interface 21 is preferably a network interface, and the host computer 3000 is connected to the tracking information management server 1000 and the management client 4000 via the network, as shown in FIG. .

  The CPU 1 opens various windows registered in advance based on commands instructed with a mouse cursor (not shown) on the CRT 10 and executes various data processing. When executing printing, the user can open a window relating to print settings, and set the print processing method for the printer driver including printer settings and print mode selection.

  The printer 1500 is controlled by the printer CPU 12. The printer CPU 12 sends an image signal as print output information to a printing unit (printer engine) 17 connected to the system bus 15 based on a control program stored in the ROM 13 or a control program stored in the external memory 14. Is output.

  Further, a control program for the CPU 12 is stored in the program ROM of the ROM 13. The font ROM of the ROM 13 stores font data used when generating the print output information. The data ROM of the ROM 13 stores information used on the computer in the case of a printer that does not have the external memory 14 such as a hard disk.

  The CPU 12 can perform communication processing with a computer via the input unit 18. Thus, information in the printer can be notified to the computer 3000. The RAM 19 is a RAM that functions as a main memory, a work area, or the like for the CPU 12. Further, the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). The RAM 19 is used as an output information expansion area, environment data storage area, NVRAM, and the like.

  Access to the above-described external memory 14 such as a hard disk (HD) or IC card is controlled by a memory controller (MC) 20. The external memory 14 is connected as an option and stores font data, an emulation program, form data, and the like. Reference numeral 18 denotes an input unit constituted by a switch for operating the above-described operation panel, an LED display, and the like. The printer 1500 may include an NVRAM (not shown) and store printer mode setting information from the operation unit 1501.

  The printing unit 17 is an electrophotographic engine in the present embodiment. Therefore, the print data is finally recorded on a medium such as paper by toner dots. The printing method in the present invention is not limited to such an electrophotographic method. For example, the present invention can be applied to any type of printing apparatus that performs printing by forming dots, such as an inkjet method.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing an example of functions configured to perform printing processing in the computer 3000 shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the application 201, graphic engine 202, printer driver 203, and system spooler 204 exist as files stored in the external memory 11. These are program modules that are loaded into the RAM 2 that uses the OS and its modules and executed.

  The application 201 and the printer driver 203 can be added to the HD of the external memory 11 via the FD of the external memory 11, a CD-ROM (not shown), or a network (not shown).

  The application 201 stored in the external memory 11 is loaded into the RAM 2 and executed. When printing is performed from the application 201 to the printer 1500, output (rendering) is similarly performed using the graphic engine 202 loaded into the RAM 2 and executable.

  The graphic engine 202 loads the printer driver 203 prepared for each printing apparatus such as a printer from the external memory 11 to the RAM 2, and sets the output of the application 201 in the printer driver 203.

  Further, the graphic engine 202 converts a GDI (Graphic Device Interface) function received from the application 201 into a DDI (Device Driver Interface) function and outputs it to the printer driver 203.

  Based on the DDI function received from the graphic engine 202, the printer driver 203 converts it into a control command that can be recognized by the printer, for example, PDL (Page Description Language). The converted printer control command is output as print data to the printer 1500 via the interface 21 via the system spooler 204 loaded into the RAM 2 by the OS.

  In addition, the printing system according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a job tracking function unit 400 and an add-in UI control unit 401 in the printer driver 203. The job tracking function unit 400 and the add-in UI control unit 401 are function units provided by a print content extraction program. The job tracking function unit 400 may be a built-in module of the printer driver 203 or a library module added by individual installation.

  In addition, the printer driver 203 extracts, generates, searches, and edits tracking data by executing the job tracking function unit 400 and sends the data to the job tracking management unit 500. The add-in UI control unit 401 will be described later.

  The job tracking management unit 500 receives the tracking data and transfers it to the tracking information management server 1000. The job tracking management unit 500 may process or sort the received tracking data as necessary. Further, the job tracking management unit 500 receives the tracking data before it is output to the system spooler 204 and transmits it to the tracking information management server 1000 at the same time, thereby ensuring that the tracking data is stored in the tracking information management server 1000. It becomes possible to manage with. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the job tracking management unit 500 temporarily stores the tracking data in the external memory 11 and follows the transmission schedule to the tracking information management server 1000 specified separately. May be sent to.

"Description of System Configuration Example"
6A to 6E are diagrams for explaining various operation modes of the present embodiment.
FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating the simplest operation example of the present embodiment. In this case, the job tracking management unit 500 is arranged in the host computer 3000, and the print data is directly transferred from the printer driver 203 to the printer 1500. The tracking data is sent from the job tracking function unit 400 to the tracking information management server 1000 via the job tracking management unit 500 in the host computer 3000. This configuration is a minimum configuration for carrying out the present embodiment, and implementation in this configuration will be described unless otherwise specified in the following description.

  FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating an example in which the job tracking management unit 500 is arranged in a tracking management computer 6000 different from the host computer 3000 with respect to FIG. The print data is transferred directly from the printer driver 203 to the printer 1500, as in FIG. The tracking data is sent from the job tracking function unit 400 to the tracking information management server 1000 via the job tracking management unit 500 in the tracking management computer 6000. By adopting this configuration, the tracking information management server 1000 for tracking data can be scheduled, for example, on a day or a time zone when the network load is reduced, and the load on the tracking information management server 1000 can be controlled. It becomes possible.

  FIG. 6C is a diagram showing an example in which the print server 7000 is inserted between the host computer 3000 and the printer 1500 in contrast to FIG. The print data is transferred from the printer driver 203 to the printer 1500 through the corresponding printer queue (print spooler) of the print server 7000. The tracking data is sent from the job tracking function unit 400 to the tracking information management server 1000 via the job tracking management unit 500 in the host computer 3000, as in FIG.

  FIG. 6C shows a printing system called point-and-print, in which the printer driver 203 of the host computer 3000 receives the print settings of the printer driver 203 installed in the print server 7000 and performs an operation according to the print settings. Do. As a result, a print content extraction program is installed in the printer driver 203 of the print server 7000, and the extraction conditions described later are set via the add-in UI control unit, so that the same extraction conditions can be set for a plurality of host computers. It becomes possible to set.

  By adopting this configuration, the present invention can be applied to an operation mode using the print server 7000. Also, by disposing the printer driver 203 in the print server 7000, it is possible to distribute and synchronize the printer driver to the host computer 3000 and share setting information. Furthermore, various settings related to the job tracking function can be collectively managed on the print server 7000, and a mechanism that prevents an unauthorized user from executing various settings of the job tracking function from changing the settings can also be provided. it can.

  FIG. 6 (d) is a combination of the configurations of FIG. 6 (b) and FIG. 6 (c). In other words, the print server 7000 is inserted between the host computer 3000 and the printer 1500, and the job tracking management unit 500 is provided in a tracking management computer 6000 different from the host computer 3000. The print data is transferred from the printer driver 203 to the printer 1500 through the corresponding printer queue (print spooler) of the print server 7000, as in FIG. The tracking data is sent from the job tracking function unit 400 to the tracking information management server 1000 via the job tracking management unit 500 in the tracking management computer 6000, as in FIG. By adopting this configuration, it is possible to have the advantages of FIGS. 6B and 6C.

  FIG. 6E is a diagram showing an example in which a print server / tracking management computer 8000 is provided so that the tracking management computer 6000 and the print server 7000 of FIG. 6D are realized on the same computer. The print data is transferred from the printer driver 203 to the printer 1500 through the corresponding printer queue (print spooler) of the print server / tracking management computer 8000.

  The tracking data is sent from the job tracking function unit 400 to the tracking information management server 1000 via the job tracking management unit 500 in the print server / tracking management computer 8000. By adopting this configuration, the tracking management computer 6000 and the print server 7000 are two computers in FIG. 6D. However, it is possible to reduce the installation space and cost by consolidating them into one print server / tracking management computer 8000.

"Explanation of job tracking check printing process"
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the overall processing procedure of the job tracking function in the printer driver 203 of the host computer 3000. The processing of the job tracking and check screen display function will be described below with reference to FIG.
After a print job is started in response to a print instruction from the application 201, the printer driver 203 receives a drawing command (DDI command) from the graphic engine 202 in the first step S701. In step S701, the printer driver 203 converts the drawing command into an intermediate code and stores it in the external memory 11 in units of pages. The intermediate code drawing commands stored in the external memory 11 remain stored even after the extraction processing described later, and are deleted according to the print job generation processing by the printer driver 203.

  In step S702, the job tracking function unit 400 of the printer driver 203 collects and generates tracking data in response to the received drawing instruction in the intermediate code format, and further performs tracking according to a preset extraction condition. Process to edit data. The tracking data generation processing and editing processing will be described later.

  In step S703, the job tracking function unit 400 creates and displays check screen display data. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S704, where it is determined whether an operation to continue printing has been performed. If it is determined that a print execution operation has been performed, the process advances to step S705.

  In step S <b> 705, the job tracking function unit 400 generates tracking data by adding the confirmation information operated by the user to the tracking data, and transfers this to the job tracking management unit 500. More specifically, for example, if the received drawing command is a print start command, attribute information related to the job, environment information where printing is performed, and the like are used as tracking data. Use tracking data. When it is instructed to continue printing, a flag indicating that printing has been performed is added as confirmation information.

  Furthermore, if the job tracking function unit 400 is instructed to extract text information, character string information and the like are extracted from the text drawing command and used as tracking data. If image extraction is also instructed, the drawing command received and various settings instructed by the job tracking function unit 400, such as drawing as a bitmap image in a memory area where each drawing command is secured, etc. Perform dependent processing.

  In this way, it is possible to collect and generate the tracking data, perform a search based on preset conditions (keywords, image data, etc.), and further edit the tracking data. For example, when displaying a screen for checking printing (for example, tracking target data or a job being transferred to a higher-level server), tracking extracted in accordance with preset search target information included in the extraction condition Search whether the search target information is included in the data. And when this search result is hit, the check screen which highlights the part applicable to search object information is produced | generated, and it displays on a display screen. Then, after the confirmation by the user, the tracking data is transferred to the job tracking management unit 500.

  As described above, after the tracking data is collected / generated / searched, the check screen is displayed, and the tracking data is transferred, according to the setting of the confirmation information, if printing is instructed, the process proceeds to step S706. . In step S701, a print job (a control command that can be recognized by the printer 1500) that matches the drawing command received in the external memory 11 is generated, written to the system spooler 204, and transferred to the printer 1500. To do. If the result of determination in step S704 is that printing has not been continued, the process advances to step S708 to transfer the tracking data to the job tracking management unit 500, and the received drawing command is ignored. That is, the process of step S706 is not executed.

  In this way, drawing command reception / accumulation (S701), tracking data generation (S702), check screen data creation / display (S703, S704), tracking data transfer (S705, S708), print data The processing of each step of generation / transfer (S706) is repeatedly executed until the job end instruction is processed (S707).

“Trace data processing and check screen display”
FIG. 4 is a detailed diagram of the job tracking function unit 400 that has received the accumulated drawing commands.
In FIG. 4, a job tracking function data creation unit 402A has a function of creating tracking data from a drawing command indicating print contents in accordance with an extraction condition.
The job tracking function data search / editing unit 402B searches a search function for searching whether the search target information is included in the tracking data in accordance with the preset search target information included in the extraction condition, and when the search result is hit In addition, an editing function for designating a highlighted portion for highlighting is provided.
The check screen display data creation unit 402C has a function of creating the check screen shown in FIG. Details of the check screen of FIG. 9 will be described later.

  The check screen display unit 402D has a display control function for issuing a display command via the operating system in order to display the check screen created by the check screen display data creation unit 402C on the display unit 10. The job tracking function data transfer unit 402E has a function of transferring the created tracking data to the job tracking management unit 500.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure related to the tracking data processing and the check screen display processing.
As described above, the job tracking function unit 400 performs tracking data creation processing, search processing, display processing, and transfer processing based on the intermediate code format drawing commands stored in the external memory 11.
First, in step S801, the job tracking function data creation unit 402A reads the rendering commands in the intermediate code format stored in the external memory 11 in units of pages.

In step S802, the job tracking function data creation unit 402A creates tracking data from the read drawing command in accordance with the extraction condition.
In step S803, the job tracking function data search / edit unit 402B searches the created tracking data according to a preset condition (for example, a keyword or an image) included in the extraction condition, and edits it. Do. Since keyword search and image similarity search techniques are known techniques, details thereof are omitted. In addition, when the search result hits, the job tracking function data search / edit unit 402B edits the tracking data by designating a highlighted display location for highlighting the corresponding location.

  In step S804, the display data creation unit 402C receives the tracking data created by the job tracking function data search / edit unit 402B. In step S805, the check data display unit 402C creates check screen display data. It transmits to the check screen display data creation unit 402D. Here, the display data creation unit 402C, when the search hit portion highlighting is designated in the received tracking data, the check screen display data (FIG. 9) highlighting the relevant portion of the thumbnail of the tracking data. 903).

  In step S806, the check screen display unit 402D receives the check display data including the tracking display data. In step S807, the check screen display unit 402D displays the check screen as shown in FIG. Further, the check screen display unit 402D can display a confirmation screen as to whether or not to continue printing, and can create confirmation information (whether to continue or cancel) and add it to the tracking data.

  Note that the check screen display can also be applied only when a specific condition is satisfied (for example, when a similarity to a keyword or an image to be searched is searched). If printing is stopped according to the confirmation information, the drawing command is ignored. The job tracking function data transfer unit 402E transfers the tracking data to the job tracking management unit 500.

"Explanation of check screen display data"
FIG. 9 is an example of a display screen displayed on the display unit based on the control screen display data. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 901 denotes a print confirmation dialog, which is a confirmation message indicating that the print content is extracted by the job tracking function unit and managed by the tracking information management server, and tracking data (print content) that is the extraction target information. Check screen display data including When the data display button 902 in the check screen display data is pressed by the user, a print content preview of the tracking data is displayed. This print content preview is displayed as a check screen that highlights portions that match or are similar to the search target information. Note that highlighting of a portion that matches or is similar to the search target information may be performed not only in the print content preview 903 but also in a thumbnail area in the check screen display data 901. For example, if the search target information is a predetermined keyword, the display color of the part that matches the keyword is changed. On the other hand, if the search target information is a predetermined image, a similar image is obtained by performing a similar search of the image. The image searched for may be blinked.

"Explanation of Job Tracking Function UI"
FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are diagrams illustrating an example of a user interface for performing settings regarding extraction conditions for extracting print contents for performing job tracking. The job tracking referred to in this specification is defined as the following processing. In this system, the print contents of the printed matter to be printed by each host computer are extracted as electronic information, stored in the database of the management server, and managed as a print log. As a result, since the contents printed from each host computer can be confirmed at any time, it is possible to trace who printed what, that is, the route of the print job.
FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating an example of an initial screen of a user interface related to chasing arranged in the add-in UI control unit 401 in the printer driver 203. In this example, a setting relating to a print content extraction condition can be made in the property sheet “job tracking function” in the dialog.

  The setting screen related to job tracking shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B is displayed on a dedicated tool different from the printer driver 203, and the setting information is displayed in the add-in UI control unit 401 in the printer driver 203. It may be realized by telling.

  Further, it is desirable that this dialog 510 be displayed only for users who are permitted to change the settings of the printer for the purpose of operating this system. In order to open this dialog, authentication by a password or the like may be provided, or execution user authority may be limited. Also, as an operation, it is prohibited for each user to change the extraction condition, and when the extraction condition is to be unified as a system, as described above with reference to FIG. Just do it. This is because in the case of a point-and-print printing system, the printer driver 203 of the host computer 3000 takes over the setting information (print settings and extraction conditions) of the printer driver 203 of the print server 7000.

  The “perform job tracking” check box 511 in FIG. 5A is a check box for instructing whether the job tracking function is valid or invalid. The user can control ON / OFF of this function by operating this check box.

  A dialog 520 for performing detailed setting of the job tracking function in FIG. 5B is opened by selecting the setting button 512 in FIG. In this job tracking setting dialog, information on the destination of the tracking data and the content of the tracking data generated by the job tracking function processing unit 402 are mainly determined.

  The management client name 521 is input with the computer identification name on which the job tracking management unit 500 is operating, and the identification name 522 is input with a key for distinguishing from other connections within the job tracking management unit 500. In the timeout value 523, a timeout time used in communication with the job tracking management unit 500 is set in advance. The above three are information for transmitting the tracking data.

  If the job tracking management unit 500 is operating on the computer displaying the user interface, the management client name 521 is set with its own computer identification name. If the job tracking management unit 500 is operating on another computer, the computer identification name on which the job tracking management unit 500 is operating is input.

  The “extract text” check box 524 is a check box for instructing whether to include text character string information in the tracking data. By turning on this check box, the printer driver 203 extracts text character string information as tracking data. By adding the text character string information to the tracking data, it is possible to easily realize a text search after being stored in the tracking information management server 1000.

  The “extract image” check box 525 is a check box for instructing whether to include page bitmap information in the tracking data. By turning on this check box 525, the printer driver 203 generates a page bitmap separately from the print data. Then, by adding the page bitmap to the tracking data, it is possible to view the image after being stored in the tracking information management server 1000. In this embodiment, the attributes and format of the page image generated in the bit number color 526, the bit number black and white 527, the resolution 528, the compression method 529, and the encoding method 530 can be specified in detail.

  The “set search keyword” check box 531 is a check box for designating a keyword as search target information when a keyword search is performed on an extraction result extracted from text for tracking. When this check box is turned ON, the keyword input area 532 is made ready for input, and an arbitrary keyword can be input.

  The “set a similar search image” check box 533 is a check box for designating an image as search target information when a similar image search is performed on the extraction result extracted from the tracking data. When this check box is turned on, the image designation area 534 becomes ready for input, and an image file existing in an arbitrary path can be designated by pressing the reference button.

(Other embodiments according to the present invention)
Each means constituting the information processing apparatus and each step of the information processing method in the embodiment of the present invention described above can be realized by operating a program stored in a RAM or ROM of a computer. This program and a computer-readable recording medium recording the program are included in the present invention.

  In addition, the present invention can be implemented as, for example, a system, apparatus, method, program, storage medium, or the like. Specifically, the present invention may be applied to a system including a plurality of devices. The present invention may be applied to an apparatus composed of a single device.

  In the present invention, a software program (in the embodiment, a program corresponding to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 7 and 8) for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is directly or remotely supplied to the system or apparatus. In addition, this includes a case where the system or the computer of the apparatus is also achieved by reading and executing the supplied program code.

  Accordingly, since the functions of the present invention are implemented by computer, the program code installed in the computer also implements the present invention. In other words, the present invention includes a computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention.

  In that case, as long as it has the function of a program, it may be in the form of object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, and the like.

  Examples of the recording medium for supplying the program include a floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, and CD-RW. In addition, there are magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, DVD (DVD-ROM, DVD-R), and the like.

  As another program supply method, a browser on a client computer is used to connect to an Internet home page. The computer program itself of the present invention or a compressed file including an automatic installation function can be downloaded from the homepage by downloading it to a recording medium such as a hard disk.

  It can also be realized by dividing the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different homepage. That is, a WWW server that allows a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer is also included in the present invention.

  In addition, the program of the present invention is encrypted, stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, distributed to users, and key information for decryption is downloaded from a homepage via the Internet to users who have cleared predetermined conditions. Let It is also possible to execute the encrypted program by using the downloaded key information and install the program on a computer.

  Further, the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the computer executing the read program. In addition, based on the instructions of the program, an OS or the like running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments can also be realized by the processing.

  Further, the program read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Thereafter, the CPU of the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating configurations of a host computer and a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows one structure for the printing process in a host computer. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration for processing tracking data in a printer driver. It is a figure which shows an example of the initial screen of the user interface regarding a job tracking function. It is a figure showing the example of composition of this embodiment and showing the simplest example of operation. It is a figure which shows the example of a structure of this embodiment, and shows the example which distribute | arranged the job tracking management part to the tracking management computer different from a host computer. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the present embodiment, and illustrates an example in which a print server is inserted between a host computer and a printer. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the present embodiment, in which a print server is placed between a host computer and a printer, and a job tracking management unit is disposed in a tracking management computer different from the host computer. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the present embodiment, and is a diagram illustrating an example in which a print server / tracking management computer is provided so that the tracking management computer of FIG. 6D and the print server are realized on the same computer. It is a flowchart which shows the outline | summary of the whole process sequence of this embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the process outline | summary of the check screen display of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the check screen of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 CPU
1000 Tracking information management server 1500 Printer 3000 Host computer 4000 Management client 5000 Network

Claims (14)

Extraction means for extracting the print contents to be managed as extraction target information from the print data requested to be printed in accordance with preset extraction conditions;
When the extraction object information is extracted by the extraction unit, a check screen including a message indicating that the print contents of the print data are extracted and managed before the print data is printed is displayed. An information processing apparatus comprising check screen display means for displaying on the screen. An information processing apparatus used in a network printing system that stores the contents of print data as information to be tracked in an information storage device and enables tracking of the print contents to be managed according to preset extraction conditions. ,
Extraction means for extracting extraction target information as tracking target information from the print content;
Transmitting means for transmitting the tracking target information extracted by the extracting means to the information storage device;
Before the tracking target information is transmitted to the information storage device, a check screen including at least one of the tracking target information or a message indicating that the print target is extracted and managed is displayed on the display device. An information processing apparatus comprising a check screen display means for performing the check.   3. A selection means for selecting whether to continue printing or to stop printing in accordance with an instruction via the check screen displayed on the display device by the check screen display means. The information processing apparatus described in 1.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising an information addition unit that adds operation information selected by the selection unit related to continuation or cancellation of the printing to the extraction target information. Storage means for storing the print data in an intermediate data format;
A job generation unit that reads out print data stored in the storage unit in units of pages and generates a print job when printing is selected by the selection unit;
The extraction unit reads out print data stored in the storage unit in units of pages and extracts extraction target information.
Print data is accumulated in the accumulation unit even after the extraction process by the extraction unit, and the print data accumulated in the accumulation unit is deleted according to the generation process by the job generation unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4.   6. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a search unit that searches the print content extracted by the extraction unit according to preset search target information in the extraction condition and creates a search result. The information processing apparatus according to item.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the check screen display unit displays a check screen that highlights a portion that matches the search target information according to the search result by the search unit.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the extraction condition is set by a print server connected to the information processing apparatus via a network and is received by the information processing apparatus.   A network printing system comprising the information processing apparatus according to claim 1. An extraction step of extracting the print contents to be managed as extraction target information from the print data requested to be printed in accordance with preset extraction conditions;
When the extraction object information is extracted by the extraction step, a check screen including a message indicating that the print contents of the print data are extracted and managed before the print data is printed is displayed. An information processing method comprising: a check screen display step for displaying on the screen. An information processing method used in a network printing system in which contents of print data are stored in an information storage device as tracking target information, and the printing contents to be managed can be tracked according to preset extraction conditions. ,
An extraction step of extracting extraction target information as tracking target information from the print content;
A transmission step of transmitting the tracking target information extracted by the extraction step to the information storage device;
Before the tracking target information is transmitted to the information storage device, a check screen including at least one of the tracking target information or a message indicating that the print target is extracted and managed is displayed on the display device. The information processing method characterized by having a check screen display process to do. An extraction step of extracting the print contents to be managed as extraction target information from the print data requested to be printed in accordance with preset extraction conditions;
When the extraction object information is extracted by the extraction step, a check screen including a message indicating that the print contents of the print data are extracted and managed before the print data is printed is displayed. A program for causing a computer to execute an information processing method having a check screen display step for displaying on a computer. An information processing method used in a network printing system in which the contents of print data are stored in the information storage device as tracking target information and the print contents to be managed can be tracked in accordance with preset extraction conditions. A program to be executed,
An extraction step of extracting extraction target information as tracking target information from the print content;
A transmission step of transmitting the tracking target information extracted by the extraction step to the information storage device;
Before the tracking target information is transmitted to the information storage device, a check screen including at least one of the tracking target information or a message indicating that the print target is extracted and managed is displayed on the display device. A program for causing a computer to execute an information processing method having a check screen display step.   14. A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to claim 12 or 13 is recorded.

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