JP2009134645A - Data processor, print processing method, storage medium, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To normally output to a printer a print control command input from application even when a printer drives has a format of data to be input as a character string. <P>SOLUTION: It is determined whether a format of input data to be input from application is a format of printer control command or a format of character string data (S905). When it is determined that the format is a format of the printer control command, a byte string of the input data to be input is analyzed to convert it into data of the character string (S). Then, structural element of the converted character string data are analyzed and a print command which the printer can analyze is output to the printer (S). When it is determined that it is the format of character string data, the input data are output (S) to the printer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to print processing of a data processing apparatus including a printer driver that transfers print information to a printing apparatus based on a print instruction from application software.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a printing system including a data processing apparatus including a printer driver that transfers print information to a printing apparatus based on a printing instruction from application software is known.

  In this case, the data processing apparatus generates a spool file for each print job based on a print instruction from the application software, and temporarily stores the intermediate print data in a storage device such as a hard disk. Then, the intermediate print data stored in the storage device is converted into a printer control command and output to the printer in accordance with the operation status of the printer.

  This type of printing system is generally realized by an OS print support function and a printer driver when a data processing apparatus executes an operating system (hereinafter abbreviated as “OS”).

  Since various printers are connected to the data processing apparatus, the print support function of the OS calls a printer driver and generates a printer control command corresponding to the type of printer. Here, the OS print support function spools the intermediate print data by causing the application to draw the document data. The print support function of the OS generates and outputs a printer control command by supplying spooled intermediate print data to the printer driver. The printer control command output from the printer driver is supplied to the printer, and printing processing is executed by the printer.

  On the other hand, there is application software that uses printer control commands as document data.

  That is, when this type of application software performs printing, it means that the application software outputs a printer control command.

  However, application software itself rarely generates printer control commands, and often stores and uses printer control commands generated by a printer driver.

  In this case, the printer control command output by the application software is spooled as it is in the storage device by the print support function of the OS. The OS print support function supplies the printer control command spooled in the storage device to the printer driver.

  Here, the printer driver outputs the printer control command as it is, or performs an editing process if necessary and outputs the printer control command.

  The printer control command output from the printer driver is supplied to the printer, supplied to the printer, and print processing is executed by the printer.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a first print processing example in a conventional printing system. This example shows the flow of data when application software is executed on, for example, Windows (registered trademark), which is an OS of Microsoft Corporation, and the user instructs printing of document data of the application software.

  In FIG. 13, when a print instruction is given by user operation from application software (hereinafter referred to as an application) 101, the content of the instruction is sent to the OS print support function 103.

  Specifically, a device context (hereinafter abbreviated as “DC”), which is a virtualized printing area, is created and supplied to the application 101 by GDI (Graphic Device Interface) (not shown).

  Document data rendering processing is performed on the DC by the application 101, and as a result, device-independent intermediate print data called EMF (Enhanced Meta File) is generated.

  The intermediate print data is temporarily spooled in a storage device as a spool file 105 for each print job by the print support function 103 of the OS.

  At this time, since the data in the EMF format is spooled, the data type “EMF” is given to the spool file 105 by the print support function 103 of the OS. Thereafter, the data stored in the spool file 105 is despooled by the print support function 103 of the OS and supplied to the printer driver 111.

  Of the modules constituting the printer driver 111, the modules related to the operation during despooling are the print processor 113, the graphic module 115, and the language monitor 117.

  As described above, in this example, since the data type of the spool file 105 is “EMF”, the print processor 113 edits the EMF stored in the spool file 105 in units of pages and supplies it to the graphic module 115.

  Next, the graphic module 115 converts the supplied EMF into a printer control command corresponding to the output destination printer 121 and outputs it while using the OS print support function 103. The language monitor 117 outputs a printer control command to the printer 121 according to the operation status of the printer 121 while communicating with the printer 121.

  In this way, the application 101 renders the document, whereby the device-independent intermediate print data is temporarily spooled, rasterized by the printer driver 111, and finally converted into a device-dependent printer control command. .

  The printer driver that performs the printing process shown in FIG. 13 is hereinafter referred to as a GDI printer driver.

  On the other hand, in printing from an application that uses a printer control command as document data, the data flow is different from that in the printing process.

  When a print instruction is issued from the application 101 by a user operation, the contents of the print instruction are sent to the OS print support function 103. Then, a printer handle that is a virtualized printer is created by the print support function 103 of the OS and supplied to the application 101.

  The application 101 writes a printer control command, which is the content of document data, to the printer handle. At this time, the application designates a data type “RAW”.

  The printer control command written in the printer handle is temporarily spooled in the storage device as a spool file 105 for each print job by the print support function 103 of the OS.

  At this time, since the data type “RAW” is specified by the application 101, the data type “RAW” is given to the spool file 105 by the OS print support function 103.

  Next, the data stored in the spool file 105 is despooled by the print support function 103 of the OS and supplied to the printer driver 111.

  When the printer control command is spooled in the storage device, among the modules constituting the printer driver 111, the modules related to the operation during despooling are the print processor 113 and the language monitor 117.

  In this example, since the data type of the spool file 105 is “RAW”, the print processor 113 reads the printer control command from the spool file 105 and supplies it to the language monitor 117.

  The language monitor 117 outputs a printer control command to the printer according to the operation status of the printer while communicating with the printer 121.

  As described above, when the GDI printer driver is used, when the application 101 renders the print contents, the intermediate print data is spooled in the spool file 105, and a printer control command is generated by the printer driver 111 and supplied to the printer 121.

  When the application 101 handles a printer control command, the printer control command is spooled in the spool file 105 and supplied to the printer by the printer driver 111.

  Windows Vista (registered trademark) is one of the Windows family OSs of Microsoft Corporation. Windows Vista (registered trademark) has a function of operating a printer driver called an XPS printer driver in addition to a GDI printer driver.

  One of the features of the XPS printer driver is that the device-independent intermediate print data format stored in the spool file is XPS.

  Here, XPS is an abbreviation for XML Paper Specification, and is one of open standard electronic document formats (character string data formats) developed by Microsoft Corporation.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a second print processing example in the conventional printing system. This example is an example of a printing system using the XPS printer driver.

  In FIG. 14, when a print instruction is issued by a user operation from the application 201, the instruction content is sent to the OS print support function 203.

  Specifically, a virtual print area DC is created by GDI (not shown) and supplied to the application 201.

  Here, the application 101 performs document data rendering processing on the DC. The drawing content is converted into XPS format by MXDC (Microsoft XPS Document Converter) (not shown), and as a result, intermediate print data in XPS format is generated.

  The XPS format intermediate print data is temporarily spooled in a storage device as a spool file 205 for each print job by the OS print support function 203.

  At this time, the OS print support function 203 assigns a data type “RAW” to the spool file 205.

  That is, when the XPS printer driver is used, the fact that the data type of the spool file 205 is “RAW” means that XPS format data is spooled. The data stored in the spool file 205 is despooled by the OS print support function 203 and supplied to the printer driver 211.

  Among the modules constituting the printer driver 211, the modules related to the operation during despooling are the printer control command generation filter 213 and the language monitor 217. Since the data type of the spool file 205 is “RAW”, the OS print support function 203 supplies the XPS format data stored in the spool file 205 to the printer control command generation filter 213.

  The printer control command generation filter 213 performs rendering processing for each page of the supplied XPS and outputs a printer control command. The language monitor 217 communicates with the printer 221 and outputs a printer control command to the printer in accordance with the operation status of the printer.

  In this way, the application draws the document, and is then spooled as intermediate print data in the XPS format, rendered by the printer driver, and finally converted into a device-dependent printer control command.

  The XPS printer driver module is composed of one or more filters.

  In the example of the printing system illustrated in FIG. 14, the XPS printer driver having only one filter is illustrated.

  When there are a plurality of filters in the XPS printer driver, it is generally known to provide a page layout filter responsible for page layout processing in addition to the printer control command generation filter. Note that adopting a plurality of filter configurations is referred to as a pipeline.

  For example, the page layout filter receives the XPS of the spool file, performs layout processing, and outputs the XPS after layout.

  The printer control command generation filter 213 receives the XPS after layout from the page layout filter, and outputs the printer control command to the language monitor 217.

  Each filter of the XPS printer driver is configured to be able to specify whether input is received as an XPS stream or an XPS part.

  Here, the XPS stream means that the XPS document is handled as a byte string, and the XPS part means that the XPS document is handled as an XPS part that is a logical structure of XPS.

For this reason, when the input is received as an XPS stream, the filter needs to analyze the data structure of the XPS document. On the other hand, when the input is received by the XPS part, the printing support function of the OS performs the analysis process, so the filter has an advantage that the XPS can be easily handled.
JP 2001-216109 A Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-084898

  As described above, in the printing system, there is an application that handles printer control commands as document data and performs printing. Further, as described above, there is an XPS printer driver having a filter that receives an input by an XPS part in order to facilitate handling of an XPS document.

  When such an application and the XPS printer driver are combined, there are problems to be solved as follows.

  In FIG. 14, when a print instruction is issued from the application 201 by a user operation, the contents of the print instruction are sent to the OS print support function 203. A printer handle that is a virtualized printer is created by the OS print support function 203 and supplied to the application 201.

  The application 201 writes a printer control command, which is the content of document data, to the printer handle. At this time, the application designates a data type “RAW”.

  The printer control command written in the printer handle is temporarily spooled in the storage device as a spool file 205 for each print job by the print support function 203 of the OS.

  At this time, since the data type “RAW” is designated by the application 101, the data type “RAW” is given to the spool file 205 by the print support function 203 of the OS.

  The data stored in the spool file 205 is despooled by the OS print support function 203 and supplied to the printer driver 211.

  Since the data type of the spool file 205 is “RAW”, the print support function 203 of the OS supplies the printer control command format data stored in the spool file 205 to the printer control command generation filter 213.

  However, the printer control command generation filter 213 designates the XPS part as a method of receiving input.

  However, since the spooled data is a printer control command, the printer control command generation filter 213 cannot receive the XPS part.

  Therefore, the printer control command generation filter 213 cannot handle the input printer control command format data. As a result, the printer control command output by the application 201 is not transmitted to the printer 221 and printing is not executed.

  That is, when an application that handles printer control commands as document data and performs printing using an XPS printer driver having a filter that receives input by an XPS part, printing cannot be executed.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a print control command input from an application even if the printer driver has a character string as the format of input data. It is to provide a mechanism that can output normally to a printer.

  The data processing apparatus of the present invention that achieves the above object has the following configuration.

  A data processing apparatus that processes input data input from an application via a printer driver, wherein the printer driver analyzes a byte string of input data to be converted into character string data, and Determining means for determining whether the format of input data input from the application is a printer control command format or a character string data format; and the determining means is a printer control command format If it is determined that there is a character string data component converted by the conversion means, the printer outputs a print command that can be analyzed by the printer, and the determination means determines that the character string data format is present. In this case, output means for outputting the input data to a printer is provided.

  According to the present invention, a print control command input from an application can be normally output to a printer even if the printer driver uses a character string as the format of input data.

  Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  <Description of printing system configuration>

  [First Embodiment]

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a printing system to which a data processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied. In this example, the printer 1303 and the data processing device 1305 can communicate with each other via the communication interface 1307. In this example, the printer 1303 is an ink jet printer that forms an image, and forms an image on the recording medium 1301 based on a printer control command generated by a data processing device 1305 described later. In the present printing system, the type of printer is not particularly limited, but here, the printer 1303 is assumed to be an inkjet color printer, and will be described below.

  In the data processing device 1305, an application creates a print job, and the printer driver 1315 generates a command for controlling the printing operation of the connected printer 1303 from the spool data of the print job.

  In this embodiment, a personal computer is used as the data processing device 1305. That is, it is assumed that the personal computer includes various hardware resources including a CPU, RAM, ROM, input device, output device, communication device, and the like, and software resources. Here, the software resource includes various applications including the OS and a printer driver that functions as a device driver.

  In particular, it is assumed that the printer driver 1315 is configured by an XPS printer driver having a filter that receives an input by an XPS part as described in the conventional printing system. Therefore, as described above, Windows Vista (registered trademark), which is an OS of the Windows family of Microsoft Corporation, will be described as an example. However, the OS to which the present invention is applicable is not limited to the above Windows Vista.

  It should be noted that the print setting for the print instruction from the application is configured to accept an instruction or input from the user via the input operation unit 1335. Here, the input operation unit 1335 includes a keyboard, a pointing device, and the like. Therefore, the user can set various print conditions, the number of copies, the print quality, the print layout, the color, and the like via the user interface provided by the printer driver 1315 via the display device.

  The data processing device 1305 incorporates an OS that controls the operation of software in the data processing device 1305, and various functional blocks operate on this OS.

  A communication interface 1307 is a communication interface that connects the data processing device 1305 and the printer 1303. In this embodiment, a USB which is a serial interface is used. In addition to this, a serial interface such as IEEE1394, Ethernet (registered trademark), IrDA, IEEE802.11, power line, or a parallel interface such as Centronics or SCSI is used. You can also

  Further, the communication interface 1307 may be any interface regardless of wired / wireless as long as it realizes communication.

  As described above, the printing system according to the present embodiment is not a single device, but has a configuration in which the data processing device 1305 and the printer 1303 that performs image formation are connected through a specific bidirectional interface. The present invention is not limited to this, and an apparatus-integrated printing system in which the functions of such a data processing apparatus and a printer are integrated may be used.

  It should be noted that the printer 1303 and the data processing device 1305 are omitted for functions that are not particularly necessary for describing the features of this embodiment.

  The central control unit 1333 controls various functions of the data processing device 1305, and the functions of the CPU correspond to this. The input operation unit 1335 includes various input devices for drawing out the user's intention.

  The information notification unit 1337 notifies the user of print settings. Here, as a notification method, a case where a display device such as a monitor is used, notification by sound, or the like can be considered.

  The I / F control unit 1331 manages the interface function of the data processing device 1305. The I / F control unit 1331 is configured by a controller on the USB host side, for example, and has a function as a USB host.

  Some of the functions as a USB host are also configured by software such as an OS and a driver. The storage unit 1339 is used to store OS, application programs, and printer driver instruction codes, and to temporarily store and read data when the software operates.

  The storage unit 1339 is configured by, for example, a hard disk drive or a semiconductor memory (for example, RAM).

  The printer driver 1311 is software for performing various settings for printing, print data generation, and printer control on the data processing device 1305. The printer driver 1311 can be installed in the storage unit 1339 of the data processing device 1305 by reading a CD-ROM provided with the printer 1303 or by downloading it from the manufacturer's website. Note that an installer is attached to the CD-ROM, and the printer driver can be installed in an environment desired by the user by starting the installer.

  The program of the printer driver 1315 is executed by the central control unit 1333, and functions such as the configuration module 1313, the language monitor 1317, the XPS document output filter 1321 constituting the filter pipeline, and the printer control command generation filter 1323 are realized. The

  The configuration module 1313 performs various print settings including paper settings and print quality settings. In addition, the configuration module 1313 has a function of receiving an instruction or input from a user and displaying or notifying the set content on a display device.

  The XPS document output filter 1321 is a filter that outputs an XPS document even if the input data is a print command. The output of the XPS document output filter 1321 is input to the printer control command generation filter 1323. The printer control command generation filter 1323 is a filter that outputs a printer control command based on the input XPS document.

  The printer control command created by the printer control command generation filter 1323 is sent to the I / F control unit 1331 via the language monitor 1317 and sent to the printer 1303.

  <Configuration of XPS document>

  The XPS data structure will be described below.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of an XPS document handled by the data processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. The XPS document has the following features.

  The XPS document has a tree structure with a Fixed Document Sequence (hereinafter referred to as FDS) as a root.

  The FDS has a plurality of Fixed Documents (hereinafter referred to as FD), and the FD has a plurality of Fixed Pages (hereinafter referred to as FP). Each of FDS, FD, and FP may be referred to as an XPS part.

  The FP describes the contents of a document page in XML format, and includes contents that are actually displayed or printed. Resources such as fonts and images used in the FP page contents can be shared by a plurality of FPs.

  Each of the FDS, FD, and FP can have a print setting as a PrintTicket (hereinafter referred to as PT). PT describes the print settings for printing an XPS document in XML format. A specific XPS document structure will be described below.

  In FIG. 2, the logical structure of the XPS document 501 is a tree structure in which the FDS 503 is the root.

  The FDS 503 includes FD 511 and FD 513 as children. Further, the FD 511 has FP 521 and FP 523 as children. Further, the FD 513 has an FP 525 as a child.

  For the PT describing the print settings, the FDS 503 holds PT531, the FD511 holds PT533, the FP521 holds PT535, and the FD513 holds PT537. Further, FP 523 and FP 525 do not hold PT.

  Further, the FP 521 and the FP 523 share a resource 541 such as a font or an image, and the FP 525 uses a resource 543 such as a font or an image.

  As described above, an XPS document can be easily understood if the concept of an XPS part is logically used. However, the XPS document itself can be handled as a byte string (stream).

  <Printer driver operation>

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the first printer driver according to the present embodiment. In this example, the printer driver is an example of the first filter processing and the second filter processing by the XPS printer driver. In particular, the printing system is an example in which an OS print support function and a printer driver are mainly shown. The printer driver 1315 shown in FIG. 1 corresponds to the printer driver 311 in FIG.

  In FIG. 3, modules that are particularly important in the printer driver 311 are a printer control command storage filter 315 that functions as a first filter and a printer control command generation extraction filter 313 that functions as a second filter.

  Here, the printer control command storage filter 315 specifies that the input is received as an XPS stream. On the other hand, the printer control command generation extraction filter 313 specifies that the input is received by the XPS part.

  It is noted that the configuration module that provides the user interface function is not shown because it is not involved in the present invention.

  First, the flow of processing of the printer driver when XPS format intermediate print data is spooled will be described with reference to FIG.

  In response to a print instruction from the application 301, the OS print support function 303 operates, a spool file 305 is created, and intermediate print data in XPS format is stored in the storage device. Since the detailed processing at the time of spooling has been described above, it will be briefly described here. That is, the data type of the spool file 305 is designated as “RAW”.

  In despooling, since the data type of the spool file 305 is “RAW”, the print support function 303 of the OS supplies the XPS format data stored in the spool file 305 to the printer control command storage filter 315.

  The printer control command storage filter 315 analyzes the format of the input data and determines that it is an XPS format. When the printer control command storage filter 315 determines that the format of the input data is the XPS format, the printer control command storage filter 315 outputs the input data as it is. Here, the data output from the printer control command storage filter 315 is supplied to the printer control command generation extraction filter 313 by the print support function 303 of the OS.

  The printer control command generation / extraction filter 313 analyzes the input data and checks whether a printer control command is stored.

  Here, since no printer control command is stored, each page of the input XPS document is rendered, and finally the printer control command is output to the language monitor 317.

  The language monitor 317 outputs a printer control command to the printer 321 according to the operation status of the printer 321 while communicating with the printer 321.

  Next, the processing flow of the printer driver when the printer control command is spooled will be described with reference to FIG. Here, since the printer control command is spooled, the data type is “RAW”.

  In response to a print instruction from the application 301, the OS print support function 303 operates, a spool file 305 is created, and a printer control command is stored in the storage device. Since the detailed processing at the time of spooling has been described above, it will be briefly described here.

  Since the data type of the spool file 305 is “RAW”, the OS print support function 303 supplies the printer control command format data stored in the spool file 305 to the printer control command storage filter 315.

  Next, the printer control command storage filter 315 analyzes the format of the input data and determines that the format is a printer control command format.

  When the printer control command storage filter 315 determines that the input data is in the printer control command format, the input printer control command is cached in the storage unit 1339 and converted into a character string.

  Then, the printer control command storage filter 315 creates a PT in which the converted character string is stored as a private keyword.

  Then, the printer control command storage filter 315 creates and outputs an XPS document including the FDS having the created PT. The data output from the printer control command storage filter 315 is supplied to the printer control command generation / extraction filter 313 by the OS print support function 303.

  The printer control command generation / extraction filter 313 analyzes the input data, here the XPS document, and checks whether the printer control command is stored in the PT of the FDS. Here, since the printer control command is stored, the printer control command generation extraction filter 313 extracts the printer control command from the input XPS document and outputs it to the language monitor 317.

  Next, the language monitor 317 outputs a printer control command to the printer 321 according to the operation status of the printer 321 while communicating with the printer 321.

  A process for analyzing the format of the input data will be described later with reference to FIG. An example of storing the printer control command in the PT will be described later with reference to FIG.

  As described above, the XPS document storing the printer control command in the storage device is created by the printer control command storage filter 315, and the printer control command is extracted from the XPS document by the printer control command generation extraction filter 313. Even if the printer control command is spooled in the storage device, the XPS printer driver can appropriately perform the printing process.

  <Determination of data format>

  The printer control command storage filter 315 in this embodiment needs to determine whether the data input as the XPS stream is XPS.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a binary dump of the head portion of the XPS document illustrated in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, generally, a widely used image or document format often has a magic number stored in the header portion.

  That is, it is possible to determine the type of image or document relatively easily by referring to the head portion of the data.

  In the case of an XPS document, at least the first byte is 'P' (0x50), and the second byte is 'K' (0x4b).

  Therefore, if the difference from the printer control command becomes clear when the printer control command storage filter 315 refers to the first two bytes, it can be determined that it is XPS.

  Note that the determination of whether the format of the input data is a printer control command differs depending on the printer that the printer driver is to operate on, and will not be described in detail here. However, since a unique pattern generally exists in the printer control command system, it can be determined.

  <Storing printer control commands in PT>

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining processing for storing printer control commands in the PT shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 5, since PT is an XML document, the printer control command is converted into a character string using Base64 encoding or the like. In addition, since the keyword used when storing the character string of the printer control command in the PT is not defined in the public PrintSchema, a private keyword is used.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, the private name space is defined as “ns0000” in the PrintTicket element. The Property element is used and the name attribute is “ns0000: RawJobPrintCommand”. A printer control command converted into a character string is stored using a Value element which is a child element of the Property element.

  Therefore, in order to determine whether a printer control command is included in the PT, it is only necessary to list the Property elements existing in the PT and check whether there is a Property element having the private keyword in the name attribute. .

  Needless to say, in order to make a strict judgment, it is sufficient to check that there is a Value element that is a child element of the Property element and that a value of a character string is described.

  <Printer control command storage filter>

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a first data processing procedure in the data processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. In addition, S901-S912 shows each step. Each step is executed by the printer control command storage filter 315. Here, the printer control command storage filter 315 functions as one of the pipeline filters included in the printer driver 311 that is an XPS driver.

  In FIG. 6, steps S901 to S904 correspond to a process of caching the input data in the storage unit 1339 in order to determine the format of the input data.

  First, in step S901, the printer control command storage filter 315 reads at least one byte of input data. In step S902, the printer control command storage filter 315 determines whether input data has been read. If the printer control command storage filter 315 determines that the input data has been read, the process advances to step S903. If the printer control command storage filter 315 determines that the input data has not been read, the process ends.

  In step S <b> 903, the printer control command storage filter 315 caches the read data in the storage unit 1339. Subsequently, in step S904, the printer control command storage filter 315 checks whether sufficient data has been cached to determine the data format. That is, the printer control command storage filter 315 determines whether the data format of the input data can be determined.

  If the printer control command storage filter 315 determines that the data input is not sufficient to determine the data format, the process returns to S901.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S903 that the data input of the printer control command storage filter 315 is sufficient to determine the data format of the input data, the process proceeds to S905.

  In step S905, the printer control command storage filter 315 determines whether the input data is in a specific format, for example, a printer control command format. If the printer control command storage filter 315 determines that the printer control command format is used, the process advances to step S906. If the printer control command storage filter 315 determines that the printer control command format is not specified, the process advances to step S910.

  Subsequent steps S906 to S909 correspond to processing when the format of the input data is the format of the printer control command.

  In step S <b> 906, the printer control command storage filter 315 caches all remaining input data in the reading storage unit 1339.

  In step S907, the printer control command storage filter 315 creates a PT, converts the cached printer control command into a character string, and uses the private keyword as in the XPS document shown in FIG. Store.

  In step S908, the printer control command storage filter 315 creates an XPS document and stores the created PT so as to be assigned to the FDS. In step S909, the printer control command storage filter 315 outputs the created XPS document. Here, the printer control command storage filter 315 outputs the created XPS document to the printer control command generation extraction filter 313.

  On the other hand, when the processing proceeds from step S905 to step S910, the printer control command storage filter 315 determines whether the format of the input data is a specific format, for example, an XPS format. If the printer control command storage filter 315 determines that the format of the input data is the XPS format, the process proceeds to S911. If the printer control command storage filter 315 determines that the format is not the XPS format, the process ends.

  In step S911, the printer control command storage filter 315 outputs the data content cached in the storage unit 1339 to the language monitor 317 as it is. In step S912, the printer control command storage filter 315 reads the remaining input data from the cache and outputs all the data to the language monitor 317. Then, the process ends.

  By performing the above processing, when the input data is a printer control command, the printer driver 311 creates an XPS document, embeds the printer control command in the PT of the FDS, and outputs the created XPS document. .

  On the other hand, if the input data is XPS, the printer driver 311 outputs the input data as it is.

  Therefore, the output of the printer control command storage filter is always an XPS document. As a result, even if the XPS part is specified as the input of the subsequent filter, the printing process can be performed without any problem.

  In the above embodiment, in FIG. 6, it is first determined whether the input data is in the printer control command format, and then it is determined whether it is in the XPS format. The reverse is also acceptable.

  The process is interrupted when the input data is neither a printer control command nor an XPS, but it may be stored in the PT and output as an XPS as in the case of the printer control command.

  That is, if the format of the input data is unknown to the printer control command storage filter, it may be handled in the same manner as the printer control command.

  <Printer control command generation extraction filter>

  Hereinafter, processing of the printer control command generation extraction filter will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a second data processing procedure in the data processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  S1001 to S1005 indicate each step. Each step is executed by the printer control command generation extraction filter 313. Here, the printer control command generation extraction filter 313 functions as one of the pipeline filters included in the printer driver 311 that is an XPS driver.

  First, in step S1001, the printer control command generation extraction filter 313 determines whether the FDS of the input XPS document has PT. If it is determined that the printer control command generation / extraction filter 313 has a PT, the process proceeds to S1002. If it is determined that the printer control command generation / extraction filter 313 does not have a PT, the process proceeds to S1011.

  In step S <b> 1002, the printer control command generation extraction filter 313 acquires the PT of the FDS from the XPS document input from the printer control command storage filter 315.

  In step S1003, the printer control command generation / extraction filter 313 checks whether a printer control command is stored in the acquired PT. If the printer control command generation / extraction filter 313 determines that the printer control command is stored in the acquired PT, the process proceeds to S1004. If the printer control command generation / extraction filter 313 determines that the printer control command is not stored, the process proceeds to S1011.

  In step S1004, the printer control command generation extraction filter 313 extracts a character string format printer control command stored in the PT, converts the character string into a byte string, and outputs the string to the language monitor 317. Exit.

  On the other hand, in step S1005, the printer control command generation / extraction filter 313 performs normal XPS printing processing, and ends this processing. Specifically, the printer control command generation / extraction filter 313 sequentially renders the FPs in the XPS to create an image, converts it into a printer control command, and outputs it to the language monitor 317.

  By performing the processing as described above, when a printer control command is stored in the input XPS, it is possible to output the printer control command.

  If the printer control command is not stored in the input XPS, the XPS drawing content is converted into a printer control command and output as usual.

  Therefore, the output of the printer control command generation / extraction filter is always a printer control command. As a result, the printer control command is surely transmitted to the printer, and the printing process can be performed without any problem.

  In this embodiment, the printer control command is stored in the FDS PT of the XPS document. However, the storage destination may be in the XPS, and the XPS parts and resources that can constitute the XPS, including the FD PT and the FP PT. But it goes without saying.

  Needless to say, when a printer control command is extracted from an XPS document, the printer control command may be similarly extracted from the constituent elements of the XPS document in which the printer control command is stored.

  [Second Embodiment]

  In the first embodiment, when a large amount of printer control commands are spooled as a print job, the processing efficiency may decrease. Therefore, a printer control command storage filter may be provided so that the print control command is converted into an XPS document and used as a storage file, thereby preventing a decrease in print processing efficiency. The embodiment will be described below.

  <Printer driver operation>

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the second printer driver according to the present embodiment. In this example, the printer driver is an example of the first filter processing and the second filter processing by the XPS printer driver. In particular, the printing system is an example in which an OS print support function and a printer driver are mainly shown. The printer driver 1315 shown in FIG. 1 corresponds to the printer driver 411 in FIG.

  In FIG. 8, the modules that are particularly important in the printer driver 411 shown in this embodiment are a printer control command storage filter 415 that functions as a first filter and a printer control command generation read filter 413 that functions as a second filter. It is.

  Here, the printer control command storage filter 415 specifies that the input is received as an XPS stream. On the other hand, the printer control command generation read filter 413 specifies that the input is received by the XPS part.

  It is noted that the configuration module that provides the user interface function is not shown because it is not involved in the present invention.

  First, the flow of processing of the printer driver when XPS format intermediate print data is spooled will be described with reference to FIG.

  In response to a print instruction from the application 401, the OS print support function 403 operates, a spool file 405 is created, and intermediate print data in XPS format is stored in the storage unit 1339. Since detailed processing at the time of spooling has been described above, it has been briefly described here.

  Since the data type of the spool file 405 is “RAW” in despooling, the OS print support function 403 supplies the XPS format data stored in the spool file 405 to the printer control command storage filter 415. .

  The printer control command storage filter 415 analyzes the input data and determines that it is in the XPS format. When the printer control command storage filter 415 determines that the input data is in the XPS format, the printer control command storage filter 415 outputs the input data to the printer control command generation read filter 413 as it is. The data output from the printer control command storage filter 415 is supplied to the printer control command generation / read filter 413 by the OS print support function 403.

  The printer control command generation / read filter 413 analyzes the input data from the printer control command storage filter 415 and checks whether the path of the printer control command storage file 431 is stored. Here, since no path is stored, each page of the input XPS document is rendered, and finally a printer control command is output to the language monitor 417.

  The language monitor 417 outputs a printer control command to the printer 421 according to the operation status of the printer 421 while communicating with the printer 421.

  Next, the flow of processing of the printer driver when the printer control command is spooled will be described with reference to FIG.

  In response to a print instruction from the application 401, the OS print support function 403 operates to create a spool file 405 and store a printer control command. Detailed processing at the time of spooling is as described above.

  Here, since the data type of the spool file 405 is “RAW”, the print support function 403 of the OS supplies the printer control command format data stored in the spool file 405 to the printer control command storage filter 415. .

  The printer control command storage filter 415 analyzes the input data and determines whether it is in the printer control command format. When the printer control command storage filter 415 determines that the input data is in the printer control command format, the printer control command storage filter 415 stores the input printer control command in the printer control command storage file 431.

  Then, a PT storing the path of the printer control command storage file 431 with a private keyword is created. Then, an XPS document including the FDS having the created PT is created and output to the printer control command generation / read filter 413. Here, the output data is supplied to the printer control command generation / read filter 413 by the print support function 403 of the OS.

  Next, the printer control command generation / read filter 413 analyzes the input XPS document and checks whether the path of the printer control command storage file 431 is stored. Since the path is stored here, the printer control command generation read filter 413 extracts the path from the input XPS document, reads the printer control command from the printer control command storage file 431 based on the path, and the language monitor. To 417. The language monitor 417 outputs a printer control command to the printer 421 according to the operation status of the printer 421 while communicating with the printer 421.

  An example of storing the path of the printer control command storage file 431 in the PT will be described later with reference to FIG.

  As described above, in this embodiment, first, the printer control command storage filter 415 stores the printer control command in the printer control command storage file 431. Thereafter, the printer control command storage filter 415 creates an XPS document storing the path of the printer control command storage file 431 and outputs the XPS document to the printer control command generation read filter 413.

  Thereafter, the printer control command generation / read filter 413 extracts a path from the XPS document output from the printer control command storage filter 415. Then, the printer control command storage filter 415 reads the printer control command from the printer control command storage file 431 based on the extracted path. By executing this series of processing, even if the printer control command is spooled as the printer control command saving file 431, the printing processing is appropriately performed.

  <Storing storage area identifier in PT>

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a PT generated by the data processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  Hereinafter, a process for storing the identifier of the storage area storing the printer control command in the PT will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 9, in this embodiment, the printer control command storage filter 415 stores the identifier of the storage area in which the printer control command is stored in the PT. Here, the identifier of the storage area is specifically a path of a file created in the file system.

  In addition, since a keyword used when PT storing the character string of the storage area identifier storing the printer control command is not defined in the public PrintSchema, a private keyword is used.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 9, the private namespace is defined as “ns0000” in the PrintTicket element. Then, the Property element is used and the name attribute is “ns0000: RawJobPrintCommandFilePath”. The identifier of the storage area is stored using the Value element that is a child element of the Property element.

  Therefore, in order to determine whether or not the storage area identifier storing the printer control command is included in the PT, the Property element existing in the PT is listed, and the name attribute has the above private keyword. Find out if it exists.

  Needless to say, in order to make a strict judgment, it is sufficient to check that there is a Value element that is a child element of the Property element and that a value of a character string is described.

  <Printer control command storage filter>

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a third data processing procedure in the data processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.
S1101 to S1113 indicate each step. Each step is executed by the printer control command storage filter 415. Here, the printer control command storage filter 415 functions as one of the pipeline filters included in the printer driver 311 that is an XPS driver.

  In the subsequent steps S1101 to S1107, processing for caching the input data is performed in order to determine the format of the input data.

  Specifically, in S1101, the printer control command storage filter 415 reads at least one byte of input data. In step S1102, the printer control command storage filter 415 determines whether one byte of input data has been read.

  If the printer control command storage filter 415 determines that the data has been read, the process advances to step S1103. If it is determined that the data cannot be read, the process ends.

  In step S1103, the printer control command storage filter 415 caches the read data. In step S1104, the printer control command storage filter 415 determines whether sufficient data is cached to determine the data format. That is, the printer control command storage filter 415 determines whether it is possible to determine the data format of the input data.

  If the printer control command storage filter 415 determines that the format of the input data can be determined, the process advances to step S1105 to determine whether the data format is insufficient and the data format is a specific format. If it is determined that it cannot be performed, the process returns to S1101.

  In step S1105, the printer control command storage filter 415 determines whether the format of the input data is a specific format, for example, the format of a printer control command. If the printer control command storage filter 415 determines that the format is a printer control command, the process proceeds to S1106. If it is determined that the printer control command is not a printer control command, the process proceeds to S1111.

  Thereafter, S1106 to S1110 are processing when the format of the input data is a printer control command.

  Specifically, in step S <b> 1106, the printer control command storage filter 415 creates a file for storing printer control commands, and stores the cache contents in the storage unit 1339 as a printer control command storage file 431.

  In step S1107, the printer control command storage filter 415 reads all the remaining input data and additionally stores it in the file.

  In step S1108, the printer control command storage filter 415 creates a PT, and stores the path of the file storing the printer control command in the PT using the private keyword as described above.

  In step S1109, the printer control command storage filter 415 creates an XPS document and stores the created PT so as to be assigned to the FDS. In step S1110, the printer control command storage filter 415 outputs the created XPS document to the printer control command generation read filter 413, and ends this processing.

  On the other hand, in step S1111, the printer control command storage filter 415 determines whether the format of the input data is a specific format, for example, the XPS format. If so, this process ends.

  In step S1112, the printer control command storage filter 415 outputs the contents of the cache to the printer control command generation read filter 413 as they are. In step S <b> 1113, the printer control command storage filter 415 reads all the remaining input data and outputs it to the printer control command generation read filter 413, and the process ends.

  By performing the above processing, if the input data is a printer control command, the printer control command is saved in the printer control command saving file 431, an XPS document is created, and the file path is set in the FDS PT. Embed and output XPS document.

  On the other hand, if the input data is XPS, the printer control command storage filter 415 outputs the input data to the printer control command generation / read filter 413 as it is.

  Therefore, the output of the printer control command storage filter 415 is always XPS. As a result, even if the XPS part is specified as the input of the subsequent filter, the printing process can be performed without any problem.

  Here, after determining whether the input data is a printer control command or not, it is determined whether or not it is XPS. However, this order may be reversed.

  If the input data is neither a printer control command nor an XPS, the processing is interrupted. However, as with the printer control command, the processing is interrupted. Good.

  That is, if the format of the input data is unknown to the printer control command storage filter, it may be handled in the same manner as the printer control command.

  <Printer control command generation read filter>

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a fourth data processing procedure in the data processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. S1201 to S1206 indicate each step. Each step is executed by the printer control command generation read filter 413.

  First, in step S1201, the printer control command generation reading filter 413 determines whether the FDS of the input XPS document has PT. If it is determined that the printer control command generation / read filter 413 has a PT, the process proceeds to S1202. If it is determined that the printer control command generation / read filter 413 does not have a PT, the process proceeds to S1206.

  In step S1202, the printer control command generation / reading filter 413 acquires the PT of the FDS from the input XPS document. In step S <b> 1203, the printer control command generation read filter 413 determines whether a path of a file in which the printer control command is stored is stored in the acquired PT. If the printer control command generation / read filter 413 determines that the file path is stored, the process advances to step S1204. If the printer control command generation read filter 413 determines that the file path is not stored, the process advances to step S1206.

  In step S1204, the printer control command generation / reading filter 413 extracts the path stored in the PT, reads the printer control command from the file indicated by the path, and outputs the printer control command to the language monitor 417. In step S1205, the printer control command generation / read filter 413 deletes the file indicated by the path from the printer control command storage file 431, and ends the process.

  On the other hand, in S1206, normal XPS printing processing is performed. That is, the printer control command generation / reading filter 413 sequentially renders the FPs in the XPS to create an image, converts it into a printer control command, outputs it to the language monitor 417, and ends this processing.

  As described above, when it is determined that the path where the printer control command is stored is stored in the input XPS, the printer control command is read from the printer control command storage file 431 and output to the language monitor 417. It becomes possible to do.

  Further, when no path is stored in the input XPS, the printer control command generation read filter 413 converts the XPS drawing contents into a printer control command as usual and outputs the printer control command. Therefore, the output of the printer control command generation read filter is always a printer control command. As a result, the printer control command is reliably transmitted to the printer 421, and printing processing can be performed without any problem.

  In this embodiment, the case where the path of the file storing the printer control command is stored in the FDS PT of the XPS document has been described. However, the storage destination may be inside the XPS, and the FD PT and FP PT can be used. Needless to say, XPS parts and resources that can constitute the XPS may be used.

  Needless to say, when extracting a path from an XPS document, the path may be similarly extracted from the constituent elements of the XPS document in which the path is stored.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a file is used to store the printer control command, but it goes without saying that any storage area may be used.

  In the present embodiment, the file path is stored in the PT, but it goes without saying that the identifier may be any identifier that can specify the storage area in which the printer control command is stored.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the file path is exemplified as the storage area identifier. However, any storage area other than the path may be used as long as the storage area can be specified. For example, a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) may be used.

  According to the two embodiments described above, the following effects can be obtained.

  An XPS printer driver having at least one filter received by the XPS part can process a print job by an application that handles printer control commands as document data.

  Furthermore, according to the second embodiment, even when a large amount of printer control commands are spooled as a print job, it is possible to perform print processing without significantly reducing processing efficiency.

  [Third Embodiment]

  Hereinafter, the configuration of a data processing program readable by the data processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the memory map shown in FIG.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a memory map of a storage medium for storing various data processing programs readable by the data processing apparatus according to the present invention.

  Although not particularly illustrated, information for managing a program group stored in the storage medium, for example, version information, creator, etc. is also stored, and information depending on the OS on the program reading side, for example, a program is identified and displayed. Icons may also be stored.

  Further, data depending on various programs is also managed in the directory. In addition, a program for installing various programs in the computer, and a program for decompressing when the program to be installed is compressed may be stored.

  The functions shown in FIGS. 6, 7, 10, and 11 in this embodiment may be performed by a host computer by a program installed from the outside. In this case, the present invention is applied even when an information group including a program is supplied to the output device from a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a flash memory, or an FD, or from an external storage medium via a network. Is.

  As described above, the storage medium storing the software program code for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to the system or apparatus.

  It goes without saying that the object of the present invention can also be achieved by the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  Therefore, as long as it has the function of the program, the form of the program such as an object code, a program executed by an interpreter, or script data supplied to the OS is not limited.

  As a storage medium for supplying the program, for example, a flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, DVD, etc. Can be used.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  As another program supply method, a browser on a client computer is used to connect to an Internet home page. Then, 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, an ftp server, and the like that allow a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer are also included in the claims of 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 key information and install the program on a computer.

  In addition, the functions of the above-described embodiments are not only realized by executing the program code read by the computer. For example, based on an instruction of the program code, an OS (operating system) running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing. Needless to say, the process includes the case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized.

  Further, the program code read from the storage 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. After that, based on the instruction of the program code, the CPU of the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing of the above-described embodiment is realized by the processing. Needless to say.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications (including organic combinations of the embodiments) are possible based on the spirit of the present invention, and these are excluded from the scope of the present invention. is not.

  Although various examples and embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will not limit the spirit and scope of the present invention to the specific description in the present specification.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system to which a data processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is a figure explaining the structure of the XPS document handled with the data processor which shows this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a first printer driver showing the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a binary dump at the beginning of the XPS document illustrated in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating processing for storing a printer control command in the PT illustrated in FIG. 2. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the 1st data processing procedure in the data processor which shows this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the 2nd data processing procedure in the data processor which shows this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a second printer driver showing the embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of PT produced | generated with the data processor which shows this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the 3rd data processing procedure in the data processing apparatus which shows this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the 4th data processing procedure in the data processor which shows this embodiment. It is a figure explaining the memory map of the storage medium which stores the various data processing program which can be read with the data processor which concerns on this invention. It is a figure explaining the example of the 1st printing process in the conventional printing system. It is a figure explaining the 2nd example of a printing process in the conventional printing system.

Explanation of symbols

311 Printer Driver 313 Printer Control Command Generation Extraction Filter 315 Printer Control Command Storage Filter 317 Language Monitor

Claims (14)

A data processing apparatus that processes input data input from an application via a printer driver,
The printer driver is
A conversion means for analyzing a byte string of input data to be converted into character string data;
Determining means for determining whether the format of input data input from the application is a printer control command format or a character string data format;
If the determination means determines that the printer control command format is used, the character string data converted by the conversion means is analyzed and a print command that can be analyzed by the printer is output to the printer. A data processing apparatus comprising: output means for outputting the input data to a printer when it is determined that the data format is a column. A data processing apparatus that processes input data input from an application via a printer driver,
The printer driver is
Determining means for determining whether the format of input data input from the application is a printer control command format or a character string data format;
Conversion means for analyzing a byte string of input data to be inputted and converting it into character string data when the determination means determines that the printer control command format is used;
Storage means for storing character string data converted by the conversion means;
When the component of the character string data read from the storage means is analyzed and a print command that can be analyzed by the printer is output to the printer, and when the determination means determines that the data format is character string data, the input A data processing apparatus comprising output means for outputting data to a printer.   3. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printer driver determines that the input data is character string data when the input data input according to a specific operating system is in a specific format.   4. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the application specifies RAW as a format for the input data when the input data is in a printer control command format. A data processing apparatus that processes input data input from an application via a printer driver,
The printer driver is
Determining means for determining whether the format of input data input from the application is a printer control command format or a character string data format;
A first filter that analyzes a byte string of input data to be converted into character string data when the determination unit determines that the format of input data input from the application is a printer control command format; ,
A data processing apparatus comprising: a second filter that analyzes a component of character string data converted by the first filter and outputs a print command that can be analyzed by the printer to the printer. A data processing apparatus that processes input data input from an application via a printer driver,
The printer driver is
Determining means for determining whether the format of input data input from the application is a printer control command format or a character string data format;
When the determination means determines that the format of the input data input from the application is a printer control command format, the input input data byte string is analyzed, converted into character string data, and stored in the storage means A first filter that
Data comprising: a second filter that reads and analyzes a component of character string data stored by the first filter and outputs a print command that can be analyzed by the printer to the printer Processing equipment. A print processing method in a data processing apparatus for processing input data input from an application via a printer driver,
A conversion step that parses the input input byte sequence and converts it into character string data;
A determination step of determining whether a format of input data input from the application is a printer control command format or a character string data format;
If it is determined that the determination step is a printer control command format, the character string data converted by the conversion step is analyzed and a print command that can be analyzed by the printer is output to the printer. An output step of outputting the input data to a printer when it is determined that the format is a column data format. A print processing method in a data processing apparatus for processing input data input from an application via a printer driver,
A determination step of determining whether a format of input data input from the application is a printer control command format or a character string data format;
A conversion step that parses the input input byte sequence and converts it into character string data;
A storage step of storing the character string data converted by the conversion step in a storage unit;
If it is determined that the determination step is a printer control command format, a component of the character string data read from the storage unit is analyzed, and a print command that can be analyzed by the printer is output to the printer. A print processing method, comprising: output means for outputting the input data as a printer when it is determined that the data is in a character string data format.   9. The print processing method according to claim 7, wherein when the input data input according to a specific operating system is in a specific format, the printer driver determines the input data as character string data.   The print processing method according to claim 7, wherein, when the input data is in a printer control command format, the application specifies RAW as the format for the input data. A print processing method in a data processing apparatus for processing input data input from an application via a printer driver,
A determination step of determining whether a format of input data input from the application is a printer control command format or a character string data format;
A first filtering process for analyzing a byte string of input data to be converted into character string data when it is determined in the determining step that the format of input data input from the application is a printer control command format; Steps,
A second filter processing step for analyzing the constituent elements of the character string data converted by the first filter processing step and outputting a print command that can be analyzed by the printer to the printer; Processing method. A print processing method in a data processing apparatus for processing input data input from an application via a printer driver,
A determination step of determining whether a format of input data input from the application is a printer control command format or a character string data format;
When it is determined that the format of the input data input from the application is the printer control command format, the first input data is analyzed and converted into character string data and stored in the storage means. A filtering step;
A second filter processing step of reading and analyzing a component of character string data stored by the first filter and outputting a print command that can be analyzed by the printer to the printer. Print processing method.   A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the print processing method according to any one of claims 7 to 12.   A program for causing a computer to execute the print processing method according to any one of claims 7 to 12.

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