JP2009140429A - Printer driver and printing controller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem wherein rule control of printing at the printer shared among a plurality of users has little flexibility. <P>SOLUTION: This printer driver enables a computer to execute processing for generating print data based on a file to be printed while acquiring the file to be printed. This printer driver is also constituted to execute: a printing condition prescription function defining a printing condition responding to the file name and storing it in prescribed memory area; a file name determination function determining whether the file name of the acquired file falls under any of the file names to which the printing condition is defined; and a printing data generation function generating printing data after including all of the printing conditions stored in the memory area corresponding to the file name in the printing condition about the acquired file when the file name determination function determines that the file name of the acquired file falls under one of the file names. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer driver and a print control apparatus.

  In an environment in which a single printer is shared by a plurality of users' computers via a network, conventionally, a person who manages the printer (administrator) provides a user interface (UI) provided by a printer driver corresponding to the printer. The printing conditions of the printer are set via the screen. At this time, when the administrator sets the printing conditions such as “color” and “single side”, each user gives a document of the file by instructing printing of a desired file from the computer used by each user. Etc., one-sided printing with color can be performed.

Also, a print setting sharing support apparatus is known that installs a printer driver having the same default print setting information for the printer in a plurality of computers using the printer (Patent Document 1). reference.).
In addition, the print savings of the print rules corresponding to the printing application estimated based on the print setting information included in the print job are superior to the print savings obtained from the above print setting information. 2. Description of the Related Art A printing apparatus that performs printing by selecting a print setting on the other side is known (see Patent Document 2).
In addition, print data received from the information processing apparatus, out of the second print setting information included in the print data, the first print setting information that is not allowed in the first print setting information stored in the storage unit There is known an image forming apparatus that changes the print setting information based on the second print setting information and executes print output of print data based on the changed second print setting information (Patent Document 3).
JP 2005-332100 A JP 2006-338237 A JP 2006-43910 A

  Conventionally, one setting by the administrator (in the above example, “color” and “single side” settings) is applied to the print processing of a file for which a print instruction has been issued by each user's computer. In other words, any file is printed with the same settings, so it is very fixed management, and flexible print management according to the information that the file has, the user's position, the viewpoint of resource saving, etc. Was impossible. In addition, as described in the above-mentioned document 2, the comparison result between the print saving performance of the print rule corresponding to the printing application estimated based on the print setting information included in the print job and the print saving performance obtained from the print setting information is as follows. In the configuration in which the print settings are selected accordingly, printing is not always performed according to the settings according to the administrator's intention, and therefore the management of printing for each user by the administrator is not thorough. Further, in the above-mentioned document 3, detailed information according to individual specific elements such as various information included in each file, the user's position, the governance within the company where the printer is placed, and the viewpoint of resource saving. Management of printing conditions was insufficient.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems. Information printed on a file to be printed, information about the user's position, resource saving effect, and the company in which the printer is placed can be printed by a printer shared by a plurality of users. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer driver and a print control apparatus that can be flexibly managed according to various factors such as internal governance.

In order to achieve the above object, a printer driver according to a first aspect of the present invention causes a computer to execute a process of acquiring a file to be printed and generating print data based on the file. Here, the printer driver defines a print condition according to the file name and stores it in a predetermined storage area, and the file name of the acquired file is a file in which the print condition is defined. A file name determination function that determines whether or not one of the names corresponds to the file name and a print stored in the storage area corresponding to the file name of the corresponding destination when the file name determination function determines that it corresponds The computer is caused to execute a print data generation function for generating print data after incorporating all of the conditions into the print conditions for the acquired file.
According to the present invention, it is possible to manage printing conditions according to file names, and it is possible to print a file to be printed under optimum printing conditions according to the file name.

The print condition defining function may generate and store a rule for forcing monochrome printing for a file name including a specific character string. Further, the print condition defining function may generate and store a definition for limiting a print layout to a layout in which a plurality of pages are assigned to one surface of a print sheet for a file name including a specific character string. In this way, by forcing monochrome printing or limiting the layout according to the file name, it is possible to print with the necessary and sufficient quality for each file, and reduce consumption of color ink and printing paper. be able to.
Further, the printing condition defining function may generate and store a definition for limiting a printing paper feeding device to a predetermined paper feeding device for a file name including a specific character string. In this way, by limiting the printing paper feeding device according to the file name, for example, a file with a specific file name can be definitely printed on a paper having a specific specification.

A printer driver according to a second aspect of the present invention causes a computer to execute a process of acquiring a file to be printed from an information processing apparatus and generating print data based on the file. Here, the printer driver defines a printing condition according to each user group and stores it in a predetermined storage area, and a user group determination that determines a user group to which the information processing apparatus from which the file is acquired belongs. A print data generation function for generating print data after incorporating all of the functions and the print conditions stored in the storage area corresponding to the determined user group into the print conditions for the acquired file And let the computer run.
According to the present invention, it is possible to manage printing conditions according to a user group, and to print a file to be printed under optimum printing conditions according to the user group to which the information processing apparatus that generated the file belongs. Can do.

  The print condition defining function may generate and store a rule for forcing monochrome printing for a specific user group. With such a configuration, it is possible to force monochrome printing for a specific user group with little need for color printing, and appropriately reduce the cost of the entire printing system used by a plurality of users.

The print control apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention acquires a file to be printed and generates print data based on the file. In the print control device, the character string defining unit defines a character string for which printing is prohibited and stores it in a predetermined storage area, and the character string determining unit stores any of the stored characters in the acquired file. When the print data generation unit determines whether any of the stored character strings is included in the acquired file when generating the print data Stops generating print data.
According to the present invention, when a character string stored in the storage area as a character string prohibited from printing is included in a file, unified management of not printing the file is possible. Therefore, for example, it is possible to prevent crime terms and discriminatory terms from being printed, or misprinting and distributing confidential information.

  The print control apparatus may further include a notification processing unit for notifying a predetermined administrator of the cancellation when the print data generation unit stops generating the print data. With such a configuration, the administrator can know which file printing has been stopped, which user has attempted to print a file including the prohibited character string, and the like.

  The character string determination unit determines whether or not any of the stored character strings is included in the acquired file over all pages of the file, and the print data generation unit If the column determination unit determines that any one of the stored character strings is included in any page, generation of print data for all the pages may be stopped. With such a configuration, when a character string for the above prohibition is included in a page in the middle of a file consisting of a plurality of pages, the paper is wasted by printing up to the page before the page in the middle. Can be prevented.

  On the other hand, the character string determination unit sequentially determines, on a page basis, whether any one of the stored character strings is included in the acquired file, and the print data generation unit includes the character string Until the determination unit determines that any one of the stored character strings is included in one page, print data is sequentially generated in units of pages, and any one of the stored data is stored for one page. When it is determined that a character string is included, the generation of print data for subsequent pages including the determined page may be stopped. With such a configuration, it is determined whether or not the prohibited character string is included page by page, and the pages determined not to be included are sequentially printed. If the prohibited character string is not included, the printing process can be completed in a short time.

A printer driver according to a fourth aspect of the present invention acquires a file to be printed and causes a computer to execute processing for generating print data based on the file. Here, the printer driver has an inquiry information defining function for defining the contents of an inquiry for changing printing conditions in accordance with the state of predetermined information included in the file and storing it in a predetermined storage area, and the acquired file has When it is determined that the predetermined information is information corresponding to one of the stored inquiries, and a file information determination function that determines whether the predetermined information is corresponding information, and the file information determination function, An inquiry function that reads out the contents of the inquiry corresponding to the predetermined information included in the acquired file from the storage area, and makes an inquiry to change the printing conditions to the outside based on the read information, and the inquiry In response, the printing conditions specified from outside are incorporated into the printing conditions for the acquired file. Above, to execute a print data generation function of generating print data to the computer.
According to the present invention, it is possible to manage that an inquiry (suggestion) of an appropriate printing condition is made to the user in accordance with the state of the predetermined information that the file has, and for the file to be printed without being noticed by the user. It is possible to effectively prevent printing with improper printing conditions.

  The inquiry information defining function stores a rule for inquiring about a change in print size when the paper size information and / or the character size information included in the file is within a specific range. When the paper size information and / or the character size information are within the specific range, an inquiry may be made as to whether or not the print size needs to be changed based on the information read from the storage area. With such a configuration, for example, when the paper size information and character size of the file are relatively small, the user can be automatically inquired about whether or not the print size needs to be changed. Easy-to-read printed matter is obtained.

  Further, the inquiry information specifying function stores a rule for inquiring a change of a page range to be printed when a combination of file name information and page number information included in the file is a specific combination. When the information on the file name and the information on the number of pages included in the acquired file is the specific combination, the necessity of changing the page range may be inquired based on the information read from the storage area. With this configuration, for example, for a file that is estimated to be less necessary to print all pages based on the file name and the number of pages, the user is automatically inquired of the page range to be printed. As a result, only the page range necessary for the user can be printed.

  Furthermore, in the present application, an invention of an information processing apparatus having a configuration corresponding to each function of each printer driver described above, an invention of an information processing method comprising processing steps corresponding to each function of each printer driver described above, and Understands the invention of a printing control method comprising processing steps corresponding to each part of each printing control apparatus described above, and the invention of a printing control program for causing a computer to execute a function corresponding to each part of each printing control apparatus described above. It goes without saying that it is possible.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order with reference to the drawings.
(1) Schematic configuration of printing system (2) First embodiment (3) Second embodiment (4) Third embodiment (5) Fourth embodiment

(1) Schematic Configuration of Printing System FIG. 1 shows an example of a printing system 100 according to the present embodiment.
The printing system 100 generally includes a server 10, a printer 20 connected to the server 10, and a plurality of terminal devices (for example, PCs as information processing devices) 30 and 30 respectively used by a plurality of users sharing the printing system 100. , 30... And a network 40 that connects the server 10 and the terminal device 30 so as to be capable of bidirectional communication. In the example of FIG. 1, the server 10 and the printer 20 are directly connected by a cable (USB cable or the like) 16. However, the printer 20 may be connected to the server 10 via the network 40 as shown in parentheses in FIG.

  Connected to the server 10 are a display device 50 such as a color display, an input device 60 such as a mouse and a keyboard, and the like. The server 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes various programs, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that temporarily stores data, programs, and the like, and various data, various programs, and the like that control the server 10 are nonvolatile in advance. And a control unit 11 composed of a ROM (Read Only Memory) stored in the memory, an input / output interface 12 for connecting to the display device 50, the input device 60, the printer 20, and the like, and a memory 13 such as a hard disk. Is done. Of course, the configuration of the server 10 is not limited to this.

  The printer 20 can be, for example, a page printer provided with a laser type printing mechanism. A laser-type page printer includes a toner cartridge containing toner in a housing, and performs printing by transferring the toner to a printing medium such as printing paper. The printer 20 may be either a color laser printer or a monochrome laser printer. Further, for example, an ink jet printer may be used instead of the laser method.

  The printer 20 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like. The control unit 21 controls various processes in the printer 20, an input / output interface 22 for connecting to the cable 16 connected to the computer 10, a toner cartridge, a photosensitive drum, and a laser. A printing mechanism 23 including a printing mechanism such as a light irradiation mechanism, a paper supply / discharge mechanism, and the like is provided. Of course, the configuration of the printer 20 is not limited to this.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the server 10. The server 10 corresponds to an example of a print control apparatus. The operating system 14 is so-called basic software that controls the basic user interface and file management of the server 10. The printer driver 15 is a computer program that controls the operation of the printer 20 connected to the server 10, and is installed in the server 10 corresponding to the printer 20. The printer driver 15 performs processing for causing the printer 20 to print files such as documents and images created by various application software. The printer driver 15 generally includes an information setting module 15a, a determination process execution module 15b, an inquiry process execution module 15c, and a print data generation module 15d. The functions of the modules 15a to 15c will be described later. The e-mail transmission / reception program 17 is a so-called mailer, and realizes e-mail transmission / reception between the server 10 and other communication devices. The printer driver 15 and the e-mail transmission / reception program 17 operate on the operating system 14.

(2) First Example A first example that can be executed using the printing system 100 will be described.
In the first embodiment, the printer driver 15 first defines the correspondence between various file names and printing conditions based on an instruction received from the administrator A of the printer 20 (see FIG. 1). The correspondence relationship is stored in, for example, a storage area in the memory 13 of the server 10.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a UI screen 51 provided by the printer driver 15 (information setting module 15a). The UI screen 51 can be called from, for example, the properties of the printer 20 registered in the printer folder in the server 10. The administrator A operates the input device 60 such as a mouse to display the UI screen 51 on the screen of the display device 50. As shown in FIG. 3, a button 51 a “driver policy (rule) setting” is provided in the UI screen 51. When the button 51 a is selected by operating the input device 60, the information setting module 15 a. Displays a predetermined driver policy (rule) setting screen (hereinafter simply referred to as a setting screen) 52.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the setting screen 52 provided by the information setting module 15a.
In the setting screen 52, folders indicating items that can be set from the outside are displayed in a tree structure in an area 52a on the left side of the screen. When the information setting module 15a receives a selection for any of the folders displayed in the area 52a, the information setting module 15a displays an information input field corresponding to the selected folder in the area 52b on the right side of the setting screen 52. The example of FIG. 4 shows a state in which an information input field corresponding to the “forced monochrome printing” is displayed in the area 52b when a folder related to the printing condition “forced monochrome printing” in the area 52a is selected. Yes.

  The administrator A can arbitrarily input file name information (character string) in the information input field corresponding to the “forced monochrome printing”. The example of FIG. 4 shows a state in which file name information “Microsoft Outlook- *” (Microsoft Outlook is a registered trademark) and file name information “* .pdf” are entered in the area 52b. The information setting module 15a associates the information of the file name received through the information input field corresponding to “forced monochrome printing” in this way with the printing condition of “forced monochrome printing”, and this correspondence is stored in the memory 13. Save to storage area. As a result, for the file including the character string “Microsoft Outlook-” or “.pdf” in the file name, a rule for forcibly monochrome printing is generated in the server 10.

The correspondence relationship between the file name and the printing condition can be defined for various printing conditions other than the above-mentioned “forced monochrome printing”.
The information setting module 15a may generate a rule for limiting a print layout to a layout in which a plurality of pages are assigned to one surface of a print sheet for a file name including a specific character string. For example, the administrator A selects the folder (see FIG. 4) related to the printing condition “forced duplex 2-sided printing” in the area 52a, so that information corresponding to the “forced duplex 2-sided printing” is displayed in the area 52b. An input field can be displayed, and file name information (character string) can be arbitrarily input into this information input field (for example, a character string “intra-currency distribution material *” is input). The information setting module 15 a associates the received file name information with the “forced duplex two-sided printing” and stores this correspondence in the storage area in the memory 13. As a result, for the file whose file name includes the character string input in the area 52b (for example, the character string “intra-currency distribution material”), a rule for forcing double-sided and two-sided printing is generated in the server 10. That's right.

  Further, the information setting module 15a may generate a rule for limiting the printing paper feeding device to a predetermined paper feeding device for a file name including a specific character string. For example, the administrator A selects the folder (see FIG. 4) related to the printing condition of “paper feeding from the paper feeding device 3” in the area 52a, so that the “paper feeding from the paper feeding device 3” corresponds to the area 52b. An information input field to be displayed can be displayed, and information (character string) of a file name can be arbitrarily input (for example, a character string “contract form No. 1- *” is input) to the information input field. The information setting module 15 a associates the information of the file name received in this way with the “paper feeding from the paper feeding device 3”, and stores this correspondence in the storage area in the memory 13. As a result, for a file whose file name includes the character string input in the area 52b (for example, the character string “contract form No. 1-”), the printing paper is forcibly printed from the paper feeder 3 (not shown) of the printer 20. The server 10 generates a rule that prints by feeding.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the correspondence relationship between the file name and the printing condition stored in the memory 13 by the information setting module 15a.
In this way, the printer driver 15 has a print condition defining function as a part of its function in that the information setting module 15a defines the print condition according to the file name and stores it in a predetermined storage area. . Note that the number of folders and the items in the area 52a are not limited to those shown in the figure, and the administrator A can change the item indicated by the folder, or the administrator A can add the folder.
Next, a print control process using information stored in the memory 13 as described above will be described.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing print control processing executed by the printer driver 15 in the first embodiment.
In step S (hereinafter, step notation is omitted) 200, the printer driver 15 acquires a file to be printed. That is, when the user of the terminal device 30 instructs the terminal device 30 to execute printing of a file created with desired application software from the terminal device 30 side, a print job including the file according to the instruction is transmitted via the network 40. The file is supplied to the server 10 and the printer driver 15 acquires the supplied file.

In S201, the printer driver (determination process execution module 15b) acquires the file name of the acquired file. There are various specific methods for acquiring the file name of the file to be printed. For example, when the operating system 14 is Windows (registered trademark), a GetJob () function that is one of Windows API (Application Program Interface) functions is executed. The determination process execution module 15b acquires the JOB_INFO structure as a function return value from the operating system 14 by executing the GetJob () function.
The JOB_INFO structure is data describing various information related to a print job managed by the operating system 14, and information called pDocument corresponding to the file name is extracted from the information described in the JOB_INFO structure. As a result, the determination process execution module 15b can acquire the file name of the file.

  In S202, the determination process execution module 15b determines whether the file name acquired in S201 corresponds to any of the file name information (character string) stored in the memory 13 in association with the print condition (which one) Whether or not). And when it determines with applicable, it progresses to S203. Thus, it can be said that the printer driver 15 has a file name determination function as part of its function in that the determination process execution module 15b executes the determination of S202.

  In S203, the printer driver (print data generation module 15d) reads out from the memory 13 the printing conditions stored in the memory 13 in association with the character string corresponding to the file name acquired in S201. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the print condition “forced monochrome printing” and the character string “* .pdf” are stored in association with each other, the file name acquired in S201 is “patent specification”. If it is “.pdf”, the printing condition “forced monochrome printing” is read from the memory 13.

  In S204, the print data generation module 15d sets the print condition for the file acquired in S200 by changing the reference print condition based on the print condition read in S203. The standard print condition is a print condition that has been set in the past by the administrator A selecting the “Basic Settings” tab 51 b on the UI screen 51, or printing set by default in the printer driver 15. Say conditions. In the present embodiment, if the file name of the file acquired in S200 does not correspond to the information input by the administrator A via the setting screen 52 (No in S202), this standard printing condition is satisfied. It is assumed that printing processing is performed based on this.

  Here, when the standard printing condition is “color” and “single-sided” printing, and the printing condition read in S203 is “forced monochrome printing”, the changed printing condition setting is “monochrome”. "And" one side ". If the print condition read in S203 is “forced duplex 2-sided printing”, the changed print condition settings are “color”, “double-sided”, and “double-sided”. When the print condition read in S203 is “forced monochrome double-sided printing”, the changed print condition settings are “monochrome”, “double-sided”, and “two-sided printing”. That is, in S204, all the printing conditions read in S203 are incorporated into the printing conditions for the file acquired in S200.

  In step S205, the print data generation module 15d prints based on the file acquired in step S200 while referring to the print condition set at this time (the print condition set in step S204 or the reference print condition). Generate data. In other words, if it is a document, image data is generated by rendering processing, resolution conversion and layout processing are performed on the image data as necessary, and color conversion processing and binarization processing are further performed to generate print data. Generate. In S206, the print data generation module 15d adds the print condition information set at the time of S205 to the generated print data, and transmits the print data to the printer 20. As a result, the printer 20 performs printing based on the transmitted print condition information and print data, and outputs the print result of the file.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the printing condition is defined according to the file name of the file to be printed. Therefore, a plurality of users who share the printer 20 (a plurality of terminal devices 30) respectively receive desired files. When the server 10 (printer driver 15) receives the print instruction, detailed print management corresponding to the difference in the file names can be performed. For example, automatically print monochrome files for files inferred from names that are relatively low in color or simplex printing, such as e-mail documents or documents distributed only within specific departments of the company. By using double-sided printing, it is possible to save resources for printing. In addition, for files inferred from the name such as contracts and other documents whose paper size is fixed, paper can be reliably fed only from a paper feeder that supports a specific paper size. A constant quality printing result can be obtained.

(3) Second Embodiment A second embodiment that can be executed using the printing system 100 will be described.
In the second embodiment, the printer driver 15 first defines the correspondence between each user group and the printing conditions based on an instruction received from the administrator A of the printer 20, and stores the defined correspondence in the memory 13. Save it in the storage area. The definition of the correspondence between the user group and the printing condition is also performed via the setting screen 52.

  When the administrator A selects the “color printing permitted” folder or the “color printing prohibited” folder shown in the area 52a of FIG. 4 by operating the input device 60, the information setting module 15a selects the area 52a. An information input field corresponding to the selected folder is displayed in the area 52b. In the information input field displayed in this way, the administrator A can arbitrarily enter a user group name. The user group name here refers to the organization to which the user of each terminal device 30 constituting the printing system 100 belongs, the name of the organization, information for identifying the organization, the organization, and the like. For example, the printing system 100 uses it internally. If so, it may be the name of an in-house section or department. The information setting module 15a prints the user group name information received via the information input field displayed in the area 52b according to the selection of the folder, such as “color printing permission” and “color printing prohibition” indicated by the corresponding folder. Corresponding to the conditions, this correspondence is stored in a storage area in the memory 13.

FIG. 7 shows a correspondence relationship between the user group name and the printing condition stored in the memory 13 by the information setting module 15a. Here, it is assumed that the users of the printing system 100 are divided into groups such as “Sales Department”, “Design Department”, “ABC department”, etc. For “Sales Department” and “Design Department” Color conditions are permitted, and “ABC department” defines printing conditions that prohibit color printing. Of course, the correspondence shown in FIG. 7 is merely an example, and various printing conditions such as layout conditions at the time of printing and types of paper are conceivable as the printing conditions defined in correspondence with the user group. As described above, the printer driver 15 has a printing condition defining function as a part of its function in that the information setting module 15a defines printing conditions according to each user group and stores them in a predetermined storage area. I can say that.
Next, a print control process using information stored in the memory 13 as described above will be described.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing print control processing executed by the printer driver 15 in the second embodiment. S300 is the same as S200 described above.
In S301, the determination process execution module 15b determines the user group to which the terminal device 30 that is the output source of the acquired file belongs. There are various specific methods for discriminating user groups. For example, the determination process execution module 15b executes an OpenThreadToken () function that is one of Windows API functions. The input value of the function is the current thread. A thread is an execution unit of a program that can exist in a plurality of running processes. The determination process execution module 15b obtains a process handle (an identifier of an active process) as a return value of the function from the operating system 14.

Next, the determination processing execution module 15b executes the OpenProcessToken () function (input value is a process handle), and acquires the process access right as a return value of the function.
Next, the determination process execution module 15b executes the GetTokenInformation () function (the input value is the process access right), and acquires the group access right as a return value of the function. Since the group access right is information corresponding to the user group to which the terminal device 30 (the user) from which the acquired file is output belongs, the determination process execution module 15b uses the user group based on the acquired group access right. Specify one. In this case, the printer driver 15 has table data or the like that defines the correspondence relationship between the group access right and the user group in advance, and refers to it appropriately.

  Further, the user group may be determined as follows. The determination processing execution module 15b executes a command WindowsIdentity.GetCurrent (). Groups included in a class called System.Security.Principal of Windows ADSI (Active Directory Service Interface), and information of IdentityReference as a return value (here, ir) to get NTAccount. By executing ir.Translate (typeof (NTAccount)), the user group can be acquired as character string information.

In this way, the determination process execution module 15b determines the user group to which the information processing apparatus (terminal device 30) from which the file acquired in S300 belongs belongs. It can be said that it has a group discrimination function.
In S302, the determination process execution module 15b searches the correspondence relationship between each user group stored in the memory 13 and the printing condition to specify the printing condition corresponding to the user group determined in S301. In step S303, the print data generation module 15d reads the specified print condition from the memory 13. For example, if the user group determined in S <b> 301 is “ABC department”, referring to FIG. 7, the printing condition “color printing prohibited” is read from the memory 13.

  In S304, as in S204, the print data generation module 15d sets the printing conditions for the file acquired in S300 by changing the reference printing conditions based on the printing conditions read in S303. For example, if the standard printing condition is “color” and “single-sided” printing, and the printing condition read in S303 is “color printing prohibited” and “double-sided printing”, the changed printing condition is set. Are “monochrome” and “double-sided printing”. That is, also in this case, all the printing conditions read in S303 are incorporated into the printing conditions for the file acquired in S300. If there is no difference between the printing condition read from the memory 13 and the reference printing condition in S303, the printing condition changing process is not performed. S305 and S306 are the same as S205 and S206. In S302, if the search results in an error (when the user group that matches the user group determined in S301 is not defined in the memory 13), printing is performed based on the reference printing conditions. To do.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, since the printing conditions are defined according to the user group to which the terminal device 30 that is the transmission source of the file to be printed belongs, each user (terminal device 30) belonging to a different user group can request the printing conditions. When the server 10 (printer driver 15) receives a print instruction for the file, it is possible to perform fine print management corresponding to the difference in user groups. For example, a file for which a print instruction is given from a user's terminal device 30 belonging to a predetermined section with little need for color printing is automatically monochrome printing or belongs to a department that consumes a large amount of printing paper on a daily basis. A file for which a print instruction has been issued from the user terminal device 30 is automatically set to duplex printing. As a result, it is possible to provide a printed matter with a necessary and sufficient quality for each user's position and save resources for printing.

(4) Third Embodiment A third embodiment that can be executed using the printing system 100 will be described.
In the third embodiment, first, the printer driver 15 defines a print-inhibited character string based on an instruction received from the administrator A of the printer 20 and stores it in a storage area in the memory 13. A print-prohibited character string is a character string that prohibits printing of a document because it includes that character string. In this embodiment, it is a criminal term, a discriminatory term, or leaked to the outside (external). We assume words and information that should be prohibited. The definition of the print prohibition character string is also performed via the setting screen 52.

When the administrator A selects the “print rejection” folder shown in the area 52a in FIG. 4 by operating the input device 60, the information setting module 15a inputs the information corresponding to the folder selected in the area 52a. The column is displayed in the area 52b. In the information input field displayed in this way, the administrator A can arbitrarily input a print prohibited character string. The information setting module 15 a stores the information of the print prohibited character string received through the information input field displayed in the area 52 b in accordance with the selection of the folder related to “print rejection” in the storage area in the memory 13. In this way, the printer driver 15 and the server 10 implement a character string defining unit in that the information setting module 15a defines a print prohibited character string based on the input operation of the administrator A and stores it in a predetermined storage area. It can be said that.
Next, a print control process using information stored in the memory 13 as described above will be described.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing print control processing executed by the server 10 in the third embodiment. S400 is the same as S200 described above.
In S401, the determination processing execution module 15b includes any one of the print prohibition character strings stored in the memory 13 corresponding to the “print rejection” folder in the file acquired in 400. Whether or not it exists is determined over all pages of the file. In this case, the presence / absence of a print-inhibited character string is checked not only for the text in the file but also for the file name.

  When a print job including a file to be printed is transmitted from the terminal device 30 to the server 10, a predetermined drawing command is issued from the OS of the transmission source terminal device 30 to the printer driver 15. In response to the drawing command, the printer driver 15 interprets the description in the file and performs drawing processing to generate print data. The drawing command includes a TextOut () function for instructing printing of a character string in the file, and the determination processing execution module 15 b targets the character string designated by the TextOut () function as a target. It is possible to determine whether or not the above-mentioned print prohibited character string is included. As described above, the determination process execution module 15b determines whether or not any of the print prohibited character strings stored in the memory 13 are included in the file acquired in S400. 10 can be said to realize a character string determination unit.

  If it is determined in S401 that a print prohibited character string is included (Yes), the process proceeds to S402. If it is determined that a print prohibited character string is not included (No), the process proceeds to S404. In S402, the print data generation module 15d stops the print data generation process. Specifically, the print job itself corresponding to the file determined to include the print prohibited character string in S401 is deleted. As a result, all pages of the file including the print prohibited character string are not printed.

  In step S <b> 403, the printer driver 15 activates the e-mail transmission / reception program 17 to notify the outside that printing of the file has been stopped. In this case, for example, the e-mail transmission / reception program 17 has stopped printing the file to the terminal device 30a (see FIG. 1) used by the administrator A or the mobile phone (not shown) owned by the administrator A. Will be notified by email. The notification includes the file name of the file to be canceled, the name of the user (may be a user group) who tried to print the file, and the print prohibition character string included in the file. Various information can be included. In addition, there are other methods for notifying the administrator A, and the fact that the file printing has been stopped may be simply displayed on the display device 50 to which the server 10 is connected. The user may be notified that the file printing has been stopped. As described above, when the print data generation module 15d cancels the generation of print data, the server 10 provides a notification processing unit in that the e-mail transmission / reception program 17 or the like notifies the administrator A or the like of the cancellation. It can be said that it has been realized.

  On the other hand, in S404 and S405, the print data generation module 15d generates print data based on the file (all pages) acquired in S400 and transmits the generated print data to the printer 20. The printing conditions employed in the processes of S404 and S405 are basically the above-mentioned standard printing conditions, but according to the file name and user group as described in the first and second embodiments. Printing may be performed after changing the printing conditions.

  According to the processing of FIG. 9 described above, whether or not a print-prohibited character string is included in the file to be printed is inspected over all the pages of the file, and generation of print data is determined after determining that it is not included. Further, since printing is performed, it is no longer necessary to print a file that includes a print-inhibited character string on a halfway page to the middle and waste printing paper.

However, the third embodiment is not limited to the processing shown in FIG.
FIG. 10 is a print control process executed by the server 10 in the third embodiment, and shows a process example different from that shown in FIG. Hereinafter, only parts different from the process of FIG. 9 will be described with reference to FIG.
In S501, the determination processing execution module 15b includes any one of the print prohibited character strings stored in the memory 13 for one page (initially the first page) in the file acquired in S500. It is determined whether or not. If it is determined in S501 that no print prohibited character string is included (No), the process proceeds to S504. In S504 and S505, the print data generation module 15d generates print data for one page that is determined not to include a print-prohibited character string in the latest S501, and outputs the generated print data to the printer 20. Send.

In step S506, the print data generation module 15d determines whether or not transmission of print data has been completed for all pages in the file. If an unprocessed page remains, the process returns to step S501, and a new page (page number 1) is determined. Repeat the process for the larger page.
On the other hand, if it is determined in S501 that a print prohibited character string is included (Yes), the process proceeds to S502 and S503. As a result, printing is not performed for the page determined to include the print-prohibited character string and the page after the page. In the notification process to the administrator A in S503, information indicating from which page in the file the printing is stopped may be included.

According to the processing of FIG. 10 described above, the presence or absence of a print prohibition character string is determined for each page of the file to be printed. If the print prohibition character string is not included, printing is performed one by one. Whether or not there is a print-inhibited character string for the subsequent page can be determined during printing. Therefore, in the case of a file that does not include a print prohibition character string as a whole, the time required for printing all pages of the file is shorter than in the case of FIG.
It should be noted that a processing mode in which the presence / absence of a print-inhibited character string is inspected collectively for all pages of the file as shown in FIG. 9 and the printability is branched, and printing is performed when one page of the file is inspected as shown in FIG. The administrator A may select through the UI screen 51 or the like which of the processing modes for branching availability is to be performed by the server 10.

  Here, if the file transmitted from the terminal device 30 is image data such as bitmap data, the printer driver 15 determines in S401 and S501 whether or not the print prohibition character string is included in the file. It can be difficult to do automatically. Therefore, when the file acquired in S400 and S500 is image data, the printer driver 15 temporarily stores the image data in the memory 13 or the like and displays the image data on the display device 50 at a predetermined timing. The administrator A visually inspects the image to be printed displayed on the display device 50, and there is an inappropriate expression (criminal term, discrimination expression, confidential information, etc.) corresponding to the print prohibited character string. It is determined whether it is included, and this determination result is input to the server 10 by operating the input device 60. The printer driver 15 may branch the processes after S401 and S501 based on the input determination result (which includes / does not include the expression corresponding to the print prohibited character string).

  As described above, according to the third embodiment, even when the server 10 (printer driver 15) receives a print instruction for a desired file from a plurality of users (plural terminal devices 30) sharing the printer 20, respectively. Thus, it is possible to reliably prevent a file including a print prohibition character string such as a crime term, discrimination term, or confidential information preset by the administrator A from being output as a printed matter. As a result, in companies that share the printing system 100 with a plurality of users, information leakage and the like due to printing can be prevented, and organizational governance is appropriately performed.

(5) Fourth Embodiment A fourth embodiment that can be executed using the printing system 100 will be described.
In the fourth embodiment, the printer driver 15 first determines the correspondence between the state of the predetermined information contained in the file and the contents of the inquiry about the change of the printing conditions based on the instruction received from the administrator A of the printer 20. And the specified correspondence is stored in a storage area in the memory 13. The definition of the correspondence is also performed via the setting screen 52.

  When the administrator A selects the “all page print confirmation” folder or the “paper enlargement confirmation” folder shown in the area 52a of FIG. 4 by operating the input device 60, the information setting module 15a displays the area 52a in the area 52a. An information input field corresponding to the selected folder is displayed in the area 52b. In the information input field displayed in this way, the administrator A can arbitrarily input the status of various information included in the file. Here, the state of various information refers to the state (contents) of various information such as a file name, a paper size, a character size, and the number of pages. The information setting module 15a receives the information received via the information input field displayed in the area 52b in response to the selection of the folder, such as “all page print confirmation” and “paper enlargement confirmation” indicated by the corresponding folder. Corresponding to the contents of the change inquiry, this correspondence is stored in a storage area in the memory 13. “All page print confirmation” means that the user is inquired (confirmed) whether or not all pages in the file are to be printed. “Paper enlargement confirmation” means that the file size of the file is larger. This means that the user is inquired (confirmed) whether or not to change the setting.

FIG. 11 shows the correspondence relationship between the status of various file information stored in the memory 13 by the information setting module 15a and the contents of the inquiry about changing the printing conditions. In the example of FIG. 11, it is defined that “confirm paper enlargement” when the paper size is “A4 or B5” and the number of character points is “6 or less”. Also, if the file name is “Microsoft Outlook- *” and the number of pages is “multiple”, or the document subject is “Re:” and the number of pages is “multiple”, “Confirm Print All Pages” Is stipulated. As described above, the printer driver 15 is a part of its function in that the information setting module 15a defines the contents of the inquiry for changing the printing conditions in accordance with the state of various information of the file and stores it in a predetermined storage area. It can be said that it has an inquiry information regulation function.
Next, a print control process using information stored in the memory 13 as described above will be described.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing print control processing executed by the printer driver 15 in the fourth embodiment. S600 is the same as S200 described above.
In S601, the determination process execution module 15b acquires various types of information about the acquired file. That is, various information such as the file name, the paper size, the number of character points, the subject of the document, and the number of pages for the acquired file are acquired. There are no particular restrictions on the method of acquiring these information, and various methods can be adopted.For example, file names can be acquired by the above-described method, and the paper size, the number of character points, the document subject, the number of pages, etc. Can be obtained by analyzing information in the header added to the file.

  In S <b> 602, the determination process execution module 15 b matches the information acquired in S <b> 601 with any of the information (combination of information) stored in the memory 13 corresponding to the content of the print condition change inquiry. It is determined whether or not (satisfy either). If it is determined that they match, the process proceeds to S603. Thus, it can be said that the printer driver 15 has a file information determination function as a part of its function in that the determination process execution module 15b executes the determination of S602.

  In step S603, the inquiry processing execution module 15c reads out the contents of the inquiry about the change of the printing condition stored in the memory 13 corresponding to the information determined to match in the above-described step S602 from the memory 13, and the read information An inquiry is made to the outside based on the above. The inquiry referred to here means an inquiry to the user of the terminal device 30 that is the transmission source of the file to be printed.

  For example, in S601, various information such as a file name, a paper size, a character point number, a document title, and a page number for a file to be printed is obtained. Of these, the paper size and the character point number are obtained. Satisfy the paper size “A4 or B5” and the number of character points “6 or less” stored in the memory 13 in correspondence with the “paper enlargement confirmation”, the inquiry process execution module 15c By communicating with the terminal device 30 that is the source of the file, for example, a display of an inquiry “Would you like to change the paper size to A3 or B4 and enlarge the characters?” On the display of the terminal device 30. To do. In addition, when the file name and the number of pages among the various types of information about the file to be printed satisfy the file name and the number of pages stored in the memory 13 corresponding to the “all page print confirmation”. The inquiry processing execution module 15c communicates with the transmission source terminal device 30 to display an inquiry “Would you like to print all pages?” On the display of the terminal device 30, for example. Make it.

Of course, the correspondence relationship between the state of various information in the file shown in FIG. 11 and the contents of the inquiry about changing the printing conditions is an example, and either the paper size information or the character point number information is specified. If it belongs to the range, an inquiry about “confirm paper enlargement” may be made, and various other correspondences may be considered.
In step S604, the printer driver 15 receives an instruction corresponding to the inquiry. That is, an instruction from the user of the terminal device 30 that has received the inquiry is received via communication with the terminal device 30. However, the user of the terminal device 30 can also directly instruct the server 10 by operating the input device 60 of the server 10. As instructions from the user, there are an instruction to change the print size (for example, an instruction to change the paper size and the number of character points), an instruction to change the page range to be printed (for example, an instruction to print only the first page), and the like. is assumed.

In step S605, the print data generation module 15d sets the print condition for the file acquired in step S600 by changing the print condition based on the instruction received in step S604. However, if an instruction not to change the printing condition is received in S604, the printing condition is not changed in S605.
S606 and S607 are basically the same as S205 and S206. If “No” is determined in S602 or if an instruction to change the printing conditions is received in S604, the information included in the file to be printed and the standard printing conditions are set. Printing is performed based on this.

  As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, the state of various information such as the file name, the paper size, the character size, and the number of pages of the file to be printed corresponds to a specific state preset by the administrator A. In addition, it is possible to ask the user to change the printing conditions appropriate for the specific state. For example, when the paper size or character size is smaller than a predetermined size and it is estimated that the document is difficult to read, an inquiry is made as to whether or not to enlarge these sizes, or an e-mail document (especially a reply is sent) In the case of a file whose necessity for printing all pages is relatively low, such as e-mail text), the range of pages to be printed can be inquired. As a result, it is possible to prevent printing without being noticed by the user under printing conditions that are inappropriate for the file to be printed, and to reduce wasteful page printing, reprinting, and the like.

The first to fourth embodiments have been described on the assumption that the printing system 100 shown in FIG. 1 is used. However, the first to fourth embodiments are shown in FIG. It can also be executed using such a printing system 110. In the printing system 110, the printer 20 and a plurality of terminal devices (PCs) 30 are connected to the network 40, but there is no server 10 connected to the printer 20 as shown in FIG. Instead of the server 10 being present, each terminal device 30 includes a printer driver 15 and a driver policy 131, respectively. The driver policy 131 is the same as the information (for example, information shown in FIGS. 5, 7, and 11) that the administrator A inputs from the setting screen 52 and saves it in the memory 13 in the first to fourth embodiments. Content information. That is, the administrator A operates a single PC including the printer driver 15 to generate necessary driver policy 131 from the setting screen 52 and generates the driver policy 131. The generated driver policy 131 is stored in a hard disk or the like of each terminal device 30. Copy to the memory and install the printer driver 15 in each terminal device 30. As a result, also in the printing system 110, the printing process performed by each terminal device 30 using the printer 20 is managed according to the printing rules intended by the administrator A.
Further, the first to fourth embodiments can be implemented not only by themselves but also by appropriately combining them.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printing system. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of a server. It is a figure which shows the example of UI screen. It is a figure which shows the example of a setting screen. FIG. 5 is a correspondence diagram between file names and printing conditions. 3 is a flowchart illustrating print control processing according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a correspondence diagram between user groups and printing conditions. 6 is a flowchart illustrating print control processing according to a second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating print control processing according to a third embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating print control processing according to a third embodiment. It is a correspondence diagram between the status of various information in a file and the contents of an inquiry about changing printing conditions. 10 is a flowchart illustrating print control processing according to a fourth embodiment. It is the block diagram which showed the other example of schematic structure of the printing system.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Server, 11 ... Control part, 12 ... Input / output interface, 13 ... Memory, 14 ... Operating system, 15 ... Printer driver, 15a ... Information setting module, 15b ... Judgment processing execution module, 15c ... Inquiry processing execution module, 15d DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Print data generation module, 17 ... E-mail transmission / reception program, 20 ... Printer, 21 ... Control part, 22 ... Input / output interface, 23 ... Printing mechanism, 30, 30a ... Terminal device, 40 ... Network, 50 ... Display device, 51 ... UI screen, 52 ... Setting screen, 60 ... Input device, 100, 110 ... Printing system, 131 ... Driver policy

Claims (13)

A printer driver that acquires a file to be printed and causes a computer to execute processing for generating print data based on the file,
A printing condition defining function for defining printing conditions according to file names and storing them in a predetermined storage area;
A file name determination function for determining whether the file name of the acquired file corresponds to one of the file names for which the printing conditions are defined;
When it is determined by the file name determination function that all the printing conditions stored in the storage area corresponding to the corresponding file name are incorporated into the printing conditions for the acquired file A print data generation function for generating print data;
A printer driver characterized by executing   The printer driver according to claim 1, wherein the print condition defining function generates and stores a rule for forcing monochrome printing for a file name including a specific character string.   The print condition defining function generates and stores a definition for limiting a print layout to a layout in which a plurality of pages are assigned to one surface of a print sheet for a file name including a specific character string. The printer driver according to claim 1.   The print condition defining function generates and stores a definition for limiting a printing paper feeding device to a predetermined paper feeding device for a file name including a specific character string. Item 4. The printer driver according to any one of Items 3 to 4. A printer driver that causes a computer to execute a process of acquiring a file to be printed from an information processing apparatus and generating print data based on the file,
A printing condition defining function that defines printing conditions according to each user group and stores them in a predetermined storage area;
A user group determination function for determining a user group to which the information processing apparatus from which the file is acquired belongs;
A print data generation function for generating print data after incorporating all of the print conditions stored in the storage area corresponding to the determined user group into the print conditions for the acquired file;
A printer driver characterized by executing   6. The printer driver according to claim 5, wherein the print condition defining function generates and stores a rule for forcing monochrome printing for a specific user group. A print control apparatus that acquires a file to be printed and generates print data based on the file,
A character string defining unit that defines a character string that is prohibited from printing and stores it in a predetermined storage area;
A character string determination unit that determines whether any of the stored character strings is included in the acquired file;
A print data generation unit that stops generating print data when it is determined that any one of the stored character strings is included in the acquired file when generating print data;
A printing control apparatus comprising:   The print control apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising: a notification processing unit that notifies a predetermined manager of the cancellation when the print data generation unit stops generating the print data. .   The character string determination unit determines whether or not any of the stored character strings is included in the acquired file over all pages of the file, and the print data generation unit The generation of print data for all the pages is stopped when the column determination unit determines that any of the stored character strings is included in any of the pages. The print control apparatus according to claim 7 or 8.   The character string determination unit sequentially determines whether any one of the stored character strings is included in the acquired file in units of pages, and the print data generation unit includes the character string determination unit. Until it is determined that one of the stored character strings is included in one page, the print data is sequentially generated in units of pages, and one of the stored character strings is stored for one page. 9. The printing according to claim 7, wherein if it is determined that the print data is included, generation of print data for the subsequent pages including the determined page is stopped. Control device. A printer driver that acquires a file to be printed and causes a computer to execute processing for generating print data based on the file,
An inquiry information defining function for prescribing the contents of the inquiry about changing the printing conditions in accordance with the state of the predetermined information of the file and storing it in a predetermined storage area;
A file information determination function for determining whether the predetermined information of the acquired file is information corresponding to any of the stored inquiries;
When it is determined by the file information determination function that the information is corresponding, the content of the inquiry corresponding to the predetermined information of the acquired file is read from the storage area, and based on the read information Inquiry function for inquiring externally to change printing conditions,
A print data generation function for generating print data after incorporating print conditions instructed from the outside in response to the inquiry into the print conditions for the acquired file;
A printer driver characterized by executing   The inquiry information defining function stores a rule for inquiring about a change in print size when the paper size information and / or the character size information included in the file is within a specific range. 12. The information on whether or not to change the print size is inquired based on the information read from the storage area when the paper size information and / or the character size information are within the specific range. Printer driver.   The inquiry information specifying function stores a rule for inquiring about a change of a page range to be printed when a combination of file name information and page number information included in a file is a specific combination, and the inquiry function is acquired as described above. When the information on the file name and the information on the number of pages included in the file is the specific combination, the necessity of changing the page range is inquired based on the information read from the storage area. The printer driver according to claim 11.

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