JP2011145760A - Printing control program, computer readable recording medium, installation program, information processing apparatus, printer, and printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable an application and a printer driver to cooperatively operate in the same way as the printer driver used to cooperatively operate in a conventional manner without changing the application, or without forcing a user to perform any complicate work when newly introducing the printer driver. <P>SOLUTION: When determining that an already introduced printer driver exists (S1), and determining that the printer driver B as the object of succession of ID has been selected (S2), the control part of a PC investigates the presence/absence of the correspondence relation of choices between a newly introduced printer driver A and the printer driver B (S3), and when determining that there exists any choice having the correspondence relation between the printer driver A and the printer driver B (S4), the control part of the PC changes the ID of a default corresponding to the choice of the newly introduced printer driver to the ID corresponding to the choice having the correspondence relation with the printer driver selected as the object of succession of the ID (S5), and ends this processing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a print control program, a computer-readable recording medium, an installation program, an information processing apparatus, a printing apparatus, and a printing system.

Introduction (referred to as “installation”) of a print control program (also referred to as “printer driver program”, also abbreviated as “printer driver”) for causing an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer (PC) to print on a printing apparatus. When the user installs a new printer driver, the newly installed printer driver can take over the default setting information (both sides, aggregation, etc.) of the printer driver used so far. There is already known a technique in which the same use environment as before can be used without resetting the default print setting contents used so far one by one.
The above-mentioned installation means introduction, and it means that a PC operating system (OS) or application software can execute a program.

However, in the above-described technology, the default print setting contents that can be set on the driver user interface (abbreviated as “driver UI”) displayed by the printer driver that has been used so far are inherited by the newly installed printer driver. ID that corresponds to the type of paper or tray that can be used by the supported printing device, but is information that is returned to the application program (abbreviated as “application” or “application”) from the printer driver. The association could not be taken over.
Some applications that operate in cooperation with a printer driver specify the print settings for paper and trays with an ID for the printer driver.
The correspondence between paper and tray options and IDs in the driver UI is different for each printer driver.

For example, the printer driver A returns ID: 1 in response to the selection of “tray 1”, and the printer driver B returns ID: 257, and there is no clear rule regarding the relationship between this option and the ID. The relationship between options and IDs is different for each driver.
Therefore, even if the options displayed on the driver UI are the same, if a different printer driver is used, a different ID for the same name option will be returned to the application. May be output with unintended paper or tray types, or in some cases, printing itself may not be possible.

In order to avoid such a problem, a technique of correcting an application or editing a printer driver ID is also considered. However, in such a technique, the user manually associates the choices one by one. Must be set in
Therefore, conventionally, in order to maintain a compatibility system with an application, a resource capability information value set for a specific printer driver is imported and overwritten with a resource capability information value of another printer driver (for example, Patent Document 1). See).

  However, in the conventional technology described above, each ID is assigned to each corresponding option between a specific printer driver (newly installed printer driver) and another printer driver (printer driver used so far). Since the contents are not changed, in order to take the correspondence, there is a problem that the user has to carry out manual work one by one, so that the user is forced to perform complicated work.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points.When a new printer driver is introduced, the cooperation between the application and the printer driver can be performed without changing the application and without complicating the user. The purpose is to be able to perform in the same manner as a printer driver that has been linked in the past.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention selects the first printer driver program on the print setting screen of the first printer driver program when the second printer driver program is installed in the computer in which the first printer driver program is installed. A survey procedure for investigating whether or not there is a correspondence relationship between the first option to be selected and the second option selected on the print setting screen of the second printer driver program, and a survey result obtained by the survey procedure A print control program for executing a change procedure for changing the identification information of the second option determined to have a correspondence relationship with the first option to the identification information of the first option is provided.
Further, a procedure for changing the identification information of the second option determined to have no correspondence with the first option based on the investigation result obtained by the investigation procedure in the print control program to other identification information. Should be included.

Further, the second option determined to have no correspondence with the first option on the basis of the investigation result obtained by the investigation procedure in the print control program is based on the first set rule. A first option to be associated with the second option determined not to have the corresponding relationship is determined from the options, and identification information of the second option determined to have no corresponding relationship is determined. It is preferable to include a procedure for changing the identification information of the options.
Further, the print control program may include a procedure for changing the changed identification information of the second option to other identification information.
Further, in the print control program, when the second option and the first option are options for the type of printing paper, the second option and the first option Even if the names indicating the types of printing paper are different from each other, it is preferable to determine that there is a correspondence between the papers having the same paper size information.

Furthermore, a computer-readable recording medium that records the print control program as described above is also provided.
Furthermore, when the second printer driver program is introduced by the introduction procedure where the printer driver program is installed in the computer and the first printer driver program is installed in the computer, the first printer is installed. Investigation procedure for investigating whether or not there is a correspondence relationship between the first option selected on the print setting screen of the driver program and the second option selected on the print setting screen of the second printer driver program; In order to execute the change procedure for changing the identification information of the second option determined to have a correspondence with the first option based on the investigation result obtained by the procedure to the identification information of the first option An installation program is also provided.

In addition, when the second printer driver program is installed where the first printer driver program is installed, the first option selected on the print setting screen of the first printer driver program, and the first The investigation means for investigating whether or not there is a correspondence relationship with the second option selected on the print setting screen of the printer driver program 2, and based on the investigation result obtained by the investigation means, the first option and the correspondence relation There is provided an information processing apparatus including a changing unit that changes identification information of a second option determined to have the identification information of the first option.
Further, in the information processing apparatus, means for changing the identification information of the second option determined to have no correspondence with the first option based on the investigation result obtained by the investigation means to other identification information It is good to provide.

In the information processing apparatus, the second option determined to have no correspondence with the first option based on the survey result obtained by the survey unit is based on a first set rule. The first option to be associated with the second option determined not to have the corresponding relationship is determined from the options, and the identification information of the second option determined to have no corresponding relationship is determined. It is preferable to provide means for changing the identification information of the options.
Furthermore, the information processing apparatus may be provided with means for changing the changed identification information of the second option to other identification information.
Furthermore, in the information processing apparatus, when the second option and the first option are options for the type of printing paper, the second option and the first option for determining whether or not there is a correspondence relationship. Even if the names indicating the types of printing paper are different from each other, it is preferable to determine that there is a correspondence between the paper sizes that match each other.

Also provided is a printing apparatus that prints print data transmitted from an information processing apparatus that executes the procedure of the print control program as described above. Further, a storage unit that stores the print control program as described above; Provided is a printing apparatus provided with transmission means for transmitting a control program to an information processing apparatus.
Furthermore, a printing system including the above-described printing control program and a printing apparatus that prints print data transmitted from the information processing apparatus is also provided.

The print control program and the installation program according to the present invention enable the cooperation between the application and the printer driver without changing the application and forcing the user to perform complicated work when a new printer driver is introduced into the computer. It is possible to realize a function for performing the same function as the printer driver that has been linked.
In addition, the computer-readable recording medium of the present invention can easily introduce the program into a computer.
Furthermore, the information processing apparatus, the printing apparatus, and the printing system according to the present invention enable the cooperation between the application and the printer driver when a new printer driver is introduced without changing the application and without complicating the user. Thus, it can be performed in the same manner as a printer driver that has been linked in the past.

It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the printer driver installed in PC of this Example. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a printer driver installer that installs a printer driver in the PC according to the embodiment. It is a flowchart figure which shows the installation process of the pudding driver A in PC of this Example.

An example of a relation table between options and IDs related to tray settings stored in the ID information part of the printer driver A shown in FIG. 1 and a relation table between options and IDs related to tray settings stored in the ID information part of the printer driver B shown in FIG. FIG. FIG. 1 shows an example of a relationship table between options and IDs related to print paper settings stored in the ID information section of the printer driver A and options and IDs stored in the ID information section of the printer driver B shown in FIG. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the related table after changing ID matched with the option regarding tray setting about the related table shown in FIG.

It is a figure which shows an example of the related table after changing ID matched with the option regarding a printing paper setting about the related table shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example when ID corresponding to the option judged that there is no correspondence is changed automatically. It is a figure which shows the ID setting screen which is an example of a work screen at the time of a user changing to arbitrary ID after changing ID of the option of printer driver A4.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
〔Example〕
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the printing system according to one embodiment of the present invention.
This printing system is a system in which a plurality of personal computers (PCs) 1 and a plurality of printers 2 can exchange data with each other via a network 3. In the figure, one PC 1 and one printer 2 are shown, and the others are not shown.
The network 3 is a communication network including a local area network or the Internet. The network 3 can also include a facsimile communication network.

The PC 1 corresponds to an information processing apparatus, and includes a control unit 10, an input unit 11, a display unit 12, a storage unit 13, and a communication control unit 14.
The control unit 10 is realized by a CPU and a microcomputer including a ROM and a RAM, which are computer-readable recording media. The CPU 1 executes the control program stored in the ROM using the RAM as a work area, whereby the entire PC 1 is configured. The application program (abbreviated as “application”) stored in the storage unit 13 and a printer driver program (abbreviated as “printer driver”) that is a print control program of the printer 2 to the storage unit 13. Various processes including installation (installation), execution of the installed printer driver, and processing of a print request to the printer 2 are executed.

The input unit 11 is a keyboard for a user to input operation information in various tasks including a task when installing a printer driver of the printer 2, a task when requesting printing to the printer 2, and a task for setting printing when requesting printing. An input device including a touch panel and a pointing device.
The display unit 12 is a display device including an LCD that displays a work screen (including a print setting screen) at the time of various operations as described above to the user.
The storage unit 13 is a storage device such as a hard disk device (HDD) that stores various types of data including applications, various programs including a printer driver, document data, and image data, and is a computer-readable recording medium. .
The communication control unit 14 controls transmission / reception of data via the network 3, and transmits / receives data including print data at the time of a print request to the printer 2 and reception of a printer driver from the printer 2 via the network 3. I do.

The printer 2 is a printing apparatus including a laser color printer, and includes a control unit 20, an operation display unit 21, a printing unit 22, a storage unit 23, and a communication control unit 24.
The control unit 20 is realized by a microcomputer including a CPU and a ROM and a RAM, which are computer-readable recording media. The CPU executes a control program installed in the ROM using the RAM as a work area, so that the printer 2 It controls the entire system and executes various processes including a printing process based on a print request from the PC 1 and a transmission process of the printer driver of the printer 2 to the PC 1.

The operation display unit 21 includes a touch panel, an input unit including keys, and a display unit. The operation display unit 21 displays various work screens and messages related to printing to the user, and performs operations in various work including work during printing. Enter information.
The printing unit 22 prints an image based on the print data on the printing paper with the print setting contents received at the time of the print request from the PC 1.
The storage unit 23 is a storage device such as a hard disk device (HDD) that stores various data including print data and a printer driver installer, and is a computer-readable recording medium.
The communication control unit 24 controls data transmission / reception via the network 3, and performs data reception including print data at the time of a print request from the PC 1 and transmission / reception including printer driver transmission to the PC 1 via the network 3. .

In this printing system, the printer driver of the printer 2 is installed in the PC 1 with the above-described configuration, and print data specifying various print setting options is transmitted to the printer 2 by print control executed by the printer driver. In response to the print request from the PC 1, the printer 2 prints on the print paper based on the print data with the print setting options specified in the print data.
Also, when the second printer driver is installed in the PC 1 in which the first printer driver is installed (installed), both print setting options are supported for the first printer driver and the second printer driver. The presence or absence of the relationship is investigated, and the process of editing the ID (identification information) of the option having the correspondence relationship is executed based on the survey result.
Therefore, when the second printer driver is installed at the place where the first printer driver is already installed, the first printer driver and the application are linked to the second printer driver without any change on the application side. Can be taken over.

Next, the printer driver will be described.
In the following description, a case will be described in which the first printer driver is a printer driver already installed in the PC, and the second printer driver is a printer driver newly installed in the PC.
Regarding the difference between the printer driver that is already installed and the printer driver that is newly installed, for example, the printer driver function before and after the version upgrade, or the printer is changed to a higher model The one that does not correspond to the change of the available function that accompanies it and the one that corresponds, etc.
An option selected on the print setting screen of the printer driver already installed is called “old option”, and an option selected on the print setting screen of the printer driver to be newly installed is called “new option”.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a printer driver installed in the PC 1 of this embodiment.
The printer driver A4 is a printer driver program (“second printer driver program”) newly installed in the PC 1 by a printer driver installer (not shown) (corresponding to “installation program”, also referred to as “installer”). The printer driver B5 is a printer driver program already installed in the PC 1 (corresponding to “first printer driver program”).
The printer driver A4 includes a user interface (UI) module 40 and a drawing module 43. The UI module 40 includes an ID information unit 41 and an ID editing module 42.

The UI module 40 displays the print setting screen of the printer 2 on the display unit 12 of the PC 1 by executing the control unit 10 after the installation of the printer driver A4.
The ID information section 41 stores information for associating options displayed on the print setting screen of the printer driver A4 with IDs (identification information). When the printer driver A4 is installed, a print instruction is issued from an application. By executing the control unit 10, the option corresponding to the ID designated by the application is output to the printer 2 as the print setting condition.
When the printer driver A4 is installed, the ID editing module 42 causes the control unit 10 to execute each procedure of the print control program according to the present invention, and edits the information on the correspondence between the options in the ID information unit 41 and the IDs. I do.

The drawing module 43 converts a print data drawing command from the application into page description language (PDL, registered trademark) data that the printer 2 can output.
Although not shown, the printer driver B5 also has a UI module and a drawing module that include the same ID information part as described above, and the UI module displays the print setting screen of the printer 2 by the printer driver B5 on the display unit 12 of the PC1. The ID information part included in the UI module is referred to during the investigation.

Although the case where the ID editing module 42 is included in the printer driver A4 has been described in FIG. 1, the ID editing module 42 may be provided outside the printer driver A4.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a printer driver installer that installs a printer driver in the PC 1 of this embodiment.
The printer driver installer 6 is an installation program including a procedure for installing the printer driver A4 in the PC 1, and includes the ID editing module 42.

  As described above, if the ID editing module 42 is not included in the printer driver A4 but is included in the printer driver installer 6, the ID editing module 42 applies the information to the ID information section 41 only when the printer driver A4 is installed in the PC 1. It is possible to save the capacity of the storage unit 13 without executing the editing process and leaving the ID editing module 42 in the storage unit 13 after installation.

  Regarding the installation of the printer driver A4 described above, the printer driver installer and the printer driver installer 6 (not shown) are stored in the storage unit 23 of the printer 2, and the control unit 20 installs the printer driver A4 in the PC 1 by the communication control unit 24. It is preferable that the control unit 10 of the PC 1 executes the installation. In this case, the control unit 20 functions as a storage unit that stores the print control program, and the control unit 20 and the communication control unit 24 function as a transmission unit that transmits the print control program to the information processing apparatus.

Also, a printer driver installer and a printer driver installer 6 (not shown) are stored in an optical disc including a CD and a DVD, and other recording media, and a playback device for the recording media is provided in the PC 1, and the printer from the recording media is provided by the playback device. The driver installer may be read and the control unit 10 of the PC 1 may perform the installation.
Further, a printer driver installer may be downloaded from another PC 1 and installed.
The printer driver A4 and printer driver B5 described above are stored in the storage unit 13 in a state where the control unit 10 can be executed after installation.

  The control unit 10 of the PC 1 executes a second printer driver program (second printer driver program) where a printer driver program (first printer driver program) has already been introduced by the CPU executing the above procedure. ) Is selected on the print option screen of the printer driver program already installed and selected on the print option screen of the newly installed printer driver program (first option). Based on the survey means for investigating the presence or absence of the correspondence with the new option (second option), and the ID (identification) of the new option determined to have a correspondence with the old option based on the survey results obtained by the research means The function of changing means for changing the information) to the old option ID is fulfilled.

Furthermore, based on the investigation result obtained by the investigation means, it fulfills the function of means for changing the ID of the new option determined to have no correspondence with the old option to another ID.
In addition, based on the survey result obtained by the survey means, for the new option determined to have no corresponding relationship with the old option, it was determined that there was no corresponding relationship among the old options based on a preset rule. The old option to be associated with the new option is determined, and the function of means for changing the ID of the new option determined to have no corresponding relationship to the ID of the determined old option is achieved.

Further, it functions as a means for changing the changed ID of the new option to another ID.
Furthermore, regarding the determination of the presence or absence of the correspondence relationship, when the new option and the old option are options for the type of printing paper, the name indicating the type of printing paper is different between the new option and the old option. It is determined that there is a correspondence between the paper sizes that match each other.

Next, the installation process of the print driver A4 in the PC 1 will be described.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the installation process of the print driver A4 in the PC 1.
The control unit 10 executes the installation of the pudding driver A4, and at that time, also executes the processing of the following steps 1 to 6.
In the description of each step below, the printer driver A4 is described as a printer driver to be newly installed (installed), and the printer driver B5 is referred to as a printer driver that has already been installed and a printer driver that is an ID transfer target. Describe.

In step (indicated by “S” in the figure) 1, it is determined whether or not a printer driver that has already been installed exists. If it exists, the process proceeds to step 2, and if not, the process proceeds to step 6.
This determination is made to determine whether or not a printer driver whose ID is to be taken over exists in the system of the PC 1. The storage unit 13 is searched to determine whether or not there is a printer driver for the printer 2 that has already been installed. If yes, go to Step 2, otherwise go to Step 6.

In step 2, it is determined whether or not a printer driver subject to ID transfer has been selected.
This determination takes into account the response when there are a plurality of printer drivers whose IDs are to be inherited in the PC 1 system. If there is only one printer driver whose ID is to be inherited, go directly to step 3. If there are a plurality of printer drivers, the control unit 10 displays on the display unit 12 a selection screen for selecting only one printer driver whose ID is to be taken over. The type of the printer driver selected on the selection screen is displayed as an ID. And the process proceeds to Step 3.
Also, the user is allowed to select an ID transfer target regardless of whether there are one or more printer drivers to be inherited by ID. If there is selection, the process proceeds to step 3; otherwise, the process proceeds to step 6. It may be processed.

In step 3, it is checked whether or not there is a correspondence relationship between options of the newly installed printer driver and the printer driver selected as the ID transfer target, and the process proceeds to step 4.
In this process, whether or not there is a correspondence between the new option displayed on the print setting screen by executing the newly installed printer driver and the old option displayed on the print setting screen by executing the already installed printer driver When the control unit 10 determines whether or not there is a correspondence relationship, the new option and the old option indicate the type of print paper when the new option and the old option are options of the print paper type. Even if they are different from each other, it is determined that there is a correspondence between the pieces of paper size information (for example, vertical and horizontal dimensions) that are the same.

For example, with reference to the ID information part 41 of the printer driver A4 and the ID information part (not shown) of the printer driver B5, the functions of the printer driver A4 (for example, tray setting, printing paper setting) for taking over the IDs of the two are described. It is determined whether or not there is a name that matches the new option and the old option of the printer driver B5.
For example, in the case of tray setting, it is checked whether or not there is a printer name A4 and a printer driver B5 that have the same name indicating the tray type, such as “tray 1” and “tray 2”.
Also, for example, in the case of printing paper setting, a name indicating the type of printing paper (Legal, Half Letter, 5.5 ″ × 8.5 ″, etc., “″” is a symbol indicating “inch” as a unit of length. In addition to the presence / absence of coincidence, the presence / absence of coincidence is also determined for information on the paper size of the printing paper (for example, information on vertical and horizontal dimensions, for example, 2159 × 3556 mm).

This is because even if the names are different as options, options having substantially the same contents are searched for. In the case of the printing paper setting, “Half Letter” and “5.5 ″ × 8.5 ″” have different names, but the paper size information “1397 × 2159 mm” of the printing paper matches, so It is an option with equivalent contents.
In this way, even if the names are different as options, the ID can be taken over as an equivalent option.

In step 4, it is determined whether or not there is an option having a correspondence relationship between the newly installed printer driver and the printer driver selected as the ID transfer target. Proceed to
In this determination, based on the result of the investigation process in step 3, the printer driver A4 determines whether there is an option corresponding to the printer driver B5. If there is at least one option, the process proceeds to step 5; move on.

In step 5, the default ID corresponding to the option of the printer driver to be newly introduced is changed to an ID corresponding to the option having a correspondence relationship with the printer driver selected as the ID takeover target, and this process ends.
In this process, the default ID corresponding to the option of the ID information unit 41 in the printer driver A4 is rewritten and changed to the ID corresponding to the option having the correspondence relationship of the ID information unit in the printer driver B5.
In addition, when there is an option of the printer driver A4 that does not have a correspondence with the printer driver B5, the default value may be left as it is, but the control unit 10 determines that there is no correspondence with the old option. For example, a procedure for changing the ID associated with the new option to another ID input as a change target is executed, and the ID input screen is displayed on the display unit 12 by the function of the means realized by the execution. It may be displayed and rewritten with the ID input on the screen.

Alternatively, for the new option that the control unit 10 has determined to have no corresponding relationship with the old option, the old option to be associated with the new option that has been determined to have no corresponding relationship among the old options based on a preset rule is determined. And executing the procedure of changing the ID associated with the new option determined to have no correspondence to the ID associated with the determined old option, and by means of the function realized by the execution, The ID automatically selected by the control unit 10 may be rewritten.
For example, it is preferable to rewrite the ID of the printer driver B5 that has been determined to have no corresponding relationship with the printer driver A4.

On the other hand, in step 6, the default ID corresponding to the option of the newly installed printer driver is not changed, and the ID corresponding to the option of the ID information section 41 in the installed printer driver A4 is set to the default value. Leave this process as it is.
Further, in the above-described processing, the control unit 10 executes a procedure for changing the ID associated with the changed new option to, for example, another ID input as a change target, and is realized by executing the procedure. After the ID of the option of the printer driver A4 is changed by the function of the means, the option that has been matched and the option for which the corresponding option does not exist are rewritten and set to the ID arbitrarily input by the user. It is good to execute the correction process.

  Further, the control unit 10 may search for an ID forcibly selected from the IDs of the old options and correspond to the IDs of options that are not supported based on a preset rule. Instead of being selected by the user, the control unit 10 may automatically select a printer driver set as a default printer driver on the PC 1 as a printer driver to be inherited by ID. good.

  The printer driver A4 is displayed on the print setting screen by executing a newly installed printer driver program on the computer and on the print setting screen by executing the already installed printer driver program. Based on the survey procedure for investigating whether there is a correspondence relationship with the old option and the survey results obtained by the survey procedure, the identification information of the new option determined to have a correspondence relationship with the old option Based on the change procedure to change to the identification information of the old option that has been determined to be present and the survey results obtained by the above survey procedure, the identification information of the new option that has been determined to have no correspondence with the old option is replaced with other identification information. Based on the first procedure to change to and the survey results obtained by the above survey procedure, it was determined that there is no correspondence with the old option For the options, determine the old option to be associated with the new option determined to have no corresponding relationship from among the old options based on preset rules, and identify the identification information of the new option determined to have no corresponding relationship, Regarding the second procedure for changing to the identification information of the determined old option, the third procedure for changing the identification information of the changed new option to other identification information, and the determination of the presence or absence of the correspondence relationship, When the new option and the old option are print paper type options, the new option and the old option have the same paper size information even if the name indicating the print paper type is different. A print control program that executes a fourth procedure that is determined to have a correspondence relationship, and at the time of installation, any one or any of the first procedure to the fourth procedure is selected. Or may be it is to be able to select a plurality of so as to execute. At that time, one of the first procedure and the second procedure is selected.

Next, a specific example of changing the ID corresponding to the option of the printer driver A4 will be described.
FIG. 5 shows an association table of options and IDs related to tray settings stored in the ID information section 41 of the printer driver A4 shown in FIG. 1, and options and IDs related to tray settings stored in the ID information section of the printer driver B5. It is a figure which shows an example of this related table.
FIG. 6 shows the options of the print paper settings stored in the ID information section 41 of the printer driver A4 shown in FIG. 1 and the options and IDs related to the print paper settings and IDs stored in the ID information section of the printer driver B5. It is a figure which shows an example of a related table.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the association table after changing the ID associated with the options related to the tray setting for the association table shown in FIG.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the association table after changing the ID associated with the options relating to the print sheet setting for the association table illustrated in FIG. 6.

The relation table stored in the ID information section 41 of the printer driver A4 shown in FIG. 5A and the relation table stored in the ID information section of the printer driver B5 shown in FIG. With regard to “automatic tray selection”, “tray 1”, “tray 2”, and “tray 3” having the same names, it is determined that there is a corresponding relationship, and the ID of the association table shown in FIG. The ID is changed to the ID of the association table shown in FIG.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, the default values shown in the old ID column are changed to the values shown in the new ID column.
That is, ID “7” of “Auto Tray Selection” is set to “257”, ID “1” of “Tray 1” is set to “258”, ID “3” of “Tray 2” is set to “259”, “Tray” The ID “2” of “3” is changed to “260”.
Since “tray 4” has the same ID, it does not need to be changed even if there is a correspondence, and is left as it is.

Further, for the “manual tray” which is an option only in the printer driver A4 but not in the printer driver B5, the default value ID “285” is used as it is.
On the other hand, for “tray 5” and “tray 6”, which are options only in the printer driver B5 but not in the printer driver A4, for example, the setting is discarded.
Further, the user or the control unit 10 associates “tray 5” or “tray 6”, which is another option that the printer driver B5 has no correspondence with the printer driver A4, with respect to the “manual feed tray”. Assuming that there is a correspondence relationship, the ID “285” of “manual feed tray” may be changed to “262” or “263”.

Next, the association table stored in the ID information section 41 of the printer driver A4 shown in FIG. 6A and the association table stored in the ID information section of the printer driver B5 shown in FIG. 6B. With “Executive” having the same name, it is determined that there is a correspondence, and the ID of the related table shown in FIG. 6A is changed to the ID of the related table shown in FIG. 6B. change.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the default values shown in the old ID column are changed to the values shown in the new ID column.
That is, the ID “7” of “Executive” is changed to “386”.
Further, since “Legal”, “Letter”, “A3”, “A4”, and “A5” have the same ID, they do not need to be changed even if there is a corresponding relationship, and are left as they are.

Further, when attention is paid to the choices “5.5 ″ × 8.5 ″” and “Half Letter” of the printer driver A4, since the names are different, the names are determined to have no corresponding relationship.
However, paying attention to the paper size information, the paper size information of the printer driver A4 name “5.5 ″ × 8.5 ″” and the paper size information of the printer driver B5 name “Half Letter” are: It can be seen that “1397 × 2159 mm” is the same.
Therefore, the control unit 10 determines that the options of the name “5.5 ″ × 8.5 ″” of the printer driver A4 and the name “Half Letter” of the printer driver B5 have a corresponding relationship, and are shown in FIG. Thus, the ID “6” is changed to “207”.

As described above, when investigating the correspondence, not only whether the names of the options match, but also other information such as the paper size is included in the survey range, so that the options between the printer drivers are substantially reduced. It is possible to flexibly determine whether or not there is a correspondence relationship.
Further, for options that are only in the printer driver A4 but not in the printer driver B5, the default values may be used as they are.
On the other hand, for options that are only in the printer driver B5 but not in the printer driver A4, for example, the settings may be discarded.
In addition, for the option ID of the printer driver A4 that is not associated with the printer driver B5 by the user or the control unit 10, another option that is determined to have no correspondence with the printer driver A4 from the printer driver B5. You may make it change to ID of.

Next, an example when the ID corresponding to the option determined to have no correspondence is automatically changed will be described.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example when the ID corresponding to the option determined to have no correspondence is automatically changed.
In this process, the names of the options between the printer driver A4 and the printer driver B5 are compared, and the printer driver A4 selected from the options of the printer driver B5 is determined for the option of the printer driver A4 that is determined to have no corresponding relationship with the printer driver B5. Although there is no correspondence with A4, it is changed to one ID.

As for (a) and (b) in FIG. 5, the “tray 5” and “tray 6” of the printer driver B5 cannot be matched with the options of the printer driver A4 and information is lost.
Therefore, the control unit 10 determines that there is a correspondence between the “manual tray” that is not associated with the printer driver A4 and the “tray 5” of the printer driver B5, and as illustrated in FIG. The ID “285” is changed to the ID “262” of “tray 5” of the printer driver B5.
Also, since there is no “tray 6” in the printer driver A4, the ID of “tray 6” is discarded in such a case.

Next, a work screen when the user changes to an arbitrary ID after changing the ID of the option of the printer driver A4 described above will be described.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an ID setting screen as an example of a work screen when the user changes to an arbitrary ID after changing the option ID of the printer driver A4.
This ID setting screen is an example of a user interface screen that the control unit 10 displays on the display unit 12 after the change of the option ID of the printer driver A4 described above and allows the user to re-edit.
In this ID setting screen, when “Printer Driver B” is selected as the printer driver to be inherited, selection options corresponding to the respective options for Printer Driver A can be selected in the right combo box. To display.

This combo box also displays an item for selecting the default value of the printer driver A when there is no option associated with the printer driver B in addition to the option of the printer driver B. The figure shows a case where “default” is displayed in the “manual feed tray” combo box.
Therefore, the user can use the default ID set in the printer driver A by selecting the default.

This ID setting screen shows a case where a tray setting option is displayed. When the user selects the name of a desired option from each combo box, the ID of the option of the printer driver A is assigned to the selected printer driver. It is automatically rewritten and changed to the ID corresponding to the B option.
In this way, when the user wants to associate the ID changed by the control unit 10 with an ID of an option different from the ID, by changing the value of the combo box, the option ID of the printer driver B or the like The default value of the printer driver A can be set.

  In the above-described embodiment, the printing system using the printer 2 has been described. However, an apparatus having a printing function that is controlled by execution of a printer driver program installed in an information processing apparatus including the PC 1, for example, a copier (“ An image forming apparatus including a multifunction machine having a plurality of functions including an image reading function, a printing function, a copying function, or a communication function (including facsimile communication, local area network communication, or Internet communication). Even when it is used, it can be similarly implemented.

The print control program, computer-readable recording medium, installation program, and information processing apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to personal computers such as desktop personal computers and notebook personal computers.
The printing apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to all image forming apparatuses including a multifunction peripheral having a plurality of functions including a printer, a copying machine, a scanner function, a copy function, a print function, and a communication function.
Furthermore, the printing system according to the present invention can be applied to all systems capable of communicating between the information processing apparatus and the printing apparatus as described above via a network including a local area network and the Internet.

1: PC 2: Printer 3: Network 4: Printer driver A 5: Printer driver B 6: Printer driver installer 10, 20: Control unit 11: Input unit 12: Display unit 13, 23: Communication control unit 21: Operation display unit 22: Printing section 40: UI module 41: ID information section 42: ID editing module 43: Drawing module

JP 2007-207003 A

Claims (15)

  A first option selected on a print setting screen of the first printer driver program when the second printer driver program is installed in a computer in which the first printer driver program is installed; Based on the investigation procedure for investigating whether or not there is a correspondence relationship with the second option selected on the print setting screen of the printer driver program, the correspondence relationship between the first option and the first option is based on the investigation result obtained by the investigation procedure. A printing control program for executing a change procedure for changing the identification information of the second option determined to be present to the identification information of the first option.   2. The printing according to claim 1, further comprising a step of changing the identification information of the second option, which is determined to have no correspondence with the first option, based on the investigation result obtained by the investigation procedure to other identification information. Control program.   For the second option determined to have no correspondence with the first option based on the investigation result obtained by the investigation procedure, the correspondence is selected from the first options based on a preset rule. A procedure for determining a first option to be associated with a second option determined not to exist, and changing identification information of the second option determined to have no corresponding relationship to identification information of the determined first option The print control program according to claim 1, comprising:   The printing control program according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising a procedure of changing the changed identification information of the second option to other identification information.   Regarding the determination of the presence / absence of the correspondence, if the second option and the first option are options of the type of printing paper, the name indicating the type of printing paper by the second option and the first option The print control program according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein even if the numbers are different from each other, it is determined that there is a correspondence relationship between the pieces of information having the same sheet size information.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is recorded.   An installation procedure for introducing a printer driver program into a computer, and when the second printer driver program is installed by the installation procedure where the first printer driver program is installed, the first printer driver program A survey procedure for investigating whether or not there is a correspondence between the first option selected on the print setting screen and the second option selected on the print setting screen of the second printer driver program; Installation program for executing a change procedure for changing the identification information of the second option determined to have a correspondence with the first option to the identification information of the first option based on the survey result obtained .   When installing the second printer driver program where the first printer driver program is installed, the first option selected on the print setting screen of the first printer driver program, and the second option There is a correspondence relationship with the first option based on the investigation means for investigating whether or not there is a correspondence relationship with the second option selected on the print setting screen of the printer driver program, and the investigation result obtained by the investigation means. An information processing apparatus comprising: changing means for changing the identification information of the second option determined to be the identification information of the first option.   A means for changing the identification information of the second option determined to have no correspondence with the first option based on the result of the investigation obtained by the investigation means to other identification information is provided. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8.   For the second option determined to have no correspondence with the first option based on the investigation result obtained by the investigation means, the correspondence is selected from the first options based on a preset rule. Means for determining a first option corresponding to the second option determined not to exist, and changing the identification information of the second option determined to have no correspondence to the identification information of the determined first option The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising:   The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising means for changing the changed identification information of the second option to other identification information.   Regarding the determination of the presence / absence of the correspondence, if the second option and the first option are options of the type of printing paper, the name indicating the type of printing paper by the second option and the first option 12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein even if they are different from each other, it is determined that there is a correspondence relationship between the pieces of information having the same sheet size information.   A printing apparatus that prints print data transmitted from an information processing apparatus that executes the procedure of the print control program according to claim 1.   A printing apparatus comprising: a storage unit that stores the print control program according to claim 1; and a transmission unit that transmits the print control program to an information processing apparatus.   6. A printing system comprising: the printing control program according to claim 1; and a printing apparatus that prints print data transmitted from the information processing apparatus.

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