JP2013114519A - Image processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily perform an operation for changing a print condition.SOLUTION: The image processing system includes: a history storage section for storing a first document name as identification information of a document performed with printing in the past and the print condition applied to the printing of the document in association with each other as history information; a history display control section for displaying the first document name from the history information stored in the history storage section and extracting and displaying the print condition stored in association with the first document name; and a print condition selection section for receiving an operation for selecting the print condition and applying the print condition. When the print condition selection section receives an input of a second document name as identification information of a document, the history display control section preferentially extracts the first document name having a high coincidence degree and the print condition associated with the first document name from the history information and displays the first document name and the print condition so as to be selectable on the basis of a comparison result in at least a part between the second document name and the first document name in the history information.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that generates print data according to print setting information.

  A conventional image processing apparatus stores print setting information as print conditions associated with user information for specifying a user in a communicably connected printing apparatus, and installs printer driver software. Some print setting information is read from the printing apparatus and reflected in the print setting information of the printer driver software (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-217097 A (paragraph “0031” to paragraph “0042”, FIGS. 5 and 6)

However, in the conventional technology, when installing the printer driver software, if printing is performed under printing conditions different from the printing setting information read from the printing apparatus, an operation for changing the printing conditions by the user is required each time. Since the user needs to change the printing conditions while checking the respective printing conditions, there is a problem that the operation is complicated.
An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily perform an operation for changing printing conditions.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, in an image processing apparatus that generates print data according to a print condition, the first document name as identification information of a document that has been printed in the past, and the print condition applied to the printing of the document, Is stored as history information, and the first document name is displayed from the history information stored in the history storage unit, and the printing condition stored in association with the first document name is displayed. A history display control unit that extracts and displays; and a printing condition selection unit that accepts an operation of selecting the printing condition and applies the printing condition. The printing condition selection unit includes second information as document identification information. When the input of the document name is received, the history display control unit has a high degree of coincidence based on a comparison result of at least a part of the second document name and the first document name of the history information. First The document name and the print condition associated with the first document name are extracted from the history information with priority, and the first document name and the print condition are displayed in a selectable manner. To do.

  According to the present invention thus configured, it is possible to easily perform an operation for changing the printing conditions.

Block diagram showing the configuration of the host PC in the first embodiment Explanatory drawing of the print setting information stored in the print setting storage unit in the first embodiment Explanatory drawing of the print setting information stored in the applied print setting in the first embodiment Explanatory drawing of the printing log | history information stored in the log | history preservation | save part in 1st Example Explanatory drawing of the print setting screen in the first embodiment Explanatory drawing of the print setting selection screen in the first embodiment Explanatory drawing of the file name selection screen in the first embodiment Explanatory drawing of the file reference screen in the first embodiment Explanatory drawing of the printing example display screen in 1st Example Explanatory drawing of the print setting selection screen in the first embodiment Flowchart showing print processing in the first embodiment Flowchart showing print setting processing in the first embodiment Flowchart showing print setting selection processing in the first embodiment Flowchart showing file name selection processing in the first embodiment Flowchart showing print history control processing in the first embodiment Explanatory drawing (Key1) of printing history selection in the first embodiment Explanatory diagram of print history selection in the first embodiment (Key2) Explanatory drawing of selection of print history in the first embodiment (Key3) Block diagram showing the configuration of the host PC in the second embodiment Explanatory drawing of the printing history in the second embodiment Explanatory drawing of the print setting selection screen in the second embodiment Explanatory drawing of the print setting difference display screen in the second embodiment Flowchart showing print setting selection processing in the second embodiment Flowchart showing print setting difference display processing in the second embodiment

  Embodiments of an image processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the host PC in the first embodiment, and shows the configuration of software in the host PC.
In FIG. 1, a host PC (Personal Computer) 100 as an image processing apparatus that generates print data in accordance with printing conditions is connected to a printer 200 as a printing apparatus so as to be communicable. The host PC 100 and the printer 200 include a control unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown) and a storage unit such as a memory. The control unit operates the entire apparatus according to a control program (software) stored in the storage unit. Control. The host PC 100 is a computer that includes input means such as a keyboard, mouse, and touch panel, and output means such as a display.

The host PC 100 includes application software (hereinafter referred to as “application”) 110, an OS (Operating System) 120, and printer driver software (hereinafter referred to as “printer driver”) 130.
When the application 110 issues a document data print instruction, a spool file is generated by the OS 120, and the printer driver 130 generates print data that can be printed by the printer 200 in accordance with print settings as print conditions in which the generated spool file is set. create. The created print data is transmitted to the printer 200 and printed by the printer 200.

  The OS 120 includes a spool file generation unit 121 that generates a spool file in accordance with a print instruction from the application 110. This spool file is an intermediate file converted so that the printer driver 130 can process a print request of document data by the application 110, and information such as a file name and print time, and a rendering command for characters, graphics, etc. Etc. For example, in the Windows (registered trademark) OS of Microsoft Corporation, the spool file uses a format such as EMF (Enhanced Meta File) or XPS (XML Paper Specification).

  The printer driver 130 includes a spool file reception unit 131 that receives the spool file generated by the spool driver generation unit 121, a print data generation unit 132 that generates print data from the received spool file according to print settings, and the generated print data. Is transmitted to the printer 200, and a print data storage unit 143 that stores the generated print data in association with a file name and print settings. Here, the print data is a page description language that can be printed by the printer 200, and uses formats such as Postscript (registered trademark), PCL (Printer Control Language), XPS, and HIPER-C.

  The printer driver 130 further includes a print setting dialog control unit 134 that displays a print setting screen using a dialog box for allowing the user to set print settings as print conditions to be applied to print data, and frequently used prints. A print setting storage unit 140 that stores settings for reuse, an applied print setting 141 that stores print settings used for actual printing of print data, and identification information of a document that has been printed in the past A history storage unit 142 that stores and stores print history information (hereinafter referred to as “print history”) in which a first document name (file name) and print settings applied to the printing are associated with each other. Displays a print setting selection screen using a dialog box for selecting print settings to be used from the print history, and accepts print setting selection operations. The first document name (file name) is displayed from the print history stored in the history storage unit 142 in the print setting selection dialog control unit 135 as a print condition selection unit to which the selected print setting is applied. In addition, a history display unit 137 for extracting and displaying the print settings stored in association with the first document name (file name) from the print history, and items and order of the print history displayed on the history display unit 137 are displayed. A history display control unit 138 that determines a file name selected by the user as a reference, and a print data display dialog control unit that displays a print example display screen using a dialog box that displays a print example that uses the selected print settings. 144 and a file name selection screen using a dialog box or the like for selecting a file name to be used by the history display control unit 138. The file name selection dialog control section 136 to display the application currently running in the file name selection screen and a file name acquisition unit 139 acquires the file names used.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a print setting screen in the first embodiment, which is a print setting screen displayed by the print setting dialog control unit 134 shown in FIG.
In FIG. 5, the paper size and type of paper to be printed are set in the paper 601 item of the print setting screen 600, color printing or monochrome printing is set in the printing format 602 item, and the N-up printing 603 item is set in the N-up printing 603 item. Set the number of pages of print data to be printed per sheet, set double-sided printing permission / inhibition and the binding method in the double-sided printing 604 item, and save in advance in the print setting save / read item Recalls a print setting and saves the current print setting. In this embodiment, the print setting as the print condition is described as paper, print format, N-up print, and double-sided print. However, the present invention is not limited to this. These conditions may be included.

When the print setting storage / read item 605 is operated, a list of print settings currently stored in the print setting storage unit is displayed as in the menu 610, and the print setting to be called can be selected. Yes.
When a “save current setting” button 606 is pressed, a print setting save dialog 620 is displayed so that the current print settings can be saved. When a name for identifying the print setting is input to the item 621 of the print setting save dialog 620 and the “OK” button 622 is pressed, the print setting is saved, the print setting save dialog 620 is terminated, and a “cancel” button 623 is clicked. When pressed, the display of the print setting save dialog 620 is terminated without saving the print settings.

When a “select from print history” button 607 is pressed, a print setting selection screen for selecting a print setting to be used with reference to a past print history is displayed. Details of this print setting selection screen will be described later.
It is assumed that the print settings changed on the print setting screen 600 and the print settings saved in the past are read to the print setting storage unit 140 shown in FIG. 1, and the “OK” button 608 on the print setting screen 600 is pressed. Then, the print setting information currently displayed on the screen is saved in the applicable print setting 141 and the display of the print setting screen 600 is terminated. When the “Cancel” button 609 is pressed, nothing is performed and the print setting screen 600 is displayed. finish.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the print setting information stored in the print setting storage unit in the first embodiment, and is an example of the print setting information stored in the print setting storage unit 140 shown in FIG.
In FIG. 2, the print setting information 300 as the print setting is in a table format configured by three columns of a print setting name 301, a setting item 302, and the latest print file name 303.
The print setting name 301 is an identification name used when saving and reading on the print setting screen 600 shown in FIG. 5, and the setting item 302 is the value of each item of the print setting set on the print setting screen 600. The print file name 303 is the name of the most recent file printed using the print settings.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the print setting information stored in the applied print setting in the first embodiment, and is an example of the print setting information stored in the applied print setting 141 shown in FIG.
In FIG. 3, the print setting information 400 as the print setting is composed of a set of a print setting name 401 and a setting item 402. The print setting name 401 and the setting item 402 are the same as the print setting name 301 and the setting item 302 shown in FIG. 2, respectively.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of print history information stored in the history storage unit in the first embodiment, and is an example of print history information stored in the history storage unit 142 shown in FIG.
In FIG. 4, the print history information 500 as the print history includes a file name 501 that is the name of a file that has been printed in the past and a print setting name 502 that is the name of the print setting used when printing the file. It is a table format composed of columns. In this print history information 500, print histories are added in order from the upper direction in the figure, with the upper direction in the figure being the new print history and the lower direction in the figure being the old print history.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a print setting selection screen in the first embodiment, which is a print setting selection screen displayed by the print setting selection dialog control unit 135 shown in FIG. This print setting selection screen is displayed when the “select from print history” button 607 shown in FIG. 5 is pressed.
In FIG. 6, the name of the print setting selected by the user is displayed in the “selected print setting” 701 of the print setting selection screen 700, but is blank when the print setting selection screen 700 is activated. . When the “print example display” button 702 is pressed with the print setting selected by the input means, a print example display screen is displayed that displays an output example of print data using the selected print setting (including the file name). Is done.

  The print history 703 includes a history display unit 137 shown in FIG. 1 in which the file name printed in the past included in the print history read from the history storage unit 142 shown in FIG. 1 and the print settings used when printing the file are shown. And the name of the print setting of the line selected by the user using the input means is displayed in the “selected print setting” 701. In this embodiment, when the print setting selection screen 700 is activated, the print history 703 displays four print histories that have been printed most recently in order from the top in the figure.

  A “narrow by file name” 704 allows the user to input a file name to be printed. When a file name is input to the “narrow by file name” 704, the print history displayed by the history display control unit 138 shown in FIG. 1 is searched and selected based on the input file name, and the result is shown in FIG. Is displayed by the history display unit 137 shown in FIG. In addition, the “select by file name” 704 can use the result of the file name selection dialog displayed by pressing the “select file name” button 705 in addition to the user directly inputting the file name. It is like that.

  When the “OK” button 706 is pressed, the print setting displayed in the “selected print setting” 701 is used as the current print setting, the display of the print setting selection screen 700 is terminated, and the “cancel” button 707 is pressed. The display of the print setting selection screen 700 is terminated without changing the print setting to be used.

FIG. 10 shows a screen example of the print setting selection screen 700 in which “2011 New Year's party guidance.doc” is input as the file name. In this screen example, the print history of the file name approximated to the file name input in “Filter by file name” 704 is displayed in the print history 703, and the user includes the highest “2010 New Year's party guidance. Doc” history. As a result, the print setting whose name is “brochure” is selected.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a print example display screen in the first embodiment. When the “print example display” button 702 on the print setting selection screen 700 shown in FIG. 6 is pressed, the print data display dialog shown in FIG. 10 is a print example display screen displayed by the control unit 144.

  In FIG. 9, a file name and print settings associated with the displayed print data are displayed in an area 901 of the print example display screen 900. The drawing result 902 displays a print result that is actually printed on paper according to the selected print setting. When the print setting is single-sided printing, the display on the back side is blank. The total number of printed sheets 903 displays the number of sheets to be output, and the current display 904 displays the order of sheets displayed in the drawing result 902. The “display previous page” button 905 displays the print result of the paper in the order immediately before the paper currently displayed in the drawing result 902, and the “display next page” button 906 displays the current drawing. This is for displaying the printing result of the paper in the next order of the paper displayed in the result 902. When the “Close” button 907 is pressed, the display of the print example display screen 900 is terminated.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the file name selection screen in the first embodiment. When the “select file name” button 705 on the print setting selection screen 700 shown in FIG. 6 is pressed, the file name selection dialog shown in FIG. 7 is a file name selection screen displayed by the control unit 136.
In FIG. 7, a “selected file name” 801 on the file name selection screen 800 displays a file name selected by the user. There are two methods for selecting the file name.

The first is a method of selecting from the list of currently active applications acquired from the file name acquisition unit 139 shown in FIG. 1 and displayed in the area 802 and the files used by the applications. The file name included in the line selected by the user is displayed in “selected file name” 801.
The second is a method of using the result of the file reference dialog displayed by pressing “Select from file list” 803. This file reference dialog will be described later.

  When the “OK” button 804 is pressed, the file name displayed in the “selected file name” 801 is selected to end the display of the file name selection screen 800, and when the “Cancel” button 805 is pressed, the file name is selected. The display of the file name selection screen 800 is terminated without doing so.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a file reference screen in the first embodiment, and is a file reference dialog displayed when “Select from file list” 803 on the file name selection screen 800 shown in FIG. 7 is pressed.
In FIG. 8, “current location” 1001 on the file reference screen 1000 represents the name of the folder currently displayed, and “file list” 1002 displays a list of files existing in the folder. The user can select a file to be printed from the displayed list of files. Note that the host PC generally includes a storage device such as a memory or a hard disk, in which files are stored in folders, and folders are formed in a hierarchical structure.

  “File name” 1003 displays the file name selected by the user from the file list, and when the “OK” button 1004 is pressed, the file name displayed in “File name” 1003 is selected and the file reference screen 1000 is displayed. When the display is terminated and a “cancel” button 1005 is pressed, the display of the file reference screen 1000 is terminated without selecting a file name.

The operation of the above configuration will be described.
First, a printing process performed by the printer driver 130 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 in accordance with a step represented by S in the flowchart showing the printing process in the first embodiment of FIG.
S101: The spool file reception unit 131 of the printer driver 130 of the host PC 100 receives the spool file generated by the spool file generation unit 121 of the OS 120.

S102: The print data creation unit 132 creates print data according to the print settings stored in the applicable print settings 141 based on the spool file received by the spool file reception unit 131.
S103: The print data creation unit 132 that created the print data creates a print history from the file name included in the spool file and the print setting name used for creating the print data, and stores the print history in the history storage unit 142.

S104: In addition, the print data creation unit 132 stores the created print data in the print data storage unit 143 in association with the file name and the print setting name used for creating the print data in order to use the print data on the print example display screen.
S105: When the created print data is stored in the print data storage unit 143, the print data transmission unit 133 transmits the print data to the printer 200.
In this way, the printer driver 130 of the host PC 100 generates print data in accordance with print settings as print conditions.

Next, the print setting process performed by the print setting dialog control unit 134 of the printer driver 130 shown in FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 1 according to the step represented by S in the flowchart of the print setting process in the first embodiment of FIG. This will be described with reference to FIG.
S201: The print setting dialog control unit 134 of the printer driver 130 reads the print setting stored in the applicable print setting 141, makes it the current print setting, and reflects it in the display result of the print setting screen 600.

S202: The print setting dialog control unit 134 determines whether or not the print setting has been changed on the print setting screen 600. If the print setting has been changed, the process proceeds to S203, and the print setting has not been changed. The process proceeds to S204.
S203: The print setting dialog control unit 134, which has determined that the print setting has been changed, updates the current print setting to the changed print setting, reflects it on the display of the print setting screen 600, and shifts the processing to S202.

S204: On the other hand, when the print setting dialog control unit 134 that has determined that the print setting has not been changed detects that the “save current setting” button 606 on the print setting screen 600 has been pressed, the process proceeds to S205. If it is not detected that the “save current setting” button 606 is pressed, the process proceeds to S206.
S205: The print setting dialog control unit 134 that has detected that the “save current setting” button 606 has been pressed uses the name 621 input in the print setting save dialog 620 to save the current print settings. The data is stored in the unit 140, and the process proceeds to S202.

S206: Next, when the print setting dialog control unit 134 detects that the “select from print history” button 607 on the print setting screen 600 is pressed, the process proceeds to S207, and the “select from print history” button 607 is displayed. If it is not detected that the button has been pressed, the process proceeds to S208.
S207: Upon detecting that the “select from print history” button 607 has been pressed, the print setting dialog control unit 134 displays the print settings on the print setting selection screen 700 shown in FIG. 6 displayed by the print setting selection dialog control unit 135. A print setting selection process (see FIG. 13) that accepts the selection is performed, and the process proceeds to S203. The current print settings are updated according to the result set on the print setting selection screen 700, and the process proceeds to S202. To do.

  S208: Next, when the print setting dialog control unit 134 detects that the “cancel” button 609 on the print setting screen 600 has been pressed, the print setting dialog control unit 134 ends the process, and does not detect that the “cancel” button 609 has been pressed. The process proceeds to S209.

S209: Next, when the print setting dialog control unit 134 detects that the “OK” button 608 on the print setting screen 600 is pressed, the process proceeds to S210 and detects that the “OK” button 608 is pressed. If not, the process proceeds to S202, and the processes of S202 to S208 are repeated.
S210: Upon detecting that the “OK” button 608 has been pressed, the print setting dialog control unit 134 stores the set or selected current print setting in the applied print setting 141, and ends the print setting process.

Next, the print setting selection process performed by the print setting selection dialog control unit 135 of the printer driver 130 shown in FIG. 1 is performed according to the step represented by S in the flowchart of the print setting selection process in the first embodiment of FIG. This will be described with reference to FIGS. This print setting selection process is a process performed in S207 in FIG.
S 301: The print setting selection dialog control unit 135 of the printer driver 130 reads the print history from the history storage unit 142 via the history display control unit 138 and displays it on the print history 703 of the print setting selection screen 700.

S302: The print setting selection dialog control unit 135 determines whether or not the user has selected a print history on the displayed print setting selection screen 700. If it is determined that the selection operation has been performed, the process proceeds to S303, and the selection operation is performed. If it is determined that there is not, the process proceeds to S304.
S303: The print setting selection dialog control unit 135 that has determined that the print history selection operation has been performed displays the print setting name included in the selected print history in the “selected print setting” 701 of the print setting selection screen 700, The process proceeds to S302.

  S304: The print setting selection dialog control unit 135 that has determined that the print history selection operation has not been performed detects whether or not the “print example display” button 702 on the print setting selection screen 700 has been pressed, and “print example display” is displayed. If it is determined that the button 702 is pressed and the print setting is selected in S303, the process proceeds to S305, and the “print example display” button 702 is not pressed, or the print setting is not selected in S303. If it is determined, the process proceeds to S306.

  S305: The print setting selection dialog control unit 135 that has determined that the “print example display” button 702 has been pressed and the print setting has been selected in S303 is the selected print setting (and as the first document name). The print data storage unit 143 is searched based on the file name), print data is extracted, and a print example display screen (dialog) 900 shown in FIG. 9 that displays an output example when the print data is printed is displayed. The process proceeds to S302.

  S306: The print setting selection dialog control unit 135 that has determined that the “display print example” button 702 has not been pressed or that print settings have not been selected in S303 is “select file name” on the print setting selection screen 700. It is determined whether or not the button 705 has been pressed. If it is determined that the “select file name” button 705 has been pressed, the process proceeds to S307. If it is determined that the button 705 has not been pressed, the process proceeds to S308.

  S307: The print setting selection dialog control unit 135 that has determined that the “select file name” button 705 has been pressed displays the file name selection screen 800 shown in FIG. 7, and selects a file name that accepts a file name selection operation by the user. The process (see FIG. 14) is performed, and the process proceeds to S308.

  S308: The print setting selection dialog control unit 135 identifies the document input in the “Filter by file name” 704 of the print setting selection screen 700 by the input on the file name selection screen 800 shown in FIG. 7 or the direct input by the user. It is determined whether or not the file name as the second document name as information has been changed. If it is determined that the file name has been changed, the process proceeds to S309, and if it is determined that the file name has not been changed, the process is performed. The process proceeds to S310.

S309: The print setting selection dialog control unit 135 that has determined that the file name has been changed selects the print history to be displayed by the history display control unit 138 (see the print history control process in FIG. 15), and the print setting selection screen 700 The display of the print history is updated, and the process proceeds to S302.
S310: Next, when the print setting selection dialog control unit 135 detects that the “cancel” button 707 on the print setting selection screen 700 has been pressed, the process is terminated, and it is detected that the “cancel” button 707 has been pressed. Otherwise, the process proceeds to S311.

S311: Next, when the print setting selection dialog control unit 135 detects that the “OK” button 706 on the print setting selection screen 700 is pressed, the process proceeds to S312 and the “OK” button 706 is pressed. If NO is detected, the process proceeds to S302, and the processes of S302 to S310 are repeated.
S312: Upon detecting that the “OK” button 706 has been pressed, the print setting selection dialog control unit 135 reads the print setting information of the selected print setting name, and ends the print setting selection process.

Next, the file name selection process performed by the file name selection dialog control unit 136 of the printer driver 130 shown in FIG. 1 is performed according to the step represented by S in the flowchart of the file name selection process in the first embodiment of FIG. This will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 7. This file name selection process is a process performed in S307 in FIG.
S401: The file name selection dialog control unit 136 of the printer driver 130 acquires a list of currently activated applications and a list of file names used by the file name acquisition unit 139, and displays a list of file names used on the file name selection screen 800. Displayed in area 802.

S402: When the file name selection dialog control unit 136 detects that the “Select from File List” button 803 on the file name selection screen 800 is pressed, the process proceeds to S403, and the “Select from File List” button 803 is pressed. If not detected, the process proceeds to S404.
S403: The file name selection dialog control unit 136 that detects the pressing of the “select from file list” button 803 displays the file reference dialog 1000 shown in FIG. 8, accepts an operation for selecting a file by the user, and performs processing in S405. Migrate to

  S404: The file name selection dialog control unit 136 that has not detected pressing of the “select from the file list” button 803 displays the application (software) currently activated in “select from active applications” on the file name selection screen 800. ) Is selected, and if it is determined that the file name (document name) used is selected, the process proceeds to S405. If it is determined that the file name is not selected, the process proceeds to S406.

S405: The file name selection dialog control unit 136 displays the file name (second document name) selected in S403 or S404 on the “selected file name” 801 on the file name selection screen 800, and the process proceeds to S402. To do.
S406: Next, when the file name selection dialog control unit 136 detects that the “cancel” button 805 of the file name selection screen 800 is pressed, the process is terminated, and it is detected that the “cancel” button 805 is pressed. Otherwise, the process proceeds to S407.

S407: Next, when the file name selection dialog control unit 136 detects that the “OK” button 804 on the file name selection screen 800 is pressed, the process proceeds to S408, and the “OK” button 804 is pressed. If NO is detected, the process proceeds to S402, and the processes of S402 to S406 are repeated.
S408: Upon detecting that the “OK” button 804 has been pressed, the file name selection dialog control unit 136 stores the selected file name in the storage means for use in the print setting selection process described above, and selects the file name. The process ends.

Next, a flowchart showing the print history control process in the first embodiment of FIG. 15 for the print history control process in which the history display control unit 138 of the printer driver 130 shown in FIG. 1 selects the print history displayed on the history display unit 137. The operation will be described with reference to FIG. This print history control process is a process performed in S309 in FIG.
S501: The history display control unit 138 adds, from the file name (second document name) input or set in the “squeeze by file name” 704 of the print setting selection screen 700 shown in FIG. 6, to the end of the file name. The extension is extracted and the extension is set to Key1.

S502: Next, the history display control unit 138 extracts a character string obtained by removing an extension and a numerical value from the file name, and sets it as Key2.
S503: Next, the history display control unit 138 extracts a numerical value from the file name, and sets the numerical value to Key3.

For example, when the file name is “2011 New Year's party guidance.doc”, Key1 = “doc”, Key2 = “New Year's party guidance”, and Key3 = “2011”. In the following steps, the display order of the print history is determined by performing selection processing for each key.
S504: The history display control unit 138 creates a list in which the extensions included in the file names (first document names) of the print history stored in the print history storage unit 142 are listed. Set to 1.

  S505: The history display control unit 138 that created the list 1 calculates the degree of coincidence between each extension included in the list 1 and Key1. Here, in this embodiment, the degree of coincidence compares the character string of each extension included in the list 1 with the character string of Key1, and the character in the character string of each extension matches the character in Key1. For example, Key1 is composed of a four-character string. As a result of comparison with the extension character string, two characters in the Key1 character string If it matches the character, the matching degree is 50%. The degree of coincidence is not limited to that described above, and any other calculation method may be used as long as it indicates the degree of approximation between each extension included in the list 1 and Key1.

S506: The history display control unit 138 that has calculated the degree of coincidence rearranges the print history in the order of file names having extensions with a high degree of coincidence. (First priority)
As described above, the history display control unit 138 adds the file name (first document name) of the print history stored in the print history storage unit 142 and the file name (second document name) input or set to the end. Based on the comparison result of the added extension, the file name (first first) of the print history having an extension having a high degree of coincidence with the extension (Key1) of the input or set file name (second document name) (Document name) is extracted with the first priority, and the print history is rearranged.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of print history selection in the first embodiment, in which the print history is rearranged by Key1. The print history 1101 is the print history described with reference to FIG. 4, and the history display control unit 138 creates a list 1 (1100) that is a list of extensions included in the print history 1101. Further, the history display control unit 138 calculates the degree of coincidence between each extension of the list 1 (1100) and Key1 = “doc”, and rearranges them in descending order of the degree of coincidence to create the list 1 (1102). Since the extension “doc” completely matches Key1, the degree of coincidence is 100%, and since the extension “pdf” (3 characters) matches only Key1 and one character (“d”), the degree of coincidence is 33%. Since the extension “xls” and the extension “jpg” do not have the same character as Key1, the degree of coincidence is 0%.
When the history display control unit 138 rearranges the print history 1101 according to the degree of coincidence between each extension and Key1, as indicated by the print history 1103, the file with the extension “doc” moves up.

S507: Next, the history display control unit 138 creates a list of groups of files having the same extension from the file names included in the print history stored in the print history storage unit 142, and lists them. 2. Note that if there are not a plurality of files having the same extension (only one exists), the extension group is not added to the list 2.
S508: The history display control unit 138 that created the list 2 selects one group from the list 2 for which the selection process using Key2 is performed.

S509: The history display control unit 138 calculates the degree of coincidence between the file name included in the selected group, excluding the extension and the numerical value, and Key2. Note that the degree of coincidence is calculated in the same manner as in the case of Key1. (Second priority)
S510: The history display control unit 138 further rearranges the print history rearranged in S506 in the order of the file names having the highest degree of coincidence based on the calculated degree of coincidence.
S511: The history display control unit 138 repeats the processes of S508 to S510 until all the groups included in the list 2 are performed, and when the processes are performed for all the groups, the process proceeds to S512.

  As described above, the history display control unit 138 has input or set the print history file name (first document name) stored in the print history storage unit 142 from the first priority extraction result described above. Based on the comparison result of the document name (Key 2) obtained by removing the extension and the numerical value from the file name (second document name), the extension and the numerical value are removed from the input or set file name (second document name). A print history file name (first document name) having a high degree of coincidence with the document name (Key2) is extracted with the second priority, and the print history is rearranged.

  FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of print history selection in the first embodiment, in which the print history is rearranged by Key2. A group of files having the same extension included in the print history 1201 (print history 1103 shown in FIG. 16 rearranged by Key1) is a group of extension “doc” and a group of extension “jpg”, and the history display. The control unit 138 creates a list 2 (1200) that is a list of file names of each group. Note that the group of the extension “pdf” and the extension “xls” is excluded from the list 2 (1200) because there is only one file having each extension in the file name. The history display control unit 138 calculates the degree of coincidence between the list 2 (1200) and Key2 = “New Year's party guidance”, and rearranges them in descending order of the degree of coincidence to create the list 2 (1202). The file name that includes “New Year's party guidance” has a 100% match rate, the file that contains “City Association Guide” has a 66% match rate, the file that contains “New Year's card” has a 16% match rate, etc. When the section 138 rearranges the print history according to the matching degree of Key2, as shown in the print history 1203, the file including “New Year's party guidance” in the file name moves up.

  S512: Next, the history display control unit 138 creates a list of groups of files having the same file name excluding a numerical value from the file names included in the print history stored in the print history storage unit 142. Let this be Listing 3. When there are not a plurality of files having the same file name excluding numerical values (only one file exists), the group of the file names is not added to the list 3.

S513: The history display control unit 138 that created the list 3 selects one group from the list 3 that performs the selection process using the Key3.
S514: The history display control unit 138 extracts a numerical value from the file names included in the selected group, and calculates a difference between the numerical value and Key3. In this embodiment, an absolute value obtained by subtracting Key3 from the extracted numerical value is used as the difference.

S515: The history display control unit 138 further rearranges the print history rearranged in S510 in ascending order of the calculated difference. (Third priority)
S516: The history display control unit 138 repeats the processing of S513 to S515 for all the groups included in the list 3, and ends the processing when the processing is performed for all the groups. The sorted print history is displayed in S309 of FIG.

  In this way, the history display control unit 138 has input or set the print history file name (first document name) stored in the print history storage unit 142 from the second priority extraction result described above. Based on the comparison result of the numerical value (Key3) included in the file name (second document name), the print history having a numerical value approximate to the numerical value included in the input or set file name (second document name) Are extracted with the third priority, and the print history is rearranged.

  FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of print history selection in the first embodiment, in which the print history is rearranged by using Key3. A group having the same file name other than the numerical values included in the print history 1301 (print history 1203 shown in FIG. 17 rearranged by Key2) is a group whose file name is “New Year's Party Guide.doc” and whose file name is “Harunayama”. .Jpg ”and the history display control unit 138 creates a list 3 (1300) that is a list of file names of each group. Note that there is only one file with the same file name excluding the numerical value for the group whose file name is “Guide to neighborhood associations.doc” and whose file name is “New Year's card 2011.doc”. ). The history display control unit 138 calculates a difference between the list 3 (1300) and Key3 = “2011”, and rearranges the list 3 (1302) in ascending order of the difference. The difference between the file name “2010 New Year's party guidance. Doc” is “1”, the difference between the file name “2009 New Year's party guidance. Doc” is “2”, etc., and the history display control unit 138 determines that the difference from Key 3 is When the print history is rearranged in ascending order, as shown in the print history 1303, the file name “2010 New Year's party guidance.doc” moves higher than the file name “2009 New Year's party guidance.doc”.

  As described above, the history display control unit 138 compares at least a part of the input or set file name (second document name) and the file name (first document name) included in the print history information. Based on the file name (first document name) and the print settings associated with the file name (first document name) are preferentially extracted from the print history information, and the file name (first document name) is extracted. Document name) and print settings are selectable.

  In the rearrangement in each key, if the degree of coincidence and the difference are the same, the relative positional relationship is maintained without performing the rearrangement. Therefore, when there are a plurality of print histories having the same file name, the one that is originally higher, that is, the newer print history is directly higher.

  In this way, when printing a file, the print settings used when printing a file having a file name similar to the file name to be printed are extracted from the print history and displayed, and the print settings are displayed by the user's operation. By selecting the desired print setting, it becomes possible to easily select a desired print setting.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, when printing a file, the print setting as the print condition used when printing a file having a file name approximate to the file name to be printed is determined from the print history. By extracting and displaying and making it possible to select the print setting by a user operation, it is possible to easily select the print setting as a desired print condition.

  In the configuration of the second embodiment, a print setting difference display dialog control unit is added to the printer driver in the configuration of the first embodiment. The configuration of the second embodiment will be described based on the block diagram showing the configuration of the host PC in the second embodiment of FIG. Note that parts similar to those of the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  19, the printer driver 130 of the host PC 100 includes a spool file reception unit 131, a print data creation unit 132, a print data transmission unit 133, a print data storage unit 143, a print setting dialog control unit 134, and a print setting. Storage unit 140, applied print setting 141, history storage unit 142, print setting selection dialog control unit 135, history display unit 137, history display control unit 138, print data display dialog control unit 144, and file name In addition to the selection dialog control unit 136 and the file name acquisition unit 139, from the history information stored in the history storage unit 142, the last applied current print setting and the past print setting applied before that Print settings that display the print setting difference display screen that shows the difference between the two print setting setting items It includes a print setting differencing dialog control section 145 as the different display.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram of the print history in the second embodiment, and shows an example of the print history of this embodiment.
In FIG. 20, the print history of the present embodiment is in a format in which the setting items of print settings and the print date and time when printing is added to the print history of the first embodiment of FIG.

  In this example, there is a case where the past setting item and the current setting item are different even if the print setting name is the same “pamphlet”, and up to the point 1400 when “2009 New Year Party Guide.doc” is printed. The setting for double-sided printing was “Short-edge binding”, but the installation of double-sided printing has been changed to “Long-edge binding” from the time 1401 when “City Association Guide.doc” was printed.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of a print setting selection screen in the second embodiment.
In FIG. 21, the print setting selection screen 700 displays a difference from the latest print setting as a print setting difference display screen on the print setting selection screen in the first embodiment of FIG. ] Button 708 is added. Further, a print date / time column is added to the displayed print history 703, and the print date / time is displayed in addition to the print setting name in the selected print setting 701 at the same time.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram of a print setting difference display screen in the second embodiment.
In FIG. 22, a print setting difference display screen 1500 is a dialog for comparing the past print setting with the current print setting and displaying the difference, and the print setting name 1501 displays the name of the print setting to be compared. In the past setting item 1503, the item of the print setting selected on the print setting selection screen 700 shown in FIG. 21 is displayed, and the current setting item 1504 is saved in the print setting saving unit 140 shown in FIG. The setting items in the current print settings are displayed, and in the presence / absence of difference 1502, the setting items that are different in each print setting are displayed as “*” marks. In FIG. 22, since the setting items of “double-sided printing” on the bottom line are different, the “*” mark is displayed on the bottom line.
Since the screens other than the above are the same as those in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

The operation of the above configuration will be described.
First, the print setting selection process performed by the print setting selection dialog control unit 135 of the printer driver 130 shown in FIG. 19 is illustrated according to the step indicated by S in the flowchart of the print setting selection process in the second embodiment of FIG. This will be described with reference to FIG. 19 and FIG. This print setting selection process is a process performed in S207 in FIG.

S601 to S609: Since they are the same as S301 to S309 in FIG.
S610: The print setting selection dialog control unit 135 that has determined that the file name has not been changed determines whether or not the “display difference from latest” button 708 on the print setting selection screen 700 has been pressed. If it is determined that the “display” button 708 has been pressed, the process proceeds to S611, and if it is determined that the button has not been pressed, the process proceeds to S612.

S611: The print setting selection dialog control unit 135 that has determined that the “display difference from latest” button 708 has been pressed displays the print setting difference display screen 1500 shown in FIG. 22 by the print setting difference display dialog control unit 145. Then, the process proceeds to S602.
S612 to S614: Since they are the same processes as S310 to S312 in FIG.

  Next, the print setting difference display process performed by the print setting difference display dialog control unit 145 of the printer driver 130 shown in FIG. 19 is represented by S in the flowchart showing the print setting difference display process in the second embodiment of FIG. The steps will be described with reference to FIG. 19 and FIG. This print setting difference display process is a process performed in S611 in FIG.

  S701: First, the print setting difference display dialog control unit 145 reads the print history corresponding to the selected print setting from the history storage unit 142, and sets the past setting item 1503 on the print setting difference display screen 1500 as a past setting item. indicate. The past setting items are searched for the print setting name of the print history shown in FIG. 20 from the new upper one in the figure based on the selected print setting, and are extracted second from the matching print setting names. It is assumed that the setting item 1400 for the print setting name is displayed.

  S702: Next, the print setting difference display dialog control unit 145 reads the current setting item of the selected print setting from the print setting storage unit 140, and sets the current setting item of the print setting difference display screen 1500 as the current setting item. 1504 is displayed. This current setting item is searched for the print setting name of the print history shown in FIG. 20 from the new one at the top in the drawing based on the selected print setting, and is first extracted from the matching print setting names. It is assumed that a print setting name setting item 1401 is displayed.

S703: The print setting difference display dialog control unit 145 displaying the past setting item and the current setting item compares the past setting item with the current setting item.
S704: The print setting difference display dialog control unit 145 that compares the past setting item with the current setting item determines whether there is a difference between the past setting item and the current setting item, and if it determines that there is a difference, the process If it is determined that there is no difference, the process proceeds to S706.

S705: The print setting difference display dialog control unit 145, which has determined that there is a difference between the past setting item and the current setting item, displays a “*” mark in the row of presence / absence 1502 of the difference corresponding to the setting item having the difference. To do.
S706: The print setting difference display dialog control unit 145 waits for the “close” button 1505 on the print setting difference display screen 1500 to be pressed. When the pressing of the “close” button 1505 is detected, the print setting difference display process ends.

  In this way, when the setting items selected when printing a file are different between the past and the present, the past print settings saved as the print history are displayed, and the print settings can be selected by the user's operation. This makes it possible to easily select a desired print setting.

As described above, in the second embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, when the setting item selected when printing a file is different from the past, the past saved in the print history By displaying the print settings and making it possible to select the print settings by a user operation, it is possible to further easily select a desired print setting.
In the first and second embodiments, the printing apparatus is described as a printer. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a multifunction machine (MFP) or a facsimile apparatus may be used.

100 host PC
110 Application 120 OS
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 130 Printer driver 131 Spool file receiving part 132 Print data creation part 133 Print data transmission part 134 Print setting dialog control part 135 Print setting selection dialog control part 136 File name selection dialog control part 137 History display part 138 History display control part 139 File name Acquisition unit 140 Print setting storage unit 141 Applicable print setting 142 History storage unit 143 Print data storage unit 144 Print data display dialog control unit 145 Print setting difference display dialog control unit

Claims (5)

In an image processing apparatus that generates print data according to printing conditions,
A history storage unit that associates the first document name as identification information of a document that has been printed in the past with the print condition applied to the printing of the document and stores it as history information;
A history display control unit that displays the first document name from the history information stored in the history storage unit and extracts and displays the printing conditions stored in association with the first document name;
A printing condition selection unit that accepts an operation for selecting the printing condition and applies the printing condition;
When the print condition selection unit receives an input of a second document name as document identification information, the history display control unit causes the second document name and the first document name of the history information to be Based on at least a part of the comparison result, the first document name having a high degree of coincidence and the print condition associated with the first document name are extracted from the history information with priority. The document name and the printing conditions are displayed so as to be selectable. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1.
The history display control unit
Based on the comparison result of the extension added to the end of the first document name and the second document name, the first document having an extension having a high degree of coincidence with the extension of the second document name. Extract document names with first priority,
Matching with the second document name based on the comparison result of the document name obtained by removing the extension and the numerical value from the first document name and the second document name from the extraction result of the first priority Extracting the first document name having a high degree of priority with a second priority;
A numerical value approximated to a numerical value included in the second document name based on a comparison result of numerical values included in the first document name and the second document name from the extraction result of the second priority. Extracting the first document name having a third priority,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first document name extracted in accordance with the third priority from the first priority is used as the first document name having a high degree of matching. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The image processing apparatus, wherein the print condition selection unit receives a selection input of the second document name from a document name used by currently activated software. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A print data storage unit for storing the generated print data in association with the first document name and the print condition;
The printing condition selection unit searches the printing data storage unit based on the selected first document name and the printing condition, extracts the printing data, and displays the printing data. Image processing device. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
A print setting difference display unit for displaying a difference between the current print condition applied last and the print condition applied in the past from the history information stored in the history storage unit. An image processing apparatus.

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