JP2013178829A - Printer driver and printer driver program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer driver and a program which, by preliminarily registering print settings which must not be set or must be set, is capable of stopping printing, outputting a warning, or automatically changing print settings to perform printing when a user will perform printing with print settings different from registered contents.SOLUTION: A printer driver includes: print setting condition storage means in which print setting conditions relating to printing are stored; document accompanying information acquisition means which acquires print setting information for execution of printing, document attribute information indicative of an attribute of document data being the object to be printed, and printing information indicative of a print condition for printing, which accompany the document data; print setting condition retrieval means which refers to the print setting condition storage means to retrieve a print setting condition corresponding to the document attribute information acquired by the document accompanying information acquisition means; and print setting condition mode changing means which changes a mode of the print setting condition on the basis of the retrieval result of the print setting condition retrieval means.

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer driver and a printer driver program for causing a printer to print a document of document data, and more particularly to a printer driver and a printer driver program that can suppress printing with unintended settings.

  2. Description of the Related Art Printers that record information such as characters, graphics, and images on recording media such as paper and film are widely used as information output devices in information processing apparatuses such as personal computers, word processors, and facsimiles.

  In order for a personal computer or the like to print a document on a printer, a printer driver program as software for controlling the printer needs to be incorporated in the personal computer or the like and function as a printer driver.

  The printer driver converts text and image document data received from application software and an OS (Operating System) into data that can be processed by the printer, and sends the document data to a personal computer or the like while checking the status of the printer. To play a role. For example, in a Windows (registered trademark) OS, when print data is input from a drawing engine of an OS called GDI (Graphics Driver Interface), it is converted into a page description language called PDL (Page Description Language) and output.

  Such a page description language includes print setting information for executing printing such as the number of output copies, color printing, monochrome printing, paper size, paper type, and the like, as well as information on document data to be output. . Also, recent printer drivers have an N (Number) up (multi-page) function for reducing document data for multiple pages, such as 2 pages, 4 pages, 8 pages, etc., and printing them on one sheet of paper. Therefore, there are a number of additional functions such as a function for adding a binding margin and a function for monitoring the printer status to warn of out of paper or toner. In addition, a printer driver for a color printer has a function for finely setting a hue and brightness, and can respond to various requests of users.

  On the other hand, ecology has attracted attention in recent years, and it is not uncommon for the default setting of the printer driver to be a setting that takes ecology into account. For example, toner save with reduced use of toner, reduced printing for reducing the entire page, N-up, and the like are representative. In addition, there is a function called “one-shot eco mode” that can be set to the eco setting (toner save, etc.) uniformly for the printer driver of personal computers as clients by operation on the printer side. Yes.

  Also, if the extension is obtained from the document data file to be printed and the extension is listed on the print setting table, the setting is made according to the print setting corresponding to the extension on the print setting table. On the other hand, when the extension is not listed on the print setting table, a technique is disclosed in which settings are made using default print settings (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In addition, the structure of the input image is analyzed, and based on the determination result of the image attribute, the optimum print setting is presented to the user, and in response to the user operation, the presented print setting is changed or approved to set the print setting. A technique for determining is disclosed (for example, refer to Patent Document 2).

  In addition, by specifying double-sided printing or multi-page printing according to predetermined setting information, it is possible to save printing resources, and a technique for performing printing with other setting information when faithful printing is required is disclosed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 3).

JP 2000-66850 A JP 2008-77160 A JP 2008-212498 A

  However, when the “one-shot eco mode” as described above is set, the user does not notice the print setting of the printer driver or inadvertently prints as it is, and the print setting not intended by the user. There is a problem in that document data may be printed in For example, if the “Toner Save” mode is set as the print setting even though it is a document that you want to formally print as a clean copy, the print density is insufficient, so you can remove the “Toner Save” mode and print again. I have to do it again. In addition, when the reduced printing is performed, even if the “reduced printing” mode is set as the print setting even though characters and the like are too small to be recognized, the same printing must be performed again.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is for each document attribute such as each application software, each document name including some keywords, each printing paper size, or each type of paper to be printed. By registering in advance the print settings that should not be set or the print settings that should be set for double-sided print mode, multi-mode, or toner save mode, etc., an attempt was made to print with different print settings. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer driver and a printer driver program capable of canceling printing, outputting a warning, or automatically changing print settings to perform printing.

The present invention employs the following configuration in order to solve the above problems.
That is, according to one aspect of the present invention, the printer driver of the present invention is a printer driver for causing a printer to print a document of document data, and is attached to the document data to be printed after the print control process is started. A document attribute information acquisition unit that acquires document attribute information indicating an attribute of the document data and print setting information indicating a print condition for printing; and a print setting that stores a print setting condition related to printing after the document incidental information is acquired A print setting condition search unit that searches for a print setting condition corresponding to the document attribute information acquired by the document incidental information acquisition unit with reference to a condition database, and the print based on the search result by the print setting condition search unit Print setting condition mode changing means for changing the mode of setting conditions, and search results by the print setting condition searching means Based on flag ON means for setting a flag indicating that warning information is output; warning information output means for outputting the warning information when the flag is set; and printing when the flag is set Print selection output means for displaying a dialog that can be selected to execute or cancel printing, and if the print cancellation is selected after displaying the dialog, instructs the printer to print out the document data. A print execution unit for notifying the print stop and executing print processing based on the print setting condition not changed or the changed print setting condition when the print stop is not selected. It is characterized by providing.

The printer driver of the present invention preferably further includes warning information output means for outputting warning information based on a search result obtained by the print setting condition search means.
In the printer driver of the present invention, the document attribute information includes identifier information for identifying the type of application software that created the document data, and word information included in a file name uniquely assigned to the document data. Any one of paper size information indicating a paper size when printing the document data and paper type information indicating a paper type when printing the document data, and the print setting information includes: A double-sided printing mode, which is a mode for forming images on both front and back sides of paper, a multi-mode, which is a mode for printing multiple pages of document data on a single sheet, and a mode for printing while suppressing the amount of printing toner It is desirable to include any one of the toner save modes.

  Further, according to one aspect of the present invention, the printer driver program of the present invention causes a computer of an information processing apparatus that causes a printer to print a document of document data to be attached to the document data to be printed after the print control process is started. Document attribute information indicating the attribute of the document data and document incidental information acquisition means for acquiring print setting information indicating a print condition for printing, and a print setting condition storing a print setting condition relating to printing after the acquisition of the document incidental information A print setting condition search unit that searches a print setting condition corresponding to the document attribute information acquired by the document accompanying information acquisition unit with reference to a database, and the print setting condition based on a search result by the print setting condition search unit The print setting condition mode changing means for changing the mode of the print setting condition search result by the print setting condition searching means Accordingly, flag ON means for setting a flag indicating that warning information is output, warning information output means for outputting the warning information when the flag is set, and printing execution when the flag is set Or a print selection output means for displaying a dialog that can be selected to cancel printing. When the print cancellation is selected after the dialog is displayed, the printer is not instructed to print out the document data. , Functioning as a print execution means for informing the print stop and executing a print process based on the print setting condition not changed or the changed print setting condition when the print stop is not selected This is a printer driver program.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent printing with unintended print settings by registering in advance print settings that should not be set or print settings that should be set for each document attribute. For example, when the default print setting of the printer driver is set to the eco setting (setting to save paper, toner, etc. as much as possible) Since the printing itself is wasted and the eco setting is spoiled, it can be suppressed.

It is a figure for demonstrating the outline | summary of this invention. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of print setting conditions stored in a print setting condition storage device. FIG. 5 is a flowchart (part 1) illustrating a flow of a print control process to which the present invention is applied. 6 is a flowchart (part 2) illustrating a flow of a print control process to which the present invention is applied. 12 is a flowchart (No. 3) illustrating a flow of a print control process to which the invention is applied. 10 is a flowchart (part 4) illustrating a flow of a print control process to which the invention is applied.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, an outline of an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a personal computer (personal computer) 1 as a host device is connected to a printer 3 via a line 2, and application software 11 that operates on an OS 10 such as Windows (registered trademark), and a printer driver 12. Is provided.

  When the personal computer 1 supplies the document data created by operating the application software 11 to the printer driver 12, the printer driver 12 generates a print control command and prints out the document data to the printer 3. As described above, in Windows (registered trademark), when printing from the application software 11 to the printer 3, the printer driver 12 is always used.

  The print setting condition storage device 20 stores in advance print setting conditions which are setting conditions related to printing. The print setting condition storage device 20 may be configured to use a storage device on the personal computer 1 or may be configured to use a shared storage device on a network. When a shared storage device on the network is used, print settings can be shared by a plurality of information processing devices, and more uniform printing conditions can be shared within an organization.

  When the personal computer 1 executes a print instruction from the application software 11, when the printer driver 12 generates a print control command, the print setting condition stored in the print setting condition storage device 20 is referred to and printing is performed. Compared with the print setting associated with the target document data, a predetermined print control process described later with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6 is executed.

The printer 3 executes print processing based on the document data supplied from the personal computer 1 and outputs the print result to the paper discharge tray.
As a result, printing with unintended print settings can be suppressed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of print setting conditions stored in the print setting condition storage device 20.
Various combinations of print setting conditions can be assumed, and an example thereof is shown in FIG.
In FIG. 2, the print setting condition defines document attribute information indicating the attribute of document data to be printed as a print type. Here, (1) “by application software” determined by the extension part of the file name, (2) “by document name” determined by the entire file name, (3) “paper size” of the DEVMODE structure, for example “By paper size” to be determined, (4) For example, “paper type” to be determined by “paper type” of the DEVMODE structure is defined. For each print type, a search condition (consisting of a keyword and a matching condition) for determining whether this condition is met is determined.

  The operation when the search is matched is set for each print setting of the printer driver 12. In the example shown in FIG. Double-sided printing, 2. Multi-page, 3. Toner save 3 points. Although three settings are used in this example, all settings of the printer driver 12 can be targeted as necessary. In addition, the priority order of conditions can also be specified by specifying the search order of conditions.

The operation when the print setting condition for each print setting is matched can be selected from the following, but the choices are two choices depending on the contents of the print settings, for example, two choices of the print setting ON or OFF. If not, it can also be a setting for that option.
“-”: Prints as it is.
“Warning display”: Displays a warning whether printing with the intended setting is acceptable.
“Change to OFF”... Print with the printer driver 12 set to “OFF”.
“Change to ON”... Prints with the setting of the printer driver 12 “changed to ON”. “Cancel printing”: Cancels printing.

The print setting conditions can be changed or modified as appropriate.
Next, the flow of print control processing to which the present invention is applied will be described.
3, 4, 5, and 6 are flowcharts showing the flow of print control processing to which the present invention is applied.

  When the personal computer 1 executes a print instruction from the application software 11, the printer driver 12 starts the print control process. First, in step S301 in FIG. 3, document attribute information attached to the document data to be printed. As well, “double-sided printing”, “multipage”, and “toner save”, which are print setting information for executing printing, are acquired, and the extension portion of the file name of the DOCINFO structure is acquired. This extension portion is information for identifying the type of application software that created the document data. In step S302, the “print setting by application software” pre-stored in the print setting condition storage device 20 is read.

  Next, in order to specify whether or not the document data to be printed is the application software 11 to be subjected to the print control process, the extensions that are “search keywords” are compared. First, in step S303, it is determined whether or not the extension acquired in step S301 is an extension “.xls” of “spreadsheet” software registered as a condition setting in the print setting condition storage device 20.

  When the extension is “.xls” registered as the condition setting (step S303: Yes), the process proceeds to step S304. When the extension is not “.xls” (step S303: No), the process proceeds to step S309. Proceed to

  In step S304, it is determined whether the “double-sided printing” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 is ON or OFF, but “.xls” (table calculation) of “by application software” is determined. In the print setting condition, as shown in FIG. 2, since there is no “double-sided printing” condition setting, the process proceeds to step S305 without any processing even if the “double-sided printing” setting is ON or OFF.

  In step S305, it is determined whether the “multi-page” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 is ON or OFF. When the setting of “multipage” is ON (step S305: On), the condition for “warning display” is set as shown in FIG. 2, so in step S306, warning display ON processing (for example, warning) The display ON flag is set (note that the warning display itself is executed in step S621 in FIG. 6). On the other hand, if the setting of “multipage” is OFF (step S305: Off), the process proceeds to step S307 without doing anything.

  In step S307, it is determined whether the “toner save” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 is ON or OFF. When the “toner save” setting is ON (step S307: On), the condition for “warning display” is set as shown in FIG. 2, so the warning display ON process is executed in step S308. On the other hand, if the “toner save” setting is OFF (step S307: Off), the process proceeds to step S309 without doing anything.

  Next, in step S309, it is determined whether or not the extension acquired in step S301 is the extension “.ppt” of “presentation” software registered as a condition setting in the print setting condition storage device 20.

  When the extension is “.ppt” registered as the condition setting (step S309: Yes), the process proceeds to step S310. When the extension is not “.ppt” (step S309: No), the process proceeds to step S314. Proceed to

  In step S310, it is determined whether the “double-sided printing” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 is ON or OFF, but “.ppt” (presentation) printing of “by application software” is performed. In the setting conditions, as shown in FIG. 2, there is no “double-sided printing” condition setting. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S311 without any processing even if the “double-sided printing” setting is ON or OFF.

  In step S311, it is determined whether the “multi-page” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 is ON or OFF. If the “multipage” setting is ON (step S311: On), the process proceeds to step S313 without doing anything. On the other hand, when the setting of “multi-page” is OFF (step S311: Off), since the condition for “warning display” is set as shown in FIG. 2, the warning display ON process is executed in step S312. To do.

  In step S313, it is determined whether the “toner save” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 is ON or OFF, but “.ppt” (presentation) printing of “by application software” is printed. In the setting conditions, as shown in FIG. 2, since there is no “toner save” condition setting, the process proceeds to step S314 without any processing even if the “toner save” setting is ON or OFF.

  Next, in step S314, it is determined whether or not the extension acquired in step S301 includes the extension “.htm” of “browser” software registered as a condition setting in the print setting condition storage device 20. For example, it is possible to determine not only when the extension is “.htm” but also when it is “.html”.

  When the extension includes “.htm” registered as the condition setting (step S314: Yes), the process proceeds to step S315, and when “.htm” is not included (step S314: No). Advances to step S401 in FIG.

  In step S315, it is determined whether the “double-sided printing” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 is ON or OFF. If the “duplex printing” setting is ON (step S315: On), the process proceeds to step S317 without doing anything. On the other hand, when the “double-sided printing” setting is OFF (step S315: Off), the condition for “warning display” is set as shown in FIG. 2, so the warning display ON process is executed in step S316. To do.

  In step S317, it is determined whether the “multi-page” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 is ON or OFF. If the “multi-page” setting is ON (step S317: On), the process proceeds to step S319 without doing anything. On the other hand, when the setting of “multipage” is OFF (step S317: Off), the condition for “warning display” is set as shown in FIG. 2, and thus the warning display ON process is executed in step S318. To do.

  In step S319, it is determined whether the “toner save” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 is ON or OFF. If the “toner save” setting is ON (step S319: On), the process proceeds to step S401 in FIG. 4 without doing anything. On the other hand, when the setting of “toner save” is OFF (step S319: Off), the condition for “warning display” is set as shown in FIG. 2, so the warning display ON process is executed in step S320. To do.

  Subsequently, in step S401 in FIG. 4, the file name itself of the DOCINFO structure is acquired as the document attribute information attached to the document data to be printed. In step S <b> 402, the print setting condition “by document name” stored in advance in the print setting condition storage device 20 is read.

  Next, in order to specify whether or not the document data to be printed is the name of the document to be subjected to the print control process, it is determined whether or not the “search keyword” is included in the file name. First, in step S403, it is determined whether or not the document name acquired in step S401 includes a character string “clean text” registered as a condition setting in the print setting condition storage device 20.

  If the document name includes “clean text” registered as the condition setting (step S403: Yes), the process proceeds to step S404. If the document name does not include “clean text” (step S403: No), step S410 is performed. Proceed to

  In step S404, it is determined whether the “double-sided printing” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. When the “double-sided printing” setting is ON (step S404: On), the condition is “change to OFF” as shown in FIG. 2, so in step S405, the document data to be printed is added. Change the accompanying “duplex printing” setting to OFF. On the other hand, if the setting of “duplex printing” is OFF (step S404: Off), the process proceeds to step S406 without doing anything.

  In step S406, it is determined whether the “multi-page” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. When the setting of “multi-page” is ON (step S406: On), the condition is “change to OFF” as shown in FIG. 2, and therefore, in step S407, the document data to be printed is added. Change the accompanying “multipage” setting to OFF. On the other hand, if the “multi-page” setting is OFF (step S406: Off), the process proceeds to step S408 without doing anything.

  In step S408, it is determined whether the “toner save” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. When the “toner save” setting is ON (step S408: On), since the condition is “change to OFF” as shown in FIG. 2, the document data to be printed is added to the document data to be printed in step S409. Change the attached “Toner Save” setting to OFF. On the other hand, if the “toner save” setting is OFF (step S408: Off), the process proceeds to step S410 without doing anything.

  Next, in step S410, it is determined whether or not the document name acquired in step S401 includes a character string “approval document” registered as a condition setting in the print setting condition storage device 20.

  When the document name includes the “approval document” registered as the condition setting (step S410: Yes), the process proceeds to step S411, and when the document name does not include the “approval document” (step S410: No), The process proceeds to step S417.

  In step S411, it is determined whether the “double-sided printing” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. When the “double-sided printing” setting is ON (step S411: On), the condition is “change to OFF” as shown in FIG. 2, and therefore, in step S412, the document data to be printed is added. Change the accompanying “duplex printing” setting to OFF. On the other hand, if the “double-sided printing” setting is OFF (step S411: Off), the process proceeds to step S413 without doing anything.

  In step S413, it is determined whether the “multi-page” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. When the setting of “multipage” is ON (step S413: On), the condition is “change to OFF” as shown in FIG. 2, and therefore, in step S414, the document data to be printed is added. Change the accompanying “multipage” setting to OFF. On the other hand, if the “multi-page” setting is OFF (step S413: Off), the process proceeds to step S415 without doing anything.

  In step S415, it is determined whether the “toner save” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. When the setting of “toner save” is ON (step S415: On), the warning display ON process is executed in step S416 because the condition is “warning display” as shown in FIG. On the other hand, if the “toner save” setting is OFF (step S415: Off), the process proceeds to step S417 without doing anything.

  Next, in step S417, it is determined whether or not the document name acquired in step S401 includes a character string “draft” registered as a condition setting in the print setting condition storage device 20.

  If the document name includes “draft” registered as the condition setting (step S417: Yes), the process proceeds to step S418. If it does not include “draft” (step S417: No), FIG. The process proceeds to step S501.

  In step S418, it is determined whether the “double-sided printing” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. If the “duplex printing” setting is ON (step S418: On), the process proceeds to step S420 without doing anything. On the other hand, when the “double-sided printing” setting is OFF (step S418: Off), the condition for “warning display” is set as shown in FIG. 2, and thus the warning display ON process is executed in step S419. To do.

  In step S420, it is determined whether the “multi-page” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. If the “multi-page” setting is ON (step S420: On), the process proceeds to step S422 without doing anything. On the other hand, when the setting of “multi-page” is OFF (step S420: Off), the condition for “warning display” is set as shown in FIG. 2, so the warning display ON process is executed in step S421. To do.

  In step S422, it is determined whether the “toner save” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. If the “toner save” setting is ON (step S422: On), the process proceeds to step S501 in FIG. 5 without doing anything. On the other hand, when the setting of “toner save” is OFF (step S422: Off), since the condition is “change to ON” as shown in FIG. 2, the document to be printed is determined in step S423. Change the “toner save” setting attached to the data to ON.

  Subsequently, in step S501 of FIG. 5, “paper size” of the DEVMODE structure is acquired as document attribute information attached to the document data to be printed. In step S502, the print setting conditions “by paper size” stored in advance in the print setting condition storage device 20 are read.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the document data to be printed is a paper size to be subjected to the print control process. First, in step S503, it is determined whether or not the paper size acquired in step S501 is the paper size “A3” registered as a condition setting in the print setting condition storage device 20.

  If the paper size is “A3” registered as the condition setting (step S503: Yes), the process proceeds to step S504. If the paper size is not “A3” (step S503: No), the process proceeds to step S508.

  In step S504, it is determined whether the “double-sided printing” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. However, the “A3” print setting condition of “by paper size” is determined. In FIG. 2, since there is no “double-sided printing” condition setting as shown in FIG. 2, the process proceeds to step S505 without any processing even if the “double-sided printing” setting is ON or OFF.

  In step S505, it is determined whether the “multi-page” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. When the setting of “multipage” is ON (step S505: On), the condition for “warning display” is set as shown in FIG. 2, and thus the warning display ON process is executed in step S506. On the other hand, if the “multi-page” setting is OFF (step S505: Off), the process proceeds to step S507 without doing anything.

  In step S507, it is determined whether the “toner save” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF, but the “A3” print setting condition of “by paper size” is determined. In FIG. 2, since there is no “toner save” condition setting as shown in FIG. 2, the process proceeds to step S508 without any processing regardless of whether the “toner save” setting is ON or OFF.

  Next, in step S508, it is determined whether or not the paper size acquired in step S501 is a “long” paper size registered as a condition setting in the print setting condition storage device 20.

  If the paper size is “long” registered as the condition setting (step S508: Yes), the process proceeds to step S509. If the paper size is not “long” (step S508: No), the process proceeds to step S513.

  In step S509, it is determined whether the “double-sided printing” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. If the “duplex printing” setting is ON (step S509: On), the condition is “change to OFF” as shown in FIG. Change the accompanying “duplex printing” setting to OFF. On the other hand, if the “double-sided printing” setting is OFF (step S509: Off), the process proceeds to step S511 without doing anything.

  In step S511, it is determined whether the “multi-page” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF, but the “long” print setting “by paper size” is determined. In the condition, as shown in FIG. 2, since there is no “multi-page” condition setting, the process proceeds to step S512 without any processing even if the “multi-page” setting is ON or OFF.

  In step S512, it is determined whether the “toner save” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF, but the “long” print setting of “by paper size” is determined. In the condition, as shown in FIG. 2, since there is no “toner save” condition setting, the process proceeds to step S513 without any processing even if the “toner save” setting is ON or OFF.

  Next, in step S 513, it is determined whether or not the paper size acquired in step S 501 is a “postcard” paper size registered as a condition setting in the print setting condition storage device 20.

  If the paper size is “postcard” registered as the condition setting (step S513: Yes), the process proceeds to step S514. If the paper size is not “postcard” (step S513: No), the process proceeds to step S601 in FIG. .

  In step S514, it is determined whether the “double-sided printing” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. When the “double-sided printing” setting is ON (step S514: On), the condition is “change to OFF” as shown in FIG. 2, and therefore, in step S515, the document data to be printed is added. Change the accompanying “duplex printing” setting to OFF. On the other hand, if the “double-sided printing” setting is OFF (step S514: Off), the process proceeds to step S516 without doing anything.

  In step S516, it is determined whether the “multi-page” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. When the setting of “multi-page” is ON (step S516: On), the condition is “change to OFF” as shown in FIG. 2, and therefore, in step S517, the document data to be printed is added. Change the accompanying “multipage” setting to OFF. On the other hand, if the “multi-page” setting is OFF (step S516: Off), the process proceeds to step S518 without doing anything.

  In step S518, it is determined whether the “toner save” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. However, the “postcard” print setting condition of “by paper size” is determined. In FIG. 2, since there is no “toner save” condition setting as shown in FIG. 2, the process proceeds to step S601 in FIG. 6 without any processing regardless of whether the “toner save” setting is ON or OFF.

  Subsequently, in step S601 of FIG. 6, “paper type” of the DEVMODE structure is acquired as document attribute information attached to the document data to be printed. In step S602, the “paper type” print setting condition stored in advance in the print setting condition storage device 20 is read.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the document data to be printed is a paper type to be subjected to the print control process. First, in step S <b> 603, it is determined whether or not the paper type acquired in step S <b> 601 is a “thick paper” paper type registered as a condition setting in the print setting condition storage device 20.

  When the paper type is “thick paper” registered as the condition setting (step S603: Yes), the process proceeds to step S604, and when it is not “thick paper” (step S603: No), the process proceeds to step S608.

  In step S604, it is determined whether the “double-sided printing” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. When the “double-sided printing” setting is ON (step S604: On), the condition is “change to OFF” as shown in FIG. 2, so in step S605, the document data to be printed is added. Change the accompanying “duplex printing” setting to OFF. On the other hand, if the “double-sided printing” setting is OFF (step S604: Off), the process proceeds to step S606 without doing anything.

  In step S606, it is determined whether the “multi-page” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF, but in the “paper type” “thick paper” print setting condition. Since there is no “multi-page” condition setting as shown in FIG. 2, the process proceeds to step S607 without any processing even if the “multi-page” setting is ON or OFF.

  In step S607, it is determined whether the “toner save” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF, but in the “paper type” “thick paper” print setting condition. As shown in FIG. 2, since there is no “toner save” condition setting, the process advances to step S608 without any processing regardless of whether the “toner save” setting is ON or OFF.

  Next, in step S608, it is determined whether or not the paper type acquired in step S601 is the paper type of “special paper A” registered as a condition setting in the print setting condition storage device 20.

  When the paper type is “special paper A” registered as the condition setting (step S608: Yes), the process proceeds to step S609, and when it is not “special paper A” (step S608: No), the process proceeds to step S615. move on.

  In step S609, it is determined whether the “double-sided printing” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. If the “double-sided printing” setting is ON (step S609: On), the condition is “change to OFF” as shown in FIG. 2, and therefore, in step S610, the document data to be printed is added. Change the accompanying “duplex printing” setting to OFF. On the other hand, if the “double-sided printing” setting is OFF (step S609: Off), the process proceeds to step S611 without doing anything.

  In step S611, it is determined whether the “multi-page” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. When the setting of “multipage” is ON (step S611: On), the condition is “change to OFF” as shown in FIG. 2, and therefore, in step S612, the document data to be printed is added. Change the accompanying “multipage” setting to OFF. On the other hand, if the “multi-page” setting is OFF (step S611: Off), the process proceeds to step S613 without doing anything.

  In step S613, it is determined whether the “toner save” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. When the “double-sided printing” setting is ON (step S613: On), the condition is “change to OFF” as shown in FIG. 2, and therefore the document data to be printed is added to the document data to be printed in step S614. Change the attached “Toner Save” setting to OFF. On the other hand, if the “toner save” setting is OFF (step S613: Off), the process proceeds to step S615 without doing anything.

Next, in step S615, it is determined whether or not the paper type acquired in step S601 is the “envelope” paper type registered as a condition setting in the print setting condition storage device 20.
When the paper type is “envelope” registered as the condition setting (step S615: Yes), the process proceeds to step S616. When the paper type is not “envelope” (step S615: No), the process proceeds to step S621.

  In step S616, it is determined whether the “double-sided printing” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. If the “duplex printing” setting is ON (step S616: On), the condition is “change to OFF” as shown in FIG. Change the accompanying “duplex printing” setting to OFF. On the other hand, when the “double-sided printing” setting is OFF (step S616: Off), the process proceeds to step S618 without doing anything.

  In step S618, it is determined whether the “multi-page” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. When the setting of “multi-page” is ON (step S618: On), the condition is “change to OFF” as shown in FIG. 2, and therefore in step S619, the document data to be printed is added. Change the accompanying “multipage” setting to OFF. On the other hand, when the setting of “multipage” is OFF (step S618: Off), the process proceeds to step S620 without doing anything.

  In step S620, it is determined whether the “toner save” setting of the print setting information acquired in step S301 of FIG. 3 is ON or OFF. However, in the “paper type” “envelope” print setting condition, Since there is no condition setting for “toner save” as shown in FIG. 2, the process proceeds to step S621 without performing any processing regardless of whether the setting of “toner save” is ON or OFF.

  Next, in step S621, if the “warning display ON process” is executed in step S306 or the like, that is, if the warning display ON flag is set, a warning is displayed in the warning display dialog. In this warning display dialog, it is possible to select whether to execute printing or cancel printing.

  Next, in step S622, it is determined whether or not printing cancellation is selected. If printing cancellation is selected (step S622: Yes), the printer 3 is instructed to print out the document data. Instead, a dialog notifying that printing has been canceled is displayed, the document data to be printed is discarded, and this print control process is terminated. On the other hand, if the print cancellation is not selected (step S622: No), the printing process (printing is performed) based on the print setting that has not been changed in step S623 or the print setting that has been changed, for example, as in step S409. A print control command for printing the document data to be printed is executed.

  The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings. However, the above-described embodiments of the present invention are not limited to hardware, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) board, or a CPU as a function of the information processing apparatus. It can be realized by firmware or software on the board.

  In addition, the information processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the above-described embodiment as long as the function is executed, and even a single apparatus or a system composed of a plurality of apparatuses Needless to say, the integrated device may be a system in which processing is performed via a network such as a LAN or a WAN.

  It can also be realized by a system including a CPU, a ROM or RAM memory connected to a bus, an input device, an output device, an external recording device, a medium driving device, and a network connection device. That is, a ROM or RAM memory, an external recording device, or a portable recording medium that records a software program for realizing the system of the above-described embodiment is supplied to the information processing device, and the computer of the information processing device Needless to say, this can also be achieved by reading and executing the program.

  In this case, the program itself read from the portable recording medium or the like realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the portable recording medium or the like on which the program is recorded constitutes the present invention.

  Examples of portable recording media for supplying the program include flexible disks, hard disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, DVD-ROMs, DVD-RAMs, magnetic tapes, and nonvolatile memory cards. Various recording media recorded via a network connection device (in other words, a communication line) such as a ROM card, electronic mail or personal computer communication can be used.

  In addition, the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized by executing the program read by the information processing device on the memory, and an OS or the like operating on the information processing device based on an instruction of the program. Some or all of the actual processing is performed, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are also realized by the processing.

  Further, a function expansion board in which a program read from a portable recording medium or a program (data) provided by a program (data) provider is inserted into the information processing apparatus or a function expansion unit connected to the information processing apparatus After the data is written in the memory provided in the memory, the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program. A function can be realized.

  That is, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and can take various configurations or shapes without departing from the gist of the present invention.

1 Personal computer
2 line 3 printer 10 operating system (OS)
11 Application software 12 Printer driver 20 Print setting condition storage device

Claims (4)

In a printer driver for causing a printer to print a document of document data,
Document accompanying information acquisition means for acquiring document attribute information indicating the attribute of the document data attached to the document data to be printed and print setting information indicating a printing condition for printing after starting the print control process;
Print setting condition search means for searching for print setting conditions corresponding to the document attribute information acquired by the document accompanying information acquisition means with reference to a print setting condition database storing print setting conditions relating to printing after the document accompanying information acquisition. When,
A print setting condition mode changing means for changing a mode of the print setting condition based on a search result by the print setting condition searching means;
Flag ON means for setting a flag indicating that warning information is output based on a search result by the print setting condition search means;
Warning information output means for outputting the warning information when the flag is set;
Print selection output means for displaying a dialog capable of selecting whether to execute printing or cancel printing when the flag is set;
If the print cancellation is selected after the dialog is displayed, the print cancellation is notified without instructing the printer to print out the document data, and the print cancellation is not selected. A print execution unit that executes a print process based on the print setting condition that has not been changed or the changed print setting condition;
A printer driver comprising: Warning information output means for outputting warning information based on a search result by the print setting condition search means;
The printer driver according to claim 1, further comprising: The document attribute information includes identifier information for identifying the type of application software that created the document data, word information included in a file name uniquely assigned to the document data, and when the document data is printed Including any one of paper size information indicating a paper size and paper type information indicating a paper type when the document data is printed,
The print setting information includes a double-sided printing mode that forms an image on both the front and back sides of the paper, a multi-mode that prints multiple pages of document data on one sheet, and the amount of printing toner is suppressed. Including any one of toner save modes that are modes for printing
The printer driver according to claim 1, wherein the printer driver is a printer driver. A computer of an information processing apparatus that causes a printer to print a document of document data;
Document accompanying information acquisition means for acquiring document attribute information indicating the attribute of the document data attached to the document data to be printed and print setting information indicating a printing condition for printing after starting the print control process;
Print setting condition search means for searching for print setting conditions corresponding to the document attribute information acquired by the document accompanying information acquisition means with reference to a print setting condition database storing print setting conditions relating to printing after the document accompanying information acquisition. ,
Print setting condition mode changing means for changing a mode of the print setting condition based on a search result by the print setting condition searching means;
Flag ON means for setting a flag indicating that warning information is output based on the search result by the print setting condition search means;
Warning information output means for outputting the warning information when the flag is set;
Print selection output means for displaying a dialog capable of selecting whether to execute or cancel printing when the flag is set;
If the print cancellation is selected after the dialog is displayed, the print cancellation is notified without instructing the printer to print out the document data, and the print cancellation is not selected. A print execution unit that executes a print process based on the print setting condition that has not been changed or the changed print setting condition;
Printer driver program to function as