JP2016177352A - Information processing device, information processing system, method of registering print setting, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing device that, when the print setting is combined for a plurality of printers, facilitates the setting of the combination of print settings for the printer which can execute the printing as setting.SOLUTION: An information processing device includes: acquisition means that acquires the information on the print function that can be set from a plurality of printer drivers to be registered; setting screen display means that displays the setting screen of the print function based on the acquired information of the print function that can be set; determination means that determines the printer driver that can execute the combination of the print functions set on the set screen from among the plurality of printer drivers; and registration means that registers the information of calling means for calling the combination of the print functions for the printer driver that has been determined to be able to execute the combination of the print functions.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, a print setting registration method, and a program.

  There is known a mechanism that allows a user to change a plurality of settings simultaneously for a printer driver that operates on an OS (Operating System). For example, there is known an information processing apparatus capable of setting a combination of printing conditions that can be commonly used by a plurality of types of printers in an environment in which a plurality of types of printers are connected (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Note that the setting is a setting for designating functions to be used when printing, such as paper size, color, aggregation, duplex, and the like. Moreover, the mechanism which enables it to change simultaneously is to memorize | store the some setting memorize | stored simultaneously by memorize | storing the combination of several settings beforehand and making a user select the combination of settings.

  In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, a combination of printing conditions that can be commonly used by a plurality of printers is created, and in the case of a printer that cannot use the set print settings, the unavailable settings are returned to the initial setting values. Printing. Therefore, a printer that cannot use the set print settings may not always print with the same settings as when the user created a combination of print conditions.

  As described above, in the conventional technology, when a combination of print settings is set for a plurality of printers, it is not possible to set a combination of print settings for a printer that can execute printing as set. It was difficult.

  The embodiments of the present invention have been made in view of the above-described problems, and when a combination of print settings is set for a plurality of printers, the printer can execute printing according to the settings. An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus that makes it easy to set a combination of print settings.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires settable print function information from a plurality of printer drivers to be registered, and the acquired settable print. A setting screen display unit that displays a setting screen for a printing function based on function information, and a determination unit that determines a printer driver that can realize a combination of the printing functions set on the setting screen from the plurality of printer drivers. And registration means for registering information of a calling means for calling the combination of printing functions to a printer driver determined to be able to realize the combination of printing functions.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, when a combination of print settings is set for a plurality of printers, the combination of print settings is set for a printer that can execute printing as set. It is possible to provide an information processing apparatus that facilitates the processing.

It is a figure showing an example of composition of an information processing system concerning one embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the hardware of the information processing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the software of the information processing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a function block diagram of the device store application which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the information of the print function which can be set which concerns on one Embodiment. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of a printer driver according to an embodiment. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the registration process of the one click icon which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the setting screen which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the judgment process of the setting judgment part which concerns on one Embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a print setting process according to an embodiment. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting screen according to an embodiment. FIG. It is a figure which shows another example of the print setting screen which concerns on one Embodiment.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an information processing system according to an embodiment. In FIG. 1, the information processing system 100 includes a plurality of information processing apparatuses 101-1 to 101-3 and a plurality of image processing apparatuses 102-1 to 102-2. The plurality of information processing apparatuses 101-1 to 101-3 and the plurality of image processing apparatuses 102-1 to 102-3 communicate with each other via a network 103 such as the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network). Connected as possible.

  In the following description, “information processing apparatus 101” is used to indicate an arbitrary information processing apparatus among the plurality of information processing apparatuses 101-1 to 101-3. Similarly, when indicating an arbitrary image processing device among the plurality of image processing devices 102-1 to 102-3, “image processing device 102” is used. In addition, the number of information processing apparatuses 101 in FIG. 1 is an example, and the information processing system 100 only needs to include one or more information processing apparatuses 101. Similarly, the number of image processing apparatuses 102 in FIG. 1 is an example, and the information processing system 100 may include at least one image processing apparatus 102, preferably two or more image processing apparatuses 102.

  The information processing apparatus 101 is an information terminal such as a client PC (Personal Computer) used by a user. A user can start various application programs (hereinafter referred to as applications) on the information processing apparatus 101 to create, edit, save, print, and print various document data. Further, the information processing apparatus 101 can communicate with a plurality of image processing apparatuses 102-1 to 102-3 connected via the network 103 to acquire device information and the like.

  The image processing apparatus 102 is an image forming apparatus having a printing function, such as a printer or an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral). A user who performs printing with the image processing apparatus 102 can use the information processing apparatus 101 to check and change print settings using a document creation application program (hereinafter referred to as an application) and perform printing. it can.

  In the above configuration, the user of the information processing apparatus 101 can print document data created by the information processing apparatus 101 using an arbitrary image processing apparatus 102. In the present embodiment, the printer driver operating on the OS (Operating System) has a mechanism that allows the user to change (set) a plurality of settings at the same time.

  The plurality of settings are settings for designating functions to be used when printing, such as paper size, color, aggregation, duplex, and the like. The mechanism that can be changed at the same time is to set a plurality of stored settings at the same time by storing a combination of a plurality of settings in advance and allowing the user to select a combination of settings.

  For example, by selecting a setting icon displayed on the setting screen of the printer driver, the plurality of settings can be changed (set) at the same time. In the present embodiment, such a setting icon is referred to as a one-click icon.

  However, the one-click icon is an example of a calling unit for calling a plurality of predetermined print function settings for a plurality of printer drivers. The calling unit is not necessarily an icon, and may be another selecting unit such as a pull-down menu. Further, the selection operation of the selection means is not necessarily limited to one click, and may be other operations such as tap, swipe, double click, and long press, or a combination of operations.

  In the present embodiment, for example, the user can call (set) a combination of a plurality of printing functions such as paper size, single-sided, double-sided, color, black and white, and aggregation by selecting a one-click icon, for example. it can.

<Hardware configuration>
Next, the hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 101 will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the information processing apparatus 101 according to the embodiment. The information processing apparatus 101 has a general computer configuration. For example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 202, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 203, a storage unit 204, a network I A / F (Interface) unit 205, an input unit 206, a display unit 207, an external I / F unit 208, and a bus 209 are included.

  The CPU 201 is an arithmetic device that implements each function of the information processing apparatus 101 by reading a program, data, or the like stored in the ROM 203 or the storage unit 204 onto the RAM 202 and executing the processing. The RAM 202 is a volatile memory used as a work area for the CPU 201. The ROM 203 is a non-volatile memory that retains programs and data even when the power is turned off, and is configured by, for example, a flash ROM. The storage unit 204 is a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive), for example, an OS (Operation System), various applications, a program such as a printer driver, and document data. Stores various data.

  The network I / F unit 205 connects the information processing apparatus 101 to the network 103 and performs communication such as a wired / wireless LAN to transmit / receive data to / from another information processing apparatus 101, the image processing apparatus 102, and the like. Interface.

  The input unit 206 is an input device such as a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel that accepts an input for operating the information processing apparatus 101. The display unit 207 is a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) that displays the processing result of the information processing apparatus 101. Note that the input unit 206 or the display unit 207 may be provided outside the information processing apparatus 101.

  The external I / F unit 208 is an interface for connecting an external device to the information processing apparatus 101. The external device includes, for example, a recording medium such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, a memory card, an optical disk, and various electronic devices. The bus 209 is commonly connected to each of the above components, and transmits an address signal, a data signal, various control signals, and the like.

<Software configuration>
Next, a functional configuration of software of the information processing apparatus 101 will be described. As a printer driver that operates on Windows (registered trademark), a printer driver having a new mechanism called a Version 4 driver (hereinafter referred to as a V4 driver) has appeared in place of a Version 3 driver (hereinafter referred to as a V3 driver). In the present embodiment, description will be made assuming that the printer driver is a V4 driver.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of software of the information processing apparatus 101 according to the embodiment. The information processing apparatus 101 includes an application 301, a printer driver 302, a device store application 303, a communication unit 304, and the like.

  The application 301 is, for example, an application program such as a word processor for creating a document, office software for spreadsheets, or business application software. A user who performs printing using the image processing apparatus 102 performs printing using the printer driver 302 from the application 301.

  The printer driver 302 is a program for controlling printing that displays print settings, creates print data, and the like from an application that runs on the OS called a desktop application. The printer driver configuration includes the V3 driver and the V4 driver described above. The printer driver 302 according to the present embodiment is assumed to be a V4 driver.

  The device store application 303 is an application that operates in association with the printer driver 302 that is a V4 driver. The device store application 303 is roughly divided into a part for displaying, changing, setting and the like of print settings when printing from the application 301 and a part for performing an operation when the device store application 303 is directly activated instead of at the time of printing. Can do. In this embodiment, the device store application 303 provides a one-click icon registration function.

  The device store application 303 is called “Windows Device Store Apps” or “Windows store device application” in the general name of Windows, and may be called DCA (Direct Access Connectivity Assistant). The device store application 303 operates in association with the printer driver 302 (V4 driver), and displays print settings. Therefore, the printer driver 302 and the device store application 303 may be collectively referred to as “printer driver 305”.

  A communication unit 304 is a part of an OS function used to acquire information by communicating with a device (for example, the image processing apparatus 102) on the network 103.

  Next, functional configurations of the device store application 303 and the printer driver 302 will be described.

<Functional configuration>
(Functional configuration of device store application)
FIG. 4 is a functional configuration diagram of a device store application according to an embodiment. The device store application 303 is divided into a one-click icon registration unit (start application) 401 and a print setting display unit (printer UI). First, the configuration of the one-click icon registration unit 401 of the device store application 303 will be described.

  The one-click icon registration unit 401 includes a printing capability acquisition unit 403, a setting screen display unit 404, a setting reception unit 405, a setting determination unit 406, a candidate display unit 407, and a setting information registration unit 408.

  The print capability acquisition unit 403 is an acquisition unit that acquires information about print functions that can be set from a plurality of printer drivers to be registered. The print capability acquisition unit 403 includes, as print function information that can be set from each printer driver, for example, print items including setting items such as double-sided printing, stapling, and paper size, and UI (User Interface) terms for each item. Get a part or all. In addition to the printing capability of each function, the printing capability acquisition unit 403 also acquires exclusive relationship information (exclusive information) of the setting items of each function.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of settable print function information according to an embodiment. For example, it is assumed that printer icons A to C are registered in the information processing apparatus 101 as printer drivers to be registered as one-click icons. The printer icon is an icon generated when a printer driver is installed in the information processing apparatus 101.

  FIG. 5A shows print capability information 501 and exclusive information 502 of the printer icon A (printer driver A). The print capability information 501 indicates that the printer icon A can select “A3” and “A4” as paper sizes, can select “No” and “Yes” for duplex printing, and “No” for staples. And “upper position” can be selected. The exclusive information 502 indicates that the printer icon A has no function that cannot be set simultaneously.

  FIG. 5B shows print capability information 503 and exclusive information 504 of the printer icon B (printer driver B). The print capability information 503 indicates that the printer icon B can select “A3” and “A4” as the paper size, can select “No” and “Yes” for duplex printing, and “No” for staples. And “upper position” and “left position” can be selected. The exclusive information 504 indicates that the staple “left position” cannot be set simultaneously when the printer icon B is “A3”.

  Similarly, FIG. 5C shows print capability information 505 and exclusive information 506 of the printer icon C (printer driver C). The print capability information 505 indicates that the printer icon C can select “A4” and “B4” as paper sizes, can select “No” and “Yes” for duplex printing, and “No” for staples. And “left position” are selectable. The exclusive information 506 indicates that when the printer icon C is “A4”, the staple “left position” cannot be set at the same time.

  The print capability acquisition unit 403 in FIG. 4 obtains the print capability information 501, 503, 505 and the exclusive information 502, 504, 506 from the printer icons A to C (printer drivers A to C), for example. Acquired as print function information that can be set.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the description of the functional configuration of the device store application 303 is continued.

  The setting screen display unit (setting screen display unit) 404 displays a print function setting screen based on the settable print function information acquired by the print capability acquisition unit 403, for example, on the display unit 207 in FIG. This setting screen is a screen for allowing the user to select a combination of functions to be registered as a one-click icon. The setting item to be displayed on the setting screen may be, for example, an item for displaying a logical sum (OR) item of a list of printing functions acquired from each printer driver by the printing capability acquisition unit 403 or each printer driver. It is also possible to display some items of the printing function acquired from the above. An example of a specific print function setting screen will be described later.

  The setting reception unit 405 is a setting reception unit that receives information on a combination of functions selected by the user with respect to the setting screen 901 displayed by the setting screen display unit 404.

  The setting determination unit 406 is a determination unit that determines a printer driver capable of realizing a combination of print functions received by the setting reception unit 405 from among a plurality of printer drivers to be registered. For example, the setting determination unit 406 determines whether the print capability information 501, 503, and 505 acquired by the print capability acquisition unit 403 includes a combination of print functions received by the setting reception unit 405. Further, the setting determination unit 406 determines whether the exclusive information 502, 504, and 506 acquired by the printing capability acquisition unit 403 includes information that denies the combination of printing functions received by the setting reception unit 405. .

  The candidate display unit 407 displays a list of printer drivers that can realize the combination of print functions received by the setting reception unit 405 among the plurality of printer drivers to be registered, which are determined by the setting determination unit 406. To display. The candidate display unit 407 displays that there is no printer driver that can be registered when there is no printer driver that can realize the combination of printing functions received by the setting reception unit 405.

  A setting information registration unit (registration unit) 408 determines a combination of print functions received by the setting reception unit 405 for some or all of a plurality of printer drivers to be registered, which are determined by the setting determination unit 406. Register the information of the one-click icon to call. For example, the setting information registration unit 408 displays a one-click icon for calling a combination of printing functions received by the setting reception unit 405 for a printer driver selected from the list of printer drivers displayed by the candidate display unit 407. The information may be stored. For example, the setting information registration unit 408 stores the one-click icon information in the storage unit 412 (for example, the LocalState folder) that is the management area of the device store application 303. Next, the configuration of the print setting display unit 402 of the device store application 303 will be described.

  The print setting display unit 402 includes a setting information reading unit 409, a setting information display unit 410, and a setting information change unit 411.

  The setting information reading unit 409 checks whether or not the one-click icon information registered by the setting information registration unit 408 exists in the storage unit 412. If there is one-click icon information, the setting information reading unit 409 reads the one-click icon information. .

  The setting information display unit 410 displays a setting screen including the one-click icon and the print setting item on the display unit 207 in FIG. 2 based on the one-click icon information read by the setting information reading unit 409, for example. .

  The setting information changing unit 411 sets a combination of registered printing functions based on the information of the one-click icon when the user selects the one-click icon on the setting screen displayed by the setting information display unit 410. (reflect. The setting information changing unit 411 changes the selected print setting when each setting item is selected on the setting screen displayed by the setting information display unit 410.

  The device store application 303 and each means included in the device store application 303 are realized by, for example, a program operating on the CPU 201 in FIG.

  Next, the functional configuration of the printer driver 302 will be described.

(Functional configuration of printer driver)
FIG. 6 is a functional configuration diagram of the printer driver according to the embodiment. The printer driver 302 includes a user interface unit (hereinafter referred to as a UI unit) 601, a drawing unit 602, and a printer driver data area 603. First, the configuration of the UI unit 601 of the printer driver 302 will be described.

  The UI unit 601 includes a storage location specifying unit 604, a setting information acquisition unit 605, a print setting display unit 606, and a print setting change unit 607.

  The storage location specifying unit 604 is means for specifying the storage location of the one-click icon information stored by the device store application 303. The printer driver 302 cannot directly know what device store application is being used. Therefore, as one method, in the present embodiment, information on the storage location of the one-click icon is specified by the following method.

  First, the storage location specifying unit 604 acquires plug-and-play information (hereinafter referred to as PnP information) of devices (such as the image processing apparatuses 102-1 to 102-3) connected to the network 103. Also, the storage location specifying unit 604 acquires application information (application ID, application name, etc.) described in the device metadata file from the device metadata (DeviceMetadata) file based on the acquired PnP information.

  The device metadata is a data file that associates a device (PnP information) with a device store application. By looking at the device metadata, the device store application information (application ID, application name, etc.) associated with the PnP information is known. Therefore, the storage location specifying unit 604 specifies a device store application associated with the image processing apparatus 102 from the device metadata, and also stores a storage area (storage unit 412) managed by the specified device store application. Can be identified.

  The setting information acquisition unit 605 determines whether the one-click icon is stored in the storage unit 412 based on the information acquired by the storage location specifying unit 604. If the one-click icon is stored, the setting information acquisition unit 605 stores the one-click icon. Get information of the one-click icon that is being used.

  The print setting display unit 606 displays the one-click icon acquired by the setting information acquisition unit 605 and the setting items of the print function on, for example, the display unit 207 in FIG.

  When the one-click icon displayed by the print setting display unit 606 is selected by the user, the print setting change unit 607 changes the settings of a plurality of print functions based on information on the selected one-click icon ( Set). In addition, among the print function setting items displayed by the print setting display unit 606, the setting of the print function set by the user is changed.

  Next, the drawing unit 602 includes a print execution unit 608. The print execution unit 608 creates print data according to the print function settings set by the UI unit 601.

  Information regarding the printer driver 302 is stored in the data area 603 of the printer driver. For example, the printer driver data area 603 includes an area for storing a fixed value of a driver called a Driver Property Bag 609, and the Driver Property Bag 609 holds printer driver capability information, exclusive information, and the like. .

  From the application 301, for example, the capability information of the printer driver may be acquired using functions such as DeviceCapabilities and PrintCapabilities. However, the capability information of the printer driver cannot be acquired from the device store application 303 by these methods. Note that when data is stored in the Driver Property Bag 609, the data can be transferred even in the Point & Print environment.

  In addition, the printer driver data area 603 includes an area called Queue Property Bag 610, which stores information on devices (such as the image processing apparatus 102) acquired by bidirectional communication. Since only a fixed value can be stored in the Driver Property Bag 609, it cannot be used as a storage area for information to be changed. Accordingly, it is assumed that information on options attached to a device acquired by bidirectional communication with the image processing apparatus 102 is stored in a queue property bag 610 that is a storage area for each printer icon.

  The information stored in the Queue Property Bag 610 can be used for determining whether or not the print setting can be realized because, for example, the exclusive information changes depending on the installed option information.

  Next, a processing flow of the information processing apparatus 101 will be described.

<Process flow>
(One-click icon registration process)
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a one-click icon registration process according to an embodiment.

  In step S <b> 701, the print capability acquisition unit 403 of the device store application 303 acquires print function information that can be set from a plurality of printer drivers that are registered as one-click icons. For example, the print capability acquisition unit 403 acquires print capability information 501, 503, 505 and exclusive information 502, 504, 506 from a plurality of printer drivers (printer icons) A to C as shown in FIG.

  In step S <b> 702, the setting screen display unit 404 of the device store application 303 displays a setting screen acquired by the printing capability acquisition unit 403 based on information on print functions that can be set on the display unit 207 or the like. An example of the setting screen displayed on the display unit 207 or the like at this time is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen according to an embodiment. The setting screen display unit 404 displays, for example, a one-click icon registration screen 801 as shown in FIG. 8 on the display unit 207 of FIG. In the example of FIG. 8, the setting screen display unit 404 displays a print function setting screen (setting field) 802 on the left side of the one-click icon registration screen 801. The display position of the print function setting screen 802 is merely an example.

  Returning to FIG. 7, the description of the flowchart will be continued.

  In step S <b> 703, the setting reception unit 405 of the device store application 303 receives information on a combination of print functions set on the setting screen 802. For example, in the example of FIG. 8, the setting reception unit 405 obtains information about a combination of the print function combination “A4”, duplex printing setting “no”, and staple setting “up position”. To do.

  In step S704, the setting determination unit 406 of the device store application 303 determines a printer driver that can realize the combination of print functions received by the setting reception unit 405 from among a plurality of printer drivers to be registered.

  For example, the print capability acquisition unit 403 acquires the print capability information 501, 503, and 505 and the exclusive information 502, 504, and 506 shown in FIG. 5, and the setting reception unit 405 displays the print function shown in the setting screen 802 of FIG. Information on combinations of In this case, “A4” is selected as the paper size, “Yes” is selected as the duplex printing setting, and “Upper position” is selected as the staple setting on the setting screen 802 in FIG.

  On the other hand, when compared with the print capability information 501, 503, and 505 in FIG. 5, printer icons (printer drivers) that can be combined with the print functions set on the setting screen 802 are an icon A and an icon B. Furthermore, the exclusive information 502 and 504 in FIG. 5 does not include a combination of print functions set on the setting screen 802. In this case, the setting determination unit 406 determines that the printer driver that can realize the combination of printing functions received by the setting reception unit 405 is the icon A and the icon B from among a plurality of printer drivers to be registered. be able to. A specific processing flow of the setting determination unit 406 will be described later.

  In step S <b> 705, the candidate display unit 407 of the device store application 303 displays a list of printer drivers that can realize the determined combination of print functions by the setting determination unit 406. In the example of FIG. 8, the drivers A and B determined by the setting determination unit 406 as printer drivers that can realize the combination of print functions received by the setting reception unit 405 are registered on the right side of the one-click icon registration screen 801. A list is displayed as the driver 803. In FIG. 8, the candidate display unit 407 displays a printer driver A and a printer driver B as selectable drivers 803 so that they can be selected. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, it is desirable that the candidate display unit 407 deactivates and displays the printer driver C804 that cannot be registered so that it cannot be selected.

  In step S706, the setting information registration unit 408 of the device store application 303 stores the information of the one-click icon for calling the combination of printing functions set on the setting screen 802 in an arbitrary format in the storage unit 412 such as the LocalState folder. Save with. For example, when the registration button 805 is selected on the one-click icon registration screen 801 in FIG. 8, the setting information registration unit 408 displays a combination of print functions set on the setting screen 802 for the printer drivers A and B. Save one-click icon information to call.

(Example of processing of the setting judgment unit)
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of determination processing of the setting determination unit according to an embodiment. This process is an example of the process of step S704 in FIG.

  In step S901, the setting determination unit 406 selects an arbitrary printer driver from a plurality of printer drivers to be registered.

  In step S902, the setting determination unit 406 determines whether the printer driver selected in step S901 can realize the combination of printing functions received by the setting reception unit 405 in step 703 of FIG. This determination is made, for example, by comparing the settable print function information shown in FIG. 5 with the print function combination information received by the setting receiving unit 405.

  If a combination of printing functions can be realized, the setting determination unit 406 shifts the process to step S903, and adds the printer driver selected in step S901 as one of printer drivers that can realize the combination of printing functions ( Remember. On the other hand, when the combination of printing functions cannot be realized, the setting determination unit 406 shifts the processing to step S904.

  In step S904, the setting determination unit 406 determines whether there is a printer driver that has not been determined in step S902 among a plurality of printer drivers to be registered. If there is no printer driver that has not been determined, the setting determination unit 406 ends the process. On the other hand, if there is a printer driver that has not been determined, the setting determination unit 406 selects an arbitrary printer driver from among the printer drivers that have not been determined, and the process proceeds to step S902.

  For example, the setting determination unit 406 determines whether or not a combination of printing functions can be realized for all printer drivers to be registered by repeating the above processing until there is no printer driver that has not been determined. can do.

(Print setting process)
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of print setting processing according to an embodiment. FIG. 10A shows an example of print setting processing by the device store application.

  In step S <b> 1001, the setting information reading unit 409 of the device store application 303 reads information on the saved (registered) one-click icon from the storage unit 412 that has saved the one-click icon information.

  In step S1002, the setting information display unit 410 of the device store application 303 displays a print setting screen on, for example, the display unit 207 in FIG. An example of the print setting screen displayed at this time is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting screen according to an embodiment. In the example of FIG. 11, a one-click icon selection screen 1102 is displayed at the top of the print setting screen 1101. A plurality of one-click icons 1103 are displayed on the one-click icon selection screen 1102 so as to be selectable. A print function setting screen 1104 corresponding to the selected one-click icon 1103 is displayed at the bottom of the print setting screen 1101. With this print function setting screen 1104, the user can further change the print function settings.

  Returning to FIG. 10A, the description of the flowchart will be continued.

  In step S1003, when one one-click icon 1103 is selected by the user, the setting information changing unit 411 reflects a combination of print function settings corresponding to the selected one-click icon 1103 in the print settings. At this time, the combination of print function settings corresponding to the selected one-click icon 1103 is also reflected in the print function setting screen 1104 of the print setting screen 1101.

  On the other hand, if the one-click icon 1103 is not selected in step S1003, the device store application 303 shifts the processing to step S1005 without changing the print function, for example, with default settings.

  In step S1005, printing is executed by the print execution unit 608 of the printer driver 302. For example, in FIG. 11, when the user selects the print button 1105, the device store application 303 requests the printer driver 302 to execute print processing.

  FIG. 10B shows an example of print setting processing by the printer driver.

  In step S1006, the storage location specifying unit 604 of the printer driver 302 specifies the storage location of the one-click icon information. For example, the storage location specifying unit 604 acquires the PnP information of the plurality of image processing apparatuses 102 connected to the network 103 as described above, and the application information (application ID, application name, etc.) of the device store application 303 from the device metadata. ) To get. Further, the storage location specifying unit 604 specifies the storage location of the one-click icon managed by the device store application 303 based on the acquired application information.

  In step S1007, the setting information acquisition unit 605 of the printer driver 302 acquires registered one-click icon information from the storage location (storage unit 412) of the one-click icon information specified by the storage location specification unit 604.

  In step S1008, the print setting display unit 606 of the printer driver 302 displays a print setting screen, for example, on the display unit 207 in FIG. Here, the description will be made assuming that the print setting screen displayed on the display unit 207 is the same as the print setting screen 1101 shown in FIG.

  In step S1009, when one one-click icon 1103 is selected by the user, the print setting changing unit 607 reflects the combination of print function settings corresponding to the selected one-click icon 1103 in the print setting. At this time, the combination of print function settings corresponding to the selected one-click icon 1103 is also reflected in the print function setting screen 1104 of the print setting screen 1101.

  On the other hand, if the one-click icon 1103 is not selected in step S1009, the printer driver 302 shifts the process to step S1005 without changing the print function, for example, with default settings.

  In step S1005, the print execution unit 608 of the printer driver 302 executes printing. For example, in FIG. 11, when the user selects the print button 1105, the print execution unit 608 of the printer driver 302 starts print processing.

  As described above, the information processing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment registers the information of the one-click icon only for the printer driver that can realize the combination of the print functions selected by the user when registering the one-click icon. . As a result, a one-click icon is not registered for a printer that cannot use the combination of print functions selected by the user, and therefore, there is a problem with the prior art that printing may not be performed with the same settings as when the one-click icon was created. Can be avoided.

  Therefore, according to the information processing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment, a combination of print conditions that can be used in common by the plurality of image processing apparatuses 102 so that printing is performed as set in each of the plurality of image processing apparatuses 102. Can be easily set.

  The one-click icon is an example of a calling unit for calling a combination of printing functions. The calling means is not necessarily an icon, and may be a pull-down menu, for example.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating another example of a print setting screen according to an embodiment. In the example of FIG. 12, a pull-down menu 1202 for selecting a setting pattern is displayed on the print setting screen 1201 instead of the one-click icon selection screen 1102 of FIG. The user can reflect the selected setting pattern in the print setting by selecting the setting pattern from the pull-down menu 1202.

The print setting screen may include both the one-click icon selection screen 1102 in FIG. 11 and the pull-down menu 1202 in FIG. The calling means for calling the combination of printing functions may be a one-click icon or an image or character string that is different from the pull-down menu.
<Summary>
The information processing apparatus (101) according to the present invention has been described above.
Acquisition means (403) for acquiring information on print functions that can be set from a plurality of printer drivers to be registered;
A setting screen display unit (404) for displaying a print function setting screen (802) based on the acquired settable print function information;
A determination unit (406) for determining a printer driver capable of realizing a combination of print functions set on the setting screen (802) from the plurality of printer drivers;
Registration means (408) for registering information of calling means (1103, 1202) for calling the combination of printing functions to a printer driver determined to be able to realize the combination of printing functions;
Have

  Thus, when a combination of print settings is set for a plurality of printers (102), the combination of print settings (1103, 1202) is set for a printer that can execute printing as set. It is possible to provide the information processing apparatus (101) that facilitates the process.

  Note that the reference numerals in the parentheses are given for ease of understanding, are merely examples, and do not limit the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Information processing system 101 Information processing apparatus 102 Image processing apparatus 103 Network 302 Printer driver 303 Device store application 403 Print capability acquisition part (acquisition means)
404 Setting screen display section (setting screen display means)
406 Setting determination unit (determination means)
407 Candidate display section (an example of setting information display means)
408 Setting information registration unit (registration means)
606 Print setting display section (an example of setting information display means)
1103 One-click icon (example of calling means)
1202 Pull-down menu (example of calling means)

JP 2013-145588 A

Claims (10)

Acquisition means for acquiring print function information that can be set from a plurality of printer drivers to be registered;
A setting screen display means for displaying a print function setting screen based on the acquired settable print function information;
Determining means for determining a printer driver capable of realizing a combination of printing functions set on the setting screen from the plurality of printer drivers;
Registration means for registering information of a calling means for calling the combination of printing functions for a printer driver determined to be able to realize the combination of printing functions;
An information processing apparatus. The calling means is
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is an icon or an image for calling a combination of the print functions.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the icon or image is a one-click icon for calling a combination of the print functions with one operation. The calling means is
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a pull-down menu or a character string for calling up the combination of printing functions. The acquisition unit, the setting screen display unit, the determination unit, and the registration unit are included in a device store application,
The registration means includes
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein information on the calling unit is stored in a management area of the device store application. The printer driver is
A specifying unit for specifying a management area of the device store application in which information of the calling unit is stored;
Reading means for reading out the stored calling means information from the management area of the specified device store application;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 5.   The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising setting information display means for selectively displaying a list of calling means registered by the registration means. Acquisition means for acquiring print function information that can be set from a plurality of printer drivers to be registered;
A setting screen display means for displaying a print function setting screen based on the acquired settable print function information;
Determining means for determining a printer driver capable of realizing a combination of printing functions set on the setting screen from the plurality of printer drivers;
Registration means for registering a calling means for calling the set combination of print functions for a printer driver determined to be capable of realizing the set print function combination;
As a program to make the computer function as. A plurality of image processing apparatuses having a printing function;
An information processing apparatus connected to the plurality of image processing apparatuses via a network,
Acquisition means for acquiring print function information that can be set from a plurality of printer drivers to be registered;
A setting screen display means for displaying a setting screen for a print function based on the acquired print function information that can be set;
Determination means for determining a printer driver capable of realizing a combination of print functions set on the setting screen from the plurality of printer drivers, and a printer driver determined to be capable of realizing a combination of the set print functions Registration means for registering calling means for calling the set combination of printing functions,
And a program to function as
Information processing system including An information processing apparatus that obtains print function information that can be set from a plurality of printer drivers to be registered; and
A setting screen display step in which the information processing apparatus displays a print function setting screen based on the acquired printable print function information;
A determination step of determining a printer driver capable of realizing a combination of print functions set on the setting screen from the plurality of printer drivers;
A registration step in which the information processing apparatus registers a calling means for calling the set combination of print functions to a printer driver that is determined to be capable of realizing the set print function combination;
A method for registering print settings.

Images