JP2023034832A - program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technology for a program commonly used by a plurality of types of printers with different printing functions, thereby reducing the user's trouble in switching print ports.SOLUTION: A printer driver 23 is commonly used by a plurality of types of printers having different printing functions and sets the printer to be normally used in a PC 1. When receiving a print command from the editing application 22 incorporated in the PC 1, the printer driver 23 captures an image to be printed based on the print command and generates print data for printing the captured image to be printed. Further, when receiving a print command, if the print setting based on the print command satisfies a switch condition that can be handled by a printer other than the normally used printer, the printer driver 23 outputs the generated print data to a switch destination printer by using its corresponding print port, but outputs the data by using the print port corresponding to the normally used printer if the switch condition is not satisfied.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The technical field disclosed in this specification relates to a program commonly used by multiple types of printers with different printing functions.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, technology related to a common printer driver (universal printer driver), which is one of programs commonly used by multiple types of printers with different printing functions, has been disclosed. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-100000 discloses a common printer driver that is commonly used by multiple printer models, selects one printer from multiple printers that have been found, and sets the IP address of the selected printer. A configuration is disclosed in which a logical print port that is present is set as a "print port to be used" and that print port is used for printing.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-232938

As described above, with the common printer driver, when using a printer different from the printer used in the previous printing, the user needs to switch the print port by operating the user interface. However, this print port switching operation is troublesome, and there is room for improvement.

The present specification discloses a program that is commonly used by a plurality of types of printers with different printing functions, and discloses a technology that reduces the user's trouble in switching print ports.

A program designed to solve this problem is a program that can be executed by a computer of an information processing device, the program is a program that is commonly used by a plurality of types of printers having different printing functions, and the computer , causing the computer to execute a setting process for setting a first printer, which is a normally used printer, from among a plurality of printers connected to the information processing apparatus, and further instructing the computer to print from an application program incorporated in the information processing apparatus; When there is an instruction, an image to be printed based on the print instruction is acquired, and generation processing is executed to generate print data for printing the acquired image to be printed, wherein the print data is the plurality of print data. data in a format compatible with the type of printer, and further, when the computer receives the print instruction, the print setting based on the print instruction is set among the plurality of printers connected to the information processing apparatus. When a switching condition compatible with a second printer different from the first printer is satisfied, the print data generated by the generation process is transmitted using a print port corresponding to the second printer. outputting, and if the switching condition is not satisfied, executing an output process of outputting the print data generated by the generating process using a print port corresponding to the first printer. there is

The program disclosed in the present specification is a program commonly used by multiple types of printers with different print functions that can be supported. Whether the output destination is the first printer or the second printer is automatically determined according to the set conditions. This eliminates the need for the user to perform an operation to switch printers, and the output destination can be switched according to the print settings, thereby reducing the user's trouble.

The control method realized by the above program, the information processing apparatus executing the computer program, and the computer-readable storage medium storing the computer program are also novel and useful.

According to the technology disclosed in this specification, a program that is commonly used by a plurality of types of printers with different printing functions, and technology that reduces the user's trouble in switching print ports is realized.

1A and 1B are a schematic configuration diagram of a PC and an explanatory diagram of functions of printers according to an embodiment; FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a property setting screen; FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a switching condition setting screen; FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a port switching setting screen; FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an installation screen; 4 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of each program for printing; FIG. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a detail setting screen; FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a detail setting screen; 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of printer determination processing; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of output destination information;

Hereinafter, embodiments embodying programs will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. This embodiment discloses a printer driver executed by a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as "PC") connectable to a plurality of printers having print functions.

A PC 1 of the present embodiment includes a controller 10 including a CPU 11 and a memory 12, as shown in FIG. 1(A). The PC 1 is an example of an information processing device, and the CPU 11 is an example of a computer. The PC 1 also includes a user interface (hereinafter referred to as "user IF") 13 and a communication interface (hereinafter referred to as "communication IF") 14, which are electrically connected to the controller 10. . Note that the controller 10 in FIG. 1A is a general term for hardware and software used to control the PC 1 and does not necessarily represent a single piece of hardware that actually exists in the PC 1 .

The CPU 11 executes various processes according to programs read from the memory 12 and based on user's operations. The memory 12 is, for example, a ROM, RAM, HDD, or flash memory, and is a storage area in which various programs and various data are stored. The memory 12 is also used as a work area when various processes are executed. A buffer provided in the CPU 11 is also an example of a memory. Note that an example of the memory 12 is not limited to the ROM, RAM, HDD, etc. built in the PC 1, but is a storage medium readable and writable by the CPU 11, such as a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc. good too.

The user IF 13 includes hardware that displays a screen for notifying the user of information, and hardware that accepts user operations. The user IF 13 may be a combination of a display, a keyboard, a mouse, or the like, or may be a touch panel having a display function and an input reception function.

The communication IF 14 includes hardware for communicating with an external device such as a printer. The communication method of the communication IF 14 is Ethernet (registered trademark), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), USB, LAN, or the like. The PC 1 may have a plurality of communication IFs 14 corresponding to a plurality of communication standards.

In the memory 12 of the PC 1, as shown in FIG. and are incorporated. The editing application 22 is an example of an application program. The printer driver 23 is an example of a program. The OS 21 is, for example, Windows (registered trademark), macOS (registered trademark), iOS (registered trademark), Android (registered trademark), or Linux (registered trademark).

The editing application 22 is, for example, a program that receives instructions for creating, editing, printing, and saving images and documents. The editing application 22 may be, for example, Microsoft (registered trademark) Word or PowerPoint, or may be an application provided by the vendor of the printer connected to the PC 1 . The editing application 22 receives, for example, designation of a device for printing, designation of an image to be printed, an instruction to edit print settings, and an instruction to execute printing, via the user IF 13 . The editing application 22 may be capable of receiving specification of sheet type and size, specification of the number of copies, instruction of double-sided printing, etc. as print settings.

The PC 1 of this embodiment is connected to a plurality of printers including a first printer 3, a second printer 4 and a third printer 5, as shown in FIG. 1(A). The first printer 3, the second printer 4, and the third printer 5 are, for example, printers of different models provided by the same vendor, and have different executable printing functions.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1B, the first printer 3 is, for example, a laser printer capable of only monochrome printing, and is a printer capable of single-sided printing on sheets up to A4 size. be. The second printer 4 is, for example, an inkjet printer capable of color printing, and is a printer capable of single-sided printing and double-sided printing on sheets up to A3 size. The third printer 5 is, for example, a laser printer capable of only monochrome printing, and is a printer capable of single-sided printing and double-sided printing on sheets up to A3 size.

The printer driver 23 is a so-called universal printer driver capable of supporting a plurality of models including at least the models of the first printer 3, the second printer 4, and the third printer 5. FIG. The printer driver 23 of this embodiment can also accept settings for a plurality of printers as devices to be processed. For the printer driver 23 of this embodiment, the first printer 3, the second printer 4, and the third printer 5 are selected as devices to be processed, for example, at the time of installation. Then, the printer driver 23 accepts the setting of the normally used printer among the plurality of devices to be processed, and registers information of the accepted printer in the OS 21 . In this embodiment, the first printer 3 is registered as the printer normally used by the printer driver 23 .

The printer driver 23 of this embodiment is activated when any one of the first printer 3, the second printer 4, and the third printer 5 is selected and an instruction regarding printing is received. The printer driver 23 generates print data for printing an image to be printed based on a print execution instruction received by the editing application 22 or the like, for example. The printer driver 23 of this embodiment generates, for example, PCLXL format data or PWG raster format data as print data. Any of the first printer 3, the second printer 4, and the third printer 5 is capable of printing based on both of these formats of print data. The print data generated by the printer driver 23 is data in a format compatible with multiple types of printers.

Further, when receiving a print instruction from the editing application 22, the printer driver 23 can switch the printer for printing based on the print settings, and can receive designation of switching conditions and port switching settings for that purpose. The printer driver 23 is activated, for example, when an instruction to set printer properties is received, and can receive various settings. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the printer driver 23 displays on the user IF 13 a property setting screen 51 for receiving printer property settings. The property setting screen 51 includes, for example, a “device setting” tab 511 , a “switching condition setting” tab 512 , and a “port switching detailed setting” tab 513 .

A property setting screen 51 shown in FIG. 2 is an example of a state in which a "device setting" tab 511 is selected. For example, when the printer driver 23 is installed, the only printers connected to the PC 1 are the first printer 3 and the second printer 4, and then the third printer 5 is connected. is operated to accept an instruction to add the third printer 5, which is a new printer, as a printer to be processed.

When the printer driver 23 accepts an operation to the "switching condition setting" tab 512, it causes the user IF 13 of the PC 1 to display a switching condition setting screen 52 as shown in FIG. The switching condition is a condition for switching the printer for printing from the normally used printer to another printer according to the print setting of the print instruction when the print instruction is received. Print setting items used as switching conditions include, for example, color settings, paper size settings, double-sided settings, special paper type settings, and special post-processing settings. The printer driver 23 of this embodiment can accept a plurality of conditions as switching conditions, and can specify different printers as output destinations for each of the plurality of switching conditions.

The switching condition setting screen 52 is an example of a condition input screen. The process of accepting the switching condition on the switching condition setting screen 52 is an example of the switching condition registration process. By displaying the switching condition setting screen 52 by the printer driver 23, the switching condition can be set or changed at any timing of the user, increasing the degree of freedom in determining the output destination. Details of the switching conditions will be described later.

In addition, upon receiving an operation to the "detailed setting of port switching" tab 513, the printer driver 23 causes the user IF 13 of the PC 1 to display a port switching setting screen 53, for example, as shown in FIG. The port switching setting screen 53 shown in FIG. 4 includes a selection field 531 for accepting the selection of "default printer", radio buttons 532, 533, 534 for accepting three options for "notification of output destination printer", and "printer radio buttons 535 and 536 for accepting two options for "priority of

The printer driver 23 registers the printer specified in the selection field 531 of the port switching setting screen 53 shown in FIG. The printer driver 23 also accepts selections of whether or not to notify the information of the output destination printer to which the print job is to be output using radio buttons 532 , 533 , and 534 . The printer driver 23 also accepts printer priority settings using radio buttons 535 and 536 . The order of priority is information indicating the relationship between printers designated as switching destinations in each switching condition. Specifically, the order of priority is the printer that is determined as the output destination when the print settings of the received print instruction have multiple switching conditions and the switching destinations specified in the switching conditions are different. is information indicating the order of

The process of setting the printer accepted in the selection field 531 of the port switching setting screen 53 as the normally used printer is an example of the setting process. Also, the port switching setting screen 53 is an example of a selection screen, and the process of receiving the setting of the priority order on the port switching setting screen 53 is an example of the priority order registration process. Details of notification and priority will be described later.

The selection of the device to be processed by the printer driver 23, the setting of the switching condition, the setting of the notification, the order of priority, etc. may be received by the installer 24 when the printer driver 23 is installed. The installer 24 shown in FIG. 1A is a program for installing the printer driver 23 in the PC1. Note that the installer 24 does not have to be stored in the memory 12 after the printer driver 23 is installed.

When installing the printer driver 23, the installer 24 causes the user IF 13 of the PC 1 to display an installation screen 61, for example, as shown in FIG. The installation screen 61 includes connection information 611 for each printer used by the printer driver 23, a button 612 for accepting an instruction for "set switching conditions", a button 613 for accepting an instruction for "detailed setting of port switching", is included.

When the installer 24 receives an instruction to set the switching condition by operating the "set switching condition" button 612 on the installation screen 61, the installer 24 displays a screen similar to the switching condition setting screen 52 shown in FIG. Accept user selection. When the installer 24 accepts the specification of the switching condition on a screen similar to the switching condition setting screen 52, when installing the printer driver 23, the installer 24 stores the information in the storage area of the memory 12 used by the installed printer driver 23. , and stores information indicating switching conditions. When the printer driver 23 is installed, the switching condition can be input, so that the switching condition for determining the output destination can be registered in advance, and the output destination can be distributed from the beginning of installation of the printer driver 23. - 特許庁

Further, when the installer 24 receives an instruction for detailed setting of port switching by operating the "detailed setting of port switching" button 613 on the installation screen 61, the installer 24 displays a screen similar to the port switching setting screen 53 shown in FIG. to accept user selections. When the installer 24 accepts various settings on a screen similar to the port switching setting screen 53, when installing the printer driver 23, in the storage area of the memory 12 used by the printer driver 23 after installation, Information indicating the accepted settings is stored.

Next, the procedure of various processes related to printing in the PC 1 in which the printer driver 23 is installed will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. In the following description, it is assumed that the switching conditions are set as shown in FIG. 3 and the details of port switching are set as shown in FIG. Specifically, the first printer 3 is set as the normally used printer, and the second printer 4 or the third printer 5 is set as the switching destination of the switching condition. In this case, the first printer 3 is an example of a first printer, and the second printer 4 and the third printer 5 are examples of a second printer. It should be noted that the processing of the PC 1 and the processing steps of the flowcharts in the following description basically represent the processing of the CPU 11 according to commands written in programs such as the printer driver 23 .

The user executes the editing application 22 to edit documents and images. Then, the user selects printing of the document or image being edited by the editing application 22 (S01). The editing application 22 acquires from the OS 21 the information of the printer set as the normally used printer (S02). Based on the acquired information, the editing application 22 displays a print screen, which is a screen for receiving instructions regarding printing, on the user IF (S03).

If the first printer 3 is set as the normally used printer, the editing application 22 accepts an instruction to make detailed print settings on the print screen being displayed (alt: [accept detailed setting instruction], S11 ), a detailed setting instruction is passed to the printer driver 23 corresponding to the first printer 3, which is the normally used printer (S12). The printer driver 23 displays a detailed setting screen 71 as shown in FIG. 7 on the user IF 13, which is a screen for accepting detailed settings (S13). The detailed setting screen 71 is an example of a print setting input screen, and S13 is an example of print setting display processing.

The detailed setting screen 71 shown in FIG. 7 includes, for example, a radio button 711 for selecting color printing, a selection field 712 for selecting double-sided printing, printer information 713 indicating the printer selected as the output destination, and an OK button. A button 714 and a cancel button 715 are included. Since the normally used printer is the first printer 3, information indicating the first printer 3 is displayed as the printer information 713 on the detailed setting screen 71 displayed in S13.

The printer driver 23 receives a print setting instruction input from the user on the detailed setting screen 71 being displayed (S14), and determines whether or not the received print setting corresponds to a switching condition (S15). The printer driver 23 compares the received print settings with the switching conditions received on the switching condition setting screen 52 (see FIG. 3), and determines whether or not the printing settings corresponding to the switching conditions have been selected.

For example, in the setting of the switching condition shown in FIG. 3, the switching condition for switching to the second printer 4 is specified in the selection field 521 when the setting value of the color setting in the print settings is "color". In this case, for example, when the printer driver 23 accepts an operation to the radio button 711 of the detailed setting screen 71, the setting value of the color setting is changed to "color" and the switching condition is satisfied (alt: [corresponding]). ]). Since the designated switching destination printer is the second printer 4, the printer driver 23 displays the printer information 713 indicating the output destination printer as shown in FIG. The information is changed to indicate the printer 4 (S16). By displaying the information of the output destination printer on the detailed setting screen 71 and changing the display of the output destination printer according to the switching condition, the user can recognize the output destination printer when inputting the print settings.

Further, for example, in the setting of the switching condition shown in FIG. 3, the switching condition for switching to the third printer 5 is specified in the selection column 522 when the setting value of the double-sided setting in the print settings is "double-sided". . In this case, the printer driver 23 determines that the switching condition is satisfied, for example, when the setting value for double-sided printing is changed to "double-sided" in the selection field 712 of the detailed setting screen 71 (alt: [corresponding]). The printer driver 23 then changes the display of the printer information 713 indicating the output destination printer to information indicating the third printer 5 (S16). When the selected print setting is canceled and the switching condition is not satisfied, the printer driver 23 returns the display of the printer information 713 to the first printer 3, which is the normally used printer.

When the display of the printer information 713 is changed, the printer driver 23 determines whether all print settings selected on the detailed setting screen 71 are compatible with the changed printer (S17). . If it is determined that the printer after the change includes print settings that cannot be supported (alt: [impossible]), the printer driver 23 displays a warning message warning of the print settings that cannot be supported on the user IF 13. (S18).

If it is determined that the printer displayed in the printer information 713 can handle all print settings, the printer driver 23 can accept the OK button 714 . After completing the setting input on the detailed setting screen 71, the user completes the detailed setting by operating the OK button 714 (alt: [OK], S21). The printer driver 23 passes the print setting information set at that time to the editing application 22 (S22).

Note that the printer driver 23 and the editing application 22 share print setting information. Upon receiving an operation on the OK button 714 , the printer driver 23 outputs setting information indicating each print setting selected at that time to the editing application 22 . The editing application 22 can input setting information output from the printer driver 23, and adjusts and redisplays the displayed print screen based on the input setting information. On the other hand, when the operation of the cancel button 715 is accepted, the printer driver 23 discards all the information of the user's operation accepted on the detailed setting screen 71 . In this case, in S22, the printer driver 23 may output to the editing application 22 information about the print settings when the execution instruction was received in S12, or output information indicating that the print settings have not been changed. You can The editing application 22 does not change the print screen displayed in S03 and displays it again.

Further, the print setting information may be written in a storage area shared by the editing application 22 and the printer driver 23 in the memory 12 . In other words, both the editing application 22 and the printer driver 23 may share information by reading print setting information from the same area and writing print setting information to the same area. In that case, in S22 of FIG. 6, the printer driver 23 may write the detailed setting information to the shared storage area.

The editing application 22 accepts a print execution instruction from the user on the print screen displayed in S03 or on the print screen redisplayed according to the detailed setting instruction (S31). The editing application 22 generates image data based on the image to be printed (S32), and passes the generated image data and the set print setting information to the printer driver 23 (S33).

The printer driver 23 generates print data based on the image data passed from the editing application 22 (S35). S35 is an example of the generation process. The print data generated in S35 is, for example, PCLXL format data or PWG raster format data.

The printer driver 23 then executes a printer determination process for determining a printer to which the generated print data is to be output (S36). The procedure of printer determination processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The printer determination process is executed by the CPU 11 of the PC 1 based on the printer driver 23 .

In the printer determination process, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the set print settings satisfy the switching condition (S101). When determining that none of the switching conditions are satisfied (S101: NO), the CPU 11 determines the first printer 3, which is the normally used printer, as the output destination (S102). Further, the CPU 11 stores the information of the output destination determined this time (S127), and ends the printer determination process.

On the other hand, when determining that there is a switching condition satisfied by the set print settings (S101: YES), the CPU 11 determines whether or not a plurality of switching conditions are satisfied (S111). When determining that a plurality of switching conditions are satisfied (S111: YES), the CPU 11 determines whether a different printer is included as a switching destination printer set for each of the satisfying switching conditions. (S112).

If it is determined that only one switching condition is satisfied (S111: NO), or if it is determined that the switching destination of any switching condition indicates the same printer (S112: NO), the CPU 11 selects the switching destination is determined as the output destination printer (S113).

On the other hand, when it is determined that a plurality of switching conditions are satisfied and the switching destinations are different (S112: YES), the CPU 11 determines the output destination printer based on the order of priority (S116). When a plurality of switching conditions are satisfied, the output destination can be determined according to a predetermined priority order, thereby avoiding a situation in which the output destination cannot be determined and outputting to an appropriate printer.

For example, when the normally used printer is the first printer 3, and the paper size setting value is set to "A3 size" and the double-sided printing setting value is set to "double-sided", the CPU 11 performs the following operations. 3, it is determined that a plurality of switching conditions are satisfied. In this case, the switching condition in which the paper size setting value is "A3 size" and the switching condition in which the double-sided printing setting value is "double-sided" are examples of the first switching condition and the second switching condition. be. In this case, the paper size switching condition sets the second printer 4 as the switching destination, and the double-sided printing switching condition sets the third printer 5 as the switching destination. Therefore, the CPU 11 determines YES in S112. do.

The priority order information is, for example, information received on the port switching setting screen 53 shown in FIG. As described above, a radio button 535 indicating "in descending order of printing speed" and a radio button 536 indicating "manual setting" are provided as options for the order of priority. For example, when the radio button 535 is selected on the port switching setting screen 53 shown in FIG. 4, the CPU 11 determines in S116 the printer with the faster printing speed as the output destination printer. . Specifically, a laser printer is likely to have a faster printing speed than an inkjet printer. The CPU 11 may determine the printer with the faster printing speed based on information on the capabilities of each printer.

Also, when the radio button 536 is selected on the port switching setting screen 53 shown in FIG. 4, the printer driver 23 displays a selection column 537 and accepts setting of priority order. With the selection column 537, the printer driver 23 accepts the order of printers to be preferentially used for printers other than the normally used printer. Note that the selection column 537 may not be displayed when the radio button 535 is selected. When the priority order of printers is set in the selection field 537, the CPU 11 determines the output destination printer from among the switching destination printers based on the priority order received in the selection field 537 in S116. By determining the output destination according to the order of priority selected by the user, it is possible to output to a printer suitable for the user's operation.

After determining the output destination based on the order of priority, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the printer determined as the output destination can handle all the print settings of the received print instruction (S117). If it is determined that print settings that cannot be handled are included (S117: NO), the CPU 11 returns to S116 and selects the next printer based on the order of priority. Note that if any of the selectable printers includes print settings that cannot be handled, the CPU 11 may, for example, display an error message and cancel printing, or accept a change in print settings. Also good.

If it is determined that the printer determined as the output destination can handle all of the print settings (S117: YES), the CPU 11 determines that the set notification information is "every time notification" and "different from previous printing". It is determined whether it is "notify" or "do not notify" (S121). The notification information is, for example, information received as output destination notification on the port switching setting screen 53 shown in FIG.

On the port switching setting screen 53 shown in FIG. 4, radio buttons 532, 533, and 534 accept a selection as to whether or not to notify the user of the information on the printer determined as the output destination. More specifically, the radio button 532 indicating "every time notification" is a button for receiving an instruction to display the information of the output destination printer on the user IF 13 each time a print job is transmitted to the printer. A radio button 533 indicating "notify if different from previous printing" is a button for accepting an instruction to display information on the printer of the output destination on the user IF 13 when the output destination of the print data is different from the previous print data. A radio button 534 indicating “do not notify” is a button for accepting an instruction not to display the information of the output destination printer on the user IF 13 . The CPU 11 makes the determination of S<b>121 based on the notification information received on the port switching setting screen 53 .

When determining that the set notification information is "notify when different from previous printing" (S121: Notify when different from previous printing), the CPU 11 acquires information on the previous output destination ( S122). The CPU 11 stores in the memory 12 the information of the output destination at that time in the printer determination process executed at the time of the previous printing. The CPU 11 determines whether or not the previous output destination matches the output destination determined this time (S123).

If it is determined that it does not match the previous time (S123: NO), or if it is determined that the set notification information is “every time notification” (S121: every time notification), the CPU 11 indicates the output destination. The information is displayed on the user IF 13 (S125). In S125, the CPU 11 displays information indicating the output destination printer as a pop-up message, as shown in FIG. 10, for example. S125 is an example of display processing. By displaying the information indicating the printer that is the output destination, the user can recognize the printer that outputs the printed matter.

After S125, or when it is determined that the set notification information is "not notify" (S121: not notify), or when it is determined that the output destination matches the previous one (S123: YES ), the CPU 11 stores information about the output destination determined this time (S127), and ends the printer determination process.

By accepting the selection of notifying when the printing is different from the previous printing, the CPU 11 does not perform the display when the printing is continuously output to the same printer. If the information indicating the output destination printer is displayed every time printing is performed, the user may be annoyed. It is possible to suppress annoyance by not displaying when outputting to the same printer.

Returning to the description of the sequence diagram of FIG. After the printer determination process of S36, the printer driver 23 determines whether or not the output destination printer determined in the printer determination process corresponds to the currently selected print port (S37). If it is determined that the currently selected print port is not compatible (alt: [NO]), the printer driver 23 calls the port switching API to make the selected print port compatible with the output destination printer. (S38).

Further, the printer driver 23 outputs print data using the selected print port (S41). S41 is an example of output processing. The output print data is output to the output destination printer by processing of the OS 21 (S42). As a result, printing is executed by the output destination printer.

As described in detail above, the printer driver 23 of this embodiment is a universal printer driver commonly used by the first printer 3, the second printer 4, and the third printer 5, and when there is a print instruction, , the print setting based on the print instruction is used to automatically determine the output destination printer in accordance with the preset switching conditions. This eliminates the need for the user to switch printers, and allows the output destination to be switched according to the print settings, thereby reducing the user's trouble.

It should be noted that the present embodiment is merely an example, and does not limit the present invention in any way. Therefore, the technology disclosed in this specification can naturally be improved and modified in various ways without departing from the gist thereof. For example, each printer is not limited to a dedicated printing machine, and may be a multifunction machine, a copier, a FAX machine, or the like. Also, instead of the PC 1, for example, a smart phone or a tablet computer may be used. Also, the number of printers connected to the PC 1 and the wording of various display screens are not limited to the examples shown in the drawings. For example, the PC 1 may be further connected with a printer that does not support the printer driver 23 .

Further, in this embodiment, when a plurality of switching conditions are satisfied and the switching destinations are different, the output destination printer is determined based on the order of priority, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, information on all printers that can be selected as output destinations may be displayed for the user to select, or print data may be output to all printers that can be selected as output destinations.

Also, in this embodiment, the case where printers of different models are connected to the PC 1 has been described, but printers of the same model may be included. In that case, the output destination printer may be determined based on the order of priority even among printers of the same model. , the printer may be determined.

Also, in this embodiment, the installer 24 also accepts the setting of the switching conditions and the order of priority, but it does not have to be accepted. In addition, although the printer driver 23 accepts user settings for switching conditions and priority order, they may be registered in the printer driver 23 in advance, for example.

Also, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that selection from three types is accepted as notification setting, but it is not necessary to accept it. In other words, the notification may be made every time, the notification may be made when it is different from the previous time, or the notification may be made when it is different from the printer that is normally used. Further, in this embodiment, information indicating the output destination printer is displayed in the detailed setting screen 71 for receiving detailed print settings, but it is not necessary to display it.

Further, for example, when print data is output to a printer different from the normally used printer, the printer driver 23 may call the port switching API again to return to the print port of the normally used printer.

Further, in any flowchart disclosed in the embodiments, multiple processes in any multiple steps can be arbitrarily changed in execution order or executed in parallel as long as there is no contradiction in the processing contents.

Also, the processing disclosed in the embodiments may be performed by a single CPU, multiple CPUs, hardware such as an ASIC, or a combination thereof. Further, the processes disclosed in the embodiments can be realized in various forms such as a recording medium recording a program for executing the processes, a method, and the like.

1 PC
3 first printer 4 second printer 5 third printer 11 CPU
13 User interface
23 Printer driver

Claims (9)

A program executable by a computer of an information processing device, the program being a program commonly used by a plurality of types of printers having different printing functions,
to the computer;
executing a setting process for setting a first printer, which is a normally used printer, from among a plurality of printers connected to the information processing apparatus;
Furthermore, in said computer,
When there is a print instruction from an application program incorporated in the information processing apparatus, an image to be printed based on the print instruction is obtained, and print data for printing the obtained image to be printed is generated. executing a generation process, wherein the print data is data in a format compatible with the plurality of types of printers;
Furthermore, in said computer,
A switching condition that, when the print instruction is given, the print setting based on the print instruction can be handled by a second printer that is different from the first printer among the plurality of printers connected to the information processing apparatus. is satisfied, the print data generated in the generation process is output using a print port corresponding to the second printer, and if the switching condition is not satisfied, in the generation process executing output processing for outputting the generated print data using a print port corresponding to the first printer;
A program characterized by In the program according to claim 1,
to the computer;
causing a condition input screen for inputting the switching condition to be displayed on the user interface of the information processing device, and executing a switching condition registration process for registering the switching condition input to the condition input screen in the program;
In the output process,
the print data generated in the generation process when the print setting based on the print instruction satisfies the switching condition registered in the switching condition registration process when the printing instruction is issued; using the print port corresponding to the second printer,
A program characterized by In the program according to claim 1 or claim 2,
In the output process,
when the print setting based on the print instruction satisfies the switching condition registered at the time of installation of the program, the print data generated by the generation process is output using the print port corresponding to the second printer, and the installer of the program causes the switching conditions to be input when installing the program, and registers the input switching conditions in the program;
A program characterized by In the program according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A plurality of the switching conditions are provided, the plurality of the switching conditions include a first switching condition and a second switching condition, and the first switching condition and the second switching condition can specify different printers as output destinations, and the relationship between the printer specified in the first switching condition and the printer specified in the second switching condition has an order of priority,
In the output process,
When both the first switching condition and the second switching condition are satisfied, the print data generated by the generation process is transferred between the printer designated as the first switching condition and the second switching condition. Outputting using a print port corresponding to the printer specified in the switching condition and having a higher priority according to the priority order;
A program characterized by In the program according to claim 4,
The order of priority is the order of fastest printing speed.
A program characterized by In the program according to claim 4,
A plurality of the priority orders are prepared,
to the computer;
causing a selection screen for selecting a priority order of a plurality of printers to be displayed on the user interface of the information processing device, and executing priority order registration processing for registering the priority order selected on the selection screen;
In the output process,
If both the first switching condition and the second switching condition are satisfied, the print data generated by the generation process is given a higher priority according to the priority order registered by the priority order registration process. output using the print port corresponding to the printer on the other side,
A program characterized by In the program according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
to the computer;
executing display processing for displaying information indicating a printer to be an output destination on a user interface of the information processing device when the print data is output in the output processing;
A program characterized by In the program according to claim 7,
In the display process,
When the print data is output in the output process, if the printer to be the output destination is not the same as the printer to which the previous print instruction was given, the information indicating the printer to be the output destination is sent to the user. displaying on the interface, and not displaying the information indicating the output destination printer on the user interface if the output destination printer is the same as the output destination printer according to the previous print instruction;
A program characterized by In the program according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
to the computer;
executing print setting display processing for displaying a print setting input screen for inputting print settings on the user interface of the information processing apparatus, wherein the print setting input screen includes an item for displaying a printer as an output destination; Further, in the item for displaying a printer as an output destination, when the print settings input to the print setting input screen satisfy the switching condition, the second printer is displayed and the print setting input screen is displayed. displaying the first printer when the print settings input to do not satisfy the switching condition;
A program characterized by

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