JP2024009336A - Program, information processing device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a user-friendly and easy-to-understand print setting function.SOLUTION: A program of an application that is run on an OS of an information processing device causes a computer of the information processing device to: receive a print request from a user; obtain print setting information designated on an OS-standard print setting dialogue displayed in response to the print request; create preview data for causing the print setting dialogue to display a preview on the basis of to-be-printed data and the print setting information; and return preview data to the print setting dialogue.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

The present invention relates to a program, an information processing device, and a method. In particular, the present invention relates to a program, an information processing device, and a method related to an application that provides a printing function.

2. Description of the Related Art Generally known is a configuration in which a printer driver installed in a host computer is used as software for controlling the printing device, and printing is performed on a printing device connected to the host computer. An operating system (OS), which is basic software, is installed on the host computer, and a printer driver is configured according to specifications defined by the OS, and is called and operated by the OS. By providing a printer driver that conforms to the specifications of the OS, a vendor that provides a printing device can provide a means for instructing the printer to print using the OS.

An application having a print function can perform printing on a printing device by issuing a print request to a printer driver. When Windows (registered trademark) by Microsoft (registered trademark) is used as the OS, an architecture called Win32 or WPF is used as the application architecture. Win32 and WPF provide a plurality of methods for issuing a print request. For example, when a Win32 application issues a print request, it may or may not display a standard print dialog provided by the OS. Further, the Win32 application may use a GUI (Graphical User Interface) provided by the printer driver to change the print settings, or may directly change the print settings without using it.

In recent years, a new application architecture called a UWP (Universal Windows Platform) application has appeared in Windows (registered trademark). When a UWP application issues a print request to a printer driver, an OS standard print dialog called MPD (Modern Print Dialog) is displayed (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-194766

In this way, in the UWP application, since the MPD is displayed when a print request is made, the user can issue a print instruction with a uniform operational feel, regardless of the type of application. On the other hand, in the above print dialog, a preview display that more clearly reflects the print settings is required.

In view of these problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a technology that allows an OS standard print dialog to display a preview that more clearly reflects print settings.

In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the present invention is an application program that runs on an OS included in an information processing device, the program causing the computer of the information processing device to receive a print request from a user. one reception means; an acquisition means for acquiring print setting information specified in the OS standard print setting dialog displayed in response to the print request; and based on the print target data and the print setting information, The print settings dialog functions as a first generation unit that generates preview data for displaying a preview, and a return unit that returns the preview data to the print settings dialog.

According to the present invention, it is possible to cause an OS standard print dialog to display a preview that more clearly reflects the print settings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a printing system. A block configuration diagram of a printing system. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining a screen when issuing a print instruction. Example of screen configuration of UWP application. 5 is a flowchart of print processing initialization processing of a UWP application. An example of an MPD print setting screen displayed in photo print mode. An example of the MPD print setting screen displayed in disc label print mode. A flowchart of pagination processing of a UWP application. 3 is a flowchart of preview generation processing of a UWP application. An example of the MPD print setting screen when an unsupported printer is selected. 5 is a flowchart of print data generation processing of a UWP application. 5 is a flowchart of UWP application setting change processing. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of operations between blocks in FIG. 2. FIG.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the following embodiments do not limit the present invention according to the claims, and all combinations of features described in the present embodiments are not essential to the solution of the present invention. Not exclusively. In addition, the same reference numerals are given to the same component, and the description is omitted.

<Embodiment 1>
(Hardware configuration of printing system)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a printing system. In the figure, a host computer 101 is an example of an information processing device, and includes an input interface 110, a CPU 111, a ROM 112, a RAM 113, an external storage device 114, an output interface 115, and an input/output interface 116. Further, input devices such as a keyboard 118 and pointing device 117 are connected to the input interface 110, and display devices such as a display unit 119 are connected to the output interface 115.

The ROM 112 stores an initialization program for initializing printing of a UWP (Universal Windows Platform) application, which will be described later. The external storage device 114 stores application programs, an operating system (OS), a printer driver, and other various data. The RAM 113 is used as a work memory etc. when the CPU 111 executes various programs stored in the external storage device 114.

Note that, in this embodiment, the CPU 111 performs processing according to the procedure of the program stored in the ROM 112, thereby realizing functions related to the later-described functions and flowcharts described later in the host computer 101. A printing device 102 such as a printer is connected to a host computer 101 via an input/output interface 116. In this embodiment, the host computer 101 and the printing device 102 are described as being configured separately, but they may be configured as a single information processing device.

(Block configuration of printing system)
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the printing system. Here, the explanation will be based on the premise that the host computer 101 is equipped with Microsoft (registered trademark)'s Windows (registered trademark) 8 or later OS as the OS 202, and is a printing system that operates with an architecture called a V4 printer driver.

The CPU 111 shown in FIG. 2 functions as the UWP application 201, the OS 202, the WSDA 205, and the printer driver 206 by executing programs stored in the ROM 112.

The UWP application 201 is a printing application that has a printing function, and can perform at least one of viewing, editing, moving, and deleting print target data including images, text, etc., and can accept print requests from users. It is an application. The OS 202 includes an MPD (Modern Print Dialog) 203 and a print manager 204. The MPD 203 is a print settings screen (print settings dialog) that is common regardless of the application and has a print preview function that allows the user to check the print result on the screen, and a function that allows the user to select basic print settings. Note that although the example in FIG. 2 describes an example in which the MPD 203 operates on the OS 202, the present invention is not limited to this, and the MPD 203 may exist as an application external to the OS 202. Even in this case, the MPD 203 is an OS standard print dialog, and is activated by the OS 202 during printing. Further, although the UWP application 201 is shown as an external application in FIG. 2, it may operate on the OS. The print manager 204 is a function of the OS 202 and acquires information from the UWP application 201, MPD 203, and WSDA 205 for changing and checking print settings, and instructs the printing apparatus 102 to print via the printer driver 206. A WSDA (Windows Store Device Application) 205 is an application for extending the functionality of a printer driver 206 provided by a vendor (hereinafter referred to as a printer vendor) that provides a printing device.

Here, with reference to FIG. 13, an example of a series of print processing executed by the UWP application 201, MPD 203, print manager 204, and WSDA 205 according to this embodiment will be described.

First, in S1301, the user instructs to start the UWP application 201. The UWP application 201 that has been instructed to start displays a screen on the display unit 119 in S1302. FIG. 3A shows an example of a screen 301 provided by the UWP application 201, which is a print application. When the UWP application 201 accepts a print request from the user in S1303, it notifies the print manager 204 in S1304. Note that communication between blocks or instructions from the user to each block are shown by arrows connecting each block, but may be performed via the OS 202.

When the UWP application 201 receives a print request from a user, the print manager 204, which is a function of the OS 202, starts an MPD (print settings dialog) 203 in step S1305. Further, in step S1306, the print manager 204 transmits print setting information to the UWP application 201, and transmits a preview data generation request. Next, in step S1307, the UWP application 201 generates preview data based on the print setting information acquired from the print manager 204 and at least a portion of the content (data to be printed) of the UWP application. Next, in step S1308, the UWP application 201 passes the preview data to the MPD 203 and instructs the MPD 203 to draw the preview data. The preview data generation process will be described later with reference to FIG. In step S1309, the MPD 203 uses the preview data to display the print setting screen 302 provided by the MPD shown in FIG. 3(B). On this print setting screen 302, the user can select the printer driver 206 to be used for printing. Furthermore, basic print settings can be specified on the print settings screen 302.

Further, in S1310, the print manager 204 receives an instruction from the user on the print setting screen 302, and receives a notification in S1311, and instructs the WSDA 205 to start up in S1312. In step S1313, the WSDA 205 that has received the activation instruction activates a screen from which the user can select detailed print settings. Specifically, when the "other settings" button 303 is designated on the print settings screen 302 in FIG. 3(B), a detailed settings screen 304 provided by the WSDA 205 shown in FIG. 3(C) is displayed. The user can instruct more detailed print settings on this detailed settings screen 304. Note that the image that looks like a document image displayed in the detailed setting screen 304 provided by the WSDA 205 is a sample image originally provided by the WSDA. Therefore, it is not a preview image based on drawing data generated by a UWP application, but a sample image that does not change even if the drawing data changes. Further, the WSDA 205 is activated only when the user instructs the button 303 on the print setting screen 302 provided by the MPD, and is not necessarily activated when setting the print settings.

Subsequently, the WSDA 205, which has received an instruction to change detailed settings through a user operation in S1314, notifies the details of the change in S1315. Then, the print manager 204 stores the print setting information changed in S1316. Here, the information indicating the print settings is written in XML format based on the format defined by the OS, and is included in data called PrintTicket. Although the WSDA 205 can refer to and change the PrintTicket, it cannot refer to drawing data (images, text information, etc. that are the source of printing on paper). Although not shown in FIG. 13, the PrintTicket is generated by the selected printer driver 206. The printer driver 206 also has a function of generating PrintCapabilities in which settable functions and selection items are described in an XML format based on a format defined by the OS. The WSDA 205 provides a user interface based on the information described in this PrintCapabilities.

Next, in step S1317, the print manager 204 notifies the UWP application 201 of information indicating the updated print settings. Subsequently, in steps S1318 to S1319, the UWP application 201 that has reacquired the print settings generates preview data in the same manner as in steps S1307 to S1308, and notifies the MPD 203 of the generated preview data. Subsequently, in S1320, the MPD 203 updates the displayed screen based on the acquired preview data. Note that when the print settings are changed on the print settings screen 302, the print manager 204 is similarly notified of the changed settings. Subsequently, the UWP application 201 may generate preview data through processes similar to S1306 to S1308, and update the screen displayed on the MPD 203 through processes similar to S1309.

It is assumed that after the print settings shown in FIG. 3, the user presses the "print" button on the print settings screen 302 provided by the MPD 203 of the OS 202 (S1321). Subsequently, the MPD 203 accepts the press of the "Print" button as a print instruction, and the MPD 203 notifies the print manager 204 that the "Print" button has been pressed (S1322). Upon receiving the notification, the print manager 204 requests the UWP application 201 to generate print data (document data) in S1323. Upon receiving the instruction, the UWP application 201 generates print data in S1324, and transmits the generated print data to the print manager 204 in S1325. The print manager 204 generates print data in S1326 based on the print data generated by the UWP application 201 and the aforementioned PrintTicket. This print command may be an XPS document written in a format called XML Paper Specification (hereinafter referred to as XPS).

The OS 202 stores the XPS document generated by the print manager 204 as a spool file. The printer driver 206 receives an XPS document stored as a spool file from the OS 202, converts the XPS document into a print command that can be interpreted by the printing apparatus 102, and outputs the converted command according to print setting information included in the XPS document. The above is the basic printing process from the UWP application 201.

(Example of screen configuration of UWP application 201)
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen configuration of a UWP application 201 having a function of printing images. The screen of the UWP application 201 is composed of a menu screen 401 on the left side and a main screen 402 on the right side. The menu screen 401 includes a selection button 403, an edit button 404, and a print button 405. When the user presses the selection button 403, a list of images stored in the external storage device 114 is displayed on the main screen 402. On this screen, the user can select any number of images that he or she wishes to print. Here, it is assumed that two images are selected by the user. When the user presses the edit button 404, the selected image and a screen for editing it are displayed on the main screen 402. On this screen, the user can perform processing such as trimming and color adjustment, and add arbitrary text to the selected image. When the user presses the print button 405, a screen for executing printing is displayed on the main screen 402. This print screen is displayed on the main screen 402 in FIG. The print screen displays an image 406 and an image 407 selected and edited by the user to be printed. The photo print button 408 is a button for printing the print target as a photo. A document print button 409 is a button for printing a print target as a document. The disc label print button 410 is a button for printing a print target on a printable disc.

(UWP application print initialization process)
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the main processing flow of the print initialization processing of the UWP application 201 in this printing system. Hereinafter, the UWP application 201 may be described as the main body of each process, but in reality, the corresponding functions are realized by the CPU 111 executing the corresponding programs. Note that all the processing is not necessarily executed sequentially in one process, and there may be cases where the processing is once transferred to the OS side and then called again from the OS. This is just a flow that shows the main processing of the UWP application 201 in an easy-to-understand manner for convenience.

When the user presses any of the photo print button 408, document print button 409, and disc label print button 410 in FIG. 4, the UWP application starts the print initialization process in FIG. First, the UWP application 201 registers a printing event handler in the print manager 204 (S501). As a result, the print manager 204 performs processing in the print event handler of the UWP application 201 when a specific event necessary for displaying the screen of the MPD 203 or executing print processing for the printer driver 206 occurs. call. There are three types of print event handlers: preview data generation processing, paginate processing, and print data generation processing. Details of processing within each event handler of the UWP application 201 will be described later. Next, the UWP application 201 instructs the print manager 204 to display a printing UI (S502). Next, the UWP application 201 determines the current print mode (S503).

When the user presses the photo print button 408, the UWP application 201 determines that the print mode is the photo print mode ("take photo" in S503), and proceeds to S504. In this initialization process, the UWP application 201 can specify the type of print settings to be displayed on the MPD 203. In the photo print mode, the UWP application 201 specifies paper size, print orientation, paper type, borderless printing, number of copies, and color mode as print settings to be displayed (S504). This allows the MPD 203 to display only the print settings necessary for photo printing, which reduces the user's need to specify inappropriate print settings and improves convenience. Further, in this initialization process, the UWP application 201 can specify default selection values for each print setting. In the photo print mode, the UWP application 201 specifies 4x6 as the default print setting value for the paper size (S505), and specifies photo paper as the default print setting value for the paper type (S506). In this way, by specifying settings commonly used for photo printing in advance, it is possible to reduce printing failures caused by users not specifying the print settings correctly, and improve convenience. . Finally, the UWP application 201 registers a settings change event handler that is called when print settings are changed on the MPD (S512). Processing of the setting change event handler of the UWP application 201 will be described later. The above is the print initialization process of the UWP application in the photo print mode.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a print setting screen of the MPD 203 displayed in the photo print mode. A print setting screen 601 displays a printer selection section 602 for specifying a printer for printing, and a print setting section 603 for allowing the user to specify print settings. The items displayed in the print settings section 603 are the print settings specified by the UWP application 201 in S504. Furthermore, the selected values specified in S505 and S506 are selected as the initial values of the print settings when the print settings screen 601 is activated.

Returning to the explanation of the flow in FIG. 5. When the user presses the document print button 409 (“document print” in S503), the UWP application 201 determines the print mode to be the document print mode, and proceeds to S507. In the document print mode, the UWP application 201 specifies paper size, print orientation, double-sided printing, number of pages per sheet, number of copies to be printed, and color mode as print settings to be displayed (S507). Next, the UWP application 201 specifies letter as the default print setting value for the paper size (S508), and specifies plain paper as the default print setting value for the paper type (S509). In this way, similarly to photo printing, by specifying print settings and initial values that are commonly used in document printing, it is possible to reduce user printing failures and improve convenience. Finally, the UWP application 201 executes the process of S512 in the same way as in the photo print mode. The above is the print initialization process of the UWP application in the document print mode.

When the user presses the disc label print button 410 ("disc label print" in S503), the UWP application 201 determines the print mode to be the disc label print mode, and proceeds to S510. In the disc label print mode, the UWP application 201 specifies the paper size and paper type as print settings to be displayed (S510). The paper size and paper type that should be specified for disc label printing are uniquely defined by the printer vendor, and the UWP application 201 cannot specify such print setting values within this initialization process. . Therefore, in the disc label printing mode, the UWP application 201 executes the process of S512 without specifying the initial values of the paper size and paper type, and ends the process.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a print setting screen of the MPD 203 displayed in the disc label print mode. The items displayed in the print setting section 703 of the print setting screen 701 are the print settings specified by the UWP application 201 in S510.

Through the above-described processing, only the print settings necessary for the print purpose specified by the user in the UWP application 201 are displayed on the print settings screen displayed by the MPD 203, and initial values of suitable print settings are set. This reduces the possibility of the user changing inappropriate print settings, and improves usability. Note that the three print modes explained in FIG. 5, the print settings displayed when each print mode is selected, and their initial values are examples, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

<Paginate processing for UWP applications>
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the contents of the pagination process among the event handlers registered by the UWP application 201 in S501. Hereinafter, the UWP application 201 may be described as the main body of each process, but in reality, the corresponding functions are realized by the CPU 111 executing the corresponding programs.

This pagination process is called by the print manager 204 when the user changes the print settings on the MPD 203 . The print settings specified on the MPD are passed from the print manager 204 to the UWP application 201. First, the UWP application 201 stores the paper size and printable area passed from the print manager 204 in the RAM 113 (S801). The paper size is selected by the user on the MPD 203, and there are setting values such as Letter and 4x6. The printable area is information indicating the origin and size of an area that can be printed by the printing apparatus 102 within the paper size. This information is included in PrintCapabilities returned by the print manager 204 inquiring the printer driver 206 based on print setting information selected by the user on the MPD 203 . By forming the drawing data so that it fits within the printable area obtained from this PrintCapabilities, the application achieves optimal printing that fits within the desired printable area of each printing device even if the printing device is changed. be able to. Further, the UWP application 201 stores other print settings passed from the print manager 204 in the RAM 113 (S802).

Next, the UWP application 201 determines whether the printable area is a specified size (S803). If the size is the specified size, the UWP application 201 stores information to the effect that the driver currently selected by the MPD 203 is a supported driver in the RAM 113 (S804). If the size is not the specified size, the UWP application 201 stores in the RAM 113 that the driver currently selected by the MPD 203 is not a supported driver (S805). As described above, the printable area differs depending on the type of printing device 102, so depending on whether this value is a specific value, it is possible to determine whether the printing device 102 is a specific printing device, for example, if the UWP application 201 supports it. It is possible to judge whether it is a target or not. By using this information, the UWP application 201 can change processing depending on whether the printer driver selected by the MPD 203 is supported. This process will be described later. Although the printable area is used here to determine whether the printing device and printer driver are supported, the determination may be made based on other information that can identify the printer driver. Finally, the UWP application 201 specifies the total number of pages for the current printing to the print manager 204 (S806). For example, when printing two images as shown in FIG. 4, the total number of pages is two. The above is the content of the pagination process of the UWP application 201.

(UWP application preview generation process)
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the details of preview generation processing of the event handlers registered by the UWP application 201 in S501. Hereinafter, the UWP application 201 may be described as the main body of each process, but in reality, the corresponding functions are realized by the CPU 111 executing the corresponding programs.

This preview generation process is called by the print manager 204 in order to display a print preview showing an overview of the print result on the MPD 203. First, the UWP application 201 obtains a requested page number from the print manager (S901). The UWP application 201 needs to return the print preview of this page number to the print manager 204. By doing so, the print preview of the page specified by the user is correctly displayed on the MPD 203. Next, the UWP application 201 determines whether the color mode in the print settings passed from the print manager 204 is monochrome (S902). If the UWP application 201 determines that the color mode is color (No in S902), print content corresponding to the requested page number acquired in S901 is drawn on the Canvas object (S903). For example, in the case of printing two images as shown in FIG. 4, if the requested page number acquired in S901 is 2, the second image 407 is drawn on the Canvas object. Depending on the printing that the UWP application 201 wants to achieve, for example, the image 407 may be drawn in a form that fits into the printable area acquired in S801. If the determination in S902 is Yes, that is, the color mode is monochrome, the print content corresponding to the requested page number obtained in S901 is converted to monochrome and drawn on the Canvas object (S903). With this configuration, the print preview on the MPD 203 is displayed in color when the color mode is set to color, and in monochrome when the color mode is set to monochrome. This allows the user to check a print preview that is closer to the actual print result on the MPD 203.

Next, the UWP application 201 determines whether the printer driver selected by the MPD 203 is a supported driver (S905). This determination is made based on the information stored on the RAM in S804 and S805. If it is determined that the driver is an unsupported driver, the UWP application 201 draws an error message on the Canvas object indicating that printing cannot be continued because no supported driver has been selected (S906). Subsequently, the UWP application 201 passes the Canvas generated as page data of the requested page to the print manager 204 (S915).

FIG. 10 shows a print setting screen generated by the MPD 203 through such preview generation processing. On the print setting screen 1001, Printer B is selected in the printer selection field 1002. Here, it is assumed that Printer B is a driver that is not supported by the UWP application 201 (unsupported driver). In the print preview area 1003 on the print settings screen 1001, there is a print preview drawn by the UWP application 201 in S906 with an error message indicating that no support driver has been selected and printing cannot be continued. Is displayed. The printer selection section on the print setting screen is automatically displayed by the MPD 203, and all printer drivers installed in the OS 202 are listed. Therefore, the UWP application 201 cannot normally be configured to permit printing only to a specific printer driver. However, in this embodiment, when an unsupported driver is selected through the processing of the UWP application 201, the user is notified that the printer is unsupported by displaying it on the print preview on the MPD 203. can. Furthermore, through the process described below, the UWP application 201 controls so that even if the user instructs printing with an unsupported driver selected, printing will fail. Through these processes, even if the MPD 203 is configured to allow selection of all printer drivers, the UWP application 201 configures the MPD 203 to allow printing only to a specific printer driver, and correctly informs the user of this fact. I can tell you. The UWP application 201 can control the display contents of the print setting screen generated by the MPD 203 to some extent through the processing described above, but it cannot display its own pop-up window while the MPD 203 is processing. . Even under such conditions, the UWP application 201 of this embodiment can convey information such as errors to the user by drawing a message on a canvas object to be displayed in the print preview area 1003. Note that if the UWP application 203 can display its own pop-up window during processing of the MPD 203, the error message indicating that printing cannot be continued may be notified in a form different from the print preview, for example, in a pop-up window. .

Returning to the explanation of the flowchart in FIG. 9. If it is determined in S905 that the driver selected by the MPD 203 is a supported driver, the UWP application 201 determines whether the print mode is the disc print mode (S907). The determination in S907 is made in the same manner as in S503. If it is determined that the disc printing mode is selected, the UWP application 201 executes disc printing processing from S908 to S910. First, the UWP application 201 fills the area other than the printable area of the disc with semi-transparent white on the canvas (S908). Such processing allows the user to distinguish between printable areas and other areas from the preview area. Next, the UWP application 201 determines whether the print settings are for disc printing (S909). Specifically, in the print settings saved on the RAM in S801 and S802, it is checked whether the paper size indicates the disc label. If it is determined in step S908 that the print settings are not set for disc printing, the UWP application 201 is unable to continue printing because there is a prohibited relationship between the print mode specified in the print request and the print settings. It is determined that it is impossible. Therefore, an error message indicating that printing cannot be continued is drawn on the canvas (S910).

The print setting screen generated by the MPD 203 when the Canvas subjected to the processes from S908 to S910 is passed to the print manager 204 in S907 will be described with reference to FIG. In the print preview 704 on the print setting screen 701 generated by the MPD 203, the area other than the printable area of the disc label, that is, the center part and the area outside the outer shape of the disc label, is filled with translucent white. This allows the user to check whether the print target will be printed at the desired position and size on the disc label, and whether there will be any defects. Furthermore, as shown in 703, if the paper size and paper type are not correctly set for disc labels, a prohibited relationship will appear between the print mode and print settings on the print preview 704, and printing will continue. An error message is displayed indicating that this is not possible. Furthermore, through the process described below, the UWP application 201 does not return drawing data but returns an error message even if the user instructs printing under conditions where this error message is displayed. As already mentioned, the paper size and paper type that should be specified for disc label printing are defined independently by the printer vendor, and the UWP application 201 uses these selection values in the initialization process shown in FIG. It cannot be specified within the process. In other words, the UWP application 201 cannot control the print setting screen generated by the MPD 203 to select in advance a paper size and paper type suitable for disc label printing. In this embodiment, the process described above allows the user to know that print settings suitable for disc label printing are not specified, and printing cannot be continued with inappropriate print settings. . This improves usability when printing disc labels, and prevents printing failures due to print setting errors. Note that the UWP application 203 can display its own pop-up window while the MPD 203 is processing, and if there is a prohibited relationship between the print mode and print settings, a pop-up message asking whether to continue printing will be displayed. may be displayed. In this case, if the user instructs to continue printing, print data may be passed to the print manager 204, and if the user instructs to cancel printing, an error message may be returned.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 9. If the print mode is not disk printing in S907, or after the process in S910, the UWP application 201 checks whether double-sided printing is turned on in the print settings saved in the RAM in S805 (S911). When double-sided printing is ON (Yes in S911), the UWP application 201 draws an object indicating double-sided printing on the canvas (S912). For example, the UWP application 201 inserts an image that looks like the edge of the page is turned over at the bottom right of the Canvas. By passing such a Canvas to the print manager 204, a print preview in which the edges of the page are turned over is displayed on the print setting screen generated by the MPD 203 only when double-sided printing is turned on. Thereby, the user can intuitively recognize on the print preview whether double-sided printing, which also prints on the back side, is ON or OFF.

If double-sided printing is OFF (No in S911) or after the process in S912, the UWP application 201 checks whether borderless printing is ON in the print settings saved in the RAM in S805 (S913). If the UWP application 201 determines that borderless printing is ON (Yes in S913), the UWP application 201 fills the borderless protruding area on the Canvas with translucent white (S914). Normally, when realizing borderless printing, the printer driver 206 sets the entire paper size as a printable area on PrintCapabilities indicating capability information of the printer driver 206. Based on such PrintCapabilities, the application arranges print content over the entire paper size. The printer driver 206 and the printing device 102 realize borderless printing by slightly enlarging the content placed on the entire paper size and printing it beyond the actual paper size. Therefore, in the printed matter generated by the printing apparatus 102, the print content generated by the application is printed with slight defects on all sides. In S914, the UWP application 201 fills in this missing area (borderless protruding area) with translucent white. Note that the size of this borderless protruding area differs depending on the printer driver 206 and printing device 102. The UWP application holds the size of the borderless protruding area of the support driver in advance, or determines it from the printable area information saved in S801.

If the UWP application 201 determines that borderless printing is OFF (No in S913) or after the process in S914, the UWP application 201 passes the Canvas generated as the page data of the requested page to the print manager 204 (S915), and ends the process. do. The print setting screen generated by the MPD 203 through the process of S914 will be described using FIG. 6. On the print setting screen 601 generated by the MPD 203, on is selected as borderless printing. In the print preview 603, the borderless protruding area of the print content is displayed in a lighter color due to the process of S914. This allows the user to check the missing area during borderless printing before printing, thereby reducing the number of printing failures.

The above is the preview generation process of the UWP application 201. Normally, the preview generation process of a UWP application returns the content to be printed to the print manager 204 as is, but in this embodiment, the content is processed for preview according to the specified print settings and then returned. do. Thereby, it is possible to provide a print preview that more visually reflects the specified print settings on the print settings screen generated by the MPD 203. Further, the UWP application in this embodiment can use print preview processing to notify the user that appropriate print settings have not been specified, thereby reducing failed printing. Further, the UWP application in this embodiment can notify the user that printing is not possible when an unsupported driver is selected by using print preview processing. Thereby, the UWP application can be configured as a print application dedicated to a specific printer driver.

<Print data generation process of UWP application>
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the contents of print data generation processing among the event handlers registered by the UWP application 201 in S501. Hereinafter, the UWP application 201 may be described as the main body of each process, but in reality, the corresponding functions are realized by the CPU 111 executing the corresponding programs.

This print data generation process is called by the print manager 204 when a user instructs printing on the MPD 203 . First, the UWP application 201 determines whether the printer driver that will perform printing from now on is a support driver based on the information stored in the RAM 113 in S804 and S805 (S1101). If the driver is not a supported driver, the UWP application 201 returns an error to the print manager 204 (S1102). Through this processing, the UWP application 201 can be configured not to print even if the user instructs printing with an unsupported driver selected.

Next, the UWP application 201 determines whether the print mode is the disc print mode (S1103). The determination in S1103 is made in the same manner as in S503. If it is determined that the disc printing mode is selected, the UWP application 201 checks whether the paper size and paper type indicate disc label printing in the print settings saved in the RAM in S801 and S802 (S1104). . If the print mode is disc printing and the print setting is not disc printing (S1103 is Yes and S1104 is No), the UWP application 201 returns an error to the print manager 204 (S1102) and ends the process. do. Through this process, the UWP application 201 can be configured to stop printing if it is determined that disc label printing cannot be executed correctly.

If the UWP application 201 determines that the print mode is not disc printing (No in S1103) or if the print setting is determined to be disc printing (Yes in S1104), the UWP application 201 advances the process to S1105. The UWP application 201 repeats the processes from S1105 to S1110 for the total number of pages to be printed. In S1106, the UWP application 201 draws the print content corresponding to the current page number on the canvas. Next, the UWP application 201 determines whether the print mode is the disc print mode (S1107). If the disc print mode is selected (Yes in S1107), the UWP application 201 fills in white on the canvas other than the printable area of the disc (S1108). If it is not the disc print mode (No in S1107), the UWP application 201 advances the process to S1109. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the printing device 102 from performing unauthorized printing on the outside area of the disc label. Next, the UWP application 201 adds the created Canvas to PrintDocument (S1109). PrintDocument is an object that represents the entire print document. The above-described processes from S1106 to S1109 are repeated for the total number of pages to be printed. The UWP application 201 may be configured to store the Canvas generated in S907 of the preview generation process as a cache on the RAM 113, skip the processes from S1106 to S1108, and use the generated Canvas. Thereby, unnecessary processing can be skipped and printing processing can be executed at high speed. However, if special processing for previewing, such as S908 or S910, is performed, the UWP application 201 does not use the generated Canvas, but regenerates it for printing in the processes from S1106 to S1108.

Finally, the UWP application 201 instructs to complete the creation of the PrintDocument, returns the created PrintDocument to the print manager 204 (S1111), and ends the process in FIG. 11. The above is the print data generation process of the UWP application 201.

In this way, the UWP application 201 in this embodiment is configured to interrupt print processing by returning an error to the print manager 204 under specific conditions. As a result, printing errors due to inappropriate print settings can be reduced, and the printing application can be configured exclusively for a specific printer driver. Furthermore, in the print data generation process, the UWP application 201 generates a print canvas different from the preview canvas generated in the preview generation process. As a result, the UWP application 201 can issue a correct print request to the printer driver 206 that does not include preview-only drawings such as those in S908 and S910.

<UWP application settings change process>
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the main processing flow of the setting change processing of the UWP application 201 in this printing system. Hereinafter, the UWP application 201 may be described as the main body of each process, but in reality, the corresponding functions are realized by the CPU 111 executing the corresponding programs. This setting change process is the process of the setting change event handler registered by the UWP application 201 in S512.

This setting change process is called by the print manager 204 when the user changes the print settings on the MPD 203. The UWP application 201 checks whether the changed setting on the MPD 203 is the paper type (S1201). The changed setting information is passed from the print manager 204. If the changed setting is not the media type (No in S1201), the UWP application 201 checks whether the changed setting on the MPD 203 is double-sided printing (S1202). Similarly, if the changed settings are not double-sided printing settings (No in S1202), the UWP application 201 checks whether the changed settings on the MPD 203 are color mode (S1203). If any of S1201, S1202, and S1203 is Yes, the UWP application 201 instructs the print manager 204 to redraw the print preview (S1204). In this way, the print manager calls the pagination process (FIG. 8) and preview generation process (FIG. 9) of the UWP application, and as a result, the print preview on the MPD 203 is redrawn. The above is the setting change process of the UWP application 201.

For example, normally, even if the paper type is changed, the print preview displayed on the MPD 203 does not change, so there is no need to redraw the print preview. However, in this embodiment, the UWP application 201 may perform special drawing for preview in order to improve the convenience of the print preview displayed on the MPD 203. By executing the setting change process shown in FIG. 12, it is possible to reliably execute the preview redraw process when the paper type is changed.

As described above, in this embodiment, the UWP application 201 generates different data in preview generation processing and print data generation processing. Thereby, a print preview that is easy to intuitively understand the print result can be displayed on the MPD 203 while ensuring a correct print result. Further, the UWP application 201 determines the print settings and the type of printer driver, notifies the user that printing cannot be continued, and controls the user so that printing is not executed even if printing is instructed. Through the above-described processing, it is possible to improve the convenience of print settings on the MPD 203 in the architecture of a UWP application that prints via the MPD 203. Further, the UWP application can be configured as an application dedicated to a specific printer driver.

Note that the UWP application 201 in this embodiment has three print modes: photo printing, document printing, and disc label printing, but it goes without saying that it can be configured to have other modes. Further, the UWP application 201 determines print settings such as color mode, double-sided printing, paper size, paper type, etc. and performs preview generation processing, but it goes without saying that it can be applied to other print settings as well. For example, when the UWP application 201 detects that layout printing is specified, it may generate a preview that has been subjected to layout processing.

<Other embodiments>
The embodiment described above is also executed by performing the following processing. That is, a recording medium recording a software program code that implements the functions of the embodiments described above is supplied to the system or device. Then, the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or device reads and executes the program code stored in the recording medium. Thereby, the above-mentioned purpose can be achieved. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium will implement the functions of the embodiments described above, and the storage medium that stores the program code will constitute the present invention.

As the storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, DVD, etc. can be used. can.

Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized. This also includes a case where an OS running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

Furthermore, the program code read from the storage medium may be written into a memory included in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Based on instructions from the program code, a CPU included in the function expansion board or function expansion unit may perform part or all of the actual processing. Through this processing, the functions of the embodiments described above are realized.

101: host computer, 102: printing device, 201: UWP application, 202: OS, 203: MPD, 204: print manager, 205: WSDA, 206: printer driver

In order to solve the above-described problems, one aspect of the program of the present invention is a UWP (Universal Windows Platform) application program that runs on an OS included in an information processing device, the computer of the information processing device an acquisition unit that acquires print setting information specified in an OS standard print setting dialog; and a first generation unit that generates preview data for displaying a preview based on print target data and the print setting information. and make it function as .

Claims (13)

An application program running on an OS included in an information processing device,
a first receiving means for receiving a print request from a user;
acquisition means for acquiring print setting information specified in a standard print setting dialog of the OS displayed in response to the print request;
a first generating means for generating preview data for displaying a preview in the print setting dialog based on the print target data and the print setting information;
a return means for returning the preview data to the print setting dialog;
A program characterized by functioning as A claim characterized in that the computer of the information processing device further functions as a second generation means for generating print data based on the print target data in response to a print instruction received via the print setting dialog. The program described in Section 1. 3. The program according to claim 1, further causing a computer of the information processing apparatus to function as a determining means for determining whether printing can be continued with the print settings included in the print settings information. 4. The program according to claim 3, wherein the determining means determines whether printing can be continued based on information indicating a printer driver included in the print setting information. The computer of the information processing equipment,
5. The program according to claim 3, further causing the program to function as a second receiving means for receiving print settings corresponding to the print request from a user. The determination means determines that printing can be continued if there is no prohibitive relationship between the print setting information acquired by the acquisition means and the print settings accepted by the second reception means. The program according to claim 5. When the determining means determines that printing cannot be continued,
7. The program according to claim 3, wherein the first generating means generates the preview data including an error message indicating that printing cannot be continued. 8. The method according to claim 3, wherein the determining means returns an error in response to a print data generation request when determining that printing cannot be continued. program. 9. The first generating means generates the preview data processed so as to distinguish between a printable area and other areas. program. The first generation means generates the preview data that has been processed in accordance with the printing process executed by the printing device, based on the print setting information acquired by the acquisition means. The program described in any one of Items 1 to 9. 11. Any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the acquisition means reacquires the print setting information from the print setting dialog when it is determined that the preview data is changed due to the change in the print setting information. The program described in Section 1. An information processing device including an OS,
a reception unit that receives a print request from a user using an application program running on the OS;
a first acquisition means for acquiring print setting information specified in a standard print setting dialog of the OS displayed by the program in response to the print request;
a first generating unit that generates preview data for displaying a preview in the print setting dialog based on the print target data and the print setting information according to the program;
a return means for returning the preview data to the print setting dialog according to the program;
An information processing device comprising: A method in which an information processing device equipped with an OS executes an application program running on the OS, the method comprising:
a reception process of accepting a print request from a user;
a first acquisition step of acquiring print setting information specified in a standard print setting dialog of the OS displayed in response to the print request;
a first generation step of generating preview data for the print setting dialog to display a preview based on the print target data and the print setting information;
a return step of returning the preview data to the print settings dialog;
A method characterized by comprising:

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