JP3833090B2 - Control method, control device, program, and storage medium - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a control method, control device, program, and storage medium for determining a printable area.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, network devices are generally used, and many personal computers (hereinafter referred to as PCs) and printers are connected to the network. In such a network environment, when printing a document with a large number of pages or a document with a large number of copies, a print job is spooled once for each page or the number of copies in a plurality of printers in order to shorten the printing time. 2. Description of the Related Art A print job control system (distributed printing system) that outputs data in a distributed manner is known.
[0003]
Furthermore, in such a network environment, in order to reduce the printing cost and the printing time for a single document in which color pages and monochrome pages are mixed, color pages are transferred to color printers, and monochrome pages are transferred to monochrome printers. 2. Description of the Related Art A print job control system (color / monochrome distributed printing system) that outputs data in a distributed manner is known.
[0004]
Furthermore, in such a network environment, a print job control system (broadcast printing system) is known that simultaneously transmits a single document to a plurality of printers with a single print instruction.
[0005]
Further, in such a network environment, when an error occurs in a document sent to one printer, the print job control system (error substitution printing system) that automatically switches to another printer and prints it. It has been known.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, even when printing on paper of the same size, the printable area that can be printed may vary depending on the printer used, and printing, such as distributed, broadcast, proxy, etc., is performed using multiple printers in the print job control system. In such a case, there has been no efficient setting method in which batch setting is performed so that a normal printout can be obtained in consideration of characteristics (printable area) unique to each printer.
[0007]
According to the conventional setting method, the printable area of each printer can be checked, and the same print area can be set for each printer or individual printer driver within the range that can be printed by all printers. A complicated operation for setting was necessary.
[0008]
Also, when printing instructions for multiple connected printers are set for a print area such as margins using a single virtual printer driver that combines the printers, it is matched to the print area of a certain printer. When printing instructions are given, there is a possibility that printing failure may occur in other printers, and in order to obtain a normal printed output, the user must also check the printable area of each printer and be able to print on all printers. I had to ask for myself.
[0009]
In addition, when a printing process for a plurality of printers is assumed, a combination of a plurality of printers may be changed, and a normal printout is output for a combination of the plurality of printers thus changed. In order to make a setting relating to the printable area so as to be obtained, the user still has to check the print area of each individual printer and set each.
[0010]
SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a mechanism that allows a user to set a printable area that is convenient for a user in a printing environment using a plurality of printers.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, in the control method, an acquisition step of acquiring printable area information of each of a plurality of member printers, and a print of each of the plurality of member printers acquired in the acquisition step A determination step for determining a printable area based on the printable area information, and the printability determined by the determination step in a user interface capable of changing and specifying a representative printable area in a printing process using a plurality of member printers. And a control step for controlling to include a value based on the region.
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, an embodiment suitable for applying the present invention will be described.
[0020]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information processing system to which the present invention can be applied. It is assumed that one or more client computers are connected in this system.
[0021]
In FIG. 1, reference numerals 102, 103, and 104 denote information processing apparatuses as client computers (clients), which are connected to a network 106 by a network cable such as Ethernet (registered trademark) and can execute various programs such as application programs. And a printer driver having a function of converting print data into a printer language corresponding to the printer. Note that the printer driver supports a plurality of printer drivers.
[0022]
Reference numeral 101 denotes an information processing apparatus as a server (hereinafter referred to as a print server) according to the present embodiment. The information processing apparatus 101 is connected to the network 106 via a network cable and stores files used in the network, Or monitor. The print server 101 manages a plurality of printers connected to the network 106.
[0023]
As the configuration, the clients 102 to 104 and the print server 101 are general information processing apparatuses, and the client and the print server each store a print control program for performing different controls.
The print server 101 is a general information processing apparatus and can simultaneously have the functions of the clients 102 to 104.
[0024]
The print server 101 in the present embodiment further stores and prints a print job including print data for which a print request has been issued from the client computers 102, 103, 104, or print data from the client computers 102, 103, 104. Only the job information that does not contain data, manages the print order of the client computers 102, 103, and 104, notifies the client in the print order of permission to send a print job including print data, and the status of the network printer 105 And a function for acquiring various types of print job information and notifying the client computers 102, 103, and 104.
[0025]
A network printer 105, which is a print control apparatus, is connected to the network 106 via a network interface (not shown). The print job including print data transmitted from the client computer is analyzed and converted into a dot image page by page. Convert and print page by page. A network 106 is connected to the client computers 102, 103, 104, the server 101, the network printer 105, and the like.
[0026]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the present invention. The client computers 102, 103, and 104, which are information processing apparatuses, have the same configuration, and the server 101 has the same or equivalent hardware configuration. To do. Therefore, it demonstrates as a block diagram explaining the structure of a client and a server.
[0027]
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 200 denotes a CPU that is a control unit of the information processing apparatus, which executes an application program, a printer driver program, an OS, a network printer control program of the present invention, and the like stored in a hard disk (HD) 205. Control to temporarily store information, files, etc. necessary for program execution.
[0028]
Reference numeral 201 denotes a ROM which is a storage unit, and stores therein various data such as a program such as a basic I / O program, font data used in document processing, and template data. Reference numeral 202 denotes a RAM which is temporary storage means, and functions as a main memory, work area, and the like of the CPU 200.
[0029]
Reference numeral 203 denotes a floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD) drive as a storage medium reading means. As shown in FIG. 5 to be described later, a program stored in the FD 204 as a storage medium is loaded into the computer system through the FD drive 203. can do. Note that the storage medium is not limited to the FD, and may be any CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, PC card, DVD, IC memory card, MO, memory stick, and the like.
[0030]
Reference numeral 204 denotes a floppy disk (FD) as a storage medium, which is a storage medium storing a computer-readable program.
[0031]
Reference numeral 205 denotes one of external storage means, which is a hard disk (HD) that functions as a large-capacity memory, and stores an application program, a printer driver program, an OS, a network printer control program, related programs, and the like. Further, a spooler which is a spool means is secured here. The spool means is a client spooler in the client, and a server spooler in the print server. In the print server, job information received from the client is stored, and a table for controlling the order is also generated and stored in the external storage means.
[0032]
Reference numeral 206 denotes a keyboard which is an instruction input unit. The user instructs the client computer and the operator or administrator inputs an instruction of a device control command to the print server.
[0033]
A display 207 is a display unit that displays commands input from the keyboard 206, the status of the printer, and the like.
[0034]
A system bus 208 controls the flow of data in a computer that is a client or a print server.
[0035]
Reference numeral 209 denotes an interface serving as an input / output unit, and the information processing apparatus exchanges data with an external apparatus via the interface 209.
[0036]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the memory map of the RAM 202 shown in FIG. 2, and is a memory map in a state where the network printer control program loaded from the FD 204 is loaded into the RAM 202 and can be executed.
[0037]
In this embodiment, the network printer control program and related data are loaded directly from the FD 204 into the RAM 202 and executed. However, every time the network printer control program is operated from the FD 204, the network printer control program is already executed. May be loaded into the RAM 202 from the HD 205 in which is installed.
[0038]
The medium for storing the network printer control program may be a CD-ROM, CD-R, PC card, DVD, or IC memory card in addition to the FD. Furthermore, it is possible to store the network printer control program in the ROM 201, configure it as a part of the memory map, and execute it directly by the CPU 200.
[0039]
In addition, software that realizes the same function as each of the above devices can be used as an alternative to a hardware device.
[0040]
The network printer control program may be simply referred to as a print control program. The print control program includes a program for instructing the client to change the print destination of the print job, or for instructing to change the print order, and in the print server to perform the print job order control. , A program for notifying the end of printing of a print job, a request for changing the printing destination, and the like is included. The print control program of the present invention for performing such control may separately divide a module installed in the client and a module installed in the print server, or one print control program is executed. It may function as a client or a print server depending on the environment. Alternatively, it is possible to install a module having a client function and a module functioning as a print server on one computer, and to perform a pseudo parallel operation at the same time or in a time division manner.
[0041]
Reference numeral 301 denotes a basic I / O program, which has an IPL (Initial Program Loading) function for starting the operation of the OS by reading the OS from the HD 205 into the RAM 202 when the control device is turned on. This is the area that contains the program.
[0042]
Reference numeral 302 denotes an operating system (OS), and 303 denotes a network printer control program, which is stored in an area secured on the RAM 202. Reference numeral 304 denotes related data, which is stored in an area secured on the RAM 202. Reference numeral 305 denotes a work area in which an area for the CPU 200 to execute the printer control program is secured.
[0043]
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a memory map of the FD 204 illustrated in FIG.
[0044]
In FIG. 4, 400 is the data content of the FD 204, 401 is volume information indicating data information, 402 is directory information, 403 is a network printer control program which is a print control program described in the present embodiment, 404 Is the related data. The network printer control program 403 is a program based on the flowchart described in the embodiment. In this embodiment, the client and the server have the same configuration.
[0045]
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a relationship with the FD 204 inserted into the FD drive 203 shown in FIG. 2, and the same components as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals.
[0046]
In FIG. 5, the FD 204 stores a network printer control program and related data described in the present embodiment.
[0047]
Next, a print job control system that uses a plurality of printers according to the present embodiment and performs the above-described printing processing such as distribution, broadcast, and substitution will be described.
[0048]
In this embodiment, a printer that virtually bundles a plurality of printers as one printer is called a group printer, and a printer that can be bundled is called a member printer. The corresponding printer drivers are called a group printer driver and a member printer driver, respectively.
[0049]
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing how a print job issued from a general application such as Microsoft Word in the client server model of this system is processed in the print job control system. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 600 denotes a client machine, which indicates a machine on which a client module of the print job control system operates.
[0050]
Normally, when a printing instruction is given, the application program generates a series of drawing commands and passes them to Windows Spooler via a printer driver. Windows Spooler takes a procedure of passing print job data to the port monitor selected by the user and transmitting it to the printer device.
[0051]
In the present embodiment, the user designates a print job control system port monitor 621 (hereinafter abbreviated as job control port monitor in this embodiment) and instructs printing in advance. The application program 601 generates a series of drawing commands. Upon receiving the drawing command, the group printer driver 603 generates a general-purpose print file and transmits it as print job data to the job control port monitor 621 instead of a port monitor that transmits print job data to the printer device. The job control port monitor 621 does not transmit print job data to the printer device 650 but transmits it to the print job control system print service 622 (hereinafter abbreviated as job control print service in this embodiment). The job control print service 622 performs print job control processing as described later on print job data.
[0052]
The print job control system print manager 623 (hereinafter abbreviated as job control print manager in this embodiment) checks the state of the print job in the job control print service 622 by the user, It is a program that provides a user interface (UI) for operation.
The job control print manager 623 exchanges information and instructions with the job control print service 622 via the software interface (API) of the job control print service 622.
[0053]
The print job control system server 630 (hereinafter abbreviated as job control server in the present embodiment) performs centralized control (scheduling) the timing at which the job control print service 622 on each client 600 transmits print job data to the printer device 650. )is doing.
[0054]
The print job control system management console 633 (hereinafter abbreviated as “job control management console” in this embodiment) exchanges information and instructions with the job control server 630 via an API for accessing software of the job control server 630. By doing so, the entire print job control system can be monitored.
[0055]
Further, the job control server 630 communicates with each printer device 650 using the device information control module 631 to obtain information about a print job and an operation state in each printer and perform an operation. The acquired information can be transferred to the job control print service 622 on the client 600 side.
[0056]
Next, printing from the group printer driver 603 in this embodiment will be described.
[0057]
The group printer driver 603 converts a series of drawing commands generated by the application program into a general-purpose print file that is an intermediate format file independent of the type of printer device. The configuration of this general-purpose print file will be described later.
[0058]
As described above, the general-purpose print file is guided from the Windows spooler 604 through the job control port monitor 621 (a) to the job control print service 622 (b). The job control print service 622 generates a drawing command based on the general-purpose print file according to the type of job control performed on the print job (c), and then the PDL driver 602 sends the drawing command to the printer device 650. Is a PDL file that can be interpreted. In FIG. 6, an example in which job control print service 622 performs job control for dividing a print job into two for this print job, and an example in which two member jobs are generated is indicated by two arrows (c). Yes. The PDL file generated by the PDL driver 602 passes through the Windows spooler 604 and the job control port monitor 621 (d), and is again delivered to the job control print service 622 (e). The job control print service 622 transmits PDL print job data to the printer device 650 in accordance with an instruction from the job control server 630 (f).
[0059]
The job control print service 622 logically divides one general-purpose print file into a plurality of print jobs in accordance with the instructions in the print instruction document in the general-purpose print file, and transmits them to different printer devices or once. Re-send print job data to another printer device. (C), (d), (e), and (f) in FIG. A indicate the print job data path in such a case.
[0060]
On the other hand, when the application software creates a general-purpose print file and the application software directly inputs the general-purpose print file as a print job, the general application is a method of passing information to the group printer driver 603 or the group printer driver 603. The processing content of is different. As described above, in the case of a general application, when the application passes drawing information to the group printer driver 603, the Windows GDI function is called in the same way as a normal printer driver, and the group printer driver 603 responds accordingly to the general-purpose print file. Is generated. On the other hand, in the case of an application that directly creates a general-purpose print file, the application already has a general-purpose print file and supplies it to the group printer driver 603. The group printer driver 603 rewrites the print instruction in the general-purpose print file based on a preset printing method as necessary, and sends it to the Windows Spooler 604.
[0061]
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a general-purpose print file.
The general-purpose print file used in the present embodiment is composed of a print instruction section 8-a and a document data section 8-b. The print instruction part is a part describing document information and a print instruction. The document data is obtained by converting application document data into general-purpose data, and has a data format independent of the printer language.
The print instruction unit includes a header part, a page information part, a print format instruction part, an output method designation part, a group printer driver setting information part, a member printer number, a member printer driver name, and a member printer driver setting information part.
The header part is a part for storing information such as version identification and file information of this file.
[0062]
The page information part is a part for storing information such as the number of pages of document data in the document data part 8-b and the size of each page.
The print format instruction unit is a part that stores information related to the output format such as a print page range, the number of copies, document data imposition information (N-UP, bookbinding printing, etc.), a staple command, a punch command, and the like.
[0063]
The output method designating unit is a part that stores information such as distributed printing, color / monochrome distributed printing, proxy printing, and broadcast printing as an output method.
The group printer driver setting information part is a part for storing UI setting information of a group printer driver described later.
[0064]
The number of member printers is a part for storing the number of member printers associated with the group printer driver.
The member printer driver name is a part for storing the printer driver name of the member printer.
[0065]
The member printer driver setting information section stores, for example, printer driver setting item information of a Windows System called DEVMODE as setting information of the driver UI of the member printer.
[0066]
The member printer driver name and member printer driver setting information section have as many storage areas as the number of member printers stored.
The group printer driver 603 described with reference to FIG. 6 records the settings on the group printer driver GUI in the print instruction unit 8-a when generating a general-purpose print file. Further, the group printer driver 603 converts the data received by the GDI into general-purpose data and records it as document data in the document data portion of the general-purpose print file.
[0067]
Note that this file may be a file in which the print instruction section 8-a and the document data section 8-b are different. In that case, the print instruction part exists as a print instruction document file and the document data part exists as a document data file, and these can be handled together as one file in a single archive format.
[0068]
Next, the relationship between the Print System provided by Windows and the print job in the print job control system and the processing outline will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.
[0069]
In FIG. 7, a print job control system 700 indicates a range of the print job control system that straddles physical machines on which the server and client control programs operate. The output port (Output Port) 711 managed by the server is associated with the proxy output port (Proxy Output Port) 712 of the job control print service 622 of the client, and the proxy on each client associated with one port. All output ports are managed in a unified manner. In this embodiment, actual print job data is held in the proxy output port 712 of each client. The job control server 630 does not perform transmission processing of the print job data itself, but only instructs the job control print service 622 to transmit a print job. In response to the instruction, the job control print service 622 of the client transmits print job data to the device 650.
[0070]
Next, processing when the print job control system 700 performs value-added printing such as proxy printing, distributed printing, and broadcast printing will be described.
When the print job control system 700 performs value-added printing such as proxy printing, distributed printing, and broadcast printing, as described above, the user or application 601 prints to a printer to which the group printer driver 603 is assigned. Must be issued. The job control print service 622 receives job data processed by the group printer driver 603 as a general-purpose print file via the job control port monitor 621. The job control print service 622 receives this job, and issues a job (member job) to another printer to which the PDL driver is assigned via the Despooler 701 for printing. At this time, the Despooler 701 interprets the print instruction unit 8-a of the general-purpose print file described with reference to FIG. 8, processes the document data in the document data unit 8-b, converts the document data into Windows GDI, and each printer driver. A print instruction is issued and a print job is issued. For example, when a 2-UP instruction is recorded in the print format designation section, document data for two pages is reduced and laid out on one sheet of paper. In the case of distributed printing or broadcast printing, a job is issued to a plurality of member printers described in the print instruction section 8-a according to these settings. In the case of proxy printing, when a proxy condition is satisfied, a member job is issued in accordance with a user's operation in advance for automatic proxy and for manual proxy.
[0071]
Further, when the Despooler 701 issues a job to each member printer, it is necessary to create a DEVMODE for each member printer as a print instruction corresponding to the member printer driver. This DEVMODE is described in the print instruction section 8-a. The contents are appropriately reflected in the DEVMODE of each member printer.
[0072]
The job control print service 622 on the client side receives the PDL data of each member job rendered by the PDL driver 602 via the job control port monitor 621, notifies the server side of information regarding the received job, It is temporarily stored in its own proxy output queue (Proxy Output Port) 712. Thereafter, after receiving a transmission instruction from the job control server 630, it is transmitted to the print device 650.
[0073]
Next, control of the group printer driver for the print job control system in the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
[0074]
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing control flow when the group printer driver of the present invention is installed in the system. The processing of each step in the flowchart of FIG. 9 is controlled by a CPU (central processing unit) provided in the information processing apparatus described above, stored in a predetermined storage medium such as a ROM, FD, or hard disk (HD). It is assumed that the program is realized by reading a program and executing processing based on the read program. The same applies to the flowcharts of FIGS.
[0075]
First, in step S901, when installation is started, a member printer name used by the group printer driver is acquired using the print job control system API.
[0076]
In step S902, information about printable area information of each member printer dry is acquired based on the ID held by the member printer driver. Note that the printable area in the present embodiment refers to a printable range indicating how far a print range can be designated on a single recording medium in a predetermined printer.
[0077]
Here, the ID of the member printer driver will be described in detail. As the ID of the member printer driver in the present embodiment, for example, the name (text data) registered in the icon corresponding to the printer driver or the printer driver uniquely Identification information such as the assigned serial number and identification information uniquely assigned to the registered printer driver management table are assumed, but any information that can identify each member printer driver is applicable. It becomes. The same is assumed in FIGS. 10, 11, and 15 described later.
[0078]
Also, the size of a predetermined recording medium such as paper (for example, vertical x horizontal = 297 x 210 (mm) for A4 paper size), information indicating the range in which printing (image formation) is performed, and a margin value Therefore, the information relating to the printable area acquired in step S902 is the information indicating the margin value itself, or the range in which image formation can be performed on a recording medium of a predetermined size. Both pieces of information shown can be applied.
[0079]
In step S903, the process executed in step S902 is repeated for all target member printers.
[0080]
In step S904, the optimum printable area is determined for each attribute of the plurality of member printer drivers from the information of the printable area of each member printer dry acquired through the processing in steps S901 to S903.
[0081]
Note that the optimum printable area determined in step S904 is held in a predetermined storage unit as a default setting value of the driver, and then the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 9 is ended.
[0082]
FIG. 14 shows an example of a display state of the user interface of the group printer driver. The display of FIG. 14 is the display based on the screen information for displaying the user interface included in the print control program (including the group printer driver) of the present invention displayed on the display unit via the OS. This is equivalent, and the display in the present embodiment is also displayed with the same mechanism.
[0083]
In FIG. 14, the information of the optimum printable area determined in step S904 is reflected on the user interface as the default value in the setting column in the margin of 1401. Further, as another preferred embodiment, information regarding the determined printable area may be reflected on the minimum value of the margin selectable range 1402 (displayed as 1.0 to 52.5 mm in 1402). As a result, it is possible to prevent the user from setting an inappropriate margin value. That is, the result of the conflict process is reflected on the minimum value.
[0084]
As described above, according to the flowchart of FIG. 9, the printable area is determined at the time when the print control program of the present invention is installed, and is retained as a default setting. On the other hand, the value for designating an appropriate printable area can be correctly returned.
[0085]
The control in step S902 in FIG. 9 may be inquired to the member printer driver via the Windows System or may be inquired directly to the member printer. Alternatively, it is possible to register the printable area of each member printer in advance in the print job control system and inquire the print job control system when installing the group printer driver.
[0086]
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a process control flow during the UI display process of the group printer driver in the present invention. The processing of each step in the flowchart of FIG. 10 is controlled by a CPU (central processing unit) provided in the information processing apparatus described above, stored in a predetermined storage medium such as a ROM, FD, or hard disk (HD). It is assumed that the program is realized by reading a program and executing processing based on the read program.
[0087]
First, in step S1001, when a UI display request is received from an application via Windows System, the ID of a member printer driver used by the group printer driver is acquired using the print job control system API.
[0088]
In step S1002, a process of comparing each member printer driver ID acquired at this time with the configuration of the member printer driver held in advance by the group printer driver is executed. In other words, an investigation process is performed to check the match between the IDs of the plurality of member printer drivers acquired last time and the IDs of the plurality of member printer drivers acquired this time.
[0089]
If it is determined in step S1002 that the member printer dry configuration has not been changed, control for displaying the user interface based on the value of the optimum printable area previously determined in step S1006 is performed. Made.
[0090]
On the other hand, as a result of the determination processing in step S1002, if it is determined that the configuration of the member printer driver (combination of IDs of a plurality of member printer drivers) has been changed from the previous one, the information on the printable area is checked again. (S1003). Specifically, the processing is the same as that described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 9, and processing for obtaining printable area information of each member printer driver is performed based on the ID of the member printer driver.
[0091]
Then, it is determined whether or not the process of step S1003 has been performed for all member printer drivers (S1004). If it is determined that the process has been completed, the process proceeds to step S1005.
[0092]
In step S1005, an optimum printable area is determined based on the information relating to the printable area of each member printer driver acquired by the processes in steps S1003 and S1004. The information on the optimum printable area determined in S1005 is held in a predetermined storage unit as the default setting value of the group printer driver, and then the user based on the optimum printable area determined in step S1005. Control for displaying the interface is executed by the print control program of the present invention (S1006).
[0093]
10, the user interface as shown in FIG. 14 is displayed in the same manner as in FIG. 9. In this case, information on the optimum printable area determined in step S1005 is the margin of 1401. The default value is reflected in the user interface. It is also assumed that the information regarding the printable area determined in another preferred form and the minimum value of the margin selectable range of 1402 is reflected, so that the user can previously set a setting value regarding an inappropriate margin. Setting can be prevented in advance.
[0094]
Further, according to the flowchart of FIG. 10, in accordance with the change of the configuration of the member printer driver, the control is performed so that the value 1401 or 1402 of FIG. 14 is also changed and set. Can always obtain information on the optimum printable area even if the member printer configuration changes.
[0095]
According to the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 10, an optimum printable area is determined and held in a predetermined storage unit as a setting value of the group printer driver. Can be answered correctly.
[0096]
Here, further, the process of determining the optimum printable area in step S904 or step S1005 will be described in detail. In step S904 or step S1005, information obtained from the printable area of each member printer is obtained. The narrowest width in each of the upper, lower, left and right directions is adopted as the print width, and the optimum printable area is determined. Also, this process is determined as a printable area that differs for each paper size.
[0097]
It is obvious that the margin value is determined if the size of the recording medium and the printable range for the size are determined. That is, the optimum printable area in step S904 or step S1005 can of course be provided as a margin value.
[0098]
(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the processing has been described so as to adopt the narrowest print range for a predetermined paper size.
[0099]
As another method for determining the optimum printable area, it is also possible to adopt the configuration in which the widest area is adopted for each of the obtained member printers in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the average value is adopted. This is envisioned in the present invention.
[0100]
Further, in the case of a configuration having a plurality of printable area determination methods, it is possible to adopt a configuration that allows the user to select by displaying on the user interface without uniquely determining the selection method. .
[0101]
Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0102]
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a processing control flow when the group printer driver UI is displayed. The processing of each step in the flowchart of FIG. 11 is controlled by a CPU (central processing unit) provided in the information processing apparatus described above, stored in a predetermined storage medium such as a ROM, FD, or hard disk (HD). It is assumed that the program is realized by reading a program and executing processing based on the read program.
[0103]
First, in step S1101, when there is a UI display request from an application via Windows System, the ID of each member printer driver that constructs a group printer driver is acquired using the print job control system API.
[0104]
In step S1102, the configuration of the member printer driver held in advance by the group printer driver is compared with the member printer driver ID acquired in step S1101.
[0105]
If it is determined in step S1102 that there has been no change, in step S1116, a user interface for performing various group printer driver settings reflecting the previously determined optimum printable area is displayed.
[0106]
If it is determined that the configuration of the member printer driver has been changed as a result of the comparison determination in step S1102, the printable area unique to each member printer driver based on the ID of each member printer driver. Information is acquired (S1103), and the process of step S1103 is repeated for all member printer drivers (S1104).
[0107]
Then, information on the printable area of each member printer driver obtained in steps S1103 and S1104, and determination of the optimum printable area previously or in advance designated via the user interface as shown in FIG. The printable area is determined based on the method (S1105).
[0108]
Then, control is performed so that the value of the printable area determined in step S1105 is reflected on the UI of the group printer driver for display (S1106).
[0109]
In step S1107, it is determined whether or not the user has instructed to change the printable area determination method to a predetermined printable area determination method.
[0110]
If it is recognized in step S1107 that an instruction to change is input, determination of the printable area instructed to be changed and printing of each member printer driver acquired in steps S1103 and S1104 are possible. A printable area is determined again based on the area information (S1105).
[0111]
In step S1106, control is performed so that the value of the printable area determined again in step S1105 is reflected and displayed on the UI of the group printer driver.
[0112]
If it is determined in step S1107 that there is no instruction to change the printable area determination method, the currently selected printable area determination method and the printable area determined in step S1105 are grouped. The setting value of the printer driver is held in a predetermined storage unit, and the process ends.
[0113]
As described above, according to the flowchart of FIG. 11, it is possible to easily determine the printable area by the user-desired printable area determination method.
[0114]
FIG. 13 shows an example of UI display in this configuration. The user can select a desired printable area determination method 1301 to 1303 via a pointing device such as a mouse. Further, the value of the printable area determined in response to the change of the printable area determination method 1301 to 1303 is reflected and displayed as a default value in 1304.
[0115]
(Third embodiment)
In the third embodiment, according to the correspondence table as shown in FIG. 12, the print job control system 700 performs any of value-added printing such as proxy printing, distributed printing, and broadcast printing. A process for automatically selecting a processing method will be described.
[0116]
Hereinafter, description will be given with reference to FIG.
[0117]
First, in steps S1501 to S1503, it is determined whether the currently set output method is broadcast printing, distributed printing, or color / monochrome distributed printing. In any of the steps, if the determination result is No, it is determined that the output method is proxy printing. Of course, when there are further output methods, it is assumed that the determination process for various output methods and the printable area determination method corresponding to each output method can be applied to the flow of FIG.
[0118]
If it is determined that the output method set for the group printer dry corresponds to one of the output methods in steps S1501 to S1503, “minimum range selection” is used as a method for determining the optimum printable area. Adopted (S1505).
[0119]
Here, as described in the first embodiment, the “minimum range selection” method is based on the acquired information on the printable area of each member printer, and is the most suitable for each of the predetermined sheet sizes. This is equivalent to control in which a narrow width is selected as the print width and the optimum printable area is selected.
[0120]
If it is determined that none of the output methods in steps S1501 to S1503 correspond, that is, if it is determined that the currently set output method is “proxy printing”, the output to the proxy printer is performed. As an optimum printable area determination method, the same printable area as the printable area set for the representative member printer is set as the actual print target area for the substitute member printer driver (S1504).
[0121]
Here, the representative member printer (representative member printer driver) refers to the one having the first priority among the plurality of member printers for which priority is set via the user interface. Member printer driver. The priority is arbitrarily set by the user according to the instruction. At this time, the priority member printer driver's printable area of the second, third, fourth,. The printable area is set as the optimum printable area. If the optimal printable area is changed, a warning message such as "Are you sure you want to change the calculation method for the optimal imprintable area?" User friendly.
[0122]
Further, the control described in the flowchart of FIG. 15 can be considered by applying it to step S904 of FIG. 9 or step S1005 of FIG. 10 described in the first embodiment. The optimum printable area calculation method is automatically selected according to the output method (broadcast, distributed, color / monochrome distributed printing, proxy printing, etc.).
[0123]
According to the flowchart of FIG. 15, in a printing process for a plurality of member printer drivers, the user selects a method for determining an optimal printable area that differs depending on an output method such as distributed printing or proxy printing. This can be realized without any operation.
[0124]
Further, the method for calculating the optimum printable area, which differs depending on the output method, is not limited to that shown in FIG. 12, but for example, “maximum range selection” for “proxy printing”. Also, the present invention can be changed as appropriate with “minimum range selection” for “distributed printing”, “minimum range selection” for “color / monochrome distributed printing”, and “range average selection” for “broadcast printing” It is assumed.
[0125]
As described above, the user can efficiently perform printing in a printing area in which normal printing is guaranteed in all the connected printers without being forced to perform complicated operations.
Further, by adopting an optimum printable area determining method for each operation setting of the print job control system, the optimum printable area can be automatically set according to the purpose of print job control.
[0126]
In addition, by having a user interface that can explicitly specify the printable area, it is possible to provide a more flexible printable area setting even for users who are dissatisfied with the automatically determined printable area. In this case, by displaying the printable area determined by the printable area determining unit as a specified value, it is possible to provide an appropriate printable area setting without requiring most users to select again. Further, by not displaying or selecting the range that cannot be printed by any of the printing apparatuses, it is possible to prevent the printing result from being accidentally lost.
[0127]
As described above, it is possible to provide a mechanism that allows a user to easily perform print settings related to a printable area under a printing environment in which a plurality of printers (member printer drivers) are operated.
[0128]
Note that the present invention can be applied to a system (copier, printer, facsimile machine, etc.) composed of a single device even if it is applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (eg, host computer, interface device, reader, printer, etc.). You may apply.
[0129]
Another object of the present invention is to read a program code stored in a storage medium by a computer (or CPU or MPU) of a system or apparatus, which stores a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments. It is also achieved by executing.
[0130]
In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code or the program code itself constitutes the present invention. become.
[0131]
As described above, the storage medium for supplying the program code includes a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD, magnetic tape, and nonvolatile memory card. ROM can be used.
[0132]
Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) operating on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. A case where part or all of actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing is also included.
[0133]
Furthermore, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion board is based on the instruction of the program code. The CPU included in the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.
[0134]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a mechanism that allows a user to set a printable area efficiently and easily in a printing environment using a plurality of printers.
[0138]
Further, in a print process for a plurality of printers, even if a combination of a plurality of printers is changed, a printable area corresponding to the change can be provided to the user.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information processing system to which the present invention can be applied.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information processing apparatus according to the present invention.
3 is an example of a memory map of a RAM 202 shown in FIG.
4 shows an example of a memory map of the FD 204 shown in FIG.
5 is a diagram showing a relationship with an FD 204 inserted into the FD drive 203 shown in FIG.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a print control module of the information processing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a print control module of the information processing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a general-purpose print file according to the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing control at the time of installing the group printer driver of the present invention in the system.
FIG. 10 is an example of a flowchart illustrating control during UI display processing of the group printer driver according to the present invention.
FIG. 11 is an example of a flowchart showing control during UI display processing of the group printer driver in the present invention.
FIG. 12 shows an example of a table for controlling the printable area determination method of the present invention.
FIG. 13 shows an example of a UI display according to the present invention.
FIG. 14 shows an example of a UI display according to the present invention.
FIG. 15 is a table for determining a method for determining an optimum printable area according to the output method of the present invention.

Claims (18)

An acquisition step of acquiring printable area information of each of the plurality of member printers;
A determination step of determining a printable area based on printable area information of each of the plurality of member printers acquired in the acquisition step ;
A control step for controlling to include a value based on the printable area determined by the determination step in a user interface that can change and designate a representative printable area in a printing process using a plurality of member printers. A control method characterized by the above. A plurality of types of output methods can be controlled with respect to an output method using any one of the plurality of member printers, and the determining step varies the method for determining the printable area according to the type of the output method. The control method according to claim 1. A determination step for determining whether or not the configuration of the combination of the plurality of member printers has been changed, and when the determination step determines that the configuration of the plurality of member printers has been changed, the determination step includes: 3. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the printable area is determined based on the printable area information of each of the changed member printers. A control method using a group printer that is associated with a plurality of member printers and can control a plurality of types of output methods for an output method using any of the plurality of member printers.
An acquisition step of acquiring printable area information of each of the plurality of member printers;
And a determining step of determining a print area based on the respective print area information of the plurality of member printer obtained in said obtaining step, said determining step said possible printing according to the type of the output method A control method characterized in that a method for determining an area is made different. The plurality of types of output methods include proxy printing, distributed printing or broadcast printing, or color / monochrome distributed printing, and the determining step is the first when the output method is proxy printing. The printable area is determined based on the printable area information of the priority member printer, and when the output method is distributed printing, broadcast printing, or color / monochrome distributed printing, the plurality of members acquired in the acquisition step 5. The control method according to claim 4, wherein a printable area is determined based on printable area information of each of the printers. A determination step for determining whether or not a configuration of the combination of the plurality of member printers has been changed; and when the determination result of the determination step is a determination that the configuration of the plurality of member printers has been changed. 6. The control method according to claim 4, wherein the step determines a printable area based on the printable area information of each of the changed member printers. A control method using a group printer that is associated with a plurality of member printers and can control a plurality of types of output methods for an output method using any of the plurality of member printers.
An acquisition step of acquiring printable area information of each of the plurality of member printers;
A determination step of determining a printable area based on printable area information of each of the plurality of member printers acquired in the acquisition step;
Includes a determination step of determining whether configuration of the combination of the plurality of member printer is changed, if the determination that the determination step of the determination result configuration of the plurality of member printer has changed, the decision step A control method for determining a printable area based on printable area information of each of the changed member printers. Possess the identification information acquisition step of acquiring identification information of a plurality of member printers, the determination step, characterized by determining the change in the structure of the combination of the plurality of member printers based on a combination of the acquired identification information The control method according to claim 7. Acquisition means for acquiring printable area information of each of a plurality of member printers;
Determining means for determining a printable area based on printable area information of each of the plurality of member printers acquired by the acquiring means ;
Control means for controlling to include a value based on the printable area determined by the determining means in a user interface capable of changing and designating a representative printable area in a printing process using a plurality of member printers. A control device characterized by. A plurality of types of output methods can be controlled with respect to an output method using any one of the plurality of member printers, and the determination unit varies the determination method of the printable area according to the type of the output method. The control device according to claim 9. A determination unit configured to determine whether or not a configuration of the combination of the plurality of member printers has been changed; and when the determination unit determines that the configuration of the plurality of member printers has been changed, 11. The control device according to claim 9, wherein the printable area is determined based on printable area information of each of the changed member printers. A control device comprising a group printer that is associated with a plurality of member printers and that can control a plurality of types of output methods for an output method using any of the plurality of member printers,
Obtaining means for obtaining printable area information of each of the plurality of member printers;
Determining means for determining a printable area based on printable area information of each of the plurality of member printers acquired by the acquisition means, and the determining means determines the printable area according to the type of the output method. The control apparatus characterized by making the determination method of different. The plurality of types of output methods include proxy printing, distributed printing or broadcast printing, or color / monochrome distributed printing, and the determining means is the first when the output method is proxy printing. The printable area is determined based on the printable area information of the priority member printer, and when the output method is distributed printing, broadcast printing, or color / monochrome distributed printing, a plurality of members acquired by the acquisition unit The control device according to claim 12, wherein a printable area is determined based on printable area information of each of the printers. A determination unit configured to determine whether or not a configuration of the combination of the plurality of member printers has been changed, and the determination is performed when the determination result of the determination unit indicates that the configuration of the plurality of member printers has been changed; 14. The control apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the means determines a printable area based on the printable area information of each of the changed member printers. A control device comprising a group printer that is associated with a plurality of member printers and that can control a plurality of types of output methods for an output method using any of the plurality of member printers,
Obtaining means for obtaining printable area information of each of the plurality of member printers;
Determination means for determining a printable area based on printable area information of each of the plurality of member printers acquired by the acquisition means, and determination for determining whether or not a configuration of a combination of the plurality of member printers has been changed includes a means printing, when the determination judgment result of said judgment means the configuration of the plurality of member printers is changed, the determination unit by respective printable area information of the plurality of member printers the changed A control device characterized by determining a possible area . Possess the identification information acquiring means for acquiring identification information of a plurality of member printers, said determination means, characterized by determining the change in the structure of the combination of the plurality of member printers based on a combination of the acquired identification information The control device according to claim 15 . A program for causing a computer to execute the control method according to claim 1. A storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the control method according to claim 1 in a computer-readable form.

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