JP4143638B2 - Printing system, information processing apparatus, control method therefor, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, a printer driver installed in the information processing apparatus, and a control method for a printer driver installed in the information processing apparatus. Specifically, a system including an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, a printer driver mounted on the information processing apparatus, and a printing apparatus such as a printer. Further, the present invention relates to each apparatus, method, and control program constituting the system.

  With the progress of digitalization, networking, and mobility of information, it has become possible to access a large amount of information at once, and the portability of information has improved dramatically. It is inevitable that this trend will accelerate.

  Conventionally, as a technique widely used as an information leakage countermeasure, there is a method of limiting who can access confidential information by setting an access right to confidential information or a storage server for storing the confidential information.

  However, recent information leakage cases tend to be intentional acts of persons who are permitted to access confidential information, and it is no longer enough to prevent information leakage by setting access rights. It is not a measure.

  Means for preventing information leakage have been devised even for network printing systems.

  For example, print permission information is set in a document or print data to be printed, and the print permission information is referred to when printing is performed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  The print data is stored in a reprintable state by the print server, and information such as a job name, a client name, and a user name is acquired and a time stamp is added. Furthermore, a method of generating a bitmap from print data and storing it as a print log (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  In addition to the above, a method of acquiring a print log on the printer side and storing it in a server (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

In addition, the spooler on the print server passes the intermediate data for printing to the printer driver and also passes it to the database for print logs. Alternatively, the printer driver receives intermediate data for printing from the spooler, the printer driver passes PDL (page description language) to the printer, and passes the intermediate data to the print log database. (For example, refer to Patent Document 4).
JP 2004-252784 A JP 2002-149371 A JP 2003-330677 A JP 2004-118243 A

  However, in the prior art, detailed setting and management regarding a print log cannot be performed by an information processing apparatus equipped with a printer driver.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and realizes a network printing system that can store and track printed contents. In addition, a job tracking function is provided on the printer driver side to enable detailed settings for extracting history information of the job tracking function. In addition, the use of detailed settings for extracting history information for job tracking is limited to specific administrators and users to ensure that the job is tracked, while the administrator and users have desired history information. You can also get This aims to make it possible to construct a precise job tracking system.

In order to achieve the above object, a printing system according to the present invention comprises the following arrangement. That is,
In a printing system in which an information processing device and a tracking management device are connected via a communication medium,
The tracking management device includes:
Tracking data setting means for performing settings related to generation of the tracking data generated by the information processing apparatus;
The setting by the tracking data setting means includes extraction information for instructing to extract at least one of image data or text data that can identify the contents of the print data,
The information processing apparatus includes:
Print data generation means for generating print data for a printing apparatus;
Tracking data generation means for generating tracking data for the tracking information management server,
The tracking data generation means generates tracking data based on the extracted information set by an administrator.

In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises the following arrangement. That is,
An information processing apparatus equipped with a printer driver that generates print data,
Print data generating means for generating print data;
Tracking data generating means for generating tracking data;
Print data transmission means for transmitting the print data generated by the print data generation means to a printing apparatus;
Tracking data transmission means for transmitting the tracking data generated by the tracking data generation means to a tracking information management server,
The tracking data generation means generates tracking data based on the extraction information set by the administrator,
The tracking data transmission means sets a tracking information management server that transmits based on the extraction information set by the administrator,
The extraction information includes at least one instruction information on whether to extract text or whether to extract an image. When extracting an image, the extraction information further includes the number of bits of the image to be extracted, and the resolution. , Including at least one setting information of the compression method.

In order to achieve the above object, a printing system control method according to the present invention comprises the following arrangement. That is,
A control method for a printing system in which an information processing device and a tracking management device are connected via a communication medium,
The tracking management device includes:
The print data setting means has a tracking data setting step for performing settings relating to generation of the tracking data generated by the information processing apparatus,
The setting by the tracking data setting step includes extraction information for instructing to extract at least one of image data or text data that can identify the contents of the print data,
The information processing apparatus includes:
A print data generation step, wherein the print data generation means generates print data for a printing apparatus;
The tracking data generation means includes a tracking data generation step of generating tracking data for the tracking information management server;
The tracking data generation step generates tracking data based on the extracted information set by an administrator.

In order to achieve the above object, a method for controlling an information processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises the following arrangement. That is,
A method of controlling an information processing apparatus equipped with a printer driver that generates print data,
A print data generation step in which the print data generation means generates the print data;
A tracking data generation step in which the tracking data generation means generates tracking data;
A print data transmitting step for transmitting the print data generated by the print data generating step to the printing apparatus;
The tracking data transmission means has a tracking data transmission step of transmitting the tracking data generated by the tracking data generation step to the tracking information management server,
The tracking data generation step generates tracking data based on extraction information set by an administrator,
The tracking data transmission step sets a tracking information management server to be transmitted based on the extraction information set by the administrator,
The extraction information includes at least one instruction information on whether to extract text or whether to extract an image. When extracting an image, the extraction information further includes the number of bits of the image to be extracted, and the resolution. , Including at least one setting information of the compression method.

  According to the present invention, a network printing system capable of accumulating and tracking printed contents is realized. In addition, a job tracking function is provided on the printer driver side to enable detailed settings for extracting history information of the job tracking function. In addition, the use of detailed settings for extracting history information for job tracking is limited to specific administrators and users to ensure that the job is tracked, while the administrator and users have desired history information. You can also get This makes it possible to construct a precise job tracking system.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  The configuration of the chasing system will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The printing system includes a host computer 3000 connected to a network 5000, a printer 1500, a tracking information storage server 1000, and a management client 4000.

The host computer 3000 receives a print request from the user, generates print data according to the content of the print request, and transmits it to the printer 1500. Further, the host computer 3000 extracts and generates tracking data that matches the print request, and transmits it to the tracking information storage server 1000.
The printer 1500 executes print processing according to the received print data.

  The tracking information storage server 1000 registers and stores tracking data received from the host computer 3000 as a database in a storage area built in itself or other information devices.

  The administrator client 4000 is used by the system administrator to search and browse tracking data registered in the database as necessary.

  Note that the administrator client 4000 may be the same information device as the tracking information storage server 1000.

  Configuration of Host Computer 3000 and Printer 1500 FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the host computer 3000 and printer 1500. As long as the function of the present invention is executed, a system in which processing is performed by being connected via a network such as a LAN or WAN, whether it is a single device or a system composed of a plurality of devices. Even so, the present invention can be applied.

  In the figure, a computer 3000 is based on a program processing program stored in the ROM 3 or a document processing program stored in the external memory 11. Then, a CPU 1 that controls execution of a document process in which graphics, images, characters, tables (including spreadsheets) and the like are mixed, and includes a process according to each embodiment of the present invention, which will be described later. It has. The CPU 1 summarizes the control of each device connected to the system bus 4. The ROM 3 program ROM or the external memory 11 stores an operating system program (hereinafter referred to as OS) which is a control program for the CPU 1. The font ROM of the ROM 3 or the external memory 11 stores font data used for the document processing. Further, the data ROM of the ROM 3 or the external memory 11 stores various data used when the document processing is performed. The RAM 2 functions as a main memory and work area for the CPU 1.

  A keyboard controller (KBC) 5 controls key input from a keyboard 9 or a pointing device (not shown). A CRT controller (CRTC) 6 controls display on a CRT display (CRT) 10. A disk controller (DKC) 7 is a hard disk (HD) or floppy (registered trademark) for storing a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, edit files, a printer control command generation program (hereinafter referred to as a printer driver), and the like. Controls access to the external memory 11 such as a disk (FD). A printer controller (PRTC) 8 is connected to the printer 1500 via a bidirectional interface (interface) 21 and executes communication control processing with the printer 1500.

  The CPU 1 opens various windows registered in advance based on commands instructed with a mouse cursor (not shown) on the CRT 10 and executes various data processing. When executing printing, the user can open a window related to print settings and set the print processing method for the printer driver, including printer settings and print mode selection.

  The printer 1500 is controlled by the CPU 12. The printer CPU 12 sends an image signal as print output information to a printing unit (printer engine) 17 connected to the system bus 15 based on a control program stored in the ROM 13 or a control program stored in the external memory 14. Output.

  Further, a control program for the CPU 12 is stored in the program ROM of the ROM 13. The font ROM of the ROM 13 stores font data used when generating the print output information. The data ROM of the ROM 13 stores information used on the computer in the case of a printer that does not have the external memory 14 such as a hard disk.

  The CPU 12 can perform communication processing with a computer via the input unit 18. Thus, information in the printer can be notified to the computer 3000. The RAM 19 is a RAM that functions as a main memory, a work area, or the like for the CPU 12. Further, the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). The RAM 19 is used as an output information expansion area, environment data storage area, NVRAM, and the like.

  Access to the above-described external memory 14 such as a hard disk (HD) or IC card is controlled by a memory controller (MC) 20. The external memory 14 is connected as an option and stores font data, an emulation program, form data, and the like.

  An operation unit 1501 has a key switch for operation and an LED display.

  In addition, the printer 1500 may have an NVRAM (not shown) and store printer mode setting information input from the operation panel 1501.

  The printing unit 17 is an electrophotographic engine in this embodiment. Accordingly, the print data is finally recorded on a medium such as paper by toner dots. Of course, the printing method in the present invention is not limited to such an electrophotographic method. For example, the present invention can be applied to any type of printing apparatus that performs printing by forming dots, such as an inkjet method.

  The configuration of the print processing apparatus and information tracking apparatus in the host computer 3000 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example for printing processing and information tracking in the computer 3000 shown in FIG.

  The application 201, graphic engine 202, printer driver 203, and system spooler 204 exist as files stored in the external memory 11. These are program modules that are loaded into the RAM 2 and executed by the OS and modules that use the modules.

  Further, the application 201 and the printer driver 203 can be added to the HD of the external memory 11 via the FD of the external memory 11, a CD-ROM (not shown), or a network (not shown). The application 201 stored in the external memory 11 is loaded into the RAM 2 and executed. When printing is performed from the application 201 to the printer 1500, output (rendering) is similarly performed using the graphic engine 202 loaded into the RAM 2 and executable.

  The graphic engine 202 loads the printer driver 203 prepared for each printing apparatus such as a printer from the external memory 11 to the RAM 2, and sets the output of the application 201 in the printer driver 203. The graphic engine 202 converts a GDI (Graphic Device Interface) function received from the application 201 into a DDI (Device Driver Interface) function, and outputs the function to the printer driver 203. Based on the DDI function received from the graphic engine 202, the printer driver 203 converts it into a control command that can be recognized by the printer, for example, a PDL (Page Description Language). The converted printer control command is output as print data to the printer 1500 via the interface 21 via the system spooler 204 loaded into the RAM 2 by the OS.

  Here, the GDI function is drawing code data that can be interpreted on an OS (operating system) installed in the computer 3000, and is an API (Application Programming Interface). The GDI function can also be interpreted by the application 201. The DDI function is converted by the graphic engine 202 for the printer driver by the OS. Here, for example, Windows (registered trademark) of Microsoft Corporation can be used as the OS.

  In addition, the printing system according to the present embodiment includes a job tracking function unit 400 in the printer driver 203. The job tracking function unit 400 may be a built-in module of the printer driver 203 or may be in the form of a library module added by individual installation.

  Further, the printer driver 203 extracts and generates tracking data by execution of the job tracking function unit 400, and sends it to the job tracking management unit 500.

  The job tracking management unit 500 receives the tracking data and transfers it to the tracking information storage server 1000. Note that the job tracking management unit 500 may process or sort the received tracking data as necessary. Furthermore, the tracking information is transmitted to the tracking information storage server 1000 at the same time as receiving the tracking data, or temporarily stored in a storage area such as a hard disk, and the tracking information according to a transmission schedule to the tracking information storage unit 1000 specified separately. It may be transmitted to the storage server 1000.

  FIG. 4 is an extension of the system shown in FIG. 3. When the print command is sent from the graphic engine 202 to the printer driver 203, the spool system 300 once generates a spool file 303 including intermediate codes. In the system of FIG. 3, the application 201 is released from the printing process when the printer driver 203 has converted all print commands from the graphic engine 202 into printer control commands. On the other hand, in the system of FIG. 4, the spooler 302 has converted all print commands into intermediate code data and output them to the spool file 303. The latter usually requires less time. In the system shown in FIG. 4, the contents of the spool file 303 can be processed. As a result, it is possible to realize functions that the application does not have, such as enlargement / reduction or printing by reducing a plurality of pages into one page with respect to print data from the application.

  For these purposes, the system of FIG. 3 has been expanded to spool with intermediate code data as shown in FIG. In order to process the print data, settings are made from the UI control unit 203B provided by the normal printer driver 203, and the setting contents are stored in the RAM 2 or the external memory 11.

  Details of FIG. 4 will be described below. As shown in the figure, in this expanded processing method, the dispatcher 301 receives a DDI function that is a print command from the graphic engine 202. When the print command (DDI function) received by the dispatcher 301 from the graphic engine 202 is based on the print command (GDI function) issued from the application 201 to the graphic engine 202, the dispatcher 301 stores it in the external memory 11. The spooler 302 is loaded into the RAM 2 and a print command (DDI function) is sent to the spooler 302.

  The spooler 302 analyzes the received print command (DDI function), converts it into an intermediate code for each page, and outputs it to the spool file 303. Further, the spooler 302 acquires processing settings (Nup, double-sided, staple, color / monochrome designation, etc.) relating to print data set for the UI control unit 203B, and stores them in the spool file 303 as a file for each job. . The spool file 303 is generated as a file on the external memory 11, but may be generated on the RAM 2. Further, the spooler 302 loads the spool file manager 304 stored in the external memory 11 into the RAM 2 and notifies the spool file manager 304 of the generation status of the spool file 303. Thereafter, the spool file manager 304 determines whether printing can be performed in accordance with the contents of the processing settings relating to the print data stored in the spool file 303. The intermediate code stored in the spool file 303 is intermediate code data used only within the printer driver 203.

  When the spool file manager 304 determines that printing can be performed using the graphic engine 202, the despooler 305 stored in the external memory 11 is loaded into the RAM 2, and is described in the spool file 303 with respect to the despooler 305. The intermediate code page drawing file is instructed to be printed.

  The despooler 305 processes the page drawing file of the intermediate code included in the spool file 303 according to the job setting file including the processing setting information included in the spool file 303. Specifically, the page drawing command of the intermediate code is read, the GDI function is regenerated, and the GDI function is output again via the graphic engine 202 again.

  First, the despooler 305 secures an area (device context) for developing a bitmap in the RAM 2 and performs drawing in order to transmit the output drawing result by the GDI function to the job tracking function processing unit. The generated tracking information is converted into a format readable by the job tracking management unit 500 by the job tracking function processing unit 402 and transferred. The conversion format may be a highly compatible format such as an XML format, or may be a format in accordance with an original rule.

  Next, the despooler 305 outputs a GDI function to the dispatcher 301 via the graphic engine 202.

  When the print command (DDI function) received from the graphic engine 202 is based on the print command (GDI function) issued from the despooler 305 to the graphic engine 202, the dispatcher 301 is not the spooler 302. Then, a print command is sent to the drawing processing unit 203C.

  The drawing processing unit 203C generates a printer control command including a page description language based on the DDI function acquired from the graphic engine 202, and outputs the printer control command to the printer 1500 via the system spooler 204.

  The configuration of the print processing apparatus and the information tracking apparatus in the host computer 3000 has been described above.

  A description will be given of a system configuration example. Since there is no dependency on the system setting operation unit and authority, it is possible to provide a network printing system with a high degree of freedom in connection paths. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining various operation modes of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the simplest operation example of the present invention. A job tracking management unit 500 is arranged in the host computer 3000, and print data is directly transferred from the printer driver 203 to the printer 1500. The tracking data is sent from the job tracking function unit 400 to the tracking information management server 1000 via the job tracking function management unit 500 in the host computer 3000. This configuration is a minimum configuration for carrying out the present invention, and implementation in this configuration will be described unless otherwise specified in the following description.

  7 differs from FIG. 6 in that the job tracking management unit 500 is arranged in a tracking management computer 6000 different from the host computer 3000. The print data is directly transferred from the printer driver 203 to the printer 1500 as in FIG. 6, and the tracking data is transferred from the job tracking function unit 400 to the tracking information management server 1000 via the job tracking function management unit 500 in the tracking management computer 6000. Sent. By adopting this configuration, it becomes possible to schedule the tracking information management server 1000 for tracking data, for example, on a day or time zone when the network load is lightened, and to control the load on the tracking information management server 1000 Become.

  8 differs from FIG. 6 in that a print server 7000 is inserted between the host computer 3000 and the printer 1500. The print data is transferred from the printer driver 203 to the printer 1500 through the corresponding printer queue (print spooler) of the print server 7000. The tracking data is sent from the job tracking function unit 400 to the tracking information management server 1000 via the job tracking function management unit 500 in the host computer 3000, as in FIG. By adopting this configuration, the present invention can be applied to an operation mode using the print server 7000. At the same time, by placing the printer driver 203 in the print server 7000, it is possible to distribute and synchronize the printer driver to the host computer 3000 and share setting information. Furthermore, various settings related to the job tracking function can be collectively managed on the print server 7000, and a mechanism that prevents an unauthorized user from executing various settings of the job tracking function from changing the settings is also provided. .

  FIG. 9 is a combination of the configurations of FIGS. 7 and 8. The print server 7000 is inserted between the host computer 3000 and the printer 1500, and the job tracking management unit 500 is placed in a tracking management computer 6000 different from the host computer 3000. It is a thing arranged. The print data is transferred from the printer driver 203 to the printer 1500 through the corresponding printer queue (print spooler) of the print server 7000 as in FIG. The tracking data is sent from the job tracking function unit 400 to the tracking information management server 1000 via the job tracking function management unit 500 in the tracking management computer 6000 as in FIG. By adopting this configuration, the advantages of FIGS. 7 and 8 can be obtained.

  FIG. 10 shows a print server / tracking management computer 8000 provided so that the tracking management computer 6000 and the print server 7000 of FIG. 9 are realized on the same computer. The print data is transferred from the printer driver 203 to the printer 1500 through the corresponding printer queue (print spooler) of the print server / tracking management computer 8000, and the tracking data is transferred from the job tracking function unit 400 to the print server / tracking management computer 8000. Are sent to the tracking information management server 1000 via the job tracking function management unit 500. By adopting this configuration, in FIG. 10, there are two computers, the tracking management computer 6000 and the print server 7000, but by consolidating them into one print server / tracking management computer 8000, installation space and cost can be reduced. Reduction can be performed.

The job tracking print process will be described.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the overall processing of the job tracking function. The processing of the job tracking function will be described below using this figure.

  After the print job is started, the printer driver 203 receives a drawing command (DDI command) from the GDI in step S701. In step S <b> 702, the printer driver 203 and the job tracking function unit 400 collect and generate tracking data corresponding to the received drawing command and transfer the collected data to the job tracking management unit 500. According to the description of FIG. 4 described above, the GDI function is converted into a DDI function and temporarily stored in the spool file 303 as an intermediate code. Then, the graphic engine 202 regenerates the GDI function from the intermediate code and transfers it to the job tracking management unit 500.

  More specifically, for example, if the received drawing command is a print start command, attribute information about the job, environment information in which printing is performed, and the like are used as tracking data. If it is a page start command, the attribute information about the page is used as tracking data. Furthermore, if the job tracking function unit is instructed to extract text information, character string information and the like are extracted from the text drawing command and used as tracking data. Similarly, if image extraction is instructed, it depends on the received drawing instruction and various settings instructed to the job tracking function unit 400, such as drawing as a bitmap image in a memory area where each drawing instruction is secured. By executing the processing, the tracking data is collected and generated, and is transferred to the job tracking management unit 500.

  After the tracking data is collected, generated, and transferred as described above, in step S703, print data (a control command that can be recognized by the printer 1500) that matches the drawing command received in step S701 is generated. This is written to the system spooler 204 and transferred to the printer 1500. According to the description of FIG. 4 described above, the intermediate code temporarily stored in the spool file 303 is converted into the GDI function again by the graphic engine 202. This GDI function is sent to the drawing processing unit 203C via the dispatcher 301.

In this way, the drawing command reception (S701), tracking data generation / transfer (S702), and print data generation / transfer (S703) are repeatedly executed until the job end command is processed. (Step S704)
The job tracking function UI will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user interface for performing settings related to job tracking. FIG. 5 is an example of an initial screen of a user interface related to chasing arranged in the add-in UI control unit 401 in the printer driver 203. In this example, settings related to chasing can be performed in the property sheet “job tracking function” in the dialog. FIG. 5 shows a screen when the administrator issues a setting instruction from the UI 1135 side of the job tracking management unit 1130. FIG. 17 shows what is displayed when called in the UI 1345 of the job tracking function unit 1340.

  Note that this dialog 510 is preferably displayed only to users who are permitted to change the settings of the printer for the purpose of operating the system. The display of this dialog and the control of execution user authority limitation will be described later.

  A “perform job tracking” check box 511 in FIG. 5 is a check box for instructing whether the job tracking function is valid or invalid. The user can control ON / OFF of this function by operating this check box. When the check box in FIG. 5 is pressed, an ON / OFF instruction is input to the job tracking function UI control unit in FIG. 4, and the job tracking function processing unit is controlled according to the input content. In the case of OFF, the job tracking function processing unit stops the job tracking function without starting the job tracking function.

  The dialog 520 for performing detailed setting of the job tracking function in FIG. 5 is opened by selecting the setting button 512 in FIG. In this job tracking setting dialog, information on the destination of the tracking data and the content of the tracking data generated by the job tracking function processing unit 402 are mainly determined.

  The management client name 521 is input with the computer identification name on which the job tracking management unit 500 is operating (in this embodiment, Server A, which is the name of the computer on which the job tracking management unit is installed). A key for distinguishing from other connections in the job tracking management unit 500 is input to the identification name 522, and a timeout time used in communication with the job tracking management unit 500 is set in advance to the timeout value 523. . The above three are information for transmitting the tracking data. When setting is performed on this screen and the OK button is pressed, the setting is stored in the setting 1131 managed by the job tracking management unit in which the setting is recorded. The job tracking management unit uses the setting 1131 to control the job tracking function unit, and performs processing for tracking and recording the print history and print data generated by the driver.

  If the job tracking management unit 500 is operating on the computer displaying the user interface, the management client name 521 is set with its own computer identification name. Alternatively, if the job tracking management unit 500 is operating on another computer, the computer identification name on which the job tracking management unit 500 is operating is input.

  The “extract text” check box 524 is a check box for instructing whether to include text character string information in the tracking data. By turning on this check box, the printer driver 203 extracts text character string information as tracking data in cooperation with the job tracking function unit. By adding the text character string information to the tracking data, it is possible to easily realize a text search after being stored in the tracking information storage server 1000.

  An “extract image” check box 525 is a check box for instructing whether to include page bitmap information in the tracking data. By turning on this check box, the printer driver 203 generates a page bitmap separately from the print data in cooperation with the job tracking function unit. For example, tracking data can be registered via the network interface using a file server on the network as the information storage server 1000. By adding the tracking data to the page bitmap, it is possible to view the image after it is stored in the tracking information storage server 1000.

  The attributes and format of the page image generated in the bit number color 526, the bit number monochrome 527, the resolution 528, the compression method 529, and the encoding method 530 can be designated in detail.

  The job tracking function UI and authority control will be described. FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram of authority control for prescriptive operations. For the purpose of system operation, it is desirable that the operation unit of this network printing system be displayed only to users who are permitted to change settings. The administrator 1080 can access the data and its operation unit with respect to the system setting 1030. However, it is desirable that the user 1090 cannot access the system setting 1030 and has no operation unit.

  The following measures are taken to realize this external specification. First, the job tracking function unit and the job tracking management unit are separated. Secondly, the tracking function unit and the tracking management unit can be arranged on another PC (may be arranged on the same PC). Third, if the manager has authority to access, setting and operation UI can also be displayed. Fourth, when there is no access authority, setting and operation cannot be performed, and UI is not displayed (for example, the job tracking UI may be displayed in grayout or the like). Fifth, the authority determination function of the operating system and the authentication function of the network printing system are used for these authority determinations.

  Examples of these means will be described. FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of authority control example 1. This is an example in which an administrator performs system settings and changes the function of each client in an environment where each computer is managed by an existing ACL (access control list) which is an OS function.

  Note that the ACL (access control list) is data listing access authorities of individual network users (users) and resources such as accessible servers and files. Introduced to centrally manage the authority to use devices and information on the network.

  The OS refers to this ACL to determine the user's access rights to various network resources. For example, it is a function provided as standard in Windows (registered trademark) 2000 / xp of Microsoft Corporation which is a general OS.

  There is an accumulation server 1110 that stores the extraction result 1111 of this network system in a database. There is a tracking information management server 1120 which is the front end. A job tracking management unit 1130 having a setting 1131 and an operation UI 1135 is located between the tracking information management server 1120 and the job tracking function unit 1140 which is an extraction unit. In principle, the storage server 1110 and the management server 1120 may be implemented in separate devices. Also, the job tracking management unit 1130 and the job tracking function unit 1190 may be mounted on different devices. However, it goes without saying that these functions are not combined and implemented on a single device (such as a PC or a workstation having the same configuration as the host computer in FIG. 2). A setting 1121 that is a setting of the tracking information management server 1120 is passed to the tracking management unit 1130. This setting 1 is managed as a system setting 1131 together with settings 2 and 3 of the tracking management unit 1130 and the tracking function unit 1140, respectively. When the administrator A 1180 wants to change the setting 1131 via the tracking management unit, the job management unit 1130 refers to the ACL, and when the administrator A has the setting authority, the operation unit (UI) 1135 is displayed, and the setting 1131 is set. change. The screen shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B is displayed on the operation unit 1135, and the user can make various settings. The set input value is stored as a setting 1131.

  This setting 1131 includes operation settings of the tracking function unit and the driver 1140. Based on the contents of this setting 1131, the job management unit 1130 operates the tracking function unit and the driver 1140. The stored settings are as described with reference to FIG. Based on the stored setting 1131, the job tracking management unit 1130 controls the driver 1140 via the job tracking function unit.

  When the user 1190 using the client in which the tracking function unit and the driver 1140 are operating is determined not to have the setting authority from the ACL 1142, the setting and operation unit (UI) 1145 cannot be accessed.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart in the job tracking management unit of the authority control example 1.

  First, the tracking management unit starts setting acquisition from the upper layer in step 1220. The job tracking management unit obtains setting 1 in step 1221.

Next, the tracking management unit starts the setting operation in step 1230. In step 1231, the step job tracking management unit checks the ACL (access control list : access right) of the setting changer. If the setting changer has access authority, the job tracking management unit determines in step 1232 whether the setting change operation is to be performed. When performing a setting change operation, the setting UI is opened in step 1235. In step 1236, the setting is changed, and in step 1237, the contents are saved.

  Next, the driver setting change is started at step 1240. The setting items necessary for the driver are merged in step 1241, and the driver settings are changed in step 1242.

  FIG. 15 is a configuration diagram of authority control example 2. This is an example in which the administrator changes the system settings from the client side using the authentication function of the network print management system. The upper layer of this network system is the same as that shown in FIG.

  When the administrator A 1380 wants to change the setting 1331 from the client side, it receives authentication from the job tracking management unit 1330. The job management unit 1130 confirms the ACL, and if the administrator A has an access right, passes the certificate 1342 of the administrator A to the client side. When this certificate 1342 exists, an operation unit (UI) 1345 is displayed, and the setting 1331 of the job management unit can be changed.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart of authority control example 2. When the job tracking management unit determines that the client UI exists and the login button exists in the client (step 1410), the job tracking management unit opens the login UI 1512 in FIG. Display through the section. Subsequently, in response to the input of the administrator name and password from the client, the job tracking management unit starts authentication processing from step 1420. In step 1421, it is confirmed whether the administrator A corresponding to the user name and password transferred from the client has the authority to set the job tracking management unit. If there is a setting authority, authentication processing is performed in step 1422, and in step 1423, the job tracking management unit passes the certificate of the administrator A to the client machine.

  If the job tracking management unit determines that the client UI is set to non-display (step 1410), the process directly proceeds to S1420 to perform authentication processing and certificate distribution.

  Next, the tracking management unit starts the setting operation in step 1430. In step 1431, it is confirmed whether there is a certificate of the manager A. If there is a certificate, the setting UI is opened in step 1435. In step 1436, the setting is changed, and in step 1437, the contents are saved. Next, a driver setting change is started in step 1440. The setting items necessary for the driver are merged in step 1441, and the driver setting 1331 is changed in step 1442.

  FIG. 17 is a UI diagram of authority control example 2 displayed on the UI 1345 of FIG. When there is a client UI and a login button is present, the job tracking management unit 1330 opens a login UI and transmits a command to be displayed on the client-side UI 1345. Via the UI 1345, 1511 designates another server name where the job tracking management unit exists via the job tracking function unit 1340, inputs information necessary for authentication in 1512, and presses the completion button.

  Then, the authentication information is transferred to the job tracking management unit, and if the authentication is successful, a setting UI such as 1536 can be opened from the client side. The operation specifications of the user interface 1536 are the same as those in FIG. The remote server name can be specified. If it is determined that the display request source is the tracking information management server, the server side displays the display screen of FIG. 5 locally on the tracking information management server side, and determines that the display request source is the client side having the job tracking function unit. The client apparatus is controlled to display the screen of FIG.

  When the OK button is pressed, values input via the screen 1536 displayed on the UI 1345 (settings that can be input are the same as those in FIG. 5) are transferred to the job tracking management unit 1330 via the job tracking function unit 1340. Is done.

  The job tracking management unit 1330 stores the transferred setting as it is or merged with the setting 1311 that has already been stored. Based on this information, as described above, the job tracking management unit controls the job tracking function unit to perform tracking processing of data generated by the driver.

  As described above, the host computer 3000 includes the printer driver 203 that accompanies the generation of print data such as page description language or image data, and text information as history information that can identify the contents of the print data from the generated print data. A job tracking function unit 500 for extracting data and thumbnail data and a job tracking management unit 402 for inputting control information for controlling the job tracking function unit 400 are provided.

  The job tracking management unit 500 uses the identification information associated with the user who gives an instruction to control the function of the tracking function unit to control information (for example, a user interface displayed in FIG. 5 or 1536). Whether or not the user has the authority to input information). When the job tracking management unit 500 determines that the user has the authority to input control information, the job tracking management unit 500 permits the input of control information from the job tracking management unit 500.

  Based on this control information, the job tracking management unit 500 controls the job tracking function unit 400.

  Further, the control information may be an input instruction for switching whether or not the extraction unit extracts the history information.

  The control information may be an input for instructing the extraction means to extract at least one of image data or text data in order to identify the contents of the print data. Further, the control information may be an instruction that instructs at least one of the quality of the image extracted by the job tracking function unit, the resolution, or the compression method when storing the extracted data.

  The job tracking management unit 500 uses the user name acquired via the operating system or the printer driver to specify whether the user who is going to operate has the authority to input control information. The control information is information indicating a storage destination for storing history information (for example, the host name or IP address of the tracking information storage server 1000), or the history information for the storage destination when the storage destination does not respond. It may be timeout information indicating that the accumulation is given up. Further, the job tracking function unit 400 extracts text data or thumbnail data that can identify the content that the printer has instructed to print from the page description language or the image data generated by the printer driver, and stores the information in the information processing apparatus. May be stored as history information in a memory (memory secured by the job tracking function unit 400 in the host computer 3000) or the tracking information storage server 1000 that can communicate with the host computer via a network.

  The tracking data will be described. The tracking data extracted by the job tracking function unit 400 of the present invention will be described. The generation of tracking data is executed in step 702 of FIG. It is assumed that the tracking data is classified and extracted into the following four categories. (1) Information about the printer to be output and its attributes, (2) Information about information devices and users such as computers that performed printing, (3) Various attribute information and statistical information about print jobs, (4) Information in print jobs Information about the contents of each page. The contents of each information are described below.

  The output target printer and information regarding this attribute will be described. FIG. 18 shows an example of a printer to be output and information about this attribute (printer information 800). Since these pieces of information depend on the output target printer, they may be generated at the timing of processing an instruction that always appears once in one job in step 702 in FIG. 11, for example, at the time of a job start instruction.

  The server name 801 is used when the output target printer is configured to print via the print server, and indicates the print server name.

  A printer name 802 indicates a name for specifying a target printer in the client PC.

  A share name 803 indicates a share name set by the administrator so that other client PCs can refer to the print server. This item is not used when the print server is not used.

  A port name 804 indicates a port name to which the target printer is connected. For example, in the case of LPR connection or the like, the standard name is a name based on the IP address, so that it is possible to specify the output destination device.

  A driver name 805 indicates the name of a printer driver used for outputting to the target printer. Unlike the printer name 802, this name is a name unique to the driver that cannot be changed arbitrarily by the user, so that the output target model can be specified.

  A comment 806 and a location 807 are character string information that can be arbitrarily given to the printer driver by the administrator of the client and server. In the case of printing via the print server, the administrator can input information that makes it easier to identify the printer by using this field, so that the subsequent tracking can be easily performed.

  Information related to information devices such as computers that perform printing and users will be described. Similarly, FIG. 18 shows an example of information (environmental user information 810) regarding an information device such as a computer and a user who performed printing. Since these pieces of information depend on the printing environment and the user, they may be generated at the time of command processing that always appears only once in a print job, like the previous printer information 800.

  A computer name 811 indicates the name of the computer that issued the print instruction, and an IP address 812 indicates a network address built in the computer that issued the print instruction. The MAC address 813 is an identification symbol unique to the network adapter built in the computer. Based on these pieces of information, it is possible to specify the information device that issued the print instruction.

  A user name 814 indicates a user identification name using the computer that has given the print instruction. Based on this information, the user who gives the print instruction is specified.

  Various attribute information and statistical information related to the print job will be described. FIG. 19 shows an example of various attribute information and statistical information (job information 820) regarding a print job. Since this information is information specific to the print job, it may be generated at the time of command processing that always appears once in the print job, like the printer information 800 and environmental user information 810 described above.

  A print module name 821 indicates the execution module name of the application that executed the print process. Since the job tracking processing unit 400 operates as a part of the printer driver 203, the execution module name of the print execution application can be acquired. This information specifies which application the printing was executed on.

  A job name 822 indicates a print job name given to the print job by the print application.

  An output destination 823 indicates an output destination individually designated by the print application. This information is not used when the print application does not specify an output destination for each job.

  Both the local start date and time 824 and the UTC start date and time 825 indicate the print start date and time, and the local start date and time 824 indicates the date and time on the local computer. The UTC start time is expressed in Coordinated Universal Time taking into account the locale set on the local computer. By performing the two date / time notations in this way, it is possible to obtain the print execution date / time uniformly regardless of the locale set in the target computer.

  The information from 821 to 825 is information determined at the start of printing, and can be processed when the print start command is executed.

  The logical page number 831 indicates the number of logical pages. A logical page means each page arranged in a physical page when N-inOne printing is performed. The information can be acquired by counting the number of logical page switching commands or switching control in the job.

  The physical page number 832 indicates the number of physical pages. For example, in the case of duplex printing, each physical page is regarded as one page. This information can be acquired by counting the number of page end instructions during the job.

  The number of sheets 833 indicates the number of physical sheets used for printing. By monitoring the count of the previous physical page number 832 and the transition of the duplex / single-sided printing mode during the print job, it is possible to obtain the number of physical sheets to be finally output.

  The number of copies 834 indicates the number of copies designated for the print job, and can be acquired by monitoring the number of copies designation command included in the print job. In order to reduce the tracking data size, if the driver 203 supports the number of copies by replaying each page, only a part of the data may be extracted.

  An end state 835 indicates a job end state. This information indicates whether the printing has been completed normally or whether printing has been instructed by the user. When the user gives an instruction to interrupt printing, the number of pages generated by the driver 203 does not necessarily match the number of pages actually output. Therefore, if the end state 835 is interrupted, the above phenomenon may have occurred. Will do.

  Since the above information 831-835 includes statistical information that is determined at the end of the print job, it is processed at the time of the print job end command.

  Information about the contents of each page in the print job will be described. FIG. 20 shows an example of information (page information) related to the contents of each page in the print job. In this example, it is classified into page attribute information 840, text information 850, and image information 860. The page attribute information 840 is information describing the attributes of the corresponding page. The text information 850 is text information included in the page, and the image information 860 is extracted page image information. The contents will be described below in order.

The paper name 841 is information indicating the paper name of the corresponding page. The paper direction 842 indicates the paper direction of the corresponding page, that is, whether it is a portrait or a landscape.
A paper width 843 and a paper length 844 indicate the paper size.
The duplex / single-sided mode 845 indicates whether the corresponding page is duplex printing or single-sided printing.
A color mode 846 indicates whether printing of the corresponding page is in a color mode or a monochrome mode. A layout 847 indicates a layout mode such as Nup printing or poster printing of the corresponding page.
A print resolution 848 indicates the print resolution of the corresponding page.

  An overlay mode 849 indicates the operation mode of each overlay in the normal print mode, overlay print mode, and overlay registration mode. In the overlay printing mode, the data to be actually printed is obtained by adding an overlay to the target job. Further, in the registration mode, printing is not executed only by the target job. This information is collected to suggest these situations.

  A code page 851 indicates code page information of a character code described by text 852. The code page information is used when, for example, 2-byte Unicode is converted into DBCS (Double Byte Character Set).

  The text 852 stores the character code information passed to the text drawing command included in the corresponding page. This text 852 becomes information extracted for each text drawing command.

  The text information 850 is tracking information extracted when the 524 check box for performing text extraction in FIG. 5 is enabled.

  An image width 861 and an image height 862 indicate the size of the extracted page image in pixels.

  An image resolution 863 indicates the resolution of the extracted page image, and is a value designated by the resolution 528 in FIG.

  The image depth 864 indicates the gradation of the extracted page image, and is a value designated by the bit number color 526 and the bit number monochrome 527 of FIG.

  An image format 865 indicates the format of the extracted page image.

  Image bits 866 indicate the actual extracted page image, and are created by writing a drawing image into the bitmap area of the page image in units of processing each drawing command.

  Note that the information related to the extracted page images 861 to 866 is information extracted when the check box for performing image extraction in FIG. 5 is enabled.

  Note that the expression format of these pieces of information extracted and generated as tracking data may be described in XML (Extensible Markup Language).

  In the present embodiment, the example of the tracking data as described above has been shown.

  These tracking data (including image / thumbnail and text data extracted from the data generated by the printing process) are acquired by the job tracking function processing unit 402 of FIG. 4 via the output spooler, and the job tracking management unit 500 Is transferred to the tracking information storage server 100 via the network so that an administrator or a specific user can view it from another client (not shown) with a viewer or browser.

  Note that the present invention can be applied to a system (copier, printer, facsimile machine, etc.) consisting of a single device even if it is applied to a system consisting of a plurality of devices (eg, computer, interface device, reader, printer, etc.). May be. Another object of the present invention is to store a storage medium storing a program code for realizing the procedure of the flowchart shown in the above-described embodiment, and a program code stored in the storage medium by a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus. It is also achieved by reading and executing.

  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 constitutes the present invention.

  As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, magnetic tape, non-volatile A memory card, ROM, or the like can be used.

  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 the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing is also included.

  Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in 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. Also included is a case where the CPU or the like provided 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.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating configurations of a host computer 3000 and a printer 1500 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of print processing and information tracking in a host computer 3000. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of print processing and information tracking in a host computer 3000. It is a figure which shows an example of the input screen of the control information of a job tracking function. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the job tracking system of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the job tracking system of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the job tracking system of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the job tracking system of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the job tracking system of this invention. It is a chart figure which shows an example of the whole process of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the authority control of the setting operation of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the block diagram of the authority control example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the flow of the authority control example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the block diagram of the authority control example 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the flow of the authority control example 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the user interface of the authority control example 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the data for tracking used in the system of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the data for tracking used in the system of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the data for tracking used in the system of FIG.

Claims (12)

In a printing system in which an information processing device and a tracking management device are connected via a communication medium,
The tracking management device includes:
Tracking data setting means for performing settings related to generation of the tracking data generated by the information processing apparatus;
The setting by the tracking data setting means includes extraction information for instructing to extract at least one of image data or text data that can identify the contents of the print data,
The information processing apparatus includes:
Print data generation means for generating print data for a printing apparatus;
Tracking data generation means for generating tracking data for the tracking information management server,
The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the tracking data generation unit generates tracking data based on the extracted information set by an administrator. The extraction information includes at least one instruction information on whether to extract text or whether to extract an image. When extracting an image, the extraction information further includes the number of bits of the image to be extracted, and the resolution. The printing system according to claim 1, comprising at least one setting information of the compression method. The print data generation unit or the tracking data generation unit functions using a printer driver,
The tracking data generation means extracts image data or text data that can identify the contents of the print data from the page description language or image data generated by the printer driver, and the memory or the memory in the information processing apparatus The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the information is stored as tracking information in the tracking information management server that can communicate with the information processing apparatus via a communication medium. An information processing apparatus equipped with a printer driver that generates print data,
Print data generating means for generating print data;
Tracking data generating means for generating tracking data;
Print data transmission means for transmitting the print data generated by the print data generation means to a printing apparatus;
Tracking data transmission means for transmitting the tracking data generated by the tracking data generation means to a tracking information management server,
The tracking data generation means generates tracking data based on the extraction information set by the administrator,
The tracking data transmission means sets a tracking information management server that transmits based on the extraction information set by the administrator,
The extraction information includes at least one instruction information on whether to extract text or whether to extract an image. When extracting an image, the extraction information further includes the number of bits of the image to be extracted, and the resolution. An information processing apparatus including at least one setting information of a compression method. The print data generation unit or the tracking data generation unit functions using the printer driver,
The tracking data generation means extracts image data or text data that can identify the contents of the print data from the page description language or image data generated by the printer driver, and the memory or the memory in the information processing apparatus 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the information is stored as tracking information in the tracking information management server transmitted by the tracking data transmitting means. A control method for a printing system in which an information processing device and a tracking management device are connected via a communication medium,
The tracking management device includes:
The print data setting means has a tracking data setting step for performing settings relating to generation of the tracking data generated by the information processing apparatus,
The setting by the tracking data setting step includes extraction information for instructing to extract at least one of image data or text data that can identify the contents of the print data,
The information processing apparatus includes:
A print data generation step, wherein the print data generation means generates print data for a printing apparatus;
The tracking data generation means includes a tracking data generation step of generating tracking data for the tracking information management server;
A method for controlling a printing system, wherein the tracking data generation step generates tracking data based on the extracted information set by an administrator. The extraction information includes at least one instruction information on whether to extract text or whether to extract an image. When extracting an image, the extraction information further includes the number of bits of the image to be extracted, and the resolution. The method of controlling a printing system according to claim 6, further comprising setting information of at least one of the compression methods. The print data generation step or the tracking data generation step functions using a printer driver,
The tracking data generation step extracts image data or text data that can identify the contents of the print data from the page description language or image data generated by the printer driver, 8. The printing system control method according to claim 6, wherein the information is stored as tracking information in the tracking information management server that can communicate with the information processing apparatus via a communication medium. A method of controlling an information processing apparatus equipped with a printer driver that generates print data,
A print data generation step in which the print data generation means generates the print data;
A tracking data generation step in which the tracking data generation means generates tracking data;
A print data transmitting step for transmitting the print data generated by the print data generating step to the printing apparatus;
The tracking data transmission means has a tracking data transmission step of transmitting the tracking data generated by the tracking data generation step to the tracking information management server,
The tracking data generation step generates tracking data based on extraction information set by an administrator,
The tracking data transmission step sets a tracking information management server to be transmitted based on the extraction information set by the administrator,
The extraction information includes at least one instruction information on whether to extract text or whether to extract an image. When extracting an image, the extraction information further includes the number of bits of the image to be extracted, and the resolution. A control method for an information processing apparatus, comprising at least one setting information of a compression method. The print data generation step or the tracking data generation step functions using the printer driver,
The tracking data generation step extracts image data or text data that can identify the contents of the print data from the page description language or image data generated by the printer driver, The information processing apparatus control method according to claim 9, wherein the information is stored as tracking information in the tracking information management server transmitted by the tracking data transmitting step. A program for causing a computer to execute the control method according to any one of claims 6 to 10. A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 11.

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