JP5972436B2 - Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program for starting a user interface of a printer driver in a process different from a process executed by an application.

  The printer driver has a dedicated user interface for performing detailed print settings. The application displays the user interface of the printer driver via the operating system, but the printer driver is loaded in the application process. Since the user interface is displayed in the same process as the application, the print setting data can be easily communicated with each other, and a modal dialog for stopping the operation of the application is displayed during the user interface operation. The merit of executing the same process is that the application and the printer driver can be handled in an integrated manner. However, if the user interface of the printer driver is faulty and crashes, it crashes with the application because it is the same process as the application.

  In order to deal with the problem of the same process, including not only printer drivers but also applications, there are systems that operate in different processes called sandboxes. There are known browsers in which a plurality of web pages can be viewed at the same time, browsers that operate each tab in a separate process, and applications that are started in a separate process each time a file is opened. Some printer drivers also use a separate process for the rendering unit that converts the drawing data of the application into the printer language, or launches an application that uses two-way communication with the device to monitor the status sequentially. Yes (Patent Document 1).

  However, it is difficult for the user interface of the printer driver to be activated in a separate process. This is because a user interface based on the operating system is constructed, and the printer driver is added to the base. Therefore, there is a method in which another service is started when an application calls the user interface of the printer driver, and the service displays the user interface of the printer driver (Patent Document 2). Also, a method is known in which a printer driver user interface is opened with a dummy and then immediately closed, and then another process is started.

Japanese Patent No. 4661939 JP 11-143664 A

  However, in the way that an application invokes another service, all applications must be modified to accommodate this invocation. In addition, the method of opening the dummy user interface is troublesome for the user because an extra operation of closing the user interface once is entered. In addition, if the operating system provides a user interface and the printer driver adds the user interface as a sheet later, it will not work correctly.

In order to solve the above problems, an information processing apparatus of the present invention provides:
An additional means for adding the identifier described in the setup file, which is information necessary for installing the printer driver, to the database;
On the condition that the user interface of the printer driver is called from the first application and the identifier is not in the database, control is performed so as not to start the second application that displays the user interface for print settings. Control means for starting the second application in a process different from the first application on condition that the user interface of the printer driver is called from one application and the identifier is in the database; It is characterized by having.
In order to solve the above problem, another information processing apparatus of the present invention
A first application for displaying a print settings user interface;
A setup file, which is information necessary for installing the printer driver, in which an identifier to be added to the database is described;
The identifier described in the setup file is acquired and added to the database;
On the condition that the user interface of the printer driver is called from a second application and the identifier is not in the database, the first application does not start, and the user of the printer driver from the second application The first application is started in a different process from the second application, provided that an interface is invoked and the identifier is in the database.

  According to the present invention, the user interface of the printer driver is activated in a process different from that of the application, so that the application is not involved and crashed.

It is a block block diagram of the hardware and software of a computer system as one Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a configuration diagram of a network in which a client, a server, and a printer are connected as an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of a print processing system using a general computer as an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of an XPS print processing system as an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 3 is a block configuration diagram illustrating a data structure of a DEVMODE structure that is a print setting according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is an example of an XML format print ticket that is a print setting used in the XPS print processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a user interface of a printer driver as one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a block configuration diagram when a user interface is operating in an advanced UI application process different from an application process according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is an example of a setup information file in which an advanced UI application CLSID is added to a printer driver as an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart when an operating system installs a printer driver as an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart when an advanced UI application installer installs an advanced UI application according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart when the operating system opens the user interface of the printer driver as an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart when a COM proxy calls a COM stub and performs interprocess communication as one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart when a COM stub is called from a COM proxy and performs interprocess communication as one embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart when an advanced UI application operates as an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 illustrates an example of an API call when the print manager calls an advanced UI application, and an example of an API call when the advanced UI application passes an interface to the print manager as an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a block configuration diagram when an advanced UI application passes data to a filter pipeline manager in the XPS printing system as one embodiment of the present invention. 7 is a flowchart when an advanced UI application passes data to a filter pipeline manager in the XPS printing system as one embodiment of the present invention. 2 is an operating system user interface for using a shared printer in a printer driver according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 6 is a user interface of an operating system that prohibits a shared printer in a printer driver having an advanced UI application according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart when an operating system displays a user interface of a shared printer as an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a user interface of an operating system when checking job settings in a printer driver having an advanced UI application according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a user interface of an operating system when setting a device in a printer driver having an advanced UI application according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart when an operating system displays a user interface of a printer driver as an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart when an operating system installs a printer driver including an advanced UI application according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is an example of a setup information file in which an advanced UI application is included in a printer driver as an embodiment of the present invention.

[Example 1]
The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system using a general computer showing an embodiment of the present invention. Unless otherwise specified, as long as the functions of the present invention are executed, a system that is connected and processed via a network, whether it is a single function or a system composed of a plurality of devices. However, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied.

  The CPU 101 controls the entire apparatus according to a program stored in the ROM 1021 or the RAM 1022 of the main storage device 102 or the auxiliary storage device 105. The RAM 1022 is also used as a work area when the CPU 101 performs various processes. The auxiliary storage device 105 records an operating system (OS) 1053, application software 1051, and the like. An input device such as a pointing device 1032 typified by a keyboard 1031 and a mouse / touch panel is a device for the user to give various instructions to the computer through the input I / F 103. The output I / F 104 is an interface for outputting data to the outside, and outputs data to an output device such as a monitor 1041 or a printer 1042. The printer 1042 may be connected not only through the local I / O directly connected but also through the network 1061 connected through the communication I / F 106. Reference numeral 107 denotes a common data system bus for exchanging data between modules.

  FIG. 2 is a simplified diagram of the environment of the network 1061 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Client computers 201/202 for creating documents and images to be printed are connected to a single network or a plurality of networks. Also, a server computer 203 that manages client users and printers may be connected. In some cases, the printer 204/205 is connected to a single network or a plurality of networks, and even when physically connected like the printer 205, the printer 204/205 is in an offline state that cannot be actually used. There are small to large networks such as PAN (Personal Area Network), LAN (Local Area Network), MAN (Metropolitan Area Network), and WAN (WIDe Area Network). It is connected. Servers and printers such as the cloud may be connected over the Internet.

  FIG. 3 shows a print processing system using a general computer. The application 1051, the printer driver 1052, and the operating system 1053 are stored in the auxiliary storage device 105 in FIG. The graphics engine 302 and the print manager 306 are modules included in the operating system 1053. The user uses an input device such as a keyboard 1031 and a mouse 1032 to execute print processing of the document 301 created using the application program 1051 displayed on the monitor 1041 of the output device. The printing process is executed by sequentially performing three processes, printer selection, print setting creation, drawing data conversion, and the like. First, as a printer selection, the printer driver 1052 corresponding to the printer 1042 that executes printing is selected. Next, the print setting 3012 is created. An initial value of the document print setting 3012 is created by the configuration module 304 of the printer driver 1052. Using the user interface of the application 1051 or the printer driver 1052, the created print setting 3012 is changed and set so that the final print result desired by the user is obtained. For example, the output paper size can be changed, duplex printing or monochrome printing can be performed. The user interface of the printer driver 1052 is provided by either the configuration module 304 or the advanced UI application (user interface application) 311. The print setting 3012 is secured on the RAM 1022, but the storage format is a binary data structure or XML of a markup language. This form differs depending on the specifications of the printer driver 1052 and the operating system 1053. The print setting 3012 is created every time a document is printed. However, the printer driver 1052 stores in the registry database 308 of the operating system 1053 what is to be stored, such as optional device configuration of the printer 1042 and environment settings for each user. The default value for each user of the print setting 3012 is stored in the registry database 308 by the print manager 306 of the operating system 1053. Finally, drawing data is converted. When the print setting 3012 has been created, the print process is executed by the user, and the operating system 1053 is notified of the print process. The operating system 1053 performs drawing on the designated printer driver 1052 through the graphics engine 302. If layout processing is specified in the print setting 3012, a temporary spool file 307 is created before going to the rendering module 303 of the printer driver 1052, and the layout module 309 is activated. The layout process refers to a process of changing the order of sheets or pasting a plurality of pages on one sheet. After changing the layout, the layout module 309 performs drawing on the printer driver 1052 again. The printer driver 1052 to which the drawing data is sent is converted by the rendering module 303 into a data language that can be understood by the printer, that is, a printer control language. At this time, the print setting 3012 is also converted as a printer control language. Both the rendering module 303 and the configuration module 304 are often common modules for a plurality of types of printers 1042, and differences between models are described in the model-dependent data file 305. The rendering module 303 and the configuration module 304 refer to this model-dependent data file 305 as appropriate. The converted data is sequentially stored as a spool file 307. The print manager 306 acquires the spool file 307 and manages the print processing schedule as a print job file. When the printer is ready for printing, the print manager 306 transmits print job data to the printer 1042 via the I / O module 310. In this way, the print data from the application is converted into the printer language and printing is performed.

  In order to create the print setting 3012 of the document 301, the print setting 3012 is directly rewritten by an application or the user interface (FIG. 7) provided by the configuration module 304 of the printer driver 1052 or the advanced UI application 311 is used. The print setting 3012 has a structure shown in FIG. 5 called a DEVMODE structure in the Microsoft (registered trademark) Windows (registered trademark) operating system. The DEVMODE structure is divided into a standard setting area 501 publicly defined in the operating system and a setting area 502 extended by the printer driver. The standard setting area 501 includes basic print setting values such as paper size and paper feed stage switching and color / monochrome switching. The expanded setting area 502 includes values such as a paper discharge function and a fine color adjustment function according to printer options. Since the application cannot know the extended setting of each printer driver 1052, only the standard setting area 501 defined in the system can rewrite the print setting directly. Therefore, the application generally displays the user interface of the printer driver 1052 and causes the user to perform expanded print settings 502. The configuration module 304 not only provides a user interface, but also provides an application program interface (API: Application Programming Interface). Therefore, it is also possible to set the extended print setting 502 from the outside without displaying the user interface. However, when the API of the configuration module 304 is used, the application must correspond to each printer driver 1052, so that a general application changes only the standard setting area 501.

  Another printing system to which the present invention can be applied will be described. FIG. 3 is called a GDI printing system, whereas FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the XPS printing system. The XPS printing system is a system that performs printing by using a document file format called XML Paper Specification as spool data. The XPS printing system operates on the operating system 1053, as does the GDI printing system. The print manager 306, GDI to XPS conversion module 405, and filter pipeline manager 409 are modules included in the operating system 1053. Each filter of the printer driver 1052 and the filter pipeline manager 409 is stored as the printer driver 1052 in the auxiliary storage device 105 of FIG. The filter pipeline manager 409 is included in the operating system, but each filter is a module of the printer driver 1052. The GDI print application 401 and the XPS print application 402 are stored as applications 1051 in the auxiliary storage device 105 of FIG. A user uses an input device such as a keyboard 1031 or a mouse 1032 to display a GDI print application program 401 (hereinafter abbreviated as a GDI application) displayed on a monitor 1041 of an output device or an XPS print application program 402 (hereinafter referred to as an XPS application). Print processing is executed. The print process is executed by sequentially performing three processes, ie, printer selection, print setting creation, and drawing data conversion.

  First, the printer 1042 to be printed is selected, which is the same as selecting the printer driver 1052 corresponding to the printer 1042 that executes printing. Next, print settings are created. The print setting is performed in such a manner that the application secures a memory for print setting, and the configuration module 304 of the application or the printer driver uses the model-dependent file 305 to fill the setting data. The GDI application 401 uses a binary DEVMODE structure 403 as print setting data, and the XPS application 402 uses a print ticket 404 written in markup language XML. Both the DEVMODE structure 403 and the print ticket 404 have a standard area defined by the operating system and an extension area uniquely defined by the printer driver, as in the structure of FIG. Since the print ticket 404 is print setting information described in the XML format as shown in FIG. 6, the description of the standard area and the extended area is divided according to the name space. The DEVMODE structure 403 or the print ticket 404 holds print settings, and the application changes the print settings directly by rewriting. The dedicated setting depending on the printer 1042 is performed by displaying the user interface (FIG. 7) of the printer driver 1052 that the configuration module 304 or the advanced UI application 311 has. The printer driver 1052 changes the setting depending on the printer 1042 of the DEVMODE structure 403 or the print ticket 404 according to the setting of the user interface. Specifically, the print setting refers to data necessary for printing such as setting the output paper size to “A4”, performing double-sided printing, switching between color and black and white, and specifying a paper feed stage. . Since the print settings of the print ticket 404 are described in the XML format, it is easy for the XPS application 402 to directly change and rewrite all the setting values. However, the setting can be changed using the user interface of the printer driver 1052 as in the past. It doesn't matter. The print settings are created every time the document is printed. However, the user interface stores settings such as optional devices of the printer 1042 and environment settings for each user in the registry database 308 of the operating system. The operating system print manager 306 stores default values for each user in the print settings in the registry database 308. Finally, drawing data is converted. When the print settings are determined, the user executes print processing from the application. When printing from the GDI application 401, drawing data is sent to the GDI to XPS conversion module 405 in the form of a printer driver, and an XPS spool file 407 is created. At this time, the GDI to XPS conversion module 405 calls the configuration module 304 and converts the print setting from the DEVMODE structure 403 to the print ticket 404. When printing from the XPS application 402, there are two methods: an XPS file is generated by the XPS application itself, and an XPS file is generated by the operating system in response to a drawing command from the XPS application. In either method, the XPS spool file 407 is generated during printing. As described above, the XPS printing system is characterized in that the XPS spool file 407 is always generated at the time of printing.

  When the XPS spool file 407 is generated, processing is passed to the print filter pipeline process. The print filter pipeline process is a mechanism in which printing is performed by passing a plurality of filters, and the number and order of the filters are controlled by the filter configuration file 413. In this embodiment, the filter pipeline manager that operates in the print filter pipeline process performs processing in the order of the setting filter 410, the layout filter 411, and the renderer filter 412 in accordance with the filter configuration file 413. The number and type of filters differ depending on the configuration of the printer driver 1052. The printing process is performed by passing the XPS spool file 407 to the filter, and the process proceeds when the filter processes the XPS spool file 407 and passes it to the next filter. Finally, it is output as a printer control language (hereinafter abbreviated as PDL (Page Description Language)) which is a data language understood by the printer. Of course, if the printer 1042 is an XPS direct printer that can directly read and print the XPS spool file 407, printing may be performed through all the filters. The setting filter 410 reads the print ticket and writes data necessary for printing into the print ticket. The layout filter 411 performs layout-related processing such as magnification change, bookbinding layout and stamp. The layout filter 411 operates according to the print setting print ticket 404 included in the XPS spool file 407. Therefore, for example, when the imposition setting does not exist in the print ticket 404, the layout filter 411 does not operate anything and passes through, and passes the XPS spool file 407 as it is to the next filter. The final renderer filter 412 renders the XPS spool file 407 and converts it into PDL. The PDL data is managed by a print manager 306 that manages print processing schedules, and print jobs are successively registered in a queue (queue). When the printer 1042 is ready for printing, the PDL data is transmitted through the I / O monitor 310 in the order registered in the queue. Thus, converting the print data from the application into the printer language is the main role of the printer driver, and the printing process is performed.

  Next, the association between the printer driver 1052 and the advanced UI application 311 will be described.

  First, installation of the printer driver 1052 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The printer driver 1052 is installed in the operating system 1053 according to the setup information file (hereinafter referred to as INF file) in FIG. The INF file describes information necessary for installing the printer driver 1052, such as the model name of the printer, the file to be configured, and the version. The installation set of the printer driver 1052 is a set of INF files and various files that constitute the printer driver 1052. When the installation of the printer driver 1052 is started (S1001), the operating system 1053 searches for an installation set of the printer driver 1052 of the designated model. The installation set uses one installed in the operating system 1053, but may be specified by a user or provided from a distribution server specified in advance. The operating system 1053 copies the file based on the INF file included in the installation set, and writes necessary driver information in the registry database 308, thereby completing the normal printer driver installation (S1002). Here, it is confirmed whether or not the CLSID of the advanced UI application 311 is described in the INF file (S1003). The CLSID is a kind of UUID (Universally Unique Identifier), is composed of a 16-byte numerical value, and is an identifier unique in the world. In order to identify the advanced UI application 311, the CLSID describes the CLSID assigned to the advanced UI application 311 to be used in the setup file. In FIG. 9, a key called AdvancedUILSID corresponds to CLSID of the advanced UI application 311. If the CLSID of the advanced UI application 311 exists, the operating system 1053 acquires the CLSID from the INF file (S1004). The operating system 1053 additionally describes the CLSID of the advanced UI application 311 in the driver information for each printer model in the registry database 308 (S1005). This completes the installation of the printer driver 1052.

  Next, installation of the advanced UI application 311 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 11 and a part of the flowchart of FIG. The advanced UI application 311 includes an install set of an advanced UI application including an installer and a configuration file of the advanced UI application 311 in addition to the installation set of the printer driver 1052. When the user executes the installer, the installer first copies the advanced UI application 311 and the configuration file to a folder storing the application designated by the user (S1101). Next, the installer starts the advanced UI application 311 with the / RegSvr option as an argument (S1102). The activated advanced UI application 311 determines whether it is activated with the / RegSvr option (S1501). If the / RegSvr option is attached, the advanced UI application 311 writes information in the registry database 308 as an out-of-process server of COM (Component Object Model) (S1502). COM is a communication technology between Microsoft software, and each software component that communicates is identified by a unique CLSID. The out-process server is a component that operates in a process different from the calling process, and clearly indicates that the advanced UI application 311 is an out-process server. Information to be written in the registry database 308 includes a full path including the application name, a CLSID of the advanced UI application, and a character string “LocalServer32” indicating an out-of-process server. This CLSID must be the same as the CLSID specified in the INF file of FIG. This completes the installation of the advanced UI application 311.

  Since the CLSID acquired by installing the printer driver 1052 and the CLSID described by installing the advanced UI application 311 are the same, the operating system 1053 can associate them. Next, a flow for displaying the user interface of the printer driver 1052 from the application 1051 will be described with reference to the block configuration diagram of FIG. 8 and the flowcharts of FIGS.

  The print manager 306, which is a module of the operating system 1053, receives an API call for displaying the user interface of the printer driver 1052 from the application 1051 (S1201). At this time, the print manager 306 also receives a print setting DEVMODE structure from the application 1051 as an argument. This is because the current print settings can be shown to the user by constructing the user interface according to the received DEVMODE structure of the print settings. The print manager 306 also receives model information for designating which printer driver 1052 to use from the application 1051. This is to clarify which printer driver 1052 is used when a plurality of printer drivers 1052 are installed in the operating system 1053. The print manager 306 searches the registry database 308 based on the model information received from the application 1051. Driver information described when the printer driver 1052 is installed is written in the registry database 308, and the print manager 306 acquires driver information corresponding to the specified model information (S1202). The print manager 306 determines whether or not the advanced UI application CLSID is included in the acquired driver information (S1203). If not, the print manager 306 calls the CPSUI 801 to open the user interface of the configuration module 304 of the printer driver 1052 (S1212). A CPSUI (Common Property Sheet User Interface) 801 creates a base serving as a base of a property sheet, and requests the configuration module 304 to create a user interface. The configuration module 304 uses the model-dependent data file 305 to display a user interface corresponding to the printer model. That is, the user interface module is activated in the same process as the application 1051. When the advanced UI application CLSID exists, the print manager 306 calls the API of the operating system 1053 by specifying as arguments the activation of the CLSID and the out-process server (FIG. 16 (1)). The print manager 306 searches the registry database 308 in the API of the operating system 1053 using the designated CLSID as a search key. If the advanced UI application 311 is already installed in the API of the operating system 1053, the print manager 306 can acquire the full path including the file name of the advanced UI application 311 from the registry database 308 (S1204). If it does not exist, the user interface of the printer driver is displayed as in the case where CLSID does not exist. This occurs in an environment where the advanced UI application 311 is not installed even though CLSID is described in the INF file. After acquiring the full path, the print manager 306 activates the advanced UI application 311 from the API of the operating system 1053 in a process different from that of the application 1051 (S1205). The activated advanced UI application 311 does not have the / RegSvr option (S1501), and thus creates a window (S1503). The window created at this point has not yet been displayed, but is only created to wait for a response from the print manager 306 in a message loop. The advanced UI application 311 creates an interface object of the advanced UI application 311 and calls the API of the operating system 1053 by specifying the interface object as an argument (S1504 and FIG. 16 (2)). Then, the print manager 306 can receive the interface of the advanced UI application 311 (S1206). The print manager 306 that has received the interface converts the DEVMODE structure into a print ticket (S1207). The print manager 306 calls the configuration module 304 to convert it into a print ticket. The binary data such as the DEVMODE structure is inconvenient for transmitting and receiving data between different processes, and is therefore converted into a text-form markup language XML print ticket. The print manager 306 calls an interface method using the driver model, the print ticket, and the event information acquired based on the printer model and CLSID as arguments of the received interface (S1208). The event information is information indicating what user interface the application 1051 displays on the printer driver 1052. There is not a single user interface for the printer driver, but there are a user interface for performing print settings, a user interface for performing device settings, and a user interface for confirming print settings for jobs. This is because it is necessary to notify the advanced UI application 311 of which user interface to display as event information. The advanced UI application 311 receives the interface call and determines whether the event is a UI event (S1505). If the advanced UI application 311 confirms that the event is a UI event, the advanced UI application 311 acquires a printer model, driver information, and a print ticket from the called interface (S1506). Next, the advanced UI application 311 determines the type of UI event and determines the user interface to be displayed. When the user interface for print settings is called from the application (S1507), the advanced UI application 311 displays the user interface for print settings (S1508). When the user interface for device setting is called (S1509), the advanced UI application 311 displays the user interface for device setting (S1510). When the user interface for job setting is called (S1511), the advanced UI application 311 displays the user interface for job setting (S1512). The advanced UI application 311 displays a user interface based on the acquired printer model, driver information, and print ticket. The advanced UI application 311 calls the printer driver 1052 to acquire and control data such as print setting items used for display and logic such as prohibition between setting items. The advanced UI application 311 can also display the user interface of the configuration module 304 of the printer driver 1052. However, the user interface can be eliminated from the configuration module 304 by displaying the user interface yourself. In this way, the configuration module 304 of the printer driver 1052 can be set to only print settings, and the user interface can be freely rearranged without updating the printer driver 1052. Of course, the advanced UI application 311 does not directly call the printer driver, but can also pass a driver interface for calling the printer driver through the interface. Through this driver interface, the advanced UI application 311 can also prohibit print setting items and setting items. When the user completes the print settings on the user interface, the advanced UI application 311 closes the user interface and discards the window (S1513). The advanced UI application 311 reflects the setting of the user interface on the print ticket passed through the interface (S1514). The advanced UI application 311 saves data that cannot be reflected in the print ticket in the registry database 308 (S1515). Data that cannot be reflected in the print ticket includes optional device configurations such as printer finishers, personal information such as user names and passwords, and user-created functions such as favorites and stamps. When all the storages are completed, the advanced UI application 311 ends and returns control to the call manager 306 that is the calling source. The print manager 306 waits for completion while the advanced UI application 311 displays the user interface (S1209). When it is confirmed that the advanced UI application 311 is terminated, the print manager 306 receives the print ticket changed by the advanced UI application 311. Then, the configuration module 304 of the printer driver 1052 is called to convert the DEVMODE structure (S1210). The print manager 306 returns the converted DEVMODE structure to the application, and ends the API (S1211). In this way, a user interface related to print settings is executed in a process separate from the application.

  The interface method is called between the application process and the advanced UI application process. The contents will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 8 and the flowcharts of FIGS. When the interface is called, the operating system 1053 calls the COM proxy 802. The COM proxy 802 marshals the argument data input to the interface method (S1301). Object data is stored in a stream so that data can be transmitted and received by two systems different from marshalling. The COM proxy 802 calls a COM stub 803 in the process of the advanced UI application 311 using RPC (Remote Procedure Call) (S1302). RPC is a function that allows a procedure to be called between distant systems. The COM proxy 802 transmits the marshalled stream data to the called COM stub 803. The COM stub 803 unmarshalls the stream received from the COM proxy 802 and returns it to the method argument that is the original object data (S1401). Unmarshalling means returning a stream to the original object data. Then, the method argument data is delivered to the advanced UI application 311 which is the main thread of the process (S1402). In this way, the print manager 306 activates the advanced UI application 311, which is another process, and transmits data. Conversely, when the advanced UI application 311 transmits to the print manager 306, the COM proxy 802 becomes the COM stub, and the COM stub 803 becomes the COM proxy. Therefore, the COM proxy and the COM stub are the same module having the same function.

  Since the advanced UI application 311 operates in a process different from the process in which the application 1051 operates, information can be transmitted only through a print ticket which is a print setting through the interface. Data stored in the registry database 308 that is not included in the print ticket cannot be referred to at the time of printing, so that all data cannot be transmitted to the printer 1042. Therefore, by using the property bag 414 of the XPS printing system, the data stored in the registry database 308 can be referred to. The transmission method will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 17 and the flowchart of FIG.

  When printing is started from the application 1051, the filter pipeline manager 409 receives the XPS spool file 407, which is a print job (S1801). The filter pipeline manager 409 also receives model information that specifies which printer driver 1052 is used from the application 1051. The filter pipeline manager 409 searches the registry database 308 based on the model information received from the application 1051. Driver information described when the printer driver 1052 is installed is written in the registry database 308, and the filter pipeline manager 409 acquires driver information corresponding to the specified model information. The filter pipeline manager 409 determines whether the acquired driver information includes the CLSID of the advanced UI application 311 (S1802). If there is no CLSID, the filter is called to perform the printing process. When the CLSID of the advanced UI application 311 exists, the filter pipeline manager 409 calls the API of the operating system 1053 by specifying as arguments the activation of the CLSID and the out-process server (FIG. 16 (1)). The filter pipeline manager 409 searches the registry database 308 in the API of the operating system 1053 using the designated CLSID as a search key. If the advanced UI application 311 is installed in the API of the operating system 1053, the filter pipeline manager 409 can acquire the full path including the file name of the advanced UI application 311 from the registry database 308 (S1803). If it does not exist, the filter is called to perform the printing process as in the case where CLSID does not exist. When the full path is acquired, the filter pipeline manager 409 activates the advanced UI application 311 from the API of the operating system 1053 (S1804). The activated advanced UI application 311 does not have the / RegSvr option (S1501), and thus creates a window (S1503). The window created at this point is not created for display, but only for waiting for a response from the filter pipeline manager 409 in the message loop. The advanced UI application 311 creates an interface object of the advanced UI application 311 and calls an API of the operating system 1053 by designating an interface (S1504 and FIG. 16 (2)). Then, the filter pipeline manager 409 can receive the interface of the advanced UI application 311 (S1805). The filter pipeline manager 409 that has received the interface creates an object of the property bag 414. The filter pipeline manager 409 calls an interface method using the created property bag 414 as an interface argument (S1806). The advanced UI application 311 receives the interface call and determines whether the event is a UI event (S1505). Since the method is called with the property bag 414 as an argument this time, it is not a UI event, and thus the advanced UI application 311 acquires previously saved information from the registry (S1516). The advanced UI application 311 acquires the property bag 414 of the argument from the interface (S1517), and adds a value to the property bag (S1518). A property bag 414 is a combination of a name and a value and can add, delete, and refer to data freely. The advanced UI application 311 adds optional device configurations such as a printer finisher, personal information such as a user name and password, functions created by the user such as favorites and stamps, and the like to the property bag 414. When the advanced UI application 311 finishes adding a value to the property bag 414, the advanced UI application 311 also ends. The filter pipeline manager 409 waits for termination while the advanced UI application 311 displays the user interface (S1807). When it is confirmed that the advanced UI application 311 is terminated, the filter pipeline manager 409 receives the property bag 414 changed by the advanced UI application 311. Then, the filter is called as before, and printing processing is performed (S1808). Each filter acquires information from the property bag 414 as necessary. Since the filter pipeline manager 409 discards the object in the property bag 414 when the last filter finishes outputting the PDL, it is valid only for one printing. In this way, the information of the advanced UI application 311 is transmitted to the filter.

  When the advanced UI application 311 is used, it cannot operate with a so-called shared printer that operates by downloading a printer driver from the server 203 to the client 201 or 202. In the network environment as shown in FIG. 2, in the shared printer, the client can download the printer driver from the server 203. Accordingly, if the configuration module 304 includes a user interface, the client 201 or 202 can also display the user interface. However, since the advanced UI application 311 is different from the printer driver, it cannot be downloaded to the clients 201 and 202. The RPC can also communicate between the server 203 and the clients 201 and 202, but the advanced UI application 311 is activated on the server 203 as it is, and the user cannot operate the user interface on the client. Therefore, the shared printer cannot be used in an environment where the advanced UI application 311 is installed. Hereinafter, the mechanism for prohibiting the shared printer will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 19, 20, and 21.

  When the operating system 1053 is called to display the shared tab of the printer driver 1052 by the user (S2101), the operating system 1053 also receives model information specifying which printer driver 1052 is used. The operating system 1053 searches the registry database 308 based on the received model information. Driver information described at the time of installing the printer driver 1052 is written in the registry database 308, and the operating system 1053 acquires driver information corresponding to the specified model information. The operating system 1053 determines whether the acquired driver information includes the CLSID of the advanced UI application 311 (S2102). If the CLSID exists, the user interface is displayed using the advanced UI application 311. Therefore, the operating system 1053 displays a sharing tab in which the sharing setting in which the “sharing is not supported” message is placed cannot be specified (see FIG. 20). Note that the check box for sharing the screen in FIG. 19 may be grayed out and displayed. When the CLSID does not exist, the operating system 1053 displays a sharing tab in which check boxes for sharing are arranged (FIG. 19).

  When the advanced UI application 311 is used, the basis of the property sheet is not created by the CPSUI 801, so that a user interface can be freely created. However, after the operating system 1053 adds the base of the property sheet and several tabs, the configuration module 304 of the printer driver 1052 cannot create a user interface for adding more tabs. For example, a user interface for device setting or a user interface for checking job settings. With such a user interface, the advanced UI application 311 cannot generate a user interface. Therefore, a method of displaying buttons on the user interface will be described using the flowcharts of FIGS. 22, 23, and 24. FIG.

  When the operating system 1053 is called to display a user interface for checking device settings and job settings from the user (S2401), the operating system 1053 also receives model information specifying which printer driver 1052 to use. The operating system 1053 searches the registry database 308 based on the received model information. Driver information described at the time of installing the printer driver 1052 is written in the registry database 308, and the operating system 1053 acquires driver information corresponding to the specified model information. The operating system 1053 determines whether the acquired driver information includes the CLSID of the advanced UI application 311 (S2402). If CLSID exists, a button for opening the user interface of the advanced UI application 311 is arranged and a tab is displayed (S2403). If CLSID does not exist, the configuration module 304 of the printer driver 1052 is called to add a tab (S2404). In FIG. 22, a basic setting button is displayed on the user interface for confirming the job setting so that the job setting user interface of the advanced UI application 311 can be called. In FIG. 23, a device setting button is displayed on the device setting user interface so that the device interface of the advanced UI application 311 can be called.

  As described above, by disconnecting the user interface from the printer driver 1052 in the form of the advanced UI application 311, the application can be prevented from being involved even if the user interface crashes. Further, since the system does not depend on the CPSUI 801, a user interface can be freely created that is not a property sheet. Further, by performing communication between different processes using COM without using a named pipe or shared memory, it is possible to reduce the code depending on the operating system 1053 in the advanced UI application 311.

[Example 2]
In the first embodiment, the advanced UI application 311 is installed separately from the installation set of the printer driver 1052, but may be included in the installation set of the printer driver 1052. Hereinafter, installation of the printer driver 1052 when the advanced UI application 311 is included in the installation set of the printer driver 1052 will be described with reference to the flow of FIG. 25 and FIG.

  The printer driver 1052 is installed in the operating system 1053 according to the setup information file (hereinafter referred to as INF file) shown in FIG. In the INF file, in addition to the CLSID of the advanced UI application 311 described in the first embodiment, the application file name of the advanced UI application 311 is described. When the installation of the printer driver 1052 is started (S2501), the operating system 1053 searches for an installation set of the printer driver 1052 of the designated model. The installation set uses one installed in the operating system 1053, but may be specified by a user or provided from a distribution server specified in advance. The operating system 1053 copies the file based on the INF file included in the installation set, and writes necessary driver information in the registry database 308, thereby completing the normal printer driver installation (S2502). Next, the operating system 1053 determines whether or not the file name of the advanced UI application 311 is present in the INF file of the printer driver 1052 (S2503). In FIG. 26, the key “AdvancedUI” corresponds to the file name of the advanced UI application 311. If the file name exists, the operating system 1053 activates the advanced UI application 311 with the / RegSvr option as an argument (S2504). The operating system 1053 confirms whether or not the CLSID of the advanced UI application 311 is described in the INF file (S2505). If the CLSID of the advanced UI application 311 exists, the operating system 1053 acquires the CLSID from the INF file (S2506). The operating system 1053 additionally describes the CLSID of the advanced UI application 311 in the driver information in the registry database 308 (S2507). This completes the installation of the advanced UI application 311 together with the installation of the printer driver 1052.

  As described above, if the advanced UI application 311 is added to the installation set of the printer driver 1052, a user interface that is activated in a separate process can be obtained simply by installing the printer driver 1052 without the user adding it later. Can be used.

  As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the user interface of the printer driver is activated in a process different from the application, so that the application is not involved and crashed. In addition, since the operating system does not need to prepare a base, the user interface of the printer driver can freely arrange designs and controls. Also, since the UI application can be installed separately from the printer driver, it is possible to change only the user interface without updating the printer driver. Also, since the memory area is different for each process, a larger memory area can be used, and a rich user interface using moving images and 3D can be created.

1042 Printer 1051 Application 1052 Printer driver 1053 Operating system 201 Client 202 Client 203 Server 304 Configuration module 305 Model-dependent data file 306 Print manager (spooler)
308 Registry Database 311 Advanced UI Application 403 DEVMODE Structure 404 Print Ticket 406 DEVMODE-Print Ticket Conversion Module 407 XPS Spool File 409 Filter Pipeline Manager 414 Property Bag 801 CPSUI
802 COM proxy 803 COM stub

Claims (50)

An additional means for adding the identifier described in the setup file, which is information necessary for installing the printer driver, to the database;
On the condition that the user interface of the printer driver is called from the first application and the identifier is not in the database, control is performed so as not to start the second application that displays the user interface for print settings. Control means for starting the second application in a process different from the first application on condition that the user interface of the printer driver is called from one application and the identifier is in the database; An information processing apparatus comprising:   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the process of the first application and the process of the second application perform interprocess communication.   The addition of the identifier to the database by the adding unit and the activation of the second application by the control unit are performed by an operating system of the information processing apparatus. Information processing device.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the database is a registry database.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the identifier is an identifier of the second application.   The control means does not start the second application on the condition that the user interface of the printer driver is called from the first application and the identifier is not in the database, and the CPSUI (Common Property) 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus calls (Sheet User Interface).   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second application adds the identifier to the database.   The information indicating that the second application is the identifier, the path of the second application, and an out-of-process server is added to the database. Information processing device.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adding unit adds the identifier described in the setup file to the database when installing the printer driver.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second application is started with a specific option when the identifier is added to the database.   When the second application is started without the specific option and a user interface for performing print settings is called up, the second application displays a user interface for performing the print settings. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10.   12. The information processing according to claim 1, wherein the adding unit adds the identifier described in the setup file to driver information of the database existing for each printer model. 13. apparatus. A first application for displaying a print settings user interface;
A setup file, which is information necessary for installing the printer driver, in which an identifier to be added to the database is described;
The identifier described in the setup file is acquired and added to the database;
On the condition that the user interface of the printer driver is called from a second application and the identifier is not in the database, the first application does not start, and the user of the printer driver from the second application The information processing apparatus, wherein the first application is started by a process different from the second application on condition that an interface is called and the identifier is in the database.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the process of the first application and the process of the second application perform interprocess communication.   15. The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein addition of the identifier of the setup file to the database and activation of the second application are performed by an operating system of the information processing apparatus.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the database is a registry database.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the identifier is an identifier of the second application.   On the condition that the user interface of the printer driver is called from the first application and the identifier is not in the database, the second application does not start and a CPSUI (Common Property Sheet User Interface) The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the information processing apparatus is called.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the second application adds the identifier to the database.   19. The information according to claim 13, wherein information indicating that the second application is the identifier, the path of the second application, and an out-of-process server is added to the database. Information processing device.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the identifier described in the setup file is added to the database when the printer driver is installed.   The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 21, wherein the second application is started with a specific option when the identifier is added to the database.   When the second application is started without the specific option and a user interface for performing print settings is called up, the second application displays a user interface for performing the print settings. The information processing apparatus according to claim 22.   The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 23, wherein the identifier described in the setup file is added to driver information of the database that exists for each printer model. On the computer,
An additional step of adding an identifier described in the setup file, which is information necessary for installing the printer driver, to the database;
On the condition that the user interface of the printer driver is called from the first application and the identifier is not in the database, control is performed so as not to start the second application that displays the user interface for print settings. A control step of starting the second application in a process different from the first application on condition that the user interface of the printer driver is called from one application and the identifier is in the database; A program characterized by having executed.   26. The program according to claim 25, wherein the process of the first application and the process of the second application perform interprocess communication.   27. The program according to claim 25 or claim 26, wherein the adding of the identifier to the database by the adding step and the activation of the second application by the controlling step are performed by an operating system of the computer. .   The program according to any one of claims 25 to 27, wherein the database is a registry database.   29. The program according to claim 25, wherein the identifier is an identifier of the second application.   In the control step, on the condition that the user interface of the printer driver is called from the first application and the identifier is not in the database, the second application is not started, and a CPSUI (Common Property) 30. The program according to any one of claims 25 to 29, wherein the program calls (Sheet User Interface).   The program according to any one of claims 25 to 30, wherein the second application adds the identifier to the database.   The information indicating that the second application is the identifier, the path of the second application, and an out-of-process server is added to the database. program.   31. The program according to claim 25, wherein the adding step adds the identifier described in the setup file to the database when installing the printer driver.   The program according to any one of claims 25 to 33, wherein the second application is started with a specific option when the identifier is added to the database.   When the second application is started without the specific option and a user interface for performing print settings is called up, the second application displays a user interface for performing the print settings. The program according to claim 34.   36. The program according to claim 25, wherein the adding step adds the identifier described in the setup file to driver information of the database existing for each printer model. A program executed on a computer, wherein the computer is
A first application for displaying a print settings user interface;
A setup file, which is information necessary for installing the printer driver, in which an identifier to be added to the database is described;
The identifier described in the setup file is acquired and added to the database;
On the condition that the user interface of the printer driver is called from a second application and the identifier is not in the database, the first application does not start, and the user of the printer driver from the second application A program characterized in that the first application is started in a process different from the second application on the condition that an interface is called and the identifier is in the database.   The program according to claim 37, wherein the process of the first application and the process of the second application perform interprocess communication.   The program according to claim 37 or 38, wherein the addition of the identifier of the setup file to the database and the activation of the second application are performed by an operating system of the computer.   The program according to any one of claims 37 to 39, wherein the database is a registry database.   41. The program according to claim 37, wherein the identifier is an identifier of the second application.   On the condition that the user interface of the printer driver is called from the first application and the identifier is not in the database, the second application does not start and a CPSUI (Common Property Sheet User Interface) The program according to any one of claims 37 to 41, wherein the program is called.   The program according to any one of claims 37 to 42, wherein the second application adds the identifier to the database.   43. The information according to any one of claims 37 to 42, wherein information indicating that the second application is the identifier, a path of the second application, and an out-of-process server is added to the database. program.   The program according to any one of claims 37 to 42, wherein the identifier described in the setup file is added to the database when the printer driver is installed.   46. The program according to claim 37, wherein the second application is started with a specific option when the identifier is added to the database.   When the second application is started without the specific option and a user interface for performing print settings is called up, the second application displays a user interface for performing the print settings. The program according to claim 46.   48. The program according to claim 37, wherein the identifier described in the setup file is added to driver information of the database existing for each model of printer. An additional step of adding an identifier described in the setup file, which is information necessary for installing the printer driver, to the database;
On the condition that the user interface of the printer driver is called from the first application and the identifier is not in the database, control is performed so as not to start the second application that displays the user interface for print settings. A control step of starting the second application in a process different from the first application on condition that the user interface of the printer driver is called from one application and the identifier is in the database; A control method characterized by comprising: A control method executed by an information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus comprising:
A first application for displaying a print settings user interface;
A setup file, which is information necessary for installing the printer driver, in which an identifier to be added to the database is described;
The identifier described in the setup file is acquired and added to the database;
On the condition that the user interface of the printer driver is called from a second application and the identifier is not in the database, the first application does not start, and the user of the printer driver from the second application A control method characterized in that the first application is started in a process different from the second application on the condition that an interface is called and the identifier is in the database.

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