JP6547531B2 - Content specification program and mobile terminal - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a content designation program for designating content data, and a portable terminal for executing the content designation program.

  BACKGROUND Conventionally, there is known an application that causes a user to designate content data and causes an output device to execute an output operation for the designated content data. For example, the application described in Patent Document 1 causes a user to specify image data stored in a portable terminal, and causes a printer to print an image indicated by the image data.

JP, 2012-203742, A

  In recent years, methods for specifying content data are diversified, and development of an interface suitable for each is required. For example, an interface for extracting a desired area from a map image and an interface for editing an image to be printed on a surface such as a CD-ROM are significantly different. Therefore, there is a tendency to develop a plurality of programs having a designated interface specialized to a particular designation method.

  On the other hand, the process for causing the output device to execute the output operation may greatly differ depending on the maker or model of the output device. Therefore, in order to execute the process, it is necessary to develop a program suitable for each output device. However, it is extremely difficult to further implement, in each program, an optimal process for causing an output device to execute an output operation in addition to developing a plurality of programs having a designated interface that is optimal for a particular designation method. In particular, when trying to cause an output operation to be performed by a plurality of output devices with different specifications, the implementation load of the processing optimum for each output device increases the possibility of affecting the implementation of the designated interface.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an interface having an interface for receiving specification of content data, and processing in a format independent of the manufacturer or model of the output device. The present invention is to provide a content designation program capable of causing a computer to execute a designated operation.

  (1) The content designation program described in the present specification can be read by a portable terminal including an operation unit, a communication unit, and a storage unit. The communication unit can communicate with a plurality of output devices through a communication network. The output device is capable of performing at least one of a plurality of output operations for outputting content data. The storage unit can store an output program readable by the mobile terminal. The output program includes: providing information acquisition processing for acquiring designated data information, designated device information, and designated operation information provided from the content designation program to the output program; and the output device identified by the designated device information It is possible to cause the portable terminal to execute output processing of transmitting output instruction information through the communication unit. The output instruction information is information that causes the content data identified by the designated data information to execute the output operation identified by the designated operation information. The content designation program is a first acceptance process for accepting a user operation to designate the content data through the operation unit, and the output device capable of executing a designation operation in a state capable of communicating with the portable terminal through the communication unit. And causing the portable terminal to execute a first acquisition process of acquiring a plurality of pieces of device identification information for identifying the information. The designation operation is one of a plurality of the output operations. The content designation program is designated by a second acceptance process of accepting, through the operation unit, a user operation of designating one of the plurality of pieces of device identification information acquired in the first acquisition process, and the first acceptance process. Outputting the designated data information for identifying the content data, the designated device information which is the device identification information designated in the second reception process, and the designated operation information for identifying the designated operation; The portable terminal is caused to execute output instruction processing to be provided to the output program in order to execute processing.

  According to the above configuration, the content designation program can cause the output device to execute the designation operation for the content data for which the designation has been accepted, by providing various information to the output program. That is, the content designation program can cause the output device to execute the designation operation by processing in a format independent of the maker or model of the output device.

  (2) Preferably, the content designation program is a search instruction process for instructing the output program to execute the first search process, and the device identification information provided by the output program according to the search instruction process. The portable terminal is caused to execute the first acquisition processing acquired from the output program. The first search process searches for the output device capable of communicating with the mobile terminal through the communication unit and capable of executing the specified operation from the network through the communication unit, and the first search process It is possible to cause the portable terminal to execute a first providing process of providing the content identification program with the device identification information of the output device found in the above.

  According to the above configuration, the content designation program can instruct the output program to execute the output operation by processing in a format independent of the maker or model of the output device.

  (3) Preferably, the content designation program performs a determination instruction process of instructing the output program to execute the first determination process, and the designated device information provided from the output program according to the determination instruction process. The portable terminal is caused to execute the second acquisition processing acquired from the output program. The output program includes an acquired information storage process of storing the designated device information in the storage unit, a first determination process of determining whether the designated device information is stored in the storage unit, and the designation device. It is possible to cause the portable terminal to execute a second providing process of providing the designated device information to the content designation program according to the determination in the first determination process that the information is stored. The content designation program instructs the output device identified by the designated device information to execute the output processing in the output instruction process when the designated device information is acquired in the second acquisition process.

  According to the above configuration, the process of receiving the specification of the output device is omitted, so that the user operation until the output device performs the specification operation can be simplified.

  (4) Preferably, the portable terminal includes a display unit. The content designation program includes a display process for causing the display unit to display the designated device information acquired from the output program in the second acquisition process and a first object, and a user operation for selecting the first object. In response to the third reception process received through the operation unit and the selection of the first object received in the third reception process, the mobile terminal is caused to execute the first acquisition process and the second reception process.

  According to the above configuration, for example, when the output program stores the designated device information, and the output device suitable for executing the designated operation is newly connected to the communication network, the designated operation is executed on the output device. It can be done.

  (5) Preferably, the content designation program is information indicating that the designated device information can not be acquired in the display processing when the designated device information can not be acquired from the output program in the second acquisition processing. And displaying on the display unit in place of the device identification information.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to cause the user to recognize that the designated device information can not be acquired, so it is possible to prompt the selection of the output device by the selection of the first object.

  (6) Preferably, the content specification program can further receive, through the operation unit, an instruction operation instructing the output program to execute the acquired information storage process in the second reception process. In the output instruction process when the instruction operation is further accepted in the second acceptance process, storage instruction information instructing execution of the acquired information storage process is further provided to the output program.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to make the user select whether or not to cause the output device that has received the specification in the second reception process to execute the specification operation also after the next time.

  (7) Preferably, the portable terminal includes a display unit. The content designation program generates, from the output program, a generation instruction process of instructing the output program to execute the generation process, and the data identification information provided from the output program according to the generation instruction process. Causing the portable terminal to execute processing. The output program performs the generation process of generating preview image data indicating a preview image, and a third providing process of providing data identification information for identifying the preview image data to the content designation program. It is possible to make it run. The preview image is an image representing a result of causing the output device identified by the designated device information to execute the designation operation on the content data identified by the designated data information. The content designation program causes the portable terminal to execute a fourth acquisition process of acquiring the preview image data identified by the data identification information and a preview display process of displaying a preview screen on the display unit. The preview screen includes the preview image indicated by the preview image data acquired in the fourth acquisition process and a second object. The content designation program is configured to receive the user operation for selecting the second object through the operation unit through the operation unit, and the output according to reception of selection of the second object in the fourth reception process. The instruction processing is performed on the portable terminal.

  According to the above configuration, the content designation program can cause the user to confirm the preview image indicating the result of the designation operation, and then execute the designation operation by processing in a format independent of the maker or model of the output device. That is, it is possible to suppress the execution of the designated operation which is different from the user's intention.

  (8) For example, one of the plurality of output operations is a print operation for recording an image on a sheet. The preview image when the designated operation information indicates the print operation indicates the result of recording the image indicated by the image data identified by the data identification information on a sheet.

  (9) Preferably, the content specification program includes a display process for displaying a third object on the display unit, a fifth reception process for receiving a user operation for selecting the third object through the operation unit, and In response to the selection of the third object being received in the fifth reception process, the mobile terminal is caused to execute the fourth acquisition process and the preview display process. The content specification program receives the specification of the content data in the first reception process and the specification of the device identification information in the display process after receiving the specification of the device identification information in the second reception process. 3 Display the object on the display unit. On the other hand, the content designation program can not select in the display processing before the designation of the content data is received in the first acceptance processing, or the designation of the device identification information is received in the second acceptance processing. The third object is displayed on the display unit.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to make the user recognize that the preview display processing can not be performed, and therefore, it is possible to prompt specification of the content data and the output device.

  (10) Preferably, the content designation program performs a second determination process of determining whether the output program is stored in the storage unit, the communication operation with the portable terminal through the communication unit, and the designation operation A second search process for searching the network from the network through the communication unit, and the second determination process determines that the output program is not stored, and the second search process determines In response to the finding of the output device, the mobile terminal is caused to execute first notification processing to notify that the output program needs to be installed.

  (11) More preferably, the content designation program reports that it is necessary to connect the output device to the communication network in response to failure to find the output device in the second search process. 2. Make the mobile terminal execute the notification process.

  Providing a new output device capable of executing the specified operation often requires much time and labor as compared with the installation of the output program. That is, if it is not possible to immediately prepare an output device capable of executing the specified operation, there is a high possibility that the output program will be wasted even if installed. Therefore, by notifying in the above-described procedure, it is possible to suppress the user from performing unnecessary work.

  (12) For example, the content designation program causes the portable terminal to execute the output instruction process in response to the determination in the second determination process that the output program is stored.

  (13) For example, the storage unit stores in advance the designation operation information corresponding to the content designation program when the content designation program is installed. The content designation program is, in the first acquisition process, a plurality of the device identification information for identifying the output devices capable of executing the designation operation identified by the designation operation information stored in advance in the storage unit. Is provided, and in the output instruction process, the designated operation information stored in advance in the storage unit is provided to the output program.

  Thus, the designated operation information that the content designation program can provide to the output program may be fixed. On the other hand, the content designation program causes the user to designate one of the plurality of output operations, and executes the first acquisition processing and the output instruction processing using the designated operation information for identifying the designated output operation. It is also good.

  (14) The mobile terminal described in the present specification includes an operation unit, a communication unit, a storage unit, and a control unit. The communication unit can communicate with a plurality of output devices through a communication network. The output device is capable of performing at least one of a plurality of output operations for outputting content data. The storage unit can store an output program and a content designation program. The control unit that executes the output program identifies the designated data information provided to the output program from the content designation program, designated device information, and provided information acquisition processing that acquires designated operation information, and identification by the designated device information. And an output process of transmitting output instruction information to the output device through the communication unit. The output instruction information is information that causes the content data identified by the designated data information to execute the output operation identified by the designated operation information. The control unit executing the content designation program performs first designation processing for accepting a user operation specifying the content data through the operation unit, and a designation operation in a state in which communication with the portable terminal is possible through the communication unit. Performing a first acquisition process of acquiring a plurality of pieces of device identification information for identifying the executable output device; The designation operation is one of a plurality of the output operations. The control unit executing the content designation program receives a user operation specifying one of the plurality of pieces of device identification information acquired in the first acquisition processing through the operation unit; The specified data information for identifying the content data specified in the reception process, the specified device information that is the apparatus identification information specified in the second reception process, and the specification for identifying the specified operation And performing an output instruction process of providing operation information to the output program to execute the output process.

  According to the present invention, the processing of providing various information to the output program can cause the output device to execute the specification operation for the content data for which the specification has been received by processing in a format independent of the maker or model of the output device. .

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a recording system 100 according to the embodiment. 2A is a block diagram of the multi-function device 10, and FIG. 2B is a block diagram of the portable terminal 50. As shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the content designation process. FIG. 4A is a flowchart of device selection processing, and FIG. 4B is a flowchart of notification processing. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of processing executed by the output program 66. FIG. 6 is a display example of the display unit 53, in which (A) shows a menu screen and (B) shows a label editing screen. FIG. 7 shows a display example of the label editing screen, where (A) shows a state before accepting designation data and designation of designation device, and (B) shows a state after accepting designation data and designation device designation. Show. FIG. 8 is a display example of the display unit 53, in which (A) shows a device selection screen and (B) shows a preview screen. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the sharing function realized by the sharing API.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. The embodiments described below are merely examples of the present invention, and it goes without saying that the embodiments of the present invention can be appropriately modified without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a recording system 100 in the present embodiment. The recording system 100 shown in FIG. 1 is configured by multifunction machines 10A and 10B (hereinafter, these may be collectively referred to as “multifunction machine 10”) and a portable terminal 50. The MFP 10 and the portable terminal 50 are configured to be communicable through the communication network 101. The communication network 101 may be, for example, a wired LAN (abbreviation of Local Area Network), a wireless LAN, or a combination thereof.

[MFP 10]
As shown in FIG. 2A, the MFP 10 includes a printer unit 11, a scanner unit 12, a FAX unit 13, a display unit 23, an operation unit 24, a communication unit 25, and a mounting unit 26. , A CPU (abbreviation of Central Processing Unit) 31, a storage unit 32, and a communication bus 33 are mainly provided. The components constituting the multi-function device 10 are mutually connected through the communication bus 33. The multifunction peripheral 10 is an example of an output device.

[Printer unit 11, Scanner unit 12, Fax unit 13]
The printer unit 11 executes a printing operation for recording an image indicated by image data on a recording sheet. The recording sheet is an example of a sheet or a recording medium. As a recording method of the printer unit 11, a known method such as an inkjet method or an electrophotographic method can be adopted. The scanner unit 12 executes a scan operation of reading an image recorded on a document and generating image data. The FAX unit 13 executes a FAX transmission operation and a FAX reception operation for transmitting and receiving image data by a method compliant with the FAX protocol.

  The print operation and the fax transmission operation among the plurality of operations described above are an example of an output operation for outputting the content indicated by the content data. The operations executed by the MFP 10 are not limited to these. As an example of the output operation, the multifunction machine 10 may execute a media storage operation of storing the content data acquired from the portable terminal 50 in the portable storage medium mounted on the mounting unit 26. As another example of the output operation, the MFP 10 may cause the display unit 23 to display an image indicated by the image data acquired from the portable terminal 50.

  In addition, the output operation is a label printing operation for recording a disk-shaped image (hereinafter referred to as a "label image") on the surface of a CD-ROM, an embossing operation for forming irregularities on the surface of a card or the like, a postcard In addition, it may include a postcard printing operation for recording an image, a garment printing operation for recording an image on fabric, and the like. These operations can be performed only with an output device having dedicated hardware for recording an image on a recording medium (eg, CD-ROM, card, postcard, fabric) different from a general recording sheet. Further, the output operation includes a bookbinding operation for binding a plurality of recording sheets on which an image is recorded, a 3D printing operation for generating a three-dimensional structure based on CAD data, and an embroidery operation for sewing an image May be included. These operations can also be realized only with an output device having dedicated hardware.

  The operations that can be executed by the multifunction peripherals 10A and 10B may be different. In the present embodiment, the MFP 10A can execute a print operation, a FAX transmission operation, and a label print operation, and the MFP 10B can execute a print operation, a media storage operation, and a label print operation. Also, the output device is not limited to one capable of performing a plurality of operations, and may be capable of performing only a single operation. For example, even if a device ID for identifying the MFP 10 and operation information indicating an operation that can be executed by the MFP 10 are defined in the MIB (abbreviation of Management Information Base) of the MFP 10 Good. The operation information may include, for example, an operation ID for identifying an executable operation. The device ID is an example of device identification information, and the operation ID is an example of operation identification information.

[Display 23]
The display unit 23 includes a display screen for displaying various information. As the display unit 23, a liquid crystal display (abbreviation of Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL display (abbreviation of Organic Electro-Luminescence Display), or the like can be adopted.

[Operation 24]
The operation unit 24 receives an operation of a user who selects an object displayed on the display screen of the display unit 23. Specifically, the operation unit 24 has a button, and outputs various operation signals associated with the pressed button to the CPU 31. Furthermore, the operation unit 24 may have a film-like touch sensor superimposed on the display screen of the display unit 23. That is, the display unit 23 may be configured as a touch panel display.

  Note that “object” refers to an image that can be selected by the user operating the operation unit 24. As an example, the object is a character string displayed on the display unit 23. One of the objects is highlighted when the direction key of the operation unit 24 is pressed, and high when the determination button of the operation unit 24 is pressed. An object displayed in light may be selected. As another example, the object when the operation unit 24 is a touch panel may be an icon, a button, a link, or the like displayed on the display unit 23, and an object displayed at the touch position may be selected.

  The operation unit 24 realized as a touch panel receives a user operation of touching the display screen of the display unit 23. The operation unit 24 also outputs position information indicating the position on the display screen touched by the user. The position information can be expressed, for example, as coordinates (x, y) on the xy plane with the upper left end of the display screen as the origin, the right direction as the positive direction of the x axis, and the downward direction as the positive direction of the y axis. A well-known system such as an electrostatic capacity system or a resistive film system can be adopted as the touch sensor.

  Note that “touch” in the present specification includes all operations for causing an input medium to contact a display screen. That is, a tap operation to separate the touched input medium from the display screen within a predetermined time, a long touch operation to stop the touched input medium on the display screen, a slide operation to slide the touched input medium on the display screen, the display screen Flick operation where the acceleration of the input medium sliding on the top is above the threshold, pinch-in operation to slide the two input media touched at different positions on the display screen towards each other, two touched at different positions on the display screen A pinch out operation or the like in which the input media are slid away from each other is an example of a touch.

  Further, even if the input medium does not touch the display screen, bringing the input medium close to a position where the distance to the display screen is very small may be included in the concept of “touch” described above. Furthermore, the input medium may be a finger of the user, a touch pen, or the like. Hereinafter, tapping of the position of the icon displayed on the display unit 53 will be described as an example of user operation for selecting the icon.

[Communication unit 25]
The communication unit 25 is an interface for communicating with an external device through the communication network 101. That is, the MFP 10 outputs various information to the portable terminal 50 through the communication unit 25, and receives various data or information from the portable terminal 50 through the communication unit 25. Although the specific communication procedure of the communication unit 25 is not particularly limited, for example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark of Wi-Fi Alliance) can be adopted.

[Mounting unit 26]
The mounting unit 26 is an interface to which a portable storage medium is attached and detached. The CPU 31 can read data or information from the portable storage medium attached to the attachment unit 26, or write data or information to the portable storage medium attached to the attachment unit 26. Although the specific example of a portable storage medium is not specifically limited, For example, USB memory, SD card, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM etc. may be sufficient.

[CPU31]
The CPU 31 controls the overall operation of the multifunction machine 10. The CPU 31 acquires various programs to be described later from the storage unit 32 based on various information output from the operation unit 24 and various information acquired from an external device through the communication unit 25 and executes the programs. That is, the CPU 31 and the storage unit 32 constitute an example of a control unit.

[Storage unit 32]
The storage unit 32 has a program storage area 32A and a data storage area 32B. The program storage area 32A stores an OS (abbreviation of Operating System) 34 and a control program 35. The control program 35 may be a single program or a collection of a plurality of programs. Data or information necessary for the execution of the control program 35 is stored in the data storage area 32B.

  Note that "data" and "information" in the present specification are common in that they are bits or bit strings that can be handled by a computer. "Data" refers to data that can be handled without the computer taking into consideration the semantic content indicated by each bit. On the other hand, "information" indicates that the operation of the computer branches depending on the meaning content indicated by each bit. Furthermore, the "instruction" is a control signal for prompting the destination apparatus to perform the next operation, which may include information, and itself has an information property. There is also.

  Also, "data" and "information" have the same data and information as long as they are recognized as having the same semantic content even if the format (for example, text format, binary format, flag format, etc.) is changed for each computer. Treated as For example, information indicating "two" is held as text information of "0x32" in ASCII code in one computer, and held in binary notation of "10" in binary notation in another computer. It may be done.

  However, the above distinction between "data" and "information" is not strict, and exceptional handling is also permitted. For example, data may be temporarily treated as information, or information may be temporarily treated as data. Also, what is treated as data in one device may be treated as information in another device. Furthermore, information may be extracted from the data, and data may be extracted from the information.

  The storage unit 32 includes, for example, RAM (abbreviation of Random Access Memory), ROM (abbreviation of Read Only Memory), EEPROM (abbreviation of Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), HDD (abbreviation of Hard Disk Drive), and CPU 31. It is configured by a buffer or the like or a combination thereof.

  The storage unit 32 may be a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable storage medium is a non-transitory medium. The non-transitory medium also includes a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, etc. in addition to the above example. In addition, non-transitory media are tangible media. On the other hand, an electrical signal carrying a program downloaded from a server or the like on the Internet is a computer readable signal medium, which is a type of computer readable medium, but a non-transitory computer readable storage. It is not included in the medium.

  The programs stored in the program storage area 32A are executed by the CPU 31. However, in the present specification, the operation of each program may be described with the CPU 31 omitted. That is, in the following description, the description that "the program A executes the process A" may indicate that "the CPU 31 executes the process A described in the program A". The same applies to the portable terminal 50 described later.

  The program stored in the program storage area 32A determines an event and operates according to the determination result. However, in the present specification, the operation of each program may be described by omitting judgment. That is, in the following description, the description that "the control program executes the process A according to the condition A" determines whether the control program is the condition A. The control program makes a positive determination. May be referred to as “performing process A”. The same applies to the portable terminal 50 described later.

  The program stored in the program storage area 32A specifies, acquires, extracts or selects data and the like. If the program specifies data etc., for example, data that meets the condition is specified from among a plurality of data etc., and the data itself etc. or information for identifying the data etc. is stored in a predetermined storage area. Refers to the process to be stored. The information for identifying data or the like is, for example, identification information for identifying the data or the like, an index of an array in which the data or the like is stored, a pointer of a storage area in which the data or the like is stored, or the like. The same applies to processing in which the program acquires, extracts, or selects data and the like. The same applies to the portable terminal 50 described later.

  The OS 34 is an API (Application (Application) for controlling the printer unit 11, the scanner unit 12, the FAX unit 13, the display unit 23, the operation unit 24, the communication unit 25, the mounting unit 26, etc.) which is hardware configuring the MFP 10. It is a basic program providing "Programming Interface". That is, each of the above programs controls each hardware by calling an API provided by the OS 34. However, in this specification, the OS 34 may be omitted to explain the operation of each program. That is, in the following description, the description that “the program B controls the hardware C” may indicate that “the program B controls the hardware C through the API of the OS 34”. The same applies to the portable terminal 50 described later.

[Mobile terminal 50]
As illustrated in FIG. 2B, the portable terminal 50 mainly includes a display unit 53, an operation unit 54, a communication unit 55, a CPU 61, a storage unit 62, and a communication bus 63. The display unit 53, the operation unit 54, the communication unit 55, the CPU 61, the storage unit 62, and the communication bus 63 included in the portable terminal 50 are included in the display unit 23, the operation unit 24, the communication unit 25, the CPU 31, The configuration is the same as that of the storage unit 32 and the communication bus 33, so the description will be omitted. The CPU 61 and the storage unit 62 are an example of a control unit. The mobile terminal 50 is, for example, a smartphone, a mobile phone, or a tablet terminal.

  An OS 64, a content designation program 65, and an output program 66 are stored in the program storage area 62A of the storage unit 62. Further, the data storage area 62B may be provided with a content data folder in which content data is stored. The content data may be, for example, image data, picture data, document data, spreadsheet data, presentation data, moving image data, music data, or the like.

  The display unit 53 of the portable terminal 50 is divided into a common display area 80 and a program display area 81, as shown in FIGS. In the common display area 80, the status bar is displayed by the OS 64 regardless of the display content of the program display area 81. Various information is displayed on the status bar by the OS 64. In the status bar, for example, the title of the screen displayed in the program display area 81, an icon indicating the battery remaining amount of the portable terminal 50, an icon indicating the communication state of the communication unit 55, and a push received by the portable terminal 50 from an external service An icon or the like indicating a notification is displayed. In the program display area 81, a screen generated by a program being executed in the foreground is displayed.

  Hereinafter, it is assumed that the program screen is displayed in the program display area 81 and the status bar is displayed in the common display area 80 when “the program causes the display unit 53 to display the screen”. The program screen is a screen displayed in the program display area 81 according to an instruction of the program. However, the display unit 53 can be switched between a partial screen mode in which the display area is divided into the common display area 80 and the program display area 81, and a full screen mode in which all the display areas are the program display area 81. It is also good.

  The OS 64 may be, for example, Android (registered trademark of Google inc.) OS, iOS (registered trademark of Cisco Systems, Inc.), Windows Phone (registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation) Operating System, and the like. The OS 64 can execute a plurality of programs installed in the portable terminal 50 in parallel. The plurality of programs are executed virtually in parallel by, for example, time division multiplexing. In addition, the OS 64 executes one of a plurality of programs running in parallel in the foreground, and executes the other programs in the background.

  In the foreground, for example, a program screen according to the execution of the program is displayed in most of the display area of the display unit 53. The “most part of the display area” may indicate, for example, the program display area 81. In the background, for example, a program screen based on the execution of a program different from the program is displayed in most of the display area of the display unit 53. That is, the portable terminal 50 can cause the display unit 53 to display only the program screen depending on the execution of the program executed in the foreground among the plurality of programs executed in parallel.

  The content designation program 65 receives a user operation for designating at least one of content data, an output operation, and an output device. Hereinafter, the content data designated by the user is referred to as “designated data”, the output operation designated by the user is referred to as “designated operation”, and the output device designated by the user is referred to as “designated device”. Further, the content designation program 65 can activate the output program 66 by designating the designation data ID, the designation operation ID, and the designation device ID. The designated data ID is an example of designated data information for identifying designated data, the designated device ID is an example of designated device information for identifying a designated device, and the designated operation ID is a designation for identifying a designated operation. It is an example of operation information.

  The content designation program 65 according to the present embodiment edits a label image according to a user operation, and provides label image data indicating the label image to the output program 66 as designation data. However, a specific example of the content designation program 65 is not limited to this. As an example, the content designation program 65 may cause the user to designate one of the plurality of photograph data stored in the data storage area 62B and provide the designated photograph data to the output program 66. . As another example, the content designation program 65 may cause the user to designate an arbitrary area of the map image, and provide the output program 66 with image data indicating the map image of the designated area.

  The data storage area 62B can store the designated operation ID. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the designated operation ID for identifying the label printing operation is stored in the data storage area 62B. The designated operation ID may be included in, for example, a setting file read by the content designation program 65 at startup, or may be directly described in the source code of the content designation program 65. That is, the designated operation ID is stored in the data storage area 62 B at the timing when the content designation program 65 is installed in the portable terminal 50. In this embodiment, an example in which the designated operation ID used by the content designation program 65 is fixed in advance will be described, but a designated operation ID for identifying the designated operation designated by the user may be used.

  The content designation program 65 can, for example, activate the output program 66 as a so-called plug-in. In this case, the content specification program 65 may execute a plug-in API for activating an application as a plug-in, using information specifying the output program 66, the URI, and the specification information as arguments. The arguments specified by the plug-in API may be, for example, intent-type information used in Android OS. Alternatively, the content designation program 65 may activate the program 66 by executing an explicit sharing API described later. The arguments specified in the explicit sharing API may be common to the plug-in API.

  The output program 66 is activated by, for example, the content designation program 65. The output program 66 is a program that acquires the designated data ID, the designated device ID, and the designated operation ID provided from the content designation program 65 and causes the designated device to execute the designated operation for the designated data. The output program 66 can acquire various information provided from the content specification program 65 by referring to, for example, an argument in the intent format. The output program 66 transmits, for example, output instruction information for executing a label printing operation to the MFP 10 through the communication unit 55.

  Further, the output program 66 can operate in accordance with various information acquired from the content designation program 65, and can provide the content designation program 65 with generation information generated by the operation. The generation information may be, for example, image data generated by the output program 66, a URL indicating the location of the generated image data, and result information indicating an operation result by the output program 66.

  As an example, the output program 66 may provide the content specification program 65 with the generated information by appending the generated information to the argument in the intent format. The argument to which the output program 66 adds the generated information is provided to the content designation program 65 as a return value. As a result, the content designation program 65 can acquire various information included in the return value. As another example, the output program 66 may provide the generation information to the content specification program 65 as a return value of a plug-in API or an explicit sharing API executed by the content specification program 65 to start the output program 66. Good.

  As another example, the output program 66 may provide the content designation program 65 with the generation information by storing the generation information in the area of the storage unit 62 accessible by the content designation program 65. In this case, the content designation program 65 acquires the generation information by reading the generation information stored in the storage unit 62. As another example, the output program 66 provides generation information to the content specification program 65 by executing an API for passing arguments to the application using information specifying the content specification program 65 and generation information as arguments. May be The argument in this case may also be information in the intent format.

  The OS 64 provides the program installed in the portable terminal 50 with a sharing function of activating the second program designated by the first program and providing the designated information designated by the first program to the second program. The first program can use the sharing function by executing, for example, an API provided by the OS 64 (hereinafter, referred to as “sharing API”). More specifically, the first program executes the shared API with the program ID of the second program and the designation information as arguments. Details of the sharing function will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the sharing source application 41 executes the sharing API of the OS 64 for realizing the sharing function (S1). At least URI (for Uniform Resource Identifier), type, and action are required as arguments to execute the implicit sharing API. The argument may be, for example, intent type information. The sharing source application 41 may include other information in the implicit sharing API argument. The URI is information indicating the location of shared data. The type is information indicating the data format of shared data. The action is information indicating the type of processing (for example, browsing, editing, transmission, printing, etc.) on shared data to be executed by the application of the sharing destination. The URI, the type, and the action are examples of designation information provided from the sharing source application to the request destination application.

  On the other hand, the applications 42, 43, 44,... Which are candidates for sharing destination applications declare in advance to the OS 64 the data format of processable shared data and the type of process that can be executed. Therefore, the OS 64 identifies an application that can execute the process indicated by the action on the shared data of the data format indicated by the type among the applications 42, 43, 44,. A list of applications is displayed on the display unit 53 (S3). Then, the OS 64 stands by in a state where a user operation for selecting one of the applications displayed in a list can be received through the operation unit 54 (S4).

  Next, in response to receiving a user operation for selecting one of the listed applications through the operation unit 54 (S4), the OS 64 starts the application with the URI, type, and action as arguments. (S5). In the following embodiment, the content designation program 65 corresponds to the application 41 of FIG. 9, and the output program 66 corresponds to one of the applications 42 to 44 of FIG.

  The processes of steps S2 to S5 may be executed by the sharing source application. In this case, the application at the sharing source acquires, from the OS 64, information specifying an application that can execute the process indicated by the action with respect to the shared data of the data format indicated by the type in step S2. Then, in step S5, the application at the sharing source activates the application selected by the user operation by executing the explicit sharing API with the information specifying the application acquired from the OS 64, the URI, the type, and the action as arguments. It can be done. The sharing source application 41 may include other information in the argument of the explicit sharing API.

  Alternatively, the sharing source application may execute the explicit sharing API by using information specifying the predetermined application, the URI, the type, and the action in response to the user instructing the use of the sharing function. The application of the predetermined share destination may be activated by In the present embodiment, for example, the output program 66 may be set as the application of the sharing destination determined in advance in the content designation program 65 which is the application of the sharing source. More specifically, information for specifying the output program 66 may be described in a setting file that the content specification program 65 refers to at startup, or in a source code of the content specification program 65.

  The data storage area 62B can store a registration device ID. At the time of installation of the output program 66, the registered device ID is not stored in the data storage area 62B. The registration device ID is a designated device ID registered by the output program 66 in step S63 described later, and is read by the output program 66 in step S53 described later. On the other hand, programs other than the output program 66 may not register, change, read out, etc. the registered device ID.

[Operation of Recording System 100]
The operation of the recording system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8. The recording system 100 executes a process of causing the MFP 10A specified based on the user operation to execute the label printing operation for the content data specified by the portable terminal 50 based on the user operation.

  First, the OS 64 of the portable terminal 50 displays a menu screen on the display unit 53 and displays a status bar on the common display area 80. FIG. 6A is an example of the menu screen. The menu screen shown in FIG. 6A includes a plurality of program icons 111, 112, 113, 114, 115. The program icons 111 to 115 correspond to the programs installed in the portable terminal 50. For example, the program icon 114 corresponds to the content specification program 65, and the program icon 115 corresponds to the output program 66. In the present embodiment, the program icon 115 corresponding to the output program 66 may not be displayed.

  Then, the OS 64 receives the selection of one of the program icons 111 to 115 through the operation unit 54. In response to the selection of the program icon 114 being accepted through the operation unit 54, the OS 64 activates the content designation program 65 and executes the content designation program 65 in the foreground. The selection of the program icon 114 is an example of a user operation instructing the start of the content designation program 65.

[Content specification process]
The content designation program 65 executes the content designation process in response to the activation by the OS 64 that has received the selection of the program icon 114 regardless of the sharing function. The content designation program 65 receives, in the content designation process, a user operation for designating designation data and a designation device. Then, the content designation program 65 provides the output program 66 with the designated data ID, the designated device ID, and the designated operation ID. The details of the content designation process will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the content designation program 65 determines whether the output program 66 has already been installed (S11). As an example, the content specification program 65 may determine whether the executable file of the output program 66 is stored in the program storage area 62A. As another example, the content specification program 65 may execute a function of specifying the program ID of the output program 66 and inquiring the OS 64 whether the output program 66 is installed. Then, the content specification program 65 may determine whether the output program 66 is installed or not based on the return value of the function. The process of step S11 is an example of a second determination process.

  Next, in response to having determined that the output program 66 has been installed (S11: Yes), the content designation program 65 instructs the output program 66 whether or not the registered device ID is stored in the data storage area 62B. Inquire (S12). The content designation program 65 executes, for example, a function for activating the output program 66 using, as an argument, information instructing determination of the presence or absence of a registration device ID. The process of step S12 is an example of a judgment instruction process of instructing the output program 66 to execute a first judgment process described later.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the output program 66 stores the registered device ID in the data storage area 62B in response to receiving the inquiry about the presence or absence of the registered device ID from the content specification program 65 (S51: Yes) It is determined whether or not there is (S52). When it is determined that the registration device ID is stored in the data storage area 62B (S52: Yes), the output program 66 provides the content designation program 65 with the registration device ID (S53). On the other hand, when the output program 66 determines that the registration device ID is not stored in the data storage area 62B (S52: No), the output program 66 provides the content designation program 65 with a null value (S54).

  The output program 66 provides the content designation program 65 with the registration device ID or the null value as the return value of the function executed by the content designation program 65 in step S12, for example, in steps S53 and S54. Further, the information provided to the content designation program 65 in step S54 is not limited to the null value as long as it is a predetermined value indicating that the registration device ID does not exist. The process of step S52 is an example of a first determination process, and the process of step S53 is an example of a second provision process.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the content designation program 65 acquires the registration device ID or the null value from the output program 66 (S13). Then, the content designation program 65 temporarily stores the acquired registered device ID in the data storage area 62B as the designated device ID. Next, the content specification program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display a label editing screen (S14). The process of step S13 is an example of a second acquisition process, and the process of step S14 is an example of a display process. Then, the content designation program 65 receives the selection of the icon included in the label editing screen through the operation unit 54 (S15).

  FIG. 6B is an example of the label editing screen when the registration device ID “MFP-A” is acquired in step S13. FIG. 7A is an example of the label editing screen when the registered device ID can not be acquired in step S13. The label editing screen shown in FIG. 6 includes a label image display area 121, a plurality of editing icons 122, 123 and 124, a device icon 125 which is an example of a first object, and a preview icon 126 which is an example of a third object. And.

  The label image display area 121 is an area for displaying a label image edited using the editing icons 122-124. The edit icon 122 corresponds to an instruction to add a character string to the label image. The edit icon 123 corresponds to an instruction to add a color to the label image. The edit icon 124 corresponds to an instruction to add a photo to the label image. The device icon 125 corresponds to an instruction to switch the designated device. The preview icon 126 corresponds to an instruction to execute preview display processing described later.

  The character of the registration device ID "MFP-A" acquired in step S13 is added to the device icon 125 shown in FIG. 6B. On the other hand, to the device icon 125 shown in FIG. 7A, the characters “unselected” indicating that the registered device ID could not be acquired in step S13 are added. In the label editing screen, “MFP-A” and “not selected” may be displayed at a position different from the device icon 125. Furthermore, the preview icons 126 shown in FIGS. 6B and 7A are grayed out as an example of the non-selectable aspect. However, as another example of the non-selectable aspect, the preview icon 126 may be hidden on the label editing screen shown in FIGS. 6B and 7A.

  Next, in response to the selection of the device icon 125 being accepted through the operation unit 54 (S15: device icon), the content designation program 65 executes a device selection process (S16). The process of accepting the selection of the device icon 125 in step S15 is an example of a third acceptance process. The device selection process is a process of causing the user to designate a designated device. The details of the device selection process will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the content designation program 65 instructs the output program 66 to search for the multifunction machine 10 (S31). The content designation program 65 executes, for example, a function for starting the output program 66 using, as arguments, information for instructing the search of the multifunction machine 10 and the designated operation ID stored in the data storage area 62B. The process of step S31 is an example of a search instruction process for instructing the output program 66 to execute the search process described later (hereinafter referred to as "search instruction").

  As shown in FIG. 5, in response to receiving a search instruction from the content designation program 65 (S55: Yes), the output program 66 is communicable through the communication unit 55 and identified by the designated operation ID. The multifunction device 10 capable of executing the specified operation is searched from the communication network 101 through the communication unit 55 (S56). The process of step S56 is an example of a first search process.

  The output program 66 transmits transmission request information for requesting transmission of the device ID and operation information stored in the MIB to the MFP 10 through the communication unit 55 using, for example, SNMP (abbreviation of Simple Network Management Protocol). . Next, the output program 66 receives the device ID and the operation information returned from the multifunction machine 10 through the communication unit 55. Next, the output program 66 compares the designated operation ID acquired from the content designation program 65 with the operation ID included in the operation information received from the MFP 10. Then, the output program 66 specifies, as the target MFP, the multifunction peripheral 10 whose operation information includes the same operation ID as that of the designated operation ID.

  The operation information may be model information indicating a model of the multifunction machine 10. The output program 66 in this case accesses the correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the model information and the action ID corresponding to the model information, and acquires the action ID corresponding to the received model information. That is, the correspondence information is also information indicating an operation that can be executed by the multifunction machine 10 of the model indicated by the model information. The correspondence information may be stored in the portable terminal 50 or may be stored in a cloud server (not shown).

  The target multifunction peripheral specified in step S56 is capable of transmitting and receiving information compliant with SNMP, that is, the multifunction peripheral 10 in a communicable state through the communication unit 55 at the present time, and capable of executing designated operation 10 In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the multifunction peripherals 10A and 10B are specified as the target multifunction peripheral. Then, the output program 66 provides the content designation program 65 with the device IDs “MFP-A” and “MFP-B” of the MFP 10 found in step S56 as the return value of the function executed in step S31. (S57). The process of step S57 is an example of a first providing process.

  As another example, the output program 66 designates the content as the return value of the function executed in step S31, the device ID and the operation information received from the MFP 10, or the device ID and the model information received from the MFP 10. It may be provided to the program 65. Then, the content specification program 65 may specify the target MFP based on the information. The specific method by which the content specification program 65 specifies the target multifunction machine may be the same as the above-described method by which the output program 66 specifies the target multifunction machine.

  As another example, the transmission request information may include a designated operation ID. The control program 35 of the MFP 10 may receive the transmission request information from the portable terminal 50 through the communication unit 25 and determine whether the designated operation ID included in the transmission request information is stored in the MIB. Then, the control program 35 may transmit the device ID to the portable terminal 50 through the communication unit 25 in response to determining that the designated operation ID is stored in the MIB. On the other hand, the control program 35 does not transmit the device ID to the portable terminal 50 in response to determining that the designated operation ID is not stored in the MIB. Then, the output program 66 of the portable terminal 50 may specify the MFP 10 indicated by the device ID received through the communication unit 55 as the target MFP.

  Referring back to FIG. 4A, the content designation program 65 acquires the device IDs “MFP-A” and “MFP-B” provided by the output program 66 according to the search instruction process (S32). Next, the content designation program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display a device selection screen (S33). Then, the content designation program 65 receives the selection of the icon or the check box included in the device selection screen through the operation unit 54 (S34). The process of step S32 is an example of a first acquisition process, and the process of step S34 is an example of a second reception process.

  FIG. 8A shows an example of the device selection screen. The device selection screen shown in FIG. 8A includes device icons 131 and 132 and a check box 133. The device icons 131 and 132 correspond to the device ID of the target multifunction peripheral found in step S56. Also, corresponding device IDs are described in the device icons 131 and 132. The check box 133 is an object for receiving an instruction operation instructing the output program 66 to execute an acquisition information storage process described later. The acquired information storage process is a process for storing the designated device ID designated through the device selection screen as the registered device ID in the data storage area 62B.

  Next, in response to the selection of the device icon 131 being accepted through the operation unit 54 (S34: Yes), for example, the content designation program 65 selects the device ID “MFP-A” described in the selected device icon 131. And temporarily store the designated device ID in the data storage area 62B (S35). If the designated device ID is already temporarily stored in the data storage area 62B, it is overwritten with the designated device ID designated in step S34. The output program 66 also temporarily stores information indicating whether the check box 133 is checked in the data storage area 62B. The check of the check box 133 is an example of an instruction operation.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the content designation program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display a label editing screen including the device icon 125 in which the designated device ID temporarily stored in step S35 is described (S14). For example, when the position of the device icon 125 shown in FIG. 7 (A) is tapped and the position of the device icon 131 shown in FIG. 8 (A) is tapped, the content designation program 65 displays FIG. 6 (B). The displayed label editing screen is displayed on the display unit 53.

  Next, in response to the selection of the editing icons 122 to 124 being accepted through the operation unit 54 (S15: editing icon), the content designation program 65 edits the label image according to the user operation (S17). Then, the content specification program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display a label editing screen in which the label image after editing is arranged in the label image display area 121 (S14). The process of receiving the selection of the editing icons 122 to 124 in step S15 is an example of the first reception process.

  Further, the content designation program 65 temporarily stores, as designation data, label image data indicating a label image after editing, and a data ID for identifying the label image data as designation data ID in the data storage area 62B. The data ID is an example of data identification information. The content designation program 65 and the output program 66 can read out, edit, or delete data stored in the storage unit 62 using the API of the OS 64. The data ID is information of a format used to designate data in the API of the OS 64. The data ID is, for example, a file path or a URI. If the label image and the designated data ID are already temporarily stored in the data storage area 62B, the label image data and the designated data ID designated in step S17 are overwritten.

  The storage destination of the label image data indicating the label image after editing may be, for example, an external server (not shown) such as a cloud server. That is, the content designation program 65 may transmit label image data indicating the label image after editing to the external server through the communication unit 55. Then, the content designation program 65 may temporarily store the data ID of the label image data as the designated data ID in the data storage area 62B. The designated data ID in this case may be, for example, in the form of a URL for downloading label image data from an external server.

  As an example, the content specification program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display a software keyboard (not shown) in response to the selection of the editing icon 122, and sets the character string input through the software keyboard to a desired position. Deploy. As another example, the content designation program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display a list of selectable colors in response to the selection of the editing icon 123, and selects the color selected through the operation unit 54 as the background of the label image. Set to color. As still another example, the content designation program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display a list of selectable photos in response to the selection of the editing icon 124, and the user desires the photos selected through the operation unit 54. Place in the

  FIG. 7B is an example of the label editing screen after the label image is edited in the label editing screen shown in FIG. 6B. In the label editing screen shown in FIG. 7B, compared with the label editing screens shown in FIGS. 6B and 7A, the label image after editing is arranged in the label image display area 121, and It differs in that the preview icon 126 of the selectable aspect is included, and is common in other points.

  Next, in response to the selection of the preview icon 126 being accepted through the operation unit 54 (S15: [Preview] icon), the content designation program 65 instructs the output program 66 to generate preview image data (S18). The content designation program 65 activates the output program 66 using, for example, information instructing generation of preview image data, a designated data ID stored in the data storage area 62B, a designated device ID, and a designated operation ID. To execute the function. The process of accepting the selection of the preview icon 126 in step S15 is an example of a fifth acceptance process. The process of step S18 is an example of a generation instruction process of instructing the output program to execute the generation process described later (hereinafter referred to as "generation instruction").

  As shown in FIG. 5, the output program 66 generates preview image data indicating a preview image (S59) in response to the generation instruction from the content specification program 65 (S58: Yes). Specifically, the output program 66 reads label image data from the data storage area 62B using the API of the OS 64, and generates preview image data using the label image data. The preview image is an image representing the result of causing the designation device to execute the designation operation on the designation data. The preview image according to the present embodiment shows an image in which the multi-function device 10A has recorded the label image on the surface of the CD-ROM. The output program 66 also temporarily stores the generated preview image data in the data storage area 62B. Further, the output program 66 provides the data specifying program 65 with the data ID of the generated preview image data as the return value of the function executed in step S18 (S60). The process of step S59 is an example of the generation process, and the process of step S60 is an example of the third providing process.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the content designation program 65 acquires the data ID from the output program 66, and uses the data ID to read the preview image data identified by the data ID from the data storage area 62B (S19). Next, the content designation program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display a preview screen (S20). Then, the content designation program 65 receives the selection of the icon included in the preview screen through the operation unit 54 (S21). The process of step S19 is an example of the third acquisition process and the fourth acquisition process, the process of step S20 is an example of the preview display process, and the process of step S21 is an example of the fourth reception process.

  FIG. 8B is an example of the preview screen. The preview screen shown in FIG. 8B includes a preview image 135 and a print icon 136 which is an example of a second object. The preview image 135 is an image indicated by the preview image data read out from the data storage area 62B in step S19. The print icon 136 corresponds to an instruction for causing the output program 66 to execute output processing to be described later (hereinafter, referred to as “output instruction”).

  When the label image data is stored in the external server, the output program 66 receives the label image data from the external server through the communication unit 55 in step S59, and generates the preview image data using the label image data. Alternatively, the preview image data may be transmitted to the external server through the communication unit 55. In addition, the content designation program 65 may receive preview image data from an external server through the communication unit 55 in step S19.

  Next, the content designation program 65 instructs the output program 66 to execute the output process (S22) in response to the selection of the [print] icon being accepted through the operation unit 54 (S21: Yes). The content designation program 65 starts the output program 66 using, for example, information instructing the execution of the output process, the designated data ID stored in the data storage area 62B, the designated device ID, and the designated operation ID. Execute the API of The API executed here may be an API for activating the output program 66 as a plug-in, or may be an explicit sharing API. The process of step S22 is an example of an output instruction process of providing a designated data ID, a designated device ID, and a designated operation ID to an output program in order to execute the output process.

  When the designated device ID stored in the data storage area 62B and the registered device ID acquired from the output program 66 in step S13 are the same, the content designation program 65 executes the output process using the registered device ID. The information indicating that the user should do may be provided to the output program 66 instead of the designated device ID. Also, the content designation program 65 further provides storage instruction information to the output program 66 in response to the check box 133 being checked. The storage instruction information is information for causing the output program 66 to execute an acquisition information storage process described later.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the output program 66 receives the output instruction from the content designation program 65 (S58: No), the designated data ID provided from the content designation program 65, the designated device ID, and the like. Get the specified action ID. The output program 66 also reads out the registered device ID stored in the data storage area 62B as the designated device ID in response to the acquisition of the information indicating that the registered device ID is to be used. These processes are an example of the provided information acquisition process.

  Then, the output program 66 transmits the output instruction information through the communication unit 55 to the MFP 10A identified by the designated device ID (S20). The output instruction information is information for causing the designated device to execute the designated operation for the designated data. That is, the output instruction information in the present embodiment is information for recording the label image indicated by the label image data on the surface of the CD-ROM. The output instruction information includes designated data indicated by the designated data ID. Specifically, the output program 66 reads specified data using the API of the OS 64, generates output instruction information including the read specified data, and transmits the generated output instruction information to the MFP 10A through the communication unit 55. .

  When the designated data ID is a URL for downloading the designated data from the external server, the output program 66 receives the designated data from the external server through the communication unit 55, and outputs the output designation information including the received designated data. The generated output instruction information may be transmitted to the MFP 10A through the communication unit 55. Alternatively, the output program 66 may transmit output instruction information including a URL for downloading designated data from an external server to the MFP 10A through the communication unit 55.

  On the other hand, although not shown, the control program 35 of the MFP 10A receives the output instruction information from the portable terminal 50 through the communication unit 25. Then, the control program 35 executes an output operation according to the received output instruction information. The MFP 10A according to the present embodiment causes the printer unit 11 to execute a label printing operation of recording the label image indicated by the designation data included in the output instruction information on the surface of the CD-ROM. Alternatively, the MFP 10A may download designated data from an external server using a URL included in the output instruction information, and cause the printer unit 11 to execute a label printing operation for the designated data.

  Further, the output program 66 determines whether or not storage instruction information has been acquired from the content designation program 65 (S62). Then, the output program 66 stores the designated device ID acquired from the content designation program 65 in the data storage area 62B as the registered device ID in response to the determination that the storage instruction information has been acquired (S62: Yes) S63). If the registered device ID has already been stored, it is overwritten with the designated device ID acquired from the content designation program 65. The process of step S63 is an example of the acquired information storage process. On the other hand, in response to determining that the storage instruction information has not been acquired (S62: No), the output program 66 skips the process of step S63.

  Returning to FIG. 3, in response to determining that the output program 66 has not been installed (S 11: No), the content specification program 65 executes notification processing (S 23). The notification process is a process for prompting the user of the work necessary for the content specification program 65 to execute the process. The details of the notification process will be described with reference to FIG. 4 (B).

  First, the content designation program 65 searches the communication network 101 through the communication unit 55 for the multifunction peripheral 10 capable of executing the designated operation identified by the designated operation ID in a state in which communication is possible through the communication unit 55 (S41) . The process of step S41 is the same as the process of step S56, and thus the description thereof will not be repeated. The process of step S41 is an example of a second search process.

  Next, the content designation program 65 carries out that the installation of the output program 66 is necessary in response to finding of the MFP 10 in a communicable state and capable of executing the designation operation (S42: Yes). It notifies to the user of the terminal 50 (S43). For example, the content designation program 65 may cause the display unit 53 to display a message "Please install the output program." Further, the content designation program 65 may activate a browser program (not shown) using the sharing function, and cause the browser program to display the download site of the output program 66. The process of step S43 is an example of a first notification process.

  On the other hand, when the content designation program 65 is in a communicable state and can not find the multifunction device 10 capable of executing the designated operation (S42: No), the multifunction device 10 capable of executing the designated operation can be The user of the portable terminal 50 is informed that it is necessary to connect to 101 (S44). For example, the content designation program 65 may cause the display unit 53 to display a message “Please connect a multifunction device capable of executing a label printing operation”. The process of step S44 is an example of a second notification process.

[Operation and effect of this embodiment]
According to the above embodiment, the content designation program 65 can cause the designation device to execute the designation operation for the designation data by providing the output program 66 with various information. That is, the content designation program 65 can cause the designation device to execute the designation operation by processing in a format independent of the maker or model of the designation device.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, since the process of step S56 is executed by the output program 66, the MFP 10 capable of executing the designated operation is specified by the processing that does not depend on the manufacturer or model of the MFP 10. be able to. However, the process of step S56 may be executed by the content designation program 65 as in step S41.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, since the registration device ID acquired from the output program 66 in step S13 can be used as the designated device ID, it is possible to omit the device selection process and execute the output instruction process. This makes it possible to simplify the user operation when the same multifunction machine 10 as before is to execute the specified operation. Further, the check box 133 allows the user to select whether or not the device ID of the designated device selected in the device selection process is to be registered as a registered device ID.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which the output program 66 manages the registered device ID has been described, but the content designation program 65 may manage the registered device ID. That is, the content designation program 65 may execute the processing corresponding to steps S52 and S53 instead of the processing of steps S12 and S13. Further, the content designation program 65 may execute the processing corresponding to step S63 before and after step S22 in response to the check box 133 being checked.

  Further, according to the above embodiment, the user can be made to select an output device different from the output device identified by the registration device ID in the device selection process. As a result, for example, the multifunction device 10 newly connected to the communication network 101 can be designated as a designated device. Furthermore, according to the above embodiment, by describing “not selected” in the device icon 125, it is possible to make the user recognize that the registration device ID could not be acquired in step S13.

  Further, according to the above embodiment, the content designation program 65 causes the user to confirm the preview image indicating the result of the designation operation and then execute the output instruction process, so that the execution of the designation operation different from the user's intention is suppressed. Be done. Furthermore, according to the above-described embodiment, since the preview icon 126 can not be selected until the designated data and the designated device are designated, it is possible to recognize that the user can not proceed to the preview display processing.

  Further, according to the above embodiment, when the output program 66 is not installed, installation of the output program 66 is prompted if communication is possible and the multifunction machine 10 capable of executing the designated operation exists. If it is possible and there is no multifunction machine 10 capable of executing the designated device, connection of the multifunction machine 10 is promoted. In this way, it is possible to prevent the user from performing unnecessary work.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the output program 66 has an interface to the content designation program 65 and an interface to the multifunction machine 10, and does not have an interface to the user. That is, the output program 66 executes the process shown in FIG. 5 in the background. However, the configuration of the output program 66 is not limited to this, and may further include an interface for receiving designation data, a designation device, or designation of a designation operation from the user. The output program 66 in this case is executed in the foreground, for example, in response to the selection of the program icon 115 shown in FIG. 6 (A).

  Further, in the portable terminal 50 of the above embodiment, the CPU 61 executes various programs stored in the program storage area 62A of the storage unit 62 to realize each process executed by the control unit of the present invention. Explained. However, the configuration of the control unit is not limited to this, and part or all of the control unit may be realized by hardware such as an integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC (abbreviated as Integrated Circuit)).

  Furthermore, the present invention can be realized not only as the portable terminal 50 but also as a program that causes the portable terminal 50 to execute processing. Then, the program may be provided by being recorded on a non-transitory recording medium. The non-transitory recording medium may include a storage unit mounted on a server connectable to the portable terminal 50 through the communication network 101, in addition to a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, and the like. Then, the program stored in the storage unit of the server may be distributed through the communication network 101 such as the Internet as information or a signal indicating the program.

10: MFP 11: printer unit 12: scanner unit 25, 55: communication unit 31, 61: CPU
35: Control program 65: Content designation program 66: Output program 50: Mobile terminal 53: Display unit 54: Operation unit 62: Storage unit

Claims (13)

A content designation program readable by a portable terminal comprising an operation unit, a communication unit, a storage unit, and a display unit , the communication unit being capable of communicating with a plurality of output devices through a communication network, the output The apparatus can execute at least one of a plurality of output operations for outputting content data, and the storage unit can store an output program readable by the portable terminal.
The output program is
Provision information acquisition processing for acquiring designated data information, designated device information, and designated operation information provided from the content designation program to the output program;
It is possible to cause the portable terminal to execute output processing of transmitting output instruction information through the communication unit to the output device identified by the designated device information, and the output instruction information is identified by the designated data information. Information that causes the output operation identified by the designated operation information to be executed on the content data to be
The content designation program
A first reception process of receiving a user operation specifying the content data through the operation unit;
The portable terminal is caused to execute a first acquisition process for acquiring a plurality of pieces of device identification information for identifying the output device capable of executing the designated operation in a state capable of communicating with the portable terminal through the communication unit; The designated operation is one of the plurality of output operations,
The content designation program
A second reception process for receiving, via the operation unit, a user operation specifying one of the plurality of pieces of device identification information acquired in the first acquisition process;
To identify the designated data information for identifying the content data designated in the first acceptance process, the designated apparatus information which is the apparatus identification information designated in the second acceptance process, and the designated operation An output instruction process of providing the specified operation information of the above to the output program to execute the output process ;
Generating instruction processing for instructing the output program to execute generation processing on the portable terminal, the output program identifying the generation processing for generating preview image data indicating a preview image, and identifying the preview image data It is possible to cause the portable terminal to execute a third providing process for providing the content designation program with data identification information for performing the preview process, the preview image is generated for the content data identified by the designated data information. It is an image showing a result of causing the output device identified by the designated device information to execute the designated operation,
The content designation program
A third acquisition process of acquiring from the output program the data identification information provided by the output program according to the generation instruction process;
A fourth acquisition process of acquiring the preview image data identified by the data identification information;
The portable terminal is caused to execute preview display processing for causing the display unit to display a preview screen, and the preview screen displays the preview image indicated by the preview image data acquired in the fourth acquisition processing, and a second object. Including
The content designation program
A fourth reception process of receiving a user operation of selecting the second object through the operation unit;
The output instruction process in response to the selection of the second object being accepted in the fourth acceptance process;
Display processing for displaying a third object on the display unit;
A fifth reception process of receiving a user operation of selecting the third object through the operation unit;
In response to the selection of the third object being received in the fifth reception process, the mobile terminal is caused to execute the fourth acquisition process and the preview display process.
After the specification of the content data is received in the first reception process, and the specification of the device identification information is received in the second reception process, the display unit is configured to display the third object in a selectable manner. Show on
The display unit according to the third aspect can not select the third object in the display process before receiving the specification of the content data in the first reception process or before receiving the specification of the device identification information in the second reception process. Content specification program to be displayed on. The content designation program
Search instruction processing for instructing the output program to execute the first search processing;
The portable terminal is caused to execute the first acquisition processing of acquiring from the output program the device identification information provided from the output program according to the search instruction processing, and the output program is configured to execute the portable communication through the communication unit. The device identification of the output device found by the first search processing for searching the communication network from the communication network through the communication unit and the output device capable of communicating with a terminal and capable of executing the specified operation The content designation program according to claim 1, which is capable of causing the portable terminal to execute a first providing process of providing information to the content designation program. The content designation program
A determination instruction process of instructing the output program to execute a first determination process;
Causing the portable terminal to execute a second acquisition process of acquiring from the output program the designated device information provided from the output program according to the determination instruction process, the output program storing the designated device information Acquisition information storing processing to be stored in a unit, the first determination processing for determining whether or not the designated device information is stored in the storage unit, and the first determination processing if the designated device information is stored It is possible to cause the portable terminal to execute a second providing process of providing the designated device information to the content designation program according to the determination made in
The content designation program instructs the output device identified by the designated device information to execute the output processing in the output instruction process when the designated device information is acquired in the second acquisition process. The content designation program according to Item 1 or 2. The content designation program
A display process for causing the display unit to display the designated device information and the first object acquired from the output program in the second acquisition process;
A third reception process of receiving a user operation of selecting the first object through the operation unit;
4. The content designation program according to claim 3, causing the portable terminal to execute the first acquisition process and the second acceptance process in response to the selection of the first object being accepted in the third acceptance process.   The content designation program uses information indicating that the designated device information can not be acquired in the display processing when the designated device information can not be acquired from the output program in the second acquisition processing as the device identification information. The content designation program according to claim 4, wherein the program is displayed on the display unit instead. The content designation program
In the second reception process, an instruction operation instructing the output program to execute the acquired information storage process can be further received through the operation unit.
The output instruction process when the instruction operation is further accepted in the second acceptance process, the storage program further includes storage instruction information for instructing execution of the acquired information storage process to the output program. Content specification program described in. One of the plurality of output operations is a print operation for recording an image on a sheet,
The said preview image in case the said designation | designated operation information shows the said printing operation shows the result of having recorded the image shown by the image data identified by the said data identification information on a sheet | seat. Content specification program. The content designation program
A second determination process of determining whether the output program is stored in the storage unit;
A second search process for searching the communication network from the communication network via the communication unit for the output device that can communicate with the portable terminal via the communication unit and can execute the specified operation;
The second judgment process determines that the output program is not stored, and notifies that installation of the output program is necessary in response to finding the output device in the second search process. The content designation program according to any one of claims 1 to 7, causing the mobile terminal to execute 1 notification processing. The content designation program is configured to perform a second notification process for notifying that it is necessary to connect the output device to the communication network in response to the fact that the output device can not be found in the second search process. The content designation program according to claim 8 to be executed by a terminal. The content designation program according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the content designation program causes the portable terminal to execute the output designation processing in response to the determination in the second determination processing that the output program is stored. . A content designation program readable by a portable terminal comprising an operation unit, a communication unit, and a storage unit, wherein the communication unit can communicate with a plurality of output devices through a communication network, and the output device is a content At least one of a plurality of output operations for outputting data can be performed, and the storage unit can store an output program readable by the portable terminal.
The output program is
Provision information acquisition processing for acquiring designated data information, designated device information, and designated operation information provided from the content designation program to the output program;
It is possible to cause the portable terminal to execute output processing of transmitting output instruction information through the communication unit to the output device identified by the designated device information, and the output instruction information is identified by the designated data information. Information that causes the output operation identified by the designated operation information to be executed on the content data to be
The content designation program
A first reception process of receiving a user operation specifying the content data through the operation unit;
The portable terminal is caused to execute a first acquisition process for acquiring a plurality of pieces of device identification information for identifying the output device capable of executing the designated operation in a state capable of communicating with the portable terminal through the communication unit; The designated operation is one of the plurality of output operations,
The content designation program
A second reception process for receiving, via the operation unit, a user operation specifying one of the plurality of pieces of device identification information acquired in the first acquisition process;
To identify the designated data information for identifying the content data designated in the first acceptance process, the designated apparatus information which is the apparatus identification information designated in the second acceptance process, and the designated operation Causing the portable terminal to execute an output instruction process for providing the output program to execute the output process.
The storage unit stores the designated operation information corresponding to the content designation program in advance when the content designation program is installed,
The content designation program
Acquiring, in the first acquisition process, a plurality of the device identification information for identifying the output device capable of executing the designated operation identified by the designated operation information stored in advance in the storage unit;
A content designation program for providing the designated operation information stored in advance in the storage unit to the output program in the output designation process. Operation unit,
Communication department,
A storage unit,
A display unit,
A portable terminal having a control unit;
The communication unit can communicate with a plurality of output devices through a communication network,
The output device is capable of performing at least one of a plurality of output operations for outputting content data;
The storage unit can store an output program and a content designation program,
The control unit executing the output program
Provision information acquisition processing for acquiring designated data information, designated device information, and designated operation information provided from the content designation program to the output program;
Performing an output process of transmitting output instruction information to the output device identified by the designated device information through the communication unit, wherein the output instruction information corresponds to the content data identified by the designated data information; Information to execute the output operation identified by the specified operation information,
The control unit executing the content designation program
A first reception process of receiving a user operation specifying the content data through the operation unit;
Performing a first acquisition process of acquiring a plurality of pieces of device identification information for identifying the output device capable of performing a designated operation in a state capable of communicating with the portable terminal through the communication unit; One of a plurality of said output operations,
The control unit executing the content designation program
A second reception process for receiving, via the operation unit, a user operation specifying one of the plurality of pieces of device identification information acquired in the first acquisition process;
To identify the designated data information for identifying the content data designated in the first acceptance process, the designated apparatus information which is the apparatus identification information designated in the second acceptance process, and the designated operation An output instruction process of providing the specified operation information of the above to the output program to execute the output process;
Executing generation instruction processing for instructing the output program to execute generation processing;
The control unit executing the output program
And the generating process for generating a preview image data showing the preview image, the data identification information for identifying the preview image data to perform a third providing process for providing to the content designated program, said preview image, It is an image showing a result of causing the output device identified by the designated device information to execute the designation operation for the content data identified by the designated data information,
The control unit executing the content designation program
A third acquisition process of acquiring from the output program the data identification information provided by the output program according to the generation instruction process;
A fourth acquisition process of acquiring the preview image data identified by the data identification information;
Performing a preview display process for displaying a preview screen on the display unit, the preview screen including the preview image indicated by the preview image data acquired in the fourth acquisition process, and a second object;
The control unit executing the content designation program
A fourth reception process of receiving a user operation of selecting the second object through the operation unit;
The output instruction process in response to the selection of the second object being accepted in the fourth acceptance process;
Display processing for displaying a third object on the display unit;
A fifth reception process of receiving a user operation of selecting the third object through the operation unit;
The fourth acquisition process and the preview display process are executed in response to the selection of the third object being accepted in the fifth acceptance process,
After the specification of the content data is received in the first reception process, and the specification of the device identification information is received in the second reception process, the display unit is configured to display the third object in a selectable manner. Show on
The display unit according to the third aspect can not select the third object in the display process before receiving the specification of the content data in the first reception process or before receiving the specification of the device identification information in the second reception process. Mobile terminal to be displayed.   Operation unit,
  Communication department,
  A storage unit,
  A portable terminal having a control unit;
  The communication unit can communicate with a plurality of output devices through a communication network,
  The output device is capable of performing at least one of a plurality of output operations for outputting content data;
  The storage unit can store an output program and a content designation program,
  The control unit executing the output program
  Provision information acquisition processing for acquiring designated data information, designated device information, and designated operation information provided from the content designation program to the output program;
  Performing an output process of transmitting output instruction information to the output device identified by the designated device information through the communication unit, wherein the output instruction information corresponds to the content data identified by the designated data information; Information to execute the output operation identified by the specified operation information,
  The control unit executing the content designation program
  A first reception process of receiving a user operation specifying the content data through the operation unit;
  Performing a first acquisition process of acquiring a plurality of pieces of device identification information for identifying the output device capable of performing a designated operation in a state capable of communicating with the portable terminal through the communication unit; One of a plurality of said output operations,
  The control unit executing the content designation program
  A second reception process for receiving, via the operation unit, a user operation specifying one of the plurality of pieces of device identification information acquired in the first acquisition process;
  To identify the designated data information for identifying the content data designated in the first acceptance process, the designated apparatus information which is the apparatus identification information designated in the second acceptance process, and the designated operation Performing an output instruction process of providing the specified operation information of the above to the output program in order to execute the output process;
  The storage unit stores the designated operation information corresponding to the content designation program in advance when the content designation program is installed,
  The control unit executing the content designation program
  Acquiring, in the first acquisition process, a plurality of the device identification information for identifying the output device capable of executing the designated operation identified by the designated operation information stored in advance in the storage unit;
  The portable terminal which provides the said designation | designated operation information previously stored in the said memory | storage part in the said output program in the said output instruction | indication process.