JP7120344B2 - Program and terminal equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a program for a mobile terminal that causes an image processing device to execute an image processing operation.

For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a terminal program that causes an image processing apparatus to execute an image processing operation. Also, the terminal program disclosed in Patent Document 1 can start an external program that substitutes for the function of the terminal program or an external program that supplements the function of the terminal program. More specifically, the external programs include those that provide an interface for editing image data to be subjected to image processing operations, those that specialize in some functions implemented in the terminal program, and the like.

JP 2012-203742 A

For the user, it may be more convenient to implement the process to be implemented through the terminal program through an external program suitable for the process. However, in recent years, the number of external programs published on the Internet has been increasing more and more, making it difficult to notice external programs that provide convenient functions.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a program for causing an image processing apparatus to execute an image processing operation, in which a process that a user intends to realize through the program is adapted to the process. To provide a technique for substituting for an external program.

Various disclosures are made herein. A program that is one of the disclosed examples can be executed by a mobile terminal that includes a memory, an input interface, and a communication interface. The memory stores multiple sets of external programs and operating information. The external program is a program capable of instructing an image processing operation to the image processing apparatus. The operation information indicates a specific operation, which is a user operation that can be received through the input interface. The program comprises: a first receiving process for receiving, through the input interface, a user operation specifying operation specifying information for specifying the content of the image processing operation to be executed by the image processing apparatus; and if the first determination process determines that the operation is not the specific operation, the image processing device capable of communicating with the mobile terminal through the communication interface performs the an operation instruction process for executing the image processing operation specified by the operation specifying information; and, in response to determining that the operation is the specified operation in the first determination process, associating the operation information indicating the specified operation with the operation instruction process. and causing the mobile terminal to execute a first activation process for activating the external program received.

According to the above configuration, in response to the user's specific operation for designating the action specifying information, the external program corresponding to the specific operation is activated instead of the action instruction process. As a result, the process that the user is trying to implement through the program can be replaced with an external program suitable for the process.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system 100 according to this embodiment. 2A is a block diagram of the MFP 10, and FIG. 2B is a block diagram of the mobile terminal 50. As shown in FIG. FIG. 3 shows a program list stored in memory 62. As shown in FIG. FIG. 4A is a flowchart of main processing, and FIG. 4B is a flowchart of device selection processing. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of print processing. 6A is a flowchart of data conversion processing, FIG. 6B is a flowchart of print condition setting processing, and FIG. 6C is a flowchart of login processing. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of application introduction processing. 8A and 8B show display examples of the display 53, where (A) shows the main screen and (B) shows the acquisition source selection screen. 9A and 9B show examples of the display on the display 53, where (A) shows a data selection screen and (B) shows a preview screen corresponding to the specified data "estimate.PDF". 10A and 10B show display examples of the display 53, where (A) shows a preview screen corresponding to the specified data "photo.JPEG" and (B) shows a setting screen. 11A and 11B show display examples of the display 53, where (A) shows a login screen and (B) shows an application introduction screen 170. FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. It should be noted that the embodiment described below is merely an example of the present invention, and it goes without saying that the embodiment of the present invention can be changed as appropriate without changing the gist of the present invention. For example, the execution order of each process to be described later can be changed as appropriate without changing the gist of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system 100 according to this embodiment. A system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes MFPs 10A and 10B (hereinafter collectively referred to as “MFP 10” in some cases) and a mobile terminal 50 . The MFP 10 and the mobile terminal 50 are configured to communicate via the communication network 101 . Communication network 101 may be, for example, a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, or a combination thereof. Alternatively, the MFP 10 and the mobile terminal 50 may be connected by a USB cable or the like.

The MFP 10 (abbreviation for Multi-Function Peripheral) includes a printer 11, a scanner 12, a display 23, an input I/F 24, a communication I/F 25, a CPU 31, and a memory, as shown in FIG. 32 and a communication bus 33 . Each component constituting the MFP 10 is interconnected through a communication bus 33 . The MFP 10 is an example of an image processing device.

The printer 11 is hardware that executes a printing operation for recording an image indicated by image data on a sheet. In the present embodiment, an example of an inkjet printer 11 that records an image by ejecting ink will be described, but the recording system of the printer 11 may be an electrophotographic system or the like. The scanner 12 is hardware that performs a scanning operation of reading an image recorded on a document and generating image data (hereinafter referred to as “scan data”). A print operation and a scan operation are examples of image processing operations. The print operation is an example of the first operation, and the scan operation is an example of the second operation.

Note that specific examples of the image processing operation are not limited to these. The image processing operation may be, for example, a FAX transmission operation for FAX transmission of image data to an external device according to a FAX protocol, a FAX reception operation for receiving image data from an external device by FAX according to a FAX protocol, or the like. Also, MFPs 10A and 10B only need to be able to execute at least one operation. Furthermore, the operations that MFPs 10A and 10B can perform may differ.

The printer 11 executes print operations according to predetermined execution conditions. The print operation execution condition is specified by a plurality of parameters corresponding to a plurality of items (for example, "size", "paper type", and "color"). The item "size" indicates the size of a sheet on which an image is recorded (for example, "A4", "B5", "L size", "postcard", etc.). The item "paper type" indicates the type of sheet on which an image is recorded (for example, "plain paper", "glossy paper", etc.). The item "color" indicates the color gradation of an image to be recorded on the sheet (for example, "color", "monochrome").

The scanner 12 performs scanning operations according to predetermined execution conditions. The scanning operation execution condition is specified by a plurality of parameters corresponding to a plurality of items (eg, "resolution", "color", "format"). The item “resolution” indicates reading resolution (for example, “300 dpi”, “600 dpi”, etc.) when reading an image recorded on a document. The item "color" indicates the color gradation of the read image (for example, "monochrome", "256 colors", "full color", etc.). The item "format" indicates the file format of scan data (for example, "PDF", "TIFF", "JPEG", etc.).

The display 23 is a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or the like, and has a display screen for displaying various information.

The input I/F 24 is a user interface that receives input operations by the user. Specifically, the input I/F 24 has a button and outputs various operation signals associated with the pressed button to the CPU 31 . Furthermore, the input I/F 24 may have a film-like touch sensor superimposed on the display screen of the display 23 . An operation of designating an object displayed on the display screen of the display 23 and an operation of inputting a string of characters or numbers are examples of user operations. The “objects” are, for example, character strings, icons, buttons, links, radio buttons, check boxes, pull-down menus, etc. displayed on the display 23 .

The input I/F 24 implemented as a touch sensor outputs position information indicating the position on the display screen touched by the user. It should be noted that "touch" in this specification includes all operations of bringing an input medium into contact with the display screen. Also, even if the input medium does not touch the display screen, the "hover" or "floating touch" that brings the input medium close to the display screen to a position where the distance is very small is included in the above-mentioned concept of "touch". may be included. Furthermore, the input medium may be a user's finger, a touch pen, or the like. A user operation of tapping the position of an object displayed on the display 23 is an example of a user operation of designating the object.

Communication I/F 25 is an interface capable of communicating with an external device through communication network 101 . That is, MFP 10 transmits various information to an external device through communication I/F 25 and receives various information from an external device through communication I/F 25 . A specific communication procedure of the communication I/F 25 is not particularly limited, but for example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark) can be adopted. Further, when the MFP 10 and the mobile terminal 50 are connected by a USB cable, the communication I/F 25 may be a USB interface that allows the USB cable to be attached and detached.

CPU 31 controls the overall operation of MFP 10 . Based on various information output from the input I/F 24, various information received from an external device through the communication I/F 25, and the like, the CPU 31 acquires various programs, which will be described later, from the memory 32 and executes them. The CPU 31 and memory 32 constitute an example of a controller.

Memory 32 stores OS 34 and device program 35 . The device program 35 may be a single program or an aggregate of multiple programs. The memory 32 also stores data or information necessary for executing the device program 35 . The memory 32 is configured by, for example, a RAM, a ROM, an EEPROM, an HDD, a portable storage medium such as a USB memory detachable from the MFP 10, a buffer provided in the CPU 31, or a combination thereof.

Memory 32 may be a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium is a non-transitory medium. In addition to the above examples, non-transitory media include recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs. A non-transitory medium is also a tangible medium. On the other hand, an electrical signal that carries a program downloaded from a server on the Internet is a computer-readable signal medium, which is a kind of computer-readable medium, but is a non-transitory computer-readable storage. Not included in media. The same applies to the memory 62 of the mobile terminal 50, which will be described later.

The MIB (abbreviation of Management Information Base) of the memory 32 stores the device information shown in FIG. The device information includes a device ID that identifies MFP 10 and an operation ID that identifies an image processing operation executable by MFP 10 . It should be noted that the "apparatus ID" may be in any format, such as text format or binary format, as long as the MFPs 10A and 10B can be uniquely identified on the communication network 101. FIG. The same applies to an action ID, an application ID to be described later, a data ID to be described later, and the like.

That is, the MFP 10A is identified by the device ID "MFP-A" and can execute the print operation identified by the operation ID "print" and the scan operation identified by "scan". On the other hand, the MFP 10B can execute the print operation identified by the device ID "MFP-B" and the operation ID "print".

The mobile terminal 50 mainly includes a display 53, an input I/F 54, a communication I/F 55, a CPU 61, a memory 62, and a communication bus 63, as shown in FIG. 2B. The display 53, the input I/F 54, the communication I/F 55, the CPU 61, the memory 62, and the communication bus 63 included in the mobile terminal 50 are connected to the display 23, the input I/F 24, the communication I/F 25, the CPU 31, and the memory included in the MFP 10. 32 and the communication bus 33, the description thereof will be omitted. The CPU 61 and memory 62 are an example of a controller.

The mobile terminal 50 is, for example, a mobile phone, a smart phone, a tablet terminal, or the like. More specifically, the display 53 of the mobile terminal 50 preferably has a display screen size of 12 inches or less, more preferably 8 inches or less. Also, the input I/F 54 of the mobile terminal 50 is desirably a touch sensor superimposed on the display screen of the display 53 . The memory 62 stores an OS 64 , a terminal program 65 , one or more external programs 66 and an installer 67 .

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, or the like. The OS 64 can concurrently execute multiple programs installed in the mobile terminal 50 . A plurality of programs are virtually executed in parallel by, for example, time-division multiplexing. Also, the OS 64 executes one of a plurality of programs executed in parallel in the foreground and executes the other programs in the background.

The foreground is, for example, a state in which a screen resulting from execution of the program is displayed on most of the display area of the display 53 . The background is, for example, a state in which a screen based on execution of a program different from the program is displayed in most of the display area of the display 53 . That is, the portable terminal 50 can display on the display 53 only the screen based on the execution of the program being executed in the foreground among the multiple programs executed in parallel.

Terminal program 65 is a program that causes MFP 10 connected through communication I/F 55 to execute an image processing operation. More specifically, the terminal program 65 causes the user to specify action specifying information (for example, specified device information, specified action ID, specified acquisition source ID, specified data ID, specified condition information), and performs the operation using the specified action specifying information. The MFP 10 is made to execute the image processing operation of the specified content.

Also, the terminal program 65 can activate the external program 66 installed in the mobile terminal 50 as a so-called plug-in. The terminal program 65 specifies, for example, the program ID of the external program 66 as an argument and executes an API provided by the OS 64 (hereinafter referred to as "start API"). The OS 64 activates the external program 66 identified by the designated program ID in response to the activation API being executed. Then, the external program 66 executes a predetermined operation and passes the execution result of the operation to the terminal program 65 as the return value of the startup API.

Note that the relationship between the terminal program 65 and the external program 66 is not limited to the above example. As an example, terminal program 65 may launch external program 66 via shared functionality provided by OS 64 . Also, the external program 66 activated by the terminal program 65 may complete the process without passing the execution result of the operation to the terminal program 65 .

The external program 66 is a program separate from the terminal program 65 and independently executable. That is, the external program 66 is different from the subroutines of the terminal program 65 . Also, the external program 66 is a program that operates on the same portable terminal 50 as the terminal program 65 does.

In this embodiment, as specific examples of the external program 66, a print-only application, a PDF conversion application, a New Year's card application, and an email print application will be described. However, the functions implemented in the external program 66 are not limited to the above examples. The external program 66 includes, for example, functions that are not implemented in the terminal program 65, functions that are implemented in the terminal program 65 can be easily implemented, and functions that are implemented in the terminal program 65 are further detailed. etc.

A print-dedicated application is an external program 66 specialized for causing the MFP 10 to perform a print operation. More specifically, the print-dedicated application is a program capable of instructing MFP 10 to perform only a print operation among a plurality of image processing operations. The print-dedicated application, for example, executes a user operation necessary for causing the MFP 10 to execute a print operation under default execution conditions (for example, size "A4", paper type "plain paper", color "color"). Fewer. Further, the print-dedicated application, for example, has more variations of specifiable execution conditions (for example, the number of items and the number of parameters for each item) than the terminal program 65 does.

The PDF conversion application is an external program 66 having a function of converting data to be printed from PDF format to JPEG format. The PDF format is an example of a first format, and the JPEG format is an example of a second format. "Format conversion" means, for example, the process of converting the data format from PDF format to JPEG format without substantially changing the content of the image represented by the PDF format data (hereinafter referred to as "conversion processing"). do.).

The conversion process can also be executed by a conversion server (not shown) on the Internet. However, the conversion server can only execute conversion processing for data with a data size of less than 50 MB. PDF conversion apps, on the other hand, do not have the aforementioned limitations. 50MB is an example of a threshold size. Moreover, the limit of the conversion process by the conversion server may be not only the data size but also the number of pages (for example, 20 pages) included in the data in PDF format.

The New Year's card app edits an image to be recorded on the communication side of a postcard (typically, a New Year's card) (hereinafter referred to as a "communication side image") according to user instructions, and sends the edited communication side image to the communication side of the postcard. It is an external program 66 specialized for causing the MFP 10 to execute a print operation for recording on a surface. The New Year's card application, for example, has more variations of instructions for editing the communication surface image (for example, combining a photo, sender information, and arbitrary character string with the template image) than the terminal program 65 does.

The mail print application is an external program 66 specializing in acquiring mail addressed to a predetermined account from a mail server and causing the MFP 10 to print the received mail. The mail print application, for example, has more types of obtainable mail domains than the terminal program 65 does. Also, the mail print application has more detailed messages and help when an error occurs than the terminal program 65, for example.

The installer 67 is a program for installing the external program 66 on the mobile terminal 50 . The installer 67 downloads, for example, an executable file of the designated external program 66 from a server on the Internet, and stores the downloaded executable file in a predetermined area of the memory 62 . Since the functions implemented in the installer 67 are already well known, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Memory 62 may store program listings, for example, as shown in FIG. A program list contains one or more program records. Program records are stored in memory 62, for example, when terminal program 65 is installed. A program record corresponds to one of a plurality of external programs 66 that the terminal program 65 can launch. A program record includes an application ID, installation information, an SC flag, and operation information. A program record is an example of a set of external program and operational information.

The application ID identifies an external program 66 that can be activated by the terminal program 65 . That is, the print-only application is identified by the application ID "print only", the PDF conversion application is identified by the application ID "PDF conversion", the New Year's card application is identified by the application ID "New Year's card", and the mail print application is identified by the application ID "mail Print”.

The installation information is information indicating whether or not the external program 66 identified by the corresponding application ID is installed in the mobile terminal 50 . The installation information according to the present embodiment includes "not installed" indicating that the corresponding external program 66 is not installed on the mobile terminal 50, or indicates that the corresponding external program 66 is installed on the mobile terminal 50. "Installed" is set.

The SC flag indicates whether or not to display the shortcut icon (hereinafter referred to as "SC icon") of the external program 66 identified by the corresponding application ID on the main screen, which will be described later. The SC flag is set to a first value "ON" indicating that the SC icon should be displayed or a second value "OFF" indicating that the SC icon should not be displayed. As an example, the first value "ON" is set to the SC flag of the external program 66 installed in the application introduction process, which will be described later. As another example, the SC flags of the external programs 66 that are not installed in the mobile terminal 50 and the external programs 66 that are installed by means other than the application introduction process are set to the second value "OFF".

Operation information indicates a specific operation that can be received through the input I/F 54 . A specific operation is a user operation that triggers activation of the external program 66 identified by the corresponding application ID. A specific operation is a user operation on a screen displayed on the display 53 by the terminal program 65 . The operation information may be set in advance by the developer of the terminal program 65 or may be generated by deep learning the operation history of the terminal program 65 . One or more pieces of operation information may be associated with an application ID. Note that the number of times indicated by the operation information (for example, three times, five times, and seven times) is an example of the threshold number of times, and is not limited to the numerical values in FIG. A specific example of the operation information is not limited to the example in FIG.

“Print count=7 times” means that the cumulative number of specific operations for instructing the MFP 10 to print has reached 7 times. “Number of times of conversion=5 times” means that the cumulative number of specific operations instructing the conversion server to perform conversion processing has reached five times. "Size error" indicates that a specific operation was executed to instruct the conversion server to convert data of 50 MB or more. "Number of postcards = 3" means that the cumulative number of specific operations for instructing the MFP 10 to print in accordance with the execution conditions including the size "postcard" has reached three. "Login error count = 5 times" indicates that the cumulative number of specific operations of entering incorrect account information has reached 5 times through the login screen of a mail server (not shown) on the Internet.

Although not shown, the memory 62 can store designated device information. The designated device information is device information stored in the MIB of the MFP 10 (hereinafter referred to as "designated device") designated in the device selection process described later. On the other hand, when the MFP 10 is not specified, the memory 62 does not store the specified device information.

Although not shown, the memory 62 can store information indicating the number of prints, the number of conversions, the number of postcards, and the number of errors. , indicates the cumulative number of corresponding specific operations. The number of prints, the number of conversions, the number of postcards, and the number of errors are incremented in S16, S63, S74, and S83, which will be described later, and an initial value (=0) is set when the number of times indicated by the operation information is reached. .

Also, although illustration is omitted, the memory 62 can store an installation flag. The install flag indicates whether or not to install a target application, which will be described later, after instructing the MFP 10 to perform an image processing operation. The install flag is set to a third value "YES" indicating that the target application is to be installed, or a fourth value "NO" indicating that the target application is not to be installed. The initial value of the install flag is the fourth value "NO".

Furthermore, although illustration is omitted, the memory 62 may be provided with a data folder. The data folder may store, for example, photo data, document data, presentation data, spreadsheet data, and the like. Various data stored in the data folder are data that can be the target of the print operation.

[Operation of system 100]
The operation of the system 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7. FIG. It is assumed that device information of MFP 10A is stored in memory 62 as designated device information at the time of starting the main processing of FIG. 4A. In addition, it is assumed that the print-dedicated application and the PDF conversion application have not yet been installed on the mobile terminal 50, but the New Year's card application and the mail print application have already been installed.

The flow charts in this specification basically show the processing of the CPU 31, 61 according to the instructions written in the program. That is, the processes such as “judgment”, “extraction”, “selection”, “calculation”, “determination”, “specification”, “control” in the following description represent the processing of the CPUs 31 and 61 . Processing by the CPU 31,61 also includes hardware control via the OS 34,64. Also, "data" in this specification is represented by a computer-readable bit string. Data having substantially the same meaning and content but different formats are treated as the same data. The same applies to "information" in this specification.

First, the OS 64 of the mobile terminal 50 causes the display 53 to display a menu screen (not shown). The menu screen includes program icons corresponding to programs installed on the mobile terminal 50 . That is, the menu screen displays at least program icons corresponding to the terminal program 65, the New Year's card application, and the mail print application. And OS64 receives user operation with respect to a menu screen through input I/F54.

As an example, the OS 64 activates the New Year's card application and executes the New Year's card application in the foreground in response to receiving the designation of the program icon corresponding to the New Year's card application through the input I/F 54 . As another example, the OS 64 activates the terminal program 65 and executes the terminal program 65 in the foreground in response to receiving the designation of the program icon corresponding to the terminal program 65 through the input I/F 54 . Processing when a program icon corresponding to the terminal program 65 is designated will be described below.

[Main processing]
The terminal program 65 executes the main process shown in FIG. 4A in response to being activated by the OS 64 . First, the terminal program 65 causes the display 53 to display the main screen shown in FIG. (S12). The main screen includes action icons 111 and 112 that are examples of candidate objects, an SC icon 113 that is an example of a shortcut object, and a switching icon 114 that is an example of a candidate object.

Operation icons 111 and 112 correspond to execution instructions for image processing operations. The action icon 111 is associated with the action ID "print", and the action icon 112 is associated with the action ID "scan". The action IDs associated with the action icons 111 and 112 are examples of candidate information that are candidates for action specifying information. The SC icon 113 corresponds to an instruction to activate the New Year's card application for which the SC flag is set to the first value "ON". The switch icon 114 corresponds to an instruction to switch the specified device. Switching icon 114 describes the device ID “MFP-A” included in the designated device information. On the other hand, when the designated device information is not stored in the memory 62, the switching icon 114 describes a character string of "unselected" indicating that the designated device has not been selected.

On the other hand, the terminal program 65 causes the display 53 to display the main screen without the SC icon 113 in response to the second value "OFF" being set to none of the SC flags in the program list (S11: OFF). (S13). The processing of S12 and S13 is an example of display processing. Then, the terminal program 65 receives a user operation on the main screen through the input I/F 54 (S14).

Next, the terminal program 65, for example, executes device selection processing (S15) in response to receiving designation of the switching icon 114 through the input I/F 54 (S14: switching). Device selection processing is processing for switching a designated device according to a user's instruction. Details of the device selection process will be described with reference to FIG.

[Device selection process]
First, the terminal program 65 searches for a plurality of MFPs 10 that can communicate through the communication I/F 55 using, for example, SNMP (abbreviation for Simple Network Management Protocol) (S31). Specifically, terminal program 65 broadcasts transmission request information to communication network 101 through communication I/F 55 . Next, terminal program 65 receives through communication I/F 55 the device information transmitted by MFPs 10A and 10B in response to the transmission request information. That is, terminal program 65 identifies MFPs 10A and 10B, which are the transmission sources of the device information, as MFPs 10 with which communication is possible. It should be noted that the method of searching for the MFP 10 with which communication is possible may be another well-known method.

Next, the terminal program 65 displays a device selection screen (not shown) on the display 53 (S32). The device selection screen includes device icons corresponding to the device information of the MFPs 10A and 10B discovered in S31. A device icon is an example of a candidate object, and device information associated with the device icon is an example of candidate information. The terminal program 65 then receives a user operation on the device selection screen through the input I/F 54 (S33).

Then, for example, in response to receiving designation of a device icon corresponding to MFP 10B through input I/F 54 (S33: Yes), terminal program 65 stores the device information received from MFP 10B as designated device information in memory 62. Store (S34). If the specified device information is already stored in the memory 62, the terminal program 65 overwrites the specified device information with new specified device information.

Next, returning to FIG. 4A, the terminal program 65 displays the main screen on the display 53 (S11-S13). On the main screen after the device icon corresponding to MFP 10B is designated, switching icon 114 describes designated device ID “MFP-B”. Further, since the MFP 10B cannot execute the scanning operation, the operation icon 112 associated with the operation ID "scanning operation" is hidden. Next, for example, in response to receiving the designation of the action icon 111 through the input I/F 54 (S14: print), the terminal program 65 selects the action ID "print" associated with the action icon 111 as the designated action. Temporarily stored in the memory 62 as an ID. The process of S14 for receiving the designation of the action icon 111 is an example of the first receiving process.

Next, the terminal program 65 increments the print count stored in the memory 62 by 1 (S16). Next, the terminal program 65 determines whether or not the number of prints incremented in S16 has reached seven (S17). Then, when the number of prints reaches seven (S17: Yes), the terminal program 65 determines that a specific operation corresponding to the application ID "print only" has been accepted, and sets the application ID "print only". Temporarily stored in the memory 62 as the target application ID. A user operation of designating the action icon 111 seven times is an example of a specific operation. The process of S17 is an example of the first determination process.

Then, the terminal program 65 executes the application introduction process (S18) when the number of times of printing reaches seven (S17: Yes). The application introduction process is a process of introducing the external program 66 identified by the target application ID (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “target application”) to the user of the mobile terminal 50 . Details of the application introduction process will be described later. On the other hand, if the number of prints is less than seven (S17: No), the terminal program 65 skips the application introduction process and executes the print process (S19). The print process is a process of causing a designated device to execute a print operation. Details of the print processing will be described with reference to FIG.

[Print processing]
First, the terminal program 65 causes the display 53 to display an acquisition source selection screen shown in FIG. 8B (S41). The acquisition source selection screen includes acquisition source icons 121, 122, and 123 corresponding to acquisition sources of data to be printed. Then, the terminal program 65 receives a user's operation on the acquisition source selection screen through the input I/F 54 (S42). The process of S42 is an example of the first reception process.

An acquisition source icon 121 is associated with an acquisition source ID indicating the memory 62, an acquisition source icon 122 is associated with an acquisition source ID (for example, a URL) indicating a storage server (not shown) on the Internet, and an acquisition source icon 123 is associated with an acquisition source ID. is associated with an acquisition source ID (for example, a domain name) indicating a mail server (not shown) on the Internet. The acquisition source icons 121 to 123 are examples of candidate objects, and the acquisition source IDs associated with the acquisition source icons 121 to 123 are examples of candidate information.

Next, for example, in response to receiving the designation of the acquisition source icon 121 through the input I/F 54 (S42: others), the terminal program 65 sets the acquisition source ID indicating the memory 62 to the memory 62 as the specified acquisition source ID. temporarily stored in Next, the terminal program 65 skips the login process (S43) and causes the display 53 to display the data selection screen shown in FIG. 9A (S44). Then, the terminal program 65 receives a user's operation on the data selection screen through the input I/F 54 (S45). The process of S45 is an example of the first reception process.

The data selection screen includes data icons 131 , 132 , 133 . Data icons 131 to 133 are associated with data IDs that identify data stored in memory 62 . The data icons 131 to 133 are examples of candidate objects, and the data IDs associated with the data icons 131 to 133 are examples of candidate information.

Next, the terminal program 65, for example, in response to receiving the specification of the data icon 133 through the input I/F 54 (S45: Yes), the data ID "estimate.PDF" associated with the data icon 133. , is temporarily stored in the memory 62 as the designated data ID. Next, the terminal program 65 causes the display 53 to display the preview screen shown in FIG. 9B (S46). Then, the terminal program 65 receives a user's operation on the preview screen through the input I/F 54 (S47).

The preview screen includes a preview image 141 , a [setting] icon 142 , and a [print] icon 143 . The preview image 141 is an image showing a state in which the image indicated by the designated data “estimate.PDF” is printed on a sheet. The [setting] icon 142 corresponds to an instruction to specify conditions for executing the print operation. A [Print] icon 143 corresponds to an instruction to execute a print operation.

Next, the terminal program 65, for example, in response to receiving the designation of the [Print] icon 143 through the input I/F 54 (S47: Print), determines whether the data format of the designated data indicated by the designated data ID is the PDF format. It is determined whether or not (S49). Then, the terminal program 65 executes the data conversion process in response to the fact that the specified data "estimate.PDF" is in the PDF format (S49: Yes) (S50). On the other hand, if the specified data is not in PDF format (S49: No), the terminal program 65 skips the process of S50. The data conversion process is a process of converting specified data from PDF format to JPEG format. Details of the data conversion process will be described with reference to FIG.

[Data conversion processing]
First, the terminal program 65 determines the data size of designated data (S61). Next, when the terminal program 65 determines that the designated data "estimate.PDF" is less than 50 MB (S61: Yes), the terminal program 65 requests the conversion server to convert the designated data "estimate.PDF". (S62). More specifically, the terminal program 65 transmits the conversion request information including the designated data “estimate.PDF” to the conversion server through the communication I/F 55 . Then, the terminal program 65 receives the designated data “estimate.PDF” converted into the JPEG format from the conversion server through the communication I/F 55 as a response to the conversion request information. The processing of S62 is an example of conversion processing.

Next, the terminal program 65 increments the number of conversions stored in the memory 62 by 1 (S63). Next, the terminal program 65 determines whether the number of conversions incremented in S63 has reached 5 (S64). Then, when the number of conversions reaches five (S64: Yes), the terminal program 65 determines that a specific operation corresponding to the application ID "PDF conversion" has been received, and changes the application ID "PDF conversion". Temporarily stored in the memory 62 as the target application ID. A user operation of designating a data icon corresponding to PDF data five times is an example of a specific operation. The process of S64 is an example of the first determination process.

Then, when the number of times of conversion reaches 5 (S64: Yes), the terminal program 65 executes application introduction processing, which will be described later (S65). Further, when the terminal program 65 determines that the designated data "estimate.PDF" is 50 MB or more (S61: No), the terminal program 65 skips the processes of S62 to S64 and executes the application introduction process, which will be described later. (S65). On the other hand, if the number of times of conversion is less than 5 (S64: No), the terminal program 65 skips the process of S65 and ends the file conversion process.

Returning to FIG. 5, terminal program 65 transmits print instruction information to MFP 10B, which is the designated device, through communication I/F 55 (S51). The print instruction information is an example of operation instruction information that instructs execution of the image processing operation specified by the operation specifying information specified by the user. The print instruction information here includes designation data "estimate.PDF", which is one of the operation specifying information. The processing of S51 is an example of the operation instruction processing.

On the other hand, although not shown, the device program 35 of the designated device MFP 10B receives print instruction information from the portable terminal 50 through the communication I/F 25 . Then, the device program 35 causes the printer 11 to execute the print operation according to the received print instruction information. That is, the printer 11 records the image indicated by the JPEG-format designated data “estimate.PDF” on the sheet.

Next, the terminal program 65 determines the set value of the install flag stored in the memory 62 (S52). When the terminal program 65 determines that the install flag is set to the fourth value "NO" (S52: NO), the terminal program 65 skips the process of S53 and ends the print process. The processing of S53 will be described later.

In addition, the terminal program 65 is associated with the data icon 131 in response to receiving the designation of the data icon 131 through the input I/F 54 (S45: Yes) on the data selection screen shown in FIG. The data ID "photograph.JPEG" obtained is temporarily stored in the memory 62 as the designated data ID. Next, the terminal program 65 displays the preview screen shown in FIG. 10A on the display 53 (S46). The preview screen shown in FIG. 10A differs from that shown in FIG. is common with FIG. 9(B).

Next, the terminal program 65 executes print condition setting processing (S48), for example, in response to receiving designation of the [setting] icon 142 through the input I/F 54 (S47: setting). The print condition setting process is a process of designating execution conditions for a print operation by a user operation. Details of the print condition setting process will be described with reference to FIG.

[Print condition setting process]
First, the terminal program 65 causes the display 53 to display the setting screen shown in FIG. 10B (S71). The setting screen includes pull-down menus 151, 152, and 153 corresponding to a plurality of items "size,""papertype," and "color," which constitute execution conditions for the print operation, and [ OK] icon 154 . Then, the terminal program 65 receives a user's operation on the setting screen through the input I/F 54 (S72). The process of S72 is an example of the first reception process.

Pull-down menus 151 to 153 are in a state in which one of a plurality of parameters that can be specified for the corresponding item is specified. Also, the specified parameters "A4", "plain paper", and "color" are displayed in pull-down menus 151-153. Furthermore, the parameters displayed in the pull-down menus 151 to 153 are stored in the memory 62 as designated condition information.

The pull-down menu 151 corresponding to the item "size" has four options corresponding to parameter candidates "A4", "B5", "L size", and "postcard". The pull-down menu 152 corresponding to the item "sheet type" has two options corresponding to parameter candidates "plain paper" and "glossy paper". The pull-down menu 153 corresponding to the item "color" has two options corresponding to the parameter candidates "color" and "monochrome". The pull-down menus 151-153 are examples of candidate objects, and the options of the pull-down menus 151-153 are examples of candidate information.

The terminal program 65, for example, in response to receiving a user operation to change the parameters specified in the pull-down menus 151 to 153 through the input I / F 54 (S72: change), the specified condition information stored in the memory 62 change. Next, the terminal program 65 determines whether or not the parameter "postcard" of the item "size" has been specified (S73). Then, when a parameter other than "postcard" is specified (S73: others), the terminal program 65 causes the display 53 to display a setting screen in which the changed parameters are displayed in the pull-down menus 151 to 153 ( S71).

On the other hand, the terminal program 65 increments the number of postcards stored in the memory 62 by 1 in response to the parameter "postcard" being specified through the pull-down menu 151 (S73: postcard) (S74). Next, the terminal program 65 determines whether or not the number of postcards incremented in S74 has reached three (S75).

Next, when the number of postcards reaches three (S75: Yes), the terminal program 65 determines that a specific operation corresponding to the application ID "New Year's card" has been accepted, and the application ID "New Year's card" is targeted. Temporarily stored in the memory 62 as an application ID. The item "size" is an example of a specific item, and the parameter "postcard" is an example of a specific parameter. A user operation of designating the parameter "postcard" of the item "size" three times through the pull-down menu 151 is an example of a specific operation. The process of S75 is an example of the first determination process. Then, the terminal program 65 executes application introduction processing, which will be described later (S76).

On the other hand, when the number of postcards is less than 3 (S75: No), the terminal program 65 causes the display 53 to display a setting screen in which the parameter "postcard" is displayed in the pull-down menu 151 (S71). Then, the terminal program 65 terminates the print condition setting process in response to receiving the designation of the [OK] icon 154 on the setting screen through the input I/F 54 (S72: OK).

Next, returning to FIG. 5, the terminal program 65 executes the processes after S46. That is, when the terminal program 65 determines that the designated data “photograph.JPEG” is not in the PDF format (S49: No), the terminal program 65 skips the processing of S50 and sends the print instruction information to the MFP 10B through the communication I/F 55. Send (S51). The print instruction information here includes specified data "photo.JPEG" and specified condition information set in the print condition setting process as operation specifying information. Other processes are the same as those described above.

Further, the terminal program 65 receives the designation of the acquisition source icon 123 through the input I/F 54 (S42: mail) on the acquisition source selection screen shown in FIG. The source ID is temporarily stored in the memory 62 as the specified acquisition source ID, and the login process is executed (S43). The login process is a process of trying to log in to the mail server using the account information (for example, account name and password) entered by the user. Details of the login process will be described with reference to FIG.

[Login process]
First, the terminal program 65 displays the login screen shown in FIG. 11A on the display 53 (S81). The login screen includes a text box 161 for accepting input of an account name, a text box 162 for accepting input of a password, and a [login] icon 163 . Then, the terminal program 65 receives a user operation on the login screen through the input I/F 54 (S82).

Next, the terminal program 65 displays the input character strings in the text boxes 161 and 162 in response to receiving the input of the account name and password through a software keyboard (not shown), for example. In addition, the terminal program 65 transmits login request information including the input account information to the mail server through the communication I/F 55 in response to receiving the designation of the [login] icon 163 through the input I/F 54 .

Next, the terminal program 65 sends login success information indicating that correct account information has been input or login failure information indicating that incorrect account information has been input as a response to the login request information. received from the mail server through When the terminal program 65 receives the login failure information (S82: No), the terminal program 65 increments the number of errors stored in the memory 62 by 1 (S83). Receipt of login failure information is an example of failure to acquire specified data from the mail server.

Next, the terminal program 65 determines whether or not the number of errors incremented in S83 has reached 5 (S84). Then, the terminal program 65 executes the processes after S81 in response to the fact that the number of errors is less than 5 (S84: No). On the other hand, when the number of errors reaches 5 (S84: Yes), the terminal program 65 determines that a specific operation corresponding to the application ID "Mail Print" has been received, and changes the application ID "Mail Print". Temporarily stored in the memory 62 as the target application ID. A user operation of entering incorrect account information five times is an example of a specific operation. The process of S84 is an example of the first determination process. Then, when the number of errors reaches five (S84: Yes), the terminal program 65 executes application introduction processing, which will be described later (S85).

On the other hand, in response to receiving the login success information, the terminal program 65 skips the processes of S83 to S85 and ends the login process. Returning to FIG. 5, the terminal program 65 causes the display 53 to display a data selection screen including data icons corresponding to mails stored in the mail server (S44). The processing after S45 is common to the above description.

[App introduction process]
Next, the details of the application introduction process will be described with reference to FIG. First, the terminal program 65 determines whether or not the external program 66 identified by the target application ID temporarily stored in the memory 62 is installed in the mobile terminal 50 (S91). That is, the terminal program 65 determines the setting value of the installation information corresponding to the target application ID. The process of S91 is an example of the second determination process.

For example, the terminal program 65 displays the application introduction screen shown in FIG. 170 is displayed on the display 53 (S96). The application introduction screen 170 includes the message "I recommend the [Print-only] application. Do you want to install it?" .

Then, the terminal program 65 receives a user's operation on the application introduction screen 170 through the input I/F 54 (S97). Specifying the [yes] icon 171 is an example of a third operation, specifying the [no] icon 172 is an example of a fourth operation, and specifying the [later] icon 173 is an example of a fifth operation. The process of S97 is an example of the third acceptance process.

Next, the terminal program 65 stores the action specifying information temporarily stored in the memory 62 in the specified area in response to receiving the designation of the [Yes] icon 171 through the input I/F 54 (S97: Yes). (S98). The specific area is an area of the memory 62 accessed by the target application when it is activated. That is, the terminal program 65 passes the action specifying information to the target application through the specified area. Then, the terminal program 65 installs the target application on the mobile terminal 50 (S99). More specifically, the terminal program 65 starts the installer 67 specifying the target application ID “print only” as an argument. The process of S99 is an example of the installation process.

Next, the installer 67 activated by the terminal program 65 downloads the execution file of the target dedicated application identified by the target application ID "print only" from the server, and stores the downloaded execution file in a predetermined area of the memory 62. Let Then, the installer 67 sets "installed" to the installation information corresponding to the target application ID "print only".

Next, the OS 64 terminates the terminal program 65 and the installer 67 and causes the display 53 to display the menu screen. A program icon corresponding to the installed print-only application is added to this menu screen. Next, the OS 64 activates the print-only application in response to receiving the designation of the program icon corresponding to the print-only application through the input I/F 54, and executes the print-only application in the foreground.

The print-dedicated application reads the action specifying information stored in the specific area from the memory 62 and executes processing using the read action specifying information. The print-dedicated application, for example, receives a user operation for designating designated data and designated condition information through the input I/F 54 . Then, the print-dedicated application causes the specified device indicated by the specified device information stored in the specific area to execute the print operation for the specified data according to the execution condition indicated by the specified condition information.

Further, the terminal program 65 [later] sets the third value "YES" to the install flag in response to receiving the designation of the icon 173 through the input I/F 54 (S97: later) (S100). , the application introduction process ends. Furthermore, the terminal program 65 skips the process of S100 and terminates the application introduction process in response to receiving the specification of the [NO] icon 172 through the input I/F 54 (S97: NO).

Next, the terminal program 65 returns to the calling source of the application introduction process (S18, S65, S76, S85), and continues the subsequent processes. Also, the terminal program 65 determines the set value of the install flag after executing the process of S51 (S52).
Then, the terminal program 65 installs the target application in response to the fact that the install flag is set to the third value "YES" (S52: Yes) (S53). The processing of S53 is the same as that of S99.

In addition, the terminal program 65 displays the application introduction screen 170 on the display 53, for example, in response to the installation information corresponding to the application ID "New Year's card" being set to "already installed" (S91: Yes) ( S92). The application introduction screen 170 of S92 differs from FIG. Other points are common to FIG. 11(B). Then, the terminal program 65 receives a user's operation on the application introduction screen 170 through the input I/F 54 (S93). Specifying the [Yes] icon 171 is an example of the first operation, and specifying the [No] icon 172 is an example of the second operation. The process of S93 is an example of the second reception process.

Next, the terminal program 65 stores the action specifying information temporarily stored in the memory 62 in the specified area in response to receiving the designation of the [Yes] icon 171 through the input I/F 54 (S93: Yes). (S94). Next, the terminal program 65 activates the target application (S95). That is, the terminal program 65 specifies the target application ID “New Year's card” as an argument and executes the startup API. The process of S95 is an example of the first activation process. Next, the OS 64 terminates the terminal program 65, activates the New Year's card application, and executes the New Year's card application in the foreground.

The New Year's card application reads the action specifying information stored in the specific area from the memory 62 and executes processing using the read action specifying information. The New Year's card application receives, for example, a user operation specifying a template image through the input I/F 54 . Also, the New Year's card application synthesizes the photograph indicated by the photograph data identified by the designated data ID "photograph.JPEG" stored in the specific area with the designated template image. Then, the New Year's card application causes the specified device indicated by the specified device information stored in the specific area to perform a print operation of recording the template image with the photo synthesized on the communication surface of the postcard.

On the other hand, the terminal program 65 terminates the application introduction process in response to accepting designation of the [No] icon 172 through the input I/F 54 (S93: No). Next, the terminal program 65 returns to the calling source of the application introduction process (S18, S65, S76, S85), and continues the subsequent processes. Note that the processing for the target application IDs "PDF conversion" and "mail print" is also common to the above description.

In addition, the terminal program 65 receives the specification of the SC icon 113 through the input I/F 54 (S14: SC) on the main screen shown in FIG. Start the New Year's card application (S20). That is, the terminal program 65 designates the application ID “New Year's card” associated with the SC icon 113 as an argument and executes the activation API. Next, the OS 64 terminates the terminal program 65, activates the New Year's card application, and executes the New Year's card application in the foreground. The process of S14 for accepting designation of the SC icon 113 is an example of the fourth acceptance process. The process of S20 is an example of the second activation process.

[Action and effect of the present embodiment]
According to the above embodiment, in response to the user's specific operation for designating the action specifying information, the external program 66 corresponding to the specific operation is activated instead of the process of S51. As a result, the process that the user is trying to implement through the terminal program 65 can be replaced by the external program 66 suitable for the process.

As an example, a print-dedicated application that can specify only print operations may be able to accept more detailed settings than the terminal program 65 that supports multiple image processing operations. Therefore, when the MFP 10 is caused to frequently perform print operations through the terminal program 65 as in the above embodiment, it is desirable to start a print-dedicated application instead of the process of S51. In the above embodiment, an example of a print-dedicated application has been described. may

As another example, a New Year's card application that specializes in print operations (hereinafter referred to as "specific operations") according to execution conditions including the size "postcard" can be combined with the terminal program 65 that supports operations other than the specific operations. In comparison, more detailed settings may be accepted. Therefore, when the MFP 10 is frequently caused to perform specific actions through the terminal program 65, it is desirable to start a New Year's card application specialized for the specific actions instead of the process of S51.

As yet another example, prior to causing MFP 10 to perform image processing operations, it may be necessary to communicate with a server on the Internet. In addition, communication with servers on the Internet is subject to various errors and restrictions. Therefore, instead of communicating with a server on the Internet through the terminal program 65 as in the above embodiment, a mail print application specializing in communication with a mail server or a PDF conversion application substituting the function of a conversion server is used. preferred to start. Although an example of login to a mail server has been described in the above embodiment, the login process of FIG. 6C can also be applied to login to a storage server (not shown) on the Internet.

Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the designated action specifying information is transferred to the external program 66 before the external program 66 is activated, so there is no need to re-specify the action specifying information in the activated external program 66. . As a result, user operations can be simplified. It should be noted that the action specifying information to be handed over may vary depending on the external program 66 . Alternatively, the external program 66 may execute processing using part of the acquired action specifying information. Also, the transfer of the action specifying information to the external program 66 may be realized by the intent function provided by the OS 64, for example.

Further, according to the above embodiment, the desired process is realized by the process of S51 of the terminal program 65, or the external program 66 corresponding to the specific operation is substituted, or the external program 66 is executed after the process of S51 is executed. The user can select whether to install the application through the application introduction screen 170 . Thereby, desired processing can be realized according to the user's intention.

Further, according to the above embodiment, the SC icon 113 corresponding to the external program 66 whose SC flag is set to the first value "ON" is displayed on the main screen. The external program 66 can be started according to the will of the user. The screen on which the SC icon is displayed is not limited to the main screen, and may be a device selection screen, an acquisition source selection screen, a data selection screen, a preview screen, a setting screen, a login screen, or the like. That is, the processing of S32, S41, S44, S46, S71, and S81 is an example of display processing.

Further, in the MFP 10 and the portable terminal 50 of the above-described embodiment, various programs stored in the memories 32 and 62 are executed by the CPUs 31 and 61, thereby realizing each process executed by the controller of the present invention. explained. However, the configuration of the controller is not limited to this, and part or all of it may be realized by hardware such as an integrated circuit.

Furthermore, the present invention can be implemented not only as the MFP 10 and the mobile terminal 50, but also as a program that causes the MFP 10 and the mobile terminal 50 to execute processing. The program may be recorded on a non-transitory recording medium and provided. The non-transitory recording medium may include a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, etc., and a storage unit installed in a server connectable to the MFP 10 and the portable terminal 50 via the communication network 101 . 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 MFPs
11... Printer 12... Scanners 23, 53... Displays 24, 54... Input I/F
25, 55...Communication I/F
31, 61 CPU
32, 62... Memory 35... Apparatus program 50... Portable terminal 65... Terminal program 66... External program 67... Installer

Claims (8)

A program executable by a terminal device comprising a memory, an input interface, and a communication interface,
The memory stores a plurality of sets of an external program and operation information, the external program is a program capable of instructing an image processing apparatus to perform image processing operations, and the operation information can be received through the input interface. indicates a specific operation that is a user operation,
The program
a first receiving process of receiving, through the input interface, a user operation designating operation specifying information specifying the content of the image processing operation to be executed by the image processing apparatus;
a first determination process for determining whether or not the specific operation has been received in the first reception process;
the image processing operation specified by the operation specifying information to the image processing device capable of communicating with the terminal device through the communication interface in response to determining in the first determination process that the operation is not the specific operation; an action instruction process to be executed;
causing the terminal device to execute a first activation process for activating the external program associated with the operation information indicating the specific operation in response to determining that the specific operation is performed in the first determination process ;
The program is capable of instructing a first action and a second action,
The program
receiving a user operation to designate one of the first action and the second action as a designated action in the first receiving process;
causing the image processing apparatus to execute the specified action specified in the first reception process in the action instruction process;
determining, in the first determination process, that the specific operation has been accepted in response to a user operation specifying the first action as the specified action reaching a threshold number of times;
A program for activating the external program capable of instructing only the first operation in the first activation process . A program executable by a terminal device comprising a memory, an input interface, and a communication interface,
The memory stores a plurality of sets of an external program and operation information, the external program is a program capable of instructing an image processing apparatus to perform image processing operations, and the operation information can be received through the input interface. indicates a specific operation that is a user operation,
The program
a first receiving process of receiving, through the input interface, a user operation designating operation specifying information specifying the content of the image processing operation to be executed by the image processing apparatus;
a first determination process for determining whether or not the specific operation has been received in the first reception process;
the image processing operation specified by the operation specifying information to the image processing device capable of communicating with the terminal device through the communication interface in response to determining in the first determination process that the operation is not the specific operation; an action instruction process to be executed;
causing the terminal device to execute a first activation process for activating the external program associated with the operation information indicating the specific operation in response to determining that the specific operation is performed in the first determination process;
The program
In the first reception process, receiving a user operation specifying a plurality of parameters corresponding to each of a plurality of items,
causing the image processing device to execute the image processing operation in the operation instruction process in accordance with execution conditions indicated by the plurality of parameters specified in the first reception process;
In the first determination process, determining that the specific operation has been accepted in response to a user operation specifying a specific parameter of a specific item reaching a threshold number of times,
A program for activating, in the first activation process, the external program specialized for the image processing operation according to execution conditions including the specific parameter. A program executable by a terminal device comprising a memory, an input interface, and a communication interface,
The memory stores a plurality of sets of an external program and operation information, the external program is a program capable of instructing an image processing apparatus to perform image processing operations, and the operation information can be received through the input interface. indicates a specific operation that is a user operation,
The program
a first receiving process of receiving, through the input interface, a user operation designating operation specifying information specifying the content of the image processing operation to be executed by the image processing apparatus;
a first determination process for determining whether or not the specific operation has been received in the first reception process;
the image processing operation specified by the operation specifying information to the image processing device capable of communicating with the terminal device through the communication interface in response to determining in the first determination process that the operation is not the specific operation; an action instruction process to be executed;
causing the terminal device to execute a first activation process for activating the external program associated with the operation information indicating the specific operation in response to determining that the specific operation is performed in the first determination process;
The program
receiving, in the first receiving process, a user operation designating an acquisition source of designated data to be subjected to the image processing operation;
determining in the first determination process that the specific operation has been accepted in response to the number of times the designated data could not be acquired from the acquisition source on the Internet reaching a threshold number of times;
In the first activation process, the specified data is acquired from the acquisition source, and the external program specialized for causing the image processing apparatus to execute the image processing operation on the acquired specified data is activated. death,
In the first determination process, determining that the specified data is not the specific operation in response to the acquisition of the specified data from the acquisition source on the Internet,
A program for causing the image processing apparatus to execute the image processing operation for the specified data acquired from the acquisition source specified in the first reception process in the operation instruction process. A program executable by a terminal device comprising a memory, an input interface, and a communication interface,
the memory stores a plurality of sets of external programs and operation information, the operation information indicating a specific operation that is a user operation that can be accepted through the input interface;
The program
a first receiving process of receiving, through the input interface, a user operation specifying operation specifying information specifying the content of an image processing operation to be executed by the image processing apparatus;
a first determination process for determining whether or not the specific operation has been received in the first reception process;
the image processing operation specified by the operation specifying information to the image processing device capable of communicating with the terminal device through the communication interface in response to determining in the first determination process that the operation is not the specific operation; an action instruction process to be executed;
causing the terminal device to execute a first activation process for activating the external program associated with the operation information indicating the specific operation in response to determining that the specific operation is performed in the first determination process;
The program
In the first reception process, receiving a user operation to designate designated data to be subjected to the image processing operation;
determining in the first determination process that the specific operation has been received in response to the designation of the designated data in the first format and having a threshold size or larger;
starting the external program for converting the specified data from the first format to the second format in the first activation process;
causing the terminal device to execute a conversion process for converting the specified data from the first format to the second format on a server on the Internet in response to determining in the first determination process that the specified data is not the specific operation;
A program for causing the image processing apparatus to execute the image processing operation for the designated data converted into the second format in the conversion processing in the operation instruction processing. A program executable by a terminal device comprising a memory, an input interface, and a communication interface,
The memory stores a plurality of sets of an external program and operation information, the external program is a program capable of instructing an image processing apparatus to perform image processing operations, and the operation information can be received through the input interface. indicates a specific operation that is a user operation,
The program
a first receiving process of receiving, through the input interface, a user operation designating operation specifying information specifying the content of the image processing operation to be executed by the image processing apparatus;
a first determination process for determining whether or not the specific operation has been received in the first reception process;
the image processing operation specified by the operation specifying information to the image processing device capable of communicating with the terminal device through the communication interface in response to determining in the first determination process that the operation is not the specific operation; an action instruction process to be executed;
causing the terminal device to execute a first activation process for activating the external program associated with the operation information indicating the specific operation in response to determining that the specific operation is performed in the first determination process;
The program transfers the action specifying information specified in the first receiving process to the external program to be started in the first starting process. A program executable by a terminal device comprising a memory, an input interface, and a communication interface,
The memory stores a plurality of sets of an external program and operation information, the external program is a program capable of instructing an image processing apparatus to perform image processing operations, and the operation information can be received through the input interface. indicates a specific operation that is a user operation,
The program
a first receiving process of receiving, through the input interface, a user operation designating operation specifying information specifying the content of the image processing operation to be executed by the image processing apparatus;
a first determination process for determining whether or not the specific operation has been received in the first reception process;
the image processing operation specified by the operation specifying information to the image processing device capable of communicating with the terminal device through the communication interface in response to determining in the first determination process that the operation is not the specific operation; an action instruction process to be executed;
causing the terminal device to execute a first activation process for activating the external program associated with the operation information indicating the specific operation in response to determining that the specific operation is performed in the first determination process;
The program
a second step of determining whether or not the external program associated with the operation information indicating the specific operation is installed in the terminal device in response to the determination that the specific operation is performed in the first determination process; judgment process;
causing the terminal device to execute the first start-up process in response to determining that it is installed in the second determination process;
causing the terminal device to execute an installation process for installing the external program in the terminal device and causing the terminal device to execute the first activation process in response to the determination that the external program is not installed in the second determination process figure,
The program
a second acceptance process of accepting a first operation or a second operation through the input interface in response to the fact that the installation is determined in the second determination process;
causing the terminal device to execute the first activation process in response to receiving the first operation in the second receiving process;
A program for causing the terminal device to execute the action instruction process in response to receiving the second operation in the second receiving process . A program executable by a terminal device comprising a memory, an input interface, and a communication interface,
The memory stores a plurality of sets of an external program and operation information, the external program is a program capable of instructing an image processing apparatus to perform image processing operations, and the operation information can be received through the input interface. indicates a specific operation that is a user operation,
The program
a first receiving process of receiving, through the input interface, a user operation designating operation specifying information specifying the content of the image processing operation to be executed by the image processing apparatus;
a first determination process for determining whether or not the specific operation has been received in the first reception process;
the image processing operation specified by the operation specifying information to the image processing device capable of communicating with the terminal device through the communication interface in response to determining in the first determination process that the operation is not the specific operation; an action instruction process to be executed;
causing the terminal device to execute a first activation process for activating the external program associated with the operation information indicating the specific operation in response to determining that the specific operation is performed in the first determination process;
The program
a second step of determining whether or not the external program associated with the operation information indicating the specific operation is installed in the terminal device in response to the determination that the specific operation is performed in the first determination process; judgment process;
causing the terminal device to execute the first start-up process in response to determining that it is installed in the second determination process;
causing the terminal device to execute an installation process for installing the external program in the terminal device and causing the terminal device to execute the first activation process in response to the determination that the external program is not installed in the second determination process figure,
The program
a third reception process for accepting a third operation, a fourth operation, or a fifth operation through the input interface in response to the second determination process determining that the installation has not been performed;
causing the terminal device to execute the installation process in response to receiving the third operation in the third reception process;
causing the terminal device to execute the operation instruction process in response to receiving the fourth operation in the third receiving process;
A program for causing the terminal device to execute the operation instruction process and the installation process after execution of the operation instruction process in response to reception of the fifth operation in the third reception process. A program executable by a terminal device comprising a memory, an input interface, and a communication interface,
The memory stores a plurality of sets of an external program and operation information, the external program is a program capable of instructing an image processing apparatus to perform image processing operations, and the operation information can be received through the input interface. indicates a specific operation that is a user operation,
The program
a first receiving process of receiving, through the input interface, a user operation designating operation specifying information specifying the content of the image processing operation to be executed by the image processing apparatus;
a first determination process for determining whether or not the specific operation has been received in the first reception process;
the image processing operation specified by the operation specifying information to the image processing device capable of communicating with the terminal device through the communication interface in response to determining in the first determination process that the operation is not the specific operation; an action instruction process to be executed;
causing the terminal device to execute a first activation process for activating the external program associated with the operation information indicating the specific operation in response to determining that the specific operation is performed in the first determination process;
The program
a second step of determining whether or not the external program associated with the operation information indicating the specific operation is installed in the terminal device in response to the determination that the specific operation is performed in the first determination process; judgment process;
causing the terminal device to execute the first start-up process in response to determining that it is installed in the second determination process;
causing the terminal device to execute an installation process for installing the external program in the terminal device and causing the terminal device to execute the first activation process in response to the determination that the external program is not installed in the second determination process figure,
The terminal device has a display,
The program causes the terminal device to execute display processing for displaying a plurality of candidate objects and a shortcut object on the display, and the candidate objects are associated with candidate information as candidates of the action specifying information. and the shortcut object is associated with the external program installed in the terminal device in the past installation process,
The program
receiving, in the first receiving process, a user operation specifying one of the plurality of candidate objects as a user operation specifying the candidate information associated with the candidate object as the action specifying information;
a fourth receiving process of receiving a user operation specifying the shortcut object through the input interface;
A program for causing the terminal device to execute a second activation process for activating the external program corresponding to the shortcut object specified in the fourth reception process.

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