JPH11119938A - Printing processing system and printing processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically set a printing form, corresponding to an attribute value attached beforehand corresponding to printing data by deciding an action to be executed at the time of a printing processing, based on an attribute set corresponding to a printing object and controlling the output of the printing data base on the decided action. SOLUTION: A job execution part 402 receives a printing execution command of a printing job selected from one or more printing jobs managed in a job management part 401 and performs a printing job processing required for print execution in a printer 102. An object execution part 404 acquires printing real data related to the printing object from a data storage area 406 and makes an attribute dependent action execution control discriminating part 407 execute the discrimination as to whether or not the respective printing object execute an attribute-dependent action. In this manner, since the action to be executed is decided based on the attribute set to the printing object at the time of executing the printing processing, the printing processing is executed efficiently.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a print processing system and a print processing method. More specifically, a print request for data created in a document, a drawing creation device, an image processing device, or the like is output from a client machine to a server machine, and the server machine that receives the print request sends a form overlay mode, a banner sheet, or the like. This is a system that determines and executes various printing modes and actions such as output and skip processing, and is executed on a server machine based on an attribute-dependent action definition table in which an execution action is set corresponding to an attribute set for a print object. The present invention relates to a print processing system and a print processing method configured to determine an action.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a print processing system for executing a print process, when print data is output by an output device such as a printer, a company logo is printed in a predetermined place on a page in the output data, or an output drawing or a printout. For example, print out the project related to the document, product name, etc., print the symbol indicating the version of the output drawing, or output a banner sheet describing the bibliographic items such as the output person, date and time on the first page of the output paper, etc. Printing is performed by setting various output forms.

Further, when a drawing is edited or revised, and a plurality of similar drawings are present in the data holder,
Select and output only drawings that have been edited from the folder, or select and output only specific version drawings such as the latest version. Selective output is performed.

[0004] The various print output forms described above are:
In general, a client issuing a print request confirms and sets the print data itself, or identifies each print data based on an attribute attached to the print data and individually sets each print data. Each of the print data objects to be printed includes, for example, in the case of a drawing, an attribute “Status” indicating whether the drawing is being edited or an edited drawing, an attribute “Project” indicating a project related to the drawing, Various attributes such as an attribute “Version Number” indicating the version of the drawing are set for each object.

When outputting a print output to a server machine, a client making a print request refers to the attribute values of the print data described above and sets the output form and other execution actions, that is, the company's information in the output data. A logo was printed, a project related to a drawing or document to be output, a product name and the like were output, and a symbol indicating a version of the drawing was output. Also, when only specific print data is selected and printed, such as in a process of selecting and outputting only a specific version of a drawing from print data in which a plurality of data are mixed, printing is performed with reference to the attribute values of the print data. The data to be selected was selected.

[0006]

As described above, in the conventional print processing system, the setting of the print form of the data to be printed is sequentially performed on the client machine side that issues the print request. A desired print result is obtained by making necessary settings while referring to the attribute value corresponding to the print object to be executed, and sending the option data set together with the print object designation data to the server machine.

However, in such a configuration in which various execution actions are set on the client side, when the amount of print data becomes enormous, the amount of work also becomes enormous, and the time and labor required for making correct settings for individual data are increased. Has the disadvantage that it is enormous.

In a conventional print processing system, a print-out drawing is an edited drawing, an edited drawing, a revised drawing, or a version number. In order to obtain information on whether the print data has been printed and output, it is necessary to check the print data after printing and the value of the attribute corresponding to the data in the database one by one, and obtain such information only from the output result. I couldn't do that.

The print processing system and print processing method of the present invention reduce the work of setting various print modes for individual print data on the client machine in view of the above-described drawbacks of the conventional print processing system. Provided is a configuration for automatically setting a print style according to an attribute value assigned in advance corresponding to print data.

Further, the print processing system and print processing method of the present invention automatically form a form overlay for providing various information such as a version number of a drawing or the like, whether or not editing is in progress, for each print result. Provided is a configuration capable of executing and directly obtaining each print data information from a print result.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, a print processing system according to the present invention comprises a printing apparatus for outputting print data, a print control means for controlling print processing in the printing apparatus, and Print control system, the print control unit has an attribute-dependent action determination unit that determines an action to be performed at the time of print processing based on an attribute set corresponding to each print object in the print data. The print control unit controls output of print data in the printing apparatus based on the action determined by the attribute-dependent action determination unit.

Further, the print processing system of the present invention provides a client machine for outputting a print request, a server machine having print control means for receiving the print request and controlling printing of a printing apparatus, and a client machine and a server machine. A client machine outputs designated data of a print object to be subjected to print processing to a server machine, and the server machine transmits the designated data to the server machine from the client machine via the data transfer unit. A print object to be subjected to print processing is specified based on the received print object specification data, and an action to be performed by the attribute-dependent action determining means is determined based on an attribute set corresponding to the specified print object. It is characterized in that it is determined.

Further, in the print processing system of the present invention, the attribute-dependent action determining means defines an attribute condition relating to one or more attributes of the print object, and associates an action to be executed in accordance with the defined attribute condition. Attribute-dependent action definition table, wherein the attribute-dependent action determination means compares the attribute set for each print object with the attribute condition defined in the attribute-dependent action definition table, and sets the attribute set for each print object. And an action to be executed is determined on condition that the attribute condition defined in the attribute-dependent action definition table matches the attribute condition.

Further, in the print processing system according to the present invention, the attribute-dependent action definition table defines, as data defining an action to be executed corresponding to each attribute condition, a) a print option executable by the printing apparatus. Print option data, b) a command as a print command to be transferred to the printing device, and argument data necessary for execution of the command, c) a skip command defining stop of print execution in the printing device. Features.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a print processing method in a print processing system having a printing apparatus for executing print data output and print control means for controlling print processing in the print apparatus. Determining an action to be performed in the printing process based on the attribute set corresponding to each of the print objects, and outputting the print data in the printing apparatus based on the determined action to be performed. Controlling).

Further, in the print processing method of the present invention, the print processing system includes a client machine for outputting a print request, a server machine having print control means for receiving the print request and performing print control of a printing apparatus, A data transfer unit for performing data transfer between the machine and the server machine, wherein the client machine outputs designated data of a print object to be subjected to print processing to the server machine, and the server machine outputs data from the client machine. A print object to be subjected to print processing is specified based on the print object specification data received via the transfer unit, and the attribute-dependent action determining unit determines the print object based on the attribute set corresponding to the specified print object. The printing mode is determined.

Further, in the printing processing method of the present invention,
The attribute-dependent action determining means determines whether the print object
An attribute-dependent action definition table is provided which defines attribute conditions relating to the above-described attributes and associates actions to be executed in accordance with the defined attribute conditions. The attribute should be compared with the attribute condition defined in the attribute-dependent action definition table, and executed under the condition that the setting attribute of each print object matches the attribute condition defined in the attribute-dependent action definition table. The action is determined.

[0018]

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an embodiment of a print processing system according to the present invention. The print processing system according to the present embodiment includes a server machine 101, a printing apparatus 102 connected to the server machine,
4 and 105, and the respective components are connected by a network 106 as data transfer means, and are configured to be able to mutually transfer various data.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the server machine 1
01 and the printing device 102 are configured as separate devices,
Although each is shown as an interconnected configuration,
The server machine 101 and the printing apparatus 102 can be configured as a single unit. Further, a plurality of client machines, server machines, printing devices, and a print data storage device for storing print data may be further connected to the network shown in FIG.

The server machine 101 receives a print request output from any of the client machines 103, 104, and 105 via the network 106, and connects the print of the print job corresponding to the received print request to the server machine 101. This is executed by the printing device 102 based on the control of the server machine 101. The client machines 103, 104, and 105 send a print object ID as an identifier for specifying print data to the server machine 101, and the server machine 101
The print object is specified according to D, the data identified by the ID is acquired from the database in the server machine or the database connected to the network 106, and printing is executed by the printing apparatus 102. Alternatively, data such as a document and a drawing to be printed from the client machines 103, 104,
Alternatively, the print data may be transferred to the server machine 101 via the network 106 together with D, and printing of the transfer data may be executed in the printing apparatus 102 under the control of the server machine 101.

Client machines 104, 105, 10
No. 6 is capable of specifying options for setting an action at the time of printing, such as various printing modes, at the time of a print request. For example, printing paper size setting, printing direction setting, number of copies, enlargement / reduction of data, designation of printing time, or the printing apparatus 102 includes, for example, a paper folding function, a punch function, a staple function, a binder function, and the like. In such a case, for the printed output sheet, it is possible to specify processing relating to the output sheet, such as folding, punching, binding with staples, or binding using punch holes, according to the respective functions.

Further, in the print processing system of the present invention, an option can be specified for an attribute-dependent action. This specifies that a predetermined action is executed according to the attribute of the print object.
For example, a company logo is printed in a predetermined place such as a lower right corner in a printed drawing, a project or a product name relating to a drawing or document to be output is output in the upper right of a drawing output sheet, or a version of an output drawing is indicated. Various output forms are executed according to the attribute value of each print data, such as outputting a symbol, or outputting a banner sheet in which bibliographic items such as an output person and date and time are described on the first page of output paper.

When a plurality of document data, drawing data, and the like are included in the data holder specified by the client, only the edited drawing is selected and output from the holder, or a specific version such as the latest version is output. It is possible to select and output specific print data according to the attribute value of each print object, such as selecting and outputting only the drawing of FIG.

FIG. 2 shows a main functional configuration diagram of the client machine in the print processing system of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the client machine includes an object designating unit 2
01, an option specifying unit 202, an attribute-dependent action option specifying unit 203, and a job requesting unit 204.

The object specifying section 202 has a function of specifying an object to be printed. The object to be printed is, for example, a document holder constituted by a combination of a plurality of documents and / or a plurality of drawings, or a set of document holders constituted by a combination of a plurality of such document holders, or It can be composed of various units such as a single drawing or a sheet unit of one document, and the client can specify a print object in an arbitrary unit. The specification of the object is, for example, inputting an identifier such as a drawing to be printed to identify the object on the display of the client machine, or a package including a plurality of drawings, or a plurality of documents, a holder including a collection of drawings, This is performed by selecting a holder or the like by mouse click or the like. The print object specification data generated by the object specification unit 201 is
Sent to the server machine via.

An option designating section 202 designates various printing modes. For example, the number of copies, the print paper size, the designation of data reduction or enlargement at the time of printing, and the like. In these cases, similarly to the above-described object designation, option designation is performed by inputting a desired paper size or the like on a display in the client machine. The option designation will be described later in detail with reference to FIG.

Attribute-dependent action option designating section 20
Reference numeral 3 denotes a configuration peculiar to the print processing system of the present invention, which is specified by the client when the print mode is automatically set according to the attribute of the print data and printing is executed. When the server machine 101 receives the print job in which the attribute-dependent action option is specified in the attribute-dependent action option specifying unit 203, the server machine 101
Refers to the attribute-dependent action definition table shown in FIG. 5, determines the printing mode and other execution actions based on the attributes set for each print object, and sets the printing device based on the determined printing mode and execution actions. 1
02, the printing process is controlled, and printing is executed. The attribute-dependent action and the attribute-dependent action definition table will be described later in detail.

The print object designation data designated by the object designation unit 201 and the option designation unit 2
02, the various option data specified by the attribute-dependent action option specifying unit 203 are stored in the job processing unit 20.
The job processing unit 204 transfers the data to the server machine 101 via the network 106.

FIG. 3 shows a display example on a display used for specifying an option and an attribute-dependent action option in the client device.

In the example shown in FIG.
The setting of the scale and the printing time are optional items that can be specified even in the conventional print processing system. For example, as the paper options, the paper size, paper type, paper quality, etc. to be printed can be specified. As the scale, it is possible to set whether or not to use the scale mode, and to input a scale value when using the scale mode. Further, in the print time item, it is possible to specify a time at which printing is to be performed. These items are set by the client making the print request. Alternatively, it is set in advance as a default.

An attribute-dependent action specification field, which is a feature of the present invention, is provided in the lower part of the option specification screen of FIG. In this field, the client first sets whether or not to specify an attribute-dependent action using an attribute-dependent action specification button 301. If the attribute-dependent action is not specified here, only the conventional option setting such as paper specification is valid, and printing based on the conventional option specification is executed.

When an attribute-dependent action is specified, a specific setting of the execution action is performed. In this example, three items can be set as actions in the action setting columns 302, 303, and 304. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the action designation of the revised mark and the editing mark is made. These correspond to the labels of the attribute-dependent action definition table of FIG. 5 described later. Further, an ID (see FIG. 5), which is an identifier set corresponding to these labels, is displayed in a label ID column 305. An execution action can be designated by directly inputting a label ID in the label ID column 305.

The display example of the option designation screen shown in FIG. 3 is an example. In addition to the example shown in FIG. 3, for example, more action designation columns may be provided, or the table itself shown in FIG. 5 may be displayed on the display. Various modes such as a configuration for displaying and selecting a setting item are possible.

When the attribute-dependent action is specified, the printing mode is automatically set according to the attribute of each print object specified by the client, and printing is executed. When the server machine 101 receives the print job in which the attribute-dependent action is designated in the attribute-dependent action option designation field, the server machine 101 refers to the attribute-dependent action definition table shown in FIG. An action to be performed at the time of printing is determined based on each attribute, and the printing apparatus 102 is determined based on the determined action.
To execute printing.

FIG. 4 shows a main functional configuration diagram of the server machine in the print processing system of the present invention. The job management unit 401 manages a print job sent from each of the client machines 103, 104, and 105 via the network 106. In a system configuration in which a plurality of client machines make a print request to one server machine as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of print jobs are sequentially sent from each client machine to the server machine, and a job management unit 401 is provided.
Executes the setting of the execution order of the plurality of print jobs, confirmation of the presence or absence of data necessary for printing, and the like.

The job execution unit 402 is a job management unit 40
1 receives a print execution command of a print job selected from one or more print jobs managed in
02, a print job process required to execute printing. The object processing management unit 403 stores the 1
The management of the print objects described above is performed. For example, for one or more print objects included in a print job, a matrix is generated in the order of objects to be printed, and data management necessary for printing each object is performed.

The object execution unit 404 obtains the actual print data relating to the print object from the data storage area 406, and executes the attribute-dependent action execution control determination unit 4
07 is executed to determine whether or not each print object executes an attribute-dependent action. This determination is made based on the presence / absence of option designation in the attribute-dependent action option designation unit of the client machine in FIG.

Acquisition of actual print data from the data storage area 406 is performed by sending an object identifier from the object execution unit 404 to the storage data management unit 405 and extracting data having a matching identifier from the data storage area 406. Will be The object identifier corresponds to the object specified by the object specifying unit 201 of the client machine in FIG.

The attribute dependent action execution determination unit 407
By referring to the option data in the print job sent from the client, it is determined whether or not the attribute-dependent action option is specified. If there is no option specification of the attribute-dependent action, printing is performed based on only conventional general option specifications such as the number of print copies specified by the client and the print paper size.

The attribute dependent action execution determination unit 407
Referring to the option data in the print job sent from the client, if it is determined that the attribute-dependent action option is specified, the attribute-value-dependent action definition file 408, the attribute-value-dependent action interpreter 409, and the attribute-value-dependent action The execution unit 410 determines an attribute value-dependent action to be executed in printing.

Attribute value dependent action definition file 408
Is a file having, as a constituent element, a table defining an action to be executed based on an attribute value assigned to a print object. FIG. 5 shows an example of the table. FIG.
As shown in the example, the attribute-dependent action definition table
It has items of label, ID, attribute name, attribute value, condition, action, and options 1-4.

"Label" expresses an action to be executed. “ID” is an identifier corresponding to each label on a one-to-one basis. “Attribute name” indicates the name of an attribute assigned to each object of the print data. “Attribute value” is a value set for each attribute for each object. The “condition” is “=” when the action defined in the table is executed on condition that the attribute value of the corresponding attribute of the print object matches the attribute value set in the “attribute value” column of the table. “! =” When the condition is not matched. Further, when the attribute value is represented by a numerical value, the attribute value assigned to the object is compared with the attribute value set in the table, and the attribute value assigned to the object is compared with the attribute value set in the table. When the action of the table definition is executed on condition that the condition is small, "<" is set, and when the condition is large, ">" is set.

In the item of "action", setting of an option (option), a command (command), and a skip (skip) is possible. The setting of the option means that when the attribute value of the object satisfies the condition defined in the table, the print option specified in the item “option 1” is executed according to the definition of “option 2” and thereafter. I do. The setting of the command (command) is to execute the command specified in the item "option 1" according to the arguments defined after "option 2" when the attribute value of the object satisfies the condition defined in the table. Means The setting of skip means that when the attribute value of the object satisfies the condition defined in the table, the printing of the object is skipped, that is, not executed.

For example, in the row of the table shown in FIG.
“Option” is set. This is because when the attribute value of the attribute “status” of the print object is “issued”, that is, when the condition “=” is satisfied, the print option “form” defined in “option 1” is changed to “option”. Two
4 ”, ie,“ logo ”,“ bottom ”
right "and" 100% ".

Here, "form" means execution of a form overlay. A form overlay is, for example, a company name or a project name, etc., superimposed on a print sheet of drawing data, and a predetermined location on the print sheet.
For example, this is a printing mode in which printout is performed at a position such as an upper left corner or a lower right corner of the sheet together with the drawing data. Option 2 “logo” is an identifier for identifying a specific form overlay from a plurality of types of form overlays. Here, the label is a revised mark,
This “logo (logo)” is a form overlay composed of a character string and a symbol string indicating “revised”. Option 3 “bottomright” indicates the output position. Here, the output is shown at the lower right. Option 4 “100%” indicates the scaling ratio of the form overlay. Here, it is shown that the image is output at a magnification of 100% without being enlarged or reduced.

If the attribute value of the attribute “status” set for the print object in the print job is “issued”, the attribute is specified by “logo” at the lower right of the output paper. A form overlay is performed. If the attribute value of the attribute “status” set in the print object is not “issued”, for example, “not issued” or “e”
In the case of “Diting” or the like, the condition “=” in the table of FIG. 5 is not satisfied, and the form overlay defined in the table is not executed.

When the client desires to execute such an attribute-dependent action, the client designates, for example, the label of the desired action in the table of FIG.
Alternatively, an ID number is specified. If the form overlay of the revised mark as described above is to be executed only for the object having the attribute "status" of the attribute "status", the "revised label" or the ID number "1" is designated.

The client can also specify, for example, a plurality of items of the label in the table of FIG. For example, ID
When the “revision mark” and “editing mark” of “1” and “2” are selected, if the attribute value of the attribute “status” of the object is “issued”, “ A form overlay specified by "logo" is performed. The attribute "st" marked on the print object
If the attribute value of "atus" is not "issued", for example, "not issue", the label of the table in FIG. 5 satisfies the condition "! =" The action is executed in accordance with the rules of options 1 to 4 in the column of (1). In this case, the form overlay identified by the option 2 “editing” is executed at the lower right of the output sheet at a magnification of 100%.

The project mark of ID “3” in the attribute-dependent action definition table of FIG. 5 is the attribute name [project
The action defined after the option 1 is executed for the print object whose attribute value is not “null”, that is, the condition corresponding to “! =”. Here, option 2 is “attribute value”, and a form overlay identified by the attribute value of the attribute name [project] of each object is executed. For example, when a print job related to a print request from a client includes print output drawings from a plurality of different projects,
For example, if the drawings of project A and project B are mixed, the attribute name of each object [project
t "attribute values [projectA], [project
In accordance with "B", different form overlays are executed for the respective print objects. Therefore, when classifying a large number of output results for each project, the work can be efficiently executed by referring to the form overlay in the output document.

The distribution banner output of ID “4” is defined so as to output the banner according to the conditions specified in the table. The banner paper is a cover that describes bibliographic items such as an output person and output contents, or a paper that serves as a separator. According to the definition of the attribute-dependent action definition table in FIG. 5, an action is performed according to the rule of the item “action” for a print object whose attribute value of the attribute name [distribute] is not “null”, that is, the print object satisfying the condition “! Execute. In this distribution banner output line, "command" is entered in the "action" column.
Is set. In this case, the command defined in “option 1” is executed together with the arguments after “option 2”.

Here, the command defined in “option 1” is a banner output (create banner).
And an attribute value is set in “option 2”.
Attribute name "distribut" in each print object
In the attribute value of “e”, an argument that determines the mode of banner output may be set or nothing may be set (null). The condition shown in the table of FIG. ”(“! = ”) For a print object, the attribute“ dis
This indicates that banner output is to be performed according to the argument set in the attribute value of “tribe”.

The ID numbers "5", "6" and "7" are settings relating to version output. "Skip" set in the "Action" item of these fields is
If the condition “=”, “! =”, Or “<”, “>” is satisfied, it indicates that printing is not executed.

For example, in the case of the latest version output of the ID number “5”, the attribute name “version Number”
If the attribute value of “r” is not “latest” and “! =”, it indicates that printing is not performed and only the object whose attribute value is “latest” is printed. Attribute name "v
The value of the attribute number of “version Number” is “nu”.
A numerical value indicating the version number is set in addition to "11", and the magnitude of the attribute for which such a numerical value can be set can be set as the action execution condition.

For example, in the table shown in FIG. 5, in the case of “fixed version output 3” of ID number “6”, if the attribute value of the attribute name “version Number” is not “3” and “! =”, Printing is performed. Is not executed, and only the object whose attribute value is “3” is printed. "Fixed version output 3 or later" with ID number "7"
In the case of, if the attribute value of the attribute name “version Number” is smaller than “3” and “<”, printing is not performed and the attribute value is “a numerical value greater than 3 or latest”.
Indicates that only the object is printed.

The attribute-dependent action definition table shown in FIG. 5 is an example, and it is possible to define various actions corresponding to the attributes and attribute values attached to the object. As for the “condition”, for example, “1 <x <6” (x is an attribute value) as a condition for a numerical value
Various conditions can be set.

The attribute value dependent action definition file shown in FIG. 4 has one or more attribute dependent action definition tables, and the attribute value dependent action for each print object is determined according to the table selected according to the print job. In FIG. 4, an attribute-dependent action interpreting unit 409 compares the condition of the attribute-dependent action definition table with the attribute value of the object, and executes the attribute-dependent action executing unit 4.
10, the execution command of the definition action in the table is set for each object.

The attribute-value-dependent action execution command set for each object is sent to the data conversion unit 411, and is printed together with the print object actual data extracted from the data storage area 406 under the instruction of the object execution unit 404. The data is converted into data that can be output by 102. The converted data is transferred to the printing apparatus 102 via the data output unit 412, and subjected to print processing according to the set general options and the attribute value-dependent action options.

When the setting of the attribute value-dependent action option and the setting of the action where the general option is duplicated are set differently, for example, the client sets the form with the general option setting.
In the setting of the attribute value-dependent action option, if the editing mark of ID “2” is selected from the attribute-dependent action definition table in FIG. 5, the attribute-dependent action is executed with priority and the printing process is performed in that mode. . this is,
For example, by overwriting a general option execution command sent from the object execution unit 404 to the data conversion unit 411 shown in FIG. 4 with an attribute value dependent action option execution command sent from the attribute value dependent action execution unit 410 Is achieved.

Next, an attribute-dependent action execution flow in the print processing system of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

First, when there is a print request from the client machine to the server machine, the server machine starts processing of the print object specified by the client in step 601. When the print object process is started, it is determined in step 602 whether or not an attribute-dependent action has been designated. This is a step of determining whether or not the client has specified an option in the attribute-dependent action option specifying unit 203 of the client machine in FIG. If the print object has no attribute-dependent action, the determination in step 602 becomes No, and the flow advances to step 611 to execute normal data conversion / output processing. If the determination in step 602 is Yes, that is, if an attribute-dependent action is specified, the process proceeds to step 603.

In step 603, it is determined whether or not the label of the attribute-dependent action specified by the client is registered as an attribute name in the attribute-dependent action definition table. If there is no registration, step 603
Is No, the action to be executed cannot be defined, and is processed as an error. Step 6 if the label is registered in the attribute-dependent action definition table
The determination of 03 is Yes, and the process proceeds to step 604.

In step 604, the attribute defined in the attribute-dependent action definition table corresponding to the label of the attribute-dependent action specified by the client is:
It is determined whether the attribute is set as a print object attribute. If the attribute defined in the table is not set in the print object, the determination in step 604 is No, and the attribute-dependent action is not executed in printing on the object, and the normal data conversion / output processing (step 611) is executed. You. If the attribute of the print object includes an attribute defined in the table, the process proceeds to step 605.

In step 605, the attribute value set for the object is compared with the condition defined in the attribute-dependent action definition table. This corresponds to “=”, “! =” In the column of the item “condition” in the table of FIG.
Based on ">" etc. If the attribute value of the object does not match the condition of the table, the determination in step 605 is No.
Thus, the attribute-dependent action is not executed in the printing for the object, and the normal data conversion / output processing (step 611) is executed. If the attribute of the print object has the attribute defined in the table,
Proceed to step 606.

In steps 606 to 608, the type of the defined action in the attribute dependent action definition table is determined. First, in step 606, a determination is made as to whether the action is an "option". If the table definition action is optional and the determination in step 606 is Yes, the process proceeds to step 609.

In step 609, the attribute value of option 1 in the attribute-dependent action definition table is replaced with the value of option 2 or later. For example, in the example of the table in FIG. 5, if the label specified by the client is “revised mark”, the defining action is optional, and “form” is set in option 1. This implies a form overlay execution option. For each of the options 2 to 4 in the table,
As attribute values indicating detailed settings related to execution of the form overlay, an ID “logo (option 2)” of the form overlay, a position “bottomRight (option 3)”, and a scale “100% (option 4)” are set. . In step 609, the detailed settings of the form overlay are replaced with those defined in the table, and the form overlay is executed in the execution mode defined in the table.

For example, there is a case where the client has already set the execution of the form overlay in the general option setting similar to the paper setting shown in FIG. 3 instead of the attribute-dependent action, and the detailed mode has been set. In this step 609, the option of the form overlay is rewritten to the values of options 2 to 4 defined in the table, and the form overlay based on the table definition is executed. However, the form overlay defined in this table is executed only when the attribute value of the print object satisfies the condition defined in the table.

If the determination in step 606 is No, that is, if the action is not an option, step 6
Proceed to 07. In step 607, it is determined whether or not the action is a command.

If the action is a command, that is, if the determination in step 607 is Yes, step 6
Proceeding to 10, the command defined in the option 1 of the attribute-dependent action definition table is executed together with the arguments defined in the table after the option 2. For example, in the table example of FIG. 5, if the label specified by the client is "distribution banner output", the defining action is a command, and option 1 is set to "banner output (createbanner)". This means that the command is a banner output. In the option 2 of the table, an argument relating to execution of banner output is set. In the example of the table shown in FIG. 5, an attribute value is set as an argument. This means that an argument related to banner output is set as an attribute value corresponding to the attribute name “distribute” of each print object, and banner output for the object is executed by the set argument.
The condition for executing the banner output in the table of FIG. 5 is that the attribute value of the attribute name “distribute” is “! =” That is not “null”, and the object for executing the banner output includes the attribute name “distribute”. Arguments required for banner output other than the attribute value “null” are set as attribute values, and the command “banner output (createbanner)” is executed by the set arguments.

If the determination in step 607 is No, that is, if the action is not a command, step 60
Proceed to 8. At step 608, a determination is made whether the action is a skip.

If the action is skip, that is, if the determination in step 608 is Yes, step 6
Go to step 12 and change the state of the object to "skipped"
And the processing ends. This is a process that does not execute the printing process of the object. To explain using the example of the table shown in FIG. 5, when the label specified by the client is the latest version output, the attribute “version number (versionNumber) of each print object is output.
r) ”is changed to the attribute value“ lates ”in the table definition.
t ”, and if they do not match,“! = ”performs Skip processing. Attribute "version number (version
Number) as attribute values, besides “latest” indicating the latest version, as well as “1”, “2”. . . According to the definition of this table, printing of a print object having these numerical values other than “latest” as an attribute value is performed by skip processing, and the latest version of the object is printed. Only selected and printed.

If the determination in step 607 is No, that is, if the action is not skipped, the attribute-dependent action to be executed cannot be selected, and is processed as an error.

As described above, the attribute-dependent action in the print processing apparatus of the present invention is executed. However, the table shown in FIG. 5 and the attribute-dependent action flow shown in FIG. 6 are one embodiment of the print processing system of the present invention, and other embodiments correspond to, for example, one label in the table of FIG. A plurality of conditions may be set to define a table in which different actions are defined according to each condition. Alternatively, a table defined to execute a plurality of actions according to one condition may be configured to implement the present invention. It is also possible to perform attribute dependent actions. In these cases, it is necessary to execute an attribute-dependent action flow according to the set table.

[0073]

As described above, according to the print processing system and the print processing method of the present invention, when executing the print processing, the action to be performed is determined based on the attribute set for the print object. This eliminates the need for the client making the print request to make various settings while determining the object, thereby enabling efficient execution of print processing.

Further, according to the print processing system and the print processing method of the present invention, the execution action is set based on the attribute set for the print object and printing is performed. Types of form overlays can be accurately distinguished and output according to object attributes, making it easy to distinguish between output results of various types and selecting only outputs belonging to a specific category, etc. Becomes

Further, according to the print processing system and the print processing method of the present invention, the command execution and the skip processing are performed based on the attribute set for the print object. Does not need to be sequentially set at the time of a print request, it is possible to automatically execute a banner output position, necessary drawing selection output, and the like according to object attributes.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system configuration example of a print processing system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a client machine of the print processing system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an option setting screen in a client machine of the print processing system according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a server machine of the print processing system of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an attribute-dependent action definition table according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an execution flow of an attribute-dependent action in the print processing system according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 server machine 102 printing device 103, 104, 105 client machine 106 network 201 object designation unit 202 option designation unit 203 attribute dependent action option designation unit 301 attribute dependent action designation button 302, 303, 304 action designation column 305 label ID designation column 401 Job management unit 402 Job execution unit 403 Object processing management unit 404 Object execution unit 405 Storage data management unit 406 Data storage area 407 Attribute dependent action execution determination unit 408 Attribute value dependent action definition file 409 Attribute value dependent action interpretation unit 410 Attribute value dependent Action execution unit 411 Data conversion unit 412 Data output unit

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A print processing system comprising: a printing device that outputs print data; and a print control unit that controls print processing in the printing device, wherein the print control unit includes an individual print object in the print data. Has an attribute-dependent action determining means for determining an action to be performed at the time of a printing process based on the attribute set in correspondence with the above, wherein the print control means determines the action determined by the attribute-dependent action determining means. A print processing system for controlling print data output by the printing apparatus based on the print data. 2. The print processing system, comprising: a client machine that outputs a print request; a server machine having a print control unit that receives the print request and controls printing of the printing apparatus; the client machine and the server machine Data transfer means for performing data transfer between the client machine, the client machine outputs print object designation data for executing print processing to the server machine, and the server machine transmits the data from the client machine to the server machine. A print object to be subjected to print processing is specified based on the print object designation data received via the transfer means, and the attribute-dependent action determination means is specified based on an attribute set corresponding to the specified print object. Determine the action to be performed by Motomeko 1 printing processing system according. 3. The attribute-dependent action determining means defines an attribute condition relating to one or more attributes of the print object, and stores an attribute-dependent action definition table in which an action to be performed is made in accordance with the defined attribute condition. The attribute-dependent action determining means compares the attribute set for each print object with the attribute condition defined in the attribute-dependent action definition table, and sets the setting attribute of each print object and the attribute-dependent action definition table. 2. An action to be executed is determined on condition that the attribute condition defined in the above is matched.
Or the print processing system according to 2. 4. The attribute-dependent action definition table stores, as data defining actions to be executed in response to individual attribute conditions, a) print option data defining print options executable in the printing apparatus; A command as a print command to be transferred to the printing apparatus and argument data necessary for execution of the command, and c) a skip command defining stop of print execution in the printing apparatus. 3. The print processing system according to 3. 5. A print processing method in a print processing system, comprising: a printing device that outputs print data; and a print control unit that controls print processing in the printing device, wherein each print object corresponds to an individual print object in the print data. Determining an action to be performed during the printing process based on the set attributes, and controlling output of print data in the printing apparatus based on the determined action to be performed. A print processing method, characterized in that: 6. The print processing system that executes the print processing method includes: a client machine that outputs a print request; a server machine that receives the print request and has a print control unit that performs print control of the printing apparatus; A data transfer unit for transferring data between the client machine and the server machine, wherein the client machine outputs designated data of a print object for executing a printing process to the server machine, Specifies a print object to be subjected to print processing based on print object specification data received from the client machine via the data transfer unit, and sets an attribute set corresponding to the specified print object to A printing mode is determined by the attribute-dependent action determining means based on the Print processing method according to claim 5, wherein the door. 7. The attribute-dependent action determining means defines an attribute condition relating to one or more attributes of a print object, and stores an attribute-dependent action definition table in which an action to be executed according to the defined attribute condition is associated. The attribute-dependent action determining means compares the attribute set for each print object with the attribute condition defined in the attribute-dependent action definition table, and sets the setting attribute of each print object and the attribute-dependent action definition table. 6. An action to be executed is determined on condition that the attribute condition defined in the above condition is met.
Or the print processing method according to 6.