Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and storage medium storing computer-readable program

[0001] The present invention relates to a print setting method, a device, and a medium for a print job, and in particular, controls to display a preview in consideration of the print setting of document data generated by an application. It relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, a storage medium in which a program is stored, and a computer-readable program.

[0002] Conventionally, when printing one document (document data) generated by a certain application, usually one print job generated from the document is set in advance by a printer driver. A set of print setting attributes consisting of multiple print setting items is defined.

[0003] Further, software having a "batch print" function that holds document data instructed to be printed by an application in a client without outputting it to a printer and sends a plurality of document data to the printer as one job at a time. is there.

[0004] A print job generated by a user using a plurality of applications, for example, application A suitable for creating a document, application B suitable for creating a table, application C suitable for creating a drawing, and the like. You may want to print in bulk, however, the "Bulk Print" feature only combines multiple print jobs into a single print job, and you are instructed to print in bulk and spool the data for bulk printing. Since the data is output in the same order as when printing, the user has to spool to the output page, which is not easy to use. For example, if you want to print a document, drawing, document, table, document and one page at a time, application A creates and spools the first page, and application B creates and spools the second page. Application A had to create the third page and spool it again, application C created the fourth page, spooled it, and application A created the fifth page and had to spool it.

[0005] Also, when you want to preview the data to be printed as one, you can see the preview provided by each application, but you can set multiple print settings set by the printer driver. I couldn't see the reflected preview. Also, when the printer driver provides a preview, when multiple print jobs are combined, there is a problem that the preview cannot be performed if the multiple print settings defined for each print job are different. was there.

[0006] Further, when it is desired to print a plurality of files together as one job, there is no means for providing the finishing designation even when the user wants to specify the finishing for the combined jobs, and a preview in that case. There is a problem that there is no one that has a function, and there is a problem that it is not possible to know how the printing device actually prints out unless the printing is performed.

[0007] [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In order to solve the above problems, it is conceivable to provide a mechanism for further editing the print setting attributes of a print job once spooled. If you use the UI of the printer driver for the printer to output, it is effective because you can set all the functions of the printer.

[0008] However, when the print job once generated is retained as intermediate data and the print setting attribute is edited for the print job, the setting change is restricted unlike the setting for each document. There may be items that should be. For example, if you change the print quality settings after converting to an intermediate code, the print quality of the intermediate data may be changed because the graphics engine may output a bitmap in a device-dependent format depending on the application. Then, the print quality may deteriorate. In such a case, the change of the print quality setting should be restricted, but there is a problem that the change of the print quality setting cannot be restricted when the UI of the printer driver is used.

[0009] Further, when a plurality of jobs generated from a plurality of documents are combined to generate one combined job, they are combined while enabling the print setting attribute specified for each job. There was a problem that the UI of the printer driver could not be used because it was necessary to change the print settings for the job. For example, when combining a one-page printing job (printing in which N pages are reduced and arranged on one physical page is called N-page printing, also called N-up or N in 1) and a two-page printing job, each of them is used. It was difficult to specify the job layout as it is by using the UI of the printer driver.

[0010] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and changes the print settings for the combined jobs while enabling the print setting attributes specified for each job. Is the subject.

[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for changing print settings by using the UI of a printer driver even when a plurality of jobs are combined to create one combined job.

[0012] Another object of the present invention is to limit the change of the print quality setting when changing the print setting of the combined job.

[0013] Another object of the present invention is to limit the layout setting change when changing the setting of the combined job.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above problems, the information processing apparatus of the present invention includes the following configurations.

[0015] That is, an information processing device that generates print data to be transmitted to the printing device, and prints the data to be printed generated by the application together with the first print setting information specified via the first user interface. A spool means that temporarily saves the job in the intermediate code format, a setting information acquisition means that acquires print setting information from the intermediate code format data temporarily saved by the spool means, and a plurality of setting information storage means stored in the spool means. Display the second user interface for editing the second print setting information of one print job generated by combining the print jobs and the first print setting information of the print job stored in the spool means. A display control means to be controlled, a setting editing means for temporarily storing the second print setting information edited by the second user interface in association with the data in the intermediate code format of the plurality of print jobs, and the plurality of prints. It has job combining means for generating one combined print job based on the data in the intermediate code format of the job and the edited second print setting information, and the display control means is said to be combined. If the layout is not unified when editing the second print setting information of the print job, the settings related to the layout are displayed as non-editable setting items in the second user interface with the editing restricted, and the spool means. When editing the first print setting information of a single print job stored in, control is performed so that the setting related to the layout is displayed as an editable item in the second user interface.

[0016] Further, an instruction to select a plurality of print jobs to be combined from the plurality of print jobs displayed in the list via a third user interface for displaying a list of the plurality of print jobs stored in the spool means. The job combining means further includes a selection instruction receiving means for receiving the above, and the job combining means combines a plurality of selected print jobs in accordance with the selection instruction received by the selection instruction receiving means to generate one print job.

[0017] Further, the display control means controls to display the setting items related to finishing as editable items in the second user interface when editing the second print setting information of the combined print job.

[0018] Further, when editing the second print setting information, the display control means further restricts and displays the print setting related to the print quality as a non-editable setting item.

[0019] Further, the display control means further has a restriction information acquisition means for acquiring the restriction information of the print setting, and the display control means limits the print setting that can be edited in the second user interface based on the restriction information.

Further, based on the one combined print job generated by the job coupling means, indicia described in a page description language to be transmitted to the printing apparatus further comprises a print data generating means for generating printing data ..

[0021] Further, a drawing instruction generation means that converts data in an intermediate data format temporarily stored by the spool means into a drawing instruction that can be interpreted by the OS drawing means and outputs the data, and a drawing instruction generating means from the application via the OS drawing means. The print command received is passed to the spool means, and the print command received from the drawing command generating means via the drawing means of the OS further includes a print command allocating means to be passed to the print data generating means.

Further, the drawing instruction is a GDI function, the printing instruction is a DDI function, and the print data is a printer language.

[0023] Further, another solution of the present invention is realized by a method of controlling the device, a storage medium in which a program is stored, or a computer program.

[Embodiments of the Invention] [First Example] Hereinafter, examples suitable for applying the present invention will be described.

[0025] Before explaining the embodiment of the present invention, transmission to the printer on a system including an information processing device such as a personal computer connected to a printer to which the present invention can be applied, particularly on the information processing device. Before generating the print data to be printed, a spool means for temporarily storing the data in a data format (so-called intermediate code) different from the print data finally sent to the printer is provided, and the intermediate code format is used. A configuration of a printing system including a despool means for generating print data to be finally sent to the printer from the temporarily stored data and a means for generating a printer control command will be described.

[0026] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer control system showing an embodiment of the present invention. As long as the function of the present invention is executed, a system in which a single device or a system consisting of a plurality of devices is connected and processed via a network such as LAN or WAN. However, the present invention can be applied.

[0027] In the figure, in the host computer 3000, figures, images, characters, tables (including spreadsheets, etc.) and the like are mixed based on the program ROM of ROM 3 or the document processing program stored in the external memory 11. It is equipped with a CPU 1 that executes document processing, and the CPU 1 comprehensively controls each device connected to the system bus 4. Further, the ROM 3 program ROM or external memory 11 stores an operating system program (hereinafter referred to as OS), which is a control program of the CPU 1, and the ROM 3 font ROM or external memory 11 is used during the above document processing. Font data and the like to be used are stored, and various data used when performing the above-mentioned document processing and the like are stored in the data ROM of ROM 3 or the external memory 11. RAM2 functions as the main memory, work area, etc. of CPU1.

[0028] The keyboard controller (KBC) 5 controls key input from a keyboard 9 or a pointing device (not shown). The CRT controller (CRTC) 6 controls the display of the CRT display (CRT) 10. 7 is a disk controller (DKC), which is a hard disk (HD), floppy disk (FD), etc. that stores boot programs, various applications, font data, user files, edit files, printer control command generators (hereinafter referred to as printer drivers), etc. Controls access to the external memory 11. The printer controller (PRTC) 8 is connected to the printer 1500 via the bidirectional interface (interface) 21 to execute communication control processing with the printer 1500.

[0029] Note that the CPU 1 executes WYSIWYG on the CRT 10 by executing, for example, an outline font expansion (rasterization) process on the display information RAM set on the RAM 2. In addition, CPU1 opens various registered windows based on commands instructed by a mouse cursor (not shown) on CRT10 and executes various data processing. When printing is executed, the user opens a window related to print settings, and can set the printer settings and the print processing method for the printer driver including the selection of the print mode.

[0030] The printer 1500 is controlled by the CPU 12. The printer CPU 12 is an image as output information to a printing unit (printer engine) 17 connected to the system bus 15 based on a control program or the like stored in the program ROM of the ROM 13 or a control program or the like stored in the external memory 14. Output a signal. Further, the program ROM of the ROM 13 stores the control program of the CPU 12 and the like. The font data and the like used when generating the above output information are stored in the font ROM of the ROM 13, and in the case of a printer having no external memory 14 such as a hard disk, the data ROM of the ROM 13 is on the host computer. Information used is stored.

[0031] The CPU 12 can perform communication processing with the host computer via the input unit 18, and can notify the host computer 3000 of information in the printer and the like. The RAM 19 is a RAM that functions as a main memory of the CPU 12 or a work area, and is configured so that the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). The RAM 19 is used for an output information expansion area, an environment data storage area, NVRAM, and the like. The access of the external memory 14 such as the hard disk (HD) and the IC card described above is controlled by the memory controller (MC) 20. The external memory 14 is connected as an option and stores font data, an emulation program, form data, and the like. In addition, 18 is an operation panel described above, and switches and LED indicators for operation are arranged.

[0032] Further, the above-mentioned external memory 14 is not limited to one, and a plurality of external memories 14 can be provided, and in addition to the built-in font, a plurality of external memories storing an option card and a program for interpreting a printer control language having a different language system can be connected. It may be configured as follows. Further, it may have NVRAM (not shown) and store printer mode setting information from the operation panel 1501.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a typical printing process in a host computer to which a printing device such as a printer is directly connected or is connected via a network. Application 201, graphic engine 202, printer driver 203, and system spooler 204 exist as files stored in external memory 11, and when executed, they are loaded into RAM2 and executed by the OS or a module that utilizes the module. It is a program module. Further, the application 201 and the printer driver 203 can be added to the HD of the external disk 11 via the FD of the external memory 11, the CD / ROM (not shown), or the network (not shown). The application 201 stored in the external memory 11 is loaded into RAM2 and executed, but when printing from this application 201 to the printer 1500, the graphic is also loaded into RAM2 and can be executed. Output (drawing) is performed using the engine 202.

[0034] The graphic engine 202 similarly loads the printer driver 203 prepared for each printing device from the external memory 11 into RAM 2, and sets the output of the application 201 to the printer driver 203. Then, the GDI (Graphic Device Interface) function received from the application 201 is converted into a DDI (Device Driver Interface) function, and the DDI function is output to the printer driver 203. The printer driver 203 converts the control command recognizable by the printer, for example, PDL (Page Description Language), based on the DDI function received from the graphic engine 202. The converted printer control command is output as print data to the printer 1500 via the interface 21 via the system spooler 204 loaded in RAM2 by the OS.

[0035] In the printing system of the present embodiment, in addition to the printing system including the printer and the host computer shown in FIG. 2, as shown in FIG. 3, the printing data from the application is temporarily spooled as intermediate code data. Have.

[0036] FIG. 3 is an extension of the system of FIG. 2, and has a configuration in which a spool file 303 composed of an intermediate code is once generated when a print instruction is sent from the graphic engine 202 to the printer driver 203. In the system of FIG. 2, the application 201 is released from the printing process when the printer driver 203 finishes converting all the printing commands from the graphic engine 202 into the printer control commands. On the other hand, in the system of FIG. 3, the spooler 302 converts all the print instructions into intermediate code data and outputs the data to the spool file 303. The latter usually takes less time. Further, in the system shown in FIG. 3, the contents of the spool file 303 can be processed. As a result, it is possible to realize functions that the application does not have, such as enlarging / reducing the print data from the application and reducing a plurality of pages to one page for printing.

[0037] For these purposes, the system has been extended so that the system shown in FIG. 2 is spooled with intermediate code data as shown in FIG. In order to process the print data, the settings are usually made from the window provided by the printer driver 203, and the printer driver 203 stores the setting contents on the RAM 2 or the external memory 11.

[0038] The details of FIG. 3 will be described below. As shown in the figure, in this extended processing method, the dispatcher 301 receives a DDI function which is a print command from the graphic engine 202. If the print instruction (DDI function) received by the dispatcher 301 from the graphic engine 202 is based on the print instruction (GDI function) issued by the application 201 to the graphic engine 202, the dispatcher 301 stores it in the external memory 11. The spooler 302 that has been printed is loaded into RAM2, and a print command (DDI function) is sent to the spooler 302 instead of the printer driver 203.

[0039] The spooler 302 analyzes the received print instruction, converts it into an intermediate code for each page, and outputs it to the spool file 303. The spool file of the intermediate code stored in this page unit is called a page drawing file (PDF: Page Description File). Further, the spooler 302 acquires the processing settings (Nup, double-sided, staple, color / monochrome specification, etc.) related to the print data set for the printer driver 203 from the printer driver 203, and spools the spool file 303 as a file for each job. Save to. The configuration file stored in this job unit is the job configuration file (SDF: Spool Description for short). Sometimes called File). This job setting file will be described later. Although the spool file 303 is generated as a file on the external memory 11, it may be generated on RAM2. Further, the spooler 302 loads the spool file manager 304 stored in the external memory 11 into RAM2, and notifies the spool file manager 304 of the generation status of the spool file 303. After that, the spool file manager 304 determines whether printing can be performed according to the contents of the processing settings related to the print data saved in the spool file 303.

[0040] When the spool file manager 304 determines that printing can be performed using the graphic engine 202, the despooler 305 stored in the external memory 11 is loaded into RAM2, and the spool file 303 is sent to the despooler 305. Instructs to print the page drawing file of the intermediate code described in.

[0041] The despooler 305 processes the page drawing file of the intermediate code included in the spool file 303 according to the job setting file including the machining setting information included in the spool file 303, regenerates the GDI function, and again via the graphic engine 202. Output the GDI function.

[0042] If the print instruction (DDI function) received by the dispatcher 301 from the graphic engine 202 is based on the print instruction (GDI function) issued from the despooler 305 to the graphic engine 202, the dispatcher 301 is the spooler 302. Instead, it sends a print command to the printer driver 203.

[0043] The printer driver 203 generates a printer control command composed of a page description language or the like based on the DDI function acquired from the graphic engine 202, and outputs the printer control command to the printer 1500 via the system spooler 204.

[0044] Further, FIG. 3 shows an example in which a previewer 306 and a setting change editor 307 are arranged in addition to the extended system described so far to enable previewing, changing print settings, and combining a plurality of jobs. ..

[0045] In order to perform print preview, change print settings, and combine a plurality of jobs, first, in the properties of the printer driver shown in FIG. 9, "Store" is displayed in the pull-down menu, which is a means for the user to "specify the output destination". Must be specified. If you want to see only the preview, you can also select "Preview" as the output destination specification.

[0046] The contents set in the properties of the printer driver are stored as a setting file in a structure provided by the OS (called DEVMODE in Windows OS). The structure contains, for example, a setting for whether to store in the spool file manager 304 during the machining settings included in the spool file 303, and the spool file manager 304 reads the machining settings via the printer driver. When the store is specified, the page drawing file and the job setting file are generated and stored in the spool file 303 as described above, the spool file manager window screen pops up as shown in Fig. 16, and the spool file 303 is spooled. The jobs that have been completed are displayed in a list. FIG. 16 shows an example in which four jobs are spooled, and the jobs can be operated by pressing the menu bar or the menu icon immediately below the menu bar. The number of operations on the menu bar and menu icon is the same. The operation types are "Print" with the job selected, "Save and print" to print while leaving the spool file of the intermediate code as it is, and "Save and print" to see the output preview of the job considering the print settings. "Preview", "Delete" to delete the spool file of the intermediate code, "Duplicate" to generate a copy of the spool file of the intermediate code, "Merge" to combine the jobs of the spool file of the intermediate code into one job. , "Split" to split a merged job into multiple original jobs, "Job edit" to change the print settings (layout settings, finishing settings, etc.) of a single job or merged job, "Set the print order of a job first" "Move to the beginning", "Move up" to move the print order of a job one step forward, "Move down one" to follow the print order of a job by one, and move the print order of a job to the end There are more than 11 operations of "Move to the end".

When a preview of a single job or a combined job is specified on the window screen (FIG. 16) of the spool file manager, the previewer 306 stored in the external memory 11 is loaded into RAM2, and the previewer 306 is loaded. Is instructed to preview the job of the intermediate code described in the spool file 303.

[0048] The preview engine 306 sequentially reads the page drawing file (PDF) of the intermediate code included in the spool file 303, and processes according to the contents of the machining setting information included in the job setting file (SDF) stored in the spool file 303. Then, the GDI function is output to the graphic engine 202, and the graphic engine 202 outputs the drawing data to its own client area, so that the output on the screen becomes possible.

[0049] The graphic engine 202 can perform appropriate rendering according to the designated output destination. From this, the previewer 306 can be realized by processing the intermediate code included in the spool file 303 according to the processing setting contents included in the spool file 303 and outputting it using the graphic engine 202, similarly to the despooler 305. It becomes. By storing the processing settings set by the printer driver in the spool file 303 as a job setting file and processing and outputting the page drawing file data based on this job setting file, the actual drawing data can be obtained. How it is printed, and if Nup (the process of reducing the logical page of N pages to one physical page and printing) is specified, if double-sided printing is specified, book binding printing is specified. If so, if a stamp is specified, the user can be provided with a print preview that is close to what is output by the printer. Note that the preview function of conventional application software such as document creation draws based on the page settings of the application, so the print settings of the printer driver are not reflected and the actual print output is performed. It was not possible to make the user recognize the preview.

By performing the preview process as described above, a large preview of the print processing settings included in the spool file 303 is displayed on the screen by the previewer 306 as shown in FIG. 17, and then the user's non-display instruction is displayed. Closes the previewer 306 and shifts control to the spool file manager window screen (Figure 16).

Then, if the user prints according to the contents displayed by the previewer 306, a print request is issued by instructing "print" or "save and print" on the spool file manager 304. .. As described above, the print request is processed by the Despula 305 based on the job setting file to generate a GDI function, transmitted to the graphic engine 202, and a print command is sent to the printer driver 203 via the dispatcher 301. And printing is executed.

Next, setting change using the setting change editor 307 will be described.

[0053] As the realization method, as in the preview, the job designated as "store" in FIG. 9 can be set. A similar flow pops up the spool file manager 304, listing the spooled jobs. When "Job edit" is specified on the spool file manager window screen (Fig. 16) and a setting change instruction is given, the setting change editor 307 stored in the external memory 11 is loaded into RAM2, and the setting change editor Instruct 307 to display the current or default machining settings. Then, the job setting screen as shown in FIG. 18 is displayed.

[0054] The setting change editor 307 acquires the job setting file of the job for which "Job edit" is specified from the spool file 303, and the job setting screen of FIG. 18 is based on the setting items specified in the job setting file. Change the default value of. In the example shown in FIG. 18, in the job setting file of the job specified as "Job edit", the number of copies: 1 copy, the printing method: one side, the staple: none, the layout: 1 page / sheet, etc. are specified. Become.

[0055] Even in this setting change editor 307, the page drawing file of the intermediate code included in the spool file 303 is processed according to the contents of the processing settings included in the job setting file stored in the spool file 303, and the graphic engine 202 is used. By outputting to its own client area, it is possible to output a small preview on the screen shown in FIG.

[0056] Further, here, it is possible to change or modify the contents of the machining settings included in the job setting file stored in the spool file 303. At that time, the settable item of the printer driver 203 may be included in the user interface on the setting change editor 307, or the user interface of the printer driver 203 itself may be called. As shown in Fig. 18, you can specify the fraction, printing method (single-sided, double-eyed, bookbinding printing), staple (saddle finisher, etc.), page layout, arrangement order, etc., and by pressing "Detailed settings", the printer Most of the items that can be specified by the driver can be reset. However, changes to settings related to print quality such as resolution and graphic mode are not permitted.

[0057] The change item changed here is authenticated according to the authentication request on the setting change editor 307, and the control is transferred to the spool file manager 304. If the change is authenticated, the change of the print setting will be saved, but instead of saving it in the original job setting file, a new job output setting file used for job editing etc. will be generated and saved. Will be done. Details of the job output setting file will be described later in FIGS. 10 and later.

[0058] Then, if the user prints according to the setting change content as in the confirmation in the previewer 306, a print request is issued on the spool file manager 304. The print request is transmitted to the graphic engine 202, a print instruction is sent to the printer driver 203 via the dispatcher 301, and printing is executed.

[0059] Further, on the window screen (FIG. 16) of the spool file manager, it is possible to combine a plurality of print jobs and specify to print as one print job. This is also premised on the job for which the output destination is specified as "store" in the properties of the printer driver shown in Fig. 9, as in the case of preview and setting change.

[0060] When a user joins print jobs, first, the printer driver 203 is called from the application 201, and a store is selected from the user interface as shown in FIG. Similar to the above, this selection causes the spool file 303 to be stored and the spool file manager window screen (FIG. 16) to pop up as shown in FIG. Spooled jobs are listed on the spool file manager window. By performing the same operation from application 201, a list of multiple jobs will be displayed on the spool file manager 304.

Here, when a plurality of jobs are selected and "join" is specified, the setting change editor 307 stored in the external memory 11 is loaded into RAM2, and the setting change editor 307 is displayed on the list. Instructs to display the first job or the default machining settings. Then, the combination setting screen as shown in FIG. 18 is displayed. Here, the setting change editor 307 is used as the combination setting screen, but another module may be used.

[0062] This setting change editor 307 processes the page drawing file of the intermediate code included in the spool file 303 according to the contents of the machining settings included in the job setting information stored in the spool file 303, and is designated as a combined job. For all the jobs, the graphic engine 202 is used to output to its own client area to output on the screen. At that time, a small preview of all the jobs selected in the preview area shown in FIG. 18 is possible. In addition, when a combined job is generated, a job output setting file that extends the job setting file of each single job is generated. This job output setting file is also generated when editing a job, and one can be created for one job, and one is also generated for a combined job.

[0063] Here, for each job, it is possible to display with the machining settings before combining, or to change, modify, and display the unified machining settings as a combined job. At that time, the settable item of the printer driver 203 may be included in the user interface on the setting change editor 307, or the user interface of the printer driver 203 itself may be called.

[0064] As described above, the combined job and the changed change item are authenticated according to the authentication request on the setting change editor 307, and the control is transferred to the spool file manager 304. By these operations, the previously selected multiple jobs are displayed as one combined job on the spool file manager window.

Then, if the user prints according to the setting change contents as in the confirmation in the previewer 306, a print request is issued on the spool file manager 304. The print request is transmitted to the graphic engine 202, a print instruction is sent to the printer driver 203 via the dispatcher 301, and printing is executed.

[0066] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a color laser printer having a double-sided printing function, which is an example of the printer 1500.

[0067] This printer scans a photosensitive drum 15 with a polygon mirror 31 for laser light modulated with image data for each color obtained based on print data input from a host computer 3000 to form an electrostatic latent image. Then, this electrostatic latent image is developed with toner to obtain a visible image, which is then multiplex-transferred to the intermediate transfer body 9 for all colors to form a color visible image. Further, the color visible image is transferred to the transfer material 2 and the color visible image is fixed on the transfer material 2. The image forming unit that performs the above control includes a drum unit having a photosensitive drum 15, a primary charging unit having a contact charging roller 17, a cleaning unit, a developing unit, an intermediate transfer body 9, a paper cassette 1, and various rollers 3, 4, 5, and so on. It is composed of a paper feed unit including 7 and a transfer unit including a transfer roller 10 and a fixing unit 25.

[0068] The drum unit 13 integrally comprises a photosensitive drum (photoreceptor) 15 and a cleaner container 14 having a cleaning mechanism that also serves as a holder for the photosensitive drum 15. The drum unit 13 is detachably supported from the printer body, and the unit can be easily replaced according to the life of the photosensitive drum 15. The photosensitive drum 15 is formed by applying an organic photoconductor layer to the outer periphery of an aluminum cylinder, and is rotatably supported by a cleaner container 14. The photosensitive drum 15 rotates by transmitting the driving force of a drive motor (not shown), and the drive motor rotates the photosensitive drum 15 in the counterclockwise direction according to the image forming operation. An electrostatic latent image is formed by selectively exposing the surface of the photosensitive drum 15. In the scanner unit 30, the modulated laser beam is reflected by the polygon mirror that rotates in synchronization with the horizontal synchronization signal of the image signal by the motor 31a, and the photosensitive drum is irradiated through the lens 32 and the reflector 33.

[0069] The developing unit includes three color developing machines 20Y, 20M, and 20C that develop yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) in order to visualize the electrostatic latent image. , It has a configuration including one black developer 21B for developing black (B). The color developer 20Y, 20M, 20C and the black developer 21B include sleep 20YS, 20MS, 20CS and 21BS, and coating blades 20YB, 20MB, 20CB and 21BB that press-contact the outer circumferences of these sleep 20YS, 20MS, 20CS and 21BS, respectively. And are provided respectively. The three color developers 20Y, 20M, and 20C are equipped with coating rollers 20YR, 20MR, and 20CR.

[0070] Further, the black developer 21B is detachably attached to the printer body, and the color developers 20Y, 20M, and 20C are detachably attached to the developing rotary 23 that rotates around the rotating shaft 22. ing.

[0071] The sleep 21BS of the black developer 21B is arranged with a minute interval of, for example, about 300 μm with respect to the photosensitive drum 15. The black developer 21B conveys the toner by a feeding member built in the device, and also applies an electric charge to the toner by triboelectric charging so as to apply the toner to the outer circumference of the sleep 21BS rotating in the clockwise direction by the coating blade 21BB. Further, by applying a development bias to the sleep 21BS, the photosensitive drum 15 is developed according to the electrostatic latent image, and a visible image with black toner is formed on the photosensitive drum 15.

[0072] The three color developers 20Y, 20M, and 20C rotate with the rotation of the developing rotary 23 during image formation, and the predetermined sleeps 20YS, 20MS, and 20CS have a minute interval of about 300 μm with respect to the photosensitive drum 15. Will face each other. As a result, the predetermined color developers 20Y, 20M, and 20C stop at the development positions facing the photosensitive drum 15, and a visible image is created on the photosensitive drum 15.

[0073] When forming a color image, the developing rotary 23 rotates every one rotation of the intermediate transfer body 9, and the developing process is performed in the order of the yellow developer 20Y, the magenta developer 20M, the cyan developer 20C, and then the black developer 21B. Then, the intermediate transfer body 9 rotates four times to sequentially form a visible image with each of the yellow, magenta, cyan, and black toners, and as a result, a full-color visible image is formed on the intermediate transfer body 9.

[0074] The intermediate transfer body 9 is configured to come into contact with the photosensitive drum 15 and rotate as the photosensitive drum 15 rotates. The intermediate transfer body 9 rotates clockwise when a color image is formed, and the photosensitive drums 15 to 4 Receive multiple transcriptions of visible images. Further, the intermediate transfer body 9 simultaneously multiplex-transfers the color visible image on the intermediate transfer body 9 to the transfer material 2 by contacting the transfer roller 10 described later at the time of image formation and sandwiching and transporting the transfer material 2. On the outer periphery of the intermediate transfer body, there are a TOP sensor 9a and an RS sensor 9b for detecting the position of the intermediate transfer body 9 in the rotation direction, and a density sensor for detecting the density of the toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer body. 9c is placed.

[0075] The transfer roller 10 is provided with a transfer charger that is supported in contact with and detachable from the photosensitive drum 15, and is configured by winding a metal shaft with a medium-resistance foamed elastic body.

[0076] As shown by the solid line in FIG. 4, the transfer roller 10 is separated downward so as not to disturb the color visible image while the color visible image is multiplex transferred onto the intermediate transfer body 9. Then, after the color visible images of four colors are formed on the intermediate transfer body 9, the transfer roller 10 is shown by a cam member (not shown) at the timing of transferring the color visible images to the transfer material 2. Position it above the area indicated by. As a result, the transfer roller 10 is pressed against the intermediate transfer body 9 with a predetermined pressing force via the transfer material 2, and a bias voltage is applied to transfer the color visible image on the intermediate transfer material 9 to the transfer material 2.

[0077] The fixing portion 25 fixes the transferred color visible image while transporting the transfer 2, and for pressing the fixing roller 26 for heating the transfer material 2 and the transfer material 2 against the fixing roller 26. It is equipped with a pressure roller 27. The fixing roller 26 and the pressurizing roller 27 are formed in a hollow shape, and heaters 28 and 29 are built in, respectively. That is, the transfer material 2 holding the color visible image is conveyed by the fixing roller 26 and the pressure roller 27, and the toner is fixed on the surface by applying heat and pressure.

[0078] The transfer material 2 after fixing the visible image is then discharged to the paper ejection unit 37 by the paper ejection rollers 34, 35, 36 to end the image forming operation.

[0079] The cleaning means cleans the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 15 and the intermediate transfer body 9, and after transferring the visible image of the toner formed on the photosensitive drum 15 to the intermediate transfer body 9. The waste toner or the waste toner after transferring the four-color visible image created on the intermediate transfer body 9 to the transfer material 2 is stored in the cleaner container 14.

[0080] The transfer material (recording paper) 2 to be printed is taken out from the paper feed tray 1 by the paper feed roller 3 and conveyed so as to be sandwiched between the intermediate transfer body 9 and the transfer roller 10 to be a color toner. The image is recorded, and the toner image is fixed by passing through the fixing portion 25. In the case of single-sided printing, a transport path is formed so that the guide 38 guides the recording paper to the upper output sheet, but in the case of double-sided printing, a path is formed so as to guide the recording paper to the lower double-sided unit.

The recording paper guided to the double-sided unit is once fed to the lower part of the tray 1 (the transport path indicated by the alternate long and short dash line) by the transport roller 40, then transported in the reverse direction, and then fed to the double-sided tray 39. On the double-sided tray 39, the front and back sides of the paper are reversed from those placed on the paper feed tray 1, and the front and back sides are reversed in the transport direction. Double-sided printing can be performed by transferring and fixing the toner image again in this state.

[0082] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing of the page-based storage step in the generation of the spool file 303 in the spooler 302.

[0083] First, in step 501, the spooler 302 receives a print request from the application via the graphic engine 202. In the application, a dialog for inputting print settings as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed, and the print settings input from this dialog are passed from the printer driver to the spooler 303. The setting input dialog shown in FIG. 8 includes setting items such as 801 that determine the number of logical pages to be laid out on one physical page.

[0084] In step 502, the spooler 302 determines whether the received print request is a job start request, and if it is determined in step 502 that it is a job start request, the spooler 302 proceeds to step 503, and the spooler 302 performs intermediate data. Create a spool file 303 to temporarily store the data. Subsequently, in step 504, the spooler 302 notifies the spool file manager 304 of the progress of the printing process, and in the following step 505, the page number counter of the spooler 302 is initialized to 1. Here, the spool file manager 304 reads and stores job information, processing settings, and the like for the job for which printing has started from the spool file 303.

[0085] On the other hand, if it is determined in step 502 that the request is not a job start request, the process proceeds to step 506.

[0086] In step 506, the spooler 302 determines whether or not the received request is a job end request. If it is determined that the request is not a job end request, the process proceeds to step 507 to determine whether or not the page breaks. If it is determined in step 507 that the page breaks, the process proceeds to step 508 to notify the spool file manager 304 of the progress of the printing process. Then, the page counter is incremented, the page drawing file storing the intermediate code is closed, and the next page drawing file is generated.

If it is determined in step 507 that the received print request is not a page break, the process proceeds to step 509, and the spooler 302 prepares to write the intermediate code to the page drawing file.

Next, in step 510, in order to store the print request in the spool file 303, the spooler 302 performs a conversion process of the DDI function of the print request into an intermediate code. In step 511, the spooler 302 writes the print request (intermediate code) converted into the form that can be stored in step 510 to the page drawing file of the spool file 303. After that, the process returns to step 501 and accepts the print request from the application again. This series of processes from step 501 to step 511 is continued until a job end request (End Doc) is received from the application. At the same time, the spooler 302 acquires information such as machining settings stored in the DEVMODE structure from the printer driver 203 and stores it in the spool file 303 as a job setting file. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 506 that the print request from the application is the end of the job, all the print requests from the application are completed, so the process proceeds to step 512 and the progress of the print process to the spool file manager 304. Is notified and the process is completed.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the details of control between the spool file 303 generation process and the print data generation process described below in the spool file manager 304.

[0090] In step 601, the spool file manager 304 receives the progress notification of the printing process from the spooler 302 or the despooler 305.

[0091] In step 602, the spool file manager 304 determines if the progress notification is a print start notification from the spooler 302 notified in step 504 above, and if so, proceeds to step 603 for printing. The processing settings of are read from the spool file 303, and job management is started. On the other hand, in step 602, if it is not the print start notification from the spooler 302, the process proceeds to step 604, and the spool file manager 304 is notified of the progress notification by the print end notification of one logical page from the spooler 302 notified in the above-mentioned step 508. Determine if it exists. If it is a notification of the end of printing of one logical page, the process proceeds to step 605, and the logical page information for this logical page is stored. Then, in the following step 606, it is determined whether or not the printing of one physical page can be started for the n logical pages whose spool has ended at this point. Here, if printability is possible, the process proceeds to step 607, and the physical page number is determined from the logical number assigned to one physical page to be printed.

Regarding the calculation of the physical page, for example, when the processing setting is such that four logical pages are arranged on one physical page, the first physical page can be printed when the fourth logical page is spooled. It becomes the first physical page. Subsequently, the second physical page becomes printable when the eighth logical page is spooled.

Further, even if the total number of logical pages is not a multiple of the number of logical pages arranged on one physical page, the logical page to be arranged on one physical page can be determined by the spool end notification in step 512.

[0094] In step 608, the logical page numbers constituting the printable physical pages and information such as the physical page numbers are stored in the job output setting file (physical page information) in the format shown in FIG. It is saved in the file containing), and the Despula 305 is notified that the physical page information has been added for one physical page. Then return to step 601 and wait for the next notification. In this embodiment, the printing process can be performed even if all the spools of the print job are not finished when one page of print data, that is, the logical page constituting one physical page is spooled.

On the other hand, if the progress notification is not the print end notification of one logical page from the spooler 302 in step 604, the process proceeds to step 609, and the spool file manager 304 is notified from the spooler 302 in step 512 described above. Determine if it is a job end notification. Here, in the case of a job end notification, the process proceeds to step 606 described above. On the other hand, if it is not a job end notification, the process proceeds to step 610, and the spool file manager 304 determines whether or not the received notification is a print end notification of one physical page from the despooler 305. Here, in the case of the print end notification of one physical page, the process proceeds to step 612, and it is determined whether or not all the printing of the processing settings has been completed. When printing is completed, the process proceeds to step 612 to notify the displayer 305 of the end of printing. On the other hand, if it is determined that printing for the processing setting has not been completed, the process proceeds to 606 described above. The Despula 305 in this embodiment assumes one physical page as a unit for performing printing processing. In step 608, the information required to print one physical page is sequentially saved in a file and made into a reusable format. However, if reusability is not required, a high-speed medium such as shared memory is used. It may be an implementation format that saves speed and resources by overwriting one physical page one after another by using. Also, if the progress of the spool is faster than the progress of the despool, or if the despool starts after the spool of all pages ends, step 608 does not notify the page printability for each physical page. Depending on the progress on the despool side, it is possible to save the number of notifications by setting the notification content that multiple physical pages or all physical pages can be printed.

[0096] If it is determined in step 610 that the notification is not the print end notification of one physical page from the despooler 305, the process proceeds to step 613, and the spool file manager 304 determines whether or not the print end notification is from the despooler 305. .. If the notification is determined to be the print end notification from the displayer 305, the process proceeds to step 614, and the spool file manager 304 deletes the corresponding page drawing file of the spool file 303 and ends the process. However, on the other hand, if it is not the print end notification from the Despula 305, the process proceeds to step 615, other normal processing is performed, and the next notification is waited for.

[0097] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the details of the print data generation process in the Despula 305.

[0098] The Despuller 305 reads necessary information (page drawing file and job setting file) from the spool file 303 in response to a print request from the spool file manager 304, and generates print data. The method of transferring the generated print data to the printer is as described in FIG.

[0099] In the generation of print data, first, in step 701, the notification from the spool file manager 304 described above is input. In the following step 702, the Despula 305 determines whether the input notification is a job end notification, and if it is a job end notification, proceeds to step 703, sets an end flag, and proceeds to step 705. On the other hand, if it is not the job end notification in step 702, the process proceeds to step 704 to determine whether or not the print start request for one physical page in step 608 described above has been notified. If it is not determined as a start request in step 704, the process proceeds to step 710, other error processing is performed, and the process returns to step 701 to wait for the next notification. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 704 that the print start request for one physical page is made, the process proceeds to step 705, and the despooler 305 stores the ID of the printable physical page notified in step 704. In the following step 706, the despooler 305 determines whether or not all the pages of the physical page ID saved in step 705 have been printed. If all the physical pages have been processed here, the process proceeds to step 707, and it is determined whether or not the end flag is set in step 703 described above. If the end flag is set, it is considered that the job printing has been completed, and the spool file manager 304 is notified of the end of processing of the displayer 305 to end the processing. If it is determined in step 707 that the end flag is not set, the process returns to step 701 and waits for the next notification. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 706 that there are still printable physical pages, the process proceeds to step 708, and the despooler 305 reads the unprocessed physical page IDs in order from the saved physical page IDs and reads them out. The information necessary for generating the print data of the physical page corresponding to the physical page ID is read and the printing process is performed. In the print process, the graphic engine 202 can recognize the print request instruction stored in the spool file 303 in the displayer 305. Convert to format (GDI function) and transfer. For processing settings such as laying out multiple logical pages on one physical page (hereinafter referred to as N-page printing) as in this embodiment, conversion is performed in consideration of reduced arrangement in this step. When the necessary printing process is completed, the spool file manager 304 is notified of the end of printing data generation of one physical page in the following step 709. Then, the process returns to step 706, and the process is repeated until all the printable physical page IDs saved in step 705 are printed.

[0100] The above is the flow of printing processing using the dispatcher 301, the spooler 302, the spool file manager 304, and the despooler 305. By processing as described above, the application 201 is released from the printing process at the timing when the spooler 302 generates the intermediate code and stores it in the spool file 303, so that it takes less time than directly outputting to the printer driver 203. .. In addition, since the spool file 303 is temporarily saved as an intermediate file (page drawing file, job setting file) based on the print settings of the printer driver, the user can recognize the print preview that should actually be printed, and multiple prints can be made. It is possible to combine and rearrange the print jobs generated by the application of, and even when changing the print settings, it is possible to let the user do it without starting the application again and printing.

[0101] Here, in the print process using the spooler 302, the job output setting file is generated by the despooler 305 when a print request is made to the graphic engine 202, but the job output setting is also set when previewing, combining jobs, or the like. A file is generated. The job output setting file is equivalent to the job setting file in the case of a single job, and is generated based on a plurality of job setting information in the case of a combined job. Here, the job output configuration file will be described.

[0102] FIG. 10 shows an example of a job output setting file that stores information constituting a printable physical page generated by the spool file manager 304 in step 608. Field 1001 is an ID for identifying the job, and can be stored in the form of the name of the file that stores this information or the name of the shared memory. Field 1002 is job setting information. The job setting information includes the structure required to start printing the job for the graphic engine 202, N-page printing specification, additional drawing specification such as page frame, number of copies, finishing specification such as staple, etc. 1 Contains information that can only be set once for a job. The job setting information 1002 stores as much information as necessary according to the function for the job. Field 1003 is the number of physical pages of the job, and indicates that this number of physical page information is saved after this field. In this embodiment, since it is a method of notifying the number of physical pages that can be printed, it can be operated without this field. From this point onward, as many physical page information as the number of fields 1003 are stored from field 1004 to the end. The physical page information will be described with reference to FIG.

[0103] FIG. 11 is an example of the job setting information illustrated in the field 1002 of FIG. Field 1101 is the total number of physical pages. Field 1102 is the total number of logical pages. The fields 1101 and 1102 are used when printing the number of pages or the like as additional information in addition to the print data. If printing continues, both fields are provisional values, or the spool file manager 304 postpones the creation of printable physical page information until printing is complete. The field 1103 is the number of copies information that specifies how many copies of this print job are to be printed. Field 1104 is a specification for whether or not to print in units of copies in the case of setting to print multiple copies in field 1103. Field 1104 is finishing information such as staples, punches, and Z-folds, and is specified when there is a finisher on the printer body or outside. Field 1106 is additional print information, which stores additional information such as decorations such as page frames, additional information such as dates, user names, number of pages, watermark printing, and other information added to jobs. As the number of functions increases, the number of fields included in this job setting information also increases. For example, when double-sided printing is possible, a field for saving the double-sided printing specification is added.

FIG. 12 shows an example of the physical page information illustrated in field 1004 of FIG. The first field 1201 is the physical page number, which is a value used for managing the print order and printing additional physical page numbers. Field 1202 is the physical page setting information, and if the layout and color / monochrome settings can be specified for each physical page, the layout and color / monochrome settings are saved. Field 1203 is the number of logical pages allocated to this physical page, and when 4 pages are allocated to 1 physical page, an ID indicating printing of 4 or 4 pages is saved. After field 1204, the number of logical page information specified in field 1203 is saved. Depending on the number of pages printed from application 201, the actual number of page data may be less than the number of pages specified in 1203. In that case, special data indicating an empty page is saved in the logical page information to deal with it.

[0105] FIG. 13 is an example of physical page setting information of 1202. Field 1301 is the order in which the logical pages are arranged on the physical page, and in N-page printing, the specification of the order in which the logical pages are arranged on the physical page (upper left to horizontal, upper left to lower, etc.) is saved. Depending on the system, the setting of 1301 may be substituted by arranging the logical page information after field 1204 in the order according to the arrangement order instead of the page number order instead of the arrangement order. Field 1302 is information on the front and back of double-sided printing, and is used, for example, when aligning the binding margin on the front and back. Field 1303 specifies whether the page is a color page or a monochrome page. If the printer has a monochrome mode and a color mode, you want to print the color page in the color mode and the monochrome page in the monochrome mode in a document in which the color page and the monochrome page are mixed. This is the value used in cases. By having this information, it is possible to change the processing in the color printer on a page-by-page basis as the auto color mode. In other words, the color page rotates 4 times for the intermediate transfer body (intermediate transfer drum, intermediate transfer belt) or transfer body (transfer drum, transfer belt) for the number of device colors, YMCK rotates 4 times, and the monochrome page rotates 1 rotation only for black. This makes it possible to control transcription. Field 1304 is additional print information, which is used to print additional information such as the number of pages and the date on a physical page. Fields are also added to the physical page setting information according to the function of the system.

FIG. 14 shows an example of the logical page information shown in 1204. Field 1401 is the ID of the logical page, and this ID is used to refer to the intermediate code of the page drawing file corresponding to the logical page from spool file 303. It suffices if the intermediate code of the logical page can be accessed using this ID, and it may be a file or a memory pointer, or the intermediate code itself that constitutes the logical page may be included. Field 1402 is a logical page number and is used when printing the logical page number as additional information or as auxiliary information for the logical page ID. In the format information of field 1403, various setting items that can be specified for each logical page are saved. For example, additional print information such as a page frame and information of various settings specified for each logical page such as scaling ratio are saved. If necessary, it is also possible to save the attribute information for the logical page such as the color / monochrome information for each logical page. On the contrary, field 1403 is not necessary in the system where the setting is switched for each logical page and the attribute information for each logical page is not required.

[0107] The job output setting file is configured as described above. The job setting file is almost the same, and the print format (single-sided, double-sided, bookbinding printing), print layout (Nup, poster printing), additional information (watermark, date, user name addition), number of copies, paper size information Has as a job, and each physical page is composed of the arrangement order of logical pages, front side or back side of double-sided printing, color mode, and the like.

[0108] Further, FIG. 3 shows an example in which a setting change editor 307 having a job setting change function is arranged in addition to the extended system described so far. In this embodiment, the job settings are included in the job setting file for a single job and in the job output setting file shown in Fig. 10, and the page drawing in which the intermediate code is saved. Since it is independent of file 303, it is possible to change the job settings by recreating the job output configuration file. The setting change editor 307 realizes the job setting change function by recreating the job output setting file or rewriting a part of the job output setting file alone or in cooperation with the spool file manager 304.

[0109] FIG. 15 shows the details of the job setting change processing process in the setting change editor 307 in a flowchart.

[0110] First, in step 1501, the setting change editor reads the job setting file or the job output setting file. The job output setting file is the same file read by Previewer 305 and Despula 303. Next, the process proceeds to step 1502, and the read result is displayed to the user. In step 1503, the user interacts with the user on the user interface as shown in FIG. 18, and the setting contents are changed by specifying the menu described above. This step may be a batch format in which the settings are changed according to the contents of the setting changes written in a file or the like, instead of the interactive format. Next, the process proceeds to step 1504, and in step 1501, the setting change editor determines whether or not the initially read content and the currently specified setting content have been changed. If the settings match the changes, proceed to step 1505, generate a new job output configuration file, notify the spool file manager of the changes, and exit. If it is determined in step 1505 that there are no changes, the spool file manager is notified that there have been no changes and the process ends. A new job output configuration file is generated in this way, but when the "OK" button is selected on the user interface screen shown in Fig. 18, the new job output configuration file becomes valid and the old job output configuration file is created. The file is deleted. Also, if it is a job setting file for a single job, not a change from the job output setting file, save it without deleting it. When the "Restore to initial state" button is selected on the screen shown in FIG. 18, the new job output setting file is deleted, the old job output setting file becomes valid, and the old job output setting file is reflected in the display. In this embodiment, the setting change editor 307 is described as a separate module, but it may be merely a part of the user interface of the spool file manager 304. Without actually writing the changes to the job output configuration file with the configuration change editor 307,

[0111] FIG. 3 further illustrates an extended system that combines a plurality of print jobs and prints them as one print job, but an extension for despool previewing the combined jobs will be described.

[0112] Normally, a job setting file, which is an intermediate format spool file 303, is created for each job. In the case of a single job, the intermediate code of each logical page in the job file to be processed is read in order for processing, so the logical page ID in field 1401 is relative to indicate where each logical page is located in the file. Alternatively, it can be realized with an absolute offset. In the case of a join job, it is necessary to specify the spool file and the page information belonging to that job from the job ID in field 1401. In this embodiment, the spool file is specified by adding an ID that identifies the spool file to the logical page ID. In this case, the main change is only field 1401. This is because if the spool file can be identified, the reading of the page part can be processed by the same logic as the processing of a single job. In addition, when the spool file is saved in the form of a separate file for each logical page, there is also an implementation form in which the file name of the logical page is used as it is as the logical page ID of field 1401.

[0113] Next, an embodiment of the present invention in the above-mentioned printing system will be described.

[0114] According to the printing system described above, it is possible to print a plurality of documents printed from an arbitrary application as one job. This allows you to print N pages of multiple documents at once, staple, or bookbinding printing (two pages are printed on both sides by changing the page order so that it looks like a book when folded in half at the center). It is possible to make the layout of the above, and it is possible to obtain effective output results that cannot be obtained when printing documents one by one.

An example is shown in FIG. Job 1 is a job in which 1-page printing is specified in the layout settings for manuscript 1 (1 page of A4 landscape). Job 2 specifies to print 2 pages for manuscript 2 (A4 portrait 4 pages) in the layout settings. The layout settings can be specified in the page layout settings of the UI of the printer driver shown in Fig. 9 when printing the document.

As shown in FIG. 20, when these two jobs are combined with the layout settings of the respective jobs enabled, all of them are output to the physical paper of the A4 landscape, which is suitable for finishing processing such as staples. The print result will be. At this time, the small preview of the edit screen (Fig. 18) of the combined print job is as shown in Fig. 20, and with "Unify layout" in Fig. 18 unchecked, "Page layout" and "Job" "Boundary setting" is grayed out and cannot be selected. The "Detailed Settings" button is enabled, and you can change the print settings using the printer driver UI. If you use the printer driver UI to configure the finishing settings with the layout settings for each job enabled, using the UI in Figure 9 will allow the page layout settings to be applied to the combined job. It will be done, and the page layout settings will be unified. Therefore, in the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 21 (a) and 21 (b), when the printer driver UI is used under such conditions, the print settings and print quality mainly related to the layout including the page layout are used. The print settings related to finishing are limited to the non-changeable state (grayed out so that they cannot be selected), and as shown in Fig. 21 (b), the print settings related to finishing are controlled to be displayed on the display in the changeable state. To do.

[0117] FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing processing in the UI of the printer driver. Two jobs, job 1 and job 2, are stored in the window of spool file manager 304 shown in FIG. 16, and the setting change editor 307 shown in FIG. 18 is started to combine the two jobs. As shown in Figure 18, the staple settings can also be specified in this window. However, in order to make detailed settings for the staple position and other finishing settings, it is necessary to press the detailed setting button to start the printer driver UI and make the settings there. When the detailed setting button is pressed, the process shown in FIG. 22 starts.

[0118] In step 2201, the UI of the printer driver acquires the print setting information (DEVMODE) from the setting change editor 307. This print setting information includes the setting contents of all items set in the UI of the printer driver shown in FIG. The print setting information is saved by the spooler 302 as job setting information in the spool file 303 for each job, and the setting change editor 307 is displayed in the state where the logical page of job 1 is selected in the small preview of FIG. When "Detailed settings" is instructed, the print setting information of job 1 is read from the spool file 303 and provided to the printer driver UI. Similarly, if the "detailed setting" is instructed while the logical page of job 2 is selected in the small preview, the print setting information of job 2 is read from the spool file 303 and provided to the printer driver UI.

[0119] In step 2202, the item for which the setting change is restricted is acquired. The items to be restricted can be specified from the setting change editor 307 for each UI setting, but this printing system has the parameters shown in FIG. 23 so that it can be operated by a printer driver having a different UI. Specify the restriction information with. These restriction items can be combined and restricted by expressing them with 1 bit each.

[0120] As shown in FIG. 19, when printing each document, the UI is not particularly restricted, so the print setting change restriction information is 0. On the other hand, when the detailed setting button is pressed to specify the staple for the combined job shown in FIG. 20, the print setting change restriction information is 1. It may not be preferable to change the print quality settings for jobs that have been converted to intermediate codes. Therefore, in the case of FIG. 20, the flags 1 and 2 may be set and the print setting change restriction information may be set to 3.

[0121] In step 2203, the UI is displayed based on the print setting information received from the setting change editor 307, and from the model-specific information data (not shown) having the UI items to be restricted corresponding to the print setting change restriction information. Read and gray out the corresponding item in the displayed UI so that it cannot be changed. When flag 1 is set, as shown in Fig. 21 (a), the setting items related to the layout are grayed out so that they cannot be changed. When flag 2 is set, as shown in Fig. 21 (b), the setting items related to print quality are also made immutable. As shown in Fig. 21 (c), the setting items related to finishing can be changed, so staples and other settings can be made.

[0122] In step 2204, the print setting information received from the setting change editor 307 is updated according to the change contents made to the UI by the user, and the setting change editor 307 acquires this result. The setting change editor 307 updates the preview screen by the method described above based on the updated print setting information. However, for the layout-related settings, change the layout attributes of each job by applying the settings related to each job read from the physical page information of the job output configuration file shown in FIGS. 10 to 12. You can change the print setting information without having to.

FIG. 24 shows a flowchart of information acquisition processing for changing the preview from the print setting information.

[0124] In step 2401, the setting change editor 307 acquires the print setting information updated by the printer driver UI in step 2204. In step 2402, layout setting information (information on settings to be reflected in the preview) is extracted from the received print setting information. There are two types of this extracted information. One is information about the layout processing performed by the spool file manager 304 using the Despula 305 (hereinafter, layout processing on the host side), and the other is the layout processing performed on the printing device side such as a printer (hereinafter, printer). Information about layout processing on the side). To extract the layout setting information, it is possible to directly refer to the contents of the print setting information, but in order to make this printing system work with a printer driver that has the print setting information in a different format, This can be achieved by preparing an interface on the printer driver side that extracts layout setting information from the print setting information without directly referring to the contents of the print setting information. Figure 25 shows an example of the interface. The setting change editor 307 sets the information to be acquired to iMode with a flag (in this case, specify 3 because it acquires both host and printer information), and sets pDevMode, which is a pointer to print setting information including layout setting information. Then call the GetLayoutInfo function provided by the printer driver. The printer driver writes the information specified by iMode to the memory area specified by pInfo. By referring to the contents of the buffer specified by this pInfo, the setting change editor 307 can acquire the layout setting information. Based on the information related to the layout processing on the host side acquired here, the setting change editor 307 updates the physical page information and the like shown in FIGS. 10 to 12. If there is information about the layout processing on the printer side acquired here, prepare a data area with the same structure as the physical page information shown in FIGS. 10 to 12 for preview, and check on the host side.

[0125] In step 2403, a preview is performed based on the above two types of layout setting information.

[0126] When only the layout processing on the host side is specified, the spool file manager 304 performs the layout processing using the destroyer 305 via the physical page information shown in FIGS. 10 to 12 at the time of printing. Similarly, the previewer 306 and the setting change editor 307 can perform a preview of the layout process on the host side by executing the same process on the screen. When the layout process on the printer side is executed, the preview that reflects the layout process on both the host side and the printer side is displayed on the screen by performing the same preview based on the physical page information file for preview. It becomes possible to display.

[0127] Even if the present invention is applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), the present invention is a device (copier, printer, facsimile) composed of one device. It may be applied to a device, etc.).

[0128] An object of the present invention is a program in which a computer (or CPU or MPU) of a system or an apparatus stores a storage medium in which a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment is stored in the storage medium. It is also achieved by reading and executing the code.

[0129] In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the function of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

[0130] Examples of the storage medium for supplying the program code include a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a non-volatile memory card, a DVD, an MO, and a ROM. Etc. can be used.

[0131] Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the function of the above-described embodiment is realized, but also the OS (operating system) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. ) Etc. perform a part or all of the actual processing, and the processing may realize the function of the above-described embodiment.

[0132] Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted in the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the program code is written based on the instruction of the program code. It also includes a case where a function expansion board, a CPU provided in a function expansion unit, or the like performs a part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment.

[0133] Further, an object of the present invention is to install a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment on a computer (or CPU or MPU) of a system or an apparatus, and read and execute the installed program code. It is also achieved by doing.

[0134] In this case, the program code itself downloaded and installed by an Internet download service or the like realizes the function of the above-described embodiment, and the program code itself constitutes the present invention.

[0135] As described above, the present invention has an effect of making it possible to change the print settings for the combined jobs while enabling the print setting attributes specified for each job.

[0136] Further, the print setting change method / device / medium for a job according to the present invention has an effect of making it possible to limit the layout setting change.

[0137] Further, the method / apparatus / medium for changing the print setting for a job according to the present invention has an effect of making it possible to limit the change of the print quality setting.

[0138] As described above, in the present embodiment, the information processing device that generates the print data to be transmitted to the printing device, and is a spool that temporarily stores the data to be printed generated by the application in the intermediate code format. To edit the print setting information of the means, the setting information acquisition means for acquiring print setting information from the data in the intermediate code format temporarily stored by the spool means, and the data in the intermediate code format temporarily stored. The display control means has a display control means for controlling the display of the user interface, and a setting editing means for temporarily storing the print settings edited by the user interface in association with the data in the intermediate code format. By controlling the print settings that can be edited in the user interface to be restricted and displayed, it is possible to limit the change of the print settings that causes a problem in the print result, and the print settings can be changed without any problem even if the user does not have specialized knowledge. Can provide a user interface that allows

[0139] Further, the user further has a job joining means for generating one joining job by joining a plurality of temporarily stored print jobs in which data to be printed is converted into an intermediate code format in the spool means. Since the interface allows you to edit the print settings for the merged job, even if you combine the temporarily saved print jobs into one print job, you can edit the print settings of the merged job, which was not possible in the past. It is possible to provide the user with a user interface that enables the above.

[0140] Further, since the display control means controls the layout setting, which is a print setting for which editing is restricted, to display a second user interface for editing in units of combined jobs, the combined jobs are put together. It is possible to change the layout.

[0141] Further, since the print setting whose editing is restricted by the display control means includes the print setting related to the print quality, the change of the print quality is restricted even when the print setting is generated by the application to which the device-dependent data is sent. Therefore, there is no problem in the print result.

[0142] Further, the display control means further has a limit information acquisition means for acquiring the limit information of the print setting, and the display control means limits the print settings that can be edited in the user interface based on the limit information, so that the print job The restriction information can be changed for each, and the degree of freedom in the operation of changing the print settings after spooling is increased.

[0143] Further, since the print data generation means for generating the print data to be transmitted to the printing apparatus based on the data in the intermediate data format temporarily stored by the spool means is further provided, even if the print setting is changed. It is possible to generate print data without instructing printing from the application again.

[0144] Further, a drawing command generating means that converts data in an intermediate data format temporarily stored by the spool means into a drawing command that can be interpreted by the OS drawing means and outputs the data, and a drawing command generating means from the application via the OS drawing means. The print command received is passed to the spool means, and the print command received from the drawing command generation means via the drawing means of the OS further has a print command allocation means to be passed to the print data generation means. Since the application is released from the output processing faster and printed through the drawing means of the OS after editing, there is no need for a print data generation means and a special interface for outputting the edited data, and the print data generation means is The same ones as before can be used, and the effect of facilitating the development process can be obtained.

Further, since the drawing command is a GDI function, the print command is a DDI function, and the print data is a printer language, it can be used in an OS used as a standard.

As described above, the present invention is an information processing device that generates print data to be transmitted to a printing device, and the data to be printed generated by an application is transmitted to a printing device via a first user interface. A spool means that temporarily saves the print job together with the specified first print setting information in the intermediate code format, a setting information acquisition means that acquires print setting information from the intermediate code format data temporarily saved by the spool means, and a setting information acquisition means. The second print setting information of one print job generated by combining the plurality of print jobs stored in the spool means and the first print setting information of the print job stored in the spool means are edited. The display control means for controlling the display of the second user interface for printing and the second print setting information edited by the second user interface are temporarily stored in association with the data in the intermediate code format of the plurality of print jobs. It has a setting editing means for printing, and a job combining means for generating one combined print job based on the intermediate code format data of the plurality of print jobs and the edited second print setting information. When editing the second print setting information of the combined print job, the display control means edits the layout-related settings in the second user interface as non-editable setting items if the layout is not unified. Is limited and displayed, and when the first print setting information of the single print job stored in the spool means is edited, the settings related to the layout are controlled to be displayed as editable items in the second user interface. This makes it possible to edit the print settings of the combined print jobs from multiple print jobs, and if the layouts of the multiple print jobs are not unified, the settings related to the layout of the combined print jobs cannot be edited. This has the effect of limiting changes to print settings that cause inconsistencies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [Fig. 1] Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a print control device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a typical print system configuration of a host computer to which a printer is connected.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a print system that temporarily spools an intermediate code before converting a print command from an application into a printer control command.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing in the spooler 302.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing print control in the spool file manager 304.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing in the Despula 305.

FIG. 8 is an example of a print setting screen.

FIG. 9 is an example of a print spool setting screen.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a data format passed when a print request for a physical page is made from the spool file manager 304 to the despooler 305.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a data format passed when a print request for a physical page is made from the spool file manager 304 to the despooler 305.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a data format passed when a print request for a physical page is made from the spool file manager 304 to the despooler 305.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a data format passed when a print request for a physical page is made from the spool file manager 304 to the despooler 305.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a data format passed when a print request for a physical page is made from the spool file manager 304 to the despooler 305.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a setting change process in the setting change editor 307.

FIG. 16 is an example of a screen for displaying a list of print jobs spooled by the spool file manager 304.

FIG. 17 is an example of a screen of Previewer 306.

FIG. 18 is an example of a screen of the setting change editor 307.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating designation of a layout for a document.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating the combination of jobs having different layouts.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a UI of a printer driver for which layout setting changes are prohibited.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating processing in the UI of the printer driver.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating setting change restriction information.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating a process of reflecting the changed layout information in the preview.

FIG. 25 is an example of an interface for extracting layout setting information from print setting information.

[Code description] 1 CPU2 RAM3 ROM4 System bus 12 CPU13 ROM19 RAM3000 Host computer 1500 Printer