JP2000322501A - System and method for spool print processing - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a printing job paperless and to attain cost-down by providing a function for automatically generating print data registered as a spool fine into electronic business form, and a managing interface for the print data. SOLUTION: A printing request processing mechanism 51, which receives a printing request, transmits a print parameter 11 and print data 12 to a spool print processing mechanism 52. The spool print processing mechanism 52 outputs the print data 12 through a disk control mechanism 59 to a spool file storage area 81 of an external storage device 80 by a spool data output control part 522. A spool file shown by the spool file name of a spool managing record is read from the spool file storage area 81 through the disk control mechanism 59 by an electronic business form generation control part 561 and data are converted according to the format information of an electronic business form definition record and outputted through the disk control mechanism 59 to an electronic business form storage area 84 so that the electronic business form can be generated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a spool print processing system and a spool print processing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 10-283134 discloses a print processing apparatus for performing spool processing.
Discloses a spooling method with a print control function. The difference between the print processing apparatus of JP-A-10-283134 and the spool processing of the spooling method with the print control function of JP-A-05-011940 and the spool processing of the spool print processing system of the present invention will be described later. ,
This will be described in the section of [Effect of the Invention].

In a business application involving a printing process to a printer device, it is necessary to eliminate the operational complexity such as when the printer device is offline or the printer is in use due to running out of printer paper, power supply to the printer device, network failure, or the like. The purpose is to temporarily store print data in an external storage device such as a magnetic disk as spool data, register it as a print queue, and process the print queue when the printer device becomes available. It is general that printing business is operated by using it.

[0004] In recent years, with the adoption of an open platform, an existing business application has the same system as an open platform spreadsheet (spreadsheet) or groupware (groupware: software for performing work in a group using a plurality of computers). In many cases, systems are constructed by sharing resources on the system. The platform (platfo
rm) is the hardware or software (OS) that forms the basis of the computer system, and the open platform is the hardware or software (OS) that forms the basis of the computer system for building an open system. Platform.

[0005]

However, even in such a system, a print image of an existing job is converted into an electronic form and used from a spreadsheet or groupware to achieve a paperless operation, thereby reducing the printing cost of printing paper and the like and the printing cost. To reduce the cost of transporting printed materials,
Unless all print jobs can be made paperless or the printer device used in the print job to be converted to paperless cannot be specified, it is impossible to realize paperless without changing the system configuration or modifying some business applications. difficult.

In order to handle print data output as spool data from a spreadsheet, groupware, or the like, a target spool data is found from a plurality of spool data output by a print job using a spool print function. It is necessary to convert the difference in format and code system, and it is difficult to automatically generate data that can be handled by spreadsheets and groupware without the intervention of operators, etc., and management of spool data and generated data becomes complicated. The problem of becoming

An object of the present invention is to provide a spool print processing system and a spool print processing method which can solve these problems.

[0008]

When printing is performed directly from a core business application to a printer device, the printer device may be out of print paper, the printer device may be turned off, a network failure may cause the printer device to go offline, or the printer device may be in use. It is necessary to be aware of the operating status of the printer, and the printing job itself often depends on the operating status of the printer device. As a solution to this problem, print data from mission-critical applications is Use a spool print function that registers a print request to a specified printer device as a print queue after temporarily storing it as spool data in an external storage device, and processes the print queue when the printer device becomes usable. It is common that printing is operated in It is as described.

According to the present invention, in a system which provides a spool printing function as described above, print data registered as a spool file from a core business application to an external storage device is stored in a spreadsheet or a spreadsheet on an open platform. Equipped with an automatic generation function for electronic forms that can be handled by groupware, and a management interface for spool files and print data that has been converted to electronic forms. Spool data can be printed to a printer by arbitrarily specifying conditions for forming electronic forms. Equipped with a function to control requests, paperless printing can be easily achieved without modifying existing core business applications, reducing printing costs for printing paper, storage locations for printing results, and transportation costs for printed materials. Is a spool print processing system.

The present invention also provides an automatic generation step of automatically converting print data registered as a spool file from a core business application to an external storage device into an electronic form that can be handled by a spreadsheet or groupware on an open platform; Controlling the file and the electronic form of the print data, and controlling the print request of the spool data to the printer by arbitrarily specifying the conditions of the electronic form. This is a spool print processing method characterized by easily realizing a paperless printing job without correcting the print job, and reducing the printing cost of printing paper, the storage location of print results, and the transportation cost of printed matter.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a spool print processing system according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, information processing system 50
Is a print request processing mechanism 51, a spool management information control unit 5,
21, a spool print processing mechanism 52 including a spool data output control unit 522, and a print queue monitoring mechanism 53
A printer print control mechanism 54 including a print data processing section 541 and a printer apparatus control section 542; a system information processing mechanism 55; an electronic form generation control section 561; an electronic form management information control section 562; An electronic form processing mechanism 56 including a section 563, a memory 57 including spool management information 571, print queue management information 572, printer definition information 573, electronic form management information 574, and electronic form definition information 575, and a screen display control mechanism 58.
Disk control mechanism 59, display 60, printer 70, spool file storage area 81, spool management information storage area 82, printer definition information storage area 83, electronic form storage area 84, electronic form management information storage area 85 , And an external storage device 80 including an electronic form definition information storage area 86.

The spool file storage area 81 is an area for storing the print data 11 as spool data when the core business application 10 specifies spool printing, and the spool management information storage area 82 stores management information of the spool file. Is stored.

In the printer definition information storage area 83, definition information of printers that can be used in the information processing system 50 at the time of system introduction is stored for each logical printer name specified by a host application.

The electronic form storage area 84 stores print data output from the spool file storage area 81 and converted into an electronic form, and the electronic form management information storage area 85 stores the electronic form management information. Information is stored.

In the electronic form definition information storage area 86, the print data output to the spool file storage area 81 is converted into an electronic form by the definition information registration 41 of the electronic form management application 40 in advance. Are registered as electronic form definition information together with the print specification to the printer device.

The contents of the spool file management information storage area 82, the printer definition information storage area 83, the electronic form management information storage area 85, and the electronic form definition information storage area 86 are stored in the system information processing when the operation of the information processing system 40 is started. The spool management information 571 of the memory 57 and the printer definition information 57 in the memory 57 by the mechanism 55 via the disk control mechanism 59
3. Electronic form management information 574, electronic form definition information 575
The spool file management information 571, the electronic form management information 574, and the electronic form definition information 5
The latest state 75 is sent to the spool management information storage area 82 and the electronic form management information storage area 8 via the disk control mechanism 59.
5. Reflected in the electronic form definition information storage area 86.

FIG. 2 shows the spool management information 57 in the memory 57.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the contents of the first example;

Referring to FIG. 2, spool management information 571
When print data is output as a spool file to the spool file storage area 81, a spool management flag, a spool management number, a spool file name, a logical printer name of a printing destination, print designation to a printer device, and storage of a spool file A spool management record consisting of the specification is registered.

The spool management flag is "outputting" indicating that print data is being output to the spool file storage area 81, "waiting for print request" indicating that a print request to the printer is possible, and print queue management. Either “print requested” indicating that the print queue has been registered in the information 572, “printed” indicating that printing has been performed on the printer device, or “unused” indicating that the spool management record is invalid. It is in that state.

The spool management number is the spool management information 57
In order to uniquely identify the spool management record in step 1, each spool management record is allocated in advance.

The print report name is a logical identifier assigned to the print data, and the spool file name is a file name when the print data is stored in the spool file storage area 81 of the external storage device 80. Unless otherwise specified in the business application, a value that can be uniquely identified in the information processing system 50 is set by the spool management information control 521.

FIG. 3 shows the print queue management information 5 in the memory 57.
FIG. 72 is a diagram showing the contents of 72.

Referring to FIG. 3, print queue management information 57
2, when a print request is issued for print data stored in the spool file storage area 81 of the external storage device 80, a print queue including a status control flag B and a print queue management number is registered for each print request. You.

The status control flag B indicates "printing wait" indicating that a print queue to the printer has been registered, "printing" indicating that printing is being performed, and "printed" indicating that printing has been completed. The print queue is in a state of “unused” indicating that the print queue is invalid. In the initial state, all print queues that can be registered are “unused”.

Valid print queues whose print queue management flags are other than “unused” are those whose status flag A of the report management record in the spool management information 571 is “print requested”, “printing”, and “printed”. The print queue and the report management record are associated with each other when the contents of the print queue management number and the report management number match.

FIG. 4 shows the printer definition information 57 in the memory 57.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the contents of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 4, for each printer defined in information processing system 50, a logical printer name, which is an identifier when printing is designated from main business application 10 to printer 70, and a printer print control mechanism 5
4, a device address for specifying an actual printer device is stored.

FIG. 5 shows the electronic form management information 57 in the memory 57.
4 is a diagram showing the contents of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 5, electronic form management information 574
Is stored in the electronic form management information storage area 85
, And is registered as an electronic form management record including an electronic form management flag, an electronic form name, and a data file name where electronic form data is stored.

The electronic form management flag is "in use" for a valid electronic form management record, and "unused" for an invalid electronic form management record.

FIG. 6 shows the electronic form definition information 57 in the memory 57.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the contents of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 6, electronic form definition information 575
Is the name of the spool file or print report to be converted into an electronic form, specifies printing to a printer device, specifies storage of the spool file converted into an electronic form, the record length and the number of fields that are the code conversion method when generating an electronic form And an electronic form definition record including format information such as field lengths, delimiters between fields, and the like.

In the print designation to the printer, "continuation processing" is designated if the conventional processing is performed according to the print parameter designation after the generation of the electronic form, and the print report does not need to be printed after the generation of the electronic form. In this case, "paperless" is specified.

Next, the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 will be described.

In the printing job by the core business application 10, the logical printer name of the printer device 70 to be printed, either direct printing (direct printing to the printer device) or spool printing (printing using the spool printing function). A print request based on the print parameters 11 and the print data 12 specifying the print method and the like is sent to the print request processing mechanism 51.

At this time, when the spool printing is designated, the print data 11 is
Parameters required for spool print processing, including a print report name, which is an identifier arbitrarily assigned to the printer, a spool file name, which is a storage destination in the external storage device 80, a print specification after storing the spool file, and a storage specification of the spool file. Further, it is added to the print parameter.

However, the print report name, spool file name, print designation, and save designation can be omitted, and if omitted, the print report name and spool file name automatically have unique values in the information processing system 50. With respect to the assigned print designation and save designation, a print request to the printer is generated after the spool file is output (automatic printing), and is deleted (no save designation) after printing.

First, an outline of the processing in direct printing will be briefly described.

The print request processing mechanism 5 that has received the print request
In 1, a logical printer name is designated for the printer device 70 indicated by the logical printer name included in the print parameters so as to enable data reception, and the printer print control mechanism 5 is designated.
4 to send an open command.

In the printer print control mechanism 54 that has received the open command, the printer device control unit 542 acquires the device address of the printer device 70 from the printer definition information 573 of the memory 57 based on the logical printer name. Then, it is checked whether or not the printer device 70 is being used by another application, and if not, the printer device 70 is set to an exclusive state by disabling the reception of an open command from another application, and the open command ends normally. To the print request processing mechanism 51.

At this time, if the printer 70 is already in use by another application, or if the printer is off-line due to running out of printer paper, power to the printer is turned off, or a network failure, etc., the printer in use / printer not ready state is set. The print request processing mechanism 51 is notified of the indicated status.

The core business application 10 receiving the status indicating "printer in use / printer not ready" performs necessary error processing and issues a print request again.

When the open command ends normally, the print request processing mechanism 51 starts print processing by transmitting the print data 11 to the printer print control mechanism 54.

In the printer print control mechanism 54 receiving the print data 11, the print data processing unit 541 adds control information necessary for printing to the printer to the print data 11, thereby transmitting the data to the print printer 70. I do.

In the print request processing mechanism 51, the print data 11
Is completed, a logical printer name is designated to release the printer device 70, and a close command is transmitted to the printer print control mechanism 54.

Upon receiving the close command, the printer print control mechanism 54 releases the exclusion of the printer device 70 and makes it possible to receive an open command from another application.

After transmitting the close command to the printer print control mechanism 54, the print request processing mechanism 51 notifies the core business application 10 that the print processing has been completed, and ends the processing.

As described above, in the direct printing, the throughput of the business application involving the printing process such as when the printer is out of paper, when the printer is turned off, or when the printer is off-line due to a network failure, or when the printer is in use, causes the operation status of the printer to be changed. In addition to being affected by the print data, the print data for the printer device is not stored in an external storage device, so that not only the print data cannot be used by other applications, but also the paperlessness of the existing business by converting the print image into an electronic form There is a problem of difficulty.

Next, a spool print processing system according to the present invention will be described.

The print request processing mechanism 5 that has received the print request
In 1, since the print parameters 11 are analyzed and spool printing is designated, the print parameters 11 and print data 12 are transmitted to the spool print processing mechanism 52.

In the spool print processing mechanism 52 that has received the print parameters 11 and the print data 12, the spool management record whose spool management flag is "unused" in the spool management information 571 of the memory 57 by the spool management information control unit 521. By setting the spool control flag to "outputting", the spool file name, the print designation, the save designation, and the logical printer name to the values of the received print parameters 11, the information is registered as a valid spool management record. The data output control unit 522 outputs the print data 12 to the spool file storage area 81 of the external storage device 80 via the disk control mechanism 59.

At this time, if there is no spool management record in which the spool management flag is "unused", the status indicates that the spool file management information 571 has overflown. If there is no free space in the spool file storage area 81, The status indicating that the spool file storage area 81 has overflowed is returned to the print request processing module 51, respectively.

When the spool processing mechanism 52 finishes storing the print data in the spool file storage area 81, the spool management information control unit 521 changes the spool management flag A of the spool management record from "outputting" to "waiting for print request". Then, the electronic form processing mechanism 56 is notified that the print data indicated by the spool management number has been stored in the external storage device 80.

In the electronic form processing mechanism 56 that has received the storage notification in the spool file storage area 81, the print report name of the spool management record registered in the spool management information 571 or the print data indicated by the spool file name is If none of the electronic form definition records registered in the electronic form definition information 575 match, a status indicating that generation as an electronic form is undefined is returned to the spool print processing mechanism 52.

In the spool print processing mechanism 52 that has received the undefined status, if the print designation of the spool print parameter added to the print parameter 12 is “automatic printing”, the spool management information A print queue whose print queue management flag is "unused" in the print queue management information 572 is used, "print wait" is set in the print queue management flag, and the spool management number of the spool management record is set in the print queue management number. As a result, the print queue is registered as a print queue in a print processing wait state, and the spool management flag of the spool management record registered in the spool management information 571 is set to “wait for print request”.
To “Print Requested”.

If "automatic printing" is not specified, the spool management record of the spool management information 571 is not updated, and a status indicating that the spool processing has been completed normally is returned to the print request processing unit 51, thereby achieving the conventional technology. The same spool print processing is performed.

The print queue management information 57 in the memory 57
If the print queue management flag “2” is not found in the print queue registration in No. 2, a status indicating that the print queue management information has overflowed is returned to the print processing requesting mechanism 51.

On the other hand, the print report name or spool file name of the print data indicated by the spool management number is
If any one of the electronic form definition records registered in the electronic form definition information 575 of the memory 57 matches, the electronic form generation control unit 561 transfers the spool file indicated by the spool file name of the spool management record from the spool file storage area 81 to the disk control unit. The data is read via the mechanism 59, data is converted in accordance with the format information of the electronic form definition record, and output to the electronic form storage area 84 via the disk control mechanism 59 to generate an electronic form.

After the generation of the electronic form, the electronic form management information control unit 562 uses the electronic form management record in which the electronic form management flag of the electronic form management record is “unused” in the electronic form management information 574, and The electronic form valid by setting the form management flag to “in use”, setting the print report name of the spool management record as the electronic form name, and setting the file name uniquely identified by the information processing system 50 as the output destination data file name It is registered as a management record, and notifies the spool print processing mechanism 52 of the completion of generation of the electronic form and the designation of printing to the printer defined in the electronic form definition record of the electronic form definition information 575.

In the spool print processing mechanism 52 which has received the generation of the electronic form and the print designation to the printer, if the print designation of the electronic form definition record registered in the electronic form definition information 573 is "continuation processing", Processing is performed in accordance with the print parameters 12 received from the core business application 10, and a status indicating that the spool print processing has been completed normally is returned to the print request processing mechanism 51.

If the print specification of the electronic form definition record is “paperless”, the print queue management information 572 even if “automatic print” is specified in the print specification of the parameters necessary for the spool print processing added to the print parameters. No print queue is registered, the spool management flag of the spool management record is changed to "printed", and a status indicating that the spool print processing has been completed normally is returned to the print request processing mechanism 51.

At this time, if the storage of the spool file is specified by the storage specification of the electronic form definition record, the spool file storage area of the external storage device 70 is set even if the storage of the spool parameter added to the print parameter is not specified. The spool file stored in is not deleted.

The print request processing mechanism 51 which has received the status indicating that the spool print processing has been completed normally,
The end of the spool printing is notified to the core business application 10 and the process is terminated.

Next, the processing of the print queue output to the spool file storage area 81 and registered in the print queue management information 572 will be described.

The print queue monitoring mechanism 53 periodically checks the print queue registered in the print queue management information 572 of the memory 57 and finds a print queue whose print queue management flag is “waiting for printing”. , The print queue management flag is changed to “printing”, and the spool management record indicated by the print queue management number is changed to the spool management information 5.
72, the logical printer name of the printer device 70 is designated, and an open command is transmitted to the printer print control mechanism 54.

In the printer print control mechanism 54 which has received the open command, the printer control unit 542 obtains the printer device address of the printer device 70 from the printer definition information 573 of the memory 57 based on the logical printer name. Then, similarly to the direct print designation, it is checked whether or not the printer device 70 is being used by another application, and if it is not being used, the printer device 70 is set to an exclusive state by disabling reception of an open command from another application, The print queue monitoring mechanism 53 is notified of a status indicating that the open command has been completed normally.

At this time, the printer 70 is already in use by another application, or the printer is off-line due to running out of paper in the printer, the power of the printer is cut off, a network failure, etc., indicating that the printer is in use / printer not ready. When the status is received from the printer control mechanism 54, the print queue monitoring mechanism 53 returns the print queue management flag to "printing wait", and performs processing for the remaining print queues.

Upon receiving the normal end of the open command, the print queue monitoring mechanism 53 converts the file indicated by the spool file name of the spool management record from the spool file storage area 81 of the external storage device 80 via the disk control mechanism 59 as print data. The printing process is started by reading and transmitting the print data to the printer print control mechanism 54.

In the printer print control mechanism 54 which has received the print data from the print queue monitoring mechanism 53, the print data processing section 541 adds control information necessary for printing to the printer to the received print data.
Send data to.

When the transmission of all print data is completed, the print queue monitoring mechanism 53 specifies a logical printer name and transmits a close command to the printer print control mechanism 54 in order to release the printer 70.

The printer print control mechanism 54 that has received the close command releases the exclusive state from the print queue monitoring mechanism 53 by setting the printer 70 to a state in which an open command from another application can be received.

After transmitting the close command, the print queue monitoring mechanism 53 changes the print queue management flag of the print queue registered in the print queue management information 572 from “printing” to “printed”, and indicates the print queue management number. The spool print processing mechanism 52 is notified that the processing of the print queue has been completed.

In the spool print processing mechanism 52 receiving the end of the processing of the print queue indicated by the print queue management number, the spool management information control unit 521 controls the spool management information 5.
The spool management flag of the spool management record registered in 71 is changed from “print requested” to “printed”, and if storage of the spool file is not specified, the spool file is stored in the spool file storage area 81 of the external storage device 80. By deleting the spool file indicated by the spool file name in the spool management record via the disk control mechanism 59, the spool print processing of the print data 11 transmitted from the core business application 10 is completed.

Therefore, the core business application 10
Even if "Automatic printing" is specified in the print specification of the print parameter in the spool print request from the user, unless "Continuation processing" is specified in the print specification of the electronic form definition record registered in the electronic form definition information 575 However, the print queue is not registered in the print queue management information 572, the spool print process is performed in the paperless mode, and as a result, the print is not performed on the printer.

When the overflow of the spool file management information 571, the overflow of the spool file storage area 81, and the overflow of the print queue management information 572 are received from the print request processing mechanism 51, the essential business application 10 needs an error recovery process. Will be performed.

Finally, regarding the spool file registered in the external storage and the management interface of the print data in the electronic form, the spool management information application 3
0, an outline of processing in the electronic form management application 40 will be briefly described.

Spool list display processing 31 of information processing system 50 by spool status display application 30
Then, the spool management information control unit 521 of the spool print processing mechanism 52 causes the spool management information 57
A valid spool management record registered in No. 1 is taken out, and a list of printed print reports, print reports waiting for print requests, and print reports undergoing print processing are displayed on the display 60 via the screen display control mechanism 58.

In the data display 32, the file indicated by the spool file name of the spool management record registered in the spool management information 571 by the spool management information control unit 521 is transferred to the spool file in the external storage device 80 via the disk control mechanism 59. Read from the storage area 81,
The contents of the print data are displayed on the display 60 via the screen display control mechanism 58.

In the spool print 33, the spool management record of the spool management information 571 is extracted by the spool management information control unit 521 for the specified print report, and the print queue management flag in the print queue management information 572 becomes “unused”. By setting the print queue that is in use and setting the print queue management flag to “printing wait” and setting the print queue management number to the spool management number of the spool management record, it is registered as a print queue waiting for print processing, and spooling the spool management record By changing the management flag to “print requested”, a print request is issued to the printer device.

As a result, even if the print data is generated as an electronic form and defined as “paperless” in the print specification, the print data can be printed on the printer by using the spool print 31 of the spool information management application 30. It can be done later.

In the electronic form list display 42 by the electronic form management application 40, the valid electronic form management registered in the electronic form management information 574 of the memory 57 by the electronic form management information control unit 562 of the electronic form processing mechanism 56. The record is displayed on the display 60 via the screen display control mechanism 58.

In the electronic form data display 43, an electronic form management record having the electronic form name specified by the electronic form management information control unit of the electronic form processing mechanism 56 is extracted from the electronic form management information 574 in the memory 57. The file indicated by the data file name of the electronic form management record is read from the electronic form storage area 84 via the disk control mechanism 59, and displayed on the display 60 by the screen display control mechanism 58.

[0085]

As described above, in the spool print processing system and spool print processing method according to the present invention, the print data stored as a spool file in an external storage device such as a magnetic disk can be used for an existing core business application. It has an automatic generation function of electronic form data that can be used from spreadsheets and groupware of information processing business applications without modification or system configuration change, and electronic form management information and data management means The present invention is effective in easily realizing a paperless printing operation and reducing printing costs, storage locations of printing results, and transportation costs of printed materials.

The spool processing in the spooling system with the print control function according to the present invention and the spooling method with the print control function disclosed in the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-011940, and
The basic processing outline of storing print data as a print queue in an external storage device and performing print processing is a general technique, but the spool processing system and the spool processing method according to the present invention register print data as a print queue. Rather than having a feature, a function to automatically convert print data registered as a print queue into data that can be handled by groupware or spreadsheets such as personal computers and accumulate, and an interface to display the accumulated data Provides a paperless system without modifying applications, reducing the storage space for print results (paper) printed by the printer device, transport costs, and costs for printing paper and toner. And

The print processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 10-283134 is characterized in that the print order of print data registered as a print queue in an external device is prioritized and processed under specific conditions. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 05-011940 discloses a spooling method with a print control function. For print data registered as a print queue in an external device, spool information is added to print data by adding control information specific to the printing device to be printed. The processing provides a more detailed print control interface, and is considerably different from the paperless function provided by the spool print processing system according to the present invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a spool print processing system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the contents of spool management information 571 in a memory 57 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is print queue management information 572 in a memory 57 of FIG. 1;
FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the contents of printer definition information 573 in a memory 57 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the contents of electronic form management information 574 in a memory 57 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the contents of electronic form definition information 575 in a memory 57 of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 50 information processing system 60 display 70 printer device 80 external storage device

Claims (6)

[Claims] A means for automatically generating print data registered as spool data from a core business application to an external storage device as electronic form-formatted print data that can be handled by a spreadsheet or groupware on an open platform; Means for managing the spool data and the print data in the form of an electronic form, and easily realizes paperless printing without modifying the core business application. 2. A means for automatically converting print data registered as spool data from a core business application to an external storage device into electronic form-formatted print data that can be handled by a spreadsheet or groupware on an open platform. And a means for displaying the print data in the form of electronic form, and easily realizes paperless printing without modifying the core business application. 3. The print data from the core business application is temporarily stored in an external storage device as spool data, and then a print request to a designated printer device is registered as a print queue, and the printer device becomes usable. In a spool print processing system having a spool print unit that performs print queue processing at a time, print data registered as spool data from the core business application to the external storage device is spreadsheet or groupware on an open platform. Means for automatically generating electronic form-formatted print data that can be handled; a management interface for managing the spool data and the electronic form-formatted print data; and a printer for spool data by designating the conditions of the electronic form. Means for controlling a print request to an apparatus, wherein a paperless printing operation is easily realized without modifying the core business application. 4. Automatically generating print data registered as spool data from a core business application to an external storage device as electronic form-formatted print data that can be handled by a spreadsheet or groupware on an open platform; And a step of managing the spool data and the print data in the form of an electronic form, wherein a paperless printing operation is easily realized without modifying the core business application. 5. A step of automatically converting print data registered as spool data from a core business application to an external storage device into electronic form-formatted print data that can be handled by a spreadsheet or groupware on an open platform. And a step of displaying the print data converted into an electronic form, and easily realizing a paperless print job without modifying the core business application. 6. A print request from a core business application is temporarily stored in an external storage device as spool data, and then a print request to a designated printer device is registered as a print queue, and the printer device becomes usable. A spool print processing method having a spool print step of performing print queue processing at a point in time, wherein print data registered as spool data from the core business application to the external storage device is spreadsheet or groupware on an open platform. Automatically generating the electronic form as print data that can be handled, and managing the spool data and the electronic form print data, and specifying the conditions of the electronic form to send the spool data to a printer device. Control print requests Spool print processing system, characterized in that to easily achieve paperless printing operations without a step, modifying the mission-critical applications.