JP4612917B2 - Control method, information processing apparatus, and computer-readable recording medium - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a control method, an information processing apparatus, and a computer-readable recording medium, and more particularly to a control method, an information processing apparatus, and a computer-readable recording medium in a system including information processing such as a personal computer and a printer. is there.

  Conventionally, when printing data such as a document or an image edited by an application program for document editing or image editing, the image to be printed is displayed on the screen in a layout to be printed before actually printing on paper. A print preview function that displays and presents to a user is known.

  The user can re-edit until an ideal layout is realized by checking an image to be printed using the print preview function.

  However, the print preview function provided by the application program cannot display an image reflecting various printing conditions that can be set by the printer driver as a preview image. For example, even if the binding margin of paper is specified by the printer driver, the print preview function by the application program cannot reflect them on the preview image and display them. For this reason, the layout in the preview image and the layout in the actually printed image are different, and the meaning of the print preview is lost.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example, and an object thereof is to provide an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a computer-readable recording medium for displaying a print preview image reflecting print settings. .

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises the following arrangement. That is, a control method for an information processing apparatus including a designation unit, a determination unit, and a display unit,
A designating step in which the designating unit designates bookbinding printing for generating a book by overlapping a plurality of printed sheets and folding them in half;
When the bookbinding printing is designated, the determining means is arranged in a page order of a plurality of pages to be printed by turning a book page obtained by overlapping a plurality of printed sheets and folding them in half. A determination step for determining the output order of a plurality of pages;
A display for displaying a preview image of a book spread obtained by stacking a plurality of printed sheets and folding them in half when the bookbinding printing is designated and the display of the preview image is instructed. A process,
Wherein Unlike output order determined in said determining step and the display order of the page displayed in the display step, in said display step includes a feature that you determine the display order of the plurality of pages according to the direction of spread Control method for information processing apparatus.

According to the present invention, Ru can display a preview image print settings are reflected.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a print control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a typical printing system of a host computer to which a printer is connected. 1 is a block diagram illustrating 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. It is a figure explaining the printer in this invention. 3 is a flowchart showing processing in a spooler 302. 5 is a flowchart illustrating print control in a spool file manager 304. 5 is a flowchart showing processing in a despooler 305. It is an example of a print setting screen. It is an example of a print spool setting screen. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data format that is passed when a spooling page manager 304 makes a physical page print request to the despooler 305. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data format that is passed when a spooling page manager 304 makes a physical page print request to the despooler 305. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data format that is passed when a spooling page manager 304 makes a physical page print request to the despooler 305. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data format that is passed when a spooling page manager 304 makes a physical page print request to the despooler 305. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data format that is passed when a spooling page manager 304 makes a physical page print request to the despooler 305. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing setting change processing in a setting change editor 307; 6 is an example of a screen that displays a list of print jobs spooled by the spool file manager 304; It is an example of the screen of the previewer 306. It is an example of the screen of the setting change editor 307. 6 is a flowchart when data created by an application program or the like is printed by specifying a store. FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing details of step S1903 in FIG. 19. 10 is a flowchart of a processing procedure when an edit button or a combination button is operated in a state where a job is selected from a job list. 10 is a flowchart of a procedure for displaying a preview screen when an edit button or a combination button is operated in a state where a job is selected from a job list. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of step S2203 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of step S2204 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of step S2205 of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a job list. It is a flowchart which shows the page template acquisition procedure at the time of bookbinding printing. It is a flowchart which shows the page number drawing procedure at the time of bookbinding printing. It is a flowchart which shows the logical page drawing procedure at the time of bookbinding printing. It is a figure which shows the example of a preview screen in the case of left opening. It is a figure which shows the example of a preview image when the setting of a whole page unit is designated. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a preview image when setting for printing N sheets is designated. It is a figure of the example of the screen which designates 3 sheets as a bookbinding unit. It is a figure which shows the example of the preview screen of the case of a right opening (A) and the case of an upper opening (B). It is a figure which shows the example of the preview screen at the time of cover sheet insertion. It is a figure which shows the example of the preview screen at the time of cover sheet insertion. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen which designates middle insertion. It is a figure which shows the example of the page template for medium insertion.

  Hereinafter, examples suitable for applying the present invention will be described.

<Configuration of printer control system>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a printer control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As long as the function of the present invention is executed, a system in which processing is performed by being connected via a network such as a LAN or WAN, whether it is a single device or a system composed of a plurality of devices. Even so, the present invention can be applied.

  In the figure, the host computer 3000 performs document processing in which graphics, images, characters, tables (including spreadsheets), etc. are mixed based on the document processing program stored in the ROM 3 program ROM or the external memory 11. The CPU 1 includes a CPU 1 to be executed, and the CPU 1 comprehensively controls each device connected to the system bus 4. 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 stores the above-mentioned document processing. Font data to be used is stored, and various data to be used when the document processing is performed is stored in the data ROM of the ROM 3 or the external memory 11. The RAM 2 functions as a main memory and work area for the CPU 1.

  A keyboard controller (KBC) 5 controls key input from a keyboard 9 or a pointing device (not shown). A CRT controller (CRTC) 6 controls display on a CRT display (CRT) 10. A disk controller (DKC) 7 is a hard disk (HD), flexible disk (FD), etc. that stores a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, edit files, a printer control command generation program (hereinafter referred to as a printer driver), and the like. The access to the external memory 11 is controlled. The printer controller (PRTC) 8 is connected to the printer 1500 via the bidirectional interface (interface) 21 and executes communication control processing with the printer 1500.

  The CPU 1 executes, for example, an outline font rasterization process on the display information RAM set on the RAM 2 to enable WYSIWYG on the CRT 10. Further, the CPU 1 opens various windows registered based on commands instructed by a mouse cursor (not shown) on the CRT 10 and executes various data processing. When executing printing, the user opens a window related to print settings, and can set the print processing method for the printer driver, including printer settings and print mode selection.

  The printer 1500 is controlled by the CPU 12. The printer CPU 12 outputs an image as output information to a printing unit (printer engine) 17 connected to the system bus 15 based on a control program stored in the program ROM of the ROM 13 or a control program stored in the external memory 14. Output a signal. Further, the control program of the CPU 12 and the like are stored in the program ROM of the ROM 13. The font ROM of the ROM 13 stores font data used when generating the output information. In the case of a printer that does not have the external memory 14 such as a hard disk in the data ROM of the ROM 13, the data is stored on the host computer. Information to be used is stored.

  The CPU 12 can communicate with the host computer via the input unit 18 and can notify the host computer 3000 of information in the printer. The RAM 19 functions as a main memory of the CPU 12, a work area, or the like, and is configured to be able to expand the memory capacity by an optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). The RAM 19 is used as an output information expansion area, environment data storage area, NVRAM, and the like. Access to the above-described external memory 14 such as a hard disk (HD) or IC card is controlled by a 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. Reference numeral 18 denotes an operation panel described above, on which switches for operation, LED indicators, and the like are arranged.

  The external memory 14 described above is not limited to one, and a plurality of external memories 14 are provided. 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. May be. Further, an NVRAM (not shown) may be provided to store printer mode setting information from the operation panel 1501.

  FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of typical print processing in a host computer to which a printing apparatus such as a printer is directly connected or connected via a network. The application 201, the graphic engine 202, the printer driver 203, and the system spooler 204 exist as files stored in the external memory 11, and when executed, are loaded into the RAM 2 and executed by the OS and modules using the modules. It is a program module. 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, a CD-ROM (not shown), or a network (not shown). The application 201 stored in the external memory 11 is loaded into the RAM 2 and executed. When printing is performed from the application 201 to the printer 1500, the graphic that is similarly loaded into the RAM 2 and executable. Output (drawing) is performed using the engine 202.

  The graphic engine 202 similarly loads the printer driver 203 prepared for each printing apparatus from the external memory 11 to the RAM 2, and sets the output of the application 201 in 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. Based on the DDI function received from the graphic engine 202, the printer driver 203 converts it into a control command that can be recognized by the printer, for example, PDL (Page Description Language). The converted printer control command is output as print data to the printer 1500 via the interface 21 via the system spooler 204 loaded into the RAM 2 by the OS.

  In addition to the printing system comprising the printer and host computer shown in FIG. 2, the printing system of this embodiment has a configuration in which print data from an application is temporarily spooled with intermediate code data as shown in FIG.

<Printing-related software module in this embodiment>
FIG. 3 is an extension of the system shown in FIG. 2 and has a configuration in which a spool file 303 including an intermediate code is temporarily generated when a print command is sent from the graphic engine 202 to the printer driver 203. In the system shown in FIG. 2, the application 201 is released from the printing process when the printer driver 203 has converted all print commands from the graphic engine 202 into printer control commands. On the other hand, in the system shown in FIG. 3, the spooler 302 converts all print commands into intermediate code data and outputs the intermediate code data to the spool file 303. The latter usually requires less time. 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 enlargement / reduction or printing by reducing a plurality of pages into one page with respect to print data from the application.

  For these purposes, the system of FIG. 2 has been extended to spool with intermediate code data as shown in FIG. In order to process the print data, settings are normally made from a 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.

  Details of FIG. 3 will be described below. As shown in the figure, in this expanded processing method, the dispatcher 301 receives a DDI function that is a print command from the graphic engine 202. When the print command (DDI function) received by the dispatcher 301 from the graphic engine 202 is based on the print command (GDI function) issued from the application 201 to the graphic engine 202, the dispatcher 301 stores it in the external memory 11. The spooler 302 is loaded into the RAM 2 and a print command (DDI function) is sent to the spooler 302 instead of the printer driver 203.

  The spooler 302 analyzes the received print command, converts it into an intermediate code for each page, and outputs it to the spool file 303. The spool file of intermediate code stored in units of pages is called a page drawing file (PDF). Further, the spooler 302 acquires processing settings (Nup, double-sided, staple, color / monochrome designation, etc.) relating to print data set for the printer driver 203 from the printer driver 203, and creates a spool file 303 as a job unit file. Save to. The setting file stored in this time unit is called a job setting file (sometimes simply called SDF: Spool Description File). This job setting file will be described later. The spool file 303 is generated as a file on the external memory 11, but may be generated on the RAM 2. Further, the spooler 302 loads the spool file manager 304 stored in the external memory 11 into the RAM 2 and notifies the spool file manager 304 of the generation status of the spool file 303. Thereafter, the spool file manager 304 determines whether printing can be performed in accordance with the contents of the processing settings relating to the print data stored in the spool file 303.

  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 the RAM 2, and is described in the spool file 303 with respect to the despooler 305. The intermediate code page drawing file is instructed to be printed.

  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 processing setting information included in the spool file 303, regenerates the GDI function, and converts the GDI function again via the graphic engine 202. Output.

  If the print command (DDI function) received by the dispatcher 301 from the graphic engine 202 is based on the print command (GDI function) issued from the despooler 305 to the graphic engine 202, the dispatcher 301 is not the spooler 302. A print command is sent to the printer driver 203.

  The printer driver 203 generates a printer control command including a page description language 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.

  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 preview, print setting change, and combination of a plurality of jobs.

  In order to perform print preview, print setting change, and combination of a plurality of jobs, the user first designates “Store” in the pull-down menu 901 which is a means for performing “designation of output destination” in the printer driver properties shown in FIG. There is a need to. If you want to see only the preview, you can also select “Preview” as the destination designation.

  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 the Windows (registered trademark) OS). The structure includes, for example, a setting for whether to store in the spool file manager 304 during the processing settings included in the spool file 303. The spool file manager 304 reads the processing settings via the printer driver, If 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, and the spool file manager window screen pops up as shown in FIG. Listed jobs are displayed. FIG. 16 shows an example in which four jobs are spooled, and a job can be operated by pressing a menu bar or a menu icon immediately below it. The number of operations on the menu bar and menu icon is the same. The operation type is “Print” with the job selected, “Save and Print” to leave the spool file of the intermediate code as it is, and “Job Save” to see the output preview of the job considering the print settings. "Preview", "Delete" to delete the intermediate code spool file, "Duplicate" to generate a copy of the intermediate code spool file, "Combine" to combine multiple intermediate code spool file jobs into one job “Divide” to divide the combined job into a plurality of original jobs, “job editing” to change the print settings (layout settings, finishing settings, etc.) of a single job or a combined job, Move to the top ”, move the print order of a job forward by one,“ move up ”, and set the print order of a job by one There are eleven operations more "move down one", "last movement" of the printing order of a job to last.

  When a preview of a single job or a combined job is designated on the spool file manager window screen (FIG. 16), the previewer 306 stored in the external memory 11 is loaded into the RAM 2 and is sent to the previewer 306. Instruct to perform the preview processing of the intermediate code job described in the spool file 303.

(Previewer)
The previewer 306 sequentially reads the page drawing file (PDF) of the intermediate code included in the spool file 303, processes it according to the content of the processing setting information included in the job setting file (SDF) stored in the spool file 303, and generates a graphic. A GDI function is output to the engine 202, and the graphic engine 202 outputs drawing data to its own client area, thereby enabling output on the screen.

  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 content of the processing setting included in the spool file 303 and outputting using the graphic engine 202, similarly to the despooler 305. It becomes. In this way, the processing settings set in the printer driver are stored in the spool file 303 as a job setting file, and the data of the page drawing file is processed and output based on the job setting file, so that the actual drawing data is obtained. If printing is specified, and Nup (N page logical pages are reduced to one physical page) is specified, if double-sided printing is specified, bookbinding printing is specified. If a stamp is designated, a print preview close to that output by the printer can be provided to the user accordingly. Note that the preview function of application software such as conventional document creation is drawn based on the page settings in the application, so the print settings in the printer driver are not reflected and the actual printout 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. The window 306 is closed, and control is transferred to the spool file manager window screen (FIG. 16).

  If the user performs printing in accordance with the contents displayed by the previewer 306, the spool file manager 304 issues a print request by instructing “print” or “save and print”. As described above, the print request is processed by the despooler 305 based on the job setting file to generate a GDI function and is transmitted to the graphic engine 202, and a print command is sent to the printer driver 203 via the dispatcher 301. And printing is performed.

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

  As a realization method, it is possible to set a job designated as “Store” in FIG. The spool file manager 304 is popped up by the same flow, and the spooled jobs are displayed in a list. When “job editing” is specified on the window screen (FIG. 16) of the spool file manager and a setting change instruction is given, the setting change editor 307 stored in the external memory 11 is loaded into the RAM 2 and the setting change editor is loaded. Instruct 307 to display the current or default processing settings. Then, a job setting screen as shown in FIG. 18 is displayed.

  The setting change editor 307 acquires the job setting file of the job for which “job editing” is specified from the spool file 303, and based on the setting items specified in the job setting file, the default value of the job setting screen in FIG. To change. In the example shown in FIG. 18, the job setting file of the job designated as “job editing” designates the number of copies: 1 copy, the printing method: single-sided, the stapling: none, the layout: 1 page / sheet, and the like. Become.

  This setting change editor 307 also processes the page drawing file of the intermediate code included in the spool file 303 according to the contents of the processing setting included in the job setting file stored in the spool file 303, and uses the graphic engine 202 to manage its own client. By outputting to the area, it is possible to output a small preview on the screen shown in FIG.

  Here, it is possible to change or modify the contents of the processing settings included in the job setting file stored in the spool file 303. At this time, items that can be set in the printer driver 203 may be held 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, the fraction, printing method (single-sided, double-sided, bookbinding printing), stapling (saddle finisher, etc.), page layout, arrangement order, etc. can be specified. Most of the items that can be specified in the driver can be reset. However, it is not permitted to change settings relating to print quality such as resolution and graphic mode.

  The change item changed here is authenticated in accordance with the authentication request on the setting change editor 307, and control is transferred to the spool file manager 304. If the change is certified, the print setting change is saved, but instead of saving it in the original job setting file, a new job output setting file used for job editing etc. is generated and saved Will do. Details of the job output setting file will be described later with reference to FIG.

  If the user performs printing according to the setting change contents as in the confirmation by 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 command is sent to the printer driver 203 via the dispatcher 301, and printing is executed.

  In the spool file manager window screen (FIG. 16), a plurality of print jobs can be combined and designated to be printed as one print job. This is also premised on a job for which “store” is specified as the output destination in the printer driver properties shown in FIG.

  When the user combines print jobs, first, the printer 201 is called from the application 201, and a store is selected from the user interface as shown in FIG. As described above, the selection is stored in the spool file 303, and the spool file manager window screen (FIG. 16) pops up as shown in FIG. Spooled jobs are listed on the spool file manager window. By performing the same operation from the application 201, a list of a plurality of jobs is 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 the RAM 2, and the first job on the list or the setting change editor 307 is loaded. Instructs to display the default processing settings. Then, a 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.

  The 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 processing setting included in the job setting information stored in the spool file 303, and all the specified jobs as combined jobs are processed. By outputting the job to its own client area using the graphic engine 202, output on the screen is performed. At that time, a small preview of all jobs selected in the preview area shown in FIG. 18 is possible. When generating a combined job, a job output setting file is generated by expanding the job setting file of each single job. This job output setting file is also generated when job editing is performed. One job output setting file can be generated for one job, and one job is also generated for a combined job.

  Here, each job can be displayed with the processing settings before combining, or can be displayed after being changed and corrected to a unified processing setting as a combined job. At this time, items that can be set in the printer driver 203 may be held in the user interface on the setting change editor 307 or the user interface of the printer driver 203 itself may be called.

  As described above, the combined job and the changed change item are authenticated in accordance with the authentication request on the setting change editor 307, and control is transferred to the spool file manager 304. As a result of these operations, the plurality of previously selected jobs are displayed as one combined job on the spool file manager window.

  If the user performs printing according to the setting change contents as in the confirmation by 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 command is sent to the printer driver 203 via the dispatcher 301, and printing is executed.

<Configuration of laser beam printer>
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.

  This printer forms an electrostatic latent image by scanning the photosensitive drum 15 with a polygon mirror 31 with laser light modulated with image data for each color obtained based on print data input from the host computer 3000. Then, the electrostatic latent image is developed with toner to obtain a visible image, and this is transferred to the intermediate transfer body 9 for all colors to form a color visible image. Further, this 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, 7, a transfer unit including the transfer roller 10, and a fixing unit 25.

  The drum unit 13 is configured integrally with a photosensitive drum (photoconductor) 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 with respect to the printer main body, and can be easily replaced in accordance with the life of the photosensitive drum 15. The photosensitive drum 15 is configured by applying an organic photoconductor layer to the outer periphery of an aluminum cylinder, and is rotatably supported by the cleaner container 14. The photosensitive drum 15 rotates when a driving force of a driving motor (not shown) is transmitted. The driving motor rotates the photosensitive drum 15 in a counterclockwise direction according to an 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 light is reflected by a polygon mirror that rotates in synchronization with the horizontal synchronizing signal of the image signal by the motor 31 a, and irradiates the photosensitive drum through the lens 32 and the reflecting mirror 33.

  The developing unit includes three color developing units 20Y, 20M, and 20C for developing yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C), and black ( And a single black developing device 21B that performs the development of B). The color developing units 20Y, 20M, and 20C and the black developing unit 21B include a sleep 20YS, 20MS, 20CS, and 21BS, and coating blades 20YB, 20MB, 20CB, and 21BB that are in pressure contact with the outer periphery of each of the sleeps 20YS, 20MS, 20CS, and 21BS. And are provided respectively. The three color developing devices 20Y, 20M, and 20C are provided with application rollers 20YR, 20MR, and 20CR.

  The black developing unit 21B is detachably attached to the printer main body, and the color developing units 20Y, 20M, and 20C are detachably attached to the developing rotary 23 that rotates about the rotation shaft 22, respectively.

  The sleep 21BS of the black developing device 21B is arranged with a minute interval of about 300 μm, for example, with respect to the photosensitive drum 15. The black developing device 21B conveys the toner by a feeding member built in the device, and imparts a charge to the toner by frictional charging so as to be applied to the outer periphery of the sleep 21BS rotating in the clockwise direction by the coating blade 21BB. Further, by applying a developing bias to the sleep 21BS, the photosensitive drum 15 is developed according to the electrostatic latent image, and a visible image is formed on the photosensitive drum 15 with black toner.

  The three color developing devices 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 developing devices 20Y, 20M, and 20C are stopped at the developing position facing the photosensitive drum 15, and a visible image is created on the photosensitive drum 15.

  At the time of color image formation, the developing rotary 23 rotates every rotation of the intermediate transfer member 9, and the developing process is performed in the order of the yellow developing device 20Y, the magenta developing device 20M, the cyan developing device 20C, and then the black developing device 21B. The transfer body 9 rotates four times to sequentially form visible images with yellow, magenta, cyan, and black toners. As a result, a full-color visible image is formed on the intermediate transfer body 9.

  The intermediate transfer member 9 is configured to contact the photosensitive drum 15 and rotate as the photosensitive drum 15 rotates. The intermediate transfer member 9 rotates clockwise when forming a color image and is visible four times from the photosensitive drum 15. Receive multiple images. Further, the intermediate transfer member 9 simultaneously transfers a color visible image on the intermediate transfer member 9 onto the transfer material 2 by contacting a transfer roller 10 described later at the time of image formation and sandwiching and conveying the transfer material 2. At the outer periphery of the intermediate transfer member, a TOP sensor 9a and an RS sensor 9b for detecting the position in the rotation direction of the intermediate transfer member 9, and a density sensor for detecting the density of the toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer member. 9c is arranged.

  The transfer roller 10 includes a transfer charger that is supported so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the photosensitive drum 15, and is configured by winding a metal shaft with a medium resistance foamed elastic body.

  As shown by a solid line in FIG. 4, the transfer roller 10 is separated downward so as not to disturb the color visible image while the multiple color visible image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer body 9. After the four color visible images are formed on the intermediate transfer body 9, the transfer roller 10 is shown by a dotted line in the drawing by a cam member (not shown) in accordance with the timing of transferring the color visible image to the transfer material 2. It is located above indicated by. As a result, the transfer roller 10 is pressed against the intermediate transfer member 9 via the transfer material 2 with a predetermined pressing force, and a bias voltage is applied to transfer the color visible image on the intermediate transfer member 9 to the transfer material 2.

  The fixing unit 25 fixes the transferred color visible image while conveying the transfer 2, and a fixing roller 26 for heating the transfer material 2 and a pressure roller for pressing the transfer material 2 against the fixing roller 26. 27. The fixing roller 26 and the pressure roller 27 are formed in a hollow shape, and heaters 28 and 29 are incorporated therein, 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.

  The transfer material 2 after fixing the visible image is then discharged to the paper discharge unit 37 by the paper discharge rollers 34, 35, and 36, and the image forming operation is completed.

  The cleaning unit cleans the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 15 and the intermediate transfer member 9, and waste toner or toner after the visible image formed on the photosensitive drum 15 is transferred to the intermediate transfer member 9. The waste toner after transferring the four color visible images created on the intermediate transfer member 9 to the transfer material 2 is stored in the cleaner container 14.

  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 member 9 and the transfer roller 10 to record a color toner image. Then, the toner image passes through the fixing unit 25 and is fixed. In the case of single-sided printing, the conveyance path is formed so that the guide 38 guides the recording paper to the upper paper discharge unit, but for double-sided printing, the path is formed so as to guide to the lower-side duplex unit.

  The recording sheet guided to the duplex unit is once fed to the lower part of the tray 1 (conveying path indicated by a two-dot chain line) by the conveying roller 40 and then conveyed in the reverse direction, and is sent to the duplex tray 39. On the double-sided tray 39, the front and back sides of the sheet placed on the sheet feeding tray 1 are reversed, and the front and back are reversed in the transport direction. Double-sided printing can be performed by transferring and fixing the toner image again in this state.

<Storage processing of intermediate data for printing>
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the process of the page unit storage step in the generation of the spool file 303 in the spooler 302.

  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 to the spooler 303 from the printer driver. The setting input dialog shown in FIG. 8 includes setting items such as 801 for determining the number of logical pages to be laid out on one physical page.

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

  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.

  In step 506, the spooler 302 determines whether the received request is a job end request. If it is determined that the request is not a job end request, the process advances to step 507 to determine whether or not a page break is required. If it is determined in step 507 that the page breaks, the process advances to step 508 to notify the spool file manager 304 of the progress of the printing process. Then, the page number 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 for writing 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 converts the print request into an intermediate code of the DDI function. In step 511, the spooler 302 writes the print request (intermediate code) converted in the form that can be stored in step 510 to the page drawing file of the spool file 303. Thereafter, the process returns to step 501 to accept a print request from the application again. The series of processing from step 501 to step 511 is continued until a job end request (End Doc) is received from the application. Further, the spooler 302 simultaneously acquires information such as processing settings stored in the DEVMODE structure from the printer driver 203 and stores the information 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 complete, so the process proceeds to step 512 and the print processing progress to the spool file manager 304. And finish the process.

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

  In step 601, the spool file manager 304 receives a print processing progress notification from the spooler 302 or the despooler 305.

  In step 602, the spool file manager 304 determines whether or not the progress notification is a print start notification from the spooler 302 notified in the above-described step 504. If so, the process proceeds to step 603 and print processing settings are made. Is read from the spool file 303 and job management is started. On the other hand, if the print start notification is not received from the spooler 302 in step 602, the process advances to step 604, and the spool file manager 304 is notified of the completion of printing of one logical page from the spooler 302 notified in step 508 described above. Determine if there is. If it is a notification of printing completion of one logical page, the process proceeds to step 605 to store logical page information for this logical page. In the subsequent step 606, it is determined whether printing of one physical page can be started with respect to the n logical pages that have been spooled at this time. If printing is possible, the process proceeds to step 607, where 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 in one physical page, the first physical page can be printed when the fourth logical page is spooled, and the first physical page is printed. It becomes a page. Subsequently, the second physical page can be printed when the eighth logical page is spooled.

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

  In step 608, in the format shown in FIG. 10, information such as the logical page number constituting the printable physical page and the physical page number is set in the job output setting file (file including physical page information). ) And the despooler 305 is notified that one physical page has been added. Thereafter, the process returns to step 601 to wait for the next notification. In the present embodiment, print processing can be performed even when all the print jobs are not spooled when one page of print data, that is, a logical page constituting one physical page is spooled.

  On the other hand, if the progress notification is not a print end notification of one logical page from the spooler 302 in step 604, the process advances to step 609, and the spool file manager 304 notifies the job end from the spooler 302 notified in step 512 described above. It is determined whether or not. If it is 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 advances 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. If it is a print end notification for one physical page, the process proceeds to step 612, where it is determined whether all of the processing settings have been printed. When printing is completed, the process proceeds to step 612, and the despooler 305 is notified of printing completion. On the other hand, if it is determined that printing for the processing setting has not yet been completed, the processing proceeds to step 606 described above. The despooler 305 in this embodiment assumes the number of one physical page as a unit for performing print processing. In step 608, information necessary for printing one physical page is sequentially stored in a file so that it can be reused. If reuse is unnecessary, a high-speed medium such as a shared memory is used. May be implemented in such a manner that one physical page is overwritten one after another to save speed and resources. Further, when the spool progress is faster than the despooling progress or when the despooling is started after the spooling of all the pages is completed, it is not notified in step 608 that page printing is possible for each physical page. Depending on the progress on the despooling side, it is possible to save the number of notifications by setting the notification contents that a plurality of physical pages or all physical pages can be printed.

  If it is determined in step 610 that the notification is not a print end notification for one physical page from the despooler 305, the process advances to step 613, and the spool file manager 304 determines whether it is a print end notification from the despooler 305. If it is determined that the notification is a print end notification from the despooler 305, the process advances to step 614, and the spool file manager 304 deletes the corresponding page drawing file in the spool file 303 and ends the process. However, if the print end notification is not received from the despooler 305, the process proceeds to step 615 to perform other normal processing and wait for the next notification.

<Output spool file>
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing details of the print data generation process in the despooler 305.

  In response to a print request from the spool file manager 304, the despooler 305 reads necessary information (page drawing file and job setting file) from the spool file 303 and generates print data. A method of transferring the generated print data to the printer is as described with reference to FIG.

  In the generation of print data, first, in step 701, the notification from the spool file manager 304 is input. In the subsequent step 702, the despooler 305 determines whether or not the input notification is a job end notification. If it is a job end notification, the despooler 305 proceeds to step 703, sets an end flag, and proceeds to step 705. On the other hand, if it is not a job end notification in step 702, the process proceeds to step 704, where it is determined whether a print start request for one physical page in step 608 is notified. If it is not determined to be 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 is for one physical page, the process proceeds to step 705, and the despooler 305 stores the ID of the physical page that can be printed that is notified in step 704. In the subsequent step 706, the despooler 305 determines whether or not the print processing has been completed for all the pages of the physical page ID stored in step 705. If all the physical pages have been processed, the process proceeds to step 707 to determine whether the end flag is set in step 703 described above. If the end flag is set, it is considered that the printing of the job has been completed, the processing end notification of the despooler 305 is notified to the spool file manager 304, and the processing ends. If it is determined in step 707 that the end flag is not set, the process returns to step 701 to wait 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 sequentially reads and reads the unprocessed physical page ID from the stored physical page ID. The information necessary for generating the print data of the physical page corresponding to the physical page ID is read and printing processing is performed. In the printing process, the print request command stored in the spool file 303 is converted into a format (GDI function) that can be recognized by the graphic engine 202 in the despooler 305 and transferred. For the processing setting (hereinafter, N-page printing) in which a plurality of logical pages are laid out on one physical page as in the present embodiment, conversion is performed in consideration of the reduced arrangement in this step. When the necessary print processing is completed, in step 709, the spool file manager 304 is notified of the end of print data generation for one physical page. Then, the process returns to step 706 again, and the process is repeated until print processing is performed for all printable physical page IDs stored in step 705.

  The above is the flow of print processing using the dispatcher 301, the spooler 302, the spool file manager 304, and the despooler 305. By performing the 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 outputting directly to the printer driver 203. . Further, since the spool file 303 is temporarily stored as an intermediate file (page drawing file, job setting file) based on the print settings of the printer driver, the print preview to be actually printed can be recognized by the user, The print jobs generated by the application can be combined and rearranged, and even when the print setting is changed, the user can perform the operation without starting up the application again and performing printing.

  Here, in print processing using the spooler 302, a job output setting file is generated when the despooler 305 makes a print request to the graphic engine 202, but a job output setting file is also generated when previewing or combining jobs. Is done. 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 setting file will be described.

<Configuration of job output setting file>
FIG. 10 shows an example of a job output setting file that stores information constituting the printable physical page generated by the spool file manager 304 in step 608. A field 1001 is an ID for identifying a job, and can be held in the form of the name of a file storing this information or the name of a shared memory. A field 1002 is job setting information. The job setting information includes a structure necessary for starting printing of a job to the graphic engine 202, designation of N page printing, designation of additional drawing such as a page frame, finishing designation such as the number of copies, stapling, etc. Information that can only be set for one job is included. The job setting information 1002 stores as much information as necessary according to the function for the job. A field 1003 is the number of physical pages of the job, and indicates that the physical page information corresponding to this number is stored after this field. In this embodiment, since the number of printable physical pages is notified, the operation is possible without this field. Thereafter, the physical page information is stored in the number of fields 1003 from the field 1004 to the end. The physical page information will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 11 is an example of job setting information illustrated in the field 1002 of FIG. A field 1101 is the total number of physical pages. A field 1102 is the total number of logical pages. The fields 1101 and 1102 are used when printing the number of pages as additional information in addition to the print data. When printing continues, both fields are provisional values, or the spool file manager 304 postpones the creation of printable physical page information until printing ends. A field 1103 is copy number information for designating how many copies of the print job are to be printed. A field 1104 is used to specify whether or not printing is performed in units of copies when the field 1103 is set to print a plurality of copies. A field 1104 is finishing information such as stapling, punching, Z-folding, and the like, and is specified when a finisher exists in the printer main body or outside. A field 1106 is additional print information, which stores information added to the job, such as decorations such as page frames, additional information such as dates, user names, number of pages, watermark printing, and the like. As the number of functions increases, the number of fields included in the job setting information also increases. For example, when double-sided printing is possible, a field for storing designation of double-sided printing is added.

  FIG. 12 shows an example of physical page information shown in the field 1004 of FIG. The first field 1201 is a physical page number, which is a value used when managing the printing order and additionally printing the physical page number. A field 1202 is physical page setting information. When the layout and color / monochrome can be designated for each physical page, the layout and color / monochrome settings are stored. A field 1203 is the number of logical pages allocated to this physical page. When four pages are allocated to one physical page, an ID indicating 4 or 4-page printing is stored. From the field 1204 onward, logical page information is stored for the number specified in the field 1203. Depending on the number of pages printed from the application 201, the actual number of page data may be smaller than the number of pages specified in 1203. In that case, special data indicating an empty page is stored in the logical page information.

  FIG. 13 shows an example of physical page setting information 1202. A field 1301 stores the designation of the order in which the logical pages are arranged on the physical page by printing N pages in the order of arrangement of the logical pages on the physical page (from top left to side, top left to bottom, etc.). Depending on the system, the setting of 1301 may be substituted by arranging the logical page information after the field 1204 in the order corresponding to the arrangement order instead of the page number order instead of the arrangement order. A field 1302 is front / back information for double-sided printing, and is used, for example, when aligning binding margins on the front and back. Field 1303 specifies whether the page is a color page or a monochrome page. If the printer has monochrome mode and color mode, you want to print a color page in color mode and a monochrome page in monochrome mode for a document that contains both color and monochrome pages. It is a value used for cases. By having this information, it is possible to change the processing by the color printer for each page as the auto color mode. In other words, the color page rotates four times if the intermediate transfer member (intermediate transfer drum, intermediate transfer belt) or the transfer member (transfer drum, transfer belt) is YMCK for the number of device colors, and the monochrome page rotates only one time for black. This makes it possible to control the transfer. A field 1304 is additional print information, and is used when additional information such as the number of pages and date is printed on a physical page. In the physical page setting information, a field is added according to the function of the system.

  FIG. 14 shows an example of logical page information indicated by 1204. A field 1401 is an ID of a logical page. By using this ID, an intermediate code of a page drawing file corresponding to the logical page is referred to from the spool file 303. It is only necessary that the intermediate code of the logical page can be accessed using this ID, and the intermediate code itself constituting the logical page may be included even if it is a file or a memory pointer. A field 1402 is a logical page number, and is used for printing the logical page number as additional information or for auxiliary information of the logical page ID. The format information in the field 1403 stores various setting items that can be specified in units of logical pages. For example, additional print information such as a page frame and various setting information designated for each logical page such as an enlargement / reduction ratio are stored. If necessary, attribute information for a logical page such as color / monochrome information for each logical page can be stored. On the other hand, the field 1403 is unnecessary in a system in which the setting is switched in units of logical pages or attribute information in units of logical pages is unnecessary.

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

  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 setting contents include a single page job, a job setting file, and a combined job, which is included in the job output setting file shown in FIG. Since it is independent of the file 303, the job setting can be changed by recreating the job output setting file. The setting change editor 307 alone or in cooperation with the spool file manager 304 realizes a job setting change function by rewriting a job output setting file or rewriting a part thereof.

<Setting change processing procedure>
FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing details of the job setting change processing process in the setting change editor 307.

  First, in step 1501, the setting change editor reads a job setting file or a job output setting file. The job output setting file is the same file that the previewer 305 and despooler 303 read. In step 1502, the read result is displayed to the user. In step 1503, a dialogue with the user is performed 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 that changes according to the contents of the setting change written in a file or the like instead of the interactive format. In step 1504, the setting change editor determines whether or not there is a change between the first read content and the currently specified setting content. If the setting contents have been changed, the process proceeds to step 1505 to generate a new job output setting file, notifies the spool file manager of the change, and ends. If it is determined in step 1505 that there is no change, the spool file manager is notified that there has been no change, and the process ends. In this way, a new job output setting file is generated. When the “OK” button is selected on the user interface screen in FIG. 18, the new job output setting file becomes valid, and the old job output setting file is displayed. The file is deleted. Also, instead of changing from the job output setting file, the job setting file of a single job is stored without being deleted. If the “return to initial state” button is selected on the screen of FIG. 18, the new job output setting file is deleted, and the old job output setting file becomes valid and is reflected in the display. In this embodiment, the setting change editor 307 is described as a separate module, but it may be a part of the user interface of the spool file manager 304. The setting change editor 307 does not actually write the changed contents to the job output setting file, but only notifies the spool file manager 304 of only the setting change contents. An implementation format performed on the manager 304 side may be used.

  FIG. 3 further illustrates an extended system that combines a plurality of print jobs and prints them as a single print job. The extension for despooling and previewing a combined job will be described.

Normally, the intermediate format spool file 303 is created for each job. In the case of a single job, since the intermediate code of each logical page in the processing target job file is read in order and processed, the logical page ID in the field 1401 is a relative position indicating where each logical page is located in the file. Alternatively, it can be realized with an absolute offset. In the case of a combined job, it is necessary to specify the spool file and page information belonging to the job from the job ID in the field 1401. In this embodiment, the spool file is specified by adding an ID for identifying the spool file to the logical page ID. In this case, only the field 1401 is the main change. This is because if the spool file can be identified, the page portion can be read with the same logic as the processing of a single job. In addition, when the spool file is stored in the form of a separate file for each logical page, there is a mounting form in which the logical page file name is used as the logical page ID of the field 1401 as it is.
<Preview display during store processing>
Next, a procedure for displaying a print preview image based on a print job stored as intermediate data and a job output setting file as described above will be described. When printing from the application program, the user designates the print job store process as shown in FIG. 9 to create a print job defined by the intermediate code and the job output setting file according to the procedure shown in FIG. be able to. As a result, a list of currently stored print jobs is displayed as shown in FIG. The user specifies the desired print job from the print job list, edits the print job, combines it, adds the print job to the already combined job, changes the order of the print jobs within the combined job, etc. Can be operated.

  At this time, if a print job is specified from the list and an operation such as editing or combining is specified from a button or menu, a print preview screen for the entire job as shown in FIG. 18 is displayed. Note that this print preview screen is different from what is displayed on a page basis, such as the preview screen prepared by a normal application, etc., and the connection of pages across a single or combined print job, etc. You can also preview the relationship between pages.

  FIG. 19 shows a procedure when data created by an application program or the like is printed by specifying a store. When “Store” is selected from the menu 901 as an output destination on the screen of FIG. 9 and printing is performed, the procedure of FIG. 9 is executed. First, in step S1901, the spooler is activated to generate and store intermediate data and a job output setting file. When “Store” is designated, the spooler does not instruct the spool manager to start printing, and the intermediate data is held without being printed. In this embodiment, the print job in this state is called a stored print job.

  In step S1902, the print job converted into intermediate data and held in step S1901 is added to the already stored print job list in step S1902. However, in the present embodiment, the stored print job is held only during execution of the program for managing the stored print job (the previewer 306 and the setting change editor 307 in FIG. 3), and when the execution ends. Stored print jobs are deleted. However, the print job once stored may be retained until it is positively deleted.

  When a new print job is added to the stored print job list, the job list is displayed in step S1903 as shown in FIG. Note that a print job held as intermediate data is called a job, and a job selected for combining or editing is called a target job.

<Display job list>
FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing details of step S1903 in FIG. Note that the procedure in FIG. 20 is executed whenever the state to be displayed changes, such as when a job is selected from the job list, and the job list display is updated.

  First, in step S2001, it is determined whether a plurality of jobs are selected. If not, it is determined whether there is a job selected in step S2002. If there is a selected job, that job is set as the job of interest, and the edit button is enabled. The edit button is a button 1608 in FIG. FIG. 16 shows a state where a single job is selected, and the edit button is enabled.

  On the other hand, if there is no selected job, the last selected job is set as the job of interest in step S2004. If there is no job selected last, that is, when the job list is displayed first, the first job in the job list is set as the job of interest.

  When the job of interest is determined, in step S2005, a job that cannot be combined with the job of interest is searched from all the held jobs, and the fact that it cannot be combined with the job of interest and the reason why it cannot be combined are set in a predetermined memory area, etc. To do. Note that the job that cannot be combined with the job of interest is a job that differs from the job of interest in, for example, any of the designated resolution, the number of bits per pixel, or the graphic mode.

  Finally, in step S2006, a job list is displayed. At this time, for a job for which it is not possible to combine in step S2005 and the reason is set, a symbol indicating that it cannot be combined with the job of interest and the reason are displayed in the column displaying the job. FIG. 26 shows this state. The job 2602 can be combined with the selected job 2601, but since the jobs 2603 and the following cannot be combined, a symbol indicating that is displayed on the left side and the reason why the job cannot be combined is displayed in the comment column.

  On the other hand, if a plurality of jobs are selected, it is determined whether or not the jobs selected in step S2007 can be combined. If the jobs can be combined, the combination button (button 1606 in FIG. 16) is enabled (operable) in step S2008. The process proceeds to step S2006 and a job list is displayed.

  If all the selected jobs cannot be combined, it is set in step S2009 that all the held jobs cannot be combined. In step S2006, a symbol or comment indicating that is displayed for the job set in step S2009 that cannot be combined.

  In this way, the job list is displayed. As described above, since the procedure in FIG. 20 is re-executed every time a job is selected from the job list, the availability of combination, the editing operation or the combination operation is used depending on the selected job. Can be presented to the person.

<Edit / Join operation>
When a job is selected from the displayed job list and an edit button (when there is a single selection job) or a combination button (when there are a plurality of selection jobs) is operated, the procedure of FIG. 21 is performed. . If a job that cannot be combined is selected, the combining operation cannot be performed.

  First, in step S2101, it is determined whether the operation is a join operation. If it is a join operation, the selected job output setting file is temporarily joined in step S2102. Since this operation has not been finalized, a temporary job output file is created and used. When combining jobs, the settings of each job are not used as they are, but some settings are changed and unified.

  As a method of unification, the setting is changed to a predetermined setting, or another job is matched with the top job or cleared. For example, the designation of the printing method of the jobs to be combined is unified to single-sided printing except when all of them are double-sided printing. The binding margin, stapling designation, forward / reverse order, face-up / down, inserter use, etc. are matched to the first job. The number of copies and binding specifications are cleared.

  Then, using the job output setting file combined in step S2102 or the job output setting file of the job selected as the editing target, a preview display is executed in step S2103, and a target job list is displayed in step S2104. To do. On the preview screen, thumbnail images of all pages included in the job to be edited or combined are displayed according to the layout. In the target job list, the name, the number of pages, and the page layout of the job to be edited or combined are displayed as a list. In this list display, in the case of a join operation, the job order can be changed to a desired order, and the desired job can be deleted from the target job group. When the target job is operated in this way, the procedure of FIG. 21 is re-executed, and the preview screen and the target job list are displayed again.

  It is also possible to change the print settings of the target job. Items that can be changed are items that can be changed by editing the job output setting file. Items that need to be manipulated for intermediate data are not manipulated in this embodiment. However, if the processing time and necessary resources are not taken into consideration, all items can be reset. Items that can be reset in the system of the present embodiment include a printing method (single side / double side / bookbinding), the number of copies, and the presence or absence of stapling.

<Print preview display of the target job>
FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a procedure for displaying a job preview screen as shown in FIG. 18 when the user instructs a desired operation such as job editing or combination on the print job list display screen shown in FIG. This corresponds to the details of step S2103 in FIG.

  In FIG. 22, first, in step S2201, the layout setting of each target job is acquired. The layout setting items include items such as printing method, page layout, page frame, finishing, paper feed switching, and the like. These pieces of information are acquired from the job output setting file shown in FIGS.

Here, the layout setting items will be briefly described. Examples of items to be set include the following.
(1) Printing method: One side / both sides / bookbinding is designated. One side and both sides are well known. Bookbinding is a method of printing a book so that the printed paper is folded in two and bound together. When bookbinding printing is designated, as a unit to be folded in half, a method in which one part is folded in half, a method for designating a predetermined number of sheets, folding in half every predetermined number of sheets, and then superposing and binding them Can be specified. This unit that is folded in half is called a bookbinding unit.

  In the case of bookbinding printing, for example, bookbinding is performed by overlapping two output sheets and folding them in half, so that it is not possible to print in the order of logical pages created by the application. In the bound state, the pages are arranged in the order of logical pages by repeating pages from right to left (specified separately), so that the logical pages are output in advance, that is, which physical page and how Decide whether to place logical pages. The order of logical pages also differs depending on whether paper discharge is face up or face down.

Bookbinding printing corresponds to double-sided 2-up printing if only the format is considered without considering the order of pages, and therefore, 4 logical pages are printed on one sheet. Therefore, the required number S is given by S = number of logical pages / 4 (rounded up to the nearest decimal). For example, when the paper discharge method is face-up and the bookbinding unit is S sheets, the surface of the Qth sheet (the surface to be printed first) of the Pth bookbinding unit is the (4 × (P -1) + 2 * Q-1) logical page and (4 * (P-1) + 4 * S-2 * (Q-1)) logical page, the (4 * (P-1)) The (+ 2 × Q) logical page and the (4 × (P−1) + 4 × S−2 × Q−1) logical page are arranged. In the case of face up, the back surface and the front surface may be switched.
(2) Bookbinding opening direction: indicates the direction of double-page spread, and can be specified as upward opening, right opening, and left opening.
(3) Binding unit: As described above, a unit to be folded in half.
(4) Page layout: A layout called N-up printing that fits N logical pages on one side of a sheet, or a layout called poster printing that divides one logical page into a plurality of sheets can be designated.
(5) Finishing: Processing after printing can be specified. For example, a sheet supplied separately from a printed sheet can be inserted as a cover by an external device called an inserter.
(6) Paper feed switching: Designates the paper feed method. For example, when a designation called center insertion is performed, printing is performed on a sheet supplied from one sheet feeding port using two sheet feeding ports, and a sheet fed from the other sheet feeding port is printed on a sheet to be printed. Insert between and discharge. In other words, sheets are used alternately from the two paper feed ports.

  The items that can be specified as the layout are as described above.

  Next, logical page information is acquired in step S2202. A logical page is a page in data created by an application program or the like. When N-up printing is designated, a plurality of logical pages are printed on one physical page, that is, one side of one sheet. It will be. This logical page information is as shown in FIG.

  In step S2203, a page template is drawn based on the information acquired in steps S2201 and S2202. The page template is a framework of each physical page corresponding to the layout, and a template corresponding to the designated paper size, single-sided / double-sided / bookbinding designation, portrait / landscape layout, etc. is drawn. However, this is not the case because the combined state is displayed as a preview when poster printing is designated.

  In step S2204, a page number assigned to each page to be previewed is drawn. Here, pages are added in the order of logical pages or physical pages according to the layout. As a result, the user can see an accurate page number corresponding to the layout on the print preview screen.

  In step S2205, a logical page is drawn corresponding to each page template. Here, the job output setting file shown in FIGS. 10 to 14 is referred to, and a logical page is drawn on one physical page according to the settings registered in the job output setting file. The intermediate data of the logical page to be drawn is acquired with reference to the logical page information shown in FIG.

  Finally, in step S2206, the total number of pages or the required number of pages is drawn. The total number of pages is the number of logical pages, and the required number of sheets is the number of sheets to be output.

(Page template drawing)
FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing details of step S2203 in FIG. In step S2301, the layout setting is acquired (because the layout is acquired in step S2201 in FIG. 22), and the printing method is determined in steps S2302 and S2303. If it is bookbinding printing, a page template for bookbinding printing is acquired in step S2304, and if it is double-sided printing, a page template for double-sided printing is acquired in step S2309.

  If it is single-sided printing, it is determined in step S2306 whether it is middle-line printing. Middle-insertion printing is a printing method in which a separately supplied sheet is inserted between output printed sheets, and is used, for example, when printing a transparent document for an overhead projector. If it is medium printing, a page template for medium printing is acquired in step S2207, and if it is not medium printing, a page template for single-sided printing is acquired in step S2308.

  Finally, the page template is drawn according to the page template data acquired in step S2305.

(Page number drawing)
FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing details of step S2204 in FIG. In step S2401, the layout setting is acquired (because the layout is acquired in step S2201 in FIG. 22), and the printing method is determined in steps S2402 and S2403. If it is bookbinding printing, the page number is drawn for bookbinding printing in step S2404, and if it is double-sided printing, the page number is drawn for double-sided printing in step S2406. If it is single-sided printing, a page number for single-sided printing is drawn in step S2405.

(Logical page drawing)
FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing details of step S2205 of FIG. In step S2501, the layout setting is acquired (because the layout is acquired in step S2201 in FIG. 22), and the printing method is determined in steps S2502 and S2503. If it is bookbinding printing, a logical page is drawn for bookbinding printing in step S2504, and if it is double-sided printing, a logical page is drawn for double-sided printing in step S2506. If it is single-sided printing, a logical page for single-sided printing is drawn in step S2505. It should be noted that in the logical page drawing, the logical page is drawn according to the job output setting file and the logical page information, so that processing can be performed so as not to be divided according to the printing method.

<Details of preview display>
As described above, the print preview screen is displayed in accordance with the layout designation. The details will be described below.

(Preview when middle insert is specified)
When single-side printing is designated as the printing method, it is possible to designate medium insertion with a printing apparatus having a plurality of paper feed ports. An example of a screen for designating the middle insertion is shown in FIG. In FIG. 37, the check box “Enable Cover Insertion Unit” is checked, so that a middle insertion flag or the like is set, and middle insertion is executed with reference to this flag during printing and print preview.

  When drawing a page template, a page template for medium insertion is acquired in step S2307 of FIG. An example of this template is shown in FIG. As described above, when the middle insertion is designated, a page template showing a state in which two sheets overlap each other is used, and a logical page is drawn on the upper side.

  In this way, it is possible to confirm that the insertion is made and the result of the insertion on the preview screen. Although not shown, as in FIG. 35, when an image showing the inserted paper is pointed by the pointer, a character string indicating that the image is the intermediate paper, for example, a character string such as “intermediate paper” Is displayed.

<Preview display during booklet printing>
Next, details of the preview display method when bookbinding printing is designated as the printing method will be described.

  27, 28, and 29 are flowcharts showing the page template acquisition, page number drawing, and logical page drawing procedures during booklet printing, respectively. These correspond to step S2304 in FIG. 23, step S2404 in FIG. 24, and step S2504 in FIG.

(Acquisition of page template for bookbinding printing)
In FIG. 27, when the layout setting is acquired in step S2701, it is determined in step S2702 whether the opening method after bookbinding is set to top-opening. If it is top-opening, a template for the top-opening page for bookbinding printing is acquired in step S2704. To do. FIG. 34B shows an example of a preview screen drawn using the page template for opening up. The first page, second page, and third page are displayed in order from the left. At the time of top-bound bookbinding print preview, the book looks landscape, so the front cover (first page) and back cover (eighth page) are landscape templates. Since the middle is an upward spread, a template that can be displayed in a state of being opened up and down around a horizontal stitch is used as in page 3402.

  If the page is not opened upward, that is, if it is opened left and right, a page template for left and right opening is acquired in step S2703. An example of this is shown in FIG. In this case, since the spread is in the left-right direction, a template that can be spread and displayed around the vertical stitch as in the page 3001 is used. There is no need to distinguish between right and left opening in the template.

  The template acquired in this way is drawn in step S2305 in FIG. As will be described later, when a cover insert is designated, the cover is fed from the inserter and is not an object of printing, but is displayed as a cover on the preview screen. For this purpose, a cover template to be inserted is also drawn.

(Page number drawing for bookbinding printing)
In FIG. 28, when the layout setting is acquired in step S2801, it is determined in step S2802 whether the opening method after bookbinding is set to right opening. If it is right opening, the page number for bookbinding right opening is drawn in step S2805. To do. If it is not right-open, it is determined whether left-open is set in step S2803. If left-open, page numbers are drawn for bookbinding left-open in step S2806. If it is not left-opening, it is upper-opening, so a page number is drawn for bookbinding upper-opening in step S2804. However, when a cover is inserted, no page number is drawn for the inserted cover.

  FIG. 30 shows a page number drawing example in the case of left opening. In this case, page numbers are also assigned from the left to the right according to the progress of the page. FIG. 34A shows a page number drawing example in the case of right opening. In this case, page numbers are assigned from right to left according to the progress of the page. FIG. 34B shows a page number drawing example in the case of upward opening. In this case, since it is difficult in terms of space to assign a page number in association with each logical page, page numbers are assigned in accordance with the progress of the page by putting two pages together.

(Logical page drawing for bookbinding printing)
When the page template and the page number are drawn in FIGS. 27 and 28, the contents of the logical page are drawn in FIG.

  In FIG. 29, when the layout setting is acquired in step S2901, it is determined in step S2902 whether the opening method after bookbinding is set to right-opening. To do. If it is not right open, it is determined in step S2903 whether left open is set. If left open, a logical page is drawn for bookbinding left open in step S2906. If it is not left-opening, it is upper-opening, so that a logical page is drawn for bookbinding upper-opening in step S2904.

  As described above (described in the explanation of FIG. 22), the logical page is allocated to the sheet at the time of bookbinding printing so that the logical pages are arranged as specified after the bookbinding. It depends on the specification. However, on the preview screen, the logical pages are displayed in the order of logical pages, that is, in the order of repeating pages after bookbinding, regardless of the designation. However, the binding unit designation is displayed so that it can be understood on the preview screen. In the case of a cover insert, a logical page is not drawn on the inserted cover, but a template indicating a page frame is displayed to indicate that the cover is to be inserted. These will be described later.

  FIG. 30 shows an example of logical page drawing in the case of left opening. In this case, the logical page advances from the left to the right in the order in which the pages are repeated. FIG. 34A is an example of left opening, and the logical page is arranged so as to proceed to the right with the leftmost edge as the cover. FIG. 34B shows an example of upward opening. On the preview screen, the printed sheets are arranged in the horizontal direction, so the entire page is not arranged from top to bottom. However, for each sheet, logical pages are arranged sequentially from top to bottom. The That is, they are arranged on the jigsag from the upper left to the lower right.

  By displaying the preview in this way, the user can easily confirm the page layout at the time of bookbinding. In other words, it is meaningful to display a physical page preview in a normal layout such as single-sided or double-sided, but at the time of bookbinding printing, logical pages are not arranged sequentially on the physical page, so even if you preview the physical The output result is hard to imagine. For this reason, when bookbinding printing is designated, the spread state is displayed. Further, the total number of pages (total number of sheets) is displayed in the normal layout, but the total number of logical pages is displayed during bookbinding printing.

  In addition, it is easy to understand the completed form of bookbinding printing by displaying the logical pages side by side from the right when opening right, from left to right when opening left, and from top to bottom when opening up.

(Specify the binding unit)
It has been explained that the order of logical pages in the preview screen is the spread order regardless of the binding unit designation. However, the template used in drawing a logical page may differ depending on the designation of the bookbinding unit.

  FIG. 31 shows an example of a preview image in the case where setting for all pages is specified, in which all printed paper sheets are folded in half for a total of eight logical page documents. When all page units are specified on the setting screen of the screen 3101, all pages except the front cover (first page) and the back cover (eighth page) are displayed in a spread manner as in the preview screen 3102.

  FIG. 32 shows an example of a preview image when N-sheet printing (N = 1) with a bookbinding unit of 1 is designated for a document with a total of 8 logical pages. When N-sheet printing is specified on the setting screen of the screen 3201, a preview screen 3202 is displayed so that the front cover and the back cover can be identified in units of N sheets. In the example of FIG. 32, the first page to the fourth page are one sheet as a bookbinding unit, and the fifth page to the eighth page are one sheet as a next bookbinding unit. In this way, when a bookbinding unit is designated, the preview screen is displayed by being divided for each bookbinding unit. FIG. 33 shows an example of a screen for designating three sheets as a bookbinding unit.

  As a result, it is possible to confirm on the screen a print result that is difficult to predict an output result of divided bookbinding before print output.

(Logical page drawing when inserting cover)
As described above, the logical page at the time of bookbinding printing is drawn. However, when the inserter is inserted using the inserter, this is taken into consideration in the processing in steps S2904 to S2906 in FIG.

  35 and 36 show examples of preview screens when a cover sheet is inserted. If it is determined at the time of logical page drawing that the cover insert is specified, the first logical page is drawn from the next page with the back and front of the inserted cover as a blank page, and then drawn in the logical page order. The back and front of the cover sheet inserted last is inserted as a blank page.

  In the display window 3501 shown in FIG. 35, left-opening is designated, and the first two pages are the inserted cover sheets, and thus are blank sheets and are not assigned page numbers. In FIG. 35, the cursor is on the cover. In this case, “bookbinding cover” indicates that the cover is inserted by the tool tip. In the display window 3601 of FIG. 36, the left opening is designated, and the cursor is on the back side of the cover. In this case, the tooltip displays “bookbinding cover (back)” indicating that it is the back side of the cover sheet to be inserted.

  In the display window 3602 of FIG. 36, the back cover portion is displayed as a preview screen. Since the inserted front cover is also folded into a back cover, a blank page is also displayed on the back cover. No page number can be assigned to this part.

  A display window 3603 in FIG. 36 is a preview screen when the cover is opened and insertion of a cover is designated. In this case as well, as with left-opening (same as right-opening), a blank page is displayed as the inserted cover, and subsequently drawn from the first logical page.

  In this way, when bookbinding printing is previewed, if the cover is set to be inserted from the inserter, the preview is performed with the cover attached. This setting is linked to the option installation status of the device and the specification of the inserter.

  As a result, even when a cover is inserted from the inserter, the actual output result can be confirmed on the preview.

  As described above, according to the printing control method and apparatus of this embodiment, when bookbinding printing is designated when previewing a spooled job on the host, the spread state is displayed as a preview. For this reason, when bookbinding printing is designated, the printing result after bookbinding can be confirmed.

  In addition, by displaying the page by changing the unit to be displayed in the spread according to the designation of the bookbinding unit, it is possible to confirm the print result on the preview screen that is difficult to predict the output result of divided bookbinding.

  Also, by displaying a preview in the order of spread according to the designation of “left open, right open” or “upper open” for bookbinding printing, it is easy to understand the completed form of bookbinding printing.

  Also, if the cover is set to be inserted from the inserter during bookbinding printing preview, the actual output result is displayed even when inserting the cover from the inserter by displaying the preview with the cover attached. Can be confirmed on the preview.

  In addition, when the device is set to insert a middle insert, a display reflecting that the middle insert is made on the preview is also performed. As a result, it is possible to confirm in the preview that the insertion is performed and how the insertion is performed.

[Other embodiments]
Note that the present invention can be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), or a device (copier, printer, facsimile device, etc.) composed of a single device. You may apply to.

  Further, the object of the present invention is to store a storage medium storing program codes for realizing the procedures of FIGS. 19 to 25 and FIGS. 27 to 29 for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments as a computer (or CPU) of a system or apparatus. Or MPU) reads out and executes the program code stored in the storage medium.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

  In addition, the functions of the above-described embodiments are not only realized by executing the program code read by the computer. This includes the case where an OS (operating system) running on a computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. .

  Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory of the function expansion unit inserted or connected to the computer, the program code is executed by the CPU of the function expansion unit, etc. This includes cases where functions are realized.

Claims (7)

A control method for an information processing apparatus comprising a specifying means, a determining means, and a display means,
A designating step in which the designating unit designates bookbinding printing for generating a book by overlapping a plurality of printed sheets and folding them in half;
When the bookbinding printing is designated, the determining means is arranged in a page order of a plurality of pages to be printed by turning a book page obtained by overlapping a plurality of printed sheets and folding them in half. A determination step for determining the output order of a plurality of pages;
A display for displaying a preview image of a book spread obtained by stacking a plurality of printed sheets and folding them in half when the bookbinding printing is designated and the display of the preview image is instructed. A process,
Wherein Unlike output order determined in said determining step and the display order of the page displayed in the display step, in said display step includes a feature that you determine the display order of the plurality of pages according to the direction of spread Control method for information processing apparatus. The method according to claim 1 , wherein, in the display step, a plurality of spread preview images are displayed on a display screen for displaying the preview image. In the specifying step, it is further specified that a blank page indicating a book cover is inserted into the book ,
In the display step, when the bookbinding printing is designated by the designating unit and it is not designated to insert a blank page indicating the cover of the book, a book spread preview image based on a plurality of pages to be printed is displayed. displaying, said bookbinding in the designated process is specified and, if it is designated to insert a blank page showing the cover of the book, a plurality of printed preview image of blank page showing the cover of the book 3. The information processing apparatus control method according to claim 1, wherein a spread preview image of the book based on the page is displayed. A designation means for designating bookbinding printing for generating a book by overlapping a plurality of printed sheets and folding them in half;
When the bookbinding printing is designated, the output order of the plurality of pages is set to be the page order of the plurality of pages to be printed by turning a page of a book obtained by overlapping a plurality of printed sheets and folding them in half. A determination means for determining
When the bookbinding printing is designated and the display of the preview image is instructed, display means for displaying a preview image of a book spread obtained by overlapping a plurality of printed sheets and folding the book in half is provided. ,
Unlike the output order determined in the display order as the determination unit of the page displayed in the display unit, the display means, and characterized that you determine the display order of the plurality of pages according to the direction of spread Information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the display unit displays a plurality of spread preview images on a display screen for displaying the preview image. The specifying means further specifies that a blank page indicating a book cover is inserted into the book ;
The display means displays a book spread preview image based on a plurality of pages to be printed, when the bookbinding printing is designated by the designation means and it is not designated to insert a blank page indicating the cover of the book. displaying, said bookbinding in specifying means is specified, and, when it is designated to insert a blank page showing the cover of the book, a plurality of printed preview image of blank page showing the cover of the book The information processing apparatus according to claim 4 or 5 , wherein a spread preview image of a book based on a page is displayed. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to function as each unit of the information processing apparatus according to claim 4 .

Images