JP2011170685A - Installation program and installation method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an installation program of a device driver, capable of simply and surely restricting, in a user unit, setting values of a plurality of setting items that can be set by a user on a setting screen provided by the device driver. <P>SOLUTION: The installation program for installing a device driver in a terminal device, which provides a setting screen including a plurality of setting items about functions of a control target device, makes a computer perform a procedure for acquiring information about the user of the terminal device (S102), a procedure for selecting one device driver corresponding to information about the user among a plurality of device drivers in which restriction contents of setting values that can be set by the user about the plurality of setting items which are stored in a memory that the device driver becomes an acquisition source are different (S106), and a procedure for performing control to install the selected device driver in the terminal device (S107 and S108). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an installation program and an installation method. The present invention particularly relates to an installation program and an installation method for installing a device driver in a terminal device.

  In general, a user uses a printer driver, which is driver software for controlling a printer, to set printing conditions on a PC (personal computer) and instruct the printer to print out. For example, the printer driver is downloaded from a management device such as a server through a network and then installed on the PC.

  As a technique related to this, a printer driver management apparatus as shown in Patent Document 1 below has been proposed from the viewpoint of preventing an increase in printing cost due to color printing. The printer driver management device disclosed in Patent Document 1 specifies a terminal to which a printer driver is downloaded based on identification information such as an IP address, and refers to a table in which identification information and a printing method are associated with each other. Thus, the three modules of the common module, the color module, and the monochrome module, or the two modules of the common module and the monochrome module are transmitted to the terminal. According to such a configuration, since a color module is not installed in a terminal that the administrator does not permit color printing, the user of the terminal cannot set color printing at the time of print setting, and a printer driver is installed. Color printing is restricted on a per-terminal basis.

  By the way, the setting items that can be set by the user on the print setting screen provided by the printer driver include not only color / monochrome settings but also various setting items such as paper size settings, duplex printing settings, and page assignment settings. included. In recent years, it has been desired that the functions of a printer specified by these setting items be finely restricted for each user.

  However, since the printer driver management apparatus processes printer functions in units of modules, the processing is complicated when the number of setting items and the number of setting values that can be set for one setting item increase. There is a problem of becoming. Furthermore, when a plurality of setting items are closely related, for example, when a prohibition relationship is established between two setting items, there is a possibility that accurate function restriction cannot be performed in module units.

JP 2005-182688 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to easily and easily set setting values of a plurality of setting items that can be set by a user on a setting screen provided by a device driver after installation when the device driver is installed in a terminal device. To provide an installation program and an installation method that can be surely restricted.

  The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following means.

  (1) An installation program for installing in a terminal device a device driver that provides a setting screen including a plurality of setting items related to the function of the device to be controlled, and a procedure for acquiring information related to the user of the terminal device (a) In the procedure (a), a plurality of device drivers that are stored in the storage unit that is the acquisition source of the device driver and that are different from each other in the setting value limit contents that can be set by the user for the plurality of setting items. A procedure (b) for selecting one device driver corresponding to the acquired information about the user, and a procedure for performing control for installing the device driver selected in the procedure (b) in the terminal device ( and c) are executed by a computer.

  (2) The storage unit further stores a user management table in which information related to the user and setting information related to the restriction content of the setting value are registered in association with each other, and the procedure (b) includes: The procedure (b1) for recognizing the setting information associated with the information on the user acquired in the procedure (a) with reference to the user management table, and the setting recognized in the procedure (b1) And a procedure (b2) for selecting a device driver that matches the restriction content of the setting value indicated in the information from the plurality of device drivers, and is indicated in the setting information in the procedure (c). The installation program according to (1), wherein the device driver that matches the restriction content of the setting value is installed in the terminal device. Grams.

  (3) The installation program is executed on the terminal device, and in the step (a), identification information input to the terminal device by a user of the terminal device is acquired as information about the user, In step (b), one device driver corresponding to the identification information is selected from the plurality of device drivers, and in step (c), the device driver selected in step (b) (1) or (1), comprising: a procedure (c1) acquired from the storage unit; and a procedure (c2) for installing the device driver acquired in the procedure (c1) in the terminal device. The installation program described in 2).

  (4) The setting item includes a plurality of setting value candidates selectable by the user, and one setting value selected from the plurality of setting value candidates according to a preset priority order. The installation program according to any one of (1) to (3) above, wherein the candidate is set to an initial value of the setting item.

  (5) The control target apparatus is a printing apparatus, and the device driver is a printer driver for the printing apparatus, according to any one of (1) to (4), Installation program.

  (6) A computer-readable recording medium on which the installation program according to any one of (1) to (5) is recorded.

  (7) An installation method for installing in a terminal device a device driver that provides a setting screen including a plurality of setting items related to the function of the device to be controlled, the step of acquiring information related to the user of the terminal device (a) In the step (a), among the plurality of device drivers stored in the storage unit that is the acquisition source of the device driver, the plurality of device drivers having different setting value limits that can be set by the user. A step (b) of selecting one device driver corresponding to the acquired information on the user, and a step of performing control for installing the device driver selected in the step (b) in the terminal device ( c), and an installation method.

  (8) The storage unit further stores a user management table in which information on the user and setting information on the restriction content of the setting value are registered in association with each other, and the step (b) includes Recognizing the setting information associated with the information about the user acquired in step (a) with reference to the user management table (b1), and the setting recognized in step (b1) A step (b2) of selecting a device driver that matches the restriction content of the setting value indicated in the information from the plurality of device drivers, and is indicated in the setting information in the step (c). The above (7), wherein the device driver that matches the restriction content of the setting value is installed in the terminal device. How to install described.

  (9) In step (a), identification information input to the terminal device by a user of the terminal device is acquired as information relating to the user, and corresponds to the identification information in step (b). One device driver is selected from the plurality of device drivers, and the step (c) includes obtaining the device driver selected in the step (b) from the storage unit (c1); (7) The installation method according to (7) or (8), further including a step (c2) of installing the device driver acquired in step (c1) in the terminal device.

  (10) The setting item includes a plurality of setting value candidates that can be selected by the user, and one setting value selected from the plurality of setting value candidates according to a preset priority order. The installation method according to any one of (7) to (9), wherein the candidate is set to an initial value of the setting item.

  (11) The control target apparatus is a printing apparatus, and the device driver is a printer driver for the printing apparatus, according to any one of (7) to (10), Installation method.

  According to the present invention, since one device driver that is selected based on information related to a user from among a plurality of device drivers having different setting value restrictions that can be set by the user is installed in the terminal device. For each piece of information related to the user, it is possible to install the device driver that matches the restriction content of the desired setting value on the terminal device of the desired user by designating the restriction content of the setting value in advance. Therefore, when the device driver is installed in the terminal device, the setting values of a plurality of setting items that can be set by the user on the setting screen provided by the device driver after installation can be easily and surely limited for each user. it can.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a printing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of PC shown by FIG. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the server shown by FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the printer illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the driver installation process performed in PC shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a user management table | surface. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting screen on which a function restriction provided by a printer driver installed by driver installation processing is applied. It is a figure which shows an example of the print setting screen in which the function restriction is not given. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the printing system concerning the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the printer illustrated in FIG. 9.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system according to this embodiment includes PCs 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d as terminal devices, a server 2 as a management device, and printers 3a and 3b as printing devices. The PCs 1 a, 1 b, 1 c, 1 d, the server 2, and the printers 3 a, 3 b are connected via a network 4 so that they can communicate with each other.

  The network 4 includes a LAN in which computers and network devices are connected according to standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), token ring, and FDDI, or a WAN in which LANs are connected by a dedicated line. Note that the types and number of devices connected to the network 4 are not limited to the example shown in FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the PC. Since the PCs 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d have the same configuration as each other, the following description will be given using the PC 1a as a representative.

  The PC 1a includes a CPU 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a hard disk 14, a display 15, an input device 16, and a communication interface 17, which are connected to each other via a bus 18 for exchanging signals.

  The CPU 11 performs control of each part and various arithmetic processes according to the program. The ROM 12 stores various programs and various data. The RAM 13 temporarily stores programs and data as a work area.

  The hard disk 14 stores various programs including an operating system and various data. The hard disk 14 also stores a document creation application for creating a document file and an installation program for installing a printer driver for specifying a print instruction and a printing method for the created document file. ing.

  The display 15 is a liquid crystal display, for example, and displays various types of information. The input device 16 includes, for example, a pointing device such as a mouse and a keyboard, and is used for inputting various information. The communication interface 17 is an interface for communicating with other devices via the network 4, and standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), token ring, and FDDI are used.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the server. The server 2 includes a CPU 21, ROM 22, RAM 23, hard disk 24, display 25, input device 26, and communication interface 27, which are connected to each other via a bus 28 for exchanging signals. In addition, about each said part of the server 2, since it is the same as that of each said part of PC1a, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The hard disk 24 stores a plurality of printer drivers 100 and a user management table 200. The plurality of printer drivers 100 respectively provide print setting screens with different setting values that can be set by the user for a plurality of setting items. The user management table 200 is a table in which user IDs and setting information related to the restriction contents of setting values are registered in association with each other. For example, the user management table 200 is created and edited on the server 2 by the administrator of the printing system.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the printer. Since the printers 3a and 3b have the same configuration, the printer 3a will be described below as a representative.

  The printer 3a includes a CPU 31, a ROM 32, a RAM 33, a hard disk 34, an operation panel unit 35, a printing unit 36, and a communication interface 37, which are connected to each other via a bus 38 for exchanging signals. Of the parts of the printer 3a, the parts having the same functions as those of the parts of the PC 1a are not described in order to avoid duplication.

  The hard disk 34 has respective areas for storing programs corresponding to the language analysis unit 310 and the image processing unit 320. The language analysis unit 310 analyzes print data described in a page description language such as PS (PostScript (registered trademark)), PDF, PCL, and XPS, and generates intermediate data described in an intermediate language. The image processing unit 320 converts the intermediate data into bitmap image data. Note that the functions of the language analysis unit 310 and the image processing unit 320 are exhibited when the CPU 31 executes corresponding programs.

  The operation panel unit 35 is used for displaying various information and inputting various instructions. The printing unit 36 prints an image based on the bitmap image data on a recording medium such as paper using a known image forming process such as an electrophotographic process.

  The PCs 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, the server 2, and the printers 3a, 3b may include components other than the above components, or may not include some of the above components. .

  In the printing system of the present embodiment configured as described above, when a printer driver is installed on a PC, one printer driver corresponding to the PC user is selected from a plurality of printer drivers stored in the server. And downloaded to the PC. Hereinafter, the operation of the printing system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Hereinafter, a case where a printer driver for the printer 3a is installed in the PC 1a will be described as an example.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of driver installation processing in the PC shown in FIG. Note that the algorithm shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 is stored as a program in the hard disk 14 of the PC 1 a and executed by the CPU 11.

  In the driver installation process of the present embodiment, first, an installer is activated (step S101). For example, when the user clicks an installer icon displayed on the display 15 using a mouse or the like, the printer driver installer is activated.

  Subsequently, input of a user ID is accepted (step S102). In the present embodiment, an ID input screen (not shown) that prompts input of a user ID is displayed on the display 15, and the user ID is accepted when the user inputs his / her user ID through the ID input screen.

  Subsequently, a server is selected (step S103). In the present embodiment, a server selection screen (not shown) for specifying a server from which a printer driver is downloaded is displayed on the display 15. For example, the user inputs the IP address of the server 2 through the server selection screen. Thus, the server from which the printer driver is downloaded is selected.

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not a user is registered in the user management table 200 (step S104). In this embodiment, the PC 1a accesses the server 2, and it is determined whether or not the user ID accepted in the process shown in step S102 is registered in the user management table 200 stored in the hard disk 24 of the server 2. The

  If it is determined that the user is not registered in the user management table 200 (step S104: NO), the process is terminated without installing the printer driver. On the other hand, when it is determined that the user is registered in the user management table 200 (step S104: YES), the setting information is read (step S105). In the present embodiment, setting information related to the restriction content of the setting value corresponding to the user ID received in the process shown in step S102 is read from the user management table 200.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the user management table. The user management table 200 includes user ID information 210, color selection setting information 221, output paper setting information 222, toner save setting information 223, print type setting information 224, and page allocation setting information 225.

  The user ID information 210 is information for identifying a user. In FIG. 6, user IDs “A” to “D” corresponding to “user A” to “user D” are registered. The color selection setting information 221 is setting information as to whether or not to allow the user to set color printing on the print setting screen, and one of two options “color / grayscale” and “grayscale” is set. Is done. The output sheet setting information 222 is setting information regarding the output sheet that is allowed to be set by the user on the print setting screen. Among the three options “A4 only”, “A4 and A3 only”, and “no restriction”. Is set. The toner save setting information 223 is setting information as to whether or not the user is forced to execute the toner save setting, and one of two options “no restriction” and “present” is set. The print type setting information 224 is setting information as to whether or not the user is permitted to set single-sided printing on the print setting screen, and one of two options “unrestricted” and “double-sided” is set. The page allocation setting information 225 is setting information regarding the number of allocated pages that are allowed to be set by the user on the print setting screen. The page allocation setting information 225 is one of three options “unlimited”, “only 2 in 1”, and “only 4 in 1”. One is set. The color selection setting information 221, output paper setting information 222, toner save setting information 223, print type setting information 224, and page allocation setting information 225 are individually set for each user by the administrator of the printing system.

  In the setting information reading process shown in step S105, setting information corresponding to the user ID accepted in the process shown in step S102 is read from the user management table 200. For example, when the user of the PC 1a is “user D” in FIG. 6, color selection setting information: “gray scale”, output paper setting information: “only A4”, toner save setting information: “present”, print type setting Information: “both sides” and page assignment setting information: “only 4 in 1” are read as setting information.

  Subsequently, a printer driver is selected (step S106). In the present embodiment, one printer driver that matches the restriction content indicated in the setting information read in the process shown in step S105 is selected from a plurality of printer drivers stored in the hard disk 24 of the server 2. .

  The hard disk 24 of the server 2 stores 72 types of printer drivers so as to cover all combinations of options that can be selected by the administrator for the five setting items included in the user management table 200 shown in FIG. ing. Specifically, the two options for the color selection setting information 221, the three options for the output paper setting information 222, the two options for the toner save setting information 223, and the two options for the print type setting information 224. 72 (2 × 3 × 2 × 2 × 3) types of printer drivers corresponding to all options and combinations of the above three options for the page allocation setting information 225 are stored. Then, from among the 72 types of printer drivers, for example, one printer driver with a function restriction that matches the restriction content indicated in the setting information of “user D” is selected. In the present embodiment, a printer driver having a name corresponding to the setting information of “user D” is selected from a plurality of printer drivers to which a name representing setting information is assigned. Alternatively, unlike the present embodiment, with reference to a management table in which setting information and printer driver names are associated, one printer driver that matches the restriction content indicated in the setting information is selected from a plurality of printer drivers. Selected.

  Subsequently, the printer driver is downloaded (step S107). In the present embodiment, the printer driver selected in the process shown in step S106 is downloaded from the server 2 to the PC 1a.

  Then, the printer driver is installed (step S108), and the process is terminated. In the present embodiment, the printer driver downloaded in the process shown in step S107 is installed in the PC 1a, and the process ends.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting screen provided with a function restriction provided by a printer driver installed in the PC, and FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a print setting screen without function restriction. FIG. FIG. 7 illustrates a case where a printer driver that matches the restriction content indicated in the setting information of “user D” in the user management table 200 of FIG. 6 is installed in the PC 1a.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the print setting screens 100a and 100b include a color selection setting unit 121, an output paper size setting unit 122, a toner save setting unit 123, a print type setting unit 124, and a page allocation setting unit 125. Have. The color selection setting unit 121, output paper size setting unit 122, toner save setting unit 123, print type setting unit 124, and page allocation setting unit 125 are color selection setting information 221, output paper setting information 222 in the user management table 200, This corresponds to toner save setting information 223, print type setting information 224, and page allocation setting information 225, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in the print setting screen 100a on which the function is restricted, the color selection setting unit 121 is grayed out in a state where “grayscale” is set by a radio button, and the user of the PC 1a performs color printing. Cannot be set. The output paper size setting unit 122 displays only “A4” as a setting value that can be set from the pull-down menu, and the user cannot set paper other than A4. The toner save setting unit 123 is grayed out with the check box being “ON”, and the user cannot perform printing without setting the toner save. The print type setting unit 124 is displayed as a setting value in which only “double-sided” can be set from the pull-down menu, and the user cannot set single-sided printing. The page allocation setting unit 125 is grayed out when the check box is “ON”, and only “4 in 1” is displayed as a setting value that can be set in the pull-down menu. The user can set the number of allocated pages other than “4 in 1”. Cannot be set.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, in the print setting screen 100b without function restriction, the color selection setting unit 121 is displayed in a state where both “color” and “grayscale” can be set. Both color printing and monochrome printing can be set. The output paper size setting section 122 is displayed in a state where various paper sizes such as “A3”, “A4”, “B3”, “B4”, and “custom” can be set. Size paper can be set. The toner save setting unit 123 is displayed in a state where both “ON” and “OFF” can be set, and the user can perform printing without setting the toner save. It can also be done. The print type setting unit 124 is displayed in a state where both “single-sided” and “double-sided” can be set, and the user can set both single-sided printing and double-sided printing. The page allocation setting unit 125 is displayed in a state where both “ON” and “OFF” can be set, and five types of “2 in 1”, “4 in 1”, “6 in 1”, “9 in 1”, and “16 in 1” are displayed. The number of assigned pages is displayed as a settable setting value, and the user can set various number of assigned pages and can also set no page assignment. The print setting screen 100b shown in FIG. 8 corresponds to the setting information of “user A” in the user management table 200 of FIG.

  As described above, according to the driver installation process of the present embodiment, first, the user ID of the PC 1a is acquired, and the function restriction corresponding to the user ID is applied from among a plurality of printer drivers stored in the server 2. Selected printer driver. The selected printer driver is downloaded from the server 2 to the PC 1a and then installed on the PC 1a.

  According to such a configuration, the administrator of the printing system registers the restriction contents of the setting values for a plurality of setting items in advance in the user management table 200 in association with the user ID, so that the desired user's It is possible to apply a desired function restriction to the PC. Therefore, when the printer driver is installed in the PC 1a, the setting values of a plurality of setting items that can be set by the user through the print setting screen provided by the printer driver can be easily and surely limited for each user. As a result, it is possible to prevent the user from setting setting values that the administrator does not want on the print setting screen, and to prevent an increase in toner fee, paper fee, data amount, and the like. That is, it is possible to reduce the printing cost and the network load desired by the administrator.

  In the above embodiment, in order to manage print processing of a plurality of users, setting values that can be set by the user on the print setting screen are limited depending on the user, but the setting values are limited depending on the user. Instead of this, for example, the default value (initial value) of each setting item can be changed according to the user. However, in the method of changing the default value according to the user, the user may change the setting value from the default value for his convenience. Depending on the document creation application, the default value may be automatically changed according to the settings of the document creation application. That is, in the method of changing the default value according to the user, the printing cost reduction effect as desired by the administrator cannot be obtained. From this point of view, rather than managing print processing by changing the default value for each user, it is better to manage print processing by limiting the setting values that can be set by the user for each setting item. preferable.

  On the other hand, for example, when a plurality of setting value candidates that can be set for a setting item are included as in the output paper size setting unit 122 of the print setting screen 100a corresponding to “user C” in FIG. A default value may be set according to the priority order to be set. Specifically, for the setting values “A3” and “A4” that can be set in the output paper size setting unit 122, “A4” is set to the default value by adding priority information to the user management table 200. Can be set to According to such a configuration, the printing cost can be further reduced by setting the setting value having a large effect of reducing the printing cost as the default value.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 9 and FIG. In the present embodiment, a plurality of printer drivers are stored in a printer.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a printing system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the printing system according to the present embodiment includes PCs 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d as terminal devices, and printers 3a and 3b as printing devices. The PCs 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d and the printers 3a and 3b are connected via the network 4 so that they can communicate with each other.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the printer. The printer 3a includes a CPU 31, a ROM 32, a RAM 33, a hard disk 34, an operation panel unit 35, a printing unit 36, and a communication interface 37, which are connected to each other via a bus 38 for exchanging signals.

  The hard disk 34 has respective areas for storing programs corresponding to the language analysis unit 310 and the image processing unit 320. The hard disk 34 of the present embodiment stores a plurality of printer drivers 100 and a user management table 200.

  The plurality of printer drivers 100 respectively provide print setting screens having different restriction contents of setting values that can be set by the user for a plurality of setting items. The plurality of printer drivers 100 may be stored in the hard disk 34 by the administrator of the printing system, or may be stored at the time of factory shipment. The user management table 200 is registered in association with user IDs and setting information related to the restriction contents of setting values. For example, the user management table 200 is created and edited by the printing system administrator through the operation panel unit 35 of the printer 3a. . The configuration of the printing system of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, except that a plurality of printer drivers 100 and a user management table 200 are stored in the hard disk 34 of the printer 3a. The detailed explanation is omitted.

  According to such a configuration, the server 2 for storing the plurality of printer drivers 100 and the user management table 200 is omitted, so that the configuration of the printing system can be simplified.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the color selection setting, the output paper size setting, the toner save setting, the print type setting, and the page allocation setting have been described as examples of setting items whose setting values are limited. However, the setting item whose setting value is limited is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, a setting item that has a prohibition relationship with the print type setting (double-sided printing) may be included, such as an output paper setting that includes “OHP sheet” as a settable setting value.

  In the above embodiment, the printer driver is selected based on the user ID. However, the printer driver may be selected based on information such as the user's department or group. In this case, department information or group information is input to the PC by the user instead of the user ID.

  In the above embodiment, the plurality of printer drivers 100 and the user management table 200 are stored in the hard disks 24 and 34 of the server 2 or the printers 3a and 3b. However, the plurality of printer drivers 100 and the user management table 200 may be recorded on a recording medium such as a DVD and provided directly to the PC 1a, for example.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the driver installation process is executed on the PC side which is the terminal device has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the driver installation process may be executed on the server side which is the management apparatus. In this case, instead of the user ID, for example, an IP address assigned to the PC on which the printer driver is installed may be acquired as information about the user.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the printer driver for the printer is installed in the PC has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to, for example, installing a printer driver for an MFP (Multi-Function Peripheral).

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the printer driver has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to a FAX driver for PCFAX. In this case, for example, one FAX driver is selected according to the user from among a plurality of FAX drivers having different setting contents that can be set by the user for setting items such as color / monochrome setting and resolution setting.

  The means and method for performing various processes in the printing system according to the present embodiment can be realized by either a dedicated hardware circuit or a programmed computer. The program may be provided by a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk and a CD-ROM, or may be provided online via a network such as the Internet. In this case, the program recorded on the computer-readable recording medium is normally transferred to and stored in a storage unit such as a hard disk. The program may be provided as a single application software, or may be incorporated in the software of the apparatus as one function of the printing system.

1a, 1b, 1c, 1d PC,
11, 21, 31 CPU,
12, 22, 32 ROM,
13, 23, 33 RAM,
14, 24, 34 hard disk,
15, 25 display,
16, 26 input device,
17, 27, 37 Communication interface,
18, 28, 38 buses,
2 servers,
3a, 3b printer,
35 Operation panel section,
36 Printing Department,
4 network,
100 printer driver,
100a, 100b print setting screen,
200 User management table.

Claims (11)

An installation program for installing in a terminal device a device driver that provides a setting screen including a plurality of setting items related to the function of a control target device,
A procedure (a) for obtaining information on a user of the terminal device;
Acquired in the step (a) from a plurality of device drivers stored in the storage unit that is the acquisition source of the device drivers, with a plurality of device drivers having different setting contents that can be set by the user. A procedure (b) for selecting one device driver corresponding to the information about the user;
A procedure (c) for performing control for installing the device driver selected in the procedure (b) in the terminal device;
An installation program for causing a computer to execute. The storage unit further stores a user management table in which information related to the user and setting information related to the restriction content of the setting value are registered in association with each other,
The procedure (b)
Referring to the user management table, recognizing the setting information associated with the information about the user acquired in the step (a) (b1);
A step (b2) of selecting a device driver that matches the restriction content of the setting value indicated in the setting information recognized in the step (b1) from the plurality of device drivers;
The installation program according to claim 1, wherein in the step (c), the device driver that matches the restriction content of the setting value indicated in the setting information is installed in the terminal device. The installation program is executed on the terminal device,
In the step (a), identification information input to the terminal device by a user of the terminal device is acquired as information about the user,
In the step (b), one device driver corresponding to the identification information is selected from the plurality of device drivers,
The procedure (c)
A procedure (c1) for acquiring the device driver selected in the procedure (b) from the storage unit;
The installation program according to claim 1, further comprising: a procedure (c2) for installing the device driver acquired in the procedure (c1) in the terminal device. The setting item includes a plurality of setting value candidates that the user can select,
The one setting value candidate selected from among the plurality of setting value candidates according to a preset priority order is set as an initial value of the setting item. The installation program according to any one of the above items.   The installation program according to claim 1, wherein the control target device is a printing device, and the device driver is a printer driver for the printing device.   The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the installation program of any one of Claims 1-5. An installation method for installing in a terminal device a device driver that provides a setting screen including a plurality of setting items related to functions of a control target device,
Obtaining information about a user of the terminal device (a);
Acquired in the step (a) from among a plurality of device drivers stored in the storage unit that is the acquisition source of the device drivers, the restriction contents of setting values that can be set by the user for the plurality of setting items being different. (B) selecting one device driver corresponding to the information relating to the user;
(C) performing control for installing the device driver selected in the step (b) in the terminal device;
An installation method characterized by comprising: The storage unit further stores a user management table in which information related to the user and setting information related to the restriction content of the setting value are registered in association with each other,
The step (b)
Referring to the user management table, recognizing the setting information associated with the information about the user acquired in step (a) (b1);
(B2) selecting from among the plurality of device drivers a device driver that matches the restriction content of the setting value indicated in the setting information recognized in the step (b1),
The installation method according to claim 7, wherein in the step (c), the device driver that matches the restriction content of the setting value indicated in the setting information is installed in the terminal device. In the step (a), identification information input to the terminal device by a user of the terminal device is acquired as information about the user,
In the step (b), one device driver corresponding to the identification information is selected from the plurality of device drivers,
The step (c)
Obtaining the device driver selected in step (b) from the storage unit (c1);
The installation method according to claim 7 or 8, further comprising a step (c2) of installing the device driver acquired in the step (c1) in the terminal device. The setting item includes a plurality of setting value candidates that the user can select,
10. The setting value candidate selected from among the plurality of setting value candidates according to a preset priority order is set as an initial value of the setting item. The installation method according to any one of the above items.   The installation method according to claim 7, wherein the control target device is a printing device, and the device driver is a printer driver for the printing device.