JP3754040B2 - Document management apparatus, document management control method, and document management control program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a document management system that manages a file in which documents such as characters, images, and tables are recorded, and a control method thereof, and more particularly, a document management system characterized by processing when an image is formed and output. And a control method thereof.

  2. Description of the Related Art Document management systems that manage files that record documents such as characters, images, and tables have been known. Such a document management system is composed of a document management server, a document management client, an image forming job management server, and an image forming apparatus, and operates on documents stored in the document management server by operations from the document management apparatus. Various processes such as editing, moving, deleting, printing (image formation) can be performed.

  When printing a document in such a document management system, the document management client designates a document file to be printed on the operation screen for the document management server, and instructs printing. Then, the file is converted into an intermediate file for printing, transferred to the image forming job management server, distributed to an appropriate image forming apparatus, and printed out.

  This printout is normally performed one file at a time. However, a printing apparatus and method disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-168166 is an example in which a plurality of files can be printed together as a single document. is there. Further, a printer disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-125757 is disclosed in which a plurality of jobs accumulated on the printer side can be handled from the host device side as a new job. There is a printing system that includes it.

According to these apparatuses, methods, and systems, there is an advantage that documents created by different applications can be collectively printed as one document. In particular, according to the latter, it is possible to perform settings such as the number of copies and post-processing, and page rearrangement for the document after the print instruction.
JP 2000-168166 A JP 2001-125757 A

  However, according to the former, batch printing or the like must be designated in advance when a print instruction is given, and in the latter case, subsequent operations on a document once instructed to print are for job editing different from those for print instructions. There was a problem that the operability was poor because it had to be done in a dedicated window.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to improve operability related to an image formation output instruction of a document in a document management system.

  In order to solve the above problems, a document management apparatus according to the present invention includes a display unit that displays document information managed by a document management server and image formation job information managed by an image formation job management server on an operation screen. In response to a transfer request from the document management server to the image forming job management server for a specific document included in the document information input on the operation screen, an instruction to prepare for image formation of the document is issued. The image forming job is sent from the image forming job management server to the image forming apparatus according to an image forming request for a specific image forming job included in the image forming job information input on the operation screen. And a second means for outputting the output.

  In the document management apparatus, the first means automatically generates an intermediate file for image formation from the data of the specific document transferred from the document management server in response to the transfer request, and generates the intermediate file. Intermediate file generation means for storing an intermediate file as an image forming job in the image forming job management server, and all the image forming jobs included in the image forming job information managed by the image forming job management server in the operation screen A list display means for displaying a list above may be provided.

  Further, the document management apparatus includes a viewer activation unit that activates display by a viewer for a specific image formation job included in the image formation job information displayed as a list on the operation screen, and the viewer displays the viewer. A viewer display unit that generates image data for each page from an intermediate file of a specific image forming job and displays the generated image data on the operation screen may be provided.

  In addition, the document management apparatus selects a plurality of image forming jobs included in the image forming job information displayed as a list on the operation screen and combines the intermediate files of the selected plurality of image forming jobs. You may comprise so that a means to perform may be provided.

  In addition, the document management apparatus selects a plurality of image forming jobs included in the image forming job information displayed as a list on the operation screen and combines the intermediate files of the selected plurality of image forming jobs. Means for specifying an arbitrary separation position for the specific image forming job, means for dividing the specific image forming job at the separation position designated by the means, and the specific image on the operation screen. A unit for designating a page in the image forming job and a unit for deleting, copying, or moving a page designated by the unit to an arbitrary place in the same image forming job may be provided.

  The document management control method of the present invention includes a display procedure for displaying document information managed by the document management server and image forming job information managed by the image forming job management server on the operation screen, and the operation screen. A first procedure for instructing image formation preparation of the document in accordance with a transfer request from the document management server to the image forming job management server for a specific document included in the document information input above; The image forming job is output from the image forming job management server to the image forming apparatus in accordance with an image forming request for a specific image forming job included in the image forming job information input on the operation screen. And 2 procedures.

  In order to solve the above problem, the document management apparatus of the present invention acquires print intermediate data recorded in a storage device, adds a print setting command to the print intermediate data, and outputs the print setting command to a printer driver. Generates print settings including print execution means for causing the image forming apparatus to print the print intermediate data based on the print setting command, and print setting items considering the finishing function, and converts the print intermediate data into drawing data. And display means for processing the drawing data based on the generated print settings and displaying the processed drawing data on the operation screen as an image to be output on an actual sheet. Therefore, a preview display can be performed in consideration of finishing functions such as punching, stapling, and aggregate printing of print settings.

  In addition, after an image for one side of an actual sheet is displayed on the screen, an image for one side of the sheet next to the currently displayed image is displayed when the operator requests the next image. . Alternatively, when the operator requests the previous image, an image corresponding to one side of the previous sheet of the currently displayed image is displayed. Therefore, the paper can be turned.

  Also, when the print setting for duplex printing is specified and the image for one side of the sheet is actually displayed on the screen in consideration of the closing direction, the current display is displayed when the operator requests the next image. If the current side is the front side of the paper, the image on the back side of the paper is displayed. If the currently displayed side is the back side of the paper, the image on the front side of the next paper is displayed. Alternatively, when the operator requests the previous image, if the currently displayed side is the back side of the paper, the front side image of the paper is displayed, and the currently displayed side is the front side of the paper. If there is, the image on the back side of the previous sheet is displayed. Therefore, in the preview display, it is possible to perform a preview display considering the setting contents and a function of previewing both the front and the back of the sheet in printing designated for both sides. In addition, by executing printing with the set print settings, it is possible to execute printing with the settings as well as the preview display.

  According to the document management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, since a document operation, an image formation job operation, and an image formation instruction can be performed consistently on the same operation screen, image formation is possible. Job operations and image formation instructions can be easily performed, and operability related to document image formation output instructions can be improved.

  Since the information of the image forming job management server is displayed on the operation screen of the document management application, it is possible to refer to the list of image forming jobs as well as to refer to the list of documents stored in the document management server. Therefore, it is possible to easily grasp visually what kind of image forming job exists.

  If the contents of the intermediate file are displayed in page units by the viewer according to the instructions from the operator, the document stored in the document management server is once converted into an intermediate file as an image forming job, then moved, deleted, Since page-by-page editing such as copying can be performed on the viewer, the degree of freedom in image formation output is greatly improved. Further, if only editing for each page, it becomes unnecessary to open and edit a file for each document, so that operability can be improved.

  Further, according to the document management system of the second embodiment of the present invention, print data of an application is generated as print intermediate data by a printer driver, the print intermediate data is processed, developed into drawing data, and printed. I do. Generate print settings considering the finishing function, convert the accumulated print intermediate data into drawing data, process the drawing data based on the setting items in the generated print settings, and process the processed drawing data Display on the screen as a drawing to be output on paper. Therefore, a preview display can be performed in consideration of finishing functions such as punching, stapling, and aggregate printing of print settings.

  When the operator requests the next image after displaying an image for one side of an actual sheet on the screen, the image for one side of the sheet next to the currently displayed image is displayed. When the operator requests the previous image, the image for one side of the sheet immediately before the currently displayed image is displayed. Therefore, the paper can be turned.

  When double-sided printing is designated in the print settings, an image for one side of one sheet of paper is actually displayed on the screen in consideration of the closing direction. If the operator requests the next image after displaying the duplex printing screen, if the currently displayed side is the front side of the paper, the image on the back side of the paper is displayed, and the currently displayed side When is the back side of the paper, an image of the front side of the paper is displayed. When the operator requests the previous image, when the currently displayed side is the back side of the paper, the image of the front side of the paper is displayed, and when the currently displayed side is the front side of the paper Displays the image on the back of the paper. Therefore, the preview screen display realizes the function of previewing both the front and back of the paper and the display of the preview screen in consideration of the setting contents in the printing designated for both sides. In addition, by executing printing with the set print settings, it is possible to execute printing with the settings as well as the preview display.

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

  First, a document management system and a control method thereof according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the document management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The document management system includes a document management client 10, a first document management server (document management server A) 20, a second document management server (document management server B) 30, and a print job management server that is an image forming job management server. 40, a first printer (printer A) 50 and a second printer (printer B) 60, which are image forming apparatuses, are connected to a network 70.

  Various operations (operations) such as editing, movement, deletion, printing (image formation), etc., on documents such as characters, images, and tables stored in the document management servers 20 and 30 by operations from the document management client 10 Can be done. Among these, for printing, the print job management server 40 that stores the printer drivers of the printers 50 and 60 manages the print jobs, distributes the jobs to the printers 50 and 60 according to the print instructions, Printing is performed based on document data stored in the document management servers 20 and 30.

  As these document management client 10, first and second document management servers 20 and 30, and print job management server 40, those obtained by installing dedicated software on a known personal computer (PC) can be used. A computer with dedicated hardware suitable for the functions described below may be used. Also, as the first and second printers 50 and 60, known printers can be used, and digital multi-function peripherals having a printing function may be used.

  FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the document management client 10 of FIG.

  The document management client 10 in this embodiment is a PC, and as shown in FIG. 3, a CPU 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a hard disk drive (HDD) 14, a display 15, an operation unit 16, and a network control unit 17 are connected by a system bus 18. Configured.

  The CPU 11 is a control unit that controls the entire document management client 10. Various control programs and application programs stored in the ROM 12 and HDD 14 are executed to perform operations such as device control, data editing, information exchange with each device constituting the document management system, and commands to each device.

  The ROM 12 is a storage unit that mainly stores a control program for the apparatus. The RAM 13 is a storage means used for the work memory of the CPU 11 and temporary data storage.

The HDD 14 is a storage unit that mainly stores various application programs that frequently need to be upgraded. When the document management client 10 is used for other purposes, various files corresponding to the purpose are also stored. However, if the application program can be stored in the ROM 12 or read out from the document management servers 20 and 30 and used, the application program need not be provided.
As the display 15, a display device using liquid crystal or a cathode ray tube (CRT) can be used. On this screen, an operation screen that is an interface to the operator of the application program is displayed to accept operations and instructions, and the results are also displayed.

  The operation unit 16 is configured by a keyboard, a mouse, and the like, and an operator directly performs operations and instructions using these.

  The network control unit 17 is an interface with the network 70 to which the document management client 10 is connected.

  A similar device can be used as the document management servers 20 and 30 and the print job management server 40. However, the document management servers 20 and 30 have a large capacity HDD for storing a large amount of document data or an alternative storage. Means are needed. If all operations including the print job management server 40 are performed via the document management client 10, the display 15 and the operation unit 16 are not necessarily provided.

  Next, the operation of a document management application that is a document management means for performing operations on documents managed (stored) by the document management servers 20 and 30 from the document management client 10 will be described.

  A feature of the present invention is that the document management application displays the document management server and the document information managed by the document management server and the print job management server information on the same operation screen. In this case, the operation for the print job can be performed. Therefore, this point will be mainly described, and the description of the operation similar to that of a general document management application will be omitted. When an application is executed by an operating system having a multi-window function, the operation screen here refers to a single window, not the entire screen of the display 15.

  This document management application is a kind of the above-described application program, and is stored in the HDD 14, the ROM 12, the document management server 20, 30 or the like as described above, and is read and executed by the CPU 11 in accordance with an activation command from the operator.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of an operation screen by this document management application.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the operation screen by the document management application is displayed by a tree display unit 101 that displays folder information in the document management server and the print job management server in a tree format, and the tree display unit 101. A list display unit 102 that displays a list of contents of a selected folder among folders and the like.

  FIG. 1 shows an example in which the document management server A20, the document management server B30, the print job management server 40, and the folders therein are displayed as shown in FIG. A printer folder corresponding to a printer connected to the document management system is displayed under the print job management server 40. In the example shown in FIG. 1, a printer folder A corresponding to the printer A50 and a printer folder B corresponding to the printer B60 are displayed.

  In order to print out a document, on such an operation screen, the operator selects a folder in which the document is stored, and causes the list display unit 102 to display the document information as the content. After that, a document to be printed is selected by the mouse of the operation unit 16 and moved by dragging and dropping to a printer folder corresponding to the printer to be used for printing under the print job management server displayed in the tree display unit 101. Alternatively, a print request is input by performing a copy operation.

  FIG. 4 shows print preparation processing executed by the document management client 10 of FIG.

  When the above operation is performed, the document management client 10 starts the process shown in FIG. First, the document management application instructs the document management server storing the selected document data to send the document data to the print job management server as a print preparation instruction (S41).

  In the print job management server, when document data is sent, the printer driver of the printer corresponding to the dropped printer folder is called, and the document management client 10 automatically creates an intermediate file for printing from the sent document data. Generate (S42).

  The document management client 10 stores and manages the intermediate file as a print job in a printer folder which is a print job database (DB) (S43). This management is performed according to an instruction from the document management application.

  When a printer folder is selected in the tree display portion 101 of the display screen of the document management application, a list of intermediate files stored as the contents is displayed on the list display portion 102. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the contents of the printer folder B are displayed.

  FIG. 5 shows a print execution process executed by the document management client 10 of FIG.

  When the operator issues a print instruction from the operator to the print job displayed in a list, the document management client 10 starts the processing shown in FIG. First, the document management application starts the printer driver corresponding to the printer folder storing the print job as an instruction to execute printing to the print job management server, and receives an intermediate file that is a print job together with the print instruction. An instruction is given to pass (S51). The printer driver drives the printer based on the intermediate file data transferred according to this instruction, and prints out the contents of the document (S52).

  It is also possible to perform operations such as combining and deleting print jobs before printing. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining intermediate file combination processing executed by the document management client 10 of FIG. For example, when the operator selects the intermediate file A and the intermediate file B from the list of intermediate files displayed on the list display unit 102 and instructs to combine them, the document management application sends these instructions to the print job management server. The print job management server generates a new intermediate file A + B as shown in FIG. 6 in accordance with the instruction to combine the intermediate files and generate a new intermediate file. By instructing the intermediate file A + B to print, the file A that is the base of the intermediate file A and the file B that is the base of the intermediate file B are printed as one print job. be able to.

  Similarly, in the case of deletion, if the operator instructs to delete the intermediate file selected by the operator, the print job management server may delete the intermediate file and stop printing in accordance with an instruction from the document application according to the instruction. it can. In this case, a plurality of files can be selected and deleted at the same time.

  The document management system of this embodiment can print out the contents of the document managed by the document management server by the printer in accordance with the operator's instruction by the processing as described above. By configuring and controlling the document management system in this way, it is possible to perform everything from document operations to print job operations and print instructions on the same operation screen. Can be easily performed, and the operability related to the image formation output instruction of the document can be improved.

  In addition, since the print job management server information is displayed on the operation screen of the document management application, it is possible to refer to the print job list in the same way as referring to the document list stored in the document management server. Therefore, it is possible to easily grasp visually what kind of print job exists.

  This document management system generates image data of each page from an intermediate file using a printer driver, and the image is page-by-page by a dedicated viewer stored in the HDD 14, ROM 12, document management server 20, 30 or the like. It can also be displayed.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of a display screen of a dedicated viewer used in this document management application. FIG. 8 shows viewer display processing executed by the document management client 10 of FIG.

  The above-described display is performed when the operator gives an instruction to display one of the print jobs displayed in a list from the dedicated viewer. That is, when there is an instruction from the operator to select a print job and display using a dedicated viewer, the document management client 10 starts the process shown in FIG.

  First, the document management application instructs the print job management server to acquire image data from the selected print job (intermediate file) as a display instruction by the viewer (S81). The print job management server generates image data by the printer driver according to this instruction (S82). Thereafter, the document management application activates a dedicated viewer (S83). The document management client 10 receives the generated image data and displays the image on the operation screen (S84).

  On the display screen of this dedicated viewer, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, a page list display unit 103 that displays a reduced image (thumbnail) of each page of the intermediate file to be displayed, and the page list display unit 103 selected from the page list display unit 103 The page is displayed separately on the selected page display unit 104 that displays the image of the page.

  FIG. 7 shows an example in which “print job 4” shown in FIG. 1 is displayed and the image of “page 1” selected by the page list display unit 103 is displayed on the selected page display unit 104.

  In addition to this, display may be performed using only a reduced image, or an image may be displayed page by page in accordance with an operator's instruction. Here, the reduced image can be generated, for example, by thinning out lines from the image data once generated.

  The display screen of the dedicated viewer may be displayed in a window different from the operation screen of the document management application when an application is executed by an operating system having a multi-window function.

  By using such a dedicated viewer, the contents of the intermediate file, which is a file in a format that cannot be normally confirmed by the operator, can be confirmed as an image, so that convenience can be further improved. Here, the viewer is described as being dedicated, but a general-purpose viewer that is not dedicated can be used as long as the functions described here can be realized.

  According to such a viewer, it is possible to instruct operations for each page of the intermediate file, and operations such as moving, deleting, copying, and the like of pages within one intermediate file can be performed. In addition, the intermediate file can be divided.

  FIG. 9 shows print job operation processing executed by the document management client 10 of FIG. For example, in the case of division, when the operator displays the contents of the intermediate file to be divided by the viewer, designates the page at the division position from the list of pages displayed on the page list display unit 103, and instructs the division. The document management client 10 starts the process shown in FIG.

  First, the document management application instructs the print job management server to generate a new intermediate file by dividing the selected intermediate file at the specified position. The selected intermediate file is read from the DB (S91). The document management client 10 can print a single file as two print jobs by generating a new intermediate file, registering it again in the print job DB, and issuing a print instruction to the intermediate file. (S92).

  In the case of page operation, the contents of the intermediate file that the operator wants to operate are displayed by the viewer, the page to be operated is specified from the list of pages displayed on the page list display unit 103, and instructions such as move, delete, copy, etc. As in the case of division, the print job management server generates an intermediate file in the post-operation state according to an instruction from the document management application.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a print job operation. For example, in the case of page movement, when a page movement instruction is given by drag and drop or the like, an intermediate file in which the page order is changed is generated as shown in FIG. FIG. 10 shows an example in which an instruction to move the page A1 of the intermediate file A to the back of the page A2 is given. In the case of deletion or copying, an intermediate file that has been similarly deleted or copied is generated. Of course, the page to be specified is not limited to one page, and a plurality of pages may be specified at the same time.

  In this way, once a document stored in the document management server is converted into an intermediate file as a print job, page-by-page editing such as moving, deleting, and copying can be performed on the viewer. The degree of freedom of output is greatly improved. Further, if only editing for each page, it becomes unnecessary to open and edit a file for each document, so that operability can be improved. In addition, it is possible to move pages with a simple operation such as drag and drop on the viewer, or to delete unnecessary pages all at once, so this also improves operability. it can.

  In this embodiment, an example in which the document management client 10 is a PC and the CPU 11 of the document management client 10 executes a document management application has been described. However, the document management client 10 simply accepts an operation from an operator, and as a result, It is also possible to have only the function of displaying the image, and the operation of the application or the like may be performed by another server (which may be a document management server or a print job management server) connected to the network 70.

  In this embodiment, the example in which the document management client 10, the document management servers 20 and 30, and the print job management server 40 are all different devices has been described. However, each server also has a function of a document management client, and serves as this. You may do it. Further, the number of devices such as clients, servers, printers, etc. constituting the document management system is not limited to the above embodiment.

  Next, FIG. 11 shows a configuration of a document management system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  According to the document management system according to the second embodiment of the present invention, print settings that take the finishing function into consideration are generated, the accumulated print intermediate data is converted into drawing data, and the setting items in the generated print settings The drawing data is processed based on the above, and the processed drawing data is displayed on the screen as a drawing output on the actual paper.

  In FIG. 11, the document management system of this embodiment is configured by a document management computer 100 that is directly connected to printers 110, 120, and 130 by cables. Alternatively, the document management computer 100 may be indirectly connected to the printer 110-130 through a network.

  In addition, on the document management computer 100, it is possible to issue a print instruction to a printer connected through a printer driver from an arbitrary application.

  FIG. 12 shows the configuration of the document management computer of FIG. In the document management computer 100, the application program is assumed to operate on an OS such as Windows (registered trademark).

  As shown in FIG. 12, when the application 101 running on the document management computer 100 prints, the graphic engine 102 draws the data of the application 101 and outputs the data to the printer driver 103. The printer driver 103 converts the drawing data into a code that can be understood by a printer such as PDL (Page Description Language), and accumulates the data in the spooler 104. The spooler 104 performs printing by transmitting data to the printers 110 to 130.

  In an OS such as Windows (registered trademark), the graphic engine 102 is called GDI (Graphic Device Interface), and the OS provides this GDI. A spooler 104 is also provided by the OS.

  In the document management computer 100 of this embodiment, the printer driver 103 converts drawing data from the application 101 into print intermediate data, and accumulates the print intermediate data as a print intermediate file 105 in a storage device of the document management computer 100. In addition, the document management computer 100 adds a print setting command to a plurality of accumulated print intermediate data and sends the data to the printer driver 103 again, thereby setting a plurality of accumulated print data. Output from the printer under the specified printing conditions. The print setting command can be generated not only by the printer driver 103 but also from an external module.

  In this embodiment, the print setting module 107 receives data from the print intermediate data management module 106 that manages the accumulated print intermediate data, and image data that can be processed and displayed by the previewer 108, for example, DIB (Device Independent). Bitmap) or the like. The print setting module 107 generates consistent print settings that can be printed while exchanging information with the printer driver 103. Although this embodiment is applied in a client-server system, it can of course be applied to the same computer.

  The previewer 108 uses the image data converted from the print intermediate data and the print settings generated by the print setting module 107 to perform a preview display reflecting the print settings. The print setting command generated by the print setting module 107 when the operator completes the print setting and gives a print execution instruction is passed to the print intermediate data management module 106. The print intermediate data management module 106 sends the print intermediate data and the print setting command to the printer driver 103, and printing is executed.

  FIG. 13 shows an example of a print setting screen for the operator to make print settings.

  As shown in FIG. 13, print setting items and print setting items that can be selected after the operator selects a setting are reflected on the operation screen by exchanging data between the print setting module 107 and the printer driver 103. Is done. The print setting screen in FIG. 13 includes a column for displaying a preview image in a form reflecting the print setting. Below the preview image in this column, information on the currently displayed page number and the total number of pages is displayed, and buttons such as “Previous” and “Next” are displayed. The operator can change the page number currently displayed (paper turning) by clicking the “Previous” button and the “Next” button. In this example, the total number of pages is five, and the currently displayed page number is one page.

  FIG. 14 shows an initial setting operation executed by the document management computer 100 of FIG. In the initial setting operation of FIG. 14, the print intermediate data management module 106 acquires the accumulated print intermediate file and performs initial settings for print setting and preview display.

  FIG. 15 shows an operation executed by the document management computer 100 of FIG. 12 when the setting value is updated on the print setting screen. FIG. 16 shows an example of the print setting screen. The print setting screen example shown in FIG. 16 is an example when aggregate printing is set to “2 in 11” and punch is set to “left”.

  FIG. 17 shows a setting command on the print setting screen of FIG. Here, the paper size and direction are not set, but commands PAPER and LAYOUT corresponding to these are included. This is because the size and orientation of the paper to be printed are set when the application data is printed, and these commands are embedded when the print intermediate data is generated.

  First, operations for initial settings for print settings and preview display will be described. 14, the print intermediate data management module 106 of FIG. 12 acquires the accumulated print intermediate file 105 (S101).

  From the print intermediate data, the setting values of the paper size and direction of the data are acquired and passed to the print setting module 107 (S102).

  The print setting module 107 acquires a print function and setting value information for each function from the printer driver 103, and determines an initial print setting value (S103).

  The document management computer 100 displays a print setting value screen according to the print value information and the initial setting value (S104).

  The previewer 108 receives a print setting command from the print setting module 107, processes the image received from the drawing data creation module 109, and displays it. The print setting module 107 receives information necessary for the preview simultaneously with the print setting items from the printer driver, and passes a preview screen drawing request to the previewer 108 (S105).

  Next, an operation when the set value is updated on the print setting screen will be described.

  In FIG. 15, the document management computer 100 monitors the print setting screen (S201). The document management computer 100 determines whether or not the setting value on the print setting screen has been changed (S202).

  When the setting value is changed, a print setting item that is consistent with the other setting items with respect to the changed value is acquired, and the setting item is reflected on the print setting screen (S203).

  When step S203 is completed, the document management computer 100 sends a preview image drawing request to the previewer 108 (S204).

  Here, the length in the vertical direction and the length in the horizontal direction can be acquired as shown in FIG. 18 from the setting of the paper size and direction. For example, preview drawing information for aggregate printing is as shown in FIG. 19, and preview drawing information for punch is as shown in FIG. With these pieces of information, drawing data is generated as follows.

  The size of the preview image is 298 mm × 210 mm from FIGS. 17 and 18. From the preview information of FIGS. 19 and 20, the paper size is changed to 210 mm × 298 mm in order to rotate the paper. The number of pages drawn on one side is two pages. For this reason, the size of the preview image for one page is halved. Since it is not drawn on the back side of the paper, a total of two pages are drawn on one paper. The drawing of the page image is the 2n-1 page on the left half and the 2n page on the right half when the sheet is nth sheet. There is additional drawing data, and the designated image data is drawn at the upper left and lower centering positions of 5 mm on the paper.

  In accordance with the preview information, the preview image of FIG. 16 is drawn at a predetermined position on the operation screen. Since the page information at the bottom of the preview image is drawn on one sheet as described above, the number of sheets actually output is three, so the display is changed to 1/3. When the paper is turned and the current paper number is set to 2, the number of pages to be drawn is the third page on the left half and the fourth page on the right half.

  FIG. 21 shows another example of the print setting screen. The print setting screen example shown in FIG. 21 is an example when double-sided printing is set to “left binding”. The print setting command is as shown in FIG. 22, and the information necessary for the preview is as shown in FIG.

  It can be seen that drawing should be performed as follows. Since the paper is not rotated, the paper size is 298 mm × 210 mm. The number of pages drawn on one side is one page because there is no change. Since drawing is also performed on the back side of the sheet, a total of two pages are drawn on one sheet.

  Paper turning instructions are given on the front and back sides. The page image is drawn on the nth sheet, the 2n-1 page when it is the front side, and the 2n page when it is the back side. There is no additional image data. In accordance with the above setting information, the preview image of FIG. 21 is drawn at a predetermined position on the operation screen.

  The page information at the bottom of the preview image is drawn as two pages on one sheet as described above, and the number of sheets actually output is three. , Display on the back side is added. When the nth surface is currently displayed, the page to be displayed is the 2n-1th page. That is, in the case of the current second sheet surface, the third page is displayed. On the contrary, in the case of the back side, the page to be displayed is the 2nth page. That is, in the case of the back side of the second sheet, the third page is displayed.

  If the nth front side is currently displayed, the page turning instruction displays the back side of the (n-1) th page when "Previous" is selected, and the nth page when "Next" is selected. Display the back of the eye. Also, if the current display is the back side of the nth sheet, selecting “Previous” displays the nth surface, and selecting “Next” displays the n + 1th surface. To do. For example, in the case of the current two-sheet table, when “Previous” is selected, the first back surface is displayed, and when “Next” is selected, the second back surface is displayed.

  Next, an operation for drawing a preview image will be described.

  First, a preparation operation before drawing a preview image of a page will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 24 shows a preparatory operation before drawing a preview image, which is executed by the document management computer 100 of FIG.

  It receives setting item data, print setting values, and preview information for the print setting values from the print setting module 107 in FIG. 12, and determines whether or not to rotate the paper direction (S301, S302).

  When rotating in the paper direction, the vertical and horizontal lengths of the paper are switched (S302; YES, step S303).

  The paper area is not rotated (S302; NO), or the vertical and horizontal lengths of the paper are switched to rotate the paper direction, and then the paper area is drawn at the preview drawing position according to the paper size (S304). ).

  The number L of pages displayed on one side of one sheet is obtained from the preview information, and it is determined whether or not drawing is performed on the back side of the sheet based on the preview information (S305, S306).

  If not drawn on the back side of the sheet, the number of pages to be drawn on one sheet is determined to be L, L is drawn at a predetermined position in the preview area, and the unit for turning the sheet is determined for each sheet (S306; NO, steps S307 to S309).

  On the other hand, when drawing on the back side of the paper, the number of pages drawn on one sheet of paper is determined to be 2L, 2L is drawn at a predetermined position in the preview area, and the unit of paper turning is determined for each side of the paper. (S306; YES, Steps S310 to S312).

  FIG. 25 is a flowchart for explaining a preview image display operation executed by the document management computer 100. The preview image display operation of FIG. 25 shows an operation when displaying a preview image of a different paper page depending on the turning operation when displaying the preview image for the first time.

  In FIG. 25, the paper number n to be displayed is determined, n is drawn at a predetermined position in the preview area, and it is determined whether or not the paper number is also drawn on the back side of the paper (S401, S402). When the drawing is also performed on the back side of the paper, it is determined whether the display surface is the front side or the back side, and the surface information to be displayed (front / back) is further drawn at a predetermined position in the preview area (S402; YES, Steps S403 and S404). It is not drawn on the back side of the paper (S402; NO), and it is determined whether the display surface is the front side or the back side for drawing on the back side of the paper. The page number Ni (1 ≦ i ≦ L) to be acquired is acquired (S405). Here, L is the number of pages drawn on one side (the number of pages aggregated in aggregate printing).

  When the variable i is 1, a preview image for the page number Ni is acquired from the drawing data creation module 109 in FIG. 12 (S406, S407). The acquired image is reduced to 1 / L, and the reduced image is drawn on the paper area of the preview area according to the drawing position information of the image (S408, S409).

  Step S409: The variable i is incremented (S410). If the variable i has not reached the page number L, the process returns to step S407 and the processes from step S407 to step S410 are repeated (S411; YES). When the drawing process is performed on all pages, the additional drawing data is drawn at a predetermined position on the paper area (S411; NO, step S412).

  It is determined that the next page number or the paper number to be displayed in the first step, and the front and back sides, but in the initial display, the front side is displayed with the paper number 1 and the page after the paper turning operation In accordance with the determination method described above.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications and substitutions are possible as long as the description is within the scope of the claims.

It is a figure which shows an example of the operation screen of the document management application in the document management system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the document management system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a document management client in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining print preparation processing executed by the document management client of FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a print execution process executed by the document management client of FIG. 2. It is explanatory drawing of the process of an intermediate | middle file combination which the document management client of FIG. 2 performs. It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of a dedicated viewer used in the document management application which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining viewer display processing executed by the document management client of FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining processing of a print job operation executed by the document management client in FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a print job operation. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the document management system which is the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the document management computer of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the print setting screen for an operator to perform print setting. FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining an initial setting operation executed by the document management computer of FIG. 12. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement when a setting value is changed in a print setting screen. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting screen. FIG. It is a figure which shows the setting command at the time of the print setting screen of FIG. It is a figure which shows the command showing the length in the vertical direction and the length in the horizontal direction from the setting of the size and direction of the paper. It is a figure which shows the preview drawing information of consolidated printing. It is a figure which shows the preview drawing information of a punch. It is a figure which shows another example of a print setting screen. It is a figure which shows the setting command at the time of the print setting screen of FIG. It is a figure which shows the preview drawing information in the print setting screen of FIG. FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining a preparation operation performed by the document management computer of FIG. 12 before drawing a preview image. FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining a preview image display operation executed by the document management computer of FIG. 12.

Explanation of symbols

10 Document management client
11 CPU
12 ROM
13 RAM
14 HDD
15 Display 16 Operation unit
17 Network control unit 18 System bus
20 First document management server 30 Second document management server 40 Print job management server
50 First Printer 60 Second Printer 70 Network 101 Tree Display Unit 102 List Display Unit 103 Page List Display Unit 104 Selected Page Display Unit

Claims (5)

Display means for displaying document information managed by the document management server and image forming job information managed by the image forming job management server on an operation screen;
In response to a transfer request from the document management server to the image forming job management server for a specific document included in the document information, which is input on the operation screen, a first instruction for image formation preparation of the document is performed. Means of
In accordance with an image forming request for a specific image forming job included in the image forming job information input on the operation screen, the image forming job is transferred from the image forming job management server to the image forming apparatus via the network. A second means for outputting;
Job combining means for selecting a plurality of image forming jobs included in the image forming job information listed on the operation screen and instructing to combine intermediate files of the selected plurality of image forming jobs;
Delimiter position specifying means for specifying an arbitrary delimiter position for a specific image forming job;
Job dividing means for dividing the specific image forming job at a separation position designated by the separation position means;
Page designation means for designating a page in the specific image forming job on the operation screen;
A page editing unit that deletes, copies, or moves a page designated by the page designating unit to an arbitrary location in the same image forming job, and the first unit responds to the transfer request, An intermediate file for image formation for each page is automatically generated from the data of the specific document transferred from the document management server, and the generated intermediate file for image formation for each page is managed by the image forming job management. A document management apparatus comprising intermediate file generation means for managing as one image forming job in a server. A computer for controlling the management of document information by the document management device;
Display means for displaying document information managed by the document management server and image forming job information managed by the image forming job management server on an operation screen;
In response to a transfer request from the document management server to the image forming job management server for a specific document included in the document information, which is input on the operation screen, a first instruction for image formation preparation of the document is performed. Means of
In accordance with an image forming request for a specific image forming job included in the image forming job information input on the operation screen, the image forming job is transferred from the image forming job management server to the image forming apparatus via the network. A second means for outputting,
Job combining means for selecting a plurality of image forming jobs included in the image forming job information displayed in a list on the operation screen and instructing to combine intermediate files of the selected plurality of image forming jobs;
Separation position designation means for designating an arbitrary separation position for a specific image forming job,
Job dividing means for dividing the specific image forming job at a separation position designated by the separation position means;
Page designation means for designating a page in the specific image forming job on the operation screen;
A page editing unit that deletes, copies, or moves a page designated by the page designating unit to an arbitrary location in the same image forming job; An intermediate file for image formation for each page is automatically generated from the data of the specific document transferred from the management server, and the generated intermediate file for image formation for each page is stored in the image forming job management server. A computer-readable recording medium on which is recorded a document management control program for functioning as an intermediate file generation means for managing as one image forming job. A computer for controlling the management of document information by the document management device;
Display means for displaying document information managed by the document management server and image forming job information managed by the image forming job management server on an operation screen;
In response to a transfer request from the document management server to the image forming job management server for a specific document included in the document information, which is input on the operation screen, a first instruction for image formation preparation of the document is performed. Means of
In accordance with an image forming request for a specific image forming job included in the image forming job information input on the operation screen, the image forming job is transferred from the image forming job management server to the image forming apparatus via the network. A second means for outputting,
Job combining means for selecting a plurality of image forming jobs included in the image forming job information displayed in a list on the operation screen and instructing to combine intermediate files of the selected plurality of image forming jobs;
Separation position designation means for designating an arbitrary separation position for a specific image forming job,
Job dividing means for dividing the specific image forming job at a separation position designated by the separation position means;
Page designation means for designating a page in the specific image forming job on the operation screen;
A page editing unit that deletes, copies, or moves a page designated by the page designating unit to an arbitrary location in the same image forming job; An intermediate file for image formation for each page is automatically generated from the data of the specific document transferred from the management server, and the generated intermediate file for image formation for each page is stored in the image forming job management server. A document management control program for causing an image file to function as intermediate file generation means for managing the image as a single image forming job.   2. The page of the image forming job received and received via the network in accordance with an image forming request from the document management apparatus according to claim 1, the image forming job being managed in the image forming job management server. An image forming apparatus that outputs contents of a document based on an intermediate file for image formation for each image. A document management server, an image forming job management server, a document management apparatus, and a document management system configured by connecting image forming apparatuses via a network, wherein the document management apparatus includes:
Display means for displaying document information managed by the document management server and image forming job information managed by the image forming job management server on an operation screen;
In response to a transfer request from the document management server to the image forming job management server for a specific document included in the document information, which is input on the operation screen, a first instruction for image formation preparation of the document is performed. Means of
In accordance with an image formation request for a specific image formation job included in the image formation job information input on the operation screen, the image formation job is transmitted from the image formation job management server to the image formation job via the network. A second means for outputting to the apparatus;
Job combining means for selecting a plurality of image forming jobs included in the image forming job information listed on the operation screen and instructing to combine intermediate files of the selected plurality of image forming jobs;
Delimiter position specifying means for specifying an arbitrary delimiter position for a specific image forming job;
Job dividing means for dividing the specific image forming job at a separation position designated by the separation position means;
Page designation means for designating a page in the specific image forming job on the operation screen;
A page editing unit that deletes, copies, or moves a page designated by the page designating unit to an arbitrary place in the same image forming job, and the first unit responds to the transfer request by the document editing unit. An intermediate file for image formation for each page is automatically generated from the data of the specific document transferred from the management server, and the generated intermediate file for image formation for each page is stored in the image forming job management server. Includes an intermediate file generation unit that manages the image forming job as one image forming job, and the image forming apparatus includes:
In accordance with an image formation request from the document management apparatus, the image formation job managed in the image formation job management server is received via the network, and image formation for each page of the received image formation job is performed. A document management system for outputting the contents of a document based on an intermediate file.

Images