JPH11305982A - Print information processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] (with correction) [PROBLEMS] To improve work efficiency and improve convenience when integrated printing of a document which is divided and created by various applications in a system using a personal computer and which tends to have a large volume. . SOLUTION: In a system using a personal computer, a printer driver capable of designating holding as a metafile format spool file, and configuration information (page organization) of the metafile format spool file by a visual user interface )
With the tools that can control the spool file, it is possible to change the order of pages and delete unnecessary parts in a mixed state among multiple spool files, and then the result is composed of the actual spool file itself. Instead, it is handled as one print job that is a virtual document file in which the INDEX information is described.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a control system for supporting integrated printing of document files created by various kinds of application software in a computer system using a personal computer or the like. More specifically, print information created by various types of application software is stored in an operation system, for example, as file data in a metafile format corresponding to a drawing command of windows,
The present invention relates to a print information processing system that edits and integrates pages and outputs a single print job.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a system using a computer such as a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC), there are various kinds of application software, and a document file is created using the application software according to the form of a document. Depending on the contents of the document, one document file is often divided and created using a plurality of application software. In such a case, mainly in a stand-alone PC system, in such a case, the documents are manually combined after being individually output, integrated at the time of output by using a continuous printing function between application software, and file data is stored in one document file. The document is integrated by inserting and pasting the document.

[0003] In addition, a document having a relatively large volume, such as a specification or a manual, is often divided and created by a plurality of persons in charge. In this case, use groupware on the network to create a database of document files and share the data between persons in charge, or process procedures are defined by workflow, and documents are created in order by the persons in charge As a result, there is a case where a single document file is created from the beginning. However, the documents created by each person in charge can be merged (combined) later, or the individual documents can be printed out and then manually combined, or the document file that has been divided into small parts can be used by the application. Using a continuous printing (registering a document to be printed as a procedure) function to output as if it were a single document file (as seen in some word processing software) is also used.

[0004]

When a document having a large volume is created as one document file from the beginning, exclusive control becomes possible by using groupware on a network, and convenience is increased. However, if the volume exceeds a certain level, it takes a considerable amount of time to load (read) the data into the client PC, and in the worst case, it may not be possible to load the data at all because of insufficient memory of the PC.

Further, when merging individually created document files later, it is possible to avoid the problem that it takes a long time to load to a client PC or the like at the time of creation, or it is impossible to load them. Similarly, problems such as a load on the PC and a shortage of memory occur.

[0006] In order to avoid such a problem, most commonly, individual documents are printed out and then combined manually, but the productivity is extremely low due to complicated work. , Accidents such as missing pages are likely to occur.

Further, in order to output a small divided document file by using the continuous printing function of the application, it is limited that the application has the function. When a document file is divided and created, it is assumed that all use the same application. Also when inserting and pasting another file data into a document file, only when the application has a function, the work efficiency is low.

In any case, when combining document files to be integrated, it is difficult to easily and flexibly use, for example, the type of paper, the direction of paper, or the type of font to achieve consistency. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a control method for supporting combination of document files created by various kinds of application software, editing in page units, and integrated printing in a network system using a computer.
It is an object of the present invention to improve work efficiency and improve convenience when handling a document file having a large volume by dividing the document file, or when integrating and printing a document divided and created by various applications.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided a stand-alone personal computer (PC) which holds output data as a spool file in a metafile format without actually printing the data. Change the order of multiple spool files in mixed pages by using a printer driver that can be specified and a tool that can control the configuration information (page organization) of spool files in metafile format with a visual user interface The present invention is to provide a print support control method for making it possible to handle the result as one print job after removing unnecessary portions.

[0011] The print job in this case is not constituted by the entity of the spool file itself.
A virtual document that describes these INDEX information
The feature is that it is a file.

[0012] A printer / printer is connected to the client PC.
In a system in which a spool file in a metafile format generated via a driver can be held in a spool file state without actually being printed on a server PC, a plurality of spool files can be sequentially stored. The print support control method is intended to perform additional services such as high-speed distributed printing and automatic distribution printing using a continuous pair of grouped spool files.

In this case, the aggregate of spool files has format information unique to each spool file, and progress management and fault management are performed as one spool file as a whole aggregate. The feature is that it is possible.

A printer driver capable of designating the client PC device to hold output data as a spool file in a metafile format without actually printing the data, and a spooler in the metafile format by a visual user interface. -With a tool that can control file configuration information (page organization), change the order of pages and delete unnecessary parts in a state where multiple spool files are mixed, and then combine the results into one The print support control method is intended to perform distributed output or distribution output by treating the print job as a print job and transferring the print job to a server PC device.

In this case, the print job in the client PC device is not a real spool file itself but a virtual document file in which the INDEX information is described. Also, the aggregate of the spool files after being transferred to the server PC device has format information unique to each spool file, and the aggregate as a whole as a single spool file The feature is that management and fault management are possible.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. <First Embodiment> In a first embodiment of the present invention, a printer driver capable of designating a standalone PC device to hold a spool file in a metafile format and spool file configuration information (page And a tool that can control the organization of the spool file. The control is performed in a mixed state between a plurality of spool files, and the result is treated as one print job. The configuration information of the spool file (page organization) Is a printing support control method having a screen display specification in a tool capable of controlling the printing.

The first embodiment of the print information processing system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram including an embodiment of a print information processing system according to the present invention. The corresponding part in this embodiment is a stand-alone facility 5 surrounded by a broken line in FIG.
Only the part of 001 is sufficient. The content is composed of a stand-alone PC device 1101 and a printer device A 3101 locally connected to the PC. That is, the first
The content described as the embodiment example is the network 810.
This is a function provided in a state of being separated from 1 and a form in which this is linked to a network is described in a third embodiment example described later.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a print information processing system according to the present invention, in which only components are extracted and arranged for each invention number from the contents of FIG. Further, in addition to the contents shown in FIG. 1, the CVD-A programs 4101 and C
The positional relationship with the VD-B program 4102 is also specified. In the present invention, the CVD-A program 4101
The target range is the stand-alone PC device 1101 and the printer device A 3101 on which the is installed.

FIG. 3 is a system block diagram of a stand-alone PC device in the embodiment of the print information processing system of the present invention. The basic flow of the present invention is as follows.

1) Application program 420
0 performs output using the virtual printer driver 4301. The virtual printer driver 4301 at this time is software that can generate a metafile format spool file for the virtual printer. Normal printer
Unlike the driver, at this stage the printer device A31
01, and is stored in the spool area 4401 in the stand-alone PC device 1101.

2) In the spool area 4401, a virtual printer data file 4410 and a virtual printer job description file 4420 are actually stored for each spool unit.
Is stored. Virtual printer data file 4410
Is the entity of the spool file in the metafile format. The virtual printer job description file 4420 is
Various instruction information of a job corresponding to the virtual printer data file 4410 is stored.

3) From the time when the spool file is stored in the spool area 4401, the spool file can be controlled by the CVD-A program 4101. The contents of the control will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

4) The control result of the CVD-A program 4101 is generated as a virtual document file 4430 in which spool file INDEX information in the spool area 4401 is described.

5) Virtual document file 4430
Is executed, the virtual printer data file 4410 is passed to the print output module 4501 in accordance with the description content of the virtual document file. By passing it further to the printer A 3101, a printed output reflecting the control result in 3) can be obtained.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing how the stand-alone PC generates a virtual printer data file in the print information processing system of the present embodiment. In FIG. 3, the application program 4200 is simply three types.

1) The uppermost row is an application program (word processor) for creating a document (3) 420
1, the virtual printer data file generated in the spool area 4401 via the virtual printer driver 4301 is composed of seven pages 4281-1 to 4281-7 vertically. Application program (1) 42
Each page of the virtual printer data file generated from No. 01 is distinguished by an indicator of “W”.

2) The middle section is an application program (spreadsheet) (2) 420 for performing table calculation.
2. Similarly, the virtual printer driver data file is
It is composed of five pages 4282-1 to 4282-5 in landscape orientation. Each page of the virtual printer data file generated from the application program (2) 4202 is
It is distinguished by the sign "S".

3) The bottom row is an application program (3) 4203 for performing a presentation. Similarly, the virtual printer data file is horizontally placed 4283-
It is composed of five pages 1 to 4283-5. Each page of the virtual printer data file generated from the application program (2) 4203 is identified by a “P” indicator.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a main screen of the CVD-A program in the print information processing system of this embodiment. The details of the control of the CVD-A program 4101 will be described in detail. In addition, by operating on the screen as shown in FIG. 5, the CVD-A program performs processing according to the following control procedure.

A window 4121 on the left side of the screen is a tree diagram showing the storage status of the spool file (virtual printer data file 4410) in the spool area 4401 in FIGS. Actually, it is managed as follows.

1) The application program 4200 in FIG. 3 → the virtual printer driver 4301 → the spool
The operation in the area 4401 specifically has the contents shown in FIG. At this time, for example, the virtual printer data file output from the application program (1) 4201 in FIG.
1, the word processor folder in the window 4121 on the left side of the CVD-A program 4101 (● wordProsor (.wpf) in FIG. 5).
Managed within.

The virtual printer data file generated in this way is controlled as follows by the CVD-A program. FIG. 16 is a flowchart for explaining the control of the CVD-A program in the embodiment of the printing support control method of the present invention. The procedure for storing the virtual printer data file in each classification folder for each of the three types of applications described above. Is shown.

When a virtual printer data file is output from an application program in a metafile format using a virtual printer driver, any of the application program 1, application program 2, and application program 3 for creating a document outputs the data. Are respectively identified by an extension (.wpf), an extension (.ssf), and an extension (.ppf), and stored in the application classification folder.

2) In the folder of 1), each virtual printer data file is provided with a job title (“$ ( Is recognized as (xxxxxxx1.wpf) corresponding to the black triangle in the drawing). The folder of the above 1) is classified by identifying the extension part (.wpf) of the job title name.

3) Further, in the job title of the above 2), the contents of the pages constituting the spool file are recognized as serial numbers (such as ◎ 0001- ◎ 0007).

From the window 4121 on the left side of the CVD-A program 4101, an arbitrary portion of the spool file managed in the above 1) to 3) can be copied to the right window 4131 on which the contents can be visually displayed. Can be. Specifically, the left window 4121
Job title name (for example, “@xxxxxx
xx1. wpf ”), perform a drag operation, and perform a drop operation in the right window 4131 to obtain“ $ xxx ”.
xxxx1. All pages of "wpf" are copied. When a specific page is to be copied, a page number (for example, “◎ 0001”) is selected, and a drag and drop operation is performed to copy the page to the right window 4131.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart for explaining the control of the CVD-A program in the print information processing system according to the present embodiment, and is a procedure for copying pages of the virtual printer data file stored in each application classification folder. Is shown.

When the drag-and-drop operation as described above is performed, whether the operation is copying all pages, that is, moving the job title unit, or copying a specific page, that is, moving the page number unit Is determined, the control is performed such that all pages of the corresponding job title are moved if the movement is in units of job title names, and the corresponding page numbers are moved if the movement is in units of page numbers.

On the other hand, in the right window 4131, the contents of the copied job title name or page number are displayed.
It is displayed visually utilizing the characteristics of the metafile. Display specifications will be mentioned separately. For example, "@xx
xxxxxx1. wpf ”from“ ◎ 0001 ”to“ ◎ 000 ”
When "4" is copied to the right window 4131, 428
The images 1-1 to 4281-4 are displayed reflecting the direction of the sheet. Similarly, “◎ 0001” to “◎ 0004” of “△ xxxxxx1.ssf” and “△ xxxx”
xxx1. ppf ”from“ ◎ 0001 ”to“ ◎ 0004 ”
Also 4282-1 to 4282-4, 4283-1 to 42
The image 83-4 is displayed.

While these are displayed, editing in page units is possible. For example, if a drag operation is performed on 4281-1 and a drop operation is performed between 4282-2 and 4282-3, 4281-1 will be performed. It is inserted in the meantime (FIG. 5). When a drag operation of 4281-4 is performed and a drop operation is performed on 4283-4, 4281 is obtained.
-1 is added next to 4283-4 (FIG. 5). FIG.
9 is a flowchart for explaining control of the program A, and shows a procedure when editing in page units.

When an operation of dragging a specific page and dropping it on the destination is performed, a new page is detected,
It is determined whether or not there is a specification regarding the movement position by the drop destination. If there is no specification regarding the movement position, the page dragged to the position next to the last page is moved. If there is a specification about the movement position, if a specific page is selected by a drop operation, the dragged page is inserted next to the specific page, and a drop operation is performed between pages instead of selecting the specific page, If a separator mark is displayed, the selected page is inserted at the position of the separator mark.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a main screen of the CVD-A program in the print information processing system of this embodiment. As a result of the above operations, the right window 4131 in FIG. 5 is changed to the display content of the right window in FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of a virtual document file generated by storing the operation result of the CVD-A program in the print information processing system of this embodiment.

Reference numeral 4411 denotes "@xxxxxx" in FIG.
xx1. The virtual printer data file has contents of “◎ 0001” to “◎ 0008” of “wpf”. This virtual printer data file 4411 is a metafile
Following the header section, the record header and size for the page and the metafile body are arranged in page units. In this case, the page-based virtual printer data 4412 is the content of the second record of the virtual printer data file 4411, that is, 4181- FIG.
Same as 2. Similarly, virtual printer data file 4
415 is "@ xxxxxxxxx1.ssf" in FIG.
"◎ 0001" to "◎ 0004". Similarly, the virtual printer data 4416 is the content of the third record of the virtual printer data file 4415, ie, 42
Same as 82-3.

The virtual document file 4431 is
The control contents performed by the CVD-A program 4101 are listed based on all or a part of these virtual printer data files. If the contents of FIG. 6 are reflected, the second record (4281-2) and the third record (428) in the virtual printer data file 4411 are considered.
1-3) is a list on the first line in the virtual document file 4431. Then the first of 4415
Record (4282-1) and the second record (4282-
2) is the list on the second line. Further, the first record (4281-1) of the virtual printer data file 4411
Is the list on the third line, and the third record (428
2-3) follows the list on the fourth line. The format of the virtual document file list is an ID that can identify the job
In addition, the start and end numbers of continuous pages in the job, paper information, and the like are required. The virtual document file is configured by adding a virtual document file header to the head of these lists.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart for explaining the generation control of the virtual document file in the print information processing system of the present embodiment. The format of the list of the virtual document file indicates the start and end of successive pages in the job. To set. It is determined that the page of the virtual printer data file operated by the CVD-A program is not the last page.
It is determined whether or not the content is a continuous page having the same job title as the previous page. If the content is a continuous page having the same job title as the previous page, the content is substituted for the end page as it is, and if the content is a non-continuous page, a new record is set and substituted for the start page, and paper information and the like are obtained.

This virtual document file 4431
By specifying and printing, you can treat multiple outputs from different applications as if they were operations on the same application program without directly editing the spool file. . By using image data that reflects the paper size and paper direction, etc., rearranging the order and deleting unnecessary pages without consciousness of the application program of the output source, you can spell the optimal document. It can be easily created.

FIG. 8A is an explanatory diagram of a screen display specification of a tool for controlling the configuration information of the spool file in the embodiment of the print support control method according to the present invention. spool·
The screen display specification of a tool that can control file configuration information (page organization) will be described. Specifically, FIG. 5A shows an upper left portion of the right window 4131 in FIG. The diagram on the left side of FIG.
From the left window 4121 in “@xxxx
xx1. "wpf" is dragged as a whole and dropped onto the right window 4131.

In this figure, 4194 is “@xxxxxx”.
x1. This shows a state in which each page of “◎ 0001” to “◎ 0007” of “wpf” is bundled for each job title. At this time, the page display 4194 indicates the paper orientation of the portrait orientation, and the image of “◎ 0001” is displayed in the rectangular area on the front side, and symbols indicating the existence of a plurality of pages are displayed behind the image by shifting the position.

Reference numeral 4191-B denotes a page number display in the window 4131 on the right side of FIG. 5 of 4194. Here, the pages are bundled in job title units, and the first page of the display unit is displayed. Also, 4192
-B indicates the configuration page in the original 4194 spool file. Reference numeral 4193 denotes the paper size specified in the original data file.

In the figure on the right side of FIG. 8A, by double-clicking on the configuration page display 4192-B in the figure on the left side, the page display 4194 bundled in job title units is expanded in page units. This shows how it was done. The page number display 4191-B is expanded,
On each page, 4191-1 is "1", 4191-
In 2, it is shaken as "2". 4192-B also
For 4192-1, "0001" and for 4122-2, "0"
002 ",....

FIG. 8B is an explanatory diagram of the screen display specification of a tool for controlling the configuration information of the spool file in the print information processing system of the present embodiment, and FIG. In the case of horizontal installation, "@ xxxxxxxxx1.ss
This is an example of “◎ 0001” to “◎ 0004” of “f”.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating control of the spool file configuration information by the tool in the print information processing system of the present embodiment. It is determined whether or not the contents of the virtual printer data file are a plurality of pages. If the contents are a plurality of pages, the contents are bundled in units of job titles, and an integrated display is displayed behind them to indicate a symbol indicating the existence of the plurality of pages. When a double-click operation is performed on a stack display that is bundled in units of job titles, an expanded display for displaying individual pages is performed, and the stack display and the expanded display are switched by the double-click operation.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a display state in a state where a plurality of job titles are mixed in the print information processing system of this embodiment. At the beginning, "@" used in FIG.
xxxxxxxxx1. wpf ”“ ◎ 0001 ”to“ ◎ 0 ”
007 ”is displayed in a bundled state for each job title, and then“ @xxxxxxxxx.
“◎ 0001” to “◎ 0004” of “ssf” are displayed in a page-expanded state, but “@xxxxxxxxx” is displayed.
1. Double click on “◎ 0002” of “ssf” will result in “◎ 0002” to “◎ 0004”
Indicates that page bundling processing has been performed between. At this time, the first page number of each display unit is “1”, “8”,
"9" and "12". When the virtual document file is saved in the state shown in FIG. 9, that state is also saved, and the state is restored when the same virtual document file is opened next time.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart for explaining the control of the configuration information of the spool file by the tool in the print information processing system of the present embodiment, and is shown by extracting a broken line portion in FIG. When a double-click operation is performed in a state where a job title having a plurality of pages is expanded and displayed, if the operated page is the first page, the double-click operation is performed as shown in FIG. When the page is expanded and displayed, if it is a page other than the first page, the selected page and subsequent pages are switched to the accumulation display, and the pages before the selected page are maintained in the expanded display.

The output from various different application programs can be visually rearranged on a single tool, or unnecessary portions can be deleted, so that efficiency can be improved in the case of creating conference materials. Since page editing and the like are performed based on the spool file, the existence of the data file in the original application program is not always required. <Second Embodiment> In a second embodiment of the present invention, in a client / server system, a client P which can be designated by holding it in a spool area of a server as a metafile format spool file is designated.
A printer driver on the C side and a tool on the server side that can control the configuration information (page organization) of the spool file perform control in a mixed state among a plurality of spool files, and report the result as one print job. A print support control method is described, which is intended to perform as a distributed output or distributed output.

Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the printing support control system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG.
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram including an embodiment of the present example. The corresponding part in the present embodiment is a stand-alone part 5001 surrounded by a broken line in FIG. The contents are the client PC device A 1201 and the client PC device B 1
301 and a printer B3201, a client PC C1601, locally connected to the PC, a server PC A1401, a printer C3301 locally connected to the PC, and a printer D34
01 and a printer device E3501. Also,
In some cases, there is a server PC device B1501.

In the lower part of FIG. 2, constituent elements relating to the second and third embodiments are extracted in a minimum unit. In this embodiment, the client PC device B / C 1201
-1301 (however, in this embodiment, the CVD-A program 4
101 is unnecessary), and the inner broken line portion is the target range.
The client PC device B / C 1201-1301 and the inner broken line portion do not go through
CV in the broken line inside from the device B / C 1201-1301
Connected to the DB program 4102. While the first embodiment of the present invention is based on a stand-alone PC device, the present embodiment is largely different from the first embodiment in that control is mainly left to the control of the server PC device.

FIG. 10 is a system block diagram of the client PC device in the embodiment of the print support control method of the present invention, and shows the system blocks of the client PC devices A to C 1201, 1301, and 1601 in the lower part of FIG. ing. FIG. 11 shows a system of the server PC device in the embodiment of the printing support control method of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a system block diagram of a server PC device A1401 in the lower part of FIG. The fundamental difference from FIG. 3 in the first embodiment is that the client / server system is configured first, and the CVD-B program 41 which is a key tool of the present invention.
21 is mounted on the server side.

The basic flow of FIGS. 10 to 11 is as follows. 1) The application program 4200 performs output using the virtual printer driver 4301. The virtual printer driver at this time is software that can generate a metafile spool file for the virtual printer. The generated spool files are temporarily stored in the client PC devices A to C 1201, 1301, 1
601 is stored in the spool area 4401 in the PC device that has executed the output. Here, the description is given on the assumption that the client PC device A1201 has performed the output.

2) In the spool area 4401,
Actually, a virtual printer data file 4410 and a virtual printer job description file 44 are provided for each spool unit.
20 is stored as in the first embodiment. The virtual printer data file 4410 is an entity of a metafile format spool file. The virtual printer job description file 4420 stores various instruction information of a job corresponding to the virtual printer data file 4410. In this embodiment, the client PC device A
Spool file output from 1201 is server P
After being transferred to the C apparatus A1401, the content includes an instruction to stay in the server PC apparatus A1401 without performing actual printing.

3) The spool file stored in the spool area 4401 of the client PC A 1201 is transferred to the server PC A by the job transfer unit 4601.
1401 is transferred to the job receiving unit 6010.

4) The spool file transferred to the server PC A 1401 is usually immediately passed to the server main execution unit 6030, where a series of processing is performed. Area 6
020, control of the combination of jobs by the CVD-B program 4121 and control of distributed output and distribution output for the combined jobs can be accepted.

5) The spool file reflecting the control contents by the CVD-B program 4121 is output to the printers B to E3201 to 3501 with the specified control contents through the processes of the server main execution unit 6030 and below. Is performed.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating functions realized by the print information processing system of this example. The system configuration in the description of the functions according to FIG. 12 includes a client PC device A1201, a client PC device B1301, a server PC device A1401, a printer device B3201, a printer device C3301, a printer device D3401, and a printer device E3501. The control described below is based on CVD-B
This is the content for giving an instruction in the program 4121.

1) Spool file input from client PC device A 1201 and client PC
The spool file input from the device B1301 is combined with the server PC device A1401, and distributed printing is performed to the printer device B3201 and the printer device E3501.

It is assumed that the spool file input from the client PC device A 1201 is a file composed of a plurality of pages mainly composed of characters in A4 portrait format created by an application program (word processor) for creating a document. I do. On the other hand, the spool file input from the client PC device B1301 is composed of a plurality of pages composed of A3 horizontal ruled lines and characters (numerals) created by an application program (spreadsheet) for performing tabulation. Assume it is a file. These are connected to the server PC A14.
01 would normally be processed separately as separate spooled files. However, in the present invention,
These originally separate spool files can be combined and integrated within the server PC device A1401. In this case, it is necessary that the information of the metafile header portion stored in the combined individual spool files be preserved. When this integrated spool file is distributed and printed to the printer B3201 and the printer E3501, the contents organized in: 1 to: n +: 1 to: n are output to the respective printers. At this time, based on the header information of and
Despite two spool files, it is possible to output with a different paper direction and paper size, and to output uniformly to any paper size using the characteristics of the metafile. It is possible.

2) The spool file input from the client PC device A 1201 and the client PC
The spool file input from the device B1301 is combined with the server PC device A1401, and distributed printing is performed by the printer device B3201 to the printer device E3501.

It is assumed that the spool file input from the client PC device A 1201 is a file composed of a plurality of pages mainly composed of characters in A4 portrait format created by an application program (word processor) for creating a document. I do. On the other hand, it is assumed that the spool file input from the client PC device B1301 is a file composed of a plurality of pages composed of A3 horizontal ruled lines and characters (numerals) created by an application program for performing tabulation. Assume. It is the same as 1) that originally spool files can be combined and integrated. When this integrated spool file is distributed and printed on the printer B3201 to the printer E3501, for example,
The first half of the spool file is output to 3201, the second half of the spool file is output to the printer C3301, the first half of the spool file is output to the printer D3401, and the second half is output to the printer E.

The contents described above with reference to FIG. 12 are combined with spool files that should be originally separated and handled as one spool file, so that distributed output and distribution output can be performed in a coherent form. It is to be.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating functions realized by the print information processing system of the present embodiment. In addition to the functions described in FIG. 12, the order of jobs is changed as in the first embodiment. This is an explanation of the function. The difference from the first embodiment is that the control is performed on the server side. Note that the system configuration in the function description according to FIG. 13 includes client PC devices A to C 1201, 1301 and 1601 and server PC device A 1401.

1) The spool file output from the client PC device A 1201 is referred to as a “print job”. Similarly, the spool file output from the client PC device B 1301 is referred to as a “print job”, and the spool file output from the client PC device C 1601 is referred to as a “print job”.

2) The print job according to 1) is →
Are input in the order of → and the server PC device A140
It is assumed that 1 has been reached. The server PC device A 1401 in the upper part of FIG.
The print job is the oldest print job that arrives at a lower layer. If this is output to the printer as it is, the "print job", "print job", and "print job" are printed in a separated form according to the order of arrival at the server spool area.

3) On the other hand, as shown in the lower part of FIG.
In the CVD-B program 4121, the server spool
Change the print job in area 4401 from the state of 2) →
If the order is changed to →, the jobs are printed in the specified order and in a combined form.

By integrating the functions described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13, in the client / server system, the output from a plurality of different application programs can be arbitrarily changed in order to form a single spool. Distributed printing and distribution printing can be performed as a file.
In addition, since individual spool files output by a plurality of persons in charge can be handled as one spool file, a group of materials can be created without many manual operations. <Third Embodiment> In the third embodiment, the client /
In a server system, a printer driver on a client PC side that can be designated to be held as a spool file in a metafile format, a tool capable of controlling configuration information (page organization) of a spool file, and a server PC device A print support control method is described in which control is performed in a mixed state among a plurality of spool files, the result is treated as one print job, and further, distributed printing, distributed printing, and the like are realized. In the first embodiment of the present invention, as a system of a stand-alone PC,
In the second embodiment, the client / server system is shown, but in the present embodiment, the contents of the first embodiment are made to function in cooperation with the client / server system.

Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the printing support control system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG.
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram including an embodiment of the present invention. The corresponding part in the present embodiment corresponds to the part of the client / server system except for the stand-alone 5001 surrounded by a broken line in FIG. The contents are client PC
Device A 1201, client PC device B 1301 and printer device B 320 locally connected to the PC
1. It is composed of a client PC device C1601, a server PC device A1401, and a printer device C3301, a printer device D3401, and a printer device E3501 locally connected to the PC. In some cases, there is a server PC device B1601.

In the lower part of FIG. 2, constituent elements relating to the second and third embodiments are exposed in a minimum unit. In this embodiment, the entire outer broken line portion is the target range. However, unlike the second embodiment, the CVD-A program 4101 needs to be installed in the client PC device B / C. Client PC device B / C12
01-1301 and the server PC device A 1401 are CV
It is connected via the DA program 4101. While the first embodiment is based on a stand-alone PC device, this embodiment is greatly different in that the client / server system is cooperatively controlled.

FIG. 14 is a system block diagram of the client PC device in the print information processing system of the present embodiment, and shows the client PC devices A to C in the lower part of FIG.
The system blocks 1201, 1301, and 1601 are shown. FIG. 15 is a system block diagram of the server PC device in the embodiment of the print support control method of the present invention.
1 shows one system block. The configuration of this figure corresponds to the print output module 4 of FIG. 3 shown in the first embodiment.
In FIG. 14, client printers A to C 1201, 1301, and 1601 have contents 501 changed from the printer device A 3101 in FIG. 3 to the server PC device A 1401 in FIG.
This is a combination with FIG. 11 showing the embodiment.

The client PCs A to C12 shown in FIG.
As described above, the control contents of 01, 1301, and 1601 are the same as those described in the first embodiment. The difference is that the stand-alone PC device 1101 prints directly from the stand-alone PC device to the printer device A3101 according to the description contents of the virtual document file 4430, whereas in the present embodiment, this is transferred to the server PC device A1401. , CVD-A program 4101
The point is that distributed printing and distribution printing can be performed on a spool file reflecting the control result of the above. The contents are
Although similar to the embodiment, the second embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that the job can be combined with the spool file held in the server, and the distributed printing and the distribution printing can be designated.

In the third embodiment, the convenience of the first embodiment and
Productivity improvement combined with the convenience of the second embodiment can be expected.

[0081]

As described above, according to the print support control method of the present invention, a printer driver capable of designating holding output data from various application programs as a spool file in a metafile format, and a visual driver By using a tool that can control the configuration information (page organization) of the spool file by the user interface, edit the page unit in a mixed state among multiple spool files and treat the result as one print job. By using image data that reflects the paper size and paper direction, etc., rearranging the order and deleting unnecessary pages without consciousness of the application program of the output source, you can spell the optimal document. It can be easily created. Since the configuration information of the spool file is visually controlled, a plurality of outputs from different applications can be easily handled on the screen as if the operations were performed on the same application program. Outputs from various different application programs can be rearranged on a single tool, and unnecessary portions can be deleted, so that efficiency can be improved in situations such as when creating conference materials.

In the client / server system, the output from a plurality of different application programs can be arbitrarily changed, and distributed printing, distribution printing, progress management, etc. can be performed as one spool file. Therefore, the network can be utilized. In addition, since individual spool files output by a plurality of persons in charge can be handled as one spool file, a group of materials can be created without many manual operations. There are effects such as improvement of work efficiency, convenience, and productivity when integrated printing of a document which is divided and created by various applications and whose volume tends to be large can be expected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram including a print information processing system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram showing a print information processing system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a system block diagram of a stand-alone PC device in the print information processing system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing how a stand-alone PC generates a virtual printer data file in the print information processing system of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a CVD process in the print information processing system of the present invention.
It is an explanatory view showing a main screen of the -A program.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating CVD in the print information processing system of the present invention.
It is an explanatory view showing a main screen of the -A program.

FIG. 7 shows a CVD method in the print information processing system of the present invention.
FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of a virtual document file generated by saving the result of the operation in the -A program.

8A is an explanatory diagram of a screen display specification of a tool for controlling configuration information of a spool file, and FIG. 8B is an explanatory diagram of a screen display specification of a tool for controlling configuration information of a spool file.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a display state when a plurality of job titles are mixed.

FIG. 10 is a system block diagram of a client PC device.

FIG. 11 illustrates a system of a server PC device according to an embodiment.
It is a block diagram.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating functions to be realized.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating functions realized by an embodiment of the printing support control method of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a system block diagram of a client PC device.

FIG. 15 shows a system of the server PC device in the embodiment.
It is a block diagram.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating control of a CVD-A program in the example.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating control of a CVD-A program.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating control of a CVD-A program.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating control of spool file configuration information by a tool.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating control of spool file configuration information by a tool.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating generation control of a virtual document file.

[Explanation of symbols]

1101 Stand-alone PC device 1201 Client PC device A 1301 Client PC device B 1401 Server PC device A 1501 Server PC device B 1601 Client PC device C 3101 Printer device A 3201 Printer device B 3301 Printer device C 3401 Printer device D 3501 Printer device E 4101 CVD-A program 4102 CVD-B program 4121 Window on the left side of screen 4131 Window on right side of screen 4191-B Page number display 4192-B Configuration page display 4193 Paper size display 4194 Page display 4200 Application program 4201 Application program (1) ) 4202 Application program (2) 4203 Application program RAM (3) 4281-1-7 Page of virtual printer data file 4282-1-5 Page of virtual printer data file 4283-1-5 Page of virtual printer data file 4301 Virtual printer driver 4401 Spool area 4410 Virtual printer data file 4411 virtual printer data file 4412 virtual printer data 4415 virtual printer data file 4416 virtual printer data file 4420 virtual printer job description file 4430 virtual document file 4431 virtual document file 4501 print output module 4601 job transfer unit 5001 stand-alone 6010 job reception unit 6020 Server spool area 6030 Server main execution unit 6060 Job Transfer unit 8101 network

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Shinichi Kazumaki 2-229 Sakuragaoka, Higashiyamato-shi, Tokyo Inside Casio Electronics Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] A processing device for executing application software for generating print information; a printer driver for holding the print information in a temporary file data format described in accordance with a drawing command of an operation system; Storage means for storing the temporary file data stored in the storage means, and display means for visually displaying the temporary file data in print page units; and editing means for editing a page to be printed by the display means.
And output processing means for converting the temporary file data organized by the support application into information suitable for the processing format of the connected printer and outputting the information to the printer as a single print job. A print information processing system, characterized in that: 2. The print information according to claim 1, wherein the printer driver holds print information generated by a plurality of different applications as temporary file data described by a common drawing command of the operation system. Processing system. 3. The print information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the support application edits temporary file data generated by a different application on a page basis. 4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the support application converts the index information of the temporary file data into a virtual document file describing the index information.
The print information processing system described in the above. 5. A processing device for executing an application for generating print information, and a printer driver capable of designating holding the print information in a temporary file data format described in accordance with a drawing command of an operation system. A client PC, storage means for spooling the temporary file data transferred from the client PC, display means for visually displaying the temporary file data stored in the storage means in print page units, and the display means A support application including editing means for editing a page to be printed; and converting the temporary file data arranged by the support application into information suitable for a processing format of a connected printer and converting the temporary file data into a single print job. Output processing means for outputting to a printer A print information processing system, comprising: a server PC obtained as described above; and a printer that executes a print job output from the server PC.