MULTI-SOURCE, ADAPTIVE PRINTER DRIVER CONFIGURATION
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Abstract
Some embodiments of the invention provide techniques whereby a printer driver may be modified and supplemented over time. For example, a framework may be provided which enables a printer driver'"'"'s functionality to be supplemented over time to include new and/or enhanced features, such as features relating to the manner in which the capabilities of a printer are configured, print settings are manipulated, information is presented to users, print-related system events are handled, etc. In some embodiments, one or more components (which may be included in a print subsystem provided by an operating system of a computing device, in a printer driver, and/or some other system element) may be configured to automatically seek and acquire configuration data from any of various sources, including the printer device, one or more online sources, and/or other sources.
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Citations
40 Claims
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1-20. -20. (canceled)
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21. At least one computer-readable medium, comprising at least one of a memory or a disk, having instructions stored thereon for performing operations that supplement drivers for printer devices, the operations comprising:
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determining that new configuration data for adding a new feature to an existing printer driver and/or for enhancing an existing feature of the printer driver was made available by any of a plurality of sources, the plurality of sources comprising a printer device driven by the printer driver and at least one online source; obtaining the new configuration data from at least one of the plurality of sources; using the obtained configuration data to add the new feature to the printer driver and/or enhance the existing feature of the existing printer driver. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A system, comprising:
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at least one memory; and at least one processor, wherein the at least one memory and the at least one processor are respectively configured to store and execute instructions, including instructions that cause the system to; determine that new configuration data for modifying an existing printer driver that drives a printer device was made available by any of a plurality of sources, the plurality of sources comprising the printer device and at least one online source; obtain the new configuration data from at least one of the plurality of sources; and modify the printer driver according to the obtained configuration data, the modification including; addition of one or more new features to the printer driver; and
/orenhancement of one or more existing features of the printer driver. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A method for modifying a printer driver of a computing device, the method comprising:
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determining that new configuration data for adding a new feature to a printer driver already installed on the computing device and/or for enhancing an existing feature of the printer driver was made available; obtaining the new configuration data for adding the new feature to the printer driver and/or for enhancing the existing feature of the printer driver; and modifying the printer driver that is already installed on the computing device according to the new configuration data, wherein the modification of the printer driver adds the new feature to the printer driver and/or enhances the existing feature of the printer driver. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification