Printing data creation program and printing data processing apparatus

• US 7,830,542 B2
• Filed: 02/20/2003
• Issued: 11/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Minolta Corporation Limited (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Minolta Corporation Limited (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Ikeda, Hiroaki, Kawabuchi, Yoichi, Murakami, Masakazu
• Primary Examiner(s): Coles; Edward L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Milia; Mark R
• Application Number:
  US10/368,437
• Publication Number:
  US 20030164981A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,819 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.18, 358/1.15, 358/1.17, 715/205, 715/208, 715/209, 715/234
• US Class Current: 358/1.18
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/02 using printers
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/1819 for a same print job
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/1822 Analysing the received data before processing

Abstract

The printing data processing system searches for reference indication (i.e., link sources) in the received ML source data, and adds the page information for the linked objects to the ML source data. The page number on which the linked object is printed is printed after the printing of each link source term included when a ML source file, such as a home page. Consequently, when a home page is printed, for example, the user can easily arrive at the linked object from the link source in the printed document while the home page layout on the personal computer is kept intact.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with a program that causes a computer to execute the following steps to print ML source data:

a paper size input step in which the size of paper onto which printing will be performed is input;

a first page layout step in which the end of each page of a document is calculated and a first page layout processing of said document is conducted based on the input paper size and input ML source data;

a linked object page information creation step in which a page of said document containing a linked object is calculated, based on the first page layout result obtained in the first page layout step and the input ML source data, the linked object representing a location address from which the input ML source data is obtainable;

a data insertion step in which data that references the calculated page is created from the page information for the linked object and the input ML source data, and inserted into said document;

a second page layout step in which the end of each page of said document is re-calculated to determine whether the reference data inserted into said document causes a different page layout from the first page layout result obtained in the first page layout step, and a second page layout processing of said document is conducted based on the input paper size, the reference data inserted for each linked object of the input ML source data, and the re-calculated end of each page of said document;

a linked object update determination step in which each page of said document that is calculated to contain at least one linked object in the linked object page information creation step is re-calculated to determine whether the at least one linked object is contained on a different page of said document than the page calculated in the linked object page information creation step, based on the re-calculated end of each said page of said document in the second page layout step;

a reference data insertion update step in which the reference data inserted in the data insertion step for the at least one linked object which is determined to be contained on a different page in the linked object update determination step is updated to reference the different page on which the at least one linked object is re-calculated to be contained; and

a printing step in which the document with said inserted reference data is printed in accordance with the second page layout result obtained in the second page layout step and the reference data which is updated for the at least one linked object in the reference data insertion update step.

2. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the data insertion step inserts the reference data regarding the linked object immediately following the link source term in said document.

3. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the data insertion step inserts the reference data regarding the linked object in a specified area of the page containing the link source.

4. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 1, wherein the linked object page information creation step inhibits insertion of reference data for the linked object unless the linked object resides in the same file.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the linked object page information creation step inhibits insertion of reference data for the linked object if the linked object comprises a sound file or a file executed by a CGI program or other executable type file.

6. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 1,

wherein said data insertion step creates a new ML source file in order to insert page information for the linked object in the input ML source data.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 1, wherein the program causes the computer to execute:

a linked object update determination step in which each page of said document that is calculated to contain at least one linked object in the linked object page information creation step is re-calculated to determine whether the at least one linked object is contained on a different page of said document than the page calculated in the linked object page information creation step, based on the re-calculated end of each page of said document in the second page layout step; and

a reference data update step in which the reference data inserted for the at least one linked object which is determined to be contained on the different page in the linked object update determination step is updated to reference the different page on which the at least one linked object is re-calculated to be contained.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 7, wherein, in the printing step, the program causes the computer to print the document in accordance with the reference data which was updated for the at least one linked object in the reference data update step.

9. A printing data processing apparatus that performs printing based on printing data, comprising:

a paper size input unit that inputs the size of the paper on which printing will be performed;

a first page layout processing unit that calculates the end of each page of a document and conducts a first page layout processing of said document based on the input paper size and input ML source data;

a linked object page information creating unit that identifies a page of said document containing a linked object based on the first page layout result obtained by the first page layout processing unit and the input ML source data, the linked object representing a location address from which the input ML source data is obtainable; and

a reference data insertion unit configured to insert data that references the page of said document on which each linked object is respectively identified to be contained into said document;

a second page layout processing unit configured to re-calculate the end of each page of said document to determine whether the reference data inserted into said document causes a different page layout from the first page layout result obtained by the first page layout processing unit, and to conduct a second page layout processing of said document based on the input paper size, the reference data inserted for each linked object of the input ML source data, and the re-calculated end of each page of said document;

a linked object update determination unit configured to re-identity each page of said document that is calculated to contain at least one linked object by the linked object page information creating unit, to determine whether the at least one linked object is contained on a different page of said document than the page identified by said linked object page information creating unit, based on the re-calculated end of each said page of said document by said second page layout processing unit;

a reference data insertion update unit configured to update the reference data inserted by said reference data insertion unit for the at least one linked object which is identified to be contained on a different page by said linked object update determination unit, to identify the different page on which the at least one linked object is re-identified to be contained; and

a printing unit configured to print the document with said inserted reference data is printed in accordance with the second page layout result obtained by the second page layout processing unit and the reference data which is updated for the at least one linked object by the reference data insertion update unit.

10. A printing data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 9,

wherein said printing data processing apparatus includes a personal computer and a printer.

11. A printing data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 9,

wherein said printing data processing apparatus includes an image forming apparatus having functions of copying and printing of data received from an external device.

12. A printing data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 9,

wherein the printing data creating unit inserts the reference data for the linked object immediately following the link source term in said document.

13. A printing data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 9,

wherein the printing data creating unit inserts the reference data for the linked object in a specified area of the page containing the link source.

14. A printing data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 9,

wherein the linked object page information creating unit inhibits insertion of the reference data for the linked object unless the linked object resides in the same file.

15. A printing data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 9,

wherein the linked object page information creating unit inhibits insertion of the reference data for the linked object if the linked object comprises a sound file or a file executed by a CGI program or other executable type file.

16. A printing data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 9,

wherein the printing data creating unit creates a new ML source file in order to insert page information for the linked object in the input ML source data.

17. A printing data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 9, further comprising:

a printing unit that prints the document with the inserted reference data in accordance with the second page layout result obtained by the page layout processing unit.

18. A printing data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the linked object page information creating unit is configured to:

re-identify each page of said document that was identified to contain at least one linked object to determine whether the at least one linked object is contained on a different page of said document than the page identified in accordance with the first page layout result, based on the re-calculated end of each page of said document in the second page layout result obtained by the page layout processing unit; and

update the reference data inserted for the at least one linked object which is determined to be contained on the different page to reference the different page on which the at least one linked object is re-identified to be contained.

19. A printing data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 18, wherein the printing data creating unit is configured to print said document to include the updated reference data for the at least one linked object.

20. A printing data creation method comprising the steps of:

inputting a paper size and ML source data;

calculating, in a printing data processing apparatus, the end of each page of a document and conducting a first page layout processing for said document based on the input paper size and the input ML source data;

creating, in the printing data processing apparatus, page information that references a page of said document containing a linked object based on the first page layout result obtained from the page layout processing and the input ML source data, the linked object representing a location address from which the input ML source data is obtainable;

inserting said reference page information for the linked object in said document;

re-calculating, in the printing data processing apparatus, the end of each page of said document to determine whether the reference page information inserted into said document causes a different page layout from the first page layout result obtained from the first page layout processing, and conducting a second page layout processing based on the input paper size, the reference page information inserted for each linked object of the input ML source, and the re-calculated end of each page of said document;

re-calculating, in the printing data processing apparatus, each page of said document that was calculated to contain at least one reference page information to determine whether the at least one reference page information is contained on a different page of said document than the page identified in the creating step, based on the re-calculated end of each page of said document in the second page layout result obtained in the second page layout processing step; and

updating, in the printing data processing apparatus, the reference page information inserted for the at least one linked object which is determined to be contained on the different page to reference the different page on which the at least one linked object is re-calculated to be contained.

21. A printing data creation method as claimed in claim 20, further comprising:

a printing step in which the document is printed with said inserted reference page information for each linked object which is contained on the same page as the page identified in the creating step, and the updated reference data for the at least one linked object which was calculated to be contained on a different page than the page identified in the creating step.