Patent ID: 9571680
Date: 2017-02-14
CPC Classifications: H04N

Claim:
1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a display portion that is disposed in an operation panel, and displays a setting screen for making a setting; a communication portion that includes a connector, a socket, and a chip for communication control, that communicates with an information processing apparatus communicably connected with individual image forming apparatuses, from each of which the information processing apparatus collects a setting history and configuration information, the setting history including a setting value set at each of the individual image forming apparatuses and setting date and time of the setting value, the configuration information indicating a configuration of each of the individual image forming apparatuses, and that receives from the information processing apparatus an information package used to provide guidance to a user, the information package including the setting history and the configuration information of another image forming apparatus; a storage portion that includes an HDD, and stores therein the information package received from the information processing apparatus; an operation portion that includes a touch panel and a hard key, and receives an operation with respect to a setting screen of the display portion and an operation of setting a setting value; and a control portion that includes a CPU and an image processing portion, that, based on a recommended-value related setting made at the operation portion in advance, refers to the configuration information to make a judgment on which of image forming apparatuses included in the information package is similar to an own image forming apparatus in apparatus configuration, or refers to the setting history included in the information package to make a judgment on which of setting values settable from a currently displayed setting screen has been set with high frequency, that extracts, based on a result of the judgment, a recommended value of one setting value or of each of a plurality of setting values settable based on a currently displayed setting screen at the display portion, and that makes the display portion display the recommended value, which has been extracted, in a recommended-value display area superimposed on the currently displayed setting screen.