Abstract:
A computer readable recording medium storing a printer driver program to be installed in a computer in order to use a printer, the printer driver program comprises following processings executed by a computer: a gasping processing for grasping version information of various kinds of printer related programs for executing a processing as to the printer, installed in the computer; and a version information displaying processing for, when a predetermined version information displaying instruction is input, displaying version information of the printer driver program together with version information of the printer related programs grasped by the gasping processing.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a computer readable recording medium storing a printer driver program which is installed into a computer in order to use a printer.  
         [0002]     As is well known, some kinds of printers having been on the market are each provided with a driver program for making the printer perform a printing operation and a monitor program for monitoring the operating state of the printer. Each of these programs is upgraded in its version at each program module constituting the program. Thus, each of the driver program and the monitor program for the printer is arranged (programmed) so as to be able to display the version information of the respective program modules of these programs.  
         [0003]     However, in the existing driver program and monitor program, when a user wants to know various kinds of version information relating to the respective programs installed in a user&#39;s computer, the user is required to repeatedly input instructions by using a mouse etc. thereby to start the driver program to display the version information relating to the driver program and thereafter to start the monitor program to display the version information relating to the monitor program.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a printer driver program which can display, through an easier operation, the version information of the printer driver program and the version information of other program such as a monitor program prepared for the same printer as the printer driver program which is stored in the computer readable recording medium.  
         [0005]     In order to solve the aforesaid problem, according to the invention, a computer recording medium storing the printer driver program to be installed in a computer in order to use a printer is prepared (programmed) so as to execute the following processings by a computer: 
        (a) a gasping processing for grasping version information of various kinds of printer related programs, installed in the computer, for executing a processing as to the printer; and     (b) a version information displaying processing for, when a predetermined version information displaying instruction is input, displaying version information of the printer driver program together with version information of the printer related programs grasped by the gasping processing.        
 
         [0008]     According to the computer in which the printer driver program according to the invention is installed, when the version information displaying instruction is input, both the version information of the printer driver program and the version information of the various kinds of printer related programs are displayed simultaneously. Thus, by using the printer driver program, the driver version information (that is, the version information of the printer driver program) and the version information of other program using the same printer can be display through an easier operation.  
         [0009]     Incidentally, at the time of preparing the printer driver program according to the invention, the grasping processing may be performed at the time of starting the version information displaying processing or at the time of starting the printer driver program.  
         [0010]     Further, the printer driver program according to another aspect of the invention is prepared (programmed) so as to execute the following processings by a computer: 
        (a) a checking processing for checking whether or not a monitor program is installed in the computer, the monitor program providing the computer with a monitoring function of monitoring an operating state of the printer and a monitor program version information displaying function of displaying version information of the printer driver program; and     (b) a version information displaying processing for, in a case where a predetermined version information displaying instruction is input, when the checking result of the checking processing indicates that the monitor program is installed in the computer, displaying the version information of the printer driver program, then for shifting to a state of waiting for input of a termination instruction of the display of the version information of the printer driver program or an instruction for displaying the version information of the monitor program, and for displaying the version information of the monitor program by using the monitor program version information displaying function when an instruction for displaying the version information of the monitor program is input.        
 
         [0013]     According to the computer in which the printer driver program according to the another aspect of the invention is installed, the version information of the printer driver program is displayed when the version information displaying instruction is input, and the version information of the monitor program is displayed when the version information displaying instruction for the monitor program is input in this state. In the conventional technique, the version information of the monitor program can not be displayed unless the monitor program is started. Thus, by using the printer driver program, the driver version information (that is, the version information of the printer driver program) and the version information of the monitor program using the same printer can be display through an easier operation.  
         [0014]     Incidentally, also at the time of preparing the printer driver program according to this another aspect of the invention, the grasping processing may be performed at the time of starting the version information displaying processing or at the time of starting the printer driver program. Further, as the version information of the monitor program, the version information group of plural program modules constituting the monitor program may be displayed.  
         [0015]     Further, the printer driver program according to the another aspect of the invention can be prepared in a manner that 
        the version information displaying processing, when the checking result of the checking processing indicates that the monitor program is installed in the computer, displays a first dialog box in which the version information of the printer driver program is displayed and a display instruction item is provided which is arranged in a manner that an operation with respect to the display instruction item is treated as the instruction for displaying the version information of the monitor program, and when the checking result of the checking processing indicates that the monitor program is not installed in the computer, displays a second dialog box which is arranged to have the same configuration as the first dialog box and inactivate the display instruction item.       
 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]      FIG. 1  is a diagram for explaining the using state of a printer driver program according to the first embodiment.  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the printer driver program and a monitor program  20  according to the first embodiment.  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is a diagram for explaining a printer property dialog box which is displayed by the printer driver program (driver module) according to the first embodiment.  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart showing processings executed by the printer driver program (driver module) according to the first embodiment.  
         [0021]      FIG. 5  is a diagram for explaining aversion information dialog box displayed by the printer driver program (driver module) according to the first embodiment.  
         [0022]      FIG. 6  is a diagram for explaining the using state of a printer driver program according to the second embodiment.  
         [0023]      FIG. 7  is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the printer driver program and a monitor program according to the second embodiment.  
         [0024]      FIG. 8  is a diagram for explaining a printer property dialog box which is displayed by the printer driver program (status monitor module) according to the second embodiment.  
         [0025]      FIG. 9  is a flowchart showing processings executed by the printer driver program (driver module) according to the second embodiment.  
         [0026]      FIG. 10  is a diagram for explaining a driver version information dialog box displayed by the printer driver program (driver module) according to the second embodiment. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0027]     Embodiments according to the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
       First Embodiment  
       [0028]     First, the gist of a printer driver program  10  according to the first embodiment of the invention will be explained with reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 .  
         [0029]     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the printer driver program  10  according to the embodiment is a program to be installed in a computer  50  connected to a printer  60 . Usually, a monitor program  20  for monitoring the operating state of the printer  60  is also installed in the computer  50  in which the printer driver program  10  is installed.  
         [0030]     These programs can be installed in the computer via Internet, CD-ROM and any computer readable recording medium. Needless to say, the programs may be preliminary installed in the computer.  
         [0031]     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the printer driver program  10  according to the embodiment is constituted by a driver module  11 , an existence confirming module  12  etc. Further, the monitor program  20  is constituted by a status monitor module  21 , a printer interface module  22 , an installer module  23  etc. In this figure, arrows are shown between the respective modules between which data relating to the version information is communicated (detailed explanation thereof will be made later).  
         [0032]     The driver module  11 , which is a constituent element of the printer driver program  10 , is a program for making the computer  50  perform a processing of generating print data to be supplied to the computer  50  and a processing of displaying a printer property dialog box. The existence confirming module  12  is a program (a DLL (Dynamic Link Library) in this embodiment) for making the computer  50  perform a processing of confirming the installing state of the monitor program  20  and a processing of grasping the version information of the respective modules of the monitor program  20  (that is, a function of obtaining the version information from the respective modules of the monitor program  20 ).  
         [0033]     The status monitor module  21  is a program for making the computer  50  perform a processing of monitoring the operating state of the printer  60  and a processing of displaying a window showing the monitored result (the operating state of the printer  60 ). The status monitor module  21  has a function of responding to an inquiry about the version information from other program (existence confirming program  12 ) (that is, a function of outputting the version information of its own program as a response to an inquiry). The status monitor module  21  is a program in which the version information is stored in another file.  
         [0034]     The printer interface module  22  is a program which is used by the status monitor module  21  when the status monitor module communicates with the printer  60 . The printer interface module  22  also has a function of responding to an inquiry about the version information from other program.  
         [0035]     The installer module  23  is a program having a function of installing the printer interface module  22  into the computer  50  and a function of responding to an inquiry about the version information from other program. The former function of the installer module  23  is utilized only at the time of installing the monitor program  20 .  
         [0036]     Explanation will be made as to the operation of the printer driver program  10  according to the embodiment on the assumption of the aforesaid matter.  
         [0037]     When a predetermined operation is made in the computer  50  in which the printer driver program  10  (the driver module  11 ) is installed, the computer displays on a display a printer property dialog box as shown in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0038]     When a version information button  15  on the property dialog box is pushed down (clicked) (or when a keyboard operation corresponding to this push-down operation is made: which corresponds to “when a predetermined version information display instruction is input” of claim  1 ), the computer  50  (the driver module  11 ) starts a procedure shown in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0039]     That is, the computer  50  (the driver module  11 ) firstly grasps the driver version information (the version information of the driver module  11 ) (step S 101 ).  
         [0040]     Next, the computer  50  checks by using the existence confirming module  12  whether or not the monitor program  20  is installed (step S 102 ). To be more concrete, in step S 102 , when the existence confirming module  12  receives a predetermined request from the driver module  11 , the existence confirming program checks the existence or non-existence of the monitor program  20  and notifies the result of the checking to the driver module  11 .  
         [0041]     Thus, when it is determined that the monitor program  20  is installed (Yes at steps S 103 ), the computer  50  grasps the version information of the respective modules (programs) constituting the monitor program  20  by using the existence confirming module  12  (step S 104 : corresponding to “a grasping processing” of claim  1 ). Next, the computer  50  displays the version information dialog box as shown in  FIG. 5  in which the version information of the respective modules of the monitor program  20  is shown together with the driver version information (step S 105 : corresponding to “a version information displaying processing” of claim  1 ). “Version 3.5.0. ci” shown in the version information dialog box is the driver version information, and “Ver. 3.00”, “Ver. 4.19” and “Ver. 3.01” in the version information dialog box are the version information of the status monitor module  21 , the printer interface module  22  and the installer module  23 , respectively.  
         [0042]     Then, when an “OK” button on the version information dialog box is pushed down, the computer  50  erases the version information dialog box and then terminates the processing of step S 105  and also terminates the processing of  FIG. 4 .  
         [0043]     On the other hand, when it is determined that the monitor program  20  is not installed (No at steps S 103 ), the computer  50  displays a version information dialog box in which only the driver version information is shown (step S 106 ). The version information dialog box displayed in step S 106  is a box in which the respective information within a box entitled “EPSON printer window !3” shown in  FIG. 5  is displayed in a gray out manner.  
         [0044]     Then, when the “OK” button on the version information dialog box is pushed down, the computer  50  erases the version information dialog box and then terminates the processing of step S 105  and also terminates the processing of  FIG. 4 .  
         [0045]     As explained above, the printer driver program  10  according to the first embodiment is arranged so as to be able to display at the computer the version information dialog box (see  FIG. 5 ) in which the version information of the printer driver program and the version information of the respective modules (programs) constituting the monitor program is shown. Thus, the versions of the various kinds of programs can be confirmed easily (in a short time) as compared with the conventional technique, by using the printer driver program  10 .  
       Second Embodiment  
       [0046]     Hereinafter, the constitution and operation of the printer driver program  10 ′ according to a second embodiment of the invention will be explained with reference to FIGS.  6  to  10 .  
         [0047]     As shown in  FIG. 6 , like the printer driver program  10  according to the first embodiment, usually, a printer driver program  10 ′ according to the second embodiment is also a program used in a state of being installed in the computer  50 ′ together with a monitor program  20 ′.  
         [0048]     As shown in  FIG. 7 , the printer driver program  10 ′ according to this embodiment is constituted by a driver module  11 ′, an existence confirming module  12  etc. The monitor program  20 ′ used together with the printer driver program  10 ′ is constituted by a status monitor module  21 ′, a printer interface module  22 , an installer module  23  etc.  
         [0049]     The existence confirming module  12 , the printer interface module  22  and the installer module  23  according to the second embodiment are same as the modules of the same name (the same reference numerals) of the first embodiment.  
         [0050]     On the other hand, the status monitor module  21 ′ is the same program as the status monitor module  21  in its essential function but is arranged to be a program which can make the computer  50 ′ perform a processing of obtaining version information from each of other modules constituting the monitor program  20 ′ and displaying (not accompanying by displaying a main window) a monitor version information dialog box as shown in  FIG. 8   
         [0051]     The driver module  11 ′ (the printer driver program  10 ′) is a program for displaying a printer property dialog box (see  FIG. 3 ) having the same configuration as that of the driver module  11  according to the first embodiment. However, this diver module is arrange in a manner that when a version information button  15  on the property dialog box is pushed down (clicked) (or when a keyboard operation corresponding to this push-down operation is made), the computer  50 ′ starts a procedure shown in  FIG. 9 .  
         [0052]     That is, when the computer  50 ′ (the driver module  11 ′) detects the push-down operation of the version information button  15 , the computer firstly grasps the driver version information (the version information of the driver module  11 ′) (step S 201 ). Next, the computer  50 ′ checks by using the existence confirming module  12  whether or not the monitor program  20 ′ is installed (step S 202 : corresponding to “a checking processing” of claim  2 ).  
         [0053]     Then, when it is determined that the monitor program  20 ′ is installed (Yes at steps S 203 ), the computer  50 ′ displays a driver version information dialog box configured as shown in  FIG. 10  (step S 204 ). That is, the computer  50 ′ displays the driver version information dialog box in which the driver version information (“Ver. 3.5.0ci”) is shown and a monitor version information button  18  is provided. In this embodiment, the driver version information dialog box corresponds to first and second dialog boxes of claim  3  and the processings at steps S 204  to S 206  correspond to a version information displaying processing of claims  2  and  3 .  
         [0054]     Then, the computer  50 ′ waits for an “OK button” and the monitor version information button  18  on the driver version information dialog box to be pushed down (step S 205  of  FIG. 9 ). When the “OK button” is pushed down (OK at step S 205 ), the computer erases the driver version information dialog box (not shown) and then terminates the processing of this figure.  
         [0055]     When the monitor version information button  18  is pushed down (“version information” at step S 205 ), the computer  50 ′ displays a monitor version information dialog box by using the status monitor module  21 ′ (step S 206 ). In brief, in step S 206 , the driver module  11 ′ issues an instruction of displaying the monitor version information dialog box to the status monitor module  21 ′, and so the status monitor module  21 ′ displays the monitor version information dialog box (see  FIG. 8 ) in response to the display instruction.  
         [0056]     Then, when the “OK” button on the monitor version information dialog box is pushed down, the computer  50 ′ erases the monitor version information dialog box and then terminates the processing of step S 206  and also terminates the processing of this figure.  
         [0057]     On the other hand, when it is determined that the monitor program  20 ′ is not installed (No at steps S 203 ), the computer  50 ′ displays a driver version information dialog box in which the monitor version information button  18  is made inactive (step S 207 ) Then, when the “OK button” on the driver version information dialog box is pushed down, the computer  50 ′ erases the driver version information dialog box and then terminates the processing of step S 207  and also terminates the processing of this figure.  
         [0058]     As explained above, the driver version information dialog box (see  FIG. 10 ) displayed by the printer driver program  10 ′ according to the second embodiment is provided with the monitor version information button  18  which is arranged to display the version information of the respective modules (programs) constituting the monitor program  20 ′ when the monitor version information button is pushed down. Thus, the versions of the various kinds of programs can be confirmed easily (in a short time) as compared with the conventional technique, also by using the printer driver program  10 ′.  
       MODIFIED EXAMPLE  
       [0059]     The printer driver programs  10 ,  10 ′ according to the first and second embodiments may be modified in various manners. For example, each of the driver modules  11 ,  11 ′ may be modified so as to also have a function as the existence confirming module  12 . Further, although each of the printer driver programs  10 ,  10 ′ is arranged to grasp the version information relating to the monitor program  20 ,  20 ′ when a user instructs the display of the version information (that is, when the version information button  15  is pushed down), each of the printer driver programs  10 ,  10 ′ may be modified so as to grasp the version information relating to the monitor program  20 ,  20 ′ when the driver program is started.  
         [0060]     Each of the monitor programs  20 ,  20 ′ may be arranged to have a module configuration different from the aforesaid configuration. Further, since the programs which version information is displayed by each of the printer driver programs  10 ,  10 ′ may only be ones using the printer  60 , each of the printer driver programs  10 ,  10 ′ may be arranged to display the version information of other printer driver program which generates special print data for the printer  60 , for example.