Patent Publication Number: US-2015067610-A1

Title: Image forming apparatus and storage medium

Description:
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE 
     The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Japanese Patent Application No.2013-177941, filed Aug. 29, 2013. The contents of this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates to image forming apparatuses and non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing a display program. 
     Image forming apparatuses such as digital multifunction peripherals manage a plurality of hierarchized menus as a tree structure. When a user selects a menu in a higher level displayed on a screen in such an image forming apparatus, the screen shows menus that are included in a lower level than that of the menu selected and that are associated with the menu selected. 
     Thus, the user can cause a desired menu to be shown by sequentially selecting any of the menus in every level, and then input operation for setting a device. 
     However, some low-end image forming apparatuses are not capable of displaying other information than menus for each level because of screen constraints. It is therefore sometimes difficult to reach a desired menu. That is, it is impossible to efficiently reach a desired menu because a user often needs to move back and forth among levels, for example. 
     On the contrary, a certain image forming apparatus has or acquires from a network or the like an operating manual provided in the form of electronic data and outputs a piece of information necessary for a user. 
     Such an image forming apparatus allows the user to easily reach a desired menu with referring to the operating manual. 
     However, some users may find it burdensome to input operation with referring to the operating manual even if they need to refer only to the necessary piece of information. In addition, even with the operating manual output, the user needs to select one menu in every level in order to reach the desired menu. 
     SUMMARY 
     An image forming apparatus according to the present disclosure includes a menu management section, a variant-attribute menu management section, a path information management section, and a display processing section. The menu management section manages a tree structure including a plurality of menus hierarchized according to their attributes. The variant-attribute menu management section manages a variant-attribute menu associated with a specified menu out of the plurality of menus as a quasi lower-level menu located in a quasi next lower level. The specified menu is classified according to its variant attribute different from corresponding one of the attributes used for the tree structure. The path information management section manages path information showing pathways to be selected to reach the specified menu in the tree structure. The display processing section displays the quasi lower-level menu on a display according to selection of the variant-attribute menu. Once the quasi lower-level menu is selected, the display processing section displays a next-lower-level menu of the quasi lower-level menu on the display based on the path information and the tree structure. 
     A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to the present disclosure stores a display program configured to cause a computer to execute processing including: managing a tree structure including a plurality of menus hierarchized according to their attributes; managing a variant-attribute menu associated with a specified menu out of the plurality of menus as a quasi lower-level menu located in a quasi next lower level, the specified menu being classified according to its variant attribute different from corresponding one of the attributes used for the tree structure; managing path information showing pathways to be selected to reach the specified menu in the tree structure; displaying the quasi lower-level menu on a display according to selection of the variant-attribute menu; and displaying a next-lower-level menu of the quasi lower-level menu on the display based on the path information and the tree structure once the quasi lower-level menu is selected. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram showing a tree structure of a plurality of menus according to the present embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a conceptual diagram showing a part of first screen transition information indicating the association between a first-level menu and its lower-level menus according to the present embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram showing a plurality of quasi hierarchized menus according to the present embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a conceptual diagram showing a part of second screen transition information indicating the association between a guide menu and its lower-level menus according to the present embodiment. 
         FIG. 6A  is a conceptual diagram showing a data structure of the path information of a menu “Sleep Level” according to the present embodiment. 
         FIG. 6B  is a conceptual diagram showing a data structure of the path information of a menu “Status” according to the present embodiment. 
         FIG. 6C  is a conceptual diagram showing a data structure of the path information of a menu “Sleep Timer” according to the present embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is a flowchart showing display processing to be executed by the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  is a diagram showing a part of screen transition according to menu selection through the guide menu according to the present embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure manages a tree structure including a plurality of menus hierarchized according to their attributes. At the same time, the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment classifies specified menus out of the plurality of menus according to their variant attributes different from the attributes (original attributes) used as a reference when the tree structure is built and associates the specified menus as menus in a quasi next lower level (hereinafter, may be referred to as quasi lower-level menus) with variant-attribute menus. The variant-attribute menus are menus that are not included in the tree structure. 
     The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment manages path information. The path information shows pathways to be selected to reach from a menu located in the highest level in the tree structure to a specified menu. When a variant-attribute menu is selected, the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment displays on a display a menu associated with the specified menu (quasi lower-level menu) and located in a next lower level to that of the specified menu based on the path information and the tree structure. Such a configuration can allow a user to efficiently reach a desired menu (operate a desired menu) without referring to an operating manual when trying to display the desired menu out of a plurality of hierarchize menus. 
     Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     An image forming apparatus  10  of the present embodiment is a digital multifunction peripheral. A digital multifunction peripheral includes various functions such as a printing function, a copy function, and a facsimile function. The image forming apparatus  10  includes a panel unit  20  and a main control unit  30  as shown in  FIG. 1  as well as components corresponding to the various functions. The components corresponding to the various functions are not shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     The panel unit  20  includes an operating section  21 , a display  22 , and a panel control section  23 . 
     The operating section  21  has various operation keys including a numeric keypad (numeric keys). Data according to operation (press) of each operation key by a user is input into a control section  31 . 
     The display  22  is a liquid crystal display device, for example. The display  22  displays a result of a response to the data input through the operating section  21  (input result), the status of the apparatus, and so on. 
     The panel control section  23  is a computing device such as a processor. The panel control section  23  is operable as an operation input section  24  and a display execution section  25  through execution of a program. 
     The operation input section  24  provides an operation inputting function. Specifically, the operation input section  24  generates input data according to press or release of any of the operation keys by a user. The input data is notified to the main control unit  30 . 
     The display execution section  25  provides a display executing function. For example, the display execution section  25  displays on the display  22  a result of processing executed by the main control unit  30  based on the input data. 
     The main control unit  30  performs overall control of the image forming apparatus  10 . The main control unit  30  has the control section  31  and a storage section  33 . 
     The control section  31  is a computing device such as a central processing unit (CPU). The storage section  33  includes a read only memory (ROM) storing a program, a random access memory (RAM) as a work area, a hard disk drive (HDD) as an auxiliary storage device, and the like. 
     The control section  31  is operable as a menu management section  311 , a display processing section  312 , a variant-attribute menu management section  313 , and a path information management section  314  through execution of a display program stored in the storage medium (ROM, HDD, or the like) included in the storage section  33 . 
     The menu management section  311  provides a menu managing function. The menu management section  311  manages a tree structure (hierarchized menu information) including a plurality of hierarchized menus. The menus are hierarchized according to their attributes (original attributes). 
       FIG. 2  is a diagram showing a tree structure (hierarchized menu information  35 ) to be managed by the menu management section  311 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the hierarchized menu information  35  is in the form of a tree structure. The tree structure includes a plurality of menus hierarchized according to their attributes (original attributes). 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the hierarchized menu information  35  is in first to seventh levels of hierarchy. Each level has at least one menu. The hierarchized menu information  35  is in the first level (highest level, “Menu”), the second level (“Device Common”), the third level (“Language”, “Def.Screen (BOX)”, “Date Setting”, and “Timer Setting”), and so on of hierarchy in this order according to their attributes (original attributes). That is, the menus are classified according to their attributes (original attributes) as shown in  FIG. 2 . The hierarchized menu information  35  is stored in the storage section  33 . 
     The display processing section  312  in  FIG. 1  provides a display processing function. When a menu (a higher-level menu) is selected based on the hierarchized menu information  35  (tree structure) shown in  FIG. 2 , the display processing section  312  displays on the display  22  a menu included in a level one level lower than the higher level and associated with the menu selected (hereinafter, may be referred to as display processing). The display processing by the display processing section  312  is executed through the display execution section  25  in the panel unit  20 . The following description of the display processing by the display processing section  312  is on the assumption that the processing is executed through the display execution section  25 . Hereinafter, a menu in a level one level lower than a higher level may be referred to as a next-lower-level menu. 
     Information for associating the menus in the non-first levels (second to seventh levels) with the menu in the highest level (first level) (information building the tree structure) is managed as first screen transition information. The first screen transition information is stored in the storage section  33 . 
       FIG. 3  is a conceptual diagram showing a part of the first screen transition information as the information building the tree structure shown in  FIG. 2 . Specifically,  FIG. 3  shows some of the menus in the non-first levels (lower levels) associated with the menu in the highest level. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the first screen transition information  351  associates screen identification information (hereinafter, may be referred to as screen ID) of each menu in the tree structure of the hierarchized menu information  35  with substructure information. Specifically, the substructure information associated with a menu (a higher-level menu) includes a screen ID of a next-lower-level menu associated with the higher-level menu. If the substructure information of a higher-level menu includes a plurality of screen IDs, the screen IDs are associated with the screen ID of the higher-level menu in the form of a screen ID list. 
     Thus, when a higher-level menu in the hierarchized menu information  35  shown in  FIG. 2  is displayed on the display  22 , the display processing section  312  can display on the display  22  a selectable next-lower-level menu associated with the higher-level menu based on the first screen transition information  351  shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     Next, variant-attribute menus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to  FIGS. 1 ,  2 , and  4 . The variant-attribute menu management section  313  shown in  FIG. 1  provides a variant-attribute menu managing function. The variant-attribute menu management section  133  manages the variant-attribute menus. The variant-attribute menus are associated with menus specified in the tree structure shown in  FIG. 2  as quasi next-lower-level menus of the variant-attribute menus. The specified menus are classified according to attributes (variant attributes) of the variant-attribute menu. The variant attributes each refer to an attribute different from the attribute (original attribute) of each menu in the tree structure that is used as a reference when the tree structure is build. Thus, the specified menus are classified and associated with the variant-attribute menus according to their attributes (variant attributes) different from their original attributes. The variant-attribute menus are stored in the storage section  33  as next-lower-level menus of a guide menu  36 , for example. The guide menu  36  is managed by the variant-attribute menu management section  313 . 
       FIG. 4  is a diagram showing a plurality of quasi hierarchized menus. The guide menu  36  is inserted into any level in the tree structure of the hierarchized menu information  35  shown in  FIG. 2 . In the present embodiment, the guide menu  36  is inserted into the second level as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     The variant-attribute menus as quasi third-level menus are associated with the guide menu  36  in the second level. In the present embodiment, three variant-attribute menus, that is, “Energy Saving Set. (energy saving setting)”, “Print Report (output pint report)”, and “Language Set (language setting)” are associated with the guide menu  36 . 
     The three variant-attribute menus and the guide menu  36  are classified according to their variant attributes different from the attributes (original attributes) of the menus used as a reference when the menus are classified in the tree structure of the hierarchized menu information  35 . 
     Specified menus as quasi next-lower-level menus are associated with any of the variant-attribute menus based on their attributes (variant attributes). For example, as quasi forth-level menus, “Sleep Timer” existing in the fourth level of the original tree structure, and “Sleep Level” and “Status” existing in the fifth level of the original tree structure are associated with “Energy Saving Set.” according to energy saving attributes. In this case, therefore, “Sleep Level” and “Status” are located in a level higher than their level in the original tree structure. 
     The variant-attribute menus and the specified menus are associated with one another based on second screen transition information  355  (see  FIG. 5 ) as in the lower-level menus associated with a higher-level menu based on the first screen transition information  351  (see  FIG. 3 ). The second screen transition information  355  is managed by the variant-attribute menu management section  313  and stored in the storage section  33 . 
     Next, management of path information will be described with reference to FIGS.  1  and  6 A- 6 C.  FIG. 6A  is a diagram showing a data structure of the path information of “Sleep Level”.  FIG. 6B  is a diagram showing a data structure of the path information of “Status”.  FIG. 6C  is a diagram showing a data structure of the path information of “Sleep Timer”. The path information management section  314  shown in  FIG. 1  provides a path information managing function. The path information management section  314  manages path information showing pathways to be selected to reach from the highest-level menu to a specified menu in the hierarchized menu information  35  (original tree structure).  FIGS. 6A-6C  show path information  371 A,  371 B, and  371 C of the three specified menus “Sleep Level”, “Status”, and “Sleep Timer” respectively, associated as the next-lower-level menus with the variant-attribute menu “Energy Saving Set.” 
     The path information of the specified menus is stored in a stack section  37  shown in  FIG. 7 . The stack section  37  has a data save area having a stack structure for each specified menu. That is, the path information of the specified menus is stored in the corresponding stack-structure data save areas. Specifically, the screen IDs of the menus existing in the respective pathways to be selected to reach from the highest-level (first-level) menu to the respective specified menus in the tree structure of the hierarchize menu information  35  are sequentially stored (stacked) in the corresponding data save areas as the path information of the respective specified menus.  FIGS. 6A-6C  show that the path information  371 A,  371 B, and  371 C of the three specified menus associated with “Energy Saving Set.” is stored in the stack-structure data save areas  37 A,  37   b,  and  37   c,  respectively. As shown in  FIGS. 6A-6C , the path information  371 A,  371 B, and  371 C each has a data structure in which the screen IDs of the menus existing in the pathways to be selected are stacked. 
     In the data save area  37   a  storing the path information  371 A of “Sleep Level” in the fifth level, as shown in  FIG. 6A , the screen ID (5H) of “Sleep Level”, the screen ID (4J) of “Sleep Level Set.” in the fourth level, the screen ID (3D) of “Timer Setting” in the third level, the screen ID (2A) of “Device Common” in the second level, and the screen ID (1A) of “Menu” in the first level are stacked from the bottom (first stack area) in this order. 
     In the data save area  37   b  storing the path information  371 B of “Status” in the fifth level, as shown in  FIG. 6B , the screen ID (5I) of “Status” is saved in the first stack area, and the subsequent screen IDs of the menus in the forth to first levels are stacked sequentially as in  FIG. 6A . 
     In the data save area  37   c  storing the path information  371 C of “Sleep Timer” in the fourth level, as shown in  FIG. 6C , the screen ID (4K) of “Sleep Timer” is saved in the first stack area, and the screen ID (3D) of “Timer Setting” in the third level is saved in the next stack area. Subsequently, the screen IDs of the menus in the second and first levels are stacked sequentially as in  FIGS. 6A and 6B . 
     The display processing section  312  displays a screen of the guide menu  36  (guide menu screen) on the display  22  based on the second screen transition information  355  (see  FIG. 5 ). The screen of the guide menu  36  shows the variant-attribute menus associated with the guide menu  36 . Once any of the variant-attribute menus is selected, the display processing section  312  displays on the display  22  a screen of the selected variant-attribute menu based on the second screen transition information  355 . The screen of the variant-attribute menu shows quasi lower-level menus (specified menus) associated with the variant-attribute menu. The image forming apparatus  10  of the present embodiment can achieve transition to the screen of the quasi lower-level menus (specified menus) to be displayed on the display  22  by causing the display processing section  312  to refer to the path information as shown in  FIGS. 6A-6C . 
     When the display  22  shows the screen of the variant-attribute menu “Energy Saving Set.” (energy saving setting screen), for example, the screen includes quasi lower-level menus (specified menus in the original tree structure) “Sleep Timer”, “Sleep Level,” and “Status” as selectable menus. Then, once “Sleep Timer”, “Sleep Level,” or “Status” is selected, the display processing section  312  refers to the path information  371 A,  371 B, or  371 C shown in  FIG. 6A ,  6 B, or  6 C to retrieve the screen IDs from the data save area  37   a,    37   b,  or  37   c  of the stack section  37  sequentially from the last stack area (the top area of the path information  371 A,  371 B, or  371 C) through to the first stack area (the bottom area of the path information  371 A,  371 B, or  371 C). 
     The display processing section  312  then displays on the display  22  the screen of “Sleep Timer”, “Sleep Level”, or “Status” based on the screen ID saved in the first stack area (the bottom area of the path information  371 A,  371 B, or  371 C) and the first screen transition information  351  (tree structure). That is, the display  22  shows the next-lower-level menu representing “Sleep Timer”, “Sleep Level”, or “Status”. 
     Display Processing  
     Next, the display processing by menu selection will be described with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 7 .  FIG. 7  is a flowchart showing the display processing by menu selection according to the present embodiment. 
     The display processing of the present embodiment is started by operation of a menu key (operation key) included in the operating section  21  in the panel unit  20 . 
     In Step S 1 , an initial menu screen is displayed. Specifically, the operation input section  24  in the panel unit  20  firstly receives operation of the menu key or the like and notifies the main control unit  30  of input data. In response to the notification, the display processing section  312  in the main control unit  30  displays on the display  22  the initial menu screen for the menu selection. 
     More specifically, upon receiving the notification from the operation input section  24 , the display processing section  312  refers to the first screen transition information  351  and the second screen transition information  355  to acquire the screen ID of “Menu” in the highest level (first level) in the tree structure and the screen IDs of “Device Common” and “Guide Menu (guide menu)” in the second level that are associated with “Menu”. 
     Thereafter, the display processing section  312  acquires from the storage section  33  image data (character strings in the present embodiment) corresponding to the screen 
     IDs acquired, and then displays on the display  22  images (character strings) of “Menu”, “Device Common”, and “Guide Menu” based on the image data acquired. As a result, the initial menu screen is displayed. 
     Once the initial menu screen is displayed, the processing flows to Step S 2 . 
     In Step S 2 , the display processing section  312  determines whether or not selection of the guide menu  36  has been received. Specifically, once the operation input section  24  receives selection of any of the menus shown on the initial menu screen through operation of an operation key in the operating section  21 , the display processing section  312  determines whether or not selection of the guide menu  36  has been received based on the data input from the operation input section  24 . 
     More specifically, the display processing section  312  acquires the screen ID of the menu selected on the initial menu screen. The screen ID is acquired by referring to the first screen transition information  351  and the second screen transition information  355  as in the case of Step S 1 . The display processing section  312  determines, based on the screen ID acquired, whether or not the menu selected is the guide menu  36 . 
     When the display processing section  312  determines that “Device Common” has been selected rather than the guide menu  36  (NO), then the processing flows to Step S 3 . When the display processing section  312  determines that the guide menu  36  has been selected (YES), then the processing flows to Step S 4 . 
     In Step S 3 , normal screen transition processing is performed. Specifically, the display processing section  312  refers to the first screen transition information  351  to acquire the screen ID of a next-lower-level menu of the menu selected. The display processing section  312  then displays on the display  22  a screen showing the content of the selected menu based on the image data corresponding to the screen ID acquired. Thereafter, every time any of the menus is selected, the display processing section  312  displays on the display  22  a next-lower-level menu showing the content of the menu selected. 
     In Step S 4 , on the other hand, the guide menu screen is displayed on the display  22 . Specifically, the display processing section  312  displays the guide menu screen on the display  22  based on the second screen transition information  355 . 
     That is, the display processing section  312  refers to the second screen transition information  355  to acquire the screen IDs of the variant-attribute menus “Energy Saving Set.”, “Print Report”, and “Language Set” associated with the guide menu  36 . The display processing section  312  then displays on the display  22  a screen showing the menus based on image data corresponding to the screen IDs acquired (see guide menu screen  221 A shown in  FIG. 8 ). 
     Once the guide menu screen is displayed, the processing flows to Step S 5 . In Step S 5 , selection of a variant-attribute menu is received. Specifically, upon receiving selection of any of the variant-attribute menus shown on the guide menu screen through operation of an operation key, the operation input section  24  notifies the display processing section  312  of the input data. Then, the processing flows to Step S 6 . In Step S 6 , a variant-attribute menu screen is displayed on the display  22 . 
     Specifically, based on the notification from the operation input section  24 , the display processing section  312  refers to the second screen transition information  355  as in Step S 4  to acquire the screen IDs of quasi lower-level menus (specified menus in the original tree structure) associated with the variant-attribute menu selected. When “Energy Saving Set.” is selected, for example, the screen IDs of “Sleep Level”, “Status”, and “Sleep Timer” are acquired. The display processing section  312  then displays on the display  22  the variant-attribute menu screen based on image data corresponding to the screen IDs acquired (e.g., see energy saving setting screen  221 B shown in  FIG. 8 ). 
     Once the variant-attribute menu screen is displayed on the display  22 , the processing flows to Step S 7 . 
     In Step S 7 , selection of a quasi lower-level menu is received. Specifically, upon receiving selection of any of the quasi lower-level menus (specified menus in the original tree structure) shown on the variant-attribute menu screen through operation of an operation key in the operating section  21 , the operation input section  24  notifies the display processing section  312  of the input data. Then, the processing flows to Step S 8 . 
     In Step S 8 , path information is retrieved. Specifically, based on the notification of the input data from the operation input section  24 , the display processing section  312  retrieves the path information of the quasi lower-level menu (specified menu) selected. When “Sleep Level”, “Status”, or “Sleep Timer” associated with “Energy Saving Set.” is selected, for example, the path information  371 A,  371 B, or  371 C saved in the stack section  37  as shown in  FIG. 6A ,  6 B, or  6 C is retrieved. 
     That is, based on the screen IDs acquired in Step S 6 , the display processing section  312  retrieves the screen IDs from the data save area storing the path information of the quasi lower-level menu (specified menu) selected. More specifically, the display processing section  312  retrieves the screen IDs from the data save area sequentially from the screen ID in the last stack area through to the screen ID in the first stack area. 
     Once the path information is retrieved, the processing flows to Step S 9 . 
     In Step S 9 , a screen is displayed based on the path information. Specifically, based on the first screen transition information  351  and the screen ID retrieved from the first stack area, the display processing section  312  displays on the display  22  the content of the quasi lower-level menu selected (see screens  221 C to  221 E shown in  FIG. 8 ). 
     Once the screen based on the path information is displayed on the display  22 , the display processing of the present embodiment is ended. The quasi lower-level menu selected may further have a next-lower-level menu associated therewith. In this case, every time any of the menus is selected, the display processing section  312  displays on the display  22  a next-lower-level menu representing the content of the menu selected as in the normal screen transition processing. 
     Example of Screen Transition According to Menu Selection  
       FIG. 8  is a diagram showing an example of screen transition from the guide menu  36  according to menu selection. 
     The screens  221 A to  221 H shown in  FIG. 8  each have a cursor  50 , a cursor key  51 , an “OK” key  52 , and an “EXIT” key  53 . The cursor key  51  is used to input an instruction to move the cursor  50 . The “OK” key  52  is used to input an instruction to select a designated menu. The “EXIT” key  53  is used to input an instruction to end the screen. 
     The guide menu screen  221 A shown in  FIG. 8  is a screen to be displayed in Step S 4  shown in  FIG. 7 . The guide menu screen  221 A shows the three variant-attribute menus as menus to be selected (selectable items), that is, “Energy Saving Set. (energy saving setting)”, “Print Report (output print report)”, and “Language Set (language setting)”. 
     A user can designate any of the variant-attribute menus on the guide menu screen  221 A by moving the cursor  50  through operation of the cursor key  51 . Further, the user can execute selection of the designated variant-attribute menu through operation of the “OK” key  52 . 
     When “[01] Energy Saving Set.” is selected on the guide menu screen  221 A, for example, the energy saving setting screen  221 B shown in  FIG. 8  is displayed as the variant-attribute menu screen in Step S 6 . 
     The energy saving setting screen  221 B shows the three specified menus “Sleep Level”, “Status”, and “Sleep Timer” as the quasi lower-level menus associated with “Energy Saving Set”. 
     “Sleep Level”, “Status”, and “Sleep Timer” exist in different branches of the original tree structure, and thus they are not to be displayed on the same screen in nature. However, according to the present embodiment, they can be alternatively selected on the energy saving setting screen  221 B. In addition, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to access each specified menu (e.g., “Sleep Level”, “Status”, or “Sleep Timer”) using the original tree structure by referring to the path information (see  FIGS. 6A-6C ). Subsequently, when “[01] Sleep Level” is selected on the energy saving setting screen  221 B, for example, the sleep level setting screen  221 C is displayed on the display  22 . Alternatively, when “[02] Status” is selected on the energy saving setting screen  221 B, the status setting screen  221 D is displayed on the display  22 . Alternatively, when “[03] Sleep Timer” is selected on the energy saving setting screen  221 B, the sleep timer setting screen  221 E is displayed on the display  22 . 
     Thus, the energy saving setting screen  221 B can transit to the sleep level setting screen  221 C, the status setting screen  221 D, or the sleep timer setting screen  221 E. 
     The sleep level setting screen  221 C shows menus (selectable menus) “Quick Recovery” and “Energy Saver”. 
     The status setting screen  221 D shows menus (selectable menus) “Network (network setting)”, “USB Cable (USB cable setting), and “Card Reader (card reader setting). When “[01] Network” is selected on the status setting screen  221 D, the network setting screen  221 F is displayed. When “[02] USB Cable” is selected, the USB cable setting screen  221 G is displayed. When “[03] Card Reader” is selected, the card reader setting screen  221 H is displayed. A user can turn off or on the functions of the network, USB cable, and card reader by selecting “[01] Off” or “[02] On” on the network setting screen  221 F, the USB cable setting screen  221 G, or the card reader setting screen  221 H, respectively. 
     In addition, the user can change the provisional setting value being displayed (“120” in this example) to a desired value and set the sleep timer to the changed value by pressing the “OK” key  52  on the sleep timer setting screen  221 E. 
     Advantages of Embodiment  
     The image forming apparatus  10  of the present embodiment includes the menu management section  311 , the variant-attribute menu management section  313 , the path information management section  314 , and the display processing section  312 . The menu management section  311  manages a tree structure including a plurality of menus hierarchized according to their attributes (original attributes). The variant-attribute menu management section  313  manages variant-attribute menus associated with specified menus out of the plurality of menus as quasi lower-level menus located in a quasi next lower level. The specified menus are classified according to their variant attributes different from the original attributes. The path information management section  314  manages path information showing pathways to be selected to reach the specified menus in the original tree structure. The display processing section  312  displays on a display the quasi lower-level menus according to selection of any of the variant-attribute menus. Once any of the quasi lower-level menus is selected, the display processing section  312  displays on the display a next-lower-level menu of the selected quasi lower-level menu based on the path information and the tree structure. 
     Thus, according to the present embodiment, the specified menus existing in different branches of the original tree structure can be collected as lower-level menus of a variant-attribute menu according to their variant attributes different from the attributes used as a reference when the original tree structure is built (original attributes). As a result, a user can alternatively select a desired menu on the same screen. That is, the image forming apparatus  10  can assist a user to perform efficient menu operation. 
     That is, according to the present embodiment, a user can cause the specified menus to be shown just by selecting a variant-attribute menu. The user can therefore straightforwardly access the specified menus without the need of going through every level of the tree structure sequentially to display the specified menus. Thus, the user can perform efficient menu operation. At the same time, the number of steps of menu operation can be reduced. The image forming apparatus  10  can assist efficient menu operation from this aspect as well. 
     In addition, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to display the content of a specified menu using the original tree structure by referring to the path information of the specified menu. 
     Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the path information of each specified menu has a data structure in which screen IDs of the menus existing in pathways to be selected to reach the specified menu in the original tree structure are stacked. The display processing section  312  retrieves the stacked screen IDs of the menus sequentially from that of the highest-level menu and displays on the display the content of the specified menu (a next-lower-level menu of the specified menu) based on the screen ID of the specified menu retrieved lastly. 
     Thus, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to display the content of a specified menu easily and reliably. 
     The variant-attribute menus may be inserted into any level of the tree structure. Quasi lower-level menus associated as quasi next-lower-level menus with the variant-attribute menus are located in a level higher than the level of the corresponding specified menus in the tree structure. 
     Such a configuration can reliably reduce the number of steps of menu operation as compared with the case where a user goes through every level of the tree structure sequentially to access a specified menu. 
     Variations  
     The variant-attribute menu management section  313  and the path information management section  314  may perform their management by independently acquiring necessary information from a server or an external storage connected to the image forming apparatus  10 . Specifically, the variant-attribute menu management section  313  may acquire the guide menu  36 , the variant-attribute menus, and the second screen transition information  355  from a server or an external storage. The path information management section  314  may acquire the path information from a server or an external storage. 
     In this case, the server and the external storage may store information corresponding to a plurality of types of apparatuses. Thus, the image forming apparatus  10  can acquire information corresponding to the type of itself. 
     Accordingly, the image forming apparatus  10  does not need to generate the guide menu  36 , the variant-attribute menus, the second screen transition information  355 , and the path information. As a result, a member of staff is allowed to easily generate and manage the guide menu  36  and so on. 
     If an authentication menu that requests user authentication exists in a level higher than a specified menu in path information, the display processing section  312  may display the authentication menu on the display  22  according to selection of a quasi lower-level menu (e.g., “Sleep Level”, “Status”, or “Sleep Timer”) associated with a variant-attribute menu (e.g., “Energy Saving Set. (energy saving setting)”). 
     A specified menu may become selectable after the user authentication. In this case, the screen ID of the authentication menu for the user authentication is saved in a stack area next to the stack area of the specified menu in the path information. 
     The path information management section  314  is configured to retrieve the stacked screen IDs sequentially. Thus, it is possible to retrieve the screen ID of the authentication menu before the screen ID of the specified menu to display the authentication menu. 
     Accordingly, even when the display processing is performed through the added guide menu  36 , the image forming apparatus  10  can reliably request the user authentication to maintain security. Whether or not to display the authentication menu screen may be set by a user in advance. 
     Although a digital multifunction peripheral has been exemplified as the image forming apparatus  10  in the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus  10  is not limited to the digital multifunction peripheral and may be a printer, a facsimile machine, or a copy machine, for example.