Patent Publication Number: US-2023153050-A1

Title: Display apparatus capable of displaying slide show, method for controlling the same, and storage medium

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Field of the Disclosure 
     The present disclosure generally relates to information processing and, more particularly, to an information processing system capable of displaying photographic images as a slide show on a display unit. Examples of apparatuses applicable to the information processing system include business machines such as copying machines, printers, scanners, facsimiles, and Multi Function Peripherals (MFPs) as well as general information processing apparatuses such as personal computers (PCs) and mobile terminals. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     An apparatus such as a digital photo frame is known to provide a slide show using image files stored in a storage such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory or a Secure Digital (SD) card. In these days, there have been released some products of image processing apparatuses (information processing apparatuses), such as MFPs, having such a slide show function. 
     Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2015-524114 discusses a digital signage system that implements slide shows having the same contents on a plurality of display devices by delivering slide show information from a management service (distribution server) to the plurality of display devices. 
     SUMMARY 
     Prior arts including that in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2015-524114 have a room of improvement in a method for acquiring target images for a slide show. These prior arts are configured to perform a slide show using images collected at one location such as an internal storage (including a Secure Digital (SD) card and a Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory) or a distribution server, and therefore cannot support a slide show using images existing in a plurality of locations. 
     The present disclosure is directed to providing a display apparatus capable of performing a slide show using image data existing in a plurality of locations. 
     According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a display apparatus that displays an image acquired via a network, the display apparatus includes a display unit configured to display information, and one or more controllers configured to register a plurality of pieces of address information including address information for image data accessible with a first protocol and address information for image data accessible with a second protocol, and acquire a plurality of pieces of image data based on the plurality of pieces of registered address information and sequentially display the plurality of pieces of acquired image data on the display unit. 
     Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    illustrates an example of a network configuration. 
         FIG.  2    is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a Multi Function Peripheral (MFP). 
         FIG.  3    illustrates a software configuration of the MFP. 
         FIG.  4    illustrates a top screen of an extended application setting screen. 
         FIG.  5    illustrates an example of a basic setting editing screen. 
         FIG.  6    illustrates an example of a new slide registration screen. 
         FIG.  7    illustrates an example of the top screen of the extended application setting screen in a state where “Specify Slides One by One” is selected for a Slide Specification Method option. 
         FIG.  8    illustrates an example of the top screen of the extended application setting screen in a state where “Collectively Specify Slides from Folder” is selected for the Slide Specification Method option. 
         FIG.  9    illustrates an example of a folder setting editing screen. 
         FIG.  10    illustrates an example of information set in the screen in  FIG.  9   , when displayed in the top screen of the extended application setting screen. 
         FIG.  11 A  illustrates extended application start buttons displayed in a display unit of the MFP, and  FIG.  11 B  illustrates examples of application execution screens. 
         FIG.  12    illustrates a sequence for performing setting of the extended application. 
         FIG.  13    illustrates a sequence for executing the extended application. 
         FIG.  14    is a sequence diagram illustrating processing between the extended application and a server. 
         FIG.  15    is a flowchart illustrating processing for registering slide show settings on the extended application. 
         FIG.  16    is a flowchart illustrating processing for displaying a slide show on the extended application. 
         FIG.  17    is a flowchart illustrating processing for acquiring slide show image data on the extended application. 
         FIG.  18    illustrates an example of setting data stored in a slide setting area illustrated in  FIG.  15   . 
         FIG.  19    is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing for changing the slide display order. 
         FIG.  20 A  illustrates an example display in a first process of a display order editing screen, and  FIG.  20 B  illustrates an example display in a second process of the display order editing screen. 
         FIG.  21 A  illustrates an example display in the first process of the display order editing screen according to a first modification, and  FIG.  21 B  illustrates an example display in the second process of the display order editing screen according to the first modification. 
         FIG.  22 A  illustrates an example display in the first process of the display order editing screen according to a second modification, and  FIG.  22 B  illustrates an example display in the second process of the display order editing screen according to the second modification. 
         FIG.  23    illustrates examples of setting values for each slide registered in the new slide registration screen. 
         FIG.  24    illustrates an example of a basic setting editing screen. 
         FIG.  25    illustrates an example of slide registration information maintained in the extended application. 
         FIG.  26    illustrates an example of meta information maintained in the extended application. 
         FIG.  27    illustrates an example of slide combination. 
         FIG.  28    illustrates examples of alternative slides. 
         FIG.  29    is a flowchart illustrating slide display processing. 
         FIG.  30    illustrates an example of an error screen configuration. 
         FIG.  31    is a flowchart illustrating the processing for acquiring slide show image data in the extended application. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following exemplary embodiments do not limit the present disclosure within the ambit of the appended claims. Not all of the combinations of the configurations and processes described in the exemplary embodiments are indispensable to the solutions for the present disclosure. Equivalents may be substituted for a part or whole of the configurations and processes described in the exemplary embodiments. In addition, a part of the configurations and processes may be omitted. 
     &lt;System&gt; 
     Exemplary embodiments will be described below. A first present exemplary embodiment will be described below centering on a system dedicated for an environment where there is a demand for a slide show using images existing in a plurality of locations, on one Multi Function Peripheral (MFP) or image forming apparatus. 
     Assume an example case where, in a university having a large campus, common guidance information is displayed in the display unit of each of MFPs installed in a plurality of office work windows in some university buildings. The common guidance information may include introductions of various circles. The example will be considered below focusing on an MFP having a function of reading data from an internal storage. To enable each MFP to display common guidance information, all of image data generated by each circle needs to be stored in the internal storages of all MFPs. If a certain circle needs to replace an image in the contents of the guidance information, the relevant image is stored in all MFPs in a plurality of university buildings, which is very troublesome. Meanwhile, a method for implementing the same operation by using a digital signage that receives data distributed from a distribution server will be considered below. In this case, registering and storing the target image only in the distribution server eliminates the need of storing the target image in all of digital signages in a plurality of university buildings. However, a circle member who wants to replace an image needs to register the relevant image in the distribution server. From the viewpoint of security, only a specific server administrator is permitted to operate the distribution server in many cases. In this case, the circle member needs to pass the image to the server administrator, and then the server administrator needs to register and store the image in the distribution server. It is easily conceivable that these procedures take a lot of time. Therefore, for example, the system is configured to provide a slide show by combining images stored in a server that can be operated only by a server administrator with images stored in a server that can be operated by any user other than a server administrator. This configuration enables editing the contents of the slide show in a flexible way. The system according to the first exemplary embodiment will be described below.  FIG.  1    illustrates an example of a system configuration. 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  1   , in a display system  1  according to the present exemplary embodiment, an MFP  10 , a web server  20 , a file server (Server Message Block (SMB)  1 )  30 , a file server (SMB 2)  40 , and an information processing apparatus  60  are connected with each other via a network circuit  50 . The MFP  10  is an image processing apparatus (information processing apparatus) that functions as an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet and an image reading apparatus for reading a document. The MFP  10  functions as a display apparatus for displaying information. The web server  20 , the file server (SMB 1)  30 , and the file server (SMB 2)  40  are general servers. The information processing apparatus  60  is a general information processing apparatuses such as a personal computer (PC). 
     Each of the web server  20 , the file server (SMB 1)  30 , the file server (SMB 2)  40 , and the information processing apparatus  60  includes a central processing unit (CPU), a read only memory (ROM), a random-access memory (RAM), and a storage. Each of these apparatuses operates when the CPU, which includes one or more processors, circuitry, or combinations thereof, loads a program stored in the ROM and the storage into the RAM, and then executes the program. Each of the web server  20 , the file server (SMB 1)  30 , the file server (SMB 2)  40 , and the information processing apparatus  60  further includes a network interface (I/F) to enable communication with the MFP  10 . The MFP  10  can acquire data on the web server  20  through the hypertext transfer protocol (http). Likewise, the MFP  10  can acquire data on the file server (SMB 1)  30  and the file server (SMB 2)  40  through the SMB protocol. Then, the MFP  10  can display the acquired data on the display unit provided on the MFP  10 . In particular, by executing an extended application  310 , the MFP  10  according to the present exemplary embodiment can collect images existing in a plurality of locations and provide a slide show. The extended application  310  will be described in detail below. Although, in this example, only one MFP  10  is connected to the network circuit  50  to simplify descriptions, a plurality of the MFPs  10  may be connected to the network circuit  50 . An image slide show may be performed by each MFP  10 . As used herein, the term “unit” generally refers to software, firmware, hardware, circuitry, or combinations thereof that is used to effectuate a purpose. 
     &lt;Sequence of Using the System&gt; 
     When the user uses the extended application  310  in the MFP  10 , the user first performs setting processing.  FIG.  12    illustrates a sequence of performing setting of the extended application  310 . In step  12 - 010  (hereinafter, referred to as step S 12 - 010 ), the user issues a setting screen request to the extended application  310  from the web browser operating on the information processing apparatus  60  connected with the MFP  10  via the network circuit  50 . The extended application  310  has a server function of providing an external apparatus with a web page (Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) data). Upon reception of the setting screen request from the web browser operating on the information processing apparatus  60 , then in step S 12 - 020 , the extended application  310  transmits a top screen  401  of setting screens of the extended application  310  to the web browser. In step S 12 - 030 , the user performs application setting. In step S 12 - 040 , the user transmits a setting registration request to the extended application  310 . In step S 12 - 050 , the setting contents transmitted by the setting registration request in step S 12 - 040  are stored in an embedded Multi Media Card (eMMC)  109 . In step S 12 - 060 , the extended application  310  transmits a setting registration result screen to the web browser. This completes the setting processing. 
     Upon completion of the above-described setting processing, the extended application  310  becomes ready to be used.  FIG.  13    illustrates a sequence for executing the extended application  310 . When the user performs setting with an automatic application start setting (“Automatically Make Transition”) option  503  in a basic setting editing screen  501  (described below), then in step S 13 - 010 , the activation timing is detected based on the settings. In step S 13 - 040 , the MFP  10  issues an execution instruction to the extended application  310 . This execution instruction can be issued even if the activation timing is not detected in step S 13 - 010 . When the user presses an extended application start button  1106  displayed on a display unit  105  of the MFP  10  in step S 13 - 020 , then in step S 13 - 030 , the display unit  105  issues an application execution request to the MFP  10 . When the activation timing is detected in step S 13 - 010  or when the application execution request is issued in step S 13 - 030 , then in step S 13 - 040 , the MFP  10  issues an execution instruction to the extended application  310 . Upon reception of the execution instruction, then in step S 13 - 050 , the extended application  310  confirms the setting values from the eMMC  109 . In step S 13 - 060 , the extended application  310  issues an image file acquisition request to servers such as the web server  20 , the file server (SMB 1)  30 , and the file server (SMB 2)  40  according to the setting values confirmed in step S 13 - 050 . In step S 13 - 070 , the server transmits an image file to the extended application  310 . Upon reception of the image file from the server, then in step S 13 - 080 , the extended application  310  issues a display instruction to the display unit  105 . In step S 13 - 090 , the display unit  105  displays the image file received from the server according to the setting values confirmed in step S 13 - 050 . The basic operations for image display are performed in this way. 
     Operations of the extended application  310  performed when acquiring images from a plurality of servers will be described below.  FIG.  14    is a sequence diagram illustrating processing between the extended application  310  and servers. In step S 14 - 010 , the extended application  310  reads slide setting information to recognize the contents of the information. From the following step on, the extended application  310  performs processing for acquiring images from a registered server based on the slide setting information. A case where two different slides are set will be described below. In step S 14 - 020 , the extended application  310  issues an image meta information acquisition request to the server  1  registered in the first slide in the slide setting information. The image meta information refers to information about the date and time of update and the size of a predetermined image. In step S 14 - 030 , the server  1  that received the request in step S 14 - 020  transmits predetermined image meta information. In step S 14 - 040 , the extended application  310  compares the image meta information received in step S 14 - 030  and the prestored image meta information to confirm whether the two meta information pieces are different. When the two meta information pieces are different, the extended application  310  performs steps S 14 - 050  to S 14 - 070 . On the other hand, when the two meta information pieces are identical, the extended application  310  performs step S 14 - 080  and subsequent steps to acquire the next slide image since the slide image acquisition is unnecessary. In step S 14 - 050 , the extended application  310  issues an image data acquisition request to the server  1  registered in the slide setting information. In step S 14 - 060 , the server  1  that received the request transmits predetermined image data. The communication between the extended application  310  and the servers is performed based on the protocol type registered in the slide setting information. For example, when the protocol type is SMB, the SMB protocol is used. When the protocol type is http, the http protocol is used. In step S 14 - 070 , the extended application  310  stores the image meta information and the image data acquired in steps S 14 - 030  and S 14 - 060 , respectively, in the image forming apparatus. The stored image meta information is used as “prestored image meta information” in step S 14 - 040  for the next time. The extended application  310  performs steps S 14 - 080  to S 14 - 130  on information registered in the second slide in the slide setting information. These steps are the same as steps S 14 - 020  to S 14 - 070  for the first slide, redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted. In step S 14 - 140 , the extended application  310  displays each slide based on the image data acquired from the server. 
     &lt;MFP&gt; 
       FIG.  2    is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an MFP. As illustrated in  FIG.  2   , the MFP  10  includes a CPU  101 , a ROM  102 , a RAM  103 , a display controller  104 , a display unit  105 , an operation controller  106 , and an operation unit  107 . The MFP  10  further includes an eMMC host controller  108 , an eMMC  109 , a reading controller  110 , a reading unit  111 , a recording controller  112 , and a recording unit  113 . The MFP  10  further includes a Universal Serial Bus (USB) host controller  114 , a MODEM  115 , a Network Control Unit (NCU)  116 , and a Network Interface Card (NIC)  117 . 
     The CPU  101  is a control unit (processor or controller) that totally controls each device connected to a system bus  118 . When power is turned ON, the CPU  101  executes the boot program stored in the ROM  102 . Normally, the boot program loads the main program stored in a storage into the RAM  103  and then transfers control to the top of the loaded main program. The RAM  103  functions not only as a location for loading the main program but also as a work area for the main program. The CPU  101  implements processing in  FIGS.  15  to  17    (described below) by executing control programs described below with reference to  FIGS.  15  to  17   . 
     The display controller  104  is a display control unit (controller) that controls image drawing on the display unit  105 . For example, the display unit  105  is a full bitmap Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) having the Wide Video Graphics Array (WVGA) size. On the other hand, the operation controller  106  is an operation control unit (controller) that controls inputs from the operation unit  107  provided on the MFP  10 . The operation unit  107  includes a touch panel stacked on the display unit  105  and is capable of detecting user&#39;s touch operations. 
     The reading unit  111  is configured to read a document and includes a line sensor and a camera. The reading unit  111  is a device that drives and uses the line sensor and the camera. The reading unit  111  is attached with an automatic document feeder (not illustrated) as an option and is capable of automatically reading a plurality of documents. The reading unit  111  is connected to the reading controller  110 . The CPU  101  communicates with the reading unit  111  via the reading controller  110 . 
     The recording unit  113  is an image forming unit that forms an image on recording paper through an electrophotographic method. The recording unit  113  is connected to the recording controller  112 . The CPU  101  communicates with the recording unit  113  via the recording controller  112 . 
     The USB host controller  114  takes charge of USB protocol control and mediates access to a USB device such as a USB memory (not illustrated). 
     The MODEM  115  is configured to modulate and demodulate signals for facsimile communication. 
     The MODEM  115  is connected to the NCU  116 . A signal modulated by the MODEM  115  is sent to Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN) via the NCU  116 . 
     The NIC  117  bi-directionally exchanges data with a mail server and a file server via a LAN. 
     The MFP  10  according to the present exemplary embodiment includes the eMMC  109  as a storage. A Solid State Drive (SSD) and a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) may be used instead of the eMMC  109 . The CPU  101  accesses the eMMC  109  via the eMMC host controller  108 . 
       FIG.  3    illustrates a software configuration of the MFP  10 . Referring to  FIG.  3   , the units drawn with solid lines are software modules that are implemented when the CPU  101  executes the main program loaded into the RAM  103  by the boot program. 
     The execution of each module (described below) of the main program is managed and controlled by an Operating System (OS)  301 . The OS  301  includes a Device Driver  308  that mediates communications with hardware devices including the display controller  104 , the operation controller  106 , and the reading controller  110 . 
     A User Interface (UI)  302  provides the user with a variety of information via the display unit  105  and the operation unit  107  and accepts various instructions from the user. 
     A job controller unit  303  accepts jobs including copy, printing, and facsimile jobs and controls the execution of accepted jobs. 
     A storage unit  306  is a software module that physically stores images transmitted and received by facsimile and user settings in the eMMC  109  and manages these data pieces. 
     For example, in the MFP  10  according to the present exemplary embodiment, when the job controller unit  303  receives a facsimile job, the scan unit  307  receives the job request and controls the reading unit  111  to scan a document. Then, the scan unit  307  stores the scanned facsimile image data in the storage unit  306 . The facsimile image data stored in the storage unit  306  is read by the facsimile unit  304  and then sent to the communication partner by facsimile via the MODEM  115  and the NCU  116 . Alternatively, the image data received by facsimile from the communication partner via the MODEM  115  and the NCU  116  is captured by the facsimile unit  304  and then stored in the storage unit  306 . 
     The MFP  10  according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a Virtual Machine (VM)/Framework (FW) unit  309 . The extended application  310  includes an arbitrary program described in a script language. Applicable examples of language systems include Java® and Lua as interpreters that interpret and execute byte codes. The VM/FW unit  309  has a role of installing an arbitrary program described in a script language or a predetermined high-level language in the extended application  310  and uninstalling an arbitrary program from the extended application  310 . The VM/FW unit  309  also takes charge of mediating between a function implemented by an arbitrary program installed in the extended application  310  and existing functions. The VM/FW unit  309  interprets and executes a described script language. These units enable the MFP  10  according to the present exemplary embodiment to easily implement a login application, slide show, and other arbitrary functions while maintaining the function attachment and detachment property. 
     A UI Device Controller  311  mediates the output of various kinds of information to the display unit  105  by the UI  302  and the extended application  310 , and the transmission of user operations on the operation unit  107  to the UI  302  and the extended application  310 . Details will be described below. 
       FIG.  11 A  illustrates examples of extended application start buttons  1106  displayed on the display unit  105  of the MFP  10 , and  FIG.  11 B  illustrates examples of application execution screens. The displayed button names of the extended application start buttons  1106  are the button names set in the basic setting editing screen  501 . The display unit  105  of the MFP  10  may include a button  1105  that displays a counter check screen for confirming the counter value and a button  1104  that displays a status check screen for confirming job and device statuses. When the user presses an extended application start button  1106  displayed on the display unit  105  of the MFP  10  or the timing set by the automatic application start setting (“Automatically Make Transition”) option  503  in the basic setting editing screen  501  comes, the extended application  310  is activated. When the extended application  310  is activated, the extended application  310  displays information on the display unit  105  of the MFP  10  according to the information set in a new slide registration screen  601  or a folder setting editing screen  901 . 
     &lt;Setting Screens&gt; 
       FIGS.  4  to  10    illustrate examples of setting screens of the extended application  310 . These setting screens are displayed on the web browser operating on the information processing apparatus  60  connected with the MFP  10  via the network circuit  50 .  FIGS.  4  to  10    illustrate examples of setting screens of the extended application  310  that sequentially displays slides including specified image files on the display unit  105  of the MFP  10 . 
       FIG.  4    illustrates the top screen  401  of setting screens of the extended application  310 . An application information area  402  displays the version and the size of the extended application  310 . A basic settings area  403  displays the contents set in the basic setting editing screen  501  which is displayed when an Edit button  404  is pressed. 
       FIG.  5    illustrates an example of the basic setting editing screen  501  which is displayed when the Edit button  404  in  FIG.  4    is pressed. The basic setting editing screen  501  includes a Button Name option  502 , the automatic application start setting (“Automatically Make Transition”) option  503 , a “Display Time for One Slide” option  504 , and a Slide Specification Method option  505 . The Slide Specification Method option  505  is an option for selecting a method for specifying display target image files from a method for collectively specifying slides from a folder and a method for specifying slides one by one. When an OK button  506  in  FIG.  5    is pressed, the contents set by the above-described setting options are registered in the extended application  310 . When a Cancel button  507  in  FIG.  5    is pressed, the contents set by the above-described setting options are canceled, and control returns to the top screen  401  of setting screens of the extended application  310 . 
     When the OK button  506  is pressed in a state where “Specify Slides One by One” is selected in the basic setting editing screen  501 , the top screen  401  of setting screens of the extended application  310  displays a Slide Management area including a “Register New Slide” button  405 . 
       FIG.  6    illustrates an example of the new slide registration screen  601  which is displayed when the user presses the “Register New Slide” button  405  in the top screen  401  of setting screens of the extended application  310 . For a Background option  602 , the user selects “Specify Image with Path”, “Specify Image with URL”, or “Specify Color”. When “Specify Image with Path” or “Specify Image with URL” is selected, the user can specify (register) the path of the image file or the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the image file with a File Location option  603 . When “Specify Image with Path” is selected, the user sets the user name and password for accessing the image file by using a User Name option  604  and a Password option  605 . When an OK button  609  as a connection check button is pressed, connection check is performed based on the information set by the File Location option  603 , the User Name option  604 , and the Password option  605  in the new slide registration screen  601 . 
     When the “Specify Color” “is selected for the Background option  602 , the user sets the background color by using a Background Color option  606 . The new slide registration screen  601  further includes a “Display Text on Slide” option  607  for specifying whether a text is to be displayed on the slide. The new slide registration screen  601  further includes display text setting options  608  including “Text to Be Displayed”, “Font,”, “Font Size”, “Font Color”, “Scroll Text Speed”, and “Scroll Direction”. When the OK button  609  is pressed, the contents set by the setting options in  FIG.  6    are registered in the extended application  310 , and control returns to the top screen  401  of setting screens of the extended application  310 .  FIG.  7    illustrates an example of the top screen  401  of setting screens of the extended application  310  displayed after the depression of the OK button  609 . The top screen  401  of setting screens of the extended application  310  displays a list  701  of the slides registered in the new slide registration screen  601 . The extended application  310  displays image files on the display unit  105  of the MFP  10  according to the order displayed in the list  701 . The slides displayed in the list  701  can be deleted by pressing Delete buttons  702 . When a Cancel button  610  in  FIG.  6    is pressed, the contents set by the setting options in  FIG.  6    are canceled, and control returns to the top screen  401  of setting screens of the extended application  310 . 
     Slides  1107 ,  1108 , and  1109  in  FIG.  11 B  are examples of display when slides are specified as in the list  701  in  FIG.  7   . The extended application  310  successively displays each slide in the list  701  according to the time period specified by the “Display Time for One Slide” option  504  in the basic setting editing screen  501 . Referring to the example illustrated in  FIG.  11 B , the slide  1107  is displayed. When the time period specified by the “Display Time for One Slide” option  504  has elapsed, the slide  1108  is displayed. When the time period specified by the “Display Time for One Slide” option  504  has elapsed again, the slide  1109  is displayed. Following the slide  1109 , the slide  1107  is displayed, i.e., the above-described display sequence is repeated. 
       FIG.  8    illustrates an example of the top screen  401  of setting screens of the extended application  310  when the OK button  506  is pressed in a state where “Collectively Specify Slides from Folder” is selected for the Slide Specification Method option  505  in the basic setting editing screen  501 . When “Collectively Specify Slides from Folder” is selected for the Slide Specification Method option  505  in the basic setting editing screen  501 , the top screen  401  of setting screens of the extended application  310  displays a folder setting area  801 . The folder setting area  801  displays the contents set in the folder setting editing screen  901  which is displayed when an Edit button  802  is pressed. 
       FIG.  9    illustrate an example of the folder setting editing screen  901  which is displayed when the Edit button  802  is pressed. The user sets information about the path to the folder where display target image files are stored (folder path), to a “Path to Folder” option  902 . 
     The user also sets the user name and password for accessing the folder to a User Name option  903  and a Password option  904 , respectively. By pressing a “Check Connection” button  906 , the user checks connection by using setting information set in the “Path to Folder” option  902 , the User Name option  903 , and the Password option  904 . The user selects “In Order of File Name” or “In Order of Date and Time of Update” for a “Display Order of Files in Folder” option  905 . 
     According to the setting selected for the “Display Order of Files in Folder” option  905 , image files stored in the folder set for the “Path to Folder” option  902  (image data in the folder path) are sequentially displayed in the display unit  105  of the MFP  10 . Although, in this case, the user sets “In Order of File Name” or “In Order of Date and Time of Update” for the “Display Order of Files in Folder” option  905 , other methods for setting the display order of files in the folder are also applicable. 
     When the OK button  907  in  FIG.  9    is pressed, the contents set by the above-described setting options are registered to the extended application  310 , and control returns to the top screen  401  of setting screens of the extended application  310 . Information set in the screen in  FIG.  9    is displayed in the folder setting area  801  in the top screen  401  of setting screens of the extended application  310 .  FIG.  10    illustrates an example of information set in the screen in  FIG.  9   , when displayed in the top screen  401  of setting screens of the extended application  310 . When the Cancel button  908  in  FIG.  9    is pressed, the contents set by the above-described setting options are canceled, and control returns to the top screen  401  of setting screens of the extended application  310 . 
     &lt;Control Flow&gt; 
     Processing for registering and displaying settings of the extended application  310  according to the present exemplary embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to  FIGS.  15  to  17   . 
       FIG.  15    is a flowchart illustrating processing for registering slide show settings in the extended application  310  according to the present exemplary embodiment. 
     The registration processing illustrated in  FIG.  15    is HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) servlet processing. The relevant registration processing is configured to be called when the user accesses a predetermined URL by using a web browser of the information processing apparatus  60  illustrated in  FIG.  1   . The relevant registration processing is part of processing for configuring a slide show application (not illustrated) installed in the extended application  310 . As described above, the VM/FW unit  309  interprets the script language describing the relevant processing, and the CPU  101  executes the interpreted contents via the VM/FW unit  309 . 
     In step S 15 - 001 , the CPU  101  displays the screens described above with reference to  FIGS.  4  to  10    on the web browser, and the user sets a slide show by using various options. 
     In step S 15 - 002 , the CPU  101  stores the slide show settings made in step S 15 - 001  in a slide setting area  1500 . For the sake of convenience,  FIGS.  4  to  10    have been described above on the premise that the set contents are registered in the extended application  310 . However, in a precise sense, the set contents are entirely stored in the slide setting area  1500  on the storage unit  306  illustrated in  FIG.  3   , assigned to the slide show application installed in the extended application  310 . The setting data stored in the slide setting area  1500  will be described in detail below with reference to  FIG.  18   . 
       FIG.  16    is a flowchart illustrating processing for displaying a slide show on the extended application  310  according to the present exemplary embodiment. 
     The processing for displaying a slide show illustrated in  FIG.  16    is part of processing for configuring the slide show application installed in the extended application  310 . Like the registration processing illustrated in  FIG.  15   , the VM/FW unit  309  interprets the script language describing the relevant processing, and the CPU  101  executes the interpreted contents via the VM/FW unit  309 . 
     This processing is called when the user presses the button  1106  illustrated in  FIG.  11 A  or when the timing set by the automatic application start setting (“Automatically Make Transition”) option  503  in the basic setting editing screen  501  comes, then in step S 13 - 040  illustrated in  FIG.  13   . 
     In step S 16 - 001 , the CPU  101  reads the slide show settings stored in step S 15 - 002  in  FIG.  15    from the slide setting area  1500 . 
     In step S 16 - 002 , the CPU  101  starts image data acquisition processing. 
     To simplify descriptions,  FIG.  14    illustrates that the image display in step S 14 - 140  is performed after image data has been stored in steps S 14 - 070  and S 14 - 130 . However, in a precise sense, the processing for displaying a slide show and the image data acquisition processing asynchronously and parallelly operate with each other. In more detail, each time the slide show display is requested, the image data acquisition is performed. Then, the image data is once acquired, and the image data once acquired is subsequently used for display until the slide show display is completed. The flow of the image data acquisition processing will be described in detail below. 
     In step S 16 - 003 , the CPU  101  instructs the display unit  105  to display a message indicating that the preparation is in progress. 
     In step S 16 - 004 , the CPU  101  sets an index i to 1. Then, the processing proceeds to the next step. 
     When “Specify Slides One by One” is selected for the Slide Specification Method option  505  illustrated in  FIG.  5   , the index i indicates the display order of the list  701  illustrated in  FIG.  7   . When “Collectively Specify Slides from Folder” is selected for the Slide Specification Method option  505  illustrated in  FIG.  5   , the index i indicates the display order of files based on the setting of the “Display Order of Files in Folder” option  905  illustrated in  FIG.  9   . Setting the index i to 1 means indicating the first image. 
     In step S 16 - 005 , the CPU  101  determines whether a request for deactivating the slide show application is issued. The VM/FW unit  309  according to the present exemplary embodiment is configured to issue a deactivation request to the extended application  310  when the user touches an arbitrary point on the screen of the display unit  105  during operation of the slide show application. The VM/FW unit  309  is configured to issue the deactivation request to the extended application  310  also when any key on the operation unit  107  is pressed. If the user performs the above-described operation, the deactivation request is issued and the display processing ends. Although not illustrated in detail because of little relation with the present disclosure, the CPU  101  issues a request for forcibly deactivating the image data acquisition processing (described below) to the VM/FW unit  309  at this timing. When the deactivation request is not issued (NO in step S 16 - 005 ), the processing proceeds to step S 16 - 006 . 
     In step S 16 - 006 , the CPU  101  determines whether the display of the i-th image is completed. When the display is not completed (NO in step S 16 - 006 ), the processing proceeds to step S 16 - 007 . On the other hand, when the display is completed (YES in step S 16 - 006 ), the CPU  101  skips the processing for displaying the i-th image. Then, the processing proceeds to step S 16 - 009 . 
     In step S 16 - 007 , the CPU  101  determines whether the i-th image has been cached in a cache area  1600  through the image data acquisition processing started in step S 16 - 002 . The cache area  1600  is allocated on the storage unit  306  illustrated in  FIG.  3   . The term “cached” means a state where a cached image is enabled and available for the slide display. When the i-th image has been cached (YES in step S 16 - 007 ), the processing proceeds to step S 16 - 008 . On the other hand, when the i-th image has not been cached (NO in step S 16 - 007 ), the processing returns to step S 16 - 005 . 
     In step S 16 - 008 , the CPU  101  displays the i-th cached image on the display unit  105 . When a “Specify Color” is set for the Background option  602  illustrated in  FIG.  6   , the CPU  101  does not actually acquire an image in the image data acquisition processing (described below) but assumes that the image has been cached. In this case, the CPU  101  draws the background with the specified color in step S 16 - 008 . Because of little relation with the present disclosure, detailed descriptions will be omitted. As discussed below, an error state indicating that the acquisition of the i-th image data has failed may be set to the cache area  1600  through the image data acquisition processing. In this case, the image data indicating that the i-th image cannot be displayed, prestored in the slide show application, is displayed on the screen. 
     In step S 16 - 009 , the CPU  101  determines whether a text string is set to be displayed in the i-th image, by using the “Display Text on Slide” option  607  illustrated in  FIG.  6   . When the text string display is set (YES in step S 16 - 009 ), the processing proceeds to step S 16 - 010 . On the other than, when the text string display is not set (NO in step S 16 - 009 ), the processing proceeds to step S 16 - 011 . 
     In step S 16 - 010 , the CPU  101  displays the text string for the i-th image based on the settings of the display text setting option  608  illustrated in  FIG.  6   . The CPU  101  also suitably updates the display depending on the setting of the scroll direction. 
     In step S 16 - 011 , the CPU  101  confirms the time period that has elapsed since the i-th image started being displayed to determine whether the predetermined time period set by the “Display Time for One Slide” option  504  illustrated in  FIG.  5    has elapsed. When the predetermined time has elapsed (YES in step S 16 - 011 ), the processing proceeds to step S 16 - 012 . On the other hand, when the predetermined time has not elapsed (NO in step S 16 - 011 ), the processing returns to step S 16 - 005 . 
     In step S 16 - 012 , the CPU  101  increments the index i by one. In step S 16 - 013 , the CPU  101  determines whether the i-th image indicated by the incremented index i exists. When the i-th image is present (YES in step S 16 - 013 ), the processing returns to step S 16 - 005 . On the other hand, when the i-th image is not present (NO in step S 16 - 013 ), the processing returns to step S 16 - 004 . 
       FIG.  17    is a flowchart illustrating processing for acquiring slide show image data in the extended application  310  according to the present exemplary embodiment. 
     The processing for acquiring slide show image data illustrated in  FIG.  17    is part of the processing for configuring the slide show application installed in the extended application  310 . Like the display processing illustrated in  FIG.  16   , the VM/FW unit  309  interprets the script language describing the relevant processing, and the CPU  101  executes the interpreted contents via the VM/FW unit  309 . 
     As described above, in step S 16 - 002  illustrated in  FIG.  16   , this processing is activated so as to asynchronously and parallelly operate with the display processing. 
     In step S 17 - 001 , the CPU  101  determines whether the setting of the slide specification method read in step S 16 - 001  is “Collectively Specify Slides from Folder”. When the setting of the Slide Specification Method option  505  illustrated in  FIG.  5    is “Collectively Specify Slides from Folder” (YES in step S 17 - 001 ), the processing proceeds to step S 17 - 002 . On the other hand, when the setting of the Slide Specification Method option  505  is not “Collectively Specify Slides from Folder” (NO in step S 17 - 001 ), the processing proceeds to step S 17 - 003 . 
     In step S 17 - 002 , the CPU  101  identifies target image files based on the setting of the “Display Order of Files in Folder” option  905  illustrated in  FIG.  9   , and determines the display order. More specifically, based on the “Path to Folder” option  902 , the CPU  101  accesses the specified folder by using the SMB protocol. Then, for example, when the setting of the “Display Order of Files in Folder” option  905  is “In Order of File Name”, the CPU  101  acquires a list of file names stored in the folder. Then, the CPU  101  sorts the acquired list in order of the file name and identifies the predetermined number of files from the top downward as target image files. Finally, for the sake of subsequent processing, the CPU  101  converts each of the paths of the identified files into the same format as the internal path information when “Specify Slides One by One” is specified as a slide specification method. 
     In step S 17 - 003 , the CPU  101  once disables the cache states of all of the image data prestored in the cache area  1600 . 
     In step S 17 - 004 , the CPU  101  sets the index i to 1. Then, the processing proceeds to the next step. Like the descriptions of step S 16 - 004  illustrated in  FIG.  16   , the index i indicates the display order of files. Setting the index i to 1 means indicating the first image. 
     In step S 17 - 005 , the CPU  101  determines whether the i-th image needs to be cached. This determination is equivalent to the sequence in step S 14 - 040  illustrated in  FIG.  14   . More specifically, the CPU  101  compares the image meta information received in step S 14 - 030  and the image meta information prestored in the cache area  1600  to confirm whether the image meta information has been updated. When the date and time of update of the received image meta information is later than the date and time of update of the prestored image meta information, the CPU  101  determines that the image meta information has been updated. Alternatively, when the size of the received image meta information is different from the size of the prestored image meta information, the CPU  101  determines that the image meta information has been updated. In addition, when the relevant image meta information is not prestored in the cache area  1600 , the CPU  101  assumes that the image meta information has been updated. When the CPU  101  determines that the image meta information has not been updated (NO in step S 17 - 005 ), the processing proceeds to step S 17 - 006 . On the other hand, when the CPU  101  determines that the image meta information has been updated (YES in step S 17 - 005 ), the processing proceeds to step S 17 - 007 . 
     In step S 17 - 006 , the CPU  101  enables the cache state of the i-th image once disabled in step S 17 - 003 . Then, the processing proceeds to step S 17 - 011 . In step S 16 - 007  illustrated in  FIG.  16   , the CPU  101  determines that the i-th image has been cached. As described in step S 16 - 008  illustrated in  FIG.  16   , when “Specify Color” is selected for the Background option  602  illustrated in  FIG.  6   , the CPU  101  determines that the i-th image has been cached and enables the cache state although the image is not actually acquired. 
     In step S 17 - 007 , the CPU  101  determines whether a path or URL is selected for the Background option  602  illustrated in  FIG.  6   . When a path is specified (“Specify Image with Path” is selected) (smb in step S 17 - 007 ), the CPU  101  determines that access based on the SMB protocol will be used. Then, the processing proceeds to step S 17 - 008 . On the other hand, when a URL is specified (“Specify Image with URL” is selected) (http in step S 17 - 007 ), the CPU  101  determines that access based on the http protocol will be used. Then, the processing proceeds to step S 17 - 009 . 
     In step S 17 - 008 , the CPU  101  acquires the i-th image data from the path specified by the File Location option  603  illustrated in  FIG.  6   , by using the SMB protocol. The CPU  101  also requests the SMB authentication based on the authentication information set by the User Name option  604  and the Password option  605 . Upon completion of the acquisition processing, the processing proceeds to step S 17 - 010 . 
     In step S 17 - 009 , the CPU  101  acquires the i-th image data from the URL specified by the File Location option  603  illustrated in  FIG.  6   , by using the http protocol. Upon normal completion of the acquisition processing or upon cancellation of the acquisition processing for some reason, the processing proceeds to step S 17 - 010 . 
     In step S 17 - 010 , the CPU  101  determines whether the acquisition of the i-th image data is successful in step S 17 - 008  or S 17 - 009 . When the image data acquisition is successful (YES in step S 17 - 010 ), the processing proceeds to step S 17 - 011 . On the other hand, when the image data acquisition is canceled for some reason and fails (NO in step S 17 - 010 ), the processing proceeds to step S 17 - 012 . Examples of typical reasons for canceling the image data acquisition include disconnection due to a network circuit failure, SMB authentication failure, and time-out due to a http server breakdown. The image data acquisition may possibly be canceled when a file in the specified path is deleted. Since the MFP  10  according to the present exemplary embodiment has a very small capacity of the storage unit  306  available for the cache operation, the acquisition of image data exceeding a predetermined size is to be canceled. 
     When the image data acquisition is normally completed (YES in step S 17 - 010 ), then in step S 17 - 011 , the CPU  101  stores the acquired i-th image data in the cache area  1600 . At the same time, the CPU  101  updates the image meta information for the i-th image data to the acquired information and enables the cache state of the i-th image. 
     On the other hand, when the image data acquisition fails (NO in step S 17 - 010 ), then in step S 17 - 012 , the CPU  101  sets the cache state of the i-th image data to an error state. Thus, as illustrated in  FIG.  16   , prepared image data indicating that the i-th image cannot be displayed is displayed on the screen. 
     In step S 17 - 013 , the CPU  101  increments the index i by one. 
     In step S 17 - 014 , the CPU  101  determines whether a request for displaying the i-th image indicated by the incremented index i is present. When the request for displaying the i-th image is present (YES in step S 17 - 014 ), the processing returns to step S 17 - 005 . On the other hand, when the request is not present (NO in step S 17 - 014 ), the CPU  101  ends the image data acquisition processing. 
     As described above with reference to  FIGS.  16  and  17   , the image data is sequentially acquired according to the file display order based on the setting of the “Display Order of Files in Folder” option  905  illustrated in  FIG.  9   . Then, the CPU  101  sequentially displays a slide show based on the acquired image data. Thus, the user can sequentially display a slide show starting from the acquired image data without waiting for completion of the image data acquisition. More specifically, to minimize the waiting time for the image data display, it is most suitable to acquire image data according to the display order of files as described above. However, the slide show display can be implemented even with other image data acquisition methods. 
       FIG.  18    illustrates an example of setting data to be stored in the slide setting area  1500  illustrated in  FIG.  15   . 
     The setting data is stored in the slide setting area  1500  in step S 15 - 002  when the OK button  506 ,  609 , or  907  is pressed in the basic setting editing screen  501 , the new slide registration screen  601 , or the folder setting editing screen  901 , respectively. As described above, the slide setting area  1500  is assigned to the area dedicated for the slide show application in the storage unit  306  on the eMMC  109 . 
     The values registered in the Button Name option  502 , the “Display Time for One Slide” option  504 , and the Slide Specification Method option  505  are set as descriptions  2004 ,  2026 , and  2025 , respectively, in  FIG.  18   . When the OK button  907  is pressed in the folder setting editing screen  901 , the values of items of a description  2002  in setting data  2001  are set. When the OK button  609  is pressed in the new slide registration screen  601 , the values of items of a description  2003  in the setting data  2001  are set. The values registered in the “Path to Folder” option  902 , the User Name option  903 , and the Password option  904  in the folder setting editing screen  901  are set as descriptions  2005  to  2008  in  FIG.  18   . Referring to the example illustrated in  FIG.  18   , since the description  2008  is information about the password, the value registered in the Password option  904  is set in an encrypted way. The value corresponding to “In Order of File Name” or “In Order of Date and Time of Update” registered in the “Display Order of Files in Folder” option  905  is set as a description  2009  in  FIG.  18   . The value corresponding to “Specify Image with Path”, “Specify Image with URL”, or “Specify Color” registered in the Background option  602  is set as a description  2010  in  FIG.  18   . The location value and the file name registered in the File Location option  603  are set as descriptions  2011  and  2012 , respectively, in  FIG.  18   . The values registered in the User Name option  604  and the Password option  605  are set as descriptions  2013  to  2015  in  FIG.  18   . Referring to the example illustrated in  FIG.  18   , since the description  2015  is information about the password, the value registered in the Password option  605  is set in an encrypted way. The value corresponding to the Background Color option  606  is set as a description  2016  in  FIG.  18   . Examples of options for the Background Color option  606  include “White, Black, Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue”. The value registered in the “Display Text on Slide” option  607  is set as a description  2017  in  FIG.  18   . The values registered in the items for the display text setting option  608  are set as descriptions  2018  to  2023  in  FIG.  18   . Examples of the “Font” options include “Normal, Bold, Italic, and Bold+Italic”. Examples of the “Font Size” options include “Large, Middle, and Small”. Examples of the “Font Color” options include “White, Black, Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue”. Examples of the “Scrolling Text Speed” options include “Slow, Normal, and Fast”. Examples of the “Scroll Direction” options include “Do Not Scroll, Right to Left, Left to Right, From Top Downward, and From Bottom Upward”. When a plurality of slides is registered in the new slide registration screen  601 , information indicated by the description  2003  in  FIG.  18    is generated for the number of slides according to the slide display order. 
     The setting state for each slide is managed by a management table  21901 . This configuration enables improving the display response when displaying the settings in list form in a setting list screen (not illustrated).  FIG.  23    illustrates examples of setting values for each slide registered in the new slide registration screen  601 . As illustrated in  FIG.  23   , the management table  21901  includes information columns  21902  to  21915 . As described above, each slide specified as a display target is managed by the management table  21901 . The information column  21903  stores the method for specifying images to be subjected to a slide show. According to the present exemplary embodiment, since text information can be applied to images to be subjected to a slide show, the display target image is displayed as “Background”. This information is specified by the Background option  602 . The information column  21904  stores information about the location of the image file to be subjected to a slide show. This information is set by the File Location option  603  or the “Path to Folder” option  902 . The information column  21905  stores information about the user name to be used to access an image. This information is set by the User Name option  604  or  903 . The information column  21906  stores password setting information. This information stores the value according to the status of the check box of a “Set/Change Password” option  605  or  904 . The information column  21907  stores information about the password. This information is set by the check box of the Password option  605  or  904 . The information column  21908  stores information about the background color. This information is set by the Background Color option  606 . The information column  21909  stores information about whether to display text in a slide. This information stores the value according to the input status of the check box of the “Display Text on Slide” option  607 . The information column  21910  stores information about the text to be displayed. This information is set by the “Text to Be Displayed” option  608 . The information column  21911  stores information about the font. This information is set by the Font option  608 . The information column  21912  stores information about the font size. This information is set by the Font Size option  608 . The information column  21913  stores information about the font color. This information is set by the Font Color option  608 . The information column  21914  stores information about the scrolling text speed. This information is set by the Scrolling Text Speed option  608 . The information column  21915  stores information about the scroll direction. This information is set by the Scroll Direction option  608 . 
     &lt;Display Order Setting Processing&gt; 
     According to the present exemplary embodiments, the display order of the slide specified as the display target can be changed. The settings of the display order of a slide show will be described below with reference to  FIGS.  19 ,  20 A, and  20 B .  FIG.  19    is a flowchart illustrating processing for changing the display order of slides according to the present exemplary embodiment. This flowchart is implemented when the CPU  101  executes the extended application  310 .  FIG.  20 A  illustrates an example display in a first process of a display order editing screen.  FIG.  20 B  illustrates an example display in a second process of the display order editing screen.  FIGS.  20 A and  20 B  illustrate examples of operations for setting the display order according to the management table  21901  in  FIG.  19   . 
     In step S 21501 , the extended application  310  determines whether an “Edit Display Order” button  406  is pressed in the top screen  401  of setting screens. When the “Edit Display Order” button  406  is not pressed (NO in step S 21501 ), the processing returns to step S 21501 . Then, the extended application  310  repeats the processing. When the “Edit Display Order” button  406  is pressed (YES in step S 21501 ), the processing proceeds to step S 21502 . 
     In step S 21502 , the extended application  310  performs processing for displaying a display order editing screen. In the display order editing screen, the user performs a display order change operation. 
     Examples of the display order editing screen are illustrated in  FIGS.  20 A and  20 B . A display order editing screen  21601  includes a “Move Up” button  21605 , a “Move Down” button  21606 , an OK button  21607 , a Cancel button  21608 , and a list display area  21609 . The list display area  21609  displays a list of slides registered in the new slide registration screen  601 . The list display area  21609  includes slide display order information  21603  indicating the display order of slides, and file name information  21604  indicating file names of display target image files. The list display area  21609  also includes display text information  21610  registered in the new slide registration screen  601 , and a slide selection option  21602  for selecting a slide. According to the present exemplary embodiment, the list display area  21609  further includes path information  21611  indicating path information for display target image files. When the user selects a slide by using the slide selection option  21602  in the display order editing screen  21601  and then presses the “Move Up” button  21605  or the “Move Down” button  21606 , the display order in the list display area  21609  is changed. 
       FIG.  20 A  illustrates an example where image files are sequentially registered for each network path. More specifically, image files of “server1” are registered as images in the first to third display order, an image file of “server2” is registered as an image in the fourth display order, and an image file of “server  3 ” is registered as an image in the fifth display order. In this state, the user checks the check box of the slide selection option  21602  corresponding to the fourth image “sample01.png” and then selects the “Move Up” button  21605  twice. As a result of this operation, the display order in  FIG.  20 A  is changed to the display order illustrated in  FIG.  20 B . Then, the user checks the check box of the slide selection option  21602  corresponding to the third image “picture03.jpg” and then selects the “Move Down” button  21606  twice. As a result of this operation, a display order that is the same as that indicated by the management table  21901  is displayed in the display area  21609 . 
     In step S 21504 , the extended application  310  determines whether the OK button  21607  in the display order editing screen  21601  is pressed. When the extended application  310  determines that the OK button  21607  is pressed (YES in step S 21504 ), the processing proceeds to step S 21505 . On the other hand, when the extended application  310  determines that the OK button  21607  is not pressed (NO in step S 21504 ), the processing proceeds to step S 21506 . 
     In step S 21505 , the extended application  310  updates the display order setting (order information) according to information about the display order change operation in step S 21503  and then displays the top screen  401  of setting screens. Then, the processing exits this flowchart. 
     In step S 21506 , the extended application  310  determines whether the Cancel button  21608  has been pressed in the display order editing screen  21601 . 
     When the extended application  310  determines that the Cancel button  21608  is not pressed (NO in step S 21506 ), the processing returns to step S 21503 . 
     On the other hand, when the extended application  310  determines that the Cancel button  21608  is pressed (YES in step S 21506 ), the processing proceeds to step S 21507 . 
     In step S 21507 , the extended application  310  cancels the contents of the display order change operation and then displays the top screen  401 . Then, the processing exits the flowchart. 
     Although a button is used as a means for performing the display order change operation, the UI is not limited thereto. For example, the following modifications are also applicable. 
     (First Modification) 
     A first modification is configured to perform a display order change operation by moving a slide name displayed in list form with a drag-and-drop operation.  FIG.  21 A  illustrates an example display in a first process of the display order editing screen according to the first modification.  FIG.  21 B  illustrates an example display in a second process of the display order editing screen according to the first modification. 
     A display order editing screen  21701  includes a list display area  21702  for displaying a list of slides registered in the new slide registration screen  601 . The list display area  21702  displays image name information in list form. The display order is changed when the user selects a slide to be subjected to display order change from the list display area  21702 , moves the slide to the position of the desired display order with a drag-and-drop operation  21703 , and then presses an OK button  21704 . When the user presses a Cancel button  21705 , the CPU  101  cancels information about the display order changed by the drag-and-drop operation  21703  and then displays the top screen  401  of setting screens of the extended application  310 . 
     (Second Modification) 
     A second modification is configured to perform a display order change operation by moving the thumbnail of a slide with a drag-and-drop operation.  FIG.  22 A  illustrates an example display in a first process of the display order editing screen according to the second modification.  FIG.  22 B  illustrates an example display in a second process of the display order editing screen according to the second modification. 
     A display order editing screen  21801  includes a thumbnail display area  21802 . The thumbnail display area  21802  is a thumbnail list that displays a list of thumbnail images of slides. These thumbnail images are displayed by acquiring image files from an image file path or an image file URL specified by the File Location option  603  and then caching them as thumbnail images. The display order is changed when the user selects the thumbnail of a slide to be subjected to display order change from the thumbnail display area  21802 , moves the thumbnail to the position of the desired display order with a drag-and-drop operation  21803 , and then presses an OK button  21804 . When the user presses a Cancel button  21805 , the CPU  101  cancels information about the display order changed by the drag-and-drop operation  21803  and then displays the top screen  401  of setting screens of the extended application  310 . 
     &lt;Remarks&gt; 
     The above-described configuration enables collecting image data existing in a plurality of locations from a preset path and displaying the image data. As described above, the present exemplary embodiment makes it possible to register paths of images existing in a plurality of locations as targets of a slide show, and then perform a display order change operation. This method excels in usability because the user does not need to be conscious of the display order when registering the image path, allowing the user to change the display order with an intuitive operation such as a drag-and-drop operation. The method also enables displaying thumbnails of images that can be currently acquired indicated by the image path, making it easier to grasp the current display order of slides. 
     The first present exemplary embodiment has been described above centering on an example where image data existing in a plurality of locations are collected from a preset path and normally displayed. However, in this configuration for acquiring images from a plurality of locations via a network, there may arise a situation where some of the plurality of images cannot be accessed. A second exemplary embodiment will be described below centering on a case of suitably processing the slide corresponding to an unacquirable image in a case where image data existing in a plurality of locations is acquired via a network to provide a slide show. The second exemplary embodiment can provide a display apparatus capable of suitably process the slide corresponding to an unacquirable image in a case where image data existing in a plurality of locations is successively displayed and acquired via a network to provide a slide show. The configuration of the second exemplary embodiment is approximately the same as the configuration of the first exemplary embodiment except for characterizing portions. Therefore, in the following descriptions, identical components are assigned the same reference numerals, and detailed descriptions thereof may be omitted. 
     &lt;Setting Screens&gt; 
       FIG.  24    illustrates the basic setting editing screen illustrated in  FIG.  5    and a Slide Image Error Handling Method option. A basic setting editing screen  30501  includes a Button Name option  30502 , an automatic application start setting (“Automatically Make Transition”) option  30503 , a “Display Time for One Slide” option  30504 , a Slide Specification Method option  30505 , the OK button  506 , and the Cancel button  507 . The above-described configuration corresponds to the options  501  to  505  and the buttons  506  and  507  in  FIG.  5   . A Slide Image Error Handling Method option  30508  is an option for selecting the slide display processing method in a case where a normal image cannot be downloaded from a server based on information set in a slide. 
     An Alternative Image Selection Method option  30509  is an option for selecting an image to be displayed when alternative image display is selected for the Slide Image Error Handling Method option  30508 . When “Use Default Image” is selected, an image incorporated in the extended application  310  is used. When “Use Registered Image” is selected, an image registered by an “Register Alternative Image” option  30510  by the user is used. The “Register Alternative Image” option  30510  is an option for registering an image stored in the user&#39;s local environment to a device. When the user checks a “Register Alternative Image” button and then presses a “Refer To” button, files in the user&#39;s local environment are registered. 
     &lt;Image Data Acquisition Processing&gt; 
     Processing for acquiring slide show image data will be described below with reference to  FIG.  31   . This processing is part of processing for configuring the slide show application installed in the extended application  310 . The VM/FW unit  309  interprets the script language describing the relevant processing, and the CPU  101  executes the script language via the VM/FW unit  309 . 
     In step S 321 - 001 , the CPU  101  determines whether “Collectively Specify Slides from Folder” is selected for the Slide Specification Method option  505 . When “Collectively Specify Slides from Folder” is selected for the Slide Specification Method option  505  illustrated in  FIG.  5    (YES in step S 321 - 001 ), the processing proceeds to step S 321 - 002 . On the other hand, when “Specify Slide One by One” is selected (NO in step S 321 - 001 ), the processing proceeds to step S 321 - 003 . 
     In step S 321 - 002 , the CPU  101  identifies target image files and determines the display order based on the setting of the “Display Order of Files in Folder” option  905  illustrated in  FIG.  9   . 
     In step S 321 - 003 , the CPU  101  once disables the cache state of the image data prestored in a cache area  2100 . 
     In step S 321 - 004 , the CPU  101  sets the index i to 1. Then, the processing proceeds to the next step. The index i indicates the display order. Setting the index i to 1 means indicating the first image. 
     In step S 321 - 005 , the CPU  101  determines whether the i-th image needs to be cached. This determination is equivalent to the sequence in step S 14 - 040  illustrated in  FIG.  14   . More specifically, the CPU  101  compares the image meta information received in step S 14 - 030  and the image meta information prestored in the cache area  2100  to confirm whether the image meta information has been updated. When the date and time of update of the received image meta information is later than the date and time of update of the prestored image meta information, the CPU  101  determines that the image meta information has been updated. Alternatively, when the size of the received image meta information is different from the size of the prestored image meta information, the CPU  101  determines that the image meta information has been updated. In addition, when the relevant image meta information is not prestored in the cache area  2100 , the CPU  101  determines that the image meta information has been updated. When the CPU  101  determines that the image meta information has not been updated (NO in step S 321 - 005 ), the processing proceeds to step S 321 - 006 . On the other hand, when the CPU  101  determines that the image meta information has been updated (YES in step S 321 - 005 ), the processing proceeds to step S 321 - 007 . 
     In step S 321 - 006 , the CPU  101  enables the cache state of the i-th image once disabled in step S 321 - 003 . Then, the processing proceeds to step S 321 - 012 . 
     In step S 321 - 007 , the CPU  101  determines whether a path or URL is selected for the Background option  602  illustrated in  FIG.  6   . When a path is specified (“Specify Image with Path” is selected) (smb in step S 321 - 007 ), the CPU  101  determines that access based on the SMB protocol will be used. Then, the processing proceeds to step S 321 - 008 . On the other hand, when a URL is specified (“Specify Image with URL” is selected) (http in step S 321 - 007 ), the CPU  101  determines that access based on the http protocol will be used. Then, the processing proceeds to step S 321 - 009 . 
     In step S 321 - 008 , the CPU  101  acquires the i-th image data from the path specified by the File Location option  603  illustrated in  FIG.  6   , by using the SMB protocol. The CPU  101  also requests the SMB authentication based on the authentication information set by the User Name option  604  and the Password option  605 . Upon completion of the acquisition processing, the processing proceeds to step S 321 - 010 . 
     In step S 321 - 009 , the CPU  101  acquires the i-th image data from the URL specified by the File Location option  603  illustrated in  FIG.  6   , by using the http protocol. Upon completion of the acquisition processing, the processing proceeds to step S 321 - 010 . 
     In step S 321 - 010 , the CPU  101  confirms whether the image data has been normally acquired. If a network error, an SMB ID/PASSWORD authentication error, or an invalid image data format error occurs, the acquisition processing is determined to be failed. When the image data acquisition is successful (YES in step S 321 - 010 ), the processing proceeds to step S 321 - 011 . On the other hand, when the image data acquisition fails (NO in step S 321 - 010 ), the processing proceeds to step S 321 - 014 . 
     In step S 321 - 014 , the CPU  101  increments the number of retries by one. Then, the processing proceeds to step S 321 - 015 . 
     In step S 321 - 015 , the CPU  101  confirms whether the number of retries is equal to or less than a predetermined value. When the number of retries is equal to or less than the predetermined value (YES in step S 321 - 015 ), the processing returns to step S 321 - 007 . Then, the CPU  101  performs image data retry processing. On the other hand, when the number of retries exceeds the predetermined value (NO in step S 321 - 015 ), the CPU  101  cancels the current slide image data acquisition. Then, the processing proceeds to step S 321 - 012 . 
     In step S 321 - 011 , the CPU  101  stores the acquired i-th image data in the cache area  2100 . At the same time, the CPU  101  updates the image meta information for the i-th image data to the acquired information and enables the cache state of the i-th image. 
     In step S 321 - 012 , the CPU  101  increments the index i by one. 
     In step S 321 - 013 , the CPU  101  determines whether the request for displaying the i-th image indicated by the incremented index i is present. When the request for displaying the i-th image is present (YES in step S 321 - 013 ), the processing returns to step S 321 - 005 . On the other hand, when the request is not present (NO in step S 321 - 013 ), the CPU  101  ends the image data acquisition processing. 
     &lt;Management Data&gt; 
       FIG.  26    illustrates an example of meta information stored in the meta information storage operation in step S 14 - 130  in  FIG.  14   . This meta information includes information columns  316 - 01  to  316 - 04 . The information column  316 - 01  manages information about the protocol for each image. The information column  316 - 02  manages information about the path for each image. The information column  316 - 03  manages information about the size of each image acquired from a server. The information column  316 - 04  manages information about the date and time of update for each image acquired from the server. More specifically, the meta information for “\\server1\dir1\path\image1.jpg” with the SMB protocol includes the size “10000” and the date and time of update “Jan. 1, 2021”. 
       FIG.  25    illustrates an example of slide setting information stored in the setting storage operation in step S 12 - 050  in  FIG.  12   . In this example, four different slides are registered. The slide setting information includes information columns  315 - 01  to  315 - 04 . The information column  315 - 01  manages information about the slide number. The information column  315 - 02  manages information about the text string to be displayed in each slide. The information column  315 - 03  manages information about the protocol used to access each image to be displayed in each slide. The information column  315 - 04  manages information about the image path used to access each image to be displayed in each slide. More specifically, the first slide displays a text string “test1”, downloads the image “\\server1\dir1\path\image1.jpg” based on the SMB protocol, and displays the image. Information for four different slides is registered in this way. Although, in this example, the same protocol is used for all images, a different protocol may be used for each slide. 
     Note that the meta information in  FIG.  26    stores three different meta information pieces while the slide setting information in  FIG.  25    stores four different slide information pieces. The meta information in  FIG.  26    stores meta information for combinations of the protocol and the image path while the slide setting information in  FIG.  25    stores information for each slide. Therefore, even when slides  1  and  4  refer to the same image, the slide setting information stores four information pieces. 
     &lt;Text Combination&gt; 
     When providing a slide show, the second exemplary embodiment enables appending information such as a text to an image.  FIG.  27    illustrates an example configuration for combining slide images based on information registered in the slide setting information. An image  317 - 01  indicates the appearance of the image data registered in a slide. Information  317 - 02  indicates text string data registered in a slide. 
     When text combination setting has been performed in advance, combining the appearance of the image data of the image  317 - 01  and the text string data of the information  317 - 02  generates an image  317 - 03  to be used for slide display. 
     &lt;Error Handling&gt; 
     According to the present exemplary embodiment, display error handling processing is performed if a target image for a slide show cannot be obtained.  FIG.  28    illustrates an example of slide combination in a case where the appearance of the image data cannot be drawn. The present exemplary embodiment is configured to acquire image data from a server. At the time of image data acquisition, image data may not be normally acquired because of the influences of setting changes on the server side. 
     If the normal image data acquisition fails, the appearance of the image data cannot be drawn, and slide images to be displayed cannot be combined. In such a case, error handling processing is used in the slide image display processing. There is a plurality of error handling methods, as illustrated in  FIG.  5   . The present exemplary embodiment enables the user to select a desired error handling method from a plurality of error handling methods according to the user&#39;s preference. A first error handling method corresponds to “Do Not Display Slide”. This method skips the playback of the slide with an image data acquisition failure. A second error handling method corresponds to “Display Only Text String”. As illustrated in an image  318 - 01 , this method displays only the registered text string in the slide without drawing the appearance of the image data that has not be able to be acquired. A third error handling method corresponds to “Display Alternative Image and Text String”. As illustrated in an image  318 - 02 , this method combines image data indicating that the appearance of the image data cannot be drawn and the registered text string, and displays the combination as a slide. A fourth error handling method corresponds to “Display Only Alternative Image”. As illustrated in an image  318 - 03 , this method displays only image data (alternative image data) indicating that the appearance of the image data cannot be drawn. A fifth error handling method corresponds to “Display Blank”. As illustrated in an image  318 - 04 , this method displays neither image data nor text string data (text string data or text data for combination) but displays a blank. The error handling method to be used may be collectively specified for the entire slide show or specified for each individual slide. A predetermined error handling method may be specified without prompting the user to specify a method. 
       FIG.  29    illustrates details of the slide display processing in step S 14 - 140  in  FIG.  14   . 
     In step S 319 - 010 , the CPU  101  confirms whether there is a normally displayable slide in the image information set in the slide setting information. For example, if image downloading from a server fails, slide display cannot be performed in the failed state. In this case, the CPU  101  confirms whether at least one normally displayable slide is present. 
     When at least one displayable slide is present (YES in step S 319 - 010 ), the processing proceeds to step S 319 - 030 . On the other hand, when no displayable slide is present (NO in step S 319 - 010 ), the processing proceeds to step S 319 - 020 . 
     In step S 319 - 020 , the CPU  101  displays an error screen  320 - 00  in  FIG.  30    indicating that no displayable slide is present and then ends the extended application  310 . 
     In step S 319 - 030 , the CPU  101  confirms whether each individual slide is a displayable slide. When each individual slide is a displayable slide (YES in step S 319 - 030 ), the processing proceeds to step S 319 - 040 . On the other hand, when each individual slide is not a displayable slide (NO in step S 319 - 030 ), the processing proceeds to step S 319 - 050 . 
     In step S 319 - 040 , the CPU  101  displays the slide after the image combination illustrated in  FIG.  27   . Then, the processing proceeds to step S 319 - 060 . 
     In step S 319 - 060 , the CPU  101  waits for a predetermined time period. Then, the processing proceeds to step S 319 - 070 . 
     In step S 319 - 050 , the processing proceeds to one of steps S 319 - 051  to S 319 - 054  and S 319 - 070  according to the setting of the Slide Image Error Handling Method option  30508  in  FIG.  24   . 
     In steps S 319 - 051  to S 319 - 054 , the CPU  101  performs the error handling processing set by the Slide Image Error Handling Method option  30508 . Then, the processing proceeds to step S 319 - 070 . 
     In step S 319 - 070 , the CPU  101  proceeds to the next slide. Then, the processing returns to step S 319 - 030 . 
     Performing the above-described control enables displaying an error message reflecting the user&#39;s intention if an image cannot be normally acquired. 
     Other Exemplary Embodiments 
     The present disclosure is applicable to a system composed of a plurality of apparatuses and to an apparatus composed of one apparatus. For example, functions may be implemented by configuring some software modules to be executed by an external server and acquiring a result of processing performed by the external server. For example, a storage unit for storing data may be disposed in the external server. 
     The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described exemplary embodiments but can be modified in diverse ways (including organic combinations of these exemplary embodiments) without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. These modifications are not excluded from the scope of the present disclosure. More specifically, all of configurations derived by suitably combining the above-described exemplary embodiments and modifications thereof are also intended to be included in the present disclosure. 
     The above-described exemplary embodiments are configured to provide a slide show application as an extended application. However, the effects of the present disclosure can also be reliably obtained by configuring the slide show application not as an extended application but as a part of the main program which is embedded software. 
     The above-described exemplary embodiments are configured to support two different protocols (SMB and http). However, the supported protocols are not limited thereto. For example, the present exemplary embodiment may also be configured to support the WebDav protocol. Alternatively, the present exemplary embodiment may be configured to store path information for external storages attachable to and detachable from the display apparatus, such as a USB memory and a Secure Digital (SD) card that can be stored in the display apparatus, and an internal storage (built-in storage) such as the eMMC  109 . Thus, image data can be collected from a wide range of path and then displayed. On the contrary, similar effects can be obtained even if the present exemplary embodiment is configured to support only the SMB protocol. 
     According to the above-described exemplary embodiments, user authentication information used to access a folder with the SMB protocol can be (individually) stored (maintained) in combination with the network path settings. However, for example, by supporting only a URL accessible by the http protocol not needing user identification, similar effects can be obtained even without storing the user authentication information in combination with the network path settings. 
     According to the above-described exemplary embodiments, a text string preset by the “Display Text on Slide” option  607  and the “Text to Be Displayed” option  608  illustrated in  FIG.  6    is superimposed on the displayed image. However, effects of the present disclosure can be obtained even without text string superposition. 
     According to the above-described exemplary embodiments, not only an image acquired from a pre-registered network path but also a screen with a specified background color can be displayed. However, the background color display is not essential to the present disclosure. Similar effects can be obtained even without this function. 
     According to the described exemplary embodiments, “Collectively Specify Slides from Folder” or “Specify Slides One by One” can be selected for the Slide Specification Method option  505  illustrated in  FIG.  5   . However, “Collectively Specify Slides from Folder” is not essential to the present disclosure. Similar effects can be obtained even without this function. On the contrary, effects different from those of the present disclosure can be obtained by expanding the setting items for “Collectively Specify Slides from Folder”. For example, “In Order of File Name” or “In Order of Date and Time of Update” can be selected for the “Display Order of Files in Folder” option  905  illustrated in  FIG.  9   . Finer display settings can be provided by adding “In Size Order” and enabling selection of the ascending or descending order. 
     A mechanism is known to deliver application setting values as a known technique that is totally different from the present disclosure. Applying this technique enables sharing (replicating) one setting of the slide show application of the present disclosure among a plurality of display apparatuses. This configuration makes it possible to display an identical image on a plurality of display apparatuses even without preparing a distribution server like a digital signage described above in the background of the disclosure. The present disclosure may be combined with such a technique. With this combination, for example, replacing image data on an SMB server with the same file name enables collectively changing the contents of a slide show performed on a plurality of display apparatuses without changing the network path registered in the plurality of display apparatuses. 
     Other Embodiments 
     Embodiment(s) of the present disclosure can also be realized by a computer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computer executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a ‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or that includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by the computer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out and executing the computer executable instructions from the storage medium to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). The computer may include one or more processors (e.g., central processing unit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network of separate computers or separate processors to read out and execute the computer executable instructions. The computer executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or the storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or more of a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as a compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™), a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like. 
     While the present disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions. 
     This application claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Applications No. 2021-187836, filed Nov. 18, 2021, No. 2021-200578, filed Dec. 10, 2021, No. 2021-200581, filed Dec. 10, 2021, and No. 2022-122645, filed Aug. 1, 2022, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.