Patent Abstract:
A device driver or method that operate a periphery device. A display mode storage unit stores setting items, which are operable by a user using a user interface interfacing the device driver, into functionally mutually-related groups, as plates, the plates indicating display modes of the user interface for each group of the setting items. An alignment sequence setting unit sets an alignment sequence for the plates by allowing the user to set the alignment sequence. An arrangement unit arranges the plates in a plate display area on the user interface depending on the alignment sequence set by the alignment sequence setting. Each of the plates has a width that equals either a whole length or a half length of a width of the plate display area, and the arrangement unit arranges the plates in the plate display area depending on the alignment sequence set by the alignment sequence setting unit.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims priority to and incorporates by reference the entire contents of Japanese priority document 2008-003469 filed in Japan on Jan. 10, 2008. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The disclosures herein generally relate to device drivers and methods of customizing the layout of a user interface. The disclosures herein particularly relate to a device driver for which the layout of a user interface can be customized, and also relate to a layout customizing method of customizing a device-driver user interface. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Embedding a device driver into an operating system (hereinafter referred to as an OS) makes it possible for a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) or the like to drive a peripheral device such as a printer or a multifunctional machine. The device driver is software for driving a peripheral device, and serves to assist an OS in controlling the peripheral device. 
     In general, a device driver is provided with a user interface (hereinafter referred to as a UI) for allowing a user to make and change settings. It is known, however, that user preference for the layout (display layout) of a device driver UI tends to widely vary from user to user depending on user taste. 
     To satisfy a variety of user needs for the display layout of a device driver UI, software vendors have been designing display layouts according to priorities determined at the vendor&#39;s end. As a result, the display layouts of device driver UIs are imposed on users by software vendors, failing to satisfy a variety of user needs. 
     Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-75977 discloses a technology for allowing a user to freely customize the display layout of a UI. 
     However, the mere fact that a user can freely customize the display layout of a device driver UI does not necessarily mean that the customized display layout is user-friendly. The display layout of a device driver UI may be freely customized even with respect to the fine details of each setting item, for example. In such a case, a user with expert knowledge knows what customization is necessary to make the device driver UI easy to use, and can thus properly design a display layout of the device driver UI that is easy for the user to use. 
     When the display layout of a device driver UI can be freely customized with respect to the fine details of each setting item, a general user often has no idea about what customization is necessary to make the device driver UI easy to use, and cannot properly design a display layout of the device driver UI that is easy for the user to use. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present inventors recognized a general user typically does not wish to freely customize the details of a display layout of a device driver UI. A general user rather wishes to be able to design, in a flexible, easy, and swift manner, a display layout of a device driver UI that is easy to use. 
     In view of the above, the present inventors recognized a need for a device driver and a method of customizing the layout of a user interface that can accommodate user needs for the layout of a device driver user interface in a flexible, easy, and swift manner. 
     It is accordingly an object of the present invention to address the problems in the background technology. 
     According to an aspect of the present invention, a device driver that operates a periphery device comprises a display mode storage unit that stores setting items, which are operable by a user using a user interface interfacing the device driver, into functionally mutually-related groups, as plates, the plates indicating display modes of the user interface for each group of the setting items; an alignment sequence setting unit that sets an alignment sequence for the plates by allowing the user to set the alignment sequence; and an arrangement unit that arranges the plates in a plate display area on the user interface depending on the alignment sequence set by the alignment sequence setting, wherein each of the plates has a width that equals either a whole length or a half length of a width of the plate display area, and the arrangement unit arranges the plates in the plate display area depending on the alignment sequence set by the alignment sequence setting unit. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of customizing layout of a user interface used for a device driver that operates a periphery device comprises storing setting items, which are operable by a user using a user interface interfacing the device driver, into functionally mutually-related groups, as plates, the plates indicating display modes of the user interface for each group of the setting items; setting an alignment sequence for the plates by allowing the user to set the alignment sequence; and arranging the plates in a plate display area given to the user interface depending on the alignment sequence, wherein each of the plates has a width that equals either a whole length or a half length of a width of the plate display area, and the arranging arranges the plates in the plate display area depending on the alignment sequence. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIGS. 1A and 1B  are drawings showing system configurations according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a drawing showing an example of the hardware configuration of a PC; 
         FIG. 3  is a drawing showing an example of the software configuration of a PC; 
         FIG. 4  is an illustrative drawing showing an example of the appearance of a printer driver UI; 
         FIG. 5  is an illustrative drawing showing an example of plates; 
         FIG. 6  is a drawing showing an example of the configuration of a plate-status management table; 
         FIGS. 7A through 7G  are illustrative drawings showing various patterns in which plates are arranged from top to bottom in an area; 
         FIGS. 8A through 8C  are illustrative drawings showing examples of the appearance of an area in which plates are arranged; 
         FIG. 9  is an illustrative drawing showing an example of updates being made to the plate-status management table in response to a history of user operations; 
         FIG. 10  is an illustrative drawing showing an example of updates being made to the plate-status management table in response to changes made from the initial settings provided at the time of shipment from a factory; 
         FIGS. 11A through 11D  are illustrative drawings showing examples of plate-status management tables that can be switched from one to another at the time of use; and 
         FIG. 12  is an illustrative drawing showing examples of plate-status management tables that can be switched from one to another by selecting a user customized mode, a history mode, or a change-from-initial-setting mode. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In the following, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described by referring to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are directed to an example in which a printer driver is used as an example of a device driver. This is not a limiting example, and a device driver can be any type of device driver for which a user can edit setting items on its user interface. Further, the embodiments are directed to an example in which a multi-function peripheral (hereinafter referred to as a MFP) is used as an example of a peripheral device that is driven through an embedded device driver. This is not a limiting example, and the peripheral device can be any type of peripheral device. 
       FIGS. 1A and 1B  are drawings showing system configurations according to a first embodiment of the present invention. A system  1  may have a configuration as shown in  FIG. 1A , in which a PC  2  and an MFP  3  operated by users are connected to each other via a network  4  such as a LAN to perform data transmission. Alternatively, the system  1  may have a configuration as shown in  FIG. 1B , in which the PC  2  and the MFP  3  are connected to each other via a data transmission line  5  such as a USB to perform data transmission. 
     The PC  2  may have a configuration as shown in  FIG. 2 , for example.  FIG. 2  is a drawing showing an example of the hardware configuration of a PC. The PC  2  shown in  FIG. 2  includes an input unit  1 , an output unit  12 , a driver unit  13 , an auxiliary memory unit  14 , a main memory unit  15 , a computing unit  16 , and an interface unit  17 , all of which are connected together via a bus B. 
     The input unit  11  includes a keyboard and mouse, for example, and serves to receive various input signals. The output unit  12  includes a display apparatus and the like, and serves to display various types of windows, data, and the like. The interface unit  17  includes a modem, a LAN card, a USB interface (I/F), and the like, and serves to establish a connection with the MFP  3  via the network  4  or the data transmission line  5 . 
     A printer driver according to the present embodiment is software for use by the PC  2  to operate the MFP  3 . The printer driver serves to assist an OS of the PC  2  to control the MFP  3 . The printer driver is provided through the delivery of a recording medium  18  or through downloading via the network  4 . The recording medium  18  having a printer driver recorded therein can be any type of recording medium. That is, it may be a recording medium for recording information by use of an optical, electrical, or magnetic device such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk, or a magneto-optical disk, or may be a semiconductor memory for recording information by use of an electrical device such as a ROM or a flash memory. 
     Upon setting the recording medium  18  containing a printer driver to the driver unit  13 , the printer driver is installed from the recording medium  18  to the auxiliary memory unit  14  through the driver unit  13 . A printer driver that is downloaded through the network  4  is installed to the auxiliary memory unit  14  through the interface unit  17 . 
     The auxiliary memory unit  14  stores an installed printer driver, and also stores various files and data. Upon power-on, the printer driver is read from the auxiliary memory unit  14  to be loaded to the main memory unit  15 . The computing unit  16  performs various types of processing by use of the printer driver stored in the main memory unit  15  as described later. 
       FIG. 3  is a drawing showing an example of the software configuration of a PC. The PC  2  shown in  FIG. 3  includes an application  21 , an OS  22 , and a printer driver  23 . Upon receiving a request regarding the MFP  3  from the application  21 , the OS  22  controls the MFP  3  by use of the printer driver  23 . 
     The printer driver  23  includes a sequence position setting unit  31 , a display on-off setting unit  32 , a plate arranging unit  33 , a UI generating and displaying unit  34 , a table switchover unit  35 , a mode switchover unit  36 , a plate storage unit  37 , and a plate-status management table  38 . 
     The configuration of the printer driver  23  shown in  FIG. 3  includes only the portions relevant to the disclosures of the present embodiment. Further, the configuration of the printer driver  23  shown in  FIG. 3  is only an example, and may be divided and provided as separate files. 
     The sequence position setting unit  31 , the display on-off setting unit  32 , the plate arranging unit  33 , the UI generating and displaying unit  34 , the table switchover unit  35 , the mode switchover unit  36 , the plate storage unit  37 , and the plate-status management table  38 , which constitute the printer driver  23 , are described later in detail. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the printer driver  23  provides a printer driver UI  40  which is used by a user to make settings regarding the MFP  3 ;  FIG. 4  is an illustrative drawing showing an example of the appearance of a printer driver UI. In the printer driver UI  40  shown in  FIG. 4 , a custom settings window (display screen)  41  and a detail settings window (display screen)  42  can be switched from one to the other by selecting respective tabs. 
     The detail settings window  42  includes all the setting items usable by the user, and receives user inputs regarding those setting items. It should be noted that the display layout of the detail settings window  42  cannot be customized. 
     The custom settings window  41  includes at least one or more of the setting items used by the user, and receives user inputs regarding such one or more of the setting items. It should be noted that the display layout of the custom settings window  41  can be customized. Specifically, the choice and arrangement of the setting items displayed in an area  43  indicated by a dotted-line frame can be customized in the custom settings window  41 . 
     However, the custom settings window  41  does not allow a user to freely customize the choice and arrangement of the setting items displayed in the area  43  in detail. Instead, setting items are grouped into units (hereinafter referred to as plates) according to their functions to allow plates  44   a  through  44   c  to be customized.  FIG. 5  is an illustrative drawing showing an example of plates. Plates in general will hereinafter be referred to by using reference numeral “ 44 ”. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , each plate  44  is uniquely identified by its plate ID. Each plate  44  is already fixed at the time of delivery to customers. Each plate  44  is configured in such a manner that setting items belonging to a corresponding group as having related functions are displayed. 
     When plates  44  are used to customize the display layout of the custom settings window  41 , each plate  44  has its plate ID and associated UI controls. Here, in the case of the plate  44  having the plate ID=16 as an example, the UI controls refer to the character string “Staple:”, a combobox for providing choices, and a balloon icon placed on the left-hand side of the combobox. The information regarding each plate  44  is stored in the plate storage unit  37 . 
     To use plates  44  to customize the display layout of the custom setting window  41 , the printer driver  23  manages and controls the sequence position and display on-off status of each plate  44  by use of a plate-status management table  38  shown in  FIG. 6 . 
       FIG. 6  is a drawing showing an example of the configuration of a plate-status management table  38 . The plate-status management table  38  stores a display on-off status (as shown in the “display” column) and a sequence position (as shown in the “order” column) separately for each plate ID. In the plate-status management table  38 , the display on-off status “Yes” indicates a display-enabled status, and the display on-off status “No” indicates a display-disabled status. The sequence position in the “order” column in the plate-status management table  38  indicates a sequence number in the display sequence arranged in an ascending order. 
     The display on-off status in the plate-status management table  38  is set by the display on-off setting unit  32  as described later. The sequence position in the plate-status management table  38  is set by the sequence position setting unit  31  as described later. The display on-off setting unit  32  and the sequence position setting unit  31  update display on-off statuses and sequence numbers, respectively, in the plate-status management table  38  in response to instructions from a user. 
     The plate arranging unit  33  arranges plates  44  from top to bottom in the area  43  in an ascending order of the sequence numbers such that only the plates  44  for which the display on-off status indicates a display-enabled status (“Yes”) in the plate-status management table  38  are displayed. If the display on-off status indicates a display-disabled status (“No”) for a given plate  44  in the plate-status management table  38 , this plate  44  is not displayed regardless of its sequence position. When sequence positions are changed in the plate-status management table  38 , the sequence of the displayed plates  44  will be customized. 
       FIGS. 7A through 7G  are illustrative drawings showing various patterns in which plates are arranged from top to bottom in an area.  FIGS. 7A through 7G  illustrate patterns P 1  through P 7 . In  FIGS. 7A through 7G , hatched areas represent the background of the area  43 , and encircled numbers indicate the sequence numbers of the displayed plates  44 . As shown in  FIGS. 7A through 7G , each plate  44  has either a width equal to the width of the area  43  or a width equal to half the width of the area  43 . Further, the height of each plate  44  is not restricted to any particular length. As previously described, the display format within each plate  44  is already fixed at the time of delivery to customers. 
     The plate arranging unit  33  uniquely determines the display sequence of the plates  44  based on a user&#39;s settings of the plate-status management table  38 . The plate arranging unit  33  further determines the coordinates of each plate  44  in response to the width and height of each plate by taking into account the patterns shown in  FIGS. 7A through 7G . 
     Three plates  44  having respective sequence numbers  1 ,  2 , and  3  may have respective widths that are half the width of the area  43 , half the width of the area  43 , and equal to the width of the area  43 , respectively. In such a case, the plate arranging unit  33  determines the coordinates of the plates  44  by fitting these plates into one of the patterns (P 1 ) through (P 3 ) by taking into account the heights of the plates  44 . In another example, three plates  44  having respective sequence numbers  1 ,  2 , and  3  may have respective widths that are equal to the width of the area  43 , half the width of the area  43 , and equal to the width of the area  43 , respectively. In such a case, the plate arranging unit  33  determines the coordinates of the plates  44  by fitting these plates into the pattern (P 4 ). Patterns (P 5 )-(P 7 ) show other examples. 
     When the plates  44  shown in  FIG. 5  are arranged according to one of the patterns (P 1 ) through (P 3 ) shown in  FIGS. 7A through 7C , the plates  44  will appear in the area  43  as shown in  FIGS. 8A through 8C , respectively.  FIGS. 8A through 8C  are illustrative drawings showing examples of the appearance of an area in which the plates  44  are arranged, corresponding to patterns (P 1 )-(P 3 ). Upon the coordinates of the plates  44  being fixed, the UI generating and displaying unit  34  generates the custom setting window  41  including the area  43  for display on the output unit  12  of the PC  2 . 
     In this manner, the printer driver  23  of the present embodiment allows a user to freely customize the arrangements of the plates  44  by specifying the display on-off status and sequence number of each plate according to his/her preference. The printer driver  23  can thus satisfy user needs regarding the layout of the printer driver UI  40  in a flexible, easy, and swift manner. 
     In the printer driver  23  of the first embodiment, the display on-off setting unit  32  and the sequence position setting unit  31  update display on-off statuses and sequence numbers, respectively, in the plate-status management table  38  in response to instructions from a user. In a second embodiment of the present invention, the printer driver  23  automatically customizes, without the user needing to directly set up the plate-status management table  38 , the plates  44  arranged in the area  43  of the custom setting window  41  in view of an operation history, as now explained. 
       FIG. 9  is an illustrative drawing showing an example of updates being made to the plate-status management table in response to a history of user operations. In  FIG. 9 , a plate-status management table  38 - 1  demonstrates the state of the table prior to the user operations for editing settings. In the plate-status management table  38 - 1 , the display on-off status of each plate  44  is set to the display-disabled state (“No”). In the plate-status management table  38 - 1 , further, no sequence position (“N/A”) is set to the plates  44 . Since the display on-off status of each plate  44  is set to the display-disabled state (“No”) in the plate-status management table  38 - 1 , the plate arranging unit  33  arranges and displays no plates  44  in the area  43 . 
     In response to an example user operation regarding a setting item made through the detail settings window  42 , the sequence position setting unit  31  and the display on-off setting unit  32  update the plate-status management table  38 - 1  to a plate-status management table  38 - 2 . The plate-status management table  38 - 2  shows an example in which the setting item corresponding to the above-noted user operation belongs to the plate  44  that is uniquely identified by the plate ID=3. 
     Specifically, when the user identifies plate ID=3 to be displayed, the plate-status management table  32  automatically changes the display on-off status of the plate ID=3 to the display-enabled state (“Yes”), and the sequence position setting unit  31  automatically changes the sequence position of the plate ID=3 to “1” when the user selects displaying the plate with ID=3. The plate arranging unit  33  then automatically arranges a plate  44  from top to bottom in the area  43  according to one of the previously-described patterns wherein the display on-off status of this plate  44  indicates the display-enabled state (“Yes”) in the plate-status management table  38 - 2 . 
     After this, in response to another user operation regarding a setting item made through the detail settings window  42 , the sequence position setting unit  31  and the display on-off setting unit  32  automatically update the plate-status management table  38 - 2  to a plate-status management table  38 - 3 . The plate-status management table  38 - 3  shows an example in which the setting item corresponding to the above-noted user operation belongs to the plate  44  that is uniquely identified by the plate ID=15. 
     Specifically, when the user next requests display of the plate with ID=15 in the detail settings window  42 , the plate-status management table  32  automatically changes the display on-off status of the plate ID=15 to the display-enabled state (“Yes”). Further, the sequence position setting unit  31  automatically changes the sequence position of the plate ID=15 to “1”, and changes the sequence position of the plate ID=3 to “2”. The plate arranging unit  33  thereby arranges the plates  44  of ID=3 and ID=15 from a top of the area  43  in an ascending order of the sequence numbers, i.e., arranges the plate  44  of ID=15 first and the plate  44  of ID=3 second according to one of the previously-described patterns, wherein the display on-off status indicates the display-enabled status (“Yes”) for each of these plates in the plate-status management table  38 - 3 . 
     After this, in response to another user operation regarding a setting item made through the detail settings window  42 , the sequence position setting unit  31  and the display on-off setting unit  32  automatically update the plate-status management table  38 - 3  to a plate-status management table  38 - 4 . The plate-status management table  38 - 4  shows an example in which the setting item corresponding to the above-noted user operation belongs to the plate  44  that is uniquely identified by the plate ID=2. 
     Specifically, when the user next requests display of the plate with ID=2 in the detail settings window  42 , the plate-status management table  32  automatically changes the display on-off status of the plate ID=2 to the display-enabled state (“Yes”). Further, the sequence position setting unit  31  automatically changes the sequence positions of the plates ID=2, ID=15, and ID=3 to “1”, “2”, and “3”, respectively. 
     The plate arranging unit  33  thereby arranges the plates  44  of ID=2, ID=3, and ID=15 from top of the area  43  in an ascending order of the sequence numbers, i.e., arranges the plate  44  of ID=2 first, the plate  44  of ID=15 second, and the plate  44  of ID=3 third by using one of the previously-described patterns, wherein the display on-off status indicates the display-enabled status for each of the plates ID=2, ID=3, and ID=15 in the plate-status management table  38 - 4 . 
     In the printer driver  23  of the second embodiment, the contents of the plate-status management table  38  are automatically updated as shown in  FIG. 9  in response to user operations regarding setting items. Namely, the plate-status management table  38  is automatically updated such that the display on-off status of the plate corresponding to an edited setting item is changed to the display-enabled state (“Yes”), and also the sequence positions are updated by changing each existing sequence number to a next-higher sequence number and by setting the sequence position of the last-edited plate to “1”. 
     As described above, the printer driver  23  of this second embodiment automatically customizes, without direct user setting of the plate-status management table  38 , the plates  44  arranged in the area  43  of the custom setting window  41  in view of an operation history of the user. In the description of the second embodiment, a redundant explanation overlapping that of the first embodiment has been omitted as appropriate. 
     In the printer driver  23  of a third embodiment of the present invention, the initial settings of the printer driver  23  provided at the time of delivery to customers may differ from the current settings. In such a case, the printer driver  23  automatically customizes, without direct user setting of the plate-status management table  38 , the plates  44  arranged in the area  43  of the custom setting window  41 , such that these different setting items are displayed in the area  43 . 
       FIG. 10  is an illustrative drawing showing an example of updates being made to the plate-status management table in response to changes made from the initial settings provided at the time of delivery. In  FIG. 10 , a plate-status management table  38 - 5  demonstrates the state of the table prior to changes made to settings from the initial settings provided at the time of delivery to customers (or at the time of shipment from the factory). In the plate-status management table  38 - 5 , the display on-off status of each plate  44  is set to the display-disabled state (“No”). In the plate-status management table  38 - 5 , further, the plates  44  are provided with their initial sequence positions. Since the display on-off status of each plate  44  is set to the display-disabled state (“No”) in the plate-status management table  38 - 5 , the plate arranging unit  33  does not arrange or display any of the plates  44  in the area  43 . 
     When a setting item is changed through the detail settings window  42  from its initial setting provided at the time of shipment, the display on-off setting unit  32  updates the plate-status management table  38 - 5 , e.g., to a plate-status management table  38 - 6 . The plate-status management table  38 - 6  shows an example in which the setting item changed from its initial setting provided at the time of shipment belongs to the plate  44  that is uniquely identified by the plate ID=3. 
     Specifically, when the user request display of the plate with ID=3 in the detail settings window  42 , the plate-status management table  32  changes the display on-off status of the plate ID=3 to the display-enabled state (“Yes”). The plate arranging unit  33  arranges a plate  44  from top of the area  43  according to one of the previously-described patterns wherein the display on-off status of this plate  44  indicates the display-enabled state (“Yes”) in the plate-status management table  38 - 6 . 
     When a setting item is further changed through the detail settings window  42  from its initial setting provided at the time of shipment, the display on-off setting unit  32  updates the plate-status management table  38 - 6  to a plate-status management table  38 - 7 . The plate-status management table  38 - 7  shows an example in which the setting item changed from its initial setting provided at the time of shipment belongs to the plate  44  that is uniquely identified by the plate ID=15. 
     Specifically when the user request display of the plate with ID=15 in the detail settings window  42 , the plate-status management table  32  changes the display on-off status of the plate ID=15 to the display-enabled state (“Yes”). The plate arranging unit  33  arranges the plates  44  of ID=3 and ID=15 from top of the area  43  in an ascending order of the sequence numbers, i.e., arranges the plate  44  of ID=3 first and the plate  44  of ID=15 second according to one of the previously-described patterns, wherein the display on-off status indicates the display-enabled status (“Yes”) for each of these plates in the plate-status management table  38 - 7 . 
     When a setting item is further changed through the detail settings window  42  from its initial setting provided at the time of shipment, the display on-off setting unit  32  updates the plate-status management table  38 - 7  to a plate-status management table  38 - 8 . The plate-status management table  38 - 8  shows an example in which the setting item changed from its initial setting provided at the time of shipment belongs to the plate  44  that is uniquely identified by the plate ID=2. 
     Specifically when the user request display of the plate with ID=2 in the detail settings window  42 , the plate-status management table  32  changes the display on-off status of the plate ID=2 to the display-enabled state (“Yes”). The plate arranging unit  33  arranges the plates  44  of ID=2, ID=3, and ID=15 from the top of the area  43  in an ascending order of the sequence numbers, i.e., arranges the plate  44  of ID=2 first, the plate  44  of ID=3 second, and the plate  44  of ID=15 third by using one of the previously-described patterns, wherein the display on-off status indicates the display-enabled status (“Yes”) for each of the plates ID=2, ID=3, and ID=15 in the plate-status management table  38 - 8 . In the third embodiment, the printer driver  23  does not update the sequence positions in the plate-status management table  38 , and uses the sequence positions as set forth in the initial plate-status management table  38 - 5 . 
     In the printer driver  23  of the third embodiment, the contents of the plate-status management table  38  are updated as shown in  FIG. 10  in response to changes that are made to setting items through the detail settings window  42  from the initial settings provided at the time of shipment from the factory. Namely, the plate-status management table  38  is updated such that the display on-off statuses of plates are changed to the display-enabled state (“Yes”) with respect to the setting items changed from their initial settings provided at the time of shipment from the factory. 
     When the initial settings of the printer driver  23  provided at the time of shipment from the factory differ from the current settings, the printer driver  23  of the third embodiment automatically customizes, without direct user setting of the plate-status management table  38 , the plates  44  arranged in the area  43  of the custom setting window  41 , such that those setting items different from the initial settings provided at the time of shipment from the factory are displayed in the area  43 . In the description of the third embodiment, a redundant explanation overlapping that of the first or second embodiments has been omitted as appropriate. 
     The printer driver  23  of a fourth embodiment of the present invention stores a plurality of plate-status management tables  38  each serving as a single setting, and switches between the plate-status management tables  38 .  FIGS. 11A through 11D  are illustrative drawings showing examples of plate-status management tables  38 A- 38 D that can be switched from one to another at the time of use. 
       FIGS. 11A through 11D  show four plate-status management tables  38 A through  38 D. Switching between the four plate-status management tables  38 A through  38 D is performed by use of the table switchover unit  35 . 
     When the plate-status management table  38 A is used, no plate  44  is arranged in the area  43  of the custom setting window  41 . When the plate-status management table  38 B is used, only the plate  44  corresponding to the plate ID=3 is arranged in the area  43  of the custom setting window  41 . When the plate-status management table  38 C is used, all the plates  44  are arranged in the area  43  of the custom setting window  41 . When the plate-status management table  38 D is used, all the plates  44  are arranged in the area  43  of the custom setting window  41  in an order reverse to the order of arrangement that appears at the time of use of the plate-status management table  38 C. 
     In response to a user request, further, the table switchover unit  35  can additionally store the contents of the plate-status management table  38  as existing at a certain point in time as another plate-status management table ( 38 E or  38 F, not shown), for example. In response to a user request, moreover, the table switchover unit  35  can allow an additionally stored plate-status management table ( 38 E or  38 F, not shown) to be used by switching over to such a table. 
     As described above, the printer driver  23  of the fourth embodiment can store the contents of a plate-status management table  38  as existing at a certain point in time, and allows a user to use one of the stored plate-status management tables  38  by switching over to this table according to user preference. In the description of the fourth embodiment, a redundant explanation overlapping that of the first through third embodiments has been omitted as appropriate. 
     In a fifth embodiment of the present invention, the printer driver  23  can switch between a user customized mode, a history mode, and a change-from-initial-setting mode to use a desired customized mode regarding the plates  44  arranged in the area  43  of the custom setting window  41  in view of the first through third embodiments. 
       FIG. 12  is an illustrative drawing showing examples of plate-status management tables  38 - 9  to  38 - 12  that can be switched from one to another by selecting a user customized mode, a history mode, or a change-from-initial-setting mode. A plate-status management table  38 - 10  is provided for use in the user customized mode. A plate-status management table  38 - 11  is provided for use in the history mode. A plate-status management table  38 - 12  is provided for use in the change-from-initial-setting mode. A plate-status management table  38 - 9  is a default table provided at the time of shipment from the factory. 
     Switching between the plate-status management tables  38 - 10  through  38 - 12  is performed by use of the mode switchover unit  36 . The user customized mode starts by using a copy of the plate-status management table  38 - 9 . The history mode starts by using a copy of the plate-status management table  38 - 9  in which the display on-off status of all the plates  44  is set to the display-disabled state and the sequence position of all the plates  44  is set to “N/A”. The change-from-initial-setting mode starts by using a copy of the plate-status management table  38 - 9  in which the display on-off status of all the plates  44  is set to the display-disabled state (“No”). 
     Each time a user switches between the user customized mode, the history mode, and the change-from-initial-setting mode by use of the mode switchover unit  36 , the plate-status management table  38  is reset, so that the plates  44  arranged in the area  43  of the custom setting window  41  are updated to reflect the contents of one of the plate-status management tables  38 - 10  through  38 - 12  corresponding to the selected one of the user customized mode, the history mode, and the change-from-initial-setting mode. 
     The descriptions of the imaging apparatus of exemplary embodiments have been provided heretofore. The present invention is not limited to these embodiments, but various variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. As one example only, the printer driver  23  of the embodiments may be configured such that two or more plate-status management tables  38  are provided for different models of the MFP  3 . Such plate-status management tables  38  may be switched from one to another in the printer driver  23 , so that the printer driver  23  can serve as a universal printer driver. 
     Obviously, numerous other or additional modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

Technology Classification (CPC): 6