Patent ID: 8412267

Claim:
A method to control a communication device to communicate with a first external device, the first external device being a printing device in an in-area communication method configured to communicate with network-enabled devices exclusively within a specific coverage area, and with a second external device in a telephone-network communication method configured to communicate with a device outside the specific coverage area using a telephone-network communication, comprising steps of: determining prior to communicating in the in-area communication method whether the communication device is set to communicate in the telephone-network communication method; switching the communication methods in the communication device from the telephone-network communication method to the in-area communication method when it is determined that the communication device is set to communicate in the telephone-network communication method, wherein the step of switching the communication methods from the telephone-network communication method to the in-area communication method is completed automatically; communicating with the first external device in the in-area communication method after switching the communication methods; and switching the communication methods in the communication device from the in-area communication method back to the telephone-network communication method automatically, after the communication with the first external device is completed; wherein the step of determining prior to communicating in the in-area communication method, is completed without releasing communication between the communication device and the second external device wherein, in the step of communicating with the first external device, while a part of data being print data is transmitted from the communication device to the first external device in the in-area communication method, when an instruction for accessing the device outside the specific coverage area is received, the communication device switches the communication methods from the in-area communication method to the telephone-network communication method to access the device outside the specific coverage area, and after switching, if no further instruction for accessing the device outside the specific coverage area is received for a predetermined length of period, the communication methods are switched from the telephone-network communication method to the in-area communication method, and a remaining part of the print data is transmitted to the first external device in the in-area communication method to have the print data printed by the first external device.