Patent ID: 8527579

Claim:
A server device comprising: a processor; and a storage device having stored thereon units executable by the processor, the units comprising: a change unit for changing setting information of a function shared with a client connected via a network; a transmission unit for transmitting to the client a change notification of the setting information of the function when the setting information of the function has been changed by the change unit; a reception unit for receiving, from the client, device information of the client to which the change notification of the setting information of the function has been transmitted from the transmission unit; a comparison unit for comparing the device information of the client received by the reception unit with device information of the server device; and a creation unit for creating, based on a comparison result of the device information by the comparison unit, a common file including the changed setting information of the function, wherein the common file includes setting information of the function for a plurality of different device types or for a plurality of different device manufacturers, and the transmission unit transmits to the client the common file created by the creation unit.