Patent ID: 6963416

Claim:
A print control apparatus which communicates with a host computer, comprising: interpreter means for interpreting print data stored in a storage area; input means for inputting a print job including print data divided into a plurality of job packets each of which is provided with header information; preprocessor means for storing the print data included in each of the plurality of job packets of the print job input by said input means in the storage area; manager means for managing print job identification information that identifies the print job, in correspondence to the print data stored in the storage area; and invalidation means for, in response to a cancel instruction to cancel a designated print job, invalidating the print data that corresponds to the print job identification information managed by said manager means for the designated print job, wherein with respect to job packets which are being input by said input means, said invalidation means invalidates the print data of the job packets based on the header information provided for the packets without storing the print data in the storage area; wherein said preprocessor means divides the print data of a print job into a plurality of blocks via said input means, provides the plurality of blocks with respectively IDs and stores the plurality of blocks of print data in correspondence to the respective IDs in the storage area, and wherein in response to the cancel instruction to cancel a print job designating an ID, said invalidation means invalidates the print data of a block that corresponds to the designated ID.