Patent ID: 8400649

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for managing printer driver settings, the computer-implemented method comprising: at a client device, a printer driver causing a graphical user interface to be displayed, wherein the graphical user interface allows users to specify printer driver settings values for a particular printing device; receiving, from a first user via the graphical user interface, particular printer driver settings values for the particular printing device; receiving, from the first user via the graphical user interface, an indication to save the particular printer driver settings values specified by the first user; in response to receiving the indication from the first user to save the particular printer driver settings values, generating printer driver settings data that specifies the particular printer driver settings values; the printer driver validating the particular printer driver settings data values contained in the printer driver settings data with respect to the particular printing device by determining whether any of the particular printer driver settings values contained in the printer driver settings data are not currently supported by the particular printing device based on current capabilities of the particular printing device; in response to determining that any of the particular printer driver settings values contained in the printer driver settings data are not currently supported by the particular printing device based on current capabilities of the particular printing device, then the printer driver performing one or more of i) notifying the user via the graphical user interface that one or more printer driver settings values contained in the printer driver settings data are not currently supported by the particular printing device and allowing the first user to correct incompatibilities and ii) automatically using one or more substitute printer driver settings values in place of the printer driver settings values that are not currently supported by the particular printing device, wherein the one or more substitute printer driver settings values are currently supported by the particular printing device; causing the printer driver settings data to be stored; receiving, from the first user via the graphical user interface, an indication to retrieve the printer driver settings data; in response to receiving the indication from the first user to retrieve the printer driver settings data, retrieving the printer driver settings data and causing the particular printer driver settings values of the printer driver settings data to be displayed on the graphical user interface, wherein the first user can modify the particular driver settings values of the printer driver settings data via the graphical user interface to generate modified particular driver settings values; and the printer driver using the modified particular printer driver settings values to process electronic data and cause a printed version of the electronic data to be printed at the particular printing device.