logical pages are laid out on a physical page according to setting of a multipage printing condition. When a user drags a logical page, a layout of logical pages is changed based on an area to which the logical page is dragged.
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9. A method of changing a layout of a plurality of logical pages in multipage printing in which the logical pages are printed on a physical page corresponding to a sheet on which printing is performed, comprising:
setting a multipage printing condition;
displaying a layout screen indicating a layout in which the plurality of logical pages are laid out on the physical page based on the set multipage printing condition;
accepting a drag operation for a specific logical page among the plurality of logical pages, on the layout screen;
in a case where the specific logical page is moved by the drag operation, selecting a layout-changing process among a plurality of layout-changing processes, based on a destination area to which the specific logical page is moved; and
performing a selected layout-changing process,
wherein the plurality of layout-changing processes include a first layout-changing process for inserting the specific logical page into a physical page corresponding to a destination area to which the specific logical page is moved, and a second layout-changing process for generating a new physical page in a destination area to which the specific logical page is moved.
17. A non-transitory storage medium storing a program configured to control a computer to execute a method of changing a layout of a plurality of logical pages in multipage printing in which the logical pages are printed on a physical page corresponding to a sheet on which printing is performed, the method comprising:
setting a multipage printing condition;
displaying a layout screen indicating a layout in which the plurality of logical pages are laid out on the physical page based on the set multipage printing condition;
accepting a drag operation for a specific logical page among the plurality of logical pages, on the layout screen; and
in a case where the specific logical page is moved by the drag operation, selecting a layout-changing process among a plurality of layout-changing processes, based on a destination area to which the specific logical page is moved; and
performing a selected layout-changing process,
wherein the plurality of layout-changing processes include a first layout-changing process for inserting the specific logical page into a physical page corresponding to a destination area to which the specific logical page is moved, and a second layout-changing process for generating a new physical page in a destination area to which the specific logical page is moved.
1. A printing apparatus comprising:
a setting unit configured to set a multipage printing condition in which a plurality of logical pages are printed on a physical page corresponding to a sheet on which printing is performed;
a display unit configured to display a layout screen indicating a layout in which the plurality of logical pages are laid out on the physical page based on the multipage printing condition set by the setting unit;
an acceptance unit configured to accept a drag operation for a specific logical page among the plurality of logical pages, on the layout screen;
a selecting unit configured to, in a case where the specific logical page is moved by the drag operation, select a layout-changing process among a plurality of layout-changing processes, based on a destination area to which the specific logical page is moved; and
a processing unit configured to perform a layout-changing process selected by the selecting unit,
wherein the plurality of layout-changing processes include a first layout-changing process for inserting the specific logical page into a physical page corresponding to a destination area to which the specific logical page is moved, and a second layout-changing process for generating a new physical page in a destination area to which the specific logical page is moved and laying out the specific logical page on the new physical page.
2. The printing apparatus according to
3. The printing apparatus according to
4. The printing apparatus according to
5. The printing apparatus according to
the acceptance unit is configured to further accept a drag operation for a specific physical page among a plurality of physical pages, on the layout screen, and
when the specific physical page is moved by the drag operation, the processing unit changes an order of the plurality of physical pages.
6. The printing apparatus according to
7. The printing apparatus according to
the acceptance unit is configured to accept a drag operation performed by a user on the touch panel.
8. The printing apparatus according to
a printing unit configured to perform printing processing based on the layout of the plurality of logical pages.
10. The method according to
11. The method according to
12. The method according to
13. The method according to
the accepting further accepts a drag operation for a specific physical page among a plurality of physical pages, on the layout screen, and
when the specific physical page is moved by the drag operation, the processing changes an order of the plurality of physical pages.
14. The method according to
15. The method according to
the displaying displays on a touch panel, and
the accepting accepts a drag operation performed by a user on the touch panel.
16. The method according to
performing printing processing based on the layout of the plurality of logical pages.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, a method of changing a layout, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a printing apparatus such as an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral), a printer, or the like, multipage printing is known to print a plurality of logical pages on a single sheet, which allows a reduction in the number of sheets used for printing. For example, when 2-in-1 is specified in setting of a multipage printing condition, printing is performed such that two logical pages are laid out on one sheet. In a case of 4-in-1, printing is performed such that four logical pages are laid out on one sheet. By printing a plurality of logical pages on one sheet according to the multipage printing condition as described above, it is possible to reduce the number of sheets used in printing.
Regarding the multipage printing, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-322040 discloses a technique to set a multipage printing condition separately for each logical page. In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-322040, for example, when a logical page includes characters with a relatively small size, the logical page is printed in a 1-in-1 layout, while when a logical page includes characters with a relatively large size, the logical page is printed in a 2-in-1 layout thereby achieving both good readability and saving of sheets.
However, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-322040, to change a layout such as an order of logical pages, it is necessary to re-generate printing data such that a desirable layout is achieved or it is necessary to specify page numbers such that a desirable layout is achieved.
In view of the above, embodiments of the invention provide a technique to change a layout of logical pages in multipage printing by performing a simple operation without needing a complicated operation.
According to an aspect, a printing apparatus includes a setting unit configured to set a multipage printing condition in which a plurality of logical pages are printed on a physical page corresponding to a sheet on which printing is actually performed, a display unit configured to display the plurality of logical pages laid out on the physical page according to the multipage printing condition set by the setting unit, an acceptance unit configured to accept a drag operation on a specific one of the logical pages displayed on the display unit, and a changing unit configured to change the layout of logical pages when the specific one of the logical pages is moved by the drag operation, wherein the changing unit makes a determination, based on a destination area to which the specific one of the logical pages is moved, as to whether the specific one of the logical pages is to be inserted on a physical page displayed on the display unit or a new physical page is to be generated and the specific one of the logical pages is to be inserted on the newly generated physical page.
Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
Embodiments are described below with reference to drawings. Note that the following description of the embodiments is not for limiting the scope of the invention. Also note that all elements described in the embodiments are not indispensable to the invention.
A CPU 101 controls the whole printing apparatus 100 according to a control program read out from a ROM 102 or an HDD 104. The ROM 102 stores information including the control program necessary in executing a process such as that illustrated later with reference to a flow chart. A RAM 103 is used by the CPU 101 as a main memory and a temporary storage area such as a work area. The HDD 104 stores information including the control program, as with the ROM 102.
An operation unit 105 includes a display unit (for example, a liquid crystal display unit having a touch panel function), a keyboard, etc. The operation unit 105 displays various operation screens and transmits information input by a user to the CPU 101.
A scanner 108 scans a document and generates image data thereof. A printer 107 performs a printing process on a sheet according to a command issued by a user via the operation unit 105 or a command input from an external apparatus via an external device interface (I/F) 106.
A communication unit 106 communicates with an external PC (Personal Computer) or a server via a network 110.
The present embodiment is described in further detail below in terms of an operation screen used by a user in copying a document and an operation performed by the user.
In the present embodiment, to execute the multipage printing, a user selects a button 201. In response to the selection of the button 201, a multipage printing setting screen 300 (illustrated in
The printing apparatus 100 is capable of setting printing conditions including a stapling condition, a duplex printing condition, etc. When a user selects a button 203, an operation screen (not illustrated) for setting associated with stapling is displayed. If a button 204 is selected by a user, an operation screen (not illustrated) for setting associated with duplex printing is displayed.
The logical pages 403 to 406 are displayed according to image data obtained by scanning documents using the scanner 108 so that a user is allowed to change the layout in many ways while watching the logical pages to be actually printed on sheets as will be described below. Alternatively, instead of using original image data obtained by scanning documents by the scanner 108, the logical pages 403 to 406 but may be displayed using image data produced for use in displaying preview images, such as thumbnail image data. Furthermore, instead of using image data obtained by scanning documents by the scanner 108, other image data may be used in displaying the logical pages 403 to 406. For example, image data stored in the HDD 104 may be used. In this case, the multipage printing is performed using the image data stored in the HDD 104.
In the present embodiment, the operation unit 105 may be configured using a touch panel so as to be capable of accepting operations such as a touch operation, a drag operation, a flick operation, etc., performed by a user. In the present embodiment, however, the configuration of the operation unit 105 is not limited to that using the touch panel, but the operation unit 105 may be configured, for example, to accept an operation using a mouse. In a state in which the logical pages 403 to 406 and the physical pages 401 and 402 are displayed on the preview screen 400 as illustrated in
Next, a description is given below as to a process of changing the layout of logical pages to be printed in the multipage mode using the preview screen 400 according to the present embodiment. Let's us consider a case in which the layout displayed on the preview screen 400 does not meet the intention of a user in that the logical page 404 and the logical page 405 are opposite in location. This may occur, for example, if documents are scanned by the scanner 108 in a wrong order and thus if the logical page 404 and the logical page 405 are opposite to each other in location. In this case, if the documents are scanned again by the scanner 108 in a correct order, then a correct layout intended by the user will be obtained. However, if there are a large number of documents, the re-scanning will take a long time, which will result in a delay in completion of the multipage printing process. The present embodiment provides a method of resolving the above problem.
In the preview screen 400, if a user touches a particular logical page, for example, the logical page 405, and drags it, then the logical page 405 moves, for example, as represented on a preview screen 500 illustrated in
A further detailed description is given below as to the operation of moving a logical page by dragging as illustrated above with reference to
First, a description is given below as to four modes for a case in which the destination area to which the logical page 405 is moved is one of the areas A to C and G to I.
Mode 1. When the destination area is A, the layout is changed as described below.
Mode 2. When the destination area is B, the layout is changed as described below.
Mode 3. When the destination area is C, G, or H, the layout is changed as described below.
Mode 4. When the destination area is I, the layout is changed as described below.
When the destination area to which the logical page 405 is moved is one of the areas D to F, the layout is changed as follows.
After the logical page 405 is dragged to the area E, if a user's finger is moved away from the logical page 405 in the area E, a message box 902 illustrated in
On the other hand, in a case where the user selects “No” in the message box 902, the multipage printing condition is cancelled, and then a new page is produced.
In a case where as a result of the cancelling of the multipage printing condition, it becomes necessary to rotate a logical page, a user may select whether the rotation is made in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction, or a direction may be determined in advance and registered in the printing apparatus 100. Alternatively, once a user selects the clockwise direction or the counterclockwise direction, the rotation may be performed in the same direction as the selected direction for any following logical page which needs rotation.
In the present embodiment, as described above, when a new physical page is produced, a user selects whether the multipage printing condition is maintained or not. Alternatively, setting as to whether the multipage printing condition is maintained or not may be registered in advance in the printing apparatus 100.
In the examples described above, a user drags a logical page to change the layout. Alternatively, a physical page may be dragged to change the order of physical pages as described in detail below with reference to
There is a difference in a manner of selection between a logical page and a physical page, as described below. In the selection of a logical page described above, the logical page to be selected is touched with a finger. On the other hand, to select a physical page according to the present embodiment, the physical page to be selected is touched and then maintained in the touched state for a period of time equal to or longer than a predetermined value. The CPU 101 of the printing apparatus 100 measures the time during which the touch panel of the operation unit 105 is continuously touched by a user. If a user touches, for example, a logical page 1103 and if the length of the touch period is less than the predetermined value, it is determined that the logical page 1103 is selected. On other hand, if a user touches, for example, a physical page 1101 and touching is maintained for a period equal to or longer than the predetermined value, it is determined that the physical page 1101 is selected. Note that when a user touches a logical page 1103 or a logical page 1104 continuously over a period equal to or longer than the predetermined value, the CPU 101 regards this operation as being performed to select the physical page 1101.
When the physical page 1101 in
In
After the physical page 1101 is dragged to an area A, if the user's finger is moved away from the physical page 1101 in the area A, the physical page 1101 is moved to a location before the physical page 401 and thus the order of physical pages is changed as illustrated in
In a case where the physical page 1101 is dragged to an area C or an area D and then the user's finger is moved away from the physical page 1101, the physical page 1101 is not moved and thus the order of physical pages is not changed.
In a case where the physical page 1101 is dragged to an area E and then the user's finger is moved away from the physical page 1101 in the area E, the physical page 1101 is moved to a location after the physical page 1102 and thus the order of physical pages is changed as illustrated in
In the above description with reference to
In the present embodiment, another way of changing the layout is to drag two logical pages as described below.
Mode 1. When each of the two logical pages is moved to one of areas A to C, G to I, and M to O, the layout is changed as described below.
Mode 2. When one logical page is moved into one of areas A to C, G to I, and M to O, and another logical page is moved into one of area D to F, J to L, and P to R, the layout is changed as described below.
Mode 3. When each of the two logical pages is moved to one of areas D to F, J to L, and P to R, the layout is changed as described below.
The process of changing the layout of logical pages according to the present embodiment is described in further detail with reference to a flow chart illustrated in
After a user sets the multipage printing condition in the multipage printing setting screen 300 illustrated in
Next, in step S1602, the CPU 101 determines whether to change the layout of multipage printing. In the present embodiment, if a user selects a physical page or a logical page by touching it with a finger on the preview screen 400, the CPU 101 determines that the layout is to be changed and the CPU 101 advances the process to step S1603. However, in a case where the CPU 101 determines that the layout is not to be changed, the process proceeds to step S1608.
Next, in step S1603, a determination is performed as to whether the page touched by the user on the preview screen 400, i.e., the page selected by the user is a logical page or not. In the present embodiment, as described above with reference to
In a case where a logical page is selected by the user, then in step S1604 the CPU 101 determines whether the number of logical pages selected by the user is one or two.
In a case where the determination in step S1604 by the CPU 101 is that the number of logical pages selected by the user is one, the process proceeds to step S1605 in which the CPU 101 performs a first layout change process such that the layout of logical pages is changed based on a destination of the one logical page. The first layout change process will be described in further detail later with reference to a flow chart illustrated in
In a case where the determination in step S1604 by the CPU 101 is that the number of logical pages selected by the user is two, the process proceeds to step S1606 in which performs a second layout change process such that the layout of logical pages is changed based on destinations of the two logical pages. The second layout change process will be described in further detail later with reference to a flow chart illustrated in
In a case where the determination in step 1603 by the CPU 101 is that a physical page is selected by the user, then the process proceeds to step S1607. In step S1607, the CPU 101 performs a third layout change process such that the order of physical pages is changed based on a destination of the physical page. The third layout change process will be described in further detail later with reference to a flow chart illustrated in
Next, in step S1608, the CPU 101 determines whether to perform printing according to the multipage printing condition defined on the multipage printing setting screen 300 or according to the layout of logical pages finally defined via the layout change process. More specifically, for example, if a user touches a print button 407 on the preview screen 400 or presses a hardware key serving as a print button (not illustrated), the CPU 101 determines that printing is to be performed and the CPU 101 advances the process to step S1609. On the other hand, in a case where the CPU 101 determines that printing is not to be performed, the process returns to step S1602.
In step S1609, the printer 107 performs printing according to the multipage printing condition defined on the multipage printing setting screen 300 or according to the layout of logical pages finally defined via the layout change process.
Next, the first layout change process in step S1605 in
As described above with reference to
Next, in step S1702, the CPU 101 determines, based on the destination area to which the logical page is to be moved, whether it is necessary to change the layout of logical pages. The determination in step S1702 is described in further detail with reference to
Next, in step S1703, the CPU 101 determines, based on the destination area to which the logical page is to be moved, whether it is necessary to generate a new physical page. More specifically, in
In step S1704, the CPU 101 inserts the logical page, dragged by the user, in the destination area. In the case where the logical page 405 is dragged to the area B as illustrated in
Next, the process in step S1705 is described. In step S1705, the CPU 101 determines whether the set multipage printing condition is to be maintained when the new physical page is generated. More specifically, the message box 902 illustrated in
Next, the process in step S1706 is described. In step S1706, the CPU 101 generates a new physical page in the specified destination area and puts the logical page dragged by the user on this new physical page while maintaining the multipage printing condition in the layout of logical pages. More specifically, for example, when the 2-in-1 layout is specified as the multipage printing condition, the logical page is put on the newly generated physical page in the 2-in-1 layout as with the layout of the physical page 1001 illustrated in
Next, the process in step S1707 is described. In step S1707, the CPU 101 generates a new physical page in the specified destination area and puts the logical page dragged by the user on this new physical page such that the set multipage printing condition is discarded in the layout of logical pages. More specifically, for example, even when the 2-in-1 layout is specified as the multipage printing condition, the logical page is put on the newly generated physical page not in the 2-in-1 layout but in the 1-in-1 layout as with the layout of the physical page 1002 illustrated in
Next, the second layout change process in step S1606 in
As described above with reference to
Next, in step S1802, the CPU 101 determines whether to newly generate one physical page to lay the two logical pages thereon. For example, in a case where two logical pages are moved to the area P, Q, or R as illustrated in
Next, the process in step S1803 is described. In step S1803, the CPU 101 generates a new physical page in the specified destination area of the two logical pages and puts the two logical pages according to the multipage printing condition. More specifically, for example, in the case where the logical pages 1305 and 1306 are respectively dragged to the areas P and Q as illustrated in
Next, the process in step S1804 is described. In step S1804, the CPU 101 performs the first layout change process on each of the two logical pages. The first layout change process has been described above with reference to
Next, the third layout change process in step S1607 in
As described above with reference to
Next, in step S1902, the CPU 101 determines, based on the destination area to which the physical page is to be moved, whether it is necessary to change the order of physical pages. The determination in step S1902 is described in further detail below with reference to
Next, the process in step S1903 is described. In step S1903, the CPU 101 inserts the physical page in the destination area. More specifically, in a case where the physical page 1101 is dragged to the area B as illustrated in
In the present embodiment, as described above, a user is allowed to change the layout of logical pages based on the multipage printing condition simply by dragging a logical page or a physical page. That is, the user is allowed to change the layout of logical pages by performing a simple process without having to perform a complicated operation via a dedicated setting screen or the like.
In the first layout change process according to the first embodiment described above, in a case where a logical page is moved, for example, to one of the areas A to C or G to I in
The process of changing the layout of logical pages according to the present embodiment is described below with reference to
If the user selects “No” in the message box 2007, the logical page 2005 is inserted before the logical page 2003 while maintaining the 2-in-1 layout as in the same manner as in the first embodiment described above. However, if the user selects “Yes” in the message box 2007, the multipage printing condition is changed from 2-in-1 to 4-in-1, and the logical page 2005 is inserted before the logical page 2003. In this case, the whole layout is as illustrated in
In this example, a blank area 2106 occurs, although other layouts including no blank area may be employed. For example, a user may select whether a blank area such as the area 2106 is allowed to be present in the layout. Alternatively, logical pages may be laid out such that no blank area such as the blank area 2106 occurs.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, in a case where the multipage printing condition is changed for a physical page selected as the destination of a logical page, the change may also be applied to other physical pages. More specifically, in a case where a user selects “Yes” in the message box 2007, a message box 2008 illustrated in
Although in the present embodiment, when the multipage printing condition is changed for a physical page selected as the destination of a logical page, a user is allowed to select whether the change is also applied to other physical pages, the selection may be performed in other ways. For example, the selection as to whether the change in the multipage printing condition is also applied to other physical pages may be made in advance and may be registered in the printing apparatus 100.
The first layout change process according to the present embodiment is described in detail with reference to a flow chart illustrated in
If the answer to step S1703 is “No”, the process proceeds to step S2201 in which the CPU 101 determines whether the multipage printing condition is to be changed. In the present embodiment, when a user selects “Yes” in the message box 2007 illustrated in
Next, the process in step S2202 is described. In step S2202, the CPU 101 determines whether the change in the multipage printing condition to be applied to the physical page specified as the destination of the logical page is to be also applied to other physical pages. In the present embodiment, when the user selects “Yes” in the message box 2008 illustrated in
In step S2203, the CPU 101 changes the multipage printing condition not only for the physical page specified as the destination of the logical page but also for all other physical pages. In the case where the multipage printing condition for the physical page specified as the destination of the logical page is changed from 2-in-1 to 4-in-1 as in the example illustrated in
In step S2204, the CPU 101 changes the multipage printing condition for the physical page specified as the destination of the logical page. In this step, unlike in step S2203, the multipage printing condition is not changed for the other physical pages.
In the present embodiment, as described above, when the number of logical pages already existing in the physical page specified as the destination of the logical page is equal to the maximum number allowed in the multipage printing condition, a user is allowed to determine whether the multipage printing condition is to be changed depending on the purpose. When the multipage printing condition is changed, the user is allowed to further determine whether the multipage printing condition is to be applied to all other physical pages.
In a third embodiment described below, when the multipage printing condition is cancelled, if it becomes necessary to rotate a logical page as described above with reference to
Physical pages 2301 to 2303 are displayed in the preview screen 2300, and logical pages are laid out in the 2-in-1 layout pattern. In the present example, because the duplex printing is specified, the physical page 2302 is printed on a back side of the physical page 2301. In
In the preview screen 2300, if a user touches the logical page 2307, drags it into between the physical page 2301 and the physical page 2302, and moves his/her finger away from the screen there, then a physical page 2308 is newly generated as illustrated in a preview screen 2310 illustrated in
In a case where the duplex printing and stapling at the upper right corner are specified in the setting of printing, if it becomes necessary to rotate a logical page when the multipage printing condition is cancelled, then the logical page is rotated not in the counterclockwise direction but in the clockwise direction.
In the present embodiment, as described above, when it becomes necessary to rotate a logical page as a result of cancelling the multipage printing condition, it is possible to determine the direction of rotating the logical page depending on the setting of printing such that the resultant rotated logical page provides good readability.
In the embodiments described above, it is assumed by way of example that the change of layout is allowed via an operation on the screen displayed on the operation unit 105 of the printing apparatus 100, but the embodiments may be applied to a wide variety of other apparatuses or systems. More specifically, in addition to the operation unit 105 of the printing apparatus 100, the embodiments may be applied to, for example, a PC in which a printer driver installed, a tablet device capable of setting printing conditions, etc.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-250852 filed Nov. 16, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
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