KR20080048366A - Print job control and print data processing method and device therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

A print job control and a print data processing method and an apparatus thereof are disclosed. The present invention provides a method of processing print data by controlling a print job in a computer connected to a printer, the method comprising: a) setting the print job to pass through a windows spooler of the computer; b) the print job Monitoring whether the window is inserted into the windows spooler; c) sending a stop command to the printer driver to pause the printer driver of the printer when the print job occurs as a result of the monitoring; d) extracting the print data (EMF) or the print information (DEVMODE) in units of pages by analyzing a spring file corresponding to the print job inserted into the windows spooler; e) processing the print data using an API corresponding to the print data based on the print data and the print information, and transmitting the print data to the printer for printing according to the print information.

Description

Print job control and print data processing method and apparatus therefor {METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING PRINTING JOB AND FOR PROCESSING PRINT DATA}

1 illustrates a system for executing print job control and print data processing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a print job control and print data processing method according to an exemplary embodiment.

The present invention relates to a method of processing print data printed by a printer, and more particularly, to monitor all print jobs passing through the Windows spooler of the Windows operating system and to control the print job when attempting to print. A method and apparatus for processing print data and performing a print job according to the print information.

Generally, a printer driver in a computer is a program module that converts graphics data in an application into printer data that can be recognized by a printer to be used, and is generally supplied by a printer manufacturer. For example, the PostScript print driver converts various figures, images, and characters in an application to the PostScript language format, and the Printer Command Language (PCL) printer driver converts various figures, images, and characters in an application to the PCL language. Convert to the format.

The Windows spooler sequentially stores the converted printer data, that is, the print job to be printed, in a queue, and then transmits it to the corresponding printer through the output port designated in FIFO (First In First Out) method. .

The control of a print job is a method of allowing or blocking a print job performed by an application program to obtain output through a printer, and generating a log of the job to monitor and track data leakage by the print job.

As a way to perform such print control, it is necessary to hook printing related APIs so that when an application tries to print using the API, it extracts the print information passed to the API and allows or blocks the print job. Used.

However, a method of controlling a print job by hooking an API related to printing requires hooking all printable applications, in which case the safety of other processes cannot be guaranteed, and the application may not be able to guarantee a new API other than the hooked API. There have been limitations in that print jobs cannot be controlled when printing is attempted in other ways.

Also, when an application program tries to print to a printer to obtain a printout, the print data may be processed so that all printouts may be processed and obtained in a desired form before being output to the printer regardless of the application program. In order to process the print data, a virtual printer driver must be installed and the output of the print data must be selected through the virtual printer driver. In addition, in order to process the print data, a method of changing the print data transmitted from the application program into the virtual printer driver in the virtual printer driver or adding other data to the print printer and resending the print data to the actual printer is used.

However, the processing of the print data as described above is cumbersome that a virtual printer driver must be installed. If the output of printing is not set to the virtual printer driver even if the virtual printer driver is installed, the processing of the print data as described above is not performed. It has been difficult to realize, and there has been a problem in that data can be processed only depending on user or application operation method.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to monitor all print jobs passing through the Windows spooler of the Windows operating system and to control the print job when attempting to print. A print job control and print data processing method and apparatus for processing data and performing a print job according to print information are provided.

Print job control and print data processing method according to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object,

In a method of processing print data by controlling a print job from a computer connected to the printer,

a) setting the print job to pass through a windows spooler of the computer;

b) monitoring whether the print job has entered the window spooler;

c) sending a stop command to the printer driver to pause the printer driver of the printer when the print job occurs as a result of the monitoring;

d) extracting print data or print information in units of pages by analyzing a splicing file corresponding to the print job inserted into the windows spooler; And

e) processing the print data using an API corresponding to the print data based on the print data and the print information, and transmitting the print data to the printer for printing according to the print information.

A print job control and print data processing apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object,

Set all print jobs generated by the application to be stored in the Windows spooler, and when the print job is stored in the Windows spooler, send the splicing file of the print job to the print data processing module, and send a pause message to the printer driver. A print job control module;

A windows spooler in which the print job is stored; And

A print data processing module for analyzing the splining file, extracting print data or print information, and transmitting the print data to the print driver to process the print data using an API corresponding to the print data and to print according to the print information; do.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

1 illustrates a system for executing print job control and print data processing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The system of the present invention comprises a computer 100 and a printer 200 connected to the computer 100 by wire or wireless network.

The computer 100 is equipped with Microsoft's Windows operating system to manage other programs. The Windows operating system prints a print job desired by the user to the printer 200 in cooperation with the Windows Spooler 140 and the printer driver 160 for a print job.

The computer 100 includes an application program 110, a Windows Graphics Device Interface (GDI) 120, a print job control module 130, a windows spooler 140, a print data processing module 150, and a printer driver 160. It is configured to include.

Selecting the "Print" item included in the application 110 to print a file, such as a document, an image, or the like worked in the application 110, a print job and a print command for the print job It is delivered to the Windows GDI 120.

The Windows GDI 120 is an interface for drawing a graphic object on the screen of the computer 100, and a function that an application program can use for graphic output on the screen of the computer 100 or the printer 200, and Provide a related structure.

The Windows GDI 120 transmits the print job directly to the printer driver 160 according to a print command from the application program 110, or the print job is transmitted to the printer driver 160 through the Windows spooler 140. However, in the present application, the Windows GDI 120 is connected to the print job control module 130 so that the user sets the printer environment of the print job control module 130 so that all print jobs are accumulated in the windows spooler 140. Implement

The print job control module 130 sets all the printers 200 connected to the computer 100 to be in a paused state when a print job is input to the windows spooler 140 so that printing can be performed only for an authorized print job. do.

In one application, the print job control module 130 sets the printer 200 to a pause state, and then sets the printer 200 to be paused individually for every print job introduced into the windows spooler 140.

In addition, the print job control module 130 has a function of monitoring the windows spooler 140, print data processing module 150 to extract and process the print job when the print job is entered into the windows spooler 140 To generate a control signal.

The print job control module 130 extracts print information such as a document name, a printer name, a user name, and records the recorded information, that is, logs the generated print job.

The print data processing module 150 obtains by copying or moving the sputtering file after determining the path of the sputtering file of the print job by using ID information individually assigned to the print job.

The print data processing module 150 extracts the print data of each page unit of the print job and the print information of each page by analyzing the structure of the obtained sputtering file and the internal data capable of distinguishing the respective information therein. The print data may have an EMF form, and an example of the print information may include information about a print DPI, a paper size, a direction, the number of copies, and the like.

In one application example, when the print data processing module 150 fails to obtain print information of each page as a result of analyzing the spring file, the print data processing module 150 may include the width / length of the print data and the dot per dot of the printer 200. Inch) information is analyzed to calculate paper size and orientation information.

The print data processing module 150 processes the print data and the print information obtained from the spling file into a desired print form using an API related to the print data, and then transmits the print data and the print information to the printer driver 160 to transmit the print data to the printer (160). 200).

Hereinafter, the operating state of the present invention configured as described above will be described.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a print job control and print data processing method according to an exemplary embodiment.

In order to process a print data by controlling a print job from the computer 100 connected to the printer 200, first, the printer environment is set such that the print job passes through the computer spooler 140 of the computer 100 (S110). ).

According to the printer environment set in step S110, all print jobs generated in the computer 100 are introduced into the windows spooler. In addition, when a print job enters the window spooler according to the printer environment setting, the printer 200 is set to a pause state.

In one application example, a pause command is transmitted to all the print jobs passing through the windows spooler 140, and set to release the pause command when a predetermined condition is satisfied.

After setting the printer environment, the print job control, such as whether a print job is inserted into the spring 140, whether the print job is a print job that is permitted to be output, and whether the processed print job is transmitted to the printer driver. Monitoring is performed (S120).

If the print job occurs as a result of the monitoring of step S120, according to the printer environment setting set in step S110, the printer driver of the printer is paused to stop the printing of the print job from the printer. Send to the printer driver.

In order to monitor whether the print job is inserted into the Windows spooler 140, in the case of Windows 2000 or above, a method using an API capable of acquiring an event is used. For earlier versions, use the following method.

The print job control module 130 stores contents of the print job temporarily present in the print drive 160 every predetermined time, and compares the contents of the print job stored before the predetermined time with data stored thereafter. The print drive detects that a new print job has occurred.

Looking at the control of the print driver according to the printer environment setting, when a plurality of print jobs occur as a result of the monitoring, a thread corresponding to each job ID given to the print job introduced into the windows spooler 140 When generating, the thread inquires whether or not printing is allowed for the print job, and increases the count by one when the printing is allowed, and decreases the count by one when the printing of the print job is completed. At least one data of a document name, a printer name, and a user name for the print job is extracted to determine whether to permit the printing based on the data.

When the count is 0 (zero), the pause command is transmitted to the printer driver 160. When the count is 1 or more, the pause command is released to the printer driver 160.

In addition, when the print data is inserted into the windows spooler 140 as a result of the monitoring of step S120, after copying a splicing file corresponding to the print data, the splicing file is analyzed (S130).

The printing data or print information in units of pages is extracted by analyzing a splining file corresponding to the print job inserted into the windows spooler 140 (S140).

The method of analyzing the splicing file is as follows. Internal data including the print data or the print information of the sputtering file by converting a predetermined byte (for example, 4 bytes) between a position separated from a start position of the sputtering file, for example, 5 to 8 bytes. Obtain the start information.

Analyzing the start portion according to the start information of the internal data can obtain the data division value and the size of the data. From the data division value, whether the following data is print data, print information, or other data is determined. Can be distinguished.

In addition, at least one of the print data and the print information is extracted by converting a portion corresponding to the size of the data. In this case, when the print information is not extracted as a result of analyzing the sputtering file, the horizontal information of the print data is extracted. , The vertical information, and the DPI (Dots Per Inch) information of the printer is analyzed to calculate the size and direction of the paper corresponding to the print information (S150, S160).

After processing the print data using an API corresponding to the print data based on the print data and the print information, the print data is printed to meet a printer, color, paper, resolution, etc., which the user first desires according to the print information ( S170, S180).

As described in detail above, according to the print job control and print data processing method and apparatus of the present invention, as described in the technical problem to be achieved by the present invention, the present invention monitors and controls print jobs passing through a Windows spooler. Therefore, it is possible to effectively control print jobs through various paths and grasp all information on print jobs, so that data leakage through printouts can be easily monitored and tracked.

In addition, print job control settings can be set for each printer hardware device, and can be used for efficient printer device operation, and can be effectively operated without user's knowledge.

In addition, in the print data processing, the print data of the print job passing through the Windows spooler can be obtained and the processable data can be extracted from the print job. Existing print data can be obtained even after going through a general printer driver, so there is no need to install a separate virtual printer driver, and print data can be obtained and processed regardless of a user's action or a printer trying to print. .

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the technical field to which the present invention belongs without departing from the gist of the present invention as claimed in the following claims. Anyone skilled in the art will have the technical idea of the present invention to the extent that various modifications or changes are possible.

Claims (13)

In a method of processing print data by controlling a print job from a computer connected to the printer, a) setting the print job to pass through a windows spooler of the computer; b) monitoring whether the print job has entered the window spooler; c) sending a stop command to the printer driver to pause the printer driver of the printer when the print job occurs as a result of the monitoring; d) extracting print data or print information in units of pages by analyzing a splicing file corresponding to the print job inserted into the windows spooler; And e) processing the print data using an API corresponding to the print data based on the print data and the print information, and then transmitting the print data to the printer to print according to the print information. Job control and print data processing methods. The method of claim 1, wherein in step d), d-1) converting a predetermined byte from a position away from a start position of the sputtering file to obtain start information of the print data of the sputtering file or internal data including the print information; d-2) analyzing a start part according to start information of the internal data to obtain a segmentation value of the data and the size of the data; And d-3) extracting at least one of the print data and the print information by converting a portion corresponding to the size of the data. The method according to claim 2, wherein in step d-3), When the print information is not extracted, the width information, the vertical information, and the DPI (Dots Per Inch) information of the printer are analyzed to calculate the size and orientation of the paper corresponding to the print information. Print job control and print data processing method. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein in step b), the monitoring method comprises: b-1) storing the contents of the print job temporarily present in the drive of the print every predetermined time; b-2) comparing the contents of the print job stored before the predetermined time with the data stored in c-1); And and b-3) detecting that a new print job has occurred with the drive of the print if the comparison result of step b-2) differs. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the method If the print data is inserted into the window spooler in step c), copying a spring file corresponding to the print data, the print job control characterized in that for analyzing the spring file in step d) and Print data processing method. The method of claim 1, wherein in step a), A print job control and print data processing method characterized by transmitting a pause command to all the print jobs passing through the windows spooler and releasing the pause command when a predetermined condition is satisfied. The method of claim 1, wherein step c) c-1) generating a thread corresponding to a job ID assigned to each of the print jobs entered into the windows spooler when a plurality of print jobs occur as a result of the monitoring; c-2) inquiring whether the thread is allowed to print with respect to the print job, and increasing the count by one when printing is allowed, and decreasing the count by one when the printing of the print job is completed; And c-3) transmitting the pause command to the driver of the printer when the count is 0 (zero), and releasing the pause command to the printer driver when the count is 1 or more. Print job control and print data processing method. The method according to claim 7, wherein in step c-2), Extracting data of at least one of a document name, a printer name, and a user name for the print job; And And determining whether to allow the printing based on the data. Set all print jobs generated by the application to be stored in the Windows spooler, and when the print job is stored in the Windows spooler, send the splicing file of the print job to the print data processing module, and send a pause message to the printer driver. A print job control module; A windows spooler in which the print job is stored; And A print data processing module for analyzing the splining file, extracting print data or print information, and transmitting the print data to the print driver to process the print data using an API corresponding to the print data and to print according to the print information; A print job control and print data processing apparatus, characterized in that. The method of claim 9, wherein the print data processing module, Obtaining the start information of the print data or the internal data including the print information of the sprinkling file by converting 4 bytes from a position 5 bytes away from the start position of the sprinkling file to analyze the sputtering file. And analyzing a start portion corresponding to the start information of the internal data to obtain a division value of the data and the size of the data, and converting a portion corresponding to the size of the data to convert at least one of the print data and the print information. Print job control and print data processing apparatus, characterized in that for extracting. The method of claim 9 or 10, wherein the print job control module, A print job control and print data processing apparatus, comprising: transmitting a pause command to all the print jobs stored in the windows spooler and releasing the pause command when a predetermined condition is satisfied. The method of claim 11, wherein the print job control module, In the case of a print job stored in the Windows spooler, a thread corresponding to each job ID assigned to the print job is generated to increase a count by one, and when the printing of the print job is completed, the count is decreased by one. A print job control and print data processing apparatus, comprising: transmitting a pause command to a driver of the printer when the count is 0 (zero); and releasing the pause command to a driver of the printer when the count is 1 or more . The method of claim 12, wherein the print data processing module, When the print information is not extracted, the width information, the vertical information, and the DPI (Dots Per Inch) information of the printer are analyzed to calculate the size and orientation of the paper corresponding to the print information. Printing job control and print data processing unit.

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