Abstract: A print service is provided on a network, such as the Internet or a corporate intranet, for mobile computing devices, such as laptops, PDA's and Web cell phones, etc., to print documents. When the user of a mobile device wants to print a document, the mobile device is used to access the print service and send a print request that specifies the location the document on the network in terms of URL. In response, the print service validates the print request, retrieves the document, renders the document for printing, and prints the document as requested by the user. Alternatively, the document may be directly provided by the mobile device to the print service.

Abstract: A computer system and method for outputting printer commands to a printer in response to a print request from an application program are presented. The printer includes a device font whose characters are addressed for printing via a single, double, or n-byte code. The text data, however, utilizes the Unicode Standard to identify its characters. The system, therefore, includes a graphics device interface, which is compatible to read the Unicode data, to invoke the printer driver functions for controlling the outputting of the text data to the printer. A printer OEM supplied minidriver contains a characterization of the printer, including information identifying the device font resident in the printer and the code used to identify the individual characters of the font. A printer driver uses this information to translate the text data to be printed from the Unicode Standard to a code capable of selecting a device font provided character.

Abstract: A computer system and method for outputting printer commands to a printer in response to a print request from an application program are presented. The printer includes a device font whose characters are addressed for printing via a single, double, or n-byte code. The text data, however, utilizes the Unicode Standard to identify its characters. The system, therefore, includes a graphics device interface, which is compatible to read the Unicode data, to invoke the printer driver functions for controlling the outputting of the text data to the printer. A printer OEM supplied minidriver contains a characterization of the printer, including information identifying the device font resident in the printer and the code used to identify the individual characters of the font. A printer driver uses this information to translate the text data to be printed from the Unicode Standard to a code capable of selecting a device font provided character.

Abstract: A computer system and method for outputting printer commands to a printer in response to a print request from an application program are presented. The printer includes a device font whose characters are addressed for printing via a single, double, or n-byte code. The text data, however, utilizes the Unicode Standard to identify its characters. The system, therefore, includes a graphics device interface, which is compatible to read the Unicode data, to invoke the printer driver functions for controlling the outputting of the text data to the printer. A printer OEM supplied minidriver contains a characterization of the printer, including information identifying the device font resident in the printer and the code used to identify the individual characters of the font. A printer driver uses this information to translate the text data to be printed from the Unicode Standard to a code capable of selecting a device font provided character.

Abstract: A print service is provided on a network, such as the Internet or a corporate intranet, for mobile computing devices, such as laptops, PDA's and Web cell phones, etc., to print documents. When the user of a mobile device wants to print a document, the mobile device is used to access the print service and send a print request that specifies the location the document on the network in terms of URL. In response, the print service validates the print request, retrieves the document, renders the document for printing, and prints the document as requested by the user. Alternatively, the document may be directly provided by the mobile device to the print service.

Abstract: A modular Universal Printer Driver is provided which dramatically improves the extensibility of the driver architecture and the support for printer features. This driver operates in conjunction with OEM developed minidrivers which utilize the text based Generic Printer Description (GPD) format of the instant invention. The universal driver allows the GPD text based minidrivers to add and define new features introduced by the printer OEM. The universal driver also allows the GPD minidriver to modify, add, or replace the standard user interface provided by the universal driver. The universal driver and the text based GPD minidrivers are included in a computer system for outputting data to an output device, such as a printer. This system includes an application program which invokes a plurality of graphics device interface functions to control the sending of data to the printer. Within the system, a graphics device interface invokes device driver functions for controlling the outputting of data.

Abstract: A print service is provided on a network, such as the Internet or a corporate intranet, for mobile computing devices, such as laptops, PDA's and Web cell phones, etc., to print documents. When the user of a mobile device wants to print a document, the mobile device is used to access the print service and send a print request that specifies the location the document on the network in terms of URL. In response, the print service validates the print request, retrieves the document, renders the document for printing, and prints the document as requested by the user. Alternatively, the document may be directly provided by the mobile device to the print service.

Abstract: A computer system and method for outputting printer commands to a printer in response to a print request from an application program are presented. The printer includes a device font whose characters are addressed for printing via a single, double, or n-byte code. The text data, however, utilizes the Unicode Standard to identify its characters. The system, therefore, includes a graphics device interface, which is compatible to read the Unicode data, to invoke the printer driver functions for controlling the outputting of the text data to the printer. A printer OEM supplied minidriver contains a characterization of the printer, including information identifying the device font resident in the printer and the code used to identify the individual characters of the font. A printer driver uses this information to translate the text data to be printed from the Unicode Standard to a code capable of selecting a device font provided character.

Abstract: A computer system and method for outputting printer commands to a printer in response to a print request from an application program are presented. The printer includes a device font whose characters are addressed for printing via a single, double, or n-byte code. The text data to be printed, however, utilizes the Unicode Standard to identify its characters. The system, therefore, includes a graphics device interface, which is compatible to read the Unicode data, to invoke the printer driver functions for controlling the outputting of the text data to the printer. A printer OEM supplied minidriver contains a characterization of the printer, including information identifying the device font resident in the printer and the code used to identify the individual characters of the font. A printer driver uses this information to translate the text data to be printed from the Unicode Standard to a code capable of selecting a device font provided character.

Abstract: A system and method of printing documents having merged text and graphics is presented which overcomes the Z-order problem of merging text and graphics on a raster printer and which enhances printing performance. The system and method analyze a location of the text and graphics elements to be printed to determine if and where any potential merging problems exist. In these regions, the system and method selectively redraws the text as part of the merged bitmap graphic. The remainder of the text on the document is printed with device resident fonts, either directly or through downloading the device font, if possible. This greatly enhances printing performance. If the text information is not supported or supportable by a device font, the text elements are drawn as bitmaps to be printed by the printer.

Abstract: A system and method of printing documents having merged text and graphics is presented which overcomes the Z-order problem of merging text and graphics on a raster printer and which enhances printing performance. The system and method analyze a location of the text and graphics elements to be printed to determine if and where any potential merging problems exist. In these regions, the system and method selectively redraws the text as part of the merged bitmap graphic. The remainder of the text on the document is printed with device resident fonts, either directly or through downloading the device font, if possible. This greatly enhances printing performance. If the text information is not supported or supportable by a device font, the text elements are drawn as bitmaps to be printed by the printer.

Abstract: A system and method of printing documents having merged text and graphics is presented which overcomes the Z-order problem of merging text and graphics on a raster printer and which enhances printing performance. The system and method analyze a location of the text and graphics elements to be printed to determine if and where any potential merging problems exist. In these regions, the system and method selectively redraws the text as part of the merged bitmap graphic. The remainder of the text on the document is printed with device resident fonts, either directly or through downloading the device font, if possible. This greatly enhances printing performance. If the text information is not supported or supportable by a device font, the text elements are drawn as bitmaps to be printed by the printer.

Abstract: A computer method and system for configuring device driver is provided. In a preferred embodiment, a device driver comprises a minidriver associated with each output device and a universal driver. Each minidriver implements a plurality of minidriver functions for controlling the outputting of data to the output device by invoking functions of the universal driver. During execution of a program, the program selects an output device and invokes the minidriver functions of the minidriver associated with the selected output device. An initialization function of each minidriver invokes an initialization function of the universal driver passing an indication of and attributes of the selected output device. Other minidriver functions invoke an analogous function of the universal driver passing an indication of the selected output device. The initialization function of the universal driver processes the passed attributes and stores the indication and the processed attributes.