An electronic apparatus includes an operation unit and a control unit. The control unit performs a guidance image display control, a step bar display control, and a step bar operation detection control. When the touch operation on a given position of the step bar is detected in the step bar operation detection control, the control unit causes the display unit to display the plurality of guidance images corresponding to the process associated with the position where the touch operation has been made, in the guidance image display control.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming section, an operation section, and a controller. The image forming section forms an image on a recording medium. The operation section includes a touch panel. The controller controls the image forming section and the operation section. The controller acts to display a screen that presents predetermined items on the touch panel, start operation guidance by the operation section, start display whose gradation changes in a predetermined guidance direction, and wait for swipe operation by an operator with reception prohibited by displaying, in grayscale, unrelated icons among icons of the predetermined items.

According to an embodiment, an image processing apparatus includes: a job executor which executes a job according to a mode; a storage which stores, as history information, a setting history of the job; a display which allows a reception image, which receives an instruction to call the history information that has been stored, to be displayed; and a controller which performs, during execution of the job, display control of the reception image according to the mode.

An image forming apparatus is used in a post-payment system based on a customer's electronic money, and includes an image forming section, a communication section, and a controller. The image forming section performs a printing operation of forming an image on a sheet. The communication section performs communication so as to acquire settlement information including information that identifies the customer. The controller controls the image forming section and the communication section. As to the printing operation performed after acquisition of the settlement information, the controller settles a printing fee with a discount in a unit price per sheet in a situation where a printed sheet count is a predetermined number or more.

An image forming apparatus includes a display panel, a sheet conveying passage, a reading unit, a light source, a chassis, and a controller. The reading unit includes a light transmitting plate and a conveying image sensor. The conveying image sensor reads a conveyed sheet, which is a sheet to print on. The chassis has a cleaning hole in which to insert a cleaning rod for rubbing the light-transmitting plate. In a maintenance mode, the controller turns on the light source, and makes the display panel display a graph showing the pixel values of the pixels included in conveyed-and-read image data acquired by reading with the conveying image sensor.

A communication device includes a communication unit, a communication function allocation unit, a communication status determination unit, and a communication control unit. The communication unit performs communications with another communication device using a plurality of communication paths. The communication function allocation unit allocates communication functions to each of the communication paths in the communication unit. The communication status determination unit determines a communication status for each of the communication paths. The communication control unit controls communications for each of the communication paths in accordance with allocation by the communication function allocation unit and a determination result of the communication status determination unit.

A method of controlling an image forming apparatus using a user terminal includes displaying a popup window corresponding to an event generated in the image forming apparatus, determining whether at least one user terminal is connected to the image forming apparatus, and applying a previously set timeout to the popup window according to the connection of the user terminal.

An MFP specifies an MFP application to be started in a portable terminal and another application to be started after start of the MFP application. An NFC tag records information that allows the specified MFP application and the specified another application to be identified in the portable terminal. The portable terminal acquires the application information recorded in the NFC tag by the proximity wireless communication. The portable terminal controls a communication-connection changeover according to an application to be started based on the acquired information. At this moment, if a type of communication to be used by the MFP application and a type of communication to be used by the another application are different, the portable terminal starts the another application after making a changeover to communication connection corresponding to this another application.

Information on printer maintenance or an updating of software is notified without giving uncomfortable feeling to a user by an unintentional change of screen displays. The invention comprises an application activating unit which issues an application binding command in response to a print instruction of a data generated by an application executed by a mobile, an additional information acquiring unit which acquires an additional information according to a predetermined information acquiring command included in the application binding command when a print result information is acquired from the printer, and an information providing unit which provides the mobile with the additional information in addition to the print result information. A user is notified of necessary information on printer maintenance or an updating of software in addition to the print result information upon completion of printing intentionally instructed by the user.

In order to provide an operation console having superior operability and visibility, a touch-panel display includes a display panel displaying a copy mode basic screen image with virtual keys, and a touch-panel receiving an input operation to the virtual keys. On the copy mode basic screen image, a group of virtual ten keys for inputting the number of copies are displayed. When image data is input by a document reading unit, the touch-panel display causes a preview image based on the image data to be displayed with higher priority than the group of virtual ten keys, in the copy mode basic screen image.