Image forming apparatus, image forming system, and information generating method

An image forming system having plural image forming apparatuses which have plural processing units that execute different processing functions from each other, the system comprising:

• an execution-in-progress information acquiring unit which acquires execution-in-progress function information that is information about a first processing unit that is executing processing, of the plural processing units, in association with each image forming apparatus;
• a discrimination unit which discriminates, for each image forming apparatus, a second processing unit that cannot execute processing when the first processing unit indicated by the execution-in-progress function information acquired by the execution-in-progress information acquiring unit is executing processing, from among the plural processing units provided in each image forming apparatus;
• an executability information generating unit which generates inexecutable function information that is information about the second processing unit, in association with each image forming apparatus, based on a result of determination by the discrimination unit;
• an executability information collecting unit which collects the inexecutable function information for each of the plural image forming apparatuses generated by the executability information generating unit;
• and
• a list information generating unit which generates executability list information showing the plural image forming apparatuses and processing by the second processing unit in each of the image forming apparatuses in association with each other, using the inexecutable function information for each of the image forming apparatuses collected by the executability information collecting unit.

An information generating method for plural image forming apparatuses which have plural processing units that execute different processing functions from each other, the method comprising:

• acquiring execution-in-progress function information that is information about a first processing unit that is executing processing, of the plural processing units, in association with each image forming apparatus;
• discriminating, for each image forming apparatus, a second processing unit that cannot execute processing when the first processing unit indicated by the acquired execution-in-progress function information is executing processing, from among the plural processing units provided in each image forming apparatus;
• generating inexecutable function information that is information about the second processing unit, in association with each image forming apparatus, based on a result of determination;
• collecting the generated inexecutable function information for each of the plural image forming apparatuses;
• and
• generating executability list information showing the plural image forming apparatuses and processing by the second processing unit in each of the image forming apparatuses in association with each other, using the collected inexecutable function information for each of the image forming apparatuses.