>I am trying to automate a sequence of commands from the interactive host interface.
>
>I have proven {MESSAGEBOX(THISFORM.MSComm1.Input)}that the interface is in the receive buffer... but capturing it in this manner does not allow it to be interactive.
>
>THIS IS WHY I CONCLUDED THAT THE VISIBLE PROPERTY NEEDS TO TRUE.

This is not what the MSComm control was meant for. If you need terminal emulation, you'll need to look for another ActiveX control, or possible attempt to build an interface yourself- somehting like an edit box that receives info from and sends input to the MSComm control.