>How do I read from a bar code scanner as if it were from a keyboard? Is there a way to do it in a "transparent" way for the VFP application? How do I send a character to COM1 so a scale can send me data?

Barcode scanners usually interface with the keyboard port. The scanner comes with a splitter or a decoder box. So you have a cable coming from the keypord port to the splitter or the decoder box. The keyboard cable is connected to the splitter or the box. As long as the cursor is in a control [e.g., texbox] any barcode scanned will be entered into the control just as if typed. However, an explicit line feed is included at the end of the scan.

As for controlling a scale, you would probably need to use the MS Communications ActiveX control. If the scale conforms to POS standards, you should be able to get an ActiveX control from the manufacturer of the the scale.