>I have a Datamax printer that is attaced to a local pc via com 1. Currently there is a FPD app that creates barcoded labels. I am porting that over to VFP6.
>
>In the dos app I would run a batch file that did this:
>mode lpt1=com1
>mode com1 96,n,8,1,p
>shiplabl
>
>Where Shiplabl was the dos exe.
>
>In the program I would
>Set printer to LPT1
>
>I would then dump line after line untill I was done.
>
>How do I do the same thing in Win95 & vfp6.
>

Your best bet would be to use the MSCOMM32 ActiveX control to talk to the serial port for you. There are samples here on UT of how MSCOMM32 is used from VFP in the FAQ.

I'd suggest contacting the label printer vendor regarding availability of an ActiveX control specific to their product if you can't use the MSCOMM32 control to direct output to the serial port, or native mode driver if you do not have the details of the barcode printer's API.

>I don't want to use a printer driver for the printer! It takes about 3+ min to print out the 3 label set using the driver and only about 6 seconds in the dos program. When I need to print labels for 50 + items I need to see some SPEED!
>
>TIA