Hi fellas, I'm using the CreateFile Win32 API tosend commandsto my Zebra printer:
Code Snippet
[ DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
static extern SafeFileHandle CreateFile(string lpFileName, FileAccess dwDesiredAccess,
uint dwShareMode, IntPtr lpSecurityAttributes, FileMode dwCreationDisposition,
uint dwFlagsAndAttributes, IntPtr hTemplateFile);
for lpFileName I use "LPT1:" and everything runs fine. Now I need to do the same thing but for the USB port, but I've been looking around and didn't find a solution. How do I get the link to the USB port? Is there an API that returns the name of the port so I can use it in the lpFileName string?
Thanks for any help,
Regards,
Fábio | | Fábio Franco |
Hi Fábio,
What is your purpose to write this program?
If you just want to print something in your program, I think you can check the following article, and the printer is encapsulated for the user, and the OS will do everything for you (ensure the driver was installed).
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322091
And if you want to manipulate USB printer in your program, I think you should know all the parameters of the hardware exactly, such as device name, port number, and so on. And I think use the assemble language, and C/C++ will be more convenient to access a hardware.
Regards,
Xun
| | Xun Ye | I think USB ports aren't treated as ports but as adresses and this would depend on the device. The question is how to get the device so I can use CreateFile with it. | | Fábio Franco | | | Fábio Franco | Maybe you can still connect the printer at properties/Ports to LPTx: and use it the sameway?
| | boothwine | Nope, that won't work when I try to connect to a USB port.
| | Fábio Franco | What do you exactly have?
A USB-printer port and than your zebra printer
Or do you have a USB printer?
And what said was, connect the printer via it properties to say LPT1:
and still use Createfile("LPT1:"....
| | boothwine | Sorry if I didn't make this clear. I currently use CreateFile("LPT1:"... to send commands to zebra printers here. But now there are new desktop PCs that do not come with a parallelport, so I can't use LPT1, instead, the zebra printer gets connected through the USB port, so it is not an option to use a LPT1 port to send commands to it, so I need to send commands through USB ports. However, it is not so simple to connect to an USB port as it is to LPT1, I still couldn't figure out how to identify the USB port used by the printer, so I could send commands via CreateFile Win32 API.
What I really want is to find the printer in one of the USB ports and use it to connect to it through CreateFile.
What would be the string to replace "LPT1:"? How to get this string, specially dinamically, without resorting to literal strings, is there an API that might help me with that?
Maybe now it is a little more clear on what I am trying to do?
Thanks for your time.
Regards,
Fábio | | Fábio Franco |
Hi Fábio,
What is your purpose to write this program?
If you just want to print something in your program, I think you can check the following article, and the printer is encapsulated for the user, and the OS will do everything for you (ensure the driver was installed).
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322091
And if you want to manipulate USB printer in your program, I think you should know all the parameters of the hardware exactly, such as device name, port number, and so on. And I think use the assemble language, and C/C++ will be more convenient to access a hardware.
Regards,
Xun
| | Xun Ye | Thanks Xun, the RawPrinterHelper was what I needed, but I thought I could use CreateFile Win32 API for the USB port the same way I used for the LPT1 port, just using CreateFile API. But I think this will do. The reason I need this is because I work with Zebra label printer and I often need to send commands to it in its programming language (EPL2).
But thanks for the help.
Regards,
Fábio | | Fábio Franco |
HiFábio,
I have the same problem.
If you have found a solution please say me.
My problem seems like yours, I need to replace the LPT1: by another pointer to my printer.
This pointer to me need to be FIXED.
Then, you have some solutions by I don't know exactly if they work for you, for me not because I need to use the same configuration in all computers, and unfortunelly same things change.
Solution 1:
// Sharing the printer it's the easiest way to achieve it.
\\127.0.0.1\SharedPrinter
// If your USB generates a COM port.
\\.\COM10
// If you don't need to have the name fixed
\\computername\SharedPrinter
I need another solution, i need to reach the shared printar locally, but without using the "127.0.0.1" because the infra-structure team here does not like this solution. they told me that this address is for an exclusive use.. just for tests.
Thanks in advance,
Wagner
| | Wagner Bertolini Junior | Hi.
i'm working with USB Zebra barcode printer and have a solution for you!
open your command prompt-> go to C:\ -> type command net use lpt2: \\path of printer /persistant:yes
For more info. Search "net use" command.
Instade of LPT1 use LPT2 in your code,it will work.
This is working for me :).But i don't want to do like this so i'm writing some VC++ code to do same task (my writefile API is returning true but i'm not able to print). - Proposed As Answer byJyotiranjanr Tuesday, September 22, 2009 9:41 AM
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| | Jyotiranjanr |
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