Directly addressing hardware

[FMDuck]

Can anyone give a crash course in how to address hardware from FM in Windows without using anything more than a batch file? Is it possible?

I have a cash drawer that is connected to a special RJ-11 cash drawer port directly on the POS (not through the printer). I have the address and the Esc codes, but don't know how to get to it.

Thanks.

[SteveB]

I know that you don't want a plugin, but WinBatch could probably do it with minimal effort. Wim Decorte, a frequent poster here, touts VBA which is another possibility.

Steve

Edited February 9, 2006 by Guest

[Wim Decorte]

VBscript, Steve

VBscript = scripting language built into Windows. Free. Subset of the Visual Basic language. Can be written in Notepad and can be executed by Windows without being compiled into an executable.

VBA = another subset of Visual Basic, but tied to applications supporting VBA. You can write VBA code in Word, Excel,... but the code exists in that document and can't be executed without addressing the document.

VB = the real thing. Needs Visual Studio to write the code in and the code needs to be compiled into an exe before it can be run.

As to addressing the hardware: you'd need to use VB if it involves talking to the Windows API. VBscript can't address the API directly. A batch file certainly can't. Does the cash register come with software you can call, anything like ActiveX methods? Because then you can use VBscript and wouldn't need to talk to the Windows API at all.

Also check out the Troi Serial plugin.

[Wim Decorte]

Can you post some of the Esc examples from their documentation?

[FMDuck]

All this is old news now (read the end)

The equipment is made in Asia and I couldn't clearly get the codes from US tech support. All they could tell me was that it started with Esc P. After that I got about 5 different answers so some testing was required.

(His final answer was that he thought it was Esc P / Alt07 / Y - obviously he wasn't even aware of how to enter the data)

He was able to send me a vb project that another customer sent him. The program opened a big dialog box with a test button so it wasn't practical for the solution but it did include the codes and address for the cash drawer.

I've had someone rewrite the code into something usable. I'm happy to share it if anyone wants to see it, but it's specific to Partner Tech PT-5500 POS terminals.

Thanks much for the advice!