Thanks Woody

That seems to behave the same as me using ...

STRTOFILE(label1.mlabel,"c:\batch\testlabel.txt") TYPE c:\batch\testlabel.txt TO PRINTER

If I do this with the example label from labelary it works fine, if I use it with my own label where I have an embedded image it doesn't. The embedded image command is long as it contains the data in hex format.

If I paste my own label into labelary it works, if I send me label to the printer via TCPIP socket using Chilkat it works. It just doesn't work when sending it via set printer to

Make sense?

-----Original Message----- From: ProfoxTech profoxtech-bounces@leafe.com On Behalf Of juergen@wondzinski.de Sent: Monday, November 13, 2023 11:59 AM To: profoxtech@leafe.com Subject: RE: ZPL

Hi Chris,

You connect to the printer with a regular cPrinterName = GETPRINTER() SET PRINTER TO NAME (cPrinterName)

Then you open the printer SET PRINTER ON

And all commandlines starting with ??? get sent directly, without conversion of the Windows drivers. thus:

#DEFINE CR CHR(13)+CHR(10)

??? "^XA" + CR ??? "^CF0,60" + CR ??? "^FO50,50^GB100,100,100^FS" + CR

SET PRINTER OFF SET PRINTER TO

One caveat: The ??? command also translates embedded strings between curly braces:

??? "This is a printer control string: {27}Q{100} to set the right margin"

If you need to print that left curly bracket in real, then you need to do a "{{}"

wOOdy

-----Original Message----- From: ProFox profox-bounces@leafe.com On Behalf Of Chris Davis Sent: Monday, November 13, 2023 12:27 PM To: ProFox Email List profox@leafe.com Subject: ZPL

Hi All

Would anyone have any suggestions of how best to approach sending ZPL commands to a compatible printer?

If the printer is on the network I can get this to work using ChilKat such as https://www.example-code.com/foxpro/socket_connect.asp

But I have also found that you can get ZPL to a printer that is connected via USB or network using the Generic / Text Only Driver ... this works with a simple example from

https://labelary.com/viewer.html

but if the commands become more extensive (maybe because an image has been included) then this method goes wrong I think because the driver is doing something relating to page size? But not sure.

If possible I would like a native VFP method of connecting to either a USB or Network connected ZPL printer and be able to send whatever I like ... thoughts?

TIA

Chris Davis

--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts --- multipart/alternative text/plain (text body -- kept) text/html ---

[excessive quoting removed by server]

Hi Chris,

I suspect that you have a "misbehaving char" in your hex data, something like Ctrl-Z, which terminates the standard DOS copy process.

If you need to transfer binary data to your printer, you could use this routine here:

??? ChrTran(File2Str("yourPicture.jpg"), "{", "{{}")

wOOdy

-----Original Message----- From: ProFox profox-bounces@leafe.com On Behalf Of Chris Davis Sent: Monday, November 13, 2023 3:13 PM To: profox@leafe.com Subject: RE: ZPL

Done a bit more testing and capture the print job it looks like it only sends upto 16535 kB to the printer before it's then captured as a job? Make any sense?

After a lot of testing it turns out this was a bug at the other end, I have obtained a patch for it and now VFP sends the data fine.

-----Original Message----- From: ProfoxTech profoxtech-bounces@leafe.com On Behalf Of Chris Davis Sent: Tuesday, November 14, 2023 9:41 AM To: profoxtech@leafe.com Subject: RE: ZPL

Thanks Woody

The image is already converted to hex and the { symbol doesn't appear in it ... if I don't get any further today I will create an actual example to demonstrate it better. Although I am just considering going the Chilkat route and sending the data via the socket and making a networked label printer a minimum requirement for our customers.

Appreciate your input so far.

Regards

Chris.

-----Original Message----- From: ProfoxTech profoxtech-bounces@leafe.com On Behalf Of juergen@wondzinski.de Sent: Tuesday, November 14, 2023 8:27 AM To: profoxtech@leafe.com Subject: RE: ZPL

Hi Chris,

I suspect that you have a "misbehaving char" in your hex data, something like Ctrl-Z, which terminates the standard DOS copy process.

If you need to transfer binary data to your printer, you could use this routine here:

??? ChrTran(File2Str("yourPicture.jpg"), "{", "{{}")

wOOdy

-----Original Message----- From: ProFox profox-bounces@leafe.com On Behalf Of Chris Davis Sent: Monday, November 13, 2023 3:13 PM To: profox@leafe.com Subject: RE: ZPL

Done a bit more testing and capture the print job it looks like it only sends upto 16535 kB to the printer before it's then captured as a job? Make any sense?

[excessive quoting removed by server]

I love it even more when a bug can be definitively identified!

--

rk

From: ProfoxTech profoxtech-bounces@leafe.com On Behalf Of Paul H. Tarver Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2023 12:51 PM To: profoxtech@leafe.com Subject: RE: ZPL

Woohoo! I love it when the bug belongs to someone else! :)

Paul H. Tarver Tarver Program Consultants, Inc.

-----Original Message----- From: ProfoxTech [mailto:profoxtech-bounces@leafe.com] On Behalf Of Chris Davis Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2023 8:14 AM To: mailto:profoxtech@leafe.com Subject: RE: ZPL

After a lot of testing it turns out this was a bug at the other end, I have obtained a patch for it and now VFP sends the data fine.

To be fair I am getting the same result when sending the ZPL from notepad to the printer, it just doesn't work, I think because it's a large ZPL the print driver is sorting it out onto pages ... I've tried the continuous feed no break but it makes no difference

-----Original Message----- From: ProfoxTech profoxtech-bounces@leafe.com On Behalf Of Ted Roche Sent: Monday, November 13, 2023 3:25 PM To: profoxtech@leafe.com Subject: Re: ZPL

TYPE is NOT the same as copying a file to a printer or network destination. It ASSuMEs it is sending text, and has problems with word wrap, long files without returns, etc. It is a dBASE II command and ought to be avoided. See https://hackfox.github.io/section4/s4g173.html for details.

On Mon, Nov 13, 2023 at 7:44 AM Chris Davis chrisd@actongate.co.uk wrote:

Thanks Woody

That seems to behave the same as me using ...

STRTOFILE(label1.mlabel,"c:\batch\testlabel.txt") TYPE c:\batch\testlabel.txt TO PRINTER

If I do this with the example label from labelary it works fine, if I use it with my own label where I have an embedded image it doesn't. The embedded image command is long as it contains the data in hex format.

...

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