Please help with this issue

[Deepak Sakpal]

Hi !

Open "LPT1:" For Output As #1
    Print #1, "Hello!!"
Close #1

Above code prints data to LPT port. it works fine in vb6. Later on i upgraded that project to VB.Net which converted above code into following:

FileOpen(1, "LPT1:", OpenMode.Output)
    PrintLine(1, "Hello")
FileClose(1)

Now this code is not working in VB.Net. It shows the following error, what that means

error message:
An unhandled exception of type 'System.NotSupportedException' occurred in microsoft.visualbasic.dll

Additional information: FileStream was asked to open a device that was not a file. FileStream's constructors that take a String will only work with devices that are really files. If you need support for devices like "com1:" or "lpt1:", then call CreateFile yourself then use the FileStream constructors that take an OS handle as an IntPtr.


Please help me with this issue

[Edneeis]

It means you can't open LPT1 as a stream/file anymore. Printing is kind of a pain in the ass now (until the next version of Visual Studio). Look up the help on the Printing.PrintDocument object which is how you print in .NET. Your sample would be something like this:

Private Sub Button2_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button2.Click
        Dim pd As New Printing.PrintDocument
        AddHandler pd.PrintPage, AddressOf pd_PrintPage
        pd.Print()
    End Sub
 
    Private Sub pd_PrintPage(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal ev As Printing.PrintPageEventArgs)
        ev.Graphics.DrawString("Hello", Me.Font, New SolidBrush(Color.Black), 10, 10)
    End Sub

[Deepak Sakpal]

Thanks for replying.

[robertx]

I am trying to output to a barcode printer. Has anyone had any success doing this? I have had no problem doing this in VB6 the way Deepak suggested.

Edneeis's code outputs the string "Hello" to the default printer. I output OK to the laser printer but get an error message when I set the barcode printer as the default and try printing.

"Tried to access printer with invalid settings"