Software Manual

Virtual COM for USB Driver

Configuration Tool
Ver. 2.21

http://www.bixolon.com
 Virtual COM for USB Driver

Table of Contents
Copyright ......................................................................................................................... 3

1. Manual Information................................................................................................... 4

2. Usage Environment .................................................................................................... 5

2-1 Operating System Environment ..................................................................................5
2-2 Supported Printer Models ............................................................................................6

3. Software Installation & Uninstallation.................................................................... 7

3-1 Installation .....................................................................................................................7
3-2 Uninstallation ................................................................................................................9

4. Configuration Tool Usage ........................................................................................ 10

4-1 Configuration Tool Functions ....................................................................................10
4-2 Virtual COM Port Addition ..........................................................................................12
4-3 Printer Port Connection..............................................................................................13
4-4 Printer Port Disconnection .........................................................................................14
4-5 Print Test ......................................................................................................................14
4-6 Virtual Serial Port Deletion .........................................................................................14

5. Virtual Serial Port Management............................................................................. 15

5-1 Port Deletion Via the Device Manager ......................................................................15
5-2 Port Setting/Number Modification Via the Device Manager .................................16

6. Command line ........................................................................................................... 18

6-1 Command Description................................................................................................18
6-2 Command Option .......................................................................................................19

7. Win32 API................................................................................................................... 21
7-1 File I/O API ...................................................................................................................21
7-2 Communication API ....................................................................................................22
7-3 Precautions for Serial Communication Programming............................................23

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Copyright
© BIXOLON Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

This user manual and all property of the product are protected under copyright law.
It is strictly prohibited to copy, store, and transmit the whole or any part of the manual
and any property of the product without the prior written approval of BIXOLON Co.,
Ltd.
The information contained herein is designed only for use with this BIXOLON product.
BIXOLON is not responsible for any direct or indirect damages, arising from or
related to use of this information.

• The BIXOLON logo is the registered trademark of BIXOLON Co., Ltd.

• All other brand or product names are trademarks of their respective companies or
organizations.

BIXOLON Co., Ltd. maintains ongoing efforts to enhance and upgrade the functions
and quality of all our products.
In the following, product specifications and/or user manual content may be changed
without prior notice.

Caution
Some semiconductor devices are easily damaged by static electricity. You should turn
the printer “OFF”, before you connect or remove the cables on the rear side, in order
to guard the printer against the static electricity. If the printer is damaged by the static
electricity, you should turn the printer “OFF”.

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1. Manual Information
This manual provides information on the usage of the “Virtual COM for USB Driver”
and “Configuration Tool” software associated with USB interface use on BIXOLON
printers.

This software can be used to set and use the USB interface via the serial
communication mode.

The latest file version is available for download from the BIXOLON website.
(www.bixolon.com)

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2. Usage Environment
2-1 Operating System Environment

Microsoft Windows 7 (32bit, 64bit)

Microsoft Windows 8 (32bit, 64bit)
Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32bit, 64bit)
Microsoft Windows 10 (32bit, 64bit)

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (32bit, 64bit)

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 (64bit)
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 (64bit)
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2(64bit)
Microsoft Windows Server 2016 (64bit)
Microsoft Windows Server 2019 (64bit)

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2-2 Supported Printer Models
• The “Virtual COM for USB Driver” software can be used only with USB-supported
printers.

1) POS Printer
SRP-270 / SRP-275 / SRP-275II / SRP-275III / SRP-280
STP-103II / STP-103III / SRP-370 / SRP-372 / SRP-500
SRP-350 / SRP-350plus / SRP-352plus
SRP-350II / SRP-350IIK / SRP-350plusII / SRP-352plusII
SRP-330 / SRP-330II / SRP-332II
SRP-340 / SRP-340II / SRP-342II
SRP-350III / SRP-352III / SRP-350plusIII / SRP-352plusIII
SRP-F310 / SRP-F312 / SRP-F310II / SRP-F312II / SRP-F313II
SRP-S300 / SRP-S320
SRP-380 / SRP-382 / SRP-383
SRP-Q300 / SRP-Q302 / SRP-QE300 / SRP-QE302 / SRP-Q200
SRP-E300 / SRP-E302 / SRP-B300
SRP-S3000 / SRP-S200
SRP-330III / SRP-332III
SRP-350V / SRP-350plusV / SRP-352V / SRP-352plusV
SRP-380II / SRP-382II
G30
SRP-Q300II

2) Label Printer
SLP-T400 / SLP-T403 / SLP-D420 / SLP-D423 / SLP-D220 / SLP-D223
SLP-TX400(RFID) / SLP-TX403(RFID)
SLP-TX420 / SLP-TX423 / SLP-TX220 / SLP-TX223
SLP-DX420 / SLP-DX423 / SLP-DX220 / SLP-DX223 / SLP-DL410 / SLP-DL413
SRP-770II / SRP-770III / SRP-E770III
XT5-40(RFID) / XT5-43(RFID) / XT5-46(RFID)
SRP-S3000_LABEL

XD3-40d / XD3-40t
XD5-40d / XD5-43d
XD5-40t(RFID) / XD5-43t(RFID)
XL5-40CT / XL5-43CT
XT3-40 / XT3-43

SPP-L3000
SPP-L310 / SPP-L410
XM7-40(RFID) / XM7-20 / XM7-30

3) Mobile Printer
SPP-C200
SPP-C300

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3. Software Installation & Uninstallation

Installation and uninstallation process in this document is written based on
Windows 7

3-1 Installation

1) Execute the installation file.

2) Click the “Next” button.

3) Clicking the “Install” button begins the installation process.

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4) When the following message appears, click the “Install” button.

5) The following message appears upon the successful completion of installation.

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3-2 Uninstallation

1) Click and activate the “Uninstall a program” or “Programs and Features” icon in
the Control Panel.

2) Select “Virtual COM for USB Driver” and click the “Uninstall“ button.

3) Click the “Yes” button to completely remove the application.

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4. Configuration Tool Usage

The “Configuration Tool” program can be used to create a serial port, and set and/or
delete printer devices.

4-1 Configuration Tool Functions

• Select from “Start ▶ All Programs ▶ BIXOLON ▶ Virtual COM for USB Driver” and
open “Configuration Tool”.

The “Configuration Tool” functions are described as follows.

① Printer Device Sequence Number

- This function displays the connection sequence of printer devices.

② Printer Device Name

- This function displays the printer device models that are turned on and
connected via the USB interface.

③ Assigned Port
- This function displays the currently set virtual serial port number. If one is
not set, the status is shown as “Not Assigned”

④ Assign
- This function is used to establish a connection between a printer selected
in the list box and a registered virtual serial port.

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⑤ Detach
- This function is used to disconnect a connection between a printer
selected in the list box and a virtual serial port.

⑥ Refresh
- This function is used to update the USB printer device list shown in the list
box and set port information.

⑦ Test Print
- This function is used to perform a print test on the printer selected in the
list box. The serial port must be set in order to perform a print test.

⑧ Port Management
- This function is used to add/remove virtual serial ports.

⑨ Exit
- This function is used to exit the “Configuration Tool” program.

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4-2 Virtual COM Port Addition
• The “Configuration Tool” program is used to add a virtual COM port. To create a
port, click the “Port Management’ button in the “Configuration Tool”.

1) Clicking the “Port Management” button of the “Configuration Tool” brings up the
following dialog box.

2) Click the “Add Port” button to add a port.

Click “Install” when “Windows Security” screen below appears.

3) If the port has been added successfully, the virtual serial port added will appear as
follows.

- A port number is determined by operating system.

- Refer to section 5 (Virtual Serial Port Management) of this
manual for information on modifying the virtual serial port
number.

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4-3 Printer Port Connection
• To use the added serial port and printer, click the “Assign” button and set the
connection.

1) Select the printer to be connected from the list, and click the “Assign” button to
bring up a dialog box.

2) Select the port number to be used among the virtual serial ports added via “Port
Management” and click the “OK” button to automatically update the “Assigned
Port” section of the main screen.

When connecting a virtual serial port, if another printer is

connected to the corresponding port, that existing connection is
automatically disconnected, and the connection is established with
the selected printer.

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4-4 Printer Port Disconnection
• Select the printer to be disconnected from the list of printers connected via virtual
serial ports. Click the “Detach” button to disconnect the previously connected
virtual serial port. This will result in reversion of the “Assigned Port” status of the
printer to “Not Assigned”.

• Although the port setting of the printer has been disconnected,

the virtual serial port is not deleted.
• The “Port Management” function can be used to delete all ports,
or the Device Manager can be used to manually delete select
ports.

4-5 Print Test

• The “Test Print” button can be used to check the communication status between
the printer and the virtual serial port.

4-6 Virtual Serial Port Deletion

• Click the “Port Management” button to delete the connection settings of virtual
serial ports. The “Reset” button can be used to delete all virtual serial ports and
connected printer information.

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5. Virtual Serial Port Management

1) Port number modification, port deletion, and serial communication setting are
done via the Device Manager.

2) Control Panel ▶ System ▶ Device Manager: Upon examination of the

“Ports (COM & LPT)” section, the port(s) added previously via the “Configuration
Tool” program can be seen.

5-1 Port Deletion Via the Device Manager

1) Select the virtual serial port to be deleted and click the right mouse button.
On the popup menu, select “Uninstall” to delete the port.

2) Following deletion, the “Configuration Tool” program must be executed, and the
changes must be updated.

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 Virtual COM for USB Driver
5-2 Port Setting/Number Modification Via the Device Manager

1) Select the desired virtual serial port and click the right mouse button. On the
popup menu, select “Properties”.

2) In the “Properties” window, click the “Port Settings” tab.

3) The “Port Settings” tab can be used to set the baud rate, data bits, parity, stop bits,
and flow control of a port.

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4) Click the “Advanced” button to modify the port number and/or designate buffer
settings. Modification of buffer settings is not recommended.
The COM port number is changed by selecting a number in the combo box.

Following port modifications, the settings utility must be run to update changes.
If a printer was connected previously, the connection setting must be disconnected.

• A port not in use must be selected.

• Following port modification, clicking the “Yes” button can result in
the appearance of a warning message. Click the “Yes” button to
finalize and set the modified information and settings. Port
modification on certain operating systems will require the repeat
opening of the Device Manager to confirm changes.
• After deleting a virtual serial port, the “Configuration Tool”
program must be executed to update the Virtual COM for USB
Driver, and directly deleted connection information must be
removed.

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6. Command line
Use the Configuration Tool functions as a command line without using the
Configuration Tool. Using command lines, the UI will not be displayed.
If a command fails, an error log file is created.

6-1 Command Description

• Open a command window and navigate to the folder where VCOM4USB is installed.
CMD > cd “C:\ BIXOLON\Virtual COM for USB”

Default installation path

C:\BIXOLON\Virtual COM for USB

e.g. CMD> VCOM4USB_Configuration /u /i 1 /pid 0086 /rs

Action Description: After deleting all Virtual COM ports, all the COM1 port
and assign a printer with USB PID “0086” of the currently
connected printer to the Virtual COM1 port. Reboot the
system.

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6-2 Command Option

• Values marked as '[]' in the command below are negligible.

• If /i and /u are used at the same time, /u will run first.

VCOM4USB_Configuration.exe [/i [PORT_NUMBER] ] [/m [MESSAGE OPTION] ]

[ /pid [USB PID] ] [ /sn USB SN ] [/u]
[/rs REBOOT_OPTION]

1) /u: Delete all installed Virtual COM ports.

2) /i [PORT_NUMBER]: Add Virtual COM Port.

- PORT_NUMBER: Specifies the Virtual COM port number to add.

If you specify the port number currently being used by the system,
the system may not operate normally.

3) /m [MESSAGE_OPTION]: View the execution results of the installation (/i)

command in the message window. If not using the /m command, the message
window will not be displayed.
- MESSAGE_OPTION: If the value is 1 then display message window
when installation is successful.
If the value is 2 then display message window
when installation is successful or unsuccessful.

4) /pid [USB_PID]: Set the same USB_PID printer as the COMport among the
currently connected printers. Only one Virtual COM port should exist in the
system. Only one printer with matching USB_PID should be connected.
- USB_PID: 4 digits of printer’s usb pid, If you don’t enter USB_PID, only one
connection must be made, and the Virtual COM port is assigned to the
connected printer.

5) /sn USB_S/N: Set the same printer as the Virtual COM port on which the USB_S/N
is currently connected. Only one Virtual COM port should exist in the system.
- USB_S/N: If you use ‘/sn’, make sure input the usb serial number.

If using the /pid command with the /sn command, can set it up
without the printer being connected.

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6) /rs [REBOOT_OPTION]: reboot system.
- REBOOT_OPTION: If the value is 0 or does not contain a value,
reboot without notification.
If the value is 1, show the notification window and
reboot

If you don’t reboot the system, the Virtual COM port may not
operate properly.

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7. Win32 API
The “Virtual COM for USB Driver” program can be used in serial communication
programming. Refer to Microsoft MSDN regarding the Win32 API for serial
communication.

7-1 File I/O API

API Name Supported

Create File O
Write File O
Read File O
Close Handle O
O: Supported, X: Unsupported

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7-2 Communication API

API Name Supported

Build Comm DCB O
Build Comm DCB and Timeouts O
Comm Config Dialog O
Device Io Control O
Get Comm Modem Status O
Get Comm State O
Get Comm Timeouts O
Purge Comm O
Set Comm State O
Set Comm Timeouts O
O: Supported, X: Unsupported

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 Virtual COM for USB Driver
7-3 Precautions for Serial Communication Programming
• When calling Create File function, you must prefix the port name with “\\\\.\\”
depending on the range of COM port numbers. For details, refer to the ‘port name
format’ below.

* Port name format

- COM1 ~ COM9: “COM1” ~ “COM9”
- COM10 ~ COM256: “\\\\.\\COM10” ~ “\\\\.\\COM256”

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Revision history

Rev. Date Description

2.00 04-12-2017 New
Add SRP-E770III, MX4000,
2.01 09-03-2018
Supplementation of contents
2.02 16-05-2018 Change model name of XT5
2.03 05-09-2018 Add SRP-383
2.04 10-01-2019 Add SPP-L310/L410
2.05 06-03-2019 Add SRP-Q200, XD3-40d
Add XD3-40t, XD5-40d/43d, XL5-40/43
2.06 24-06-2019
Add command Line Description
2.07 01-11-2019 Change model name XL5-40CT / XL5-43CT
2.08 16-12-2019 Add XD5-40t / XD5-43t, XM7-40
2.09 28-02-2020 Add XM7-20
Modify supported OS list
2.10 11-09-2020
Add XT5-40NR, XD5-40tR, SRP-B300, SRP-S320
2.11 06-11-2020 Add SRP-S3000, SRP-S3000_LABEL
Change the font in the manual
2.12 24-02-2021
Add SRP-S200
2.13 18-08-2021 Add XT3-40, XT3-43, XM7-40(RFID)
2.14 06-10-2021 Add SPP-C200
2.15 23-11-2021 Add SPP-C300
2.16 22-04-2022 Add XM7-30
2.17 25-05-2022 Add SRP-330III, SRP-332III
2.18 03-06-2022 Add SRP-350V, SRP-350plusV Series
2.19 21-07-2022 Add SRP-380II, SRP-382II
2.20 13-03-2023 Add G30
2.21 12-10-2023 Add SRP-Q300II

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