Hi everyone, My name is PhilC

[PhilC]

I have already jumped into a few threads and posted some solutions. I wish I had found this forum a few years ago. I learned the ropes of VBA over the years by trial and error, and of course the "record macro" function. I still use it from time to time to help jog my memory for a code sequence. I guess I've been a programming junkie since I was in my early teens when I taught myself PET basic, and assembly language (with a hex editor sooo much easier). I went on over the years to learn various flavors of basic on various platforms. So, I guess it was fate that led me to VBA many years ago when creating a spreadsheet that seemed a bit too redundant for me.

Since then I've held many positions that have stretched the limits of my understanding of Excel by creating a multitude of VBA macros that started off small and simple and now are complicated enough, from time to time, to assume control of other applications and run them, although those macros make my brain hurt.

So anyway, I came here in search of yet new answers as I'm having problems getting a Zebra label printer to cooperate with me and I noticed that this wasn't just limited to Excel. YAY!! Don't get me wrong, Excel has to be my favorite app, but that's mainly because it's really easy to link into VBA and try to take over the world... er I mean take control of MS office. Seriously though, VBA has so much "power" I sometimes wonder if VBA can assume control of much of a PC platform, given the want and desire to spend the hundreds of man hours researching the API calls needed.

I hope my stay here will be enlightening both for those that share with me and to those that I share with.

Cheers!!:beerchug:

PhilC

[Aussiebear]

Welcome to VBAX PhilC. Your views are very similar to many others, and we look forward to any further contribution that you can make here.

[Bob Phillips]

I have been using VBA or some 15 years now, and I still use the macro recorder occasionally.

I start in assembler too, I started on an ICL which used an assembler language called Plan. I also programmed Apple //e using their 6502 assembler (I built a full screen editor in the days when the basic only had a line editor). Great fun, but I wouldn't want to go back to those days!

Enjoy it here.

[Ken Puls]

So anyway, I came here in search of yet new answers as I'm having problems getting a Zebra label printer to cooperate with me...

Hi PhilC

I'm curious... what are you doing with the Zebra printer that led you to VBAX? I've got a couple of Zebra LP2824's in my office, but I've never bothered trying to automate anything to do with them... yet... :)

[Bob Phillips]

Hi PhilC

I'm curious... what are you doing with the Zebra printer that led you to VBAX? I've got a couple of Zebra LP2824's in my office, but I've never bothered trying to automate anything to do with them... yet... :)

Get your darn accounts reconciled Puls before you start playing with other stuff!

BTW, what is that 'soon to be released' addin?

[Ken Puls]

Get your darn accounts reconciled Puls before you start playing with other stuff!

Bob, I was reconciling accounts these account long before I learned VBA, and will be doing so for a long time to come. It's a never ending process. ;)

[PhilC]

Hi PhilC

I'm curious... what are you doing with the Zebra printer that led you to VBAX? I've got a couple of Zebra LP2824's in my office, but I've never bothered trying to automate anything to do with them... yet... :)

Hey Ken,

Well I have a Zebra TPL 2844-Z printer that is currently used to produce location bar-code labels. The program that was being used to generate those labels is no longer accessible ad my team asked if I could write something to generate those labels. It sounded like a piece of cake, I mean how hard could it be to write a program that puts 3 lines on a label.

Well the program to generate the labels is a piece of cake, it's the goofy interface with the printer. I can't use the LPT or Com ports and must use the USB port, this is what spurred my search for answers. I didn't see anything specifically on this site but the name caught my attention. I knew I had to join this site if for no other reason than to enhance my VBA toolbox.

But, if someone has worked with the USB ports or even how to get the printer to do what it's supposed to do then more is the better. I'm figuring out work a rounds but haven't got it totally successful yet. I'd like to be able to make the program non-platform dependent. so that anyone with Excel 2007 installed and the universal driver for the printer can run the label program, thus eliminating the dependence on the original bar-code program.

[PhilC]

I have been using VBA or some 15 years now, and I still use the macro recorder occasionally.

I start in assembler too, I started on an ICL which used an assembler language called Plan. I also programmed Apple //e using their 6502 assembler (I built a full screen editor in the days when the basic only had a line editor). Great fun, but I wouldn't want to go back to those days!

Enjoy it here.

Nice to meet you! Nice to see someone else that likes the recorder on occasion :)

I hear what you mean about the old line editors. I think the biggest pain I had for programming was to link two 6800 microprocessor trainers together with a coms program to transfer code from one trainer to the other. Well that or writing the mouse driver for the 128...LOL

Thanks for the welcome.

[Simon Lloyd]

I know this isn't the place for the discussion on the usb and printer but what exactly is your problem with it?

[PhilC]

Hi Simon,

I seem to have some sort of artifact stuck in the communication path. I can run the code on start up and the print out is fine. However, if I try to print again the printer only gets every other output. (Label 1,3,5,7) I have a thread in the Excel help with code etc... http://www.vbaexpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34402

A reset to initial state by the printer OR Excel fixes the problem for the next print then it goes back into that every other thing again. Without having any way to monitor the USB I have no idea what is or isn't being sent. So, I can't trouble shot any further than that.

[Simon Lloyd]

Take a look here http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009/lpmarticle.asp?id=183 maybe you can force the printer to spool or wait until ready state :)