A COM port is a serial communications port. Most point of sale computers have COM ports. The COM port may be used to communicate with certain devices including: Cash Drawers, Customer Pole Displays, Serial Printers, Electronic Scales, Change Dispensers, and PIN Pads.
When a COM port is used, its COM Parameters may need to be set. Refer to the device's manual for these settings or simply try the default settings.
Baud Rate: The speed at which your computer communicates with the device.
Parity: Possible Parity settings are:
N None
E Even
O Odd
S Space (rarely used)
M Mark (rarely used)
Data Bits: The number of data bits per byte, usually 8 or 7 but can also be 5 or 6.
Stop Bits: The number of stop bits per byte. Set to 1 or 2.
Options: Special codes which may be needed for the device. The only Option supported is CS0 which turns off Hardware Handshaking.
Although not recommended, COM Ports may be addressed as follows: select Port=File, then type the parameters into the file name field as follows:
COM#:Baud,Parity,DataBits,StopBits
Examples:
COM3:19200,N,8,1
COM5:1200,E,7,2
See:
Configuration Manager Contents