OPOS receipt printer data sniffer / analyzer

Question

I am adding some functionality to an application that prints to a USB connected OPOS receipt printer. The system runs xp.

I want to see the raw data that gets passed to the receipt printer as well as have the printer physically print.

Is there any way I can do that? I looked some port monitors such as Advanced USB Port Monitor but they only detect and monitor devices that are accessible by native Operating System and not OPOS devices.

Any ideas?

Answer 1

Download and install the "debug" version of the OPOS common controls, instead of the "runtime" version. They will emit trace information you're looking for. http://www.monroecs.com/oposccos_current.htm

Be careful not to deploy the debug version in your production environment, as you might violate some requirements for data security.

Answer 2

How about just setting the print queue to keep printed documents and use a hex editor, such as notepad++ with the hexeditor plug-in? (marked as unstable but it works fine. Other hex editors are available). It takes a while for your eye to adjust to the code but it's just like reading the matrix after a while.