MODE (Configure Serial Port)

Configures a serial communications port.

This version of the MODE command sets the parameters for a serial port
(COM1, COM2, COM3, or COM4).

Syntax

    MODE COMm[:] [b[,p[,d[,s[,r]]]]]

    MODE COMm[:] [BAUD=b] [PARITY=p] [DATA=d] [STOP=s] [RETRY=r]

Parameters

COMm
    Specifies the number of the serial (COM) port. Valid values for m are in
    the range 1 through 4.

    If you omit any of the following five parameters, MODE uses the most
    recent setting for the omitted parameter. If you are using the shorter
    form of the syntax (without the words BAUD=, PARITY=, DATA=, and so on),
    the MODE command "recognizes" the parameters by their positions. Thus,
    if you do not specify a value for a parameter, you must still type the
    comma that precedes the next parameter.

BAUD=b
    Specifies the first two digits of the transmission rate in bits per
    second. The following list shows each valid value for b and its related
    rate:

    11    110 baud

    15    150 baud

    30    300 baud

    60    600 baud

    12    1200 baud

    24    2400 baud

    48    4800 baud

    96    9600 baud

    19    19,200 baud

    The b value of 19 is not supported on all computers (check your hardware
    manual). You can abbreviate this parameter by omitting BAUD= and
    specifying a value for b.

PARITY=p
    Specifies how the system uses the parity bit to check for transmission
    errors. The p value can be one of the following: N (none), E (even), O
    (odd), M (mark), or S (space). The default value is E. Not all computers
    support the values M and S. You can abbreviate this parameter by
    omitting PARITY= and specifying a value for p.

DATA=d
    Specifies the number of data bits in a character. Valid values for d are
    in the range 5 through 8. The default value is 7. Not all computers
    support the values 5 and 6. You can abbreviate this parameter by
    omitting DATA= and specifying a value for d.

STOP=s
    Specifies the number of stop bits that define the end of a character: 1,
    1.5, or 2. If the baud rate is 110, the default value is 2; otherwise,
    the default value is 1. Not all computers support the value 1.5. You can
    abbreviate this parameter by omitting STOP= and specifying a value for
    s.

RETRY=r
    Specifies the retry action to take if a time-out error occurs when MODE
    attempts to send output to a serial printer. This parameter causes part
    of MODE to remain resident in memory. The following list shows each
    valid value for r and a brief description of its meaning:

    E    Return an error from a status check of a busy port.

    B    Return "busy" from a status check of a busy port.

    P    Continue retrying until printer accepts output.

    R    Return "ready" from a status check of a busy port.

    N    Take no retry action (default value). You can also specify none for
    this value.

    If you are using the MODE command over a network, do not use any of the
    r values. You can abbreviate this parameter by simply omitting RETRY=
    and specifying a value for r.




 MODE (Configure Serial Port)--Note

The RETRY=B setting provides the same support as the P parameter did in
previous versions of MS-DOS.