Constructing a Bidi Communication Schema Query

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There are three points to remember when you construct a bidi communications schema query:

  1. The query must start with the Printer property, which must be preceded by a backslash character (\).

  2. Any properties in the query must be separated by a period character (.).

  3. If the query includes a value, the value must be separated from its parent property by a colon (:).

Example Request and Response

The following are examples of the XML query and response format that is required by the bidi communication interfaces, and specifically by the IBidiSpl2 COM interface. The first example is a request that contains two schemas. The first schema determines whether a duplex unit is installed. The second schema determines the values associated with the hard disk.

<bidi:Get xmlns:bidi="https://schemas.microsoft.com/windows/2005/03/printing/bidi">
  <Query schema="\Printer.Configuration.DuplexUnit:Installed"/>
  <Query schema="\Printer.Configuration.HardDisk"/>
</bidi:Get>

The next example is a set of typical responses from the schemas in the first example. The first response indicates that the duplex unit is installed. The remaining responses indicate that a hard disk is installed and that its capacity is 20 MB, of which there is 10 MB unused.

<bidi:Get xmlns:bidi="https://schemas.microsoft.com/windows/2005/03/printing/bidi">
  <Query schema="\Printer.Configuration.DuplexUnit:Installed">
    <Schema name="\Printer.Configuration.DuplexUnit:Installed">
      <BIDI_BOOL>true</BIDI_BOOL>
    </Schema>
  </Query>
  <Query schema="\Printer.Configuration.HardDisk">
    <Schema name="\Printer.Configuration.HardDisk:Installed">
      <BIDI_BOOL>true</BIDI_BOOL>
    </Schema>
    <Schema name="\Printer.Configuration.HardDisk:Capacity">
      <BIDI_INT>20</BIDI_INT>
    </Schema>
    <Schema name="\Printer.Configuration.HardDisk:FreeSpace">
      <BIDI_INT>10</BIDI_INT>
    </Schema>
  </Query>
</bidi:Get>

Additional Query Examples

The following is a list of typical tasks and associated queries:

Determine whether a duplex unit is installed.

\Printer.Configuration.DuplexUnit:Installed

Determine which input bins are present.

\Printer.Layout.InputBins

Determine all information about the Tray1 input bin.

\Printer.Layout.InputBins.Tray1

Determine whether the Tray1 input bin is installed.

\Printer.Layout.InputBins.Tray1:Installed

Determine the level of black toner identified by [Name] Blk3E.

\Printer.Consumables.Blk3E:Level

Determine the level of fuser oil.

\Printer.Consumables.FuserOil:Level