CommTest

CommTest is a small software application developed specifically for helping you transmit and receive data through COM port based on CommPort component for C++Builder. It can be deployed on all Windows versions out there.

Advantages brought by portable tools

This is a portable program. You can open the utility by simply running the executable file because there’s no setup included in the process. In addition, you can get rid of it by deleting the files that you have downloaded from the Internet.
It does not store entries in your Windows registry and leave other setup files in your system. It actually saves the configuration files on the target computer. You may store it on USB flash drives and run it without administrative privileges.

Interacting with the GUI

The user interface cannot be described as highly intuitive. All configuration parameters are integrated into a single panel and the layout looks a bit crowded and difficult to understand at a first glance.
There’s no support for a help manual so you need to invest some extra time into decoding the application’s dedicated parameters. Tooltips are not revealed if your hover the mouse cursor over a specific parameter.

Configuration settings

CommTest offers you the possibility to set the preferred COM port, open the port, choose between several parity options (e.g. even, mark, odd), adjust data width (5, 5, 7, or 8 bits), configure stop bits, and enable control flags (DTR - Data Terminal Ready, RTS - Request to Send).
What’s more, you are allowed to tweak modem flags (CTS - Clear to Send, DSR - Data Set Ready, Ring, DCD - Data Carrier Detect), check out info (input and output details) about the main buffer and port buffer, show ASCII and digits, switch between hexadecimal and decimal view mode, as well as alter the text in terms of font, font style, size, and color.
On the downside, the application has not been updated for a long time so it may cause compatibility issues on newer operating systems like Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. It remains light on system resources so you do not have to worry that it hampers the overall performance of the computer.

Final remarks

All in all, CommTest comes packed with several handy features for helping you send and receive data via COM ports, and is suitable especially for professional users.