Serial communication with Visual Studio

Projects Interfacing w/ Software on the Computer
1

when i try to use the Arduino software serial monitor and the visual studio application that communicates via serial at the same time, VS says that access to the port is denied. (VS points me to SerialPort1.Open())

how can i use the serial communication in VS 2010 and the serial monitor at the same time?

*the application is a simple 2 buttons that send 1 or 0 to the arduino to turn a led on/off.
BTW it works fine when i don't use the serial monitor.

2

I don't think you can. As far as I know only one application can access a serial port at one time.

Close the Arduino serial monitor before you run your other application.

...R

3

how can i use the serial communication in VS 2010 and the serial monitor at the same time?

No one serial connection with an app at one time.