this is the code im using
Dim iLineIndex As Integer = SendMessage(hwnd, EM_LINEINDEX, ilastLine, 0)
Dim iLineLength As Integer = SendMessage(hwnd, EM_LINELENGTH, iLineIndex, 0)
if iLineLength = 0 return Nothing ' or return ""
Dim sb As StringBuilder = New StringBuilder(iLineLength)
sb.Append(ChrW(iLineLength))
sb.Length = iLineLength
SendMessage(hwnd, EM_GETLINE, ilastLine, sb)