Install SQL Server Compact 3.5 on a Windows Mobile Device
Check out the following MSDN page. You might have to manually install SQL Server Compact 3.5 if the automatic deployment does not work or is not available.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/13kw2t64.aspx
The key is to locate the proper cab file.
How to disable RAPI Security on a Windows Mobile device?
Remote Manager has features to access the Windows Mobile device from the desktop. You can use Remote Manager to access window properties, reset device or capture device screenshots.
The above features cannot be accessed if RAPI (Remote API) security is enabled on the device. Attempting to perform any remote operation with RAPI disabled will bring up the following screen in SureLock Studio.
RAPI Security error
As stated in the message if the error is not due to problem in ActiveSync connection, then it's mostly due to RAPI security setup on the device. To use the Remote Manager features the RAPI security can be disabled on the device. This should be done only for development and testing purposes only.
Remote Manager provides an option to disable the RAPI security. On the Remote Manager screen, click on Device Config button. You should see the following message.
Device Config Message on desktop
As mentioned in the above message, look at the device screen. You should expect to see the following.
Device Configurator on device
On the device, Tap on Turn OFF button to disable RAPI Security. The status text on the device screen will change to Off. Go back to Remote Manager screen in the SureLock Studio on desktop and those features should work without any problems.
Once the SureLock has been tested you can Turn ON the RAPI security again.
Launching Calendar, Tasks and Contacts applications
If you have used Remote Window option in Remote Manager tool in SureLock Studio, you would have noticed that \windows\poutlook.exe is the executable that is responsible for showing calendar, tasks and contacts windows. There are no 3 different applications. How is this achieved?
Well...all the magic occurs by way of commandline parameter. Parameter passed to poutlook.exe determines which of the above three will be launched. Here are the parameters:
To launch Contacts application:
\windows\poutlook.exe contacts
To launch Calendar application:
\windows\poutlook.exe calendar
To launch Tasks application:
\windows\poutlook.exe tasks
If you want to launch any of the above in a device locked down by SureLock, then you must specify
proper parameter in application entry screen in SureLock Studio. Launching \windows\poutlook.exe without any parameter will not do anything.
Launch Calendar application (Change parameter for tasks and contacts)
Get a FREE SureLock Studio license!
Are you a blogger, a trainer or someone who wants to use SureLock Studio for demonstration purposes? if YES, you qualify for a FREE license. Just write to sales@42gears.com to get a registration key.
Evaluation version of SureLock Studio can be downloaded from here.
42Gears is a Motorola PartnerSelect authorized ISV
This is good news. We have joined Motorola PartnerSelect authorized ISV program. We welcome this opportunity and aim to support our software products on the handheld devices for vertical markets from Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions (EMS).
New Screenshots for SureLock Studio
SureLock Studio has undergone UI changes in the last release. Latest screenshots have been putup on the website. Visit the following link and click on the Screenshots link.
http://www.42gears.com/surelock/
Screenshots were created with the following tools:
- MWSnap 3 for capturing the screenshots.
- Image Resizer to quickly create thumbnails by selecting all the normal size screenshots in one go.
SureLock Studio is a product aimed at enterprises that use Windows Mobile devices for running business applications. SureLock locks down Windows Mobile devices into kiosk mode and helps enterprises increase their mobile workforce productivity and reduce regular device maintenance. Read more about SureLock Studio.
How to programmatically play Screen Tap sound on Windows Mobile?
Lots of sounds that we hear when using Windows Mobile and Windows CE devices are generated by the OS by playing wav files. They are located in \Windows folder. You can use them in your program with a call to PlaySound API.
But the sound played when screen is tapped is not a wav file. Looking through Windows CE source code, I found that during OS image building two wave files tchsoft.wav and tchloud.wav are embedded into a waveapi.dll as resources. Following is the code snippet to play the soft and loud Screen Tap sounds.
#define ID_WAVE_TCHLOUD 102
#define ID_WAVE_TCHSOFT 103HMODULE hModule = LoadLibrary(L"waveapi.dll");
PlaySound(MAKEINTRESOURCE(ID_WAVE_TCHSOFT), hModule, SND_RESOURCE);
PlaySound(MAKEINTRESOURCE(ID_WAVE_TCHLOUD), hModule, SND_RESOURCE);
FreeLibrary(hModule);
Note: The identifier values or the logic might change in future, so be careful to test it. In any case you can look through CE source code to know the latest implementation.
I hope many people will find this useful.
How to rearrange icons on WM 6.5 Start Screen?
There is some support on WM 6.5 to organize and rearrange icons on the Start Screen. Tap and hold on any icon and click "Move to Top" menu item. This will move the icon to the top left position in the honeycomb.
WM 6.5 Start Screen - Move to Top
Well...I wish if it was possible to move the icons to any position not just to the top. Anyways, its better than nothing.
WM 6.5 Start Screen
Start Screen in WM 6.5 has changed a lot from Start Menu in the previous versions of Windows Mobile. HoneyComb design makes it possible to use your finger to launch applications. You don't have to take out the stylus anymore atleast, just to launch an application.
Start Screen in WM 6.5 (HoneyComb structure)
Builtin applications in WM 6.5 have very high quality icons that are displayed on the Start Screen. Application developers who want to give similar user experience to their users has got to do some work. They need to create and ship a PNG icon file along with their application. Some registry changes are required to inform the OS to use specified png file as icon instead of one embedded in the executable.
Check out the following two posts that explain the steps to create the png file icons and how to use them in your application:
Creating Custom Icons for Windows Mobile 6.5
Using Custom Icons in Windows Mobile 6.5
Capture device screenshots with SureLock Studio
SureLock Studio has a pretty nice feature which can be quite useful during troublehooting problems on the device. If the application on the device is not behaving as expected in kiosk mode, you can capture the screenshot and send it to the tech support. Not all Windows Mobile devices are exactly same (read "OEM differentiations") or we might not have access to your business application. A nice screen capture can help tech support team to work on the issue and hopefully provide a quicker solution.
Steps to capture the device screen shot:
- Setup ActiveSync connection between Windows Mobile device and the desktop PC.
- Launch SureLock Studio on the desktop.
- Go to Tools -> Remote Manager.
- Click Capture Screen button on the Remote Manager screen.
- In a few moments you will see screenshot of the device screen as below. Click Save As button to save the file.
Windows Mobile Screen Capture by SureLock Studio