PDA

View Full Version : Lock down the user interface (Windows Mobile 6 Professional)

janemanno1
19-07-2008, 12:20 PM
Hey Guyz,

Long time no see..! I have been assigned to develope a barcode scanning application using .NET Compact Framework 2.0 (I can use 3.5 if necessary).

Right then to the point, I have already developed and finished the barcode application and there came a new demand from the business team who uses the application.

Basically the devices we use are HP iPaq (Windows Mobile 6 Professional) in combination with Grabba barcode scanner. They have requested that the application I wrote starts automatically and covers the entire screen. Now as for covering the entire screen is working fine but I need to do something about starting the application when the device starts up or when a device is put to sleep by clicking the power button and then bring back, the application should start up or show up automatically.

Now I have been researching and exploring a lot of third party applications and one application so far that comes the closest to my needs is the SPB Mobile Shell. It does pretty much what I want apart from locking down all buttons.

Now what I would like to know is, is it even possible to lock down all buttons at all? If not then how would I atleast go about developing an app which behaves like a SPB Mobile Shell? I know that the SPB Mobile Shell is very complicated application but all I want if the behaviour of SPB Mobile Shell's Today screen.

If I need to start by creating my own custom shell then where would I start from?

Regards :)
jez83uk
19-07-2008, 01:07 PM
I'm not a developer, but hopefully this will help. You would be better off looking at kiosk software such as spb kiosk, whick locks down the whole device apart from programs you specify, ie. your developed app, and any other apps that are used.
HTC-Master
19-07-2008, 02:08 PM
This is a virus, not an application.
You use your pocket pc only for barcode reading. Why not use just a reader which costs 10 times less??

And no, SPB is not a complicated application.
janemanno1
19-07-2008, 03:13 PM
This is a virus, not an application.
You use your pocket pc only for barcode reading. Why not use just a reader which costs 10 times less??

And no, SPB is not a complicated application.

Please don't judge me by my post count or the type of question. This is a genuine question.

Tell me what sort of device you think I can use which costs 10 times less.

I need a device with Wi-Fi so users can take it with them while attached to the barcode scanner. Then using the Wi-Fi the application connects and talks a web service running on the intranet server so users from all around the country can manage state of things that are needed to be tracked of their movement.

This was a specific request from the CIO that users are not needed to use any other applications and thus complicate things for themselves. All they want is just to use the application without any special training.

Hope this clears things a little.
janemanno1
19-07-2008, 03:15 PM
I'm not a developer, but hopefully this will help. You would be better off looking at kiosk software such as spb kiosk, whick locks down the whole device apart from programs you specify, ie. your developed app, and any other apps that are used.

Thanks mate :)

I will pass this down to the chief architect so we can decide if the SPB Kiosk can do of what we need.

Cheers again.
janemanno1
23-07-2008, 02:21 PM
FYI, we are going to try the PocketKiosk Builder

http://www.askarya.com/pocketpc/pocketkiosk/pk.asp

Will see how that goes.
ff2005
23-07-2008, 03:11 PM
And what about puting a link to your app in the windows\statup folder?
nothin
23-07-2008, 03:29 PM
FYI, we are going to try the PocketKiosk Builder

http://www.askarya.com/pocketpc/pocketkiosk/pk.asp

Will see how that goes.

this is interesting...
(btw, http://www.hjgode.de/dev/iLock/index.html )