HOWTO: Distribute a Visual Basic Windows CE Application

ID: Q194837

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

Once you complete the development and testing of a Windows CE Toolkit for Visual Basic 5.0 or Visual Basic 6.0 (VBCE), you need to be properly compile, distribute, and install the application on target devices. The purpose of this article is to walk through the steps necessary to complete this process using the Application Install Wizard, installed as a part of VBCE.


MORE INFORMATION

The Application Install Wizard handles the creation of the installation package for your application (including the project and all of the necessary supporting files) and takes care of downloading the required components to handheld devices.

It is expected the application has been fully tested for use on the targeted handheld devices and that the project has been compiled into a .pvb file (VBCE5) or .vb file (VBCE6) before you create the installation package for your project using the Application Install Wizard. Please note that, unlike the Application Setup Wizard in Visual Basic, the VBCE Application Install Wizard does not give you the option of recompiling the program.

The Application Install Wizard can be accessed from the Windows CE menu in the Visual Basic design environment or selected via the Start menu from the Windows CE folder, which exists by default under the respective Visual Basic folder.

Create the Installation Program for VBCE5 Applications

  1. Start the Application Install Wizard. An introduction screen appears. Click Next to begin.


  2. The step 2 screen of the Application Install Wizard appears. It prompts you for the full local path to the compiled .pvb file. Click Browse to go to the correct location. VBCE will save the .pvb file to the location specified in the Local Path box on the project Properties General Tab. Click Next to continue.


  3. In step 3, you are prompted for the full path to where the Setup directory is to be created. The Application Install Wizard outputs to this directory all components that will be distributed. Specific information regarding the files generated and output to this directory will be discussed later in this article. Click Next to continue.


  4. In step 4, you select the target processors. You must select at least one processor. While your application is the same across all processors, the run-time components and ActiveX controls that are to be distributed with your project are processor-specific. This step in the process tells the wizard which processor-specific files are to be included with the distribution package. Click Next to continue.


  5. In step 5, you select the ActiveX controls that need to be distributed and installed with your application. If an ActiveX control is not supported for a processor you selected in step 4, it will not appear on the list of available controls. Click Next to continue.


  6. In step 6, you can include any additional files that you would like to distribute along with your program. This could include data, text, or any other files. Once a file has been selected, the wizard will ask whether the file selected is a system file. All system files are installed to the \Windows directory. All other files are installed to the application directory. If you decide to include the device run- time in the cab file, the following files will be included:


    If the device you are targeting already has the VBCE run-time files installed (either in ROM or in RAM), you can clear this check box to minimize the size of the installation package. Click Next to continue.


  7. In step 7, you specify the following:


    The first two are the most important. The default install directory will include "Program Files\" plus whatever directory name you provide. For example, if you specify "MyApp" as the install directory, the Application Install Wizard will install the program to the "Program Files\MyApp" directory.

    The application name that you provide will be the name that your application is given on the handheld device. Click Next to continue.


  8. In step 8, you have one last chance to cancel the process. Click Create Install to begin the process of generating the installation package. Click Finish when the process has completed.

    The Application Install Wizard creates the following directories in the location specified in step 3:


    The App directory includes the compiled .pvb file as well as any additional files that were specified in step 6 above.

    The Cd1 directory includes the Setup.exe file that will be launched from the desktop to install the application on a remote device. Also in this directory are the CAB files for the appropriate processors and the initialization file for the Setup program.

    The Mips 3000, Mips 4000 and SH3 directories include the processor- specific VBCE run-time and ActiveX control files that were specified during the wizard process.

    Please see the REFERENCES section below for more information.


Create the Installation Program for VBCE6 Applications

  1. Launch the Application Install Wizard. An introduction screen will appear. Click Next to begin.


  2. The step 2 screen of the Application Install Wizard appears. It prompts you for the full path to the .vbp project file. Click Browse to go to the correct location. At this point you will receive a warning asking whether you are certain that the project has been compiled to a .vb file. If it has, proceed to Step 3. Otherwise, compile the project and re-run the Application Install Wizard.


  3. In step 3, you are prompted for the full path to the compiled .vb file. Click Browse to go to the correct location. VBCE will save the .vb file to the location you specified when the .vb file was compiled. Click Next to continue.


  4. In step 4, you are prompted for the full path to where the Setup directory is to be created. The Application Install Wizard outputs all components that will be distributed to this directory. Specific information regarding the files generated and output to this directory will be discussed later in this article. Click Next to continue.


  5. In step 5, you are prompted to select the target processors. You must select at least one processor. While your application is the same across all processors, the run-time components and ActiveX controls that are to be distributed with your project are processor-specific. This step in the process tells the wizard which processor-specific files are to be included with the distribution package. Click Next to continue.


  6. In step 6, you choose the ActiveX controls that need to be distributed and installed with your application. If an ActiveX control is not supported for a processor you selected in step 5, it will not appear on the list of available controls. Click Next to continue.


  7. In step 7, you can include any additional files that you would like to distribute with your program. This could include data, text, or any other files. Once a file has been selected, the wizard will ask whether the file selected is a system file. All system files are installed to the \Windows directory. All other files are installed to the application directory. If you decide to include the device run- time in the cab file, the following files will be included:


    If the device you are targeting already has the VBCE run-time files installed (either in ROM or in RAM), you can clear this check box to minimize the size of the installation package. Click Next to continue.


  8. In step 8, you specify the following:


    Each field must be filled in. The default install directory will include "Program Files\" plus whatever directory name you provide. For example, if you specify "MyApp" as the install directory, the Application Install Wizard will install the program to the "Program Files\MyApp" directory.

    The application name that you provide will be the name that your application is given on the H/PC or H/PC Pro device. Click Next to continue.


  9. In step 9, you have one last chance to cancel the process. Click Create Install to begin the process of generating the installation package. Click Finish when the process has completed.

    The Application Install Wizard creates the following directories, based on the processors you specified in step 7, in the location specified in step 4:

    For Windows CE HPC Projects:

    For Windows CE HPC Pro Projects:


    The App directory includes the compiled .vb file as well as any additional files that were specified in step 7 above.

    The Cd1 directory includes the Setup.exe file that will be launched from the desktop to install the application on a remote device. Also in this directory are the CAB files for the appropriate processors and the initialization file for the Setup program.

    The remaining directories include the processor-specific VBCE run-time and ActiveX control files that were specified during the wizard process.

    Please see the REFERENCES section below for more information.


Distributing and Installing the Application

Only the contents of the Cd1 directory need to be distributed in order to install the application on a H/PC or H/PC Pro device.

To install your application, run the Setup.exe program on your desktop machine. The first dialog that appears allows the user to select the location on the desktop to where the application's .cab and .ini files will be copied. If the handheld device is connected to the desktop, the program will be downloaded and installed. Otherwise, this will occur on the next connection.

To uninstall a program from the handheld device, run the Remove Programs applet from the Control Panel and select the program to uninstall.


REFERENCES

Books Online for Microsoft Windows CE Toolkit for Visual Basic 5.0

Windows CE Toolkit Help for Visual Basic 6.0

For additional information regarding processor-specific problems, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q186861 BUG: Install Wizard Cannot Distinguish Between MIPS CPUs
Q185223 HOWTO: Manually Uninstall Visual Basic CE Applications

Additional query words: vbce wce wince vbce5 vbce6 


Keywords          : kbwizard kbAppSetup kbToolkit kbVBp500 kbVBp600 kbWinCE100 kbGrpVB 
Version           : WINDOWS:1.0
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: February 6, 1999