Articles

• Audio
• COM/ActiveX
• Control panel
• Databases
• Debug
• Device information
• .NET CF
• Emulator
• Enterprise
• eVB
• eVC++
• Events
• Files and Registry
• GAPI
• Hardware buttons
• HTML in programs
• Images
• Installation
• IrDA, LED
• Misc
• Network, Internet
• Non-Programming
• Password protection
• Pocket PC 2002
• PIE
• Power
• SIP
• Today screen
• User Interface
• XML

Audio

• Playing multiple wave files continuously and simultaneously
  May 15, 2003. Windows has various APIs for outputting wave files. The simplest way is to use PlaySound(), which I bet you have already used. It seemed to work fine - until you realized it is unable to play more than one wave at the same time, which makes it useless for purposes like game sound effects. On this article I'll explain how to turn around this limitation, but for that we'll have to forget about the so-beautiful PlaySound(), and take a look at the waveOut interface. It is a bit scary at first sight (specially for those used to PlaySound), but I'll try to take it easy by using only what we really need from it.
• QA: How can I change sound volume from my program?
  October 02, 2001. I need to change sound volume from my program. It could be changed in the Control Panel in Sounds & Reminders applet but I need to change sound from my program. How can I do it?
• Play wav sounds on Pocket PC
  August 23, 2001. There are several functions on Pocket PC that can be used for playing sounds in your programs. These are: PlaySound, MessageBeep, waveOutWrite and other waveOut... functions. This article covers working with a PlaySound function. In it, there is a description how to play a .wav file, play a sound from resources and play a .wav file located in memory.
• Playing audio on a Pocket PC
  September 20, 2001. It is not easy to play a custom sound on Pocket PC, there are a lot of questions in newsgroups. This article describes using waveOut... functions for playing custom sounds. You will be able to use the information and the sample to play active sounds in your games or any other applications.

COM/ActiveX

• QA: How can I register COM dll on Pocket PC?
  July 12, 2004. My Pocket PC doesn't have regsvr32 utility. How can I register my COM dll on a Pocket PC device?
• QA: I cannot use COM objects using #import because _com_issue_error function is undefined. How can I fix it?
  August 08, 2001. When I use #import directive I get the following compile error: error C2065: '_com_issue_errorex' : undeclared identifier. The same code works OK on PC. Can I use smart pointers and #import directive on Pocket PC? How can I use them?
• QA: How can I create unique GUID?
  July 18, 2001. It seems like CoCreateGuid function isn't supported on Windows CE. How can I create unique GUID?

Control panel

• Creating Control Panel Applet
  August 17, 2001. Pocket PC contains a Settings item in Start menu that is similar to Control Panel on desktop computers and we will call is Control Panel. This article describes how to create your own applet in Control Panel.
• Using Control Panel
  August 10, 2001. Sometimes we need to show a control panel applet (a control panel page) from our program. That may be necessary when users of your program change some system settings often and you want to provide an easy interface for that. This article shows how to open a certain control panel applet from your program.
• QA: How can I get information about Control Panel applets like dialog names, icons, etc?
  August 26, 2001. How can I enumerate existing Control Panel applets, get corresponding applet icons and names?

Databases

• Managing Blobs Using the ATL OLE DB Consumer Templates
  July 2, 2004. This is the second article on using the ATL OLE DB Consumer Templates on the Pocket PC. In the first article I described how the ATL OLE DB Consumer Templates can be adapted and used on Pocket PC platforms. The article provided a simple example of managing data in a SQL Server CE 2.0 database, and is the foundation for the material provided here.
• Using the ATL OLE DB Consumer Templates
  March 10, 2004. This article describes how the ATL OLE DB Consumer Templates can be adapted and used on Pocket PC platforms. The information presented here applies to both the Pocket PC 2002 and 2003 SDKs. A working knowledge of the desktop OLE DB Consumer Templates is assumed - you won't learn them by reading this article.
• QA: How can I install ADOCE 3.1?
  November 18, 2003. What is the correct method of installing ADOCE 3.1 both on the device and emulator?

Debug

• STLogFile - easy way to trace debug info in Release build
  September 02, 2002. There is no debugger for Pocket PC that allows you attaching to a process. So you cannot use debugger in drivers, SIP input methods, password dialogs, shared new handlers, today plug-ins, ActiveSync plug-ins etc. And you have to use a log file. This article explains using log files on Pocket PC and gives a powerful free log file library for Pocket PC.
• QA: How to turn off messages sent by MFC to Debug window?
  April 25, 2002. I use TRACE command to output debug information to Debug window of eVC. But it's hard to find my own debug messages since Debug window is flooded by messages from MFC. How can I turn these off?
• Pocket PC TestSuite
  May 28, 2002. This article describes automation of the testing process on Pocket PC using Pocket PC TestSuite 2.0. You will find how to record test scripts, how to check results in the scripts and how to test programs in stress conditions.
• Testing programs on Pocket PC
  January 17, 2002. If the program is not tested it does not work. Good developers understand that testing is needed. Experienced developers demand testing. What is specific of testing programs on Pocket PC? If there are any? This article describes experience of Pocket PC Testing Center.

Device information

• QA: How can I get the serial number of a Pocket PC 2000 device?
  July 05, 2001. I need to get serial number of a device. How can I do it?
• QA: How can I get the serial number of a Pocket PC 2002 device?
  December 27, 2001. As far as I know all Pocket PC 2002 devices support built-in serial number. How can I read it?
• Retrieving Owner Information on Pocket PC
  October 31, 2001. This short article explains how you can retrieve Owner Information provided by the owner of Pocket PC from Owner Information dialog with eMbedded Visual C++.
• QA: How can I change memory allocated between storage and program programmatically?
  September 17, 2001. I need to change memory division between storage and RAM like in the Main applet of the Control Panel. How it can be done?

.NET CF

• QA: How to avoid multiple entries in the task list for the .Net application?
  November 10, 2003. If the .Net Compact Framework application shows dialogs via ShowDialog method each dialog is displayed in the tasks list as a separate application. How to avoid multiple entries in the task list for the application?
• QA: How to hide the OK button in the dialog in .Net Compact Framework application?
  November 06, 2003. Some dialogs like wizards should contain neither OK nor X button. How can I the OK or X button in the dialog in .Net Compact Framework application?
• QA: How to obtain the window handle of the .Net control?
  October 31, 2003. I want to call WinAPI function and I need HWND of my control for that. How to obtain the window handle of the .Net control?

Emulator

• QA: How to create an installation that supports Pocket PC emulator?
  May 21, 2002. I would like that my program can be installed under Pocket PC emulator too. I use CabWiz for creating installations. How can I create installation for Pocket PC emulator?

Enterprise

• Creating Pocket PC kiosk programs for enterprise market
  July 15, 2003. There is a tendency of Pocket PCs being used as special devices in a very restricted way with many functions disabled and with only one application executed - this is called kiosk mode. A lot of vertical market applications require kiosk mode. For example, it can disable all games and other entertainment programs on Pocket PC. This article describes how to create kiosk applications for Pocket PC using Spb Kiosk Engine.

eVB

• Pie Chart in eVB
  September 26, 2002. This article helps you to display your data as a pie chart in eVB program. It gives a sample code that you can use and modify.

eVC++

• Strings on a Pocket PC, Unicode and ANSI
  September 26, 2001. All WinAPI functions on Pocket PC work with Unicode strings. I think that it was a greate idea but... But legacy in our minds. Developers get into the way of using ANSI string developing for desktop. This article describes some common problems.
• QA: How to use STLPort on Pocket PC?
  October 16, 2001. I know that STLPort is one of the best portable STL libraries. How can I use STLPort with my embedded Visual C++ program?
• QA: Why does MFC adds "WCE_" prefix to my classes?
  January 14, 2003. I created a window of my custom class using MFC and noticed that the class name of the window got "WCE_" prefix. Why was it added? How can I get rid of it?
• QA: How can I handle command line parameters in MFC based application?
  March 21, 2002. I want to handle command line parameters in my MFC based application. The problem is that MFC based programs have only one copy and when I start my program and it's already running I cannot handle the command like parameters. Let's say instance A of my program is already running. I start instance B with some command line parameters. Instance B checks that instance A is running, sends A foreground and exits. So I cannot access command line parameters of B from instance A.
• QA: How to fix when the class wizard says Parsing error: Expected "afx_msg".?
  January 02, 2002. I have just created a new application using "WCE Pocket PC MFC AppWizard (exe)" template, opened the class wizard and got the following error message: 'Parsing error: Expected "afx_msg".'. How can I fix it?

Events

• QA: How to implement autorun from a storage card?
  June 02, 2003. I want to start an application when the user inserts or removes a storage card. How do I implement such functionality?
• QA: How can I write application what will be run every time the device is switched on?
  July 23, 2002. I want my application to be active every time when the device is switched on (after soft reset or after wake up). Like the default iPAQ password application. How can I do it?
• QA: How can I register my program to run at a certain time?
  February 22, 2002. I would like to set it so that my program launches itself at some later time (even if my PocketPC is turned off). Can I do this and how?

Files and Registry

• QA: How do I read from and write to an ini file?
  February 9, 2004. I want to read from a ini file and write back any changes. Is there an API for this?
• QA: How to get file system change notification?
  May 16, 2003. I want my application to be notified about all changes in the file system. How can I do this?
• Working with language dependent folders on Pocket PC
  May 31, 2002. There is a number of "standard" folders on Pocket PC (such as \Windows, \Program Files etc.). The problem is, many of these folders are named differently on localized Pocket PCs. So it's not recommended to hard-code their names in your program. Instead you should determine the name of standard folder "on the fly". This article describes how to do this.
• Working with registry on Pocket PC
  January 21, 2002. Working with registry on Pocket PC is very similar to working in desktop Windows. Nevertheless there are some differences. Registry in Pocket PC is not stored in a file. There are some undocumented possibilities to change settings of built-in application that are Pocket PC specific. Also third-part libraries and controls will simplify working with registry in your eVC++ and eVB programs.
• QA: How can I know what is a full path to my program that is running?
  September 07, 2001. Some my files are located in the same folder as the main executable file. Because Pocket PC does not support local file names I need to know a full path to my executable file to find full path to my other files. How can I do it?
• QA: How to copy registry key recursively?
  April 30, 2002. How to copy registry key recursively with all subkeys and values?

GAPI

• Drawing images and other graphics with GAPI
  February 28, 2003. The STGapiBuffer class provides a powerful interface to the display buffer and hides hardware specifics. This class provides a high-performance version of GDI primitives - the most important thing for a game developer. The interface is transparent for a developer and does not hide any key GAPI calls. This fact, together with open source code, makes this class easy to use and leave full control of application logic for a developer.
• GapiDraw from a DirectDraw developers perspective
  March 28, 2002. GapiDraw is designed to be as similar to DirectDraw as possible, but at the same time being as easy to use and as optimized as possible for handheld devices. This page presents some common tasks in DirectDraw, and how they are implemented in GapiDraw.
• Creating a new project with GapiDraw
  July 09, 2002. GapiDraw makes it possible to create games that run on Stationary PCs, Smartphones as well as Pocket PCs. Because different development tools are required to target each device, some work has to be done to create an easy to manage solution for cross platform projects.
• Programming DieselEngine 1. Close up and personal with DieselEngine, Using DieselGraphics
  November 13, 2001. DieselEngine is a software development kit by Inmar Software Ltd. It is multi platform SDK that allows producing real-time 2D and 3D graphics, along with input mapping and sound engine with 3D sound. This article describes using DieselEngine.
• Programming DieselEngine 2. Using Diesel3D
  February 18, 2002. This is second article about programming DieselEngine. DieselEngine is a software development kit by Inmar Software Ltd. It is multi platform SDK that allows producing real-time 2D and 3D graphics, along with input mapping and sound engine with 3D sound.
• Whirl - graphics demo application
  October 03, 2001. Whirl is a demo full screen application that is written using EasyCE library. Here I describe how I created it.
• Creating Pocket PC games that publish high scores in web
  January 13, 2002. Playing games is more interesting if you can compare your results with those of other people. Spb Software House along with PocketGamer.org has developed an open system for creating Pocket PC games that supports publishing high scores in web. This system consists of a scores section of the PocketGamer.org website, a freeware program for desktop PC that retrieves high scores from the connected Pocket PC and a C++ library for creating Pocket PC games with high scores support. This article explains how to use this library in your games.

Hardware buttons

• QA: How can I get WM_KEYDOWN message with hardware buttons?
  January 22, 2004. I have added the code to handle hardware button events on Pocket PC. There are WM_KEYUP messages coming to my control but no WM_KEYDOWN has been caught. How can I get WM_KEYDOWN messages?
• QA: How can I handle hardware keys in my application?
  September 11, 2001. By default pressing hardware keys launches other applications (such as Contacts, Calendar, etc). I need to handle hardware keys in my program. How can I do it?
• QA: How can I assign my program to a certain hardware key?
  November 19, 2001. I need to bind my program to a hardware key so that it will be called every time when this hardware key is pressed. How can I do it?

HTML in programs

• HTML based dialog for Pocket PC
  July 10, 2001. This article describes using HtmlView control and STHtmlDialog library that simplify creating of HTML based dialogs.
• QA: Why does not keyboard navigation work with HTML control?
  February 05, 2003. HTML control does not respond to keyboard events in my Pocket PC application. How can I enable keyboard navigation in the HTML control?

Images

• Using IJG JPEG library
  September 18, 2001. Independent JPEG Group distributes a freeware library for JPEG image file processing. You can find library download locations on their web site www.ijg.org. This article describes how to port a version marked "6b" to a Pocket PC.
• QA: How to save a bitmap into a jpeg file?
  January 16, 2002. I want to create a jpeg file in my program. How can I save a bitmap into a jpeg file?
• QA: How can I get bitmap bits?
  July 02, 2001. I loaded bitmap using LoadBitmap function. Now I want to read bitmap bits (color of each point). How can I do it? I have looked at GetDIBits function but it isn't not implemented under Windows CE.

Installation

• Using EzSetup for creating Pocket PC installations
  March 19, 2002. EzSetup is a free open source program for creating instillations for your Pocket PC program. After you have prepared CAB files for each processor you have to write a setup program that will install these CAB files.
• Installing multiple CAB files with the same setup application
  February 28, 2003. This articles describes how to create desktop installation program that installs multiple CAB files to Pocket PC using freeware NSIS.
• QA: How can I add my custom function to installation/uninstallation?
  November 19, 2002. I need to do some custom actions (run a file, refresh Today screen, check serial number, etc) during Pocket PC program installation. How can I do it?
• Using Spb AirSetup to create Pocket PC installers
  March 31, 2003. This article explains how to use Spb AirSetup to create Pocket PC installers that can run directly on Pocket PC. This technology will enable you to distribute your Pocket PC programs over-the-air without problems typical for CAB files (no compression, cannot be installed to a storage card, etc).
• QA: How to uninstall a Pocket PC application?
  December 26, 2001. User can uninstall an application from Pocket PC device by selecting application title in "Settings\Remove Programs" and pressing Remove button. Can I implement same actions from my eVC or eVB code?
• QA: How can I create setup.exe file that will automatically install necessart .cab file on Pocket PC?
  November 14, 2001. I have created .cab file using CabWizard. Now I want to create a setup.exe file that will automatically install necessary .cab file on Pocket PC. How can I do it?
• QA: How to install a cab file on Pocket PC?
  October 26, 2001. I need to install a cab file that is already downloaded to my Pocket PC. How can I do it from my program?

IrDA, LED

• IrDA
  August 26, 2002. This article describes working with IrDA in details. You will find working client/server samples and a lot of information about IrDA protocol and how to program for this protocol.
• OBEX. Transfer files between a Pocket PC and a Palm or a Symbian device
  July 24, 2002. How to programmatically transfer data via Infrared between a device running the Pocket PC OS and a device with the Palm OS or one with the Symbian OS? The Palm and the Symbian devices utilize the OBEX protocol for IR transfers, however Pocket PC 2000 devices do not support the OBEX protocol. This article deals with this problem. The code snippet can be used for all Pocket PC devices and it will basically simulate the OBEX protocol, and make believe the Palm and the Symbian (OBEX compliant devices) devices that they are compatible.
• How to control the LED of your Pocket PC
  January 11, 2002. The LED is a part of Pocket PC specification. Generally it allows to indicate either that the battery is attached or that the Pocket PC is directly connected to the cradle. This article describes working with LED in your program. It is translated from CodePPC.com.

Misc

• Pocket PC services
  February 26, 2004. Often Pocket PC programs need a background process and most of existing Pocket PC programs implement it by creating an executable file which is started during system start-up. But Pocket PC has 32 processes limit and having many different programs running in background can be a serious problem. Pocket PC 2003 provides special mechanism implemented in Services.exe that allows Pocket PC developers to shape their background applications into services that run in one process as different threads. This article describes creating Pocket PC services, distributing them and gives a solution to run services on Pocket PC 2000 and 2002 platforms.
• What applications are listed in the running program list?
  May 09, 2003. I do not want my application is listed in the running programs list. How can I make it does not appear there?
• Going background with window messages
  October 22, 2001. It is often needed to run your application on background, invisible to user. This article describes one of possible approaches to the problem solution.
• QA: How to install J9 on Pocket PC?
  January 26, 2002. Clicking on a .jxe file produced an exception: "unknown file type, bla bla bla..."
  How can I install J9 on my Pocket PC and associate my .jxe files with it? This QA is translated from CodePPC.com.
• QA: How can I start a program with command line arguments?
  September 04, 2001. I want a start program with commend line arguments on my Pocket PC. I can write a program for that, but may there is a "Run" dialog like in Windows 95?
• QA: How can I start another program and wait until it will be finished?
  August 08, 2001. I need to start another executable file and waint until it will be finished. How can I do it?
• QA: How can I measure time in milliseconds?
  July 19, 2001. How can I measure time in milliseconds? It seems like CTime supports only seconds.
• QA: How can I convert CTime object to string?
  November 21, 2001. I need to convert CTime object to the string. I have noted that MFC for Windows CE does not support CString::Format method. What methods should I use?

Network, Internet

• QA: How do I connect my Pocket PC to the Internet?
  June 20, 2003. I want to start a connection to the Internet from within my application. How do I do this?
• QA: How can I get IP address of my Pocket PC device?
  February 14, 2002. I write a wireless application for Pocket PC. I want to get current IP address of Pocket PC in my program (like "192.168.131.101"). How can I do it?
• Downloading a file from HTTP server
  October 26, 2001. Wireless connection for Pocket PC become more and more popular. It is often when you need read a web resource from your program. This article describes how can you download a file from HTTP server. This article also describes using HTTP authorization.

Non-Programming

• Interview with Neil Cowburn and Chris Tacke
  December 04, 2003. Interview with Neil Cowburn (hereinafter NC) and Chris Tacke (hereinafter CT), both Co-Founders and Advisory Board members of OpenNETCF. They are also both Microsoft MVPs focusing on .NET CF and well known in the community. The interview is taken by Chris Forsberg (hereinafter CF).
• Interview with Chris Forsberg
  September 04, 2003. Interview with Chris Forsberg (hereinafter CF), a new member of the Pocket PC Developer Network Team. Chris is one of the most professional .NET CF developers, who wrote several articles for MSDN and recognized as Microsoft MVP in Mobile Devices.
• Interview with Microsoft's Shreedhar Madhavapeddi about Mobile2Market
  July 08, 2002. Interview with Shreedhar Madhavapeddi (hereinafter SM), Microsoft Program Manager for Mobile2Market. Mobile2Market is the new framework from Microsoft which enables a process for the certification and market delivery of network-ready wireless applications for the Windows Powered Pocket PC and Smartphone software platforms.
• Handango and PocketGear about Pocket PC software development
  June 13, 2002. Handango and PocketGear are the leading publishers of Pocket PC software. Read their vision of the Pocket PC software market and of Pocket PC software development.

Password protection

• Pocket PC password protection
  September 03, 2001. Pocket PC has a built-in password protection that allows locking the device with a password. This article describes how to set a system password and "require password when device is turned on" flag.
• Changes in password protection on Pocket PC 2002
  October 29, 2001. Password protection is changed in Pocket PC 2002. That is why some programs that used PromptForPasswd function do not work on Pocket PC 2002. This article describes news features and how you can make your program working on Pocket PC 2002 too.

Pocket PC 2002

• QA: How can I close my application by clicking the smart minimize (X) button?
  August 19, 2003. When I press the smart minimize (X) button the application is minimized instead of beeing closed. How can I handle smart minimize button click in my application to close it?
• Smart Minimize button on Pocket PC 2002
  May 08, 2002. Pocket PC 2002 introduces a new feature - Smart Minimize button. This article describes working with this button - its behavior, button removing and handling.
• QA: How can I detect XScale?
  October 11, 2002. I want to add some XScale specific code. How can I determine if my program is running on XScale processor?
• QA: How to remove smart minimize (X) button from the taskbar?
  March 05, 2002. All Pocket PC 2002 applications contain either OK or X button on the right side of the taskbar. I want to remove them both. How can I do it?

PIE

• Writing ASP applications for Pocket PCs
  November 06, 2001. Active Server Pages (ASP) has provided an excellent environment for developers to rapidly create stable, feature rich, data driven applications. PocketASP brings this power the Pocket PC, enabling developers to apply their existing skills to an exciting new platform. This article explains how to get from installation through to creating a working PocketASP application.
• Developing A New Outlook - PocketASP + POOM
  January 31, 2002. Active Server Pages (ASP) has provided an excellent environment for developers to rapidly create stable, feature rich, data driven applications. PocketASP brings this power to the Pocket PC, enabling developers to apply their existing skills to an exciting new platform.

Power

• QA: How can I soft reset Pocket PC device?
  October 09, 2001. How can I soft reset Pocket PC device from my embedded Visual C++ program?
• QA: How to suspend Pocket PC device?
  October 08, 2001. How to suspend Pocket PC device from my embedded Visual C++ program? I need the same effect as pressing "Power Off" button.
• QA: How to perform hard reset?
  December 18, 2001. I need to perform the device hard reset programmatically. How can I do that?

SIP

• QA: Why does my child list view control repaints when the SIP is toggled?
  August 08, 2003. My MFC application has a CListCtrl as the CMainFrame's child. When I open or close the SIP the CListCtrl will always repaint itself. Why? How can I prevent this?
• Working with SIP
  December 07, 2001. The main input method on Pocket PC is SIP (Soft Input Panel). There are special SIP related user interface requirements that are discussed in this article.
• Custom input method for SIP
  December 21, 2001. This is a very simple sample input method for SIP (Soft Input Panel).
• QA: How can I disable SIP word completion?
  November 07, 2001. My application prompts for a password in an edit box. Although the 'password' style is set so that only asterisks are displayed when characters are entered, if a password has previously been entered then the 'Word Completion' feature causes the previous password to be suggested. How can I disable word completion for the password field?
• QA: How can I set the qwerty keyboard as the current input method?
  November 09, 2001. My application needs to set qwerty keyboard as current input method. How can I do it?

Today screen

• QA: How to install a Today theme file?
  June 02, 2003. How do I programmatically install a Today theme?
• QA: How to install/uninstall a Today plug-in?
  May 22, 2003. How do I programmatically install or remove a Today item plug-in?
• QA: How to create Today-friendly dialog based application?
  July 01, 2001. I have created a dialog based application. It works ok. But when I click Today item in Start menu my program is shown instead of Today screen. How can I fix it?

User Interface

• QA: Where is the cancel button?
  August 23, 2004. I want to display a cancel button next to the ok button on the top right of the screen. How do I do it?
• QA: How to rotate the screen dynamically on Windows Mobile 2003 SE?
  May 28, 2004. How can I get what is current screen mode (portrait or landscape) from my program on Windows Mobile 2003 SE devices? I also wand to change it from my program. Is it possible?
• QA: How to add a hyperlink to my dialog?
  May 24, 2004. I need to place a hyperlink to my dialog and to handle clicks on this link in my application code. How can I do it?
• QA: How can I show a splash screen during my application startup?
  March 12, 2004. I want to show a splash screen during my application startup that hides automatically after a given time or when the user taps with the stylus pen on the screen. How it can be done?
• QA: How to disable red dots in the list control?
  February 12, 2004. I have a list control in my application. This listbox does not need a context menu, and therefore I don't want running red dots to appear while the user holds the stylus on the control.
• QA: How do I embed a Pocket Word document in my application?
  January 30, 2004. How can I view or edit a Pocket Word document in my application?
• QA: How do I right-align a button on a toolbar?
  January 21, 2004. Toolbar buttons are always inserted from the left to the right. How can I insert buttons that are right aligned?
• QA: How to create a spin control like in Microsoft programs?
  November 26, 2003. In standard Pocket PC applications spin control has special Pocket PC look and feel. How can I create the same looking spin control?
• QA: How do I add a title to a view?
  October 29, 2003. I want to add a title to a CView. How do I do this without changing my view code?
• QA: How do I create a combo box with check marks?
  October 07, 2003. I want to create a combo box with check marks on its items. How do I do it?
• QA: Where is the DC FloodFill method?
  September 24, 2003. Where is the DC FloodFill method?
• QA: How do I scroll the contents of a dialog?
  September 22, 2003. I have a dialog that does not fit on the screen. How can I scroll its contents?
• QA: How can I change the background color of a Tree Control?
  September 04, 2003. How can I change the background color of a Tree Control?
• QA: How can I change the background color of the header of a List Control?
  August 27, 2003. How can I change the background color of the header of a List Control?
• QA: How can I use a property sheet to implement a Wizard?
  August 11, 2003. How can I use a property sheet to implement a wizard-like dialog?
• QA: Why a property page with a date time picker cannot be created?
  July 28, 2003. My property sheet does not display correctly when I add a date time picker control to one of the pages. Why? How can I solve this?
• QA: How can I create a wizard style dialog?
  July 25, 2003. I was very frustated as I tried to use the property sheet dialog (CPropertySheet) in wizard style and found out that this style is not supported under the Pocket PC implementation of the MFC. So, how can I create my own wizard style dialog?
• QA: Why empty edit box with no border doesn't show caret?
  July 22, 2003. I am using an edit box with no border. I noticed that it doesn't show caret when no text is entered to it. This also happens with comboboxes. Why does this happen? How can I fix this?
• QA: How can I create a property sheet with menubar and minimize button?
  July 17, 2003. I am using a property sheet (CPropertySheet) in my dialog based MFC application. How can I create a property sheet with accessible menubar and minimize button?
• QA: How to check a toolbar button from ON_UPDATE_COMMAND_UI handler?
  July 14, 2003. I am using CCmdUI::SetCheck method in my ON_UPDATE_COMMAND_UI handler. It works fine for menus but fails for buttons. How can I fix this?
• QA: How can I create a "flat" tab control?
  June 24, 2003. I created a tab control. I want it to look flat like tab controls in Settings applets and other standard apps. How can I do this?
• QA: How to enable update command UI mechanism in dialogs?
  June 19, 2003. I am writing an MFC-based application. I added a menu and/or a toolbar to one of my dialogs. I also wrote ON_UPDATE_COMMAND_UI handlers for it. But they are never called. How can I fix this?
• QA: Why ON_UPDATE_COMMAND_UI handlers get called again and again?
  June 19, 2003. I added some ON_UPDATE_COMMAND_UI handlers in order to update buttons on my menubar. I noticed that my handlers are called again and again all the time even if I do nothing with my program. This happens on 2002 devices but not on 2000 devices. Why is this happening and how can I fix this?
• QA: Where are the MoveTo and LineTo methods?
  June 09, 2003. The MoveTo and LineTo HDC methods are not supported. How can I implement them?
• QA: How do I get the command bar menu handle?
  June 04, 2003. I want to get the handle of command bar menu so that I can change it. Where is it?
• All about context menu
  September 18, 2002. Context menu is a very important element of Pocket PC user interface but unfortunatelly this feature is not described enough in helps. This articles explains using context menu in eVC++ applications and gives step-by-step instructions.
• QA: How can I create a tree control with checkboxes?
  May 16, 2002. I am using a tree control in my eVC application. I want to display checkboxes for the tree items. I have selected checkbox option in the properties dialog but when I added nodes to the tree it is not displaying checkboxes. How can I fix it?
• Developing full screen applications using STFullScreen library
  July 01, 2001. Although Pocket PC provides a special SHFullScreen function there are many untrevial aspects of using it. In this article I describe an easy way of creating full screen applications for Pocket PC using STFullScreen library and a wizard.
• Using SHFullScreen for writing full screen applications
  June 29, 2001. One of the most frequently asked questions in Pocket PC developer newsgroups is how to create a full screen application. Although the answer is simple "use SHFullScreen function" it is not actually a real answer because there are several aspects that a developer should keep in mind when working with SHFullScreen function.
• QA: How to disable "red dots" in a list view or tree view?
  April 16, 2003. I'm using a list view or a tree view in my app. When the user tap-and-holds stylus on the control the red dot animation is shown. I don't need a context menu in my application so I want to disable these red dots. How can I do this?
• QA: How can I implement the second toolbar like the one in Pocket Word?
  April 02, 2003. I want to make two command bars in my application like it is implemented in Pocket Word. The second one should slide up automatically when SIP is shown. How can I do it?
• QA: How can I get file extension icon?
  March 19, 2003. I want to write my own Open File dialog. How can I get file icon?
• QA: Why does not CPropertySheet work with transcriber?
  January 04, 2003. I use CPropertySheet class to display some property sheets in my application. I noticed that every time I try to use transcriber when a property sheet is open it just closes. How can I fix this?
• QA: How can I insert an icon to the Pocket PC task bar?
  November 05, 2002. I want my icon to appear in the task bar (the blue bar on the top of the screen). How can I do it?
• QA: How to add a lot of items to the ListView control?
  May 30, 2002. I have to add many items to a list view in my program. But the process is VERY slow. How can I speed things up?
• QA: How to emulate DT_END_ELLIPSIS flag of DrawText function?
  May 27, 2002. On desktop platforms DrawText function supports DT_END_ELLIPSIS flag which allows to truncate the string and add ellipsis ("...") to the end of it if it doesn't fit in the specified rect. But this flag is not implemented on Pocket PC. How can I emulate it?
• QA: How to implement "graceful shutdown" in application with modal dialog boxes?
  May 22, 2002. My application uses a number of modal dialog boxes to interact with the user. But I've noticed that when a dialog box is opened I can't shutdown the application "gracefully" using Settings->System->Memory window. How can I fix this?
• QA: How to create a colored button?
  April 24, 2002. I would like to have the buttons in my MFC application have the custom color. How could I do that?
• QA: How to create a flat combo box?
  March 25, 2002. How to create a flat combo box (same as in Pocket Word above the file list and used for selecting sorting order)?
• QA: How can I create a dialog title like in Control Panel property pages?
  March 06, 2002. In standard Pocket PC applications they have a special header in dialogs with blue bold title. How can I insert this header in my dialog (property page)?
• QA: How to make dialogs not full screen?
  February 25, 2002. When I create a dialog using MFC it is shown stretched to the whole screen. How can I create a not full screen dialog like in Windows 95?
• QA: How to add dropdown buttons in the CCeCommandBar?
  February 06, 2002. I have created a menu bar using the MFC class CCeCommandBar. Now, I would like to insert a button that uses the TBSTYLE_DROPDOWN style. How can I do it and then receive the TBN_DROPDOWN notification message sent by the toolbar control when the user clicks the button?
• QA: How to use property sheets in full screen mode?
  October 18, 2001. How can I make full-screened property sheets in an application for the Pocket PC by using MFC?
• QA: How can I insert menu in a dialog?
  October 01, 2001. In VC I can edit dialog's menu in a resource editor. I cannot find menu editing in eVC dialog resource editor. How can I use menu in dialogs?
• QA: Why doesn't my CButton work right?
  September 21, 2001. When I click I cannot press my button. If I press on the button then move stylus out of the button and then back then the button is pressed. What is wrong?
• QA: How can I create controls with multiline text?
  September 14, 2001. I want to create an edit control with multiline text (or label control, or button control, etc). What should I do for that?
• QA: How can I use a command bar in a dialog?
  September 06, 2001. I write a dialog based application. How can I use a command bar in it? I need a menu and a toolbar.
• QA: How to implement offscreen buffer?
  July 07, 2001. I need to output function graphic. When I draw the graphic using GDI function I see flicker. I want to create an offscreen buffer to prevent this flicker. How can I do that?
• QA: How to remove New button from command bar?
  June 29, 2001. How to remove "New" button from the command bar? When I create a new applicationusing "Single Document with Doc List" template I have "New" button in the command bar. But I don't need it because my application is only a viewer and doesn't allow editing.
• QA: How to make static controls transparent?
  April 28, 2003. I have a dialog with some static controls on it. The dialog displays a bitmap on the background. I want to make my static controls transparent. How can I do it? I tried to handle WM_CTLCOLOR message but this doesn't work. What did I do wrong?

XML

• Windows CE MSXML FAQ
  May 22, 2003. This article answers the most frequently asked questions about using XML on Windows CE. It has 2 areas of focus - Pocket PC devices and non-Pocket PC devices.