Deploying Windows Mobile Applications
The following is the process for deploying Windows Mobile applications.
Understand Windows Mobile Device Security Model
Windows Mobile-based devices can have different security settings depending on the manufacturer or mobile operator of the device. The security settings impact the installation and operation of applications. For more information, see Security for Windows Mobile-based Devices .Packaging and Deploying Applications
When you build a Smart Device application in Visual Studio 2005, the output of the build process is an executable that will run on a Windows Mobile-based device. Before the application can be installed on the device, however, you must bundle the executable into a cabinet (CAB) file. Creating a CAB file is easy using Visual Studio 2005. You do this by creating a Smart Device CAB Project which requires no coding and can be added to the existing Visual Studio Solution for your application. For a walkthrough of creating a CAB file for your application, see Walkthrough: Packaging a Smart Device Solution for Deployment.To install your application on a user's device from their desktop computer, you will use the Application Manager that ships with ActiveSync.
Application Manager requires that you create an initialization (.ini) file for your CAB file before it can be installed on a device. An .ini is a short text file that includes information such as the name of your application and the name of your CAB file. For information .ini files, see Creating an .ini File for the Application Manager.
For a walkthrough of creating an installer that runs on the user's desktop and installs your application on a user's device, see Using the Application Manager.
Deliver Applications to End-users
Applications on Windows Mobile-based devices can be downloaded and installed through several mechanisms such as Internet Explorer Mobile and Microsoft ActiveSync. For more information, see Delivering Applications.Signing Applications
Before an application can be installed on a Windows Mobile-based device, it must be signed with a certificate that is present on the device. For more information on signing applications, see Signing an Application or Cabinet File for Release to the Public.Troubleshooting Application Installation and Execution
Application installation and execution may fail due to the security settings on Windows Mobile-based devices. For more information about security settings, see Windows Mobile Device Security Model.For more information about troubleshooting installation and execution, see Troubleshooting Application Installation and Troubleshooting Application Execution.
In This Section
Troubleshooting Application Execution
Troubleshooting Application Installation
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