Remote Registry Editor (Compact 2013)

  • Article

3/26/2014

The Windows Embedded Compact 2013 Remote Registry Editor is installed with Remote Tools. You use it to remotely modify the registry on a Windows Embedded Compact-powered device from your development computer. By using the Remote Registry Editor, you can add, delete, and copy registry keys. You can also add, delete, modify and rename the values for registry entries, and export, import, search, or monitor the full registry. In the Remote Tools Shell window, Remote Registry Editor displays the top-level registry trees for the device to which the tool is connected.

You use Remote Registry Editor after you download a runtime image to your device. You use Remote Registry Editor to modify the registry on the device, but the changes persist only during the active session with the device. When you next download the OS image to the device, you will need to have either rebuilt the OS image with any desired registry values incorporated or edit the registry again. 

The following table shows some examples of the registry trees that Remote Registry Editor might display for a device.

Registry tree

Description

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT

Associates files with applications.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER

Contains information about the user who logs on to a device.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

Contains information about settings for a device.

Open Remote Registry Editor

You can use the appropriate procedure in this section to start Remote Registry Editor on your development computer.

To start Remote Registry Editor from the Start menu

  1. On the Start menu, in the Search box, type Microsoft Remote Registry Editor, and then press Enter.

  2. In the Launch Registry Editor, Options dialog box, click the name of your device.

  3. Click OK.

To start Remote Registry Editor from Visual Studio

  1. In Visual Studio, on the Tools menu, point to Remote Tools, and then click Registry Editor.

  2. Remote Registry Editor will launch and automatically connect to the current target device that is connected by Platform Builder.

To start Remote Registry Editor from the Remote Tools Shell window

  1. In the Remote Tools Shell window, on the View menu, click Remote Tools Shell Plug-in Explorer.

  2. In the navigation pane of the Plug-in Explorer window, browse to your device, expand the list of available plug-ins, and then double-click the Registry Editor plug-in.

The Remote Tools Shell window opens on your development computer and displays the registry tree for the device that the Remote Registry Editor is connected to.

Add or Delete a Key or Entry in the registry

You can add or delete a registry key or registry entry on your Windows Embedded Compact-powered device by using Remote Registry Editor.

To add a key to the registry

  1. In the left pane of the Remote Tools Shell window, click the Registry node for your device.

  2. In the middle pane of the Remote Tools Shell window, expand a registry tree, and then click a location for the new registry key.

  3. On the Registry Editor menu, point to New, and then click Key.

  4. In the Create Key dialog box, type a name for the registry key, and then click Create.

  5. Click OK.

The new registry key appears in the Remote Tools Shell window.

To add an entry to the registry

  1. In the left pane of the Remote Tools Shell window, click the Registry node for your device.

  2. In the middle pane of the Remote Tools Shell window, expand a registry tree, and then click a location for the new registry entry to be created.

  3. On the Registry Editor menu, point to New, and then click one of the following: String Value, Multi-String Value, Binary Value, DWORD Value, or QWORD Value.

  4. In the Set Value dialog box, do the following:

    1. In the Value Name box for the registry entry, type a name.
    2. In the Value Type list, select a value type.
    3. In the Value Data box, type a value for the registry entry.

  5. Click OK.

The new registry entry appears in the Remote Tools Shell window.

To delete a registry key or registry entry

  1. In the left pane of the Remote Tools Shell window, click the Registry node for your device.

  2. In the middle pane of the Remote Tools Shell window, expand the registry tree that contains the registry key or registry entry that you want to delete.

  3. Click a registry key or registry entry to delete.

  4. On the Registry Editor menu, click Delete.

  5. In the Remote Registry Editor dialog box, click Yes to confirm the deletion.

The deleted registry key or registry entry no longer appears in the Remote Tools Shell window.

Export or Import the registry

You can export the registry of a Windows Embedded Compact-powered device as a registry file (.reg) or a text file (.txt) by using Remote Registry Editor. The exported file is a backup of the changes that you made to the registry of the device.

To export a registry as a .reg file or .txt file

  1. In the left pane of the Remote Tools Shell window, click the Registry node for your device.

  2. In the middle pane of the Remote Tools Shell window, select the section of the registry that you want to export.

  3. In the Remote Tools Shell window, on the File menu, click Save file from Registry Editor.

  4. Browse to the location where you want to save the .reg or .txt file.

  5. In the Save As dialog box, in the File name box, type a name for the file if you are saving as a .reg file. To save as a .txt file, in the Save As dialog box, append the .txt extension to the name.

  6. Click Save.

To import the registry from a .reg file

  1. In the left pane of the Remote Tools Shell window, click the Registry node for your device.

  2. In the Remote Tools Shell window, on the File menu, click Open (Registry Editor).

  3. Browse to the location of the .reg file that you want to open, and then select the .reg file.

  4. In the Open dialog box, click Open.

  5. In the Import File dialog box, click Import.

Monitor Registry Changes

You can monitor the registry changes that you make to a Windows Embedded Compact-powered device by using Remote Registry Editor. When you monitor the registry, you can view the history of the registry changes that you make to the device from the point at which the current device connection was made or you can monitor the complete registry. By default, Remote Registry Editor monitors the previously viewed registry keys in the Registry node for your device, not the full registry.

To monitor changes to the registry

  1. In the left pane of the Remote Tools Shell window, click the History node for your device.

  2. Determine how you want to monitor the registry, either by the previously viewed registry keys or by the full registry, and do one of the following:

    1. To monitor changes to previously viewed registry keys in this session (the default setting), in the Monitoring Status pane, view the changes.
    2. To monitor the complete registry, in the Monitoring Status pane, click Enable Full Registry Monitoring. The entire registry of the device is now being monitored for any changes that you make.
      Any changes that you make to the device's registry will appear in the Remote Tools Shell window, in the Monitoring Status pane, under Key, Action, or Change.

  3. To stop monitoring the registry, in the Remote Tools Shell window, on the File menu, click Exit to close Remote Registry Editor.

See Also

Other Resources

Remote Tools