How to test apps that use the photo chooser or camera capture task for Windows Phone 8

[ This article is for Windows Phone 8 developers. If you’re developing for Windows 10, see the latest documentation. ]

When you deploy and test an app on a physical Windows Phone OS 7.1 phone, you usually must have the Zune software running. However, you can’t test apps that interact with the photo chooser and camera capture tasks while the Zune software is running, because it locks the local media database.

You can use the Windows Phone Connect Tool to establish serial or USB connectivity to the Windows Phone OS 7.1 phone without running the Zune software. Then you can test apps that interact with the photo chooser and camera capture tasks.

This topic contains the following sections.

• Prerequisites
• Using the Windows Phone Connect Tool
• Related Topics

Prerequisites

To complete this procedure, you must have the following:

• You must have the Windows Phone SDK installed. For more information, see Get the SDK.

• The Zune client software must be installed on the host computer. You can download and install the Zune client software from here.

• Your Windows Phone device must be registered. For more information, see How to register your phone for development for Windows Phone 8.

Using the Windows Phone Connect Tool

To use the Connect Tool

1. Connect your Windows Phone OS 7.1 phone to the computer.

   The Zune software starts automatically. If the Zune software does not start, then start it manually.

2. Verify that the Zune software recognizes the connected device.

3. After your phone is connected, close the Zune software.

4. Open a command prompt and navigate to the WPConnect folder at the following location:

   Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\Windows Phone\v7.1\Tools\WPConnect

5. Navigate to the x86 or x64 subfolder according to the version of your operating system.

6. At the command prompt, enter the command WPConnect.exe.

   The message Connection established confirms that your device is now connected. You can now test your app without the Zune software running.

You do not have to disconnect after using the Windows Phone Connect Tool. At any time, you can reconnect through the Zune software by launching the Zune software. However, after you reconnect through the Zune software, you have to repeat the procedure in this topic if you want to debug an app that uses the photo chooser or camera capture tasks.

See Also

Other Resources

How to deploy and run an app for Windows Phone 8

How to register your phone for development for Windows Phone 8