Windows CE Programming

Hello

here is one other way to write a kios mode .NET application using a technique called SubClassing. The idea was born by a comment of redwolf2222 on this blog about how to Hide Start and Close buttons on Windows Mobile 6.5 devices. Redwolf2222 also provided a code snippet. Unfortunately it was incomplete and so I wrote my own class.

Disable clicks on Start and Close button

The demo project shows one dialog with two check boxes and you can easily test the function. If “StartButton Disabled” or “Close Button disabled” is checked, you cannot ‘click’ the corresponding button any more:

You still ‘click’ the buttons but the subclassed window will not ‘execute’ your click. The buttons are part of the toolbar32 window which is a child of the menu_worker window. So first we have to follow the window tree.

Find the right window

/// <summary>
/// SubClassing: Install the wndproc hook
/// </summary>
/// <returns></returns>
private bool hookWindow()
{
    //find taskbar
    IntPtr hWndTaskbar = FindWindow("HHTaskbar", IntPtr.Zero);
    if (hWndTaskbar == IntPtr.Zero)
        return false;
    //enable the taskbar, not realy necessary
    EnableWindow(hWndTaskbar, true);
    //already installed?
    if (oldWndProc == IntPtr.Zero)
    {
        //find the menu_worker window
        IntPtr hwndMenu_Worker = FindWindow("menu_worker", IntPtr.Zero);
        if (hwndMenu_Worker != IntPtr.Zero)
        {
            //get the child window which has the buttons on it
            IntPtr hwndToolbar = GetWindow(hwndMenu_Worker, GetWindow_Cmd.GW_CHILD);
            if (hwndToolbar != IntPtr.Zero)
            {
                _mHwnd = hwndToolbar;       //store to remember
                SubclassHWnd(hwndToolbar);  //subclass the wndproc
            }
        }
    }
    return true;
}

Subclassing

Now, as we have the window handle, the subclassing can be started:
Continue reading ‘Mobile Development: Disable Windows Mobile 6.5 Start and Close Button’ »

Here is a very short tip based on a finding at xda-developers.com

See also here for how to hide the Start and Done button temporary.

For kiosk mode applications you dont want the user access the device settings or the start menu and all the programs and games accessible from there. One step to this kiosk mode is disabling the Start Button, the button that opens a menu to access programs and settings.

In versions of windows mobile before 6.5.3, you could disable access to the start button by subclassing HHTaskbar and discard clicks in the Start button area or simply disable the whole HHTaskbar window.

Now, with windows mobile 6.5.3 the start button is part of the menu bar and no longer part of the taskbar (which is now called MenuBar). To hide the start button on a windows Mobile 6.5.x device you can use following registry change:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Shell\BubbleTiles]
"TextModeEnabled"=dword:00000001
"HardwareStartKeyEnabled"=dword:00000001
"HardwareDoneKeyEnabled"=dword:00000001

With this change the “MenuBar” will no longer show the Start Button graphic nor the Done button, Windows Mobile will no longer decorate the menu texts . Only two menu entries will now show on bottom of the today screen.

TextModeEnabled switches the display of soft menu entries from the default graphic tiles display to a text only display as it was and is in windows mobile 6.1.

HardwareStartKeyEnabled controls the display of the Start button (the big windows start symbol on the left of the soft menu). If you change to enabled (0x01) you dont get a start button and have to use a key on your keypad to launch the start screen!

HardwareDoneButton controls the display of the Done button at the right of the menu bar (the big (X)). When enabled, you have no chance to close apps that do not have an exit option in there menu, except you have a key on on your keyboard assigned to the Done function! Done now not only hides an app, with winmo 6.5 the app is closed and removed from memory now.

The Start entry at top left corner remains there but is only an indicator.

NO more Start Button, No more Done (X) Button

Continue reading ‘Windows Mobile: Hide StartButton in WinMo 6.5.x’ »

Hello

here is another kiosk mode library. It supports disabling clicks/taps on start menu icon and opening the Windows Mobile start menu using the win key (VKLWIN). Additionally there is a function to disable the whole StartMenu bar and one to make a window fullscreen without Done and Close button (uses SHFullScreen).

The functions are implemented in a DLL, so you can easily use them from C/C++, the dot net compact framework (CSharp or VB.NET), Java and so on.

Here is a list of the functions exported by the DLL:

void __stdcall LockStartMenu(); // this will install the hook (subclass the taskbar window)
void __stdcall UnlockStartMenu();   // this will unhook TaskbarWindowProc from taskbar
void __stdcall LockStartBar();  // this disables the whole taskbar
void __stdcall UnlockStartBar();    // this enables the taskbar window
bool __stdcall Lockdown(TCHAR*);    // this will make the application with the window title fullscreen etc
bool __stdcall Unlockdown();    // this will 'normalize' the fullscreen window

I have included a deno application in C and .NET

The left shows normal window ce window and the right the same window after pressing the [Lockdown window].

Continue reading ‘Mobile Development: Yet another kiosk mode library’ »

Disable some applications like games, from being started by a user

REGEDIT4

;Enable blacklist of applications that should not run
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Security\Policies\Shell]
"DisallowRun"=dword:1

;Add entries to blacklist of applications that should not run
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\DisallowRun]
"1"="fexplore.exe"
"2"="iexplore.exe"

Did you know you can also ‘disable’ use of apps by just overwriting them?

Although most WM files are in ROM and so you can normally not overwrite them. You can still copy a file with the same namen on top of the existing file. You have to use Total Command CE or another non-MS tool to be able to do so.