September 17, 2008 at 16:06How to make an installation file for Windows CE / Mobile in Visual Studio 2005
While I was finishing work on this blog, I had already written so many interesting things that my eyes run wide. Now I want to touch on the topic of creating an installation file.
Perhaps many will find it interesting, because you will have to install the program sooner or later. In this note, I will try to reveal this topic in the screenshots. And by the way, this is my first post, I hope it turns out to be useful.
In order to start, we need some kind of ready-made project - for the device. I already have with the name ButtonTest. Usually in this project I test all sorts of pieces of code. This code is written in Visual Basic .NET.
Solution Explorer looks like this:
In order to create an installer, you need to add a project to this solution.
In the project selection window, select Other Project Types -> Setup and Deployment and Smart Device CAB Project, I call it ButtonTestCab
Solution Explorer after that it should look something like this.
Right-click on the name of the project that appears and select File System.
In the Application Folder, you need to add the source project of the program.
Right-click Add -> Project Output and select the name of the ButtonTest project there. A link to the project and the required libraries will appear.
In principle, you can build the installer, but we will add links to different Windows CE or Windows Mobile folders, such as Program Files and Start Menu.
To do this, if you open the Program Files Folder on the left, you can add a link to the executable file in this folder.
In the dialog box that opens, you need to select a project from the Application Folder.
In the same way, you can add a link to the Start Menu folder. In general, there is the opportunity to add folders yourself, for example, we want the program to start when the device starts, for this we add a link to the Startup folder.
Just like the File System in the Solution Explorer of the installation project, you can select View -> Registry and add the necessary keys to the registry.
Right-click on the project name and select Properties. Here you can set the folder in which the installer will appear.
After all the installations are done, you need to build (Build) the installation project.
At least two files will appear in the folder that we selected, in this case ButtonTestCab1.CAB and ButtonTestCab1.inf. We need to copy the CAB file to the Windows CE installation folder (AutoInstall) or install it manually.
Perhaps many will find it interesting, because you will have to install the program sooner or later. In this note, I will try to reveal this topic in the screenshots. And by the way, this is my first post, I hope it turns out to be useful.
In order to start, we need some kind of ready-made project - for the device. I already have with the name ButtonTest. Usually in this project I test all sorts of pieces of code. This code is written in Visual Basic .NET.
Solution Explorer looks like this:
In order to create an installer, you need to add a project to this solution.
In the project selection window, select Other Project Types -> Setup and Deployment and Smart Device CAB Project, I call it ButtonTestCab
Solution Explorer after that it should look something like this.
Right-click on the name of the project that appears and select File System.
In the Application Folder, you need to add the source project of the program.
Right-click Add -> Project Output and select the name of the ButtonTest project there. A link to the project and the required libraries will appear.
In principle, you can build the installer, but we will add links to different Windows CE or Windows Mobile folders, such as Program Files and Start Menu.
To do this, if you open the Program Files Folder on the left, you can add a link to the executable file in this folder.
In the dialog box that opens, you need to select a project from the Application Folder.
In the same way, you can add a link to the Start Menu folder. In general, there is the opportunity to add folders yourself, for example, we want the program to start when the device starts, for this we add a link to the Startup folder.
Just like the File System in the Solution Explorer of the installation project, you can select View -> Registry and add the necessary keys to the registry.
Right-click on the project name and select Properties. Here you can set the folder in which the installer will appear.
After all the installations are done, you need to build (Build) the installation project.
At least two files will appear in the folder that we selected, in this case ButtonTestCab1.CAB and ButtonTestCab1.inf. We need to copy the CAB file to the Windows CE installation folder (AutoInstall) or install it manually.