I've been looking for answer on this one for over 6 months now. and no luck.
I need to create a PDA which will be able to run only one specific program.
no access to control panel, file viewing or anything except that program.
it will be possible to "unlock" the system by entering a password.
I've thought about creating a ROM sutibale for my needs using Platform builder but the
problem is I use an iPaq which cannot be flashed with Platform builder images.
this is extremely important .........
10x !
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Don't know if this is applicable to WinCE, but can you change the "shell"? In Win9x the shell is "explorer.exe". You can change that so it doesn't run explorer, it runs whatever the shell program is. As a side benefit, if you exit the shell program, windows will re-launch the shell, just like it re-launches explorer when it crashes.
In Win9x the shell= line of the system.ini defines the shell. You may be able to find its equivalent in WinCE.
You can hide the start menu etc to make it harder for operators to access solitaire etc using the well documented SHFullScreen API, OK for C++ and eVB but there doesn't seem to be a simple equivalent in VS.NET 2003 yet.
You cannot remove the solitare.exe etc BUT! you can replace them !! i.e. make a zero byte text file (or if you want to go to the effort, a C++ program which pops up a warning message) and copy over the official version. I actually add this to the admin options on my PPC applications to reduce the temptation for operators to sneak off on night shifts with the data collector. Another simple trick is to delete the shortcuts from the programs folder, it confuses most users.
Good luck!
Stewart www.cottontech.com
Another option is to run embedded Linux. I've been running it on my iPaq for awhile now. It's fully customizeable, has an AWESOME GUI, never crashes, and it's easy to create an image of the exact setup you need (i.e., just your app and nothing else). At that point, you could create a group that did not have access to anything except the program you needed - if the user tries to access anything else, the system will prompt for a password!
More info here:
http://www.handhelds.org
http://opie.us/
Business Accounts
Answer for Membership
by: dpsligarPosted on 2003-08-22 at 09:18:20ID: 9204619
10x:
Sounds to me like you need the so-called "kiosk" mode. We say an application runs in kiosk mode if:
1. The application runs in full screen mode to prevent switching to other applications using Start menu and Smart Minimize (X) button.
2. The application disables hardware keys to prevent switching to other applications using hardware keys.
3. The application is automatically started after a soft-reset.
4. Other ways are used to prevent switching to other applications.
Try looking at the Spb Kiosk Engine (www.softspb.com); it's expensive, but does the job. They have a free demo available.
Disclosure: I have no affiliation with Spb Softare House at all.
Paul