Being able to share data between your H/PC and a desktop computer extends the functionality of both computers. For example, you can edit the letter you wrote in Pocket Word on your H/PC using Microsoft Word on your desktop computer. Or, in Microsoft Excel on your desktop computer, you can recalculate spreadsheet totals that you generated on your H/PC with Pocket Excel. Although you typically connect an H/PC to a desktop computer, you can also connect it to a variety of other devices. The following list identifies programming considerations for a variety of tasks you can accomplish with your H/PC connected to a desktop computer or another device.
With Windows CE, you can synchronize databases on an H/PC with a corresponding database on a desktop computer. Windows CE automatically synchronizes the Schedule+ data on the desktop computer with the personal information manager (PIM) data on the H/PC. You can write similar synchronization applications using RAPI functions.
Windows CE supports an application programming interface (API) for converting files to a different format when they are transferred between the desktop and the H/PC. Converting is necessary because H/PC applications do not incorporate all of the features of their desktop counterparts. For example, Pocket Word does not incorporate all of the features of Word on the desktop computer. Consequently, before a document can be transferred for use on the H/PC, items like unsupported fonts and OLE objects need to be converted or stripped from the file. Altering the files before they are transferred is accomplished with file filters.
A file filter is a dynamic-link library (DLL) that controls the transfer of files between the H/PC and the desktop computer. H/PC Explorer automatically adjusts file formats for some types of files and you can extend its file filtering capabilities by defining new application-specific filters of your own. For information about existing filters and how to write new filters, see Transferring Files.
Because H/PCs do not have floppy disk drives installed, applications that are not loaded in ROM have to be loaded from a desktop computer or other device. Windows CE supports a distinct set of functions and load-file commands for installing applications on the H/PC. You can use these functions to retrieve information about the H/PC, load application files, update the H/PC registry, and create a script for unloading the file App Install.
The Windows CE integrated development environment (IDE) supports remote connections to use debugging applications, such as Spy, Process Viewer, and Heap Walker. You can also perform remote debugging by using either User Datagram Protocol (UDP) or Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). UDP is faster than TCP/IP; however, TCP/IP is more reliable.
In addition to debugging, you can remotely edit an H/PC's registry with the remote registry editor or capture an image from the remote device and display it on the desktop computer.
Because of the portability of the H/PC, it is an excellent tool for sending and receiving e-mail and faxes, and for using Web browsers from remote locations. The H/PC shell and Windows CE Pocket Internet Explorer are fully integrated, which allows you to use either the browser or the Windows CE shell as your interface for manipulating files and shortcuts on the H/PC.
Because Windows CE includes printing support, H/PC applications may enable printing. Use the PrintDlg function to provide printing capability in your applications. The PrintDlg function in Windows CE is the same as it is on Windows desktop platforms with one exception. Because Windows CE does not support the Print Setup dialog box, the members associated with it do not exist in the Windows CE PRINTDLG structure.
Because the Print Setup dialog box is not supported in Windows CE, you cannot set page ranges or specify the number of copies to print. You must print the entire document, or the currently selected portion of the document, and you can print only one copy at a time. However, Windows CE does support some page setup functionality. In Windows CE, two new members have been added to the PRINTDLG structure: rcMargin and rcMinMargin. The rcMargin member specifies the widths of the left, top, right, and bottom margins; the rcMinMargin member specifies the minimum allowable widths for those margins.