Installing and Removing an Application Manually

To install an application from a desktop computer to a Windows CE–based device, on the desktop computer, call the Application Manager with the application's .ini file as a parameter. The command-line syntax for the Application Manager CeAppMgr.exe is as follows:

CEAppMgr.exe [/report]  "CEAppMgr_ini_filename"  ["CEAppMgr_ini_filename"]

CEAppMgr_ini_filename

Full file name and path of the CEAppMgr .ini file for a single application. If the application has multiple components, you can run the Application Manager once with multiple .ini files, one file for each component.

report

Optional parameter that you can use to test the installation process if problems occur. This parameter should not be included in the final setup application.

One you call CEAppMgr.exe, the Application Manager completes the installation process. To add additional capabilities to the installation process, use the Install_Init and Install_Exit functions. Because the installation procedure registers the application's .cab files with the Application Manager, a user can reinstall the application on the device at a later time or install the application on another device.

The full application name displayed in the CEAppMgr dialog box is extracted from the CAB Wizard .inf file. The extracted name is "provider appname". The value for provider is from [Version] Provider, while appname is from the [CEStrngs] AppName.

To remove an application from a Windows CE–based device, the user calls the Application Manager from the desktop computer. The Application Manager is usually located in the Control Panel. The Application Manager uses the information registered from the uninstall_name parameter of the .ini file to delete the application from the desktop computer and the Windows CE–based device. To add additional capabilities to the removal process, use the Uninstall_Init and Uninstall_Exit functions.