Revised text for the "HOW TO CREATE A [WINCE] COMPONENT" section of the Wise Install Master Help File:
By John Cody
(c) 2001 John Cody all rights reserved - reproduction permission granted to Pocket PC FAQ

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

(My changes are in bold)

"Each WinCE application must consist of at least one component to store the application's files.

1. From the WinCE Components Page, click on the Add button.

The Windows CE Components dialog opens.

2. Complete the fields in this dialog to define the properties of the new component.

� Application Name. (Required field.) Enter the name of the application you are installing. This is how the program will be referenced when it is installed/uninstalled in the application manager's window (i.e. ActiveSync).

� Company Name. (Required field.) Enter the name of the company who created the application. This is used to further identify the application as it is being installed/uninstalled.

� Setup Name. This designates what the CAB file(s) for this component will be named. All CAB files are named according to the following structure: [Setup Name.Processor Name.CAB]. If a Setup Name is not assigned, the value of this field defaults to the Component Name.

Notes:

A) Do not place an extension on the Setup Name value or the installer will generate an error message.

� Platforms Supported. (Required.) From this list, check each processor on which the application can be run. At least one platform must be supported. No more than 27 platforms can be supported in any single installation.

� When the installation is compiled, a separate CAB file is created for each platform.

� When the installer is run, the application manager program (CEAPPMGR.EXE, i.e. ACTIVESYNC) queries the CE device and then selects the compatible CAB file for installation. If the CE device uses a processor other than one(s) you marked here, a message will display on the desktop indicating that the application is not compatible with the CE device, and the installation will be cancelled.

� If the user has selected a platform to support but there are no other entries for the platform (no files, icons, shortcuts, or registry entries) then an installation CAB file will not be generated for that platform. Empty installation CAB files are not created or supported.

� Component Name. Private Note: This item appears to be totally useless. I can't find anyplace were this item's text is displayed or used by the setup program or by ceappmgr.exe.

� If there will only be one component in the installation, the Component Name can be the same as the Application Name.

� If multiple components are being used, name this component in accordance with the application or information it will contain. For example, "Widget Program", or "Widget Help File".

� Description. (Required.) Enter a brief description to identify this component. The Windows CE Application Manager displays this description when the component is being installed or uninstalled. Private Note: If the Company name and Application name are the same between two components (which is perfectly legal if the two components are associated with a single application), then ActiveSync (ceappmgr.exe) will *only* list one entry for both components, and it appears to only list the first components "Description" in the description frame of activesync when the user select the applications in the remove dialog, but this may be purely coincidental - it may just as well display component #2's description if certain conditions in the script are just right.

� Install Directory. (Required.) Enter the default installation path where you want this component to be installed on the Windows CE device. Use the drop-down list to choose from the most common installation paths. This is also useful for creating an empty directory.

� Icon File. Specify the path to either a freestanding icon file (.ICO) or an icon source (.EXE, .DLL) that will be displayed in the application manager program to identify this installation.

� Icon Index. If you are using an .EXE or a .DLL as the source for the icon file, enter the resource number for the icon that is to be displayed.

Note:

An executable file or icon file can have multiple icons contained within the file. To see the icons in a file, go to Windows Explorer, right-click on any shortcut file, and select Properties. Click the Shortcut tab, then click the Change Icon button. The Change Icon dialog appears. It contains a graphical list of icons for the shortcut file you right-clicked. The icon number of the first icon is 0, the icon number for the second is 1, and so on. To see the icons in a different file, click the Browse button and choose a different file.

� Add Component to Desktop Install. If this checkbox is marked the INI and CAB files will be installed into %MAINDIR% on the user's desktop PC so they can be re-installed onto the CE device at a later time without having to run your installation again. If this checkbox is not marked, the INI and CAB files will not permanently be stored on the user's desktop pc, and will be discarded immediately after ceappmgr.exe finishes copying/installing your app's CAB files to the user's WinCE device. In this case, the user must re-run this setup program to re-install your app on the WinCE device at a later time.

You would only uncheck this checkbox if you were going to send out the INI and CAB files manually, not using the Wise installation EXE.

� Execute Application Manager to Install/Uninstall during desktop installation. Check this checkbox if you want the installation to automatically launch the application manager program so it will immediately attempt to install your application onto the users WinCE device after it has copied its files to the desktop computer.

� Desktop Icon Name. Enter a descriptive label that will display under this component's application icon on the desktop computer.

3. Click OK.

The new component is added to the WinCE Components Page.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 for each component you want to create for this application.

5. Click Next to proceed to the WinCE Files page.