Subhashini (Moderator): Hi all ! A very good afternoon to all of you

Subhashini (Moderator): Welcome to today's chat on "UI Programming for Windows Mobile Devices"!

Subhashini (Moderator): As you can see, we have a list of experts here with us today for this chat Let me welcome and introduce our experts to you guys !

Subhashini (Moderator): We have  Niranjan Nayak, Tech Lead - IDC Mobility Group

Subhashini (Moderator): Suvarna Singh, Software Design Engineer - IDC Communicator Mobile Team

Subhashini (Moderator): Amanda Grace Rapsang, Software Design Engineer - IDC Office Mobile Team

Subhashini (Moderator): Rahul Thatte, Software Design Engineer - IDC Communicator Mobile Team

Subhashini (Moderator): Yogini Thatte, Software Design Engineer/Test - IDC Office Mobile Team

Subhashini (Moderator): and Vani Hombal, Software Design Engineer/Test - IDC Communicator Mobile Team

Subhashini (Moderator): Lets welcome our experts and just before we begin, few chat rules :

Subhashini (Moderator): This chat will last for one hour. During this hour, our Experts will respond to as many questions as they can. Please understand that there may be some questions we cannot respond to due to lack of information or because the information is not yet public. We encourage you to submit questions for our Experts.

Subhashini (Moderator): We ask that you stay on topic for the duration of the chat. This helps the Guests and Experts follow the conversation more easily. We invite you to ask off topic questions after this chat is over.

Subhashini (Moderator): Please use the check box "ask the expert " to ask any questions to the expert

Subhashini (Moderator): So let's get the chat rolling and  we welcome our experts for today !

Niranjan[MSFT] (Expert): Hi everyone

Niranjan[MSFT] (Expert): There are a number of things that you need to keep in mind when developing UI for mobile devices because of their small formfactor and limited input mechanisms.

Vani [MSFT] (Expert):

Q:When will CF2.0 be out for the Smartphone?

A: CF2.0 is already out with Visual Studio 2005.

Niranjan[MSFT] (Expert):

RyanC - Can u ask the question with "Ask the Experts" checkbox checked

Suvarnas[MSFT] (Expert):

Q:Hi! Is it possible to run Compact Framework 2.0 Apps also on WinCe or only on Windows Mobile 5 ?

A: It is possible to make apps for WinCE using CF 2.0. You just have to choose the right platform for the app project.

Suvarnas[MSFT] (Expert):

Q:Sorry   Hello, is it possible to have a form parented to another form i.e. on the desktop you can get a window to specify WS_CHILD and have no borders displayed?

A: Yes. you can do it in exactly the same way for Devices. However it will come inside the parent i.e. it will not be fullscreen

Niranjan[MSFT] (Expert):

Q:Good morning.  it would like to know as a small explication was the navigation of forms of the windows mobile 5.

A: On a windows mobile device all base level dialogs, windows and wizards are full screen dialogs. This is because of the small screen size. What exactly would you like to know about the navigation part?

Niranjan[MSFT] (Expert):

Q:Are there any workarounds to run .NetCF 2.0 on WinCE 4.2, or is it possible to "update" WinCE 4.2 to Pocket PC 2003 ?

A: PocketPC 2003 and PocketPC 2003SE are built on top of Windows CE 4.2 OS. So you should be able to run .NetCF 2.0 apps on PocketPC 2003 and 2003SE

Rahul[MSFT] (Expert):

Q:How can I make my screen support different screen resolutions on different devices?

A: Yes, you can target various screen resolutions from the same code base. You need to ensure that UI layout is not hardcoded and use standard API's to adjust the screen size. Bitmaps and fonts need to be scaled to appropriate size & it will look fine. MSDN has a detailed example on the same.

Niranjan[MSFT] (Expert):

Q:Niranjan[MSFT].. But is it in reverse also possible to run CF 2.0 Apps on CE 4.2 (without PPC 2003) ?

A: Are you creating your own platform using PlatformBuilder and WinCE 4.2? .NetCF 1.x is available as part of PB but not 2.0 as of now.

Rahul[MSFT] (Expert): Following MSDN link will provide more information: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnppcgen/html/orientation_dpi_aware_apps.asp

Amanda[MSFT] (Expert):

Q:How do I specify the constructor of a form to display as a child? I'm using C# and can see how to do this from the documentation.

A: This link might help you http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vbcon/html/vbtskcreatingmdichildforms.asp

Niranjan[MSFT] (Expert): 1. Keeping the bare minimum of text boxes and buttons is helpful so as not to clutter the UI.

2. As far as possible cascading of menu items should be avoided.

3. The mechanism for input entry in majority of the PocketPCs is a stylus driven Software Input Panel(SIP) which will occupy some screen space. This can be shown or hidden by the user dynamically and your code needs to take care of these conditions.

4. Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition software introduces new display capabilities to the Windows Mobile platform. The OS now supports different DPI resolutions. It also supports different orientations like portrait, landscape and square screen. If you've made assumptions about screen resolution and orientation, you may need to take action to ensure your applications work across all Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition-based devices.

5. Unlike the desktop, it is not recommended that an application on the PPC has more than one toolbar.

6. Generally all top level windows provide a Close/X button at the top rig

Vani [MSFT] (Expert):

Q: How do I specify the constructor of a form to display as a child? I'm using C# and can see how to do this from the documentation.

A: Even this link might help: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.windows.forms.form.aspx (Check out the remarks section)

Rahul[MSFT] (Expert):

Q:Niranjan[MSFT]... The manufacturer ships it with WinCE 4.2..

A: You should be able to install CF.NET 2.0 from the MSDN download on your device. I am assuming you already have the CF 2.0 SDK installed on the  developer system. You should be able to get the redistributable from: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9655156b-356b-4a2c-857c-e62f50ae9a55&displaylang=en

Niranjan[MSFT] (Expert): There are a few things to keep in mind when developing UI for Smartphone as compared to PocketPC

Niranjan[MSFT] (Expert): Unlike PPCs, Smartphones of today don't have a stylus. So you need to make sure that all the elements are accessible  using the keypad

Niranjan[MSFT] (Expert): Screen resolutions of SFons(the low dpi ones) are lesser than those available on PPC

Niranjan[MSFT] (Expert): Smartphones provide for special keys like Home Key and Back key, so good apps developed for SFons need to take care of handling these keys

Niranjan[MSFT] (Expert): Sfons allow users to set font size to medium or large. So please avoid hardcoding the font size.

Niranjan[MSFT] (Expert): A typical rule for control placement on a Smartphone form is to have one control in one row.

Suvarnas[MSFT] (Expert):

Q:How can I make my screen support different screen resolutions on different devices?

A: You have to make your App DPI (dots per inch) aware. There is a lot of material in MSDN for that. You should not hard code any screen coordinates and use DPI aware APIs and macros for them. The link given by Rahul ( http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnppcgen/html/orientation_dpi_aware_apps.asp) should be a great start.

Subhashini (Moderator):So this brings us close to the time up ! Guys , we have the last 10 minutes for the chat to conclude . Please wind up your queries to the experts ! And feel free to email them if you have any additional queries !

Niranjan[MSFT] (Expert):

Q:I am developing application for pocket PC in c#, I created a form and called it from another form but this form gets opened in background. I used functions like bringToFront but the form is still not coming on top. So what could be the reason

A: Do you have some property like TopMostWindow set for your form. Please check to see if this is a z-order problem.

Rahul[MSFT] (Expert):

Q:Is there already a stable version of ActiveSync 4.0 ?

A: ActiveSync 4.0 is quite stable, in case you are facing particular active sync issues the following troubleshooting guide can help you:

Rahul[MSFT] (Expert):

A: Here is the link:  http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/help/activesync/default.mspx 

Niranjan[MSFT] (Expert): I hope this discussion was useful to you guys.

Subhashini (Moderator): Time up !   This brings us to the end of today's chat . Please feel free to email your queries to the experts .

Niranjan[MSFT] (Expert): Keep urself updated at http://www.microsoft.com/india/msdn/

Subhashini (Moderator): Thanks to our experts today for such an information packed session! Hope all of you enjoyed it !

Subhashini (Moderator): Thanks to all you guys for taking time out for this chat ! The chat transcript will be posted line at http://www.microsoft.com/india/msdn

Subhashini (Moderator): Thanks to all you guys for taking time out for this chat ! The chat transcript will be posted online at http://www.microsoft.com/india/msdn

Subhashini (Moderator): Thanks and have a wonderful evening !

Subhashini (Moderator): or a wonderful day !

Suvarnas[MSFT] (Expert): Pls feel free to mail me your queries at suvarnas@online.microsoft.com

Vani [MSFT] (Expert): You can reach me at vanih@online.microsoft.com. Bye.

Rahul[MSFT] (Expert): Thank you. You can reach me at rahul.thatte@online.micorosoft.com

Amanda[MSFT] (Expert): You can reach me at agrace@online.microsoft.com