Where do I specify the text of a Pocket PC app's shortcut?

Question

I'm unfamiliar with Pocket PC development, but I have to make a few minor changes to an VS2005, Pocket PC 2003 Device application. One of the changes (which I thought would be trivial) is changing the text of app's shortcut, but I can't figure out where this text is set. The solution includes a setup project, so I'm looking for it in there, but I can't find it. I know it's got to be in there somewhere because building the setup project generates an AppSetup.inf file that contains the shortcut information.

This can't be that difficult. Surly I'm suffering from what my wife refers to as "male vision" when I can't find the bottle of mustard in the refrigerator that's right in front of my face. Where do I specify this text?

Answer 1

It depends on exactly how the shortcut is generated. There are generally 3 mechanisms that are used.

1. Via the CEShortcuts section of the INF. For this, it's the text before the first comma
2. Via copying an LNK file via the CopyFiles section of the INF. With this mechanism, you create a physical LNK file on the desktop that gets rolled into the CAB and it's copied like any other file. The name on the device is again the first string before the comma.
3. Via a programmatic call (usually to SHCreateShortcut) in a custom CE Setup DLL.

You'll have to figure out which is being used in your deployment scenario to know exactly what needs to be changed.

Answer 2

Thinking more about this, are you trying to simply find where in the Studio UI of the installer project to change the shortcut? If so, this MSDN article may help. What is very non-intuitive is that there are little icons at the top of the Solution Explorer that change the view of the installer, allowing you to see things like files, registry entries, etc. It may be that you simply aren't looking at the right view and you need to select a different icon. There are no menu items that do what these icons do, and they are hard to notice the first time you start using an installer project.

Answer 3

Well, as I suspected, it was right in front of my face. We'll call this project PDAProject. In the solution explorer, under the PDAProjectSetup project is an item labeled Primary output from PDAProject (Active). If I double-click on this item two panes appear in the code editor window. The one on the far left shows a folder tree labeled File System on Target Machine. Under this are three folders labeled Application Folder, Program Files Folder, and Programs Folder. When I click on the Programs Folder, the application shortcut appears in the pane on the right and I can modify its text.

I don't know why I was never compelled to double click on that Primary output from PDAProject (Active) project item even though that's how you open any class or form for editing. I kept right-clicking and opening the Properties. Maybe it's time to give up programming and take up basket weaving.