Improve your Pocket PC support

17 Apr 2003 09:31

With so many handheld devices currently in use in the workplace, it helps to know that software is available to manage the Pocket PC platform

As handheld devices take their place in the corporate world, the need to train users and offer technical support continues to grow. The Remote Display Control applet, which enables you to interact with a Pocket PC device via a connected standard computer, is a useful way to extend the Pocket PC's power beyond a tiny screen and clumsy stylus.

Remote Display Control shows actions on a Pocket PC on the monitor of a remotely connected desktop or laptop. With this tool, developers can test their applications for the Pocket PC on a larger screen while they run in their native environment. Remote Display Control uses TCP/IP and can work with ActiveSync connections via Ethernet or dial-up. In this article, I'll explain how this PowerToy can come in handy for PC support professionals and walk you through some setup scenarios so you can get started using Remote Display Control.

Who can benefit
Software developers, tech support staff, sales and marketing representatives, and training providers can all benefit from this technology. As a developer, I find it much easier to use a standard mouse and keyboard when I test Pocket PC applications. Although there are plenty of emulators available for programmers, it's much nicer to test the applications while they are running in the actual Pocket PC environment. ActiveSync allows you to accomplish this by displaying a Pocket PC's screen on a PC's monitor.

Help desk and tech support staff who can control desktops remotely using systems management server (SMS), virtual network computing (VNC), or XP's Remote Desktop feature can extend that functionality to handheld devices using Remote Display Control.

Sales, marketing, or technical training teams can remotely connect to a Pocket PC device using Remote Display Control to run demos, presentations, and training sessions. A salesman showed up at my company recently for a presentation carrying only his Pocket PC. He connected via USB cable to the presentation computer and activated Remote Desktop. He then copied his PowerPoint file from the device and started the slideshow side-by-side with ActiveSync's remote display of the Pocket PC. He went back and forth between PowerPoint and the remote display to produce an interactive presentation.

Before we start
Let's have a quick look at Remote Display Control's system requirements and setup procedures. The utility works on any platform running Windows CE version 2.11 or later. To learn the version running on your Windows CE device, go to Start | Settings | About. Remember, you can update your device only through system updates obtained from your Pocket PC vendor, and your Microsoft ActiveSync software must be version 3.1 or higher. To find your current version of the software, go to Start | Programs, click ActiveSync, and then go to Help | About. I just updated mine, and it reads version 3.6 (Build 2148). To update ActiveSync, go to the Pocket PC Web site and then get the latest version from the download section. For TCP/IP, you will need to have a configured Ethernet network card (wired or wireless).

Getting the setup file
The Remote Display Control application (Cerdisp by the code name) can be downloaded separately from the Pocket PC Web site and is part of the Pocket PC PowerToys collection. To get the file, follow the PowerToys link under the Microsoft Downloads section. You may need to scroll down the page to get to the Remote Display Control for Pocket PC section. Click Download and save the remoteDSP.exe file on your desktop.

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Installing Remote Display Control
Turn on your device and place it in its cradle. Wait for the ActiveSync icon to turn green; then wait for any synchronisation to complete. Now start the installation by double-clicking the file named remoteDSP.exe that you just saved on your desktop system. Click Next at the welcome screen and then accept the default installation directory. Finally, click the Finish button to exit the installation.

Understanding the connection process
Remote Display Control achieves basic connectivity between the desktop and your handheld device through a three-step process. You begin by loading the remote display application on the desktop, continue by initiating the connection from your Pocket PC, and then take over from the desktop. This process is valid for all types of connectivity, whether via direct cable or network adapter. Traditionally, ActiveSync users have connected via USB or serial cables. However, with the introduction of ActiveSync 3.5, connection with TCP/IP via Ethernet to a LAN is becoming more popular.

Running the remote display application
Finally, we get to the fun part. The following are step-by-step instructions for running Remote Display Control. To begin, simply launch the application on the desktop. From the Start menu, go to Programs | Remote Display Control and click on Remote Display Control Host. Now switch to the Pocket PC main desktop and use the stylus on the device to tap on Start | Programs | Cerdisp, as shown in Figure A.

Figure A

When the program launches, click OK to clear the welcome screen. The next screen provides you with a number of options. At this point, just click Connect, leave the hostname as PPP_PEER, and tap OK. Now you should be able to see the Pocket PC device's screen on the desktop. Take a test drive by using your mouse and navigating through the menus. In applications such as Microsoft Pocket Word that require user input, you can use the desktop's keyboard to type.

Connecting via Ethernet to your LAN using TCP/IP
Establishing an Ethernet-based connection may sound intimidating at first, but if you have a good TCP/IP connection, this approach to enabling Remote Display Control is as easy as through USB or serial cables. You begin by ensuring that you have installed the Remote Display Control host on the desktop and then launching the desktop host. Switch to the Pocket PC's main desktop, and with the stylus tap on Start | Programs | Cerdisp. Choose OK to clear the About screen. At this point, you need to type the TCP/IP network hostname of the desktop to which you intend to connect.

Finding a desktop's name
If you don't know a computer's name, here's how to get it. If you have Windows 2000 or XP, go to Start | Settings | Control Panel and click System; then click the Computer Name tab. Write down the part of the computer name before the first dot in the name if the domain is displayed. For example, the computer name is john if the displayed name is john.techrepublic.net. If you have Windows 9x, you'd go to Start | Settings | Control Panel | Network Neighborhood and click the Computer Identification tab and read the computer name from there.

Remote Display Control options on the Pocket PC
On the connect screen you will see a number of buttons, as shown in Figure B. Clicking the Hide button places a Cerdisp icon on the taskbar and keeps it resident in memory. Clicking the icon will bring the startup form in view.

Figure B

You may be disappointed after clicking the Settings button because you'll find only one option, to change the refresh rate for sending display updates. The default of 100 ms is intended to produce 10 frames per second. However, in my experience I've noticed that the real refresh rate is somewhat less than five frames per second, with many frames being dropped. Nevertheless, I rarely need to lower or accelerate the refresh rate. Running a processor-intensive application on the device may benefit from a lower refresh rate, however, since Cerdisp uses a great deal of processor resources.

Remote Display Control options on the desktop
The most useful of the desktop options is Zoom. For those of you using resolutions higher than 800 by 600, you will appreciate the Zoom 2X. The shortcut key is [Alt][Z]2. The 3X zoom is quite a stretch; Intermediate zoom options might have been more suitable. For those making presentations, consider Zoom 2X.

The other option on the desktop version of the Remote Display is Send All Mouse Move, which can be found under the Tools menu. By default, the Remote Display application sends only keyboard input and mouse clicks to the receiving handheld. If you are running a demonstration that also requires mouse moves, you must choose this option, as shown in Figure C.

Figure C

As an experiment, I tried running the Cubicle Chaos game on the desktop. It was obvious that the Remote Display Control was not built for such an exercise: I needed to use the Pocket PC directly until I could repair my damaged average score.

Synching Cerdisp versions
For those involved in troubleshooting devices that make frequent use of Cerdisp, keep in mind that the desktop version number must match the client version number. Make sure to compare the version number from Help | About on your desktop to the welcome screen of the Cerdisp on the device.

Guide to wireless LAN connections
If you're considering connecting your Pocket PC to your LAN using Ethernet, I'd recommend choosing wireless technology. To do so, you'll need a wireless access point and a compatible network card for your mobile device. The network card, most likely the kind that fit into the compact flash slots, will be inserted into the expansion pack for your Pocket PC. Installing the network drivers is done via ActiveSync.

Use the network card's utility to verify that you obtained an IP address and that you can ping the desktop computer, which will run the Remote Display Control host. Figure D is a screenshot of the utility provided with the SMC compact flash network card used for this article.

Figure D

Compatibility issues
Finally, for those using Bluetooth technology to synchronize, keep in mind that the methods used to connect the two devices are similar to those for USB connections. I am not aware at this time of any incompatibilities or conflicts with other uses of Bluetooth, such as remote printing or remote headphones. If you are using Pocket PC 2000, it's recommended that you download and install Service Pack 1. Users of Compaq iPaqs are encouraged to get an update from Compaq's Web site for a customised version.

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