How to Develop Applications for Windows Mobile

Easily create applications for your Windows Mobile phone.

If you have ever wanted an application on your Windows Mobile phone that wasn't available, there is a way to get it. You can develop your own, using the Visual Basic programming language. It may not sound easy, but with a few key tools and some simple steps to get you started, you will be on your way to creating a custom application. Your creativity is an important factor in this process. If you are successful with your development, you can potentially earn money by selling your Windows Mobile Applications.

Things You'll Need

• ActiveSync 4.5 or Windows Mobile Device Center
• Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition and above or Microsoft Visual Studio 2005
• Microsoft .NET Compact Framework v2 SP2.

Instructions

1. Double-click to open Microsoft Visual Studio Express. In the top left of the program select "File," "New," and "Project." Next, select the project type and device application that you will be creating. Lastly, name the project appropriately and select a directory to save your project.

2. Choose the Main menu field, located in the Windows Forms Designer, to begin editing the menu for your project. Find the "Type here" field and type "Quit," and then press the "Enter" key on the keyboard.

3. Go to the event handler and add the code below to handle the event. You can do this by clicking on the word "Quit" twice.

   Private Sub MenuItem_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MenuItem.Click

   Application.Exit()

   End Sub

4. Display your application with the following code in the Form class.

   Private Sub Form1_Paint(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.Windows.Forms.PaintEventArgs) Handles Me.Paint

   ' Create string to draw.

   Dim drawString As [String] = <Insert your application here> (see tips section below)

   ' Create font and brush.

   Dim drawFont As New Font("Arial", 10, FontStyle.Regular)

   Dim drawBrush As New SolidBrush(Color.Black)

   ' Create point for upper-left corner of drawing.

   Dim x As Single = 10.0F

   Dim y As Single = 10.0F

   ' Draw string to screen.

   e.Graphics.DrawString(drawString, drawFont, drawBrush, x, y)

   End Sub

5. Select "Debug" from the Solutions Configuration dropdown first. You can find the drop-down on the toolbar. Then choose the device that you will be testing your application on from the Target Device drop-down. It is also located on the toolbar.

6. Move your mouse pointer to the build menu and select "Build Solution." This will build your project and afterward will be available for review in the Output window. You can now fix errors in your project accordingly until it builds correctly.

Tips & Warnings

• In Step 4, insert your application in parentheses followed by a semicolon.

References

• Msdn.microsoft: Walkthrough: Create and Run a Simple Windows Application In Managed Code
• Msdn.microsoft: Installing Developer Tools for Windows Mobile