Allowing taskbar to be "unhidden" by "super user"

  • Thread starter Thread starter nzpcmad
  • Start date Start date
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nzpcmad

The client wants his CE.NET 4.1 device to run his web services mobile
application only. He does not want the user to be able to fiddle.

The application is in the start-up folder so starts up when the device
is booted. The exit buttons have been removed. The client also wants
the task bar to be hidden. The intention is that the device can be
used to run the application and nothing else.

There are various posts in this group describing how to hide the
taskbar. However, the client wants a "super user" to be able to access
it in order to do some maintenance activities, configuration etc.

Is there a clever way to re-display it from within the application
e.g. some secret key combination? Any other ideas?

Many thanks
 
Sure. To hide it, one typically uses FindWindow to get the hWnd, then a
call to ShowWindow to hide it. Another call to ShowWindow with a different
constant will make it reappear.

-Chris
 
This topic comes up on most of the mobile projects I architect. "We want
to lock down the device so that the only thing the user sees is our
application".

Problem with this is that the first time your app or underlying database has
a
problem or needs to be upgraded, you can't get to Pocket IE to grab new
CAB files and reinstall things remotely.

A poor-man's approach to lock-down is to simply delete all the shortcuts to
everything else on device in the Windows\Start Menu folder! Of course you
can really lock the device down at varying levels of restrictiveness,
but I thought I'd mention this approach as it sometimes meets the
requirement.

Simplest thing that could possibly work....

-Darren
 
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