Run an application when device connects to PC via ActiveSync

To run an application when a PDA device connects to the PC via ActiveSync, the AutoStartOnConnect registry key can be used. The key resides at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows CE Services\AutoStartOnConnect in the Windows Registry Editor.

When a device connects to the PC, ActiveSync enumerates all the string values under the AutoStartOnConnect key and attempts to launch the specified applications.

Similarly, the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows CE Services\AutoStartOnDisconnect can be used when a device is disconnected from the PC.

Coding Style: WaitCursor encapsulation

Often during long processes, we need to display the WaitCursor to give feedback to the users. Changing the mouse cursor to WaitCursor, and then back to the default cursor may be achieved as follows:

1 // change to WaitCursor

2 Cursor.Current = Cursors.WaitCursor;

3

4 // DO SOMETHING

5

6 // change to default cursor

7 Cursor.Current = Cursors.Default;

Now, assume that an exception is thrown during the processing (i.e. DO SOMETHING), the cursor may never change back to the default state. Hence, we may need to use a try and finally block to ensure that the cursor is changed back when either the processing is successfully completed or an exception is thrown. The code will now be as follows:

1 // change to WaitCursor

2 Cursor.Current = Cursors.WaitCursor;

3

4 try

5 {

6 // DO SOMETHING

7 }

8 finally

9 {

10 // change to default cursor

11 Cursor.Current = Cursors.Default;

12 }

As changing the cursor to the busy state and back to the normal state is repeated in different methods, a further improvement would be to encapsulate this piece of functionality in a class. Then, a using statement can be used to handle the cursor states during processing.

23 /// <summary>

24 /// Handles wait cursor

25 /// </summary>

26 public class WaitCursor : IDisposable

27 {

28 public WaitCursor()

29 {

30 Cursor.Current = Cursors.WaitCursor;

31 }

32

33 public void Dispose()

34 {

35 Cursor.Current = Cursors.Default;

36 }

37 }

1742 using (new WaitCursor())

1743 {

1744 // DO SOMETHING

1745 }