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mplaum

11 Posts

Posted - 02 Jun 2006 :  17:43:11  Show Profile  Email Poster
Hi,

I'm wondering if you could shed some light on this for me.

have an application that requires ArcPad to be the only
software running on the device (the end user is not allowed to
access any of the other device's applications or settings). I
launch ArcPad on boot up using ADSLOAD, which works, but
only if the Windows CE Explorer (Shell) is active.

The error message is as follows:
---------------------------------
Application ArcPad.exe has performed an illegal operation and
will be shut down. If the problem persists, contact the program
vendor.

Program: ArcPad.exe
Exception: 0xC000001C
Address: 800BEEE8
---------------------------------

Using Remote Process Viewer, all the processes running in both cases are identical, with the exception of Explorer.exe.

I have also set the Shell delay to a higher value (up to 30 seconds) with no difference.

I am speaking with ESRI about this as well, but any suggestions would be welcome.

Best regards,
Markus

akidder

1519 Posts

Posted - 05 Jun 2006 :  07:17:06  Show Profile  Email Poster
I think ESRI is probably your best reference for the answers.

Here are a couple other things you might try:
  • Keeping the Desktop Running
    Maybe you could keep the desktop running, and just suppress the taskbar. I'm not sure about why/how the app has to be the only one running, but it must enforce it by looking at other processes that are running.

  • Startup
    I'm not sure which adsload you're using (.exe or .reg) to start up the app. Have you tried putting the app in the FlashFX Disk\Startup folder? That's usually the place most users put their apps.
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mplaum

11 Posts

Posted - 05 Jun 2006 :  10:05:38  Show Profile  Email Poster
Thank you, Andrew.

Yes, I expect to hear from ESRI soon about this issue... Hopefully... :)

By suppressing the taskbar, you mean turning off "keep on top", correct?

I prefer to not launch the explorer shell because it is a kiosk-style application with multiple users, and I don't want them to have the opportunity to "explore" the device during their spare time. I would also like to keep the overhead as low as possible.

ADSLoad: Sorry, my mistake. I meant ADSCopy. I am using the ADSCopy.exe that I downloaded from the this website, in conjuntion with the appropriate .inf script file.

I have also tried launching the ArcPad application from within an exe that we have written (and renaming it "ADSCopy.EXE"), with the same results.

The application resides on a PCMCIA flash card. I use ADSCopy to do some housekeeping before the application loads as well (copying files etc.)

This is what I have in my .inf file:
'ADSAlloc.exe' '\\'
'\ADSAlloc.exe 0x770' -x
;ArcPad
'ArcPadPrefs.apx' '\My Documents'
'"\Storage Card\Startup\ADSCOPY\FileBackup.exe"' -x
'"\Storage Card\Program Files\ARCPad\ArcPad.exe"' -e

I have used this platform for other applications before; this is the first issue I have had with launching an application from ADSCopy.

Best regards,
Markus
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akidder

1519 Posts

Posted - 05 Jun 2006 :  11:32:08  Show Profile  Email Poster
It looks like you're doing the right thing with the (-e) in the hope that ADSCopy gets out of the way. However, it's odd that it works when the shell is running.

It sounds like the software is doing something tricky. The writers are probably the best ones to contact to figure out what they are doing.
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mplaum

11 Posts

Posted - 20 Dec 2006 :  11:15:35  Show Profile  Email Poster
At long last, I finally got a response from ESRI. Here's what they said:

"Unfortunately, the shell is required because ArcPad calls several APIs in AYGShell.dll (e.g., SHCreateMenuBar) to create the UI."

So, I guess we're out of luck. I will likely have to use another application to display the ESRI maps, or use something like Franson GPS Tools from within our own application.

Thank you for your help!
Markus
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ctacke

877 Posts

Posted - 20 Dec 2006 :  11:32:59  Show Profile  Email Poster
There is an alternative - you can create a custom shell that exports the necessary shell entry points that does what you want and replace Explorer.exe with it. Take a look in Platform Builder help for the requirements. The Taskman shell source comes with PB and my be easy enough to tweak into what you need.
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mplaum

11 Posts

Posted - 23 Jan 2008 :  11:00:51  Show Profile  Email Poster
Thank you, Chris, that definitely sounds like a solution. Much appreciated.

...Now I have to go try to find our copy of PB... ;)

Markus

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