Foxit on Bsquare Maui / Vodafone PHH

[khahn]

Hi,
I have tried to start Foxit Reader for CE 4.2 on my Maui.
It runs CE.NET Version 4.10 (Buuild 908)
more info on http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/2312.html

I get the Message "Cannot find 'FoxitReaderforCE4_2' (or one of its components)".
I think the Problem are some missing dll's from the Pocket PC Version.
Could you tell me which dll's you need. So I could use a trick to get it running anyway ?

Regards
Klaus

[william]

Hi Klaus,

Unfortunately, Foxit Reader doesn't support Win CE 4.1

[TFGBD]

Hi Klaus,

Unfortunately, Foxit Reader doesn't support Win CE 4.1

Haha! Incorrect, my friend! :P Foxit Reader runs just fine even on Windows CE 3.0! :P I even tried it on a Windows CE 3.0 OS (Handheld PC 2000) and it in fact runs perfectly! :) The trick is simple, really. Windows CE checks the OS version specified in an EXE's PE header. If the OS version specified in an EXE/DLL is higher than the current system version, Windows CE will just not execute it and display the generic "Cannot file XXX.exe or one of its components." error which will also be displayed for various other reasons.

While an end user can change the OS version of a Windows CE EXE manually by modifying it in a Hexeditor, there is an even easier way where you can do it first via a compiler switch that will set the OS version of the EXE at compile time! :)

Here is all you need to do to make your plain Windows CE (and Pocket PC) version of Foxit Reader run on Windows CE 3.0 or later without needing to modify it manually:

In the Project Settings dialog, go to the Link tab. Now, in the "Project Options" area of the Link tab, just replace the generic /subsystem:$(CESubsystem) compiler option with /subsystem:windowsce,3.00 (or whatever minimum OS version you want it to run on) Then just repeat the above for all your Processors/Configurations and the compiler will automaticly give the EXE a Windows CE 3.0 OS Version the next time you compile it.

It really is as simple as that and I'm sure the less technical Windows CE 3.0 device owners will appreciate this little change. :) Next, I am going to see if it even runs on OS versions as far back as CE 2.11! :) That would be so wonderful as many CE 2.11 Handheld PC Pro device owners are in desperate need of a PDF Viewer! ;)

One last comment...
I really don't know why you have seperate Windows CE 4.2(+Pocket PC 2003) and Windows CE 5.0(+ WM5 Pocket PC) versions of the EXE. Is there any difference in functionality at all? The CE 4.2 and Pocket PC 2003 versions should run fine on the slightly newer versions of the OS. I don't really see the need for two seperate builds for the different OS versions. I think it will just cause more confusion for some of your end users. It seems silly to me to maintain two seperate OS version builds when just one will suffice. :P In my opinion, the time used to compile for WinCE 5.0 could be better used to compile for processors other than ARM. :)

I hope my suggestions were helpful. Have a nice day. :)

[Chemist]

While an end user can change the OS version of a Windows CE EXE manually by modifying it in a Hexeditor ....

Hi can you please explain me which modifications i have to do to make it run with ce 4.1.
Would be really nice to run it on my Simpad.

Chemist

[Chemist]

Am i right, that i have to change the MinorSubsystemVersion from 0014 to 0000 ?

Chemist

[william]

Hi Chemist,

Sorry, we don't encourage users to play a trick on the system or the software.
We don't officially support old version of Windows CE.
If you would like to tweak the software, we cannot guarantee the security and safety of the software.