Creating Kiosk applications

[Erel]

Sometimes there is a need to "protect" the user from itself and not allow him to quit your application.
These kind of applications are called kiosk applications.
There are three things you should do to create a kiosk application:

1. The application should be full screen so the user will not be able to reach the Today menu.
2. Override the hardware buttons functionality.
3. Put a shortcut for your application under \Windows\StartUp

How it's done?

1. Use FormLib.FullScreen method.
2. Use the updated Hardware library. Read the keys values from the registry and catch all the keys.
3. This can be done in the installation package.
   You need to change line 144 of the SetupBuilder from:
   if chkShortCut.Checked = true then FileWrite(c,AppName & ",0," & lstFiles.Item(e) & ",%CE11%")
   to:
   if chkShortCut.Checked = true then FileWrite(c,AppName & ",0," & lstFiles.Item(e) & ",%CE4%")
   This will create the shortcut under \Windows\StartUp instead of \Windows\Programs

See the attached source code for an example of a kiosk application.

[lee inmo]

HI

GOOD
thank you

[pallonivel]

Hi,

Should this work on Windows Mobile? If I run Kiosk.sbp on my PDA, I can't catch any key presses. Should this work in PDA editor or do I have to create the installation package?

[Erel]

It works on most devices. However it tries to read the keys from the registry. It is possible that on your device the registry is a bit different.

[Tex8503]

Hey Erel,
This is really cool and I'm looking at adding this code into my application - I tried to do an implementation for working across multiple forms - but it seems the title and menu bar pop up anytime you're moving amonst the forms. Is there anyway to prevent this?

Thanks!

[Erel]

You need to create one FormLib object for each form:

    flb.New1("Form1",B4PObject(1))
flb.FullScreen(True)
flb2.New1("Form2",B4PObject(1))
flb2.FullScreen(True)
...

[Tex8503]

Hmm I tried that but the menu and title bar flash up on the screen between form changes. Is there anyway to prevent that ?

[Cableguy]

Hum, do you really need several Forms?
Is it possible to you to use panels instead?
That way you only set form1 as a FullScreen form, and the "flickering" would not exist, and you can place the same controls on a panel as weel as in a form...Then you only needed to make the right panel visible when needed...

Hope this helps..

[Tex8503]

CableGuy - This is a possibility. I didn't even consider that. I'll have to rework some things - but this might work

[Tex8503]

Erel - Just found another quirky thing with the kiosk code and I don't know if there's a way around it.

I'm now trying to run my application with your kiosk snippet here on a device with Win CE 5.0 and your kiosk code gets rid of the top bar, but not the bottom task bar. Any idea on how I might hide this as well to achieve the same functionality as on a Windows Mobile device?

Thanks!