On the ITScriptNet client, you can specify a Device Alias on the Configuration screen. This Alias is saved into each collected data record and can be used to identify which device was used to collect a specific data record.

The Device Alias is also used as part of the filename for Image Capture or Digital Ink, along with a date/time stamp. This means that if you use a character in the Alias that is not a valid filename character, you will have problems saving the captured images.

What are the valid and invalid characters for a filename on a Windows CE/PocketPC/Windows Mobile device? Although it seems like an easy question to answer, the details turn out to be difficult to pin down. The Microsoft Knowledge Base has several articles about filenaming conventions, mostly with regards to the PC. Here are a few:

Errors Creating Files or Folders in the Root Directory

Naming a File

However, these articles list differing information on which characters are allowed. Are '?' and '*' allowed or not?

With the .Net Compact Framework 2.0 and higher, there is a function called GetInvalidFileNameChars which is supposed to return the list of invalid file name characters.

We created a test program using this function, and it returned the following invalid characters.
All characters between 0 and 31, along with the " < > | characters.

However, we tested creating files on a PocketPC device and determined that the ? * : \ / characters are also not allowed, even though they were not returned by GetInvalidFileNameChars.

So what is the answer to the question, what characters are not allowed in a Windows CE/PocketPC/Windows Mobile filename? It appears these are the invalid characters:

Avoid using any of these characters in your Device Alias to prevent problems saving Image Capture or Digital Ink characters.

We have added a pair of knowledge base articles describing this issue.

INFO: Invalid Filename Characters for Windows CE / PocketPC / Windows Mobile.

PROBLEM: Unable to Save Image error with Image Capture or Digital Ink.

With Extended Daylight Savings Time turning our clocks forward 3 weeks ago, you may have put that whole problem behind you.  This past saturday was the original Daylight Savings Time changeover date, so any devices which were not updated with the new rules will have changed their clocks ahead.  Take a moment to double-check your devices and make sure all clocks are in sync!

Did you update your devices for the new Extended Daylight Savings Time?  The first deadline has passed, but if your devices are not updated, they are going to change the clock automatically when the original daylight savings time date arrives!

HandHeld Products has posted the CAB files for the Extended Daylight Savings Time update.  Put the correct CAB file (PocketPC 2003 or Windows Mobile 5) in the \IPSM\AutoInstall and cold-boot the device.  Be sure you have backed up all data on the device before cold booting!

Microsoft Research is working on the AURA Project, which is a mechanism for scanning IBSN barcodes with a standard PocketPC or SmartPhone with a camera.

We downloaded and experimented with the package, using a Verizon vx6700 and had excellent success.  This device has a Macro lens, so it was able to scan and decode the symbols with good accuracy.

At this time, it appears that the decoder only supports EAN and UPC codes, but we will monitor this project to see what develops.  We would be very interested in integrating a decoder like this into the Standard Windows Mobile 5 client for ITScriptNet.

HandHeld Products and Microsoft have teamed up to place Dolphin 7900 Windows Mobile 5 devices in Microsoft Technology Centers worldwide. 

The Dolphin 7900s are pre-loaded with a Portable Point of Sale application and an Interactive Tour, both written using ITScriptNet Batch Plus.  These applications will be used to demonstrate the capabilities of the Dolphin and what can be done with mobile computing. 

The applications support 4 languages: English, French, Spanish and German.  We are pleased to have been able to work with HandHeld Products on the development of these applications.

Recently we had a customer present us with an interesting problem.  This customer wanted to scan a 2-D barcode that could be up to 999 characters long.  He also wanted to parse some fields from the barcode and store them in other fields.  The problem was that the total length of his collected data exceeded the ITScriptNet maximum of 1000 characters.

Since he did not need to store the raw scan, but only the data parsed from it, we were able to take advantage of a trick using In-Prompt Scripts.  The Maximum Length property of an Input element can be overridden at run time using a script, but when the collected data is saved, the client uses the original size.  This is done so that records remain fixed width.  Normally you'd design the program with the maximum length you would need to scan, and then use the In Prompt script to override the size smaller if you knew the barcode you were scanning (or text to be typed) was smaller than the maximum.

In this case, however, we set the maxmimum length for the field to be 0.  An Input field with a zero length will not be saved in the collected data file.  We then used an In Prompt script to set the field's maximum length to 999 at runtime.  This allows the field to scan the 2-D barcode, and the scanned data is available in the After Scan script to be parsed, but it is not saved in the collected data record.

We have a Knowledge Base article about this technique:  HOWTO: Scan and Parse large 2-D Symbols

This is your last chance to update your PC and mobile devices before the new Extended Daylight Savings Time change this weekend.  We've previously discussed these issues in the following articles:

Extended Daylight Savings Time and Windows Mobile / Windows CE

Windows Mobile 5 Daylight Savings Time update tool released by Microsoft.

And of course, visit Windows Update to update your PC.

If all else fails, reset your clocks on Sunday/Monday, and then be prepared to set them again on April 2nd!

Originally, PocketPC devices all had the same screen size: 320x240.  However, Windows CE devices could have any size screen.  Over the last few versions, however, Microsoft has been allowing some new screen sizes, including 240x240.  With the release of Windows Mobile 6, Microsoft has added 320x320 as a valid screen size.

ITScriptNet currently only allows 320x240 as a valid screen size when you select PocketPC/Windows Mobile as the Terminal Type, although the client will run on a device with any screen resolution.  You can specify any screen size when you select Windows CE as the Terminal Type.  In a future version we will add the ability to select from any of the valid screen sizes for Windows Mobile, and have the client automatically move the Main Menu elements to fit the screen.

This article on the Windows Mobile Team Blog has more detail and a list of the valid screen sizes for Windows Mobile.

Z-Space Technologies and HandHeld Products have teamed up again this year to provide the official scoring system for the Next Snow Search Finals. HandHeld Products has donated Dolphin 9500's and Z-Space is providing the ITScriptNet data collection program that the judges use to enter the scores. There are 110 athletes ranging in age from 8 to 14 from across the USA here at Killington for the Next Snow Search competition. Today was the first day of competition. The weather in VT caused the event schedule to be changed--but these kids just want to ski and snowboard and did not seem to mind. The morning event was the Big Mountain Challenge and the afternoon events were Moguls and Carvings.

There are 14 judges that are split into 2 teams of 7 judges. There are usually 2 events running at the same time here, so each team of judges handles one event. Each judge has a Dolphin 9500 and the ITScriptNet data collection program prompts the judge to sign in by selecting his or her name from a list. Then the judge selects the event. For each competitor, the judge enters the Bib# and the score. For this competition, the scores ranges from 0-20. These are subjective scores based on the overall impression the judge has of the run and includes the difficulty of the tricks, the landings, the speed and control, and technique. The program makes sure that the Bib# and score are both valid and then has the judge confirm the score before saving. The program also allows the judge to review the scores entered.

The conditions on the mountain today truly tested the Dolphin 9500s. It was cold and continuously snowing. My role allows me to stay in the lodge, but reports from some who had to endure the elements suggest the conditions on the mountain were "gnarly". The Dolphins came back to base camp after several hours of competition encrusted with ice. The biggest problem was that I had to watch out for the ice melting into the cradle for download. The Dolphins handled these extreme conditions with no failures. The feedback from the judges is very positive--they love being able to have a simple and reliable way to enter the scores.

After the events the judges ski the Dolphins back down to the lodge so I can download the raw scores. The data is set to accumulate the raw scores in an Access database table. I have a custom PC application that then tabulates the scores. The minimum and maximum scores are dropped and the remaining five scores are added, thus the max score for a run is 100 points. I am using Crystal Reports to produce a variety of reports to display the results for the individual events and the overall standings. The results are presented as overall results and also broken down into the 4 main categories: Boy Ski, Boy Snowboard, Girl Ski, and Girl Snowboard.

Today wound down with a pizza party for the athletes, families, judges, and event staff. Everyone is having a great time! The kids are enjoying meeting kids from different parts of the country. There was a foil-sculpting contest and a paper airplane contest with the winners receiving all sorts of neat shwag.

Signing off for today. Better get some rest because tomorrow is going to be the Dual Race and the Big Air event!

Did you see the NextSnow Search All Star event on NBC last weekend?

The NextSnow Search is a ski and snowboard competition for kids, ages 9 to 15.

If you did, you may have noticed a shot of a judge entering scores into a handheld computer.

The scoring for the NextSnow Search All-Star event was performed using HandHeld Products Dolphin 9500 mobile computers, running ITScriptNet software. We were pleased to provide the scoring software for this event.  This is the second year we provided scoring support, along with HandHeld Products.

The Finals are this weekend in Killington, VT, and we are providing scoring support for this event as well.  Good luck to all the competitors in the event!

We've been discussing some of the changes in the Windows Vista security model.  Here is some information on another one.

In Windows 2000 or XP with ActiveSync 4.x, if you use a limited user account (non administrative), you cannot install the ITScriptNet Client to a device.  ActiveSync 4.x requires an administrative account for device installation.

In Vista, the UAC will pop up a username/password prompt, and if you supply the correct credentials, you can install the client to a device.

We've added a Knowledge Base article describing this issue.
INFO: ActiveSync 4.x requires an Administrative account to install

As you are aware, Windows Mobile 6 recently started shipping.  Since Windows CE 6 became available last fall, we assumed that Windows Mobile 6 was built on top of Windows CE 6.0, in the same way that Windows Mobile 5 is built on CE 5.0, and PocketPC 2003 SE was built on CE4.2.  However, this turns out not to be the case.  According to the Windows CE Team Blog, Windows Mobile 6 does not run on Windows CE 6, but rather on CE 5.02.

This will certainly cause confusion with device manufacturers who support both Windows Mobile and Windows CE.  Will they release Windows Mobile 6 and CE 5 devices together, or Windows Mobile 6 and CE 6?  Will they be willing to support two different underlying operating systems?

While experimenting with TrueType font files on PocketPC 2003 and Windows Mobile 5, we ran into an issue deleting the fonts.  Under PocketPC 2003, we were able to delete the font files (with .TTF extension) from \Windows\Fonts.  However, under Windows Mobile 5, we could not delete the fonts.  By renaming the files to .old (i.e. Diner.TTF.Old), we were able to delete them.

We added Knowledge Base article describing this issue:
HOWTO: Delete Font Files from Windows Mobile 5

We've run into similar issues with Media Files and other file types, too.  Windows Mobile 5 is much more aware of file types than PocketPC 2003 was.

Windows Vista introduces a new Mobile Device Center, which replaces Activesync for Windows CE and Windows Mobile devices.

Mobile Device Center is not built in, at least not with the initial release of Windows Vista.  You must download and install it from the link above.

Using the Mobile Device Center is very similar to using ActiveSync.  Primarily the major features still exists but have been renamed.

When you connect the device, you will see the Setup screen, shown below:

If you select 'Connect without setting up your device', you will establish a connection similar to a Guest connection under ActiveSync.

Selecting 'Set up your device' will establish a partnership.

Microsoft has released ActiveSync 4.5.  This update is for Windows 2000/XP only.  Windows Vista uses the new Windows Mobile Device Center.

This new version of Activesync appears to have changes to support Office 2007 and Exchange Server.  It does not appear that ITScriptNet will be affected by this new version, but we will be testing to make sure.