How to Replace the Network UI for a Target Device (Windows Embedded CE 6.0)

1/6/2010

The Network User Interface (UI) Catalog item defines the user interface components that are used by networking and device driver modules in the Windows Embedded CE operating system (OS). This includes the Network and Dial-up Connections application.

Network UI provides a set of dialog boxes that can be used by other applications. Network UI functions are contained in Netui.dll, and are accessed by the operating system through wrappers in the %_WINCEROOT%\Public\Common\Oak\Inc\Netui.h file. Therefore, to match the desired user experience, you can omit implementation of any of these functions from Netui.dll, change the sample implementations to suit the user interface requirements for specific device, or omit the Netui.dll entirely.

Note

The wrappers in Netui.h attempt to find the appropriate function in Netui.dll. If no appropriate function is found, or if netui.dll is not present, Netui.h will return an error code and output a message to the debug console that it could not find the requested function.

Hardware and Software Assumptions

**The following assumptions are made about your setup.

• Your Platform Builder installation includes the CEPC x86 board support package (BSP).
• You have a CEPC already configured. For more information, see How to Set Up a CEPC and How to Use the IDE to Create, Customize, and Build a Run-Time Image.
• You have created an OS design that includes the Network User Interface.
  For information about creating an OS design, see Creating an OS Design. For information about adding a Catalog item to the OS design, see Adding an Item from the Catalog.
  If you do not have a specific OS design created, and instead want to use these steps as a tutorial, choose the Enterprise Web Pad design template when you create your OS design.
• You know the changes that you want to make in the Network UI. The source code for the implemented dialog boxes is in the %_WINCEROOT%\Public\Common\Oak\Drivers\Netui directory.
  For information about how to include the netui module, see netui Module.

Steps

Step	Topic
1. Customize the network UI as desired.	Customizing the Network UI
2. Choose a Debug or Release configuration to target when Platform Builder builds the OS design into a run-time image. To use the kernel debugger, make sure that support for the kernel debugger is enabled.	Levels of Debugging Support Building a Run-Time Image From a Debug Configuration Building a Run-Time Image From a Release Configuration
3. If you expect the size of either the debug or the release run-time image to exceed 32 MB, enable support for a large run-time image in the settings for the OS design. Note: Debug run-time images are typically larger than release run-time images. If you choose a debug configuration and the OS design contains many features, it is likely that the size of the run-time image will exceed 32 MB.	Enabling a Run-Time Image Size Larger Than 32 MB
4. Build OS design into a run-time image.	Building a Run-Time Image
5. In the Output window, on the Output tab, verify that the build contains no errors.	Build Error Debugging Process
6. Choose a download service appropriate for the connection hardware. The download service will download a run-time image to the CEPC.	Download Service Selection
7. Set up and configure the connection hardware required for the download service. That hardware connects the CEPC to the development workstation, on which Platform Builder is installed. Examples of connection hardware include cables, a hub, or Ethernet network adapters.	Hardware Configuration
8. If you selected Serial Download Service in step 6, configure the HyperTerminal terminal emulation application to display the serial debug output from the serial port on the CEPC. This configuration requires a null-modem cable connected to a serial port, such as COM1.	Configuring HyperTerminal for BSPs
9. Turn on the CEPC so that it becomes active on the Ethernet network or over the serial connection, and Platform Builder can discover it.	Not applicable
10. Configure the connection to the CEPC. Choose the appropriate topic based on whether the development workstation and the CEPC are connected by an Ethernet network or a serial port connection.	Configuring an Ethernet Remote Connection Configuring a Serial Remote Connection
11. Download the run-time image to the CEPC through the configured connection.	Downloading a Run-Time Image to a CEPC
12. Test the Network UI change.	Testing the Network UI change

See Also

Concepts

Network User Interface OS Design Development
Functions Exported by the Network UI

Other Resources

Network User Interface