Configuring Client Information in Thin Client (Windows CE 5.0)
The shell uses registry settings to determine registered clients. You must therefore configure each client in the registry. This is particularly important if you will have more than one Windows Thin Client.
Before a connection can be established, the Windows Thin Client Shell must have the following information for each client that it manages:
- How to create the connection.
- The Description value, or a display name to show when creating a new connection.
- The Type value, or an eight-character description to display in List View.
Registered Clients
The root key, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WBT\Clients\Registration, contains information that the shell uses to determine registered clients. The following table shows the named values.
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
| DefaultClient: REG_SZ | No default setting. This value specifies the registered client key to designate as the default client when a user creates a new connection. For example, to set the default client to RDP, this value would be RDP.
Do not confuse this key name with the Type entry of a registered client. |
From the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WBT\Clients\Registration root, each client must have its own subkey with a unique name. This subkey contains the information about the client and about each connection that has been defined for it.
The following are examples of client information keys.
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WBT\Clients\Registration\RDP]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WBT\Clients\Registration\VT100]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WBT\Clients\Registration\3270]
Client Information
The HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WBT\Clients\Registration\Your client name registry key contains client information. If the entry of a client is incomplete or invalid, then the shell ignores the client, and a user is not able to create connections that are based on it. No error message is posted if the shell encounters a client that is not properly configured.
The following table shows the named values for a client.
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
| Description: REG_SZ | No default setting. This value specifies the display name for the client. For example, the display name for Microsoft RDP might be "Microsoft Remote Desktop Client." When creating connections, a user is presented with the list of emulators and their descriptions.
This value is required. |
| Type: REG_SZ | No default setting. This value specifies the short eight-character description for the client. This information is displayed in the Type column of the Windows Thin Client Shell user interface (UI).
This value does not need to match the name in the client key. For example, two VT100 clients might have the client key names of VT100a and VT100b, but the Type value can be VT100 for both clients. This value is required. |
| NewExe: REG_SZ | No default setting. This value specifies the helper application to call when creating a new connection. Each client must have a helper application for creating new connections. The helper application for creating new connections must be a wizard.
This value is required. |
| NewCmdLineArgs: REG_SZ | No default setting. This value specifies the command-line arguments to pass to the helper application that is specified by the NewExe value. The command-line arguments can specify the required function. This is useful if you want to provide a helper application to create, edit, and delete connections.
This value is optional. |
The following code example shows the client information key that is required for RDP:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WBT\Clients\Registration\RDP]
"Description"="Microsoft Remote Desktop Client"
"Type"="RDP"
"NewExe"="Tsconwiz.exe"
"NewCmdLineArgs"=""
Connections
The Windows Thin Client Shell also requires information about how to start, edit and delete each connection that it manages. This information is specified in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WBT\Clients\Registration\Your client name\Connections\Your connection name registry key.
You must create a Connections key in the root of each registered client. Each subkey in the Connections key represents a connection entry. The client's connection key must contain all values that are required by the shell. Each client must maintain its connection key. If subkey entries for a client are changed, the system does not need to be reset.
The shell enumerates the Connections key to determine the list of connections that are defined for each client. The shell updates the connection information of a client after an add operation, an edit operation, or a delete operation by a user.
Connection named values must be placed in the root of the key defined for each connection. If the registry values of a connection are incomplete or are not valid, then the shell will ignore the connection and the connection will not be listed in the shell. However, an error message is not posted to the user if the shell encounters an improperly configured connection.
The following table shows the named values for each Connections key. These values are required.
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
| Description: REG_SZ | No default setting. This value specifies the display name for the connection. The Windows Thin Client Shell displays connections by names that are obtained from this value. |
| StartExe: REG_SZ | No default setting. This value specifies the executable file to launch when creating a new connection. |
| StartCmdLineArgs: REG_SZ | No default setting. This value specifies the command-line arguments to pass to the executable that is specified by the StartExe value. |
| PropertiesExe: REG_SZ | No default setting. This value specifies the helper application to call when modifying the properties or editing an existing connection. |
| PropertiesCmdLineArgs: REG_SZ | No default setting. This value specifies the command-line arguments to pass to the helper application that is specified by the PropertiesExe value. |
| DeleteExe: REG_SZ | No default setting. This value specifies the helper application to call when deleting a connection. |
| DeleteCmdLineArgs: REG_SZ | No default setting. This value specifies the command-line arguments to pass to the helper application that is specified by the DeleteExe value. |
See Also
Customizing a Thin Client | How to Develop a Thin Client
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