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How To use SatSyncPPC to sync PocketPC data
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How To use SatSyncPPC to sync PocketPC data
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Problem: How To use SatSyncPPC to sync PocketPC data
Updated: Starting with Satellite Forms 7.1, the SatSyncPPC and SatSyncPPCPDB sample desktop sync projects for PocketPC applications have been merged together into a single SatSyncPPC target, which supports syncing desktop data with PDB databases on the PocketPC, using either the Satellite Forms ActiveSync OCX or the CeRemote.dll non-ActiveX approach. The information below is applicable to the SatSyncPPC sample included with Satellite Forms 7.1.
Solution: SatSyncPPCPDB is a sample application written in Visual Basic and provided in the \Samples folder of your SatForms installation. SatSyncPPCPDB demonstrates how to send and receive data between the desktop PC and PocketPC handheld, using the Satellite Forms CeRemote.dll and SFConvertPDB utility. This sample is designed for PocketPC applications using PalmDB (PDB) format databases on the handheld. To see a related example based on the SatForms ActiveSync OCX and the use of CDB handheld database tables, see How To use SatSyncPPC to send data to the PocketPC device.
SatSyncPPCPDB is not only a valuable tool to help you learn how to create your own PocketPC synchronization system, it is also a very useful utility in its own right for developers and perhaps even end users of your application.
SatSyncPPCPDB demonstrates these following PocketPC synchronization tasks:
These instructions assume that you have created and compiled your application in App Designer, and want to send data from an existing database table on the PC to the handheld. It is also possible to bring this data back into the table editor in App Designer with an additional step. If your data already exists in the App Designer table editor, there is no need to follow these steps, since you can just use the Handheld | Download App & Tables function. These instructions are for sending data from an existing PC database to your SatForms application on the handheld, and optionally bringing that data back into the App Designer table editor.
1. Start the SatSync sample application in \Samples\SatSyncPPCPDB.
2. Select File | New, then File | Configure Send List.
3. Select the DBF or MDB files to send data to the handheld.
4. Specify the correct creatorID and version numbers for your application, matching the settings in the Project Properties settings in App Designer.
5. Specify the folder on the PocketPC to send the database files to. Generally this will be something like \My Documents\MyApp. SatSyncPPCPDB will create this folder if it does not exist when the files are transferred.
6. Save your SatSync config file, then click on Send Tables to PocketPC. If the PocketPC device is not currently connected, an error message is displayed. Otherwise, the data should get sent to the handheld, where it now resides in the handheld tables in the specified folder. SatSyncPPCPDB will display the file transfer results in the status field on the main form.
To bring the handheld data back to a desktop database file, you would Configure Get List, and then initiate the transfer by clicking on the Get Files from PocketPC button.
Another option is to bring data back into the App Designer Table Editor. Simply start App Designer, select Handheld | Upload Tables and the data is brought back into the Table Editor.
SatSyncPPCPDB performs the tasks of transferring PDB database files between the PC <--> PDA using the Satellite Forms CeRemote.dll. The functions of this DLL are declared in Module1 (SF_PPC_API.bas). The reference documentation for this DLL is the CeRemoteAPI.h header file located in the \Satellite Forms 7\Include folder.
The conversion between PDB <--> DBF/MDB is carried out on the desktop PC by calling the functions in the SFConvertPDB utility. SatSyncPPCPDB calls SFConvertPDB to perform the conversion, and checks the return value to determine if the conversion succeeded or failed.
The combination of the database file transfer and database file conversion functions provides the ability to create a complete data synchronization system for Satellite Forms PocketPC PDB applications.
Keywords: SatSync, SatSyncPPCPDB, PocketPC, PDB, VB, sample, sync, synchronization, SFConvertPDB, DBF, MDB, database
KB ID: 10039
Updated: 2010-06-22
Satellite Forms KnowledgeBase Online