Adding software to your Windows CE device is generally a pretty simple process. Most developers include in their software a program that will automatically decompress (if necessary) and install software directly from your desktop to your PDA. This means the only part of the process that requires manual intervention is the actual download.
Downloading Software
Once you have identified the piece of software you would like, the first step in the process is to download the file to your local computer. On , you begin this by clicking on any of the download links (you will see these on the software product pages where you can download a demo version of certain products and after you have completed a software purchase where you can download the file immediately for use).
Once you have clicked on a link to download, a pop-up box will appear notifying you that you have started the file download process. This box will either be titled 'File Download' (Figure 1) or 'Unknown File Type' (Figure 2). Depending on the box that appears, click either the 'OK' button or the 'Save File' button to proceed with the download process.
A box will now appear asking you where you want to save the file you are about to download (Figure 3). In this case, we have chosen to save the file in a folder called 'Palm'. You can save your file anywhere on your computer you wish, but remember where you saved it. As we recommended at the beginning of the guide, it is best to create a folder on your hard drive where you will keep all of your downloaded files. This will keep your file directory uncluttered and you will always know where to look for anything you have downloaded.
At this point, you should also make a note of what it says in the 'Save as type' box at the bottom of this box (in this example the type is a PKZIP File). This will come in handy a little later when you need to determine what step to take next.
Once you have chosen the directory where you would like to store the file you are going to download, click the 'Save' button. This will initiate the actual download of the file. A box will appear on your screen that will show the status of the download (Figure 4). Once the blue bar has moved all the way to the right, the download will be complete and this box will disappear.
You have now completed the transfer of the software program from the Internet to your local computer and are ready to proceed to the next step of the process.
Installing SoftwareUsing the Windows Explorer tool, locate the file you just saved. Double click on it. In most cases this will start an installation process automatically (remeber to have your PDA in its cradle). If after double clicking the file, you receive an error message that says "Windows cannot run this program because it is in an invalid format" try moving the file from your desktop to the PDA device and running it from there. Certain files need to be on the PDA itself to install an it is likely that you have run across one of these.
If the file you downloaded ended with '.zip', (if you did not notice f it was a zip file when you started the download, you can find out what type of file you have by right-clicking on the file and selecting 'Properties'. This will display a window with information about the file you have selected) you will first need to decompress the file before installing. You can do this on the desktop using a program such as WinZip (if you do not have this program, you can download it from the WinZip site). You can also use Pocket Unzip on your PDA if you wish to move the file there first. After decompressing the file you downloaded, you should see a file called 'setup.exe' or something similar. Double-clicking this file will complete the installation.
Once the automated installation process has begun, you can simply follow the instructions that may pop up from time to time to finish the process.