After a quick introduction to Windows CE and handheld devices, author Robert Burdick provides a working template for a basic application. He then explains dialog boxes, basic controls, and common controls, such as the calendar and date-time-picker controls. The menu system in Windows CE is quite specialized, and Burdick demonstrates how to use its command bars effectively, providing tool tips along the way.

Other sections cover storage in Windows CE, starting with its file system; the Windows CE database APIs, including an example that stores phone numbers; and the Win32 registry. The best material in this book, however, is the coverage of owner-draw and custom controls in Windows CE. (This expertise, once standard fare for most Windows developers, has been largely superseded by ActiveX controls.) The author shows how to customize buttons for an ATM kiosk application. He also covers the Windows CE Custom Draw Service and how to create standalone custom controls. Further sections look at using the built-in HTML viewer control, inputting text with the rich ink control, and even recording sound.