Share via

Catalog Editor (Compact 2013)

  • Article

3/26/2014

You can use the Catalog Editor to view and edit Windows Embedded Compact 2013 catalog item (.pbcxml) files, which are XML-based files that contain metadata about the associated catalog item.

UI Element List

The Catalog Editor toolbar displays the following icons.

  • Refresh
    Refreshes the Catalog Editor display.

  • Show All Catalog Files
    If this UI element is enabled, the Catalog Editor displays all nodes in the catalog as the global WINCEROOT defines them. All other nodes are displayed as read-only.

    If this UI element is disabled, the Catalog Editor displays only the nodes that are defined in the current .pbcxml file.

  • Add
    Adds a selected item type to the catalog item file. You can choose to add an instance of the following items:

    • BSP

    • Source Code Link

    • Catalog Item

  • Validate
    Validates the metadata that is contained in the catalog item file. You can define the scope of the validation process by selecting one of the following:

    • Current File
    • Opened File
    • All Catalog Files

Any errors or warnings that are returned are displayed in the Error List window.

Catalog Files

A catalog file is an XML file with a .pbcXml file extension that contains metadata that describe catalog items or templates.

The metadata that describes a catalog item is contained in a .pbcxml file, which is based on an XML schema. When you choose to open a .pbcxml file, by default it opens in the Catalog Editor, which is part of the Visual Studio 2012 environment.

Create a Catalog File

In Platform Builder for Windows Embedded Compact, you can add new functionality to the catalog by creating a catalog item (.pbcxml) file by using the Catalog Editor. For example, if you have created a driver, you can create a catalog item file to contain the XML metadata that enables you to add the driver to the catalog for use in OS designs.

To use Catalog Editor to create a catalog file

  1. Create or open an OS design.

  2. On the File menu, click New, and then click File.

    The New File dialog box appears.

  3. In the Categories pane, click Platform Builder, click Platform Builder Catalog File, and then click Open.

    When you click Open, you create a default catalog item file that you can populate with metadata pertaining to the catalog item.

  4. To save the catalog item file that you have created, on the File menu, click Save <CatalogFile.pbcxml> As.

    The Save File As dialog box appears.

  5. Navigate to the directory location where you want to save the catalog file, and then do one of the following:

    For a new feature catalog item, you must save the catalog file in a folder named Catalog. You can save it in an existing Catalog folder in an existing directory for a feature (for example, %_WINCEROOT%\PUBLIC\SERVERS\CATALOG), or in a new Catalog folder in a new directory under %_WINCEROOT% (for example, %_WINCEROOT\VENDOR\FEATURE\CATALOG).

    For a new BSP catalog item, you must save the Catalog file in a folder named Catalog that is in the platform directory for your new BSP (for example, %_WINCEROOT%\PLATFORM\MyBSP\CATALOG).

  6. In the File name field, enter the name that you want to use for the catalog file, and then click Save.

Add an Object to a Catalog File

In Platform Builder for Windows Embedded Compact, you can add objects such as a third-party BSP to the catalog by using the Catalog Editor to add the BSP to a new or an existing catalog (.pbcxml) file.

Likewise, you can use a similar procedure to add a source code link or a catalog item to the catalog file.

To add a BSP to a new catalog file

  1. Create a catalog file in the Catalog Editor.

  2. In the Catalog Editor, on the Catalog Editor toolbar, click Add, and then, on the menu, click BSP.

    When you click BSP, Platform Builder creates an empty catalog item object under the Third Party folder.

  3. In the Properties pane of the Catalog Editor, you can now view and modify the metadata for the BSP that you are adding to the catalog file.

To add a BSP to an existing catalog file

  1. Open the catalog file. On the File menu, click Open, and then click File. In the Open File dialog box, navigate to the file that you want to open, and then click Open.

    Platform Builder displays the selected catalog file in the Catalog Editor.

  2. Select the node to which you want to add the BSP. You can choose to add the BSP to either a BSP or a Core OS node.

  3. On the Catalog Editor toolbar, click Add, and then, on the menu, click BSP and do one of the following:

    • If you want to add the BSP to an existing BSP node, the vendor for the BSP must be the same as the vendor for the existing BSP.
    • If you want to add the BSP to a Core OS node, the vendor for the Core OS must be the same as the vendor for the catalog item file. The BSP is specific to the selected Core OS.
    • If you want to add the BSP to a subfolder, you must select a name for the subfolder that you create to contain the BSP.

    When you click BSP, Platform Builder creates an empty catalog item object in the location that you have specified.

  4. In the Properties pane of the Catalog Editor, you can now view and modify the metadata for the BSP that you are adding to the catalog file.

Remove an Object from a Catalog File

After you have created a catalog file, you can choose to remove objects from the file, such as a BSP, a catalog item, or a source code link.

To remove an object from a catalog file

  1. In the Catalog Editor, open the catalog (.pbcxml) file you want to remove an item from.

  2. Locate and select the object that you want to remove, and then, on the context menu, click Remove.Depending on the type of object, the results are as follows:

    • Removing a BSP does not remove any child items of the BSP.
    • Removing a catalog item removes all child items of that item, but leaves the catalog item's siblings.
    • Removing a catalog item in a subfolder removes all child items of that item, and removes the subfolder itself if there are no siblings of the catalog item in it.
    • Removing a source link removes the source link.

  3. To save your changes, on the File menu, click Save.

See Also

Concepts

Platform Builder