Remote Tools Shell Overview (Windows Embedded CE 6.0)
1/6/2010
The Remote Tools Shell consists of two separate windows that appear when you start the shell, the main tool window and the Plug-in Explorer window.
The main tool window shows plug-ins that are currently running, and provides the view for the nodes that are added by a plug-in. For information, see Main Tool Window.
The Plug-in Explorer shows a list of devices configured on your desktop machine and the plug-ins that can be run with those devices. This window also shows the properties of a selected plug-in. For information, see Plug-in Explorer.
Main Tool Window
When the Remote Tools Shell is first launched, the main tool window displays two panels. The left panel displays a tree view that shows the list of currently running plug-ins in a hierarchical list. When you select a node labelled with the name of a given plug-in, the right panel shows the view that corresponds to that plug-in node. The contents of the right panel are defined by the plug-in itself. For more information, see Main Tool Window.
The main tool window can display live data gathered by running plug-ins, or it can display saved data previously persisted by a running plug-in.
When the main tool window displays live data from running plug-ins, the root node in the left panel uses the name of a target device.
When the main tool window displays saved data, the root node in the left panel is labelled as Saved Data. This shows that the subordinate nodes come from a saved data file. For information about how to save data, see Saving Data Displayed in the Remote Tools Shell. For information about how to open saved data files, see Opening Saved Data Files.
Plug-in Explorer
The Plug-in Explorer shows a list of the devices that are currently configured on your desktop workstation, and the plug-ins that you can run on those devices. This window also shows the properties of a selected plug-in.
When the Remote Tools Shell is first launched, the Plug-in Explorer window displays two panels. The left panel displays a tree view that shows the list of mobile and embedded devices that are configured for use from your desktop system. The list is organized into three levels of nodes.
The first level nodes show the operating system versions that are registered in the Core Connectivity data store. The second level nodes show specific devices that are registered in the Core Connectivity data store. By default, these second level nodes only display the devices for which there are preconfigured plug-ins. Finally, the third level nodes show the list of plug-ins that are currently loaded into the shell, and which are preconfigured to run on the associated device.
You can also show the left-hand panel sorted by plug-ins, with the plug-ins being first level nodes in the tree, and specific devices being the second level nodes. For more information, see Viewing the List of Plug-ins.
The type of sort that you choose for the left-hand panel affects the right-hand panel when the right-hand panel is being displayed in hierarchical mode. In hierarchical mode, the right-hand panel is divided into multiple subsections.
- Sorting by device results in three subsections, which display the platform, specific devices, and loaded plug-ins that are preconfigured to run on those devices.
- Sorting by plug-in results in two subsections, which display the currently loaded plug-ins and the devices for which they were preconfigured.
The right-hand panel displays the set of properties that are associated with a selected plug-in. When you select a specific plug-in in the left-hand panel, the right hand panel displays the properties for that plug-in, which can include name and description. When you select a specific cell, the description of that cell's contents is displayed at the bottom of the right-hand panel. You can also choose to show or hide the level of detail associated with a specific section of the properties that is displayed.
For more information about the Plug-in Explorer and the tasks that you can perform, see Plug-in Explorer.
See Also
Tasks
Starting the Remote Tools Shell