On Windows CE using the standard graphical shell, the screen layout is similar to a desktop computer that runs the Windows operating system, as shown in figure. The taskbar is along the bottom of the screen, and each time you start an application its icon appears in the taskbar. The Start button is lower left, and the menus open upward from the lower left. As on desktop computers, a single click or tap with the stylus selects a menu item. To start a program from an icon displayed on the desktop, you must tap twice with the stylus (the equivalent of a double click with a mouse). When an application runs, it does not necessarily run in full-screen mode. Also, in Windows CE, application windows typically include the Close button (cross) and the Minimize button. On Pocket PCs, you never see a Minimize button, and if there is a Close button, it actually works as a “Smart Minimize” button and not a Close button.
figure: The Windows CE standard shell
Remember that the Windows CE shell described here is only one of potentially many options you may encounter if you develop applications for hardware that runs Windows CE. A Windows CE-based platform can have its own unique shell that is developed and customized for a device and its target audience, which supplies a different user interaction experience from the one described here.
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