.cpf Files

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The CAB Provisioning Format (.cpf) offers additional flexibility for provisioning and configuring Smartphone and Pocket PC. Smartphone and Pocket PC both use the makecab utility to create a .cpf file. A .cpf file is processed as a .cab file, including the handling of security.

Note   Applications compiled and linked against the Smartphone and the Pocket PC 2003 SDKs are not backward compatible with Smartphone and Pocket PC 2002 devices.

For Smartphone, the .cpf method offers the following two advantages:

  • The XML file is compressed by means of the MSZIP compression algorithm, which significantly reduces the file size and transmission time.

  • The .cpf file can be signed through the Microsoft Authenticode® signing tools. This enables a role mask to be assigned to the provisioning request based on the role mask stored with a matching certificate on the device.

    Note   Pocket PC does not support compressed .cpf files. Installation of .cpf files that contain a compressed .xml file fails on Pocket PC.

The steps for creating a .cpf file are significantly different from creating .cab files with CABWizSP.

Pocket PC and Smartphone can use the _setup.xml files to provide configuration instructions (XML instructions) for .cpf files. A .cab file created for Smartphone by using CABWizSP contains a setup file, _setup.xml, that holds XML instructions for the installer on how installation should proceed.

.cpf files may receive XML configuration instructions from the _setup.xml file. This file, created by CABWIZ or CABWIZSP when it creates a .cab file, holds XML instructions for the installer on how installation should proceed.

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