create smart device cab through msbuild

Question

Is it possible to use an msbuild task to build a smart device project into a cab file for deployment.

I've seen a couple of pages on the web:

http://guystarbuck.blogspot.com/#115584006223003606 http://blog.opennetcf.com/ctacke/2008/09/18/AutomatingCABFileGenerationWithMSBUILD.aspx

but I can't believe that you have to go to that much trouble for something that should be simple!

Thanks.

Answer 1

It is that difficult and, yes, that is lame.

Answer 2

You can use CAB42 in order to automate the build process of device CAB-files. This tool is great when using at build servers and automated processes where it is necessary with multiple CAB-file configurations for example. The tool gives you options to define your own configurations for CAB-packages and executes the necessary msbuild commands accordingly.

Summary

CAB42 is a graphical tool to quickly setup and build multiple CAB files with diferent configurations for Windows Mobile smart devices.

About

I use CAB42 to build Microsoft Mobile .CAB files with different profiles and settings. Also, cabwiz.exe is a PITA to configure when you want to dynamically include files in various directories relative to your output as all files must be explicitly be included with a absolute file path.