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How to Create and Submit a Sync Plug-In for Device Stage

Updated: December 11, 2009

Device makers can use the new Device Stage feature in Windows 7 to show their customers the applications and services that are specific to their device. The Device Stage interface is an extension of the Devices and Printers interface and provides a new way for users to interact with their mobile phones, cameras, printers, and portable media players.

If your device supports personal information such as contacts and calendars, you can enable the sync capability in Device Stage. This capability lets customers sync their mobile phones, music players, and other mobile devices with a computer that is running Windows 7. If you want your customers to be able to sync their personal information from a program on your device, you must design a sync plug-in for that program.

If you create a Windows 7 sync plug-in, you can ask Microsoft to list your plug-in on the Device Stage Referral page. This allows people who use Windows 7 to easily find the plug-in from within the Device Stage interface.

How to Write a Sync Plug-In for Device Stage

For information on writing a sync plug-in, see “Writing a Synchronization Provider for Windows Device Stage Synchronization” in the Microsoft Device Experience Development Kit. You can create a sync plug-in for an application that is either Web-based or not Web-based, such as an e-mail program that your customers install on their PC but cannot access from a Web browser.

If you have questions while you are developing your sync plug-in, send an e-mail message to dssyncqs@microsoft.com.

Requirements for Listing a Sync Plug-In in Device Stage

For your sync plug-in to qualify for inclusion on the Device Stage Referral page, it must meet the following requirements in addition to those in the Microsoft Device Experience Development Kit:

  • Your plug-in must sync information from a program that manages contacts, calendars, notes, or tasks.

  • Your plug-in must sync with a mobile device that is compatible with Windows 7 Device Stage.

  • Your plug-in must sync with a mobile device that has qualified for the Windows 7 Logo Program additional qualification (AQ) for Device Stage. For more information, see the Device Stage Additional Qualification page.

  • Your plug-in must meet the technical, business, and legal requirements in Attachment A of the “Windows 7 Device Stage Plug-In Listing Agreement”.

  • A program that installs on a computer but is not Web-based must meet the requirements of the Windows 7 Software Logo Program. You can find details of this program on the Windows Application Compatibility page. There is no similar requirement for a Web-based program.

How to Submit a Plug-In for Listing in Device Stage

After you write a sync plug-in for your program and confirm that it works with Device Stage, you can contact Microsoft to submit the plug-in to be listed on the Device Stage Referral page. To submit your plug-in, follow these steps:

Complete and sign the “Windows 7 Device Stage Plug-In Listing Agreement”.Send an e-mail message to syncref@microsoft.com that contains the completed Listing Agreement and the URL for the company landing page for your sync plug-in.

We will contact you with the results of our review of your referral listing request.

Learn More about Device Stage

For more information about the sync capabilities of Device Stage, see “Sync music, pictures, contacts, and calendars with a mobile device.”
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