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+--- Thread: HP 42s annunciators (/thread-6835.html)
HP 42s annunciators - Logan - 09-12-2016 01:18 PM
So I was putting together a few programs that had multiple rows of menu keys. I noticed that unlike the system menus, the arrow annunciators do not show up on my programs (which is understandable, the program can't tell there is more than one row until it executes the next row when one of the arrow keys is pressed).
So I looked through the system flags to see if this could be turned on. I didn't see it, but wondered if anyone else knew of a way to do that. It's not necessary, but it is nice to indicate to the user that the program has more rows of menus that could be used.
RE: HP 42s annunciators - Thomas Okken - 09-13-2016 04:44 AM
I don't have the HP-42S manual handy right now, but I remember that somewhere it (*) states that when you have a multi-row programmable menu, that is, one where you use KEY 7/8 GTO/XEQ to program the ▲ or ▼ keys, the ▼▲ annunciator will turn on.
This would be a logical and useful way for KEYG and KEYX to behave, but unfortunately, it's not true. Somehow the HP-42S firmware developers and documentation writers got out of sync.
There is no way that I know of to turn on the ▼▲ annunciator manually. (**)
(*) Could also have been the HP-42S Programming Examples & Techniques book.
(**) On the real HP-42S, anyway. In Free42, KEY 7/8 GTO/XEQ does turn on the ▼▲ annunciator; it's one of a very small number of deliberate differences between the original calculator and the app.
RE: HP 42s annunciators - Logan - 09-13-2016 12:19 PM
Thanks, that's good to know and it's nice the behavior is more useful in Free42 (which I do use regularly, thanks!).
I have both books. As far as I can tell, the Manual only talks about the built-in menus. The Programming Examples book doesn't seem to specifically state that the annunciators will show up. It states:
Quote:A multirow menu has more than one row of labeled keys. (For example, the CLEAR menu has two rows.) When you enter a multirow menu, the (down) and (up) keys enable you to move to each row in the menu.
You can emulate a multirow menu in a program by assigning KEY GTO instructions to menu key 7 (the (up) key) and menu key 8 (the (down) key).
Emphasis theirs. The emphasized "emulator" may have been to indicate that it's not exactly the same, I suppose. I don't know, seems like an oversight to me.
RE: HP 42s annunciators - Thomas Okken - 09-25-2016 01:52 PM
In the first edition, from July 1988, that paragraph ends with this line:
Quote:(KEY GTO or KEY XEQ instructions for menu keys 7 and 8 also automatically turn on the ▼▲ annunciator in the display.)
This is from the PDF from an old version of the HP Museum CD set. I don't have the physical book any more, but I remember it being in there as well, and that book was probably also a first edition, since I bought it in 1988 or 1989.
RE: HP 42s annunciators - Logan - 09-26-2016 12:01 PM
That is very interesting Thomas. Mine is the third edition from 1990 so it appears that by then they realized the mistake and instead of changing the firmware, changed the book
