Please can you beta-test this unusual Free42 skin

[MickM]

(10-26-2023 10:25 PM)dm319 Wrote:  Very nice skin - I like the graphics. I also like the layout - having shift near clear is convenient for me. I'm not too sure about the placement of the EXIT key.

shift 'm' (for 'k') seems to bring up the 'modes' menu for me though.

Thanks for your thoughts and reporting that issue.

Regarding placing EXIT beside ENTER, I honestly just did that because I thought it was cute i.e. "Enter/Exit". I'm open to change that. How about the exchanging the locations of ∑+ and EXIT? Or moving ∑+ to where EXIT is, shifting the trig functions to the left and placing EXIT above the Shift key (I'd need to think about the separating of % and %CH though)? Or feel free to propose something else.

Regarding the issue with ⇧m, I'm guessing you're on Windows (which I can't test). If I got that wrong then I've likely made many more such errors :-(. I wonder if you also have the same issue with separate pressings of shift followed by "m" (i.e. the CShift line) - could you please confirm.
Would you mind please trying something. In the layout file go to line 723 to find:
WinKey: CShift 77 : 28 117 # ⇧,m → M (Mega)
WinKey: Shift 77 : 117 # ⇧m → M (Mega)
Edit the second line to remove the word Shift, save the file and reload the skin to see if it's fixed.

Also somewhat related to the above, a virgin skin without any hot-key definitions has a full suite of default hot-key definitions, and they're kind of universally used because nobody else was dumb enough to monkey with them. I completely changed everything by making my own hot-keys. Annoyingly (well, I thought so) any default hot-key that hasn't been redefined remains in force. I brought this to Thomas's attention by saying that the remaining default keys were "polluting" my environment and I was looking for a way to wipe the slate clean before defining all of my hot-keys. However, Thomas saw the existing behavior as a feature, not a bug. Oh well.

(10-26-2023 10:26 PM)Johnh Wrote:  I had a look at the images and I think the rendering of labels, buttons, subtle 3d shading and soft highlights on the buttons looks really great. I haven't been successful yet in loading it onto my Android version of Free42, most probably due to my lack of understanding, though I've managed to change the skin to some others available in Free42.

I think with skins that move buttons around, its difficult to assess initially because the new layout, although it might be better, will need time to develop new familiarity. Also, if an emulator is being used in conjunction with a physical version of the calculator, then no matter what layout is used, they both need to be the same!

Appreciate the compliments :-). A friend had some Android issues and he responded with the following (which may or may not be useful):

On Android, use Main Menu -> Select Skin -> Load to load skins from this web site. Or, alternatively, on Android 10 or earlier, put the skins wherever you like; remember the location, and, in Free42, choose Main Menu -> Skin:
Other, and use the file selection dialog to locate and select the desired skin's layout file. On Android 11 or later, this procedure only works with skins stored in /sdcard/Android/data/com.thomasokken.free42/files.

Absolutely agree with your comment about a button rearrangement being off the table if you're also using a physical HP42S. I only use the phone and desktop versions these days - my physical calculator has the issue where the zebra connector under the LCD has dried up and half the buttons don't work as a result. Aside from that, my iPhone mini is smaller than the HP42S so that's even better. I've gotten 100% used to all the new button locations and looking at the real calculator now just makes me cringe :-).