Custom Menue in RPN mode

[DG7RBN]

Hi Prime experts,

is there a way to create a custom menue at the bottom of the screen to
directly access a handful of user programs or variables without going thru
the "Vars" or "Toolbox" menu. I figure a PPL program, that gets hooked into
the main keyboard/mouse handler loop of the RPN mode.
For the HP48++ generation calcs this is easily realized by the VAR button.

Thanks for info
Andreas

[ramon_ea1gth]

Hello Andreas

Take a look at CSTMENU. It's simple and convenient:
https://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-16144.html

Ramón

[DG7RBN]

Thank you, Ramon, for the pointer.
I'll give it a try. Looks quite complicated, compared to the smooth and straightforward implementation in the HP48-family. There you even don't need a "User" key.
Thanks anyway and 73s ;-)
Andreas

[ramon_ea1gth]

I started with the HP48GX and currently I often use the HP50g, so I see your point about an extra complication. On the one hand, the HP-48 RPL-style machines are extremely customizable, but there is a learning curve, even for programming. But once you get it, the flexibility is awesome and you enjoy it. Though it takes time.

On the other hand, the HP-Prime can be used immediately (thinking about my students) and graphing tools are awesome. The PPL programming language is intuitive. But to use the full-power of the machine, there is again a learning curve and a change of paradigm: from directories to applications. And on that way, you miss some RPL features, like the stack-oriented approach, the power of the soft buttons, and some ties (to my taste) like the predefined HOME variables, to say some. It's a different design with a different approach, but the RPL math/CAS functions are all there and even many more.

I use the HP50g in user mode to get the most of the machine. So not to be discarded in the HP-Prime (still, I prefer the power of the RPL machines user mode). So CSTMENU was the best trade-off I found to customize the HP-Prime soft keys with the standard Prime programming tools. And as a plus, CSTMENU has multilevel soft menus (not by default in RPL machines).

Interesting discussion ;-)

73!

[Edit]
By the way, I just updated CSTMENU with a minor addition to the code: the #pragma header, so multi-language decimal separators are supported to check/run the program.

[DG7RBN]

Hi Ramon,
tried your program, hope I understand it correctly:
- it provides a comfortable way to define and handle menue structures
- it blocks the keyboard for other than the selection keys & the "mouse"
- the menue is gone after selection is done
Not to criticize but this is a far cry from the VAR menue on the HP48++ calcs:
- the menu stays permanent
- all other keys and calculator functions work as normal
- the menue structure is "automatically" defined by the HP48 directories

From browsing the forum I see some more or less sucessful efforts have been made on the Prime to make a decent RPL machine out of it. Things that are dead easy on an RPL machine require dozens of codelines and even then you are stuck because of underlying design deficiencies (should I say "features").
After using the Prime for some time, I realize:
- amazing hardware (speed, display, decent keyboard)
- software downgrade compared to the RPL family (if you are not a school kid or student using mainly the math tools)
- lack of decent documentation (official manual is SIX years old)
I'm afraid, this has been discussed from the early days of Prime's appearance and will never change, because the heydays of pocket calcs are over.

73 de Andreas

[Jacob Wall]

A true custom menu is not possible on HP Prime. Any custom menu implementation will have to be within the context of another application or program. One example is something I created RPN Prime SurveyCalc which has various menus that can be accessed while using the app.

It would be possible (if one was motivated enough) to create an app (just a PPL app even) that would essentially replace the RPN mode of the HP Prime which included an implemantion of a custom menu feature. The app I created was to address the needs of a small segment of the larger possible user base, and it was enough for me to be able to switch from using a 50g daily to using the HP Prime daily. To add a custom menu in that app would likely be done via an interface allowing the user to select from a predefined list of functions to populate a certain menu, or to enter a custom name. With a bit of creativity the "Programs" variable could be used to check whether a custom name matched a user program name, but a whole lot of complexity would arise from that of course. Within the scope of an RPN stack, there would need to be some checks as to number and type of arguments, etc. All possible still, I lack the time to go down that path and frankly I'm not convinced Moravia is "all-in" on the HP Prime anyways, meaning that any effort would face the uncertainty of being built for a product that faces an uncertain future.

[ramon_ea1gth]

Fortunately, the Moravia staff is working back on the HP-Prime and I guess there is a long wish-list, besides the usual bugs that appear in such a complex device. Let's be confident and in the meantime, let's keep using our HP classics.

I believe that there is room for improvement in the user experience without breaking the Prime user-interface paradigm. From my point of view, a [LastMENU] and a [LastCMD] softkeys would accelerate the user interaction enormously. Even [LastCMD] could give access to, e.g., the last five entered commands:

https://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-18...#pid129707

73!