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Feb. 9, 2003
HANDYSHOPPER v2.7.3
for the Palm Computing Platform
"Shopping Lists plus so much more!"
BEFORE ASKING QUESTIONS: Read the "INSTRUCTIONS" section (below),
and the "FAQ.txt" file.
CONTENTS: -----------------------------------------------------------------
1. Postcard-Ware
2. Disclaimer
3. HandyShopper User Group
4. Installation
5. Desktop Companion
6. Instructions
7. Going Shopping
8. Ideas for Creative Use of HandyShopper
9. Converter Tool
10. What's Not New
11. What's New
12. Future Features
13. Feedback
POSTCARD-WARE: ------------------------------------------------------------
HandyShopper is (and has always been) FREEWARE.
BUT... if you like HandyShopper, please send me a postcard! My
favorites are local or scenic cards. I've lost count, but you've
sent thousands from all over the world. "Thank you" to everyone who
has sent a postcard!
Please send postcards to:
Chris Antos
9649 174th Place NE
Redmond, WA 98052
USA
DISCLAIMER: ---------------------------------------------------------------
This software is FREE and I cannot be responsible for lost data or
any other problems. If this is not acceptable to you, do not use
HandyShopper!
HANDYSHOPPER USER GROUP: --------------------------------------------------
There is a user group for HandyShopper users, at groups.Yahoo.com.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/handyshopper
The group was started on October 21, 2000 by enthusiastic users of
HandyShopper. Here are just some of the things you can do when
visiting the user group:
o Ask questions (or answer question).
o Download databases that other users have shared.
o Post databases you've created, and share them.
o Benefit from other users' ideas, hints, and tips on how to
get the most out of HandyShopper -- and share your own
ideas, too.
o You can even download a user manual, written as a
collaborative effort by several users.
Beta versions will appear here periodically, before they are
released publically on http://www.Palmgear.com.
INSTALLATION: -------------------------------------------------------------
If you are upgrading from a previous version of HandyShopper:
IMPORTANT: do *NOT* delete or uninstall previous versions of
HandyShopper before installing the new one; if you delete it,
you will erase all your data. If you were using 1.7 or earlier,
then you can delete 1.7 AFTER you import your data.
If you were using a previous build of HandyShopper 2.x, then the
only thing you need to do is just install the new build, per the
steps below.
HS2 does not overwrite HS1 or its data. You can safely have
both of them on your device at the same time.
Installing HandyShopper onto your Palm device:
Use the Palm Install Tool to install the following files onto
your Palm device, and then do a HotSync:
HandyShop2.prc - this is the HandyShopper program.
HS2Icons_Color.prc - sample color icons; install this if
you have a color device.
HS2Icons_Mono.prc - sample monochrome icons; install this
if you have a black and white device.
After the HotSync, "HandyShpr" will show up in your Launcher's
"Main" category (or in the "Unfiled" category if your device
doesn't have OS 3.5 or higher).
The first time you run HandyShopper, it will check to see if you
have HS1 on the device. If you do then it will ask if you want
to import your HS1 data. (Or you can do it later, by using the
menu).
See "INSTRUCTIONS", below, for information on how to use HS2.
HandyShopper 2 is "BackupBuddy Certified"!
Visit http://www.bluenomad.com for more information.
DESKTOP COMPANION: --------------------------------------------------------
There are a couple of HandyShopper desktop companion programs for
Windows (Desktop Shopper, and HS2Edit for Excel), written and
maintained by third parties. You can find them by searching for
"HandyShopper" at http://www.palmgear.com.
INSTRUCTIONS: -------------------------------------------------------------
HandyShopper comes with very little documentation, but hopefully it
doesn't need much documentation. Tap the "i" buttons for helpful
Tips, or visit the HandyShopper User Group to find a user manual
written by other enthusiastic HandyShopper users.
Some of the major improvements since HS1:
o Multiple databases. HS1 only allowed one database, but HS2
allows as many as you wish.
o Per-store prices (optional). HS2 allows you to track an
item's price and aisle independently for each store.
o The Total command really works now.
o Attach Notes to items.
o Automatic sorting.
o Up to 100 stores.
o Aisles can be 0-200, or A-Z.
o Variable column widths.
o Custom text field (for instance, works great for an Author
field in a book list). This field is searchable via the
system Find command, just like the Description and Note
fields.
o Optional separate sort orders for the All/Need views.
o Copy an item to another list (even copies its stores, too).
The 'Copy to...' command is found on the Item Tool.
o Beaming databases via infrared.
TIPS:
o Tips -- tap the "i" button for helpful Tips.
o Menu -- to pop up menus, tap the "Menu" circle in the
Graffiti area (in the lower left corner).
o Context menu -- tap an item and hold the stylus down for
half a second to pop up a context menu with some common
actions.
o HandyShopper is useful for almost any kind of list, not just
for shopping lists. Try creating databases for "Gift
Ideas", "Movies", "To Do", etc. Use your imagination!
o Use the Preferences screen to control the visible columns,
how items are sorted, and many other settings and options.
o In most popup dialogs with a text field, you can also write
the newline stroke instead of tapping the OK button.
o Stores that have needed items, show up in bold in the Stores
dropdown list.
o Visit the HandyShopper user group at Groups.Yahoo.com,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/handyshopper
One-handed operation while shopping:
o Use the Menu and select "Options", then "One-handed mode".
o or, push the jog dial on devices that have one.
o or, on a PalmV or PalmVx press the Contrast button.
o or, drag the stylus from the Graffiti area to the upper half
of the screen.
o The hard buttons work as follows, in the No-Stylus mode:
o DateBook - page up
o Address - page down
o Up/Down - move highlight up/down one item
o ToDo - check off item
o Memo - Undo (eg, undo checking off an item)
o Jog Dial Up/Down - move highlight up/down one item.
ICONS:
HandyShopper uses the same icon standard used by Action Names
and DateBk. HandyShopper first looks for a database named
'HS2Icons', and uses icons from there if it exists (once
installed on the device, both the HS2Icons_Mono.prc and
HS2Icons_Color.prc files are named 'HS2Icons'). If this
database is not found, HandyShopper looks for any icon database
containing Action Names icons (a 'Rsrc' type database with the
creator id 'Actn', containing 10x9 monochrome or color icons).
Icons are stored by index, so inserting icons in your icon
database will throw off the index numbers of the other icons.
Generally it's best to add icons to the end of an icon database.
You can customize your icon database using any icon editor that
supports the Action Names and DateBk icon format.
If you are using DateBk4 or higher but still using DateBk3 style
black and white icons, then you'll find that DateBk4 and higher
prefer to use the new Action Names style icons (which can be
color or black and white). There are only two solutions -- you
can either not install the HS2Icons file (and not use icons with
HandyShopper), or you can upgrade from the DateBk3 style black
and white icons. See the DateBk4 documentation for more
information about DateBk icons.
GOING SHOPPING: -----------------------------------------------------------
In general, working with HandyShopper follows a pattern like this:
1. Add items to database (or, go the 'All' view and find items
from previous shopping trips, that you need this time).
2. Select the 'Need' view.
3. Go shopping at one store.
4. Check off items as you put them in your cart.
5. Pay for the items.
6. Use the Checkout command (on the menu) to reset the list for
the next store (this tells HandyShopper you purchased the
items you checked off, otherwise they'll still appear in the
Total at the next store). Note, the Checkout command also
deletes any completed items that are marked as Auto-delete.
7. Go shopping at another store, and go back to step 4.
COUPONS: Check the 'Coupon' checkbox in the item's Details screen.
Copy the item, using the 'Copy Item' command (under the
'Record' menu), and assign a negative price to the new
copy. For instance if you have an item "Coke, 2ltr" and a
coupon for 50 cents off, you could copy the item, and
assign $-.50 as the price (this makes the Total command
more accurate).
IDEAS FOR CREATIVE USE OF HANDYSHOPPER: -----------------------------------
Included here are some example ideas contributed by users.
Share your ideas at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/handyshopper
Aromatherapy - (submitted by Claire Appleby)
I use HandyShopper to record different blends of aromatherapy
oils for different uses. My items are individual oils and I use
the stores to represent different uses such as relaxation,
alertness, fatigue, headache etc. I have the database set to
record per-store prices and aisles, and I use the aisles to
record the number of drops of each oil needed when making up a
blend for a particular purpose. This means when I select a
particular use from the stores list, HandyShopper shows which
oils I need with the number of drops for each oil.
Book List - (submitted by Craig Lawson)
I mix together books that I want to buy with those I want to
check out from a library. If I discover someone has checked out
the book from the library, I make note of the call number so I
can quickly locate it again either there or at another library.
[editor's note: and the Custom Text field is great for storing
the author's name, too!]
Collections - (submitted by Gretchen Cawthon)
HS2 is excellent for keeping track of collections. Use the
quantity field to keep track of amounts, and the price field for
current values. Also, the 'stores' and 'category' fields are
great for easy sorting.
Furniture Shopping - (submitted Janet Hilsmier)
We loaded Rooms into the Categories. It was much easier to walk
around the store, plug in each table, couch or chair that we
liked, the dimensions and the price. When we finally decided
which ones we "needed", it was easier to make sure the sales
agent charged us correctly. Later, we added our downpayment and
interim payments as negative numbers, so that we knew what was
owed by final delivery.
Gift Idea/Shopping List - (submitted by Gretchen Cawthon)
Set up your categories as to the type of gift (Christmas,
Birthday, Baby Shower). Use the person's name in the 'store'
field. As your friends and family hint at what they want for
their special occasion, add it to the list and then check it off
as you purchase it. I also input the price so I can add up what
I have spent for each person. It is also great to have that
list handy when you can't find an item they ask for at
Christmas. Then after Christmas you can use the list for
potential birthday gifts, just change the category for the item.
Home Chores List - (submitted by Janet Hilsmier)
We loaded all of the mundane dusting, mopping, vacuuming tasks
and rooms, plus the semi-annual and annual tasks like changing
batteries.
Home Improvement Projects
Each month of the year is a store. Categories included "Indoor",
"Outdoor" and "Painting". Then, each project was loaded. We
assigned the projects to months to help us schedule everything
we want to do, within reason. (It is impossible to paint, till,
stain, mulch, build and plant in one weekend!) It also helps us
to keep focused on getting to some of those "someday I'd
like..." projects.
Impulse Purchases - (submitted by Chris Antos)
If you find yourself buying things you later realize you don't
need, try this. Create a dated list called "Impulse", and make
the Price and Date columns visible. Whenever you see something
new you want to buy, add it to the Impulse list and mark down
how much it costs and when you saw it. Then walk away and don't
buy the item - wait about 3 weeks. Every few weeks, look
through your Impulse list and see if you still really think you
need the items. If you still think those $199 fold-up
sunglasses will make a significant difference in your life, then
by all means go back and buy them. <wink> This technique has
saved me more than $1000 over the past year. Another great
thing about the Impulse list is you can actually see how much
money you've prevented yourself from wasting.
Inventory - (submitted by Chris Antos)
HandyShopper is NOT designed for inventory! Inventory and
Shopping are opposite concepts. Extremely simple inventories
can be done with HS2, but in general HS2 does not work well for
inventory. Several inventory programs do exist for the Palm
devices, so I recommend searching web sites to find them.
Karate Training - (submitted by Philip Wright)
After three years of training, I reached the higher ranks at my
karate school. But I still didn't have a good way to keep track
of all my combat techniques. HS2 solved that problem. I
created a checklist, and assigned the karate session (Jan-Feb,
Mar-Apr, etc.) to the Stores field, and the level (Beginning,
Intermediate, Advanced) to the Categories field. Now all I have
to do is put the title of each technique in the task list, and
put the instructions for each technique in the Notes field of
the tasks. Now it only takes me two seconds to find a
technique, and one tap of the stylus to see the complete
directions for the technique. And one of the coolest things is
that when I'm preparing to test for my next belt, I can check
off each technique as I master it, so that I know which ones I
still need to practice.
Movies - (submitted by Chris Antos)
When you see a trailer for a movie you'd like to see, add it to
your Movies database, along with the its upcoming release date.
You can use the categories for "Theater", "Rent", "Buy VHS",
"Buy DVD", etc. Attach a note to the item, with a description
of the movie, in case you forget what the movie's about or who's
playing in it.
Orders - (submitted by Gilly Rosenthol)
When I order something, I record the item and the date ordered.
That way I can keep track of what packages I'm expecting and see
how long it's been.
Packing List - (submitted by Gretchen Cawthon)
This one is obvious but can be fun to experiment with. I set
mine up with categories first (clothing, toiletries, food,
accessories, etc.) Then I put everyone in my family in the
'stores' field. As I added the items to pack, I assigned them
to the proper person. For example, my husband & I both wear
contacts, so I assigned 'contacts' to both of us. For items
like socks and shoes, I assigned them to everyone. Now, if only
my husband will be traveling, I change the store to his name and
he then has a customized list of things he needs to pack.
Project task lists - (submitted by Claire Appleby)
As a freelance lecturer, a lot of my work involves going through
a specific sequence of tasks in relation to a particular
project. For example, if I'm planning a new course for a
particular college I have certain tasks such as planning the
overall content, then planning the individual sessions,
delivering each session, marking assignments and so on. I use a
store for each project. The items are the tasks. I use the
aisle number to record the sequence that the tasks have to be
carried out in, and I sort the database by aisle. I use price
to record the number of hours that each task usually takes, and
quantity to record the number of times it has to be repeated
(for example, assignments might take half an hour each to mark,
but I might have 60 of them). At the start of each project, I
can go through and select the tasks I need (usually all of them,
but not always). I can also enter the number of assignments etc
where relevant. I can then use the Total command, and
HandyShopper tells me the total hours needed to complete the
project, and how many hours work I have done so far.
Reading List with Calculated Priorities - (submitted by Claire Appleby)
I read somewhere that if you have to get through an awful lot of
reading, you can prioritise this as follows. You estimate the
importance of the article or book by deciding how much you would
be prepared to pay to read it. However, if you would pay the
same to read a 20-page paper and a 200-page book, then your time
is better spent reading the paper. So you calculate your
priorities by dividing the price your willing to pay by the
length of the book or paper.
HandyShopper does this very nicely as follows. The items are
the books or articles. I use quantity to record the number of
pages and aisle to record how much I would pay (in GBP) to read
the book. The built-in calculator is invaluable for calculating
value (aisle) divided by length (quantity), and I use the price
column to store this value. The list is sorted in descending
order on price so that the highest priority item comes out on
top. I use the categories to distinguish between reading for
work and for pleasure, and I use the stores to record books I've
finished reading and books I've started but not finished
(because I tend to have several things on the go at the same
time).
Recipe Database - (submitted by Gretchen Cawthon)
This is extremely easy to build. Use the 'stores' list to
create categories, such as meat dishes, pastas, seafood, sauces,
appetizers, etc. Then use the actual categories function to make
a more detailed sort - like crockpot, holiday, favorites, etc.
Add the title of the recipe in the description field and attach
a note with the recipe instructions. This is quite handy for
keeping track of recipes found on the net (copy/paste from
memopad) and also helpful for jotting down recipes on the go.
Remodelling a House - (submitted by Maria Popoli)
I'm using it to remodel our house!! The categories are rooms,
exterior elements, substructures. The stores are
subcontractors, our own elbow grease, or particular stores for
required purchases. We redecorated our son's room in a weekend
because we had everything ready to go like a kit - no trips to
the hardware store. I've got another database for the
landscaping, categories are: nursery for purchases, existing
design, gardening chores pending, failures,& growers. Stores
are locations within my yard. No wasted money at the nursery
and a beautiful garden.
Restaurants - (submitted by David Jacobs)
I have created a restaurant list using the "Stores" filed for
"Style" of food (Asian, Vegetarian, Seafood, etc). This allows
restaurants to be categorised by multiple "Styles". The
categories field could be used to denote locations and the
priority field for quality rating. The price field could be
used to give an average cost for a meal.
Shopping - (submitted by Gretchen Cawthon)
Some tips on setting up shopping lists...
Unit prices are important in getting the best value. Some
items, like laundry detergent, come in various sizes. If you
buy 100-oz laundry detergent at K-mart for $3.99 and 200-oz at
the Dollar store for $4.99, the best price will show up as
$3.99@K-Mart. That may be the low price, but not the best
value. All you needed to know is that the best unit price was
$.03/oz. Instead of having 10 different entries for the various
sizes of laundry detergent, try one of these two methods.
Create on entry for laundry detergent and make the unit field
'oz'. Then attach a note to the field and insert the unit price
info there (I created a shortcut that will add the appropriate
text and I just fill in the price). Another way is to create a
'store' called "Unit Price". For this store, insert the unit
price for the item. Now when you tap details to see the best
price, you will see what a good unit price is for comparison.
Software List - (submitted by Rosemary Lewis)
Under categories, I use Accessories - Software. Under Stores, I
use Author, (Seller names I use), Demos, Freeware, In ROM, Not
Purchased, Purchased, Removed Permanently and Shareware. Of
course each product can appear in a number of "stores" but this
gives me the ability to keep track of every program I have ever
tried out. What happened to it, my comments on each in Notes,
see cost as Demos move to Purchased and of course, the total
amount of $$ spent on this project. I am VERY happy with this
effort!
Training - (submitted by Bruce Chappell)
I thought you might be interested in how I use your HandyShopper
program. I am a Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) (Part Time),
and am responsible for training other EMTs in a hospital.
Because of the dynamics of Emergency Medicine, I can't always
start teaching a, then b, then c, etc. So I use Aisles to group
things, such as Heart Monitors Aisle 5, then list the various
things I have to cover, Alarm Volume, How to alter preset
limits, etc.
Before HandyShopper it was a miracle if I covered everything I
was suppose to. I never could remember if I taught this shift to
this person, or another shift to another person. Now I can
guaranty that everything is covered before I sign somebody off
as having completed their orientation. Thanks for a Great
Program.
Wine Database - (submitted by David Jacobs)
Create different "classes" of wines (Red, White, Fortified,
Sparkling, etc) using the "Stores" field and categories of wines
(Shiraz, Chardonay, etc) and assigning "ratings" using the
"Priority" field and using the "Notes" field for comments.
...And many more creative possibilites exist!
CONVERTER TOOL: -----------------------------------------------------------
HandyShopper now comes with a converter tool that can convert the
.PDB database file to other formats, and can convert from .CSV
format back into a .PDB database file that can be installed onto the
handheld.
NOTE: For now, the converter is only available for PC's running
Microsoft Windows. See Future Features for more information
about other computers.
The converter tool is a "command line" utility program, and does not
have any graphical user interface. To use it, you must open a
Command Prompt window first. There is usually a shortcut for this
on the Start -> Programs -> Accessories menu.
Converting from .PDB to .CSV:
1. Find the .PDB file that you wish to convert. It is usually
located in the "C:\Palm\<username>\Backup" directory. The
file name of the .PDB file will usually be the same as what
you named the database on the handheld device, but may begin
with a "HS2_" prefix. However, if the database was created
with an older version of HS2 the prefix may be omitted.
2. Run the following command to convert your .PDB database file
into a .CSV file.
hs2convert -c C:\Palm\Username\Backup\MyData.PDB NewFile
Two files will be created in the current directory:
NewFile.CSV which contains the items from the database, and
NewFile.TXT which contains the stores and other information
about the database.
TIP: You can use the CD command in the Command Prompt to
change the current directory. Run "cd /?" for more
information.
3. If you intend to make changes to the .CSV file on the PC and
synchronize the changes back to the handheld device, DO NOT
use the database on the handheld until you install the
updated database onto your handheld (see below). The PC
will overwrite any changes you make on your handheld during
that time.
Converting from .CSV to .PDB:
1. Run the following command to convert the .CSV file from
above back into a .PDB file.
hs2convert -p NewFile.CSV NewDatabase.PDB
This reads both the NewFile.CSV and NewFile.TXT files and
produces the NewDatabase.PDB file, which can be installed
onto the handheld device. The NewDatabase.PDB file is
created in the current directory unless a pathname is
specified.
2. After the converter finishes, you can install the new
database onto the handheld device, using the Palm Install
Tool. One way to install the database is probably to run
"start ." to open a window that lists the files in the
current directory. Find the NewDatabase.PDB file and double
click on it to queue it for installation during the next
HotSync.
Converting from .PDB to other formats:
The converter tool can also convert to XML, but cannot convert
back from XML. To export XML, run the following command:
hs2convert -x C:\Palm\Username\Backup\MyData.PDB XmlFile
For information about the converter tool, run "hs2convert /?".
For other programmers:
o Try out the -i flag, which makes the converter use ID
numbers for stores. This can make certain tasks (such as
renaming a store) easier and higher performance.
WHAT'S NOT NEW:------------------------------------------------------------
There are some things I said would be in HandyShopper 2, that
unfortunately I just haven't had the time to finish.
o Merging two lists via infrared beaming (this is still
anticipated in a future version).
Here are some things I always said would not be in HandyShopper 2,
and still are not in HandyShopper 2:
o Desktop program -- I'm not doing this; someone else can
write one, making use of the HandyShopper CSV/PDB converter
program. And in fact someone has, and you can find it on
www.palmgear.com by searching for "HandyShopper" (one word).
o Recipe program -- would be useful, but this is FREEWARE as a
hobby, and I don't have the time or the personal interest.
Again, someone else can write one, using the HandyShopper
CSV/PDB converter program to build the shopping list.
WHATS NEW: ----------------------------------------------------------------
IMPORTANT: If you are using HS2CONVERT (or any application that
uses HS2CONVERT, such as Desktop Shopper or the
HS2Edit Excel spreadsheet), always update HS2CONVERT
in addition to updating HandyShopper on your
handheld device.
New in build 5009 -- maintenance update 2.7.3 -- February 9, 2003
Features:
o Added high resolution support Sony OS 4.x devices,
including drawing the OS5 format high resolution icons
on Sony OS 4.x devices! To edit high resolution icons,
download Icon Manager from www.PalmGear.com.
New in build 5002 -- maintenance update 2.7.2 -- February 2, 2003
Features:
o Added the Checkout command to the dpad context menu.
o Added dpad support in the icon selection form.
o Improved sorting speed by about 7%.
Fixes:
o Various cosmetic tweaks on high resolution OS 5.0
devices.
o Use a different app font ID to avoid collision with the
OS 5.0 popup Clock.
o Fix expanding the description and custom text columns.
o Fix resizing the alarm widget in the description column
when adding/removing an alarm.
o Fix field color when expanding the description field,
and on color devices draw a red slash thru prices
instead of just drawing red prices.
o Fix bug when drawing an icon on low density devices if
there is only a high density image.
o Worked around Handera hardware bug that could cause
lockups or screen garbage.
o Fixed the popup calculator to handle parse errors
properly.
o Finally (really) fixed HS2Convert to force the database
to get sorted on the handheld next time you open the
database.
o Fixed long standing bug which caused HS2 to skip the
last record from each page in the Find results (i.e. it
skipped the overflow record that didn't fit on the
page).
New in build 4804 -- maintenance update 2.7.1 -- December 4, 2002
Features:
o Full support for the Five Way navigator control on Palm
Tungsten devices.
o The calculator and other buttons now use high density
images on Palm OS 5.0 devices.
o The app icon is high density on OS 5.0 devices.
Fixes:
o The UnitPrice column sometimes accidentally drew a slash
through prices even when Per-Store Prices were not being
used at all. This has been fixed.
o HS2Convert didn't understand the 2.7 database format.
This has been fixed.
New in build 4729 -- HandyShopper 2.7 -- November 29, 2002
Features:
o The narrow font supports high density Palm OS 5.0
devices (including the Palm Tungsten series)
o The Units field has been extended to hold up to 15
characters (it used to hold 4 characters).
o The new UnitPrice column automatically computes the
per-unit price based on the Price and Units columns
(this works for per-store prices too).
o HS2Convert supports both of the above.
o Tapping on the UnitPrice column pops up the Best Buy
screen with that item's info ready to compare.
o Grayscale devices draw a slash through the price if
another store has a lower price.
o The popup quicklist for Units has been extended to 50
entries (was 32 previously).
o The popup quicklist for Units now has Other/Edit/None at
the top to avoid the need for scrolling.
o Now an alert box pops up when setting an alarm for the
past or on an item that is not marked as Needed.
o The new Icon column (optional) shows the item's icon.
Tapping it pops up the icon selector; tap and hold to
pop up the Details screen. When the Icon column is
hidden, item icons (if assigned) still show up in the
right margin of the description column as before.
o Can sort by Alarm and Icon columns (also HS2Convert).
o The Alarm icon is red for alarms before today.
o The Set Alarm screen shows today in bold.
o The prev/next buttons in the Select Icon screen continue
to scroll as long as they are pressed.
o Tabs in the Details and Preferences screens look better
on high resolution OS 5.0 devices; on other devices the
look has changed only slightly.
Fixes:
o Fixed in build 4729.1 -- shows correct icon; build 4729
accidentally showed the icon next to the correct icon.
o Alarms only play for Needed items.
o Fixed alarm sounds. Previously it always played the
stock "Alarm" sound unless the item explicitly was
assigned an alarm sound; now it correctly uses the
default alarm sound from the database in that case.
o Icons are more "discoverable" in the Details screen;
when no icon is assigned the icon selector says "Icon"
instead of just being blank.
o Minor speed improvements for sorting (hopefully with
more improvements to come in future releases).
o Fixed HS2Convert bug when a category name begins with a
double quote mark.
o Fixed HS2 bug on OS 3.5 and lower where HS2 would crash
if an Alarm went off while a popup list was active.
o Fixed bug where if an alarm came due for an item that
was not marked as Needed, then although the alarm was
correctly ignored the reminder sounds were accidentally
played later on.
New in build 4611 -- HandyShopper 2.6 -- October 11, 2002
Features:
o New improved layout in the Details screen.
o Alarm sounds can be set individually for each item.
o Icons can be assigned individually for each item.
Tapping on the item's icon in the view is a shortcut
that opens the Details screen for the item.
o HS2Convert supports the new alarm sound and icon fields.
o Sony Jog Assist no longer interferes with HandyShopper.
Fixes:
o Fixed crash when going to the Set Alarm screen.
o Fixed some unnecessary repainting.
o Fixed crash associated with editing a Quantity that
wasn't an integer from 0 to 9, and then tapping in a
different field.
o Fixed a bug in HS2Convert that neglected to tell
HandyShopper that the list needed to be sorted.
New in build 4402 -- maintenance update 2.5.2 -- August 2, 2002
Features:
o Back by popular demand - the "navigator tip window" is
optionally available again. Turn it on from the Misc
page of the Preferences screen.
o "New Item" is a menu command now, so the /N shortcut
works and Treo/keyboard users can create new items
without using the stylus.
o The Page Up/Down buttons work in the Select Icon screen.
Fixes:
o Checkout still wasn't sorting items properly. Now it
really does.
o Worked around Palm OS bug that made Lookup use the wrong
selection colors.
o Fixed a bug in HS2Convert that randomized the column
widths, and could complain about the Date column width
being invalid when it was actually fine.
New in build 4224 -- maintenance update 2.5.1 -- June 24, 2002
Fixes:
o Fixed a crash when "white icon backgrounds" was selected
on certain early OS 3.5 devices.
o Graffiti works again the popup list of databases.
o The popup list of databases is fast again.
o When private records are masked, exporting to MemoPad
now omits them.
New in build 4219 -- HandyShopper 2.5 -- June 19, 2002
Features:
o Each database can have an icon assigned to it.
HandyShopper supports the Action Names icon standard.
o The 'Navigator' control has been replaced with a
standard scrollbar.
o On VFS-enabled devices, HandyShopper refreshes the list
of databases to detect new databases (i.e. after having
been copied from a memory card).
Fixes:
o Goto from an alarm (or the global Find command) showed
the right item, but failed to select the item. This has
been fixed.
o Build 4112 accidentally broke Checkout so that it didn't
necessarily sort the items at all, and could skip items
in certain cases. This has been fixed, and Checkout
sorts only the items being checked out, to avoid sorting
the whole database (the rest of the list is already in
sorted order, so it's faster to sort only the items
being checked out).
o Using graffiti to select a database in the Select
Database screen highlighted the right database but
tapping Ok (or Delete, etc) only used the correct
database if the list of databases was scrolled to the
top. This has been fixed.
o Using the Graffiti 'new line' stroke in the Open
Database screen was supposed to be a shortcut for
opening the selected database, but did nothing. This
has been fixed.
o Fixed a bug in HS2Convert that mistakenly complained
about and rejected Yen, Pound, or Euro symbols in the
user-defined Currency symbol.
New in build 4112 -- maintenance update -- May 12, 2002
Fixes:
o After clearing an alarm, subsequent alarms could fail to
go off until a new alarm was set. This has been fixed.
o The Checkout command sorted the database each time,
which could take a long time and needlessly shift the
order of items. This has been fixed.
o On OS 2.0, opening the Preferences screen would crash
because OS 2.0 doesn't support Midi sounds (which were
added as part of the Alarms feature). This has been
fixed by disabling the Midi sound selection on OS 2.0.
o Export to MemoPad did not use per-store prices when
computing the Total. This has been fixed.
o Selecting a category or priority in the Total screen
didn't update the number of items properly.
o Fixed an obscure crash: tap on the last item in the
database, tap New, tap Details, tap Note, enter some
text, tap Done. This now works properly, without
crashing.
o The Preferences->Menu->Extra->Refresh Alarms command
sometimes thought it had no work to do. This has been
fixed.
New in build 4025 -- HandyShopper 2.4 -- April 25, 2002
Features:
o Now you can set Alarms on any item in any HandyShopper
database! Snooze works on all Palm OS versions 2.0
through 5.0, but only 4.0 and higher (i.e. any OS
version with the Attention Manager) support the Goto
command.
o The minimum column width has been reduced to 5 pixels
(previously it was 12 pixels).
o Column widths are remembered even after the column is
hidden. Use the Reset Column Widths checkbox in the
Preferences screen to revert to the default widths.
o The Edit Stores screen now supports incremental
searching in the list by writing Graffiti, and the
current store is initially highlighted.
o The popup context menu has Auto-delete and Private
checkboxes (tap and hold on an item to pop up the
context menu).
Fixes:
o The system Find feature was not very responsive to
canceling. This has been fixed.
o Hidden (filtered) items could sometimes randomly appear
in the view. This has been fixed.
o Tapping in Price field was supposed to select the entire
price (so the popup calculator could work), but instead
put the blinking insertion point at the beginning of the
price. This has been fixed.
o Tap in the description, then tap+hold was not popping up
the context menu. This has been fixed.
o Handspring devices in grayscale mode couldn't draw the
dropdown arrow properly in the title bar. This has been
fixed.
o Frequently the entire view was refreshed when only one
or two records needed to be refreshed. This has been
fixed.
o Shrinking the description field height (e.g. deleting
some text) repainted using the wrong row color if that
row was just previously being edited.
o Use proper colors for the highlight in one-handed mode.
o Use proper colors in the calculator.
o Fixed various table redraw bugs.
o In the Best Buy or Per Store Price calculator, tapping
anywhere other than a button could crash.
New in build 3928 -- March 28, 2002
Features:
o Columns in the table can be resized by dragging the
column separator.
o Jog dial behavior is revised; pushing the jog dial while
in one-handed mode now checks off the highlighted item,
rather than cancelling one-handed mode.
o The Copy button in the Edit Stores screen is now able to
copy from Unfiled to a store (assigns a store to all
items that are not yet associated with any store).
Fixes:
o Fixed intermittent problem where items that should have
been filtered from the view would accidentally appear.
o Various fixes to the Price field in the table.
o Undo failed when trying to undo deletion of an item that
had been auto-deleted because its description was empty.
New in build 3914 -- HandyShopper 2.3 -- March 14, 2002
Features:
o The new scrollbar-like control in the main view is the
'Navigator' and enables you to quickly jump to anywhere
in the list. Additionally, HandyShopper is much faster
when using the Up/Down buttons to scroll through the
list, or when using any command whose action affects
only the records in the current view.
o The font is selectable separately for each database.
o Some grayscale-capable devices have poor quality
screens, so now HandyShopper has a menu command to
toggle grayscale mode on/off.
o Export to Memopad now has an option to use dashes
instead of bullet characters.
o Import from Memopad gives a reminder that items are
imported into the current database.
Fixes:
o Sony Clie devices could lock up when Hi-Res Assist was
enabled, apparently due to a hardware problem in the
Clie devices. HandyShopper now works around the problem
and the devices no longer lock up.
o HS2Convert was still messing up per-store prices.
o The selected tab in the Preferences screen is drawn
a little better on hires handheld devices.
o Devices with OS versions earlier than 3.5 could crash
when exiting HandyShopper. This has been fixed.
o Beaming could get confused when receiving a HandyShopper
database if HandyShopper was the currently active app.
o Fixed rare crash while editing in the table view.
o Fixed column headers in the Select Stores screen when
the left-handed preference is set (see Lefty,
http://www.strout.net/pilotsoft).
New in build 3901 -- March 1, 2002
Features:
o Alternating rows use a custom background color on OS 3.5
and higher, and the color can be selected separately for
each database.
o HandyShopper now supports Lefty, for the convenience of
left-handed users. (http://www.strout.net/pilotsoft)
o Now supports the Handspring Treo jog dial.
Fixes:
o Fixed two data corruption bugs in HS2Convert, having to
do with per-store prices and aisles. The bugs were
first available in build 3816.
o The Priority popup list in the Reset Items screen was
broken and caused a crash. This has been fixed.
o Certain screens worked on OS 4.0 and higher, but were
cut off on earlier OS versions. This has been fixed.
o Exporting to Memopad accidentally wrote alphabetic
aisles as numeric aisles; this has been fixed.
Importing from Memopad works both for alphabetic aisles
and also for their accidental numeric representations.
New in build 3816 -- HandyShopper 2.2 -- February 16, 2002
Features:
o HandyShopper now supports masking private records on OS
3.5 and higher.
o HandyShopper now adds an Undo button to the command bar
on OS 3.5 and higher.
o HandyShopper now uses the item description as the title
for the Select Stores form, to help make it clear which
item is being edited.
o Popup list of databases now supports incremental
searching using Graffiti.
o Added the Euro symbol and other missing symbols to the
narrow font.
o Improved MegaWiki compatibility.
o OS 5.0 compatible.
Fixes:
o Build 3705 was recalled due to a nasty bug in per-store
prices. Apologies to anyone who got bitten by it. The
bug is fixed and per-store prices should work correctly
again.
o The global Find feature didn't search the CustomText
field. This has been fixed.
o Purging items earlier than a particular date had several
problems: (1) it always purged items earlier than
today, (2) it set the popup control text to "Choose
date..." instead of the selected date, (3) it crashed
after it was finished. These are fixed and now work
properly.
o The global Units list is backed up by HotSync now (but
see FAQ #18).
o After deleting all the text from a Note the table didn't
refresh properly, making it appear as though the record
still had a Note attached.
Obscure fixes:
o Fix bug when not all the columns fit in the table.
o Tapping on the calculator show/hide button, moving the
pen off the button, and releasing the pen confused the
popup calculator.
o Fix string resource that never got unlocked, in the
Total screen. (This could be what caused a weird crash
for some users with Visors).
o Fixed drawing bug in the main view table, after
importing items from Memopad.
o Tapping outside the popup calculator before tapping the
Equals sign lost the result of the calculation in
progress. This has been fixed.
o Fix crash when switching to another app while both the
popup calculator and menu are open.
o Various other popup calculator bug fixes.
o Fixed or worked around various problems reported by
debug ROMs.
o ...and various other obscure bug fixes.
New in build 3705 -- January 5, 2002
Fixes:
o The Handera jog dial only worked in no-stylus mode. Now
it also scrolls the view in normal mode (the Sony jog
dial already worked for both).
o Certain international currency symbols didn't work on
Palm OS 4.0 devices. Previously HandyShopper relied on
the Palm OS to say whether any of the characters in the
user's currency symbol were digits, but it seems the
Palm OS has an unusual definition of a "digit". So now
HandyShopper is hard-coded to recognize "0" through "9"
as digits. Hopefully this won't cause problems for
non-US/European devices...
o Changing the priority from the Details screen didn't
re-sort the item to the proper position.
o HS2Convert (the converter tool) mistakenly always set
RoundPricesToWholeNumbers=Yes and ColumnCoupon=No
regardless of what the actual settings were. This has
been fixed.
o HS2Convert could crash while reading databases from very
old builds of HS2. It was supposed to give an error,
but with certain databases the crash occurred before it
had a chance to report the error. Now HS2Convert gives
the proper error message and explains how to upgrade the
database to a format that HS2Convert can understand.
New in build 3409 -- HandyShopper 2.1 -- October 9, 2001
Features:
o Introduces the HS2Convert converter tool.
o Added support for the HS2Convert tool. HS2Convert can't
sort the list on the PC the same way the handheld sorts
it, so HS2 now recognizes when a list has been converted
and automatically sorts it next time you open the list.
o Added support for the Sony Clie jog dial.
o The Best Buy form now has a popup calculator.
o The Best Buy form now has Tip text.
o The Edit Stores form supports the up/down hard buttons.
Fixes:
o When receiving a beamed database that has the same name
as an existing database, HS2 added the existing database
to the list of databases (even when it wasn't an HS2
database) even when the user chose not to overwrite the
existing database.
o On OS 3.5 and lower, the overdue ! for dates didn't show
up when using the narrow font.
o Import from Memopad didn't understand negative prices.
o Import from Memopad now sets items to the Default
Priority per the Database tab in the Preferences screen.
o When a new item is inserted in the table, or when an
item is moved due to sorting, the height of the new row
was not reset properly.
o When deleting a store, any items that were associated
with only that particular store (and no others), the
items did not properly show up in the Unfiled store.
New in build 3026 -- June 26, 2001
Fixes:
o Build 3023 added Handera support, but this inadvertently
made the tabs in the Preferences screen get erased when
tapped, on OS 3.3 and lower. This is fixed.
New in build 3023 -- June 23, 2001
Features:
o Limited support for Handera 330 devices. The jog dial
controls the No-Stylus mode. Also improved the drawing
so it looks better in the Scale-to-fit mode. There is
no support for the retractable silk screen area, etc.
Fixes:
o Argh! In build 3017 the Select Stores fix had a subtle
typo, which effectively made the device unstable after
closing the Select Stores form, and the device would
need to be reset (poke the reset hole) soon after.
o Tapping the Note button in the Details form neglected to
save the changes made in the Details form, before
opening the Note form.
o In a test database, where HS2 had crashed a few times
from the Select Stores problem, someone was able to
generate an item that was so badly corrupted that it
could not be used anymore. There is a new menu command
that can find and fix certain kinds of damage. It scans
the current database, and repairs any damaged items that
it can find. It reports how many (if any) damaged items
were found and repaired. The command successfully
repaired the test database. The new menu command is
located in the Preferences form -- go to the Preferences
form, tap the Menu graffiti circle, select Extra, then
select the Repair Items... command.
New in build 3017 -- June 17, 2001
Fixes:
o Popup lists didn't work on the Qualcomm or Kyocera
smartphones.
o The Copy button in the Edit Stores form didn't copy
per-store prices or aisles correctly, and could crash or
damage the per-store data (still). Unfortunately, if
the per-store data in your database has become seriously
damaged to the point that HandyShopper is crashing, then
you may need to purge the per-store data by opening the
Preferences screen, tapping the Menu graffiti button,
and selecting the menu command Extra -> Purge Per-Store
Info. Special thanks to Douglas Goudie for narrowing
this down and providing superlative repro steps.
o The Select Stores form sometimes did not show checkmarks
next to all the stores the item is associated with.
This was especially likely if the item had been copied
from another database. Special thanks to Cheryl Wheeler
for her detailed help tracking down yet another
unusually troublesome bug (this is something like the
4th or 5th important bug she's helped with -- credit is
past due).
o Prices could be accidentally drawn in red if more than
one store shared the lowest price.
Note, I don't normally give props to people who have helped, but
Douglas, Cheryl, and Phil (below) have gone above and beyond the
call of duty, helping to finally track down some long-standing
and particularly nasty bugs.
Build 3009.2 -- June 9, 2001
Changes since build 2811.
Color:
o Added large and small color icons for the application
launcher.
o The exclamation mark for overdue dates is drawn in red.
o The price field is drawn properly on color devices.
o The selected item indicator is drawn properly on color
devices (actually it wasn't drawn quite right on B&W
devices previously, either).
o The titlebar down arrow is drawn in the correct color.
o The Notes form title is drawn in the correct color.
o The selection color in No-Stylus mode is drawn in the
correct color.
o The price is drawn in red, when the current store does
not have the lowest recorded price for the item.
o The selected page tab in the Options form is drawn in
the same color as the form's frame.
Features:
o The Details form can switch to the Next/Previous item.
Choose the commands from the menu, or use the physical
Up/Down buttons.
o No-Stylus mode can be enabled with the Ronamatic stroke
(up from Graffiti area to the top half of screen).
However, when a field is being edited, the Ronamatic
stroke respects the system preferences.
o On devices with OS 3.5 or higher, HS2 is automatically
installed into the "Main" category.
o New database names are prefixed with "HS2_" to avoid
conflicts with other apps. The "HS2_" prefix is used
whenever creating new databases or renaming existing
databases, but the prefix is hidden for display
purposes.
NOTE: Existing databases are *NOT* automatically updated
with the prefix. You can manually rename each of
your databases to use the new "HS2_" prefix -- for
each database, use the Rename Database command and
just tap OK. The hidden HS2_ prefix is applied when
you tap OK.
Fixes:
o Checking off the last item would crash while using
No-Stylus mode.
o Using the newline stroke in the Best Buy screen crashed.
o The first character in the Lookup field could be
duplicated in a particular case.
o Build 2811 broke private records, so that they were no
longer hidden. This has been fixed.
o The Copy button in the Edit Stores screen was broken,
and usually ended up not actually doing anything.
o Tapping where the calculator toggle button had last been
on the screen, would erroneously treat it as a hotspot
and activate the calculator. This has been fixed.
o Build 2811 broke the progress meter on OS 3.0, making it
crash. This is fixed in build 3009.2 (but not 3009).
o Cutting text from an item's description could sometimes
lock up or crash the device, requiring a reset. Special
thanks to Phil Nunnally for a carefully constructed test
database that reproduced the problem 100% of the time.
Official 2.0 Release, build 2811 -- April 11, 2001
Highlights of changes since build 2029 (Aug. 29, 2000).
Features:
o Added 'Copy item to...' to the menus.
o Launch'Em support for the sysAppLaunchCmdOpenDB command.
o The Reset command has a new option to reset items to the
checked-out state.
o Tap and hold the stylus on the Description column for
half a second to pop up the item context menu.
o The date field has a new 'wide' option that shows the
year.
o Now you can copy items/prices/aisles from one store, to
another store, by using the new Copy button in the
Stores screen.
o Tip screens give quick helpful tips.
o ... and various other minor features.
Fixes:
o Fixed an obscure bug in the Details screen, that could
overwrite the wrong item under unusual circumstances.
o Deleting a store that had needed items did not update
the bold stores properly.
o Fixed bug about tap+drag not working in table fields
where only part of the field's text is visible.
o Fixed crash when the Q and $ columns are visible, trying
to choose a number in the Quantity popup, and sorting by
Quantity.
o The 'Copy to' command used the Sort order of the From
database. Now it properly uses the Sort order of the To
database.
o Fixed some drawing problems when the Description and
Custom Text fields resized taller (especially on OS
3.0).
o Fixed the Edit Stores button in the Stores screen, which
could sometimes accidentally delete the item and then
crash.
o For most non-US locales, six-digits prices with decimal
places didn't fit even with the "Wide" setting, because
the width was computed assuming a period for the decimal
separator, instead of a comma. Now the correct decimal
separator is used.
o Fixed an obscure problem where editing the Description,
then changing the Category, then editing the Description
some more so that the field grew or shrunk vertically,
the next item could be overwritten.
o Cancelling out of the Details screen would always force
a re-sort if the database is sorted by category.
o Imported items have the Auto-Delete and Taxable flags
set per the preferences.
o When the currently selected category was delete, the
view became confused.
o When a category with no items was displayed, new items
disappeared from the view, until choosing a different
category or store.
o After choosing (and exiting) the Edit Stores button from
the Select Stores screen, now you're (usually) returned
back to the Select Stores screen.
o ... and various other minor fixes.
FUTURE FEATURES: ----------------------------------------------------------
There are a lot of features on the wish list. Some of the more
important ones are listed below.
o Synchronize databases between handheld devices via Infrared.
o Converter tool for *nix and Mac systems.
o Localization overlay template so users can translate
HandyShopper to other languages and share their translations
(may require OS 3.5 or higher).
o Expand the number of categories beyond the Palm OS limit of
15 categories, and also associate icons with each category.
o Programmable interface so other handheld applications can
access/update HandyShopper data.
o Maybe (only *maybe*) provide source code for accessing
HandyShopper data, that can be reused without needing to
understand the complex data format.
FEEDBACK: -----------------------------------------------------------------
The best place to send feedback or ask questions is the HandyShopper
User Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/handyshopper.
Optionally you can e-mail me at chrisant@premier1.net, but due to
the volume of e-mail I receive I may not be able to respond to your
question or comment. The HandyShopper User Group is the best place
to ask questions, make suggestions or observations, and etc.
