Issue with multi line messages and menus

Post here to share useful tips and tricks, to ask questions about using your DM42 or to report software-related problems
Post Reply
ABridges
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:53 pm

Issue with multi line messages and menus

Post by ABridges »

If you programaticaly display a multi line message (with AVIEW), and in the same program do something to change the current menu (for example CF 27 SF 27 to take you back to the first page of the USER menu) then the menu labels don't update. They adopt the new functions but the labels are whatever they were before. The stack display does update, which is good news. Everything works perfectly with single line messages.

I hesitate to call it a bug because it's probably just a result of the way things work. It is a problem though if the menu functions and the menu labels don't match, because the machine doesn't do what it tells you it's going to do.

I'm guessing that the original HP-42s, and probably Free42 as well, don't bother refreshing the menu labels if they're displaying a multi line message. Why would they? You can't see them on a two line display with a two line message over the top anyway. Now that we can see two lines of Alpha display, four levels of Stack and a row of menu soft key labels all at the same time on that wonderful DM42 display the missing refresh is a bit of a nuisance.

I understand this may be a tricky one to fix, but a fix would turn the best calculator in the world into an even better best calculator in the world.

Keep up the good work chaps,

Andrew
Silicon Valley, USA
DM42 SN: 00226
65, 34C, 41CV, 15C, 28S, 42S, 48S, 49G, WP34S. Probably enough
David
Posts: 20
Joined: Fri Apr 07, 2017 7:32 am

Re: Issue with multi line messages and menus

Post by David »

Andrew, thank you for your nice report. I can look at it to see what we can do, but it would be very nice to have program example so I'm really sure I'm looking at what you really meant. Can you post here the program .raw file?
Thomas Okken
Posts: 1100
Joined: Tue May 02, 2017 5:48 pm
Location: Netherlands
Contact:

Re: Issue with multi line messages and menus

Post by Thomas Okken »

This should do it:

Code: Select all

00 { 14-Byte Prgm }
01▸LBL "FOO"
02 "A[LF]B"
03 AVIEW
04 SF 27
05 END
N.B. [LF] is the line feed character, found in the second row of the PUNC submenu of the ALPHA menu.

First, lock the PGM catalog: [Shift] [+] [Shift] [+] [1/x]. Then, run the program by pressing the FOO menu key.

You should now see a two-line message: "A" in the top line, and "B" in the line below. When you press [←], you should now see the CUSTOM menu at the bottom of the screen, where the PGM catalog was before.

On the real 42S and in Free42, the menu transition is hidden until the two-line message is cleared, but on the DM42, the menu is visible the whole time, so it needs to be refreshed immediately when the SF 27 is executed, or any other function that changes the menu.
ABridges
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:53 pm

Re: Issue with multi line messages and menus

Post by ABridges »

Hi David & Thomas,

Many thanks for responding so quickly. Let's take Thomas's program "Foo" as an example, except I'm going to add CF 27 after AVIEW. The program now reads:

00 { 16-Byte Prgm }
01▸LBL "FOO"
02 "A[LF]B"
03 AVIEW
04 CF 27
05 SF 27
06 END

It works exactly as Thomas suggests, except that while the two line message is still on display and the Program Catalog labels are still visible, the menu buttons have already adopted the Custom Menu functions.

The same thing happens if you assign the program to one of the buttons on the second or third page of the Custom Menu. After the program runs the two line message is displayed, the menu labels still show the assignments for whatever page of the Custom Menu you put the program on, but the menu buttons have already adopted the functions from the first page of the Custom Menu.

The program leaves the menu button labels and functions out of step with each other, and it's very easy to do the wrong thing next!

Hope this helps,

Andrew
DM42 SN: 00226
65, 34C, 41CV, 15C, 28S, 42S, 48S, 49G, WP34S. Probably enough
David
Posts: 20
Joined: Fri Apr 07, 2017 7:32 am

Re: Issue with multi line messages and menus

Post by David »

Hi Thomas & Andrew,
Thank you both for explanation, now I have the idea. I will see what can I do about that.
David
Posts: 20
Joined: Fri Apr 07, 2017 7:32 am

Re: Issue with multi line messages and menus

Post by David »

Hi Andrew,

I have sent to you private message with link to pre-release build, but after some time I have noticed that "email on private message" isn't default, so I'm pinging you here too, so you can take a look at it :).
ABridges wrote:
Wed Aug 22, 2018 8:24 pm
Hi David & Thomas,

Many thanks for responding so quickly. Let's take Thomas's program "Foo" as an example, except I'm going to add CF 27 after AVIEW. The program now reads:
...
Post Reply