Installing Electrist
   The application file for Electrist simply needs to be installed on your Palm OS device. It does not matter if this is by HotSync, beaming, external storage, or any other means.    

    Electrist will run in a trial state for 10 uses, after which it will require you to register. While unregistered some functions are disabled and formulas will only be displayed for 3 seconds.


Updating Electrist
   Once you have purchased Electrist you will never be charged for updates or customer support. The latest version of Electrist will always be available from the Electrist download page

   Before installing a new version of Electrist you should delete any existing versions from your PDA and any external media such as SD cards. If you are using a third-party launcher such as ZLauncher you may also need to delete the Electrist support databases. These will be any files that have names beginning with "RIST_". If these files are not deleted it can cause unpredectible behavior in Electrist, most commonly a "Subscript Out of Bounds" error.

   Once you have deleted the prior installation you can install the updated version in the same manner as the original version.


User Interface

Silk-Keys & Buttons

• Silk-Keys
• Find: Function selected in Preferences


• Buttons:
• Scroll Buttons/5-way Navigator: Functions selected in Preferences
• Hard Keys/Application Buttons: Functions selected in Preferences

Menus
   Menus can be accessed by either tapping the menu button in the silkscreen area of your Palm PDA or by tapping the top-most section of the Palm screen. Menu Items common to all calculator forms are:

• Edit
• Copy shortcut C: Copies the full (unscaled) value of the selected field to the Clipboard
• Paste shortcut P: Pastes the Clipboard value to the selected field
• Clipboard Options: Displays a form allowing access to the Clipboard and associated functions


• Options

• Switch Calc: Opens a form to select a different calculator or utility function
• Prev Calc: Returns to the last calculator used
• MiniCalc : Opens the MiniCalc calculator
• Preferences: Opens a form to map calculators and functions to hard keys as well as other app-wide prefs
• About/Register: Displays version, copyright, and registration information.

Menu Buttons
   Menu buttons are the icons along the top-most right side of the screen on all calculator forms.

• Menu buttons common to all calculator forms
• Switch Calculator: Opens the Switch Calculator dialog


• Menu buttons found on many, but not common to all, calculator forms
• Related Formulas: Allows changing display and calculation amongst various related formulas

Command Bar

   The Command bar is accessed by entering the short-cut stroke ("/") into the graffitti input area of your Palm. Command Bar buttons common to all calculator forms are:

• MiniCalc : Opens the MiniCalc calculator
• Copy shortcut C: Copies the full (unscaled) value of the selected field to the Clipboard
• Paste shortcut P: Pastes the Clipboard value to the selected field

Scaling Values
   The Scale Pop-Up Menu is designed to make manipulating very large and very small numbers more manageable. Tapping these menus will display ranges from pico- (p) to Tera- (T).


    As an example: there are two ways you could enter a value of 1500 into a field: one is to simply enter "1500". Another is to enter "1.5", tap the Scale Pop-Up Menu to its right, then tap the "k" (for kilo-).

    Whenever a formula is calculated all the fields on the form are automatically scaled, so even if you entered the value as "1500" it will be displayed as "1.5k" after processing (unless you have locked the scale).

    As another example: To enter the number "1,000,000,000,000" just write "1" into any field and select "T" (for 'Tera-')



Locking Scale
   Most (almost all) scalable fields in Electrist will also include a lock to the right. This is used to force the value into a particular range such as microfarads or millihenries - it will no longer automatically scale.


    To use the scale-lock simply tap the lock icon and select the range (pico- to Tera-) that you would like the field to display in.

    Simply tap the lock icon again to unlock it.

    Be aware that if the value for a locked field varies too high or too low it may become unreadable: In a field locked into the "Unity" range the value 0.00001 will display "0.0000" (with Preferences set to display 4 decimal places)


Data Input
   Entering values into the fields in Electrist is almost identical to entering data into any other Palm OS application: Tap the field you wish to write to and write the graffiti on the silkscreen pad. However, Electrist has some additional features to help make data entry and manipulation easier.

   Some additional notes on data entry in Electrist:

• To copy the value in a field it is not necessary to highlight it. Tap once in the field and copy. The entire value is copied regardless of how much, if any, is highlighted or if the value is scaled.
  
  In a field displaying "1.6 uW" by using the shortcut 'C' to copy you have placed the value "0.0000016" into the clipboard. It is now available to paste to any field in Electrist, as well as any application on your Palm - such as 'Memo' or your favorite scientific calculator.
   
• Most fields in Electrist are also limited to 6-digit numeric input only
   
• While Electrist will calculate ANY value, user input and Clipboard storage is limited to 1,000,000,000,000 (1 Tera-)
   

Misc
   The last calculator used is always displayed when Electrist is first opened. Use the 'Switch Calc' Button or Menu Item (or your Palms buttons if you have set this up in Preferences) to open other calculator forms.