What’s New

Ver 2.4

Fixed "free handle" bug which caused soft reset when the App or Calc icon is tapped from within MiniCalc

Ver 2.3

Internal programming modifications to comply with Palm OS 5

Ver 2.2

Enabled built-in keyboard for Rename and Save As record operations

Ver 2.1

Ver 2.1 added support for saving, recalling, renaming, and deleting records. There may be items with multiple price/quantity combinations you find having to compare repeatedly (For me, it’s always Charmin, Tide, and Kleenex!). For them you can save the record and recall it for use the next time you have to purchase the same item. Once the record is recalled, you can change the price/quantity information, include/exclude entries, and any changes you make to the record will be saved automatically.

The "Clear All" button in previous versions has been changed to "New." It does the same thing – erasing all the entries and clearing all the check boxes. In addition, it brings up the "Untitled" record. "Untitled" is a special record in CostComp 2.1. It cannot be deleted or renamed. It is like a scratch pad and so is not saved per se, but if you exit our of CostComp when "Untitled" is displayed, CostComp will preserve what you have in "Untitled." If you never have to save the current display to a record to be recalled later, you can simply use "Untitled" as the default record and use CostComp the same as before Ver 2.1.

It is not necessary but recommended to delete any existing version of CostComp from the handheld before installing Ver 2.1.

1. CostComp

1.1 What is CostComp

Ever wonder if the "Family" size detergent is really a better value? Faced with four different sized packages of Charmin Ultra and all you want is get the one with the best value, quickly? CostComp is a Palm utility that helps you determine the lowest unit cost among multiple retail packagings. The goal is to find the best value quickly with minimum tapping and no memorization.

1.2 CostComp Features

• Enter up to 7 Price and Quantity combinations
• Optional units for Quantity fields
• Automatic unit conversions
• Include/Exclude entries without deleting
• MiniCalculator for simple equations for Price & Quantity
• Save/recall/rename/delete records

2. Using CostComp

IMPORTANT: Delete any existing version of CostComp on the handheld before installing or re-installing.

2.1 Basic Operations

Enter Price and Quantity for items under comparison. Units are optional under Quantity. Unit Cost will be calculated by CostComp.

To enter equations, you can use graffiti strokes or invoke the mini-calculator. The mini-calculator provides a larger field display, number and operator buttons, and, when appropriate, unit buttons. CostComp supports the following graffiti strokes:

• digits 1 thru 9
• decimal character '.' or ',', depending on your system preference
• operators +, -, *, /
• backspace
• Next field, previous field, left cursor, and right cursor graffiti strokes

By default, CostComp displays the equations in the Price and Quantity fields. You can toggle all the Price fields or all the Quantity fields to display the results of equations by tapping the respective column label. When displaying the results of equations, the column labels "Price" and "Quantity" become "Price=" and "Quantity=."

Units are not necessary in the Quantity fields if you are comparing items with the same units or no units. If you are comparing items with different units (e.g. 2 quarts to 1 liter), however, you can specify units for automatic conversion in the Quantity fields via graffiti input or the pop-up units box. A small push button 'u' will appear when you're in a Quantity field, and tapping the button will pop up the units box. Tapping the 'u' button again will remove the units box. The state of the units box is persistent as you move from field to field. If you leave the units box up and move to a Price field, it will close down and reappear when you re-enter a Quantity field. Similarly, if you close down the units box, it will not pop up as you move to another Quantity field. The units box will also remove itself when you check/uncheck check boxes and tap the <Best Value> and <Clear All> buttons.

For long equations, invoke the mini-calculator for a larger input interface.

When you finish entering all the Price and Quantity information, hit the <Best Value> button to find the lowest unit cost.

The sample screen shows comparison for three different sized packages of Thing One:

• $8.99 for a can of 14.1 oz.
• $19.21 for a can of 1 lb 14 oz.
• $6.49 for a can of 12 oz.

After hitting the <Best Value> button, CostComp shows an arrow, indicating the lowest unit cost.

Hit the <New> button to clear all lines and uncheck all check boxes.

Empty lines or lines with missing information will not be included in the best value calculations.

Fields with zero or negative result will be erased.

2.2 Automatic Unit Conversion

CostComp supports some common units and converts them automatically for lowest cost comparison. The supported units are:

• Liquids measures: gallon, quart, pint, cup, fluid ounce, liter, milliliter
• Weight measures: pound, ounce, kilogram, gram

To save screen space, CostComp uses abbreviations for these units:

If you enter units via graffiti strokes, you have to enter the unit abbreviations.

By default, CostComp converts all liquid units to fluid ounces, and all weight units to ounces. These are called common units and CostComp shows the currently selected common units in the lower right corner. You can change the common units to which CostComp converts by tapping either of the unit indicators at the bottom right, or via the Preferences menu. The calculated unit cost is based on the common units. For the sample screen, the unit cost for the first item is then 0.6376 per ounce.

For Quantity fields without units, CostComp does no conversion and so the input is treated as quantity in the common unit. For the sample screen, the third item is entered without a unit and will be treated as 12 ounces. If the other items are liquids instead, then it will be treated as 12 fluid ounces. To avoid possibly erroneous calculations, if you specify units for one item, you should specify units for all.

For flexibility, CostComp does not enforce the same type of units for multiple items. You can enter three items in liquid units, then three items in weight units, and use the check boxes to select which items are included in the best value calculation. Although CostComp will let you compare items in liquid units to items in weight units, doing so is probably an error.

2.3 Check Boxes

Use the check boxes to the left of each line to include or exclude that line in the lowest unit cost calculations. For example, for the same three items of Thing One, if you should decide to forgo the cheapest one, uncheck that line to determine the best value among the remaining choices.

If a check box is unchecked, it will be automatically checked when you modify the Price or Quantity field.

When a check box is checked or unchecked, the Best Value calculation is automatically redone and the new lowest unit cost is indicated by an arrow.

2.4 MiniCalculator

The MiniCalculator provides a larger field display to enter simple equations.

For example, use the MiniCalculator to calculate:

• $7.89 minus $0.55 coupon (7.89-.55)
• 2 cans of 12 oz each (2*12oz)
• 2 boxes at $1.55 each minus $1.5 coupon for two (2*1.55-1.5)

To use the MiniCalculator, select a Price or Quantity field, then hit the <MiniCalc> button to bring up the MiniCalculator form. Enter the equation and tap the "=" button to exit. If the field has been toggled to display the result of the equation, then MiniCalculator calculates and transfers the result to the selected field. You can use either Graffiti strokes or tap the buttons to enter the equation.

If you select a field with existing data and invoke the MiniCalculator, what is currently displayed in the field is what MiniCalculator uses for editing. This is different from previous versions of MiniCalculator, where the equation is what's always brought up for editing. If you want to edit the equation in MiniCalculator, make sure the corresponding field is toggled to display equations and not the numeric results.

If you enter an invalid equation (e.g. 7*/2), MiniCalc will display an error dialog and place the cursor after the first invalid character in the equation.

CAVEAT: Precedence is strictly from left to right. So 3-2*4 equals 4 and not -5. (That's why it's a MiniCalculator.)

2.5 Record Save/Recall/Rename/Delete

Tapping on the down arrow in the form Title will pop up a list of saved records. Tap on the name of a saved record to load it. You do not need to resave a record once it’s loaded. Any changes made to the record will be automatically saved.

Tap on "Save As…" in the popup list to save the current display to a new record. Enter a name for the new record. The name must not exceed 15 characters. Once created, the record will automatically save any changes to it, including unit preferences and display attributtes.

Tap on the Menu silkscreen icon to open the Record menu list. There you can choose to save the current display to a new record (Save As…), rename the current record, or delete the current record.

3. Miscellaneous

CostComp is freeware. The minimum requirement to run CostComp is Palm OS 2.0.

3.1 Acknowledgements

Thanks to my husband Russ for crashing CostComp again and again and again…

3.2 Releases

After version 2.0, you do not need to delete existing versions of CostComp before installing new versions.

Ver 2.4 (July, 2003)

• Fixed the "Free Handle" error which caused a soft reset when the App or Calc silkscreen icon is tapped from inside MiniCalc

Ver 2.3 (June, 2002)

• Added compatibility with Palm OS 5

Ver 2.2 (March, 2002)

• Enable built-in keyboard for Rename and Save As operations

Ver 2.1 (March, 2002)

• Support for multiple records – add, recall, rename, delete

Ver 2.0 (October, 2001)

• Automatic unit conversions (units are optional, however)
• Units can be entered via pop-up box or graffiti strokes
• User can specify the common liquid and weight units used for automatic conversions
• Display of Price and Quantity fields can be toggled between equations and the numeric results
• User can now enter equations directly in the field without invoking mini-calculator
• Price and Quantity fields support up to 30 characters and scrollable via graffiti strokes
• Recognizes decimal preference
• CHANGED: MiniCalculator no longer automatically displays the equation for a field. Instead, what you see in the field is what you will edit in MiniCalculator. Use the column labels to toggle between equations and numeric results.

Ver 1.1 (August, 2001)

• Support for Graffiti input and field editing in MiniCalc. Because of this added flexibility, MiniCalc checks for valid expressions when you tap the "=" button, not during input as in previous versions.
• If a field is a result of an equation, display it when MiniCalc is invoked
• Display existing field content in MiniCalc
• Clear All automatically put cursor at first Price field
• "Next field" and "previous field" Graffiti strokes will wrap around from last to first and first to last

Ver 1.02 (June, 2001)

• Bug fixed - "fatal exception" when using miniCalc for the first Price field
• Bug fixed - double decimal points in miniCalc
• Added support for "next field" and "previous field" Graffiti strokes

Ver 1.01 (May, 2001)

• First public release