Downloading Aplets & e-lessons
The process for downloading an aplet (e-lesson) is exactly the same as for any other calculator object. Indeed, if it is simply a re-named aplet that you have stored information in and then saved to the PC, there is no difference at all. The only difference is that most of the aplets that you will download from this site have attached programs that help them to run.
As
explained on a previous page, these
helper programs are usually named after the aplet. For example an
aplet called "Linear Programming" might have helper programs called .LINPROG.ANL,
.LINPROG.PLT, .LINPROG.CON etc. They are
automatically stored into the Program Catalog even though the aplet
itself is downloaded to the Aplet
Library.
When you are downloading the aplet you must wait until all these helper programs have been transferred because the aplet not work correctly without them. Sometimes there are pauses as the various programs download so make sure you have all of them before you unplug.
Additionally, once you have transferred these aplets to your calculator then you must be careful not to delete the helper programs from your Program Catalog unless you have finished using the aplet. When you have finished with it you have to delete the aplet in the Aplet Library and also the helper programs from the Program Catalog. If you don't do this then the Program Catalog will eventually fill up with them to the point where you can't find the programs you want.
Essentially the process is:
- Locate the aplet on this site and download the appropriate version for your calculator. Create an empty folder to hold the downloaded zip file.
- Expand the zip file into this empty folder. Read the documentation! It often contains critical information.
- Connect the calculator to the PC and go to the APLET view.
- Run the Connectivity program and choose the folder the aplet is in.
- On the calculator, press RECV and choose Disk drive... from the menu that results.
- Highlight the aplet on the list that pops up and press OK.
- Wait while the aplet and its helper programs download.
Games and other special aplets
A very few of the mathematical aplets and most games are written in a special programming language called sRPL. This language is much more difficult to use than the built in language HP Basic but the result is an aplet that is massively faster and more compact than one created with HP Basic. However, you have to download a lot of them in a special way. The way you know that this alternative method is required is generally that try to do it as outlined above and the download will appears to work but fails at the last moment.
The trick is to
choose the 'HP39/40 (USB)' option from the RECV menu instead of the usual
USB Disk drive... If you do this then a file selection box will pop up
on the PC. Use this to choose which file to download. Usually this is fairly
obvious - eliminate any documentation files, ignore the two HP39DIR files and
this usually only leaves the one you want, which will almost always have a
.000 extension.
Note: If you have an old hp 39g+ then the menu will appear slightly different.
Use the '(Wire)' option.
One advantage of downloading in this way is that it is much faster than the Disk drive... method. Unfortunately you can't use it for aplets that have helper programs because only the file you specify is downloaded and not the helper programs. Since the aplet won't function without those it's not really much use. You could change into the Program view and download each one separately but the problem is that you won't know which of the files on the PC should be downloaded and which not.
Some warnings about games:
- I don't play games myself and I can't support them or answer questions about them. Seriously! If you have questions then in many cases I've provided a link to the author. In my experience, however, most of the authors will not answer questions either.
- I make no guarantees about the stability of games. Some of them may have bugs in them that will cause your calculator to lock up or reset, possibly causing loss of any stored data. If you're going to experiment with games then make sure you upload any critical information to the PC first.
- THE BIG PROBLEM!!
Almost all of the games on my Games page were written for the old 39G/40G released in 2000. Normally this wouldn't matter but most of them are written in a special language called sRPL that addresses the chip directly, bypassing the operating system in order gain time and extra abilities. Since 2000 there have been two successive upgrades - first to the 39g+ and then to the 39gs/40gs. In the process the chip changed and, although some of the old addresses have remained unchanged a lot of them have changed. This means that when the game makes a call to the chip on a new calculator something totally unexpected can happen. Generally what happens is that the calculator locks up and has to be reset, resulting in all user data being lost. I have no idea which ones still work and which ones don't (see point 1 above) so don't bother asking me. If you would like to try them and let me know then I'll post warnings on the ones that no longer work and give you credit on the page.