Free42 : An HP-42S Calculator Simulator

If you're interested in what's been going on with Free42, see the project history.
If you have questions or comments about Free42, you may use the Free42 & Plus42 discussion group.
Alternatively, you can contact me, Thomas Okken, via email at thomasokken@gmail.com.
You can find answers to some frequently asked questions in the Free42 FAQ.
Also on this web site: Plus42, an enhanced version of Free42.

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Free42 Documentation

Manual

There is no manual for Free42 per se, but since it is an accurate simulation of the HP-42S, the original HP-42S Owner's Manual should be adequate for most purposes. I also recommend the Alternative HP-42S/Free42 Manual, written by José Lauro Strapasson and Russ Jones; you can get it here, in PDF and Word formats. Finally, the HP-42S Programming Examples and Techniques book is a great source of advanced programming advice and inspiration.

The User Interface functionality that is specific to Free42, e.g. printer emulation, skin switching, etc., is fairly simple and should be self-explanatory, but Free42 also has extended functionality in the calculator simulation: program import/export, time and date functions, configurable word size for BASE functions, enhanced debugging functions, local variables, and access to the accelerometer / GPS / compass on Android and iOS devices. These are all documented below.

Loading and Saving Programs

Loading and saving programs is possible in all Free42 versions. The exact process is pretty straightforward in the desktop versions (Windows, MacOS, Linux), but it is a bit more complicated on mobile devices.
For instructions for all versions, see here.

Starting with release 2.0, you can use Copy and Paste to get programs into and out of Free42. In PRGM mode, Copy puts a text representation of the current program onto the system clipboard, and Paste takes a text representation of a program from the clipboard and loads it as the last program. This works in all Free42 versions, including mobile.

The Hidden Powers of Copy and Paste

Basic Copy and Paste, handling real and complex scalars, has been a feature of Free42 since its early days. In version 2.0, however, the capabilties of Copy and Paste were greatly improved, now handling all the types of data that the calculator supports.

Real and complex numbers are copied from the X register at full precision. If the Localized Copy & Paste option is checked (in Preferences), the number is formatted with decimal and separators according to the host operating system's number format settings; if it is unchecked, numbers are copied without thousands separators, and with a decimal point or comma according to the RDX. or RDX, setting in the DISP menu. Complex numbers are copied with the notation matching the RECT or POLAR setting in the MODES menu: a+bi in RECT mode, and r ∠ θ in POLAR mode.

When pasting scalars, periods and commas are interpreted according to the host operating system's number format settings if the Localized Copy & Paste is checked, or according to the RDX. / RDX, setting otherwise. Thousands separators are permitted but ignored. Complex numbers are recognized in several formats: a+bi, a+bj, and (a, b) representing the rectangular form, and r ∠ θ and r ∡ θ representing the polar form.

Strings are copied and pasted from and to the X register, with no length limit, and from and to the ALPHA register (while in ALPHA mode) up to the full 44-character ALPHA register length. When copying, characters are converted from the HP-42S encoding to Unicode where possible, the only exceptions being the HP-42S characters LF and EC, which have no equivalents in Unicode, and are translated to [LF] and [ESC]. When pasting, Unicode characters that can't be mapped to HP-42S characters are replaced by • (bullet, which looks like a small square).

Matrices are copied from and pasted to the X register in tab-delimited text format, where cells are separated by tab characters, and rows are separated by linefeed characters. This format is supported by all major spreadsheet applications, and the Free42 matrix Copy and Paste operations have been tested with Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice Calc, and Apple Numbers.

Free42 supports copying and pasting complex matrices, but be aware that most spreadsheets offer only very limited support for complex numbers, and Google Sheets does not support them at all.

When in PRGM mode, Copy and Paste can be used to copy and paste entire programs. When copying, the current program is converted to text format, exactly as when it is printed using PRP. When pasting, the text from the clipboard is parsed as a program listing, and the resulting program is loaded at the end of program memory as a new program. It is possible to paste multiple programs in a single Paste operation; they will be loaded into program memory in the order they appear in the text.

When pasting, all text that Free42 doesn't recognize as HP-42S instructions is silently ignored. This helps with listings that contain comments, but it can cause problems when pasting code that is basically valid, just not formatted in a way Free42 recognizes. Because of this, when pasting a program from an unverified source, it is recommended to at least check that the pasted program has the same number of lines as the listing.

Loading, Saving, and Switching States

Starting with version 2.5, Free42 allows you to save the calculator's state to files, share these files between different instances of Free42, and manage a set of states and switch between them with just a few mouse clicks.

The States command, found in the File menu in the Windows, MacOS, and Linux versions, and in the main menu in the Android and iOS versions, pops up the States management window, as seen in the screen shot on the right.

The calculator's state includes all programs and variables, the automatic stack, the flags, CUSTOM menu, programmable menu, ALPHA register, and all the state associated with the numerical solver and integrator. You can save a state to a file with the extension .f42, and load such files, using the Export and Import commands in the State manager's More menu. States that have been imported show up in the list of States, and can be activated by double-clicking them, or clicking them and then pressing Switch To.

Other operations in the States manager include duplicating an existing state, creating a new, empty state, and renaming an existing state. In addition, the mobile versions of Free42 offer the option of "sharing" a state, which brings up a system-provided dialog where you can send the state file in an email.

Note that State files are not the same as the "raw" files used for exchanging programs. A "raw" file contains one or more programs, but nothing else, and can be loaded into Free42 without replacing what's already there. A state file, by contrast, defines the calculator's entire state, and loading a state file replaces the previously loaded one in memory. You can only work with one state at a time, but states do let you customize the calculator to a far greater extent than merely loading a program can.

Binary and Decimal Floating-Point

While Free42 originally used Binary math exclusively, all releases starting with 1.4 have come in two versions, Binary and Decimal. The two look and behave identically; the only difference is the way they represent numbers internally.
The desktop versions of Free42 on this site, that is, the ones for Windows, MacOS, and Linux, include both the Binary and Decimal versions in the download packages. The versions for Android and iOS, on the other hand, are Decimal only. They could in principle be built with Binary math as well, but due to the way the Android and iOS app stores work, distributing both versions at the same time would be problematic.

Free42 Decimal uses the Intel Decimal Floating-Point Math Library; it uses IEEE 754-2008 quadruple precision decimal floating-point, which consumes 16 bytes per number, and gives 34 decimal digits of precision, with exponents ranging from −6143 to +6144.

Free42 Binary uses the PC's FPU; it represents numbers as IEEE 754 compatible double precision binary floating-point, which consumes 8 bytes per number, and gives an effective precision of nearly 16 decimal digits, with exponents ranging from −308 to +308.

The binary version has the advantage of being much faster than the decimal version; also, it uses less memory. However, numbers such as 0.1 (one-tenth) cannot be represented exactly in binary, since they are repeating fractions then. This inexactness can cause some HP-42S programs to fail.

If you understand the issues surrounding binary floating-point, and you do not rely on legacy software that may depend on the exactness of decimal fractions, you may use Free42 Binary and enjoy its speed advantage. If, on the other hand, you need full HP-42S compatibility, you should use Free42 Decimal.

If you do not fully understand the above, it is best to play safe and use Free42 Decimal.

Free42 Extensions to the HP-42S Instruction Set

The Free42 Extensions can be found in the second row of the CATALOG: Shift CATALOG ▼. They are grouped in several sub-catalogs, which correspond with the sections below.

Time and Date Functions

These functions are documented in detail in the HP-82182A Time Module Owner's Manual and the HP-41CX Owner's Manual, both of which can be viewed on-line here, here, and here.

Note: the date functions handle dates between October 15, 1582, and September 10, 4320. The former is the first day of the Gregorian Calendar, and the latter is 999,999 days later.
The format in which the date functions accept and return dates is MM.DDYYYY when in MDY mode, DD.MMYYYY when in DMY mode, and YYYY.MMDD in YMD mode.

The date format MDY / DMY / YMD, and the time format CLK12 / CLK24, are initially set (that is, at Memory Clear) so they match the host's locale. This means that, for example, a new state will initially be in MDY mode in the U.S., in DMY mode in the Netherlands, and in YMD mode in Japan, and likewise, it will be in CLK12 mode in the U.S., and in CLK24 mode in the Netherlands.

ADATE Appends the contents of the X register to the ALPHA register, formatted as a date value: in DMY mode, DD.MMYYYY is displayed as DD.MM.YYYY; in MDY mode, MM.DDYYYY is displayed as MM/DD/YYYY; and in YMD mode, YYYY.MMDD is displayed as YYYY-MM-DD. In MDY and DMY modes, if the number of digits of the display mode is 4 or less, the century part is omitted; if it is 2 or less, the entire year part is omitted; and if it is 0, the months or days part is omitted (in DMY or MDY mode, respectively). In YMD mode, if the number of digits in the display mode is 2 or less, the day part is omitted, and if it is 0, the month and day parts are omitted.

ATIME Appends the contents of the X register to the ALPHA register, formatted as a time value: HH.MMSSss is displayed as HH:MM:SS.ss. In CLK12 mode, times with HH between −23 and 23 are displayed in 12-hour format: −23 to −13 as −HH−12 PM; −12 to −1 as −HH PM; 0 as 12 AM; 1 to 11 as HH AM; 12 as 12 PM; 13 to 23 as HH−12 PM. When |HH| ≥ 24, the sign is ignored, and HH is shown as is, with no AM or PM appended. In CLK24 mode, HH between −1 and −11 are displayed as −HH+12; all other values are shown as |HH|. No AM or PM are displayed.
If the number of digits of the display mode is 4 or less, the centiseconds part is omitted; if it is 2 or less, the seconds part is omitted; and if it is 0, the minutes part is omitted.

ATIME24 Like ATIME (see above), except it always formats the time in 24-hour format, regardless of the CLK12/CLK24 setting.

DATE Returns the current date to the X register. In MDY mode, the date is returned as MM.DDYYYY; in DMY mode, it is returned as DD.MMYYYY; and in YMD mode, it is returned as YYYY.MMDD. In addition, when executed from the keyboard, this also displays the date formatted as "MM/DD/YYYY DOW", "DD.MM.YYYY DOW", or "YYYY-MM-DD DOW", respectively.

DATE+ Takes a date from the Y register, and adds a number of days from the X register.

DDAYS Calculates the number of days between the date in the Y register and the date in the X register. If the date in the Y register is earlier, then the result will be positive.

DOW Calculates the day of the week for the date in the X register. Returns a number from 0 to 6, where 0 is Sunday, 1 is Monday, and so on. When this function is executed from the keyboard, the day is also displayed in a human-friendly format, i.e. MON for Monday, TUE for Tuesday, etc.

TIME Returns the current time in the X register. The time is returned in HH.MMSSss format, with HH from 0 to 23, regardless of the CLK12/CLK24 setting. In addition, when executed from the keyboard, it displays the time in "HH:MM:SS AM" or "HH:MM:SS" format, when the display format is CLK12 or CLK24, respectively.

Extended Functions

ANUM Scans the ALPHA register for a number, and places it into the X register. If a number is found, the numeric input flag, flag 22, is set.

RCLFLAG Gets the state of all flags and returns them as a complex number. The real part of this number contains flags 0 through 49, and the imaginary part contains flags 50 through 99, encoded as binary integers with the least significant bits corresponding to the lowest-numbered flags.
Note that this format does not match the format returned by the RCLFLAG function in the original Extended Functions & Memory Module or the HP-41CX. The HP-42S has more flags than the HP-41 and the original encoding would not provide room for all of them to fit.

STOFLAG Restores the state of all flags that were retrieved using a previous RCLFLAG. Note that this does not affect the following flags: 27 (CUSTOM), 44 (Continuous On), 45 (Solving), 46 (Integrating), 47 (Variable Menu), 48 (ALPHA mode), 49 (Low Battery), 53 (INPUT), 65 (Matrix Editor), and 75 (Programmable Menu).
You can also choose to restore only a range of flags. With the saved flags in the Y register, and a number bb.ee in X, only flags numbered bb through ee are restored.

X<>F Exchanges flags 0-7 with the X register. The flags are encoded as a binary integer between 0 and 255, with the least significant bits corresponding to the lowest-numbered flags.

BASE Enhancements

In n-bit signed mode, the numerical range is from −2ⁿ⁻¹ to 2ⁿ⁻¹−1, and in n-bit unsigned mode the numerical range is from 0 to 2ⁿ−1.

Wrapped mode changes the behavior when arguments or results go beyond the aforementioned ranges. In the standard, non-wrapped mode, arguments outside of those ranges result in Invalid Data errors, and results outside of those ranges result in Out of Range errors, unless the Range Error Ignore flag (flag 24) is set, in which case the result is the closest value from within the range.

In wrapped mode, parameters and results are held within the allowable range by simply ignoring or discarding any bits to the left of bit n−1. This behavior will be natural to anyone familiar with the behavior of microprocessors, or of integer arithmetic and bitwise logic in C and related programming languages.

The following functions, found in the MODES submenu of the BASE menu, are provided to control the BASE modes:

WSIZE Sets the word size to the number in the X register, which must be between 1 and 64.

BSIGNED Toggles signed mode. In signed mode, numbers are interpreted as two's complement signed integers, like on the real HP-42S and in earlier versions of Free42; in unsigned mode, numbers are always interpreted as non-negative, and negative numbers do not exist. You can check whether signed or unsigned mode is active by checking the MODES menu, where there will be a dot marking the BSGN menu item when signed mode is active. Alternatively, you can check flag 78.

BWRAP Toggles wrapped mode. In wrapped mode, numbers are kept within WSIZE bits by discarding any bits to the left of bit WSIZE−1; in non-wrapped mode, numbers outside of the binary range are not allowed and cause Invalid Data errors when parameters are out of range, or Out of Range errors when results are out of range. You can check whether wrapped or non-wrapped mode is active by checking the MODES menu, where there will be a dot marking the BWRP menu item when wrapped mode is active. Alternatively, you can check flag 79.

BRESET Resets all BASE modes back to their defaults, which match the behavior of the real HP-42S: WSIZE 36, signed, not wrapped.

DECINT When DECM mode is active in the BASE menu, numbers are usually displayed exactly like they are outside of the BASE menu. This can be inconvenient, like when large numbers end up being displayed in scientific notation, which is usually not what you want when working with machine numbers. The DECINT option, found in the DISP submenu of BASE, causes the normal decimal number formatting options to be ignored while the BASE menu is active, and displays decimal numbers as plain integers instead.

HEXSEP, DECSEP, OCTSEP, and BINSEP These options, found in the DISP submenu of BASE, control whether or not digit grouping is used when the BASE menu is active. There are four settings, controlling the use of digit grouping separately for HEXM, DECM, OCTM, and BINM modes.

In HEXM, OCTM, and BINM modes, digits are grouped in groups of four, with the groups separated by spaces. In DECM mode, digits are grouped in groups of three, with the groups separated by commas or periods, depending on the RDX. or RDX, setting in the main DISP menu. Note: the DECSEP setting only takes effect if DECINT mode is turned on; when DECINT mode is turned off, DECM mode displays numbers exactly like they are displayed outside of the BASE menu.

Several operations in the BASE menu make use of the Carry flag. Specifically, when a BASE+ operation results in a carry, or a BASE- operation results in a borrow, the Carry flag is set or cleared accordingly. That is, if BASE+ causes a carry or BASE- causes a borrow, the Carry flag is set, and if BASE+ does not cause a carry or BASE- does not cause a borrow, the Carry flag is cleared.

Further, the rotate and shift functions set or clear the Carry flag according to whether a 1 or a 0 was shifted or rotated out of the number, and the rotate-with-carry functions rotate the number through the Carry flag. This is described in more detail in the following section.

C? Tests the Carry flag. This acts as a normal conditional: when executing a program, if the Carry flag is set, the following instruction will be executed, otherwise it will be skipped; and in normal mode, C? displays Yes if the Carry flag is set, and No if it is clear.

SL Shift Left: Shift the number in the X register left by one bit. A zero is shifted into the number from the right, and the bit that is shifted out of the number is saved in the Carry flag.

SR Shift Right: Shift the number in the X register right by one bit. A zero is shifted into the number from the left, and the bit that is shifted out of the number is saved in the Carry flag.

ASR Arithmetic Shift Right: In unsigned mode, that is, when BSIGNED mode is off, this function behaves exactly like SR. In signed mode, however, it performs an arithmetic shift right, which is equivalent to a signed division by two. What this means is that rather than shifting a zero into the number from the left, the leftmost bit, which is the sign bit, is left unchanged, while also being copied into the next bit to its right.
As with SR, the bit that is shifted out of the number is saved in the Carry flag.

SLN, SRN, and ASRN Shift N times: These functions work like SL, SR, and ASR, respectively, except they perform the shift operation multiple times. The number to be shifted is taken from the Y register, while the shift count is taken from the X register; the shifted number is returned in the X register.
These functions can be executed by pressing Shift SL, Shift SR, and Shift ASR, respectively.

LJ Left Justify: This function shifts the number in X left repeatedly, until the highest bit becomes 1. The shifted number is returned in the Y register, and the number of bits by which it was shifted is returned in the X register. An input of zero will return zero in both X and Y.

RJ Right Justify: This function works like LJ, except it shifts the number in X right repeatedly, until the lowest bit becomes 1.
This function can be executed by pressing Shift LJ.

RL Rotate Left: This function shifts the number in X left by one bit, taking the bit that is shifted out of the number from the highest bit and shifting it back in from the right, while also copying it into the Carry flag.

RR Rotate Right: This function shifts the number in X right by one bit, taking the bit that is shifted out of the number from the lowest bit and shifting it back in from the left, while also copying it into the Carry flag.

RLC Rotate Left through Carry: This function shifts the number in X left by one bit, taking the bit that is shifted out of the number from the highest bit and shifting it into the Carry flag, and taking the previous value of the Carry flag and shifting it into the number from the right.

RRC Rotate Right through Carry: This function shifts the number in X right by one bit, taking the bit that is shifted out of the number from the lowest bit and shifting it into the Carry flag, and taking the previous value of the Carry flag and shifting it into the number from the left.

RLN, RRN, RLCN, and RRCN Rotate N times: These functions work like RL, RR, RLC, and RRC, respectively, except they perform the rotation operation multiple times. The number to be rotated is taken from the Y register, while the rotation count is taken from the X register; the rotated number is returned in the X register.

SB Set Bit: Takes the number in the Y register, and in that number, it sets the bit whose position is given in the X register. The bits are numbered from the right to the left, starting at zero, so bit 0 is the units bit, bit 1 is twos, bit 2 is fours, etc.

B? Test Bit: Takes the number in the Y register, and in that number, it checks the bit whose position is given in the X register. This acts as a normal conditional: when executing a program, if the bit is set, the following instruction will be executed, otherwise it will be skipped; and in normal mode, B? displays Yes if the bit is set, and No if it is clear.
Note: This function consumes the number from the X register, but leaves the number from the Y register, so the stack drops by one level.

#B Count Bits: Takes the number in the X register, and returns the number of 1 bits in its binary representation.

MASKL Mask Left: Given a number n, given in the X register, this function returns a bit mask of n 1 bits, aligned to the left (high) end of the word.

MASKR Mask Right: Given a number n, given in the X register, this function returns a bit mask of n 1 bits, aligned to the right (low) end of the word.

These functions convert floating-point numbers between the representation used by the calculator internally and six different IEEE 754-2008 floating-point formats. The floating-point numbers are returned as binary integers, if they fit in the current word size, or as hex-encoded strings otherwise. Converting from floating-point to the internal format, the inputs may be binary integers or hex-encoded strings.

N→BS and BS→N: Convert numbers to and from binary32 (single precision binary)
N→BD and BD→N: Convert numbers to and from binary64 (double precision binary)
N→BQ and BQ→N: Convert numbers to and from binary128 (quadruple precision binary)
N→DS and DS→N: Convert numbers to and from bid32 (single precision decimal)
N→DD and DD→N: Convert numbers to and from bid64 (double precision decimal)
N→DQ and DQ→N: Convert numbers to and from bid128 (quadruple precision decimal)

Note that the format used internally by Free42 is bid128 in the Decimal version, and binary64 in the Binary version.

Programming Utilities

CPXMAT? Tests whether the object in the X register is a complex matrix. This can be useful when a program needs to distinguish between real and complex matrices, since MAT? returns Yes for both real and complex matrices, and CPX? returns Yes only for complex numbers, not for complex matrices.

CSLD? "Caller's Stack Lift Disabled?" Tests whether the 'stack lift disable' flag (30) was set when the latest XEQ was performed. This can be used when writing functions that return values on the stack, so they exhibit RCL-like behavior when called after CLX or ENTER.

ERRMSG and ERRNO These functions return the error message and error number, resprectively, for the most recent error to be caught using flag 25. If the error number is outside of the range 1 through 8, the same range that is accepted by RTNERR, then ERRNO will return the error message instead, identical to what is returned by ERRMSG.

FUNC Prepare user-defined function.
This function makes it easy to write subroutines that behave like built-in functions, that is, they only take their parameters from the stack, and return their results to the stack, and they don't disturb the contents of any of the remaining stack levels.
This is accomplished by saving the stack, and creating a new stack for the function to use. The new stack will contain only the function's parameters, and once the function returns, only the function's return values will be taken from the new stack. Anything that's left on the new stack apart from the return values is discarded.
FUNC takes a two-digit numeric parameter. Each digit can be from 0 to 4. The first digit indicates the number of parameters consumed by the user-defined function, and the second digit indicates the number of values returned. For example, for a function that takes two parameters and returns one result, you should call FUNC 21, and when the function returns, the two parameters in X and Y (or levels 1 and 2 in NSTK mode) will be replaced by the one return value, and the original contents of X (level 1) will be saved in LASTX.
The process of replacing the parameters with the return values when the function returns only takes place if the function returns normally, using RTN, END, RTNYES, or RTNNO. If the function raises an error by returning with RTNERR, the stack and LASTX are left unchanged, regardless of the parameter given to FUNC.
FUNC also saves the state of flag 25 and causes it to be restored when the function returns. After saving it, flag 25 is cleared, so the function itself will always start with flag 25 clear.

GETKEY1 This function works like the regular GETKEY, except it does not halt program execution when EXIT or Shift-EXIT are pressed, allowing programs to implement custom behaviors for those keys. GETKEY1 does halt on R/S, like GETKEY.

GETKEYA This function works like the regular GETKEY, except it does not wait for a keystroke if the keyboard buffer is empty, but returns 0 immediately in that case.

LSTO, introduced in Free42 2.2, can be used to create local variables. These are variables that exist only for the duration of the current subroutine, and are automatically deleted when it returns. For example, the following is a recursive implementation of the factorial, using the local variable T to preserve the stack register T, and using the local variable N to keep track of the parameter across the recursive call to compute FAC(N−1):

LCLV CLV for local variables. LCLV only deletes local variables that were created at the current RTN level, making it safe to use without the risk of deleting local variables from a lower stack level, or global variables. If a local variable with the given name does not exist at the current RTN level, LCLV does nothing, and does not raise an error.

The behavior of CLV is complementary: it will delete only global variables, refusing to delete local variables. If the given name matches a local variable, CLV raises an error; if it matches no variables at all, CLV does nothing, and does not raise an error.

NOP No Operation. Can be used as a filler when ISG is used in a way where it will always skip the next instruction, like when using it as a counter with no upper limit. In raw files, this instruction is encoded as 0xF0, which corresponds to TEXT 0 in the HP-41, which is sometimes used as a synthetic NOP on that platform.

PGMMENU PGM Menu. Presents a menu of all global labels that have MVAR instructions. When the user makes a selection, the label name is placed in the ALPHA register, and program execution is resumed, similar to the way VARMENU handles a selection. This function allows programs to implement behavior similar to the top-level SOLVER and ∫f(x) menus.

PGMVAR Print MVAR variables. This prints all the variables associated with the given LBL through MVAR declarations, in other words, the contents of the VARMENU for that label.

RTNERR n Return Error from a function. It raises an error based on the parameter n, as follows:

Instead of an error number, RTNERR also accepts a string to be displayed as the error message, allowing programs to raise non-standard errors. The string must be provided as an indirect argument; it can be created using XSTR, as follows:

RTNNO Return from conditional function. To be used by functions that act as conditionals. RTNNO causes the line after the calling XEQ to be skipped, or, if the function was called from the keyboard, it will display the message "No", like a built-in conditional.

RTNYES Return from conditional function. To be used by functions that act as conditionals. RTNYES is like RTN, except if the function was called from the keyboard, it will display the message "Yes", like a built-in conditional.

SKIP Skips the next line, like a test that always tests false. This can be used to invert the sense of tests that have no convenient inverse; for example: REAL? SKIP GTO 42 will jump to LBL 42 if the object in X is not a real number.

Step Into, Step Over, and Step Out
Introduced in release 2.1, Free42 offers Step Over and Step Out. People familiar with Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) will probably know the three common types of stepping:

SST↓ or Step Into: Executes one line of code, and if the line in question is a function call, the next line to be executed will be the first line of the function being called. That is, you are Stepping Into the function;

SST→ or Step Over: Executes one line of code, and if that line is a function call, it is executed in that one step. You are not Stepping Into the function; rather, you are Stepping Over it.

SST↑ or Step Out: Starts program execution, continuing until just after the end of the current function. You are Stepping Out of the function.

Step Into is the same as the original SST function in the HP-42S. Free42 2.1 adds the alias SST↓ for this function, but its behavior is the same, because it's just another name for the same function. Step Over and Step Out are new functions in 2.1. The three together can be assigned to a row in the CUSTOM menu, for example:

A note about Step Over: for most instructions, Step Over behaves the same as Step Into. In high-level language debuggers, the only difference between the two is with function or method calls. In Free42, Step Over steps over XEQ instructions, those being the keystroke-programming equivalent of function calls, but it also steps over SOLVE and INTEG, while Step Into will step into the function being solved or integrated.

Conversely, if you interrupt program execution while SOLVE or INTEG are active, Step Out will cause execution to continue until SOLVE or INTEG are done, as if SOLVE or INTEG are a kind of XEQ.

TYPE? Returns an integer, representing the type of the object in the X register. The numbers correspond to object types as follows:

VARMNU1 Modified version of VARMENU, with two differences: You can select a variable without having to assign any values first, so you don't have to press the menu key twice if all you want to do is make a selection; and also, it catches EXIT, clearing the ALPHA register and resuming program execution when it is pressed.

X=? X≠? X<? X>? X≤? X≥? Compare X to any argument. Similar to X=Y?, X≠Y?, etc., except these functions allow you to compare X to any register or variable, not just to Y.

0=? 0≠? 0<? 0>? 0≤? 0≥? Compare any argument to 0. Similar to X=0?, X≠0?, etc., except these functions allow you to compare any register or variable to 0, not just X.

String and List Functions

Free42 3.1 introduces full support for list editing in the matrix editor functions EDIT, EDITN, and INDEX. While editing lists, the matrix editor's user interface looks mostly the same as when editing matrices, but with a few important differences.

The format of the X register label, which looks like row:column= when editing a matrix, now supports lists, nested lists, empty lists, and matrices within lists, with these formats:

1= first item of the top-level list
1.2= second item of the list, which is the first item of the top-level list
1.2.3= third item of the list, which is the second item of the list, which is the first item of the top-level list
etc.

1:1= top-left element of the top-level matrix
2.1:1= top-left element of the matrix which is the second element of the top-level list
etc.

When editing a list, when the current list item is also a list, pressing the → menu key will enter that list;
When editing a list, when the current list item is a matrix, pressing the → menu key will enter that matrix;
When editing a nested list, pressing EXIT or pressing the ← menu key will go to the enclosing list;
When editing a matrix inside a list, pressing EXIT will go to the enclosing list.

When editing an empty list, the item number is shown as the letter E (as in "empty"). Note that you can't store an item in an empty list without extending it first. You can add new slots anywhere in the list using the INSR function, and you can add slots at the end of the list by turning on GROW mode and pressing → while at the end of the list.

APPEND Adds the object in X to the string or list in Y and returns the combined string or list. If Y is a string, the contents of X will be converted to a string in the same way as ARCL. If Y is a list, X will be added to it unchanged. If X is a list, it will be added to Y as one element.

EXTEND Adds the object in X to the string or list in Y and returns the combined string or list. If Y is a string, the contents of X will be converted to a string in the same way as ARCL. If Y is a list, X will be added to it unchanged. If X is a list, it will be added to Y element by element.

SUBSTR From the string or list in Z, gets the substring/sublist starting at index Y and ending just before index X. If X and/or Y are negative, they are counts from the end, rather than the beginning. The very end of the string or list can be specified by leaving off the 'end' parameter, i.e. by having the string or list in Y and the starting index in X.

HEAD Removes and returns the first character or element from the string or list named by the function's parameter. If the string or list is empty, skip the next instruction.

POS Finds the first occurrence of the string or list X in Y. Or with three parameters: find the first occurrence of string or list X in Z, starting the search from position Y.

S→N, N→S, and NN→S Convert string to number or number to string, like ANUM and ARCL.
NN→S works like N→S, except it works as if it's always in ALL mode, and it converts the number with the calculator's full precision — that is, without limiting the mantissa to 12 digits.

C→N and N→C convert character to number or number to character, like ATOX and XTOA.

XASTO and LXASTO Like ASTO and LASTO, but the entire ALPHA register, not just the first 6 characters.

→LIST Creates a list from objects on the stack. The number of objects is taken from the X register (level 1), the objects themselves are taken from the levels above X. They are stored in the list in the order in which they were pushed, so the objects from the highest levels come first in the list.

XSTR Create a string directly in the X register, without needing the ALPHA register and without the six-character limit of ASTO.
Note: When you enter an XSTR command on the keyboard, whether in RUN or PRGM mode, you are limited to entering strings of no more than 22 characters. (In Plus42, the limit is 50 characters.) XSTR can handle longer arguments, up to 65535 characters, but for anything longer than 22 characters, you'll have to enter the text outside of Free42, then copy it, then switch to Free42 and paste the text into the X register, and finally, if you want to enter the text into a program, use X2LINE to create the XSTR command.

XVIEW This function works just like AVIEW, except it takes the text from the X register rather than the ALPHA register, so it doesn't have the 44-character length restriction of AVIEW.
XVIEW requires the X register to contain a string. This is not intended as a replacement for VIEW ST X; it's meant to make it possible to display longer messages than what AVIEW can handle.

Big Stack

Big Stack mode is quite powerful, but please be aware that existing programs will typically not work correctly in this mode, since they expect the fixed four-level stack. Use this mode only for programs you have verified to be compatible, or for programs specifically written for Big Stack mode.

In order to prevent users from unwittingly using this mode, it is initially disabled; before being able to use it, you must first select the option Allow Big Stack (NSTK) mode in the Preferences. Once this is enabled, you may switch back and forth between the classic four-level stack and the new dynamic stack using the 4STK and NSTK functions, found in the MODES menu.

In the CATALOG, there is a STK section, containing functions for working with the Big Stack. The STK functions are:

LNSTK and L4STK Local N-level / 4-level Stack. These switch to N-level or 4-level stack mode, respectively, but in addition, they automatically restore the previous stack mode when the current function returns. Further, L4STK saves levels 5 and up in a hidden list, and also restores them when the previous stack mode is restored. (The non-local 4STK function simply discards levels 5 and up.)

NOTE: In Free42 (but not in Plus42), Allow Big Stack (NSTK) mode must be turned on in the Preferences in order to use the NSTK or LNSTK functions. If not, you will get the Big Stack Disabled error message when trying to use them.

The NSTK, 4STK, LNSTK, and L4STK functions do nothing if the selected stack mode is already active.

Note that LNSTK or L4STK may be called after FUNC, to create functions that use the N-level stack or the 4-level stack internally, respectively, while being able to be called from either N-level or 4-level code. LNSTK or L4STK must be called after FUNC; if FUNC is called after L4STK or LNSTK, an Invalid Context error is raised.

DROP and DROPN n Drops level 1, or levels 1..n. In 4-level mode, the stack is replenished with zeroes from the top.

DUP and DUPN n Duplicates level 1, or levels 1..n. In 4-level mode, n must be 2 or less.

R↓N n and R↑N n Rolls levels 1..n down or up. Note that the standard R↓ and R↑ are equivalent to R↓N depth and R↑N depth.

PICK n and UNPICK n Gets the object from level n, or puts an object into level n. Note that UNPICK consumes the contents of level 1, unlike STO, and n refers to the stack level number after X has been dropped. The effect is that you can modify an object at level n by doing PICK n, <modify the object>, UNPICK n, without having to add 1 to the level number for UNPICK. Also note that this is similar to the behavior of PICK and UNPICK in RPL.

Other Extensions

A2LINE, A2+LINE, and X2LINE Create program lines containing the current contents of the ALPHA register, to be set; the ALPHA register, to be appended; and X register, respectively.
Note that A2LINE may insert seemingly redundant CLA and append lines; these are used to avoid creating string lines that start with character codes 127 through 255. This is necessary because those codes have special meanings in HP-42S program format: code 127 signals that the line is an append line, and codes 128-255 are used to encode functions with string arguments (like STO "ABC") and various other HP-42S- and Free42-specific functions.

CAPS and Mixed Select whether to display menu labels in all caps, or allow lowercase letters.
The HP-42S displays menu all menu labels in all caps, because its menu font doesn't have lowercase letters. Free42, however, has had lowercase letters in its menu font since release 3.0.6. The CAPS setting can be used to preserve the original HP-42S look; the Mixed setting is the new default.
These settings can be found in the MENUS submenu of the MODES menu.

STATIC and DYNAMIC Select whether menus item labels can change when Shift is pressed.
Some menu items, like all six items in the TOP.FCN menu, the XEQ item in the PGM.FCN menu, and the Σ+ item in the STAT menu, execute different functions depending on whether Shift is pressed or not. Starting in version 3.3.3, Free42 will update these menu items when Shift is pressed or released, to indicate these shifted functions. The STATIC setting can be used to preserve the original HP-42S behavior; the DYNAMIC setting is the new default.
These settings can be found in the MENUS submenu of the MODES menu.

C.LN1+X and C.E↑X-1 These are complex-capable versions of the HP-42S LN1+X and E↑X-1 functions.

FMA Fused Multiply-Add. Calculates Z*Y+X using the underlying platform's native FMA function, as provided by the floating-point hardware or library.

GETMI, PUTMI, GETLI, and PUTLI These functions allow direct access to matrix and list elements, that is, without needing to use INDEX and RCLEL/STOEL. All four functions take the matrix or list to be accessed as the argument, e.g. GETMI "MAT", PUTMI IND 00, PUTLI ST Z. The other parameters are taken from the stack, as follows:

GETMI: Expects a row index in Y and a column index in X; pushes the indexed item onto the stack.
PUTMI: Expects a row index in Z, a column index in Y, and an item in X, and stores the item at the specified indices.
GETLI: Expect an index in X; pushes the indexed item onto the stack.
PUTLI: Expects an index in Y and an item in X, and stores the item at the specified index.

Note that none of these functions remove their arguments from the stack. That is a deliberate design decision, intended to make read-modify-write interactions easy to code.

IDENT App identification. This returns the app version as an integer in aabbccdd format, with 3.1.12b being formatted as 3011202, for example. Free42 returns the version as a positive number, and Plus42 returns it as a negative number.

LOCK and UNLOCK Program locking. When you perform LOCK, the current program is protected against editing. This is indicated by the current line indicator changing from a black triangle to a gray one.
You can always make the program editable again later by performing UNLOCK. This feature is meant purely to prevent accidental editing, not to make a program permanently unmodifiable.
LOCK and UNLOCK must be executed in PRGM mode. They affect only the current program, so if you want to lock or unlock multiple programs, you have to do them one at a time.

PCOMPLX and RCOMPLX These functions work like COMPLEX, except PCOMPLX always works in polar mode, and RCOMPLX always works in rectangular mode, regardless of the RECT/POLAR mode setting (flag 73) that is currently in effect. This can be useful when complex constants need to be embedded in programs, allowing such code to work correctly in either mode.

STRACE Stack Trace mode. This turns on a new print mode, which is a variation on TRACE mode, printing the entire stack instead of just X. This can be a valuable debugging tool, but it generates large amounts of output!

WIDTH and HEIGHT These functions return the width and height of the display, in pixels. Since the display in Free42, just like the one in the HP-42S, has a fixed size, WIDTH always returns 131, and HEIGHT always returns 16. This may not seem very useful at first glance, but these can be used when writing programs that are intended to run in Plus42 as well. Using WIDTH and HEIGHT instead of hard-coding 131 and 16 allows programs to take advantage of Plus42's resizable screen while remaining compatible with the fixed-size screen in Free42.

Accelerometer, GPS, and Compass

ACCEL Query the accelerometer. The three components of the acceleration vector are returned in the X, Y, and Z registers. Holding the device facing you, in portrait orientation, and the dock connector pointing towards the floor, positive X is acceleration toward the left, positive Y is acceleration downwards, and positive Z is acceleration away from you — or, in terms of gravity, positive X is gravity pulling to the right, positive Y is gravity pulling upwards, and positive Z is gravity pulling toward you.
Note: Accelerations are returned in units of Earth gravities, not m/s² as you might expect. The iOS API documentation states that the unit used is 9.81 m/s², and those values are returned unchanged by the ACCEL function. On Android, the API returns the accelerations in m/s², and these are converted by Free42 to gravities using the "standard gravity" of 9.80665 m/s².

LOCAT Query GPS. The location is returned as follows: latitude in X, longitude in Y, elevation in Z, and horizontal and vertical accuracy in a two-element vector in T. The latitude and longitude are given in decimal degrees, with North and East being positive; the elevation and accuracies are given in meters. If an accuracy is −1, that means that the corresponding measurement is not valid.
Note: When LOCAT is first called, it activates the GPS if it wasn't active already. The GPS will not return a fix immediately; rather, the operating system will notify the app whenever a new fix is available. For the first fix in particular, this may take a long time, several seconds, or, if conditions are poor, even a minute or more. LOCAT simply returns the coordinates of the most recent fix the app has received, and if no fix at all has been received yet, it will return zeroes, and the location accuracy (the first component in the accuracy vector returned in the T register) will be -1.

HEADING Query the compass. This returns the following data: magnetic heading in X, true heading in Y, heading accuracy in Z, and the raw magnetic vector in a three-element vector in T. The headings and accuracy are given in degrees, where North is 0, East is 90, and so on; the components of the magnetic vector are given in microteslas. The components are oriented with respect to the device along the same axes as the accelerometer readouts.

Flags

31 and 67: DATE mode. 67 set: YMD; 67 clear and 31 set: DMY; 67 and 31 clear: MDY.
64: Shift pressed. Indicates that Shift was pressed with the current keystroke. This can be used to define unshifted and shifted functions with the programmable and CUSTOM menus.
78: BSIGNED mode for BASE.
79: BWRAP mode for BASE.
80: Big Stack mode.

HP-42S Undocumented [MIN], [MAX], and [FIND] Functions

[MIN] finds the lowest element of the current column, starting at the current row, of the indexed matrix, and returns the element to X and the row where it was found to Y;
[MAX] is like [MIN] except it finds the highest element; if the minimum or maximum is not unique (it is found in more than one row), the highest matching row is returned. [MIN] and [MAX] require the indexed matrix to be a real matrix, and they do not allow string elements in the column being searched.

[FIND] locates a specific value, searching the indexed matrix left to right and top to bottom. The function works as a conditional: when a program is running, the following instruction is executed if a match is found, and skipped if a match is not found; when executed interactively, the display shows "Yes" if a match is found and "No" if not.
Also, if a match is found, I and J are set to point to it.
The indexed matrix may be real or complex, and the search value may be real, complex, or string; real or string values are only found in real matrices, and complex values are only found in complex matrices; in other words, 5 is not considered equal to 5 + 0i -- mathematically speaking this is wrong, but on the other hand it is consistent with the behavior of the X=Y? and X≠Y? functions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my HP-42S program not work properly in Free42?

There are several potential reasons why an HP-42S program might not work correctly in Free42. To get the most obvious out of the way first: make sure to check that you entered the program correctly, and that the relevant settings, such as register size, angular and display modes, etc., are all correct.

Having ruled out human error, the reasons an HP-42S program may not work correctly in Free42 are:

Different floating-point format
The HP-42S represents numbers with a 12-digit decimal mantissa, and an exponent from 10⁻⁴⁹⁹ to 10⁴⁹⁹; Free42 Decimal uses a 34-digit decimal mantissa, and an exponent from 10⁻⁶¹⁴³ to 10⁶¹⁴⁴; and Free42 Binary uses native binary floating-point, which on all currently supported platforms is IEEE-754 double precision, with a 53-bit binary mantissa which is roughly equivalent to 16 decimal digits, with an exponent from 10⁻³⁰⁸ to 10³⁰⁸.
These differences can cause Free42 to calculate different results than the HP-42S. For example, 1 ENTER 3 1/x − LASTX − LASTX − returns 1e−12 on the HP-42S but 1e−34 on Free42 Decimal, because of the wider mantissa; 1 ENTER .2 − .2 − .2 − .2 − .2 − returns 0 on the HP-42S but 5.55111512313e−17 on Free42 Binary, because 0.2 is a repeating fraction in binary.
Most of these kinds of compatibility problems can be avoided by using Free42 Decimal, but, although they are rare, there are programs that don't work correctly even in Free42 Decimal. Mostly these are programs that specifically rely on the size of the mantissa and/or the range of the exponent, but the extra precision of Free42 Decimal can also potentially throw off straightforward numerical algorithms, for example, if they use termination conditions that aren't robust.
Free42 defaults to decimal-point or decimal-comma mode depending on locale
If your computer / smartphone / tablet is set to a locale where the decimal is a comma, Free42 is set to RDX, (radix comma) mode on hard reset; in all other locales, it is set to RDX. (radix dot) mode on hard reset. If you're seeing incorrectly formatted data in your program's output, you may have to switch to RDX. mode (RDX. in the DISP menu, or SF 28).

The Android and iOS versions do have a menu, where you select skins, access the Preferences, etc. To activate this menu, tap on the screen, anywhere below the status bar (or the top of the screen if there is no status bar) down to the top half of the display.

When the Pop-up ALPHA keyboard is enabled, the sensitive area in the top of the screen is used to toggle the keyboard as well; tap in the top left to bring up the main menu, and tap in the top right to toggle the keyboard.

If you set the Pop-up ALPHA keyboard to "disabled" in the Preferences, the older behavior is restored, and the entire top-of-screen area triggers the main menu.

Free42 3.2 and Plus42 1.2 introduced the pop-up ALPHA keyboard. Starting with these versions, you access the main menu by tapping in the top left of the screen, while tapping in the top right of the screen turns the pop-up keyboard on and off.

If you don't want to use the pop-up ALPHA keyboard at all, you can go into Preferences, and set the "Pop-up ALPHA keyboard" setting to "Disabled." This will restore the old main menu behavior.

Why does Haptic Feedback not work on my iPhone / iPad / iPod touch?

The hardware and OS support needed for Haptic Feedback is currently only available on the iPhone 7 and later. Older iPhone models don't have it, and neither do any iPad or iPod touch models.

Unfortunately, iOS does not provide apps with a way to detect whether the devices they're running on have Haptic Feedback support or not, and so, in order to make sure that the option is available on all devices that do have that support, I have no choice but to put the Haptic Feedback switch in the Preferences screen on all devices.

If Apple ever adds a way to detect Haptic Feedback support, I'll change the Preferences screen so the Haptic Feedback switch is hidden or disabled on devices where it's of no use, but until then, the current confusing situation will continue. My apologies!

Why does OFF not work in the iOS version?

Apple's User Interface guidelines for iOS specify that apps should not have commands for exiting the app; exiting should only take place at the operating system's request, which in turn will only happen when the user presses the home button or uses the task switcher. Thus, the Free42 OFF command causing the app to exit was a violation of those guidelines.

For the longest time, Apple didn't seem to mind, but when I submitted 1.4.75a, it was rejected because of this issue. I had no choice but to comply, and so now, OFF just beeps, and OFF in a program causes the program to stop.

For people who liked and used the original OFF functionality, I added a back door to re-enable that behavior. Follow these steps:

Enter ALPHA mode: Shift ALPHA
Type YESOFF using the ALPHA menu: WXYZ Y ABCDE E RSTUV S NOPQ O FGHI F FGHI F
Store the text in the X register using ASTO ST X: STO . ST X
Perform OFF: Shift OFF

With the string YESOFF in the X register, OFF works again. You only have to do this once; executing OFF this way sets a hidden flag telling Free42 to always perform the old-style OFF behavior from then on, regardless of the contents of the X register.

If you ever uninstall and reinstall Free42, you will have to repeat the procedure. You will not have to repeat the procedure when you get updates.

Why am I getting results that are rounded to integers?

You're doing, say 7 ENTER 2 ÷, in FIX 04 mode, and the result is 3.0000, while it should of course be 3.5000.

When this happens, it's because the calculator is in BASE mode. You can verify this by pressing and holding any of the arithmetic or +/− keys: in BASE mode, they perform BASE÷, BASE×, BASE−, BASE+, and BASE+/−, respectively, and these commands interpret their arguments as 36-bit signed binary integers, and return results within those same constraints.

To get back to normal behavior, leave the BASE application by pressing EXIT until no menu is shown in the display.

Why am I getting Size Error when I try to access any of the numbered storage registers, or try to use any of the statistics functions?

Usually, Size Error means you're trying to access a numbered register that doesn't exist, i.e. the SIZE setting (in the MODES menu) is set too low. By default, the setting is SIZE 0025, which means you have registers numbered from 00 through 24.

When even RCL 00 returns Size Error, however, that usually means that the REGS matrix was inadvertently deleted. This also causes all statistical functions to fail, since they all use numbered registers to access the summation data.

To fix this, and restore REGS to its default size, say SIZE 0025: Shift MODES ▼ SIZE 0 0 2 5.

How do I assign SST↓ (Step Into) to the CUSTOM menu?

SST↓, also known as Step Into, introduced in Free42 2.1, is not a new function; rather, it is a new spelling of the existing SST function. Since functions are listed in the FCN catalog by their primary spelling only, this leads to the question of how to assign SST↓ to the CUSTOM menu, with the arrow.

The answer is to spell it out using the ALPHA menu: Shift ASSIGN ENTER RSTUV S RSTUV S RSTUV T ▼ ←↑↓ ↓ ENTER, and then press the menu key you want to assign SST↓ to.

I use a Bluetooth keyboard with my iPhone or iPad, and the cursor keys aren't working!

It sounds like the system is intercepting those keystrokes. Go into Settings → Accessibility → Keyboards → Full Keyboard Access, and check the state of the Full Keyboard Access switch. If it is turned off, then this FAQ entry does not apply. If it is turned on, then you can try turning it off, or, if you need Full Keyboard Access, go into Commands, and remove or change the shortcuts that use the cursor keys.

I use a Bluetooth keyboard with my iPad, and sometimes the app stops responding to the keyboard completely!

This can happen when you are running two apps side by side in Split View or Slide Over mode. If the other app has a text field with a blinking cursor, keyboard input will be sent to that app, even if you just activated Free42. In order for Free42 to be able to receive the keyboard input, go into the other app, and make sure the text field is no longer active, by tapping anywhere outside of all text fields. Then go back into Free42, and it should be responsive to the keyboard now.

How do I enable iCloud support in the iOS version?

The short answer is: you can't.

You may have noticed that the Settings → Apps → Free42 → Document Storage setting has no effect. Even if you change it to iCloud, Free42 keeps storing state files, skins, printer output, and other files, in the local Free42 directory under On My iPhone.

The reason for this is that Free42 needs to keep these files local, in order to make sure it can operate reliably even when access to the Internet is interrupted or slow. It does allow access to these files through the Finder on a connected Mac, or to the Files app running locally, but unfortunately, allowing that access has the side effect of making the Document Storage setting appear in Settings → Apps → Free42 as well, even if the app doesn't actually support that setting.

Note that it is possible to share state files and raw program files, using Main Menu → States → <State Name> → More → Share, and Main Menu → Program Import & Export → Share Programs, respectively; and Free42 will also receive shared states and raw files.

	Android Get it at Google Play, or if you prefer the manual approach, download Free42Android.apk for side-loading. Requires Android 4.4 or later.
	iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch) Get it from the App Store. Requires iOS 12.0 or later.
	Windows Download: Free42Windows.zip (32-bit) Requires Windows Vista or later. If Free42 does not run as is, you will also need to download and install the Latest supported Visual C++ Redistributable.
	MacOS Download: Free42Mac.zip Requires MacOS 10.13 (High Sierra) or later.
	Linux Download: Free42Linux.tgz Built in Ubuntu 16.04, with libc 2.23, libstdc++ 5.4.0, and GTK+ 3.18.9. It should work on any Linux (x86_64) with those or similar libraries.
Additional Downloads
	Skins Some skins to use instead of the faceplates built into Free42.
	HP-42S/Free42 programs A small collection of HP-42S/Free42 programs.
	raw2txt, txt2raw Command-line tools that convert "raw" program files to text listings and back. Downloads for Windows, MacOS, and Linux. Last Updated: Apr 26 2025 Note: These tools do not handle Plus42 instructions. If you need to be able to convert Plus42 programs, find the Plus42-compatible versions here.
	rom2raw A C program that converts user code from HP-41 ROM images, from ROM or MOD files, to Free42/Emu42 compatible "raw" program files. Download rom2raw.zip; source code and Win32 console executable included.
	Free42 Source Code Get it from Codeberg: https://codeberg.org/thomasokken/free42 Package for GTK only, no HP logo, for building Linux packages: upstream. I cannot keep track of exactly which combinations of tools do and don't work for building Free42, but for what it's worth, these are the ones I use: For the Android version, I use Android Studio 2022.3.1 with the Android 15.0 SDK (API level 35) and NDK r19c. For the iOS and MacOS versions, I use Xcode 16.4. For the Windows version, I use Microsoft Visual Studio 2022. I have built the GTK version in many different Linux distros, and also in FreeBSD and Solaris. What I typically need to install are: the standard set of build tools (called 'build-essential' in Ubuntu), libgtk-3-dev, libasound2-dev, and, if 'make' is not GNU Make, also 'gmake'. Note that libasound2-dev is optional; you just need it if you want BEEP and TONE to sound nice.
	Old and Unsupported Versions This section contains old and no longer supported versions of Free42 for obsolete platforms: PalmOS, PocketPC / Windows Mobile, MacOS Dashboard, and Windows XP, and no longer supported utilities for working with raw program files. The full list, with download links, is here.

Free42 : An HP-42S Calculator Simulator

What it is

Project Status

Donations

Page Contents

Downloads

Additional Downloads

Free42 Documentation

Contents

Manual

Loading and Saving Programs

The Hidden Powers of Copy and Paste

Loading, Saving, and Switching States

Binary and Decimal Floating-Point

Free42 Extensions to the HP-42S Instruction Set

Contents

Time and Date Functions

Extended Functions

BASE Enhancements

Programming Utilities

String and List Functions

Big Stack

Other Extensions

Accelerometer, GPS, and Compass

Flags

HP-42S Undocumented [MIN], [MAX], and [FIND] Functions

Frequently Asked Questions

Contents

Why does my HP-42S program not work properly in Free42?

Do the Android and iOS versions have a menu?

I can't access the main menu in the Android or iOS version!

Why does Haptic Feedback not work on my iPhone / iPad / iPod touch?

Why does OFF not work in the iOS version?

Why am I getting results that are rounded to integers?

Why am I getting Size Error when I try to access any of the numbered storage registers, or try to use any of the statistics functions?

How do I assign SST↓ (Step Into) to the CUSTOM menu?

Why is nothing showing up in the Print-Out?

How do I get rid of "Free42" would like to paste from "SomeOtherApp" warnings on iOS?

I use a Bluetooth keyboard with my iPhone or iPad, and the cursor keys aren't working!

I use a Bluetooth keyboard with my iPad, and sometimes the app stops responding to the keyboard completely!

How do I enable iCloud support in the iOS version?