A collegue of mine was once complaining that he couldn't find a calculator to do what he wanted to do. He was a college math major and expressed a desire to use his handheld for all of his calculations instead of carting around five different calculators to do his bidding. I believe that CoolCalc was the program he needed all along.

CoolCalc 3.0 is a programmable calculator in the sense that you can create your own function buttons and even program entire calculators. First, included with CoolCalc are ten calculators: Basic Calc, Basic RPN, Computer Math, Scientific RPN, Scientific, Dates, Currency Converter, Loans, Time Value of Money, and Margins. Some of the calculators work just a little differently than you would expect. Instead of entering data directly into each field, you simply tap out the number for the field in the calculator, then click the Set field button that is appropriate. For example, when using the Loans calculator on my HP Jornada 420, I entered 12.5, then tapped on Set Annual Rate, entered 25000, then Set Amount, and finally put in 60, then Set Months. You then tap on the red question mark field to calculate the field Monthly Pmt. Simple enough to understand once you try it.

The truly distinguishing factor of CoolCalc, though, is its ability to create new function buttons and calculators to suit your needs. To create a new function (there has to be a blank spot or button available on a calculator to do this), you simply record the macro that will initiate the function you want and assign it to a button. The example given in the Help file is a button that will calculate the tip for a meal and add it to the bill amount you enter. It was very simple to create and illustrates the inherent power of this program. But the truly amazing is revealed when you enter into Program Mode and start creating a calculator of your own. You can tailor existing calculators to your needs or start from scratch. Either way, when you define each button's properties, you can assign a function to it by choosing it from a drop-down list in the properties window. There are over 100 functions built into CoolCalc, split between calculator functions and layout functions. The button's size, position, font, color...everything is available to be defined. Be prepared to spend some time with the program before you jump into designing calculators. That said, I was impressed with how easy it was to design a calculator, especially once I'd played around with defining buttons.

When I first started using CoolCalc, I kept thinking that there was no reason to buy it. Most handhelds come with a calculator already, so why would I buy another? However, once I realized how powerful the program was since I could design my own calculators, the inherent value of CoolCalc became apparent. Not only do you get a useful set of well-designed calculators, you get a simple method to create your own. For anyone looking to create a special function calculator that they cannot find in any existing calculator package, CoolCalc 3.0 is the only answer around.

-Kevin Brislin

Applian Technologies