TIGraph 2.0 Info

TI-85 Emulator for Windows 95/98/NT

This file serves as an explanation of TIGraph 2.0. TIGraph is only permitted to be forwarded in combination with this file. TIGraph 2.0 is freeware.

Home

What's new?
Installation
Short Keyboard Reference
Menus and Dialogs

File

Kill
Exit

Tools

Known Problems
Important Note
Disclaimer
The Authors

What's new?

We have been very surprised about the large response, and we tried to fulfill all wishes and requirements as much as possible with the latest version 2.0.
The following points are the most important features:

1. Up- and download of TI-85 files

Ti85files (*.85?) for shells, games, and scientific programs, which can be found on the internet, can now be loaded and executed easily. In addition you can save and exchange backup files and all internal variables in the ti85 file format.

2. Support of keyboard

All functions of the calculator are supported by the keyboard.

3. Colored display and screenshots

The display of the calculator and the screenshots can be changed from black and white to a more colorful display. The display can be customized according to your requirements. Screenshots can be exchanged via clipboard or saved in files automatically.

Installation

All files are saved in a zip-file and can be easily installed by any unzip program. Unzip all files into the same directory. Copy your ROM-file into the same directory and rename your ROM-file to "ti85rom.bin".
Now simply start the calculator with "tigraph.exe".

Short Keyboard Reference

To make the use of certain functions more easy, we have labeled some buttons with a red highlighted character. Those buttons can be executed by pressing this character on the PC keyboard. All other buttons are available by pressing the related keyboard button. For example:

PC	TIGraph
[DEL]	DEL-Button
[7]	7-Button

Exception: The ALPHA-Button is executed by hitting the [CTRL] key. In the alpha mode, all characters can be activated via PC keys directly.

Menus and Dialogs

All configurations of TIgraph can be performed by menus and dialogs. In addition to the "normal" menu, you can use a context menu. Simply click on the calculator's display with the right mouse button. The following is a short overview of all functions.

File Dialog

File | Kill

The kill command is intended to be a somewhat special command. If the calculator should become frozen (which can happen for example with some games), you can close it with "kill". Different from "exit", it will shut down immediately without saving the current state, so you can start it with a "clean" state again.

File | Exit

This is the normal way to close the calculator. Click the cross symbol in the top left corner of the window. Pressing [ALT-F4] will have the same effect.

Tools Dialog

Tools | Upload

With this menu item, you can load TI-85 files into the calculator. A dialog box will appear where you can choose the file to upload. TIGraph will recognize the contents of the file automatically. That means you don't have to worry about "correct" file extensions. Pressing [F6] on the keyboard is a fast way to activate upload.

Tools | Screenshot

Screenshot will create a snapshot of the calculator's current display. Under the dialog box Tools | Preferences | Misc, you can choose if the pictures will be copied to the clipboard or saved as files. A fast way to take a screenshot is pressing [F8] on the pc keyboard.

Tools | Preferences

This command will open the Preferences dialog box which includes Misc, Colors and Files. By pressing [F7] on the keyboard you can access this dialog directly.

Tools | Preferences | Misc

Configuration:

Link automatically	If marked (default), the calculator will automatically be put into its waiting state if you activate the upload, otherwise you will have to press the calculator buttons [2nd] [x-Var] [F2] before every upload.
Beep on errors	If for example there was an error during a file transmission and this option is active, a short acoustic signal will be generated.
Allow multiple instances	If checked, you can launch several instances of TIGraph 2.0, otherwise there will only be one instance. If you try to start another one, only the first one is put into the foreground.

Save state on closing:

Here you can make your choice how the calculator should behave when closing. The current status can be saved always, never, or allow the (default) dialog box to appear.

Screenshot via:

Clipboard	The screenshots will be copied to the windows clipboard.
File	In the edit field titled "Basename", you can type the beginning of a filename. TIGraph will use it to generate the filenames under witch it will save the screenshots. For example:

basename:	generated filenames:
"scrn-"	"scrn-000.bmp", "scrn-001.bmp", ...
"c:\test"	"c:\test000.bmp", "c:\test001.bmp", ...

If basename contains no path the default path will be that of "TIGraph.exe".

Tools | Preferences | Colors

By help of this dialog, you can specify and test the display colors as the colors of the calculator screen. Simply use the three sliders to vary the color composition to your satisfaction. The "Test" button gives you the ability to proof your choice on the real display. The colors will be applied by hitting "Ok". Closing the dialog box with "Cancel" will restore the previous color settings. A fast way to exchange fore- and background color is to click the little arrow at to left top of the color demo.

Tools | Preferences | Files

There are two files witch are important to run the calculator: ROM- and RAM-File (status file). The first one contains the operating system of the calculator and its calculating routines. Therefore you can't run TIGraph without this file. As default the calculator is supposed to run with ROM-version 10.0. If the checkbox is deactivated you can also try to run another version. The second file saves the calculators complete state on closing and will be generated automatically. It is a similar backup file.

Known Problems

1. This emulator is not be suited for jump and run games. Because there's no synchronization it will run much too fast.
2. With some assembler shells you will have problems on doing keyboard input. The reason is that these programs use polling to get their keyboard information. They don't halt during idle time waiting for an keypad interrupt but run in an infinite loop. This causes the real calculator to waste battery power and in our case the simulator to waste cpu time.

Name	Wintop Cpu-burden
cshell	100%
mish	no function
mshell	0.2% (Usgrad ?)
OS7	no function
OS85v31	0.1%
Oshell85	0.1%
peak	100%
phatos	100%
rigel	100%
snsdk094	100% Illegal Opcode fd 15
usgard	0.1%
Zshell	100%
cshellnt	100%

Because of this we recommend use of Usgard, OS85v31, Mshell or Oshell85, that are implemented more intelligent. They place a halt command in front of the routine call, that checks the keyboard. Like this:

0306	halt
0307	jp PollKey

Quite simple, is'nt it? The program will also run cycles of keyboard checking - but not as often!
This halt command should be built in all assembler programs. It's up the assembler programmers to improve their programs.

Important Note

All rights concerning the ROM of TI-85 are reserved with the Texas Instruments Company, and owners of a TI-85 are the only people legally allowed to use the ROM. Again: this program is for owners of the TI-85 only, because they are the only ones who can legally use it!

Disclaimer

We always try to keep our software free of bugs. We have tested the calculator very carefully with a lot of beta testers under different environments. No major problems were found or reported. However we distribute this program with no warranty of any kind, and we are not responsible for any damage caused by this program. Should you find any problems or bugs, we would be happy that a short mail with a problem description be sent.

The Authors

We are students of electrical engineering/communication technology at "Hochschule fuer Technik, Wirtschaft und Kultur Leipzig" and "Georg-Simon-Ohm Fachhochschule Nürnberg" We are very happy to receive ideas, complaints and notification of bugs of TIGraph. But: please don't ask for more information on the ROM of TI-85 and where to get it!

Many thanks to Jörgs wonderful wife Aimée and her infinite patience, to Berit Stephan who helped us writing this text and Jonathan Lukesh for his indispensable help.

Rene Doss
Jörg Sander