HandyShopper 2.9c Review
By William| Reporter
Date: 12/06/2006

HandyShopper 2.9c is an easy-to-use application that can keep track of your shopping lists. The program can store a list of all the things you commonly shop for. When you go shopping, simply mark those items you need to buy, then check them off your list as you buy them. It supports the OK button on the Palm powered smartphone, such as new Kyocera 7135 phone. It has Graffiti working again in the Stores, Aisles, and Quantity popup lists, and more.





Features:

• Multiple databases: allows as many as you wish.
• Per-store prices (optional). It allows you to track an item's price and aisle independently for each store.

• Attach Notes to items.
• Automatic sorting. Custom text field (for instance, works great for an Author field in a book list). This field is searchable via the
  system Find command, just like the Description and Note
  fields.

• Copy an item to another list (even copies its stores, too).

The 'Copy to...' command is found on the Item Tool.

Installing HandyShopper onto your Palm device:

Use the Palm Install Tool to install the following files onto your Palm device, and then do a HotSync:
 

• HandyShop2.prc - this is the HandyShopper program.
• HS2Icons_Color.prc - sample color icons; install this if
  you have a color device.
• HS2Icons_Mono.prc - sample monochrome icons; install this
  if you have a black and white device.

After the HotSync, "HandyShpr" will show up in your Launcher's "Main" category (or in the "Unfiled" category if your device doesn't have OS 3.5 or higher).

TIPS:

• Tips -- tap the "i" button for helpful Tips.
• Menu -- to pop up menus, tap the "Menu" circle in the Graffiti area (in the lower left corner).
• Context menu -- tap an item and hold the stylus down for half a second to pop up a context menu with some common actions.
• HandyShopper is useful for almost any kind of list, not just for shopping lists. Try creating databases for "Gift Ideas", "Movies", "To Do", etc. Use your imagination!
• Use the Preferences screen to control the visible columns, how items are sorted, and many other settings and options. In most popup dialogs with a text field, you can also write the newline stroke instead of tapping the OK button.
• Stores that have needed items, show up in bold in the Stores
  dropdown list.

One-handed operation while shopping:

• Use the Menu and select "Options", then "One-handed mode".
  or, push the jog dial on devices that have one.
• or, on a PalmV or PalmVx press the Contrast button.
• or, drag the stylus from the Graffiti area to the upper half
  of the screen.
• The hard buttons work as follows, in the No-Stylus mode:
  DateBook - page up
• Address - page down
• Up/Down - move highlight up/down one item
• ToDo - check off item
• Memo - Undo (eg, undo checking off an item)
• Jog Dial Up/Down - move highlight up/down one item.

GOING SHOPPING:
In general, working with HandyShopper follows a pattern like this:
1. Add items to database

Or, go the 'All' view and find items from previous shopping trips, that you need this time

2. Select the 'Need' view.

3. Go shopping at one store.
4. Check off items as you put them in your cart.
5. Pay for the items.

6. Use the Checkout command (on the menu) to reset the list for
the next store (this tells HandyShopper you purchased the
items you checked off, otherwise they'll still appear in the
Total at the next store). Note, the Checkout command also
deletes any completed items that are marked as Auto-delete.
7. Go shopping at another store, and go back to step 4.

COUPONS: Check the 'Coupon' checkbox in the item's Details screen.
Copy the item, using the 'Copy Item' command (under the 'Record' menu), and assign a negative price to the new copy.

For instance if you have an item "Coke, 2ltr" and a coupon for 50 cents off, you could copy the item, and assign $-.50 as the price (this makes the Total command more accurate).

Real Cases of using HandyShopper:

There are some real cases example ideas contributed by users.

1. Aromatherapy - (User: Claire Appleby)

I use HandyShopper to record different blends of aromatherapy oils for different uses. My items are individual oils and I use the stores to represent different uses such as relaxation, alertness, fatigue, headache etc. I have the database set to
record per-store prices and aisles, and I use the aisles to record the number of drops of each oil needed when making up a blend for a particular purpose. This means when I select a particular use from the stores list, HandyShopper shows which oils I need with the number of drops for each oil.

2.Book List - (User: Craig Lawson)

I mix together books that I want to buy with those I want to check out from a library. If I discover someone has checked out the book from the library, I make note of the call number so I can quickly locate it again either there or at another library.
[editor's note: and the Custom Text field is great for storing
the author's name, too!]

3. Collections - (User: Gretchen Cawthon)

HS2 is excellent for keeping track of collections. Use the quantity field to keep track of amounts, and the price field for current values. Also, the 'stores' and 'category' fields are great for easy sorting.

4.Furniture Shopping - (User: Janet Hilsmier)

We loaded Rooms into the Categories. It was much easier to walk around the store, plug in each table, couch or chair that we liked, the dimensions and the price. When we finally decided which ones we "needed", it was easier to make sure the sales agent charged us correctly. Later, we added our downpayment and interim payments as negative numbers, so that we knew what was owed by final delivery.

5. Gift Idea/Shopping List - (User: Gretchen Cawthon)

Set up your categories as to the type of gift (Christmas, Birthday, Baby Shower). Use the person's name in the 'store' field. As your friends and family hint at what they want for their special occasion, add it to the list and then check it off as you purchase it. I also input the price so I can add up what I have spent for each person. It is also great to have that list handy when you can't find an item they ask for at Christmas. Then after Christmas you can use the list for potential birthday gifts, just change the category for the item.

6. Home Chores List - (User: Janet Hilsmier)

We loaded all of the mundane dusting, mopping, vacuuming tasks and rooms, plus the semi-annual and annual tasks like changing batteries.

7.Home Improvement Projects

Each month of the year is a store. Categories included "Indoor", "Outdoor" and "Painting". Then, each project was loaded. We assigned the projects to months to help us schedule everything we want to do, within reason. (It is impossible to paint, till, stain, mulch, build and plant in one weekend!) It also helps us to keep focused on getting to some of those "someday I'd like..." projects.

8.Impulse Purchases - (User:> Chris Antos)

If you find yourself buying things you later realize you don't need, try this. Create a dated list called "Impulse", and make the Price and Date columns visible. Whenever you see something new you want to buy, add it to the Impulse list and mark down how much it costs and when you saw it. Then walk away and don't buy the item - wait about 3 weeks. Every few weeks, look through your Impulse list and see if you still really think you need the items. If you still think those $199 fold-up sunglasses will make a significant difference in your life, then by all means go back and buy them. <wink> This technique has saved me more than $1000 over the past year. Another great thing about the Impulse list is you can actually see how much money you've prevented yourself from wasting.

9. Inventory - (User: Chris Antos)

HandyShopper is NOT designed for inventory! Inventory and Shopping are opposite concepts. Extremely simple inventories can be done with HS2, but in general HS2 does not work well for inventory. Several inventory programs do exist for the Palm devices, so I recommend searching web sites to find them.

10. Karate Training - (User: Philip Wright)

After three years of training, I reached the higher ranks at my karate school. But I still didn't have a good way to keep track of all my combat techniques. HS2 solved that problem. I created a checklist, and assigned the karate session (Jan-Feb, Mar-Apr, etc.) to the Stores field, and the level (Beginning, Intermediate,Advanced) to the Categories field. Now all I have to do is put the title of each technique in the task list, and put the instructions for each technique in the Notes field of the tasks. Now it only takes me two seconds to find a technique, and one tap of the stylus to see the complete directions for the technique. And one of the coolest things is that when I'm preparing to test for my next belt, I can check off each technique as I master it, so that I know which ones I still need to practice.

11. Movies - (User: Chris Antos)

When you see a trailer for a movie you'd like to see, add it to your Movies database, along with the its upcoming release date. You can use the categories for "Theater", "Rent", "Buy VHS", "Buy DVD", etc. Attach a note to the item, with a description of the movie, in case you forget what the movie's about or who's playing in it.

12.Orders - (User: Gilly Rosenthol)

When I order something, I record the item and the date ordered. That way I can keep track of what packages I'm expecting and see how long it's been.

13.Packing List - (User: Gretchen Cawthon)

This one is obvious but can be fun to experiment with. I set mine up with categories first (clothing, toiletries, food, accessories, etc.) Then I put everyone in my family in the 'stores' field. As I added the items to pack, I assigned them to the proper person. For example, my husband & I both wear contacts, so I assigned 'contacts' to both of us. For items like socks and shoes, I assigned them to everyone. Now, if only my husband will be traveling, I change the store to his name and he then has a customized list of things he needs to pack.

14. Project task lists - (User: Claire Appleby)

As a freelance lecturer, a lot of my work involves going through a specific sequence of tasks in relation to a particular project. For example, if I'm planning a new course for a particular college I have certain tasks such as planning the overall content, then planning the individual sessions, delivering each session, marking assignments and so on. I use a store for each project. The items are the tasks. I use the aisle number to record the sequence that the tasks have to be carried out in, and I sort the database by aisle. I use price to record the number of hours that each task usually takes, and quantity to record the number of times it has to be repeated (for example, assignments might take half an hour each to mark, but I might have 60 of them). At the start of each project, I can go through and select the tasks I need (usually all of them, but not always). I can also enter the number of assignments etc where relevant. I can then use the Total command, and HandyShopper tells me the total hours needed to complete the project, and how many hours work I have done so far.

15.Reading List with Calculated Priorities - (User: Claire Appleby)

I read somewhere that if you have to get through an awful lot of reading, you can prioritise this as follows. You estimate the importance of the article or book by deciding how much you would be prepared to pay to read it. However, if you would pay the same to read a 20-page paper and a 200-page book, then your time is better spent reading the paper. So you calculate your priorities by dividing the price your willing to pay by the length of the book or paper.

HandyShopper does this very nicely as follows. The items are the books or articles. I use quantity to record the number of pages and aisle to record how much I would pay (in GBP) to read the book. The built-in calculator is invaluable for calculating value (aisle) divided by length (quantity), and I use the price column to store this value. The list is sorted in descending order on price so that the highest priority item comes out on top. I use the categories to distinguish between reading for work and for pleasure, and I use the stores to record books I've finished reading and books I've started but not finished (because I tend to have several things on the go at the same time).

16.Recipe Database - (User: Gretchen Cawthon)

This is extremely easy to build. Use the 'stores' list to create categories, such as meat dishes, pastas, seafood, sauces, appetizers, etc. Then use the actual categories function to make a more detailed sort - like crockpot, holiday, favorites, etc.  Add the title of the recipe in the description field and attach a note with the recipe instructions. This is quite handy for keeping track of recipes found on the net (copy/paste from memopad) and also helpful for jotting down recipes on the go.

17.Remodelling a House - User: Maria Popoli)

I'm using it to remodel our house!! The categories are rooms, exterior elements, substructures. The stores are subcontractors, our own elbow grease, or particular stores for required purchases. We redecorated our son's room in a weekend because we had everything ready to go like a kit - no trips to
the hardware store. I've got another database for the landscaping, categories are: nursery for purchases, existing design, gardening chores pending, failures,& growers. Stores are locations within my yard. No wasted money at the nursery
and a beautiful garden.

18. Restaurants - (User: David Jacobs)

I have created a restaurant list using the "Stores" filed for "Style" of food (Asian, Vegetarian, Seafood, etc). This allows restaurants to be categorised by multiple "Styles". The categories field could be used to denote locations and the priority field for quality rating. The price field could be used to give an average cost for a meal.

19. Shopping - (User: Gretchen Cawthon)

Some tips on setting up shopping lists...
Unit prices are important in getting the best value. Some items, like laundry detergent, come in various sizes. If you buy 100-oz laundry detergent at K-mart for $3.99 and 200-oz at the Dollar store for $4.99, the best price will show up as
$3.99@K-Mart. That may be the low price, but not the best value. All you needed to know is that the best unit price was $.03/oz. Instead of having 10 different entries for the various sizes of laundry detergent, try one of these two methods.
Create on entry for laundry detergent and make the unit field 'oz'. Then attach a note to the field and insert the unit price info there (I created a shortcut that will add the appropriate text and I just fill in the price). Another way is to create a
'store' called "Unit Price". For this store, insert the unit price for the item. Now when you tap details to see the best price, you will see what a good unit price is for comparison.

20. Software List - (User: Rosemary Lewis)

Under categories, I use Accessories - Software. Under Stores, I use Author, (Seller names I use), Demos, Freeware, In ROM, Not Purchased, Purchased, Removed Permanently and Shareware. Of course each product can appear in a number of "stores" but this gives me the ability to keep track of every program I have ever tried out. What happened to it, my comments on each in Notes, see cost as Demos move to Purchased and of course, the total amount of $$ spent on this project. I am VERY happy with this effort!

21.Training - (User: Bruce Chappell)

I thought you might be interested in how I use your HandyShopper program. I am a Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) (Part Time), and am responsible for training other EMTs in a hospital. Because of the dynamics of Emergency Medicine, I can't always start teaching a, then b, then c, etc. So I use Aisles to group things, such as Heart Monitors Aisle 5, then list the various things I have to cover, Alarm Volume, How to alter preset limits, etc.

Before HandyShopper it was a miracle if I covered everything I was suppose to. I never could remember if I taught this shift to this person, or another shift to another person. Now I can guaranty that everything is covered before I sign somebody off as having completed their orientation. Thanks for a Great Program.

22.Wine Database - (User: David Jacobs)

Create different "classes" of wines (Red, White, Fortified, Sparkling, etc) using the "Stores" field and categories of wines (Shiraz, Chardonay, etc) and assigning "ratings" using the "Priority" field and using the "Notes" field for comments.

CONVERTER TOOL

HandyShopper now comes with a converter tool that can convert the
.PDB database file to other formats, and can convert from .CSV
format back into a .PDB database file that can be installed onto the
handheld.

NOTE: For now, the converter is only available for PC's running
Microsoft Windows. See Future Features for more information
about other computers.

The converter tool is a "command line" utility program, and does not
have any graphical user interface. To use it, you must open a
Command Prompt window first. There is usually a shortcut for this
on the Start -> Programs -> Accessories menu.

Converting from .PDB to .CSV:

1. Find the .PDB file that you wish to convert. It is usually
located in the "C:\Palm\<username>\Backup" directory. The
file name of the .PDB file will usually be the same as what
you named the database on the handheld device, but may begin
with a "HS2_" prefix. However, if the database was created
with an older version of HS2 the prefix may be omitted.

2. Run the following command to convert your .PDB database file
into a .CSV file.

hs2convert -c C:\Palm\Username\Backup\MyData.PDB NewFile

Two files will be created in the current directory:
NewFile.CSV which contains the items from the database, and
NewFile.TXT which contains the stores and other information
about the database.

TIP: You can use the CD command in the Command Prompt to
change the current directory. Run "cd /?" for more
information.

3. If you intend to make changes to the .CSV file on the PC and
synchronize the changes back to the handheld device, DO NOT
use the database on the handheld until you install the
updated database onto your handheld (see below). The PC
will overwrite any changes you make on your handheld during
that time.

Converting from .CSV to .PDB:

1. Run the following command to convert the .CSV file from
above back into a .PDB file.

hs2convert -p NewFile.CSV NewDatabase.PDB

This reads both the NewFile.CSV and NewFile.TXT files and
produces the NewDatabase.PDB file, which can be installed
onto the handheld device. The NewDatabase.PDB file is
created in the current directory unless a pathname is
specified.

2. After the converter finishes, you can install the new
database onto the handheld device, using the Palm Install
Tool. One way to install the database is probably to run
"start ." to open a window that lists the files in the
current directory. Find the NewDatabase.PDB file and double
click on it to queue it for installation during the next
HotSync.





Converting from .PDB to other formats:

The converter tool can also convert to XML, but cannot convert
back from XML. To export XML, run the following command:

hs2convert -x C:\Palm\Username\Backup\MyData.PDB XmlFile

For information about the converter tool, run "hs2convert /?".

For other programmers:

o Try out the -i flag, which makes the converter use ID
numbers for stores. This can make certain tasks (such as
renaming a store) easier and higher performance.

Download HandyShopper 2.9c:

Palm OS 2.0 or above

Size: 179k
Price: Freeware