Section 1: Getting Started20
Shifted functions in ALPHA mode are shown in the illustration on page 19).
Try it now:
Keystrokes Display    
ALPHA   FUEL   Places HP-41C in ALPHA mode. The string, FUEL, returns.
H  H _   Begin the new string. The previous string is lost.
P  HP _   H and P are primary characters.
g  –   HP– _   – is a shifted character.
g  4   HP–4 _    
g  1   HP–41 _   4 and 1 are shifted characters.
g CLA      Blanks the display.
ALPHA   0.0000   Takes the calculator out of ALPHA mode. The HP-41C keyboard is now in ‘‘normal’’ mode; all functions printed above and on the face of the keys are now active, and ALPHA mode characters are no longer available.
You can recall the ALPHA characters you have keyed into the display by pressing g VIEW in ALPHA mode. This is actually the AVIEW (ALPHA view) function. Viewing ALPHA strings is covered in section 3.
Regardless of the mode the calculator is in, the g key is always the shift function. There are two other keys on the HP-41C that always remain the same, both the function on the face of the key and the shifted function. (An exception to this is when these keys are reassigned in USER mode. This is covered in detail in section 4.) These two keys are:
 
  BST  
SST
 
 
  CLX/A  
 
 
 
Keying in Numbers
Key in numbers by pressing the number keys in sequence, just as though you were writing on a piece of paper. The decimal point must be keyed in if it is part of the number (unless it is to be right of the last digit). If you want your display to be the same as those shown here, press g FIX 4.