Financial Calculator User Guide
Basic controls
Learn Finocturne's financial calculator through practical examples, from finding the right keys and storing inputs to solving an unknown.
Open financial calculator ↗A. Meet the calculator
Switch modes
Use the mode keys above the display to switch among 12 modes. Modes retain their own inputs. Use ↑↓ to move the highlighted row, or select a row directly. Finish an edit with EXE or cancel with Escape before moving.
B. Edit and reset
C. Financial conventions
Read all control explanations
Switch modes
Use the mode keys above the display to switch among 12 modes. Modes retain their own inputs. Use ↑↓ to move the highlighted row, or select a row directly. Finish an edit with EXE or cancel with Escape before moving.
Select a variable
Use the mode keys above the display to switch among 12 modes. Modes retain their own inputs. Use ↑↓ to move the highlighted row, or select a row directly. Finish an edit with EXE or cancel with Escape before moving.
Numbers and expressions
Select a row and enter a number or expression such as 500*6 or -(500+500). EXE evaluates and stores it. Use a minus sign for outflows; follow this expression workflow rather than another calculator brand's keystroke sequence.
EXE · Store known values
EXE means: store this known value, then advance to the next row. SOLVE means: calculate this highlighted unknown from the other stored values. An uncommitted draft cannot be solved; explicitly store 0 when a known flow is zero.
SOLVE · Find the unknown
EXE means: store this known value, then advance to the next row. SOLVE means: calculate this highlighted unknown from the other stored values. An uncommitted draft cannot be solved; explicitly store 0 when a known flow is zero.
MENU · Commands
MENU opens settings, clear/reset commands, examples and the existing six-step tour. Record needed values before clearing or replacing inputs.
Settings
MENU → Settings opens the settings page. P/Y is payments per year and C/Y compoundings per year; they may differ and must be integers from 1 to 9999. Select the payment-timing row and use OK to cycle BEGIN/END. Left/right switches between variables and settings when not editing.
Fill Example
MENU → Clear mode clears the current mode and restores its default settings. Reset calculator reinitializes every mode and global memory. MENU → Fill Example replaces the current mode's values/settings and selects the example unknown; press SOLVE yourself. Record any values you need before using these commands.
Tour, help and scrolling
Reopen the existing six-step tour from MENU; the display's question mark opens the current mode manual. The padlock locks page scrolling; press it again to unlock before scrolling down to the full guide link.
CLR · Clear current input
CLR empties the current draft; outside editing it clears the selected writable variable. Backspace removes a character before the caret or a selection; outside editing it recalls the stored value and removes its last character, still requiring EXE to commit. Escape cancels the edit and keeps the stored value. CLR is not a full reset.
Backspace
CLR empties the current draft; outside editing it clears the selected writable variable. Backspace removes a character before the caret or a selection; outside editing it recalls the stored value and removes its last character, still requiring EXE to commit. Escape cancels the edit and keeps the stored value. CLR is not a full reset.
Escape · Cancel editing
Keyboard Escape cancels the draft and preserves the stored value. There is no Escape key on the calculator panel; use your keyboard in the real calculator.
Clear mode
MENU → Clear mode clears the current mode and restores its default settings. Reset calculator reinitializes every mode and global memory. MENU → Fill Example replaces the current mode's values/settings and selects the example unknown; press SOLVE yourself. Record any values you need before using these commands.
Reset calculator
MENU → Clear mode clears the current mode and restores its default settings. Reset calculator reinitializes every mode and global memory. MENU → Fill Example replaces the current mode's values/settings and selects the example unknown; press SOLVE yourself. Record any values you need before using these commands.
Cash-flow signs
Use one person's perspective: payments out are negative, receipts positive. For savings, PV/PMT are usually negative and FV positive. For a loan, the amount received as PV is usually positive and repayments PMT negative. A minus sign indicates direction, not necessarily a loss.
Rate percentages
Enter 5 in I% for 5%, not 0.05. N counts payments, so years=N÷P/Y. BEGIN pays at each period's start and END at its end; PV is today and FV at the final period-end. All five lessons use P/Y=C/Y=1 and END, matching the calculator's annual default settings.
N versus P/Y
N counts payment periods; years=N÷P/Y. At P/Y=12, 60 periods mean five years. Periods equal years only when P/Y=1.
P/Y versus C/Y
MENU → Settings opens the settings page. P/Y is payments per year and C/Y compoundings per year; they may differ and must be integers from 1 to 9999. Select the payment-timing row and use OK to cycle BEGIN/END. Left/right switches between variables and settings when not editing.
BEGIN versus END
END pays at period-end; BEGIN at the start. In Settings select Timing and OK to cycle. Numeric settings are stored with EXE.
Choose the unknown
EXE means: store this known value, then advance to the next row. SOLVE means: calculate this highlighted unknown from the other stored values. An uncommitted draft cannot be solved; explicitly store 0 when a known flow is zero.