README.txt for SmartShopper, v1.0 For more information, see the URL http://www.cs.umn.edu/~cosley/ss/ Contact for Smartshopper help: smartshopgroup@hotmail.com ___________________________________________________ What is the SmartShopper? The SmartShopper is a Palm Pilot application designed to make shopping ­ especially grocery shopping ­ more organized, efficient, and pleasing. The Shopper has two main parts: the list screen, which helps you keep your actual shopping list, and the compare screen, which helps you to figure out discounts, coupons, and unit prices. ___________________________________________________ Why does the SmartShopper exist? The SmartShopper exists because it is a way for us, the University of Minnesota Ubiquitous Computing Group, to better understand how to design computers and software that people can use anywhere and anytime and use with minimal disruption to the flow of typical, everyday life. Because this is a research project about how people use the SmartShopper, we are asking for (though not requiring) some minimal feedback about how you use it. Potential feedback methods are: * After you've used the app for a while, send us some comments. How useful was it, what worked well, what didn't, what would have been nice to include, etc., are all useful types of information. * The application creates a (very small) log file that counts how often you use various functions of the SmartShopper. It is called "logDB.pdb" and should automatically be saved to your desktop every time you HotSync. The file will be located in a folder such as c:\Program Files\palm\Dan\Backup, where "Dan" is your Palm user name, and "c:\Program Files\palm\" is the place where you installed the Palm Desktop (HotSync) software. If you could mail us the logDB.pdb file after you've used the app for a few weeks, that would be greatly appreciated! (Of course, all data we use will be aggregated and, consequently, individual logging data will remain completely anonymous. * Email this information to smartshopgroup@hotmail.com. Beyond the above feedback, we welcome any additional questions, comments, or general concerns: send them to smartshopgroup as well. * NOTE: Feedback will be most useful for us by Feb. 18! We present a conference poster on the 22nd. ___________________________________________________ How do I install the SmartShopper? First, download the SmartShopper.exe file, and double-click it. This file is a self-extracting archive that contains the files SmartShopper.prc, InvDB.pdb, and readme.txt. You can choose where this directory is created when you double-click the file. Install SmartShopper to the Palm using the standard installation process provided by Palm Desktop software. Simply open the Desktop software and choose to install the files SmartShopper.prc and InvDB.pdb; the InvDB.pdb file provides a database of common grocery items that you can add to your list using the autocomplete feature of the SmartShopper application (described below). This database is useful but not necessary if you are very short on space. NOTE: if you are running HotSync on Windows NT or Windows 2000, you must install the files while logged in under the same account in which you installed the Desktop software. For example, if you installed the Desktop software while logged in as Joe_Smith, you need to run the Desktop software and install SmartShopper.prc and InvDB.pdb while logged in as Joe_Smith. ___________________________________________________ How does the SmartShopper work? How does the list screen work? The list screen works like a pencil and paper shopping list ­ only better! The SmartShopper list keeps track of an item's quantity, name, and price. You add items to the list by tapping the 'Add Item' button, which will add an item called "New Item" to your shopping list. To change the name of an item, tap on the item's name and use graffiti or the Palm keyboard to enter the new name of the item. You can change an item's quantity and price the same way. One handy feature of the SmartShopper is that it will offer to complete an item name for you; this feature is quite similar to the autocomplete feature in Netscape and Internet Explorer. For example, if you start an item name with "sau," the SmartShopper will offer to complete the item name with an item name that matches "sau", such as "sauerkraut" or "sausage". The SmartShopper will change the price and quantity when autocompleting as well. Also, the SmartShopper saves entries you make in the list and uses those when suggesting autocompleting in the future. So, once you put an item on your list, the next time you want to put it on your list just enter the first few characters of the item and choose the item from the autocomplete box. Using autocomplete will definitely save you some work when creating your list! When you're at a store, and you've put an item in your shopping basket, you can check it off the list by tapping the check boxes on the left side of your shopping list, just like how you cross items off of a paper and pencil shopping list. You'll notice that items in bold have not yet been checked off your list; thus, simply look for the items in bold to see which items you still need to buy. When you check something off, its total gets added to the `Cart Total' on the lower right side of the screen. The `List Total' is the total of everything on your list, whether you've checked it off or not. You can delete items by using the `Delete Selected Item' button. Don't worry, the SmartShopper will remember everything about that item (remember autocomplete?), so next time you add an item you won't have to reenter all the information about an item! See the description of the menu options below to see how you can: * sort the list so that all the items not yet checked off are moved to the top of the list * uncheck all the items on your list * delete all the items from your list (which you may want to do when making a new list). ___________________________________________________ How does the compare screen work? You can use the compare screen to figure out several different kinds of pricing information: * unit prices (such as $0.03 per ounce) * price discounts for coupons ($0.75 off of $3.00 is $2.25) * percent discounts (10% off of $1.00 is $0.90) * price each (4 items for $4.00 = $1 per item) To do a comparison, first tap on the kind of comparison you desire. There are four choices: Unit Price, % Off, $ Off, and Price Each. The selected comparison stays highlighted to let you know which kind of comparison you're doing. Then, enter the price of the item in the Price field, and the number of items, or amount of discount (which could be dollars or a percentage) in the other field. Then, tap the `Compute' button. Your comparison will then appear in the comparison history box near the top of the compare screen. You can do as many comparisons as you wish. When you're ready to go back to the list, tap the `Go To List' button in the upper right corner of the screen. Once you get back to the list screen, the next couple of times you change the price of an item, you'll get a pop-up list that has your most recent price comparisons in it, so you can use the prices you figured out on the compare screen without having to remember them. ___________________________________________________ What about menus? The SmartShopper has a few additional features which you can access through its menus. When you tap your PDA's menu button, you'll see a few menus which allow you to perform extra functions with the SmartShopper. These include unchecking all the items on your list, deleting the entire list (for when you've just gone shopping and you want to start a new list from scratch), and moving all the checked items to the top of the list, so you can more easily see what you've bought, and what you still need.