HP 17bII+ Reference the menu-driven business calculator · 250 functions, menu labels and messages, with procedures

Six menu keys under a two-line display replace every financial key: the labels change with the menu, and each one either stores a value or solves for it. The guide walks the tree — time value of money, amortisation, interest conversion, cash-flow lists with NPV and IRR, bonds, depreciation, business percentages, currencies, statistics and forecasting, the clock — and then the Equation Solver, which stands in for programming: functions, IF, summation, multi-equation menus and guesses. Every figure was recomputed from the manual's own formulas. The shift key is written shift; a menu label as TVM.

shift then the gold legend above a key LABEL the menu key under that label
Sources: hp 17bII+ Financial Calculator Owner's Manual, Edition 2 (HP, 2004) for behaviour and page numbers; the HP 17bII+ Quick Start Guide (HP, 2008) for the key table; the HP 17BII Owner's Manual (HP, 1990) for the keyboard photograph.
Colour keythe machineentry, stack & displayprogrammingmathematicsdata objectssymbolic, solvers & financevariables & memoryinput, output & interfacereference & system

The Keyboard

37 keys · the six blank keys on the top row are the menu keys · gold legends above a key are reached with the shift key
HEWLETT
PACKARD
17bII+FINANCIAL CALCULATOR
PMT=-823.25
NI%YRPVPMTFVOTHER
 ^ 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 STO 
RNDRCL 
MATH% 
MODESDSP 
PRINTERPRT 
MAINEXIT 
CLEAR DATAINPUT 
E+/− 
R↓( 
x⇄y) 
 ◄ 
 ▲ 
 7 
 8 
 9 
1/x÷ 
 ▼ 
 4 
 5 
 6 
yx× 
  
 1 
 2 
 3 
√x− 
OFFCLRON
MEM0 
SHOW· 
LAST=ENTER
x²+ 
shifted function, printed above the key; press shift firstmenu key — its label is whatever the display shows above itdrawn from the HP 17BII photograph in its 1990 manual, which the 17bII+ layout repeats; RND is the 17bII+ addition. The 2008 revision moves the shifted legends onto the key faces in blue.

HP 17bII+ Guide

the menus, then procedures for each application, then the Solver

Anatomy four things the keyboard does not tell you

Six work areas, one tree

There are no financial keys. The top row of six blank keys takes its meaning from the labels above it, and MAIN is the root of everything. shift MAIN from anywhere; EXIT climbs one level; MORE turns the page when a menu has more than six labels.

MAIN
FIN
TVMICNVCFLOBONDDEPRC
BUS
%CHG%TOTLMU%CMU%P
SUM
CALCINSRDELETNAMEGETTOTAL
TIME
CALCAPPTADJSTSET
SOLVE
CALCEDITDELETNEW
CURRX
curr1curr2RATEC.STOC.RCLSELCT

Two levels down is where the work happens: FIN → TVM is a menu of variables, not of further menus. The display says SELECT A MENU while there is still a level below you.

Menu maps for every branch: Appendix C, pp. 254–260.

A menu key stores or solves

Every label on a variable menu obeys one rule. Key a number, press the label: it is stored. Press the label with nothing new keyed: it is calculated from the others. There is no order to remember and no "compute" key.

PMT=-823.25
NI%YRPVPMTFVOTHER
three kinds of label, drawn three ways in the menu mapsstore & calculatecalculate onlystore onlyN, PV, COST…INT, PRIN, BAL, %TACRS%, YR#

RCL then the label shows a stored value without recalculating. STO then the label stores a result that is already in the calculator line, which matters just after switching menus. shift CLEAR DATA zeroes the whole menu.

Owner's manual pp. 27–28.

What memory holds

About 30,740 bytes, shared by Solver equations, their variables, and every named CFLO and SUM list. The built-in menus' variables cost nothing. shift MEM shows what is left.

one pool — as many of each as fitequations + variablesCFLO listsSUM listsdeleting variables frees space; clearing does nota list must be named before another can start
the history stack: four lines, one visibleXYZTthe calculator line▲ ▼ roll them; shift LAST copies Y

Registers 0–9 are the only things that carry a number between the built-in menus and the Solver, because the two never share variables. A number left on the calculator line also survives a menu change.

Owner's manual pp. 37, 43–45 and 227.

The Solver is the programming language

The 17bII+ is not keystroke-programmable. What it has instead is an equation list: each entry is verified into a menu whose every variable can be the unknown. Functions, IF, a summation loop and the S() test make that far more than a formula store.

PV×(1+ANNI÷1200×DAYS…
CALCEDITDELETNEW
PMT=-203.99
PVANNIDAYSPMTN

Direct or iterative. If the unknown appears once, in ordinary operators, the Solver rearranges the equation and answers at once. Otherwise it searches from two guesses, showing both estimates and the sign of LEFT − RIGHT for each; you can halt it, supply guesses, and restart.

Chapter 12 and Appendix B, pp. 240–246. Worked example below.

The machine

HP's menu-driven business calculator: the 1988 HP-17B, reissued as the 17BII with RPN in 1990 and as the 17bII+ in 2003 with more memory. A two-line display, six menu keys under it, and a Solver in place of programming.

ALG or RPNyour choice; the menus and Solver are the same in bothTVM, ICNV, CFLO, BOND, DEPRCthe FIN menu — every standard finance calculationBUS, CURRXpercentages and exchange ratesSUMnamed lists: totals, statistics, four curve fitsTIMEclock, ten alarms, date arithmeticSOLVEyour own equations, each with its own menu30,740 bytesfor lists and equations; 12-digit arithmeticHP 82240 printerinfrared, for tables and traces

Two CR2032 cells. Continuous Memory keeps everything through switch-off; a MACHINE RESET keeps it too, a MEMORY LOST reset does not.

Keyboard & shift

Most keys carry a second legend above them; press shift first. Pressing shift twice cancels it.

shift MAINabove EXIT — the MAIN menu from anywhereshift CLEAR DATAabove INPUT — zero the current menu, or empty the listshift MATH · MODES · PRINTERabove %, DSP and PRTshift E · R↓ · x⇄yabove +/−, ( and )shift 1/x · yx · √x · x²above ÷, ×, − and +shift OFF · MEM · SHOW · LASTabove CLR, 0, · and =shift RNDabove RCL — added on the 17bII+

ON is printed under CLR and ENTER under =: in RPN mode the equals key is ENTER. In this sheet a menu label is written as a dark box, TVM, meaning the top-row key beneath that word.

Menus & variables

The whole machine is one habit: go to a menu, store what you know, press what you want.

shift MAIN BUS MU%Cwalk down the tree4.10 COSTstore4.60 PRICEstoreM%Ccalculate: 12.20 — markup on cost20 M%C PRICEthe same menu the other way: 4.92RCL COSTlook at a stored valueshift CLEAR DATAzero all threeEXIT EXITback to MAIN

Every variable in a menu but one must hold a value, even if that value is zero, which is what CLEAR DATA is for before a new problem. A number in the calculator line goes with you into the next menu; more than one needs registers 0–9.

Owner's manual pp. 25–28.

Display & modes

DSP FIX 4 INPUTfour decimalsDSP ALLevery significant digitshift SHOWtwelve digits while heldshift RNDround the number to the display settingDSP ,comma decimal point, period separatorsshift MODES BEEPall beeps → appointments only → silentshift MODES ALG · RPNentry logicshift MODES INTLone of six languagesCLR hold, + or −contrast

Twelve digits are always kept internally; the display setting only formats them. The exception is amortisation and depreciation, which round to the display so schedules tie out in whole cents — set FIX 2 first.

Owner's manual pp. 34–36.

Arithmetic (ALG)

Algebraic entry evaluates left to right as you go: 65 + 12 ÷ 3.5 = is (65 + 12) ÷ 3.5. Parentheses postpone: 65 + ( 12 ÷ 3.5 ) =.

750 × 12 ÷ 360 =25.00 — each operator completes the one before200 × 25 % =50.00 — 25% of 200200 − 25 % =150.00 — after + or −, % is of the number before it1250 + 7 % =1,337.50 — simple interest for one year125 shift yx 3 =1,953,125125 shift yx 3 shift 1/x =5 — the cube rootshift MATH N!factorial of the displayed number; EXIT returns39 + 8 = ÷ shift LAST =the previous result as an operand475.6 STO 1 · RCL 1registers 0–9; STO × 3 works in place

Range ±9.99999999999 × 10^499; results past twelve digits show as E notation. Owner's manual ch. 2.

RPN mode

shift MODES RPN. Numbers first, separated by ENTER (the = key), then the operator; no parentheses, no equals. A four-level stack holds the intermediates.

3 ENTER 4 + 5 ENTER 6 + ×77 — (3 + 4) × (5 + 6)12 ENTER 3 shift yx1,728200 ENTER 27 %54.00, with 200 kept in Y200 ENTER 27 % −146.00 — less 27%25 ENTER 12 % +28.00 — 12% more13 ENTER 8 × 9 x⇄y ÷9 ÷ (13 × 8)96.74 ENTER 52.39 + shift LAST ÷(96.74 + 52.39) ÷ 52.392 ENTER ENTER ENTER 84 × × ×a constant filled down the stack: 168, 336, 672

R↓ and x⇄y need no shift in RPN mode; ▼ and ▲ roll the stack too, except inside a list, where INPUT stores and the arrows move through the entries.

Appendices D–F, pp. 261–282.

Business %

Four three-variable menus under BUS. Store two, press the third.

%CHG 90000 OLD 95000 NEW %CH5.56%12 %CH NEW100,800 — 12% above the same OLD%TOTL 67584 TOTAL 23457 PART %T34.71%MU%C 19 COST 60 M%C PRICE30.40MU%P 225 − 4 % COST 300 PRICE M%P28.00% — the discount keyed straight into COSTEXIT MU%P M%PCOST and PRICE carry over from MU%C

Owner's manual pp. 49–53. The formulas are in Appendix B, p. 247.

Currency

CURRX holds two currencies and a RATE: units of currency 2 per unit of currency 1.

SELCT CAN$ US$pick the pair; RATE resets to 11 CAN$ .6584 US$ RATErate from a known equivalence: 0.6584.1282 RATEor store it — the order of selection now matters3000 HK$ US$convert: 384.6075 US$ HK$and back: 585.02C.STO then a keykeep the pair and rate — six slotsC.RCLbring one back

The currency table is HP's 2003 list, EUR included; a MISC label covers the rest. Owner's manual ch. 4.

TVM procedure

Every compound-interest problem is the same walk through FIN TVM.

shift CLEAR DATAzero the five variablesOTHERread the message: payments per year and BEGIN/END12 P/YR END or BEGchange either if needed; EXIT backyears shift Nyears × P/YR into Nrate I%YRthe annual nominal rate — not per periodamounts into PV PMT FVmoney out negative, money in positivepress the unknownthe answer is displayed and stored

P/YR is both payment and compounding frequency. Pay monthly into a daily-compounded account and the rate must first go through ICNV (card 13). An unknown N comes back fractional; round it up to whole periods and recalculate FV to see the real balance.

Owner's manual pp. 61–66.

Loans

Payment. 125,000 over 30 years at 6.9%, monthly, in arrears:

shift CLEAR DATA12 P/YR, END30 shift NN = 3606.9 I%YR 125000 PV 0 FVPMT−823.25

Rate that lowers a payment. The manual's car loan: 5,750 over 36 months at 10.5% gives PMT −186.89; what rate makes it 176.89?

RCL PMT + 10 PMTstore the smaller (less negative) paymentI%YR6.75%

Balloon. 75,250 over 25 years at 13.8%, sold after four years:

25 shift N 13.8 I%YR 75250 PV PMT−894.33894.33 +/− PMTstore the rounded payment, the one actually paid4 shift N FV−73,408.81 due with the 48th payment

Owner's manual pp. 67–71.

Savings

Time to a target. 2,000 at 7.2% compounded annually, to reach 3,000:

OTHER 1 P/YR EXITannual compounding7.2 I%YR 2000 +/− PV 0 PMT 3000 FVN5.83 — so six years6 N FV3,035.28 after six

Regular deposits. 2,000 opening, 80 at the end of each half-month, 8.3% compounded semimonthly, fifteen years:

OTHER 24 P/YR END EXIT15 shift N 8.3 I%YRN = 3602000 +/− PV 80 +/− PMTboth paid inFV63,963.84

Owner's manual pp. 71–73. Savings plans with deposits at the start of the period are BEG mode.

Leases

Payments in advance mean BEG. Lessor's view: a 13,500 car, 36 months, purchase option 7,500, to yield 14%:

OTHER 12 P/YR BEG EXIT36 N 14 I%YR13500 +/− PV 7500 FVasset paid out, option receivedPMT289.19 received each month

Two payments in advance. Capitalised value of 2,400 a month for four years at 18%, buy-out 15,000: price 47 payments in BEG mode, add one more, then discount the option separately.

47 N 18 I%YR 2400 +/− PMT PV81,735.58+ 2400 = STO 0the second advance payment48 N 15000 +/− FV 0 PMT PV7,340.43+ RCL 0 =91,476.00

Owner's manual pp. 74–77; the general advance-payment formula is in Appendix B, p. 253.

Amortisation

OTHER AMRT splits a run of payments. Set FIX 2, store I%YR, PV and PMT (negative), then:

12 #Pa year of monthly payments — the schedule is computed, not shownINT PRIN BALthe three results; ▼ pages through them tooNEXTthe following twelve18 #Pa different batch: payments 25–42shift CLEAR DATArestart from payment 1

The manual's 65,000 at 12.5% over 30 years, PMT −693.72:

year 1INT −8,113.16 · PRIN −211.48 · BAL 64,788.52year 2INT −8,085.15 · PRIN −239.49 · BAL 64,549.03

TABLE prints the same thing: FIRST 49, LAST 72, INCR 12, GO gives years five and six on the printer.

Owner's manual pp. 77–83; the rounding rule is on p. 78.

Rate conversion

FIN ICNV: nominal ⇄ effective, periodic or continuous.

PER 4 P 6.7 NOM% EFF%6.87% — quarterly12 P 6.65 NOM% EFF%6.86% — monthlyEXIT CONT EFF%6.88% — the same 6.65% continuouslyrate EFF% NOM%the other direction

Mismatched periods. Monthly 25 deposits into a 5% account compounded daily, for seven years:

PER 365 P 5 NOM% EFF%5.13% effective12 P NOM%5.01% — the monthly-compounded rate with the same effectEXIT EXIT TVM STO I%YRstore it from the calculator line12 P/YR BEG · 7 shift N · 25 +/− PMT · 0 PV · FV2,519.61

Owner's manual pp. 84–90.

Cash-flow lists

FIN CFLO is a named list: FLOW(0), then each later flow at equal intervals, end of period, with a #TIMES count for repeats.

shift CLEAR DATA YESempty the current list; #TIMES prompting comes on#T?turn the prompt off for ungrouped flows80000 +/− INPUTFLOW(0), the outlay5000 INPUT 4500 INPUT …FLOW(1), FLOW(2) …500 INPUT 3 INPUTwith prompting on: 500 three times0 INPUT INPUTa period with no flow — never skippedEXITend the list; the CFLO menu returns▲ ▼ value INPUTfind a flow, replace itINSR · DELETa zero flow above this one; remove this oneNAME · GET *NEWname it; start another

Flows at the start of each period: fold the first into FLOW(0) and shift the rest up one.

Owner's manual pp. 91–99.

NPV, IRR, NUS, NFV

From the list, CALC. The manual's investment: −80,000, then 5,000 · 4,500 · 5,500 · 4,000 · 115,000 yearly; cost of capital 10.5%.

TOTAL54,000.00IRR%11.93% a year10.5 I% NPV4,774.63 — accept at this rateNFV7,865.95 — the NPV carried to year 5NUS1,275.66 — the level annual flow worth the NPV

Grouped monthly flows (−9,000; 500 ×3; 1,000 ×4; 0; 1,500 ×3):

IRR%1.53% a month× 12 =18.39% nominal; use ICNV for the effective rate9 ÷ 12 I% NPV492.95 — I% is per period too

IRR searches. A conventional series, one sign change and a positive total, has one answer. Otherwise: KEY IN GUESS, then guess STO IRR%; any key halts, STO IRR% resumes.

Owner's manual pp. 100–107 and Appendix B, pp. 238–240.

Bonds

FIN BOND, per 100 of face. Set the type first; the display names it.

shift CLEAR DATACALL = 100, all else zeroTYPE A/A SEMI EXITUS Treasury: actual/actual, semiannualTYPE 360 SEMI EXITUS municipal and corporate: 30/3608.102003 SETT 5.012018 MATsettlement, maturity — MM.DDYYYY6.75 CPN%couponMORE 8 + 3 ÷ 8 = YLD%8⅜% — do the arithmetic, then storePRICE86.38+ ACCRU =88.23 — what the buyer pays88.25 PRICE YLD%8.13% from a quoted price

Yield to call: the call date in MAT and the call price in CALL. A 6% 30/360 bond bought 2 May 2003 to yield 5.7% prices at 103.43; callable 3 March 2006 at 102.75, its yield to call is 5.58%. A zero-coupon bond is CPN% = 0.

Owner's manual pp. 108–113; formulas and the end-of-month rule in Appendix B, pp. 249–250.

Depreciation

FIN DEPRC, one year at a time. A 10,000 machine, salvage 500, five years:

10000 BASIS 500 SALV 5 LIFE MORE1 YR# 200 FACT% DB4,000.00 — double-declining▼5,500.00 remaining depreciable value2 YR# DB2,400.00 · then 1,440.00 for year 3SOYD2,533.33 — year 2 by sum-of-the-years' digitsSL1,900.00 every year25000 BASIS 15 ACRS% ACRS3,750.00 — from the ACRS table

Partial first year. For DB and SOYD, a calendar year is a fraction of one schedule year plus the complement of the next: an asset bought in October takes ¼ of year 1 that year, then ¾ of year 1 + ¼ of year 2, and so on. Straight line just scales.

Owner's manual pp. 114–120. DB never reaches salvage on its own.

SUM lists

SUM keeps lists of numbers with a running total.

shift CLEAR DATA YESor NAME the old list and GET *NEW340 INPUT 175 INPUT …TOTAL updates after eachEXIT CALCsix months of phone bills: 340 175 450 780 245 625MEAN MEDN STDEV435.83 · 395.00 · 231.55MORE MIN MAX RANGE175 · 780 · 605SORTascending, in placeRCL INPUTcopy the displayed item to the calculator line

A chequebook is a SUM list: opening balance, deposits, cheques with +/−, and TOTAL is the running balance. STDEV is the sample deviation; for the population figure, add the mean to the list and recalculate.

Owner's manual pp. 121–129.

Forecasting

CALC MORE FRCST works on two lists of equal length. Minutes of radio advertising (2 1 3 5 5 4) against weekly sales (1,400 920 1,100 2,265 2,890 2,200), both named:

FRCST MINUT SALESx list, then y listMODL LINor LOG, EXP, PWRCORR0.90M B425.87 · 376.25 — slope and intercept7 MINUT SALES3,357.37 forecast for 7 minutes3000 SALES MINUT6.16 minutes for 3,000 of sales

Weighted mean. Rents 200 205 210 216 as the x list, counts 54 32 88 92 as y: W.MN 209.44, G.SD 5.97. MORE again shows SIZE, then Σx, Σy, Σx², Σy², Σxy.

Owner's manual pp. 130–140; the four models and their transforms, Appendix B, p. 251.

Time & dates

TIMEshows the clock; CLR restores it after a calculationSET 4.052003 DATEMM.DDYYYY, or DD.MMYYYY after M/D4.07 TIME A/PMHH.MMSS on the 12-hour clockAPPT APT4 2.15 TIME A/PM 4.22 DATEan alarm: the year may be omitted within a yearMSG STAFF INPUT RPT 1 WEEKa 22-character message; every weekCALC 4.202003 DATE1stores it and says SUN8.022040 DATE2 DAYS13,619 actual days; 365D and 360D too2.092003 DATE1 120 DAYS DATE26/09/2003 — 120 days onTODAYthe current date, for DATE1 or DATE2

Owner's manual ch. 11. Any key but shift acknowledges an alarm; after 20 seconds it goes past due and a repeating alarm stops until acknowledged.

Solver: equations

SOLVE NEW, then type with the ALPHA menu: a letter is two keys, FGHI then F; OTHER on each page has punctuation and the colon.

NEXT=OLD+(A%+B%+C%)÷100×OLDa sales forecast — % is just a character hereINPUTstore it in the listCALCverify; the menu is NEXT OLD A% B% C%2000 OLD 20 A% 5 B% 15 +/− C% NEXT2,200.002300 NEXT B%10.00 — any variable can be the unknownROE=(ASSET×%ERN−DEBT×%INT−TAX)÷EQTYa name up to 10 characters; the label is its first 3–5RUG:COST=P/YD×L×W÷9a title before the colon, for the list onlyEXIT ▲ ▼back to the list; move through itEDITALPHA-Edit: DEL and four cursor keys; INPUT saves, EXIT abandons

Write numerator and denominator in parentheses; × is never implied; ^ binds first, then × ÷, then + −. Spaces are free. Editing an equation clears its variables.

Owner's manual pp. 29–33 and 153–167.

Solver: functions

Typing aids: press shift √x in an equation and SQRT( appears; the MATH labels and the finance functions spell themselves the same way. Arguments are separated by colons.

IF(SALES>3000:.02×SALES:.01×SALES)condition, then, elseIF(A>7 AND A≤15:B=2×A÷6+C:B=3×A+10+C)AND OR XOR NOT; ≤ ≥ ≠ typed as <=, >=, <>SAL=OLD×IF(R=1:1.03:IF(R=2:1.06:1.10))nested: rating 2 on 27,500 gives 29,150IF(S(KG) OR S(LB):KG×2.21−LB:M×3.28−FT)two conversions on one menu; = 0 is impliedSERIES=Σ(I:1:6:1:I×X^I)X + 2X² + … + 6X⁶L(TMP:(1+I)^N)×PV+…+G(TMP)×FVlet and get — TMP stays off the menuPMT×USPV(I÷12:N)the annuity factor; SPPV, SPFV, USFV likewiseΣ(I:1:SIZES(X):1:ITEM(X:I)^2×ITEM(Y:I)^2)over two SUM listsFLOW(INV:3) #T(INV:3) SIZEC(INV)a CFLO list from the SolverDDAYS(D1:D2:1) DATE(D1:90)calendar 1 actual, 2 365-day, 3 30/360

The complete list: Owner's manual pp. 168–171. Do not name a variable AND, OR, XOR, NOT or PI.

Solver: guesses

When the unknown cannot be isolated the Solver iterates from two estimates, showing them with the sign of LEFT − RIGHT for each. Profit from selling pianos at 6,000 with variable cost 4,100 and fixed costs 112,000, to make 130,000:

PROFIT=PRICE×QTY−VC×QTY−FIXEDQTY appears twice, so no direct solution6000 PRICE 4100 VC 112000 FIXED 130000 PROFIT100 QTY 200 QTY QTYtwo guesses, then solve: 127.37any keyhalts a long search; CLR shows the best so farQTY againconfirms: if the sides are not exactly equal it shows both

Read the result by its case. An answer alone is very likely right. LEFT and RIGHT shown close together is probably right. BAD GUESSES wants a better starting range; SOLUTION NOT FOUND means check the equation and every stored value. Hold the label down after an answer to see the final estimates and signs.

Owner's manual pp. 179–183 and Appendix B, pp. 240–246. Rewriting so the unknown is not a divisor helps: (A^2−A)×B=1 rather than 1÷(A^2−A)=B.

Printing

PRTthe calculator line — list items and Solver equations includedshift PRINTER LISTthe current menu's variables, a whole CFLO or SUM list, or the appointmentsSTK REGS TIMEhistory stack; registers 0–9; date and timeMSGtype and print a headingTRACEevery keystroke and result until switched offAMRT TABLEan amortisation schedule, FIRST to LAST every INCRshift MODES PRNT DBLprinter on its AC adapter; double spacing

HP 82240A/B infrared printer, pointed at the top of the calculator. Owner's manual ch. 13. A low battery stops printing before anything else.

Messages

A message replaces the calculator line; CLR or backspace clears it, any other key clears it and acts. Arithmetic faults are prefixed MATH ERROR:.

NO SOLUTIONa built-in menu cannot solve it — almost always a sign: money must go both ways
INVALID NI%YR wants N between 1 and 10^10
MANY/NO SOLUTIONSIRR% needs a guess: guess STO IRR%
INVALID EQUATIONthe Solver stopped at the cursor; check names and parentheses
BAD GUESSESthe Solver cannot start from here
CURRENT LIST UNDEFINEDname or clear the list before GET
INSUFFICIENT MEMORYdelete Solver variables or lists
INTEREST ≤ −100%a periodic rate at or below −100

The full list is in the index below, and on pp. 283–288.

Reading more

Owner's manual310 pages; chapters 3–12 are one application each, with a menu map and worked examplesChapter 14the harder cases: APR with fees, odd first period, Canadian mortgages, MIRR, moving averages, χ²Appendix Bevery formula the built-in menus use — what makes any figure checkableAppendix Cthe menu mapsAppendices D–FRPN on this machineQuick Start Guidethe 2008 key table for the silver revision

The HP-17B (1988) and 17BII (1990) manuals describe the same menus; the 17BII manual's keyboard photograph is the one drawn above.

Function & Menu Index

250 entries · hover for the full description and its manual page

Variables: the Menu-Key Rule

8
number LABELstore the number in that variable
LABELcalculate that variable
RCL LABELshow the stored value
STO LABELstore the displayed result
number STO + LABELarithmetic inside a variable
shift CLEAR DATAzero every variable in the current menu
shared variablesthe same label in two menus is one variable
storage registers 0–9carry numbers between menus

Keyboard Functions

25
CLRclear the calculator line
shift OFFswitch off
◄backspace
INPUTenter an equation, list item or name
=complete a calculation (ALG)
+/−change sign
shift Eexponent of ten
( )parentheses (ALG)
%percent
shift MATHthe MATH menu
shift 1/xreciprocal
shift √xsquare root
shift x²square
shift y^xpower
STO n · RCL nten storage registers
shift LASTthe last result
shift x⇄yswap the two display lines
shift R↓roll the history stack
DSPdisplay format
shift SHOWfull precision while held
shift RNDround to the display setting
shift MODESBEEP, PRNT, DBL, ALG, RPN, INTL
shift MEMmemory free
PRTprint the calculator line
shift PRINTERthe PRINTER menu

BUS: Business Percentages

4
%CHGpercent change
%TOTLpercent of total
MU%Cmarkup as a percent of cost
MU%Pmarkup as a percent of price

CURRX: Currency Exchange

5
SELCTchoose the two currencies
RATEunits of currency 2 per unit of currency 1
curr1 · curr2the two amounts
C.STO · C.RCLkeep up to six currency pairs
shift CLEAR DATAreset RATE to 1 and both amounts to 0

TVM: Time Value of Money

11
Nnumber of payments or periods
shift Nyears × P/YR into N
I%YRnominal annual rate, percent
PVpresent value
PMTthe periodic payment
FVfuture value
OTHERP/YR, BEG, END, AMRT
P/YRpayments per year
BEGpayments at the start of each period
ENDpayments at the end of each period
shift CLEAR DATAclear N, I%YR, PV, PMT, FV

AMRT: Amortisation

8
AMRTthe amortisation menu
#Ppayments to amortise in this batch
INTinterest in the batch
PRINprincipal in the batch
BALbalance after the batch
NEXTthe next batch of #P payments
TABLEprint a schedule
roundingto the display setting

ICNV: Interest Conversion

6
PERperiodic compounding
CONTcontinuous compounding
NOM%nominal annual rate
EFF%effective annual rate
Pcompounding periods per year
mismatched periodsdeposits monthly, interest daily

CFLO: Cash-Flow Lists

15
INPUTenter a flow
#T?toggle the #TIMES prompt
CALCTOTAL, IRR%, I%, NPV, NUS, NFV
TOTALsum of the flows
IRR%internal rate of return, per period
I%the discount rate, per period
NPVnet present value at I%
NUSnet uniform series
NFVnet future value
INSRinsert a zero flow above the current one
DELETdelete the current flow and its #TIMES
NAMEname the list
GETswitch lists, or *NEW
RCL INPUTcopy the displayed flow to the calculator line
STO IRR%store an IRR guess, or resume

BOND

9
TYPEcalendar and coupon frequency
SETTsettlement date
MATmaturity or call date
CPN%annual coupon rate
CALLcall price per 100
YLD%yield, annual
PRICEprice per 100 of face
ACCRUaccrued interest per 100
conventionsSIA Standard Securities Calculation Methods

DEPRC: Depreciation

12
BASISdepreciable cost
SALVsalvage value
LIFEuseful life in whole years
ACRS%the table percentage for the year
ACRSACRS deduction = BASIS × ACRS%
YR#the year wanted
FACT%declining-balance factor
DBdeclining balance for YR#
SOYDsum-of-the-years'-digits for YR#
SLstraight line for YR#
▼remaining depreciable value
partial yearsfractions of adjacent years

SUM: Lists & Statistics

12
INPUTenter an item
TOTALsum of the list
CALCthe statistics menu
MEANarithmetic mean
MEDNmedian
STDEVsample standard deviation
RANGElargest minus smallest
MIN · MAXsmallest and largest
SORTsort ascending
FRCSTtwo-variable statistics
INSR · DELETinsert a zero item, delete the current item
NAME · GETname the list, switch lists

FRCST: Curve Fitting

9
MODLLIN, LOG, EXP or PWR
CORRcorrelation coefficient
Mslope, or the model's M
Bintercept, or the model's B
x-list · y-listestimate one from the other
W.MNweighted mean
G.SDgrouped standard deviation
SIZEitems in either list
X Y X2 Y2 XYsummation statistics

TIME: Clock & Dates

13
SETset the clock
DATEset the date from MM.DDYYYY
TIMEset the time from HH.MMSS
M/D · 12/24date and clock formats
ADJSTnudge the clock
APPTten appointments
RPTrepeat interval
CALCdate arithmetic
DATE1 · DATE2the two dates
DAYSactual days between them
360D · 365Ddays on the 30/360 and 365-day calendars
TODAYthe current date
range15 October 1582 to 31 December 9999

SOLVE Menu

11
NEWtype a new equation
INPUTstore the equation
CALCverify and build the variable menu
EDITthe ALPHA-Edit menu
DELETdelete the equation, or only its variables
▲ ▼move through the equation list
NAME:equationa name before a colon
shift CLEAR DATAin the variable menu: zero the variables
shared variablesthe same name in two equations
guessvalue, then the label twice
haltany key but shift

Solver Functions

37
ABS(x)absolute value
ALOG(x)10^x
EXP(x)e^x
EXPM1(x)e^x − 1
LN(x)natural log
LNP1(x)ln(1 + x)
LOG(x)common log
SQ(x) · SQRT(x)square, square root
INV(x)1/x
FACT(x)x!
PI3.14159265359
IP(x) · FP(x)integer and fractional parts
INT(x)greatest integer ≤ x
IDIV(x:y)integer part of x ÷ y
MOD(x:y)remainder of x ÷ y
MIN(x:y) · MAX(x:y)the smaller, the larger
SGN(x)sign: +1, 0, −1
RND(x:y)round x to y places
TRN(x:y)truncate x to y places
IF(cond:then:else)conditional expression
S(name)true when solving for name
L(name:expr)let: store expr in name
G(name)get a stored value
Σ(ctr:from:to:step:expr)summation
SPFV(i%:n)future value of 1
SPPV(i%:n)present value of 1
USFV(i%:n)future value of 1 per period
USPV(i%:n)present value of 1 per period
CDATE · CTIMEthe clock
DATE(d:n)d plus n days
DDAYS(d1:d2:cal)days between dates
HMS(t) · HRS(t)decimal hours ⇄ HH.MMSS
SIZEC(list)number of flows in a CFLO list
FLOW(list:n)the nth cash flow
#T(list:n)how many times flow n occurs
SIZES(list)items in a SUM list
ITEM(list:n)the nth item of a SUM list

Solver Syntax

11
+ − × ÷ ^the operators
precedence^ first, then × ÷, then + −
( )grouping
:separates arguments
variable namesup to 10 characters
numbersno digit separators
22 charactersone display line
typing aidsshift √x, MATH labels
=0 impliedan expression with no equals sign
direct solutionwhen the unknown appears once
LEFT − RIGHTthe iteration display

DSP, MATH, MODES, PRINTER

13
DSP FIX n INPUTn decimal places
DSP ALLall significant digits
DSP . · ,decimal point character
LOG 10^x LN EXP N! PIthe MATH menu
BEEPbeeper: all, appointments only, off
PRNTprinter power source
DBLdouble-spaced printing
ALG · RPNentry logic
INTLlanguage
LISTprint variables, a list or the appointments
STK · REGS · TIMEprint the history stack, registers 0–9, the date and time
MSGprint a typed message
TRACEprint every keystroke and result

RPN Mode

9
shift MODES RPNselect RPN
= (ENTER)separate two keyed numbers
+ − × ÷ y^xoperate on Y and X
%x percent of Y, Y kept
R↓roll down
x⇄yswap X and Y
shift LASTLAST X
shift CLEAR DATAshrink the stack to X = 0
in a listINPUT stores, ENTER separates

Messages

19
BAD GUESSESthe Solver cannot start
CURRENT LIST UNDEFINEDGET before naming or clearing
EMPTY LISTa calculation on an empty CFLO or SUM list
INSUFFICIENT MEMORYout of the 30,740 bytes
INTEREST ≤ −100%an impossible rate
INTERRUPTEDa search was halted
INVALID DATEnot a date, or out of range
INVALID EQUATIONthe Solver cannot parse it
INVALID INPUTout of range for a built-in variable
INVALID NI%YR needs a sensible N
IRR% > 0 EXISTS; KEY IN GUESSa negative IRR was found but a positive one exists
MANY/NO SOLUTIONSIRR% needs a guess
NO SOLUTIONthe built-in menu cannot solve it
SOLUTION NOT FOUNDthe Solver gave up
OVERFLOW · UNDERFLOWwarnings, not errors
MATH ERROR:prefix on arithmetic faults
MACHINE RESETthe calculator was reset
MEMORY LOSTContinuous Memory erased
UNEQUAL LIST LENGTHSFRCST needs matched lists

Worked Example — a loan with an odd first period

one Solver equation in place of a program
PV×(1+ANNI÷1200×DAYS÷30)+PMT×USPV(ANNI÷12:N)=0
PMT=-203.99
PVANNIDAYSPMTN
SOLVE shift ▼ NEWa new entry at the bottom of the list
NOPQ P RSTUV VPV — two keys per letter
× ( 1 + … ÷ 1200 × … ÷ 30 )operators and digits from the keyboard
+ … × USPV(typed letter by letter, or as a typing aid
OTHER :the colon, on the OTHER page of any letter menu
INPUTstores, verifies, and shows the five-variable menu
6000 PV 13.5 ANNI 5 DAYS 36 Nthe knowns
PMT−203.99

The manual's own equation and result, p. 172. PMT appears once, so the Solver rearranges the equation and answers directly.

A 6,000 car loan at 13.5%, 36 monthly payments, the first due in one month and five days. TVM cannot express the stub, so the whole loan goes into one equation: the principal grows by five days of simple interest, and the 36 payments are discounted with the annuity factor USPV(i:n) at the monthly rate ANNI ÷ 12.

Why it reads as it does. The equation is written to equal zero, with the borrower's signs: PV received, PMT paid. The Solver has no percent operator, so the annual rate is divided by 1200 to make a monthly decimal, and by 12 where USPV wants a percentage. Nothing is a program: every variable on the menu can be the unknown, so the same entry answers "how much can I borrow" (store PMT, press PV) or "how long" (press N).

Reusing it. Store new values and press the unknown; nothing needs re-entering. Name it by editing a title in front: ODD:PV×(…. Its variables are not shared with TVM's, so carry a figure across in a register.

Checking. Set DAYS to 0 and the answer must match TVM: 6000 PV, 13.5 I%YR, 36 N, 12 P/YR, END gives PMT −203.61. Five days of interest at 13.5% on 6,000 is 11.25, and spread over 36 discounted payments that is the 0.38 difference.

Equation from the owner's manual, p. 172; the general odd-period formula is in Appendix B, p. 253. Both results here were recomputed from those formulas.