Setup and usage guide

Check your calculator’s OS version

Do this first. The number decides whether you need Step 2.

5.0, 5.1 or 5.2 (calculators from 2015–2016 that were never updated): no setup needed, but you start CiNotes a little differently. See Step 5. Starts with 7, or your calculator says TI-84 Evo? CiNotes can’t run on it. The Evo can’t run add-on programs like CiNotes, and there’s no workaround.

One-time setup for OS 5.5 to 5.8.4

Starting with OS 5.5, the calculator won’t run programs written in C, and CiNotes is one. Two free tools fix that: arTIfiCE gets the calculator to run one setup program, and that program installs a small app called AsmHook2. After that, CiNotes opens straight from PRGM like any other program. Some people call this “jailbreaking,” but it doesn’t replace your OS, and you remove it by deleting the AsmHook2 app. How it works on every OS.

On 5.8.5? This version of arTIfiCE doesn’t work there. Running prgmA just shows ERR:INVALID. Use Step 2B instead. It ends with the same AsmHook2 app.

Do this once

1. On your computer, download two files. From yvantt.github.io/arTIfiCE, get version 2.1: arTIfiCE_v2.1.8xp. (Version 3 on the same page is only for OS 5.8.5.) From github.com/RoccoLoxPrograms/AsmHook2, get AsmHook2.8xp.
2. Plug the calculator into your computer with its USB cable and open TI Connect CE. (No TI Connect CE yet? Step 4 has the link.)
3. Drag both files into the Calculator Explorer window to send them over. On a Chromebook, if AsmHook2.8xp won’t send, use AsmHook2_unprot.8xp from the same page instead.
4. On the calculator, press PRGM. If it asks, choose TI-Basic. Pick the first program in the list, named A, and press ENTER. That puts prgmA on the home screen. Press ENTER again to run it.
5. arTIfiCE opens a small program list. Highlight ASMHOOK2 and press ENTER. The screen says AsmHook2 app installed. Press ENTER. When it asks Delete AsmHook2 installer?, press CLEAR to keep it, then MODE to leave arTIfiCE.
6. Press APPS, open AsmHook2, and wait for Installation successful!. Press CLEAR to get back to the home screen.

From now on, open CiNotes from PRGM like any other program.

After any RAM reset, for example a teacher clearing calculators before a test, press APPS and open AsmHook2 once more. Until you do, CiNotes shows ERR:INVALID. Your notes are still there. Turning the calculator off and on doesn’t affect it. (On this OS, running prgmA and picking CiNotes from its list also still works.)

Already set up the older way, opening CiNotes through prgmA? That keeps working. To skip prgmA from now on, send just AsmHook2.8xp, then do steps 4 to 6.

One-time setup for OS 5.8.5

OS 5.8.5 (April 2026) blocks arTIfiCE 2.1. arTIfiCE version 3 works on it. It uses TI’s free Inequality Graphing app to install the same AsmHook2 app as Step 2A. After that, CiNotes opens straight from PRGM, with no prgmA. It doesn’t replace your OS, and you remove it by deleting the AsmHook2 app.

This setup resets the calculator’s RAM. Anything that’s only in RAM gets erased: unarchived programs, lists, matrices, and saved settings. Your CiNotes files are safe, because they live in Archive memory. If you have your own programs you want to keep, archive them first (2ND +, then 5 for Archive) or back them up with TI Connect CE.

Do this once

1. Press APPS and look for Inequalz. Most calculators already have it. If yours doesn’t, download the free Inequality Graphing app from TI and send it with TI Connect CE.
2. On your computer, open yvantt.github.io/arTIfiCE, download version 3 (arTIfiCE_v3_CE.zip), and unzip it. Inside are two files: arTIfiCE.8xp and INEQUVAR.8xv. If an old INEQUVAR is already on the calculator, delete it first.
3. Reset the RAM: press 2ND +, then 7 (Reset), 1 (All RAM), 2 (Reset). The screen says RAM Cleared. Don’t skip this. The setup only works on freshly cleared RAM.
4. Open TI Connect CE and send only arTIfiCE.8xp. Leave INEQUVAR.8xv for later.
5. On the calculator, press APPS, open Inequalz, and press any key to get past its title screen. Stay on the Y= screen it shows.
6. Now send INEQUVAR.8xv. The calculator installs AsmHook2 and restarts by itself. If the screen stays dark, press ON.
7. Press APPS, open AsmHook2, and wait for Installation successful!. Press CLEAR to get back to the home screen.

From now on, open CiNotes from PRGM like any other program.

After any RAM reset, for example a teacher clearing calculators before a test, press APPS and open AsmHook2 once more. Until you do, CiNotes shows ERR:INVALID. Your notes are still there. Turning the calculator off and on doesn’t affect it.

Didn’t work? Do the RAM reset again and repeat from step 4. The setup is picky about the order. If Inequalz ever says CONFLICTING APPS, choose option 2, then open AsmHook2 again.

What’s in your email

• One ZIP download with everything the calculator needs.
• Your notes.html, a copy you can read and edit on your computer. It shows the converted text and how your PDF came through. If something came out wrong, fix it there and request new calculator files.
• Your Reference Code. Keep this email. It’s what we’ll ask for if you ever need help.

Unzip the download. Don’t rename, delete, or pick through the files. Everything inside goes to the calculator in Step 4.

Typed your Calculator ID in when you ordered? The download is already set up for that calculator. Left it blank? That’s fine. Step 6 finishes the job for free.

Your notes.html stays on your computer. Only the files in the ZIP go on the calculator.

Send the files to your calculator

You need TI Connect CE, Texas Instruments’ free app for moving files onto the calculator.

1. Download TI Connect CE from education.ti.com and open it.
2. Connect the calculator to your computer with its USB cable.
3. Click the Calculator Explorer tab (the icon with the stacked squares).
4. Select every file from your unzipped download.
5. Drag them all into the calculator window and wait for the transfer to finish.

The order doesn’t matter. What matters is that nothing gets left behind. One missing file is the most common reason CiNotes won’t open.

On a Chromebook? If CiNotes later says a library is missing, look for that exact message under Troubleshooting. More in Chromebook transfers.

Open CiNotes

OS 5.0 to 5.2: these older versions can’t run a program straight from Archive or without the Asm( command. Unarchive the program once (2ND +, 6 for UnArchive, then pick it from PRGM and press ENTER). Then press 2ND 0 for the catalog, choose Asm(, press PRGM, pick the program, and press ENTER twice. An unarchived program is erased by a RAM clear, so re-send it from your ZIP if that happens. Your notes stay in Archive. Don’t update your OS just for CiNotes. TI only offers 5.8.5 now, and you can’t go back to an older version, so updating would mean doing Step 2B.

If your order had both multiple-choice and free-response material, you’ll get two programs. They work the same way.

Newer orders get their own program names, starting with PM or PF. Older downloads use NOTESMC or NOTESFRQ. Your delivery email says exactly which to open.

More than one set of notes? New orders each get their own program name, so several can share a calculator. Older downloads (NOTESMC and NOTESFRQ) all use the same filenames, so only one of those fits at a time. Keep their ZIPs, and keep every filename exactly as it arrived.

Seeing an error instead of the CiNotes menu? Troubleshooting lists the exact messages and what each one means.

Finish first-time setup

Typed your Calculator ID in when you ordered? You’re already done with this step. Open CiNotes and your notes appear.

Left the Calculator ID blank? CiNotes shows you a screen like this one. Finish now, before you rely on it in class.

1. Write down the Calculator ID on the screen. (Yours will be a different number.)
2. Go to cinotes.com/setup and enter it, your Reference Code from your order email, and the email you ordered with.
3. Your setup file downloads right away, free. We email you a copy too.
4. Send that file to the calculator the same way you did in Step 4, then open CiNotes again.

You only do this once per calculator. You’re finished when CiNotes opens to its menu.

Got the calculator files from a friend? Same page: cinotes.com/setup. Adding your calculator is a separate small purchase.

Stuck? Email support@cinotes.com with your Reference Code and Calculator ID and we’ll sort it out.

The main menu

Once your notes load, you land here. Want to practice first? The calculator on the home page is a working demo of these exact controls.

3 only shows up after you’ve read a note at least once. It remembers the note, your search, and how far you’d scrolled.

Searching for a topic

Press 1 on the menu. You’ll see the search screen:

Typing letters on a calculator

The keys type numbers until you tell them otherwise. The green letter printed above each key is what it types in alpha mode.

After ENTER, the matching notes open in the viewer with your word highlighted.

If nothing matches, CiNotes keeps what you typed. Press 1 to change it, 2 to browse titles, 3 to jump to a note number, or CLEAR for the menu.

Reading notes

The viewer shows one note at a time, with a scrollbar down the right side. If you searched, your word is highlighted.

The line along the bottom tells you where you are:

• Match 1/3 is which appearance of your word you’re looking at in this note.
• Note 5/18 is which note you’re on out of everything that matched.

In a long note, press ENTER to hop between matches instead of scrolling for them.

Leaving CiNotes

Next time, press 3 on the menu to pick up exactly where you stopped.

Troubleshooting

Find the message your calculator actually shows. Each one has one cause and one fix.

Need LibLoad
http://tiny.cc/clibs

ERROR: MCQs not found!
Transfer MCDATA.8xv
(and MCDAT1, MCDAT2, etc.)
to calculator.

Every control on one page