![]() (This is, of course, a composite image of the Conversions screen that I’ve stitched together from a few screenshots. Most of the other additions to PCalc since my last post on it have been additions and improvements to the unit conversion suite. Obviously, there are ways to enter fractions using the Frac key, but I don’t recommend it because it takes longer to activate the 2nd functions. And you don’t really have to use the 2nd key to do it.įor example, to enter \(3\frac\), you’d could press either. The calculations aren’t done as fractions-PCalc converts them immediately to decimal-but you can enter them that way. Starting with Version 2.4, PCalc has allowed you to enter fractions and mixed numbers directly. Notice that the decimal point key changes to Frac when 2nd is active. Of course, if you use algebraic mode you can’t be my friend.Ī new key has appeared since my last PCalc post. Here’s the keyboard in its normal state:ĭid I forget to tell you that I have PCalc set to RPN mode? If you use algebraic mode, the stack manipulation keys, Swap and Roll, won’t be there and parenthesis keys will. Like many scientific calculators, PCalc has a 2nd key that changes the function of many of the ![]() I almost always use PCalc in the vertical orientation, and I use the Engineering layout with the Twilight theme. To see everything I’ve written about PCalc since I bought it in 2008, see this list of posts. I don’t happen to be in that class-no iPad, no hardware keyboard-but because it’s been a year since my last PCalc post and there’ve been a few releases in the interim, I figured this’d be a good time to talk about it again. The new feature is support for hardware keyboards, which I’m sure is a big improvement for a certain class of user. Macworld last reviewed PCalc for version 3 in 2014, when the then-editor of Mac Gems wrote, “TLA Systems has designed the ultimate scientific calculator: one that’s fantastic today, but that’s also regularly updated with new features, functions, and faces.” That remains true.A new version of PCalc hit the App Store today. PCalc offers one of the best calculators for macOS out of the virtual box, while also providing the greatest versatility and configurability. Not only persists, but finds new features to add to an app that could have matured decades ago. It’s testament to humanity’s need to enter numbers one at a time and transform them that PCalc persists. The current version works with Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan or later it’s fully updated for Monterey. PCalc is also bananas about inflation, which the developer can’t seem to calculate: the app cost $19.99 through 2008 when the iOS version shipped that year, PCalc for macOS dropped to $9.99, and it’s remained there since. When you need a break from pumping numbers, the About screen offers endless arrays of rendered nonsense, and a driving game. That’s true of layouts, too: if regular, engineering, programming, and other formats don’t fit you to a T, choose Edit > Layout > Edit Layout and rewire where buttons are, their sizes, and what they do. ![]() You can tweak themes to your heart’s delight and save new ones. Themes have unique color palettes, but they also control the roundedness of buttons. PCalc starts you off with a number of themes. ![]() If you’re more comfortable with an accounting-style entry, in which numbers entered are assumed to include tenths and hundredths without requiring including a period, you can opt for it all the time or whenever you want. Want the display to show more lines? Choose View > Lines and a number or Smart Resize. Some user data, like custom layouts, syncs via iCloud if that option is enabled.)ĭig in via the View menu to customize the way in which numbers are shown, how the calculator accepts or parses input, and how it presents its parts. (PCalc is also available for iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS, and for tvOS. You have access to several layouts designed for the Mac, but can also pull up ones for mobile devices if you like those better or use PCalc on other devices. Type in the keyboard number row for entry, though a keyboard with a number pad will serve you better. ![]() Start by picking a layout from View > Layout or using the one called Default. ![]()
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