TMO Quick Tip - Calculator: More Than Meets the Eye

by , 7:30 AM EDT, March 10th, 2008

Apple's Calculator application is pretty handy for basic mathematic calculations, but by default it doesn't do much for the scientific or programmer types out there. With a quick switch, however, it can handle those tasks, and it even supports Reverse Polish Notation, too.

Apple's Calculator application.

To switch to an alternate view in the Calculator application, just choose View > Scientific, or View > Programmer. Each view displays an alternate feature set geared toward either scientific or programmer-related equations.

Calculator's Scientific view.

You can jump back to the standard Calculator view by choosing View > Basic. All three modes also support RPN, or Reverse Polish Notation, so most everyone's calculating needs can be handled with Apple's seemingly simple Calculator application. You can enable RPN mode by choosing View > RPN Mode.

Magic Number Machine

If you need even more than Calculator can offer, take the free Magic Number Machine for a spin. It offers support for large expressions, and includes data drawers for statistical data, linear regressions and gaussian elimination. It also does a good job with complex and hexadecimal numbers and displays your equations as you enter them.

Jeff Gamet is TMO's Morning Editor and Reviews Editor. He lectures, teaches and speaks on Mac OS X and design-related topics, and is the author of The Designer's Guide to Mac OS X from Peachpit Press.

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