Calculator overview

You can use Calculator to perform any of the standard operations for which you would normally use a hand held calculator. Calculator performs basic arithmetic, such as addition and subtraction, as well as functions found on a scientific calculator, such as logarithms and factorials.

To perform a simple calculation

1. Type the first number in the calculation.
2. Click + to add, - to subtract, * to multiply, or / to divide.
3. Type the next number in the calculation.
4. Type any remaining operators and numbers.
5. Click =.

Note

• You can also use your numeric keypad to type numbers and operators by pressing NUM LOCK.

To perform a scientific calculation

1. On the View menu, click Scientific.
2. Click a number system.
3. Click the display size you want to use, and then continue with your calculation.

Notes

• For the hexadecimal, octal, and binary number systems, the four display sizes available are Qword (64-bit representation), Dword (32-bit representation), Word (16-bit representation), and Byte (8-bit representation). For the decimal number system, the three display sizes available are Degrees, Radians, and Grads.
• You can also use your numeric keypad to type numbers and operators by pressing NUM LOCK.

To perform a statistical calculation

1. On the View menu, click Scientific.
2. Type your first piece of data, and then click Sta to open the Statistics Box.
3. Click RET to return to Calculator, and then click Dat to save the value.
4. Type the rest of the data, clicking Dat after each entry.
5. Click Ave, Sum, or s.

Notes

• You can also use your numeric keypad to type numbers and operators by pressing NUM LOCK.
• Ave calculates the mean of the values saved in the Statistics Box, Sum calculates the sum of the values, and s calculates the standard deviation.
• After you have entered all of your data, you can see the list by clicking Sta.
• The Statistics Box tracks the number of values that you have saved at the bottom of the dialog box. You can delete a specific value from the list by clicking CD, or you can delete all of the values by clicking CAD. Clicking Load changes the number in the Calculator display area to the number selected in the Statistics Box.

To transfer numbers between Standard and Scientific view

1. Click MS to store the displayed number.
2. On the View menu, click the desired view.
3. Click MR to recall the stored number.

Notes

• Calculator clears the display when switching between the Standard and Scientific views. Steps 1-3 above allow numbers to be transferred between views.
• A number typed in hexadecimal, octal, or binary format will be converted to decimal format when transferring from Scientific to Standard view.

To work with numbers stored in memory

• To store the displayed number, click MS.
• To recall a stored number, click MR.
• To clear the memory, click MC.
• To add the displayed number to the number already in memory, click M+. To see the new number, click MR.

Note

• When you store a number, an M appears in the box above the memory options. If you store another number, it replaces the one currently in memory.

To use digit grouping

• On the View menu, click Digit grouping.

Notes

• You can use digit grouping to view numbers as logically grouped.
• Calculator uses commas to group decimal numbers, and spaces to group hexadecimal numbers.

To convert a value to another number system

1. On the View menu, click Scientific.
2. Type the number you want to convert.
3. Click the number system you want to convert to.
4. Click the display size you want to use.

Notes

• When you convert a decimal number that contains decimal places to another number system, the number is shortened to an integer.
• Numbers converted to decimal from hexadecimal, octal, or binary appear as positive integers.

Using keyboard equivalents of Calculator buttons

The following is an alphabetical list of Calculator buttons and their keyboard equivalents. You can print this list by clicking the Options menu, and then clicking Print. When using Calculator, you can see any Calculator button's keyboard equivalent by right-clicking the button, and then clicking What's This?.

Button	Key	Button	Key
%	%	Hyp	h
(	(	Int	;
)	)	Inv	i
*	*	ln	n
+	+	log	l
+/-	F9	Lsh	<
-	-	M+	CTRL+P
.	. or ,	MC	CTRL+L
/	/	Mod	%
0-9	0-9	MR	CTRL+R
1/x	r	MS	CTRL+M
=	ENTER	n!	!
A-F	A-F	Not	~
And	&	Oct	F7
Ave	CTRL+A	Or	|(pipe)
Backspace	BACKSPACE	pi	p
Bin	F8	Qword	F12
Byte	F4	Radians	F3
C	ESC	s	CTRL+D
CE	DEL	sin	s
cos	o	sqrt	@
Dat	INS	Sta	CTRL+S
Dec	F6	Sum	CTRL+T
Degrees	F2	tan	t
dms	m	Word	F3
Dword	F2	Xor	^
Exp	x	x^2	@
F-E	v	x^3	#
Grads	F4	x^y	y
Hex	F5

Using key sequences as functions

The following key sequences are interpreted as functions when you paste data into Calculator. For example, open Notepad and type the following:

123 :m

Copy 123 :m from Notepad and paste it into Calculator. The number 123 is displayed and is also stored in Calculator's memory.

:c	Clears memory.
:e	Enables you to type scientific notation numbers in decimal form.
:m	Stores the displayed number in memory.
:p	Adds the displayed number to the number in memory.
:q	Clears the current calculation.
:r	Displays the number stored in memory.
\	Functions the same as Dat. Click Sta before using this key.

Note

• To open an accessory, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click the program you want to open.

Understanding Extended Precision

Extended Precision, a feature of Calculator, means that all operations are accurate to at least 32 digits. Calculator also stores rational numbers as fractions to retain accuracy. For example, 1/3 is stored as 1/3, rather than .333. However, errors accumulate during repeated operations on irrational numbers. For example, Calculator will truncate pi to 32 digits, so repeated operations on pi will lose accuracy as the number of operations increases.

Performing calculations with large numbers

In the hexadecimal, binary, and octal number systems, Calculator displays only the lower digits of an answer when the result has more digits than your display size allows. This behavior mimics the way calculations work in computers.

For the hexadecimal number system, QWORD results can contain up to 16 digits, DWORD results can contain up to eight digits; Word results can contain up to four digits; and Byte results can contain up to two digits.

For example, using the hexadecimal number system displayed as Word, the largest result you can generate is FFFF (equal to 65535 in decimal). If you double that number (FFFFx2), the answer is 1FFFE. This contains five digits, so Calculator will display only the lower four digits of the answer: FFFE.

Using Help viewer keyboard shortcuts

If your mouse is unavailable or if you prefer to use your keyboard, you can use the following keyboard commands to navigate within the Help viewer. These shortcuts apply to the Help viewer only, not to Help and Support Center.

To expand the headings below using the keyboard, press F6 to switch from the Help navigation pane to the topic pane. Press TAB to select the desired keyboard shortcut heading, and then press ENTER to expand the listing.

Help Viewer keyboard shortcuts

Press	To
ALT+SPACEBAR	Display the system menu.
SHIFT+F10	Display the Help viewer shortcut menu.
ALT+TAB	Switch between the Help viewer and other open windows.
ALT+O	Display the Options menu.
ALT+O, and then press T	Hide or show the navigation pane.
CTRL+TAB	Switch to the next tab in the navigation pane.
CTRL+SHIFT+TAB	Switch to the previous tab in the navigation pane.
UP ARROW	Move up one topic in the table of contents, index, or search results list.
DOWN ARROW	Move down one topic in the table of contents, index, or search results list.
PAGE UP	Move up one page in the table of contents, index, or search results list.
PAGE DOWN	Move down one page in the table of contents, index, or search results list.
F6	Switch focus between the navigation pane and the topic pane.
ALT+O, and then press R	Refresh the topic that appears in the topic pane.
UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW	Scroll through a topic.
CTRL+HOME	Move to the beginning of a topic.
CTRL+END	Move to the end of a topic.
CTRL+A	Highlight all text in the topic pane.
ALT+O, and then press P	Print a topic.
ALT+O, and then press B	Move back to the previously viewed topic.
ALT+O, and then press F	Move forward to the next (previously viewed) topic.
ALT+F4	Close the Help viewer.

Contents tab keyboard shortcuts

Press	To
ALT+C	Display the Contents tab.
RIGHT ARROW	Open a book.
LEFT ARROW	Close a book.
BACKSPACE	Return to the previous open book.
UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW	Select a topic.
ENTER	Display the selected topic.

Index tab keyboard shortcuts

Press	To
ALT+N	Display the Index tab.
UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW	Select a keyword in the list.
ALT+D or ENTER	Display the associated topic.

Search tab keyboard shortcuts

Press	To
ALT+S	Display the Search tab.
ALT+L	Start a search.
ALT+D or ENTER	Display the selected topic.

Getting Help

The Help viewer makes it easy for you to find information about the feature you are using. The Contents, Index, and Search tabs display helpful information that you can print or copy. Click a heading below for detailed information.

Find a Help topic

To find the information you want, use one of the three navigation options in the left pane of the Help viewer:

Contents tab

To browse the table of contents, click the Contents tab. Click the book icons to reveal topic entries and sub-books.

Click a table of contents entry to display the corresponding topic.

Index tab

To see a list of index entries, click the Index tab, and then either type a word or scroll through the list. Topics are often indexed under more than one entry.

Double-click an index entry to display the corresponding topic.

Search tab

To search for a word or phrase, click the Search tab, type the word or phrase, and then click List Topics.

Double-click a search results entry to display the corresponding topic.

Note

• If you cannot find the information you need, click Help and Support on the Start menu to search for other Help options.

Use links in Help topics

In a Help topic, you can click underlined words or Related Topics to see other information related to the topic.

• To see the definition of an underlined term, click the term. Click the definition to make it disappear.
• To open a program, to access a Web page or Help topic on the Internet, or to see another topic, click the underlined words.
• To display other topics containing related information, click Related Topics, and then click the title of the topic you want. If there is only one related topic, Help immediately takes you to that topic instead of displaying a topic title list.

Move through Help topics you've seen

• On the Help toolbar, click Back to display the previously viewed Help topic.
• On the Help toolbar, click Forward to display the next Help topic in a previously displayed sequence of topics.

Copy a Help topic

1. In the Help viewer, right-click the topic you want to copy, and then click Select All.
2. Inside the topic, right-click again, and then click Copy.

This copies the topic to the Clipboard.

3. Open the document into which you want to paste the topic.
4. Click the place in your document where you want the information to appear.
5. On the Edit menu, click Paste.

Notes

• If you want to copy only part of a topic, select the part you want to copy, right-click the selection, and then click Copy.
• Words that are links to other topics and step numbers are not copied to the Clipboard.

Print a Help topic

• Right-click the topic, and then click Print.

Notes

• To print a pop-up topic, right-click inside the pop-up window, and then click Print Topic.
• To print all topics within a book, on the Contents tab, click the book. On the Help toolbar, click Options, click Print, and then click Print the selected heading and all subtopics.

Modifying the Help viewer

You can hide the left (navigation) pane of the Help viewer to make the window smaller, adjust the size of the window from any side or corner, and change the fonts and colors used in the Help window.

Changes you make to the Help viewer do not affect the Help and Support Center window.

Hide or show the Help navigation pane

• On the Help toolbar, click Hide  to hide the navigation pane, which includes the Contents, Index, and Search tabs.
• On the Help toolbar, click Show  to display the navigation pane.

Change the size of the Help window

• To make the navigation or topic panes narrower or wider, point to the divider between the two panes. When the pointer changes to a double-headed arrow, drag the divider left or right.
• To proportionally shrink or enlarge the entire Help viewer, point to any corner of the Help viewer. When the pointer changes to a double-headed arrow, drag the corner.
• To change the entire Help viewer's height or width, point to the top, bottom, left, or right edge of the Help viewer. When the pointer changes to a double-headed arrow, drag the side.

Change fonts in Help

1. On the toolbar, click Options, and then click Internet Options.
2. On the General tab, click Fonts.
3. In the Fonts dialog box, click the options you want, and then click OK.
4. On the General tab, click Accessibility.
5. Under Formatting, select the check boxes for the options you want, and then click OK twice.

Notes

• This procedure changes the fonts only in the right (topic) pane of the Help viewer, not in the navigation pane, which contains the Contents, Index, and Search tabs.
• This procedure also changes the fonts used to display Web pages in Internet Explorer.

Change colors in a Help window

1. On the toolbar, click Options, and then click Internet Options.
2. On the General tab, click Colors.
3. In the Colors dialog box, clear the Use Windows colors check box.
4. Click Text or Background and then click the color you want. Click OK when you finish.
5. On the General tab, click Accessibility.
6. Under Formatting, select the Ignore colors specified on Web pages check box, and then click OK twice.

Notes

• This procedure changes the colors only in the right (topic) pane of the Help viewer, not in the navigation pane, which contains the Contents, Index, and Search tabs.
• This procedure also changes the colors used to display Web pages in Internet Explorer.

Important

• If you choose text and background colors that are similar, the Help text can become unreadable.
• If you are using the high-contrast black color scheme, you may not be able to read the text in Help viewer because the background blends closely with the font color. To fix this, on the General tab, click Accessibility, and then select the Ignore colors specified on Web pages check box.