A quick look at notepad calculators, natural language calculators

They go by a couple of different names, but “notepad calculator” or “natural language calculator” will usually do the trick. These are editor style calculators that understand standard calculations like 2+2, but also “20% of $100.” You can also create and assign variables to perform more complex calculations, similar to a spreadsheet, except without the bulk and bloat of a spreadsheet. The standard example is, rate=$10, hours=40, rate*hours. Other uses include: These types of apps are great for little calculations, but are also great for formulas when you don’t need or want to work with a spreadsheet. Soulver might the first one to come to mind, and was my introduction to this kind of calculator. I used Soulver 2 to emulate several website calculations and drop them into Jira which is more readable than copying and pasting spreadsheet cells, plus formulas isn’t ideal. Along with Soulver there are apps like Numi, AYBO, and PiPad. Soulver has also upgraded to v3, […]

Notebook Calculators Soulver and Calca

A notebook calculator isn’t something I knew I needed until I saw it. Writing math formulas and solving calculations using text is absolutely genius and has a slew of benefits. First, a notepad calculator is way to mix text and numbers in the same document. Yes, this can be done in spreadsheet, but spreadsheet formulas are very hard to translate into documents. For example, pasting spreadsheet formulas into a Jira ticket won’t make any sense to someone reading it. This is where notepad calculators like Soulver and Calca come in. You can create something like: Revenue=$34000 Expenses=$10000 Total=Revenue-Expenses = $24,000 Or Price=$100 Qty=10 Discount=5% Total=(Price*Qty)-Discount = $950.00 This is a live formula. So as you change Revenue or Expenses, the Total will change, the same as you would see in a spreadsheet. That is obviously a simple example, but the language is easier to follow. It’s also easier to follow $339-20% discount or 35% off 300k, without having to show […]