SuperbCalc wish list

[SuperbCalc]

Post a reply in this thread with your ideas about what feature
SuperbCalc should have in the future.

Roberto

[info....@gmail.com]

Hello Roberto,

Thank you so much for developing SuperbCalc! It is easy to use, really well thought out and even slightly addictive.

Here are two additionals feature I would like to suggest:
*a pair of tax/VAT computation key, with keyboard shortcut. A tax rate r would be entered in the options screen (here in France it is 19.6%).
The "TAX+" key would multiply by (1+r). This can be achieved using in SuperbCalc (number * 19.6% =)
The "TAX-" key would divide by (1+r). This I could not achieve in SuperbCalc (if with a rounding of 2, I enter number / 1.196 =, I get number / 1.20. And if I do the same with a rounding of 3, I get 3 decimal places which is not OK for monetary amounts)
*a currency conversion key. The exchange rate could be entered as an option , or even better, SuperbCalc could retrieve it dynamically from an internet service

One again, thank you for your freeware contribution.

- Dominique

[hch...@gmail.com]

Roberto, Thank you for your work on this - it's excellent.

I've only played with it for a little time.

The one thing I've found  that's difficult, is... When the decimal is set to + (currency mode), I sometimes need to over-ride it, and enter more than two decimal places.

ie: I often will depend on + mode, entering dollars and cents, but will need to then do a tax calculation on the figure. I'll attempt to enter, for example .0875 or 1.0875, which doesn't work in + mode.

My request is to be able to override the + mode when needed, by hitting the decimal key.

Another request is to be able to run multiple instances of the app, so I can have multiple tapes going at once.

Thanks again.

[super...@mariottini.net]

Thanks everyone for the interesting suggestions.

I will keep them  in mind when updating the software.

 

Ciao

Roberto

Il giorno lunedì 18 aprile 2011 16:56:15 UTC+2, SuperbCalc ha scritto:

Post a reply in this thread with your ideas about what feature

SuperbCalc should have in teh future.

Roberto

[Joseph Davis]

I created an icon out of one of your screenshots to make my desktop shortcut more friendly. Attached.

Thanks for the great program! Now I just have to reprogram my mind to be in adding machine mode when using an onscreen calculator.

Do you have a link to send a donation?

Ciao,
Guiseppe (aka Joe)

[Joseph Davis]

To create a shortcut on your Win7 or Win8 taskbar, add explorer and a space to the beginning of the shortcut.

Example: explorer "C:\Program Files\SuperbCalc\superbcalc.jar"

On Monday, April 18, 2011 10:56:15 AM UTC-4, SuperbCalc wrote:

Post a reply in this thread with your ideas about what feature

SuperbCalc should have in the future.

Roberto

[Joseph Davis]

Subtotal key?

[super...@mariottini.net]

Thank you for the nice icon and for the useful suggestions.

The link to donate is something I thought of but Idecided it's not appropriate, send me a note by e.mail if you are interested.

Ciao

Roberto

[super...@mariottini.net]

SuperbCalc doesn't have the subtotal key, but it has the Grand Total key (GT).

The grand total works this way: every time you press the Total key (=) this number is added to the grand total. When you press the GT key, the grand total is printed and then reset to zero.

This is a way to achieve the same goal in a different (and simpler, in my opinion) manner.

Ciao

Roberto

[Joseph Davis]

When I copy and paste a tape into another program, I wish the negative numbers would retain their red color.

[tjc...@gmail.com]

As others have said here, you did a terrific job with this program. I can now dispense with my calculator/adding machine.More space on my crowded desk!

However, there is one small problem for me and people who crunch numbers with the old ten-key. The keyboards are built wrong. The  MINUS, ADD, and ENTER keys are incorrectly positioned. Or, to be more precise and less judgmental, these keys are not  positioned the same as they are on a true ten-key adding machine. And that matters big time to people who have been using ten-key adding machines a long time. For me, that happens to be forty years.

I could ask you to change your program to work like the machines I use. And if you did, that would be great. But my purpose here is to inform anyone interested that they can do it themselves using a program called AutoHotKey. This is for Windows and you can get it here: http://www.autohotkey.com/   It runs small programs that the user can write to do all sorts of things, including remapping the keyboard. These little programs are called scripts. They are just ordinary text files.  You install AutoHotKey like any program. Then you can double-click on a script file to execute its instructions.

Here's my script to remap the 'problem' keys:

; remap three keys to work like ten-key adding machine (this line is a comment)
NumpadEnter::+
NumpadAdd::-
NumpadSub::=
return
; All done.
; Run this every time you boot your computer.

Now, for full disclosure, I have only begun learning how to use AutoHotKey. The above script is the only one I've gotten to work.It's really basic and I can't even "undo" the mapping without rebooting the computer. But that seems to be a minor thing compared to the benefit it brings me. I'd welcome suggestions for improving this script.

So here's what's wrong with most keyboards:

The ENTER key should be the + key. When using a real ten-key, the + key is usually struck with the little finger of the right hand. Most of the time, we use the adding machine to add and when the index, middle, and third  fingers are resting on the 4,5 and 6 keys, the pinkie is resting on what needs to be the + key. This allows the operator to press ADD without any extra hand movement. Once you learn this, you can add numbers with great speed.
The next key up should be the MINUS key. And  finally, above the MINUS key, should be the TOTAL key.

Graphically:

   KEY LABELED          SHOULD DO THIS
----------------------------    ---------------------------------

          -                                  =
          +                                 -
          Enter                           +

Again, thank you Roberto. SuperbCalc is truly superb.
Joe

[quake...@gmail.com]

Like you, I've used a 10 key for 35 years, but apparently I've been able to program myself to adapt to the two different keypads on calculators and keyboards. I still need an Enter key by the keypad so your solution doesn't work for me. If I could design a keyboard, I would make the Enter, + and - keys the same size. Then the - key would cover about 2/3 of the 9 key which would make it close to the desktop calculator.

[super...@mariottini.net]

Hi Joe,

thanks for the compliments and the useful tip.

In addition to your note, I've seen that lately keyboard and computer manufacturers started to sell "non-standard" keyboards, with the numeric keypad completely re-engineered.

I think that the next feature will be a complete keyboard configuration option.
I don't know when the next update will be out, but the it will include this feature for sure.

Ciao

[TrophyJoe]

I found another (better) way to remap the numeric keypad...KeyTweak. Get it here: http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/keytweak.html

It is much easier to use than AutoHotKey. You must still reboot to effect your remappings. 

[lamoure...@hotmail.com]

Thank you for this great calculator. How do the memory keys work? I am struggling to know when it is remembering and which order to put in the data. What does MC do? What does MR do? I've studied the great examples about the basic functions but there are no example of memory key problems. Please help.

[super...@mariottini.net]

Hi,

The four memory keys are:

M+ : adds the current number to the memory register

M- : subtracts the current number from the memory register

MR : recalls the memory register content

MC: clears the memory register (set it to zero)

Hope this helps.

Ciao

[Maggie A.]

Hello Roberto,

Thank you for this amazing product. I have been using it since Oct 2018. I was wondering if there any unexpected issues recently? I have been using the calculator all week without a problem. I open it up to use today and it will not actually open. You can see on the taskbar that it is trying to open, but the actual calculator will not display. I went thru and verified that my Java was up-to-date. Can you offer any advise?

Thank you,

Maggie

[super...@mariottini.net]

Hi Maggie,

I suppose that you are trying to run SuperbCalc under Windows 10 (let me know if this is not the case).

The only idea I had is that somehow your display settings were changed (maybe you changed monitor or connected and disocnnected an external monitor the last week?). SuperbCalc remembers the last position in which it was displayed, so the next time you run it it will display in the same position. But if the monitor(s) changed resolution and/or position, the SuperbCalc window is trying to display "outside" of your monitor.

If this is the case, there are a few things you can try:

A - Select the SuperbCalc button in the taskbar, then press Alt-Space. A menu should appear in of one of the monitors' corner, with a "Move" menu item. Click the Move menu Item then press the Right Arrow button on the keyboard. Now the SuperbCalc window should appear under your mouse. Click with the mouse to confirm the position and you are done.

B - If the above trick is too easy for you, you can try to reste the SuperbCalc settings by removing its Config File. This file is located in your user folder (the folder named after you, under Windows it should be under C:\Users\) and its name is .superbcalc.xml. If you move or rename or delete this file you will loose your settings, but the calculator should disply again.

C - If you feel confident you can try to edit the above file with the Notepad (right click on it, choose "Open with..." then choose Notepad). In this file you will find something along this:

  <entry key="window.x">-459</entry>
  <entry key="window.y">390</entry>

You should change those two numbers (and nothing else!) to zero, like this:

  <entry key="window.x">0</entry>
  <entry key="window.y">0</entry>
This way all your settings are saved and SuperbCalc should display in the top-left corner of your main monitor.

Ciao

Roberto

[Maggie]

Thank you so much :)  The second trick worked beautifully.