OS/2 Shareware BBS: Science/Science.zip/NADEMO.ZIP/NA.HLP

OS/2 Help File | 1992-01-22 | 17KB | 385 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. About Numerical Assistant ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Numerical Assistant is a Scientific Calculator designed to replace hand held
calculators. It uses line based input by either keyboard or mouse to allow easy
editing and visualization of equations. It may be effectively used by
engineers, scientists, managers, students or anyone requiring a full function
calculator.

Numerical Assistant allows you to perform all functions using either the
keyboard or mouse. All mouse functions have a direct keyboard equivalent and
vice versa. Main editing functions including Cut, Copy, Paste, Oops (undo),
Left, Right, and Help are accessed using descriptive icons. All calculator
functions may be entered by pressing the appropriate button or entering the
keyboard equivalent. All functions and their equivalents are listed in the keys
help. Display editing follows all of the default PM actions including Cut,
Copy, Paste and text selection as well as an added Oops feature.

The calculation portions of Numerical Assistant include full equation editing,
various result formatting, multi - angle input, unlimited grouping, full memory
capabilities, and descriptive error trapping.

Good Luck, and I hope you enjoy using Numerical Assistant

For more information on using Numerical Assistant, refer to the help index.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. About Menu Item ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Select About on the System menu to display copyright information about
Numerical Assistant.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Cut ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Press the Cut Button , or Shift+Delete to delete Selected Text from the display
and copy it to the Clipboard.

You can insert the text you cut elsewhere in the display or in any application
which uses the Clipboard using Paste.

Note:  If a cut operation was done accidently, use Oops to undo the operation.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. Copy ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Press the Copy Button , or Ctrl+Insert to copy Selected Text to the Clipboard.

You can insert the text you copied elsewhere in the display or in any
application which uses the Clipboard using Paste.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Paste ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Press the Paste Button , or Shift+Insert to insert text stored in the Clipboard
into the display at the current cursor position.

If text is Selected, then text from the Clipboard will replace the selected
text.

Note:  Use Cut or Copy to store text in the Clipboard.

If a paste operation was done accidently, use Oops to undo the operation.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. Oops ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Select the Oops Button , or press Alt+Backspace to sequently undo any changes
made to the display. This includes editing changes, as well as changes made due
to calculations. It should be noted that a function entered via a button may be
removed by pressing Oops once, however if it was entered via the keyboard, each
keystroke must be removed. Up to 100 steps may be undone unless memory is
insufficient at which time the storage buffer will be cleared.

Note:  This function does not undo any changes made to the memory however.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Cancel Button ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Select the Cancel pushbutton to exit the dialog box without performing any
action.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Help Button ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Select the Help pushbutton when you need help with the highlighted field in the
dialog box.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. Grouping Equations ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Sections of an equation may be grouped to override default actions and to
better control the results of the calculation. The number of grouping levels
are limited only by memory. Grouped sections are indicated by enclosing the
information in parentheses. The following examples show how grouping works.

   2 + 3 * 5 = 17
   (2 + 3) * 5 = 25

In the above example the first equation calculates 3*5 first equating it to 15
then adds 2 to that result to get 17. Using parentheses, 2+3 is determined
first getting 5 and then multiplied by 5 to get the result of 25. There are no
limits to the amounts or levels of grouping, except that every open parenthesis
must have a matching closing parenthesis. For example the following is also
valid.

   (((2+3)*(3+6))/6)+12 = 19.5

Grouping may also be used in combination with any of the other scientific
functions.

There is a default priority for which order functions get calculated. For more
information on this order see Calculation Hierarchy.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. Calculation Hierarchy ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

When Numerical Assistant calculates an equation, it uses a set of defined
priorities to determine which part of the equation will get calculated first.
This is the default action, but specific calculation order may be defined using
parentheses. For more information on parentheses, see Grouping Commands. The
defined priorities are shown in the following table.

 Priority:   Functions:

 1           ( ), =

 2           √, ln, abs, exp, log, and all trigonometric functions

 3           !, ^, ¤, and √

 4           /, and *

 5           +, and -

 Basically, what the above table means is that the parentheses, and equal have
 the highest priority and are calculated first. Most of the scientific
 functions have second priority, and so on. The plus and minus operations have
 the lowest priority and are determined last. The root sign appears twice in
 priority 2 and 3 because in priority 2 it is being used for x√y type
 calculations and in priority 3 it is being used for square root calculations.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9. Keys ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Select one of the following to get detailed help for a specific set of buttons:

 o Editing and Cursor Keys
 o Calculator Control Keys
 o Scientific Function Keys
 o Numeric Keypad
 o Memory Keys


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Editing and Cursor Keys ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

These keys are used for editing and cursor control.

 Key:   Function:

  Shift+Del Cuts the current selection from the display and saves it in the
        clipboard. See Cut for more information.

  Ctrl+Ins Copies the current selection from the display and saves it in the
        clipboard. See Copy for more information.

  Shift+Ins Pastes the contents of the clipboard into the display at the
        current insertion point, replacing any selected text. See Paste for
        more information.

  Alt+Backspace Sequently undos any changes made to the display. See Oops for
        more information.

  Left  Moves the cursor to the left in the display. If pressed while the
        results of a calculation are being shown, the display will switch back
        to editing the equation and then move left.

  Right Moves the cursor to the right in the display. If pressed while the
        results of a calculation are being shown, the display will switch back
        to editing the equation.

  Ins   Toggles the insert status from overtype to insert.

  Del   Deletes the current selection in the display, or the current character
        if nothing is selected.

  F1    Brings up the Help System positioned in the Keys Help Section.

 Home   Moves the cursor to the beginning of the display.

 End    Moves the cursor to the end of the display.

 F2     Edit. When pressed while the results of a calculation are being shown,
        the display will switch back to editing the equation.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Calculator Control Keys ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

These keys are used to control the format of the numeric output.

 Key:   Function:

 deg/rad/grad or F3 Switchs the current angle type between degrees, radians and
        gradians. The current type is the one showing on the button. All
        trigonometric functions will base their calculations on these angle
        types.

 fixed/sci or F4 Switches between Fixed Point and Scientific notation. 'fixed'
        indicates normal notation, 'sci' indicates scientific notation.

 .xx or F5 Defines the number of decimal places used to display the output. The
        default '.' is the number of decimal places required, but may be set to
        any number between .0 and .16. Note, this key will repeat when held
        down.

 arc    Selects the inverse of the trigonometric functions. Follow this key
        with any one of: asin, acos, or atan to get the inverse of that
        function.

 hyp    Selects the hyperbolic of the trigonometric functions. Follow this key
        with any one of: sinh, cosh, or tanh to get the hyperbolic of that
        function.

 Clr or F6 Clears the display. If this key is chosen by mistake, press the oops
        key to restore the display.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Scientific Function Keys ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

These keys are used for defining the desired scientific functions.

 Key:   Calculation:

 n!     Factorial: 5! = 5*4*3*2*1 = 120. Note: decimal numbers will be
        calculated as follows 5.4! = 5.4*4.4*3.4*2.4*1.4 = 271.43424.

 abs    Absolute Value: abs(-5) = 5.

 sin    Sine: sin(60) = 0.866025403. The results of this calculation depend on
        the type of angle used. See Calculator Control Keys for more
        information. The example shown is for an angle type of degrees.

 cos    Cosine: cos(60) = 0.5. The results of this calculation depend on the
        type of angle used. See Calculator Control Keys for more information.
        The example shown is for an angle type of degrees.

 tan    Tangent: tan(60) = 1.732050808. The results of this calculation depend
        on the type of angle used. See Calculator Control Keys for more
        information. The example shown is for an angle type of degrees.

 10^x   Ten to the power of x: 10^5 = 100000.

 log    Base 10 logarithm: log(100000) = 5.

 3√ or 3rt Cubic root: 3√5 = 1.709975947. Note: 3√3√8 would be calculated as
        (3√3)√8 which is the 3√3 rd root of eight and not the cubed root of the
        cubed root of eight. To get this effect enter as follows: 3√(3√8)

 x√y or xrty xth root of y: 5√5 = 1.379729661. Note: Similar rules to that for
        cubic roots above apply here.

 y^x    y to the power of x: 3^5 = 243.

 exp    e to the power of x: exp(1) = 2.7182818284590452, exp(5) = 148.4131591.

 ln     Natural logarithm: ln(exp(1)) = 1, ln(5) = 1.609437912.

 1/x    Inverse of x: 1/5 = 0.2.

 √ or rt Square root: √5 = 2.236067977.

 x¤ or ^2 Square: 5¤ = 25.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Numeric Keypad ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

These keys are used for entering in numbers.

 Key:   Function:

 у or pi PI: 3.141592653589793.

 1 - 9  Numbers one through nine. These buttons do not repeat when held down.

 0      Number zero. This button will repeat when held down.

 (      Opening parenthesis. Use this to start a group of commands. See
        Grouping Commands for more information.

 )      Closing parenthesis. Use this to end a group of commands. See Grouping
        Commands for more information.

 .      Decimal.

 /      Divide symbol: 2 / 5 = .4.

 *      Multiply symbol: 2 * 5 = 10.

 -      Minus symbol or plus/minus indicator: 2 - 5 = -3 or 2 + -5 = -3.

 +      Plus symbol: 2 + 5 = 7.

 =      Equals sign. Indicates that Numerical Assistant should calculate the
        results of the current display.

 Exp    Exponential indicator: 2E5 = 200000. Adds an 'E' to the display to
        indicate that an exponential number is being entered.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Memory Keys ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

These keys are used for storing calculation results.

 Key:   Function:

 xM or F7 Stores results of the calculation in memory, clearing any previous
        results. If the display is still being edited, pressing this button
        will simulate an equal sign being pressed before continuing.

 RM or F8 Retrieves the number stored in memory and inserts it at the current
        entry point in the display.

 M+ or F9 Adds the results of the calculation to the current value in memory.
        If the display is still being edited, pressing this button will
        simulate an equal sign being pressed before continuing.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10. Clipboard ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Clipboard holds the text that you Cut or Copy from an application.

The Clipboard can only hold one block of text at a time. When you cut or copy
text, any text that is already in the Clipboard is replaced with the new
information.

To use the text stored in the clipboard, you utilize the Paste functions. The
text contained in the clipboard is accessible by any applications which use the
clipboard functions and not just the current application. Paste is generally
used for this purpose, however refer to the specific application for more
information. This feature of the clipboard is very useful for calculating using
Numerical Assistant and inserting the results into other applications such as
spreadsheets and word processors. The reverse is also possible, you may have an
equation in a word processor which you would like the results of. In this case
you would cut or copy the equation from the word processor, and paste it into
Numerical Assistant.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 11. Selecting text ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting text is used for various editing and clipboard operations. When text
is selected it will become highlighted. Text may be selected using the mouse,
keyboard or a combination of the two.

CAUTION:
If an area of text is selected, pressing any character key, the Backspace key,
or the Delete key deletes the selected text from the display.  You may undo
this however, by using Oops.

Mouse Alone

Select Text:

  1. Press and hold the first mouse button at the beginning of the text you
     want to select.
  2. Move the mouse to highlight the text desired.
  3. Release the mouse button.

 Mouse and Keyboard Together

  1. Press the first mouse button at the beginning of the text you want to
     select.
  2. Press and hold the Shift key down.
  3. Press the first mouse button at the end of the text you want to select.
 Keyboard Alone

  1. Press and hold the Shift key at the beginning of the text you want to
     select.
  2. Highlight the text desired using the cursor keys.
  3. Release the Shift key.

 Extending Selection

  1. Hold the Shift key down.
  2. Press the first mouse button at the end of the area you want to select.