InstaCalc Feature Tour
October 19th, 2006
InstaCalc makes your life easy. It's a refreshingly different calculator that is simple, fast and surprisingly fun.
Get real-time results.
It's called InstaCalc for a reason: answers appear as you type. Your time is important, the computer's time is not. Spend less time waiting, more time doing.
Normal calculators and spreadsheets make you type and press Enter. Change the numbers, press Enter. Change the numbers again, press Enter.
Why this extra step? Imagine having to press "Enter" every time you typed a key in Word. Decades of spreadsheets and desk calculators have conditioned us to tolerate this pause between entering numbers and getting an answer. Break free.
See what you're working on.
See your work as you go, just like working on paper. You can see how you got an answer and change the numbers in real-time. You don't have to switch between viewing a cell's results and editing the details.
Regular calculators erase your equation to show you the results. You have to keep track of previous results yourself - will you write them down each time? And if you want to change an answer, you need to retype the entire calculation.
Sure, spreadsheets can have multiple equations, but they only show you one cell at a time. For the other cells you see a number like 81.879 and have to guess or remember how it came to be.
Use readable numbers and equations.
Type readable equations! Write what makes it easy for you, not the computer. Type 6.6 billion (or 6.6b), not 6600000000. Write "distance = mph * hours", not "=E3 * C2". Reference your results by name, not cell number.
The spreadsheet replies:
Hey, I can do that too! You want commas? Just Select cell > Format Menu > Cells... > Category Number > Comma Formatting > Click OK. And only lazy people want to write 6.6b instead of 6600000000. Names? Just select the rows, choose Insert > Name > Define...
Meanwhile, you've forgotten what you wanted to do in the first place. InstaCalc gets out of your way.
Link to any result.
You can share a link to any calculation - no logins, no attachments, no fuss. Readers can see your thoughts, change the numbers, and comment back with a new link!
The best part is that your original link stays the same. If someone changes the numbers, they get a new link when they save the page. Compare this to trying to post a spreadsheet or screenshot to your blog - link to a live, editable calculator.
Put a calculator on your website.
Even better than linking, show your readers your thoughts! Click the Embed button to get code that puts InstaCalc on your site, like this:
Calculations are as shareable as any webpage. Readers can edit the results in real-time, and there's no login required.
Create charts and graphs.
Whip up a quick chart for your article, email or blog (see example). No attachments, no 5-step wizards, just a simple chart. And it's editable - the chart updates as you change the numbers!
Explore dozens of extras.
InstaCalc is filled with powerful options you wouldn't expect from a calculator. The best part? If you never use 'em, they aren't in your face to bother you. See the reference section on the homepage for a full list.
Describe your work.
Add a quick sentence or paragraph about what you were thinking - even include links to background content.
Make programming easier.
Software geeks (myself included) appreciate an easy way to convert numbers to and from hex and binary. Use shortcuts like 1GB (yes, an actual GB). Use binary operations like AND, OR, NOT and XOR. Use simple if-then statements. And keep track of all your results at once.
Use random numbers.
Want to roll dice? Introduce random inputs into your formula? Practice your times tables? It's possible - just add random numbers to your equation.
Hide rows you don't want.
Spreadsheets are nice because they hide details. InstaCalc can do the same: Just click a result to hide details for that row. Show the final results for a calculation, for a clean look.
Take it for a test drive.
InstaCalc was meant to be fast and fun. Nope, you won't be throwing out your spreadsheet; 18-wheelers have their uses. But for everyday use, a sports car is more enjoyable. And a free sports car is even better.
Want quick, easy and shareable results? Use InstaCalc!
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November 1st, 2006 at 10:54 pm
[…] There’s also a great walk-through tour of the features of InstaCalc on their blog. You can also visit the about page and find a little bit more about the developer, a former Microsoft Program Manager. […]
November 2nd, 2006 at 3:03 am
Just saw this app mentioned on TechCrunch. Sweet.
November 2nd, 2006 at 7:30 am
Too good! If only you can provide a standalone app instead of each time logging into this website.
November 2nd, 2006 at 4:12 pm
[…] cooles, wirklich cooles Teil - InstaCalc -, stellt Spreadsheet von Google auf eine andere Art und Weise locker in den Schatten imho: […]
November 2nd, 2006 at 8:39 pm
Nice! I built Payraise Calculator to answer a simple math problem… love yours!
Doug
November 4th, 2006 at 10:27 pm
Very Nice.
November 19th, 2006 at 6:10 pm
[…] Podéis ver más en el tour correspondiente. […]
January 24th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
You gotta make a Google Gadget out of this…
January 24th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
Don’t worry, it’s on its way
. I’ll be putting up a post about it shortly.
February 8th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
[…] Check the feature tour out here to see the power that’s available (you will be surprised at the richness of functionality). […]
February 22nd, 2007 at 10:25 am
[…] Instacalc is an online calculator / spreadsheet mashup. It supports sharing, and blog embedding, and intelligently interprets what you type in. Check out the blog for a walk though of the features. […]
February 22nd, 2007 at 3:30 pm
[…] Örneğin, 6.6 milyar yazıyorsunuz karşısına hemen 6.600.000.000 yazıveriyor. Çok kullanışlı bir servis. Oluşturduğunuz hesap makinesini kendi web sitenize de koyabiliyorsunuz. Bütün bunların yanında grafik oluşturabiliyorsunuz. Ayrıntıları blogunda bulabilirsiniz. […]
February 22nd, 2007 at 3:35 pm
[…] http://instacalc.com/blog/tour […]
March 1st, 2007 at 12:41 am
[…] http://instacalc.com/blog/tour […]
March 8th, 2007 at 11:13 am
[…] For more details on this cool tool, check out the InstaCalc feature tour. Related Stuff […]
March 8th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
[…] I Instacalcs blogg kan du läsa mer om alla funktioner som finns tillgängliga. […]
March 17th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
Would be nice to allow entering times e.g.
2h50m
1d10.5h
1:11:25
12.3s + 5′20″
52w
// w d h m s = week day hour month second
// y - may be 365.25d
March 17th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Thanks for the suggestion — I’ve been looking into various date/time operations.
I need to do a bit of work to think of a good syntax that fits with the existing scheme (3.2m could be 3.2 million or 3.2 minutes, for example). But it is on the list of planned features!
March 27th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
It is the most amazing web based calculators I’ve ever seen. thank you for it
March 28th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
Thanks Taimur, I’m glad you like it!
March 31st, 2007 at 6:21 pm
Any chance of getting a mod function?
March 31st, 2007 at 6:39 pm
Hi Dougie, you can use “mod” like this:
5 mod 3 = 2
http://instacalc.com/?d=&c=NSBtb2QgM3×8fHx8fA&s=sssssss&v=0.9
April 11th, 2007 at 5:29 am
[…] Take the tour Do it yourself […]
April 15th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
Awesome I post about InstaCalc here http://www.mikebenton.org/archives/141
I love it and use the Vista Gadget also! Keep up the good work!
April 22nd, 2007 at 12:42 pm
nice agdget works great i luvvvvvvvvv vista
April 22nd, 2007 at 12:42 pm
gadget works great. another fantastic tool from vista
May 8th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
Good God, I just use it for (very) simple math. I liked it because it takes up the least amount of space on my gadgets/desktop & by far the easiest to use, no need to even log on, just click-n-type. Thanks from a simple thinker with simple needs…….
May 9th, 2007 at 12:06 am
Awesome, glad you like it! I like simple things as well
May 11th, 2007 at 4:03 am
[…] I then did a mini tour of the features, such as instant results, natural language entry, unit conversion, sharing links and using the shared calcs. I compared the before-and-after: what you’d have to do in Excel (”=D3 * (1 + .5)”) and what you can do in InstaCalc (”sales + 50%”). Time flies when you talk about what you enjoy — go with what you know! […]
May 19th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
[…] Para comprender mejor su uso, conviene echar un vistazo tanto a su tour como a su blog, en el que podrás ir viendo incluso su evolución a lo largo de los meses. Está claro que el autor no se conforma con un mero sustituto de nuestro “querido” Excel (también llamado “hoja de cálculo para los ajenos a Windows que ya estarán difamándome”). […]
July 16th, 2007 at 9:08 am
I have visited your site 406-times
July 22nd, 2007 at 11:08 am
[…] Dopo la segnalazione che ho fatto del servizio Fooplot per generare grafici online di funzioni matematiche, oggi voglio consigliarvi un’altra applicazione ajax: InstaCalc, una calcolatrice online che permette di vedere i risultati dei vostri calcoli in real time. Anche se, per come è stato realizzato il sito, potrebbe sembrare una versione semplificata di una foglio di lavoro excel (infatti l’interfaccia grafica è qualla di un vero e proprio quaderno dove porre nelle diverse righe i valori per i calcoli online), in realtà offre delle funzionalità davvero uniche. Come è possibile vedere dall’InstaCalc Feature Tour abbiamo: […]
August 9th, 2007 at 5:52 am
I have visited your site 886-times
October 30th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
i love the ability to morph instacalc to your own needs and then share it with others.
for example, my wife is always looking how to pull the WA sales tax out of the total price she charges for her photography and i was able to just give her an obscure web page off her main site to do just what she needed — http://www.mistydawnphotos.com/tax
November 1st, 2007 at 2:51 am
@ctrpapa: Thanks for sharing your link! I’m glad it’s working for you, those are exactly the problems I was hoping it would solve for people
January 8th, 2008 at 3:30 am
[…] Try charts, programming and more. […]
January 30th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
looks great. i’ll use it every day
February 1st, 2008 at 2:50 am
[…] Instacalc. Calculadora personalizable desarrollada por un antiguo empleado de Microsoft. Mediante una sintaxis sencilla podemos definir varias filas de operaciones. En la primera parte establecemos la fórmula y en la segunda vemos el resultado. Mucha variedad: trigonometría, conversiones (medidas, tiempo, codificación…), lógica y hasta la posibilidad de generar gráficas. El resultado se puede incrustar en una web o, como antes, guardar el enlace para volver a modificarla (ejemplo). En inglés, aunque tienen un tour explicativo. […]
February 5th, 2008 at 5:36 am
[…] Instacalc. Calculadora personalizable desarrollada por un antiguo empleado de Microsoft. Mediante una sintaxis sencilla podemos definir varias filas de operaciones. En la primera parte establecemos la fórmula y en la segunda vemos el resultado. Mucha variedad: trigonometría, conversiones (medidas, tiempo, codificación…), lógica y hasta la posibilidad de generar gráficas. El resultado se puede incrustar en una web o, como antes, guardar el enlace para volver a modificarla (ejemplo). En inglés, aunque tienen un tour explicativo. […]
February 13th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
[…] Instacalc. Calculadora personalizable desarrollada por un antiguo empleado de Microsoft. Mediante una sintaxis sencilla podemos definir varias filas de operaciones. En la primera parte establecemos la fórmula y en la segunda vemos el resultado. Mucha variedad: trigonometría, conversiones (medidas, tiempo, codificación…), lógica y hasta la posibilidad de generar gráficas. El resultado se puede incrustar en una web o, como antes, guardar el enlace para volver a modificarla (ejemplo). En inglés, aunque tienen un tour explicativo. […]
February 22nd, 2008 at 5:38 pm
[…] Instacalc. Calculadora personalizable desarrollada por un antiguo empleado de Microsoft. Mediante una sintaxis sencilla podemos definir varias filas de operaciones. En la primera parte establecemos la fórmula y en la segunda vemos el resultado. Mucha variedad: trigonometría, conversiones (medidas, tiempo, codificación…), lógica y hasta la posibilidad de generar gráficas. El resultado se puede incrustar en una web o, como antes, guardar el enlace para volver a modificarla (ejemplo). En inglés, aunque tienen un tour explicativo. […]
April 18th, 2008 at 7:40 am
Azad Sahib,
I entered the following:
1 acre to feet
The result was 1.
Could you look into this.
Thanks
Naved
April 21st, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Hi Naved, if you do a conversion that isn’t recognized it will not show any conversion in green. I’ll probably change this to have a question mark “?” if the conversion isn’t recognized.
In this case, you can do
1 acre to square feet
Hope this helps,
-Kalid
April 27th, 2008 at 8:52 am
I’m trying to compare vitamin prices in instacalc, to find the lowest cost per milligram. I entered the various numbers and calculated a result, but I can’t figure out how to save each result in a new row and calculate the minimum (or maximum) of a range of rows (something like min(r7:r11) would work, but how to save prior results without retyping?[save(r1-> r12+savecount]?). So I tried to figure out how to save the result of a prior calculation, compare it to the current calculation, and save the smaller in a “best price” row, but I can’t see how to do that either [something like
prior(r6)
if (r5
April 27th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Hi Steve, great question! Right now the easiest method would be to calculate the cost on each line, and do min(r1:r3) to find the cheapest one (here’s an example).