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How to Manage Complex Calculations with the OS X Calculator Paper Tape
When you need more than the quick math calculations available in Spotlight, the OS X Calculator app is a powerful and convenient tool available by default on every Mac. But once you start inputing or referencing more than a couple of values, it becomes easy to lose track of them. In the physical world, many calculators and adding machines utilize a paper tape to keep a printed record of all entered numbers and the results of prior calculations.
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You don’t need to be an accountant to get the same benefits on your Mac; the OS X Calculator app has its own integrated paper tape feature, but it’s hidden by default. Here’s how to use it. Note that our screenshots reference OS X Yosemite, the latest version of OS X as of the date of this tip. Your calculator app may look different, but these steps apply to all versions of OS X.
To use the OS X Calculator paper tape, launch the Calculator app, located in your Mac’s Applications folder, and then go to Window > Show Paper Tape in the menu bar. Alternatively, you can access the paper tape by pressing the keyboard shortcut Command-T when the Calculator app is active.
A new blank window labeled Paper Tape will appear on your screen. As you enter values into the OS X Calculator app, they will appear in the paper tape window, with each individual calculation displaying the final result and separated by a blank space. This not only allows you to reference previous results, it also provides a handy way to identify errors if your final result isn’t what you expected.
Here are a few tips for using the OS X Calculator Paper Tape:
- When you first open the paper tape window, it will appear randomly on your Mac’s screen. You can reposition it as desired (right next to the calculator is usually the best spot) and the app will preserve this location when you close and later reopen Calculator.
- When you’re ready to start a new set of calculations and no longer need the data on the paper tape, simply press the Clear button at the bottom of the window to remove all values and results and start fresh.
- You can save the data from your paper tape to plain text file by selecting File > Save Tape As from the Calculator menu bar or pressing the keyboard shortcut Shift-Command-S.
- Likewise, you can print the current paper tape by selecting File > Print Tape or using the keyboard shortcut Command-P.
- Although the position of the paper tape window is preserved when you quit Calculator, the paper tape data isn’t, so be sure to print or save any important paper tape entries before you quit the app.
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