Customize Calc Pro: Skins, Calculator Modes and Settings

Calc Pro works well straight out of the box, but a few minutes in Options makes it truly yours. This guide walks through every setting, then suggests setups for students, engineers and finance professionals.

Opening Options

Open the side menu with the menu icon (☰) and tap the gear icon near the bottom. Options is organized into three groups: General, Calculator and Financial.

General

Button Style

Choose how the keys look: Classic, Shine, Flat, Square, Glass or Rounded. The iPhone and iPad app also offers Liquid, a Pro Premium style.

Button Color

Pick a color scheme: Black, Blue, Light Blue, Brown, Grey, Green, Light Grey, Orange, Pink or White. Extra colors are available with Pro Premium in the app.

Sounds

Key clicks can be On, Quiet or Off.

Thousands Separator and European Notation

Turn on the thousands separator to show 1,234,567 instead of 1234567. European notation swaps the comma and the period, so one thousand and a half reads 1.000,5 instead of 1,000.5.

Language

Calc Pro speaks 12 languages: English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified and Traditional Chinese. Default follows your device's language.

Calculator

Calculator Mode

This sets how you enter calculations. Each mode is explained with examples in RPN and Calculator Modes.

Mode	Best for
Expression	Seeing the whole calculation as you type it
Algebraic	Classic scientific calculator entry
Direct Algebraic	Typing functions the way they're written (sin 30)
Normal	Simple left-to-right math, like a basic calculator
RPN	HP-style stack entry, with no brackets or = needed

RPN Stack Size

In RPN mode, choose how many stack levels you want: 2 (X, Y), 4 (X, Y, Z, T), 5, 10 or 50.

Notation

This sets how results are displayed: Normal, Scientific, Engineering, Fractions or Fixed. With Fixed, use Fixed digits to choose from 2 to 10 decimal places. See Scientific Notation and Display Formats.

Tax Rate

This is the rate used by the Tax+ and Tax− keys on the Standard Calculator, and it starts at 10%. See the Standard Calculator guide for examples.

Conversion Buffer

This is the word size used by Base Conversions: Byte (8 bit), Word (16 bit), DWord (32 bit, the default) or Large (48 bit).

Financial

Payment Schedule (Mortgage)

This is the schedule the Mortgage worksheet starts with: monthly, semi-monthly, bi-weekly, weekly or bi-monthly, each with an accelerated option that pays the loan off faster. See the Mortgage Calculator guide.

End Period Payments (TVM)

This decides when Time Value of Money payments happen. Payments at the end of each period (an ordinary annuity) are the usual choice for loans and mortgages. Payments at the beginning of each period (an annuity due) suit rent and leases.

Reset

Reset returns every setting to its default, which is handy if a setting has you stuck.

Recommended Setups

For Students

• Calculator mode: Direct Algebraic or Expression, so calculations read like your textbook
• Notation: Normal
• Sounds: Quiet in class

For Engineers

• Notation: Engineering, so exponents line up with kilo, mega and milli
• Calculator mode: RPN with a 4-level stack, if you learned on an HP calculator
• Conversion buffer: match the word size of the system you're working on

For Finance

• Notation: Fixed, with 2 digits
• Thousands separator: On
• Payment schedule: the one your lender uses
• End period payments: On, for loans and mortgages

Tips

1. Try a mode for a few days. Switching entry modes feels odd at first; give it time before deciding.
2. Set your tax rate once. After that, Tax+ and Tax− handle sales tax in a single tap.
3. Match your notation to the job. Fixed with 2 digits for money, Engineering for electronics, Fractions for measurements.

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Next: Keep every key and mode at your fingertips with the Quick Reference Card