Units

The editor supports units of measure based on the SI (metric) system.

Tip: If you will be using the same complex unit repeatedly, assign it to one of your memory cells so that you can insert it with a single click or keystroke.

Unit objects

The “manual” way to insert a unit is to create and fill in a unit object. To start a unit, use the abbreviation u to insert the object, then enter the unit details. Units are a little lighter or darker (depending on the current theme) than other kinds of values, to make them easier to distinguish.

Typing in a unit object works a little differently than usual. Letters are not separate variables; they form unit names. To separate unit names, use a multiplication, division, or fraction command (these always produce a dot or slash), or an exponent. Exponents are created automatically when you type a number.

To write:

$3 m / s$

Type:

3 U Space M / S Enter

To write:

$0.1 m^{2} \cdot kg \cdot s^{- 3}$

Type:

0 . 1 U Space M 2 * K G * S - 3 Enter Enter

Tips:

To avoid ambiguity, unit names must be separated by an operator or exponent.
A unit should not contain more than one slash.
Within a unit, you can type @ for degrees, ' for arcminutes, and " for arcseconds.
The percent sign is not a unit, it is a symbol meaning $⨯ 0.01$ .
Although the formatting of units follows SI style guidelines, you are not limited to using SI units. However, be aware that some commands may assume SI units when interpreting unit names.

Currency

If your keyboard has a dedicated key for a currency symbol, then in most cases typing it will create an appropriate unit automatically. Depending on your region, it might be normal to place a currency symbol either before or after the amount. The editor will accept either convention, and will adjust the spacing around the unit accordingly. (For example, $$ 1.50$ versus $1.50 $$ .)

Dedicated unit abbreviations

A few units have a dedicated abbreviation:

Abbreviation	Produces unit
`udeg`	$°$	degrees (of arc)
`udegm`	$'$	minutes (of arc)
`udegs`	$″$	seconds (of arc)
`udegc`	$°C$	degrees Celsius
`udegf`	$°F$	degrees Fahrenheit
`udol`	$$$	dollars
`ugbp`	$£$	pounds sterling
`ueur`	$€$	euros

Arbitrary unit abbreviations

Any abbreviation starting with u that is not one of the dedicated abbreviations above will be converted into a unit systematically:

Letters (except p) become part of a unit name. The letter u is treated as μ (mu, the symbol for the SI prefix micro).
Digits become part of an exponent.
Exponents separate one unit name from another. Use an exponent of 1 explicitly when needed to separate two unit names. Dot operators are inserted automatically.
The letter p (as in per) negates the sign of following exponents.

Some examples:

Abbreviation	Produces unit
`um`	$m$
`um2`	$m^{2}$
`uum`	$μm$
`umps`	$m \cdot s^{- 1}$
`us1A`	$s \cdot A$
`ups`	$s^{- 1}$
`ukg1m2ps3`	$kg \cdot m^{2} \cdot s^{- 3}$
`upm2pcd`	$m^{- 2} \cdot cd$

Tip: If you don’t use units often, the abbreviation system is entirely optional. You can always type out the unit as described above.

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