Formatting Output

As you type your calculations, the output is calculated, formatted, and placed in the results panel. The default formatting of result values can be changed by going to Preferences > Format.

You can also change the formatting for a specific line using formatting commands. A formatting command uses one of the conversion operators as, to, in, or format followed by the format to be changed. It's used when converting units as in 4 meters as feet, but can also be used for formatting commands such as pi to 4 digits. If you want to use more than one formatting command, add a colon after the operator and list the commands separated by a comma. For example, 1 million format: scientific, 4 digits.

Most formatting commands can also be set if you click on the result of the line you want to change. Select the format you want to change from the menu, and the associated formatting command will be inserted on that line.

Rounding

When a value is not a whole number, you can adjust the number of digits displayed after the decimal point. To set the default decimal places, go to Preferences > Format > Scale and adjust the slider.

Formatting Command

You can also set the precision on a specific line using a formatting command with one of the phrases decimal place, dp, or digit.

pi to 4 digits
1/3 format: 3 decimal places

3.1416
0.333

Showing Zeros After the Decimal Point

If the result is a whole number, by default no digits are shown after the decimal point. If you want to show the zeros after the decimal point, go to Preferences > Format > Scale and click the gear icon next to the decimal places slider. Click Show Trailing Zeros to have all results display digits after the decimal point, even if they're all zeros. Selecting the menu again will let you Hide Trailing Zeros.

You can also change the display of trailing zeros using a formatting command with the phrase show zeros or trim zeros. The default is to trim zeros:

42 format: show zeros
2.5 format: show zeros
5/2

42.00
2.50
2.5

Rounding Algorithm

The method of rounding can be set for values when they aren't exact numbers. For example, pi rounded to 5 digits is 3.14159, but when rounded to 4 digits it's 3.1416.

To select a rounding method, go to Preferences > Format > Scale and click the gear icon next to the decimal places slider. Choose Rounding and then the rounding method you prefer.

Figures supports all the typical rounding methods:

• Up: rounds in a positive direction to the next whole number (see the ceiling function)
• Down: rounds in a negative direction to the previous whole number (see the floor function)
• Away from Zero: rounds positive numbers to the next positive whole number and negative numbers to the previous whole number
• Toward Zero: removes the decimal portion so positive numbers round to the previous whole number and negative numbers round to the next whole number (see the truncate function)
• To Nearest or Even: numbers with decimal portion greater than 0.5 round away from zero; less than 0.5 round toward zero; exactly 0.5 round to the the nearest even whole number
• To Nearest or Away from Zero: numbers with decimal portion greater than or equal to 0.5 round away from zero; less than 0.5 round toward zero

Thousands Separators

Large numbers are normally shown with thousands separators (also known as 'grouping separators' for languages that don't always separate into groups of three). For example, in the U.S. the number "one thousand" would be shown as 1,000. If you'd prefer not show these separators in the results, go to Preferences > Format > Scale and uncheck the box at the bottom.

There is also a formatting command to control thousands separators using the phrase hide separators or show separators. The default is to show the separators:

50 × 30
50 × 50  format: hide separators

1,500
2500

Automatic Unit Conversion

Some units typically combine to form another commonly used unit. For example, one Joule per second is equal to one Watt. By default, Figures will automatically handle some common conversions.

30 joules / 5 seconds
120 hertz × 3 seconds
10 newtons × 20 meters

6 W
360
200 J

To turn off automatic unit conversion, go to Preferences > Format > Scale and uncheck the box at the bottom. You can also override the behavior for a single calculation by explicitly converting to your preferred units.

30 joules / 5 seconds in calories/min
10 newtons × 20 meters in newton meters

86.04 cal/min
200 N m

Shortened Formats

Large and small numbers can be difficult to read so Figures gives you the option to shorten them to make it easier. To set your preferred format, go to Preferences > Format > Scale. There are two sliders for controlling shortened formats: one for large numbers and another for small numbers. Select how large/small a number needs to be before it's shortened and what format should be used.

Supported Formats

Figures supports the following shortened formats:

• Cardinal: use words to describe the scale of the number (1,000,000 is displayed as 1 million)
• Metric: use a metric symbol to indicate the scale of the number (0.000001 is displayed as 1μ)
• Scientific: use a multiplier and exponent (100,000 is displayed as 1 × 10⁵)
• Engineering: similar to scientific except the exponent is always a multiple of three (10,000,000 is displayed as 10 × 10⁶)

Here's the format names used by Figures:

Note that there are two different scales for cardinal names in the table. The short scale is typically used, but Figures also supports the long scale. You can select which scale you prefer by going to Preferences > Format > Region. Choose one of the options under Cardinal Scale.

Exponent Symbol

If you use scientific or engineering formats, you can also control the display of the exponent. To change the exponent format, go to Preferences > Format > Region and choose an option under Exponent Symbol. The options available are as follows:

• Superscript Multiply: The traditional format using superscript numbers as the exponent (2.1 × 10³)
• Inline Multiply: The traditional format using a power operator for the exponent (2.1 × 10^3)
• Uppercase E: Known as e-notation this format is common in some engineering contexts (2.1E3)
• Lowercase E: Same as the previous setting except the exponent character is lowercased (2.1e3)

Formatting Command

You can set the shortened format using a formatting command with the name of the format. Formatting commands have more options available than the app-wide defaults:

• Automatic: use the format specified in the preferences
• Scientific: use a multiplier and exponent (100,000 is displayed as 1 × 10⁵)
• Engineering: similar to scientific except the exponent is always a multiple of three (10,000,000 is displayed as 10 × 10⁶)
• Accounting: a specialized format that always shows two decimal places (even if they're zero) and surrounds negative numbers in parentheses (-42 displas as (42.00))
• Metric: use a metric symbol to indicate the scale of the number (0.000001 is displayed as 1μ)
• Cardinal: use words to describe the scale of the number (1,000,000 is displayed as 1 million)
• Decimal: apply no formatting
• Hexadecimal: converts the number to base 16 (42 displays as 2A₁₆)
• Octal: convert the number to base 8 (42 displays as 52₈)
• Binary: convert the number to base 2 (42 displays as 10 1010₂)