MACUSER REVIEW: SOULVER 334 MACWORLD DECEMBER 2019
of $12.11 and be instantly presented
with $2.42.
And I don’t know about you, but when
I’m using a recipe with imperial
measurements, making sure I get
teaspoons, tablespoons, and cups correct
when I’m doubling or halving? I’d rather
type 8 tablespoons in cups into
Soulver and find out the answer (half a
cup). If you need custom units, you can
add those, too.
Soulver divides itself vertically:
calculations and statements appear at the
left and results at the right. You can type in
a large variety of math and conversions,
which include straightforward calculations
with parentheses and order of
precedence, as you may remember from
math classes: (2.5 + 7.5) * 1.11 /
10 - 15^2. (That’s -223.89, by the way.)
The revised version also
offers more ways to get results
by entering something that
resembles plain speech while
still conforming to a structure,
so you can hunt for an answer
through relationships of
existing numbers.
A unique hover-over slider
feature allows “scrubbing”
through numbers to see
outcomes, allowing you to run
through a lot of alternatives
quickly without typing. WhileSoulver is not a calculator as such,
even though it can handle any math you
type at it, no matter how long the set of
operations. (If you want a calculator, try
PCalc (go.macworld.com/pcl3).) Rather, it’s
a way to work comfortably in a math and
units environment for reckoning problems
often needed in day-to-day life.
You can use variables to create
different scenarios with the same number,
track sales and commissions, or figure
complicated volumetric totals without
having to build a spreadsheet. Text-
formatting options and commenting let
you keep it all readable and self-
documented, too.
For instance, instead of figuring out the
calculator approach to a percentage, often
requiring a specific sequence of hitting the
% button, you can type into Soulver, 20%
Soulver handles conversions and calculations written
nearly as we speak them.