| ||||||||||||||||||
Data Entry control
Many special tool windows use a Data Entry control which looks much like the following image. This region of a window is used for entering, editing, or deleting data, and contains several features that may not be obvious.
Entering Data
Usually there are two data edit controls on the left, labelled X = and Y =.
Sometimes there may be only one such edit box; at other times there may be many of them. Normally, there will be a cursor blinking in the uppermost of these boxes. When you have finished typing into this box, hit the 'Tab' key to move to the next one down.
Continue like this until all the edit boxes have text in them. At this point, the button labelled 'Add data' in the image will be unghosted. You can click on this button, or, more conveniently, hit the 'Enter' key. This will cause the tests to be transferred over to the list on the right. The cursor will return to the uppermost box so that you can enter the next data.
Calculating the Result
When you click on 'Add data' or hit the 'Enter' key, this causes a calculation to be attempted on the data you have entered. Very occasionally, you may wish to perform a re-calculation without entering any more data. To do this, right-click on the list, and click on 'Recalculate' in the menu that pops up.
Highlighting a Line
When there is a lot of data in many columns, it is useful to be able to be able to highlight a line of particular interest. To do this, left click on the line.
Editing the Data
To alter the data you have already entered, right click on the appropriate line. The line will be underlined, as shown in the image, and a menu will pop up. Click on the 'Change data' item. The contents of the line will be copied into the boxes on the left. Make any necessary changes, and hit 'Enter' or click on the 'Add Data' button to transfer the data back into the list and have a re-calculation attempted.
Deleting a Line of Data
Right click on the line you wish to delete. The data in that line will be transferred back to the edit boxes, and the line will be removed from the list. If you change your mind about deleting the data, simply click on 'Add Data' or hit 'Enter' to have it copied back to the list. (A recalculation will be attempted.)
'Calc X' and 'Calc Y'
Usually, the data entry control is used for entering paris of X and Y values,
and the window containing the control attempts to calculate a methjod of finding Y for a given X. If this is the
case, a 'radio' button labelled 'Calc Y' will be displayed. Click on this button and enter a value
into the X = box. Click on the 'Calculate Y' button or hit
'Enter' to calculate the value of Y that corresponds to the X value.
Sometimes, a 'Calc X' radio button will be displayed. You can click on this and enter a value into the Y = box. There may be one, several, or no values of X that correspond to the given Y value.
To return to entering data, click on the 'Add / Remove' radio button.
Sorting the Data
Sometimes you may want to sort the data in ascending values of X. To do this, right click on the list of data and select the item 'Sort data' from the menu that pops up.
Not Only Numbers
Because UltimaCalc evaluates text expressions rather than only numbers, you can usually enter any valid expression instead of a number. The data items are always evaluated in the same order. Evaluation starts with the top left item in the list, works along the line to the right, then drops down to the next line.
Multiple expressions may be entered. In this case, the value of the last expression is used as the value of the multiple expressions. The remaining expressions are only meaningul if they have side effects, such as setting the value of a variable.
Data Transformations
Sometimes it is possible to apply a transformation to the data items. When the value of a data item is required, any specified transformation is applied to the result of evaluating the item's expression, and the result is used as the item's value. More information.