Change currency with Calculator

Change currency with Calculator
Mac Tip #445, 14 July 2010

I often buy software from overseas, or sometimes earn a little revenue in US Dollars. But with the Exchange Rate changing all the time, how can I know how much those items cost, or how much I’m earning? Apple’s Calculator.app tells me in seconds. Here’s how it works.

Calculator.app — standard view.

Calculator has hidden powers

Right there on any Mac you buy these days is Calculator.app, and it’s very handy too. On its virtual keypad you can do basic arithmetic. Press Command (⌘) C when you’re done to copy the results to the Clipboard, ready to paste into another application.

But take a look up in the menu bar to see a whole load of options under the Convert menu.

Convert weights and measures, speed, temperature, time and more.

But those are all static: last time I looked a metre was still a metre and miles per hour hadn’t changed either.

Not so with currency: exchange rates are constantly fluctuating.

Uh oh, the exchange rates are out of date.

Convert a number

Let’s say you want to convert 98°F to degrees Celsius. Open up Calculator and make sure there aren’t any numbers already on the virtual screen. If necessary, press the C key to clear it.

Press the C key on either the virtual keyboard or your real keyboard. Ditto with the numbers and maths symbols.

Type in the numbers you need: for my example that’s 98.

Choose Temperature… from the Convert menu.

Select the units and click the Convert button, or press the Return key on your real keyboard. The display now shows the converted temperature: 36.67°C. That’s hot.

The Convert menu keeps Recent Conversions at the top of the list. If you commonly do a particular conversion, look there first.

The exchange rates are up to date. Now I can convert.

Convert Currency

Be careful with the Recent Conversions item if you’re converting currency though.

My screenshot above shows a warning in red that the latest update to the exchange rates that Calculator.app knows about was on 28 June 2010.

As I write today, that’s already more than 2 weeks ago, and things have changed a lot since then. A quick test showed me a difference of NZ$5 on US$100.

To be sure you’re using current exchange rates don’t use the Recent Conversions item. Instead always choose the main Currency… item. A window appears where you choose the currencies you want to convert, but click the Update button before doing anything else.

After Calculator has updated the rates, then click the Convert button.

Coming soon: how to use the Advanced Calculator features.

Tell us in the Comments at the website about your favourite Calculator features.