We live in the 21st Century and today everything is about speed. Regardless if we talk about the internet connection, our cars, how our gadgets and computers perform or how fast we type in or apps, we are looking for speed in everything around us.
PTC Mathcad Prime is a software that values the time of the engineer and it enables you to enter your math and calculations in a fast and easy manner. How? First of all, Mathcad uses Natural Math Notations. This way you can write your equations as you would do on piece of paper. To speed things even more, you also have the ability to use keyboard shortcuts for the common functions and expressions, minimizing the use of the mouse and the need to navigate through the menu in order to find what you need. Of course this will take some time to get used to but once you figure out the keyboard combinations, there will be no stopping you.
In order to help you get started, here are some examples that I use in my daily tasks:
When I use Mathcad I usually need to write down some equation and sometimes the expression that I need to put in is too long to fit in the page and I need to break it on multiple lines. This can be done by using the equation break shortcut
Ctrl + Shift + ” the operator ”
For example: If you want to break an expression and start with the next line with a minus sign you need to press Ctrl + Shift + ” - ”. The “minus” ( - ) can be replaced with “plus” ( + ),” multiplication” ( * ) or “division” ( / ) depending on your needs.
Entering a Matrix in PTC Mathcad has never been easier. Place the cursor on a blank space and click
Ctrl+M
This will insert a 1x1 matrix that you can expand. Use these shortcuts to expand it:
Shift+Spacebar adds columns
Shift+Enter adds rows.
All you need to do after the size of the matrix has been specified is to type in the values.
When it comes to defining the summation or product range, iterating solutions or plotting functions, you will need a range variable. Try these shortcuts:
To insert a range with the default step of one, press the period key twice.
To specify the step of the range, use the comma key.
This one I use a lot when I work with angles. After you type the value of the angle,
Hold down the Alt key, and type 0176
and there I have it.
I’d love to go through some more in this blog, but I leave some for you to discover. To do so, download PTC Mathcad Prime 4.0, and visit the Resources tab to find the list of all the keyboard shortcuts.
