fmSimpleCalculator
1+2 Quick & Dirty
fmSimpleCalculator is a tiny utility that lets you do quick calculations right inside FileMaker.
Open fmSimpleCalculator
In fmWorkMate
- scroll down and select the fmSimpleCalculator tool
- or just press CMDSHIFT=
Try it out
In the dialog that appears you can type in your (FileMaker) calculation.
fmSimpleCalculator also has some special custom functions up its sleeve
Try some of these one-liner examples:
_0x("FEFF") // → 65279 (convert hexadecimal to decimal)
_Hex(15) // → "F" (convert decimal to hexadecimal)
_HexF ( "0000" ; 15 ) // → "000F" (output formatted hexadecimal)
_Ux( "25B9" ) // "▹" (output character corresponding to hexadecimal unicode point)
or these
_0o("17") // → 15 (convert octal to decimal)
_0b("1111") // → 15 (convert binary to decimal)
_HexRGB ( 0 ; 255 ; 0 ) // → "00FF00" (green)
_Octal ( 255 ) // → 377 (decimal)
f // calls up the function list.
Of course, fmSimpleCalculator supports all the standard FileMaker functions too:
sqrt(144) // -> 12
5! // -> 120 (factorial)
sin(30) // -> 0.5 (sine of 30 degrees)
log(100) // -> 2 (base 10 logarithm)
ln(2.718281828459) // -> 1 (natural logarithm)
abs(-42) // -> 42 (absolute value)
round(3.14159, 2) // -> 3.14 (rounded to 2 decimal places)
pow(2, 8) // -> 256 (2 raised to the power of 8)
max(10, 20, 5) // -> 20 (maximum value)
min(10, 20, 5) // -> 5 (minimum value)
Special commands
fmSimpleCalculator has a few commands you can enter
< to go back
Enter just a < to go back to the previous calculation.
f is for function
If you enter just an f you get a menu of functions to choose from.
1. Number Functions…
2. Base Functions…
3. Text Functions…
4. Value Functions…
5. Word Functions…
6. Character Functions…
7. DateTime Functions…
8. Truth Functions…
9. Repeat…
Enter the number to get a submenu and choose a function.
If you prefix a value with f:, e.g. f:12345, the value is passed to the function you choose, for example, to find out what the value of the 0xfffe is in decimal:
f:fffe⏎ // Prefix the value fffe with the choose function prefix f:
2⏎ // Choose 2. Base Functions…
2⏎ // Choose 2. Convert TO decimal…
1⏎ // Choose 1. _0x ( "|" ) // Hex -> Dec
_0x ( "fffe" )⏎ // Press return to calculate the function
65534 // The answer
h is for help
Enter just an h to get a small help guide.
The help guide shows several shortcuts for even quicker conversions 😜.
Enter a calulation or a command and press OK, or use a shortcut:
N ; N ; N to convert RGB to hex.
N ; N ; N ; N to convert RGBA to hex.
#NNNNNN to convert a hex number to decimal.
0xNNNN to convert a hex number to decimal.
0oNNNN to convert an octal number to decimal.
0bNNNN to convert a binary number to decimal.
UxNNNN to convert a unicode hex number to a character.
U+NNNN to convert a unicode hex number to a character.
h once to open this help page
h again to open the online help page
q is for quote
If you have a text or calculation that you need the quoted form of then type q: and paste in the text:
q:"hi"
"\"hi\""
c is for copy
Enter c to copy the result to the clipboard.
x is for exit
Enter x to exit fmSimpleCalculator, or press [cancel], or with an emnpty input press [OK] or ⏎
Customise the Functions
The functions menu can be customised in the fmWorkMate Settings.
Simply add further lines to the menu tree. Use indentation to make the hierarchy.
Number Functions…
Abs ( | )
Ceiling ( | )
Div ( | )
Floor ( | )
Int ( | )
Mod ( | ; divisor )
Round ( | ; precision )
Sqrt ( | )
Maths…
Exp ( | )
Factorial ( | )
Lg ( | )
Ln ( | )
Log ( | )
Sign ( | )
Truncate ( | ; precision )
Trigonometrioc functions…
Acos ( | )
Asin ( | )
Atan ( | )
Cos ( | )
Degrees ( | )
| * Pi
Radians ( | )
Sin ( | )
Tan ( | )
Logical functions…
Evaluate ( | )
Financial functions…
FV ( | interestRate ; periods )
NPV ( | ; interestRate )
PMT ( | ; interestRate ; term )
PV ( | ; interestRate ; periods )
Base Functions…
Convert FROM decimal…
_Hex ( | ) // Dec -> Hex
_HexF ( pFormat ; | ) // Dec -> Hex, e.g. _HexF ( "#000000" ; 255 ) -> #0000FF
_HexRGB ( pRed ; pGreen ; pBlue )
_HexRGBA ( pRed ; pGreen ; pBlue ; pAlpha )
_Octal ( | ) // Dec -> Octal
_Bin ( | ) // Dec -> Binary
_Base( pBase ; | ) // Dec -> any base
Convert TO decimal…
_0x ( "|" ) // Hex -> Dec
_0o ( "|" ) // Octal -> Dec
_0b ( "|" ) // Binary -> Dec
_0( pBase ; "|" ) // Any Base -> Dec
Text Functions…
Left ( "|" ; 1 )
Middle ( "|" ; 2 ; 3 )
Right ( "|" ; 1 )
PatternCount ( "|" ; "search" )
Position ( "|" ; "search" ; 1 ; 1 )
Substitute ( "|" ; "search" ; "replace" )
Trim ( "|" )
Length ( "|" )
Value Functions…
GetValue ( "|" ; 1 )
LeftValues ( "|" ; 1 )
MiddleValues ( "|" ; 2 ; 3 )
RightValues ( "|" ; 1 )
ValueCount ( "|" )
FilterValues ( "|" ; "values" )
_ValuesRemove ( "|" ; "values¶to¶remove" )
Word Functions…
LeftWords ( "|" ; 1 )
MiddleWords ( "|" ; 2 ; 3 )
RightWords ( "|" ; 1 )
WordCount ( "|" )
Character Functions…
Char ( | )
Code ( "|" )
Quote ( "|" )
Upper ( "|" )
Lower ( "|" )
Proper ( "|" )
Filter ( "|" ; "characters" )
Exact ( "|" ; "comparisonText" )
More…
_Ux( "|" ) // Return Unicode character (from hex)
_GetAsUnicodeCodePoints( "|" )
_GetAsUTF8Codes( "|" )
_GetAsUTF8Hex( "|" )
_GetAsUTF8Encoded( "|" )
_GetAsUTF8Calculation( "|" )
_ListMultibyteUTFChars( "|" )
GetAsURLEncoded( "|" )
DateTime Functions…
d ( "|" )
t ( "|" )
ts ( "|" )
yrs ( | ) //astronomical
mnths ( | ) //astronomical
wks ( | )
hrs ( | )
mins ( | )
secs ( | )
ms ( | )
µs ( | )
Truth Functions…
_Boolean( | )
_Truelean( | )
_Trilean( | )
_TrueFalse( | )
Repeat…
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Custom Functions: Adding / Editing / Using
If you want to manage (edit / copy / add to) the available custom functions, you need to re-login to get full access.
You can then access the custom functions as normal from the Manage Custom Function menu.
You may have to change the menu set from the Tools menu
and you may have to first enable the tools menu by choosing use advanced tools in the FileMaker Settings dialog
and in that case you’ll’ have to restart Fielmaker
Note: If you add you own custom functions to fmSimpleCalculator, remember that they will be lost when you next update fmWorkMate.