2  Getting Started

This section provides information on how to start rcalc, and describes the rcalc user interface.

2.1  To Start rcalc

You can start rcalc in the following ways:

Command line

Execute the following command: rcalc

2.2  When You Start rcalc

When you start rcalc, the following window is displayed:

Figure 2-1  rcalc Window

The rcalc window contains the following elements:

Menubar

The menus on the menubar contain all of the commands that you need to work with archives in rcalc.

Toolbar

The toolbar contains a subset of the commands that you can access from the menubar.

Session area

The session area displays in a list your current rcalc session. Each row represents a calculus, a variable or function definition or evaluation.

Line toolbar

If a line is selected, you can use the line toolbar to remove, move up, move down, or (in)activate it. It also has a drop-down list which defines the insert policy for new lines (insert at end, or before, after or replace selected line).

rcalc prompt

This is the place where you type expressions you want to add to your session.

Messages box

The messages box shows various informations from the rcalc engine, like undefined variables or errors while parsing your expressions.