# CalcTape for iPhone & iPad – Manual & Guide

> CalcTape 6.1.0 for iPhone and iPad: calculations, corrections, comments, documents, user keys, rounding and settings.

- Language: English
- This page as HTML: https://www.calctape.com/en/manual-ios
- Updated: 2026-10-19

This manual describes **CalcTape 6.1.0** for **iPhone and iPad running iOS or iPadOS 15 or later**. The screenshots show the app with example calculations. System buttons may be arranged differently depending on the device, system version and window size. Tap a picture to enlarge it.

The screenshots follow this website’s light or dark theme. In the dark website theme, they show the app’s **Dark Night** design. The five pictures in the [theme comparison](#themes) each keep their respective app design.

## 1. The idea: how CalcTape calculates

CalcTape combines a calculator with a tape and room for notes. Your entries stay in the document line by line, so you can review the calculation and continue working on it later.

1. **Calculate line by line:** Each item has an operator and a number. Finish a block with **=**; CalcTape draws a line and writes the total below it.
2. **Comment on numbers:** Use **ABC** to write what an amount is for. Text-only lines work as headings and notes. These comments do not affect the calculation.
3. **Correct earlier entries:** Tap an earlier amount or operator and change it. CalcTape automatically recalculates the following subtotals and totals.
4. **Keep and reuse your work:** Changes are saved automatically. Named documents can be reopened, duplicated, shared and printed.

A **document** can contain several **calculations** and text. Continue without a blank line to use a subtotal; a blank line starts an independent calculation in the same document.

### Quick start

Open the **Worksheet** or a new document and enter **428 + 356 + 38 =**. This gives **822.00** for transport and accommodation. Use **ABC** to add comments; the tape then looks like this:

```
+ 428.00 Return flights
+ 356.00 Apartment · three nights
+  38.00 Airport transfer
--------------------------------
+ 822.00 Travel and accommodation
```

Tap the apartment cost and change **356.00** to **416.00**. The total immediately becomes **882.00**. Continue below it with **/ 2 =** to get **441.00 per person**. All the original items remain visible. The copy icon beside the large result copies the number to the clipboard.

## 2. CalcTape user interface

The tape shows your entries, comments and results. Tap any position to continue calculating or change a number. Below the tape are the current result and the **K1**, **K2** and **ABC** selectors. Tap the copy icon beside the result to copy the current number to the clipboard.

Press and hold the **result bar** to copy the **grand total of the completed calculation blocks** in the document. For example, two separate blocks ending with **120.00** and **80.00** give a copied grand total of **200.00**. Intermediate totals that are continued within the same block are not counted again.

- **K1 and K2** select two calculation keypads. The second level includes powers, roots and tax keys; you can customise both levels.
- **ABC** opens the normal text keyboard for comments, headings and named values.
- **Undo** reverses a change. When a change can be restored, the **Redo** button appears beside it.
- **Share** opens the output and printing options for the current document.
- The **three-dot menu** opens **Settings** and **About CalcTape**. On the Worksheet it also offers the save action.

![iPhone|Travel budget with labelled items, subtotals, ten percent contingency and costs per traveller.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-tape-light.webp)

### iPad and landscape

On iPad, the document list can sit beside the tape. The sidebar button shows or hides it; in a narrow window it appears separately. The larger keypad offers more keys at once. Hide it with the keyboard-and-arrow key and tap the tape to show it again.

![iPad|Document list beside the complete travel budget, with the large calculation keypad below.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/ipad-tape-light.webp)

In **iPhone landscape**, the tape sits on the left and the calculation keypad on the right. K1/K2/ABC, result and copy icon share a row along the bottom. ABC switches to the text keyboard here too.

![Landscape|Tape on the left, keypad on the right and a shared result row at the bottom.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-landscape-light.webp)

## 3. Worksheet {#scratchpad}

The **Worksheet** is the first entry in the document list. It has a writing icon and a fine divider below it. Use it for quick calculations; your entries are saved automatically.

To keep a calculation as a separate document:

1. Open the Worksheet.
2. Tap the three-dot menu at the top.
3. Choose **Save as Document**.
4. CalcTape saves your current entries as a new document and opens the copy. Rename it in the document list, for example “Lisbon travel budget”.

The Worksheet is kept. Select its entry in the list to return to it.

## 4. Creating new documents

On iPhone, the back arrow at the top left opens **Documents**. On iPad, use the sidebar. Tap **+** to create a blank document or tap an existing entry to continue editing its calculation.

Use descriptive names such as “Garden studio quotation”, “Pottery workshop” or “Solar energy and storage”. Each entry has a document or writing icon, the time of its last change and its number of lines, including empty lines. For iCloud documents, the line count appears once the file is available on the device.

![Documents|Travel, garden studio, café, cycling weekend and other saved example projects.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-documents-light.webp)

## 5. Renaming, duplicating and deleting of documents

Tap **Edit** (the pencil icon at the top left) in the document list and select a document. **Rename**, **Duplicate** and **Delete** are available at the bottom. Finish with **Done** or the check mark. To prepare a variant of an existing calculation, choose **Duplicate** and edit the copy.

You can select several documents to **duplicate or delete them together**. Rename is available when exactly one document is selected. The Worksheet is protected in this editing mode.

The list also offers swipe actions: swipe an entry to the left to reveal **Delete** and **More**. More opens further actions for that document. The Worksheet has its own actions and cannot be deleted like an ordinary document.

Before deleting, CalcTape asks for confirmation and shows the document name or the number of selected documents. Confirmed files are moved to the **system Trash**. If that fails, the file is kept and appears in the list again. iOS manages deleted files; check the **Recently Deleted** area in Files for available restore options. Keep an additional copy of important calculations.

![Confirm deletion|CalcTape asks before moving the selected document to the system Trash.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-delete-confirmation-light.webp)

![Document management|The garden studio quotation is selected for editing.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-document-edit-light.webp)

## 6. Calculations

### Simple calculations

Enter a number, an operator and the next amount. **=** completes the calculation with a result. Powers take precedence over multiplication and division, which take precedence over addition and subtraction, including across the lines of a calculation block.

For example, **1 + 2 × 3 =** gives **7.00**. To multiply the sum of 1 and 2 instead, complete the subtotal first: **1 + 2 = × 3 =** gives **9.00**.

Example for dinner with eight guests: vegetables and herbs **28.40**, cheese and olives **+ 18.90**, bread and dips **+ 12.60**, drinks **+ 32.00**, dessert **+ 9.80**, then **=**. Shopping totals **101.70**. **/ 8 =** gives **12.71 per person** at two decimal places with the default “Only Results” rounding.

**AC** clears the current document. The delete key removes individual characters.

### Powers, roots and reciprocals

K2 or the **System** list in the button editor provides additional calculation keys. Their position depends on the selected keyboard layout.

![Function keypad|K2 selected with additional calculation and system keys.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-keypad-light.webp)

| Key | Use |
| --- | --- |
| x² / x³ | Square or cube a value, for example **5 x²** gives **25.00**. |
| xⁿ | Raise a value to a chosen power: **2 xⁿ 4 =** gives **16.00**. |
| √ | Calculate the square root, for example **9 √** gives **3.00**. |
| 1/x | Calculate the reciprocal: enter **4**, then tap **1/x** to get **0.25**. |
| +/- | Change the sign of a value. |

Complete a preceding calculation with **=** when one of these functions should act on its subtotal.

### Memory keys

**M+** adds a value to memory, **M-** subtracts it, **MR** inserts the stored value at the cursor and **MC** clears memory. Choose a memory keyboard layout if these keys are not visible; see section 9.

The value used by M+ and M- depends on the cursor position. On a simple number line, CalcTape uses that line's value, including its sign: on **- 3.00**, M+ adds **-3.00**. On a named-value definition, it uses the defined value. On a text line, an empty line, a divider or a line containing an expression, it uses the current calculation block's total.

For example, after **10 + 5 =**, put the cursor on the **+ 5.00** item and press M+ to store **5.00** in empty memory. Put the cursor on the blank line below the result to store **15.00** instead. MR inserts a fixed number; changing the source calculation later does not change that inserted number. The same memory can be used when switching documents.

### Several calculations in one document

Press **=** once more after a result to start a separate calculation. A **blank line** separates calculations. Continue directly below a sum without a blank line to use it as a subtotal.

The travel budget has a subtotal of **822.00** for travel and accommodation. Daily costs take it to **1,123.00**, and ten percent contingency makes **1,235.30**. Dividing by two gives **617.65 per traveller**. Every item stays visible on the same tape.

### Modify calculations

Tap the number or operator you want to change and edit it with the keyboard. CalcTape automatically recalculates the results below. Changing the accommodation cost therefore updates the contingency, total budget and share per person as well.

To insert items, position the cursor where you need them. Use **ABC** to enter text or additional lines. The normal iOS text selection menu also lets you select, copy, cut and paste parts of a calculation or comments. Select the required text, then choose the action; tap the destination before pasting. A paste can be reversed with Undo.

Incorrect or unfinished entries are marked. Put the cursor on the affected line without selecting text and open the editing menu. **Explain Error** describes the problem, for example an undefined named value or division by zero. If the problem is a missing starting operator, the menu also offers **+** and **-** to correct it. Correcting the line updates the results below.

### Percentage calculation

The **%** key applies a percentage to the calculation so far. The corresponding amount appears beside the percentage after **|**. **+ 19 %** adds 19 percent, **- 5 %** deducts five percent and **× 19 %** calculates that share. Complete a percentage step with **=** before continuing with a multiplication or division of the resulting subtotal.

The garden studio example totals **2,603.50 net** for materials, electrical installation and assembly. A five percent discount leaves **2,473.32**. Adding 19 percent VAT gives **2,943.25 gross**, and a two percent early payment discount reduces it to **2,884.38**. These amounts use two decimal places and “Only Results” rounding.

![Percentages|Quotation with project discount, VAT and early payment discount; the percentage amounts are shown beside the rates.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-percentage-light.webp)

To remove included tax, use the appropriate **-TAX** key or divide by the tax factor, for example **/ 1.19** for 19 percent. **- 19 %** instead deducts a discount from the gross amount. Press and hold a tax key to check or change its label and formula.

## 7. Adding notes and comments

**ABC** selects the text keyboard. After a number, write what it represents, such as “Apartment · three nights”. Full text lines divide a calculation into sections. Comments do not change the calculation.

![Entering comments|ABC opens the text keyboard; the cursor is placed in a calculation line’s comment.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-comments-light.webp)

You can also enter **named values** with ABC: define `Hours = 8` and `Rate = 65` on separate lines, then enter `Hours * Rate` below and press the calculation keypad's **=** key. The result is **520.00**. Change a value at its definition to recalculate subsequent uses. Use a name only after defining it; error explanations help identify undefined or repeated names.

## 8. Saving a document

CalcTape saves changes to open documents automatically. You do not need a separate save button for normal editing. The document list opens your saved calculations; the Worksheet remains a separate entry.

### Device and iCloud

Under **Settings → Storage Location**, choose **Device** or **iCloud** when iCloud is available. The document list shows **only the active location**; **Local** or **iCloud** in its title identifies it. Switching locations in Settings does not combine the lists or move all documents. A document that seems to be missing may be in the other location.

When CalcTape first offers **Use iCloud?**, accepting copies the local documents to iCloud, adding the device name to the copies. The originals remain on the device. This initial copy is different from a later storage change in Settings.

To sync between iPhone, iPad and Mac, use the same Apple Account and enable iCloud Drive. Files may take time to become available on another device. If iCloud is temporarily unavailable, CalcTape shows the local documents and explains the change. Your iCloud selection is kept, and the app returns to iCloud when it is available again.

### Resolving an iCloud conflict

If the same document is changed on different devices before the changes have synced, CalcTape may report an **iCloud Conflict**. Choose **Not now** to postpone it or **Resolve Conflict** to compare the versions.

Preview the versions and select **one or more versions to keep**, then save your choice. Several selected versions are kept as separate documents. Before removing any unselected versions, CalcTape asks for a further confirmation because they will be deleted permanently. Check the previews carefully before confirming.

For important calculations, keep an additional backup. **Share** lets you keep a CalcTape file outside the app or transfer it to another device.

## 9. User keys {#custom-buttons}

### What are user keys? {#what-are-custom-buttons}

A user key inserts a recurring formula or text. For an early payment discount, use the label **2% off** and formula `-2%`. A comment such as “Shipping” or a custom tax rate works too. Use the normal keyboard characters `-`, `*` and `/` in formulas so they can be used directly by CalcTape.

Press and hold **User Key** or an operator or function key. Number keys, the decimal-separator key and the repeating delete key cannot be reassigned this way. The editor has **System**, **User Keys** and **Layout** sections. Select an existing user key to edit it or create a new one.

![User keys|Tax keys and a user key for a two percent discount.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-custom-buttons-light.webp)

### Adding a new user key {#adding-a-new-custom-button}

1. Press and hold **User Key** or the operator or function key you want to assign.
2. Select **User Keys** and tap **New**.
3. Enter a unique **Label** and the **Formula/Text** to insert. Both fields are required.
4. **Calculate/Enter** controls whether the insertion finishes the calculation or appends a new line.
5. **Save** stores the user key. Select it in the list and save the assignment to the original keypad key.

![New key|Label “2% off”, formula “-2%” and enabled Calculate/Enter.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-custom-edit-light.webp)

**System** lists the supplied calculation and memory keys. **Layout** offers normal, double-width, double-height and double-width-and-height buttons where the keypad has room for them.

![Key size|Size options for the user key for the discount; options that do not fit are disabled.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-custom-size-light.webp)

On iPad, a long press opens the same editor in a dialog over the calculation. System, User Keys and Layout work in the same way as on iPhone.

### Choosing and managing keyboard layouts

Select the level you want to change with **K1** or **K2**, then open **Settings → Keyboard Layout**. You can also open the layout list directly by pressing and holding the **K1/K2/ABC selector**. Choose a standard, function, memory or left-handed layout; the available layouts depend on the device and orientation. K1 and K2 can use different layouts.

Changing a key in a supplied layout automatically creates **your own copy**. The supplied layouts remain available. In the layout list, use **Edit**, select your own layout and choose **Rename** or **Delete**. Supplied layouts cannot be renamed or deleted. User keys can also be edited or deleted in the **User Keys** list.

![Keyboard layouts|The available arrangements for the selected keyboard level.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-keyboard-layouts-light.webp)

## 10. Sharing and printing

Tap the **share icon** in the top bar and select one or more export formats:

| Format | Use |
| --- | --- |
| Text | Reuse the calculation as plain text, for example in an email or another document. |
| CALC File | Keep an editable `.calc` document for CalcTape on another device or as a backup. |
| HTML File | Share a formatted calculation that can be read in a browser. |

Continue to the iOS share sheet and choose Mail, Files or another compatible destination. CalcTape remembers the selected formats for the next export. **For AirDrop, select exactly one format**; AirDrop is hidden when several formats are selected. Use the print action in the share sheet with an available AirPrint printer.

![Export formats|Text, CALC File and HTML File can be selected individually or together.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-share-formats-light.webp)

Open a `.calc` file from Mail or Files with **Share → CalcTape** or **Open in CalcTape**. A file already in the active CalcTape storage is opened directly. A file from another location is imported as a copy; the source is kept. If its name is already in use, CalcTape gives the copy an available name rather than overwriting the existing document. German and English number formats bring their required separators with the file.

The local CalcTape folder is visible in **Files → On My iPhone / On My iPad → CalcTape**. Files in the other CalcTape storage location can also be imported as copies into the active location.

## 11. Settings

Open **Menu → Settings**. The main options are:

- **Language:** shows the selected app language. A change takes effect after the required restart.
- **Storage Location:** choose Device or iCloud; see section 8.
- **Position on Open:** open a document at File start, Last used position or File end; see [Opening position](#opening-position).
- **Theme:** choose Standard, Day, Night, Dark Night or Classic; see [Themes](#themes).
- **Font Size:** text size on the tape, also adjustable with a pinch gesture. Defaults are 16 on iPhone and 18 on iPad.
- **Indentation and Item Counter:** the number column's spacing and optional item numbering.
- **Thousands Separator, Indian Numbering System and Decimal Places:** number display.
- **Keyboard Height:** Small, Normal or Big for the iPhone calculation keypad in portrait. It does not change the landscape or iPad keyboard.
- **Keyboard Font Size** and **Keyboard Layout:** the calculation keypad's labels and arrangement. Key labels default to size 20; see section 9 for layout management.
- **News:** optional online news and the time of the last successful check; see [News and version notes](#news-and-version-notes).

![Settings|Language, opening position, theme and number display on iPhone.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-settings-light.webp)

![More settings|Keyboard height, keyboard font size, keyboard layout and News in the settings list.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-settings-more-light.webp)

### Opening position

**Settings → Position on Open** controls where the cursor is placed when you reopen a document:

| Setting | Effect |
| --- | --- |
| File start | Begin at the top of the document. |
| Last used position | Return to the most recent cursor position, including a position reached without changing the text. |
| File end | Continue at the end of the document. |

A new installation defaults to **Last used position**. When updating an existing installation that has no saved choice, CalcTape keeps the previous behaviour with **File end**. You can change the setting at any time.

![Opening position|Choose File start, Last used position or File end when reopening a document.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-opening-position-light.webp)

### Themes

CalcTape offers **five themes** for the tape, navigation and calculation keypad on iPhone and iPad. **Standard** is the default.

1. Open **Menu → Settings → Theme**.
2. Tap **Standard**, **Day**, **Night**, **Dark Night** or **Classic**.
3. Return to Settings and close with **Done** or the check mark. On iPad, you can also tap outside the dialog.

Switching themes changes the appearance. Your calculations, comments and user keys are kept. Font sizes, keyboard height and keyboard layout can be set independently of the theme. With Standard, Day, Night and Classic, Settings and system dialogs follow the light or dark appearance of iOS or iPadOS. **Dark Night** also makes these dialogs dark, even when the device is set to a light appearance.

| Theme | Appearance |
| --- | --- |
| Standard | A light tape, muted blue-grey comments, white number keys and darker function keys. |
| Day | A light interface with blue comments, pale blue function keys and a red AC key. |
| Night | A dark navigation bar and grey number keys with white labels. The tape stays light, with blue comments. |
| Dark Night | A dark tape, document list, navigation and keypad, with light text and clearly visible comments. Settings and dialogs also use a dark appearance. |
| Classic | A cream-coloured tape with green comments, dark navigation and light grey keys. |

The following screenshots show the same travel budget with transport, accommodation, daily expenses and a ten percent reserve.

![Standard theme|Lisbon travel budget in Standard: a light tape and blue-grey controls.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-theme-standard.webp)

![Day theme|The same travel budget in Day, with light function keys and a red AC key.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-theme-day.webp)

![Night theme|Dark navigation and keypad in Night; the calculation remains readable on a light background.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-theme-night.webp)

![Dark Night theme|The same travel budget on a dark tape, with a dark keypad and navigation.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-theme-dark-night.webp)

![Classic theme|The travel budget in Classic, with a cream-coloured tape and green comments.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-theme-classic.webp)

### Rounding

**Rounded** offers three options:

| Setting | Effect |
| --- | --- |
| Not Rounded | Values are not rounded to the selected decimal places. The setting supplies a minimum number of decimal places; additional places are shown when present. |
| Only Results | Results are rounded to the selected decimal places; continuing uses that rounded result. This is the default. |
| Results and Lines | Values on individual lines are rounded too. |

For example, **100 / 3 =** with **Only Results** and two decimal places gives **33.33**. Following it with **× 3 =** gives **99.99**, because the calculation continues with the rounded subtotal. With **Not Rounded**, the division displays additional decimal places, and an entered value such as **1.23456** keeps those places. Calculation precision is finite, up to 34 significant digits.

With **Results and Lines**, entered items are rounded as well. Choose the rounding setting before using a calculation as a template. For percentage calculations, CalcTape first rounds the percentage amount when result rounding is enabled, then uses it to calculate the resulting total.

![Rounding|Choose Not Rounded, Only Results or Results and Lines.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-rounding-light.webp)

### News and version notes

After an update, **What's New in CalcTape** shows the notes for that version once. These notes are included with the app and can be read offline. A new installation opens the calculation tape directly. The optional online-news question appears on the third app launch. Returning from the background does not count as another launch. A choice you have already saved is retained.

**Yes, get news** enables the optional checks; **No, thanks** leaves them off. Neither choice restricts calculations. Calculation contents are not sent.

When checking, the server receives the IP address, time, app version, iOS version, and active app language. The linked privacy policy explains how these details are processed. Calculations and document contents are not sent.

Under **Settings → News**, turn **Get News** on or off at any time. Turning it off also cancels a running check. **Last Checked** shows the time of the last successful check, or **Never** if none has taken place. **Privacy Policy** opens the corresponding webpage. With permission, CalcTape checks when it starts, at most once in 24 hours. Calculations and the included version notes remain available without an internet connection.

![News settings|Get News, Last Checked and the Privacy Policy link.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/iphone-news-settings-light.webp)

### iPad settings

In 6.1.0, the settings dialog uses more space. The calculation keypad is hidden while it is open. Subpages keep the larger dialog area. Close with **Done**, the check mark or a tap outside the dialog. Closing Settings, About CalcTape or a layout or button editor returns focus to the tape and shows the calculation keypad.

![iPad settings|The larger dialog shows language, opening position, theme and rounding over the travel budget.](https://www.calctape.com/img/manuals/ios-6.1.0/en/ipad-settings-light.webp)

## 12. Opening files and getting help

Version 6.1.0 reads CalcTape files encoded as UTF-8, Windows-1252 or UTF-16. Invalid characters may appear as replacement characters. A file using a newer unsupported CalcTape file version is rejected with a message. After a loading error, the affected file is not overwritten; use a compatible app version or an intact copy.

**Menu → About CalcTape** contains the app version, this manual, privacy information, **Third-Party Notices** and support contact. License texts can be expanded and copied. If a mail composer is unavailable, CalcTape shows **support@calctape.com** and a **Copy address** option.