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AG_99381671-Visitor
1-Visitor
March 27, 2024
Question

calculation

  • March 27, 2024
  • 1 reply
  • 708 views

In old Mathcad versions, the program performed calculation step by step, during the visualization of the page. Thus if you changed the value of a variable that was involved in a lot of formulas in the sheet, this action did not lead to a lot of calcs that you didn't need in that moment but only to the ones that you were interested in.

Prime versions, perform all the calcs where the variable is involved, even those you are not visualizing and therefore are useless for you in that moment.

This behaviour is strongly disappointing for long spreadsheets, where old Mathcad versions are much more satisfying.

I wonder why this this behaviour has been changed moving from Mathcad to Prime. In any case Mathcad Prime, after ten years of developing is very far form the performance ad usability of the old Mathcad

    1 reply

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    Perez14-Alexandrite
    14-Alexandrite
    March 27, 2024

    Hello there,

     

    Your observation regarding the differences in calculation management between the old Mathcad versions and Mathcad Prime is quite astute. The behavior you described, where Mathcad Prime recalculates all dependencies rather than just the ones in view, can indeed be less efficient for large worksheets. This change likely stems from a redesign in the underlying computational engine and the overall architecture of the software, aiming to modernize the interface and introduce new features.

     

    However, this approach in Prime could have been a design decision to ensure that all calculations reflect the most current data, which is a crucial aspect of computational accuracy and data integrity. This might be less convenient for large sheets where performance is a concern, but it guarantees that the calculations are up to date across the entire document.

     

    If you're finding that this behavior is impacting your workflow, there are a couple of things you could try:

     

    1. Segment Your Worksheets: Break down your calculations into smaller, more manageable sections or separate worksheets. This can help in isolating calculations that don't need to be updated frequently.
    2. Use Collapsible Areas: Organize calculations into collapsible areas. You can expand them when you need to work on a specific part of the sheet and collapse them when they are not in use, which may improve the performance.
    3. Manual Calculation Mode: Switch to a 'manual' or 'on-demand' calculation mode, where the software only recalculates when you explicitly tell it to do so.
    4. Feedback to the Developers: Communicate your concerns to the PTC development team. User feedback is often a key driver for software updates and changes. If many users are experiencing similar issues, it may prompt a reevaluation of the feature.

    I understand that these suggestions may not completely resolve the issue, but they might help improve the efficiency of your workflow with Mathcad Prime. It is also always worth checking if there have been any updates or patches released that could address performance concerns.

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