SideCalc — Side Panel Calculator

Basic & scientific calculator in your browser's side panel: history, memory keys, keyboard input. Private, one click away.

SideCalc — Side Panel Calculator — User Guide Version 2.2 · by Trieu Ngo Overview SideCalc is a calculator that lives in your browser's side panel — the tall strip docked beside your page and kept open while you browse. That full height lets it be more than a keypad: a scrolling history, classic memory keys, a scientific mode, and a tidy settings popup. It sits right next to whatever you're reading, so you can do the math without leaving the page or switching to a separate app. Click the toolbar icon to open or close it. What's New in 2.2 * Clear your history in one click: a trash icon now sits in the header, next to the history icon. Changed your mind? You have about five seconds to undo — the icon turns into an undo arrow. * See your typing land: press a key on your keyboard and the matching on-screen key lights up, exactly as if you had clicked it. * A clearer "can I type?" signal: the keyboard status badge is gone. In its place, a thin line along the bottom of the panel — grey when your typing goes to the web page, teal when it reaches the calculator. * Copy with Ctrl+C: you no longer have to click the result to copy it. * A typo no longer costs the whole expression: when something can't be calculated the display shows "Error", but what you typed is still there — press Backspace and carry on fixing it. * Better keyboard navigation: Tab now stays inside the Settings and History popups while they are open, and every control you can Tab to shows the same blue focus ring. * Tidier header: the mode toggle moved next to Settings on the left, so the right side now holds the two history controls together. * Easier-to-read faint text, and the history list no longer shouts over the result you're looking at. Key Features * Two modes: Basic for everyday math, and Scientific for trig, logs, powers, constants and more. Toggle between them with the flask icon in the header. * Full-height side panel: built for the panel's tall, narrow space — every bit of height is used, not squeezed into a floating box. * History: every result is saved. It shows as a scrolling tape at the top of the display (one line per calculation, "expression = result") and tucks away on very short panels; either way you can open the full history in a popup with the history (clock) icon. Click any entry to reuse its result. * Clear history, safely: use the trash icon in the header, or the matching one inside the history popup — they do the same thing. Right after a clear, that icon becomes an undo arrow for about five seconds; click it to bring everything back. Both icons stay dimmed while there is nothing to clear. You can also have the history cleared automatically on close (see Settings). * Memory keys: MC (clear), MR (recall), M+ (add), M− (subtract), MS (store). MC and MR stay disabled until a value is stored, so you always know when memory is in use. * Real math engine: +, −, ×, ÷, decimals, negative numbers, parentheses ( ), percent (%), sign toggle (±) and square root (√x — wraps the value as √(…) so you can keep building the expression, e.g. √(9)+10=13). It never uses eval(), so expressions are parsed safely. * Scientific functions: sin, cos, tan, ln, log, powers (x², x^y), factorial (n!), absolute value (|x|), the constants π and e, and a DEG/RAD toggle for the angle unit. Implicit multiplication is supported, so 2π and 5(3) work as expected. * Copy in one step: click the large result, or press Ctrl+C. Either way you get a plain number (no separators, no exponent), ready to paste anywhere. If you have text selected, Ctrl+C copies your selection instead, as usual. * Readable numbers: thousands separators follow your locale automatically (e.g. 1,000,000.5 in the US, 1.000.000,5 in Vietnam); you can turn grouping off in Settings. * Keyboard reach indicator: a thin line runs along the bottom edge of the panel. It is grey when the panel isn't focused — your typing is going to the web page — and turns teal once the panel is focused and keystrokes reach the calculator. Click anywhere in the panel to focus it. * Automatic dark mode: the Auto theme follows your system's light/dark setting; you can also force Light or Dark. * Full keyboard support: type with your main keyboard or numpad — NumLock on or off. Each key you press lights up on screen, so you can see at a glance that it arrived. The Layout, top to bottom * Header (top): on the left, the mode toggle (flask) and the settings (gear) icon; on the right, clear history (trash) and history (clock). Left-hand icons change the calculator, right-hand icons act on its history. * Display card — one panel holding both the history and the result. The history tape (scrollable list of past calculations) sits at the top; a thin line separates it from a small line showing the expression you evaluated and the large line showing the current value. Click a history line to reuse it; click the large value to copy it. The tape hides on very short panels — the history popup always has the full list. * Memory row — MC / MR / M+ / M− / MS. * Scientific row (Scientific mode only) — DEG/RAD, trig, logs, powers, factorial, |x|, π, e. * Keypad — digits, operators, parentheses, %, ±, √x, backspace, clear and equals. * Bottom edge — the keyboard reach line (see Key Features). Scientific mode Press the flask icon to switch. The scientific function row appears. The history tape still shows when the panel is tall enough, and tucks away on shorter panels to make room — the history popup always has the full list. Angles for sin/cos/tan use the unit shown on the DEG/RAD key; tap it to switch. Your mode and angle unit are remembered. Settings Open the gear icon (top-left) for a popup with: * Appearance — Auto (follows your system), Light, or Dark, chosen from a segmented control. * Decimal places — Auto, or a fixed number of decimals from 0 to 10. * Thousands separator — turn locale grouping on or off. * Clear history on close — off by default. When on, the history isn't kept after the panel closes, so it's empty next time you open it (handy on shared computers). * Shortcut to open — shows the keyboard shortcut that opens SideCalc (none until you set one). "Change…" opens Chrome's own shortcuts page to assign or rebind it. Your memory value and settings are always saved locally and restored next time; your history is saved too, unless "Clear history on close" is on. Keyboard * Numbers & operators: 0–9, + − * /, the decimal point (.), parentheses ( ), power (^) and factorial (!) — from the main keyboard or the numpad (NumLock on or off). * Enter or = : calculate the result. Enter always calculates, no matter which part of the panel you last clicked. * Ctrl+C : copy the result. * Backspace : delete the last character. * Delete or Esc : clear everything (Esc also closes the Settings or History popup). * % : percent. * Tab moves between the icons and keys; press Space to activate the one you land on (Enter is reserved for calculating). * Scientific functions (sin, cos, …) are entered from the on-screen scientific row. * Open SideCalc: set your own shortcut in Settings → Shortcut to open (Chrome assigns no default). Note: the shortcut opens the panel; because Chrome doesn't let extensions grab keyboard focus, you may still need to click the panel once before typing if it was already open — the line along the bottom tells you which it is. How to Use * Open / Close: click the extension icon in your browser toolbar to show or hide the panel. It stays docked as you move between pages and tabs. * Calculate: enter an expression with the on-screen keypad or your keyboard, then press = or Enter. * Switch modes: click the flask icon to move between Basic and Scientific. * Reuse a result: click any line in the history tape, or open the history popup and click an entry. * Copy a result: click the large result display, or press Ctrl+C. * Clear the history: click the trash icon in the header. If that was a mistake, click the same icon again within about five seconds — it will be showing an undo arrow. * Adjust behavior: open Settings from the gear icon. Permissions & Why They're Needed This extension requests only the minimum required to work, and it never reads, collects, or transmits the content of the pages you visit. It requests no access to websites at all. * sidePanel — lets the extension show its calculator in the browser's side panel. * storage — remembers your history (unless "Clear history on close" is on), memory value, and settings (including mode and angle unit) between sessions, so they are restored when you reopen the panel. Easy to use — Fast — Always docked beside your work. Need Help? If you need support, please contact the extension developer.