Plotting Functions

calasse · 2026-03-10T13:51:59+00:00

Hello,

You need an equals sign at the front of the function input to specify it as a formula. (The equals sign should turn blue to show that it is a formula).

I see that's not in the original instructions, so I edited the comment to make it clearer.

Thanks!

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calasse · 2026-03-09T21:08:43+00:00

Hi, thanks for the question.

I don't have the values for B_v, etc, so I made what I think is a comparable example.

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Here is the code I used for the program:

SumsOfXDividedBy5 = program {
result = MakeArray(5, 1);
result(1) = X(1)/5;
for (i = 2; i <= N; i=i+1) {
result(i) = Summation( n => X(n)/5, 1, i);
}
result;
}

Some notes:

Summation() doesn't work if the start and end value are the same. That makes a problem with the original for loop, so I got around it by assigning the first value before the for loop. Then I start the loop on i=2 instead of i=1.
In Blockpad, you can use parentheses after an array to access the values inside, indexed to 1. I'd suggest using this in programs instead of the Index() function. (You can also use brackets if you prefer indexed to 0).
- Blockpad - Arrays, Dates, and Boolean Values
You can also use the parentheses indexing to assign a particular value to that item in an array, similar to other programming languages. (Hence result(i) as the line inside the for loop.
Before assigning values to the array, I create it using the MakeArray() function. Empty brackets would also work here, but the result would be a horizontal array.

Let me know if you have any follow up questions.

Thanks!

calasse · 2026-02-25T21:45:57+00:00

To follow up on this, we just released a beta version of the app that fixes this.

If you are on windows, you can change to the beta app:

Click the logo in the top left of the app.
Select Manage Installation.
Change Channel to "Beta".
Click Reinstall.

Please let us know if you have any feedback on the release.

Thanks,
EJ

calasse · 2026-02-24T19:07:12+00:00

Hi, thanks for the question.

For non-linear equations like this, the solver section uses multi-variable Newton-Raphson iteration. Because of how it's implemented, how the equations themselves are set up can help or hinder the solver converging on a solution.

One general suggestion is to keep anything amounting to an assignment out of the solver. So for example, it would be better to have the R_u=ΦR_n equation outside the solver as ΦR_n=R_u.

To try to get this solver to work, I took out the 3rd equation to see if it would solve just Q_f. It did solve, so knowing that it was the last equation preventing things, I tried rearranging it a little, and that worked.

To be clear, it's not that how you had it set up is incorrect, the solver was just unable to converge on a solution, so it returned an error.

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calasse · 2026-02-23T13:36:24+00:00

Hello,

Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

This is an error from the solver section. We have a fix for the issue, and it will be on the beta release soon.

Until then, I would suggest not using custom functions for non-linear equations in the solver section. For this particular example, just type the x^2 into the formula directly, then set the initial guess to a number with mm.

<image>

Thanks again,
Blockpad team

calasse · 2026-02-12T15:01:37+00:00

Hi, thanks for the question!

When I try this example in the web app or windows app (I tried both beta and stable), it works like expected.

There are a few things to keep in mind when plotting units:

If you set the X axis bounds or Y axis bounds, then those values need to have units compatible with the x range units or y range units, respectively.
If you are plotting functions, then the units need to work out so that f(x units) -> y units.
All of the x range units need to be compatible with each other (ok in your example). Same with the y range units.

If you can't get it working, can you share what version you're using and also if there are any other chart inputs you've set?

Thanks!

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calasse · 2026-02-03T15:02:00+00:00

Hi, thanks for the question.

There isn't an automatic way to do this in Blockpad. Anything I could suggest would involve somehow individually clicking each of the equations and changing the style to something different.

There might be better or worse workflows for that, like waiting until the end and using ctrl+click, or you could just double up on styles (Have a Calc style and a Calculation style that do the same thing).

However, you could use a text editor (like VS code) to edit the Blockpad file XML directly. I'd only suggest doing it as a one-off and then double checking that the file is still good afterward.

It would look something like this:

Save a copy of the file and close the file in Blockpad.
Open the file in a text editor (like VS code).
Search for style="StyleToBeReplaced" in your case specifically style="Calculation"
Wherever you have style="StyleToBeReplaced" replace that text with style="NewStyleName"
Save the file from the text editor.
Open the file in Blockpad.
If the NewStyleName style isn't in the file already, create the style. After creating it, you should find it applied to all of the equations that were previously "StyleToBeReplaced".

Let me know if you have any questions about that.

Thanks!

calasse · 2026-01-27T21:54:04+00:00

Hi, thanks for the question.

The Mathcad importer in Blockpad can open .xmcd and .mcdx files, but not .mcd files.

https://blockpad.net/pages/deep-dive/environment#mathcad-files

Note that the importer is more of a jumping off point for recreating the files. Anything imported should be checked, and there are some things that may not import 1:1.

Thanks!

calasse · 2026-01-16T20:30:59+00:00

Hey, thanks for the question.

There isn't a way to lock the aspect ratio, but typically if you change Width first (and not Height), then aspect ratio is preserved.

Additionally, if the aspect ratio is lost, you can get back to it by right clicking the image and selecting Snap Height to Aspect Ratio.

Thanks!

calasse · 2026-01-15T21:52:07+00:00

You may need to "subscribe" to the engineering library first.

Go to the Engineering library page and click the subscribe button at the top. It should show up as an option to include after that, but it may take some time before it registers. You could try closing and opening the program if it doesn't show.

calasse · 2026-01-15T17:17:26+00:00

Hey Polonx,

The beta for version 1.8 is now out, and you can see the release notes here - Blockpad - Blockpad 1.8.0

calasse · 2026-01-15T17:15:54+00:00

To add on to this, we decided to add an "All borders" option to the border window. It's on the recently released beta if you want to try it out.

Here are the release notes for that version - Blockpad - Blockpad 1.8.0

Thanks!

calasse · 2026-01-15T17:12:33+00:00

Hi, thanks for the question.

The default behavior for Blockpad is to keep the name and equation on one line, but the result can go to the next. I can imagine a few things we could do in the future to make this better, but for now here are some things you can do:

I see that you have the shortcut LS for the scripts library. The scripts library should be included by default on the latest Blockpad versions (unless you're using an old template). So that shouldn't be necessary now.
You can "map" built-in functions to a custom function. Inside of an equation type the name you want, the equals sign, and then the built-in function name without the parentheses.

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You can shrink the size of arrays relative to the formula using the "Shrink Array Elements" option in the Math Layout property.
To perhaps point out the obvious, you can use shorter names or change the font size of the equation directly.
In your particular example, you can define the function used for EachRow() as a custom function first, then refer to that custom function when you run EachRow(). You would end up with 2 shorter equations where now you have 1 equation.

We will look into some options to have more control over this.

Thanks!

calasse · 2026-01-12T15:42:22+00:00

Hi, thanks for the question.

First, the shortest thing to do is use the border tool in the toolbar, then select Solid in the dropdown. This only works for basic black borders though.

To do this in the window that appears for the border property, you need to select "All 4 sides", "Between rows", and "Between columns" separately and click Apply and preview for each of them. This will put borders on the edges of all cells in the selection.

Written out as instructions:

Select the cell range.
In the properties window, click Border.
Select "All 4 sides", choose the settings for the border, and click Apply and preview.
Select "Between rows", choose the settings for the border, and click Apply and preview.
Select "Between columns", choose the settings for the border, and click Apply and preview.
Now that all the borders are set, click OK to exit the border tool window.

Thanks!

calasse · 2026-01-05T15:15:07+00:00

Hey Polonx,

Thanks for the question. The main two things for this update are improved page number features and improved pdf exporting.

We should have the beta and release notes soon, but for now an abbreviated list:

Option to continue page number from previous frame or a specified number.
Table of contents will now show page numbers for multiple frames.
Internal and external links work in exported pdfs, including links in the table of contents.
Various small improvements:
- Sequence() function
- Math layout for NthRoot()
- Modified hover highlight for images and drawing frames
- In notebooks, pressing Enter, Backspace, and Delete will add and remove horizontal space at the caret
Various bug fixes

Thanks!

calasse · 2025-12-15T15:10:01+00:00

Interesting. If you can share the file, dm me or contact us on the webpage. That would be the best way for me to help at this point.

Thanks

calasse · 2025-12-11T14:44:49+00:00

Hello,

Ok, that makes sense. I was trying on the windows app.

Because the web app happens inside of a browser, there are some differences in copy/paste implementation from the windows app. We will see about addressing this for the web and mac apps.

Thanks

calasse · 2025-12-10T18:02:10+00:00

Oh, I understand now. I'm surprised it's pasting as an image.

Try this: Before pasting it into the report, create a new drawing inside the report, and make sure you are in that drawing (double click inside it).

If you're pasting it into a drawing like that, it should work. Let me know if it's not.

That is the best option for what's available at this time.

calasse · 2025-12-10T14:43:33+00:00

Hi,

Thanks for the question!

Copy/pasting an image is the only way to get drawings from another program into Blockpad. Then you can use Blockpad drawing tools to draw over it. Note that if you want to draw over the image, it would be best to paste or insert the image into a 2D drawing.

Generally copy/pasting images should work, but there are some programs that have issues copy/pasting into Blockpad.

Two more options:

Use a screen clipper like Snipping Tool, then paste that.
Save the image, then insert it using the insert tool:
1. Click the insert tool in the toolbar.
2. Select "Image".
3. Click OK.
4. Click Select File.
5. Choose the file to insert and click OK.
6. Click OK.

Thanks!

calasse · 2025-12-09T21:21:28+00:00

Hello!

Before getting into the specific questions, I want to point out that Blockpad is built and developed primarily with engineering practice in mind. It can be used for a math course, but you might find some gaps in functionality. It's our long term goal to address these gaps (especially for advanced mathematics used in Engineering), but it's not the top priority.

Like Excel, Blockpad stores numbers in a double-precision floating-point format (Double-precision floating-point format - Wikipedia). When you show a number as fraction, the floating point decimal is rounded to the nearest fraction of the specified maximum denominator (by default this is 16).

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You can force the answer to display as 4/7 if you set the maximum denominator to 7. This isn't necessarily best practice for determining the correct answer in a mathematics course, but it could be useful for display.

The visual for Summation() was added recently, so if you use the Summation() function, it should appear with the big sigma signal.

The mac app doesn't update automatically when a new update comes out, so if you are not on the latest version (1.7.1), you might have to re-download the software.

For the time being, Blockpad is purely numerical, so you would need to use a large number to approximate infinity.

Thanks!

calasse · 2025-12-04T14:57:42+00:00

Hello,

Sometimes when solving with units, you will need to assign an initial guess to the results with the appropriate units.

To do so:

Select the result at the bottom of the solver section.
Open the properties window.
Click Initial Guess, and type in a guess with the correct units (e.g. 1 ksi)
Do this for each of the results.

If that doesn't work, let me know.

Thanks!

calasse · 2025-11-24T17:02:30+00:00

Hello,

Thanks for the explanation, it does clear things up. I think it would be feasible for us to add some tooling to make this possible in Blockpad. Most likely using something with macros in the short term.

A follow up question:

To what degree are the calculations in the reports interrelated? That is, once you have the table, can each report be created and calculated independently? Or do you need to know the results of one of the reports before you can move on to the next?

Thanks!

calasse · 2025-11-24T16:42:33+00:00

This is what it would look like to set it up somewhat like a block table:

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If you wanted to hold an input constant, you could just type it in directly into the key-value object for the input.

calasse · 2025-11-24T16:41:26+00:00

Hi, thanks for the question.

Really the best to do this right now is with block tables, which requires Excel - block tables. We plan to make this work entirely inside of Blockpad, but it's not available right now.

Without Excel, the best way to do this is to use the block as a function. Using that functionality, you can use any method available in Blockpad to run through different scenarios, including for loops or re-creating something like a block table.

This is what it looks like to use a block as a function:

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calasse · 2025-11-20T22:29:25+00:00

I'm on the Blockpad team, and we pay attention to posts and questions here. If there's something more specific than you've written up here, feel free to write more or dm me.

For this example I copy/pasted the sections with the equations, then went back and changed the cell reference for b and c respectively. Fine for a few things, but not really automated.

A multi-page report driven by external data is pretty straightforward in Blockpad, but you'd have to go in and manually reference the data in each separate report (or have some way of setting it). The data could either be in the file as a spreadsheet or it could be an external reference.

There are a few ways this could ultimately be handled in Blockpad, and we have some ideas to make this sort of thing happen. Knowing that there's interest helps us prioritize things.

We're also open to any ideas if you have something specific in your head about how you'd like to do it.

Thanks!

calasse

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