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Concurrent Engineering Blog

4 PTC Mathcad Features You Have to Try Now

Posted by Rachel Jones on 22-Jun-2017 15:03:00

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Hopefully you already know about the free download of PTC Mathcad Express, a license-free version of PTC Mathcad Prime. You probably also aware that it includes a fully functional PTC Mathcad Prime trial for 30 days.

There is however, something you may not realize. There is a new release of PTC Mathcad Prime 4.0, meaning the software now includes a functionality to better enable you to show, solve, and secure your work. This means everyone will get another shot at a 30-day trial, even if you’ve downloaded earlier trials!

Taking that into consideration however, 30 days isn’t really an awful lot of time, particularly if you are new to the world of PTC Mathcad and are just taking your first steps toward using the software.

It is vitally important that you take full advantage of the 30 days and ensure you try out the premium functionality before the time runs out. To enable you to do just that, we have come up with a checklist of the 4 pieces of PTC Mathcad functionality that you need to try out before your trial expires!

 

  1. Area Protection

If you’re new to PTC Mathcad, you may not think to use Collapsible Areas in your first 30 days. Chunks of calculations or text or constants or function definitions or whatever, can be held in these areas and then be collapsed to tuck them away from view.

After the trial of PTC Mathcad Express has expired, that capability will still be available. But a new feature with PTC Mathcad Prime 4.0, and what is only available with a license, is the ability to protect those areas, so that what’s inside those Areas cannot be edited or manipulated in any way.

It may not be the first feature you think about when you download the PTC Mathcad Prime 4.0 trial, but be sure to try Area Protection features while you can.

Simply right click within the area and select Protect Area. Furthermore, you can lock the display state of that area to prevent others from viewing the contents. Keeping important calculations from being modified or seen by those who don’t need to see them is great for collaboration and sharing.

During the first 30 days, it is highly likely you will be concentrating more on inputting some calculations into PTC Mathcad Prime 4.0 than you are on collaboration. However PTC and Concurrent Engineering recommend you give collaboration due thought as well. 

 

  1. Solve Blocks

Without doubt, your calculations are not always just plug-and-chug. There is often some sort of solving involved.  Whether you’re looking for a solution to a system of equations, maximizing/minimizing a complicated function according to a set of constraints, or solving a system of Ordinary Differential Equations, the Solve Block feature uses incredibly powerful solvers that will save you time, frustration, and errors.

 

  1. Functions

Although functions are not very specific, here is what you need to know: Only around half of the hundreds of built-in functions in PTC Mathcad are available with the free version. So after your 30 days are up, you won’t have access to the Data AnalysisSignal ProcessingStatistics, or Curve Fitting functions (to name just a few).. You can find out more about each of these capabilities in the PTC Help Center by clicking the links above.

  1. Programming

You may cry out “I’m not a programmer!” but wait a second… We call it programming, but really it’s just a set of logical statements that help you add a huge amount of flexibility and power to your calculations. You are able to set conditions (if/then statements) to your equations with these Programming operators such that a different calculation will occur depending on the given situation. You are also able to iterate through calculations using While and For loops. And, in keeping with the theme of PTC Mathcad, it’s very intuitive to construct and read.

The Programming functionality in PTC Mathcad is a common favourite and in the opinion of many users, one of the most powerful capabilities to go away once the trial is over.

Please be aware that the above capabilities are not even close to an exhaustive list of what you’ll miss from fully licensed PTC Mathcad, so make sure you take a look at all that PTC Mathcad has to offer during your 30-day trial. 

Get Started with PTC Mathcad Prime 4.0 Today

Do you feel like we have missed something? Leave a comment below if you think there are other PTC Mathcad capabilities that should have made the list. And if you haven’t checked out PTC Mathcad Prime 4.0 yet, see what’s new and get your copy today.