Hints and tips for GeomLab

  1. To make it easier to match parentheses in complex expressions, turn on the option 'Options/Match brackets'. Typing a ')' or ']' will now momentarily underline the region up to the matching '(' or '[' in blue. If brackets do not match properly -- because '(' is closed by ']' or there are more ')'s than '('s -- then the region is underlined in red.
  2. To find a list of all the names that are defined, choose the command 'Tools/List defined names'. A list of all the names you can use in expressions will be inserted into the output pane.
  3. To get some idea of how much calculation is needed to evaluate your expressions, you can ask GeomLab to count the number of steps needed to reach an answer. Choose the command 'Options/Count reduction steps', and GeomLab will display the number of steps together with the answer. These step counts don't mean much by themselves, but you can look at how fast they grow as you apply functions to larger arguments.