Transforming Measure for Measure

very good
key review info
application features
  • Covers all the basic measurement units
  • (2 more, see all...)

Length, mass, speed, area and other commonly used measurement units are now at your fingertips. With the help of a simple application you can get the answers you need even for the most complex conversions.

It is not seldom that we have to make various transformations among all sorts of units and this starts as early as school days. Now that computers are so much a part of our lives it is very easy to run a software to find out something for which in the not so remote past we would've used a pencil and a piece of paper. Fortunately enough, technology deals with anything you can think of.

Unit Converter is a good example in this respect, since it is designed to offer, free of any cost, instant responses to dilemmas like how many kilometers are there in a light year. The application is fully equipped for all the usual units of measurement and even ready to accept new ones if you are willing to add some in any of the thirteen available categories.

Using this tool is a breeze, even though the user interface is rather dull because practicality prevailed over shiny good looks. All you have to do is go to the desired section, pick the input and output units, insert the value and the result is displayed instantly. It works in real-time meaning that if you modify the initial numbers, the answer changes accordingly, on the spot.

The array of units that are at your disposal include ''Power'', ''Pressure'', ''Volume'', ''Area'', ''Speed'', ''Temperature'', ''Time'' and also a few that are undoubtedly very useful, but at first glance seem quite rare for everyday use. These are ''Metric Prefixes'' and ''Number Names'' that include some items that sound, let's say, more exotic like ''yocto'', ''zepto'', ''zetta'', ''yotta'', ''decillion'' and many others alike.

A neat feature is the adjustable precision that enables you to customize the ''Significant Figures'' up to ten units. If you find the default for this option, which is four, unsatisfying, you can easily change that from the ''Settings'' menu. Now, another particularity of the same kind is to be found only in the Circular Measure category and it will allow you to have the result displayed in terms of pi when the output is set to radians.

There's even more than meets the eye and the support for mathematical expressions and constants is worth to be mentioned now as well. This feature gives you the possibility to solve formulas like (5*8/10-2*pi)/3. The trick is to select the same units for input and output and you'll have the solution, as usual, without any delay.

As is the case with most applications of this type, not all the units are covered, especially when it comes to the ones that are specific only to a few regions worldwide. But fear not because this tool is customizable and prepared to accommodate any measurements of your choice. The only condition is to add them to one of the existing categories.

If you wish to create a fresh unit, you need to use the dedicated menu and pick as reference an existing unit. The next step is to provide the conversion factors and the name to complete the process. All this will take very little time and will prove its benefits each time you'll use it.

The process described above is reversible, meaning that you are presented with the alternative to delete units you do not need anymore. If you mistakenly erase something you shouldn't have, there's a cure for that as well. Unit Converter comes with a function that restores the defaults so everything will look as good as new, the only downside being that you'll lose any measurement units you added. A backup option would come in quite handy in this respect, but unfortunately it is nowhere to be seen.

Customizing the running settings of the application is also an easy job but note that in order to save them the software needs to restart and this behavior could be seen by many as less desirable. However, it is nice that you can play around with the displaying order of the units because some will prefer an alphabetical ordering, while others one by magnitude. The same is true for the number of items shown on a single screen that can reach a maximum of one hundred, while the default is set to twelve.


The Good

The best thing about this software is that it is very easy to work with and it offers the users, much like a bonus, the possibility to take it a step further by enriching it with new items. The range of measurement units it comes bundled with is very good and will suit the needs of the majority.

The Bad

A minus that is easily noticeable for this utility is the less polished interface that is doubled by the lack of a backup feature that would let the user save the changes and preserve any new units added over time that now are lost if the defaults are restored.

The Truth

To sum things up, it's safe to say that insofar as the transformations most of us need to perform, Unit Converter is just the tool one could ask for. It may not be glitzy, but it is a child's play to operate, it covers all the key areas and can easily be extended with the addition of new measurement units. Definitely an application you will want to stick to for a while if you don't need to make some really particularized conversions.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action:  

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This article is also availble in Spanish: Modo atractivo de jugar con las medidas

user interface 3
features 4
ease of use 5
pricing / value 5


final rating 4
Editor's review
very good
 
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