14 DAY TRIAL // Processing various values of units of measure is a breeze when proper tools are used. With FlashUnits you get a professional grade converter that comes preloaded with hundreds of components.
A fast measurement unit converter is an appreciated tool for anyone who needs to work with quantifiers for acceleration, angles or speed. These applications are made not only for the benefit of specialists, but also for studying in educational institutions and they usually target a broader audience.
FlashUnits is a lightweight program that brings simplicity in use alongside a strong feature set, all designed to help the user quickly and accurately get the desired result. This utility has over 800 measurement units in its portfolio, structured in 20 easily accessible categories. Another great thing about this tool is that you can have it for free.
The interface is very user-friendly, with a well thought layout that enables anyone to find the measurement unit they want to use, input the value and gain instant access to a dozen of results involving the most common units. This is for the upper side of the main window, because the bottom half hosts all the possible conversions for the selected category.
A nice feature you'll immediately notice is the grouping of the results in broader, more general families like the 'British and U.S.', 'Metric' or even 'Biblical' reference systems. This is particularly useful when scanning for a specific conversion. Also, locating a certain unit can be done in the most straightforward manner: head to the 'Find' section in the 'Tools' menu or use the button in the main window to bring up a tab that displays a list with all the items inscribed in the database of FlashUnits.
The variety of measurement units that can be discovered in this application is quite impressive and it will certainly satisfy even the most demanding users. However, it should be mentioned that there is a small function missing here, that you will encounter in similar software, namely the ability to add custom entries.
The 'Common Units' area of the program hosts 12 items that are most likely to interest you because they are selected to the top most often used units worldwide. Each entry is included in the full list of units for that particular category and clicking it will enable you to replace it with another one from the drop-down menu.
Another helpful feature of this utility is the quick access button for the calculator. Pressing it will invoke the tool that is already part of Windows, so don't expect a whole new, original app to pop-up. It is, nonetheless, very handy and saves a lot of clicks because it's most likely that you'll need to crunch some numbers based on the conversions you make.
FlashUnits has even more aces up its sleeve to surprise you with. For instance, if you pay a visit to the 'File' menu you'll find the 'Export' option. This nifty function allows you to save the conversion results for reviewing them later in 4 different formats: XML, HTML, RTF and TXT. The output file neatly shows the units category and number of items is comprises, the specific measurement unit used in the conversion and all the results as well.
There are even more goodies waiting to be unveiled, so it's time to head towards the 'Settings' area of the application. Under the 'Number Format' tab you can customize two entries. The first one is called with 'Decimal places' and will assist you in defining the exact number of decimals you wish to have on display for the results. The maximum you can opt for is 7, but if you leave the 'Undefined' option active, all the decimals resulting from a unit conversion will be used.
The other feature available in this menu relates to how the scientific notation should be employed. The default value will make it appear only when the number requires it, but you can pick the other one that will render the notation active at all times.
This utility will let you tinker with some visualization settings, almost all of them influencing the printing jobs you can also carry out when needed. From this section you can configure the font that will be used, choose its size and style. There is an option here that you can deactivate, namely the one that makes all the units remain grouped. When the box is not checked, the items will appear alphabetically, thus losing the original classification system.
Maybe the last thing you need to worry about when operating FlashUnits is the stress on your system. This is because all the conversions are done instantly, without bothering any of the hardware components to a noticeable extent. The RAM usage will stay somewhere between 36 to 39 MB, so there should be no problems, no matter how old your computer is.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
The Good
The Bad
The Truth
This article is also available in Spanish: Convierte unidades de medida sobre la marcha
