1–14 Getting Started
Keying in Numbers
You can key in a number that has up to 12 digits plus a 3–digit exponent up to
±499. If you try to key in a number larger than this, digit entry halts and the
¤
annunciator briefly appears.
If you make a mistake while keying in a number, press
b
to backspace and
delete the last digit, or press
to clear the whole number.
Making Numbers Negative
The
^
key changes the sign of a number.
To key in a negative number, type the number, then press
^
.
To change the sign of a number that was entered previously, just press
^
.
(If the number has an exponent,
^
affects only the mantissa — the
non–exponent part of the number.)
Exponents of Ten
Exponents in the Display
Numbers with exponents of ten (such as 4.2 × 10
–5
) are displayed with an
preceding the exponent (such as ).).
A number whose magnitude is too large or too small for the display format will
automatically be displayed in exponential form.
For example, in FIX 4 format for four decimal places, observe the effect of the
following keystrokes:
Keys: Display: Description:
.000062
)
_ Shows number being entered.
)
Rounds number to fit the display
format.
.000042
)
.
Automatically uses scientific notation
because otherwise no significant
digits would appear.
