Sumpad help

Getting started

The first time Sumpad starts, it opens a short tutorial sheet and asks for your default currency, number format and quick-calc shortcut.

The main window has your Sheets list on the left, and each sheet with its results on the right.
Click the tray icon for quick calc. Right-click it for New sheet, Open Sumpad, Quick calc, Settings, About / License and Quit.
Closing the main window keeps Sumpad running, so the quick-calc shortcut always works. Use Quit in the tray menu to close it fully.

Writing calculations

Write one calculation per line. Words around the numbers are ignored, and a label before a colon ("Rent:") or anything after // is left out.

Percentages: 150 + 20% is 180, 20% of 150 is 30, 20% off 80 is 64, 20% on 80 is 96.
Rates: 3 hours at $85 is $255.00.
Variables: rate = 85 on one line, then rate × 3 on another. A variable can be used above the line that defines it.
Other lines: line7 uses line 7's result, and prev or ans the result just above. References update when you add or remove lines.
Totals: total, sum or average add up the lines above, back to the nearest blank line.

A line that looks like a calculation but can't be worked out shows a muted ?. Hover over it to see why. Lines without numbers show nothing.

Units, currency and dates

Convert with in, to or as: 5 km in miles, 72 °F in °C, 120 USD in EUR. Units side by side add up, so 2h 30m is two and a half hours.

Currency: rates come from the European Central Bank and update about once a day when you're online. Offline, Sumpad uses the last rates it has and shows their date. Update by hand in Settings › Currency.
"$" means your default currency when that is a dollar, otherwise US dollars. Write US$ or C$ to be specific. "pounds" is weight, so use £ or GBP for money.
Data: KB, MB and GB count in thousands; KiB, MiB and GiB in 1,024s.
Dates: today + 3 weeks, days until Dec 25, Mar 3 to Jun 10 in days, 3 days ago. Write dates with a month name or as 2026-12-25; 12/25/2026 is read as division.

Pick how numbers and dates are shown, the default currency and the number of decimal places in Settings › Formatting.

Quick calc

Press Ctrl+Alt+C from anywhere for a small calculator in the middle of your screen. Type, read the answer, and press Esc to hide it. What you typed is still there next time.

Turn on Copy result on Enter in Settings › General to copy the last line's result when you press Enter.
Save as sheet moves the scratch into your sheets list.
Change the shortcut in Settings › General.

Copying results and shortcuts

Click a result to copy it. Ctrl+click inserts a reference to that line, such as line7, into your text. The Total, Average and Count at the bottom copy when clicked too.

Ctrl+N new sheet, Ctrl+F search sheets, Ctrl+B show or hide the sheets list, F2 rename.
Ctrl+Shift+C copies the current line's result.
Tab moves from the text to the current line's result; Up and Down move between results, Enter copies, Ctrl+Enter inserts a reference and Esc goes back to the text.
Ctrl+P prints. The export button also offers Export as text…, Export as PDF… and Copy sheet with results.

New sheets are named after their first line until you rename them. Delete moves a plain-text copy to the Recycle Bin.

Keyboard shortcuts

These work from anywhere in Windows while Sumpad is running.

Action	Default shortcut
Open quick calc	`Ctrl`+`Alt`+`C`

Trial and license

Sumpad is free to try for 14 days, with everything turned on. After that: Quick calc stays fully editable. Your sheets open read-only, with results you can still copy and export. Editing sheets and making new ones need a license.

Entering your license key

Buy a license. Your key appears on screen as soon as the payment goes through, and arrives by email.
In Sumpad, open the License page in Settings.
Paste the key and choose Activate. The PC needs to be online for this step.

Using it on more than one PC

One key works on up to 3 PCs. To move it to a new PC, deactivate it on the old one from the License page first. If the old PC is gone, free up its place at Manage devices, using the email address you bought with or the key itself.

Once activated, Sumpad works offline. When it's online it checks the license about once a week, so a refunded or revoked key stops working on its next check.

Bought Sumpad in the Microsoft Store? The Store edition is licensed through your Microsoft account instead, and doesn't use a key.

Updates

To get the latest version, choose Check for updates in Sumpad. It asks before installing anything.

Each update is checked against a fingerprint (SHA-256) before it runs, and installs over the current version without touching your data. Updates for the Microsoft Store edition come through the Store.

See what’s new in each version.

Your data and uninstalling

Sumpad keeps its settings and data on your PC, in this folder (paste it into File Explorer’s address bar to open it):

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Hedgerow\Sumpad

To back it up, quit Sumpad and copy that folder.

To uninstall, open Windows Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find Sumpad and choose Uninstall. The uninstaller asks whether to remove your data too.

Still stuck?

Email support@hedgerowapps.com and we’ll get back to you. Mention your Sumpad version (shown in Settings › About) and your Windows version. More answers are on the support page.