Known quirks and gotchas

These are the places where Varlig Calc doesn’t do what you might expect. Each row shows what you might write, what happens, and what to write instead where there’s a way round it. They were checked against Varlig Calc 0.5.1.

Phrases and functions

You write	What happens	Instead
`5 combinations of 2`, `5 permutations of 2`	`Error: calculation limit`	`5 combination 2`, `combination(5, 2)`

Parsing and words

You write	What happens	Instead
`#` in a calculation, as in `C#4 in Hz`	`#` always starts a comment, so the rest of the line is ignored	Write sharps as `♯`: `C♯4 in Hz`
`20 Mm`	Read as millimetres, `20 mm`	Megametres aren’t available; use `20,000 km`
`1'000'000`	`'` means feet, so this shows `1 foot`	`1,000,000` or `1000000`
`1 tesla`, `3 nights`	Shows `1 teslas` and `3 night`: units display in the catalogue’s own spelling	Nothing to change; the value is right

Dates and times

You write	What happens	Instead
`1/15/2024`	A division	`01/15/2024` or `15 January 2024`
`2024`	A plain number, not a date	A full date, such as `1 March 2024`
`what day is 25 December 2026`	Repeats the date instead of naming the weekday	`weekday on 25 December 2026`
`week number`	Shows no answer, although `day number` works	`week number on today`
`1 June 2026 > 1 March 2026`	`Error: incompatible units`: dates can’t be compared directly	`(1 June 2026 - 1 March 2026) > 0 days`
`now until 10pm`	`Error: incompatible units`	`now to 10pm`
`1 March 2026 + 10 workdays`	Skips weekends only; public holidays aren’t built in	Allow for public holidays yourself
`3pm JST in UTC`	Shows `06:00` on the 24-hour clock, while other conversions show AM and PM	Nothing to change; the time is right
`last quarter`	The quarter before this one, not October to December	`last quarter of 2026` or `Q4 2026`
`3pm in Tokyo`	Converts 3pm on your own clock, not 3pm in Tokyo	`3pm London in Tokyo` for a time elsewhere
`H1`, `H2`	Shows no answer without a year, so a heading stays a heading	`H1 2026`, or `first half` for this year

Units and rates

You write	What happens	Instead
`$1000 at 5% per year`	Shows `20,000 years`	`$1000 * 5%` for a year’s interest
`2 hours 30 minutes as fraction`	Shows `9,000`	`2 hours 30 minutes in hours`
`1-2 kg`	A range that can’t be converted or used in arithmetic	Work with each end separately
`255 to base 7`	Shows no answer and no error	`255 in hex` works for base 16
`12.5 km/h in min/km`	Shows `4.8 min/km`, a decimal rather than minutes and seconds	`12.5 km in 1 hour` gives `04:48/km`
`20c`	Reads as 20 cents; a hint gives the Celsius reading	`20 °C`, or `20c in F` in a conversion
`£10.99 a month * 12`	Still per month; a hint says so	`£10.99 a month in £/year`
`30 mpg`	Miles per US gallon	`30 UK mpg` for a UK figure

Finance

You write	What happens	Instead
`$100 invested returned $150`	Adds the amounts	`$100 invested $150 returned`
`€100 to USD on 2 January 2020` when historical rates haven’t loaded	`Error: ∞` rather than a missing-data message	Try again once rates are available
`£1000 for 5 years at 1% per month compounding quarterly`	An error: a monthly rate already compounds every month	A yearly rate, as in `12% compounding quarterly`

Display

You write	What happens	Instead
`3bn`	Shows `3G` for a plain number; money uses `B`, as in `$3B`	Nothing to change; the value is right
`1 satoshi`	Shows with the `丰` symbol	Nothing to change; the value is right
`moon phase`, `lunar day`	Update only when the note recalculates	Edit the note to refresh them