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 • usage tips |
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this calculator makes no designation between grams and ounces. the calculations are based on whatever you put in ...grams in, grams out, etc. |
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enter the oil amounts (and the discounts, if desired) in the red-colored entry cells. a blank is the same as a zero ("0") ...a blank blank cell will not generate a NaN (not-a-number) error. |
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after you enter the amount, hit the return or entry key to trigger the calculation. in some browsers (explorer and safari), however, hitting either of these keys instead re-loads the page. in this case, simply click the mouse anywhere outside the entry cell (after you've entered the amount), and it will trigger the calculation. this method works with any browser. |
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for the adjustment discount cells, simply enter the integer, not the % sign. if, as in the case of liquid soap, you want to enter a minus discount (i.e. an increase), simply enter the amount with a minus sign (e.g. "-10") -- no quotes. you can enter these amounts at any time -- before, during, or after the oil entries. the display will always reflect any discount selected. |
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the table [bottom portion of the calculator] displays lye and water results specific to the different soap types, (in accordance with those respective pages of this site). |
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the reset button clears all the entries. you could zero out the display by manually deleting all the oil quantities, but this button clears all the data, even the residual data in the "hidden cells". |
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the first 10 pull down buttons each contains a list of 39 oils. these oil are the ones represented on the "lye table" and "oil properties chart" ...and are consistent with the oils listed on the "downloadable spreadsheet" available above. |
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it was requested that i add some of the newer oils to the list. this is what prompted the re-working of the calculator ...hence the new layout. to facility the adding of these new oils and the possible inclusion of others, i listed these new oils in the last three pull down buttons. |
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also included [in each of these last three buttons] are three custom options for listing any oil that's not one the list(s). with these custom listings, however, you can only calculate for the lye [and water] amounts. the analysis table is disabled, since the calculation won't be taking into account the fatty acid content of the custom listing(s). for each custom listing, it is imperative that you supply the sap value ...to be entered in the "data entry table", which will be displayed if a custom entry is selected. if you should fail to supply the sap value, the calculator will alert you. if you also include the [optional) iodine value for the custom listing, the analysis table will display a value for the ins [and iodine]. |
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microsoft has stopped supporting explorer for the mac osx ...the last version was v5.2.3. this still works with osx (panther and tiger ...i've not tested it with leopard), but it behaves irratically, so even though when i tested the calculator, it worked okay, i'd recommend against using explorer with mac osx (or earlier mac systems ...e.g. 8.1 thru 9.2), since you could never be completely sure of the results. |
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soapcalc
i'd always done my own calculations when formulating soap recipes. i use microsoft's excel spreadsheet to do this. it just wasn't practical to include all of those features, (i.e. the various formulations table, etc.), with this online calculator. however, it occurred to me i could make the spreadsheet itself available. granted, to use it you must have access to excel v7.0 or later (or a free spreadsheet program like "