Decimal places cannot be used in fields that are also input fields as not all numbers can be precisely represented in decimal. For example the 4 4/9 would be 4.4444 repeating; no matter what decimal value is entered it would have to be rounded and this rounding error would cascade in the calculations. The calculated value displayed above those is the decimal version as those are not also input fields.
nznomad
•
Sep 14
Thanks for for your response and explanation, but it still does not explain all the behaviour experienced.
What about the numbers in the second image showing in the mouseover box?
18¾ is 18.75. 37½ is 37.5, 5 5/8 is 5.625. These are not recurring or complex figures. Since these are display fields rather than input fields, it would be great if they respected the format setting.
Of course, it makes total sense for input fields to accept both fractions and decimals, but ideally, the final display should match the user's chosen display format.
While I completely understand that fractions are second nature to anyone who grew up using Imperial measurements, most users who were brought up entirely with the metric system find it less instinctual to process numbers like 5/8 or 4/9 or 9/16 at a glance. We tend to think in decimals, so seeing recurring numbers (like 4.44444, 4.445, 3.334 or 6.667) feels totally natural and easy to read. We don’t need fractions to know its a recurring number. Again, we are talking display here, not input.
In fact, having everything presented in fractions for some of us is a hindrance. Of course I understand fractions, but in use cases like this, I have to convert them to decimal in my head each and every time in order to match with the game or the wiki. And that honestly somewhat defeats some of the point of an app like this, if I still need to refer to other resources to see the info and format I need.
Also worth mentioning is there are several ways to display recurring figures in decimal without needing to resort to fractions such as here:
Again, I do fully appreciate that a great many people do prefer to see and work in fractions, and that of course is why you have the settings options to choose in the first place. But if you have those options available, then why can the app not honour the selected option and display solely in the format chosen.
As this is the behaviour of the game (The game does not display fractions at all, neither does the wiki), then this would make the app feel much more consistent with the game itself (if decimal is chosen in the app).
Thanks so much for looking into this and for all your hard work!
satisfactorymodeler
Team•
Sep 14
You can hover your mouse over the input field to see that number in decimal format to avoid converting it yourself .I guess I missed putting them in for recipe tool tips. I can look into seeing if I can render them with repeating values above, but that is quite frankly pretty low priority and there are a ton of high priority stuff that needs to get done first.
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Comments4
satisfactorymodeler
Sep 14
Decimal places cannot be used in fields that are also input fields as not all numbers can be precisely represented in decimal. For example the 4 4/9 would be 4.4444 repeating; no matter what decimal value is entered it would have to be rounded and this rounding error would cascade in the calculations. The calculated value displayed above those is the decimal version as those are not also input fields.
nznomad
Sep 14
Thanks for for your response and explanation, but it still does not explain all the behaviour experienced.
What about the numbers in the second image showing in the mouseover box?
18¾ is 18.75. 37½ is 37.5, 5 5/8 is 5.625. These are not recurring or complex figures. Since these are display fields rather than input fields, it would be great if they respected the format setting.
Of course, it makes total sense for input fields to accept both fractions and decimals, but ideally, the final display should match the user's chosen display format.
While I completely understand that fractions are second nature to anyone who grew up using Imperial measurements, most users who were brought up entirely with the metric system find it less instinctual to process numbers like 5/8 or 4/9 or 9/16 at a glance. We tend to think in decimals, so seeing recurring numbers (like 4.44444, 4.445, 3.334 or 6.667) feels totally natural and easy to read. We don’t need fractions to know its a recurring number. Again, we are talking display here, not input.
In fact, having everything presented in fractions for some of us is a hindrance. Of course I understand fractions, but in use cases like this, I have to convert them to decimal in my head each and every time in order to match with the game or the wiki. And that honestly somewhat defeats some of the point of an app like this, if I still need to refer to other resources to see the info and format I need.
Also worth mentioning is there are several ways to display recurring figures in decimal without needing to resort to fractions such as here:
Again, I do fully appreciate that a great many people do prefer to see and work in fractions, and that of course is why you have the settings options to choose in the first place. But if you have those options available, then why can the app not honour the selected option and display solely in the format chosen.
As this is the behaviour of the game (The game does not display fractions at all, neither does the wiki), then this would make the app feel much more consistent with the game itself (if decimal is chosen in the app).
Thanks so much for looking into this and for all your hard work!
satisfactorymodeler
Sep 14
You can hover your mouse over the input field to see that number in decimal format to avoid converting it yourself .I guess I missed putting them in for recipe tool tips. I can look into seeing if I can render them with repeating values above, but that is quite frankly pretty low priority and there are a ton of high priority stuff that needs to get done first.
nznomad
Sep 13
Sorry, forgot to add:
Version is 1.11.1