Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is SkinCalc completely free to use?

A: Yes, SkinCalc is completely free for personal use. A license is required only if you would like to redistribute the software.

Q: Does SkinCalc contain spyware, adware or bloatware?

A: No. An optional installation feature, Software Director (also developed by us), is included to allow you to easily download and install skins and to check for updates and news without sending back any information. You do not need to install this component if you are not comfortable doing so.

Q: I noticed that the setup file is several MB. Isn't that a lot for a calculator?

A: The setup file is a self-extracting Windows Installer (MSI) package, which satisfies the most demanding Windows Logo program requirements but adds a little bit to the total size, compared to a simple ZIP archive. The calculator executable itself is a single file which occupies less than 0.5 MB of hard disk space (after installation). This is the "real" size of the executable, which is self-contained and does not depend on any third-party runtime components. The setup archive also contains a set of default skins, plus the optional Software Director feature.

Q: Are SkinCalc, WorldCalc and Euro Calculator the same software?

A: They share the same "engine", only with a different hard-coded configuration (you can think of it as of a "master skin") created with Calculator Builder.

Q: Can I install both SkinCalc, WorldCalc and/or Euro Calculator?

A: No. Because they share the same installation and software modules, when you install one program version it replaces the other. But the choice is simple: if you don't need support for currencies install SkinCalc, otherwise install either WorldCalc or Euro Calculator. You can use all skins with all programs. Although you can use WorldCalc and Euro Calculator as non-currency calculators, the currency functionality requires a unit indicator in the display (and a banner area, for the unregistered version of WorldCalc). You can also install a WorldCalc or Euro Calculator skin in SkinCalc, and it will work just fine (the unit indicator will be used for base conversions instead of currencies, while currency-specific buttons, if present, will be ignored).

Q: As a skin author, do I need to test my skins with SkinCalc, WorldCalc and Euro Calculator?

A: No, that is not required. All three calculators support units. Currencies are a special type of unit, as they require updates. If you would like to use the currency-related functionality then register either WorldCalc or Euro Calculator, after which you don't need to use SkinCalc any more. All skin authors receive a free registration license key. The only thing that's unique to the unregistered version of WorldCalc is that it allows you to visually test banner-enabled skins. Other than that, it is identical to Euro Calculator.

Q: If everything on this site is free, how can you maintain it?

A: We like doing this, and the site is sponsored by Cloanto, who also sells custom calculators and currency solutions (which include currency-enabled calculators and the required server software).