Explanation
of Secondary Unit Worksheet Terms:
This worksheet allows you to add new measurement units to an existing
measurement class. If you need to create a new measurement class, you should use
the Primary Conversion Worksheet.
Once you’ve selected the measurement class of your new measurement unit,
you then select the name of the Primary Measurement unit you want to build a
conversion to. Once you’ve got
that conversion factor working, then your new measurement unit will convert to
all other units in that measurement class.
As you type in the conversion factor (with Multiplicative and/or Additive
components) to convert to the Primary unit, the Inverse conversion factor
information (converting from the Primary unit back to your new Measurement unit)
will be automatically filled in. If you have some kind of unusual situation in which the
inverse relationship is not correct, you have the opportunity to change it.
Unit Converter only allows multiplicative and additive functions in the
conversion equations, which covers most conversion situations.
This current version offers no options for including trigonometric,
logarithmic or exponential functions, although some have been hard-coded in the
software in order to convert between % Slope and Degrees of Slope, and
conversions between the areas of a circle and the diameter or circumference of
that circle.
This process can be confusing, so pay careful attention to the Conversion
Equation and Inverse Equation as you enter your conversion data to make sure
they are doing what you want. Also
make sure to test your conversion with values you know are accurate.
If the “Test Conversion” button gives you what you expect, then you
can be confident that your conversion information is accurate.
Once the conversion factors are working, you may elect to enter
additional information on your measurement units such as the name for a single
unit of that measurement unit (such as Foot instead of Feet).
Unit Converter occasionally makes use of this Singular name such as in
the one-to-one conversions. If you
don’t enter a value for the singular name, Unit Converter will just use the
plural of the name. You can also
enter a definition of your unit which will appear in the definition boxes.
The Secondary Conversion worksheet is shown below. Click on any part of it
to see an explanation of that function:

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Name
of Measurement Class: Here
is where you select the measurement class that you want to add a unit to.
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Input
New Secondary Measurement Unit: Here
is where you enter the name of your new Secondary Measurement unit.
As you type the name, you will also see it appear in the Conversion
Equation, the Inverse Equation and the Input Unit Name – Singular text
box. If you enter a name of an
existing measurement unit, Unit Converter will notify you and ask you to
change the name before you add it to the database.
The name of this unit should be the plural of the unit (i.e. Feet
instead of Foot). The
singular name can be entered near the bottom of the worksheet.
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Multiplicative
Conversion Factor: This
is the multiplicative conversion factor to convert from your measurement
unit to the primary measurement unit. Pay
close attention to the Conversion Equation to make sure the multiplication
factor is doing what you want it to do.
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Additive
Conversion Factor: Occasionally you will have to include an Additive
conversion to make the conversion work.
When this is necessary, make sure to use Primary units for the
addition. For example, when
converting from Degrees Celsius to Degrees Fahrenheit, the conversion is to
multiply Degrees Celsius by 1.8, then add 32. (Ten degrees Celsius) x (1.8) + (32) = 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
The “32” here is in Fahrenheit units.
In most cases the Addition value will be zero, but it is occasionally
needed.
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Primary
Measurement Unit: Here
is where you select the name of the Primary Measurement unit you want to
convert to. When you select the
name, you will see it appear in the Conversion Equation, the Inverse
Equation and the Primary Unit Name – Singular text box.
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Conversion
Equation: As you type
in your conversion information, this Conversion Equation will automatically
fill in and describe what your conversion factor will do.
Pay close attention to this equation because it helps clarify how
Unit Converter will calculate the conversion.
The equation tells you how many Primary Units you will get from a
single Secondary Unit.
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Inverse
Relationship: Select
“Yes” here if the conversion factor from the Primary Unit à
New Secondary Unit is simply the inverse of the conversion factor for your
New Secondary Unit à
Primary Unit. If this is
the case, then the inverse conversion factor is calculated automatically as
you enter your conversion information.
Unit Converter has “Yes” set by default because in almost all
cases the inverse relationship is simply the inverse conversion factor.
If you have an unusual circumstance in which you need to enter a
different conversion factor for the inverse equation, select “No” here
and you will be able to enter new numbers.
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Inverse
Conversion Equation: As
with the Conversion Equation, this Inverse Conversion Equation will
automatically fill in as you type in your conversion information.
Pay close attention to this equation because it helps clarify how
Unit Converter will calculate the conversion from the Primary Unit à
New Secondary Unit. The
equation tells you how many Secondary Units you will get from a single
Primary Unit. If you need to
change this equation, go to the question “Does the Inverse relationship
apply?” and select “No”. This
will allow you to enter new numbers into the equation.
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Primary
Measurement Unit for Inverse Equation:
This value is filled in automatically when you select the Primary
Unit name, and can’t be edited.
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New
Secondary Measurement Unit for Inverse Equation:
This value is filled in automatically as you enter the Secondary Unit
name, and can’t be edited.
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Inverse
Multiplicative Conversion Factor:
This value is filled in automatically as you type in your conversion
factor information, and is calculated by taking the inverse of your
conversion factor. If you need to change this number, go to the question
“Does the Inverse relationship apply?” and select “No”.
This will allow you to enter a new value here.
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Inverse
Additive Conversion Factor: This
value is filled in automatically as you type in your conversion factor
information, and is calculated by taking the inverse of your conversion
factor. If you need to change this number, go to the question “Does the
Inverse relationship apply?” and select “No”.
This will allow you to enter a new value here.
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TEST
CONVERSION Button: This
button allows you to test your conversion with a known value before you add
it to the database.
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Test
Conversion – Enter Test Number: Enter
in some known value here to test your conversion factor before you add it to
the database.
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Test
Conversion Results: After
you enter in a known value and hit the “Test Conversion” button, the
resulting conversion will appear here.
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REVERSE
UNITS Button: Clicking
on this button will reverse the Test Conversion units so you can test the
conversion going from the Primary Unit à
New Secondary Unit. It’s a
good idea to test the conversion factors going both ways before you add them
to the database.
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Secondary
Measurement Unit – Singular:
Enter the singular name of your new Secondary Unit here (i.e. Foot
instead of Feet). Unit
Converter uses the singular form of the name in the one-to-one conversions.
This singular form is not required – Unit Converter will use the
plural form of the unit if you do not enter the singular form.
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Definition
of Secondary Measurement Unit:
Optionally, you can enter a definition for your new Secondary
Measurement unit here. This
definition will appear in the Definition boxes.
This definition is not required – Unit Converter will use “No
definition has been entered…” if you leave it blank.
You can add or edit this definition later in the “Review User
Conversions” worksheet if you want.
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Primary
Measurement Unit – Singular:
This is the singular form of the Primary Measurement Unit, pulled
from the database. This value
can’t be edited.
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Definition
of Primary Measurement Unit: This
is the definition of the Primary Measurement Unit, pulled from the database.
This definition can’t be edited.
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Primary
Conversion Worksheet Button: Clicking
on this button will take you to the Primary Conversion worksheet, where you
can create new measurement classes.
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Review
User Conversions Worksheet: Clicking
on this button will take you to the Review User Conversions worksheet, where
you can edit or delete any user-entered measurement units.
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HELP
Button: This button
opens a help screen with this information so you can get help without having
to open the manual.
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CLEAR
Button: Deletes all
information entered on this form.
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ADD
TO DATABASE Button: No
information will be added to the database until this button is clicked.
Unit Converter will check to make sure that your unit names don’t
already exist in the database and prompt you to change them if they do.
If no conflicts exist, your data will be added to the database and
the Primary Conversion Worksheet will be cleared.
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EXIT
Button: This button
closes the Primary Conversion Worksheet.
If you have data in the form, Unit Converter will ask you if you want
to close the worksheet without adding the data to the database. |