The CalcpadCE Panel¶

The panel described here is the same in the VS Code extension, the desktop app, and the web editor — it is built from one shared set of components. Where a host behaves differently, it is called out below.

The CalcpadCE panel is the tabbed sidebar that sits beside the editor. It shows what your document defines, lets you insert symbols and snippets, controls the calculation and plot settings, and drives export. Because every CalcpadCE frontend embeds the same panel, the tabs and settings are identical everywhere; only how you open it differs:

VS Code — click the CalcpadCE icon in the activity bar. The view title bar has CalcpadCE: Run Preview (re-render) and Stop Server buttons.
Desktop app — View → Toggle Sidebar.

Views¶

The panel has two top-level views, switched from the icons at its top:

CalcpadCE — the tabbed working view (below). This is the default.
Files — opens a folder and shows a file tree so you can browse and open .cpd files without leaving the panel. Includes Open Folder, Collapse All, and a Show all files toggle.

Panel tabs¶

The CalcpadCE view is organized into tabs:

Tab	What it does
Insert	Searchable palette of symbols, built-in functions, and snippets. Click an item to insert it at the cursor. Includes an Insert Image button and a Symbol Palette.
TOC	Live table of contents built from your document headings. Click a heading to jump to that line.
Settings	All calculation, plot, unit, theme, editor, and linter settings, plus named configurations. See Settings.
Variables	Everything defined in the document — macros, variables, functions, and custom units — with types and signatures. Click an entry to insert it; each is searchable.
Metadata	Form-based editor for the metadata comment at the cursor — descriptions, parameter/return types, per-file settings, lint-ignore, and no-print markers.
PDF	Header/footer, page size, and layout options applied when you export to PDF.
Formatting	Prettify options and the Prettify Document button. See Formatting.
Export	Save HTML…, Save Word…, and per-plot / ZIP-all image export from any plots produced by the document. See Export.
Errors	Full list of calculation errors from the engine, each linking to its source line.

Insert¶

A searchable palette grouped by category. Typing filters the list; clicking an item inserts it at the cursor. Function and snippet entries insert with placeholders. The Symbol Palette section is the same set of symbols reachable via quick-typing (~a + space → α). An Insert Image button opens a file picker and inserts an <img> tag with a relative path.

Variables¶

Lists everything the current document defines, grouped and counted:

Macros — with parameters and defaults
Variables — with inferred type
Functions — with signature and return type
Custom Units — with their definition

Entries are scoped to the active document (and its #include files). Click any entry to insert its name at the cursor.

Metadata¶

A form-based editor for the metadata comment on the line at the cursor — no hand-editing of JSON required. Put the cursor on a definition (or an existing metadata comment) and the tab shows exactly the fields that apply: a description for any definition, parameter/return types for functions and macros, and per-file settings, lint-ignore, and no-print markers on generic lines. Apply writes the comment (creating one above the definition if none exists); Reset re-reads the current one. See Metadata Comments for the full format.

TOC¶

A live outline of the headings in your document. Selecting a heading scrolls the editor to that line. It rebuilds as you edit.

Formatting (Prettify)¶

Controls the Prettify Document command, which reformats the active file:

Indent style — Tab or Space
Spaces per level — used when the indent style is Space
Trim trailing whitespace

Set your options, then click Prettify Document.

PDF¶

Configures the PDF export before you run it:

Header — document title (defaults to the file name) and a timestamp format (e.g. M/d/yyyy h:mm tt)
Page Layout — page size (Letter, …) and orientation

Use Generate PDF to export, or Reset to restore the defaults.

See PDF Export for more information about the options.

Export¶

Renders the current document through the backend and offers several save actions:

Button	Result
Save HTML…	Saves a standalone `.html` of the rendered report.
Save Word…	Converts the report to a Word `.docx`.

Below those, the Plots section lists every plot the document emits, each with a thumbnail, filename, and size:

Button	Result
Refresh	Re-runs the document and re-lists plots. Triggered automatically by a manual Run Preview.
Save… (per plot)	Writes that plot to disk in its native format (PNG or SVG, depending on the Vector Graphics setting).
Download all (ZIP)	Bundles every plot in one archive.

Errors¶

Lists every error the calculation engine reports, each with its source line and a link that jumps there. This is the reliable place to see errors that occur inside #hide blocks, which are omitted from the rendered preview.

Settings¶

The Settings tab is the single place to control the calculation engine and the editor — Math, Plot, Units, Server, themes, Editor features, Library, Linter, Diagnostics, and named configurations. See Settings for the full reference.