How can I sum (multiply …) all elements on the calc stack?

Question

Sometimes I just want to sum a bunch of numbers in calc. Right now I press + until the stack is empty. Is there a shorthand for this?

Answer 1

Another solution, if you know from the beginning that you want a sum, is use a vector. Prefix your list of numbers with [, finish with ], and sum using calc-reduce with the + operator (v R +):

[
1
2
...
]
v R +

Answer 2

Summing the whole stack of calc can be achieved using a keyboard macro.

• Define the macro (which does just the + operation): C-x ( + C-x ).
  • BTW this definition already sums two elements of the stack as a side effect.
• Then run the macro until an error occurs with C-0 X.
• That's it! The error is expected to occur when one element remains on the stack.

If you know the stack size you possibly better use the suggestion of swedgin.