Traditionally Punch! had always displayed measurements in either meters (to two decimal places) or in inches. With Version 8, that has been changed; a series of selections in the Design->Units of Measurement... dialog gives three metric format options and english options that include display of inches or feet-and-inches, of fractional inches in decimal or in fractions, and to what level or resolution, down to 1/16th inch. Angles are displayed in metric and english as degrees, with from 0 to 4 digits to the right of the decimal. You should also be aware that if choosing the option for english fractions in decimal, the decimal value is equal to the measurement rounded to the equavalent fraction and then converted to decimal, so even if you choose four decimal places of accuracy, the accuracy displayed is actually to the closest 1/16th of an inch.
On input the options are more open. In metric, input has always been in meters with decimal fractions. In English, the following formats are allowed:
Angles are always entered in degrees with optional decimal point and digits for fractional values. In specially designated places, a pitch value can be used instead of an angle, and it is also entered as a decimal number with optional decimal appendix, representing the rise associated with a run of 12 inches.
TKE PowerTools follow thw same scheme, with one exception. Metric data in construction, in international usage, is always given in millimeters without decimals (including decimal point) and also without abbreviations. TKE PowerTools treat an entry in metric mode as nillimaters always. An optional decimal suffix will also be treated as part of the entry, should one occur.
Be aware that when Punch! stores a measurement in the .pro file that it does so in a computer standard format (called single precision floating point) in which up to just a bit more then 6 places of accuracy is maintained. Since the Punch! model measures locations from the center of the project outwards, that means that at the extreme edge (500', or 6000", in any cardinal direction) there are only two digits to spare for accuracy on the right of the decimal. Binary fractions require one place for 1/2, two places for 1/4, three for 1/8th and so on, so you may find your fractional accuracy dropping (that is you input a position near the edge in 1/16's of an inch, and find it is rounded to the nearest 1/4"). Punch! cannot guarantee a given accuracy to the right of the decinal, only an accuracy in total digits, right and left. That is in the nature of computers.
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