SpeedCrunch 1.1, released on October 20, 2026, adds private tabs to the free scientific calculator for Windows, macOS and Linux. The useful decision is which calculations should survive the session. A scratch estimate and a calculation you need for tomorrow’s review deserve different handling. [1]
Decide what you need to keep
Ordinary sessions save automatically. Private ones stay in memory and are not restored after exit. Closing a private session discards its contents, without closed-tab recovery. [2]
Check the shield and the window title for private status. Renaming a tab does not change whether it saves. [2]
Make the choice around the work’s purpose. Use a disposable session for a temporary estimate only when you are comfortable losing it. For a result someone will review, preserve the inputs, assumptions and units as well as the answer. A final number alone is a weak record of how you reached it.
Keep useful work before closing
Use Session > New Private Tab for disposable work. Before closing useful work, choose Session > Keep to make it an ordinary saved session. Copying and explicit export remain available. [2]
A simple practice is to pause before closing the window: does another person need this result, and could you reproduce it from the information retained? If either answer is uncertain, keep the session and create a readable record. Do this while the work remains open.
The documented private-session behavior concerns automatic saving and restoration. It does not establish an encryption or secure-erasure guarantee. Copied or exported material is another copy to account for; do not assume changing a tab’s status protects that copy.
Choose an export for its purpose
SpeedCrunch-specific JSON supports later import. HTML and plain text are sharing options; HTML keeps display styling and supports browser printing. [2]
For a handover, check that the exported record includes enough context to interpret the result. Open the file yourself, compare one known calculation and keep the original separately until the handover is verified. An export command completing is less useful than a recipient receiving an understandable calculation.
Check your starting version before upgrading
The project’s October 4 announcement warned that version 1.0 introduced a new session format and would not load sessions from previous releases. It advised saving backups and exporting plain text before upgrading. That migration warning matters if you are jumping from an older release; it is not evidence that every 1.0-to-1.1 update breaks sessions. [3]
Version 1.1 also fixes editing and window issues, adds searchable constants and provides a portable macOS package. Use the official download page to check the available package for your platform. [1][4]
A small verification routine
- Record your current version and back up calculations you need.
- Try the new workflow with disposable numbers, not your only copy of important work.
- Keep one test private session before closing, then confirm that saved work returns after restarting.
- Export a sample and check it independently before relying on the format for a handover.
These are suggested verification steps, not a report of hands-on testing. We have not run this release. The goal is to establish which work you can recover before changing how you use the calculator.
Will your calculation survive?
Sources
- [1] Official SpeedCrunch 1.1 announcement, October 20, 2026: https://speedcrunch.blogspot.com/2026/10/speedcrunch-11-released.html
[2] Official manual, private sessions and import/export
- [3] Official project blog, October 4 version 1.0 migration warning: https://speedcrunch.blogspot.com/
- [4] Official download page and 1.1 changelog: https://www.speedcrunch.org/download.html