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Mathcad

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Mathcad
Mathcad
Image: source and license
DevelopersMathsoft, PTC
Release1986
Stable releasePrime 12 (12.0.0.0) / April 8, 2026
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows
Available in10 languages[1]
TypeComputer algebra system
LicenseProprietary
Websitewww.mathcad.com

Mathcad is computer software for the verification, validation, documentation and re-use of mathematical calculations in engineering and science, notably mechanical, chemical, electrical, and civil engineering.[2] Released in 1986 for MS-DOS, it introduced live editing (WYSIWYG) of typeset mathematical notation in an interactive notebook, combined with automatic computations. It was originally developed by Mathsoft, and since 2006 has been a product of Parametric Technology Corporation.

History#edit

Mathcad was conceived and developed by Allen Razdow and Josh Bernoff at Mathsoft founded by David Blohm and Razdow. It was released in 1986. It was the first system to support WYSIWYG editing and recalculation of mathematical calculations mixed with text.[3] It was also the first to check the consistency of engineering units through the full calculation. Other equation solving systems existed at the time, but did not provide a notebook interface: Software Arts' TK Solver was released in 1982, and Borland's Eureka: The Solver was released in 1987.[4]

Mathcad was acquired by Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC) in April 2006.[5]

Overview#edit

Mathcad's central interface is an interactive notebook in which equations and expressions are created and manipulated in the same graphical format in which they are presented (WYSIWYG). This approach was adopted by systems such as Mathematica, Maple, Macsyma, MATLAB, and Jupyter.

Mathcad today includes some of the capabilities of a computer algebra system, but remains oriented towards ease of use and documentation of numerical engineering applications.

Mathcad is part of a broader product development system developed by PTC, addressing analytical steps in systems engineering. It integrates with PTC's Creo Elements/Pro, Windchill, and Creo Elements/View. Its live feature-level integration with Creo Elements/Pro enables Mathcad analytical models to be directly used in driving CAD geometry, and its structural awareness within Windchill allows live calculations to be re-used and re-applied toward multiple design models.

Summary of capabilities#edit

The Mathcad interface allows users to combine a variety of different elements (mathematics, descriptive text, and supporting imagery) into a worksheet, in which dependent calculations are dynamically recalculated as inputs change. This allows for simple manipulation of input variables, assumptions, and expressions. Mathcad's functionality includes:

Although Mathcad is mostly oriented to non-programmers, it is also used in more complex projects to visualize results of mathematical modeling by using distributed computing and coupling with programs written using more traditional languages such as C++.

Current releases#edit

As of 2026, the latest release from PTC is Mathcad Prime 12.0.0.0. This release is a freemium variant: if the software is not activated after a Mathcad Prime 30-day trial, it is possible to continue using PTC Mathcad Express for an unlimited time as "PTC Mathcad Express Free-for-Life Engineering Calculations Software". This freemium pilot is a new marketing approach for PTC. Review and markup of engineering notes can now be done directly by team members without them all requiring a full Mathcad Prime license.[7]

The last release of the traditional (non-Prime) product line, Mathcad 15.0, came out in June 2010 and shares the same worksheet file structure as Mathcad 14.0. The last service release, Mathcad 15.0 M050, which added support for Windows 10, was released in 2017. Mathcad 15.0 and earlier releases are no longer actively developed, sold or supported anymore.[8] PTC recommends users to migrate their Mathcad 15.0 or prior worksheets to the latest supported Prime releases using the XMCD to MCD converter bundled as part of the Prime subscription.[9]

Computer operating system platforms#edit

Mathcad only runs on Microsoft Windows. Mathcad Prime 12.0 requires Windows 11 version 23H2 or later. Until 1998, Mathcad also supported Mac OS.[10] Mathcad 15 M045 and Mathcad Prime 3.1 are the last versions to officially support Windows XP and Windows Vista. Mathcad Prime 6 is the last version to officially support Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1. Mathcad Prime 11 is the last version to officially support Windows 10 64-bit.

Support#edit

Starting in 2011 (Mathcad 15.0) the first year of maintenance and support has been included in the purchase or upgrade price.

Release history#edit

NameVersionRelease dateNotes
Mathcad 0.30.3Beta on 5.25-inch floppy diskette
Mathcad 2.5.22.5.21989Last version for MS-DOS
Mathcad 3.13.11992First version for Windows (with notebook interface)
Mathcad 4.04.0
Mathcad 5.05.0Added Maple based CAS features
Mathcad 5.55.5
Mathcad 6.0[11]6.01995Last version for Windows 3.1x.
Mathcad 7[12]7.01997First version for Windows 95.
Mathcad 8[13]
Mathcad 2000[14]
Mathcad 2001i[15]
Mathcad 11[16]Last version to use MCD file format when saving Mathcad documents.
Mathcad 12[17]First version to use XMCD or XMCDZ file format when saving Mathcad documents.
Mathcad 13.0[18]13.0September 15, 2005[19]
Mathcad 13.1[18]13.1Last version developed by Mathsoft. Last version to officially support Windows 95, 98, ME, NT 4.0, and 2000.
Mathcad 14.0[18]14.0February 12, 2007[19]First version developed by PTC.
Mathcad 15.0[20]15.0 F000June 25, 2010[19]
Mathcad 15.0 M010[20]15.0 M010June 29, 2011[19]
Mathcad 15.0 M040[19]15.0 M040August 2015
Mathcad 15.0 M045[21]15.0 M045November 2015[21]Last version to officially support Windows XP and Vista for non-Prime version
Mathcad 15.0 M050[22]15.0 M050December 2017Last traditional (non-Prime) release. Last version to use XMCD or XMCDZ file format when saving Mathcad documents.
Mathcad Prime 1.0[23]1.0.0.0January 10, 2011[19]First version to use MCDX file format when saving Mathcad documents.
Mathcad Prime 2.02.0.0.0February 29, 2012[19]First version to have native 64-bit version, aside from its native 32-bit version.
Mathcad Prime 3.03.0.0.0October 2, 2013[19]
Mathcad Prime 3.13.1.0.0March 2, 2015[19]Last version to officially support Windows XP and Vista
Mathcad Prime 44.0.0.0March 6, 2017[19]
Mathcad Prime 55.0.0.0August 14, 2018[24]Last version to have native 32-bit version, aside from its native 64-bit version.
Mathcad Prime 66.0.0.0October 1, 2019[25]Last version to officially support Windows 7, 8, and 8.1. First version to have native 64-bit version only.
Mathcad Prime 77.0.0.0February 27, 2021[26]
Mathcad Prime 88.0.0.0March 15, 2022[27]
Mathcad Prime 99.0.0.0March 14, 2023[28]
Mathcad Prime 1010.0.0April 23, 2024[29]
Mathcad Prime 1111.0.0April 2, 2025[30]Last version to officially support Windows 10 64-bit.
Mathcad Prime 1212.0.0April 8, 2026[31]First version that requires Windows 11 (23H2 or later).

See also#edit

References#edit

  1. ^ "Mathcad Language Support - PTC.com". Retrieved 2020-11-07.
  2. ^ "PTC Mathcad - PTC". Retrieved 2020-11-07.
  3. ^ "Now you can calculate on your PC with the same freedom you have on paper" (ad), PC Magazine, September 15, 1987, p. 42
  4. ^ Ronald Shone, "Software for Solving Equations: Eureka: The Solver, TK Solver Plus and Mathcad", Journal of Economic Surveys 3:1:83–95 doi:10.1111/j.1467-6419.1989.tb00059.x (March 1989)
  5. ^ PTC buys Mathsoft for $63m : April 2006 Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ John McSweeney (September 16, 2011). "Website Design: Mathcad and MathML". Archived from the original on 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
  7. ^ ENGINEERING.com. "Psst... PTC is Giving Away Mathcad Express. Pass it on. > ENGINEERING.com". Archived from the original on 2013-10-12.
  8. ^ "Official PTC Mathcad 15 and Prime 1–6 End-of-Sale Announcement | Community". community.ptc.com. 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  9. ^ "Moving from Legacy Mathcad to Mathcad Prime | PTC". Archived from the original on 2026-03-09. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  10. ^ "MathSoft Mathcad PLUS 6". Versiontracker. Archived from the original on 2009-06-11. Retrieved 2009-10-23.
  11. ^ "Mathcad Features Comparison Chart". Archived from the original on 1996-11-10. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  12. ^ "Mathcad PLUS 6.0 and Mathcad 7 Professional Comparison". Archived from the original on 1998-02-20. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  13. ^ "Mathcad Features: Version by Version Comparison". Archived from the original on 2000-09-29. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  14. ^ "Mathcad Version Comparison Chart". Archived from the original on 1999-11-28. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  15. ^ "What's New in Mathcad 2001i". Archived from the original on 2001-02-15. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
  16. ^ "What's New in Mathcad 11". Archived from the original on 2002-11-11. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
  17. ^ "Mathcad 12: part of every solution" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-09-16. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  18. ^ a b c "Release Notes for Mathcad 14". Archived from the original on 2017-05-10. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "When to release Mathcad 15 M040?". 29 April 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-06-16. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  20. ^ a b "Latest Release of MC15 (M0??)". 12 September 2011. Archived from the original on 2016-06-16. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  21. ^ a b "Mathcad 15 M045 release notes ("Read This First" guide)". 12 December 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-06-16. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  22. ^ "New service release of Mathcad 15 M050". community.ptc.com. 2017-12-15. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  23. ^ "Choose the Mathcad® product that's right for you" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-10. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  24. ^ "PTC Mathcad Prime 5.0 Introduces New 2D Plotting Capabilities | PTC". Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  25. ^ "PTC Mathcad Prime 6.0 Brings Engineering Calculations to Life". www.ptc.com. Retrieved 2019-11-01.
  26. ^ "What's in Mathcad Prime 7?". Mathcad. PTC. 27 February 2021.
  27. ^ "Mathcad Prime 10". PTC Community. PTC. 29 January 2024.
  28. ^ "What's New in PTC Mathcad Prime 9?". PTC. 17 February 2023.
  29. ^ "What's New in PTC Mathcad Prime 10". www.mathcad.com. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  30. ^ "What's new in PTC Mathcad Prime 11". www.mathcad.com. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  31. ^ Newman, David (2026-04-22). "Amp Up Your Calculations with PTC Mathcad Prime 12". PTC. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
Categories 1986 softwareArray programming languagesComputer algebra system software for WindowsComputer algebra systemsComputer vision softwareData and information visualization softwareDynamically typed programming languagesHigh-level programming languagesLinear algebraMathematical optimization softwareNumerical analysis software for WindowsNumerical linear algebraNumerical programming languagesNumerical softwarePlotting softwareRegression and curve fitting softwareStatistical programming languagesTime series softwareProprietary softwareWindows-only software

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