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How to Get an Always-on-Top Calculator in PC Games on Windows 10

Try Windows 10’s Built-in Calculator

Windows 10’s built-in calculator has an always-on-top mode, too. It can stay always on top of whatever desktop apps you’re using. We’re covering another cool trick in this article: Using the Xbox Game Bar’s little-known widgets to get a calculator that can stay always on top anywhere in Windows, including inside PC games.

How to Get an Xbox Game Bar Calculator Widget

Widgets are one of the Xbox Game Bar‘s many handy features. They give you quick access to “widgets” on top of your current activity. With a simple keyboard shortcut, you can bring up a calculator and even pin it to stay on top. Microsoft added widgets to the Game Bar in Windows 10’s May 2019 update. You’ll need that version or newer if you want to use the calculator widget.

The Calculator widget is not included by default, so we’ll have to download it from the Widget Store before we can use it. To bring up the Game Bar, press Windows + G. Alternatively, you can click “Xbox Game Bar” in the Start Menu. (If it doesn’t appear, head to Settings > Gaming > Xbox Game Bar, ensure the Game Bar is “On,” and check if you’ve changed the keyboard shortcut that opens the Game Bar.)

open Xbox Game Bar

In the “Game Bar” toolbar, click the “Widget” menu icon at the left side of the bar.

select the widget menu icon

From the drop-down list, select “Widget Store” at the bottom.

select widget store from the menu

Scroll through the available widgets and select “Game Bar Calculator” by Mark Lierman. Click “Install” on the information page.

install the calculator from the widget store

Once it’s installed, you’ll see “Calculator” in the widget menu. Simply click it to open the widget. You can “star” it to put the shortcut in the toolbar as well.

select the calculator from the menu

The widget can be dragged around the screen and it will stay in that spot whenever you bring up the Game Bar overlay.

drag the widget around

How to Make the Calculator Always-on-Top

These widgets can also be “pinned” to stay always-on-top of whatever you’re doing, even when the Game Bar disappears. To do this, press Windows + G or launch “Xbox Game Bar” from the Start Menu. Once again, open the calculator widget.

open the calculator widget

Now click the pin icon in the top bar of the calculator widget.

click the pin icon

The calculator won’t disappear with the rest of the Game Bar. Keep in mind that you can only move it around when the Game Bar overlay is open.

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How to Fix Your Keyboard Typing Numbers Instead of Letters

With Num Lock turned on, the numeric keypad on a desktop PC works like an adding machine keypad with numbers and symbols (such as *, /, and +) that represent mathematical operations. With Num Lock turned off, the keypad registers as cursor keys (like up and down arrow) and some editing keys (such as Home and Insert).

What’s Different About Num Lock on a Laptop?

Most laptops don’t have dedicated numeric keypads, so Num Lock works differently on them. Instead of changing cursor keys into numbers, it converts a section of the QWERTY letters on the keyboard into a virtual numeric keypad. Here is an example a keyboard made by Acer for a Windows 10 laptop. When you press the Num Lock key (seen here highlit in a red rectangle), 15 of the keys switch modes into a simulated numeric keypad. When you push them, they register as the symbol highlit in the red circle.

Example of num lock keys on a laptop keyboard

Your laptop will most likely look different than this, but many manufacturers use some variation of using keys on the right side of the keyboard as a numeric keypad with Num Lock. As a result, if you hit the Num Lock key by accident on a laptop, you might have a problem that looks like this.

Example of num lock accidentaly turned on with a laptop

In this case, you’re typing numbers instead of letters because the Num Lock key is turned on. Here’s how to turn it off.

How to Turn Off Num Lock on a Laptop
  • The first step to turning off Num Lock is to find the Num Lock key on your laptop’s keyboard. Its location can vary wildly by laptop manufacturer, but it is usually located in the upper-right corner of the keyboard.
  • Look for a small key that says some variation of “Num Lock,” “NumLk,” or even a small lock symbol with a number 1 inside.

For example, here is the Num Lock key’s location on an Acer laptop.

An example laptop numlock key

In this case, the Num Lock key doubles as the F12 key, and it defaults to being Num Lock. Some laptops may require you to hold down a Function key (commonly labeled “Fn”) while pushing Num Lock to toggle it on or off.

Also, some laptop keyboards may have an indicator light showing whether Num Lock is turned on or off. For example, this YouTube video shows the location of the Num Lock key and its indicator light on a Sony VAIO notebook keyboard.

Your laptop will vary. If you have trouble locating your Num Lock key, try searching for a combination of your manufacturer name + “laptop” + “numlock key location” on Google, and you might find a websites with instructions specific to your laptop. For example, Google “lenovo laptop numlock key location,” and you will find information about the Num Lock key on various ThinkPad laptops.

Preventing Future Num Lock Accidents

Now that you know about the Num Lock key, you can easily turn it off if you ever accidentally find yourself typing numbers again. If you’d like to receive an audible alert when you push the Num Lock key, follow this guide to make your computer play a sound when you type the Num Lock key, so you’ll know if you pressed it by accident. There’s also a way to see a notification in your Task Bar if you turn on Num Lock.

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