I haven't looked recently, but "Calculator.app" used to get its exchange rate information by contacting a web page at Apple that in turn got its information by scraping an IMF web page. In the past, if the layout of the original IMF page changed, the Apple page would parse it incorrectly, and "Calculator.app" would retrieve junk, causing currency conversions to fail.
The current version of "Calculator.app" appears to fail to perform any conversions whatsoever (not just limited to currency) if it fails to read the "~/Library/Application Support/Calculator/FinancialRates.xml" file, something it will try to do if there is a currency conversion is in the "Recent Conversions" list.
So until Apple fixes things from their end, if you need to perform currency conversions using "Calculator.app", it will likely be necessary to retrieve a valid "FinancialRates.xml" file from a backup, update it with current information by hand-editing it, then locking it to prevent "Calculator.app" from making further changes. I.e. it would probably be easier to use something else.
If you need to perform conversions other than currency, try deleting the recent conversions list (the property name is '
RecentConversionsDefaultsKey_1' from the "~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Calculator.plist" file, then refrain from selecting "Currency…" from the "Convert" menu.
As long as there isn't a currency conversion in the "Recent Conversions" list, it should be possible to perform other conversions...
Edit: It appears Apple is getting its info from Yahoo these days, not from the IMF page.
I miss the good old days when Apple stuff just worked...
Same problem here - currency converter gone and if I try it first it greys out all my other conversions. However, just shutting the calculator and turning it back on brings the other conversions back to life for me. I hope this gets sorted quickly.
Strange thing is that the currency converter is still working on my computer here at work and the only difference is that my home computer is on 10.5.8 and this one is still on 10.4.11...
I'm still having this problem, so I just sent feedback to Apple. Hopefully, they'll come out with a fix soon.
In the meantime, it might help people to know that you can type your conversion query directly into a standard Google search box (if you know the currency symbols) and it will present the result at the top of the list. For instance, if you type:
I just discovered this morning that the Calculator Conversions function is no longer working. I will send a comment to the Apple Feedback site listed above.
Same thing here. Trashing the preference file and restarting the app does allow the pop up to work ONE TIME ONLY and only if you don't select the "Currency" conversion. If the "Currency" conversion is selected, the From and To pull downs do not function and the "From" states "Last Updated: 12/31/69 7:00 PM" Go figure.
I reported this to the Apple Feedback with complete details.
Same here, currency conversion does not work. Others work, unless you try to use the currency conversion. After that, Quit Calc and then the others work again. What a bummer. Please fix this asap.
