HELP & GUIDES

Cut list on the Lock Screen and widgets

At the saw you want one thing on the phone: the next cut. CUT LIST puts a calculator's list on the Lock Screen. It shows the cut you are on and the one after it, with a tick button you can hit without unlocking the phone. The Next Cut widget shows the same list on the Home Screen, and SEND LIST hands a tick-off copy to whoever is cutting.

Pro. The cut list, SEND LIST and both widgets are part of Pro. Without Pro the buttons read LIST — PRO and SEND — PRO and open the upgrade screen, and a widget shows a lock with "Unlock Pro in the app". See Free and Pro.

Step by step

Bottom of the Framing screen on its default inputs: the material list with 11 studs and two plate lines, then a dimmed button row with CUT LIST and SEND LIST on the second line and the hint Enter your own measurements to export, start a cut list or send one. 1
The list is built from the material list above the buttons. The row is dimmed here because the inputs are still the samples.
Bottom of the Stairs screen with your own measurements in: the last mark-out rows down to TOP CUT, a green MARKED — NEXT button and RESET, the NOTCHING TEMPLATE — 1:1, ONE SHEET card with its PRINT 1:1 TEMPLATE button, MATERIALS with stringers, treads and risers, then the lit button row: CUT SHEET with a list icon inside its right end, behind a hairline, and SAVE the same width beside it on the first line, CUT LIST, SEND LIST and OPTIMIZE on the second. 2
Stairs with its own measurements in. The row is lit. SEND LIST is beside CUT LIST. The MATERIALS card above the row is what the list is built from: here, "Stringers (2x12) — 17' each", 4 pcs, "Treads (5/4x12) — cut @ 3' 0"", 17 pcs, and "Risers (1x8) — cut @ 3' 0"", 18 pcs.
  1. Enter your own measurements. While every input is still a sample value the row is dimmed and the screen says "Enter your own measurements to export, start a cut list or send one."
  2. Scroll to the bottom and tap CUT LIST. The button changes to CUT LIST ON and End list appears under it. If iOS asks whether to allow Live Activities from Housewright Calc, allow it.
  3. Lock the phone. The Lock Screen shows the calculator's name, a count of ticks done out of the total, the cut you are on in large figures, and a smaller line starting "then" with the cut after it.
  4. Make the cut, then tap the round tick. One tap is one piece. A line with several pieces shows how far through it you are, such as "3 of 11 cut", and moves to the next line when the last piece is ticked. Lines that are not counted in pieces, such as plate stock in linear feet, take one tap.
  5. After the last tick the Lock Screen reads "All cuts done". It stays until iOS clears it or you swipe it away.
  6. To stop early, open the calculator and tap End list. That clears the Lock Screen and the widget together.

What goes on the list

CUT LIST is on Framing, Rough Opening, Header Sizing, Beam Sizing, Floor Joist, Roof Rafter, Hip & Valley, Stairs, Deck, Fence, Arc / Circle, Board Feet and the Cut List Optimizer.

On the Dynamic Island and a locked phone

On an iPhone with a Dynamic Island, the island shows a scissors mark and the current cut. Touch and hold it to see the count, the next cut and the tick button.

While the phone is locked and has not recognised you, iOS hides the description and the dimension of the cut. The count stays visible. They come back as soon as the phone knows it is you.

The Next Cut widget

Next Cut shows the running list as a widget. It keeps working after you swipe the Lock Screen banner away, and when Live Activities are switched off.

The Fraction Calculator widget

Fraction Calculator is a large Home Screen widget with a working feet-inch-fraction keypad. The keys work right on the Home Screen, without opening the app. If the display reads "error — AC to reset" or "full — AC to reset", tap AC. Without Pro the widget shows the display with a lock, and tapping it opens the app.

Adding a widget

Home Screen

  1. Touch and hold an empty part of the Home Screen until the icons jiggle.
  2. Tap Edit at the top left, then Add Widget. On older versions of iOS, tap the + button instead.
  3. Search for Housewright Calc. Pick Next Cut or Fraction Calculator.
  4. Pick a size. Next Cut comes in small and medium. Fraction Calculator is large only.
  5. Tap Add Widget, drag it where you want it, then tap Done.

Lock Screen

  1. Touch and hold the Lock Screen, then tap Customize and choose the Lock Screen.
  2. Tap the widget row under the clock. For the one-line version, tap the date line above the clock.
  3. Choose Housewright Calc, then Next Cut. Tap Done.

Sending the list to someone else

SEND LIST shares the same list as a single web page file, named after the calculator. Send it by AirDrop or Messages. The person cutting needs no app, no account and no signal to open it, and each piece has its own tick box. Opened in a browser on Android or a computer, the page keeps its ticks and counts them. In the preview on an iPhone the boxes tick while the page is open but are not saved.

If it doesn't work

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