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WELCOME TO THE DESMOS GRAPHING CALCULATOR

The Desmos Graphing Calculator can be used to graph functions, plot tables of data,
evaluate expressions, animate and create art, and much, much more!

1.​ Get Started Graphing

2.​ Log in, Save, and Share Your Graph

3.​ Animate with Variables and Sliders

4.​ Shade with Restrictions and Inequalities

5.​ Visualize Data with Tables and Lists

6.​ Model with Regressions

7.​ Recursion

8.​ Complex Numbers

9.​ Learn More about Advanced Features

If you have questions that aren’t answered here, please visit help.desmos.com or send
us an email at support@desmos.com.
1. Get Started Graphing

When you visit the graphing calculator, you'll see a place to write expressions on the
left and a grid on the right. You can use the expression list to plot points, graph
equations, evaluate expressions, and more.

ADD NEW ITEMS

Click just below an existing expression or press "enter" from an existing expression to
add a new blank expression. Click the plus button in the top left to add a note,
table, folder, or image. If you’d prefer not to reach for the mouse, press Ctrl and Alt
along with O, T, F, I. You can also type expressions and equations directly in the line.
Try typing 𝑦 = 2𝑥 − 1.

USE THE KEYPAD

In the bottom left corner of the screen, you'll find a keypad button . Click the
keypad button to add anything you might need to your expression (including letters,
numbers, symbols, and functions). Everything on the keypad can also be typed on your
keyboard. Open the keyboard shortcuts list by pressing Ctrl + /, or from within the
resources section by clicking on the help button in the top right corner.

HIDE OR STYLE AN ITEM

Long-hold on the color icon in the expression line to open an options menu for a
graphed item or press Ctrl + Shift + O. Click once on the color icon to show/hide the
graph of the expression item. Depending on the item, you can change the opacity,
color, location of the label, and other style options.

ORGANIZE YOUR ITEMS IN FOLDERS

After using the plus button in the top left to add a folder, drag expression lines into
the folder to group them together (a gray line will show up to the left of the
expression to let you know it’s in the folder). Once grouped, items in folders can be
collapsed or hidden all at once.

EXPLORE A GRAPH

You can explore points of interest on a graph by using your mouse to click on them or
trace along a curve. On a keyboard, press Alt + T and then H to hear the graph with
audiotrace. Audiotrace is an accessibility feature in Desmos that you can use to hear
the shape of a curve.
ADJUST GRAPH SETTINGS

Click on the wrench icon in the top right corner of the graph to open the graph
settings menu or type Ctrl + Alt + G. Open the graph settings to adjust the domain
and range of the viewport, change or hide the grid, switch between using radians
and degrees for angles, and much more.

Learn more about graph settings in the graphing calculator

2. Log in, Save, and Share Your Graph

CREATE AN ACCOUNT
Although you can use the Desmos Graphing Calculator without signing in, in order to
save your graphs, you’ll need to have an account. If you press the save button while
signed out, it will prompt you to sign in or create an account. To create an account,
choose the blue sign up button in the top right corner to make an account with
an email address or by signing up with Google or Apple. You will use this same
account to log in to the Desmos Geometry Tool.

SAVE YOUR GRAPH

When you make changes to your graph, a save button will appear in the top left of
your graph when changes have been made. As you make additional changes to the
graph, the save button will reappear. To save any updates or changes, you will need to
click the save button or type CTRL + S.

ACCESS YOUR SAVED GRAPHS

To access all of your saved graphs, click on the hamburger menu in the upper left
corner or type CTRL + O. To open any of your saved graphs, click or Tab to the
graph’s name in this menu and select ‘Open Graph.’
SHARE A GRAPH

From the share menu, you can print or export an image of your graph. You can also
copy a link to your graph or an embed code. To open the share menu, click on the
share button in the top toolbar of the calculator or type CTRL + ALT + S.
3. Animate with Variables and Sliders

In the graphing calculator, you can use movable points and sliders to create interactive
graphs & animations.

ADD SLIDERS FOR VARIABLES

In the Desmos Graphing Calculator, sliders can be used to continually change the value
of a parameter. Add a slider by typing a variable anywhere you might normally use a
number. For example, instead of graphing a line like 𝑦 = 2𝑥 + 3, make it dynamic by
using parameters (variables) instead of constants.

Type 𝑦 = 𝑚𝑥 + 𝑏 instead and then click the ‘add slider’ button

to automatically add a slider for the values of 𝑚 and 𝑏. You can also type 𝑚 and 𝑏 in
separate expression lines to define the sliders manually.

To adjust the limits and interval of your slider, click or Tab to either of the values at
the ends of the slider bar. Input your values and your graph will be automatically
updated.
ANIMATE THE SLIDER
Drag the slider to change the value of the parameter. You can also Tab to the slider
and then use the Left and Right Arrow Keys to adjust its value. If you click the play
button , we will animate it for you automatically.

ADJUST THE ANIMATION

To adjust the animation, click on the animation properties icon in the

expression line to open the animation menu or type Ctrl + Shift + O. From this menu,
you can adjust your animation to loop forward and backwards, repeat in one direction,
play once or indefinitely, and increase and decrease in speed.

MAKE A POINT MOVEABLE

You can make points moveable by using slider variables for the coordinates or by
making them draggable from the style menu.

If you define a point with a variable, you’ll be prompted to add a slider and then will be
able to move the point by dragging it on the graph (in addition to moving it by dragging
the slider).

Another way to make a static point moveable is by clicking and holding on the color
icon in the expression line to open a style menu for the point or by pressing Ctrl +
Shift + O. From this menu, you can change what happens as you drag the point.

4. Shade with Restrictions and Inequalities

Use inequalities to automatically shade above or below lines and curves.

PLOT INEQUALITIES
For a non-strict inequality (a dashed line), type the less than symbol < or greater
than symbol >. For a strict inequality (a solid line), type less than < and then equals =
for the less than or equal to symbol (≤) or greater than > and then equals = for the
greater than or equal to symbol (≥). You can even shade between two curves, by
2
typing, for example 𝑥 ≤ 𝑦 ≤ 𝑥!

USE INEQUALITIES IN RESTRICTIONS

You can also use inequalities with restrictions to shade selected parts of the graph. To
restrict the domain or range of your expressions, type the restriction at the end of
2
an expression between curly brackets. For example, in 𝑦 > 𝑥 − 2 {𝑦 < 1} the region
is restricted to only shade the area where 𝑦 < 1.

5. Visualize Data with Tables and Lists

Both tables and lists can be used in Desmos Graphing Calculator to organize data.
With tables, you can organize ordered pairs, quickly plot points for a particular
function, or even run regressions to find a line or curve of best fit. With lists, you can
populate the columns of a table, calculate the mean, median, or standard deviation of a
data set, and more.

CREATE A BLANK TABLE

To add a blank table, click the plus button in the top left of the expression list and
choose the table item. You can also press Ctrl + Alt + T or type 'table' in a blank
expression line.

Type values into the table and use the arrow keys to easily maneuver through the
rows and columns. Click on the zoom fit icon next to the table to automatically
adjust the axis settings to fit the data. You can also type Shift + Alt + Z to zoom-fit.

Long-hold on the color icon at the top of a column or press Ctrl + Shift + O to
open a style menu and connect the points with lines or change their styling.

CREATE A TABLE FROM A FUNCTION OR POINT

You can also create a table of values to match a function or point(s). To do so, click the
‘edit list’ icon in the top right corner of the expression list or type Ctrl + Alt + D. If
the expression line contains an available expression, a Create Table button will
appear. Click on or Tab to it to add a table of values that match the expression line.
USE A LIST
You can make lists in Desmos Graphing Calculator using square brackets [ ]. For
example, you can type [1,2,7,10] to make a four element list with the values 1, 2, 7, and
10. You can use lists anywhere in the calculator where you would enter a number.

Use the ellipsis symbol between elements to quickly create a list with evenly spaced
elements. For example, [1…10] will give you all of the integers between 1 and 10. If
you type [1,3,...,11], you’ll get a list of all 6 odd numbers between 1 and 11.

If you compute using a list, it will run the computation on each element of the list. For
example, [1…5]2 will give you the numbers 1, 4, 9, 16, 25.
6. Model with Regressions

A regression equation models the relationship between two sets of data.

REGRESSIONS FROM A TABLE

In order to run a regression, you’ll need to organize your data into a table first. For help
with this, refer to the Visualize Data with Tables and Lists section of this user guide.

Once you have your data in a table, click the Add Regression icon to the left of your
expression, or open the options menu next to your y-variable. This will automatically
add a Linear Regression below your table. Click on Linear Regression to open the
regression model dropdown menu and explore which regression model best fits your
data.

You can also copy a snapshot to the expression list. Once the snapshot is in the
expression list, you can define it as a function, substitute different variables, and test
predictions based on your model.

To edit the model, try viewing the regression model and exporting it to the expression
list or creating a standalone regression model directly in an expression line.
CUSTOM REGRESSION MODELS
For a custom regression model, use the tilde symbol (~) in place of an equal sign (=) in
a new expression line and type the regression equation you want to try. Use your
table's column names (e.g., 𝑥1 and 𝑦1) to reference the data in your model. For a
2
quadratic model in vertex form, use 𝑦1~ 𝑎(𝑥1 − ℎ) + 𝑏 or for a sinusoidal model,
try 𝑦1~ 𝑎(𝑏𝑥1 + 𝑐) + 𝑑. The calculator will adjust every free parameter to find the best
fit to the model given.
PRACTICE WITH REGRESSIONS

To practice setting up a regression step-by-step, select the Regressions Tour ​

by clicking on the help menu in the top right of the calculator or by typing ​
CTRL + ALT + H.
7. Recursion

A recursive sequence is defined when the value of a term depends on one or more
other terms in the sequence. To write a recursive function, you need a recursive rule
that relies on other terms and a base case.

FUNCTION NOTATION

Let’s consider a sequence whose first few terms are 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. The recursive
rule is to add 2 to each previous term and the sequence starts with a base case of 3.
To represent this in function notation, start with 𝑓(𝑛) = 𝑓(𝑛 − 1) + 2. The 𝑓(𝑛 − 1)
term is used to refer to the previous term. Once you type 𝑓(𝑛 − 1) , there will be an
add base case button for 𝑓(1), which will default to 𝑓(1) = 1. To match our
sequence, change this to 𝑓(1) = 3. To see the first five terms of your sequence, press
the ‘Create Table’ button.
PIECEWISE NOTATION

Anything you can represent in function notation, you can also represent in piecewise
notation. Let’s take a look at the Fibonacci Sequence whose first few terms are 1, 1,
2, 3, 5, and 8. Each term is the sum of the two terms before it (
𝑔(𝑛) = 𝑔(𝑛 − 1) + 𝑔(𝑛 − 2)). So, in this case we need two base cases to begin the
sequence (𝑔(1) = 1 and 𝑔(2) = 1).
In piecewise notation, represent this sequence as
𝑔(𝑛) = {𝑛 = 1: 1, 𝑛 = 2: 1, 𝑔(𝑛 − 1) + 𝑔(𝑛 − 2)}. This reads “when 𝑛 = 1,
𝑔(𝑛) = 1. When 𝑛 = 2, 𝑔(𝑛) = 1. Otherwise, 𝑔(𝑛) = 𝑔(𝑛 − 1) + 𝑔(𝑛 − 2).”

8. Complex Numbers

Complex numbers are written in the form 𝑎 + 𝑏𝑖, where 𝑎 is the real part, and 𝑏 is the
2
imaginary part. The imaginary number 𝑖 is defined as the square root of -1 ( − 1), so 𝑖 =− 1.
To compute and graph with complex numbers in the Graphing Calculator, turn on Complex
Mode in the graph settings menu.
FUNCTIONS FOR COMPLEX NUMBERS

Function Try Typing… This function plots or finds the…

real real(2 + 4𝑖) real part of a complex number.

imaginary imag(2 + 4𝑖)) imaginary part of a complex number

(multiple of i).

conjugate conj(2 + 4𝑖)) complex conjugate by changing the sign

of the imaginary part of a complex
number. This is often used when dividing
by complex numbers.

argument arg(2 + 4𝑖)) angle inclined from the positive real axis to
the line from the origin to the complex
value. In Desmos, this angle is calculated
in radians within the interval (− π, π].

modulus, or |2 + 4𝑖| the distance between the origin and the

absolute value complex value’s corresponding point.

COMPUTING AND GRAPHING WITH COMPLEX NUMBERS

In the expression list, you can add, subtract, multiply, and divide complex numbers. Each
complex number is plotted as a point on the plane by converting to (real(), imag()) where the
x-coordinate represents the real part and the y-coordinate represents the imaginary part. You
can label, drag, and style complex numbers using the options menu. For more details, check
out the Hide or Style an Item section.

Note: In Complex Mode, all angles are displayed in radians.

9. Learn More about Advanced Features

USE THE FUNCTION MENU

The function menu on the keypad is a great place to start learning about all of the
functions that are available for use in the Desmos Graphing Calculator. To open the
functions menu, click on the keypad button at the bottom of the expression list.

You can also learn more about advanced functions at help.desmos.com and in the
resources section on desmos.com.

Here are some suggested articles as you explore advanced features.

Actions
Accessibility
Custom Colors
Desmos on Assessments
Dynamic Labels
List Comprehensions
Parametric Equations
Polar Graphing
Statistics and Data Visualizations
Trigonometry