GeoGebra Portable (Windows) – Download & Review

GeoGebra Portable is an open-source and interactive mathematics application that facilitates tools for calculus, algebra and geometry. This educational utility primarily caters to students and teachers.

Portability benefits

As installation is not a prerequisite, you can drop the program files anywhere on the disk and run the executable file directly. It is also possible to move GeoGebra to a USB flash disk in order to run it on any workstation without prior installers, as long as it has Java installed. More importantly, it does not insert new entries into the Windows registry or Start menu.

Simple-to-use interface and options

The interface is made from a regular window with a user-friendly structure, where a few drawing tools are displayed on the upper part of the screen. You can rearrange the two primary panes dedicated to algebraic expressions and graphics, as well as sort the algebraic items by type, dependency, layer, or construction order.

Easily manipulate the project’s elements

It is possible to add new points to a line, function or curve in the graph, create points inside an object or on its perimeter, attach or detach points, intersect two objects, display a midpoint or center of a segment, circle or conic, as well as generate complex numbers.

Resort to useful graphical functions

Other graphical functions let you create perpendicular or parallel lines, polygons and circles, use a compass, generate a list of angles, translate objects into vectors, insert text and images, inspect functions, zoom in and out, and dozens more. Each expression shown in the “Algebra” panel can be traced in the graph, animated, or marked as an auxiliary object.

The project can be saved to file for further modifications, shared on the developer’s website, printed, as well as exported to file (e.g. HTML, PNG, EPS, GIF), while the settings can be saved as default.

Evaluation and conclusion

GeoGebra supports multiple languages and font sizes, and allows advanced users to manage tools. It has a good response time and works smoothly while using a moderate-to-high amount of system resources. To sum it up, GeoGebra provides all the necessary tools (and more) for helping math users create presentations and projects.