Quickstart Guide

Setting up StockChart™

StockChart™ is comprised of several programs that work in conjunction with D&A Software’s WWW/LX and GET programs to capture information from the internet and display and manipulate it in Lotus 1-2-3 - all on the HP 200LX. WWW/LX and GET are required to utilize StockChart™. Contact D&A Software at www.dasoft.com if you do not yet have a licensed copy of WWW/LX.

The main program of StockChart™ is a relatively complex Lotus 1-2-3 program that handles all of the viewing and analysis of stock history data. Support programs include converters for stock data, databases to keep track of stock symbols and other information, a program to automatically set up the files to download and format the stock price history data, and batch file to support data retrieval.

Download the software from our ftp site: ftp://www.leive.com/STKCHART.EXE

Step 2 - Install the software

1. On your C: or A: drive, create a directory named STOCKS (c:\stocks or a:\stocks)
2. Move the downloaded distribution file, STKCHART.EXE, into STOCKS
3. Run STKCHART.EXE which will unzip it and produce: README.TXT, UPDATE.EXE (a self extracting archive which contains the executable programs and configuration files), and EXAMPLES.EXE (a self extracting archive which contains sample databases and sample graphs)
4. Read README.TXT
5. Run UPDATE.EXE to extract all of the executable files and configuration files
6. If you are upgrading from a version earlier that v3.3.0, you will need to update your stock databases by using the procedure described in Updating Databases to work with StockChart™ Version 3.3 and above .
7. If you are installing for the first time, run EXAMPLES.EXE to extract the sample data and the sample databases.
8. Delete UPDATE.EXE, EXAMPLES.EXE and STKCHART.EXE to save disk space
9. Update the PATH statement in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to give the paths to the \STOCKS directory and to the directory holding WWW/LX and GET
   Example: PATH=%PATH%C:\STOCKS;C:\WWW

Step 3 - Try the Viewer

The viewer is unprotected and can be used with the sample data to determine if StockChart™ suits your needs.

• Close all open applications
• Start Lotus 1-2-3
• Start the viewer by entering: /frC:\STOCKS\STKCHART.WK1
  The viewer should start executing and will shortly display a graph of Microsoft price and volume history. If the viewer does not execute the first time it is loaded, use [ALT]g to run it. The viewer will be set to automatically executed in the future.
• Press the escape key [ESC] to display the main menu

Other, easier, ways of starting StockChart™ are described later in this document.

Step 4 - Register

StockChart™ will not download data without being registered. To register StockChart™, please send the purchase price via check or money order to:

Decision Point Systems
5633 Cape Leyte Drive
Sarasota, FL 34242

Include your email address since a small registration file (REGISTER.INI)  will be emailed back to you. If you don’t have an email address, a registration file will be sent on a floppy disk by postal mail.

Registered users of earlier versions of StockChart should contact Decision Point Systems for a new registration file
to operate Version 3.3 and above.

When you receive your REGISTER.INI file, place it in the \STOCKS directory.

** Note: DO NOT edit CHART.CFG using the HP 200LX built in MEMO program. MEMO wraps long lines and places a space in the wrapped lines. This "feature" destroys the integrity of the URL templates in CHART.CFG. If you choose to edit CHART.CFG, please use an editor such as D&A Software’s PalEdit.

Running StockChart™

There are several ways to start StockChart™. All but the method described below require some installation or configuration which will be covered in later sections of this manual.

• Using a macro to run StockChart™ is covered in Using a macro to run StockChart™ .
  
• Installing an icon to run StockChart™ is covered in Installing an icon to run StockChart™.
  
• Using macros to update stock lists from the databases is covered in Using macros to update the stock lists from stock databases.
  
• Installing an icon to run the data access and processing routines is covered in  Installing an icon to run the "Get Stocks" data acquisition procedure.
  

The StockChart™ Lotus 1-2-3 viewer initially expects the data files to reside in C:\STOCKS, but it can be taught to look anywhere you choose. If they are in a directory other than C:\STOCKS, the default directory can be changed by using the Options Data Directory menu items (refer to the Options menu).

Before running the StockChart™ viewer, all open applications should be closed. StockChart™ takes a lot of memory.

Run StockChart™ by starting Lotus 1-2-3, then type /frC:\STOCKS\STKCHART.WK1 to load StockChart™. It takes about a minute to load on a single speed HP 200LX (the Wait indicator is displayed by Lotus during the load).

When it is ready, StockChart™ will beep twice and display a graph of the currently loaded data. The first time you run StockChart™, the current data will be for Microsoft (MSFT). Should StockChart™ fail to load, beep, and display the Microsoft graph, start program execution by typing the ALT key and the G key. This action will execute the StockChart™ viewer and will set your Lotus 1-2-3 defaults to allow autoexecution of spreadsheets in the future.

The graph shown will have closing prices and daily volumes plotted for a twelve month range of dates. There is also a linear regression line of the price information superimposed on the data graph.

Figure 3: Price, Linear Regression, and Volume Graph

Press Escape, Enter, or any other key except Menu to return to the StockChart™ Graphs menu.

Figure 4: StockChart™ Graphs Menu

Overview of the Graphs Menu

The Graphs menu is the first menu presented after the "splash screen" graph is displayed and cleared by pressing Escape or any other key. Graphs is the most used menu and it contains access to the preprocessed graphs, the analysis tools menu and the menu items to change portfolios and select stocks. A brief overview of the Graphs menu is given below. More detail is presented in the Graphs Menu section of the StockChart™ Reference Manual.

This is the end of the Quickstart Guide on the StockChart™ program. You should now be in StockChart™ and ready to try it. If you want more detail, please continue reading. Otherwise, use the remainder of the document as a reference manual.

To learn how to acquire data from the internet refer to the section Accessing and processing data.

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