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Stock Alert Help Contents

The Stock Alert main window is your Virtual Desktop and provides access to the following:

Analysis

Portfolio

Stock Alert Report

Downloading

Note: some general information about Stock Alert will explain the standard buttons located on all screens.


Analysis

The main Analysis window allows access to analysis graphs, analysis reports, and access to be able to enter/edit earnings report and company information.

Analysis Graphs

4 Month Graph

12 Month Graph

Analysis Reports

Performance Report

Stock Activity Report

Company Detail

Earnings Information

Company Information


Portfolio

The main Portfolio window allows access to portfolio graphs, portfolio reports, and stock transaction screens.

Portfolio Graphs

Portfolio Graph

Stock Graph

Portfolio Reports

Current Portfolio Report

Transactions Report

Performance Report

Realized Gains Report

Transactions

Stock Purchase and Sell

Capital Gains, Dividends & Expenses

Note

The Portfolio graphs and reports are not active until at least one stock is purchased.


Alert Report
Custom Stock Alert Report Window

The Custom Stock Alert window allows you to enter specific price thresholds for stocks tracked in Stock Alert. If a stock(s) breaks the user defined thresholds, the AutoAnalyst will identify the stock(s) and display it on the Stock Alert Report. The high threshold price represents the stock price ceiling that must be surpassed in order for the stock to be listed on the Stock Alert Report. The low threshold price represents the stock price floor that must be broken for the stock to appear on the Stock Alert Report. Also, the entire Stock Alert Report, or components of it, can be turned off from this window.

Prior Stock Alert Reports are accessed from this window as far back as indicated by your preferences.


Download
Downloading

It is recommended that you download stock data from your on-line service to Stock Alert at the end of each trading day. Data can be downloaded less frequently, but you may miss important stock activity by using this approach. Nonetheless, all Stock Alert features will work with the data present in Stock Alert regardless of the download frequency. The usefulness of the information presented is determined by the timeliness of the data and your own information needs.

There are three options for downloading stock data from an online service:

1. America Online

2. CompuServe

3. Prodigy

In the event of a problem or disconnection from your on-line service, or if you do not have one of these on-line services, you can enter data manually.

If you have been tracking stock performance using a spreadsheet program (such as Microsoft Excel), you can download the data into Stock Alert for additional analysis.

Through the download and/or manual stock data entry process, Stock Alert is updated with current information and the AutoAnalyst checks for new stock highs, new stock lows, excessive trading volume (twice normal volume), realization of investment goals or other customized stock price criteria. When completing a download, you will receive a message that Stock Alert has been updated. If the AutoAnalyst uncovers any of the above activities, it will alert you by displaying them on the Stock Alert Report . If no special activity is detected for that day, no report will be displayed.

If a stock is downloaded to Stock Alert for the first time, you will be prompted to enter the stock name and stock market for each new stock. Click on the save button at the bottom of the window to update Stock Alert.


Other Features
General Information

Click here for an overview of Stock Alert.  In Stock Alert, you can customize many features by setting your preferences.

The following is some general information about Stock Alert.

Back Arrow	Closes a window without saving changes.

Save Icon	Saves changes in a window, then closes the window automatically.

Exit Icon	Exits the Stock Alert application.


Analysis report: Performance Report
Performance Report

The Performance Report displays the performance of the stocks in your portfolio against all stocks that are being tracked in Stock Alert over the last three months. This report can be a valuable analysis tool for identifying performance streaks. It will also aide in analyzing whether your portfolio contains/contained the best performing stocks during the time period. The Performance Report can assist in critically managing your portfolio as well as provide the starting point for learning from your past investment decisions.

The Performance Report is accessed through the Analysis window or Portfolio window.


Analysis report: Stock Activity Report
Stock Activity Report

The Stock Activity Report presents the price and volume activity that took place for a particular stock on the last day data was downloaded. The stocks high, low, closing price, net change in price and trading volume are displayed for that particular day.

The Stock Activity Report is accessed through the Analysis window.


Portfolio report: Current Portfolio Report
Current Portfolio Report

The Current Portfolio Report displays the stock holdings that make-up your stock portfolio at that particular point in time. The number of shares currently owned, the investment market value and any unrealized return on investment (ROI) are displayed by individual transaction to provide your current portfolio allocation and performance.

The trading range of the stock since its purchase, latest closing price and stock Hold range are displayed to assist in making decisions on when to sell a particular stock. With these three items, a stocks current performance can be critically compared to its performance since its purchase and compared to the investment goals that were set at the time of purchase.

Finally, the annualized return on investment provides a common measurement to compare a stocks performance against other stocks in your portfolio or against other stocks that are being tracked.

The Current Portfolio Report is accessed through the Portfolio window.

Note

This report will not be active unless there is at least one stock in your current Stock Alert portfolio.


Portfolio report: Transactions Report
Transactions Report

The Transactions Report itemizes all transactions which have taken place in your portfolio over the selected period of time. This report serves as a ledger of your portfolio activity.

The Transactions Report is accessed through the Portfolio window.

Note

This report will not be active unless there is at least one transaction in your portfolio over the selected period of time. Transaction expenses are not reflected in this report.


Portfolio report: Realized Gains Report
Realized Gains Report

The Realized Gains Report displays all of the realized gains over the selected period of time. Realized gains are listed as interest income or capital gains income and itemized by transaction. This report allows you to gauge the real performance of your portfolio over time. The return of the S&P 500 over the time period is also provided as a performance benchmark.

The Realized Gains Report is accessed through the Portfolio window.

Note

This report will not be active unless there has been at least one realized gain in the selected period
of time.


Portfolio report: Performance Report
Performance Report

The Performance Report displays the performance of the stocks in your portfolio against all stocks that are being tracked in Stock Alert over the last three months. This report can be a valuable analysis tool for identifying performance streaks. It will also aide in analyzing whether your portfolio contains/contained the best performing stocks during the time period. The Performance Report can assist in critically managing your portfolio as well as provide the starting point for learning from your past investment decisions.

The Performance Report is accessed through the Analysis window or Portfolio window.


Analysis Graph: 4 Month Graph
4 Month Graph

The 4 Month Graph window displays a graph of the price and volume activity of the selected stock over the last 4 months as well as earnings information (if entered), average stock trading volume (in 1000), and stock closing price on the last day that data was downloaded. A 10-day moving average is also displayed on the graph. The 10-day moving average can be a good indicator of the short-term trend.

The 4 Month Graph is accessed through the Analysis window.


Analysis Graph: 12 Month Graph
12 Month Graph

The 12 Month Graph window displays a graph of the price and volume activity of the selected stock over the last 12 months as well as earnings information (if entered), average stock trading volume (in 1000), and stock closing price on the last day that data was downloaded. A 50-day moving average, which is a common technical analysis tool, is also displayed on the graph. The 50-day moving average can be a good indicator of the intermediate-term trend.

The 12 Month Graph is accessed through the Analysis window.


Portfolio Graph: Portfolio Graph
Portfolio Graph

The Portfolio Graph window displays a pie chart depicting your current portfolio allocation. Below the pie chart, your current portfolios market value, unrealized gain/loss and unrealized return on investment (ROI) are displayed. Additionally, the year to date realized gain/loss and year to date realized ROI are displayed as measurements of realized gains in your portfolio during the current year. The year to date ROI for the S&P 500 is also provided as a performance benchmark.

The Portfolio Graph is accessed through the Portfolio window.

Note

This window will not be active unless there is at least one stock in your current Stock Alert portfolio.


Portfolio Graph: Stock Graph
Stock Graph

The Stock Graph window displays a graph of the price and volume activity over the last four months for a selected stock in your current portfolio. The latest stock closing price and the number of shares owned are displayed to highlight the stocks current position in your portfolio. Additionally, the cost basis, current market value, realized value and expenses are displayed to provide the total investment gain/loss and current total return on investment (ROI) and annualized return on investment.

The Stock Graph window is accessed through the Portfolio window.

Note

This window will not be active unless there is at least one stock in your current Stock Alert portfolio.


Earnings Information

The Earnings Information window allows you to enter the date of a corporations next earnings report and the analysts earnings expectations. This information is not required, but may help in analyzing a stock.

Earnings Information is accessed through the Analysis window.


Company Information

The Company Information window allows for the modification of stock name and market information.

The Company Information window is accessed through the Analysis window


stock purchase and sell
Purchases and Sells

This window allows for the recording and editing of stock purchases and sells.

For stock purchases, enter the stock, purchase date, activity (buy), price, shares, amount and any appropriate commission associated with the purchase. You can also enter a Target Low % and a Target High %.

For stock sells, enter the stock, sell date, activity (sell), price, shares, amount, and any appropriate commission associated with the sell. You must also enter the specific stock transaction to be sold from your current portfolio. The transactions which have shares remaining for the selected stock are displayed on the bottom left of the window after you select a stock and select sell as the activity. To record the transaction in your portfolio to sell the stocks from, either click on the stock transaction in the list on the bottom left of the screen or manually enter the transaction number corresponding to an entry in this list.

Click on the Save button to update Stock Alert with the newly entered data.

To delete an entry, just select the entry and click on the Delete Entry button. Upon clicking the Save button, the entry will be permanently deleted.

The Stock Purchase screen is accessed through the Portfolio window.

Note

To purchase a stock, you must first be tracking it within the Analysis portion of Stock Alert (you need to have either downloaded or manually entered at least one days worth of data).


capital gains, dividends and expenses
Capital Gains, Dividends & Expenses

This window allows for the recording and editing of capital gains, dividend and expense information. Enter the symbol, date, activity and the remaining appropriate information for the selected activity. The activities are: capital gains distribution, capital gains distribution investment, dividend, dividend reinvestment and expense.

Click on the Save button to update Stock Alert with the newly entered data.

To delete an entry, just select the entry and click on the Delete Entry button. Upon clicking the Save button, the entry will be permanently deleted.

The Stock Sale window is accessed through the Portfolio window.


Stock Split

Stock Alert allows you to record stock splits. To access the Stock Split window, select Stock Split from the Options menu on the main Virtual Desktop, main Portfolio or main Analysis windows. This window allows you to enter a stock split for any of the stocks you are tracking. Select the stock to split and enter the appropriate split ratio. Click on the Save button to update Stock Alert with the newly entered data.

To delete an entry, just select the entry and click on the Delete Entry button. Upon clicking the Save button, the entry will be permanently deleted.


downloading - Compuserve
Daily Downloading through CompuServe

Before downloading stock information through CompuServe for the first time, you must  setup the CompuServe download.

Once you have setup the downloading process, do the following to acquire stock data daily from CompuServe:

1.	Log-on to CompuServe.

2.	Select Quotes.

3.	Select Get All.  This will display the stocks you are tracking.

4.	Select File Save as c:\sssa\download\import.txt

5.	Select Overwrite.

6.	Click OK.

7.	Exit CompuServe.

8.	Open Stock Alert.

9.	Click on the Daily download button.  Stock Alert has now been updated.

At some point, you will want to download historical stock data. When you begin tracking a new stock, downloading historical stock data will provide a solid base of data to analyze in making purchasing decisions. Without this data, you will be analyzing only a small amount of information based on the number of daily downloads you performed. To gather historical stock information, you can download historical CompuServe stock data.


downloading - Prodigy
Daily Downloading through Prodigy

Before downloading stock information through Prodigy for the first time, you must setup the Prodigy download.

Once you have setup the downloading process, do the following to acquire stock data daily from Prodigy:

1.	Log-on to Prodigy.

2.	Select Business/Finance.

3.	Select the desired Quote Track which contains the stocks you have elected to track.

4.	Click on the Daily download button.  Click OK.

5.	Exit Prodigy.

6.	Open Stock Alert.

7.	Click on the Daily download button.  Stock Alert has now been updated.

At some point, you will want to download historical stock data. When you begin tracking a new stock, downloading historical stock data will provide a solid base of data to analyze in making purchasing decisions. Without this data, you will be analyzing only a small amount of information based on the number of daily downloads you performed. To gather historical stock information, you can download historical Prodigy stock data.


downloading historical - CompuServe
Downloading Historical Data through CompuServe

1.	Log-on to CompuServe.

2.	GO Company Analyzer.

3.	Select Access Company Analyzer ($).

4.	Read before you proceed.  Company analyzer IS A PREMIUM SERVICE.  This on-line service has a PREMIUM fee for downloading historical data.  If you wish to download, Click Proceed.

5.	Enter the stock name or stock symbol you wish to download.

6.	Select 2).  Price History...

7.	You will need to save this download.  From the CompuServe menu bar, select Record in File...

8.	Save file in c:\sssa\download\history.log

9.	Type (D)aily.

10.	Enter starting date or number of periods you want to download.

11.	Press the [Enter] key until you come to Last Page!

12.	From the CompuServe menu bar, select Record in File... to stop recording.

13.	Press [Enter].

14.	Press [Enter].

15.	Press [Enter].

16.	Exit CompuServe.

17.	Open Stock Alert.

18.	From the Options menu, choose Historical Download.

19.	Stock Alert will ask if you want to Download, click Yes.  Stock Alert automatically downloads the historical data.

Note

CompuServe has a fee for downloading historical data


downloading historical - Prodigy
Downloading Historical Data through Prodigy

1.	Log-on to Prodigy.

2.	From the Prodigy menu bar, select Go To, Jump To...

3.	Type Quote Check.

4.	Select Chart.

5.	Click on the Download button.

6.	Type a symbol or the first few letters of a company you wish to download. Note: there is a fee for downloading historical information.

7.	Select One-year, daily.

8.	Download Settings.

--	Select File Name:  c:\sssa\download\history.csv (if this file already exists, select Overwrite
the contents of this file.)

--	Select Write Mode: Replace file.

--	Select Format: Comma-delimited.

9.	Once again Prodigy will notify you that there is an extra fee for the historical download.

10.	If you wish to download, Click OK.

11.	Exit Prodigy.

12.	Open Stock Alert.

13.	From the Options menu, choose Historical Download.

14.	Stock Alert will ask if you want to Download, click Yes.  Stock Alert automatically downloads the historical data.

Note

Prodigy has a fee for downloading historical data


Entering Data Manually

From the Main Virtual Desktop window, choose Enter Manual Stock Data from the Options menu. This will open the Manual Stock Data Entry window. Select the stock that you will be entering data for if you are already tracking the stock, or, enter the stock symbol and company information manually -- by clicking on the New Stock button -- if it is a new stock. Next, enter the trading date, closing price, change in closing price,  high trading price, low trading price, and trading volume for the day. You can enter data for as many stocks and dates as you wish. When complete, click on the save button at the bottom of the window. This will initiate the Stock Alert Report AutoAnalyst.


downloading - spreadsheet
Downloading from a Spreadsheet

Preparing the Spreadsheet-

To download data from a spreadsheet, the spreadsheet must be properly formatted. The following rules must be followed in formatting the spreadsheet:

--	The following columns should be included in this order: symbol, date, close, change, high, low and volume.

--	The first row of the spreadsheet should be the titles of the columns (for example, symbol).

--	For each row, a symbol, date and closing price must be included. The other fields are optional.

Once the spreadsheet is properly formatted, save the spreadsheet in comma-delimited format. In most spreadsheet applications, this can be accomplished by choosing Save As and setting the file type to comma-delimited. Be sure to save the file in your download directory. The default directory for Stock Alert is c:/sssa/download. Comma-delimited files save with the extension .csv.

Downloading the Spreadsheet:

Now, the spreadsheet is ready for downloading into Stock Alert. From the main Virtual Desktop window, chose Download Spreadsheet Data from the Options menu. Stock Alert will prompt you for the name of your spreadsheet file. Enter the name and click on the O.K. button. This will download the data and initiate the Stock Alert Report AutoAnalyst.

Note

While downloading a spreadsheet, Stock Alert assumes the file is in a comma-delimited format and ends with .csv. The .csv should not be entered when Stock Alert prompts you for the file name.


Stock Alert Report

The Stock Alert Report presents tracked stocks which have reached new price highs, new price lows, experienced excessive trading volume (greater than twice normal volume), or have reached price thresholds defined by you. Additionally, stocks that are part of your portfolio are highlighted. The report displays all  the information that Stock Alert has about the identified stock including the 52 week trading range, the alert reason, and any notes recorded about the stock.

The Stock Alert Report is automatically created each time new data is downloaded or manually entered and saved. Past Stock Alert reports are accessed from the Custom Stock Alert Window.


note feature
Stock Note

This feature allows you to record a personal note about individual stocks. A Stock Note can be entered by choosing Notes, Add Note from the Options menu on all of Stock Alerts windows. The Notes, View Note selection on the Options menu can be used to view and delete existing Stock Notes.

Stock Notes can be accessed from all Stock Alert windows.

Adding Notes about stocks:

Stock Notes can be added by selecting Notes - Add Note from the Options menu.

Deleting Notes about Stocks:

Stock Notes can be deleted through the View A Note window. Select the stock symbol the Note was created for and the date on which the Note was entered to view the Note. Click the Delete Note button to remove the Note from Stock Alert.

Viewing Notes about Stocks:

Stock Notes can be viewed by selecting Notes - View Note from the Options menu. Select the stock symbol the Note was created for and the date on which the Note was entered to view the Note.


setting up Prodigy download
CompuServe Download Setup

To setup the stocks you want to track from CompuServe, complete the following steps. These steps need to be completed once before the first download. After that point, repeat the process when you want to change the stocks that you are downloading.

1.	Log-on to CompuServe.

2.	Select Quotes.

3.	Select Add.

4.	Enter the desired stock symbol (in UPPER CASE) of the stock you want to track (repeat for the different stocks you want to add).

5.	Add "SPX" (the S&P 500 Index) by following step 3 and 4. Note: The S&P 500 Index is a common market index often used to benchmark stock performance.  By tracking the S&P 500 Index, Stock Alert allows you to compare your portfolio performance to the performance of the S&P 500 Index.

6.	Exit CompuServe.

Note

Make sure you track the SPX (the S&P 500 Index).


setting up CompuServe download
Prodigy Download Setup

To setup the stocks you want to track from Prodigy, complete the following steps.  These steps need to be completed once prior to the first download. After that point, repeat the process when you want to change the stocks that you are downloading.

1.	Log-on to Prodigy.

2.	Select the Business/Finance option.

3.	Select Quote Track.

4.	Select the desired Quote Track under which you would like to track the stock to be downloaded.

5.	Select Add Item.

6.	Type the symbol or the first letters of the name of the stock you want to track.

7.	Click on the Add button without entering any of the optional information.

8.	Repeat numbers 5 through 7 to add stocks you want to track.

9.	Add "&SPX" (the S&P 500 Index) by following steps 5 through 7. Note: The S&P 500 Index is a common market index often used to benchmark stock performance. By tracking the S&P 500 Index, Stock Alert allows you to compare your portfolio performance to the performance of the S&P 500 Index.

10.	Click on the Customize button.

11.	Select Last News. Select Off.

12.	Select Add Item Order. Click Alpha by Type.

13.	Select Default View. Select Full Quote (6 columns).

14.	Click Download.

--	Select File Name c:\sssa\download\import.csv

--	Select Write Mode Replace file.

--	Select Include Current Prices Portfolio (Yes).

--	Select Format Comma Delimited with Headings.

--	Select Use For This Track.

15.	Select Colors. Select preference of your choice (optional).

Note

Make sure you add the &SPX (the S&P 500 Index) to your Quote Track (see steps 3 and 4)


setting up America Online download
America Online Download Setup

To setup the stocks you want to track from America Online, complete the following steps. These steps need to be completed once before the first download. After that point, repeat the process when you want to change the stocks that you are downloading.

1.	Log-on to America Online.

2.	Select Personal Finance.

3.	Select Quotes and Portfolios

4.	Enter the desired symbol of the stock you want to track (repeat for the different stocks you want to track)

5.	Select Add to Portfolio

6.	Leave both Number of Shares and Purchase Price blank to exclude from Portfolio value calculation.

7.	Select O.K.

8.	Select O.K.

9.	Select Display Portfolio. This will give you a detail of the stocks you want to track.

10.	Exit America Online


setting up Stock Alert
Stock Alert Setup

To begin downloading data from America Online, CompuServe or Prodigy, you must first indicate which service you will be using:

1.	Launch Stock Alert

2.	Once in the main Virtual Desktop window of Stock Alert, from the View menu choose preferences. This will open the Preferences window.

3.	Select the on-line service (America Online, CompuServe, Prodigy) that you will be using for downloading data

4.	Verify or modify the other Stock Alert preferences.

Note: If at any time you wish to change your on-line downloading source, follow these steps again


setting preferences
Preferences

Choose View from the menu bar in the main Virtual Desktop window and select Preferences to access the Preferences window. Select the on-line service from which you will be downloading (America Online, CompuServe or Prodigy) stock data.

Within this window you also have the ability to customize:

--	how long you wish to retain Stock Alert reports

--	the number of trading days that you wish to base the calculation of average trading volume on (the default is 95 days),

--	the directory where your downloads are kept (the default is c:\sssa\download).


Technical Support

Product documentation and an on-line help facility are available for your reference.  If these sources do not solve your problem, contact Envision Technologies Product Support in the method most convenient for you:

Fax:	(312)862-4285

Email:	74274.54@ compuserve.com

Product Support Representative:	(312)862-4285


Stock Alert Overview

Stock Alert:

--	makes identifying winning stocks easy.

--	actively manages your stock and mutual fund portfolio.

Stock Alert will save you time and money. Stock Alert is designed to obtain stock and mutual fund price and volume data from the on-line services of America Online, CompuServe and Prodigy. Upon each download, Stock Alerts AutoAnalyst notifies you of investment opportunities and the attainment of investment goals.

Downloaded data is analyzed by the AutoAnalyst and presented graphically through Stock Alerts powerful graphs and reports. Having these tools at your fingertips will assist you in making educated investment decisions. Good investing does not end with finding winning stocks. Stock Alerts portfolio management tools allow you to critically view the performance of your stock and mutual fund portfolio. Stock Alert is the complete investment solution.

Stock Alert has the following features:

Data Download Features

--	Easy downloading of stock activity information at the end of each trading day from America Online, CompuServe or Prodigy.

--	Easy downloading of historical stock activity information from America Online, CompuServe or Prodigy.

--	Ability to manually input stock activity and corporate earnings information as necessary.

--	Easy downloading of stock data from a spreadsheet.

Automated Stock Alert Features

--	Stock Alert Report automatically signals noteworthy price activity or volume activity each time new data is entered.

--	Ability to set stock price thresholds for automatic notification via the Stock Alert Report.

--	Ability to set a hold price range upon purchasing a stock based on your investment goals. The Stock Alert Report will automatically notify you when the stock moves out of the specified price range.

Stock Analysis Features

--	Stock price and volume graphing with 10-day and 50-day moving averages.

--	Tracking of expected corporate earnings information.

--	Performance Report ranks the performance of all stocks tracked by Stock Alert for the past three months.

--	Activity Report allows you to view the days activity for the stocks you are tracking.

-- 	Ability to seamlessly handle stock splits.

Stock Portfolio Features

--	Portfolio Summary graph charts the allocation of your current portfolio and calculates its performance.

--	Stock price and volume graph for any stock in your current portfolio.

--	Ability to track stock purchases, sales, dividends, capital gains distributions, reinvestments, commissions and other expenses.

-- 	Transaction Report provides an itemized listing of all stock transactions over a specified period of time.

--	Current Portfolio Report displays the performance of your current portfolio.

--	Realized Gains Report displays an itemized listing of realized gains over a specified period of time.


deleting stocks
Stock Delete

To delete price and volume data about a stock that you are no longer interested in tracking, choose Delete Stock from the Options menu of the main Virtual Desktop window or Analysis window.  On the Delete Stock screen, select the stock you wish to delete or select the date for which you would like to delete all stock data. Click on the Delete button. This will permanently remove the data from Stock Alert.


ROI

Return on Investment


Symbol

Ticker symbol identification for items traded on exchanges.


Price

The price of the security.


High

The highest trading value of the current day. For mutual funds, this is the ask price.


Low

The lowest trading value of the current day.  For mutual funds, this is the bid price.


Volume

For stocks, this is the number of shares traded on the current day.  Mutual funds do not show volume.


Annualized Return

The return on investment percentage that would be attained on an annual basis.  This measurement should be used to compare the performance of stocks held for different periods of time.


AutoAnalyst(TM)

AutoAnalyst is Stock Alerts intelligent agent which analyzes stock data with each download to notify you of any activity worthy of your attention via the Stock Alert Report. The AutoAnalyst will look for new price highs and lows and excessive trading volume. Additionally, the AutoAnalyst will search for situations where your user-defined thresholds have been met. AutoAnalyst also keeps constant watch over your portfolio by looking for situations where a stock or mutual fund price moves out of your hold range. You can configure the AutoAnalyst to do the work for you from the Custom Stock Alert Report window.


Bear

Someone who believes the market will decline.


Blue Chip

Common stock in a company known nationally for the quality and wide acceptance of its products or services and its ability to make money and pay dividends.


Book Value

An accounting term. Book value of a stock is determined from the companys records, by adding all assets (generally excluding intangibles), then deducting all debts and other liabilities, plus the liquidation price of any preferred issues. The sum arrived at is divided by the number of common shares outstanding and the result is book value per common share. Book value may have little or no significant relationship to market value.


Bull

One who believes the market will rise.


Capital Gain or Capital Loss

Profit or loss from the sale of a capital asset. Under current federal income tax laws, a capital gain may be either short-term (12 months or less) or long-term (more than 12 months). A short-term capital gain is taxed at the reporting individuals full income tax rate. A long-term capital gain is subject to a lower tax.


Change

The difference between todays closing price and the previous trading days closing price.


Common Stock

Securities that represent an ownership interest in a corporation. If the company has also issued preferred stock, both common and preferred have ownership rights, but the preferred normally has prior claim on dividends and, in the event of  liquidation, assets. Claims of both common and preferred stockholders are junior to claims of bondholders or other creditors of the company. Common-stock holders assume greater risk than preferred-stock holders, but generally exercise greater control and may gain greater reward.


Current Portfolio

The stock holdings that make-up your stock portfolio at that particular point in time.


Dollar Cost Averaging

A system of buying securities at regular intervals with a fixed dollar amount. Under this system the investor buys by the dollars worth rather than by the number of shares. If each investment is of the same number of dollars, payments buy more when the price is low and fewer when it rises. Thus temporary downswings in price benefit the investor if he continues periodic purchases in both good times and bad and the price at which the shares are sold is more than their average cost.


Dow Theory

A theory of market analysis based upon the performance of the Dow-Jones industrial and transportation stock price averages. The Theory says that the market is in a basic upward trend if these averages advance above a previous important high. When the averages dip, there is said to be a downward trend.


Fiscal Year

A corporations accounting year. Due to the nature of their particular business, some companies do not use the calendar year for their bookkeeping.


Growth Stock

Stock of a company with prospects for future growth; a company whose earnings are expected to increase at a relatively rapid rate.


Historical Stock Data

At some point, you will want to download historical stock data. When you begin tracking a new stock, downloading the historical stock data will provide a solid base of data to analyze when making purchasing decisions. Without this data, you will be analyzing only a small amount of information based on the number of daily downloads you performed. There is normally a fee for acquiring historical data from the on-line services.


Hold range

The hold range for a stock in your Stock Alert portfolio is defined when the Target Hi % and Target Low % are defined in the Stock Purchase and Sell window within the Portfolio section of Stock Alert at the time of purchase. These percentages are used to calculate the hold range for a stock based on your investment goals in relation to the purchase price of the stock. The hold range will help you in making decisions on when to sell a stock by comparing the market price to your desired return on investment. Additionally, Stock Alerts AutoAnalyst will notify you when a stocks market price rises or falls out of your hold range.


Linear Regression (Trend Lines)

Identifies the general trend of the stocks price over time.


Listed Stock

The stock of a company that is rated on a securities exchange and for which a listing applications and a registration statement, giving detailed information about the company and its operations, have been filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), unless otherwise exempted, and the exchange of itself. The various stock exchanges have different standards for listing.


Margin

The amount paid by the customer when he uses his brokers credit to buy a security. Under Federal Reserve regulations, the initial margin required in the past years has ranged from 50% of the purchase price all the way to 100%.


Moving Average Use

A popular use for a moving average is to view the relationship between a moving average of the stocks closing price and the stocks closing price itself. When a stocks price falls below its moving average it can be interpreted as a sell signal. Conversely, when the stocks price rises above its moving average it can be interpreted as a buy signal. This trading approach will not signal you to buy at a stocks lowest price and sell at its highest. Rather, it will keep you aligned with the stocks price trend by buying and selling shortly after a stocks price bottoms and peaks. The more time periods in a moving average, the longer term the trend is that is identified. For example, a 10 day moving average may identify short term trends, whereas a 50 day moving average may identify intermediate term trends and a 200 day moving average will identify long term trends.


NASDAQ

National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation. The over the counter market is more speculative overall, and has more start-up companies, particularly in high technology and financial services.


NYSE Common Stock Index

A composite index covering price movements of all common stocks listed on the Big Board. It is based on the close of the market December 31, 1965, as 50.00 and is weighted according to the number of shares listed for each issue. The index is computed continuously by the Exchanges Market Data System and printed on the ticker tape each half hour.  Point changes in the index are converted to dollars and cents so as to provide a meaningful measure of changes in average price of the listed stocks. The composite index is supplemented by separate indices for four industry groups:  industrials, transportation, utilities, and finances.


Ombudsman Statement

"Envision Technologies is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442-9427 USA, FAX 616-788-2765 or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536."


Option

A right to buy (call) or sell (put) a fixed amount of a given stock at a specified price within a limited period of time. The purchaser hopes that the stocks price will go up (if he bought a call) or down (if he bought a put) by an amount sufficient to provide a profit greater than the cost of the contract and the commission and other fees required to exercise the contract. If the stock price holds steady or moves in the opposite direction, the price paid for the option is lost entirely.


Over-the-Counter

A market for securities made up of securities dealers who may or may not be members of a securities exchange. Thousands of companies have insufficient shares outstanding, stockholders, or earnings to warrant application for listing on a stock exchange. Securities of these companies are traded in the over-the-counter market between dealers who act either as principals or as brokers for customers. The over-the-counter market is the principal market for U.S. Government bonds and municipals.


Point

In the case of shares of stock, a point means $1. In the case of bonds, a point means $10.


Portfolio

Holdings of securities by an individual or institution. A portfolio may contain bonds, preferred stocks and common stocks of various types of enterprises.


Preferred Stock

A class of stock with a claim on the companys earnings before payment may be made on the common stock, usually also entitled to priority over common stock if the company liquidates. It is usually entitled to dividends at a specified rate before payment of a dividend on the common stock.


Price-Earnings Ratio

The price of a share of stock divided by earnings per share for a twelve-month period.


Quotation

Often shortened to quote. The highest bid to buy and the lowest offer to sell a security in a given market at a given time. A quote on a stock might be 45 1/4 to 45  1/2. This means that $45.25 is the highest price any buyer will pay at the time the quote was given on the floor of the Exchange, and that $45.50 was the lowest price that any seller would take at the same time.


Round Lot

A unit of trading or a multiple thereof. On the New York Stock Exchange, the unit of trading is generally 100 shares in stocks and $1,000 par value in the case of bonds. In some inactive stocks, the unit of trading is 10 shares.


Shareware

Shareware is a "complete" program, i.e.: it performs all of the major functions normally expected of a program of its type, unlike a "commercial demo" which normally has a major function disabled.

It is copyrighted (as opposed to uncopyrighted software which is "public domain").

It may be copied for others to try, possibly subject to copying restrictions: you might restrict copying in conjunction with any business enterprise; you might place limits on copying for a fee; registration fees may be required from the user as a condition of continued use of the program beyond a trial usage period.


Short Sale

A person who believes a stock will decline and sells it though he does not own any has made a short sale.

Your broker borrows the stock so he can deliver the 100 shares to the buyer. The money value of the shares borrowed is deposited by your broker with the lender. If you are able to buy at a lower price than you sold it for, your profit is the difference between the two prices not counting commissions and taxes. Stock Exchange and federal regulations govern and limit the conditions under which a short sale may be made on a national securities exchange.


Split

The division of the outstanding shares of a corporation into a larger number of shares. A 3-for-1 split by a company with 1 million shares outstanding would result in 3 million shares outstanding. After the 3-for-1 split, each holder of 100 shares would have 300 shares.


Standard & Poors 500 (S&P 500)

Widely used as an indicator of stock market trends. Standard & Poors was first introduced in 1957 and incorporates a broad base of 500 stocks. Some stocks exhibit a greater influence over the market than others. The S&P 500 compensates for this by giving greater weight to some stocks in its calculations. Like the Dow Jones 65 Composite Average, the Standard & Poors 500 is broken into smaller industry segments which are monitored separately. These segments are 400 industrial companies, 20 transportation companies, 40 utilities and 40 financial companies.


Target Hi %

The Target Hi % is the desired return on investment or investment goal entered at the time of purchase. The Target Hi % is used in conjunction with the Target Low % to define the Hold range for stock in your portfolio. This is set within the Stock Purchase and Sell window in the Portfolio section of Stock Alert.


Target Low %

The Target Low % is the largest investment loss that you would be willing to take for a stock at the time of purchase. The Target Low % is used in conjunction with the Target Hi % to define the hold range for a stock in your portfolio. This is set within the Stock Purchase and Sell window in the Portfolio section of Stock Alert.


Yield (Return)

The dividends or interest paid by a company expressed as a percentage of the current price. A stock with a current market value of $40 a share paying dividends at the rate of $2.00 is said to return 5%.


Glossary

Annualized Return

AutoAnalyst

Bear

Blue Chip

Book Value

Bull

Capital Gain or Capital Loss

Change

Common Stock

Current Portfolio

Dollar Cost Averaging

Dow Theory

Fiscal Year

Growth Stock

Historical Stock Data

High

Hold Range

Linear Regression (Trend Lines)

Listed Stock

Low

Margin

Moving Average Use

NASDAQ

NYSE Common Stock Index

Ombudsman Statement

Option

Over-the-Counter

Point

Portfolio

Preferred Stock

Price

Price-Earnings Ratio

Quotation

ROI

Round Lot

Shareware

Short Sale

Split

Standard & Poors 500 (S&P 500)

Symbol

Target High %

Target Low %

Volume

Yield (Return)


Quick Tour
Quick Start Tour

1. Preferences setup:

From the Virtual Desktop window in the Stock Alert 1.1 application, set your preferences (select preferences from the View menu) to reflect the on-line service (America Online, CompuServe, Prodigy) you will use to download daily or historical stock data.

2. Setup on-line service for historical stock data download:

For full functionality of all the Stock Alert 1.1 features, we recommend that you download historical stock data on 2 stocks you are interested in tracking.

America Online historical stock data download instructions

CompuServe historical stock data download instructions

Prodigy historical stock data download instructions

3. Stock Alert historical data download instructions:

Once you acquire the historical data from your on-line service, go to the options menu item in the Virtual Desktop window and select historical download to bring the data into Stock Alert.

4. On-line service setup:

Set up your on-line service account to capture daily stock data for the 2 stocks you choose to track and to acquire daily data on the 5 pre-loaded stocks- Chrysler, Citicorp, IBM, Merck, and Microsoft (optional):

America Online setup instructions

CompuServe setup instructions

Prodigy setup instructions

Once your on-line service has been setup, you will be able to quickly and easily capture stock data daily. We recommend you do so at the close of the trading day (4 PM EST) for the most up to date data.

5. Stock Alert Report setup:

From the Virtual Desktop window in the Stock Alert 1.1 application, customize the Stock Alert Report. This lets you set custom parameters and the AutoAnalyst does the work for you.

6. Daily download:

From the Virtual Desktop window, click on Download to bring the data you prepared in Step 4 from your on-line service into Stock Alert.

7. About Analysis:

From the Virtual Desktop window, click on Analysis. Explore the different reports and graphs. Here you play with ideas and intuitions without affecting your pocket book. With this shareware version, you can choose 2 stocks to analyze (our research indicates most users track 20-30 stocks at one time). The purchase of a fully licensed version of Stock Alert 1.1 will give you the ability to track an unlimited number of stocks.

8. After you decide to purchase a stock, based on findings from Analysis and the Stock Alert Report, (or after you place a stock you currently own into your Stock Alert portfolio) click on Portfolio within the Virtual Desktop window. Input all the necessary information for the transaction here. You will notice that we went ahead and purchased some shares of the stocks we have included with this shareware version so that all the Portfolio features are activated for your reference.

9. Try it out!


Full Tour
Full Tour:

Hi, my name is Ralphie. I know, I am corny, but I am funny and informative too. Come with me through a tour of my SimpleSource - Stock Alert 1.1 program.

First off, I suggest you print this file or keep the window open while you check out the program with me. Once you purchase the full blown version, you will have a complete manual packed full of information for reference...register now and use Stock Alert to its full potential.

So, what kind of a shareware user will you be? You have the power to do the right thing; buy after 30 days of usage or trash the program (I shudder at the thought).

Here is what you get with the shareware version of

SimpleSource  Stock Alert 1.1:

--	Full use of the unique Stock Alert Report featuring the AutoAnalyst. This report notifies you of excessive trading volumes and when your selected high/low price thresholds or portfolio thresholds are reached.

--	Unlimited use of both the Analysis and Portfolio features of the program (reports, graphs, etc.) to track 2 of your own stocks or mutual funds (you pick them and track them by downloading info from America Online, CompuServe or Prodigy). All Stock Alert functions, reports and tools will be at your command (once you are registered, you can track an unlimited number of stocks and mutual funds, and also sleep better at night)!

--	Use of pre-loaded data for stocks you are following (Chrysler, Citicorp, IBM, Merck, and Microsoft). This lets you experience all of Stock Alerts features and tools even if you do not have a modem or an account with America Online, CompuServe or Prodigy to download data.

--	Detailed on-line help

Follow me through an overview of features and a demonstration on how to use SimpleSource  Stock Alert 1.1. This is great stuff. Any text that is colored and underlined is hypertext and will lead you to further information; a definition, procedure, etc.

Okay, lets get going....

Go into the Virtual Desktop main window of Stock Alert 1.1 Shareware.

Here you find yourself sitting in front of a Virtual desktop (hopefully you are still looking at your monitor). The first thing I do when I enter the Virtual Desktop window is hit the Download button. We will get to the download process later once you are familiar with the way the program works. To use Stock Alert to its full potential, you should be capturing (downloading) fresh stock data quickly and inexpensively daily from the on-line services of America Online, CompuServe, or Prodigy. You have the option to input data manually if you do not have access to an on-line service, but I suggest downloading from an on-line service if possible. Go up to the View menu and select Preferences. Within the Preferences window you must select the on-line service you use. Select America Online, CompuServe, or Prodigy. Click on the Save button.

Now back in the Virtual Desktop, click on the Analysis button.

You are now in the Analysis portion of Stock Alert. Here you have access to analysis graphs, analysis reports and access to be able to enter/edit earnings report and company information. The Analysis portion of Stock Alert is used to gather preliminary stock data and information on companies you have been following or have heard about. This is where I see if my Uncle Alans tips are any good before buying. Analysis is your area to play with ideas and intuitions without affecting your pocketbook.

Take a look at the Graphs section. Hit the down arrow key and select one of the stocks I am tracking (Chrysler, Citicorp, IBM, Merck, and Microsoft). In my version at home, you would see 30-40 stocks here but since this is Shareware, there is not enough room to show all the stocks I am tracking. Click on the 4 Month Graph button or the 12 Month Graph button to see what the short term and long term graphs look like for a particular stock. You have the option to print the graph out for further reference (you can print all reports and graphs). As you can see on the 4 Month Graph, there is a 10 day moving average, on the 12 Month Graph there is a 50 day moving average, high/low daily trading range, closing price and trading volume data.

Now here is a neat trick, lets say you read some noteworthy news about a company you are tracking, go up to the menu bar, under Options select Notes. Here you can type in the pertinent info about the company, no more papers to lose or file -- all your information is in one place, under one roof.

Within the Reports section you have plenty of information about the stocks or mutual funds you are interested in at the click of a button: Performance Report and Stock Activity Report.

The Company Detail section of Analysis allows you to edit and track Earnings Information on a company and edit info about the stock (Company Information).

The typical Stock Alert user will normally be tracking 20-30 stocks at any given time within analysis.

That is a quick overview of Analysis. Hit the Back button to go to the Virtual Desktop window again. Anytime you hit the Back button, it will close a form without saving any changes. To save changes on a form, hit the Save button and the form will close with your latest changes.

Now click the Portfolio button. You are in the Portfolio wing of Stock Alert. The Portfolio features of Stock Alert will not be activated until you make a purchase of a stock. You must have at least one days worth of the specific stocks data downloaded to Stock Alert in order to purchase a particular stock. So, for example, I tracked the IBM stock for 2-3 months within Analysis. AutoAnalyst did all the work, went through the data and notified me once IBM got down to the range I specified within the Stock Alert Report. I called my broker and bought. Once I secured the price I paid for the 100 shares, I opened Portfolio and went to the Stock Purchase and Sell window. I selected IBM and then punched in all the specifics. Whenever a stock is purchased in your portfolio, you also have the option to enter hold ranges for the stock. For example, you can specify a percentage increase or decrease for a stock and have Stock Alert notify you once a stock has gone up or down to the percentage you specified. You can then determine whether you want to sell, hold or reevaluate your parameters. This feature of Stock Alert allows you to actively manage your portfolio.  Stock Alert takes care of the rest, it calculates all the return on Investment (ROI) figures, keeps track of all the broker fees, and helps you make decisions about how your portfolio is managed.

Like Analysis, the Portfolio section has different features: Graphs, Reports and Transactions. I have already gone through and purchased stocks from Analysis (Citicorp and Microsoft) to activate the Portfolio features in the Stock Alert Shareware version.

In the Graphs section, click on the Portfolio Graph button. Here you are presented with a pie chart showing the breakdown of my entire Current Portfolio and its value. Click the Back button. Now hit the down arrow and select a stock. Once youve selected a stock, click the Stock Graph. Here price, volume and return on investment activity for a selected stock in your current portfolio is displayed. This gives you a graphical view of how the stock is doing. I use this to figure out if what I have chosen is working out right. A curve that starts low on the left side of the graph and ends up at the top of the right side of the graph is what I am looking for (Uncle Alans recommendations usually go the opposite).

Look down to the Reports section. Here you will find valuable information about your current portfolio in 4 different reports: Current Portfolio Report, Transaction Report,Performance Report and the Realized Gains Report. Click on each of them to see all the useful information presented. I print these reports and pop them in a file to review later as my portfolio changes or to hand off to my accountant to figure my taxes.

Take a look to the right side of the Portfolio window and you will see the Transactions area. Here you use the Stock Purchase and Sell window and Capital Gains, Dividends and Expenses window to enter stock purchase and stock sale transactions into your current portfolio.

Hit the Back button until youre in the Virtual Desktop area again.

Click the Stock Alert Report button. This Report is unique to the SimpleSource Stock Alert 1.1 program. Once data is downloaded into Stock Alert, the AutoAnalyst goes over the data and checks for stocks worthy of your attention. Within this window, you set the parameters and Stock Alert does the work. The AutoAnalyst notifies you (if you want it to -- it is up to you) about new stock highs/lows, excessive trading volume and custom price thresholds that you set. This is where I put Uncle Alans ideas to the test. When he says to sell a stock at $33, I tell Stock Alert to notify me when the stock reaches $33, then I buy!

You can see that I have specified Stock Alert to notify me of new highs/lows, excessive trading volume and set some custom price thresholds of my own for the pre-loaded stocks. Upon download of data, if any of the parameters are met, the Stock Alert Report is triggered. Within Preferences, you can also specify how long the program holds onto Stock Alert reports for reference at a later time. Hit the Back button.

Now you have a basic understanding of Stock Alert features and how the program works. If you do not currently subscribe to an on-line service, go through the application and play with the pre-loaded data. To use Stock Alert to track and manage two stocks of your own choice, you need to setup your on-line service account to capture data. Refer to the Quick Start Tour for specific on-line service account setup instructions and procedures. Thanks for your time, try it out!


downloading historical - America Online
Downloading Historical Data from America Online

Note: Historical download requires America Online version 2.5 or greater.

At some point, you will want to download historical stock data. When you begin tracking a new stock, downloading the historical stock data will provide a solid base of  data to analyze when making purchasing decisions. Without this data, you will be analyzing only a small amount of information based on the number of daily downloads you performed.

1.	Log-on to America Online

2.	Click Personal Finance.

3.	Click Research.

4.	Select Historical Quotes.

5.	Click Preferences.

6.	Select Download Format Comma-delimited.

7.	Click OK.

8.	Select a Company either by Symbol or Name.

9.	Select a Time Period for which you would like to download daily historical data.  Choose one of the following:

--	Daily for one month (if you select Daily for one month, skip ahead to step 12)

--	Custom...(go to step 10)

10.	Custom Quotes Period

--	Quote Frequency - Select Daily

--	Data Range - Enter your preference

11.	Select Continue.

12.	Select Quotes.

13.	Select Download.

14.	Select File Save as c:\sssa\download\aolhist.csv

15.	Exit America Online.

16.	Open Stock Alert.

17.	From the Options menu, choose Historical Download.

18.	Stock Alert will ask you if you want to Download, click Yes. Stock Alert automatically downloads the historical data.


downloading - America Online
Daily Downloading through America Online

Before downloading stock information through America Online for the first time, you must setup the America Online download.

Once you have setup the downloading process, do the following to acquire stock data daily from America Online:

1.	Log-on to America Online.

2.	Select Personal Finance.

3.	Select Quotes & Portfolios.

4.	Select Display Portfolio.

5.	Select Save Portfolio.

6.	Save file as c:\sssa\download\aol.txt

7.	Select O.K.

8.	Exit America Online.

9.	Open Stock Alert

10.	Click on the Daily Download button. Stock Alert has now been updated.

At some point, you will want to download historical stock data. When you begin tracking a new stock, downloading historical stock data will provide a solid base of data to analyze in making purchasing decisions. Without this data, you will be analyzing only a small amount of information based on the number of daily downloads you performed. To gather historical stock information, you can download historical America Online stock data.