PDA Software Library/pdasoftwarelib.iso/PSION/MISC/S3AINV/S3AINV4.TXT

Text File | 1996-09-01 | 6.6 KB | 138 lines

INVESTMENT TRACKER V1.4b (S3A Only)
----------------------------------

Following the success of my Home Accounts  program
S3ABANK,  a number of people have  suggested that I issue
some of the optional modules as standalone programs.  This
is the first of these modules.  (The others are a fuel
consumption tracker, S3AFUELx.ZIP, a Home Inventory
program, S3AHOMEx.ZIP, an Expense Account Manager,
S3AEXPx.ZIP, and a Financial Planner, S3APLANx.ZIP,
where 'x' is the version number). This program allows you to
keep track of the value of your  investments (Shares, Stocks,
Bonds etc) but, in addition, it also allows you to keep a
history file of their performance, which can be displayed
graphically.

To Install the program :

1.    Put S3AINV4.APP in your \APP\ directory

2.     If you want to use the optional On-Line Help (Highly
recommended) put the file S3AINVH.OVL into an
\APP\S3AINV\ directory.

3.    If you want to use the optional Print option put the
file S3AINVP.OVL into the \APP\S3AINV\ directory and
the file S3APRINT.DYL into an \OPD\ directory.  Note that
this file is common to all my programs, so if you have more
than one of them you only need one copy of this file.

4.    Install (PSION-I)

To start the program highlight the 'Invest' under the Icon.
You can either use this as a Group name, in which case just
press <Enter>, or use <PSION-N> to select your own name.

Now go into the program.  The 'nag' screens can be removed
by registering the program, which will also allow you 50
entries.  The unregistered version allows you just 3 entries,
to see the capabilities of the program. Working through the
MENU commands will show you the capabilities of the
program.    The usual File Handling Commands are
available for building and deleting groups, as well as the
Password option.  The Edit Menu provides Enter, Update,
and Delete options, plus a 'Move' option if you wish to
manually reorder the entries, and an 'Update All' option
(<PSION-L>).  I use this once a week to update every
investment at once.  (See later for Currencies).  The 'Sort'
menu allows you to quickly re-order the entries based on any
of the fields. The 'Special' menu allows you to look at the
History screen (see later), do all the printing routines, use a
separate memopad (as in Agenda) and select the size of font.

The 'Set Preferences' menu allows you to specify the type of
font, the date format, whether you wish to be prompted to
include any updates in the History file, how many decimal
places you wish  for each  column, configure the printer,
decide if you want to stay in the 'Set Preferences' menu while
setting up the program (instead of having to keep re-
selecting it) and define a foreign currency (see later).

Finally, there is a 'Help' screen which simply repeats the
information in this file, and a diamond menu to show the
ways of viewing the long-term performance of an investment.

To demonstrate the program, enter an investment (<PSION-
E>), specifying the start date, Company, how many shares
and the present price.  Now update the entry  using <PSION-
U>, or <PSION-L>, or <TAB>.  When it has been entered
say 'Yes' to  the 'Update History' question.  (This can be
bypassed if a flag is set from the 'Set Preferences' menu)
Now update it twice more, to generate a decent history.
Now select the share and press  the Diamond key (or
<PSION-V>) and you will see the history display.  The
historical values are tabulated on the left, and a graph of
performance is drawn on the right.   (While you are in this
screen, you can amend the History file, set the X-Scale
Factor (<PSION-S>) to <Auto) or to the number of
pixels/day, and the Y-Scale factor (<PSION-Y>), to the
max/min values of price or an automatic scaling).  In this
mode, you can also define the gain/loss figure, delete the file
or change the font size and Export the history (see later).

If you have more than one share, you can select them by
either using the cursor keys or pressing the first letter of the
title.  In the History view, you can switch shares quickly
using <PSION-S> (unfortunately, because of the limitations
of the Psion, only the first 31 entries can be switched this
way) or use the right/left arrows to cycle through.  Also, as
usual, CTRL-MENU switches the Status Window on and
off.

If you want to use multiple groups of investments, simply use
the <PSION-N> command to generate multiple groups.

If you want to use the foreign currency option in any of the
Groups, select the 'Currencies' option from the Menu, and
enter a symbol for the primary currency (i.e. US$) and for
the second currency, and then the exchange rate.  The Group
will now show the primary currency in the top right.   If you
now want to use the secondary currency option, select
'Foreign Currencies' in the 'Set Preferences' menu.  The
secondary currency will now be shown in brackets after the
primary currency and when you Enter or Update entries, you
will offered the option of using either currency.  (The
currency will default to the one you used last time)

Every time you do an update, the total value of your
portfolio is stored, and the history of this can also be viewed
using <PSION-T> from the menu. However, a word of warning.
When you first start setting up your investments, the program
will begin the total calculation from the value of the first
investment entered.   Therefore, if you enter 4 investments
immediately, the program will think you have made a massive
gain !!  To sort that problem out, once you have initially
entered ALL your investments, just go into the Total History
screen, and delete the earlier lines, so that the first line
represents a true starting value for your portfolio.

Finally, the History details can be exported in a <Tab>
delimited format which can be imported in the built-in Sheet
application.  To use this option, press <PSION-O>, and just
specify the location of the output file (it defaults to
\WRD\ INVEST.TXT). Now load that file into the Word application,
highlight it all and then use the Bring function from within a
spreadsheet to import the information.

If you find the program useful and wish to register it, please
see the file REGISTER.TXT for up-to-date instructions on
how to register.  Apart from giving you a 'warm' feeling,
allowing  you  50 entries, and getting rid of the 'nag' screens,
registering will give you access to full support and access to
regular, free, updates.   If anyone has any useful suggestions
for improvements, I will always try and include them in the
next version.

Al Richey