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1992-12-21
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THE STOCK TRADER
A PERSONAL STOCK ANALYSIS & GRAPHING PROGRAM
FOR THE IBM
PC, XT, AT & OS/2 & COMPATIBLES
Copyright 1990 FreeBooter(tm) Software
The Freebooter(tm) STOCK TRADER documentation and diskette are
copyrighted with all rights reserved.
Permission is given to any party or parties to copy the diskette
under the Shareware marketing technique providing that neither
the content of the program, or the data files, are altered in
anyway with the exception of the data files STOCK.IDX, STOCK.HDR,
STOCK.DAT. In addition, no individual compensation may be gained
in the copying of the diskette other than by valid PC Users Groups,
Clubs, or valid Shareware distributors, those groups, clubs, or
businesses may charge no more than what is charged for their lowest
priced diskette.
LIABILITY DECLARATION
IN NO EVENT WILL FREEBOOTER(tm) SOFTWARE BE LIABLE, BEYOND THE
REGISTRATION PRICE, LESS EXPENSES INCURRED, FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE
USE OR INABILITY TO USE "THE STOCK TRADER" PROGRAM. THE END
USER, IN USING THIS PROGRAM, ACKNOWLEDGES FULL PERSONAL RESPON-
SIBILITY FOR ANY GAINS OR LOSSES INCURRED FROM THE USE OF "THE
STOCK TRADER". EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES,
FREEBOOTER(tm) SOFTWARE SHALL HAVE NO FUTURE LIABILITY TO THE
USER OR ANOTHER USER BEYOND THE REFUND OF THE REGISTRATION PRICE
OF THE PRODUCT LESS EXPENSES.
THE END USER, BY LOADING "THE STOCK TRADER" PROGRAM IN THE COMPUTER,
AGREES TO THE LIABILITY DECLARATION AND THAT ANY DISPUTE BETWEEN
THE USER AND FREEBOOTER(tm) SOFTWARE WILL BE SETTLED BY THE AMERICAN
ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION IN MULTNOMAH COUNTY OF THE STATE OF OREGON.
FreeBooter(tm) Software
P.O. Box 19624
Portland, Or. 97280
(503)244-4800
All Rights are Reserved. FreeBooter(tm) is a registered trademark.
Requirements:
IBM-PC or compatible, with a hard disk drive and 512K of memory (512K
for PC Jr.). Graphics printer and monitor. The monitor can be
EGA or VGA.
Remember - If you are a registered user, and run into some difficulty,
call (503) 244-4800 and give your name and serial number of your
disk. You'll find helpful service with a smile. We won't tell you
how to invest your money, or which stocks to track, but we will
give you all the help you need with the program.
(i)
THE STOCK TRADER
Introduction.......................................... 1
Converting Unregistered or Earlier Stock Files........ 1
Running the STOCK TRADER Program...................... 3
The Main STOCK TRADER Menu............................ 3
Main Menu "A" - Adding a Stock........................ 4
Main Menu "B" - Begin Portfolio Manager (Reg. Users).. 7
Main Menu "C" - Changing the Program Date............. 8
Main Menu "D" - Deleting a Stock...................... 8
Main Menu "E" - Editing the Stock Data Files.......... 9
Main Menu "G" - Graphing a Stock...................... 10
Main Menu "I" - Indicator Change...................... 12
Main Menu "M" - Modify Printer Defaults............... 14
Main Menu "N" - Renaming Your Stock (Reg. Users)...... 15
Main Menu "P" - Print Trading Sheet................... 15
Main Menu "Q" - Quit Program.......................... 15
Main Menu "R" - Recalculate Indexes................... 16
Main Menu "S" - Split a Stock......................... 16
Main Menu "U" - Update a Stock........................ 17
This is a brief description to acquaint you with the operation of
the STOCK TRADER program. We have designed the program to be as
self supporting as possible through the use of the EASY menus and
DESCRIPTIVE boxes. This manual will aid you to more fully under-
stand the program's functions.
1. The STOCK TRADER program is written in Quick Basic and uses
Quick Windows Advanced interface management library. The
source code is not available for this program.
2. STOCKS.* data files contains the program's stock data. These
files hold all the stock information that you have entered
for the last one hundred days.
SPECIAL NOTE OF CAUTION
Do not attempt to alter any of these data files. Quick Basic can be
very particular about data file formatting. If you bring these files
up on a word processor, DO NOT resave them. If you do, in all prob-
ability those files will not format correctly again.
CONVERTING DATA FROM UNREGISTERED OR PREVIOUS VERSIONS OF STOCK TRADER
If you have been using Stock Trader 3.0 or 4.0 or have been using
an unregistered copy of the Stock Trader, you will need to run the
CONVERT program before the Stock Trader will recognize your old data.
The CONVERT program transfers your old data to the new format. Users
of versions 1.0 and 2.0 will probably need to reenter their data. It
can also be used to transfer registration to a previously unregistered
program from a registered disk. DO NOT CONVERT VERSION 5.0 OR HIGHER.
Converting old data:
Copy the file STOCKS.DAT from your old Stock Trader onto the new
Stock Trader directory. Use the key stroking shown below. If you have
installed Stock Trader by using the FreeBooter(tm) UNARC program, all
your new files will be in the STOCK directory on you hard disk. If
you have installed Stock Trader on you C drive, enter the following
commands followed by pressing the ENTER key after each line:
C:
CD\STOCK5
If you had the Stock Trader on a floppy disk before, place the old
Stock Trader in drive A and enter:
COPY A:STOCKS.DAT
COPY A:STOCKS.IDX
COPY A:STOCKS.HDR
If you had it on your hard disk before, then enter:
COPY (Disk Drive):\(Directory Name)\STOCKS.DAT
COPY (Disk Drive):\(Directory Name)\STOCKS.IDX
COPY (Disk Drive):\(Directory Name)\STOCKS.HDR
Once this is done, enter CONVERT followed by an ENTER. Select the
Select 1 option. The process is automatic and will display it's
progress as the stock file is converted.
(1)
If you have been running the unregistered Stock Trader, place
the registered disk that you have received in drive A and enter
the following:
C: (If you are using the C drive)
CD\STOCK
CONVERT
Select the Select 2 option. The process is automatic.
We have included three sample stocks in the database. These are
AT&T, Hewlett Packard, and Helmerich & Payne Inc. These are for
demonstration only and can be deleted.
(2)
RUNNING THE STOCK TRADER
The Stock Trader supports a mouse. If you have a mouse,
activate it by going to your mouse directory and enter the
proper command to start the mouse in operation. This is
generally done by entering MOUSE.
The initial screen displays the STOCK TRADER logo. There is a
ticker tape that runs across the bottom of the screen while the
program is loading the stock data file. The length of time this
runs is dependent upon how many stocks are currently in the direc-
tory. The stock names and their last closing price, are displayed
on the ticker tape line of the screen as they load into memory.
The next screen is the FreeBooter(tm) screen. If you are a reg-
istered user we thank you for registering. If not, we ask you
to register.
You may also enter the Portfolio Manager from this screen. If
you are a un-registered user it allows you to preview the
screen and you will not be able to actually use the program
until you register it.
After that, we display a disclaimer screen. From this screen you
may enter the registration module or go onto the main program.
Registration is very easy. WHILE AT YOUR COMPUTER call us on
(503) 244-4800. We will ask for your VISA or Mastercard number.
We'll be off the line for approximately 30 seconds to verify
your card. When we return, we'll ask you for the six digit number
that is displayed on your monitor. We'll then give you back another
six digit number for you to enter. At that point the Stock
Trader will show that it's registered and will display the regist-
ation screen. Pressing ENTER at this time transfers the program
to the main menu.
PLEASE NOTE: The number will change each time the registration
screen is called up. That's why it's necessary for you to be
AT YOUR COMPUTER to register. After registration, your number
will not change. Please reference this number, should you call
or write to use in the future.
MAIN MENU
The program will always return to this menu after any selection
has been completed. The current date is posted at the top of the
screen. Below that is the directory of the stocks that are cur-
rently in the program's data file. This will hold forty-four
stocks. After each stock listing, the last closing price is dis-
played.
Below the stock listings is the menu selection. The program always
starts up assuming that you are going to perform a date change.
Since the computer gets the current date, you'll probably want
to change it to yesterdays date. If this is the case, just press
enter or center the mouse over option D and push the left hand
mouse button.
(3)
OPTION "A"
ADDING A STOCK TO THE DATABASE
Adding a stock to the current directory builds a new section in the
data files for that stock. You'll be asked for the stock's name. At
this point you have the option of entering the stocks abbreviation
as it used on the various stock exchanges, or as displayed in the Wall
Street Journal and other sources similar to that publication.
Example: The abbreviation used by stock exchanges for American
Telephone and Telegraph is the symbol T. Using this abbreviation is
useful if you continually get your quotes from a broker, over the
phone, or have your own access to a stock market quote machine.
Example: The abbreviation used by the Wall Street Journal and other
sources similar to that publication, such as the daily newspaper
is AT&T.
Note that AT&T is not the same as at&t or At&t. The computer
recognizes the lower case aberrations as different stocks. This
is useful if you chose to track the same stock under different
environments, such as, using different long and short term average
days and different Chord days.
After the name is entered, the program prompts for the daily entry
format. This is selected as follows:
Full stock pricing (high, low, close, and volume)
Limited stock entry (close and volume)
Close only
One of these three maybe selected using the arrow keys and pressing
the ENTER or by moving the mouse and pressing the left button.
Whichever you choose, the appropriate entries will be prompted.
The high, low and close are self explanatory but the volume conven-
tion you choose is up to your own desires. You can either enter the
shares sold in units, hundreds, or thousands of shares. We find
that for individual stocks, hundreds of shares is the appropriate
choice. For large volume measurements such as the DOW Industrial
Average, thousands of shares sold is the best, but that is up to
you. The only requirement is keep your choice CONSISTENT, otherwise
the volume displays on the graph will be meaningless.
The last choices are the most difficult to make. These are the
selection of the long and short term average days and the Chord
days. This requires some further explanation.
NOTE: For a complete in-depth review on the subject, I recommend
Stock Market Trading Systems by Gerald Appel and Fred Hitschler.
This book was used as reference in the calculation setup of the
STOCK TRADER. It tends to be an expensive book, but it may be
available at your local library. A less expensive book is,
Three Point Reversal Method of Point & Figure by A.W. Cohen.
(4)
Long and short term days are used to determine the smoothing factor
of the long and short term averages. As the number of days in-
crease, the fluctuating average becomes slower to change. As the
level is decreased, the change becomes more apparent and coincides
more with the current close of the stock.
The interaction of these two averages are the main driving force in
the program. As the short term average becomes more positive in
relation to the long term average, a buy signal is generated, and
conversely, when it goes more negative in relation to the long term
average, a sell signal is generated.
The buy and sell signals alternate on the graph. It is possible,
that in a long term market, neither declining or increasing, no
signals other than the hold signal will be generated for one hundred
days. This is because of the alternating buy and sell signals.
Should a buy be signaled and the stock continues to rise for over
one hundred days, the trading signal moves left off the chart and no
other trading indicator appears until a signal to sell is generated
The same is true in the sell mode. If a sell is generated and
the stock continues to fall, the indicator moves left off the
screen after one hundred days if the decline continues.
The Chord can be the most difficult to understand. Basically, it is
a straight line that spans the fluctuating closing prices over the
number of days designated. This feature is to prevent being
"whipsawed" in a rapidly fluctuating market. If a buy signal
is generated, the Chord looks back in the history the specified
number of days. If that close was higher than the close on the day
the buy was signaled, the buy signal is inhibited. The reverse is
true on the sell. If the close in the history was lower than the
current close, the sell is inhibited. The program allows you to
put zero days in this indicator if you choose. When you do this,
just remember, that the trading will come more often than if you
were to use a Chord figure of five to ten days.
A good place to start is 45 days on the long term average, 10 on the
short term average, and 5 on the Chord.
To visualize how these indicators function, it's probably best to
look at what would occur if both the long and the short term
averages were the same. With that, both averages would be changing
at exactly the same rate. Since the short term average would never
change in relation to the long term average, neither a buy or sell
signal would ever be generated.
(5)
As soon as we make the long term average greater than the short term
average, then the changes start to occur. The following rules
apply:
1. The greater the difference between the long and short term
averages, the greater the number of buy and sell signals.
2. The shorter the short term average, the more responsive it
will be to the market and the greater number of trades will occur.
3. The longer the Chord length, the less likely the stock will be
affected by short term trading fluctuations.
4. The longer the Chord length, the more likely you are to get
caught holding the bag in a downward trending market.
For a complete description of how these indicators are to be set and
how they function within the program, consult page 11.
Not all stocks behave in the same way. A penny stock like "Risky
Oil" or "Maybe Uranium" will exhibit entirely different character-
istics than "Consolidated Solid Gold Bank". For this reason
it may be beneficial to examine a month's worth of data on a pros-
pective stock before making any decisions to buy and sell. At
the end of the month the short and long term averages can be re-
adjusted along with the Chord to determine the best indicator values
for the particular stock under study. Once acceptable trading in-
dicators are established, it will generally hold true for that part-
icular stock.
Through a sequence of varying the long and the short term averages
and the Chord length, an acceptable graph presentation can be
obtained. Be cautious of reducing the short term average below
seven days and the Chord below three days. The program does not
take into account the cost of the trades with your broker. If
either the Chord or the short term values are set too low, the
program calls for trades with great frequency and the broker gets
rich instead of the program user.
The longer the study period of the stock, the more accurate the long
term average to short term average ratio becomes, so it does pay to
wait a bit before taking any actions. History of less than thirty
days should not be trusted. The indications that are generated by
the program rely on a good extensive data files. Without the back
up of an extensive data file, it gives you the best that it knows.
This may not be satisfactory.
(6)
OPTION "B"
Begin Portfolio Manager
Once "B" is pressed or selected with the mouse or arrow keys the
Portfolio Manager is activated. If you are a registered user,
the program will be activated otherwise only a preview is shown.
The screen displayed will show all the stocks that you currently
have in the portfolio. The box at the lower right hand side of
the screen displays the current profit or loss and the percentage
of profit or loss.
To add a new stock into the portfolio select A with the mouse,
cursor or arrow keys. Once activated the pop entry screen comes
up showing all the stocks currently in the database. The stock
must be in the Stock Trader database before you can place it
into the Portfolio Manager. Enter the date that you purchased the
stock, the number of shares purchased, the total price including
commission and finally the brokers commission. If all figures are
correct activate the accept box on the screen otherwise activate
the cancel.
The Calc screen button, when activated, goes to the data file
and loads in the latest stock prices on the stocks that you are
following in your Portfolio Manager. If you have deleted the
stock from the Stock Trader database no update will occur for
the stock that you have deleted.
The Delete button activates the delete mode. Once selected
move the highlighted bar to cover the stock you wish to delete.
Once selected be either the arrow keys or the mouse the stock
will be deleted from the database.
The +Dividend screen button activates the dividend pull down.
Enter the value of the dividend. The select either Add To,
Replace or Cancel. Adding To will take the current dividend
and add it to the existing dividend. Replace will replace the
dividend in the file with the current dividend.
Edit allows you to edit existing data in the file. It acts the
same way the add function works.
Quit will return you to the Stock Trader Program.
(7)
OPTION "C"
CHANGING THE DATE
The date that you enter here is posted on the data files when
you enter the updated stock prices. Note: this date is in the
MM/DD/YY format. The date that is entered will appear on the main
menu at the top of the screen.
It is absolutely necessary to enter the stock data in sequential
order. The program does not sort by date once entered. It is up to
you to place the stock prices in the file in their proper order.
Should you inadvertently enter the dates in the incorrect order,
the program will let you remove the improper entries using the
edit selection (E) on the main menu.
It is possible to enter a series of entries for different dates in
one sitting by going back to the date change screen from the update
section each time you start an entry for a new date. You are always
given the option to use the current date or change it. Pressing
ENTER in the update section will pass this option.
OPTION "D"
DELETING A STOCK
When this option is selected, a stock menu window appears in the
right side of the screen window. Pressing Esc will return the
program to the main menu.
You may select the stock to delete with either the arrow keys or the
mouse. When positioned over the stock name, press either the ENTER
key or the left hand mouse button.
Three push buttons are then presented. You may ACCEPT, and therefore,
delete the stock or CANCEL and return to the main menu. RETRY allows
you to go back and reselect another stock in the event that you have
made a mistake.
When the stock has been selected, and an ACCEPT is selected the stock
and all its history will be deleted from the database. There is no
way to recover any data once the stock has been deleted.
(8)
EDITING A STOCK
OPTION "E"
When this option is selected, a stock menu window appears in the
right side of the screen window. Pressing Esc will return the
program to the main menu.
You may select the stock to edit with either the arrow keys or the
mouse. When positioned over the stock name, press either the ENTER
key or the left hand mouse button.
Three push buttons are then presented. You may ACCEPT, and therefore,
edit the stock, or CANCEL and return to the main menu. RETRY allows
you to go back and reselect another stock in the event that you have
made a mistake.
Once selected, a new history window will appear with the last 30
days for unregistered users, or 100 days for registered users.
The highlight bar can be moved with the arrow keys or by moving the
mouse in the right hand vertical highlight control bar. Once the
appropriate date is selected, press either the ENTER key or the left
mouse button. Three push buttons will be displayed.
Pushing DELETE:
This will erase the entry under the highlight bar. All entries will
then move up one space. Entry #99 in the database will be duplicated
for entry #100.
Pushing INSERT:
This will insert a blank line above the position of the highlight bar.
This will move all entries back one space. Data in slot #100 will
be lost.
Pushing EDIT:
This will convert the screen into a normal update data entry screen to
allow you to correct any mistakes that you may have made. The
95% and 105% value checking, that are present in the Update module,
are not in force on the high and close values when using the edit
feature.
Pressing Esc returns the user to the selection menu. At this point
you can select another stock to edit or press Esc and return to the
main menu.
Prudent practice would dictate that the user run Option R after
the completion of any editing functions.
(9)
GRAPHING A STOCK
OPTION "G"
When this option is selected, a stock menu window appears in the
right side of the screen window. Pressing Esc will return the
program to the main menu.
You may select the stock to graph with either the arrow keys or the
mouse. When positioned over the stock name, press either the ENTER
key or the left hand mouse button.
Three push buttons are then presented. You may ACCEPT, and therefore,
graph the stock, or CANCEL and return to the main menu. RETRY allows
you to go back and reselect another stock in the event that you have
made a mistake.
This option is the most exciting in the whole program and basically
the one function that makes all the others necessary. Once the stock
has been selected, and the process completes for that stock, you'll
have a one hundred day trading history on the screen. Pressing Enter
returns the screen to the stock selection menu. Pressing Esc returns
the program to the main menu.
The stock you selected is displayed at the top of the screen. Directly
to the right and down are the graph values for the selling price of
the stock. Each gradient divides the screen in a horizontal line
for quick reference. This is by gradients of one, two, five, fifteen
or twenty points.
Across the bottom of the screen is the history date spaced at 5 day
increments. With each date is a vertical line that divides the
screen top to bottom.
On the left hand side of the graph is a box labeled 30 DAY AVERAGE.
This box gives a visual one hundred day high, low and close average.
The combination of the price lines and the date lines presents a
grid or graph on which the display is drawn.
The daily stock bars show the stock's high at the top of the bar,
the low at the bottom of the bar and the close at the small line on
the right hand side on the bar. The signals for buy, sell and hold
are as follows:
Buy - Green
Sell - Red
Hold - White
In addition small triangles pointing down in red, and up in
green are displayed above the suggested trading days.
(10)
These colors follow the program instructions that are set down by
the selection of the short term, long term, and Chord settings. As
the values are changed in selection "I", the buy and sell signal
also change due to the different priorities of the averages and
Chord.
The relative volume bars for each day are placed vertically just
above the dates at the bottom of the graph. These bars give the
relative trading volume for each day for that stock. Do not
compare different stocks on the volume bar size. This is only for
the stock you are observing. The algorithm for this function looks
at all trading days, picks the highest day, and then gives that day
the tallest bar. All other days are adjusted from that highest day
for that one stock on the screen.
The stock's daily volume can be important in your decision-making,
but this function is not included as part of the algorithm in the
buy-sell trading flags. Stock gains or losses on a very light day
may not have the same weight as those on a heavy trading day. For
example: The week prior to Christmas is traditionally slow.
Prior to making any judgment calls, you may want to consider the
consequences of any action that you may take when full volume or
heavy volume trading resumes. In short, be cautious of any trading
based on prices during relatively light trading volume
OTHER INDICATOR LINES ON THE GRAPH:
The long term average is displayed on a red fluctuating line, and
the short term average is displayed with a green fluctuating line.
If you have placed the stock in the portfolio module, the purchase
price will be displayed on a straight light blue line.
PRINTING GRAPHS
You can print the graph with most graphics printers. The only
requirement is to load in the graphics utility that is supplied
with your version of DOS.
The process is as follows:
Just after you boot the computer and have entered the time and date,
insert your DOS disk into drive "A". If the prompt is not showing
A then TYPE A: -- At the A prompt type GRAPHICS (Note: This
program does not work with all printers.)
This loads the graphics utility into RAM. The selected stock can
then be graphed on the screen by pressing Shift-PrtSc.
We have supplied a series of GRAPHICS.COM type programs to work
with a variety of monitors and printers. You should be able to
find one that works with your monitor and printer. These programs
are from other shareware authors. If you use these programs, the
authors expect to be compensated. The instructions and programs
are in GRAPHICS.EXE. Running this program un-archives all the files.
You can print the documentation by entering COPY GRAPHICS.DOC LPT1.
(11)
SETTING INDICATOR VALUES
OPTION "I"
When this option is selected, a stock menu window appears in the
right side of the screen window. Pressing Esc will return the
program to the main menu.
You may select the stock to set the indicators with either the arrow
keys or the mouse. When positioned over the stock name, press either
the ENTER key or the left hand mouse button.
Three push buttons are then presented. You may ACCEPT, and therefore,
set the indicators of the stock or CANCEL and return to the main menu.
RETRY allows you to go back and reselect another stock in the event that
you have made a mistake.
The greatest versatility of the STOCK TRADER program is the ability
to change the trading indicator values for each stock. A good
good starting position is 45 days for the long term average, 10 days
for the short term average, and 5 days on the Chord.
Before we get into descriptions of how the three indicators function
together, it might be best to describe exactly how the long and
short term indicators are computed. The Long Term Indicator evaluates
the long term rolling average of the stock. The higher the value
that this indicator has, the more it is biased toward history rather
than present stock transactions. To put it another way, the longer
the long term indicator, the less effect today's price will have on
the index. Both the long and the short term index are calculated
each day by the following formula:
AVERAGE=((CLOSE-AVER.(YESTERDAY))*(2/TERM DAYS+1)) + AVER. (YES-
TERDAY)
The Short Term Indicator is calculated exactly the same as the Long
Term Indicator. The only difference between the two indicators is
the numerical value TERM DAYS that you have chosen for each indicator.
The buy and sell signals are generated by the interaction between
these two indicators. These two signals alternate and generally
have a series of hold signals between them. There will never be two
buy, or two sell signals, in succession. A buy signal is generated
after a sell signal has been given and when the Short Term Indicator
becomes more positive in respect to the Long Term Indicator than it
was the previous day. (Even though it may still be negative)
The sell signal is exactly opposite. A sell signal is generated
after a buy signal when the short term indicator becomes more
negative (even though it may still have a positive value) than it
was the previous day.
The buy and sell signals are mitigated by the Chord selection. When
either a buy or sell signal is generated, the program looks at the
Chord length and compares the present day's close with the close
that occurred the "Chord value days" past. In the event of a buy
signal, the present day's close has to be higher than the Chord
length days close, or the buy signal will be inhibited. In the
event of a sell signal, the reverse is true. The present close must
be lower than the Chord close, or the sell signal will be inhibited.
(12)
Unfortunately there is no "best" choice of indicators for any stock.
An owner of AT&T might select a short term average of 75 days while
the long term is 240 days and the Chord is 10 days. The investor who
selects these values probably has no interest in selling AT&T. He
or she knows that over the last year AT&T has varied from $17 to
over $25, but the dividends have remained constant. This investor
is probably in for the "long haul" regardless of what the stock does.
In this case they are probably using STOCK TRADER as a "keep track"
mechanism.
You might be quick to jump here and say that 240 days long term
average, 30 days on the short term average and 10 days on the Chord
is the best choice for your trading, but before you proceed further
consider that AT&T is a "blue chip" stock. The stocks that do not
fall in this category would be treated entirely different and each
of these stocks are treated differently by various individuals.
Fine tuning your trading indicator selections is very easy. Start
by selecting a suitable long term average.
Blue Chip Stocks - greater than 75 days
Moderate Stocks - 45 to 75 days
Speculative Stocks - less than 45 days
Then set the Chord at 5 days. Next change the short term average
either up or down. When the recalculation is completed, go back to
the graphing mode and check the results. Does the trading occur
where you feel it should? If it's too early, lengthen out the
short term average. If it's too late, shorten it up. Once that is
achieved then examine the Chord. Is the trading occurring too
often because there are to many peaks and valleys? In that event,
lengthen the Chord until the excessive trading stops.
Do not try to change all the indicators at once. When all in-
dicators are changed at once, total frustration generally occurs.
This type of abrupt trial and error method can leave you in
absolute confusion and keep you sitting at the computer for a long
time before you arrive at the proper evaluation for an individual
stock.
Once the proper settings have been achieved, these settings will be
effective for a considerable length of time.
For your reference, the previous indicator values are displayed across
the top of the screen. Once you have entered the values for the long,
short, and chord, you are asked to Accept, Cancel or Retry. Accept will
change the values. Cancel will return you to the main menu. Retry allows
you to reenter the values.
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MODIFY PRINTER DEFAULTS
OPTION "M"
Most printers will accept the control codes that are currently in
the program default. These control codes regulate the underline,
emphasis, and double strike. There are two codes for each function.
One code turns the function on while the other turns it off.
Within each code there is room for installing five control code
characters. The first, if used at all, is the escape code or 27.
Although many printer manuals mention the Escape function, some do
not give the control code number for Escape. Keep in mind that
this code, if used, is always first. This code usually starts the
printer setup.
Some control sequences do not use the five spaces provided in the
program for the control codes. In that event make the leading spaces
0 and use the last spaces for the control codes. Most printers
use only one or two control codes. In most cases CODE1 and CODE2
will both be 0.
HP Laser printers may use all five. Most printers use only three
and that's generally with the underline feature. The control code
for this feature on most printers is 27, 45 and then either 1 or 0.
One turns the underline on, while 0 turns the underline off.
The easiest way to determine if these codes need adjustment is to
print out a stock listing and examine the result. Are the numbers
under close, short term, and long term averages boldfaced if the
value goes up? When it goes down, are they underlined? When the
value stays the same, is it in standard print? If these questions
can all be answered yes, then the print defaults do not have to be
adjusted.
If it becomes necessary to adjust any of these functions, you'll
have to go to the instruction manual that was supplied with your
printer. The functions that you need are generally placed in the
back of the manual in an appendix. Note that most of the sequences
start with Escape. That means character 27, and that's the figure
to put into the first ( ) if there are five codes. If there are
less than five fill the leading slots with zero. It should look
like this after you finish ( 0 ). Next enter the first code. This
is generally 27. Then look for the next code under the DEC column.
This is the decimal equivalent of the code letter. For example
Emphasis is generally Escape E. This would be entered as ( 0 )
( 27 ) ( 69 ). 69 is the decimal equivalent of E.
This does become confusing sometimes, so if you're a registered
owner of the STOCK TRADER, and have contributed to FreeBooter user
support, call FreeBooter(tm) Software at 503-244-4800 and we'll be
glad to assist you in entering the proper values.
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NEW NAME
OPTION "N"
When this option is selected, a stock selection window appears on
the right hand side of the screen. Select the stock name that you
wish to change with either the down arrow key or the mouse. When
the highlight bar is over the proper stock press Enter or the left
hand mouse button.
You are then prompted to Accept, Cancel or Retry. Cancel returns
you to the main menu, Retry starts you back at the start of the
New Name screen and Accept transfers control to selecting a new name.
Pressing Esc at anytime will return you to the main menu. Entering
the new name followed by Enter will return you to the main menu where
you will find the stock resorted with the new name.
PRINT TRADING SHEET
OPTION "P"
When this option is selected, a stock menu window appears in the
right side of the screen window. Pressing Esc will return the
program to the main menu.
You may select the stock to print with either the arrow keys or
the mouse. When positioned over the stock name, press either the
ENTER key or the left hand mouse button.
Three push buttons are then presented. You may ACCEPT, and therefore,
print the stock or CANCEL and return to the main menu. RETRY allows
you to go back and reselect another stock in the event that you have
made a mistake.
The one hundred day history is almost a duplicate of the screen that
comes up when the stock edit option is selected. Due to the limita-
tions of the printer there are some changes from what is presented
on the screen.
1. The entire one hundred days is presented on the printout.
2. Decreases in the close, long term, and short term averages are
underlined.
3. Increases in the close, long term and short term averages are
displayed in boldface.
Aside from these variations, both the printed and the screen present-
ations should be the same. If the printout does not come up correctly,
it is necessary to change the printer control commands that direct the
printing functions.
For this, go to the Main Menu and select option M. This process allows
you to make all the changes necessary to make your printer conform to
the required print commands.
Should the boldface not be distinctive enough, you should either change
the printer ribbon or reink it.
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QUIT PROGRAM
OPTION "Q"
This option terminates the program and returns you to the DOS
prompt.
RECALCULATE INDEXES
OPTION "R"
When this option is selected, a stock menu window appears in the
right side of the screen window. Pressing Esc at this point will
return the program to the main menu.
You may select the stock to recalculate with either the arrow keys or
the mouse. When positioned over the stock name, press either the
ENTER key or the left hand mouse button.
Three push buttons are then presented. You may ACCEPT, and therefore,
recalculate the stock or CANCEL and return to the main menu. RETRY
allows you to go back and reselect another stock in the event that you
have made a mistake.
This option should be used whenever you edit the stock. Since
changes have been made, it will change the values of the long and
short term indexes.
SPLITTING A STOCK
OPTION "S"
When this option is selected, a warning screen will come up. It
allows you to exit back to the main program by pressing Esc.
Pressing any other key will pass to a stock menu window in the
right side of the screen window. Pressing Esc will return the
program to the main menu.
You may select the stock to split with either the arrow keys or
the mouse. When positioned over the stock name, press either the
ENTER key or the left hand mouse button.
Three push buttons are then presented. You may ACCEPT, and therefore,
split the stock or CANCEL and return to the main menu. RETRY allows
you to go back a reselect another stock in the event that you have
made a mistake.
Splitting a stock occurs infrequently, but when it does, it can be
inconvenient if this option is not included in the program. This
generally occurs when the stock has either become too high priced
or the company has been taken over by another company, and a stock
swapping takes place between the new company and the investors.
To perform the split, you will be asked to answer the following ques-
tion:
How is the stock splitting? XXXX shares for XXXX shares.
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If the stock is splitting 2 for 1 (two new shares, for one old
shares) enter 2 in the first space and 1 in the second space. Many
other split combinations are possible. Just remember to enter the
new shares first, and the old shares second.
Once entered, the program adjusts all figures so that they appear to
have been entered at the new share level. For example: On a two
for one split, the number of shares is doubled. The high, low, and
close prices are cut in half. The volume is doubled and the long
term and short term averages are cut in half.
This is done for all history entries for the stock which splits. If
you have made an error, do not be concerned. Merely go back into
the stock split section and reverse the procedure. If you had entered
2 for 1 go back and enter 1 for 2. The process is reversed and you'll
be back to exactly the place you were before you started. There may be
some minor decimal changes but nothing that will effect the programs
accuracy.
This method may, on the surface, seem to distort the true facts of
the stock's movement. If you do not change the original price of the
stock, the split will immediately reduce the stock price and the
program would signal a sell due to the much lower price. Although
it may be advisable to sell at this time, it may also be advisable
to hold onto the stock. The only way to keep the performance
tracking is to change the price of the stock throughout its entire
stored history. Only in this way will the true indications to buy,
sell, or hold be realized.
UPDATING A STOCK
OPTION "U"
When this option is selected, you will be asked if this is manual
entry or a importing quotes from an ASCII file. Select the proper
entry with the arrow keys and press enter or select with a mouse.
MANUAL ENTRY
A stock menu window appears in the right side of the screen window.
Pressing Esc will return the program to the main menu.
You may select the stock to print with either the arrow keys or
the mouse. When positioned over the stock name, press either the
ENTER key or the left hand mouse button.
Three push buttons are then presented. You may ACCEPT, and therefore,
print the stock or CANCEL and return to the main menu. RETRY allows
you to go back and reselect another stock in the event that you have
made a mistake.
Depending on the pricing selection that you have chosen, the program
prompts for some or all of the following - day's high, day's low,
day's close, and day's volume. These figures are checked for
accuracy in several ways:
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1. If today's high or close differs from yesterday's high by
greater than 5%, the program asks if you want to enter that
figure.
2. If the low is greater than the high, the program asks you to
reenter all the figures.
3. If the close is greater than the high or less than the low,
the program asks you to reenter all the figures.
The values that are entered can be none, one, two, or three
decimal places. e.g. 12 7/8 would be entered either 12.875 or
12.88. For quick reference the following are suitable input values:
8 1/8 - - - 8.125 or 8.13
10 1/4 - - - 10.25
45 3/8 - - - 45.375 or 45.38
16 1/2 - - - 16.50 or 16.5
4 5/8 - - - 4.625 or 4.63
69 3/4 - - - 69.75
13 7/8 - - - 13.875 or 13.88
11 - - - 11 or 11.0 or 11.00
As you can see, there is no need to add the zero to a whole number
or after a .5 figure. The program automatically does that function
for you.
After entry, you may Accept, Cancel or Retry.
The running values for the long and short term averages are calcu-
lated each time the entry is completed. These values are posted in
the history along with the other entered values and saved to the
database.
The action of the long and short term average are the major driving
calculations that signal the buy, sell, and hold trading indicators
to the graphing program. These trading indicator flags are also
set at the time of the update entries.
Since the actions of the long and short term averages are an
accumulation of all the previous history, the need is obvious to
have the trading days in sequential order. Placed out of sequence,
the long and short term averages become a meaningless calculation
and the trading indicators have no value at all.
When you complete the entry, you are returned to the stock select
screen. You may then select another stock to update, or press ESC
to return to the main menu.
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ASCII FILE IMPORTING
First you must download the file from your stock quoting service.
Since downloading functions vary for different services, it is next
to impossible to describe all the ways a stock file can be down-
loaded. If in doubt, consult the manual supplied with your stock
quotes service. There is an option to save the file that you have
downloaded. It may be necessary to capture the download in a buffer
before saving the file. Again consult your download service manual.
Save the file to C:\STOCK\QUOTES when the save file option comes up.
This will save your file on the C drive, in the STOCK directory under
the name QUOTES.
If your service provides an editing feature, then edit out the header
and footer information that contains no actual stock quotes. The
new importing feature does good at screening out lines that contain
non-stock functions, but it's good to remove them until your sure
that the Stock Trader will screen your particular non-stock quote
lines. This has been tried with Compuserve and Prodigy and the
screen works well at screening our non-stock lines with those
suppliers.
The next screen will ask you to name the importing file that you
have created from the stock quoting service. If the program finds
the file that you have named, it will proceed. Failing to find the
file it will notify you and you can retype the name, or press Esc
to go back to the main menu.
There is a practice file already on the disk. It's named QUOTES.TXT
and matches the stocks that are currently in the data file. The
practice file has one stock that will update automatically, and two
that you need to select the stock to update. The automatic stock
update will execute if the program can match up a stock name that
is in the import file, with a stock name that is currently in the
database. If it can not find the stock it will ask you to select the
proper stock. Insure that you select the proper stock to update.
In the manual update mode, there is a high-low warning flag that
activates if the stock deviates more than 5%. In the import mode
the computer assumes that the stock quote service is correct, and
you have selected the proper stock.
The current import mask is set to transfer several stocks for one
day from the Compuserve service. There are two import modes.
1. One stock for up to 150 days. (Only 100 days will remain in history)
2. Several stocks for a single day (up to 44)
In option 1 there is no stock name field. In option 2 there is
no date field.
To reset the capture mask simply press F1 when the vertical stock
selection window comes up on the right. NOTE: IF YOUR STOCK QUOTE
COMPANY USES FRACTIONS INSTEAD OF DECIMALS BE CAUTIOUS IN SETTING
THE CAPTURE MASK. THE JUSTIFICATION IS RIGHT AND LEFT OF THE SPACE
BETWEEN THE WHOLE NUMBER AND THE DECIMAL. THIS MEANS THAT IF
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YOUR STOCK DROPS BELOW ONE DOLLAR THE STOCK QUOTE GENERALLY REVERTS
TO SIXTEENTHS! THIS COULD PUSH THE NORMAL QUOTE TWO PLACES TO THE
RIGHT IN THE CASE OF 11/16. IF ANY STOCK THAT YOU CAPTURE IS IN
A LOW RANGE, BE SURE TO TAKE THIS INTO ACCOUNT WHEN SETTING THE
CAPTURE MASK, OTHERWISE YOU COULD END UP WITH SOME VERY STRANGE
FIGURES.
To reset the mask press F1. This will activate the bar selection
menu at the lower right. To totally reset the mask, it's best to
delete the current settings by selecting each mask setting and
cancelling that setting by pressing F1.
When you have a clear bar in the upper window, reset the mask by
selecting each value and assigning it on the bar. You can move
the cursor with the arrow keys until it is placed exactly in the
correct position for either the beginning or end of the field,
then press the enter key. Use the arrow keys to go to the other
end of the field, and press the enter key again. If you have made
any error, just reselect the field again at the vertical menu
window and press F1. This will erase the field on the upper bar.
NOTE: THE COLORED FIELD BAR MUST BE EXACTLY OVER THE DESIRED
DOWNLOAD FIELD OR THE PROGRAM WILL NOT ACCEPT VALUES CORRECTLY.
IN THE EXAMPLE THAT WAS SUPPLIED WITH THE PROGRAM, ALL THE FIELDS
ARE CONTIGUOUS. THIS MAY NOT BE THE CASE WITH THE QUOTE SERVICE
THAT YOU ARE USING.
Continue with each selection until complete. IF YOU ARE IMPORTING
MULTIPLE STOCKS FOR A SINGLE DATE, THE DATE FIELD WILL NOT BE
NECESSARY. IF IMPORTING A SINGLE STOCK FOR MULTIPLE DATES THE
STOCK NAME FIELD WILL NOT BE NECESSARY.
Since we are already set on option 2 the next screen will verify
the date you will be using to post stocks. You can keep it or
change the date. Switch the push buttons with the arrow keys and
Enter. If you choose to change the date you'll be transferred
to the date change screen. Input the date by using two digits
for month, day, and year. For example September 8, 1992 would
be entered
Month 09
Day 08
Year 92
You will then be given the option to accept or retry then settings.
Anytime that you change the import capture mask and that mask does
not include the date you will come back to this screen.
Upon completion of the date entry, if necessary, the download screen
will come up. If the computer can match a stock in the database
with one from the import file, it will automatically post the
update to the stock.
Failing to find the stock it will bring up a vertical selection
menu and ask you to identify the stock to be updated. You can use
the up/down arrow keys to make the selection and then press enter or
use the mouse and press the left button for selection. You can also
use the mouse to scroll through the available stock selection by
placing the mouse on the right hand scroll area, and pressing the left
hand mouse button.
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Once selected you'll be given the option to Accept, Cancel, or Retry.
If you press Cancel the process will abort and revert back to the main
menu.
We also have a "Significant Whoops" screen in the automatic import
module. Should you have incorrectly misnamed the data fields, for
example reversing the high and low fields, or the quote service
has given you figures that can't possibly be (high is lower the
close) you'll receive a Whoops. You can then cancel the entry
or skip the individual transaction.
Before making a selection you can also do the following
Pressing Esc - By-passes the current stock reading that is under the
light bar in the left hand stock quotes and advances
the selection one step.
Pressing F1 - Will allow you to reset the import capture mask.
Pressing F2 - If you are posting many dates for a single stock
it is necessary to have the oldest date at the top
of the screen. Most services will provide the history
in the correct order. If it does not pressing F2 will
reverse the order on the screen.
Pressing F3 - Returns the program to the main menu.
As each stock in the import file is posted, you will see the high-
light bar move down one selection. When the end of the file is reached
the update program will revert back to the main menu.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT ON THE STOCK TRADER PROGRAM. IF YOU HAVE
REGISTERED, THANKS AGAIN, IF NOT, PLEASE DO SO.
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