The World of Computer Software/The World of Computer Software.iso/pasdemo.zip/PADEMO.TXT

Text File | 1992-12-17 | 98KB | 2,595 lines

            PointsAhead! 2.0
            (Mouse Optional)


         DEMONSTRATION Diskette
              User's Guide





   This DEMO has been optimized for 286, 386,
   and 486 CPUs This DEMO will not work on any
   IBM XT or any other computer using a
   8088 or 8086 chip.




(c) Copyright 1991, 1992 All Rights Reserved
The Small Investor's Software Company


Preface

  More investors worldwide are taking charge of
  their investment decisions. Where other products
  help organize and track your profits and losses,
  PointsAhead! is different by contributing
  actively to your pre-investment decision making
  process. PointsAhead! should be used before you
  call your broker or trade desk to buy or sell
  any investment. By graphically displaying the
  historical prices, you can see what the "PROs"
  use when they decide to invest; hence you can
  benefit from better timing and make more money.

  Another unique quality which adds value to
  PointsAhead! is in its ability to integrate data
  from varying sources. PointsAhead! was designed
  to make acquiring and processing price data a
  simple process. We believe that your time should
  be spent on the most important aspect of
  investing which is looking for investment
  opportunities and not on the mundane daily tasks
  of getting and storing the data.

  PointsAhead! contains a number of "easy to use"
  programs which allow you to collect, store,
  graph, study, analyze, and edit end-of-day
  information for any stock, warrant, future,
  index, stock & future options, mutual funds, and
  money market funds transmitted by various data
  sources.  These sources allow you to create data
  files which are stored in ASCII format so that
  you can use MS-DOS commands.

  PointsAhead! has 6 sections: Parameters,
  Symbols, Directories, Data, Graphics, and
  Utilitities. Four of these sections perform
  secondary functions like setting parameters,
  user-defined symbols, and type of data source,
  while other functions help you fix mistakes.
  However, the most powerful section of the
  program allows you to graphically display the
  daily price information and perform many studies
  and statistics on each ticker symbol.

  The daily prices can be displayed in one of
  three chart types: Bar chart, Equivolume chart,
  and the Candlebar chart. The prices are
  automatically graphically displayed in
  accordance with the Japanese Candlestick format
  using our proprietary display called the
  Candlebar chart. We developed this new display
  format which captures the graphical content of
  Candlesticks and the compactness of bars through
  the use of color. This new display makes it
  easier for you to identify the prominent
  Japanese patterns, or see how strong or weak the
  market's price action was for the day. For an
  indepth understanding of Japanese Candlesticks,
  please refer to any of the books available on
  the subject.

  PointsAhead! has packaged 36 of the most
  commonly used technical analysis tools and ideas
  in an effort to automate your investment data
  and enhance your trading skills. We hope that
  these ideas will help you to make more
  profitable trades. But it in no way is providing
  you with a trading system. Education and a
  thirst for knowledge are the root of frequent
  successful trades. Our aim is to provide you
  both of these; in your successful pursuit
  towards investing.



Abbreviations used throughout PointsAhead!'s User
Guide:

- PA! = PointsAhead!
- SISCO = The Small Investor's Software Company
- The carrot ( ^ ) or <CTRL> represents the control key.
- <ESC> represents the ESCAPE key.
- <ENTER> represents either the ENTER or RETURN key.
- <ALT> represents the Alternate key.
- Combinations of keystrokes are written like this:
        <ALT>+d
  This means press the Alternate key and the
  lowercase "d" key simultaneously.


Notes regarding this Manual and PointsAhead!:

-  Throughout the User's Guide, any keystrokes
  that are required from you will be CAPITALIZED.
-  To accommodate different keyboards and
  hundreds of additional studies, PointsAhead!
  requires that both the CAPITAL & NUMERIC LOCKS
  ARE OFF. Please note that Capital letters are
  recognized as different from lowercase letters.
-  Downloading data is a daily task, the
  computer cannot automatically retrieve prices
  out of thin air. You must turn on your computer
  and press a few buttons every night in order to
  maintain complete data. Remember to download
  data after the market closes.
-  PointsAhead! needs 7 days of data before
  anything useful can be displayed on screen.
-  Please check the packing list to make sure
  that all of the programs are included on your
  disk.
-  The <ESCAPE > Key is used to exit from each
  section of the program.
-  Please readjust the contrast on your monitor
  to maximize visibility of the gray lines.
-  The Equivolume graph has a different scale
  than the studies. This is normal.
-  If there is no opening price then
  PointsAhead! uses the previous days closing
  price as todays opening price.
-  MS-DOS commands are referenced throughout this
  manual, please use the MS-DOS User's Guide for
  a better understanding of these functions.



Hardware Requirements:

     IBM or Compatible  - EGA or VGA color
     monitor required
     MS - DOS 3.0 or higher

  Hard disk drive is strongly recommended for
  improving the speed in retrieving and storing
  numerous data files. Example, if you have 400
  Symbols that you follow; each symbol will need
  approximately 50 bytes of storage space which
  works out to be approximately 20k per day.


Capacities and Limitations:

     Maximum number of symbols that can be
     graphed individually: unlimited
     Maximum number of symbols downloaded from
     Signal per collection file:  800
     Maximum number of days that can be
     graphed:  400 trading days
     Maximum number of months of weekly data
     that can be graphed:  84
     Maximum number of symbols for Manual Data
     Entry:  300

  The program requires at least 7 days of data in
  order for the functions to operate properly. You
  must download and collect data for 7 trading
  days to get access to the statistics. You can
  graph the data after collecting one days data,
  however, most of the studies are based on
  statictical averages, so you will not have
  access to all of the functions at first. This
  program is equipped to handle Indices, Futures,
  Future Options, Stocks, Stock Options, Warrants,
  Mutual Funds, and Money Market Funds symbols
  downloaded from various data sources.

  Customer Support:

        Phone:  [phone]
                MON-FRI   10:00AM - 6:00PM EST

        Electronic Mail:

        Bulletin Board Service:
             [phone] for 2400 Baud Modems
             [phone] 9600 or higher Modems
             (No Parity, 8 Data bits, 1 Stop Bit)
             Messages retreived daily

        Compuserve:
                User ID: 71165,2776
                Messages retreived weekly

        Genie:
                Mail ID: J.Kellndorf1
                Messages retreived weekly

        US Mail:
                The Small Investor's Software Company
                138 Ocean Ave
                Amityville, NY 11701



Packing List:

  These are the files and data that
  you should have unpacked.

       PADEMO.TXT   - DEMO Instructions
       PAMDEMO.EXE  - Activates program
       PADEMO20.EXE - Graphs Sample Data

       SP_U.DC      - SP 500 September Futures data
       T.DC         - AT&T Stock data
       $INDU.DC     - Dow Jones Industrial Average data



Introduction to PointsAhead!
DEMONSTRATION Diskette

   PointsAhead! has numerous functions and
   features to help you analyze the prices of your
   investments and better time the entry and exit
   of these transactions. In an effort to make it
   easier for you to understand the different
   aspects to computerizing and automating your
   investment decision making process, we have
   divided the User's Guide into several sections.

   The first section describes and explains all of
   the functions and keystrokes necessary to use
   all of the various statistics and charting
   styles. The second section is really Appendix A
   which describes all of the studies and
   statistics available. The third section
   pertains to explaining how PA! interfaces with
   all of the carying data sources (Appendix F
   through Q).

   We at SISCO are bringing to you the tools that
   are used by the professionals in the world of
   finance and trading. We anticipate that there
   are many new concepts and insights presented
   within these pages that require the patience of
   learning something new. If at times you do not
   understand a particular study or how it affects
   your ability to make money. Please use all the
   available means to contact us or to use other
   free sources such as your Library, Business
   related programs on TV or Cable, or contact
   your broker. We know that spending a little
   time learning how to time the markets will
   yield huge benefits for many years ahead.

   Before you move on, here is a global overview
   of what is involved in tracking and charting
   your investments. Please remember that before
   you can use PA! you need 7 days of price data
   and that these prices should be retrieved on a
   daily basis.

   Unfortunately, there are a number of steps
   required before you can perform the primary
   function of PA! and that is to analyze the
   price data and better time the entry and exit
   of your transactions. Step one is to retrieve
   the data and save it to your hard drive. Step
   two is to identify what the data contains and
   in what form the data is in. And the last step
   is to display it.

   Retrieving the data can be accomplished in a
   number of ways using either a Newspaper, Modem,
   FM Reciever, or Satellite. The transferring of
   the price data usually involves other software
   besides PA! such as Procomm (a telecommunication
   program), a program named Online software (a
   program provided free from the data source), or
   FUTURELINK's Exporter program (another program
   provided by another data source).

   As mentioned above, retrieving the data is not
   one of the functions of PA!. Retrieving data is
   best left to the data source for the most
   reliable and error free transfer of
   information. However, once the information is
   retrieved and stored, PA! can identify and
   classify the data. This easy step is explained
   in the section on how to use the data.

   Lastly, displaying and analyzing the data is
   explained in the section how to use PA!'s
   functions and features. In most cases, it is
   simply a matter of pressing a key to accomplish
   what you wanted in the first place - a graph or
   chart of the prices to help you identify
   profitable patterns.



Getting A Quick Look at PointsAhead!
-----------------------------------
  First of all, Capital letters are recognized as
  being different from lowercase letters, so check
  both the capital and numeric lock to make sure
  that they are off before using any of the
  studies. Secondly, This program does more than
  just display price information, it also collects
  and stores it for you. However, this is not done
  automatically. You must press the required keys
  to download, convert, and store the information
  every trading day to keep your symbols' prices
  accurate and complete. The program is quite easy
  to use and become familiar with, however it is
  recommended that you read this manual before
  starting the program.

  For those of you inclined to jump right into
  things; you can run the program and sample data
  immediately. For those of you with a mouse just
  click in the appropriate areas to activate the
  buttons.

  Just type PAMDEMO <ENTER>. You are now in the
  program. Press <ENTER> to erase the Title Window
  and then Type ALT+G for graphics. The SP500
  future contract will appear on the screen. Press
  <CTRL>+h simultaneously to display the study
  listing, or refer the Study Listing in this
  manual, and select which study you would like to
  display. At this point, you can analyze the
  SP500 36 different ways. When you are done,
  press <ESC> to quit and you will return to DOS.


Using PointsAhead!:
==================
  You only need to type in the letters PAMDEMO
  from either the PAS directory on your hard drive
  or from the current directory to activate the
  program. The rest of the program is menu driven.
  This means follow the choices that are available
  on the screen.

  Here is a brief summary of the features
  available to you with PointsAhead!

  There are interactive keys so that you can
  either move the cursor, pick one of the 36
  studies to analyze the market, or select any of
  the user defined hot keys.  The computer monitor
  will display three graphs simultaneously,
  allowing you to compare the price action with
  two of your favorite studies.


  Some of the other functions included are:

     1. Parameter-  Setting standard values for
             your preferences.
     2. Symbols-    Setting the user defined hot
             keys with your favorite ticker symbols.
     3. Directories - Setting Multiple data
             directories. Allows you to separate
             classes of investments and store them
             in different directories.
     4. Data-  getting and storing data into
             ASCII data files.
     5. Utilities- Fixing mistakes and archiving the
             ASCII data files.
     6. Manual Entry- Creating and Entering your own
             data to make history files and charts.



  Main Menu:

  1.   Type PAMDEMO and the program will begin by
  showing you a title window. Press <ENTER> to
  erase it and at the top of screen will appear a
  menubar which contains several choices.

  2.   The choices are quite simple. You can
  change the program PARAMETERS; set which
  DIRECTORY the data resides in; or convert DATA;
  or preset which ticker SYMBOLS the program
  should keep ready to display; or analyze and
  display the GRAPHICS; or use one the UTILITIES
  to modify the data; or QUIT the program.  All
  you need to do is press ALT and various letters
  will highlight in red. At this point you could
  modify the standard values for different moving
  averages by pressing the "P" key; or you could
  activate hot keys with your favorite symbols by
  pressing the "S" key; or simply graphically
  display a ticker symbol by pressing the "G" key.

  Due to the nature of this DEMO disk, the program
  is designed limit your access to the various
  functions. You will be able to make changes to
  the standard values however you will not be able
  to save any changes made to the standard values
  preset within the program.

  Continue by selecting the "G" key and press
  <ENTER> to graph the sample SP500 futures
  contract. Also, included are data for the stock
  AT&T and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. These
  data can be accessed by pressing the function
  keys F2 & F3 once a graph appears. The program
  will load in these data automatically after
  pressing one of these keys.

  3. Once a graph appears you now have the ability
  to analyze it 36 different ways. You can
  practice with any of the keys to see what will
  happen. Just press the control key
  simultaneously with any letter of the alphabet
  to activate a function.  Or press CTRL+h
  to display the help menu. If you get into
  trouble, or think that you have made a mistake;
  just press F1, F2, or F3 to redraw the graph or
  exit the program. (see the next paragraph below)

  4. Exiting the program is simple; just press
  the <ESCAPE> key and the graph disappears and
  you are now back to DOS. A purchased copy of PA!
  would return to the menubar so that you could
  make changes and then redraw the graphs.



Interactive keys:      A tour of the Keyboard
                       Keys used by  PointsAhead!

  There are a few keys that are used by the
  program. However, for the interactive keys to
  work properly, make sure that the numeric and
  capital locks are off (disabled). The escape,
  the return/enter, the 4 arrows and all 10
  function keys are used. All letters of the
  alphabet in conjunction with the control key
  are used to perform the 36 studies, plus
  toggling the moving average on/off screen, and
  stopping the program.

  A hot key is a combination of keystrokes that
  trigger the program to do something. Most hot
  keys in this program require two keys. The
  control key (the symbol used in this manual for
  the control key is the carrot (^) )  must be
  used simultaneously with the other key.
  Generally, it is the alpha-numeric keys that
  are used with the control key.


  GREY - Key (on numeric keypad)

  Decreases size of indicators while
  simultaneously increasing the size of the Chart.


  GREY + Key (on numeric keypad)

  Increases size of indicators while
  simultaneously shrinking the size of the Chart.


  ENTER KEY     changes Moving Average

  The Enter/Return key when pressed changes the
  moving average value used by the program. This
  facilitates easy comparisons. For example, the
  standard setting is for 14 days, however maybe
  you would like to see the 20 day moving
  average. All you would do is press the enter
  key and answer the question on the screen. Then
  the program redraws the graph with the new
  moving average recalculated. Nothing appears
  different because the moving average is only
  visible after you press CRTL+y. Try it.

  HELP MENU  -     (Control + H)

  A blue display will list the studies that are
  available. Press any to continue.

  The program has a limited help menu. It is
  really a listing of all the current studies
  available. There are no on screen instructions
  explaining the use of this program. For any
  instructions, please refer to this manual.
  Press any key to return to the graph.

   ( ` ) - Chart Types

  The accent key is used to select one of the
  three different types of charts available. A
  pull down window will appear in the upper left
  hand corner. Just use the arrow keys to select
  the type of chart you wish to view - then press
  <ENTER>. This chart type will remain active
  until you change it. If you want to abort this
  function; just press <ESCAPE>. Please refer to
  Appendix B for descriptions of the chart types.

  CONTROL + Y

  The "^Y" keys are used to toggle on/off the
  statistics. This allows you the option of
  looking at the Japanese Candlesticks alone or
  with the moving average and Bollinger Bands
  overlaid on the screen simultaneously.

  CONTROL + F10

  The "^F10" (control + F10) is used to
  enter any ticker symbol you want displayed.
  There are user defined keys for your favorite
  symbols. But when you want any other symbol
  graphed you need to use these keys to analyze
  these data.
  DEMO - ACCESS TO THIS FUNCTION IS DISABLED!

  TRENDLINE KEY     (/)

  The "/" forward slash line is used to draw
  trendlines. Note that the control key is not
  needed for this function. The program draws
  trendlines by marking 2 points. After using the
  arrows to move the line markers to isolate a
  point, press "/" once. Now one point is stored.
  Then move the arrows to mark the other point
  and then press "/" again. Now on the screen
  should appear a white line between the 2 points
  that you isolated. If not, then move the line
  markers again and press "/" again; a line
  should appear. If you accidently make a mistake
  with the 2 points, all you have to do is erase
  the line.  The only way to erase a line is to
  clear the entire screen.  There are two ways to
  do this. First, press the control + Y and the
  price graph is redrawn. Secondly, press the hot
  key for the same ticker symbol again.

  FUNCTION KEYS   &   CONTROL plus (DIGITS 1-9)

  The function keys 1- 10 "F1-F10" and control +
  function keys " ^F1 - ^F9 " allow you to graph and
  switch between 19 of your favorite symbols
  without entering the ticker symbol. These keys
  are user defined symbol keys. Please refer to
  the User Guide's section on Ticker.  Also, refer
  to Setting User defined Hot Keys section in
  this manual. Remember, both the numeric and
  capital locks should be off.

  EXITING PROGRAM       (ESC)

  There are two keys to press to exit the
  program. Each key is different depending on
  where you are in the program.  Pressing ALT+Q to
  activate the mainbar and then pressing E returns
  you to DOS - your operating system. Pressing the
  <ESCAPE> key when you are in the graphics area
  returns you to DOS.

  SHELLING to DOS   (ALT + s)

  This feature allows you to exit PointsAhead! to
  use DOS functions, like checking a directory
  for a file or looking for a ticker symbol, and
  then return to PointsAhead! without rereading
  in data. Returning to PointsAhead! is easy; just
  type the word EXIT <enter> and your graph will
  be redrawn. This function requires more memory,
  so if you are running out of memory please do
  not use this feature.

  USING MULTIPLE DIRECTORIES: ALT + d & ALT + #'s

  This feature allows you to do is change from
  one directory to another without having you to
  go to the parameter section of the program and
  change the pathname, extension name, or data
  order. For most users using one data source,
  you will not need this feature because all of
  your data is stored in one directory with one
  extension name and one data order.
  DEMO - THIS FUNCTION HAS BEEN DISABLED!

  CURSOR CONTROL:          Arrow Keys

  The Up and Down arrows move the horizontal
  marker and displays the price at that level.
  The Left and Right arrows move the vertical
  marker to show past daily price information.
  These keys can be used at any time.

  When using the right and left arrows, the
  screen will display the information for that
  given day along with its statistics. Also, at
  the end of the top line of information is
  something called "DATA#". This is simply the
  number of days data you have collected. This
  feature is also useful for counting days
  between cycles. Just substract the "DATA#" from
  each peak and you now have the number of days
  for that cycle.

  When using the up and down arrows, the screen
  will display a horizontal green line. This
  marks the price level, and the price value is
  displayed in green off to the lower right of
  the top graph. This feature quickly identifies
  price ranges.  It is helpful to find a 50%
  retracement, or identify Fibonacci targets.
  Just have a calculator handy, and after marking
  the top and bottom, you can calculate the areas
  of resistance. Please note that the arrow keys
  are also used to draw trendlines. Note that
  these arrow keys can be used at any time to
  identify a previous price.

  MONTHLY ARROWS         CTRL+ arrows

  This combination of keys allows to move the
  cursors in monthly increments instead of daily
  increments. This is only useful when you have
  collected more than one years worth of data.

  CONTROLLING INDICATOR SIZE   (keypad +  -)

  The half screen price charts always display two
  indictors. At times you may want to change the
  size of these windows. Increasing the size of
  the indicator bar is through the use of the "+"
  key on the numeric keypad while decreasing the
  size is through the use of the "-" key on the
  numeric keypad.

  CALCULATOR    ?

  This simple calculator allows you to quickly
  figure the percent change and the point
  difference between to periods. Activating this
  function is simple. Just select a day by moving
  the left/right arrows to the day you wish to
  view. Press the "?" (shift+/) key and then move
  the cursor to the next day for comparison. Press
  "?" again. Off to the right will appear the
  percent change in yellow and the number points
  between the two days. These numbers are based on
  the closing prices of the days selected. Also,
  please note that the order of the days you
  select will determine if the noted change will
  be a positive or negative value.

  SCAN SYMBOLS   PGUP / PGDN / HOME / END

  These four keys will allow you instant access to
  those data files listed in the directory as
  defined in the Parameters Menu using the
  specified Data Pathname and Extension Name. The
  Page Down (PGDN) key will bring cause the next
  symbol in the directory to be graphed. Using
  this function the first time will cause the
  first symbol in the directory to be graphed,
  when pressed a second the second file will be
  graphed, etc. PA! does not alphabetize the
  symbols in the directory, it uses the order that
  exists on your hard drive. The Page Up (PGUP)
  key does the opposite. It causes the previous
  graph to be drawn. If you graphed the first
  symbol in the directory, then this key will
  redraw the symbol. The HOME key causes the first
  symbol in the directory to be displayed while
  the END key causes the last symbol in the
  directory to be displayed.



GRAPHICS
========

  Main Graph Explanation
  ----------------------
  After Pressing the "G" from the mainbar of
  PAMDEMO, you should see three graphs. This
  program displays the price history in the top
  graph with accordance to the Japanese
  Candlestick format. The red portion designates
  the daily trading range. The white portion shows
  strength with the closing price higher than the
  opening price. The light blue portion shows
  weakness. The closing price is lower than the
  opening price. Just below the graph is the
  ticker symbol along with the last days price
  history: "C"= close, "H"= high, "L"= low, and
  "MID"= the midpoint of the days range.
  Underneath that information is the "STD=" which
  is the standard deviation based on the preset
  moving average. The "AVERAGE=" is the preset
  moving average. The "2+/- ="  are the second
  standard deviations numbers which when graphed
  are yellow dots. These yellow bands are also
  known as "Bollinger Bands".

  Explanation of Main Graphs use of Color
  ---------------------------------------
     *  Red = Daily Trading Range
     Gray dash = Standard Deviation
     *  White = Higher Close than Open
     Yellow dot = Double Standard Deviation
     *  Light Blue = Higher Open than Close
     Gray vertical dashes = Monthly Marker
     *  Green dot = Closing price
     Blue = Moving Average

     NOTE:  Press Control+Y  to display the
     Bollinger bands and preset moving average
     Those colors indicated by (*) can be
     changed to the color of your choice.
     DEMO - ACCESS TO CUSTOM COLOR IS DENIED!



  Lower Graph Explanation
  -----------------------
   The lower graphs are dedicated to displaying
  the various functions and studies available to
  you. Each Graph is labeled and the current graph
  activated is highlighted in white and the other
  graph is outlined in yellow. PointsAhead! uses
  colored lines to differentiate between the
  multi-lined graphs. The label above the graph is
  the same color to help identify the function.




Performing Technical Studies and Statistics
===========================================
  Remember, both the capital and numeric keyboard
  locks should be off. Use the arrows to move the
  cursor and price markers.

  Once you have displayed the prices on the
  computer screen using the graphics program "G",
  there are 36 studies you can use to analyze the
  prices.  Bear in mind that the program has
  preset values, and if you wish to change them,
  then exit the graphics section and enter the
  parameters section to change these values. You
  would press <ESCAPE> then press ALT+P and the
  standard values will be on screen.

  In addition, you can with one key stroke change
  from one symbol to another  (Please refer to the
  section on user-defined symbols). Also, you can
  insert the current days price information to
  update all studies intraday (control+a). There
  is a help menu to show you the hot-keys
  necessary to perform the different studies
  (control+h).


  STUDY LISTING
  =============

     The control key ( ^ ) must be pressed
     simultaneously with the lowercase letter to
     activate these studies:

  ^a - Allows you to add a new last, high, low,
     open to add the next trading days price
     action. It does not store the added data to
     the permanent file.
  ^b - Plots 1, 5, & 10 day buying pressure
  ^c - Midpoint Rule: Shows frequency of market
     to follow through on closing price. If
     closing price is in top 50% daily range then
     the study determines if the next days trading
     range was higher than the closing price.
  ^d - Displays the net change in price from
     previous close to current close. It also
     shows the net change from the previous close
     to opening price.
  ^e - Shows the size of the daily range. It
     gives an indication of volatility. Also, it
     provides you the average daily range (based
     on preset open/close moving average).
  ^f - Shows daily range relative to closing
     price. Price action below center line is
     lower than close.  (based on preset
     open/close moving average)
  ^g - Frequency histogram of past 20 days
     trading ranges
  ^h - Help Menu
  ^i - RSI relative strength index both 5 & 10
     day (based on preset moving average)
  ^j - RSI daily range: shows highest to lowest
     buying pressure for the day. The closing
     Buying Pressure is also graphed.
  ^k - Shows daily range midpoint to next days
     midpoint. Identifies real change in price to
     prevent whipsawing.  (based on preset moving
     average)
  ^l - Plots a spread: you select the other
     ticker symbol to create the spread. Once
     plotted there is no cursor control nor can
     any of the indicators be accessed.
  ^m - Changes moving average value
  ^n - Shows how many times the opening price
     was repeated from ten days ago. If the graph
     shows only 0, this means that the opening
     price from tens days ago never repeated
     itself. As a trader, it also means that if
     you placed a trade on the open. You either
     made a great trade because the price moved
     higher; or you are losing money, and you
     could not break even for ten days.
  ^o - Rate of change (indicator based on
     preset moving average)
  ^p - It prints the last Close, High, Low,
     Open, Midpoint, Standard Deviation bands, &
     Moving Average price to printer (refer to
     printing statistics for explanation of
     AH,AL,OH,OL)
  ^q - Shows the open to close range for each
     day
  ^r - Shows price action relative to opening
     price. Below center line, price lower than
     open (based on preset open/close Moving
     average)
  ^s - Stochastic   (based on moving average
     preset)
  ^t - MACD (Moving Average
     Convergence/Divergence) Oscillator:
  ^u - Plots up-down volatility (based on
     preset moving average)
  ^v - Plots volume and open interest with a 3
     day moving average of the volume.
  ^w - William's on Balance Volume (WoBV)
  ^x - Volatility Plot  - Plots the standard
     deviation for each day
  ^y - Toggles statistics on/off from main
     graph (no average or standard deviation
     bands)
  ^z - 2 day Buying Pressure: takes the buying
     pressure of 2 days at a time. It uses the
     open, high, and low of the past 2 days and
     uses the second days price for the last
     price.
  ^\ - limits the number of days data on the
     computer screen.

     NO CONTROL KEY IS REQUIRED for the following
     studies - use only lower case letters.

  a -  ADX  -  Average Directional Movement
     Index
  w - converts daily data into weekly data
  i -  Random Walk Index
  o -  Price volatility relative to the opening
     price
  r - Answers the question, How did the past 5
     weekdays (mondays) trade relative to the
     open?
  f - Answers the question, How did the past 5
     weekdays (mondays) trade relative to the
     close?
  / - Draws Trendlines (see Interactive keys in
     this manual)
  ` - Selects chart type: Candlebar, Bar, or
     Equivolume  (use arrow keys then )


     SHIFT KEY IS REQUIRED for the following
     studies - CAPITALS only.

  C - Chaikin's Indicator
  % - William's % R
  P - Parabolics: Stop and Reverse (SAR)
  X - Triple Moving Average Crossover System
  ? - Calculator: % change and difference
  > - Fibonacci retracement lines

     ALTernate KEY IS REQUIRED for the following
     functions.  (@=ALT)

  @s - Shells to DOS
  @d - Edits directory listing
          DEMO - FUNCTION DISABLED!
  @1 through @7 - Selects Multiple Directories
          DEMO - FUNCTION DISABLED!
  @arrows - Monthly cursor


     NO OTHER KEYS REQUIRED

  GREY -   Decreases size of indicators
  GREY +   Increases size of indicators
  PGUP - instantly graph previous symbol
  PGDN - instantly graph next symbol
  HOME - instantly graph first symbol
  END -  instantly graph last symbol


**Note:  For a more comprehensive explanation of
         these studies and statistics please refer
         to the other sections of this manual.



PARAMETERS
==========

       Setting User Defined PointsAhead! Variables

  Here is a listing of the variables that you can
  set when using PointsAhead!.

     1. Moving Average-  set the time frame you wish
     to use in days
     2. Type of moving average-  Mathematically,
     there are many ways to average numbers. This
     setting allows you to choose your favorite
     type.
        S. The Simple moving average is just the
     average of the closing prices based on the
     number of days set by the moving average
     setting.
        M. The median moving average calculates the
     daily midpoint of the days trading range and
     uses this value for averaging.
        W. The weighted moving average
     calculates the average by weighting each days
     price differently. This method essentially
     states that the current price is more important
     than the price of 5 days ago.  So, the program
     will weight the current price more than the
     next day, and the next, etc. With a 5 day
     moving average, the current price would be
     multiplied by 5, the previous  days close would
     be multiplied by 4, etc.  then the sum of the
     past five days would be divided by 15
     (=5+4+3+2+1).
        E. The exponential moving average is
     similar to the weighted MA in that they both
     consider the most recent data more important
     than older data. However it is calculated
     with an exponential decay rather than a fixed
     proportional decrease each day.
     3. MACD lag-  the period in days to determine
     the MACD oscillator
     4. MACD moving average 1-  the long term moving
     average in days (usually 3X short term)
     5. MACD moving average 2-  the short term
     moving average in days
     6. Stochastic - sets the time frame you wish to
     use in days
     7. RSI-  sets the time frame for the first RSI;
     the longer term RSI is automaticly 2 times the
     number set by you.
     8. Rate of change- sets the time frame you wish
     to use in days
     9. Set opening/closing average- sets the time
     frame you wish to use in days. This is used by
     three studies. The size of the Daily Range
     (^E), The Range Relative to the Opening Price
     (^R), and the Range Relative to the Closing
     Price (^F).
     10. Set Communication Port-  this allows you to
     to choose which serial port the computer will
     use for downloading data.
     11. Set Data File Extension-  this parameter
     allows you to choose from different data files.
     Here are some commonly used Extensions -
     Signal:  DC    Bonneville:  MC     Metastock:
     DOP  CSI:  DTA      Futurelink/Globalink:  PRN
     12. Set Date Format - ASCII data is delivered
     in various forms. PointsAhead! attempts to
     provide with a universal ASCII data converter.
     The date can be sent in one of three ways:
     10/4/91, 100491, or 911004. The first way uses
     slashes. This variable would then be set with
     an S. Only Futurelink and Globalink users need
     to set this variable to S. All other data
     sources use the I setting.
     13. Set ASCII data order -  PointsAhead! you to
     specify the data order.  If your data is in
     this order: (D)ate, (O)pen, (H)igh, (L)ow,
     (C)lose or Current Price, (V)olume, Open
     (I)nterest then you would take the letter of
     each category and enter this as the variable
     for PointsAhead!: DOHLCVI. This seven letter
     code tells PointAhead! how to rearrange the
     prices so that PointsAhead! can graph these
     data properly. If any one of these data are
     missing then leave out that identifier ie: if
     open interest is missing then just type in
     DOHLCV. However, if anything other than a
     number appears in a column, then use a Z for
     (Z)ero data. Also, Tick Data users can use
     intra-day data by inserting a (T) for time. Any
     other data that has a time field in this form (
     HH:MM  H=hour M=minute ) may also use the T.
     Remember only 400 bars can be displayed, so
     tick data will be limited to the last 400 ticks
     (hardly useful) while 400 15 minute bars
     represent 26 hours of trading or 4 days. Please
     check the Appendicies for your data source's
     data order.
     14. Set Data Pathname- if the current directory
     is where both the program and data files are
     located then you do not need to insert a
     pathname. However, if the data is in another
     directory (different from the program), enter
     the name of that directory along with its root
     directory. In other words, type in the MS-DOS
     pathname.
     15. Set Backup Drive-  this allows you to set
     the disk drive that you would like to use for
     making copies of the data files created by the
     program. All you have to do is type the letter
     A-E to indicate which drive is to be used.
     16. Set Password - after the first month, you
     will need a password to continue using
     PointsAhead!. Please call us when PointsAhead!
     asks for a password.
     17. Set Drive & Path for Daily Data Files- this
     is the pathname to store the raw output from
     Signal. These data are not neccessary for
     viewing graphs however they are useful for
     recovering lost data and having a second copy
     of these data. Also, this is used to locate
     DTN, Radio Exchange, and Bonneville files.

  DEMO NOTE:   You may changes these values,
  however they will not be stored or used.



  Standard Preset Values for User Defined
  Variables:

   1.  Moving Average           14
   2.  Type of Moving Average    M
   3.  MACD lag                 7
   4.  MACD moving average 1    21
   5.  MACD moving average 2    7
   6.  Stochastic               7
   7.  RSI                      5
   8.  Rate of change           9
   9.  Opening/Closing average: 5
   10. Communication Port:      1
   11. Datafile Extension       DC
   12. Data order:              DCHLOVI
   13. Date Format: (S or I)    I
   14. Data Pathname:
   15. Backup disk drive:
   16. Password
   17. Daily Datafile Path

  DEMO NOTE: These are the values preset within
  the program.


SYMBOLS
=======

  DEMO NOTE: You may view and change these preset
  symbols but you may not save any changes.


  Setting User Defined Hot Keys
     (refer to Appendix D)

  This feature of PointsAhead! is optional, except
  for ticker symbol #1, and is intended for those
  of you who view the same symbols every day. The
  most frequently used stocks, indices, and/or
  futures should be entered to make switching
  between symbols easier and quicker. The program
  comes with the first four functions keys set
  (F1-S&P future, F2-AT&T stock, F3- Dow Jones
  Industrial Average F4- US Bonds future). The 19
  user defined symbols are stored in the the file
  called "DCSYMBOL". This means that if for some
  reason this file is not present in the same
  directory as PointsAhead!; then PointsAhead!
  will not work.

  To change these symbols just press ALT+S from
  the Mainbar and press <ENTER>. The symbol table
  should appear on the screen.

     DEMO Note:  These user defined keys will not
     work if the numeric or capital lock is on.
     THIS FUNCTION IS DISABLED!

TICKER SYMBOLS
==============
  Due to the fact that there is no standardization
  within the industry, each data source can have
  its own naming system. This presents
  discrepancies between the symbol names perhaps
  printed in the newspapers from those used by
  your data source. PA! can use any legal DOS name
  to read a file so it is not dependent on a
  specific ticker symbol. Please check with your
  data source for proper symbol designation.


MANUAL DATA ENTRY
=================

  Maximum number of symbols = 300

  DEMO NOTE - THIS FUNCTION IS DISABLED!

  PointsAhead!  allows you to enter data from the
  newspaper, for those of you who do not use any
  electronic quote system. For those of you who do
  have an electronic data source, please skip this
  section.

  We recommend that you use the same newspaper
  when possible everyday so that the order of the
  symbols remains the same and that the same
  information can be entered each day. Otherwise,
  the files will be incomplete and your efforts
  will be of limited use. Remember to enter price
  data each day so that you will have meaningful
  data files.

  PointsAhead!  makes the chore of recording data
  easier and lets you generate your own price
  charts. PointsAhead! stores your favorite
  symbols in the order you read them from the
  newspaper with whatever symbol you wish to call
  them. There are exceptions for commodities but
  the details will be discussed later.
  PointsAhead! also converts eighths and 32nds for
  you saving you time entering numbers.
  PointsAhead! also allows you to take a break
  from entering data and resume the list at a
  later time: basicly PointsAhead! allow you to
  start where you left off.



UTILITIES
=========
  refer to Appendix D for menu listing

  DEMO NOTE - THESE FUNCTIONS ARE DISABLED!

  You have just read how to graph these data and
  collect it, but sometimes problems arise when
  collecting data and you need to edit it, and
  store it for some future reference. This is why
  this section exists. There are 6 utilities
  provided. Please refer to Appendix D for the
  listing of utilities. Selecting a utility is
  easy, all you need to do is press ALT+U from the
  Mainbar and then press either the up or down
  arrow keys to highlight the utility you wish to
  use and then press enter. The descriptions and
  functions of the utilities are outlined below.


  Saving Data Files to Floppy Disk:
  --------------------------------
  If you are not a Signal user, you should use
  the MS-DOS BACKUP command for making hard disk
  back ups. You can also use the MS-DOS COPY
  command to transfer your data files to floppy
  disk. This means that you need to quit
  PointsAhead! and return to the DOS prompt.
  Please refer to the MS-DOS manual for details
  regarding BACKUP.


  Removing & Copying Expired Data Files
  -------------------------------------
  This utility removes from your data diectory
  the data files that have not been updated with
  the current date and copies the data files to
  floppy disk. After you begin tracking some
  symbols, from time to time you add new symbols
  and delete others which no longer interest you.
  However, there is no need to keep all of these
  older unupdated data files in your current data
  directory. So, to save time and disk space,
  these files are saved to floppy disk and then
  deleted from the data directory. In order to do
  this, two variables need to be set in the
  Parameter section of the program before
  executing this utility. The Data Pathname and
  the Backup Pathname needs to be set. Please
  refer to the Parameter section of the program
  to change these variables.  Basicly, this
  utility weeds out the old dead wood from the
  pile. This utility is particularly useful if
  you track futures and options which constantly
  expire and roll over to the next contract. You
  will end up deleting the old contract then you
  will need to replace it with a new contract.
  Just highlight this utility and press <enter>,
  then wait for the Main Menu to appear on the
  screen.


  INSERT DATA: Adding Data
  ------------------------
  If you could not download information for a
  particular day then that information can only
  be inserted manually. That is, open the data
  file and type the numbers in the proper order
  as described earlier, please refer to
  Appendix E (use 2 spaces between numbers). If
  you want to, you could forget that days data
  and the program will graph the existing data
  without showing a space in the graph. Of course
  this means that these data are incomplete.  In
  an effort to keep the historical data accurate
  you can insert a marker in the file that shows
  the date only but all other data is recorded as
  zero.  The following example will explain.

  You recorded data for SP_Z up to 901011
  (10/11/90) but you couldn't download on 901012
  (10/12/90) but you started again saving data
  901013. If you would like to insert the data
  from the 12th, you would have to insert it
  manually for each symbol in the collection
  file. However, you might not have the time to
  do that immediately. In the Utilities section
  of PA, just select the utility INSERT DATA. It
  inserts the date to mark the line of data in
  the file so you can change it at a later date.
  This date marker is inserted into all data
  files in the data directory. The data inserted
  looks like this:    901012  0  0  0  0  0  0  0
  . The graphing program will replace those zeros
  with the previous days data until you edit the
  file. The reason for this is to maintain the
  moving averages and other statistics.

  Remember that all data files will be changed in
  the directory where the data is stored. You
  cannot just add a date marker to 2 or 3
  symbols; all of the symbols in the directory
  with the proper extension will get a date
  marker. These two variables are set by you in
  the Parameter section of the program.

  Follow these steps to insert a date marker into
  all of your data files:
     1. If its your first time using this utility,
     you need to change two program parameters
          a. from the Main Menu press P
          b. set the data pathname  -  enter the
     directory in which the data files are stored
          c. set the extension name -  enter the
     extension name for all data files
          d. press Escape to exit Parameter
     section of program
     2. From the Main Menu press U
     3. Use the arrow keys to select the INSERT
     DATA utility, then press enter
     4. Wait for the Main Menu to return to the
     screen - your finished.


  Removing Duplicate Data:
  -----------------------
  Every now and then you might forget that you
  had already downloaded data for a particular
  day and you do it again. Needless to say,
  deleting one line of information from hundreds
  of symbols could take you a long time to fix.
  Accidents to happen, and with that said, this
  utility will remove any duplicate dates in your
  data files. Like the other utilities, certain
  parameters need to be set before this utility
  will operate correctly. Please set the Data
  Pathname and the extension name in the
  Parameter section of the program. Please refer
  to the Parameter section of the program to
  change these variables. Just highlight this
  utility and press enter, then wait for the Main
  Menu to appear on the screen - your finished.


  Removing the Last Data Entry:
  ----------------------------
  Another type of problem that can arise is that
  your computer clock is not set properly and you
  saved data with the wrong date. This can be
  fixed by deleting the entry and re-downloading
  data again after the date has been reset. Of
  course, other problems could make you want to
  delete the last line of data, but for now when
  you wnat to delete the last line of data all
  you need to do is hightlight this utility and
  wait for the Main Menu to appear. Like the
  other utilities, certain parameters need to be
  set before this utility will operate correctly.
  Please set the Data. Pathname and the Extension
  Name in the Parameter section of the program.
  Please refer to the Parameter section of the
  program to change these variables. Just
  highlight this utility and press enter, then
  wait for the Main Menu to appear on the screen
  - your finished.


  User Defined Main Graph Display Colors
  --------------------------------------
  You can change the Main Graph display colors by
  just selecting the change color option from the
  Utility section of PointsAhead! and follow the
  instructions on the screen. Change one color or
  all four colors, PointsAhead! will save your
  changes until you change your mind again. The
  colors are stored in the file named SCREEN.DIS.
  If this file is missing PointsAhead! will use
  the standard preset colors as described in this
  manual under the section Main Graph.



PRINTING DATA FILES
===================
  There is no menu listing for printing

  Printing data files in numerical form can only
  be accomplished by using the print command from
  DOS. For example, printing the Dow Jones
  Industral Index would look like this: Print
  $INDU.DC . This is provided that you are in the
  same directory as the data file; otherwise,
  include the pathname to the data file such as:

                 PRINT  C:\PAS\DATA\$INDU.DC



  Printing Statistics:     (^P)
  -------------------
  The (^P) hot key will print the last trading
  days information plus the moving average and
  the standard deviation bands. It also will
  print the expected high and low for the day if
  the current trading days opening price is
  inserted (press ^A) and the following 2 studies
  are performed. The (^R) and the (^F) functions
  need to be pressed for these values to be
  printed. Once these functions have been
  executed, PointsAhead! will print the expected
  opening high (OH), opening low (OL), the
  average high (AH), and the average low (AL)
  (refer to Appendix A for futher discussion of
  AH, AL, OH, OL under Daily Range Relative to
  Closing Price (^F) and Daily Range Relative to
  Opening Price (^R) ).



  Printing Graphs:
  ---------------
  Graphs can not be printed with this version of
  PointsAhead!. However you can purchase this
  (Printing Graphs: price charts and indicators)
  as an option. Please call for details.



  Reading CSI data files
  ----------------------

  DEMO NOTE - THIS FUNCTION IS DESABLED!

  PointsAhead! has the ability to read these data
  files with out altering their structure. The
  process is easy. All you need to do is print a
  symbol listing and then set a few parameters
  within PointsAhead! .

  First, exit PointsAhead! and run the
  LISTCSI.EXE program. This program cross
  references the F number.DTA file with the
  actual symbol name and description. This
  program will create a file called

  LISTING.CSI. This listing can be printed so
  that you can have a permanent record. REMEMBER,
  in order to get the listing you must quit
  PointsAhead! and then from the DOS prompt; type
  in LISTCSI   . Follow the instructions on the
  screen and when you have exited the program,
  you can print the LISTING.CSI file using the
  DOS PRINT command.

   Next, type PA . Press ALT+P to go to the
  Parameters section of the program and change
  these parameters:
       Set extension name - DTA
       Set data pathname -  the directory name
  that contains the data files (ie: F001.DTA)
                      (The two types of files
  required are:  QMaster,  *.DTA)
  Go to the Symbols section of the program:
       Set the first Ticker Symbol:  Enter Symbol
                                     name

  The Symbol Name can be entered in one of two
  ways because of the way CSI indexes filenames.
  The first way is to simply enter the symbol
  name which should be less than 8 characters
  long. The second way involves using the cross
  reference file LISTING.CSI explained just
  above. You could access the data by using the
  CSI file name F022.DTA. For example, you would only
  type in F022 for the symbol name.



  Reading Metastock and Computrac data files
  ------------------------------------------

  DEMO NOTE - THIS FUNCTION IS DESABLED!

  PointsAhead! has the ability to read these data
  files with out altering their structure. The
  process is easy. All you need to do is print a
  symbol listing and then set a few parameters
  within PointsAhead! .

  First, exit PointsAhead! and run the
  LISTMETA.EXE program. This program cross
  references the F number.DOP file with the
  actual symbol name and description. This
  program will create a file called LISTING.MS.
  This listing can be printed so that you can
  have a permanent record. REMEMBER, in order to
  get the listing you must quit PointsAhead! and
  then from the DOS prompt; type in LISTMETA  .
  Follow the instructions on the screen and when
  you have exited the program, you can print the
  LISTING.MS file using the DOS PRINT command.

   Next, type PA . Press ALT+P to go to the
  Parameters section of the program and change
  these parameters:
          Set extension name - DOP
          Set data pathname -  the directory name
     that contains the data files (ie: F1.DOP)
                    (The three types of files
     required are:  Master,  *.DOP,  *.DAT)
  Go to the Symbols section of the program:
          Set the first Ticker Symbol:  Enter
     Symbol name

  The Symbol Name can be entered in one of two
  ways because of the way Metastock indexes
  filenames. The first way is to simply enter the
  symbol name which should be less than 9
  characters long. The second way involves using
  the cross reference file LISTING.MS explained
  just above. You could access the data by using
  the Metastock file name F22.DOP. For example,
  you would only type in F22 for the symbol name.



Getting Help  &  Additional Information:
=======================================

     If you would like to have these programs
     customized, that is have an additional study
     added or make any other changes, like
     expanding any of the limits imposed by
     PointsAhead!, please contact:


      The Small Investor's Software Co.
                138 Ocean Ave
          Amityville, NY   11701-3611
              (516) 789 - 9368


 The minimum charge is $30.00 to add one study,
 for other changes please call for prices.



Closing Comments:
================
  PointsAhead! is intended to provide quick access
  to graphical and statistical analysis for any
  symbol. It is a tool from which you can learn to
  identify patterns in prices. It can also help
  you develop trading strategies. It provides you
  the most commonly used indicators and studies to
  teach yourself technical analysis and removes
  the drudgery of collecting, maintaining,
  calculating, and graphing data. This allows you
  to concentrate on the task of identifying
  profitable trades. So, PointsAhead! is not
  designed to be a trading system providing you
  rules on when to enter or exit trades but rather
  it provides you a source of information from
  which you can assess the nature of the market,
  and helps you develop your own trading system.



Appendix A:

  Explanation of Program Studies and Functions.
  --------------------------------------------

  Adding Current Prices:      (^A)

  This feature allows you to add the current days
  prices so that you can see how the graph and
  other statistics change throughout the trading
  day. For all symbols, type in the last current
  price, the daily high, the daily low, and the
  opening price ( for stocks and indices the
  opening price can be the previous days closing
  price). However, when entering prices for T-
  Bond futures, Ten year Notes, Mid American T-
  Bonds, and the FYter five year future contract
  (all other Bonds contracts are n decmal form);
  just enter the price in 32nds. This feature
  eliminates the conversion of bond prices in
  32nds to decimal. Unfortunately, stock prices
  still need to be converted from eighths to
  decimal. For example, last price for IBM is 107
  3/8; enter 107.375 -last price for the US Dollar
  Index is 82.14; enter 82.14 -last price for
  T-bond future is 93 14/32; enter 93.14. After
  entering the prices, and you find a mistake, no
  problem, you can change them again by pressing
  the "^A" again. However, when changing prices
  for the current trading day, or for "what if"
  analysis, there is a shortcut. Just enter the
  last price. You only have to enter the last
  price after entering the open, high, and low
  once for the day. The other prices are stored
  until you change the daily high/low, or when you
  switch to another symbol (this erases the
  current intradays data) . Please note that once
  you switch symbols the quote entered manually
  will be lost. This function does not have any
  memory.


  ADX  (a)   Average Directional Movement Index

  The ADX measures how far the price moves past
  the previous days trading range. A strong
  trending market will have higher highs from day
  to day and so the ADX will also be increasing.
  In weak markets,  lower lows will also cause the
  ADX to be increasing. This occurs simply because
  the ADX measures trends whether they are up or
  down.  The ADX also has sub-functions called the
  +DM and the -DM. These are components of the ADX
  and can be used separately to determine buy and
  sell points. One simple example of how to use
  these +DM and -DM is to buy when the +DM crosses
  above the - DM and conversely, sell when the +DM
  crosses below the -DM.  The ADX makes use of the
  trading concept of inside  verses outside
  trading days.  Whereas inside trading days do
  not contribute to the trend, neither does the
  ADX increase nor decrease in value. Outside
  trading days are the important days to the ADX.
  An outside trading day is when the price  makes
  both higher highs and lower lows as compared to
  the previous trading days high and low. Inside
  trading days are just the opposite. The high and
  low are inside or equal to the previous trading
  days high and low. Trending days are when
  either, but not both, a new high or new low has
  been made compared with the previous trading
  day. So outside and trending days cause the ADX
  to increase in value because these days
  contribute toward developing a trend.

  Buying Pressure          (^B)

  Mathematical formula:

              (high-open)+(close-low)
  BP   =     -----------------------   X  100
                  2 x (high-low)

  This indicator shows the buying power for the
  day. The amount of buying throughout the day is
  represented by two events. The first is the rise
  in price above the opening price (or the
  previous day's closing price) to the high of the
  day. The second is the rise in price above the
  low to the closing price. Combined, this is the
  total buying for the day. Selling is the
  opposite price action which is the price below
  the open to the low of the day plus the selling
  from the high to the close. Buying pressure is
  represented as a percentage 0 to 100. So, if
  there is 88% BP then 12% is selling. The moving
  average of BP is just a simple average of the
  past 5 & 10 days of BP.


  CALCULATOR    ? (shift+/)

  This simple calculator allows you to quickly
  figure the percent change and the point
  difference between to periods. Activating this
  function is simple. Just select a day by moving
  the left/right arrows to the day you wish to
  view. Press the "?" (shift+/) key and then move
  the cursor to the next day for comparison. Press
  "?" again. Off to the right will appear the
  percent change in yellow and the number points
  between the two days. These numbers are based on
  the closing prices of the days selected. Also,
  please note that the order of the days you
  select will determine if the noted change will
  be a positive or negative value.


  Chaikin's Indicator: (C)

  This study combines volatility and the rate of
  change to produce a variation of the ADX as a
  trend detector. This indicator has two lines.
  The red line is represents the moving average of
  the daily range. This moving average value is
  set by the OPENING/CLOSE MA in the Parameter
  Menu. The green line is the Rate of Change of
  the red line. This value can be changed by the
  Rate of Change value in the Parameter Menu. The
  minimum and maximum values are shown for your
  own reference.


  Differenced Data:    (^D)

  This graph shows you the price change from the
  previous close to the current closing price in
  red. Above the center line is a positive change
  in price. Below the center is negative. Also,
  for comparison, in blue is the change in price
  from the previous close to opening price. This
  graph allows you to understand the dynamics of
  the ticker symbol. Small red lines mean little
  price change. Large red lines indicate strong
  moves.


  Daily range relative to the closing price: (^F)

  This graph uses the center line to represent the
  closing price. So any line above the center is
  the price action above the closing price. Any
  line below the center is the price action below
  the closing price. The graph displays the 5 day
  average above and below the close. This is
  useful for projecting the next days average
  trading range for a stock in which Lotus does
  not broadcast an opening price or for those of
  you that prefer to base decisions on the closing
  price.  (ie: stock closed at 14.00 the average
  up is 0.38 and down is -0.54. The expected range
  for the next day would be 14.38 to 13.46)

  The program prints the expected range as "AH"
  and "AL". This is actually the average expected
  high because the program uses the expected high
  based on the opening price and averages it with
  the expected high from the closing price; the
  result is "AH". The same process is used for the
  expected low "AL". If the study (^R- Relative
  Open) wasn't used then the "AH" and "AL" are
  based on the closing price only. You must press
  a key to continue with the program, however when
  you do, the information will be erased. Of
  course, you can perform the study again at any
  time to get the information back.


  Daily range relative to the opening price: (^R)

  This graph is similar to the graph explained
  above. This graph uses the center line to
  represent the opening price.  So any line above
  the center is the price action above the opening
  price.  Any line below the center is the price
  action below the opening price.  The graph
  displays the 5 day average above and below the
  close.  This is useful for projecting the next
  days average trading range for a future contract
  in which Lotus does broadcast an opening price
  or for those of you that prefer to base
  decisions on the opening price. (ie: SP_Z opened
  at 314.00 the average up is 3.58 and down is
  -2.34.  The expected trading range for the day
  would be 317.58 to 311.66). Remember that you
  need the opening price to determine the range.

  The program prints the expected range as "OH"
  and "OL". "OH" is the opening expected high and
  "OL" is the opening expected low.  These numbers
  are derived from simple addition and subtraction
  of the average up and down values next to the
  graph from the opening price.

  The yellow line is a three day Moving Average
  of the price movement. This helps show the
  detrended high frequencies that are in the
  market. Basicly, short term cycles can be
  identified from these data.


  Fibonacci Retracement Lines (>)

  Pressing this key allows you to automatically
  draw Fibonacci retracement lines that are 38.2%,
  50%, and 61.8% of the total range that you
  identified. Selecting the range to be identified
  is through pressing the (>) key. Pressing it
  once selects either the top or bottom of the
  range and pressing it a second time marks the
  opposite end of the range. After selecting a top
  and bottom, 5 lines will appear. The top and
  bottom lines (white) identify the top and bottom
  you selected while the three middle lines
  (purple) correspond to the 38.2%, 50%, and 61.8%
  retracement levels. Marking the top and bottom
  is through the use of the arrow keys. Use both
  the up/down and the left/right arrows to select
  a price level then press (>) to save that point.
  Then repeat these key strokes to save the second
  point. After it is selected the lines will
  appear.


  Frequency Histogram of trading ranges:  (^G)

  This graph is for those of you that do not have
  a strong background in statistics. This graph
  groups the last 20 trading days trading ranges
  and shows you what the most likely trading range
  is going to be.  This could be represented by an
  average price with a standard deviation, however
  this might be simpler to understand.


  Intraday Action:    (^Q)

  This graph shows just the opening price to the
  closing price of the same day. This shows the
  strength of the price action. This is different
  from the other graph (^D) which shows the
  previous close to opening price.



  Limit Data on Screen   (^\)

  At some point after you have been storing
  information on numerous stocks and futures you
  will have collected hundreds of trading days
  information. This can be good for weekly charts
  and for historical purposes, but the range on
  the screen might get so large that it becomes
  difficult to identify small price levels or even
  see small trading ranges.  Also, for future
  traders collecting prices for a particular month
  from year to year creates gaps in prices besides
  gaps in ranges and indicators. These problems
  can be solved with this function because you can
  limit the amount of data to be graphed. Each day
  is numbered. To view the data number just use
  the right or left cursor keys and the DATA# will
  be located just below the main graph. For
  example, the last trading day might be labeled
  DATA#= 238 and you only want the last 100
  trading days on the screen. Just press both the
  control + backslash simultaneously and enter the
  data# 138 . This tells the program to start
  graphing from the 138 day and graph up to the
  last day 238. You basicly can zoom in on just a
  smaller portion of the prices in the data file.


  MACD (Moving Average Convergence/Divergence)
  indicator:  (^T)

  This indicator takes the difference between two
  Moving Averages which are preset (by you in the
  Parameter program - to change values, goto Main
  Menu (press ^C) and then type "P" and then takes
  a moving average of the difference. Now, this
  can get confusing, however, the oscillator is
  based on the value determined by the difference
  between the 2 moving averages and the moving
  average of the difference. For example, if you
  subtracted the value of the 7 day moving average
  (top graph blue line) from the 20 day moving
  average (top graph green line) that number is
  the difference of the two moving averages.  That
  number can be positive or negative, and we will
  call it the 7/20 number (bottom graph light blue
  line).  The next step is to average the 7/20
  number (bottom graph yellow dots).  This average
  is now subtracted from the 7/20 number.  The
  result of this subtraction is called the MACD
  Oscillator (bottom graph red lines).  Its
  purpose is to identify cycles.  Above the center
  line is a buy signal and below the center line
  is a sell signal.


  Midpoint to Midpoint:   (^K)

  This graph was produced to help eliminate
  getting whipsawed (This means getting stopped
  out of the market to soon). What this graph
  shows you is the midpoint of the trading range
  from the previous day to the midpoint of the
  trading range of the current day. If you see
  large red lines then the market is making real
  price changes from day to day small red lines
  show that the market is in a trading range. The
  yellow line is the average of the midpoint to
  midpoint changes (this average is set by the
  open/close moving average).


  Midpoint Rule:     (^C)

  This graph answers the question, how many times
  did the price follow through the next day and
  became profitable? If the closing price is in
  the top 50% of the the days trading range, or if
  the the closing price is in the bottom 50% of
  the days trading range, the program draws a line
  above the center when the price action continues
  in the same direction the next day and draws a
  line down when the price action does not follow
  through. The program only analyzes the last 20
  trading days. The red lines indicate whether or
  not the price action followed the rules.  Above
  the center is a profitable trade, meaning had
  you sold on the close if the price was in the
  lower half of the days range; the next day
  prices were lower than the close at some time in
  the trading day. If prices were in the top half,
  then the price went higher the next day in
  keeping with the rule.  Below the centerline,
  the line indicates that the price action did not
  continue in the same direction the next day -
  had you entered a trade, it would of been a
  loss.  The yellow line is the last line. It does
  not indicate a profitable nor a loosing trade,
  it just indicates whether the last price is
  above the midpoint of the day or below the
  midpoint for easy market assessment near the
  markets close. (Use the "^A" function to add the
  prices for the day near the markets close to
  assess your chances of profitability) The avg
  gain is computed from the close to next days
  high/low whichever is profitable. The loss is
  computed from close to high/low to minimize the
  loss.


  Parabolics: SAR-  Stop and Reverse  (P)

  This is sometimes called the SAR short for stop
  and reverse system developed by Welles Wilder.
  It is designed to always keep you inthe market
  because when it generates a signal (when the
  price crosses the trailing stop) you are to exit
  your position and initiate a new one in the
  opposite direction. The parabolics are simply
  trailing stops that accelerate as the number
  days in the same direction increases.


  Price Volatility relative to the opening price
  (o)

  This proprietary indicator attempts to identify
  which side of the market to be on - buy or sell.
  It does this by first calculating the average
  price above and below the opening price. With
  this information, it now compares the high and
  low of the day with the expected high and low
  from the open. The indicator is simply a ratio.
  With a value greater than one (the grey line on
  the graph), you should be on that side of the
  market, or if you were on the opposite side of
  the market then you should now find the best
  price to exit a losing trade because the market
  has now changed direction short term. There are
  four graphs on the bottom half of the  screen
  for this indicator. The top two lower graphs are
  the HPVO (high price volatility from opening)
  and the LPVO (low price volatility from
  opening). These two graphs are for a short term
  period as labeled on the screen. The HPVO is
  based on the high of the day and the LPVO is
  based on the low of the day. The bottom two
  graphs are similar to the upper two graphs with
  the exception that they are for a longer time
  frame. This is automatically set for three times
  the short term graphs. The short term graphs are
  preset by the opening/closing parameter in the
  parameter portion of the program. You can change
  this value at any time by going back to the main
  menu and pressing "P".

  Typically if the short term HPVO (light blue
  line) is greater than one (above the grey line)
  than the LPVO (dark blue line) will be less one
  (below the grey line) - indicating a buy. The
  opposite is true for when the LPVO is above one
  and the HPVO is less than one - indicating a
  sell. Only on wild trading days will both the
  HPVO and the LPVO be above one on the same day.
  When this occurs, no useful information
  regarding direction can be ascertained. The
  short term PVOs are meant to provide you with
  daily trading points, while the long term PVOs
  are help you establish intermediate trends.


  Rate of Change:        (^O)

  The rate of change indicator is a classic
  momentum indicator. It simply subtracts the
  current price from the price of 7 days ago (this
  number can be changed by you and is preset) and
  produces a percentage change. It can help
  indentify intermediate trends. The center line
  represents 100% and the other two lines
  represent 99% and 101%. Generally, if a market
  can move through these three lines the trend
  will continue either up or down.

  RSI daily range:       (^J)
   (Relative Strength Index)

  This might be confusing, but a one day RSI is
  also similar to buying pressure, because the
  one day RSI is comparing the up price to the
  total daily range. So, this graph shows you the
  days theoretical greatest and weakest buying
  pressure with the closing buying pressure shown
  as a white dot. The yellow line just connects
  the midpoint of all of the days ranges. This
  graph helps spot shifts in buying and selling.


  RSI - Relative Strength Index     (^I)

  Mathematical formula too complex for this
  manual

  The RSI shows you the amount of upward price
  movement compared to downward price movement.
  For example, if the RSI is based on 5 days, then
  those days when the price moved up is compared
  to the total price move for the past 5 days.
  With this indicator, the accepted rule is if the
  RSI is above 70% then it is overbought, while if
  the RSI is below 30% then it is oversold.

  RWI     (i)   Random Walk Index

  This indicator really takes advantage of your
  computers power due to the heavy number
  crunching required to generate these data. This
  also means that it is slow to appear on the
  screen because of the massive amount of
  repetition required.

  The Index is contingent on a number of factors
  however volatility is the main component. This
  indicator adjusts itself to the varying amount
  of volatility in the market being analyzed. It
  essentially is a trend following indicator which
  tends to be more objective because it does
  account for volatility. The results on the
  screen consist of four graphs. The top two
  graphs are for the Short term RWI (SRWI) and the
  bottom two graphs are for the long term RWI
  (LRWI). Both the SRWI and the LRWI analyze the
  highs and the lows to generate complimentary
  graphs which when combined can be used to to
  develop trading rules.

  The peaks of the SRWI of highs tend to
  correspond to short term tops in prices while
  peaks of the SRWI of lows tend to correspond to
  the short term lows in prices. The LRWI is for
  trend following and peaks do not correspond to
  highs or lows but rather a rise above the grey
  line which represents the value of one is a buy
  and a decline below the grey line is a sell.

  The typical senario would be in a strongly
  uptrending market the HRWI would go above the
  grey line while the LRWI would be below the grey
  line - this is a buy. If the HRWI should go
  below the grey line and the LRWI is also below
  the grey line then this could be interpreted as
  either a hold signal or an accumulation signal
  since the trend has not been violated. It just
  has stalled, so this can represent a buying
  opportunity or it could mean you should hold
  positions without adding new ones in case the
  market breaks in the opposite direction.
  Deciding which strategy applies is determined by
  combining other indicators and understanding how
  strongly the market in changing direction.

  Autolookback is a term used here because the
  calculation requires that todays volatility is
  recalculated so that the maximum random walk
  value can be recalculated. The Random Walk Index
  it quantifying how far has the price moved from
  yesterday and correlating it to the current
  state of volatility. This is then calculated to
  find the largest change in price relative to
  volatility for the last 70 days. The index auto
  seeks the maximum value for the past 70 days and
  then calculates the values based on the number
  of days which presented the maximum random walk
  value.

  For example, if the market made a tremendous
  price move it might prove to be only relevant
  because the percentage difference between
  today's price and 10 days ago is now greater
  than can predicted mathematically due to normal
  price drift. This means that due to the current
  state of volatility the random walk values would
  now be calculated using a 10 day period because
  it generated the greatest values.

  This calculation is performed on all 4
  components. So it is conceivable that all 4
  components could have 4 different autolookback
  periods. Unlike other indicators in which time
  determines how long one would expect to hold a
  trade. With this indicator, time is not
  particularly important but the values generated
  are the relevant aspect of this indicator. This
  implies that you do not have a preconceived
  expectation of when you can expect to exit the
  trade. You are just waiting for the numbers to
  fall below the grey line.


  Size of daily range:   (^E)

  This is simply the high minus the low of the
  day. The graph centers the daily range and shows
  you how big or small the range was compared to
  the past. The MA (moving average) is simply an
  average of the past days daily range (the number
  of days is preset by the open/close Moving
  Average in the Parameter program).


  Spreads:  (^L)

  Just enter the name of the ticker symbol which
  you want to create the spread with and the
  program will show closing prices and plot spread
  on the lower graph. The program converts data
  into percentage changes to compare relative
  performance between the two symbols. The actual
  price changes might be larger or smaller than
  that shown on the graph, however in percentage
  terms the price change is proportional from one
  graph to the other. Meaning, a 1% move is the
  same change on the graph for each market however
  a 1% move might be 20 points in one market and
  80 points in the other market.

  The program identifies the ticker by color, and
  shows you the median price of each symbol from
  which the percentage change is based upon. For
  example, median1=300 and median2=2600, it is
  from numbers that the percentage change is
  determined and not simply the last prices from
  each symbol.


  Stochastic Indicator:                  (^S)

  Mathematical formula for 5 days:
               last price - 5 day Low
 Stochastic = ------------------------  X 100
               5 day High - 5 day low

  The resulting number is a percentage ranging
  from 0 to 100. It shows you where the current
  price is relative to the range of prices of the
  past 5 days.  It is generally accepted that if
  the stochastic indicator is above 80% then the
  price is overbought (too expensive). Conversely,
  if the stochastic indicator is below 20% then
  the price is oversold (too cheap).


  Trend Follower:      (^N)

  This graph answers the question, how many times
  (or days) will the opening price reoccur? It
  searches ahead 10 days and keeps track if the
  opening price occurred the following day. A
  value of ten would mean that in the following
  ten trading days the opening price was within
  the daily range of each of the ten days;
  essentially a trendless market for ten days.
  Conversely, a value of 0 would indicate a
  trending market. If case of a loosing trade, you
  would not have been able to get out of the trade
  for ten days at the same price you entered the
  trade.

  By nature of the program design, the program
  looks ahead and not behind. Consequently, the
  last trading day with ten trading days is the
  last value to be considered by the program. That
  is why the graph does not produce any results
  for the last ten trading days (there is not
  enough information).


  Triple Moving Average Crossover (X)

  This is simply three different moving averages
  (MA) overlaid one on top of the other. The way
  you set the moving averages is by using the
  Parameter section of the program. The long term
  MA is set through the MACD Long Term value. The
  intermediate MA is set through the ROC value.
  The short term MA is set through the
  Opening/Close range value. This is perhaps the
  simplest and most widely used system to make
  trades.


  Toggles Statistics  (on/off):          (^Y)

  This function simply eliminates the statistics
  from the main graph. This allows you to view
  only the prices as represented by the Japanese
  candlesticks without any other lines on the
  screen. All other studies and arrow keys work
  normally.  If you would like the statistics to
  be displayed again; simply press the "Y" key
  once again. The "Y" key toggles the statistics
  on and off.


  Two Day Buying Pressure:   (^Z)

  This graph is like the buying pressure graph
  (^B) however this graph uses the open from two
  days ago and the current last price. The high
  used is the high of the past two days and low is
  the low of the past two days. This graph was
  designed to help analyze the first 2 hours of
  the new trading day. So, when the trading day
  begins use the (^A)  function to add the new
  days prices, then use the (^Z) function to now
  display the buying pressure in context with the
  previous days price action.



  Up-Down Volatility:    (^U)

  Mathematical Formula:
    example: Moving average = 5

  Up line= sum of 5 days (absolute(High -
  Previous close))
  Down line=sum of 5 days (absolute(Low -
  Previous Close))

  This graph shows both the buying and selling
  power of the market simultaneously. This
  differs from buying pressure which is one
  sided. This allows for spotting trends in
  buying or selling. The crossover points are
  short term directional changes and are
  frequently tradable.

 (the moving average is set by the open/close
 moving average)


  Volume and Open Interest:   (^V)

  This is simply a graph of the volume and open
  interest. The gray line is a simple 3 day
  average of the volume (this is not variable).

  ***Note: For indices which have no volume, this
  graph can not be displayed.


  Volatility:   (^X)

  This graph is represents volatility as the size
  of the standard deviation bands computed by the
  moving average used by you. The taller the blue
  line, the larger the standard deviation and
  hence the more volatility.  When the moving
  average is changed from 7 to 20 days, for
  example, the volatility changes also. Rising
  volatility usually dicates continuing trends,
  while decreasing volatility, usually indicates
  trendless, or sideways price action for a while.


  Weekday statistics relative to open  (r)

  Based on the preset opening/closing average
  parameter, this graphs the past weekdays trading
  range relative to the opening price. For
  example, the past 5 Mondays will be graphed with
  the center grey line representing the opening
  price. The blue portion above the grey line
  shows you if the trading days prices above the
  opening price and the blue portion below the
  center line represents the prices below the
  opening price. The red line is the average of
  the portion above the open and below the open.
  All five weekdays are displayed. Note: you can
  only use this function with daily information -
  weekly charts eliminate daily information.


  Weekday statistics relative to close  (f)

  Based on the preset opening/closing average
  parameter, this graphs the past weekdays trading
  range relative to the closing price. For
  example, the past 5 Mondays will be graphed with
  the center grey line representing the closing
  price. The blue portion above the grey line
  shows you if the trading days prices above the
  closing price and the blue portion below the
  center line represents the prices below the
  closing price. The red line is the average of
  the portion above the close and below the close.
  All five weekdays are displayed. Note: you can
  only use this function with daily information -
  weekly charts eliminate daily information.


  Weekly charts  (w)

  The daily information will be converted into
  weekly charts. All other functions will work
  with this graph except for the Weekday
  statistics. If you would like the daily
  information back on the screen, all you need to
  do is press the appropriate function key, if it
  was one of the 19 user defined graphs, or press
  both the control-zero keys to type in the name
  of the ticker symbol.


  William's % R  (%)

  This is really the same as the Stochastic except
  that it is exactly opposite in value. It is the
  inverse of the Stochastic. It is to be used in
  the same way as the Stochastic. The scale
  however is reverse also 0 to -100 instead of 0
  to +100.


  William's on Balance Volume  (WoBV):   (^W)

  This graph relates price with volume to give a
  indication of whether or not the price change is
  associated with strength or weakness. If the
  peaks are rising  and the price is rising the
  market is strong. The opposite is true for
  declining prices with decling WoBV. However, the
  best use of this indicator is for indentifying
  positive or negative divergences. This usually
  occurs with market tops and bottoms. Basicly,
  the volume pattern changes and the WoBV
  identifies this change. The classic positive
  divergence is when then price declines but the
  WoBV is rising. This would indicate a trend
  change is in the works.

  ***Note: Those symbols without volume
  information can not use this indicator.



HOW TO STAY OUT OF TROUBLE
==========================
  There are as many styles to investing as there
  are people. However, whether you believe in
  reading the news for gaining your insight into
  when to buy and sell or whether you believe in
  letting the price dictate your actions, gaining
  a graphical view of the past prices can
  demonstrate profitable patterns that should not
  be ignored. The art to investing is in the
  blending of a number of disciplines. Although
  this manual cannot emunerate in detail all of
  the available techniques and strategies, we will
  provide you with some additional thoughts to
  help you gain perspective and stay focused on
  the task of making more money from every
  investment.

  First, most of the time the investment that you
  plan to buy will be stagnant in price. We ask
  when should you attempt to purchase and sell
  this investment?

  Second, prices vary daily and have a range of
  prices. How can you use this range to your
  advantage?

  Third, Everybody has the right opinion of market
  but does it match your time frame for making
  money? This states that somebody might think the
  stock will go up and someone else feels it will
  go down. If at first it drops and goes higher,
  these opinions are both right. If the first
  invested for the short haul and the other
  invested for the long haul they both made money.
  So timing is everything. Determine when it is
  that you expect a profit and stick to your plan.

  Fourth, you will loose money. Did you ever think
  about the fact that you will loose money? What
  is your contingency plan? How can you institute
  damage control?

  Fifth, which "hot inside tip" is worthy of your
  money? You will have to decide on some other
  critierion besides friendship, past experience,
  and luck. Try doing some analysis.

  Sixth, will the market tell you how to invest?
  Yes. Look for the signs every day. They exist. All
  you need to do is your homework; there ain't no
  free lunch.

  Seventh, how good are your instincts? Statistics
  show that most investors loose money. We ask
  why?

  Eighth, successful investors are confident. PA!
  has those tools which show you statistically when
  you are taking a high risk or a low risk. Stay
  with the low risk - high reward trades and watch
  your confidence and your profits rise.




HOW TO PUT IT ALL TOGETHER
==========================
Here are a few sample charts that we will analyze
to demonstrate how to use the various studies and
function.

Insert example graphs here.
Insert exmple text here.


There is no way that professionals use all of
these tools on each investment. PA! has 90% of
what all professionals use to analyze their
investments, however they only use 5 to 8 items
out of the 36 studies available themselves to make
a decision. You should test all of these
indicators to learn how reliable they are and to
determine which ones produce signals that make you
comfortable in identifying low risk opportunities.
Try using different time periods, different
combinations of rules, and finally combine
different techniques to produce a trading
strategy.

One last thought, PA! very existence is because
traders can make money routinely based on trends
and price movements. However, traders realize that
there are times when the numbers alone are not
enough in formulating the trading plan. For
instance, the recent political environment during
September of 1992 created an unstable currency
market. Indicators were of some value, but no
indicator could predict what the the English
Chancellor was going to say and when he opened his
mouth the price dropped 400 points in the British
Pound. So don't bury your head in the sand, there
are periods when technical trading is the best way
and then there times when you can throw the charts
out the window. Good trades will become more the
rule than the exception with some diligence,
analysis, and common sense.



Appendix  B:   Different Chart types

       Candlebar Chart
  This is a new display format representative of
  the Japanese Candlesticks. This format uses
  color to identify strong and weak days. It has
  the graphical content of Candlesticks but has
  the advantage of allowing you to view more data
  per screen. The colors can be changed, just go
  to the Utility section of the program and select
  the user defined Main Graph display colors.

       Bar Chart
  This chart is the traditional Bar Chart. The
  opening price is the dash to the left of the bar
  and the close is the dash to the right of the
  bar. The color of the bars is the same as the
  total range color. So , to change this color
  just go to Utility section the program and
  select the user defined Main Graph display
  colors. Just set the total range color to what
  you want.

       Equivolume Chart
  This chart is a two dimensional graph. It shows
  you volume and price at the same time. The width
  represents volume and height represents the
  total trading range for the day. We have
  enhanced the original chart design by including
  the closing price as a green horizontal line.
  The colors can be changed by going to the
  Utility section of the program and select the
  user defined Main Graph display colors. Up days
  color is defined by the up range and Down days
  color is defined by the down range. An up day is
  defined by having today's close higher than
  yesterday's close. The opposite is true for down
  days.

  FSCandlebar  = Full Screen Candlebar
  FSBar        = Full Screen Bar
  FSEquivolume = Full Screen Equivolume

  Please take note that the scale of the
  Equivolume price graph does not match the
  studies. The days can be different widths due to
  different volumes. PointsAhead! cursor is also
  set for these different scaling factors. Please
  use the cursor to match the price information to
  the statistic.



Appendix C: The MENUBAR

  Parameter Menu:  this section stores and sets
  your frequently used variables

                 Variable Name  Standard Value
                 set initially by PointsAhead!

              1. Moving Average   14
              2. Type of Moving Average  M
              3. MACD lag         7
              4. MACD moving average 1   21
              5. MACD moving average 2   7
              6. Stochastic       7
              7. RSI              5
              8. Rate of change   9
              9. Opening/Closing average  5
              10. Communication Port  1
              11. Datafile Extension  DC
              12. Enter Date Format (S or I)  I
              13.Enter Data Record Order DCHLOVI
              14. Data Pathname
              15. Backup disk drive
              16. Password
              17. Daily Datafile Pathname


  Symbol Menu:   this section stores up to 19
  symbols and activates function keys
    Only four symbols are set
    initially by PointsAhead!

   1. Ticker Symbol: SP_U
   2. Ticker Symbol: T
   3. Ticker Symbol: $INDU
   4. Ticker Symbol: US_U


  Directory Menu:
        allows for multiple directories


  Data Menu:
        this section lets you convert or download
        data of your choice

The following services listed below require
conversion or downloading. Many other services not
listed here are compatible with PA! however they
only require a few settings to be changed.

-  Prodigy
-  Download SIGNAL
-  Set Parameters for FUTURELINK /
    GLOBALINK (Oster Communications) Data Files
-  Separate Market Center Daily Data
    (Bonneville)
-  Separate DTN LDC data Files
-  Separate Quote Monitor historical
    data files (for Radio Exchange)
-  Separate Personal Gains historical
    DIF data files (for Radio Exchange)
-  Warner Computer Services  -  modem
    required
-  Convert MX data  (Track Data)
-  Manual Data Entry


  Graphics:

  This part of PointsAhead! goes directly to
  graphing these data and performs all
  technical studies.


  Utilities Menu:  this section helps you store
  and fix data files

-Remove & Copy expired futures/options data files
  from current list
-Insert Data (Insert Missing data with blank line)
-Remove Duplicate Data (fixes mistake of
  downloading twice)
-Remove Last Data Entries (deletes last
  line of data)
-User Defined Main Graph Display Colors


  Quit:

  Exits  PointsAhead! and returns you to MS-DOS