DESCRIPTION OF THE STOCK SELECT SCREEN         RELEASE 2.54        PAGE 1 OF 10

The stock select screen can display information for up to 14 stocks at a time.
A selector block is visible on the screen, in the form of a solid bar which
covers a single data item.  A stock is selected (for making changes, etc.) when
the selector block is on the same line as the name of the stock.  The selector
block can be moved through the list of stocks, and also to individual data
items, by means of the cursor keys on the right side of the keyboard as des-
cribed on the next screen pages.

If you hold a key down for more than about a second, the corresponding action
will repeat continuously until the key is released.  If keystrokes get ahead of
the computer, it may beep or squeal at you until you release the key.  If you
press the wrong key, the computer will beep, and an error message will flash on
the bottom of the screen until you press another correct key.

If you are just starting a new data diskette, the stock select screen will
automatically start prompting you to type information about the first stock.
You can enter name, symbol, exchange, number of days or weeks, earnings,
dividends, 3-5 year price goals (labelled "PR.GOAL") and stop (or other) limit.
There is more information about this under the Add function, described on
screen page 5 (note page numbers in the upper right corner of the screen).

DESCRIPTION OF THE STOCK SELECT SCREEN                             PAGE 2 OF 10

In general, there should be one entry in the stock select screen for each daily
price history file, and/or one entry for each weekly price history file.  The
stock select screen displays the contents of the index file (INDEXFIL.SMX).

Each price history file that corresponds to an entry in the index file must be
on the SAME diskette and in the SAME sub-directory as that index file.  If you
have more price history files than will fit on one diskette, a hard disk is
recommended.  It will save you a lot of time swapping diskettes, and speed up
your programs.

You may use the COPY command in DOS to freely copy price history files from one
diskette or sub-directory to another.  Price history files are those with names
ending in .SMP.  The first part of the name is a D or W followed by the ticker
symbol, such as WPFE.SMP for a weekly-updated file for Pfizer, Inc. (PFE).

Entries in the index that do not have a corresponding price history file are
harmless.  You can delete them using the WIPE OUT function (described on screen
page 8).  If a price history file does not have a corresponding index entry,
just add that entry using the A function (described on screen page 5).


DESCRIPTION OF THE STOCK SELECT SCREEN                             PAGE 3 OF 10

Following is a description of each of the available menu options:

The up-arrow key moves the selector block up one line each time it is pressed.
      If necessary, the display will scroll one line towards the beginning of
      the list of stocks.

The down-arrow key moves the selector block down one line each time it is
      pressed.  If necessary, the display will scroll one line towards the end
      of the list of stocks.  The selector block can be moved one line below
      the end of the list to permit adding a new stock at the end (see the ADD
      function, described later).

The left-arrow key (but not the backspace key) moves the selector block one
      data item to the left each time it is pressed.

The right-arrow key moves the selector block one data item to the right each
      time it is pressed.

The selector block cannot be moved off the screen, and the display cannot
scroll left or right.

DESCRIPTION OF THE STOCK SELECT SCREEN                             PAGE 4 OF 10

The PgUp key moves the display 12 lines up towards the beginning of the list of
     stocks. There is a 2-line overlap; the selector is placed on the top line.

The PgDn key moves the display 12 lines down towards the end of the list of
     stocks, with a 2-line overlap.  The selector is placed on the bottom line.

The End key moves the display to the end of the list of stocks and places the
     selector block on the last line.

The Home key moves the display to the beginning of the list of stocks and
     places the selector block on the first line.

The other functions are invoked by typing the corresponding letter keys.  These
other functions are described in the next screens. Note that for some functions
such as Add and Change, there will be 2 solid blocks on the screen.  The selec-
tor block shows what line is about to be operated on, and another block at the
bottom of the screen accepts characters which are typed in from the keyboard.

NOTE: You must EXIT to the master menu to "import" current prices from an ASCII
file, to change the data disk or sub-directory, or to change display colors.

DESCRIPTION OF THE STOCK SELECT SCREEN                             PAGE 5 OF 10

A = ADD a new stock to the list.  The stock identified by the selector block,
    and any others after it, will be moved down towards the end of the list;
    the new stock will then go on the line the selector block is located on.
    Thus, you can have the stocks displayed in ANY ORDER.  All programs in the
    system will display the stocks in the same order. That order can be changed
    by using the WIPE out (delete) and RESTORE functions, described on screen
    page 8.  Remember, the Esc (escape) key is active and can be used to cancel
    the ADD function, returning the screen display to the way it was.

    It is recommended that you use the standard ticker symbols, such as CPQ for
    Compaq Computer.  If you obtain current prices from a database service such
    as Dow Jones Information Services, you MUST use the standard ticker symbols
    in order to "import" that data into the Stock Charting System.  Those sym-
    bols can be found in the Standard & Poors Stock Guide.  Your stock broker
    should be able to provide you with a free copy.






DESCRIPTION OF THE STOCK SELECT SCREEN                             PAGE 6 OF 10

A = ADD (cont'd).
    A particular stock symbol cannot exist more than once on a data diskette;
    unless data for that stock is being updated BOTH daily and weekly; in
    which case that symbol can exist twice.  (The stock symbol preceeded by D
    for daily or W for weekly is used as a unique file name to access the cor-
    responding volume and price data).

    Entry of dividends, earnings, 3-5 year price goals (labelled "PR.GOAL"),
    and stop (or other limit) are all optional.  You can press ENTER by itself
    to bypass any of these prompts.  None of these items are computed by the
    program.  3-5 year price goals can be found in the Value Line Investment
    Survey or computed manually outside of the Stock Charting System.

    WARNING: The dates used for entry of volume and prices are computed by the
    program and depend on proper entry of the current date when you start or
    re-set your computer.  If you don't enter the correct date at startup, IBM
    computers may set the current date to Jan. 1, 1980!




DESCRIPTION OF THE STOCK SELECT SCREEN                             PAGE 7 OF 10

A = ADD (cont'd).
    When you ADD a stock to the index, and you specify daily or weekly updat-
    ing, the program will look on the data diskette to see if a price history
    file already exists. If one does, you will be asked if you want to keep it.
    This feature allows you to copy price history files among different disk-
    ettes or different directories; you do that from DOS with the COPY command.

    If a price history file does not exist or you do not wish to keep an exist-
    ing one, the program will initialize a new file for you.  Dates are compu-
    ted by the program based on the DOS system date (you DID enter today's date
    didn't you?).  The latest date on the file will be the previous weekday for
    a daily file, or the previous Friday for a weekly file.  New dates are com-
    puted with the UPDATE function in the data ENTRY screen.

    It is permissible to specify (N)o updating.  No price history file will be
    generated.  An index entry without a price history file can be used to
    provide information such as a security name and interest rate for a cash
    account, for advanced features such as portfolio analysis.



DESCRIPTION OF THE STOCK SELECT SCREEN                             PAGE 8 OF 10

W = WIPE out (delete) the stock identified by the selector block, and all of
    the corresponding volume and price data.  You are first given a chance to
    abort this function in case you pressed the wrong key. See also the RESTORE
    function, described next.

R = RESTORE the most recently deleted stock.  The stock identified by the
    selector block, and any others after it, will be moved down towards the end
    of the list; the most recently deleted stock is then "un-deleted" and will
    go on the line the selector block is on.

    By using W and R, you can move any stock in the list to anywhere else in
    the list, in case a name or symbol gets changed. It is suggested that stock
    names be kept in the same order in which they appear in the newspaper or
    other publication from which price data is obtained.

    Using WIPE OUT and RESTORE concurrently will not disturb the price history
    file.  But heed the warning message on the next screen page!

    WIPE OUT will not delete a price history file if the number of days/weeks
    has been set to zero.

DESCRIPTION OF THE STOCK SELECT SCREEN                             PAGE 9 OF 10

R = RESTORE (cont'd):  WARNING:  Only the single most recently deleted stock
    can be restored.  If you delete another stock, the one deleted before that
    is GONE, along with the corresponding history file!  Also, the most recent-
    ly deleted stock REALLY IS deleted if you QUIT, or if you run a different
    program module by invoking the ENTER, GRAPH or EXIT functions.

C = CHANGE the data item indicated by the selector block.  You can change any
    data item, including the number of days/weeks.  The exception to this is,
    the update interval (daily or weekly) cannot be changed once it has been
    specified.  Changing the number of days or weeks has the effect of making
    the price history file bigger or smaller; it causes that file to be re-
    organized and re-written.  Notes: making the file smaller will free up
    disk space, but could result in a loss of data for some earlier dates.
    You can change the number to zero.  The price history file will remain
    intact, but it will not be updated or graphed after that.

G = draw a bar GRAPH for the selected stock.  This will take you directly to
    the bar graph screen for the selected stock.  If you do not have an IBM-
    compatible color graphics adapter, refer to the special instructions on
    page 2 of the installation guide, for use with "monographics" adapters.

DESCRIPTION OF THE STOCK SELECT SCREEN                            PAGE 10 OF 10

E = ENTER volume and prices for the selected stock (or other security).  This
    will take you directly to the data entry screen for the selected stock.
    You must invoke the ENTER function to "import" historical prices from an
    ASCII file for many dates for just the selected stock.

X = EXIT to the Master Menu screen.  You must EXIT back to the Master Menu
    screen to change the data diskette, data disk drive or data sub-directory;
    to change the screen colors; to "import" current prices for all stocks from
    an ASCII file; or to perform functions not applicable to a specific stock.

H = HELP.  Displays the explanatory information you are reading now.
Q = QUIT this program and go back to DOS, so you can run a different program
    system, make a backup copy of a disk, etc.  WARNING: if you terminate the
    program by any other means, you may lose data which you have typed in.

Note: invoking the GRAPH, ENTER, EXIT or QUIT functions will immediately make
the Stock Select Screen go away, as they cause different program modules to be
loaded automatically.  Any data you have typed in will automatically be saved
on disk.  The system will also "remember" what part of the data was visible on
the screen and where the selector bar was.  WARNING:  QUIT before re-booting!
