Share Gallery 1/share_gal_1.zip/share_gal_1/BF/BF023B.ZIP/SMSTART2.HLP

Text File | 1989-02-15 | 8KB | 135 lines

OVERALL SYSTEM DESCRIPTION - RELEASE 2.54                           PAGE 1 OF 6

To get a "snapshot" printout of the contents of the display screen at any
time, first make sure your printer is turned on and ready.  Most printers have
an indicator light labelled "ready" and it must be on before the printer can
operate.  Then, press either of the shift keys and the PrtSc key at the same
time.  On the IBM-PC, the PrtSc key is near the right side of the keyboard,
just below the ENTER key.  If you are not using an IBM-PC, this key may be in
a different position.  This procedure by itself will not work for graphics.

When you first turn the computer on, or re-set it with Ctrl-Alt-Del, it doesn't
know the date and time (unless you have a clock-calendar circuit installed).
Did you remember to enter the current date and time when you started the compu-
ter?  This is important, not only for the stock charting programs but also for
other programs, for two reasons:

First, the computer "stamps" with the date and time each file that it writes on
disk.  This is to aid in recognition of different versions of the same data
which may have been updated at different times.

Second, the stock charting programs use the current date to compute trading
period dates for entry of volume and prices.

OVERALL SYSTEM DESCRIPTION                                          PAGE 2 OF 6

The Stock Charting System consists of five separate program modules which per-
form six major functions: Startup; Master Menu; Add/Delete Stocks; Import Data
(from an ASCII file); Enter Data (manual); and Bar Graph (the latter two func-
tions are performed by the same program module).  Each program module has its
own menus, which always appear on the bottom of the screen.

Like its restaurant counterpart, a menu offers a choice of selections.  To make
a choice, press the letter key corresponding to the desired function, such as
A to Add a stock.  As soon as the key is pressed, the selection is activated.
The correct program module is automatically loaded into memory as required, and
menu choices permit switching freely among the different functions.

Each menu has a "Help" function.  Just type H to get an explanation of all the
choices offered by that menu.  Some menus also have a "Quit" function.  To get
out of the stock charting system and back into DOS, just press Q.  Some func-
tions will first ask you for confirmation of your choice, in case you pressed
the wrong key. Type Y for a Yes response or N for a No response as appropriate.
(If you terminate the program in any other way, you may lose data which you
have typed in).  If you make an invalid response, an error message will flash
on the bottom of the screen until a correct response is entered.

OVERALL SYSTEM DESCRIPTION                                          PAGE 3 OF 6

The Scroll Lock and Caps Lock keys are not used.  Alphabetic characters are
automatically converted to uppercase (CAPITAL letters).  The ten function keys
on the left-hand side of the keyboard are not used.  The Num Lock key need not
be used except once to put the cursor keypad in numeric mode.  Most keyboards
now have an indicator for the Num Lock key, which lights in numeric mode.

The programs and Help screens are always expected on the default drive.  When
you are in DOS, the letter for the default drive appears in the prompt, as in
A> for example.  The stock charting DATA can be on any diskette drive, or on a
hard disk. The program will ask you what disk the data is on. If you are using
floppy disks, it is usually best to have programs and data on separate disks.
This gives you more room for data and makes it easier to keep backup copies.

Note: If you are operating from a hard disk, stock charting DATA should be in
a different sub-directory from the programs.  The Master Menu has a function
to specify the path (disk drive and/or sub-directory) for data files.

After the introductory screen, the system takes you first to the Master Menu
screen.  You can change to any other function by making the appropriate menu
choice.

OVERALL SYSTEM DESCRIPTION                                          PAGE 4 OF 6

If you have only one disk drive, programs and data can be on the same floppy
disk.  If you have two floppy disk drives, insert a newly formatted diskette in
drive B for data.  The stock charting system will recognize this, and will take
you directly to the Add/Delete Stocks function.  You will then be prompted for
the name, symbol and other information about the first stock.

On a 360K diskette, used for data only, you can have 127 days or weeks of in-
formation for each of 86 stocks.  There is a limit of 110 stocks on each disk-
ette or in each sub-directory.  But you can have as many different data disk-
ettes or data sub-directories as you want.

Programs and data can reside together on a hard disk.  In this case, programs
and data should reside in different sub-directories.  From the Master Menu, you
can specify the path for data files.  A "path" in DOS lingo consists of a disk
drive letter, sub-directory name(s), or both.  Some examples are:
                   B:    \STOCKS\    C:\SM\DATA\
For more information on sub-directories, refer to Stock Charting System's ins-
allation guide or a good DOS reference manual.



OVERALL SYSTEM DESCRIPTION                                          PAGE 5 OF 6

When a program wants a data item such as the name of a stock or a price, a
solid reverse video block will appear, along with a blinking underline cursor.
The solid block defines the maximum number of characters the item can have,
and the cursor cannot be moved outside the block.  The required data is to be
typed into this block.  Typing errors can be corrected with the Backspace key.
The Backspace key is usually in the top row of the keyboard, near the right,
and has a large left-arrow on it.  It is not the same as the left-arrow key be-
low it on the cursor keypad; the left- and right-arrow keys are not used here.

After typing in the required data item, press the ENTER key.  The solid block
does not have to be filled.  If the data is invalid, an appropriate error mes-
sage will flash on the bottom line until another key is pressed.  The data can
then be corrected, possibly without completely re-entering it.  After each data
item is entered correctly, it is automatically moved to the appropriate place
on the display.

The Esc (escape) key is always active, except when a menu is present on the
bottom of the screen.  The Esc key can be used to cancel any operation except
some disk operations.  Usually the Esc key is in the top row of the keyboard,
near either the left or right side depending on the keyboard design.

OVERALL SYSTEM DESCRIPTION                                          PAGE 6 OF 6

Some data items are optional, such as annual earnings, dividends, price goals
and stop limits.  In these cases - or if an item has already been entered -
entry can be avoided by pressing the ENTER key by itself, or by pressing the
Esc key.  If the program requires the data, it will tell you.

When entering stock prices, you can use either decimal (such as 24.375) or
fractional (such as 24 3/8) entry; the program will accept both.  A blank space
is required between the whole number and the fraction, to distinguish between
21 3/16 and 2 13/16 for example.

If you accidentally start to enter a new stock or a new trading period, just
press the Esc key to cancel it.  The screen will automatically restore itself
to its original contents.

If you forgot to enter date and time, you can do it now.  Re-start the computer
now, using the Ctrl-Alt-Del keys.  Do not do this from any other part of the
Stock Charting System; you could lose data.  Use the QUIT function instead.