Software of the Month Club 1995 March

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Portfolio Manager Version 4.5 Copyright 1985-1993 by Shane Software International Shane Software International Steve Hane 107 17th Court Sequim, WA. 98382 Order (only) line 800-742-6303 (1-800 SHANE 03) Technical support 206-681-2402 CompuServe ID: 73060,2370 _______ ____|__ | (tm) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| MEMBER 1.A I N T R O D U C T I O N ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The contents of this manual represent an extraction of the notes, tips, suggestions, and warnings from the main Portfolio Manager manual. IT IS NOT MEANT TO BE A COMPREHENSIVE SET OF INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE USE OF PORTFOLIO MANAGER. I strongly suggest that you read the manual completely and then use this abbreviated manual as a reference source for what I consider the highlights. To create this manual, I paged through the main manual with a word processor and extracted all the notes, etc. along with the appropriate section title where applicable. If the notes appear out of context or you can not discern the intent of the note, I suggest you refer to the appropriate section in the main Portfolio Manager manual. The program was designed to be intuitive in its use, however, some options may be require additional explanation to follow the logic I used for certain functions such as tracking a savings account or a CD. Throughout PM, context sensitive help screens are available by using the F1 Key. To activate the help screens, you may press the F1 at any point in the program. While a help screen is active, you may enter the letter "T" (no quotes) to activate a Topics menu which will allow you to examine any available help topic from the help menu. NOTE: ALL CHAPTER AND SECTION REFERENCES IN THIS MANUAL REFER TO CHAPTERS AND SECTIONS IN THE MAIN MANUAL. PAGE 1 1.F P R O G R A M I N S T A L L A T I O N ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ See Chapter 1, section 1.F for the complete installation guide. IF YOU ARE UPGRADING, YOU MUST INSTALL THE NEW VERSION IN THE SAME DIRECTORY WHERE THE EARLIER VERSION AND DATA FILES WERE ORIGINALLY INSTALLED. YOUR DATA FILES FROM THE EARLIER VERSION OF PM ARE VALID IN VERSION 4.5. 1.F.a CAUTION: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The files PORTMGR1.EXE, PORTMGR2.EXE, PORTMGR3.EXE, on the distribution disks 1, 2, and 3 respectively are self-extracting compressed files. The file MANUALS.EXE on disk # 3 is also a self-extracting file. If you start any of the above on a floppy disk (ie. enter the name at the DOS prompt) they will begin the extraction process and fill the disk in short order producing a "disk write error". ** I STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU INSTALL PM IN ITS OWN DIRECTORY ** PM requires approximately 1.7 MB of disk space. When the program is started, it requires about 500KB of disk space for temporary work files. When you exit PM these work files are erased, however, if the space to create the work files when you start the program is not available, the results are unpredictable. I suggest you have at least 2.2 MB of free space on the drive where you install the program. 1.F.c TO START THE INSTALL PROGRAM: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At the DOS prompt enter the command: "PM_INSTL" (no quotes) For example, if A: is the active drive: A:>PM_INSTL <enter/return> ****** IMPORTANT NOTE ****** The normal distribution media for the program is on three 360KB, 5.25" floppy disks. You may have received the program on a different media depending on the source of your copy. You should be able to install the program from ANY media. IF YOU'RE INSTALLING THE PROGRAM FROM A HIGH CAPACITY DISKETTE (ALL DISTRIBUTION FILES ON THE SAME DISK), IGNORE THE CHANGE DISTRIBUTION DISK COMMANDS THAT APPEAR AS THE INSTALLATION PROGRAM EXECUTES. JUST PRESS ENTER WHEN ASKED TO CHANGE DISKS. PAGE 2 1.F.f IMPORTANT: (CONFIG.SYS FILE) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Examine the main (root) directory of the drive that is used to start your computer (usually the C: drive). Most computers have a file there named "CONFIG.SYS". Portfolio Manager requires that the CONFIG.SYS file is present AND that it contains, as a minimum, the following statements: FILES = 40 (or more !!) BUFFERS = 20 (or more !!) Without these lines you'll get a FILE ERROR when you run the program. It may, of course, have other commands in addition to the above. If you already HAVE a CONFIG.SYS file but it does not have the above lines or the assigned values are too small, you may use ANY text editor to add the lines or change the existing values. The required lines may be located anywhere in the file but are generally placed at the end of the file. NOTE: BE SURE YOU ARE USING THE TEXT (ASCII) MODE OF YOUR WORD PROCESSOR TO CHANGE OR ADD THE LINES TO YOUR CONFIG.SYS FILE. If you do NOT HAVE a CONFIG.SYS file you'll need to create one. You may use any text editor to create the file and enter the two required lines OR, if you prefer, you may use the following commands at the DOS prompt: 1 - C:\ <enter> (change to C: root directory) 2 - COPY CON:CONFIG.SYS <enter> (create the file) 3 - FILES = 40 <enter> (enter the data) 4 - BUFFERS = 20 <enter> (enter the data) 5 - ^Z (Ctrl + Z) <enter> (close file and write to disk) (hold down Ctrl key and press Z) NOTE: IF YOU CHANGE YOUR CONFIG.SYS FILE YOU MUST RE-START YOUR COMPUTER TO ACTIVATE THE CHANGES. The changes you made will NOT take effect until the computer is restarted. 1.F.g IN CASE OF TROUBLE (during installation): ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If the installation procedure is interrupted, you may restart it, however, the following may occur depending on when and where the procedure was interrupted. If some files were extracted from one or more of the compressed distribution files before the interruption, you'll see the following question for EVERY file that has already been extracted: xxxxxxxx.xxx Overwrite [Y/N] (where xxxxxxxx.xxx is name of the existing file.) Enter an "N" (no quotes) to the question each time it appears. You may abort the install with a ^C (Ctrl + C) if desired. If you feel uncomfortable with the above, I suggest you erase ALL the files in the directory where you attempted to install PM and then restart PM_INSTL. PAGE 3 1.G S T A R T I N G P O R T F O L I O M A N A G E R: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ╔════════ STARTING PORTFOLIO MANAGER ════════╗ ║ ║ ║ TO START PORTFOLIO MANAGER, ENTER THE ║ ║ COMMAND "PM" (no quotes) AT DOS PROMPT ║ ║ ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════╝ NOTE: You MUST make the drive and sub-directory containing Portfolio Manager the ACTIVE drive and directory BEFORE entering the command "PM". If this is not the case change to the appropriate drive/directory. (See 1.E) 1.G.a THE FIRST TIME YOU USE IT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The first time the program is started a CONFIGURATION UTILITY should be automatically activated. It will allow you to select your preference on certain items that will customize Portfolio Manager for your personal use. The configuration utility should activate EVEN if you are upgrading from an earlier version as there are many new features that must be initialized. If you start PM for the first time (as a new user OR upgrading from an earlier version) and you see the introduction screen with the following: CREATE BACK-UP OF DATA RECORDS Yes No You should respond with a "Y" or press ENTER and the MAIN MENU will appear. Next select "MISC" from the Main Menu then OPTION 9 (Configure...) from the MISC menu. This will activate the Configuration menu. Once in the Configuration menu, select Option # 2 (color selection) and select the option appropriate to your monitor (color, black & white, or monochrome). The use of option # 2 will reset certain screen features for the current version. PAGE 4 1.H GETTING STARTED WITH YOUR RECORDS (NEW USERS ONLY) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you are new to PM, I suggest you review Chapter 1, section 1.H BEFORE entering your own portfolio information. The most difficult part, in my opinion, of starting ANY new software package is bringing it up to date with YOUR data. HINT: If you expect to make MANY entries for a year other than the current year, such as when loading your initial data into the data files, you may consider changing the computers active year to avoid the confirmation process in PM for every entry you make. Proceed as follows for each year you plan to use. 1) Exit PM 2) At the DOS prompt enter a date in the desired year in the format mm-dd-yy ie. C:\>date 01-01-88 3) Restart PM 4) You MUST change the program's reference year with the "Clear files for a new year" routine OR the configuration routine by selecting Configure from the MISC menu, change something and then exit back to the MISC menu. NOTE: DO NOT FORGET TO RESET THE COMPUTER'S YEAR TO THE CALENDAR YEAR WHEN YOU'RE FINISHED. NOTES TO GETTING STARTED: 1 - If you're a registered user and you elect to post records for prior years, you may preserve the data as part of the "Clear for New Year" procedure. This will allow you to recover past year data if needed. You will be asked if you want to use this feature when you select "Clear...". 2 - Yields will be inaccurate if income is posted in a lump sum. ie. If a $10.00 stock pays .25 per qtr and is posted as a $1.00 entry for the year, it will show as a 40% yield (4 x $1) because the program expects four payments per yr. ****** W A R N I N G ****** Portfolio Manager does NOT separate data by the year for reports, analytical data, etc. Because of this you should NOT enter data (primarily income and sales data) for different years until you have generated all reports for that year AND run the "Clear files for a new year" routine in the MISC menu. In other words: If you want to enter all your data for 1992 do NOT enter 1993 data UNTIL you have generated the desired reports for 1992 AND then ran the "Clear files for New Year" option. The above discussion doesn't apply to purchases which may be entered any time. SPECIAL NOTE: As part of the "Clear files for a new year" option, REGISTERED users will be asked if they want to preserve the current years data in recallable history files. See Ch 2, sect 2.8.E and sect 2.8.F. PAGE 5 1.J H E L P S C R E E N S ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The help screens were designed to be activated AFTER you've selected the desired feature from the menu. After you've selected the desired feature, use the F1 key for help. You'll be given suggestions and hints on how to use the chosen feature. Most help "topics" apply to their corresponding listing in the program menus. Several subjects are used in many functions but are NOT called by the F1 key. (ie. numeric input, yes/no response, etc.). I suggest you review them once or twice with the "Topics menu" to become familiar with their use. The date entry feature might be of particular interest. In some features the F1 key will activate the "TOPICS" menu automatically. This will occur on subjects that I felt were self explanatory and, honestly, I couldn't think of anything more to say about the active function. PAGE 6 C H A P T E R 2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ U S I N G T H E P R O G R A M ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2.0.D CREATING HOLD (.HLD) FILES: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: You should answer "N" to the "backup" question if you suspect the current data may be corrupt and you want to examine the data to see if the problem can be found and resolved. NOTE: I'm a firm believer in backups. I've lost data in the past. I've tried to make it as easy as possible to keep a backup current. The ".HLD" files will help if there is a data problem. They will NOT help if there is a mechanical problem with your hard disk. NOTE I make it a personal practice to create ".HLD" files from the EXIT menu (opt # 5) when I have completed a session IF (and ONLY if) I feel comfortable with the data I just entered. DO NOT NEGLECT MAKING REGULAR BACKUPS TO ANOTHER (FLOPPY) DISK FOR ADDED PROTECTION. 2.0.E ENTERING DATES: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: PM maintains a reference year in the PMMEMORY.MEM file. This allows you to post entries in January of a subsequent year without being challenged. The internal reference year is reset to the calendar (computer) year when you run the "Clear for a New Year" option in the MISC menu. 2.0.F EDITING ENTERED DATA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HINT: Often it is easier to use the ESC key to cancel an entry and then re-enter the entry from the beginning. 2.0.J BROKER ACCOUNT DURING DATA ENTRY: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUGGESTION: I recommend you use the broker account for every monetary transaction to provide a paper trail for your funds. Why ??? While the income report will show that you received the income, the broker report will show where it went (and it does seem to go !!!!) Example: You receive a dividend check from a stock. Enter it with the INCOME option and credit the broker account when asked. Next use the BROKER option and debit the broker account for the same amount (with a remark ????). PAGE 7 2.1 E X I T M E N U ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2.1.A TERMINATE THE PROGRAM: (EXIT option # 1) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is, as the name implies, the point where a NORMAL program termination is executed. ****** W A R N I N G ****** DO NOT TERMINATE THE PROGRAM BY RE-BOOTING THE COMPUTER OR TURNING OFF THE POWER SWITCH. IF YOU TERMINATED THIS WAY, SEE BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION ON REMOVING FOXPRO(tm) WORK FILES. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When you complete your session with PM, you MUST exit the program via the "EXIT" option from the Main Menu and "TERMINATE PROGRAM" option from the EXIT Menu. There are two reasons: 1) During a normal program exit, PM will update your data files and any memory variables that were changed. If you terminate the program by turning the power off OR re- booting the computer, the regular data files will NOT be updated and closed properly. This COULD result in a loss of data. While the program is running, PM creates temporary work files. These files ALWAYS have a filename starting with "TEMP" (no quotes) as the first four letters. These files will be erased during a normal shutdown. ex. TEMPDNUM.DBF 2) When Foxpro(tm) starts it creates it's own work files on your hard disk. These files are named by Foxpro with random letters and numbers. They can be any combination but the work file name will NOT have an extension. For instance you may see a file in your PM directory like; AADXRETG. or E4VF5TTE. etc. The key to identify these files is there is NO extension (ie. The 3 letters following the period in a file name.) If you exit PM by re-booting or just turning off your computer while PM is still running, you WILL leave these Foxpro work files on your disk. They can be from 0K to over 400K in size. When you exit PM with the EXIT option # 1, these Foxpro work files are removed from your directory. NOTE: If you find the Foxpro(tm) work files in your PM directory when PM is NOT active, you should erase them with the DOS ERASE command. You can ALWAYS recognize them by the lack of an extension in the filename (they SHOULD be the ONLY files in the PM directory without an extension). They will NOT be erased by the program the next time you use PM even if you exit normally. PAGE 8 2.1.A TERMINATE THE PROGRAM: - (continued) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: Any time the program has an abnormal shut-down, the next re-start will activate a special screen suggesting the file testing functions be run. I recommend you run the tests as suggested. NOTE: If the program is terminated because of a program error (bug), the Foxpro(tm) work files WILL be cleared and the data files closed. The files starting with "TEMP" created by PM will remain on the disk but will be erased the next time you exit the program normally. 2.1.C FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE: (EXIT option # 3) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you've encountered a problem, I suggest you review Chapter 2, sect 2.1.C for additional information BEFORE contacting me. If, during the execution of the program, a technical problem (bug) is encountered an error screen will be activated with the following message: The file,"xxxxxxxx.ERR", was created containing the information I NEED to trace the problem. Please send me a copy of the error file. I need the ACTUAL file, NOT a copy of this notice with the file name. You may send the file(s) on disk or as a printout(s). Without the actual error file, I can ONLY make an educated guess NOTE: xxxxxxxx.ERR is a randomly assigned filename for the error file This error file will be written to the same directory in which PM is located. Please do NOT send me a copy of the screen or just the name of the error file (xxxxxxxx.ERR) as it has NO value to me in resolving the problem. It is the actual file that is created that has the information that I will need to attempt to trace the problem. If you re-tried the SAME routine several times and the same error re-occurred, a new error file will be created each time the error occurs. Each of these error files will have a DIFFERENT name but will contain the SAME information. If this is the case, you need only send the file with the latest time and date stamp. If you're uncertain, by all means, send all the error files. It doesn't matter whether you send the error file(s) on a disk or as a print out. Do whichever is easiest for you. NOTE: To send all the error files on a disk enter the following command from the DOS prompt in the PM directory: ex. C:\PM>COPY *.ERR A: Thank you for your patience !!!!!! (sch) PAGE 9 2.1.D CANCEL ENTRIES THIS SESSION: (EXIT option # 4) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CAUTION: The cancel option works by restoring data from the files with the ".HLD" extension. The restored data will be from the LAST time you created the ".HLD" files regardless of which method was used to create them. If you haven't saved the data with one of the above recently, the recovered data will be from the last time you DID create the ".HLD" files. Please consider the timeliness of your ".HLD" files if you decide to cancel the current entries with the selection of this option. CAUTION: If you backed your data during the program start and then discovered the data is corrupt, the ".HLD" files will contain the same problem. NOTE: This function is identical to MISC option 7, sub-option 1 (backup recovery). See Chapter 2, section 2.8.G.a. 2.2 R E P O R T M E N U ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SPECIAL NOTE ON NUMERIC DISPLAYS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If a line contains one or more asterisk (*) it means the computed data is unrealistic OR too large for the allotted space in the report. To create reports, the size (number of digits) of numerical output must be preset while programing. If the output exceeds the allotted spaces the digits are shown as asterisks. ie. an ROI of 1000.00% will be shown in the report as ***.**%. Maybe you did receive a 1000% ROI (good for you) but I had to format the output to 3 digits. REPORT PAGINATION: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: If there appears to be a problem with report pagination, try changing the printer configuration (MISC menu opt 9, then config menu opt # 9) to indicate you're using a laser printer even if you're not. It will cause the page line count to be reduced. REPORT FORMATS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: The expanded report can be quite long if you own a large portfolio or have held and re-invested funds for a long time. To examine an expanded report of a selected individual security use Option 6 of the Misc report options. PAGE 10 REPORT - DISPLAY OPTIONS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HINT: At the end of each year, I like to send all the reports in a COMPRESSED format to the printer and ALSO send all the reports in the EXPANDED format to a floppy disk to keep for future reference if needed. I usually name the disk file by the year. (ie. 1992) NOTE: A report that has been saved to a disk file may be printed using the MISC report menu option #7. See 2.2.l.g (print rept from disk file). 2.2.D DIVIDEND & INTEREST REPORTS: (REPORT option # 4) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: The estimated yield is computed by taking the average of the income received YTD and multiplying it by the number of times you indicated you expect to receive income each year. You may change the number (times per year) with the Edit option (Misc opt #1 (purchase recd's)). All the yield figures are based on averages. If the income is uneven, yields will be inaccurate. NOTE: All yield percentages are calculated as they are needed and do NOT become part of the permanent records. They are for analytical use only. TIP: If you entered the wrong number when asked "Number of income payments expected per year" during the initial entry of the investment in the PURCHASE menu, you may change it with the "EDIT" option in the "MISC" menu. (See chapter 2, section 2.8.A (edit a file)) 2.2.E REPORT ON SOLD INVESTMENTS: (REPORT option # 5) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: Do not forget to change the "Capital Gain Period" if congress changes it. It may be changed from within the CONFIGURATION menu, option B. TIP: I won't pretend to understand the tax laws regarding IRA gains and losses, however, I strongly suspect you'll need this information at some time in the future. I suggest you keep the printed (or disk) sales report (as it pertains to IRA's). Remember the program does NOT preserve a sales history. When you run the "Clear for new year" function WILL remove the sales data. PAGE 11 2.2.G 1099 VERIFY FORM (DIV/INTR): ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TIP: To change a record select the "DIVIDEND/INTEREST RECDS" under the edit options, select the applicable security and record, and make the appropriate change. See chapter 2, section 2.8.A for more on editing. I usually select the first record for the security (if there's more than one) and make the numbers work even though they will NOT agree with the actual payment I received at the time. 2.2.H RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI): ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: ROI/yr is an annualized number. If you purchase a stk at $1000 and sell it 3 months later at $1100 you have an ROI of 10%, but an annualized return (ROI/yr) of 40% NOTE: If any of you mathematicians can show me how to calculate an accurate ROI with the available data, I shall be happy to produce an update with the new formulas. Just contact me for the specifics of the available data. 2.2.L.a IRS 1040 SUPPORT STATEMENTS: (REPORT opt # C, sub # 1) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: Most entries in a tax return are rounded to the nearest dollar. The forms generated by this option conform to that convention. NOTE: This is the ONLY report that has different preparation options depending on the output option selected for the final report. One option will be to view the report on the screen and the other is to send it to the printer or a disk file. 2.2.L.a.1 PRINT TAX SCHEDULES B & D: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TIP: I suggest you send the report to the screen to determine the accuracy of the numbers. If any changes are necessary, they may be made with MISC, option 1 (edit). 2.2.L.a.2 SCREEN TAX SCHEDULES B & D: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUGGESTION: Even if you don't attach these forms to your tax return, they should make a good source for the necessary information for the completion of the appropriate schedules in your 1040. PAGE 12 2.3 P U R C H A S E M E N U ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IMPORTANT NOTE: It is VERY important that you enter investments with the correct menu option if you are to maintain accurate records. Here are some general rules which will be expanded below. 1) An investment should be entered only ONCE using option #1. 2) If you BUY additional shares, use option #2. 3) If you acquire shares through a stock split or stock dividend use option #3. 4) If you acquire shares through re-investment use the INCOME function from the main menu. SUGGESTION: If, during a calendar year, you purchase a stock (IBM for example), sell the stock, then later, during the same calendar year, re-purchase the same stock, I suggest you alter the name to distinguish the re-purchase from the original purchase (IBM-2 for example). 2.3.A ENTER A NEW INVESTMENT: (PURCHASE option #1) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ USE THIS OPTION ONLY ONCE FOR EACH INVESTMENT YOU ACQUIRE ========================================================= Use this option for the initial acquisition of an investment. If you increase your holding in a particular investment, use the appropriate function to reflect the change. NOTE: If, after you enter a new investment, you run a CURRENT VALUE report, you may notice a difference between the cost and current value of the new investment. This is because, if you paid a comm/misc charge, the per share amount of the comm/misc has been added to the cost of the security for the report. 2.3.A.a CONSTANT VALUE INVESTMENTS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Special note for this abbreviated manual: My treatment of constant value investments such as CD's, anuities, savings, etc. is probably the most confusing part of maintaining investment records in PM. Please take the time to review this section in the main manual. NOTE: If you select the type as "Constant val", the TYPE will be coded a "MMA". This is strictly for internal use and has no relation to the actual investment type. 2.3.B ADD SHARES TO STOCK YOU OWN: (PURCHASE option # 2) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUGGESTION: Do NOT use this option to enter shares acquired through the re-investment of dividends. Use the INCOME option and indicate that the income is to be re-invested. PAGE 13 2.3.C ENTER STK SPLIT OR STK DIV: (PURCHASE option #3) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: Do NOT use this option if the stock was acquired due to a merger or buyout of the corporation (see sect 2.3.G) 2.3.F ADJUST ORIGINAL COST BASIS: (PURCHASE option #6) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: If you acquired additional shares through subsequent purchases or share re-investment the cost of the additional shares will NOT be changed. Use edit if these shares should also be changed. 2.4 U P D A T E V A L U E S M E N U ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: If you enter a new investment on which you paid a commission, the current value will show as the cost less the commission paid on the purchase until you update the current value. NOTE: If an investment has multiple entries because of re- investments or added purchases, ALL the entries for the selected investment will be updated. NOTE: If ANY value is updated, the date of the update is stored and shown in several reports as the date of the last update EVEN if only ONE investment was updated at the time. 2.5 I N C O M E M E N U ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: Sold securities are listed in the pop-up menu until you use MISC option #6 "Clear for a new year" to clear the files. This is to allow you to post income received AFTER an investment has been sold. 2.5.A DIVIDEND INCOME: (INCOME option #1) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: If you are making a PARTIAL re-investment of the income (usually through a mutual fund), you MUST enter the dividend as TWO SEPARATE entries. Make one entry as the re-investment using the amount of the dividend that has been re-invested. The other entry should be for the cash portion of the dividend. This situation will arise if you designate a reinvestment of capital gains but have the dividends paid in cash. In this situation you MUST use TWO SEPARATE entries to post the income. PAGE 14 2.5.A DIVIDEND INCOME: - (continued) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: PM maintains a reference (record) year in the PMMEMORY.MEM file. This allows you to post entries in January (or later) of a subsequent year without being challenged. The internal reference year is reset to the calendar (computer) year when you run the "Clear for a New Year" option in the MISC menu (option 6). NOTE: If you indicated a re-investment, you may NOT enter a zero as your response. If you intend to NOT re-invest, use the ESC key to exit and start over again. 2.5.B INTEREST INCOME: (INCOME option #2) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUGGESTION: If you are using my theory on "constant value investments" (See Ch 2, section 2.3.A.a) and you wish to leave the earned income with the investment such as with savings account interest, enter the payment here as a regular interest payment and credit the broker account with the amount of the income at the end of the routine. When you've finished entering the income, use the PURCHASE opt # 2 to purchase (ADD) a number of units equivalent to the amount of the payment @ $1.00 per unit and debit the broker account to pay for the purchase. 2.6.D BROKER ACCOUNT WITH TRANSACTIONS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUGGESTION: I recommend you use the broker account for every monetary transaction to provide a paper trail for your funds. Why ??? While the income report will show that you received the income, the broker report will show where it went (and it does seem to go !!!!). Example: You receive a dividend check from a stock. Enter it with the INCOME option and credit the broker account when asked. Next use the BROKER option and debit the broker account for the same amount (with a remark ??). PAGE 15 2.7 S E L L M E N U ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IMPORTANT NOTE: If you enter a bond sale you MUST enter the selling price in the same format as shown in financial journals. ie: Use the same format you used when you acquired the initial investment. ie. 10% of the actual price If you enter the full price per bond, the sale proceeds shown in your portfolio will show 10 times higher then the correct amount example: you sell a bond with $1,000 face value for $987.25. Enter the sale price as $98.725 per bond. This conforms to the way it's reported in the newspapers. NOTE: The bond interest received as part of the sale will be posted through the sell function and should NOT be entered through the regular income option to be sure it is NOT posted twice. 2.7.A SELL AN INVESTMENT (all the shares): ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: Again, as I do throughout the manual, I suggest you pass most transactions through the broker account. If you're going to receive (a check) and use the proceeds, all you would have to do is issue a debit to the broker account from the broker menu to be back to the true balance. 2.7.B SELL PART OF AN INVESTMENT: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: You may select ALL or PART (up to the number you sold) of EACH record. This will allow you to determine the tax consequence of a sale (long or short term). The program will continue to loop through the records UNTIL you select enough shares to cover the number you indicated were sold. 2.7.C THE TREATMENT OF BOND INTEREST: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: Enter BOND interest received with the sale of a bond when asked on the sale entry form NOT, with the income option. This applies bond interest ONLY. NOTE: Be sure to enter the selling PRICE of the bond as it is shown in the financial journals. ie. A $1,000 face value bond that is sold for $1005.45 is entered with a selling price of $100.55. PAGE 16 2.8 M I S C E L L A N E O U S M E N U ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2.8.A EDIT/CHANGE/VIEW A RECORD: (MISC, option #1) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TIP: I STRONGLY RECOMMEND you BACKUP the data files before proceeding. TIP: I suggest you review the glossary in Ch 3, sect 3.F for an explanation of the terms used in this procedure. NOTE: If you activated "browse" in the configuration menu, you will see a 4th choice, "Foxpro(tm) browse file". CAUTION: Do NOT use browse unless you're familiar with xbase type "browse" function. See ch 2, sect 2.8.I.l NOTE: If the interest amount is changed on a bond purchase or sale, the interest change will NOT be automatically entered or changed in the income records as it is when you use the regular buy/sell function. Use the regular "income" function to post the interest. NOTE: All the edit functions will be performed in a temporary file create for this purpose. At the end of the edit function (when you exit) you will have the opportunity to save or cancel the changes. BE -SURE- THE CHANGES ARE AS YOU WANT THEM. THE ORIGINAL FILES WILL BE PERMANENTLY CHANGED. !!! SUGGESTION: When you EXIT the edit option, if you made ANY changes to the records, you will be asked if you want to perform a validity test on the data files. I suggest you respond "YES" to the question to verify that any changes you made did NOT cause a problem in the format or content of the data files. TIP: The edit function is NOT bullet proof but is also NOT as complex as it may sound. Review the glossary in chapter 3 for the terms record, field, file, etc. Keep in mind that we have to zero in on the desired record and field and then make the appropriate changes before moving to another record. EVERY step of the way offers the opportunity to cancel. PAGE 17 2.8.B DELETE AN ENTRY FROM RECORDS: (MISC, option #2) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TIP: I RECOMMEND you BACKUP the data files before proceeding. NOTE: You'll be asked a second time to confirm the deletions. Once the data is removed (deleted), it can NOT be recovered except through the use of your backup files. SPECIAL NOTE: If you've marked a record to be deleted and then you change your mind, you should select the same record again. The function will ask if you want to "un-delete" the record. ie: If you select a deleted record, you'll be asked if you want to un-delete it. NOTE: The delete function will be performed in a temporary file created for this purpose. At the end of the delete function (when you exit) you will have the opportunity to save or cancel the deletions. BE SURE YOU HAVE DELETED ONLY THE RECORDS YOU PLANNED TO DELETE. THE MARKED RECORDS WILL BE PERMANENTLY REMOVED. !!! SUGGESTION: When you EXIT the delete function, if you removed any records, you'll be asked if you want to perform a validity test on the data files. I suggest you respond "YES" to the question to verify that any changes you made did NOT cause a problem in the format or content of the data files. (see section 2.8.C) 2.8.C TEST & FIX DATA &/OR MEMORY PROBLEM: (MISC, option #3) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ***** N O T I C E ***** PRIOR TO CONTACTING ME FOR ASSISTANCE, PLEASE RUN THE FILE TESTS AVAILABLE IN THE "MISC" MENU, OPTION #3. THIS TEST WILL RESOLVE MANY OF THE PROBLEMS THAT ARE RELATED TO DATA FILES. TIP: The file testing procedure may be used any time from the MISC menu. I suggest using it periodically to verify the data and index files are in order. You should also consider using the automatic test feature which may be activated from the configuration menu. See sect 2.8.I.m NOTE: In most cases, when a problem is discovered, you'll be given an opportunity to repair it. If you elect NOT to fix the problem with the programed fix, editing the data, or recovering data from your backup files, the problem WILL be noted EVERY time you run the file tests. SUGGESTION: Do NOT answer "Y" to "BACKUP DATA" question on the opening screen until you check the data. The problem usually isn't serious and may have been caused by back-up recovery, editing, deleting or tests. PAGE 18 2.8.C TEST & FIX DATA &/OR MEMORY PROBLEM: - (continued) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: The configuration module (MISC opt #9) has a feature to automatically activate the test every time the program is started. This is a good feature but it will cause the program to load slower depending on the speed of your CPU. See ch 2, sect 2.8.I.m. NOTE: If you've recovered backup(s), edited data, or deleted a record, it's a good idea to run the validity tests. Data from the memory (see glossary) file will (probably) NOT agree with the records but this is NOT a problem as it will be fixed when you run the file test routine. 2.8.D BACK DATA TO A BACKUP DRIVE: (MISC, option #4) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: The backup feature will NOT split files or allow for changing disks. ie: There must be enough room for ALL the files to transfer. The program will test for space. WARNING: Check to be SURE you do NOT have a write protect tab on the floppy diskette. If you do, you will get the famous DOS "abort, retry, fail" problem message. You may be able to remove the write protect and continue using "retry", however, tests have shown this is NOT assured 100% of the time. The results are UNPREDICTABLE !!! SUGGESTION: I recommend you maintain at least two sets of backups and rotate them each time you backup to a floppy disk. If you transfer bad data to one set you will still have the previous set from which you may recover valid data. NOTE: You may change the designated backup drive any time from the configuration program. 2.8.E DATA FROM OTHER YEARS: (MISC, option #5) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: This function will only work if you have saved data from past years as part of the "Clear files for a new year" option (MISC menu, opt #6). WARNING: This procedure will NOT work on data files for ANY version PRIOR to 4.0. If you have the need to convert earlier (prior to ver 4.0) data files, you will HAVE TO CONTACT ME. Each case is unique and therefore I can NOT distribute a pre-written module for the conversion. SPECIAL NOTE: The wording of MISC, option #5 will change depending on the status of the past data. If the current year is active, the option will read "Retrieve data from past year" and will perform that function. If data from a past year is active, the option will read "Restore data for current year". ie: The same option (MISC, opt #5) is use to retrieve AND restore data from different years. The menu item changes depending on the circumstance. PAGE 19 2.8.E.a RETRIEVE DATA FROM PAST YEAR: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUGGESTION: I STRONGLY recommend you create a backup of the CURRENT data to a FLOPPY DISK BEFORE proceeding with the function. Use MISC, opt #4 to create the backup. 2.8.E.b RESTORE DATA FOR CURRENT YEAR: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WARNING: DO NOT COPY DATA CHANGES TO THE DISK WHERE YOU'VE BACKED THE CURRENT DATA. YOU MAY OVERWRITE IT. ALWAYS BE AWARE OF WHICH FILES BELONG ON WHICH DISKS. NOTE: You can NOT go from one past year to another. You MUST FIRST restore the current year. You may then use the function as before to retrieve another year. SPECIAL NOTE: If you encounter a situation where the program is telling you the data is NOT current (ie. past data active), BUT you're SURE you have CURRENT data loaded, do the following. 1. Exit the program to DOS 2. Change to the PM directory 3. Erase PASTYEAR.MEM. PM looks for the existence of this file to determine if the data is from the past. 2.8.F CLEAR FILES FOR A NEW YEAR: (MISC, option #6) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WARNING: Do NOT post any information for a New year until AFTER you've cleared the previous year. If you've entered data for the new year, you MUST re-enter the data AFTER you have run the EOY clearing function. WARNING: Do NOT use EOY function UNTIL you've posted ALL transactions for the previous year and you have produced ALL the reports you need or desire. Do NOT continue the function if you have not made a backup to a floppy disk of the data files. NOTE: I STRONGLY recommend you wait until you've received ALL your 1099's for the past year and compared them to your records. If there's a difference you may want to change your data to conform to the 1099's. 2.8.G RECOVER BACK-UPS: (MISC, option #7) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: Generally you should recover backup data ONLY when all else fails. If you can resolve the problem with file test, edit, or delete you will probably be better off. SUGGESTION: Before recovering data from your regular backup disk, use a different disk to make a temporary backup of the current data. If there is a problem with your regular backup files, at least you will still be able to go back to square one. PAGE 20 2.8.G.a FROM B/U MADE ON START-UP: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CAUTION: If you backed your data during the program start and then discovered the data is corrupt, your ".HLD" files will contain the same problem. NOTE: Option #4 in the EXIT menu will perform EXACTLY the same function as this option. See Ch 2, sect 2.1.D. ABOUT THE ACCOUNT NAMES: (how the program searches for data) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: Here is where a problem can arise. If the short name has been changed in the memory file, PMMEMORY.MEM, but NOT in the data files, the program will NOT find the data for the requested account although the data is still in the records. The file testing, however, will find AND correct this problem. WARNING: If you attempt to change the name through the configuration program (MISC opt #9, sub #3), the situation described above WILL probably occur, hence the warning if you select the option from configure AFTER the initial use of the configuration program. ie: After you initially assign your account names use option #8 in the MISC menu to protect against any conflict in account names. This option will test for the account names for validity. 2.8.H.d TRANSFER AN ACCOUNT: (MISC opt #8, sub #4) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUGGESTION: If you need to move one or two securities from one account to another, I suggest you use the edit option, MISC opt #1. Be SURE you change all the records for the designated investment. NOTE: The account name of sending acct will NOT be removed, but the account will be empty. NOW would be a good time to use the DELETE an account function !! SUGGESTION: I strongly suggest making a BACKUP of your files before proceeding. As soon as you complete the changes, go to the report menu and generate a couple of reports to the screen. This is where a problem will be evident if one was created. PAGE 21 2.8.I CONFIGURE PORTFOLIO MANAGER: (MISC option #9) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTICE: The first time the program is started by a NEW user * OR * a "REGISTERED" user after receiving a new update, the configuration menu should be activated automatically. If this is not the case you may call the configuration menu through MISC opt #9. The automatic call feature was designed to make it easier for a NEW user to get started. If you're a previously registered user, the automatic call of the configuration program is to activate new features in the updated version. NOTE: If you change your mind on an option, just re-select the item from the menu and enter your preference. SPECIAL NOTE: Each item, when selected, will display the applicable instructions for the selected item. If you want to explore an item, just select it. You may use ESC or accept the default response to return to the configuration menu. NOTE: The automatic call feature WILL remain set UNTIL you CHANGE AT LEAST ONE ITEM in the configuration menu AND SAVE the change. I assume all user will change the name (unless your name really is "I.C. Wealth"). Registered users upgrading from an earlier version SHOULD use the color selection option as it will reset the version number on the opening screen. You may re- select the same color to meet this requirement. 2.8.I.b COLOR SELECTION MENU: (MISC opt #9, sub #2) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TIP: If you're using a mouse to select a color combination, put the cursor on the desired option in the COLOR MENU, NOT on the small color sample window on the screen. NOTE: All users should use this option EVEN if you want to maintain the existing colors. The reason is that the feature will reset the opening screen presentation. If you're newly registered, the registration solicitation will be removed. If you were already registered, the version number on the opening screen will be updated. PAGE 22 2.8.I.c DEFINED YOUR ACCOUNTS: (MISC opt #9, sub #3) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: Do NOT confuse separate accounts with separate portfolios. WARNING: To change or delete YOUR established accounts, I STRONGLY suggest using MISC opt #8. It WILL protect against problems in locating YOUR investments in the account records. See Ch 2, sect 2.8.H.b & 2.8.H.c NOTE: Each account you establish will have two names, a short name (3 letters max) and a long name (14 ltrs max). See Ch 2, sect 2.8.H (Add/Delete/Rename an acct) for a explanation of account names and how they are used. WARNING: Each account MUST have a name EVEN IF YOU HAVE ONLY ONE ACCOUNT. 2.8.I.i PRINTER SELECTION: (MISC opt #9, sub #9) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TIP: If you're having a problem with the pagination of your reports, and you aren't using a laser printer you might try setting this feature to "ON" (YES) anyway to see if that will correct the problem. 2.8.I.l SET THE BROWSE COMMAND: (MISC opt #9, sub #C) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WARNING: If the browse feature is used improperly, it MAY render your data files UNUSABLE. 2.8.I.m AUTOMATIC DATA TESTING: (MISC opt #9, sub #D) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUGGESTION: I recommend you activate the automatic test on the program start. The tests are executed BEFORE you are asked if you want to backup the data files to hold files (".HLD") on the opening screen. If there is a residual problem from the last time you used PM, the problem will be reported prior to contaminating the backup files. This will allow you to trace the problem or recover the backups. 2.8.I.n SET EXTRA HELP SCREENS: (MISC opt #9, sub #E) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUGGESTION: Leave the auto help feature active until you are familiar with the program. Most of the tips and help screens are in the seldom used areas of the program. PAGE 23 2.8.I.o CLEAR ALL DATA FILES: (MISC opt #9, sub #F) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WARNING: Use of this option will remove ALL data from the data files. It will re-set all the memory variables. The files will appear the same as the first time you started the program. You will have to re-enter your name, accounts, color settings, etc. The option was included to allow you to remove practice (test) data or start your records again if you're not satisfied with the initial way you started your records. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING | | | | DO NOT USE THIS OPTION UNLESS YOU WANT TO REMOVE | | ALL DATA YOU HAVE ENTERED AND RESET ALL VARIABLES | | TO THE WAY THEY WERE ON THE DISTRIBUTION DISK. | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WARNING: Do NOT confuse "Clear the data files" with "Clear files for a New Year" (MISC opt #6). The "Clear..." feature changes only selected files necessary to begin a new record keeping year. 2.8.J CHANGE NAME OF AN INVESTMENT: (MISC, option #A) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: If you've entered a security name but are having a problem distinguishing it from other investments with a similar name, you might consider using this routine to change the name to a more unique or meaningful name for your own use.