PC-SIG Library 8

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ PC-SIG Library 8 / PC-SIG Library CD-ROM (8th Edition) (1990-04).iso / 2001_100 / disk2006 / pavers21.doc < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1989-06-19 | 38.9 KB | 902 lines

THE PERSONAL PORTFOLIO ANALYZER - RELEASE 2.1 PAGE 1 OF 14 (C) Copyright 1987-89 Charles L. Pack QuickBASIC Compiler (C) Copyright 1982-87 Microsoft Corporation WRITTEN BY: Charles L. Pack 25303 La Loma Drive, Los Altos Hills, CA. 94022 Phone: (415) 949-0887 (no collect calls please) Permission is granted for personal use of this software, to make backup copies, and to share it with other individuals at no cost to them. The author reserves the SOLE and EXCLUSIVE RIGHT to distribute this software to clubs, user groups, bulletin boards and other institutions - please write for further information. Suggestions and comments are welcome, and may be addressed directly to the author. The author makes no warranties or guarantees, express or implied, and makes no recommendations to buy any security. The author is not an expert at taxes and accounting. The Personal Portfolio Analyzer performs record-keeping, numerical analysis and reporting on existing portfolios of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, cash and other types of securities. To do this, it maintains a Catalog file containing the name, ticker symbol or other identifier, ma- turity date or industry category, expected income, taxability and other information on up to 255 different securities. In addition, it maintains any number of Portfolio files, each containing up to 255 transactions in any securities which exist in the Catalog. The Catalog and least 20 Portfolios will fit on a 5 1/4" double-sided (360K byte) diskette. Most of the information is typed in from a stock guide and broker or fund advices, and current market prices are typed in from a newspaper. The Personal Portfolio Analyzer calculates market values, realized and unrealized gains and losses, holding periods, annual percentage returns, and expected annual income and yield before and after taxes. Reports, which can be displayed on screen or printer, include income and taxabil- ity analysis, realized (tax) gains and losses, and current market value analysis. In addition, a list of expected income payments can be printed for the next 12 months, for a checklist. Expected income can be broken down monthly for budgeting purposes, and by security type and taxability (non-taxable, taxable Federal and taxable State) for tax planning. Total market value can be broken down by security type, portfolio name or in- dustry category. Up to four portfolios may be combined in all reports. The Personal Portfolio Analyzer is designed to be easy to use for indi- viduals and small fund managers. Entry of the market price for one se- curity, or application of a stock split or other distribution for one security, in any portfolio, automatically applies to that security in all portfolios. Security sales may be applied on a First-In First-Out or Last-In First Out basis, or applied to a particular purchase lot. When necessary, a purchase lot is automatically split into two parts. The system is menu-driven, allowing the user to easily select all of the options without memorizing commands. All menus have a "Help" function; when invoked by pressing the "H" key, directions applicable to that part of the system will appear on the screen. The minimum hardware requirements are an IBM-compatible personal com- puter with 256K memory, one disk drive and DOS 2.0 or a later version. A second floppy disk or hard disk drive and an 80-column printer are recommended. A graphics adapter is not required. The programs are written in compiled BASIC, and are NOT copy-protected. THE PERSONAL PORTFOLIO ANALYZER - RELEASE 2.1 PAGE 2 OF 14 I N S T A L L A T I O N G U I D E HOW TO GET THE PERSONAL PORTFOLIO ANALYZER RUNNING - AS SOON AS POSSIBLE In this document, abbreviations are used to denote certain actions. The < > symbols indicate a particular key to be pressed, for example <Enter> means "press the Enter key". The Enter key is used to indicate you are finished entering a command or a data item. <Enter> need not be preceded by a space even though it is done in this document for clarity. Some keys, such as the Esc and Ctrl keys, may be in different positions on different keyboards. You may have to look, or consult your computer operations manual to find them. The Esc key is usually in the top row, and the Ctrl key is usually near the left side. The Enter key has the funny hooked arrow on it. Commands typed into DOS may be in uppercase (CAPITAL letters) or lower- case; for example COPY, Copy and copy are all interpreted in the same way. In this document, commands will be shown in uppercase. The Personal Portfolio Analyzer may use the DOS system date to select data for reports. Therefore, it is important to enter the correct date when the computer is started. From the DOS prompt A> or C>, type DATE <Enter>. If the date is incorrect, type in a new date in the format mm/dd/yy, for example 1/9/89. If you have a hard disk, you must install your program on the hard disk before running it. Instructions for hard disk installation begin on page 6. Instructions for operation on floppy disks begin on the next page. THE PERSONAL PORTFOLIO ANALYZER - RELEASE 2.1 PAGE 3 OF 14 OPERATION FROM FLOPPY DISKETTES The first and most important thing for you to do is to MAKE A WORKING COPY. The original copy of the Personal Portfolio Analyzer has (or should have!) write-protect tabs on it to prevent accidentally writing over it. DO NOT try to use the original copy - keep that for backup! Make at least one working copy of the Personal Portfolio Analyzer and then put the original in a safe place other than where your computer is. This place should be free of magnetic fields generated by appliances such as vacuum cleaners. To make a working copy, insert your DOS diskette in drive A and make sure the A> prompt is visible. Insert a blank diskette in Drive B. WARNING: Any data on the diskette in Drive B is about to be erased! Type the following command: FORMAT B: /S <Enter> Follow the prompts on the screen. This will format the diskette and copy your DOS system files (COMMAND.COM and the two hidden files) onto it, so that it can be booted directly. *** WARNING! *** NEVER use FORMAT by itself. That will format your DOS diskette, and wipe out your DOS! At this point, you may optionally copy some useful DOS utility programs onto your working diskette. The following are suggested, and will allow you to format diskettes and make backup copies without going back to your original DOS diskette: COPY CHKDSK.COM B: <Enter> COPY DISKCOPY.COM B: <Enter> COPY DISKCOMP.COM B: <Enter> COPY FORMAT.COM B: <Enter> Now remove your DOS diskette from drive A and insert the Personal Port- folio Analyzer STARTUP diskette. The STARTUP diskette is the one with the files BRUN30.EXE and PA2.EXE on it. If you have only one diskette, that should be the STARTUP/PROGRAM diskette; insert that one in drive A instead. Then type the following command: COPY *.* B: <Enter> This copies all of the individual files from the diskette in the default drive (drive A) onto the working diskette in drive B. You now have a working copy of the STARTUP diskette. The diskette can be "booted" di- rectly without inserting DOS first. THE PERSONAL PORTFOLIO ANALYZER - RELEASE 2.1 PAGE 4 OF 14 OPERATION FROM FLOPPY DISKETTES (continued) Insert your DOS diskette in drive A again and make sure you have the A> prompt. Insert another blank diskette in drive B. Type the command FORMAT B: <Enter> to format another diskette. This diskette will not have DOS on it, and therefore will not be "bootable". At this point, you may also want to format additional diskettes for data files. If your Personal Portfolio Analyzer came on only a single STARTUP/PROGRAM diskette, skip this next step. The diskette you just formatted can be used as a DATA diskette. Remove DOS and insert the original PROGRAM diskette in drive A. With a formatted diskette in drive B, copy all the files from A onto B with the following command: COPY *.* B: <Enter> You now have a working copy of the PROGRAM diskette. At this point, make sure all diskettes are correctly labelled. Do not put write-protect tabs on either the working copies of the STARTUP and PROGRAM diskettes or on the data diskettes. Now remove the diskette in Drive A and insert a WORKING COPY of the Personal Portfolio Analyzer. If you received the Personal Portfolio Analyzer on two floppies, insert the STARTUP diskette. DO NOT try to start with the PROGRAM diskette. If you received only one diskette, insert that one (it should be a combined STARTUP/PROGRAM diskette). Re-set your computer with the Ctrl-Alt-Del keys. When asked for the cur- rent date and time, it is important to enter these items as the program uses the DOS system date in some of its calculations. In just a moment, the introductory screen should appear! If you have not used these programs before, press the H (for HELP) key for further information on how to use the system in general. Then press the Enter key to continue. If you began with the STARTUP diskette, the program will automatically prompt you to insert the PROGRAM diskette when it is needed. (Once you are on the PROGRAM diskette, the STARTUP diskette is no longer used). After this process has taken place, you will see the Master Menu screen. Once the Personal Portfolio Analyzer is running, all instructions on how to operate it are available from within the system itself. Note that you can press the H (for HELP) key to get instructions from any screen that has a menu. Please read the HELP screens; they will answer most of your questions. Some demonstration data files are on the PROGRAM diskette. To work with these files, press S from the Master Menu. When you are asked to enter the disk drive and/or sub-directory for data files, press the Enter key by itself (this selects the default directory which is the PROGRAM disk- ette). Then press C. The program will ask for the name of the active portfolio; type DEMOFILE and press the Enter key two times. Again, press H (for HELP) to get on-screen explanation of the Master Menu selections. THE PERSONAL PORTFOLIO ANALYZER - RELEASE 2.1 PAGE 5 OF 14 OPERATION FROM FLOPPY DISKETTES (continued) IMPORTANT: It is highly recommended that you keep all of your own port- folio data on a separate diskette, which will be in drive B. This will facilitate making backup copies of your data and installing new versions of the program. To start a new portfolio diskette, insert a newly formatted diskette in drive B. From the Master Menu press S (for Specify Path) and type B: <Enter>. (If you sepcify an invalid or non-existing drive, you will get an error message so you can try again). Next, press C (for Change active portfolio) and enter a name for the new portfolio. Each portfolio is identified by a unique name up to 8 characters long, such as PERSONAL or TRUSTFUN. Type in the name and press the Enter key two times. This makes that portfolio active for both updating and reporting. The portfolio will be initialized later, just before you enter your first purchase. From the Master Menu, press A to Add a security. The program will recog- nize the empty diskette in drive B and ask "Are you starting a new data disk?". Ignore the flashing message "Wrong disk in drive, or missing file", and respond Y (for Yes). Enter 255 for the maximum number of entries, and a new Catalog file will be initialized. You will then automatically be prompted to start entering data for the first security. It is recommended to read the Help screens first. To do this, press Esc and then H. After reading the Help screens, press Esc again, and then A. Enter data for one or more securities, as you wish. Now, move the selector block to a security you wish to buy, and press B. If the portfolio doesn't exist yet, you will be asked "Are you starting a new portfolio?". Again, ignore the flashing message "Wrong disk in drive, or missing file", and respond Y. Enter 255 for the maximum number of entries and a new Portfolio will be initialized. You will then auto- matically be prompted to start entering data for your first purchase. To read the Help screens first, press Esc and then H. If you have only one disk drive (such as on the PC Jr.) you MUST use the program diskette for data files. Programs and data can be on the same diskette, but space will be limited. There are two ways to get around the space problem. Use smaller data files and erase files that aren't needed; you can erase the sample data files if you wish, and start new files using the same procedures as in the above paragraphs. Also, you can erase Help screens (.HLP files) to get more space on a diskette. When new catalog or portfolio files are started, the program asks for the maximum number of entries, which in each case is 255. You can enter smaller numbers. The catalog file requires 128 bytes for each security, plus one extra. A portfolio file requires 64 bytes for each transaction, plus one extra. The program will round the numbers you type in upwards so that a multiple of 2,048 bytes will be used. Enough space should be allowed in each file so that records can be added later. Maximum # of data records 255 191 127 63 31 15 No. of bytes in Catalog 32,768 24,576 16,384 8,192 4,096 2,048 No. of bytes in Portfolio 16,384 12,288 8,192 4,096 2,048 -- You can have as many portfolios on a diskette as will fit. Selling a security does not generate another transaction record, as there is space on each record for both the purchase and the sale. THE PERSONAL PORTFOLIO ANALYZER - RELEASE 2.1 PAGE 6 OF 14 INSTALLATION ON A HARD DISK Installation is the process of transferring the original of a program onto a hard disk, and setting it up to operate with your particular computer. Installation on a hard disk usually consists of three steps: First, making a sub-directory; Second, copying the required files; and Third, creating a batch file. The last step is optional but still very desirable. *** NOTE *** If you are UPGRADING from an earlier release of the Personal Portfolio Analyzer, skip now to page 9. The Portfolio Analyzer should reside in its own dedicated sub-directory. This sub-directory may be called \PA or \STOCKS or whatever you want, up to 8 characters, but for explanatory purposes here it will be called \PAPROG (for Portfolio Analyzer Programs). (See page 8 for information on sub-directories and how to make one). Now make this the current sub- directory by typing CD \PAPROG <Enter>. This completes the first step. Insert the Personal Portfolio Analyzer STARTUP diskette in Drive A. (If you have only one diskette, insert the STARTUP/PROGRAM diskette). Copy the files to the hard disk with the command COPY A:*.* /V <Enter>. If you have a separate PROGRAM diskette, repeat this step with that one, also. Now, make the ROOT directory active by typing CD \ <Enter>. This completes the second step. The commands to start the Portfolio Analyzer can optionally be stored in a batch file which should be located in the root directory. A batch file has the extension .BAT. When the name of that file is typed as a command from the DOS prompt, all commands in that file are executed as if they had been typed individually. To create this batch file, make sure the root directory is active (use the DIR command to check), and enter the following commands: COPY CON: PA.BAT <Enter> CD \PAPROG <Enter> PA2 <Enter> CD \ <Enter> <F6> <Enter> Leave out CD \ if you don't wish to return to the root directory upon termination of the Portfolio Analyzer. <F6> means press the F6 key (this is a function key on the left side of your keyboard). You should see the message "1 file(s) copied" and the DOS prompt C>. The Portfolio Analyzer can now be started from the root directory with the single command PA <Enter>. When you first start the Portfolio Analyzer, you will see the introduc- tory screen. If you have not used these programs before, press the H (for HELP) key for general information on how to use the system. Press Enter to continue from the introductory screen to the Master Menu. Once the program is running, all instructions on how to operate it are avail- able from within the program itself. Note that you can press the H (for HELP) key to get instructions from any screen that has a menu. Please read the HELP screens; they will answer most of your questions. THE PERSONAL PORTFOLIO ANALYZER - RELEASE 2.1 PAGE 7 OF 14 OPERATION ON A HARD DISK Some demonstration data files are in the PROGRAM sub-directory. To work with these files, press S from the Master Menu. When you are asked to enter the path for data files, press the Enter key by itself (this will select the default, which is the PROGRAM directory). Then press C. The program will ask for the name of the active portfolio; type DEMOFILE and press the Enter key two times. Again, press H (for HELP) to get an on- screen explanation of the Master Menu selections. IMPORTANT: It is highly recommended that you keep all of your own port- folio data in a separate sub-directory. This will facilitate making backup copies of your data and installing new versions of the program. For instructive purposes here, the DATA sub-directory will be called \PADATA (but you can use any name you want). Get into the ROOT direc- tory by typing CD \ <Enter>, and verify that you are in the correct one (use the DOS command DIR). To make the data directory, type MD \PADATA <Enter>. Now start the Portfolio Analyzer by typing PA <Enter>, and get into the Master Menu. From the Master Menu press S (for Specify Path) and then type \PADATA\ <Enter>. (If you specify an invalid or non-existing path, you will get an error message so you can try again). Next, press C (for Change active portfolio) and enter a name for the new portfolio. Each portfolio is identified by a unique name up to 8 characters long, such as PERSONAL or TRUSTFUN. Type in the name and press the Enter key two times. This makes that portfolio active for both updating and reporting. The portfolio will be initialized later, just before you enter your first purchase. From the Master Menu, press A to Add a security. The program will recog- nize the empty directory and ask "Are you starting a new data disk?". Ignore the flashing message "Wrong disk in drive, or missing file", and respond Y (for Yes). Enter 255 for the maximum number of entries, and a new Catalog file will be initialized. You will then automatically be prompted to start entering data for the first security. It is recommen- ded to read the HELP screens first. To do this, press Esc and then H. After reading the HELP screens, press Esc again, and then A. Enter data for one or more securities, as you wish. Now, move the selector block to a security you wish to buy, and press B. If the portfolio doesn't exist yet, you will be asked "Are you starting a new portfolio?". Again, ignore the flashing message "Wrong disk in drive, or missing file", and respond Y. Enter 255 for the maximum number of entries and a new Portfolio will be initialized. You will then auto- matically be prompted to start entering data for your first purchase. To read the HELP screens first, press Esc and then H. You can have as many different portfolios as you want, as long as there is space on your disk. The security entries in the Catalog file apply to ALL Portfolio files which are in the same sub-directory. Within a port- folio, selling a security does not generate another transaction record, as there is space on each record for both the purchase and the sale. THE PERSONAL PORTFOLIO ANALYZER - RELEASE 2.1 PAGE 8 OF 14 WHAT IS A "SUB-DIRECTORY", AND HOW TO MAKE ONE A hard disk can contain hundreds of files, which could make management of its directory very difficult. Therefore a hard disk usually contains a "root" directory and a number of "sub-directories", organized in a "tree" structure. The root directory is the main directory and is always present. It is like the trunk of a tree, and can contain any number of sub-directories, which are like branches of a tree. Also, sub-direc- tories can contain other sub-directories, up to many different levels just like the many branches of a tree. Another way to look at it is, the root directory of a disk(ette) is like the master index to a big book, and the sub-directory is like the index to an individual chapter. I recommend keeping the directory structure simple, with only one level of sub-directories. Floppy diskettes can also have sub-directories but usually they don't - while hard disks, with their much greater capacity, usually do. Usually, sub-directories contain individual categories of programs or other files. For example word processing programs can be in one sub- directory, documents in another, spreadsheets in another, etc. Ideally, the root directory should contain only sub-directories, batch files and certain other system files; DOS should have its own sub-directory. The Portfolio Analyzer should reside in its own dedicated sub-directory. To make a sub-directory, first make the root directory active by typing the DOS command CD \ <Enter>. CD stands for "change directories". Note the back-slash (\) is different from the regular forward slash (/). Sub- directory names are just like any other file names except they always start with the back-slash (\). The root directory has no name and is just called \. Sub-directory names must be unique within the directory that contains them. To look at sub-directory names, use DIR /W <Enter>. Sub-direc- tories are identified by the caption <DIR>. It is permissible for a sub-directory name to be the same as a file name, for example PA can exist as a directory and again as a batch file such as PA.BAT. Now enter the DOS command to "make a directory". Type in MD \xxx <Enter> where xxx denotes a name 1 to 8 characters in length - for example type MD \PAPROG <Enter>. For best results, use only letters of the alphabet. If no error message appears and the DOS prompt C> re-appears, the sub- directory now exists. While you're at it, you can make another sub-dir- ectory for your portfolio data files. For example type MD \PADATA <Enter>. To make the PROGRAM directory active, type CD \PAPROG <Enter>. WARNING: If you are not in the ROOT directory when you make a sub-direc- tory, that sub-directory will be under the CURRENT directory that is active at that time. For example, if the current directory is \PAPROG and you make a sub-directory called \PADATA, you will have to enter the path name \PAPROG\PADATA\ in order to get to it. It's usually better to keep things more simple. If you can't find your data sub-directory, it may have been placed acci- dentally under a different sub-directory. THE PERSONAL PORTFOLIO ANALYZER - RELEASE 2.1 PAGE 9 OF 14 UPGRADING FROM AN OLDER VERSION (2.xx) You can still use your existing data files (files with names ending in .POR). Data files used with Release 2.1 can also be used with Release 2.04, except the industry category will not be shown. WARNING: The .CTL files are NOT interchangeable among different versions of the program. NOTE: The Release 2.1 Portfolio Analyzer starts with the command PA2, not PASTART2 as in Release 2.04. If you are using floppy disks, follow the directions on pages 3-5. If you are using a hard disk, follow the directions in the next paragraphs. Get into DOS, as indicated by the C> prompt. Make the sub-directory which contains the Personal Portfolio Analyzer PROGRAMS the currently active directory. For example, type CD \PAPROG <Enter>. Verify that you are in the correct directory! Enter the following commands, which will delete the old program files: ERASE PA*.CTL <Enter> ERASE PA*.EXE <Enter> ERASE PA*.HLP <Enter> ERASE RELEASE*.* <Enter> You should also erase the README and .DOC files if they are present. Do not erase any of your personal data files, as they can still be used. Insert the original copy of the Personal Portfolio Analyzer (Release 2.1) in Drive A. You will need to copy some, but not all, of the files onto your hard disk. Now type the following commands: COPY A:PA*.CTL /V <Enter> COPY A:PA*.EXE /V <Enter> COPY A:PA*.HLP /V <Enter> COPY A:RELEASE*.* <Enter> If you received the Personal Portfolio Analyzer on more than one diskette, repeat the above procedure for EACH diskette; it doesn't matter which one is copied first. WARNING: the old .CTL files will not work with the new version of the program. If you try to use the old .CTL files, you will get an error message and the program won't run. If you copy the new sample data files, they will over-write and destroy the old data files. You may also have to modify your existing batch (.BAT) file which is used to start the program. It should be located in the ROOT directory. Release 2.1 of the Personal Portfolio Analyzer starts with the command PA2; Release 2.04 started with PASTART2. THE PERSONAL PORTFOLIO ANALYZER - RELEASE 2.1 PAGE 10 OF 14 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THIS RELEASE AND PREVIOUS RELEASES Release 2.11 of the Personal Portfolio Analyzer contains the following improvements over Release 2.04: 1. File PASTART2.EXE has been replaced with the separate files PA2.EXE, PAMMENU2.EXE and PADDELS2.EXE. The Portfolio Analyzer now requires two 360K diskettes. See pages 12-13 for more information. 2. A new Video function was added to the Master Menu. It allows you to specify any one of ten different color schemes (including monochrome if you don't have a color monitor). Also the (S)pecify Path and (C)hange Active Portfolio functions have been improved. 3. A "precious metals" security type has been added, for things like silver and gold bars and coins. (Futures contracts are still "puts" or "calls"). 4. Current prices are now displayed and entered in the Add/Delete Securities screen. They are no longer entered in the Market Value Analysis screen. This makes it easier to update prices for all portfolios at the same time. 5. "Yank out" has been replaced by "Wipe out", for deleting a security or a transaction. The screen action that occurs when deleting or adding a security or a transaction has been improved. When adding an item, the new data is now displayed in correct sequence instead of temporarily near the bottom of the screen. 6. The "Change" function has been improved. You can now move the selector bar horizontally to select a data item to be changed. 7. In all screens, negative (loss) amounts are shown in red (if you have a color monitor). If you use a monochrome monitor, losses and some other items are shown in bright, emphasized characters. 8. Up to four portfolios can be combined in all the report functions. Their names are specified under the (C)hange Active Portfolio function in the Master Menu. 9. You can now list individual income payments, as a checklist for the next 12 months. Also in the Income/Tax analysis report, you can select records by security type; for example you can select all bonds and cash accounts. 10. In the Realized Gain/Loss report, you can have the entries sorted by holding period. A "bug" that caused the program to fail when the holding period was zero has been fixed. 11. In the Market Value Analysis report, you can select records by security type, for example you can select all cash accounts and common stocks. Also, the totals can be broken down by portfolio name or by industry category. An individual portfolio could repre- sent a particular broker or advisor. 12. Other less noticeable improvements have been made in error recovery, better menu formats and better prompts. THE PERSONAL PORTFOLIO ANALYZER - RELEASE 2.1 PAGE 11 OF 14 ABOUT DATA FILE MANAGEMENT For greatest speed and efficiency - especially with floppy disks - all file maintenance is performed in memory. Whenever a Catalog or a Port- folio is created, it is initialized on disk with the maximum number of records, up to 255, which is specified by the user. Initialization on disk at the maximum size insures that during file maintenance operations the user will not run out of disk space and lose data. The maximum file size of 255 records should not be a problem for most individuals and small fund managers. Data files created by the Personal Portfolio Analyzer are stored on disk in a binary format and are not compatible with any other files. Techni- cally speaking, they are random-access files in BASIC for greatest speed and efficiency. They cannot be read with the popular spreadsheet or database programs. Each time a data file is updated or changed, it is over-written on disk. The actual writing on disk takes place automatically (if any changes have been made) when you use the EXIT or QUIT functions, or when you switch between the Add/Delete Securities screen and the Add/Delete Portfolio Transactions screen. Therefore, it is very important to KEEP BACKUP COPIES on a regular schedule such as weekly or monthly. I suggest the following diskette backup scheme: Use three diskettes and label the three envelopes C (for current, or child), F (for Father), and G (for Grandfather). The envelope labelled C is of course the current, or working, diskette. When a copy of the current diskette is made, copy onto the Grandfather diskette, which then becomes the new Current disk- ette. The old Current diskette becomes the new Father; the old Father becomes the new Grandfather. The diskettes are simply switched in their envelopes. The advantages to this scheme are that each diskette is always used in rotation so one diskette does not tend to wear out faster than the others; and there are always three generations of data. If you are using a hard disk, it is just as important to back up your data files! To do this, insert a newly formatted diskette in Drive A. Make drive C the active drive and make the sub-directory which contains the portfolio DATA files the active sub-directory. Type the following command: COPY *.POR A: /V <Enter>. This copies both the catalog file and all the portfolio files. It is still recommended to keep two or more backup copies, as described above. THE PERSONAL PORTFOLIO ANALYZER - RELEASE 2.1 PAGE 12 OF 14 DESCRIPTION OF FILES If you are using 5.25" 360K diskettes, the Personal Portfolio Analyzer MUST be distributed between two diskettes, because there is not enough room on a single diskette for the entire system. The following files should be on the STARTUP diskette: RELEASEv.rr is the version/release number of the master diskette. This file itself has no purpose except to identify the diskette. If you have a startup and a program diskette, this file should exist on both diskettes. AUTOEXEC.BAT is a batch file to start the Portfolio Analyzer funning on floppy diskettes. PA2.BAT is a batch file to start the Portfolio Analyzer running on a hard disk. PASTART2.CTL is the file which contains the introductory screen. The version of this file MUST match the current program version and not that of an earlier version. PA2.EXE is the program which displays the introductory screen. The Portfolio Analyzer must ALWAYS be started with this pro- gram. This program automatically loads BRUN30.EXE, which remains in memory until you return to DOS. BRUN30.EXE is the run-time module which is required for any of the Portfolio Analyzer programs to run. It contains routines which are common to all programs. BRUN30.EXE is a part of the QuickBASIC compiler which is (C) Copyrighted by Micro- soft Corporation. PASTART2.HLP contains the initial HELP screens with general information about using the Personal Portfolio Analyzer. PAVERS21.DOC is the text file which contains the information you are reading now. README READ.ME is a short text file which explains how to print the infor- README.DOC mation you are reading now. If you are using a high-density floppy disk (720K or more) or a hard disk, the above files should be on the PROGRAM diskette or in the PRO- GRAM sub-directory. The files PASTART2.CTL, PA2.EXE, and BRUN30.EXE MUST be present for the Portfolio Analyzer to run. PASTART2.HLP must also be present if you want to have the initial HELP screen available. All files with the extension .EXE are executable program files in native machine language. However, the Personal Portfolio Analyzer must ALWAYS be started with the command PA2 (which may be in a batch file). THE PERSONAL PORTFOLIO ANALYZER - RELEASE 2.1 PAGE 13 OF 14 DESCRIPTION OF FILES (continued) The following files must reside on the PROGRAM diskette, or in the PRO- GRAM sub-directory: PASETUP2.CTL is a control file which has several functions. If data and programs are on separate diskettes PASETUP2.CTL must be on the PROGRAM diskette, not the data diskette. Likewise, on a hard disk PASETUP2.CTL must be in the PROGRAM sub-direc- tory, not the data sub-directory. PAMMENU2.EXE is the Master Menu program. It also allows the user to specify the path for data files, to select the active port- folios for updating and reports, and to select the colors for video display. PAMMENU2.HLP is the HELP screen which explains the Master Menu. PADDELS2.EXE displays the Add/Delete Securities screen and performs all file maintenance on the Catalog file. This is also where you enter the current market values for all securities. PADDELS2.HLP is the HELP screen for Add/Delete Securities. PASTYPE2.HLP is the HELP screen which explains all of the different security types. PATRANS2.EXE is the Add/Delete Portfolio Transactions program. It cre- ates and/or modifies the currently active portfolio file. (A portfolio file is made active for updates in the Master Menu with the C function). PATRANS2 will initialize a portfolio file if it doesn't yet exist. PATRANS2.HLP is the HELP screen for Add/Delete Portfolio Transactions. PASALES2.HLP is the HELP screen that can be activated when selling a security in PATRANS2. It explains the ways in which shares sold can be allocated to shares on hand. PAINTAX2.EXE is the income and taxability analysis report program. PAINTAX2.HLP is the Help screen for PAINTAX2.EXE. PAREGAL2.EXE is the realized gain/loss report program. PAREGAL2.HLP is the Help screen for PAREGAL2.EXE. PAMVALU2.EXE is the market value analysis program. PAMVALU2.HLP is the Help screen for PAMVALU2.EXE. Note: PAINTAX2, PAREGAL2 AND PAMVALU2 all work on the active portfolios for reports. Up to four portfolios may be combined in all reports; these portfolios are specified with the C function in the Master Menu. THE PERSONAL PORTFOLIO ANALYZER - RELEASE 2.1 PAGE 14 OF 14 DESCRIPTION OF FILES (continued) The following files should reside on the DATA diskette, or in the DATA sub-directory (unless data and programs are in the same directory): CATALOG.POR is the Catalog file, which contains one record for each security which is to exist in any portfolio. Each record requires 128 bytes, and there is also a 128-byte header. The maximum capacity is 255 data records; therefore the maximum size catalog requires 256 x 128, or 32,768 bytes. XXXXXXXX.POR (where XXXXXXXX is a name made up by the user) is a Port- folio transaction file. Each portfolio transaction requires 64 bytes, and there is also a 64-byte header. A transac- tion record has space for both purchase and sale data. The maximum capacity is 255 records; therefore the maximum size portfolio requires 256 x 64, or 16,384 bytes. (See the table near the bottom of page 5). All files with the extension .HLP are standard text files which do not contain any control characters. Whenever the H (for HELP) function is invoked, the program looks for the appropriate file (see the list of files on the preceding two pages). If that file is not found in the program directory, the message "Help screen not available" will flash on the bottom line of the screen (press any other valid key to get rid of a flashing error message). You may delete any or all of the .HLP files if necessary to make more space on a diskette (you should first print them out using Shift-PrtSc). To delete an individual file, make the diskette or sub-directory which contains that file the active one. Then type the following command: ERASE xxxxxxxx.HLP <Enter>. For example to erase the file that contains the initial HELP screen, type ERASE PASTART2.HLP <Enter>. To get rid of all HELP screens, type ERASE *.HLP <Enter>. Use DIR or DIR /W to check the directory before and after you delete a file. DIR shows the names of all files in one column along with their corresponding dates, times and other information; DIR /W shows several file names on each line, without the other information (/W means "wide"). You can also delete the README, .DOC and RELEASEv.rr files, but do NOT delete any of the .CTL files.