Welcome to the SmartBroker Reference Guide!
If
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Preparation
& Steps When to Download Stock
Quotes
Establishing Key
Categories Report Cards...
Level of Interaction Fax... Receive
Imagine you knew someone that said they can
predict the outcome of basketball games 4 out of 5 times correctly. Then, they said you can see for
yourself, by going back in time and seeing what they predicted, then moving up
a bit in time, and seeing how accurate they were. Then, if that was not enough,
they kept a report card on their predictions so you could easily see their
accuracy over time - summarized.
Would this intrigue you? For
a final shocker, suppose they said you can assess all of this for free…
to see for yourself. Now
you’re probably thinking about the future right… if this was at all
true, how can
you use this for the future???
SmartBroker does exactly this for the Stock Market and for identifying
stock investment opportunities. It even
provides a convenient routine for Back-Testing so you can see past predictions
and compare with past reality. It
graphs the future trend of the market direction. It keeps report cards on
it’s recommendations so you can see how accurate it’s running, before
investing real money. It provides
all of this for free
for a trial period.
… are you still
waiting for something… please read on…
Now, you can save time and improve your investment effectiveness by
having a SMARTBROKER in your home or office 24 hours a day. SMARTBROKER is a
revolutionary software program that does all the analysis work for you and then
recommends how to play the stocks you are tracking... Buy Stock? Buy Call
Option - long? Sell Stock - short? Straddle Options? etc...
In addition, SMARTBROKER will tell you how confident it is in the
recommendations it provides. It is very easy to use.
SMARTBROKER is a sophisticated software program that utilizes advanced calculus
and statistical formulas, combined with your answers to environmental questions
to provide immediate insight into the stock market. Consequently, SMARTBROKER
provides lasting value from an educational as well as a practical standpoint.
And it's available for your personal computer !!!!!
The nice thing about SMARTBROKER is that you can not only monitor the stocks
you are tracking, but you can also monitor the accuracy in the recommendations
that it provides. And continue to monitor these recommendations until you feel
confident enough to give your broker a call and invest.
Three product levels to meet your needs:
You can register SmartBroker in three different levels:
SMARTBROKER LITE : Handles up to 1,000 stocks. The Intial symbol list is much
larger, but you can add/delete symbols at will. Use any text editor, if you
like, to delete large blocks of symbols. The file name is
"sbstklst.sbf".
SMARTBROKER STANDARD : Handles up to 5,000 stock symbols.
SMARTBROKER PRO : The flagship program handles more symbols that is currently
reported (2001), over 30,000 symbols can be managed.
Upgrades: In additon, you can upgrade from the Lite and Standard levels
at anytime by purchasing an upgrade passcode. The option for upgrades is in the
help tab.
30,000 STOCKS !!!
Imagine having immediate insight on 30,000 stocks! Most other investment
software packages allow you to retrieve 20 or so quotes from Dow Jones or
Dial/DATA and then produce elaborate graphs for you to guess at what to do next
!? Invest? Sell? Hope?
SMARTBROKER can track over 30,000 stocks, downloads quotes from Dow Jones or
Dial/DATA quickly and efficiently to save on-line cost, analyzes the data
qualitatively and quantitatively, and does what no other software has attempted
to do... Recommends what to do next and tells you how
confident it is.
You'll not only save time from having to make sense of all those confusing
charts, you'll become an expert on what to do when, why, and with what stocks.
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SmartBroker's Philosophy |
Over the last 10 years economist
have discovered and rediscovered such topics as capital asset prices, portfolio
selection, capital budgeting, efficient markets, beta factors, and so on.
The objective, often times, is to characterize stock price movements and
ultimately determine, with some degree of accuracy, investment decisions. The
truth, however, is that all activities of the stock market are primarily
reflected in recorded price movements. Price, (and to some degree volume) is
the mechanism through which economist, investors, analysts and academics study
market interactions.
Movements in investor preferences, psychological factors, technological
innovations, and the valuation of companies eventually manifest themselves to
some extent through price. Stock prices and stock price movements are the
cornerstone of all market instruments and have created the infamous stock option.
In Short:
Are you tired of
software that encourages YOU to do the work? YOU select the stocks, YOU track them,
YOU analyze them? As an Investor
short on time, you need software that manages all this for you. And, manage the whole market with visibility of all stock trends on a Monthly, Weekly or Daily basis, not
just a few. In addition, you’ll need
investment opportunities to be surfaced for you automatically, because
who’s got the time? If
that’s not enough, how’bout keeping report cards on it’s
recommendations so that you can gain real confidence in it’s abilities
before investing real money. SmartBroker
is the only package that integrates Supply and Demand Analysis,
Technical Analysis, Market Analysis, and extracts of Fundamental Analysis, and
tackles the big step of selecting
stocks for you, and suggest entry and exit points.
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Preparation & Steps |
Before you use SmartBroker software
you'll need to take a few simple steps.
1. Have all of the necessary hardware components set-up properly.
2. Install the SmartBroker program.
3. Establish an account with a data source provider.
Data Sources are available from a variety of services:
A) Web-based FTP File downloads:
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Prophet Information Services $19.95/month (PREFERRED) |
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(650-322-4183
or http://www.ProphetData.com/ProData.htm)
B) Download service: Dial/Data Services from
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Track Data Corporation $24.99/month (800-275-5544 or www.tdc.com) If you are using a download account, you will also need a local access number from AutoNet, SprintNet, and/or CompuServe. You can obtain these access numbers from Dial/Data Services. |
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C) Any ASCII exported file (below is just to name a few):
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Telechart 2000 $29.75/month (800-776-4940 or www.tc2000.com) |
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Telescan QuoteLink $29.95/mo (DOS; non-WinModems) (800-324-8246) |
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(http://www.telescan.com:80/Telescan_Prod_DataDownloader.htm)
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PC Quotes $75/mo(http://www.pcquote.com/pcwnew/hyperfeed.html) |
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Signal CableSoft-Livewire (http://www.livewire-cablesoft.com) |
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4. Configure SmartBroker software to run on your particular PC by:
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Open General Configuration and complete entries |
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Open Communications,...then Preferences,...then make any necessary changes to each setting. |
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5. Download and Process 5 periods of quotes (weekends or monthly).
REASON: SmartBroker requires 5 continuous stock quotes to operate properly.
Once 5 quotes of data is captured, on the next download, a new quote is added
and the oldest quote is dropped. SmartBroker will always maintain the last 5
quotes of data.
You may update your stock list, view reports, update your responses to environmental questions and run new analyses anytime you
like.
SmartBroker has 2 modes of execution:
normal, and
autopilot mode.
Below is a quick explanation of Autopilot
mode:
AUTOPILOT MODE !!
SmartBroker has an "autopilot" mode which allows all sequence of
operations to occur automatically.
If you are using ascii text files for the quote source, you must first select
the quote file before the autopilot sequence can begin. In this mode of usage,
you start the autopilot sequence from the top menu selection under
"files".
If dialing to download quotes individually, the autopilot mode can also be set
by simply typing '\autopilot' or '\auto' after the name of the program. In
autopilot mode, two files SBDATA.SBF and SBSTKLST.SBF will be copied for backup
protection to SBDATABK.SBF and SBLISTBK.SBF respectively.
THINGS TO CONSIDER...
USING MARGINS - Using margins is synonymous with using credit. Margin customers
must keep securities or cash as collateral on deposit with their brokers.
However, options, unlike stocks, cannot be bought on credit. By using the margin
loan, one will have more to invest and possibly yield a greater return. The
temporary use of the loan is often attractive when the investor is looking to
close (or sell his position) in a relatively short period of time.
TAX CONSIDERATIONS - Tax ramifications can be quite expensive in option and/or
stock trading. It cannot be emphasized too strongly that the investor
considering options should consult with his tax adviser before engaging in an
option transaction.
COMMISSIONS - The impact of commissions on your profits is usually greater for
options than for underlying securities. Commissions are especially significant
in option strategies calling for multiple purchases and sales of options, such
as spreads and straddles. Always discuss commissions with your (human) broker
before engaging in options transactions. Be sure, when receiving an estimated
percent return or in discussing your break-even point that your commission
costs are included in your discussion.
WHAT MAKES A RECOMMENDATION ATTRACTIVE...
In three words..., ROI, Time (before expiration), and Investment Amount - all
of which are presented in the Stock Candidates Report. Look for the highest
Potential first, then look to see how much time the recommended option has
remaining, finally determine how much you can invest. Take note of the
confidence level provided for each forecast; you might also view the quote file
to observe where the particular stock is relative to its recent high and low.
Research these stocks. Only buy when stocks appear in the "Act Now"
Report! Tell your broker that you have a "SmartBroker" that
recommended the ones you are about to discuss.
By hitting the large "Review Stocks" button or using the
Files...Analyze Stocks... top menu selection, you enter the most critical
module of the SmartBroker software. This is the module that, when all preceding
modules have been attended to, will provide you with great insight and clear
recommendations regarding how you might consider investing in the stocks you
are tracking. The ultimate objective is to generate a Act-Now
Report that will highlight stocks with profit potential and offer a
recommendation on how you might invest in particular stocks or stock option.
After selecting "Analyze Stocks...", a second menu allows you to
choose the level of interaction you would like
to have with SmartBroker. Once a level is chosen, you are then asked if you
want to analyze a particular stock. If you do, you check "Yes" and
the letters of the stock symbols you are interested in at the next inquiry. If
you select Level 3 then you are asked whether or not you want to generate a new
Candidates Stock Report. If so, you will replace your previous report. If not,
your old report will remain saved.
You can also search for stocks that have a similar profile of a key reference
stock. In addition, you can restrict the price range of the entire analysis to
focus on only those stocks within your selected range.
NOTE: The first time you Analyze Stocks, you initiate a comprehensive market
scan of all stocks. A summary of new highs... and new lows...will be provided,
as well as other market summary information.
NOTE: The '+' and '-' in front of some stock symbols indicate that the current
price either exceeds (+) or is below (-) the "normal" trading range
for that stock. This is provided to you just to alert you of some symbols to
watch. SmartBroker will be watching these as well.
NOTE: SmartBroker will not recommend or allow you to analyze in full, stocks
that have severely abnormal price swings. "Severely abnormal" is
defined as: having a standard deviation greater than any price within the 5
period trend, or, any price greater than the average price plus 3 times the
standard deviation, or, any price less than the average price minus 3 times the
standard deviation, or, any price greater than 150% of the average price, or,
any price less than 50% of the average price. Sometimes, stock splits occur,
which can make price trends look superficially good, or superficially bad.
SmartBroker protects against these occurrences.
Each stock must have the full 5 stock prices and volumes to be analyzed. If
less than 5 quotes of data is in your file for a particular stock, that stock
will be ignored.
Additional Feature:
The Market Summary provides a look at the past
as well as an estimate of the immediate future. A confidence % for the immediate future
trend is provided in a hint line as the cursor is placed over the volume
graph. The confidence % is a result
of the best of 59 different correlations with past projections.
Additional Feature:
You can also search for stocks that have a similar profile of a
key reference stock. In addition,
you can restrict the price range of the entire analysis to focus on only those
stocks within your selected range.
SmartBroker offers three levels of interaction. Here is a closer look at what
each level provides:
Level
1
(For the investor who wants to see what SmartBroker sees in its analysis)
Provides the greatest amount of detail regarding the SmartBroker analysis. You
must hit the "next" key in order to continue. Selecting Stop, then
Close will allow you to exit at any time. A trend graph is displayed along with
various statistical parameters and interpretative comments on the stocks
5-quote trend. Hitting "Get Summary" displays summarizations, and in
some cases, tables to give you more information regarding each stock and stock
option profit making potential.
Various stock investment strategies are offered for your consideration as
appropriate. You are not allowed to erase your existing Recommendations Report
or generate a new report in this level. You can only generate a new
Recommendations Report in level 3.
Level
2
(For the investor who wants to view what SmartBroker sees in its analysis, but
not be required to hit a key to continue)
Same as Level 1 except you do not interact with the computer to continue. You
may determine the relative amount of pause time for each screen by selecting a
number from
Level
3
(For the investor who only has time for the bottom-line)
Level 3 bypasses the task of displaying its technical analysis and produces the
"Stock Candidates" report. The Stock Candidates report is the first
report listed in the View Reports option. If you said "Yes" to the
question "Generate a new recommendations report?" the information
generated on the screen with confidence levels of 60% or higher, is also being
saved on your disk. You may view or print this information anytime by using the
"View Reports" selection either on the main
form or in the Master Top Menu.
Additional Feature:
SmartBroker’s Market Summary provides
graphs that are color-keyed to re-emphasize which direction the market is
moving, and how strongly it’s moving there. Red,
downward sloping Advance/Decline curves tell you the market is experiencing
downward pressure regardless of any short-term rises. In addition, an historic slope plot is
provided to keep track of how this slope has changed over time.
When the
slope trend begins to turn-around, this represents one of the greatest
opportunities in the entire Stock Market game and SmartBroker will make sure
you are aware of this unique opportunity by changing the slope trend
chart’s color (as below).
Another color change occurs, as well, when peaks begin to turn and head
south.
Green, upward sloping Advance/Decline curves tell
you the market is experiencing upward pressure regardless of any short-term
drops. In fact, this is an example
of a strong upward opportunity.
Hints appear, when placing the cursor over the slope plot to further
elaborate on the current status.
Therefore, the resulting color chart
changes are indicators of market trend/slope changes (not market changes). Market trend shift information is not
readily available to general analyst.
The trend or slope change of the market, combined with the next-level up
trend, and the current market position is a very fruitful combination.
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Your chosen
frequency for running SmartBroker |
Next-UP Frequency
(consider also running) |
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Daily |
Weekly |
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Weekly |
Monthly |
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Monthly |
Quartery |
The market wants to go in the direction
of the next-level up trend, especially if it is “overdue” (e.g. low
when trend is up, or vice versa.
However, it still wants to go in the direction of next-level up trend if
current slope is also in same direction. Basically:
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Current Market Position |
Next-Up Level Trend |
Current Slope - Interim |
Slope Change |
Likely Results |
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Low |
Up |
Up |
Turning Up |
Market Heads UP |
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Low |
Down |
Up |
Turning Up |
Short-term rise |
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Low |
Up |
Down |
Turning Up |
Market Heads UP |
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Low |
Down |
Down |
Turning Up |
n/a |
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High |
Up |
Up |
Turning Up |
Market Heads UP |
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High |
Down |
Up |
Turning Up |
n/a |
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High |
Up |
Down |
Turning Up |
n/a |
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High |
Down |
Down |
Turning Up |
n/a |
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Low |
Up |
Up |
Turning Down |
n/a |
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Low |
Down |
Up |
Turning Down |
n/a |
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Low |
Up |
Down |
Turning Down |
n/a |
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Low |
Down |
Down |
Turning Down |
Market Heads Down |
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High |
Up |
Up |
Turning Down |
n/a |
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High |
Down |
Up |
Turning Down |
Market Heads Down |
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High |
Up |
Down |
Turning Down |
Short-term lowering |
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High |
Down |
Down |
Turning Down |
Market Heads Down |
Below is a graph of the market trend (or
slope); not of the market. The red and
green indicators on the chart below are actual indicators against actual trend
slopes. Significant profit
potential exists when you know when the trend in the market is turning, versus
just knowing when the market is moving from up to down or vice versa. As you can see from below, SmartBroker
is amazingly accurate in this regard.
Additional Feature:
You can also allow SmartBroker to share
information between folders. If you
are running SB on a daily basis, it’s also recommended you run SB on a
weekly basis in a different folder.
Similarly, if you primarily run on a weekly basis, consider also running
on a Monthly basis in a different folder, and the same with Monthly and
Quarterly. The general trend of
your wider interval folder (say Weekly folder) can further validate the trend
in the tighter interval folder (Daily folder). You make this connection by using
the feature under Preferences below.
This is a one-time process.
The graph in the Market Summary which depicts future trend profile will
change in color based on the trend within the wider interval folder…
Upward slope > 10% Green Profile; Downward slope <
-10% Red Profile, and unclear Trend Blue
Profile.
You can filter the stocks you view in two ways:
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Launching the Stock Strainer in "Review Stocks" function, or |
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Setting standard filters in the Preferences--General Configuration drop down option. |
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Stock
Strainer
After entering the Review Stocks option, you will see a set of search options with
each having a check box for you to select. One of these options allow you to
launch a Stock Strainer. The Stock Strainer allows you to specify any one of
combination of the following parameters:
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NYSE only |
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NASDAQ only |
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Price Attributes: |
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-
Upward Trend
- Downward Trend
- Aggressive Incline
- Aggressive Decline
- High Volatility
- Stable Drift
* Minimum Price
* Maximum Price
* Recent Price % change (Lower limit and Upper Limit)
- Likely Downward Split
- V shaped price curve
- ^ shaped price curve
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Volume Attributes |
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Minimum Volume (in thousands)
- Maximum Volume (in thousands)
- option to apply volume restrictions to all data points
* Recent Price % change (Lower limit and Upper Limit)
- option to select "Actively Traded" where
SmartBroker will only select high volume stocks
In addition, you may save a setting or delete settings that you have saved in
the past. You have a total of 12 settings you can save. To delete settings, hit
the "Del" button to change the drop-down list to select those
settings you want to delete. After selecting a setting, hit OK to delete.
If you have
entered into the Analysis function and allowed the Market Summary to build prior
to launching the Stock Strainer, you may receive a note on previous effective
strategies which were observed when conditions similar to current existed. This can be an invaluable reminder of
what settings to search for, given that these past strategies were most
effective under current similar conditions.
Additional
Feature:
SmartBroker
can review your entire database and recommend or build settings automatically
which include Short-term Gain stocks, Long-term Gain stocks, Short-term Short
stocks, and Long-term Short stocks.
These settings are based on your current database and are pre-built for
the user's convenience.
Additional
Feature:
After
building stock settings for the user, SmartBroker also provides a report which
list the top gainers and losers in the database that helped produce the
settings. These stocks are not
recommended for investment, but are provided as segment representative stocks
that the user may choose to review for commonality. The gainer stocks may represent an
attractive segment, and the looser stocks may represent an unattractive segment. The user decides if a common segment is
represented.
Preferences
-- General Configuration
In the General Configuration option, you may select any one of 45
restriction filters. It is recommended that you use GEN. RECOMMENDATIONS mostly,
because this selection, in effect, has no filtering. Only specific analysis
should use filters.
ANALYSIS RESTRICTION:
Below is a brief summary of 45 different analysis restrictions available for
your use. The {=, ** or #} are explained later below.
GEN. RECOMMENDATIONS
all stocks evaluated
CALL OPPORTUNITIES =
stocks which were recommended to buy call options
"NEW BIRTH" STOCKS
low priced stocks with explosive volume potential
UPWARD TRACK any stock with average slope >= 0
DOWNWARD TRACK any stock with average slope < 0
MATERIALS STK GRP (self-explanatory)
CONSUMER STK GRP self-explanatory)
ENERGY STK GRP (self-explanatory)
FINANCE STK GRP (self-explanatory)
INDUSTRIAL STK GRP (self-explanatory)
TECHNOLOGY STK GR(self-explanatory)
UTILITY STK GRP (self-explanatory)
OTHER STK GRP (self-explanatory)
HILL/VALLEY POSITION price peak or valley and the magnitude of the last volume
slope is less than 120% of each of the previous
MOST VOLATILE STOCKS #
largest std deviation, but with avgslopes >1 and <4
OVER-PRICED STOCKS #
highest stock prices relative to normal price range with decreasing volume
activity
GREATEST LAST DROPS # (self-explanatory)
GREATEST LAST RISES # (self-explanatory)
BARGAIN BUYS #
low prices stocks within 15% of trading range and with sudden interest in
volume activity
MOST ACTIVELY TRADED #
highest volume
KEY STOCK CATEGORIES # ** (only if stock list is
greater than 20)
S.T. DROP CANDIDATES #
highest recent price, and price range is greater than 25, and is in the 70%+
range of its price range, and price is greater than 50 and volume is not high.
This stock is also categorized as "HillTop" and there is no sudden
interest in volume activity.
RECENT SHARP TURNS #
biggest price swing reversal
CURRENT VOLUME PEAKS (self-explanatory)
ASSERTIVE INCLINES #
greatest average slope (+)
ASSERTIVE DECLINES #
least average slope (-)
MAX %$ MOVEMENT #
(self-explanatory)
GREATEST NEW LOWS #
greatest new lows by more than 1
GREATEST NEW HIGHS #
greatest new highs by more than 1
PROBABLE SPLITS #
greatest gap between highest and current price, and where historic highest has
exceeded 50.
SELL SHORT STOCKS #
falling stocks >$5 and <$7.5
LEAST TRADED STOCKS #
lowest volume
ACTIVE STKS UNDER $1 # (self-explanatory)
SUDDEN INTEREST STKS
(sudden upturn in volume activity)
SUDDEN DISINTEREST #
(sudden downturn in volume)
UNSUPPORTED MOVEMENT #
(price fluxuation unsupported by volume activity)
MOST EXPENSIVE # (self-explanatory)
CHEAPEST STOCKS # (self-explanatory)
SBROKER SUGGESTIONS #
(Best stock potential for 3,000 - 10,000 shares of ownership)
DROP FROM ANNUAL HIGH # (self-explanatory)
RISE FROM ANNUAL LOW # (self-explanatory)
MAX DAY HI-LO SWINGS # (self-explanatory)
SUSPECT DATA STOCKS
(self-explanatory)
HI APPRECIATION SCORES # (self-explanatory)
HI DEPRECIATION SCORES # (self-explanatory)
** Key stock categories. The most traded stocks that are also most volatile are
highlighted.
NOTE: The '+' or '-' in front of stock symbols indicate that the current price
either exceeds (+) or is below (-)the "normal" trading range for that
stock.
# Prioritized listing (selected in priority order). SmartBroker will scan all
stocks for these selections.
= Run in level 3 mode only.
MINIMUM FORECAST (ROI %): 1..50
Set the percent level that must be met or exceeded between current and
forecasted prices, in order to be considered for recommendation.
After you download quotes and process them, you will need to develop a new
report of "Key Categories" to get the full use of SmartBroker.
You can Establish Key Categories by using the drop down menu option under
Communications/Quotes or by changing the setting in the Preferences...General
Set-up Options, under the Restriction drop box. Select KEY STOCK CATEGORIES. In
addition, you can restrict the price range of the entire analysis to focus on
only those stocks within your interest.
In Autopilot Mode, this report is produced automatically.
If you have already produced this report, a message alerting you of this fact
will be displayed.
The Key Categories report is important because it looks at all the stocks you
are tracking and ranks then according to the following categories:
MOST VOLATILE
MOST TRADED
LEAST TRADED
GREATEST LAST RISE
GREATEST LAST DROP
MAX % MOVEMENT
PROBABLE SPLITS
SELL SHORTERS
SHARP TURNS
ASSERTIVE INCLINES
ASSERTIVE DECLINES
NEW HIGHS
NEW LOWS
ACTIVE UNDER $1
BARGAIN BUYS
UNSPTD MVMNT (Unsupported Movement)
OVERPRICED STOCKS
DROP CANDID. (Drop Candidates)
SUDDEN INTEREST
SUDDEN DISINTEREST
SBROKER SUGGEST (SmartBroker Suggestions)
Additionally, SmartBroker will read this report, assign weights to each category,
and summarize by providing a list of:
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Stocks likely to RISE at the 2nd sign of optimism and, |
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Stocks likely to FALL at the first sign of pessimism. |
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These summaries are complimentary and DO NOT include "SmartBroker
Suggestions".
Additional Feature:
An
additional report which list the top 15 stocks in each category horizontally
is produced for users who want to quickly copy and paste symbols into a browser
for additional research or brokerage account tracking.
The following reports are available for viewing:
New Stock Candidates - these stocks will be transferred to Bargain or
Overpriced Tracking Reports until their peak or valley is verified.
Forecast Report Card - the report card that SmartBroker keeps on itself.
A new report card is initiated every 5 months.
Recommendation Report Card II - captures the forecast accuracy of only
those stocks selected for stock play recommendations. Summary information is
available for the later half of each month that is 4 months old. This report
maintains information for up to 5 months.
Historic Recommendations Report Card - this file captures forecast
accuracy from both the Forecast Report Card and the Recommendation Report Card
II.
Stock Quotes - the data sent by the data source/file which comprises
stock quote information.
Stock Data File - the 5 quotes for each stock that SmartBroker uses to
establish its trend analysis.
Stock Symbol/Company List - the list of stock symbols and associated
companies that you are tracking.
News - Dow Jones news file of reported headlines on recommended stocks.
You can assign any text file to view here by naming the file SBnews.sbf.
Traders Dictionary - a listing of key trader's terms.
Key Stock Categories
Stock Bargain Report - the report that tracks candidate stocks until their
"price floor" is determined.
Special Stock Bargain Report - the report that tracks "tagged"
candidate stocks until their "price floor" is determined. You can tag
special stocks by placing a "*" at the end of the company name. This
is useful for example, when identifying stocks which offer OPTIONS or LEAPS.
Stock OverPriced Report - the report that tracks candidate stocks until
their "price ceiling" is determined.
Special Stock OverPriced Report - the report that tracks
"tagged" candidate stocks until their "price ceiling" is
determined. You can tag special stocks by placing a "*" at the end of
the company name. This is useful for example, when identifying stocks which
offer OPTIONS or LEAPS.
"Act Now" Report - the report that highlights stocks to buy/sell.
Sell-Short Stock News Headlines - you can download news (if any exist)
on the stocks recommended for sell-short consideration listed in your Key
Categories report.
Traders Glossary - list of key terms.
Top 15 by Category - Same as Key Categories, but limited to 15 (versus
20) stocks, and listed horizontally for easy cut/paste when using the search
features.
Most
Volatile Over Time -
tracks and reports most volatile/day stocks.
Your Stock
Strainer Settings -
stocks that meet your stored strainer settings.
Suggested
Segment Research - this
is a partial list of top gainers and losers that SmartBroker reviewed to
establish pre-built settings for the user in the Stock Strainer feature.
DAY TRADE CANDIDATE LOG – The biggest problem for Day Traders is in
working with the wrong stocks.
SmartBroker extracts “good fit” stock candidates for Day
Trading and places them in a special report for your convenience.
… and don’t worry about
duplicates… When
you view a report, duplicates in the Best Strategies report and the Day Traders
Candidates Log will be removed.
Additional Feature:
SmartBroker Reports literally read each other, thus making for a
truly integrated application.
Reports, upon creation or update read and extract information from other
reports. The Bargain and the
Over-priced report, for example, extracts symbols from the 6-month report card,
the settings report, the key categories report, and the new stock categories
report just to name a few.
Additional Feature:
You can alter the color of most screens (both background and font
text color) by using the change color option under Tools.
If you've updated you 5-week quote file, or your ACT-NOW report, then you will
be prompted as to whether you want to update your report cards. YOU SHOULD
UPDATE YOUR REPORT CARDS IF PROMPTED.
SmartBroker keeps track of the information it provides to you in three report
cards:
1. Forecast Report Card -
2. Recommendation Report Card II -
3. Historic Report Card -
Forecast Report Card -
The initiation of a new report card occurs automatically every 5 months and
will monitor the forecast of SmartBroker for the life of that report card (5
months). During the 4th month, a message informing you that next month will be
the last for this report card cycle will appear throughout the duration of that
month. The purpose of this message is to provide you the opportunity to
view/print the report card before the fifth month occurs, during which time the
last five months of data is erased and a new report card is initiated.
The Forecast and Recommendation report card lists :
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date of initiation, |
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stock symbol, |
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forecasted trend (either Up or Down), |
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price when the stock was initiated, |
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long-term forecasted price (within 6 months) of the stock, |
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lowest quote to date, |
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highest quote to date, |
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a grade. |
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The FORECAST REPORT CARD is a useful tool that enables you to watch the
accuracy grow as time passes before actually putting your money on the line.
After watching SmartBroker Forecast Accuracy reach 75-80% several times, you'll
build confidence in SmartBrokers' ability to accurately forecast stock prices.
Recommendation Report Card II -
The Recommendation Report Card II is similar to the Forecast Report Card except
it only captures information on those stocks recommended, versus all stocks
tracked. Additional "investment efficiency" information is provided
for the first month of this ReportCard as well as the entire ReportCard.
NOTE: While both report cards are automatically timed and maintain information
for a fixed cycle of time, both may be reinstated to scrap all previous
information and initiate a new cycle. To forcefully initiate a new cycle, use
the top menu: Files...then, Replace Existing Reports.
Historic Report Card -
The Historic Report Card keeps an historic record of the accuracy of
SmartBroker's forecast ability as reported by both Forecast Report Card and
Recommendation Report Card II. At the end of each report period, this report is
appended.
The critical data files Required for SmartBroker are described below:
SBCFwin.SBF: Configuration parameters.
SBSTKLST.SBF : The list of stock symbols being tracked and company
descriptions.
SBQUOTES.SBF : The downloaded data received from your data source account.
SBQ1.SBF : The numeric answers to the environmental questions.
SBRESULT.SBF : The Stock Candidates report generated by SmartBroker.
SBDATA.SBF : The 5-quote stock trend data that is kept updated at each run.
SBRECORD.SBF & SBRECRD.SBF : Forecast Report Card files.
SBRECOMD.SBF & SBRECMD.SBF : Recommendation Report Card II files.
SBHIST.SBF : Historic Report Card file.
SBFINAL.SBF : Stock "Act Now" report.
SBARGAIN.SBF : The Stock Bargain Tracking Report.
SBOPRICE.SBF : The Over Priced Stock Tracking Report.
SBLEAPUP.SBF : The SPECIAL Stock Bargain Tracking Report.
SBLEAPDN.SBF : The SPECIAL Over Priced Stock Tracking Report.
SBAUTOPI.SBF : Autopilot file.
SBNEWS.SBF : Dow Jones News Headline file.
SBDICT.SBF : Trader's Dictionary.
SBVOLRPT.SBF : Most volatile report.
SBSETTNG.sbf :
Output from your stored strainer settings.
SBHWORK.SBF :
Suggested homework for segment commonality.
SBNFU.SBF :
Used in main program to hold the path of the folder with the next wider
interval between runs. Trend slope
information is shared between SB folders.
ST.SBF : Holds
setting which determines if Tips
is on or off.
SBSLOPE.SBF :
Stores overall slope of advance/decline trends. Feeds into the scoring of stocks.
RF.SBF : Sets the
range of the overall report card prices relative to their historic high and low
ranges and can limit final recommendations if ranges are too high or too low.
AVGAIN.SBF :
Information from the SB Recommended Settings routine used in the Bargain Report
for adjusting “act now” recommendations.
SBDTLOG.SBF:
Day Trading Candidate Log (only produced if you run Smartbroker on a daily
basis).
Advance-Decline Line
Each day's number of declining issues is subtracted from the number of
advancing issues. The net difference is added to a running sum if the difference
is positive or subtracted from the running sum if the difference is negative.
Annuity
A contract where the buyer (annuitant) pays a sum of money to receive regular
payments for life or a fixed period of time.
Arbitrage
The simultaneous purchase and sale of two different, but closely related items
to a take advantage of a disparity in their prices.
Artificial Intelligence
The field of computer science dedicated to producing programs that attempt to
mimic the processes of the human brain.
Associated Person (AP)
An individual who solicits orders, customers or customer funds (or who
supervises persons so engaged) on behalf of an FCM, IB, CTA or CPO.
AT-THE-MONEY -
A term that says the market price of the stock is the same as the strike price
of the option.
Average Annual Return
The rate of return which, if compounded over the duration of the track record,
would yield the cumulative gain or loss actually produced during that period.
Back-end Load
The fee paid when withdrawing money from a fund.
Back-Testing
The process of testing a trading strategy on historical data.
Bankers' Acceptances (BAs)
Short-term, non-interest-bearing notes sold at a discount and redeemed at
maturity for full face value. Primarily used to finance foreign trade.
Basis Point
Term used to describe amount of change in yield. One hundred basis points equal
1 percent.
Bear Market
A sustained period of falling stock prices usually preceding or accompanied by
a period of poor economic performance known as a recession. The opposite of a
bull market.
Beta
Term used to describe the price volatility of securities. Standard & Poor's
500 Index is assigned a beta of one. Anything with a beta above one is considered
to be more volatile than the Index; anything below one has less volatility than
the S&P Index.
Boolean
Describes a variable that may have one of only two possible values: true or
false. After George Boolean, English logician credited with the
invention of "Boolean Logic."
Breakaway Gap
The movement of price into a new range that leaves an area on a chart at which
no trading occurred.
Breakout--
The point when the market price moves out of the trend channel.
Bull Market
A stock market that is characterized by rising prices over a long period of
time. The time span is not precise, but it represents a period of investor
optimism,lower interest rates, and economic growth. The opposite of a bear
market.
Call option
A contract that gives the buyer of the option the right, but not the
obligation, to take delivery of the underlying security at a specific price
within a certain time.
Call Price
The price of a call option.
Cancel (or Straight Cancel)
An instruction to disregard an order which you previously entered, but no
longer want.
Cancel/Replace
Instructs the broker to cancel an existing order and place instead a new order
which has adjustments made in the price, action, quantity, and/or duration. You
may not change the month or commodity in a cancel/replace.
Candlestick Charts--
A charting method, originally from Japan, in which the high and low are plotted
as a single line and are referred to as shadows. The price range between the
open and the close is plotted as a narrow rectangle and is referred to as the
body. If the close is above the open, the body is white. If the close is below
the open, the body is black.
Commodity Pool Operator (CPO)
An individual or organization which operates or solicits funds for a commodity
pool.
Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA)
An individual or organization who, for compensation or profit, directly or
indirectly advises others as to the value of or the advisability of buying or
selling futures contracts or commodity options.
Correction--
Any price reaction within the market leading to an adjustment by as much as
one-third to two-thirds of the previous gain.
Covered Call Writer --
If an investor owns at least an equal number of shares of the underlying stock
as the number of shares on which he has written calls, he is said to be a
covered call writer.
Curve-Fitting--
Developing complicated rules that map known conditions.
Disregard Tape (DRT)
A DRT order is a market order which gives the floor broker the discretion to
delay the execution of a market order if he believes he can execute the order
at a better price by so doing. DRT orders are accepted on a "not
held" basis only.
Durbin-Watson Statistic--
The probability that first order correlation exists. With a range of 0 and 4.
the closer to 2.0. the lower the probability is.
Efficient Market Theory --
All known information is already discounted by the market and reflected in the
price due to market participants acting upon the information.
Elliott Wave Theory
A pattern recognition technique published by Ralph N. Elliott in 1939, which
holds that the stock market follows a rhythm or patten of five waves up with 3
waves down in a bull market and five waves down with three waves up in a bear
market to form a complete cycle of eight waves.
Evening Star Pattern--
The bearish counterpart of the morning star pattern; a top reversal, it should
be acted on if it arises after an uptrend.
Ex-Dividend Date
The date on which stock is sold without dividend. Under the five-day delivery
plan, buyers of the stock on the fourth business day preceding the stockholder
of record date will not receive the declared dividend.
Exercise Price
Amount for which shares can be bought or sold under the option.
Expert Systems--
Dynamic but not adaptable. expert systems are rule-driven systems that cannot
learn as the result of new information being fed into its system as opposed to
neural networks, which can.
Fair Values--
The theoretical prices generated by an option pricing model (i.e.. the Black-Scholes
option pricing model).
Fast Fourier Transform--
A method by which to decompose data into a sum of sinusoids of varying
cycle length, with each cycle being a fraction of a common fundamental cycle
length.
Front-End Load
A sales charge for buying into a mutual fund. The sales charge typically
can run as high as 4.0 to 8.5 percent and legally can be 9.0 percent or more.
Fill or Kill (FOK)
A Fill or Kill order instructs the broker to bid (to buy) or offer (to
sell) at your specified price (which should be at or near the current market)
and to immediately cancel the order if it is unable to be filled.
Fire--(verb)
In expert system programming, ordinarily used to describe the
"triggering" or "activation" of a rule. A rule is
"fired," "triggered" or "activated" when its
conditions have been met, and its "consequents" (resultant facts) are
added to the knowledge base.
Floor Broker (FB)
An individual who executes any orders for the purchase or sale of any
commodity futures or options contract on any contract market for any other
person.
Floor Trader (FT)
An individual who executes trades for the purchase or sale of any commodity
futures or options contract on any contract market for such individual's own
account.
Fundamental Analysis--
The analytical method by which only the sales, earnings and the value of a
given tradable's assets may be considered.
Fundamentals--
The theory that holds that stock market activity may be predicted by
looking at the relative data and statistics of a stock as well as the
management of the company in question and its earnings.
Fuzzy Systems--
A problem-solving method that can be applied to neutral networks, expert
systems and other computing methods. Fuzzy systems process inexact information
inexactly and describe ambiguity rather than the uncertainty of an occurrence.
Gap --
A day in which the daily range is completely above or below the previous
day' s daily range.
GNMA (Government National Mortgage Ass'n)
IN-THE-MONEY -
Simply another way of saying that the option has some intrinsic value.
Introducing Broker (IB)
An individual or organization that solicits or accepts orders to buy or
sell futures contracts or commodity options but does not accept money or other
assets from customers to support such orders.
Knowledge Base--
In artificial intelligence, a given inventory of knowledge specific to a
set of rules.
Leverage
The use of borrowed money with invested funds to increase returns. The effect
is to magnify profits or losses and increase the amount of risk.
Limit
A limit order stipulates a price which the filling broker must equal or better
in the execution of your order.
Limit Order
An order to buy or sell when a trade in the market occurs at a
pre-determined price.
Limit Up, Limit Down
Exchange restrictions on the maximum upward or downward movement permitted
in the price for a commodity during any trading session.
Load
A portion of the offering price that goes toward selling costs such as sales
commissions and distribution.
Locked Limit
A market that, if not restricted, would seek price equilibrium outside the
limit, but instead moves to the limit and ceases to trade.
MACD - Moving Average Convergence/Divergence
The difference between two exponentially smoothed moving averages of
different length (often 12 and 24 period). Technicians often use the crossing
of this value over the zero line to signal buying or selling opportunities.
Macro
A computer method commonly used in spreadsheets to automate repetitive steps by
recording necessary keystrokes. The macro can then be run and the keystrokes
will be implemented.
Management Fee
The amount paid to the administrator and or management company (who may
also serve as an investment advisor) for services rendered to the fund and
included in the expense ratio.
Margin
In stock trading, an account in which purchase of stock may be financed with
borrowed-money, in futures trading, the deposit placed with the clearing house
to assure fulfillment of the contract. This amount varies with market
volatility and is settled in cash.
Margin Call
A demand by the lender of a margin loan that the borrower repay all or a
portion of the loan.
Market if Touched (MIT)
An MIT becomes a market order if and when the market hits a price specified
by you. Like limit orders, buy MITs are entered at or below the current market
and sell MITs are entered at or above the current price. Unlike limit orders,
there are no limitations placed on the floor broker as to fill price - he will
execute your order at the best available price, the same as any market order.
Market on Close (MOC)
An MOC order is a market order which can only be filled within the closing
range.
Market on Open Only (OO)
An open only order us a market order which must be executed within the
official opening range of prices.
Market Order
A market order does not specify a price; rather, it instructs the filling
broker to execute your order at the best price available on receipt.
Maximum Adverse Excursion
An historical measure of the maximum amount by which closed winning trades
have gone against you.
Maximum Drawdown (or Largest Cumulative Decline)
The largest cumulative percentage (peak-to-valley) decline in capital of a
trading account or portfolio. This measurement of risk identifies the
worst-case scenario for a managed futures investment within a time period.
Momentum--
A time series representing change of today's price from some fixed number of
days back in history.
Multiple Linear Regression--
More than one independent variable is used to account for the variability
in one dependent variable.
N.A.V.
Net asset value of shares. The total market value of an investment company's
shares - securities, cash, and any accrued earnings - minus its liabilities,
divided by the number of shares outstanding.
Neural Network--
An artificial intelligence program that is capable of learning through a
training process of trial and error.
Odd Lot
The usual amount when buying shares of stock is 100 shares (a round lot). When
you buy fewer than 100 shares it is called an odd lot.
One-Tailed T-Test--
A statistical test of significance for a distribution that changes its
shape as N gets smaller: based on a variable t equal to the difference between
the mean of the sample and the mean of the population divided by a result
obtained by dividing the standard deviation of the sample by the square root of
the number of individuals in the sample.
Open Interest --
refers to the purchase or sale commitments that remain unliquidated. When
open interest is high, a great many traders are holding firm to their positions
or entering into new positions; when these traders decide to compromise and
sell, the open interest is reduced.
Options Expiration
Third Friday of the month shown
Or Better Close Only
This is a limit order which is valid only during the closing range.
Order Cancels Order (OCO)
Also called One Cancels the Other This order consists of two separate buy
or sell instructions to the filling broker who will execute whichever portion
of the order he is first able to and then automatically cancel the alternate
instruction.
OUT-OF-THE-MONEY -
If the strike price is higher than the market value of the option.
Outlier--
A value removed from the other values to such an extreme that its presence
cannot be attributed to the random combination of chance causes.
Overbought/Oversold Indicators--
An indicator that attempts to define when prices have moved too far and too
fast in either direction and thus are vulnerable to a reaction.
Overfitting--
The parameters of a trading system are selected to return the highest profit
over the historical data.
Over-the-Counter
The nationwide network of brokers/dealers who buy and sell securities that,
for the most part, are not listed on an exchange.
Parameter--
A variable, set of data, or rule that establishes a precise format for a model.
Program Trading--
Trades based on signals from computer programs. Usually entered directly
from the trader' s computer to the market's computer system.
R-Squared--
The percentage of variation in the dependent variable that is explained by
the regression equation. A relative measure of fit.
Price/Earnings Ratio (P.E.)
The price of the stock, divided by earnings per share reported over the
last four quarters.
Put Option
The right, but not the obligation, to sell shares at the exercise price on
or before the expiration date.
Put Price
Price of a "put" option.
Random Walk--
A theory that says there is no sequential correlation between prices from
one day to the next, that prices will act unpredictably as they seek a level in
response to supply and demand.
Rate of Return
According to CFTC Regulation 4.21 (a)(4)(ii)(F) is calculated by dividing
the net performance for the month or quarter by the net asset value at the
beginning of the period.
Relative Strength Index--
An indicator invented by J. Welles Wilder and used to ascertain
overbought/oversold and divergent situations.
Repurchase Agreement (repo)
A financial transaction in which one party purchases securities for cash
and a second party simultaneously agrees to buy them back in the future at
specified terms.
Resistance--
A price level at which rising prices have stopped rising and either moved
sideways or reversed direction: usually seen as a price chart pattern.
Saucer Base --
Similar to a cup and handle formation, but the saucer base is more shallow
and rounder in shape.
Secular Trend--
Pertaining to a long indefinite period of time.
Spike --
A sharp rise in price in a single day or two; maybe as great as 15-30%,
indicating the time for an immediate sale.
SPREADS -
Involve being both the buyer and the writer (seller) of the same type of option
(puts or calls) on the same underlying stock, with the options having different
exercise prices and/or expiration dates. For example, one could buy an DEC June
35 call and sell a DEC March 35 call or even a March 30 call. This strategy can
be viewed as rolling your option equity over with time or with the change in perceived
value.
Standard Deviation--
The positive square root of the expected value of the square of the
difference between a random variable and its mean.
Sterling Ratio
(or Return to Drawdown or MAR Rado)
A rado that compares the rate of return with the worst-case loss, thus a
measurement or risk-adjusted rate of return, calculated as follows: (Annual
ROR)/(Maximum drawdown).
Stops--
Buy stops are orders that are placed at a predetermined price over the current
price of the market. The order becomes a "buy at the market" order if
the market is at or above to the price of the stop order. --Sell stops are
orders that are placed with a predetermined price below the current price.
Sell-stop orders become "Sell at the market" orders if the market trades
at or below the price of the stop order. A stop placed too close to the market
is likely to be hit resulting in small losses. A stop placed too far will
seldom be hit, but the losses will be much greater.
Stop and Reverse (SAR)--
A stop that, when hit, is a signal to reverse the current trading position.
i.e.. from long to short. Also known as reversal stop.
Stop Close Only (SCO)
A stop order which can be triggered and executed only during the market's
closing range.
Stop Limit
A variation on the simple stop, the stop limit instructs the filling broker
to fill your order at your price or better, if possible once your stop is
triggered. This gives the trader more control over his fill price. If however,
the market runs the stipulated price before the broker is able to execute it,
the order becomes a regular limit order. Then, if the market does not return to
the specified level before the order expires, the order will not be executed.
Stop Limit Close Only (SLCO)
A stop limit order which can be triggered and executed only during the
closing range.
Stop Loss--
The risk management technique in which the trade is liquidated to halt any
further decline in value.
Stop with Limit
Similar to the stop limit except that the trader must stipulate two prices
with the limit price being farther away from the current market than is the
stop price.
STRADDLES-
Straddles differ from spreads in that a straddle involves purchasing - or
selling both a put and a call on the same stock, with the same exercise price
having the same expiration date. In this way the option value can move in
either direction to be profitable, providing that the movement is great enough
to cover the cost of the straddle. The cost of the straddle may be roughly
twice either the call or the put, and the commissions would be applied to both.
So straddles are relatively safe, but very expensive.
Support--
A historical price level at which falling prices have stopped falling and
either moved sideways or reversed direction; usually seen as a price chart
pattern.
T-test--
A statistical test of significance for a distribution that changes its
shape as N gets smaller: based on a variable t equal to the difference between
the mean of the sample and the mean of the population divided by a result
obtained by dividing the standard deviation of the sample by the square root of
the number of individuals in the sample.
Technical Analysis--
A form of market analysis that studies demand and supply for securities and
commodities based on trading volume and price studies. Using charts and
modeling techniques, technicians attempt to identify price trends in a market.
Tick--
The minimum fluctuation of a tradable. For example, bonds trade in 32nds. while
most stocks trade in eighths.
Transform--
A process to change or convert. For example, a simple moving average is a
filter to reduce noise: the moving average is the transform function.
VAMI
Value-Added Monthly Index, represents the growth of $1,000 invested at the
start of the track record based on the historical monthly rates of return.
A stock option is a security giving one the right to buy or sell
a lot (100 shares) of stock. In general, the higher the price of the common
stock, the greater the value of the option. The value of the option normally
declines as the option approaches its maturity date - this occurs more often if
the stock price does not change over the life of the option.
Since SMARTBROKER's greatest advantage is its ability to recognize profitable
option plays, it may prove helpful to further explore the world of options.
MORE ABOUT OPTIONS...
The owner of an option may wish to exercise his or her right to buy or sell the
property if it is economically advantageous. For example, an option to buy a
house that you currently are renting, conveys the right to purchase that house at
a specified price - possibly a price far lower than its worth later, when it's
time to either exercise the option or let it expire. If you were to exercise
your right to buy, the seller is obligated to sell at the predetermined price,
even if the seller looses in the process.
There are two types of options, a call and a put option. A call option is used
if the associated stock price is expected to rise. Conversely, a put option is
used if the stock price is expected to fall. Both types can be equally profitable
providing that the market responds as expected.
The market price of the option is frequently called the premium. The price that
you want the stock to reach is called the strike price or exercise price and
the date of maturity is called the maturity or expiration date. American option
contracts can be exercised anytime before the maturity date.
MORE ON OPTION NOMENCLATURE...
INTRINSIC VALUE - If an option gives the right to buy a particular stock
at less than its current market value - or to sell the stock at more than its
current market value - the option is said to have intrinsic value. For example,
if the market price of IBM is $46 a share, an IBM 40 call would have intrinsic
value of $6 a share. If the stock market price was to drop to $44 then the
intrinsic value would drop to $4. If the stock price went to $39 than the
option would have no intrinsic value as it is less than the strike of $40.
However, an IBM 40 put option would have intrinsic value of $1.00.
TIME VALUE - If the option has no intrinsic value, its premium will be
entirely a reflection of what is known as time value. Time value is whatever
sum of money investors are willing to pay in hope that within the time
remaining, the option will increase in value.
IN-THE-MONEY - Simply another way of saying that the option has some
intrinsic value.
AT-THE-MONEY - A term that says the market price of the stock is the
same as the strike price of the option.
OUT-OF-THE-MONEY - If the strike price is higher than the market value of
the option as in the $39 example above, or in the case of a put, the strike
price is lower than the value of the option.
OTHER OPTION STRATEGIES...
The diverse ways in which knowledgeable investors employ options has created
"multiple option" strategies. Two of these strategies most frequently
employed are know as "spreads" and "straddles."
SPREADS - Involve being both the buyer and the writer (seller) of the
same type of option (puts or calls) on the same underlying stock, with the
options having different exercise prices and/or expiration dates. For example,
one could buy a DEC June 35 call and sell a DEC March 35 call or even a March
30 call. This strategy can be viewed as rolling your option equity over with
time or with the change in perceived value.
STRADDLES - Straddles differ from spreads in that a straddle involves
purchasing - or selling both a put and a call on the same stock, with the same
exercise price having the same expiration date. In this way the option value
can move in either direction to be profitable, providing that the movement is
great enough to cover the cost of the straddle.
The cost of the straddle may be roughly twice either the call or the put, and
the commissions would be applied to both. So straddles are relatively safe, but
expensive.
The General Configuration Set-up allows for 11 selections:
DATA SOURCE:
DJNS, Dial/Data, Prophet Information Services, Customize File Option
COMMUNICATION MODE:
Automatic, Log-On Only, Manual
Automatic - performs all communications necessary to download stock data. You
will need to have already entered and stored your password and a local access
phone number.
Log-On Only- performs automatic log-on to the data source (Dial/Data or DJNS).
Leaves user in Manual Mode after log-on is complete.
Manual - basic communications capability - no automatic transfer of data. You
will have to type all data to be transmitted. However, you can use this feature
to communicate with any service or any other computer for any purpose.
Essentially you have multi-purpose communications software when in this
mode.
PASSWORD: Enter your password to your downloadable data source here.
Your password is always protected by SmartBroker. You will never see it again,
so be sure to write it down in a special place. For Dial/Data enter both your
User ID and your password, separated by a space.
DIALING METHOD: Pulse, Tone If you have a touch tone telephone
line/modem, set this parameter to 'tone'. If you do not have touch-tone, set to
'pulse'. While tone is much faster than pulse, you can use pulse even if you do
have a touch-tone line.
ACCESS LINE: Select either Autonet, Sprintnet or CompuServe access
lines. The corresponding phone# will change accordingly.
PHONE NUMBERS: Enter the phone number of your local access line here.
ANALYSIS RESTRICTION:
Select any one of 36 different analysis restrictions. The {=, ** or #} are
explained later below.
GEN. RECOMMENDATIONS
all stocks evaluated
CALL OPPORTUNITIES =
stocks which were recommended to buy call options
"NEW BIRTH" STOCKS
low priced stocks with explosive volume potential
UPWARD TRACK any stock with average slope >= 0
DOWNWARD TRACK any stock with average slope < 0
MATERIALS STK GRP (self-explanatory)
CONSUMER STK GRP self-explanatory)
ENERGY STK GRP (self-explanatory)
FINANCE STK GRP (self-explanatory)
INDUSTRIAL STK GRP (self-explanatory)
TECHNOLOGY STK GR(self-explanatory)
UTILITY STK GRP (self-explanatory)
OTHER STK GRP (self-explanatory)
HILL/VALLEY POSITION price peak or valley and the magnitude of the last volume
slope is less than 120% of each of the previous
MOST VOLATILE STOCKS #
largest std deviation
OVER-PRICED STOCKS #
highest stock prices relative to normal price range with decreasing volume
activity
GREATEST LAST DROPS # (self-explanatory)
GREATEST LAST RISES # (self-explanatory)
BARGAIN BUYS #
low prices stocks within 15% of trading range and with sudden interest in
volume activity
MOST ACTIVELY TRADED #
highest volume
KEY STOCK CATEGORIES # ** (only if stock list is greater than 20)
S.T. DROP CANDIDATES #
highest recent price, and price range is greater than 25, and is in the 70%+
range of its price range, and price is greater than 50 and volume is not high.
This stock is also categorized as "HillTop" and there is no sudden
interest in volume activity.
RECENT SHARP TURNS #
biggest price swing reversal
CURRENT VOLUME PEAKS (self-explanatory)
ASSERTIVE INCLINES #
greatest average slope (+)
ASSERTIVE DECLINES #
least average slope (-)
MAX %$ MOVEMENT #
(self-explanatory)
GREATEST NEW LOWS #
greatest new lows by more than 1
GREATEST NEW HIGHS #
greatest new highs by more than 1
PROBABLE SPLITS #
greatest gap between highest and current price, and where historic highest has
exceeded 50.
SELL SHORT STOCKS #
falling stocks >$5 and <$7.5
LEAST TRADED STOCKS #
lowest volume
ACTIVE STKS UNDER $1 # (self-explanatory)
SUDDEN INTEREST STKS
(sudden upturn in volume activity)
SUDDEN DISINTEREST #
(sudden downturn in volume)
UNSUPPORTED MOVEMENT #
(price fluxuation unsupported by volume activity)
** Key stock categories. The most traded stocks that are also most volatile are
highlighted.
NOTE: The '+' or '-' in front of stock symbols indicate that the current price
either exceeds (+) or is below (-)the "normal" trading range for that
stock.
# Prioritized listing (selected in priority order). SmartBroker will scan all
stocks for these selections.
= Run in level 3 mode only.
NYSE STOCKS, O-T-C, OR BOTH
You may select between either NYSE stocks that are traded on the floor,or
over-the-counter stocks which are traded by market makers, or both. A brief
comparison of the two stock types is provided below.
NYSE stocks: (3 or less characters per stock symbol)
. are auctioned on the floor
. has restricted price swings
. has less risks than OTC stocks
. usually of larger companies with high capital spending.
Over-The-Counter stocks: (4 or more characters per stock symbol)
. are traded by market makers
. have potential for greater price swings
. typically have higher risks
. usually of companies with less capital spending.
MINIMUM FORECAST (%): 1..50
Set the percent level that must be met or exceeded between current and
forecasted prices, in order to be considered for recommendation. You may use
the "-" key to reduce values.
2ND CALL: NEWS, OFF
Activate the option of a second phone call to DJNS to search for news headlines
for all stock recommendations, or set to 'off'. When "key categories"
is selected and second call = News. New-Headline information for the top 10
stocks expected to fall, and top 10 expected to rise, will be captured in the
NEWS Report (and can be seen through the VIEW REPORTS Option).
In general, world events have a significant effect on stock price fluctuations.
For this reason, SmartBroker, by asking a number of questions, allows for your
input regarding world events/climate.
You will be asked 8 questions regarding domestic and world issues. You should
familiarize yourself with the answers to these questions and periodically
update.
IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU UPDATE THIS SECTION ONCE EVERY 3 MONTHS.
The questions posed are related to:
The prime interest rate
Current inflation
Economic state
Housing starts
Political control
Global relations
Domestic manufacturing production
Stock market trend in January of this year
After responding to a scale from 1 to 5, you will have the option of saving the
answers. You must input a number from 1 to 5. Answers are tabulated and
correlated as to whether they have an upward/increasing or downward/decreasing
effect on the SmartBroker stock price forecasts.
NOTE: SmartBroker will only recognize the answers to these questions when
they are saved on disk.
If you are using dial-up
capabilities:
Selecting Com Port Parameters from the Preferences menu (or
pressing <AltP>) displays the Com Port Parameters dialog box.
Use this dialog to change the communications port, baud rate, parity, data
bits, stop bits, and flow control settings of your connection.
FOR ACCESS TO DJNS or Dial/Data, USE:
Parity=Even
Data bits=7
Stop bits=1
Each option in this dialog is chosen by clicking on one of a group of radio
buttons. Current settings are denoted by the highlighted radio buttons. To
change a setting, simply click on the option you want and the selection will
change from its current value to the new value.
The Flow control check boxes determine the hardware flow control settings that
SmartBroker uses. Valid options are None, DTR/DSR, and RTS/CTS. Simply click on
the hardware flow control option that you want.
Below the hardware flow control options are the software flow control options.
At the top of this group are two checkboxes that determine which types of software
flow control are enabled. If an option is enabled, the box to the left of the
item contains a check mark. If the option is disabled, the box to the left is
empty. Click on an option to toggle its state.
Below the checkboxes are edit controls where you enter the ASCII values of the
characters that SmartBroker uses for software flow control. The default for the
XOff character is 19 (^S) and the default for the XOn character is 17 (^Q). You
can change these to any value between 0 and 255.
If you are satisfied with your parameter changes, click on the OK button or
press <Enter> and SmartBroker will close and reopen the port with the new
settings. If you don't want to make changes to the settings, click on the
Cancel button or press <Esc>.
Selecting Comm Controls & Devices from the Preferences menu displays the
device layer options dialog box.
This dialog consists of two sets of radio buttons: one for selecting the device
layer (the method that SmartBroker uses to access your serial ports) and one
for sizing the buffers that the device layer uses.
Currently, the available device layer options are COMM.DRV, the Windows
standard communications device driver, and FOSSIL, a DOS-based int 14h driver.
Select the driver you want by clicking on it.
The radio buttons on the right determine the size of the buffer that the device
layer uses. The default is 16384. Click on the buffer size that you would like
to use.
If you are satisfied with your changes to the device layer settings, click OK
or press <Enter>. If you do not want to change the device layer settings,
click Cancel or press <Esc>.
Fax
This submenu allows you to configure options for the fax features.
Conversion
When you select Conversion, the following dialog is displayed:
The 'Resolution' radio buttons allow you to choose the resolution of converted
faxes. The default resolution is Standard (200x100 dpi).
The 'Fax width' radio buttons allow you to choose the width of converted faxes.
The 'Scaling' radio buttons allow you to choose how graphics images are scaled
when converted to standard resolution faxes. Because most image files contain
images with a 1: 1 aspect ratio, and because standard resolution faxes have a
2:1 aspect ratio, SmartBroker allows you to choose options that compensate for
this. The default scaling setting is 'Double width'. This doubles the width of
converted images so that the resulting fax appears "normal." The
second option, 'Half height', halves the height of images to achieve the same
effect, however the image looks smaller than images converted with the double
width option. The 'Positioning' radio buttons determine the position of image
files on the fax page.
Graphic images can either be centered in the page or at the left edge of the
page.
The 'Margin' group allows you to specify left and top margins for converted
faxes. 'Left' is the number of pixels of margin allowed at the left edge of
converted faxes. 'Top' is the number of blank lines allowed at the top of
converted faxes.
The 'Font size' radio buttons allow you to choose a font for ASCII text files.
'Standard font' (the default) allows text line lengths of up to 85 characters
on a 1728 pixel wide fax.
'Small font' allows about 144 characters per line.
An ASCII text file can be converted into one long page, or it can be broken up
int multiple pages. The number of lines per page is set in the'Lines per page'
edit control. The default setting is 60 lines per page (about 10 inches of text
using the standard font). To leave the entire fax as one page, set lines per
page to 0.
When you are finished setting options, click the 'OK' button and the new
options take effect. To discard any changes you made to the options, click the
'Cancel' button.
Receive
This options allows you to set the number of rings before the fax is received.
When you select the 'General' option, a dialog appears in which
'Fax class' is the class of the fax modem. Valid values for this are Detect,
Class 1, Class 2, and Class 2.0. The default value is Detect, which should work
for most modems. 'Modem init' specifies any additional modem initialization
string that should be sent to the modem before SmartBroker attempts to receive
a fax. By default it is an empty string. If your fax modem requires additional
initialization, change this to the AT command that must be sent. Do not put the
'AT' at the beginning of this string; it is added automatically.
'Station ID' is the ID that SmartBroker transmits to a remote fax modem to
identify itself. Additionally, when you convert a fax with SBCom, this ID is
placed in the header of the file. 'Fax BPS' specifies the rate of transmission
and reception. Normally, you should leave this set to the default of 9600,
although you can change it if you have a fax modem that supports 14400 baud.
The 'Use ECM' check box turns fax error control on and off. If your fax modem
supports ECM, check this box, otherwise leave it unchecked. The 'Software flow
control' check box determines whether software flow control is used during fax
transmission and reception. If the box is unchecked (the default), hardware
flow control is used.
If you don't want to change the general fax options, click the 'Cancel' button
or press <Esc>.
Other Parameters:
Typically SmartBroker will extract the "LAST" trade quote from the
Dial/Data stock quote file. However, if you want to extract "CLOSING"
prices instead, simply type the parameter "\close" after the program
name or after other parameters.
NOTE:
If there were no "Last" price (due to no trades), Smartbroker will
adopt the whole number only (the fraction, if any, is ignored) part of the last
closing price to maintain a degree of trend consistency. Otherwise, the price
trend will drop drastically to zero - which would be misleading.
When you first run SmartBroker, a brief system check is initiated. To avoid the
system check, include a "\p" on the command line next to
"broker". This will by-pass the total system check and direct the
display right to the master menu.
Stock Symbol List in the Master Menu will allow you to Update your list of
stock symbols by either adding new ones or deleting symbols that you no longer
intend to track. A screen which lists the symbols you are tracking will appear.
The heading at the top of the screen will also reconfirm the number of stocks
you are tracking as displayed in the list. The button near the bottom of the
list will allow you to Add a symbol. After you select an existing symbol, a
button allowing you to delete the selected symbol is displayed.
You may track up to 30,000 stock symbols, or you may track only one. It's up to
you, but the more the better. You don't want to miss opportunities simply
because your tracking list is small and limited.
Stock Symbols are arranged in alphabetical order.
ADDING:
When adding a stock symbol enter the actual symbol. It does not matter whether
you are typing in lower or upper case. SmartBroker will always convert to upper
case. You will also be asked to enter the company name and the stock category.
Only 5 characters are allowed for the stock symbol, and only 17 characters for
the company name. In adition, the list of stock symbols will always remain
alphabetized for easy visual searching. If there are any double entries, the
first of the double will be deleted.
NOTE: If there is a particular stock that you are tracking, and would like to
be reminded of its price when you first enter the Stock Recommendations option,
you can identify this stock by typing a '~' in front of the company name. Only
one can be tagged in this manner. After the next download, this stock and it's
price will be displayed in the Reminder Screen.
CATEGORIZING:
After you have entered a new stock symbol, you will be asked to select a
category. A menu of stock categories will appear to help you select. This will
help in applying restrictions in later analysis.
DELETING:
After you select an existing symbol, a button allowing you to delete the
selected symbol is displayed. If you make a mistake, simply exit without saving
the modified list. Your previous listing is maintained until you resave the
list.
AUTOMATIC LIST MANAGEMENT:
If your current symbol list and the number of quotes you are processing
total to less than 28,000, SmartBroker will manage the list automatically by
adding new symbols to your list and deleting old/unused symbols. You will only
be able to analyze and update as many quotes as you have stock symbols, so it's
important to keep a full and comprehensive stock symbol list.
SELECTING STOCKS...
When selecting stocks, you may want to select those stocks that have known
options contracts associated with them. Since SmartBroker's greatest strength
is in its ability to recommend profitable options contracts, the selection of
your stocks will have a direct impact on what SmartBroker can do for you.
Additional
Feature:
AUTOMATIC
LIST MANAGEMENT:
If your
current symbol list and the number of quotes you are processing total to less than
28,000, SmartBroker will manage the list automatically by adding new symbols to
your list and deleting old/unused symbols.
You will only be able to analyze and update as many quotes as you have
stock symbols, so it's important to keep a full and comprehensive stock symbol
list.
Additional
Feature:
Since
several markets (e.g. Canadian Stock Market) sometimes use lowercase letters in
the stock symbol or other non-alpha characters to denote a financial derivative
of a parent stock, SmartBroker accepts these characters and processes the
symbol accordingly.
Additional
Feature:
Since
companies sometime change their name or symbol, SmartBroker can automatically
rebuild the symbol list based on the latest quote file which was processed and
contained current company names and symbols. The entire symbols list can be rebuilt
and will also carry over any "special stock" tags previously
established.
Additional
Feature:
Another
way to automatically rebuild your symbol list is to simply delete it. Your symbol list will be rebuilt from
your database trend file.
From time-to-time, you may notice a reduction in the list of stock symbols you
were tracking. SmartBroker automatically eliminates stocks that are no longer
supported. Occasionally, companies are acquired and the stocks are no longer traded,
or the company name has changed which forced a change in the stock symbol. When
the downloaded response returns with "STOCK SYMBOL IN ERROR",
Smartbroker will automatically search and eliminate that stock from your list
as it is no longer valid. This elimination process is limited to 25% of the
stocks you are tracking for safety precautions.
After you've completed the exporting or downloading of new stock quotes, or the
downloading of an ascii quote file...you will need to process these quotes and
update your 5-period trend file. Use the top menu:
"Communications/Quotes"...then, "Process New Quotes" to
access this option.
If you have stored a data file, you may browse the name of that file at this
time.
SmartBroker will first scan the quote file to check the format. If the format
is incorrect (i.e. you are trying to use a quote file from a different source)
a total revision/conversion is attempted. SmartBroker would then attempt to
extract the quote information from the file you suggested. When the quotes are
all processed, you will be given an option to replace your old quote-file or to
abort. If you replace your old file, it is gone forever. You should only
replace your old quote file once a week or month (depending on your frequency)
or on week-ends. If you replace your old quote file out-of-sequence; that is,
at some time either before your periodic update or sometime afterwards, you
will destroy your 5-period trend and will have to process 4 additional periods
before your proper data sequence can be restored.
After all quotes have been downloaded, Smartbroker reads this file character-by-character,
word-by-word (as do we humans) and vertically from top to bottom (unlike us
humans).
Volume information is read and again rechecked.
Both stock closing prices and volumes are extracted for each symbol.
If the stocks symbol has not changed but the company name has, the company name
is updated to reflect the new name. Newly added stock symbols are first checked
for duplication and validity before they are accepted.
Next, Smartbroker matches information from the quote file with information from
the 5-period data file and updates the 5-quote data file by adding the latest
quote to the end and dropping the earliest quote (5 quotes old) from the
beginning of the list.
NOTE: If you are downloading, it is recommended that you collect your stock
quotes between Friday after 7 pm and before Monday 6 am to minimize your
on-line cost.
NOTE: If you are processing multiple quote files in one sitting, you should
exit SmartBroker and re-open for each file processing and for safe executing.
Hitting the Proceed button directs SmartBroker to verify all your
new quotes. Hitting Proceed button again launches the updating
process.
Additional
Feature:
SmartBroker processes practically any ascii text quote file. User's can specify the format of the file
they want to process in the Preferences, General Set-up option. Additionally, SmartBroker will verify
that the format is correct before processing and will even offer to fix
any format automatically that is set incorrectl
After you've completed the downloading of new stock quotes. You will need to
process these quotes and update your 5-period trend file. Use the top menu:
"Communications/Quotes"...then, "Process New Quotes" to
access this option.
SmartBroker will automatically constrict your High/Low range at your option by
checking the Constrict Range box. It is recommended that you constrict your
High/Low range once a year. The constriction process raises stock Lows by about
20%, and lowers stock Highs by about 20%.
After you've completed the downloading of new stock quotes. You will need to
process these quotes and update your 5-period trend file. Use the top menu:
"Communications/Quotes"...then, "Process New Quotes" to access
this option.
If your stock list holds more stocks than your list of recently downloaded
quotes, then you will have an option to delete stocks with little of no price
movement. We call it deleting "boring" stocks - stocks that are not
generating trading fluctuations.
A list of stocks tagged for automated deletion will be presented. You are asked
to confirm deletion before these stocks are removed from your stock list.
Hitting Proceed button launches the updating process.
In addition to downloading stock quotes, SmartBroker allows for the automatic downloading
of:
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New stock symbols - [DJNS only] once downloaded, these new symbols will automatically be inserted into your stock symbol list. |
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News headlines on the sell-short stocks [DJNS only] listed in your key categories report, and |
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Simply logging on automatically. |
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These options are all available under the "Communications/Quotes" top
menu item.
Because any analysis software is only as good as the information it is analyzing,
the communications capability within SmartBroker is especially powerful.
SmartBroker's communications builds from the TurboPower Async Professional
communications software, and provides many of the features found in popular
communications packages: terminal emulation, file upload and download, terminal
capture, fax features like convert, view, receive, transmit, schedule and
print.
Additional features such as "Quick Modem Config," which lets a user
quickly configure a modem by picking the model from a list box.
SBCom's main window consists of a toolbar, a menu bar, a terminal, a status
bar, and modem status lights.
The toolbar is a collection of buttons used for quick access to commonly-used
features. Simply click on the button whose function you want to execute.
The menu bar provides access to all of SBCom's functions. From the menu you can
upload and download files, change communications parameters, change protocol
parameters, or dial a phone number.
The terminal portion of the window is SBCom's main work area. The terminal
displays characters received at the serial port and transmits characters that
you type. Additionally, the terminal provides ANSI emulation, which translates
escape sequences sent by the remote system into cursor positioning commands and
color changes.
The terminal portion of the screen has two modes: normal mode and
scrollback mode.
Normal mode receives characters from the serial port and displays them, and
transmits your character keystrokes to the serial port. Pressing the
<Ins> key places the terminal in scrollback mode. SBCom keeps a buffer in
memory that remembers the last several lines of text that have scrolled off
your screen. To navigate this buffer in scrollback mode, simply use the arrow keys
to move up, down, left, and right. While in scrollback mode, you can press
<Ins> again to return to normal mode.
The status bar is divided into four sections. The first section displays the
current communications parameters: communications port, data bits, parity, stop
bits, and baud rate. The second section displays your current terminal cursor
position in columns and rows. The third section shows the location in the
scrollback buffer of screen position 1,1. The fourth section displays status
messages; after a status message appears, it is cleared when you press any key.
The status lights near the bottom of the main window mimic the LEDs that appear
on the face of external modems. A bright red light means the corresponding
modem signal is 'on' and a dark red light means'off. The CTS, DSR, DCD, and RI
lights show the state of modem status signals.
The CTS light means clear to send.
The DSR light means data send ready.
The DCD light means data carrier detect.
The RI light means ring indicator.
The TXD light (transmit data) comes on when data is being transmitted.
The RXD light (receive data) is illuminated when data is being received.
The ERR light is lit when a line status error occurs.
The BRK light turns bright red when SmartBroker detects a break signal.
The properties of a terminal window are:
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retrieves characters from the serial port and displays them in its client rectangle |
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transmits keystrokes through the serial port |
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routes all incoming data through a terminal emulator which interprets color, positioning, and scrolling commands |
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maintains a buffer of received data and permits scrolling back through old data |
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can automatically resize itself to integral character dimensions |
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can automatically add and manage scrollbars when the client rectangle is smaller than the host's expected screen size |
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can automatically add and manage scrollbars when in scrollback mode |
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Selecting "Get Quotes Automatically" from the Master Menu allows you
to collect quotes from the
web (this is the most preferred method), or DJNS or Dial/DATA.
But if you are using dial-up features:….
Once the com parameters are set, you may never need to know your password, your
access phone number or any other parameter. SmartBroker will use this
information to routinely dial your access number, log on to DJNS or Dial/DATA,
sign-on to the CQE (Current Quotes Exchange) option with the news service,
request and download quotes relating to the stock symbols you are tracking, and
when done, disconnect, log-off and hang-up completely automatically. However,
you may set the communications to manual, and take advantage of a general
purpose communications package comparable to packages sold today for hundreds
of dollars.
SprintNet/Autonet & CompuServe
SmartBroker communications uses SprintNet/Autonet & CompuServe access
lines. If for some reason a carrier is not detected after dialing, it will
retry a total of 5 times (the first two using tone dialing and other three
times using pulse dialing). If one access line continues to prove unsuccessful
for the entire 5 connect tries, Smartbroker will automatically switch to the
alternate access line, provided you've entered a phone number for the other
line.
Before actual communication is initiated, SmartBroker will check to see if your
modem is on or operational. If it is not, you will receive a message stating a
problem". This may simply mean "turn your modem on" if you are using
an external modem.
When downloading you must decide whether you want to save the downloaded
information on disk. THIS IS A MUST IF SMARTBROKER IS TO USE THE DATA.
Typically you would respond with a Yes. After doing so, your communications
port will be opened and your access phone number will be transmitted to connect
you to the DJNS or Dial/DATA.
IF AT ANY POINT DURING AUTOMATIC DOWNLOADING OF STOCK QUOTES, YOU DECIDE TO
TERMINATE COMMUNICATIONS - SIMPLY HIT THE Stop Communications BUTTON.
Once you have downloaded your quotes (retrieved from last reported 'closed') or
terminated communications, you will have the option of using this information
for SmartBroker evaluation. Use the Process New
Quotes option on the top menu.
Selecting File Directories from the Preferences menu displays the Directory Settings
dialog box.
This dialog contains three edit controls. In each edit control, you enter the
name of a valid subdirectory on your system. The Upload directory field
determines the directory where SmartBroker first looks for files that you want
to transmit. The Download directory field determines the directory where
SmartBroker places downloaded files. The Fax directory field determines the
directory where SmartBroker places incoming fax files.
If you are satisfied with your changes to the default directory settings, click
OK or press <Enter>. If you do not want to change the directory settings,
click Cancel or press <Esc>.
If you click OK or press <Enter>, SmartBroker attempts to verify that the
directories whose names you have entered do, in fact, exist. If a directory
does not exist, SmartBroker asks you if you want to create it. If you do want
to create the directory, select Yes. If you do not want to create it, select
No.
The upload option in the Files menu (or the upload icon) begins a file
transmission.
When you select upload (from the menu, by clicking the button on the toolbar,
or by pressing <PgUp>), a dialog box appears asking you to select a file
transfer protocol.
Choose the protocol you want from the listbox and click on OK or press the
<Enter> key.
If you selected a non-batch protocol (Xmodem, Xmodem variants, or ASCII), SmartBroker
displays the Windows standard File Open dialog. Choose a file name in this
dialog and click on OK or press <Enter> and the transfer will begin.
If you selected a batch protocol (Ymodem, Ymodem variants, Zmodem, or Kermit)
the batch upload dialog box is displayed.
Files that are queued for transmission are shown in the lower listbox. You can
place a file directly into the outgoing queue by typing its name in the edit
control and pressing <Enter>. If the name you enter contains wildcard
characters ('*' or'?'), the topmost two listboxes are reloaded with information
from the path you specified and the edit control is cleared.
Alternately, the leftmost of the two upper listboxes displays all of the files
in the current directory. You can queue files from this multiple selection list
box by selecting them and clicking the 'Add' button on the right, or by
double-clicking on the file you want to transmit.
The rightmost of the two upper listboxes displays all subdirectories in the
current directory and all drives available on your system. You can change to a
new directory or drive by double clicking on it in this list.
If you want to remove files from the outgoing queue, simply highlight them in
the outgoing list box and click on the 'Remove' button on the right side of the
dialog.
When you have queued all the files you want to transmit, click on the OK button
and the transmission will begin. To cancel the upload, click the Cancel button.
The Download option in the Files menu (or the download icon) begins a file
receive. When you select Download (either from the menu, by clicking the button
on the toolbar, or by pressing <PgDn>) a dialog box appears asking you to
select a file transfer protocol. Choose the protocol you want from the listbox
and click on OK or press the <Enter> key.
If you selected a non-batch protocol (Xmodem, Xmodem variants, or ASCII)
SmartBroker displays the Windows standard 'File Save as' dialog. Choose a file
name in this dialog and click on OK or press <Enter> and the transfer
will begin.
If you selected a batch protocol (Ymodem, Ymodem variants, Zmodem, or Kermit)
SmartBroker displays a directory selection dialog box.
This dialog contains an edit control and a listbox. You can enter the name of
the download directory in the edit control directly, or you can navigate the
list of subdirectories shown in the listbox. Change to subdirectories or drives
in the listbox by double-clicking on them. When you have selected the directory
you want, click OK or press <Enter> and the file transfer will begin and
the files received will be placed in the directory you chose. If you decide that
you don't want to receive any files, click the Cancel button or press
<Esc>.
SmartBroker has a dialing engine that dials a phone number over and over again
until either a connection is established or a specified number of dial attempts
have failed. When a dial attempt fails, the dialing engine waits for a
specified number of seconds before attempting to dial again.
SmartBroker does not display any dial or retry progress information. Instead,
it publishes a plethora of events that can be hooked to provide the user with
status information.
This dialog allows you to set options for SmartBroker's Dial feature. This
dialog contains two edit controls and five check boxes.
The 'Maximum Retries' control is used to enter the maximum number of failed
dial attempts that take place before SmartBroker aborts a dial operation. 'Time
Between Retries' is the number of seconds that SmartBroker waits between failed
dial attempts.
The five checkboxes indicate the circumstances under which SmartBroker aborts a
dial attempt without retrying. If the box is checked, SmartBroker aborts if it
receives the response from the modem. If the box is unchecked, SmartBroker
waits 'Time Between Retries' seconds and tries to dial again.
Selecting Quick-Configure from the preferences menu displays the automatic
modem setup dialog box.
This dialog looks for a modem database file called AWMODEM.INI in the directory
where SmartBroker is stored. It contains a list of popular modems and default
settings for each one. The modems in this database are placed into a listbox in
the dialog. Selecting a modem from this listbox and clicking on OK or pressing
<Enter> automatically updates your modem settings based on information
that is stored in AWMODEM.INI. If you do not want to change your modem
settings, click Cancel or press <Esc>.
If you click OK or press <Enter>, SmartBroker checks to see if the modem
you have selected has a configuration command string. If it does, SmartBroker
asks you if you want to configure the modem. If you do want to configure the
modem, click Yes and SmartBroker will send this configuration string to the
modem. If you are happy with your current modem configuration, click No.
This submenu allows you to configure options for the various file transfer
protocols that SmartBroker supports.
Selecting General from the Protocols submenu displays the General Protocol
Options dialog box.
This dialog allows you to choose options that apply to all protocols. It
consists of a set of radio buttons and two check boxes. The radio buttons
determine what SmartBroker does when it begins to download a file that already
exists. The valid options are 'Fail Transfer', 'Rename Incoming File', and
'Overwrite Existing File'.
The 'Save Partial Files' checkbox tells SmartBroker what to do with the file it
was receiving in the event of an error. If this option is checked, SmartBroker
leaves the partially received file on your disk. If this option is not checked,
SmartBroker erases the file if the transfer fails.
The 'RTS When Writing' checkbox tells SmartBroker what to do when it is writing
downloaded data to disk. If this box is checked, SmartBroker leaves the RTS
signal raised when writing to disk, which means that characters are allowed to
come into the serial port. If this box is not checked, SmartBroker lowers the
RTS signal before it begins writing to disk and raises the RTS signal when
finished. This can be valuable behavior on slow machines that take a long time
to write to disk.
Selecting Zmodem from the Protocols submenu displays the Zmodem Options dialog
box.
This dialog tells SmartBroker whether or not to automatically start Zmodem when
it sees the 'RZAM' string that a Zmodem transmitter sends before sending a
file. Choosing the 'Enabled' radio button allows automatic downloads. Choosing
the 'Disabled' radio button requires that you start Zmodem downloads yourself
If Zmodem autostart is enabled, files received are automatically placed into
the directory you specified for downloads in the Directory Options dialog box
or in SBCom.INI.
Selecting Kermit from the Protocols submenu displays the Kermit Options dialog
screen.
This dialog controls the various Kermit protocol options. Because Kermit is
designed to operate over a wide variety of networks it contains more options
than most protocols.
However, most of these options can be left as-is. They need to be changed only
when communicating with a few limited-feature computers or networks.
Selecting ASCII from the Protocols submenu displays the ASCII Protocol Options
dialog box.
This dialog contains options for ASCII downloads and uploads. Upload options
are at the top of the dialog, download options are at the bottom.
The 'CR Handling' set of radio buttons in the upload options tells SmartBroker
what to do with carriage return characters that it finds in the file it is
transmitting. The options are 'Send', 'Send LF After', and 'Strip'.
The 'LF Handling' set of radio buttons in the upload options tells SmartBroker
what to do with line feed characters that it finds in the file it is
transmitting. The options are 'Send', 'Send CR Before', and 'Strip'.
The 'Stop on AZ' checkbox in the upload options, if checked, tells SmartBroker
to stop transmitting a file once it encounters a AZ (#26) in the file. If this
option is not checked, the ASCII transmit continues until the actual end of the
file is reached.
The 'EOL Character' field, which defaults to 13 (carriage return), tells
SmartBroker what character it should consider to be the end of a line of text.
This can be set to any value between 0 and 255.
The 'Delay After Character' field tells SmartBroker how long to wait, in
milliseconds, after each ASCII character that it transmits. The default is 0.
The'Delay After Line' field tells SmartBroker how to long to wait, in milliseconds,
after each line of text that it transmits. The default is 0.
The 'CR Handling' set of radio buttons in the download options tells
SmartBroker what to do with carriage return characters that it receives. The
options are 'Keep', 'Add LF After', and 'Strip'.
The 'LF Handling' set of radio buttons in the download options tells
SmartBroker what to do with line feed characters that it receives. The options
are 'Keep', 'Add CR Before', and 'Strip'.
The 'EOF Timeout' value controls the amount of time, in seconds, that the ASCII
protocol waits for more received data before assuming the file transfer is
over. This timeout comes into play only when the incoming file is not
terminated by a character, which is the normal end-of-file character. The
default is 546 or 30 seconds.
Selecting B+ from the Protocols submenu displays the B+ Options dialog box.
This dialog tells SmartBroker whether or not B+ protocol transfers are enabled.
If 'Enabled' is selected, SmartBroker automatically starts B+ protocol
transfers when CompuServe requests them. If 'Disabled' is selected, B+ protocol
requests from CompuServe are ignored.
Selecting Modem from the Preferences menu displays the Modem Information dialog
box.
The settings in this dialog box determine the defaults for your modem, the
command SmartBroker sends to your modem, and the responses that your modem
sends back in response to those commands.
If you are satisfied with your changes to the modem settings, click OK or press
<Enter>. If you do not want to make changes to the modem settings, click
Cancel or press <Esc>.
Selecting Phonebook from the Place Call menu (or pressing <AltB>)
displays SmartBroker's phonebook editor.
This dialog contains a list of all names and phone numbers stored in your
SBCom.PB file. To add a phone number to the file, click the 'Add' button. To
change an entry in the file, highlight it in the list box and click'Change', or
double click on the highlighted entry. To delete an entry in the file,
highlight it in the listbox and select 'Remove'.
Selecting Dial from the Place Call menu (or from the toolbar, or by pressing
<AltD>) displays the phone number selection dialog box.
You can directly enter the phone number you want to dial, or you can pull down
the combo box's listbox to select from a list of most-recently dialed numbers.
Additionally, if you have any entries in your SBCom.PB file, you can click on
the 'Select' button to pick a phone number from your phonebook.
When you have selected the number you want to dial, click OK and SmartBroker
begins dialing that phone number. If you do not want to dial a phone number,
click Cancel or press <Esc>.
When SmartBroker begins dialing, it displays the 'Dial Progress' dialog box.
This dialog displays real-time information about the status of your dial
attempt.
Additionally, there are three buttons at the bottom of the dialog. Clicking the
'Cycle' button causes SmartBroker to abort the current dial attempt and retry
immediately, or to cancel the period of inactivity between dial attempts.
Clicking the'Extend' button causes SmartBroker to increase the amount of time
that it waits before aborting a dial attempt.
Clicking the 'Abort' button causes SmartBroker to abort all dial attempts and
return you to the terminal window.
Selecting Hangup from the Place Call menu (or from the toolbar, or by pressing
<AltH>) causes SmartBroker to send a string to your modem telling it to
hang up the phone. If you specified 'DTR' as your modem's hangup string,
SmartBroker briefly lowers the DTR signal and then raises it again.
SmartBroker supports multiple terminal emulations. Choosing the Emulation item
from the Preferences menu allows you to change the type of emulation used.
None
ANSI
VT52
VT100
The dialog contains a single combo box which lists all of the emulations that
SmartBroker supports. The currently selected emulation is shown in the combo
box. To choose a new emulation type, click on the arrow to the right of the
combo box, then select the emulation you wish to use.
If you are satisfied with the changes to the emulation settings, click on the
OK button or press <Enter>. If you don't want to change the emulation
settings, click Cancel or press <Esc>.
When SmartBroker loads, it looks for a file called SBCom.INI in your Windows
main directory.
SBCom.INI is a small text file that stores the settings for all of SBCom's
configurable options.
You can edit this text file directly to change SBCom's options. Here is an
explanation of each option and how to set it:
The Port Group
Comport
This option tells SmartBroker which communications port to open when it loads.
This option is stored in the form COMX, where X is the number of the
communications port you want, for instance COM2. If an invalid value is entered
here, SmartBroker defaults to COM 1.
BaudRate
This is the speed at which SmartBroker opens the port. Common values for this
field are 2400, 9600, 19200, or 38400. If an invalid value is entered here,
SmartBroker defaults to 2400 baud.
Parity
This is the parity setting that SmartBroker uses when opening the port. Most
often, this setting will be left at its default of NONE. Other valid values are
EVEN, MARK, ODD, and SPACE. If an invalid value is entered here, SmartBroker
defaults to a parity setting of NONE.
DataBits
This is the number of data bits per data frame that SmartBroker sends and
receives. This is most often set to 8 or 7, and the default is 8. Other valid
values are 5 and 6. If an invalid value is entered here, SmartBroker defaults
to 8 data bits.
StopBits
This is the number of stop bits at the end of each data frame that SmartBroker
sends and receives. This is most often set to 1, but can also be set to 2. If
an invalid value is entered here, SmartBroker defaults to 1 stop bit.
The Flow Control Group
HWFlowCtl
This setting controls the type of hardware flow control SmartBroker uses when
communicating with a remote computer. The default is RTS/CTS, but it can also
be set to DTR/DSR or NONE. If an invalid value is entered here, SmartBroker
defaults to RTS/CTS.
ReceiveSwFlowCtl
This setting determines whether or not SmartBroker honors software flow control
when receiving characters. This setting can be either ON or OFF. The default is
OFF. If an invalid value is entered here, SmartBroker defaults to OFF.
TransmitSwFlowCtl
This setting determines whether or not SmartBroker honors software flow control
when transmitting characters. This setting can be either ON or OFF. The default
is OFF. If an invalid value is entered here, SmartBroker defaults to OFF.
XoffChar
This is the software flow control character that SmartBroker uses or honors
to stop data flow. This can be any value between 0 and 255. The default is 19,
or ^S. If an invalid value is entered here, SmartBroker defaults to 19.
XonChar
This is the software flow control character that SmartBroker uses or honors to
restart data flow after it has been stopped by an XOff character. This can be
any value between 0 and 255. The default is 17, or AQ. If an invalid value is
entered here, SmartBroker defaults to 17.
The Device Layer Group
Device
This setting determines the device layer that the 16-bit version of SmartBroker
uses for communicating with the serial port. This can be either COMMDRV to use
the standard Windows communications API, or FOSSIL to use a DOS-based FOSSIL
driver. The default is COMMDRV. If an invalid value is entered here,
SmartBroker defaults to COMMDRV.
Since SmartBroker is built as a 32-bit application, the device layer is forced
to be dIWin32, and this setting has no effect.
BufSize
This is the size of the input and output buffer that SmartBroker uses at the
device layer level. This can be 2048, 4096, 8192, or 16384. The default is
16384. If an invalid value is entered here, SmartBroker defaults to 16384.
The Directories Group
UploadDir
This is the path where SmartBroker initially looks for files to upload. You can
enter any valid pathname.
DownloadDir
This is the path where SmartBroker initially attempts to store downloaded
files. You can enter any valid pathname.
FaxReceiveDir
This is the path where SmartBroker stores incoming fax files. You can enter any
valid pathname.
The Modem Group
This group defines the commands SmartBroker sends to your modem and the
responses received from it. Command strings can be 40 characters or less and
response strings can be 2 characters or less.
The Dialer Group
Retries
This defines the maximum number of times SmartBroker attempts to dial a phone
number before aborting the connection attempt. You can enter any number between
I and 65535. If an invalid value is entered here, SmartBroker defaults to 10.
RetryWait
This defines the number of seconds that SmartBroker waits after a failed dial
attempt before retrying. You can enter any number between 0 and 255. If an
invalid value is entered here, SmartBroker defaults to 60 seconds.
The Protocols Group
OverwriteFiles
This setting determines what SmartBroker does when it begins downloading a file
and the file already exists. The default is FAIL, which means that SmartBroker will
not allow the download to continue. Other valid options are RENAME, which
allows the download to continue but increments the last character of the
filename before continuing; OVERWRITE, which simply destroys and overwrites the
existing file; and RESUME (for Zmodem or B+ only) to continue an aborted
transfer. If an invalid value is entered here, SmartBroker defaults to FAIL.
SavePartials
SavePartials can be set to either ON or OFF. If ON (the default), SmartBroker
does not delete files that were only partially transmitted. If OFF, partial
files left after an aborted file transfer are deleted. If an invalid value is
entered here, SmartBroker defaults to ON.
RTSWhenWriting
RTSWhenWriting can be set to either ON or OFF. If set to ON (the default), SmartBroker
does not lower the RTS signal of the port when writing download data to disk.
Users working on slower machines or certain network disks can set this option
OFF to prevent data loss. If an invalid value is entered here, SmartBroker
defaults to ON.
The Zmodem Group
AutoStart
AutoStart can be set ON or OFF. If set to ON, SmartBroker begins an automatic
Zmodem download to the directory specified in the DownloadDir setting when it
receives the string 'RZAM'. If set to OFF (the default), you must start Zmodem
downloads manually. If an invalid value is entered here, SmartBroker defaults
to OFF.
The Kermit Group
ErrorCorrection
ErrorCorrection controls the type of block error detection. It can be set to
CSUMI, CSUM2 or CRCK (for checksum format 1, checksum format 2, and
Kermit-style CRC, respectively). All Kermit protocols are required to support
CSUM 1. CSUM2 and CRCK offer better error detection but are not supported by
all Kermit implementations. CRCK is recommended since it offers the highest level
of error detection. The Kermit protocol will negotiate down to the lowest
commonly supported block check format.
HiBitPrefix
HiBitPrefix specifies the ASCII code of the prefix character or technique used
to encode 8 bit data into 7 bit data. Generally, you won't need to change this
prefix.
RepeatPrefix
RepeatPrefix is the ASCII code of the repeated-character prefix that Kermit
uses when compressing long strings of repeated characters. Generally, you won't
need to change this prefix.
ControlPrefix
ControlPrefix is the ASCII code of the control-character prefix that Kermit
uses to transform control characters into printable ASCII characters.
Generally, you won't need to change this prefix.
PaddingCount
PaddingCount is the number of pad characters that are added to the front of all
Kermit packets. The only reason you might need padding is if the remote machine
needs a delay between sending you a packet and being ready to accept a packet
itself In this case, you specify enough padding characters to accommodate the
required delay. Generally though, you won't need to use padding at all.
SmartBroker Professional Kermit automatically honors a remote's request for
padding.
PaddingChar
PaddingChar is the ASCII code of the padding character sometimes used at the
front of Kermit packets. This value is used only if PaddingCount is non-zero.
The usual padding character is #32 (the space character).
MaxPacketLength
MaxPacketLength is the maximum packet length Kermit requests when negotiating
with the remote Kermit. The maximum value of standard Kermit is 94 and the
value recommended by the Kermit Protocol Manual is 80. If the remote Kermit
supports long blocks, as does SmartBroker Professional, values up to 1024 can
be specified. Kermit sessions always use the lower of the block values
requested by each side. This makes it safe to specify long blocks even when you
don't know whether or not the other side supports them.
Terminator
Terminator specifies the ASCII code of the terminator character-the character
that terminates all Kermit blocks. The terminator character is usually # 13
(carriage return).
The Ascii Group
UploadCR
This setting tells SmartBroker what to do with a carriage return character (#
13) during an ASCII upload. The default is SEND, which means that the character
should be transmitted. Other valid values are STRIP, which causes the character
not to be transmitted, and SENDLF, which causes SmartBroker to transmit the
carriage return and then a line feed character (#10). If an invalid value is
entered here, SmartBroker defaults to SEND.
UploadLF
This setting tells SmartBroker what to do with a line feed character (#10)
during an ASCII upload. The default is SEND, which means that the character
should be transmitted. Other valid values are STRIP, which causes the character
not to be transmitted, and SENDCR, which causes SmartBroker transmit a carriage
return character (#13) and then the line feed character. If an invalid value is
entered here, SmartBroker defaults to SEND.
StopOnCtrlZ
This setting is either ON or OFF. If ON (the default), SmartBroker stops the
transmission of an ASCII file when it encounters a AZ character (#26). If OFF,
the transmission continue until the actual end of the file. If an invalid value
is entered here, SmartBroker defaults to ON.
EolChar
This setting determines which character SmartBroker treats as the end-of-line
character when transmitting or receiving an ASCII file. This character can be
any value between 0 and 255. If an invalid value is entered here, SmartBroker
defaults to the carriage return character 13).
DelayAfterChar
This setting determines the amount of time, in milliseconds, that SmartBroker
waits after each ASCII character it transmits. This can be any value between 0
and 65535. If an invalid value is entered here, SmartBroker defaults to 0.
DelayAfterLine
This setting determines the amount of time, in milliseconds, that SmartBroker
waits after each line of text it transmits. This can be any value between 0 and
65535. If an invalid value is entered here, SmartBroker defaults to 0.
DownloadCR
This setting tells SmartBroker what to do with a carriage return character
(#13) during an ASCII download. The default is KEEP, which means that the
character is placed into the received file. Other valid values are STRIP, which
causes the character to be discarded, and ADDLF, which causes SmartBroker to
place a line feed character (#10) in the file after the carriage return. If an
invalid value is entered here, SmartBroker defaults to KEEP.
DownloadLF
This setting tells SmartBroker what to do with a line feed character (#10)
during an ASCII download. The default is KEEP, which means that the character
is placed into the received file. Other valid values are STRIP, which causes
the character to be discarded, and ADDCR, which causes SmartBroker to place a
carriage return character (#13) in the file before the line feed. If an invalid
value is entered here, SmartBroker defaults to KEEP.
The B+ Group
Enabled
This setting is either ON or OFF. If ON, the SmartBroker automatically starts a
CompuServe B+ file transfer if CompuServe requests it. If OFF, file transfer
requests from CompuServe are ignored. If an invalid value is entered here,
SmartBroker defaults to ON.
The DelphiTerminal Group
The DelphiTerminal group in SBCom.INI stores information about the font and
emulation used in SBCom's terminal window.
The DelphiTerminal group contains one additional setting,
"Emulation," which is set to the type of terminal emulation you want
in the SmartBroker terminal. Set this to ANSI for ANSI emulation, VT52 for VT52
emulation, or VTIOO for VTIOO emulation.
The Dialer Group
Retries
This option tells SmartBroker how many times to try to make a connection with a
remote modem. For example, if this option is set to 10, SmartBroker allows 10
unsuccessful dial attempts before aborting. If an invalid value is entered
here, SmartBroker defaults to 10.
RetryWait
This is the number of seconds that SmartBroker waits between dial attempts. If
an invalid value is entered here, SmartBroker defaults to 60.
AbonOnVoice
This option is True or False. If set to True, SmartBroker aborts a dial attempt
if it receives a VOICE response from the modem. If set to False, SmartBroker
waits RetryWait seconds and tries again. If an invalid value is entered here,
SmartBroker defaults to False.
AbonOnBusy
This option is True or False. If set to True, SmartBroker aborts a dial attempt
if it receives a BUSY response from the modem. If set to False, SmartBroker
waits RetryWait seconds and tries again. If an invalid value is entered here,
SmartBroker defaults to False.
AbortOnNoCarrier
This option is True or False. If set to True, SmartBroker aborts a dial attempt
if it receives a NO CARRIER response from the modem. If set to False,
SmartBroker waits RetryWait seconds and tries again. If an invalid value is
entered here, SmartBroker defaults to False.
AbortOnNoDialTone
This option is True or False. If set to True, SmartBroker aborts a dial attempt
if it receives a NO DIALTONE response from the modem. If set to False,
SmartBroker waits RetryWait seconds and tries again. If an invalid value is
entered here, SmartBroker defaults to True.
AbortOnError
This option is True or False. If True, SmartBroker aborts a dial attempt if it
receives an ERROR response from the modem. If set to False, SmartBroker waits
RetryWait seconds and tries again. If an invalid value is entered here,
SmartBroker defaults to True.
The Fax Group
Resolution
This defines the resolution of faxes that SmartBroker creates during the
conversion process. Valid values for this setting are STANDARD (the default),
which indicates that faxes are converted to a resolution of 200xlOO dpi, or
HIGH, which indicates that faxes are converted to a resolution of 200x2OO dpi.
Width
This defines the width of faxes that SmartBroker creates during the conversion
process. Valid values for this setting are NORMAL (the default), which
indicates that faxes are converted with a width of 1728 pixels, or WIDE, which
indicates that faxes are converted with a width 2048 pixels.
LeftMargin
This is the number of pixels that SmartBroker adds to the left edge of
faxes that it creates during the conversion process. You can enter any value
between 0 and the maximum width of the fax here (see the "Width"
setting). If an invalid value is entered, SBCom defaults to 50.
TopMargin
This is the number of blank raster lines that SmartBroker adds to the top edge
of faxes that it creates during the conversion process. You can enter any value
between 0 and 65535. If an invalid value is entered, SmartBroker defaults to 0.
Scaling
Scaling defines the type of scaling that is performed when SmartBroker creates
standard resolution (200x 100 dpi) faxes during the conversion process. Valid
values for this setting are NONE, indicating that no scaling takes place,
DOUBLEWIDTH (the default), indicating that the fax is doubled in width, or
HALFHEIGHT, indicating that the height of the fax is halved.
Centered
Centered determines whether image files that SmartBroker converts (BMP, PCX,
DCX, and TIFF files) are centered on the page. If set to True (the default),
images are centered on the fax page. If set to False, images are flush left on
the page.
FontSize
FontSize determines the size of the font that SmartBroker uses when converting
ASCII text files. Valid values for this setting are STANDARD (the default),
which indicates that SBCom's default 85 character per line font is used, or
SMALL, which indicates that SBCom's smaller 144 character per line font is
used.
LinesPerPage
LinesPerPage determines the length of pages that are created when ASCII text
files are converted. Valid values for this setting are 0 to 65535. If set to 0,
ASCII text files are converted into one long page. The default is 60 lines per
page.
UseEnhancedTxt
UseEnhancedTxt determines whether or not TrueType fonts are to be used when
converting ASCII text files. If set to True, TrueType fonts will be used. If
set to False, the internal font will be used.
UseEnhancedHdrCvr
UseEnhancedHdrCvr determines whether or not the header lines and cover page
will use TrueType fonts. If set to True, TrueType fonts will be used when
overlaying the header line on the converted fax image and on the cover page. If
set to False, TrueType fonts will not be used.
Class
Class is the class of the fax modem. Valid values for this setting are DETECT,
which indicates that SmartBroker automatically detects the fax class at run
time, CLASS 1, which indicates a Class I fax modem, CLASS2, which indicates a
Class 2 fax modem, or CLASS2.0, which indicates a Class 2.0 fax modem. The
default value is DETECT, which should work fine for most fax modems.
Init
Init specifies any additional modem initialization string that should be sent
to the modem before SmartBroker attempts to receive a fax. By default it is an
empty string. If your fax modem requires additional initialization, change this
to the AT command that must be sent. Do not put the 'AT' at the beginning of
this string; it is added automatically.
StationID
StationID is the ID that SmartBroker transmits to a remote fax modem to
identify itself. Additionally, when you convert a fax with SBCom, this ID is
placed in the header of the file. You can leave this setting blank or enter up
to twenty characters of text. The default StationID is 'SBCom'.
FaxBPS
FaxBPS specifies the rate of transmission and reception. Normally, you should
leave this set to the default of 9600, although you can change it if you have a
fax modem that supports 14400 baud.
ECM
This option turns fax error control on and off. If set to True, ECM is enabled.
If set to False (the default), ECM is not enabled. If your fax modem supports
ECM, turn this setting on, otherwise leave it unchecked.
SoftwareFlow
SoftwareFlow determines whether SmartBroker uses software flow control during
fax transmission and reception. If set to True, software flow control is used.
If set to False (the default), hardware flow control is used.
DialPrefix
DialPrefix is the optional prefix that is inserted before the 'ATD' dial
command and the phone number. The default is blank.
DialWait
DialWait is the amount of time, in seconds, that SmartBroker waits to
successfully establish a connection with a remote fax modem. This can be any
valid word value, but should typically be constrained to some reasonable number
(between 30 and 60 seconds). If an invalid value is entered, SmartBroker
defaults to 60 seconds.
RetryWait
RetryWait is the amount of time, in seconds, that SmartBroker pauses between
attempts to connect to a remote fax modem. This can be any valid word value,
but should typically be constrained to some reasonable number (between 30
seconds and 10 minutes). If an invalid value is entered, SmartBroker defaults
to 60 seconds.
DialAttempts
DialAttempts is the total number of attempts that SmartBroker makes to dial a
remote fax number. The default setting is 3. The valid range is 1 to 65535.
ToneDialing
ToneDiating determines whether SmartBroker uses tone dialing when dialing a
remote fax modem. If set to True (the default), tone dialing is used. If set to
False, pulse dialing is used.
NumRings
NumRings is the number of rings that SmartBroker must receive before answering
the phone when it is in fax receive mode. The default is 1. This can be set to
any valid word value, but should typically be constrained to some reasonable
number (between I and 5 rings).
When you select the Fax...'Convert' option, a dialog bog is displayed allowing
you to select the file you want to convert.
Receive
Selecting the Receive option from the fax menu puts SmartBroker into fax
receive mode.
While this dialog is on the screen, you can do nothing. SmartBroker continues
to answer the phone and receive faxes until you click the Cancel button at the
bottom of the dialog or press the <Esc> key. All received faxes are
placed in the directory that you specified in the Preferences/Directories
dialog box.
The viewer has capabilities for scaling faxes, so you can implement features
like "zoom in and out." It also provides the ability to rotate faxes,
allowing you to adjust for faxes that are sent upside down or sideways. The
viewer can compress white space within the fax so that it is more easily
viewed. It allows " drag and drop" of fax files onto the viewer. And,
you can copy all or part of a fax to the Windows clipboard for use in other
applications.
View
Selecting the'View' option displays SmartBroker's fax viewer window.
This window is modeless, which means that you can switch back and forth between
it and the main SmartBroker terminal.
Zoom In
This option causes the displayed fax to be increased in size by 25%. The
default display scaling is 100%, or "normal" size. If you select the
Zoom In option when the scaling settings are at the default, the fax is
displayed at 125% of its normal size. The maximum size at which an image can be
displayed is 400%. Choosing Zoom In when the display is already scaled to 400%
has no effect.
Zoom Out
This option causes the displayed fax to be decreased in size by 25%. The
default display scaling is 100%, or "normal" size. If you select the
Zoom Out option when the scaling settings are at the default, the fax is
displayed at 75% of its normal size.
The minimum size at which an image can be displayed is 25%. Choosing Zoom out
when the display is already scaled to 25% has no effect.
25%,50%,75%,100%,200%,and 4OO%:
Selecting a percentage causes the fax to be viewed at that percentage of its
original size.
When one of these options is chosen, a check mark appears next to the item
indicating the current scaling settings.
Other
If the pre-defined scaling settings are not sufficient for your viewing, choose
the 'Other' option to manually enter the size at which you want the fax
displayed. The following dialog box is displayed:
At what percentage of its original size shotid the fax be displayed?
You can enter any number between 25 and 400, but even numbers and multiples of
5 usually produce the best results.
No Rotation, Rotate 90 degrees, Rotate 180 degrees, and Rotate 270 degrees
Because paper can be fed into a fax machine four different directions, it is
sometimes useful to be able to rotate a displayed fax (instead of rotating your
monitor or, worse yet, your head). For example, choosing 180 degree rotation
properly displays a fax that was received upside-down. When the fax is rotated,
a check mark appears next to the option that indicates the current rotation
setting.
Whitespace Compression
ViewFax has the ability to compress large amounts of vertical white space in
displayed faxes into smaller amounts of white space. Often, this results in
being able to fit more of a displayed fax on the screen.
When the Whitespace Compression option is selected, a dialog box is displayed.
The checkbox at the top of the dialog determines whether white space
compression is enabled. The two edit controls determine how the white space is
to be compressed. In the example above, every instance of 20 or more blank
lines will be compressed to 5 blank lines.
White space compression does not take effect immediately. The settings take
effect when you next load a fax using the Open option.
INFORMATION ONLY ----
PORT ADDRESSES: serial ports use special addressing space on the computer. Each
port address is unique; no two ports can have the same address. The computer
cannot talk to the devices if the ports they use have the same address.
SmartBroker recognizes the standard port addresses: COM1=03F8, COM2=02F8,
COM3=03E8, COM4=02E8.
INTERRUPTS: serial ports have a way to tell the computer that the device they
are linked to needs attention (for example, each time you move your mouse, the
serial port lets the computer know about it so it can respond by making the
corresponding pointer movements occur on the screen). The signal sent is called
a "serial port interrupt", or IRQ.
You can connect and operate two serial ports at the same time without problems.
COM1 and COM3 share the IRQ 4
COM2 and COM4 share the IRQ 3
IF YOU NEED TO ASSIGN A DIFFERENT IRQ to the COM Ports, you will need to
produce and save an IRQ file entitled "SBIRQ.sbf" with 4 IRQ
assignments: e.g. 4 3 4 3 for the 4 COM ports listed sequentially.
Sharing an IRQ only works if the two devices are not active at the same time.
Competitive Feature Comparisons
|
SmartBroker
Pro Features |
Other Software
Alternatives |
|
|
Maximum Stocks |
Lite=1000,
Std=5000, Pro=up to 30,000 |
Typically less than 5000 stocks |
|
Price Flexibility |
One-Time fee
of: Lite=$29,
Std=$59 both upgradeable, Pro=$239 |
Most offer subscription services ~$39 -
$400/month |
|
Updates |
Regular and free |
Illregular and free |
|
Stock
Strainer/Filters |
Practically
unlimited combination of parameters.
20 settings can be saved |
Typically <12 parameters; and <10
can be saved |
|
Self generated
recommended settings/filters |
Yes |
Not available |
|
Can find similar
stocks from your reference stock |
Yes |
Feature not available |
|
Can retrieve quick
list of stocks likely to fall/climb |
Yes |
Feature not available |
|
Interprets stock
plots/graphs |
Yes |
Leaves the interpretation up to you |
|
Imports practically
any text ascii quote file |
Yes |
Uses metafiles and other specially
formatted files |
|
Leave all files in
text-readable format |
Yes |
Only leave exported files readable to
humans |
|
Different modes of
presentation |
3-modes of
presentation; with slide show mode having speed variability |
Typically a single mode of presentation |
|
Provides general
Market Overview Summaries |
Yes |
No.
Other than the index trends |
|
Predicts Long-term
and short-term prices |
Yes |
No |
|
Presents most
effective Strategies from the last run |
Yes |
No way |
|
Allows for multiple
installations using a single passcode |
Yes |
Some do, but most are limited to 2
installations |
|
Scores stocks for
immediate comparisons |
Yes |
Some |
|
Allows user to
constrict annual Hi/Lo levels to compensate for creepage |
Yes |
No way |
|
Automatically interprets
text file formatting if user settings are incorrect |
Yes |
No.
Will alert user that format is incorrect, but leaves it up to user to
correct. |
|
Automatically
eliminates obsolete or redundant stock symbols |
Yes |
No.
Some will alert user that duplicates exist. |
|
Allows for BACK-TESTING or batch processing of multiple
quote files |
Yes, major
feature ! |
No |
|
Allows for complete
and comprehensive quote processing and analysis – hands-free |
Yes. SmartBroker has an “Autopilot
Mode” |
No way |
|
Provides Unique
market Alerts (including special opportunities or special market behaviors) |
Yes, many |
Only on Market behaviors, but user must
interpret how to leverage this information |
|
Can search relevant
reports by stock symbol |
Yes,
automatically |
No |
|
Reports read and
interpret other reports to “consense” on best recommendation |
Yes |
No way |
|
Keeps Report Cards
on it’s recommendations |
Yes, major
feature |
No way |
|
Maintains a
historic log of it’s accuracy over time |
Yes |
No way |
|
Allows complete
stock symbol list management |
Yes, for the
entire list of symbols reported (all of them) |
Yes for a limited quantity of symbols
– typically ~100 per list |
|
When company name changes,
list automatically captures name change on the fly |
Yes |
No. User must manually edit any changes |
|
Can build an
entirely new list of symbols from the imported quote file |
Yes |
No |
|
Installation operation
from within one folder (e.g. daily run) can carry-over information determined
from installation operating in a different folder (e.g. weekly run) |
Yes |
No way |
|
Incorporates
environmental factors (inflation, housing starts, etc) |
Yes |
No |
|
Warnings to prevent
investing in unusually risky environments |
Yes, many |
No |
|
Ability to
tag/detag symbols based on user defined characteristics |
Yes |
Limited |
|
Convenience tools
(calendar, calculator, screen color changes, notepad) |
Yes |
Some |
|
Pre-built stock
filters |
Over 40 |
few |
|
Ability to retrieve
previous effective strategies which occurred under similar to current
conditions |
Yes |
No |
To transfer SmartBroker to a new computer without losing critical files (symbol
lists, quote files, historical reports or settings), first be sure you have the
original passcode you used to register the program. With passcode in hand:
·
Copy
your entire SmartBroker directory to your new hard drive. You can use a CD or a
temporary directory or a network connection for the transfer.
·
Download
the latest Sbupdate.zip file from the SmartBroker web-site, unzip and
install.
·
Open
the program. You will need your Registration passcode issued when you purchased
the program to re-register the program (ignore the 'unauthorized
re-installation' screen by clicking OK).
·
With
the program open, enter the 'Comport parameters' under Preferences. This will
automatically add the SBcom.ini file to your Windows directory. SmartBroker is
now ready for use on your new computer.