Shareware Grab Bag/Shareware Grab Bag.iso/005/stockcht.arc/SMCONFG1.HS1

Text File | 1984-01-09 | 6KB | 97 lines

                   OVERALL SYSTEM DESCRIPTION (Screen 1 of 4)

The stock charting system consists of 3 separate programs:  Add/Delete Stocks,
Data Entry and Bar Graph.  Each program has its own menus, which always appear
on the bottom of the screen.  Like its restaurant counterpart, a menu offers a
choice of selections.  To make a choice, press the letter key corresponding to
the desired function, such as S for Stock Select or A for Add/Delete.  As soon
as the key is pressed, the selection is activated.  The correct programs are
automatically loaded into memory as required, and menu choices permit switch-
ing freely among the programs.

Each menu has a "Help" function.  Just type H to get an explanation of all the
choices offered by that menu.  All menus also have a "Quit" function.  To get
out of the stock charting system and back into DOS, just press Q.  This and
some other functions will first ask you for confirmation of your choice in
case you pressed the wrong key.  Type Y for a Yes response or N for a No res-
ponse as appropriate.  If you make an invalid response, an error message will
flash on the bottom line until a correct response is entered.

To see the next Help screen, press the ENTER key now.  The ENTER key is the
large key just above the key labelled "PrtSc" near the right-hand side of the
keyboard.  Or, to cancel the "Help" screen display, press the Escape key now.
The Escape key is the one labelled "Esc" and is on the top row near the left-
hand side, between F2 and 1.
                   OVERALL SYSTEM DESCRIPTION (Screen 2 of 4)

Ignore the Caps Lock, Num Lock, Scroll Lock and shift keys.  The program auto-
matically selects the appropriate keyboard mode.  Alphabetic characters are
converted to uppercase (CAPITAL letters).  The ten function keys on the left-
hand side of the keyboard are not used.

The program diskette is always in the left-hand drive; the data diskette which
contains stock prices and other related information is always in the right-
hand drive.  You should not remove a diskette when the little red light is on.

Normally, after the initial screen, the stock charting system will take you
first to the Data Entry program, the assumption being that you will want to
update volume and price data for stocks already existing on the data diskette.
But you can change to one of the other programs by making the appropriate menu
choice.

If you are starting for the first time, insert a newly formatted diskette in
the right-hand drive.  The stock charting system will recognize this, and
(after the initial screen) will take you directly to the Add/Delete Stocks
program.  You will then be prompted for the name, symbol and other information
about the first stock.

Press ENTER to see next Help screen, or Esc key to cancel Help screen display.
                   OVERALL SYSTEM DESCRIPTION (Screen 3 of 4)

You can have as many different data diskettes as you want.  The maximum number
of stocks that can be followed on one diskette will depend on the amount of
information kept for each stock.  If the amount of information for each stock
is small, up to about 110 stocks could fit on a double-sided diskette, or
about 62 on a single-sided diskette.

For detailed information on how to format a diskette, refer to pages 3-50
through 3-52 of the IBM Disk Operating System manual (version 1.1).  If you
want to format a diskette right now, do this:  Press the Ctrl key and while
holding it down press the Break key momentarily.  The computer should respond
"OK".  Type the word "system" or "SYSTEM" (but without the quotes) and press
ENTER.  You should get the A> prompt, indicating DOS is ready to accept a
command.  The Ctrl key is in the middle row of the keyboard, on the left next
to function key F6.  The Break key is in the top row on the far right, and is
also labelled "Scroll Lock".

To get a "snapshot" printout of the contents of the display screen at any
time, press one of the shift keys and PrtSc simultaneously.  Make sure the
printer is on and its "ready" light glowing first.  The PrtSc key is in the
second row up from the bottom, fifth from the right, and is just below ENTER.

Press ENTER to see next Help screen, or Esc key to cancel Help screen display.
                   OVERALL SYSTEM DESCRIPTION (Screen 4 of 4)

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

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

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

Press ENTER or Esc key when finished viewing.