WSS Stock generates custom web pages which link to multiple charting sites. In your web browser, you will see a navigation frame on the left listing stocks in various categories. Links to navigation frames for other charting sites are at the bottom of the list. Clicking on a stock links to a charting site which displays in the right-hand frame. Clicking on the description of a stock links to the company's home page (if you have entered the URL). Charting options are preset so a single click in your browser generates the plot you want. Information about a stock only needs to be entered once for use at multiple sites.
The General options pull-down lets you configure how the pages will look in your browser. The most important option is the selection of charting sites. Currently WSS Stock can link to four sites; additional sites may be added in future releases, so please send us your suggestions. One of the enabled sites must be chosen as the default when WSS Stock calls your web browser. The navigation frame takes screen space from the charts, so its initial width is adjustable. (You can also adjust the frame width within your browser by dragging the border left or right.) If the navigation frame is narrow, your browser will try to wrap lines to make them fit; this often reduces readability. If you check No line wraps in navigation frame, you will get a horizontal scroll bar instead of line wraps. Browser colors can be set (but, this will have no effect if your browser is configured to use its own colors). If you want to use upper case for all stock symbols, check the Use uppercase for new stock symbols box and new symbols will be converted to upper case as they are entered. The default location for the html files (web pages) is the WSS Stock installation directory. Since these files are easily recreated, they can go anywhere, perhaps even in a TEMP directory.
Wss Stock saves its setup information in the Windows registry and loads it automatically on startup. Options under the File menu allow saving, clearing or exporting the registry settings. Clearing removes all registry entries, and might be done as part of an uninstall. Exporting writes a .REG file which may be imported by double-clicking in explorer. This can be used for backup, for moving to another machine, or to transfer settings to a different user on the same machine (settings are user-specific). For most programs, you need to backup the files you generate with the program; losing your configuration settings in a system crash is a relatively minor inconvenience. But in Wss Stock, the settings are crucial while the data files can be regenerated with a single mouse click. So, exporting and backing up the registry settings is strongly recommended.
Use the Add stock button to add a stock, or the Edit button to revise a stock. The required information on the entry screen is the default symbol, a description (probably the company name) and the type. You can optionally enter a URL for another web site such as the company home page. In your browser, clicking on the symbol generates a chart while clicking on a description loads the company home page. As with types, the practical limit on description length is set by the width of the navigation frame. Symbols which have special meaning in HTML, such as < or > may safely be used in descriptions (or in types).
You might expect that all sites would use the same symbol for a given stock or index. Sadly, this is not always true. For example, the symbol for Berkshire Hathaway Class A stock (around $50,000 per share as this is being written), is BRK.A at BigCharts, BRK-A at StockMaster, BRK/A at StockPoint and BRKA at Yahoo. Index symbols and non-US stocks show the greatest variation. WSS Stock accepts alternate symbols for use at particular sites. A default symbol must be filled in even if an alternative is listed for every charting site. The supported charting sites have symbol lookup options to help you find the right symbols. Here's a table of some index symbols used at the sites supported by WSS Stock:
| Big Charts | StockMaster | StockPoint | Yahoo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dow Industrial Average | DJIA | I:INDU | $INDU | ^DJI |
| NASDAQ | NASDAQ | I:COMP | $COMP | ^IXIC |
| Russell 2000 | RUT | I:RUT | $RUT | ^RUT |
| S&P 500 | SP500 | I:SPX | $SPX | ^SPC |
| Nikkei 225 | XX:1804610 | ? | $N225 | ^N225 |
| Nikkei 300 | XX:1885002 | I:NIK | ? | ^NK300 |
| 30-year T-bond | TYX | I:TYX | $TYX | ^TYX |
Under Options, each charting site can be selected, bringing up a configuration screen for that site. The options which can be set are the same as the ones you could select at the site. These range from simple things like the time period to esoteric technical indicators. Explanation of the meaning of many of these is beyond the scope of this documentation.
Custom URLs under Options allows entry of two user-defined links. These appear near the bottom of the browser navigation frame. Possible uses include links to an online broker or a portfolio tracking site. The only reason for using this feature instead of a browser bookmark is that you can make the link appear in the right frame or in a separate window.
Here's a non-obvious use for the custom URL. Suppose you have setup a portfolio at StockPoint. The straightforward way of getting to your portfolio requires you to login with a user name and password and perhaps redisplay after setting the view type and sort order. You can save some time by embedding the logon information in the URL. If
http://www.stockpoint.com/portfolio.asp?Login=investor&Password=topsecret&PortfolioID=123456&ViewName=DayWatch&SortBy=Symboladjusting the login name, password and portfolio id to match your account. To determine the portfolio id, use your browser's save option after logging in manually to save a copy of the html file. View the saved file with a text editor and search for the name of one of your portfolios. Around 200 lines from the top, you should find lines of the form
<option VALUE="nnnnnn" > portfolio name</option>
The id number associated with the portfolio is nnnnnn. It's much easier if
you only have one portfolio; just use zero (all portfolios) for the id.
Warning: if you use this type of URL, your login information is stored in plain text in the html file and in the Windows registry. There's not much risk to doing this for a portfolio tracking site, but I would not recommend doing this for any account where transactions can be executed.
An order form is included in file orderfrm.wri (view with WordPad or Microsoft Word). If you don't use this form, note that I must collect $1 sales tax for shipments to Massachusetts addresses, and that there is a fee ($2.50 US/Canada, $4.50 elsewhere) if you want me to send you a disk with the latest version. Downloading from the web eliminates this fee. Payment may be by credit card or a check in US funds drawn on a US bank. Bank fees for cashing a foreign check would exceed the registration fee.
WSS Stock is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send an email message to omb@asp-shareware.org.
The Ombudsman may be contacted by FAX by sending to the ASP FAX number: (616) 788-2765. In communication with the Ombudsman please include a telephone number and/or FAX if available.
The non-profit Association of Shareware Professionals dedicates itself to furthering the shareware concept ("try before you buy") as a unique alternative to traditional retail distribution. Our company agreed to do its best to handle customer complaints when we joined ASP.
We want to solve your problem quickly and to your satisfaction. But if you feel you got the short end of the stick, you can take your complaint to the ASP Ombudsman. We'll abide by the Ombudsman's final decision no matter what. You have our word on it.
We at WSS-DDC work as hard as we can to resolve problems. But we want you to know you have a friend in the ASP Ombudsman if we don't help you enough.
ASYCFILT.DLL version 2.40.4275 COMCAT.DLL version 4.71 MSVBVM60.DLL version 6.00.8495 OLEAUT32.DLL version 2.40.4275 OLEPRO32.DLL version 5.0.4275 STDOLE2.TLB version 2.40.4275If you find that you need these files, they may be obtained as part of the complete Wss Stock package or from Simtel or Microsoft. Version numbers of these files may vary. Wss Stock has no known problems with particular versions of these files (which isn't to say there aren't any problems, just that we don't know about them). Upgrading to future releases will probably require only the minimal installation package.
The web pages generated by WSS Stock require a browser which supports frames. Reasonably current versions of Internet Explorer, Netscape and other browsers should work.
If you use some versions of the desktop enhancer Stardock Window Blinds, you may find that it interferes with tabbing from field to field in some of the WSS Stock forms. If so, exclude WSS Stock in the Window Blinds control panel.
A charting site may change its design at any time and break the links generated by WSS Stock. We will attempt to revise the software to accommodate site changes, but a site could be designed to make it difficult for a program like WSS Stock to generate links. Please contact us if you notice any changes in site design which impact the links generated by WSS Stock.