Preferences

The Stock Investment Guide has several preferences that you should set when you first run the software.

The General preferences is where you enter your name, stock analysis zoning preference, and the stock price chart displayed on the Stock Summary Report.

If you would like Stock Investment Guide to automatically check for updates, check the SIG Updates box. SIG will check weekly for updates (when you run SIG).

Can also disable the use of Help Tags in the software. Help Tags are the yellow help files the pop up when the mouse cursor hovers over a control.

An alternate database location may also be set in the General preferences screen. A database file needs to already exist in the selected location which is set using the "Browse" button to locate the file. You may drag any valid database file to the desired location, including the default database file that resides in your Documents folder. The selected location must have write privileges.

The ability to set a different database can be quite useful. This option may be used to open another user's database temporarily. Also, a service such as http://getdropbox.com can be installed, and the database stored in the Dropbox folder. This will automatically synchronize database changes in the database to the Dropbox online server. This allows the use of a single database between two different computers. Use care if you share your database with another user, since two users editing the same database may overwrite one user's changes.

To move an existing database to a Drop Box folder copy the StockLibrary.rsd file from your documents folder to the Dropbox folder. If no database is left in your documents folder, a blank database will be created when first running the software with default preferences.

 

The Stock Data Service preference saves your stock data service login information, so SIG can automatically retrieve stock data via an internet connection. If you intend to use free stock data from the internet, make sure you understand the limitations of this data. Make sure you correctly enter your username and password for the data account. The "Show Typing (Password)" check box will allow the password to be viewed while entering. Also make sure you selected the correct radio button on the left that corresponds with your data service. Occasionally, users discover that an expired data account is the reason for the lack of data connection. This can be verified by logging into the data service using a web browser and attempting to download a data file.

 

The Graph preferences allow you to adjust the colors used in graphing the stock data, the type of line used for the projection lines, and if you want Cash Flow Per Share to be plotted on the graph by default.

The Comparisons preference allows you to adjust the colors used to highlight entries in the stock comparison screen. The color may be adjusted by clicking the color swatch. The default color can be restored using the Default button.