What's New for Horizon Investment Portfolio Analyst! Version 6.47 1) Optimized the code to improve installation speed. 2) Made the registration process easier. Version 6.42 1) Enhanced the grid editing: a) When you edit a new record, initially, the date defaults to today's date. Thereafter the date *and* description default from the previous entry. b) Changed the default behavior when Enter key is pressed in Edit mode, to return the grid to normal (view) mode, but added a new preference option 'Advance to next cell after Enter is pressed' for those who like the old way. 2) Added a new option 'Insert blank rows', which is handy when you want to see previous records of the same date or type while you enter new ones. Version 6.41 1) Modified the import routine so that strings no longer need to be enclosed in quotes *unless* they include a comma. If a string field includes a comma and is enclosed in quotes, the program will read it in without modification; otherwise, it will split the record into individual fields at each comma. 2) Added to the website a smaller, simpler installation package for users who are upgrading from a previous version, rather than installing from scratch. Version 6.40 1) Added OLE drag/drop capability. Now, you can drag and drop files to Horizon Investment Analyst from Price Watch, Explorer, and other OLE enabled programs. This makes creating and organizing portfolios and importing files much easier. 2) Added several enhancements to the 'Open Investment Files' dialog: a) Now you can drag and drop files from Explorer and other OLE enabled programs to easily create, organize, and manage portfolios. b) Added the ability to click on the heading to toggle the sort order of the list between 'File name' and 'Description'. c) Increased the investment file description length from 52 to 100 characters, and added an edit dialog so you can easily modify them if necessary. d) Added the ability to use Ctrl and Shift to select multiple files to remove from the current portfolio or edit their descriptions. 3) Added a new option under the 'Transactions' menu to allow you to select or deselect specific record types to display on the grid. This is handy if you want to see at a glance, for example, all the purchases you've made, without also seeing all the sales & other transactions. Version 6.37 1) Changed the List option 'List all investments, and print a consolidated IRR for the entire portfolio' to also print the total value of the portfolio, and other aggregate statistics. 2) Added the ability for registered users to save their chosen Print Preview and Chart colors so they will be used as the default from session to session. 3) Fixed a problem where, after Listing an investment to disk, when the user subsequently exited the program, a subscript error was sometimes raised. 4) Previously, if you picked 'Charts' from the menu, and a chart had already been created but not subsequently unloaded, the program would add a new series from the open investment to the existing chart. Now, the program will ask you if you want to add the new data to the existing chart, or erase it and start over. Version 6.35 1) Fixed a bug that caused the screen to be repainted incorrectly when you hit escape to exit edit mode. 2) Fixed a bug in Print Preview that caused the screen to be repainted incorrectly if you changed the screen colors, then minimized the window, and then ran another Print Preview. Now, you can change the colors, then minimize the window, and run another Print Preview for the same or a different investment, and it will keep your chosen colors. Version 6.33 1) Modified the load procedure to eliminate stalling if the user chooses to have the program run automatically at Windows startup. 2) Modified the instructions in the manual concerning adding a program shortcut to Windows Startup folder. Version 6.30 1) Added a command line option '/W nn' which can be added to the end of the command string to tell Horizon Investment Analyst to (W)ait a specific amount of time for Windows resources to become available when the program is run. This solves the problem which occurs on a few systems, of the program occasionally stalling when it is set up to automatically run at Windows startup. See the 'Introduction' topic in the manual for more details. 2) Added logic to preserve the window state if the program is closed by Windows shutting down, so that it will be restored correctly the next time the program is run. Version 6.29 1) Added logic so that if you try to run Horizon Investment Analyst when it is already running, it will pass control to the already running window, and exit, rather than create a new window. 2) Added logic so that if you click 'Start Horizon Price Watch', and it is already running, Horizon Investment Analyst will pass control to the already running window. Version 6.28 1) Made some error messages more informative. 2) Made the Open and Save dialogs more user friendly. Version 6.27 1) Modified the logic with respect to lines per page settings for investment listings and basis worksheets so that most users can just leave them blank and let their printer's device driver determine when to make page breaks. Version 6.26 1) Changed the 'Printer properties' button on most dialogs to a 'Page Setup' button, allowing you to change orientation, page margins, and even the printer at print time, if desired. Printing has never been easier! 2) Did a lot more work on font scaling and rendering, for printing reports in both Portrait and Landscape orientation. Version 6.24 1) Added the ability to save (backup) the currently opened file, and to restore the data if you make a mistake and want to return the data to what it was before you started. You can also choose to let Horizon Investment Analyst automatically save your data each time a file is opened, and/or at regular 1 to 99 minute intervals. 2) Added the ability to copy data from a cell and then paste it to one or more cells, adding to the block functions first introduced in 6.23 that allow clearing a range of cells and deleting a range of rows, rather than just one at a time. 3) Changed the Input Box to display the last share price entered for each investment, making it easier to run consolidated IRR listings. 4) Changed the way folders are resolved so that, for example, the user can create multiple program shortcuts to run Horizon Investment Analyst using different preference settings, investment folders, etc. 5) Adjusted font rendering so that it is more accurately proportioned for Print preview and the printer. Version 6.23 1) Added the ability to clear a *range* of cells or delete a *range* of rows (using shift), instead of just one at a time. 2) Added text to the manual explaining the 3 data grid modes: Normal, Highlight, and Edit, and how to highlight a range of cells or rows using keyboard or mouse. Version 6.22 1) The Import function was enhanced to accept dates that are spelled out, such as '01-Mar-02', etc., for any Windows supported language. Version 6.21 1) Some records were being flagged on the grid and in printouts as having arithmetic errors, that didn't have any errors. This was fixed. 2) The Import function was enhanced to accept a wider variety of date formats, including dates without the '/' or '-' separators, for instance, MMDDYY and MMDDYYYY. 3) The bug that prevented being able to print Basis Worksheets to disk file was fixed. 4) The sound that previously accompanied message prompts was removed from most of them. 5) More text was added to the Investment Terms page of the user manual, including how to utilize the consolidated IRR to determine the aggregate performance of 'simple' cash flow' investments, like stocks, bonds, and CD's, by grouping them into one portfolio. 6) The description of the IRR algorithm that Horizon Investment Analyst uses, was corrected in the manual from saying just 'dollar weighted', to 'dollar and time weighted'. Version 6.20 1) Previously, Horizon Investment Analyst would only save the user's screen state (normal or maximized), if the 'Remember data grid column & row sizes' was checked. Now, the screen state is saved each time the user exits the program, and restored when the program is next run, regardless of that option setting. 2) If the user's import layout includes a '*Not Used' entry, the program would *not* save and restore the layout correctly between sessions. The entry has now been changed to '*Not_Used', and is saved and restored correctly. 3) The program now writes an entry when the program is exited, to the program log file (Application.log). Version 6.19 1) Added a landscape orientation report option, which adds more detail to the investment listing report, allows larger fields, more fonts and font sizes, and is easier to read. Adds new 'Shares this transaction', 'Record Type', and 'Error' columns. 2) Added another test when displaying or listing the investment. Previously, a record was flagged as incomplete or ambiguous if the date was incorrect, or the program couldn't determine its record type. The new test also verifies whether the arithmetic is correct in each record. For purchases, reinvested dividends, and sales, a record will be flagged if the '# of shares bought or sold' multiplied by 'share price' doesn't equal the amount entered for the transaction. Also, these errors are now flagged in listings to the printer and disk file. 3) Added the ability for the user to adjust page margins to their preference. 4) Added *.csv to the drop down list of file types for listing the investment and basis worksheets to the hard drive. Version 6.18 1) New Printer/page setup options were added, to specify the # of blank lines to skip at the top of each page, and user-specified printer initialization and reset control codes. 2) A new product, 'Horizon Price Watch', a near real time price quote and price history downloader, was introduced. Includes tools to manipulate the data prior to importing into Horizon Investment Analyst, if the user wishes. Check the web site for complete details. 3) A menu option was added to run Horizon Price Watch from Horizon Investment Analyst's main menu. Also, a preferences item was added to automatically run Horizon Price Watch at startup. 4) Added the date format (MDY, YMD, DMY) to the saved import file layout definition. 5) Can now share data files more easily with The Variable Investment Analyst (the original 1990's MS-DOS incarnation of Horizon Investment Analyst). 6) Added code that automatically updates the screen and grid when the system date changes. 7) Added a dialog to make changing colors on the Print Preview screen easier. Version 6.17 1) The previous version (see below) introduced, among other things, the new Print Preview and Print Options functions which, combined, now give you total control over report layout and appearance. Some enhancements were made to these new functions for this version, including the option to limit printer font selection to monospaced (non-proportional), if the user chooses. This is most helpful for those who have printers with limited capabilities, or who simply prefer that reports be printed in fixed-width columns. 2) The previous version also introduced the ability to change the colors of the various parts of the data grid. This version expands that to allow the user to customize even more colors and attributes *and* now, the user can even select the font, font size, and font emphasis used in the data grid. 3) To further customize the data grid, the user can now optionally move the RT (record types) column from the far right column to the far left. If you choose to display the RT column on the left, *that* column will become a *fixed* column, so that when you scroll the grid horizontally, that column will always be visible, and columns to the right will appear to 'slide under' it. You will also be able to change the data grid's row height, the same way you have already been able to customize column widths. 4) An option has been added to allow the user to save imported file layout definitions so they can be easily retrieved and re-used between sessions. 5) An option has been added to require the program to ask for confirmation before clearing cells and deleting rows. 6) Quite a bit more context-sensitive, popup, and other help text has been added to the user manual, and quick access keys were added to the command buttons on all the screens. Version 6.16: 1) Many, many hours of work went into this version. The big news are the new 'Print Preview' and 'Print options' functions. 'Print preview' lets you see printed reports on your screen before sending them to the printer. The 'Print options' function lets you select font, font size, emphasis, orientation, lines per page, and all your printer's properties. These 2 new functions now give you total control over report layout and appearance. 2) The fonts listed in the font dialogs are now listed alphabetically. 3) Added a preferences option to customize the colors of the data grid. 4) Improved the ability to customize chart colors with a new, simpler dialog. 5) Added a dialog to the Rebuild function so you can rebuild any data file, not just the file that's currently open. 6) Added 'Help' buttons to most dialogs. 7) Added new 'Whats This' popups and context-sensitive help. Version 6.15: 1) Added some more whistles and bells to the help engine, including some new navigation tools, and a way for the user to make and store notes. Also, my email link was corrected. 2) Changed the main screen so that it will display in 'Normal' size when first run, and added a 'Maximize' button so the user can maximize the screen to their monitor size. When the user exits the program, the size and placement of the screen is saved so that when they run the program again, it will be sized and placed the same way it was the last time the program was run. 3) Changed the way the Microsoft help engine is checked and/or updated, for Windows 2000 systems. 4) Added a 'Registration Payment' page to the website, and a link to it from the User manual. Version 6.14: 1) Modified the help engine to display topic-sensitive help, depending on where your cursor is when you press F1. Also added a 'What's this' help button on some screens, so you can click that, then click on certain fields to get context-sensitive popup help. Version 6.13: 1) The old 'User Manual.doc' file was replaced with a slick, new, completely customizable, hypertext linked, 3-pane help engine. It is really nice, and includes 'Contents', 'Index', 'Full text Search', and 'Favorites' tabs, the latter allowing you to bookmark specific topics so you can easily jump to them any time you want, not only during the 'current' session, but every time you run the program. It is completely customizable by the user. 2) Added a 'Record Type' column when listing an investment to disk file. Version 6.12: 1) Modified the Import routine, so it will provide a default description in most output records, if the input record doesn't already include one. 2) Added the ability to select the Pie chart weighting basis. The choices are 'None', 'By area', and 'By diameter'. 3) Modified the X-Y charting routine, when charting share price history, to include records where the share price = 0. 4) Imported all the Dow Jones 30 and S&P 500 monthly closing prices from 1981 thru 2001, giving 20 years of price history for both indices. Version 6.11: 1) For the Yearly charts, added 'Previous' and 'Next' buttons, which, when clicked, cause the program to automatically re-plot the data using the next sequential chart type of the 11 possible types. This saves having to close the chart window, and then clicking the Chart options each time you want to see how your data looks using a different chart type. Also a label was added to the screen and footnote, to identify which type of chart is being shown. 2) Added a chart option to display data in 'stacked bar' format. 3) Added a chart option to display the datapoints as values or percentages. 4) Added a chart option to display an additional statistical line on 2D Line charts, to show minimum, maximum, mean, standard deviation, or regression trend. 5) Modified the charting routine for the *category* charts, so that if you plot multiple series, and one series includes a year that wasn't included in a prior series, it will insert the new column into the appropriate spot in the existing columns, rather than appending it to the right side of the chart. 6) Added many more Y-scale scaling options to the charts. Scaling options now include linear, % of chart, series, or column maximum or sum, and even logarithmic. 7) Fixed a bug that prevented loading an investment where the purchases and dividends were exactly equal. Version 6.10: 1) Added convenient right-click popup context menus to the data grid and chart screen. 2) Fixed a problem with the Delete key not working in the Share Price text box. 3) Clarified the instructions concerning changing chart component colors. Version 6.09: 1) All dates, numbers, and currencies now display and print using the format defined under the Regional settings in your Control Panel. 2) More flexibility has been added to the Import option, to import dates in different formats. 3) An option has been added to the 'Preferences' tab, to show negative amounts on the data grid in red color. 4) Horizon Investment Analyst's icon was redesigned. Version 6.08: 1) Fixed a problem, where, after viewing a large file, then opening a very small file, some records in the small file weren't shown on the data grid. Version 6.07: 1) Just some minor cosmetic enhancements. Version 6.06: 1) Many more chart options have been added, including 2 and 3 dimensional bar, line, area, and pie charts. 2) You can now interact with the charts. For instance, using your mouse, you can drag the 3D charts to change their perspective (rotation and elevation). You can also change the colors of the series and other components of any of the charts, by double clicking on the component you want to change. Version 6.05: 1) The installation routine has been reworked and made much slimmer, to avoid the problems a few users reportedly experienced with installing the previous version. 2) The program will now size itself to fill the entire screen, using the user's default resolution settings, instead of only displaying in an 800X600 frame, as it did before. 3) Both the Data Grid and Chart calculate and display faster than before. 4) An option has been added to toggle the display of the Grid Control frame on or off. If you toggle it off, the visible part of the data grid will expand, giving you more space to work. This is especially helpful for people using lower resolution settings on their monitors. 5) You can now save your preferred data grid column widths so that the program will remember and use them every time you run the program. To take advantage of this, first resize the columns to the widths you prefer, by placing the mouse cursor on the borders in the column headings, and then dragging them left or right. Then click 'Options', 'Defaults', and select 'Remember data grid column width settings'. 6) New Y scaling options, 'Linear', and 'Percentage of maximum', have been added to the chart options. The latter is especially useful when plotting multiple investments on one chart, and allows you to compare them much more easily. 7) New options have been added for printing the Chart to a printer. You can now specify your preferred orientation (portrait or landscape). Also, you can specify whether you want to copy the chart to the printer as is (unmodified), or to stretch or shrink the chart to better fit the paper size in your printer. Thank you!