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Excel
Do I need Excel to use QuoteCat?
How do I use QuoteCat with Excel?
Which versions of Excel does QuoteCat work with?
Will QuoteCat work with applications or spreadsheets besides
Excel?
Sources
and Symbols
How do I decide which source to use?
How do I find the correct symbol for a stock?
Can I get prices for the same stock from more than one
source?
Do I need to register with the source site to get the quotes?
Installing
the Ticker Software
How do I get the QuoteCat Ticker software?
What do I need to use QuoteCat Ticker?
How do I set up QuoteCat Ticker to work properly with my
system?
Will QuoteCat Ticker affect any other applications on my
computer?
Using the
Ticker Software
How often are the quotes updated?
What other information can I get on each stock?
Where do the stock quotes come from?
Do I need to pay anything for using the software?
Which securities does QuoteCat Ticker cover?
What sort of Internet connection do I need?
Excel
Do
I need Excel to use QuoteCat?
No, you do not need Excel or any other program. All you need is computer
running Windows 95, Windows NT or later versions. There are many features
of Excel which are very powerful when used with QuoteCat, but QuoteCat
functions perfectly without Excel.
How
do I use QuoteCat with Excel?
There are three ways to use QuoteCat with Microsoft Excel.
1) The easiest way is to use the sample Excel workbook provided with QuoteCat.
The workbook give examples of how to use QuoteCat to manage a portfolio
and do other analysis. You can modify the sample worksheets to meet your
own needs.
2) Another way is to use the Excel Helper. This adds a QuoteCat menu to
the Excel menu. You can use the menu to insert live quotes into your worksheets.
3) The third way is to add the quotes to your worksheets by entering link
formulas in the cells. For example, to get a quote for Intel Corp. from
Yahoo, you would enter =QCAT|Yahoo!INTC into the cell.
Irrespective of which method you use, in each case the worksheet will
be automatically updated whenever QuoteCat gets an updated quote.
Which
versions of Excel does QuoteCat work with?
QuoteCat is designed to work with all 32bit versions of Microsoft Excel
- i.e. Excel 95, 97 and 2000. It can be used with earlier versions, but
we do not support QuoteCat when it used with these. Since QuoteCat uses
DDE to pass data into Excel, it can be used with any application which
supports DDE. However, the Excel helper (the Menu and Toolbar) will only
work with Excel 95 or more recent versions.
Will
QuoteCat work with applications or spreadsheets besides Excel?
QuoteCat will work with any application which supports receiving data
via DDE links. This includes Microsoft Word and most spreadsheet applications.
However, the Excel helper (the QuoteCat Menu and Toolbar in Excel) will
only work with Excel. To use QuoteCat with other applications you will
need to find out how they use DDE links and add the appropriate DDE link.
The application name to use with the DDE link is QCAT. The topic name
(also called the file name) is the name of the source used to get the
data, for example yahoo. The item (also called value or place reference)
name is the stock symbol, for example INTC for Intel Corporation. So,
to add a stock quote for Intel to a Microsoft Word document you would
insert the field code { DDE QCAT Yahoo INTC }
or { DDEAUTO QCAT Yahoo INTC }depending on whether you wanted it to update
automatically. Other applications have different ways of including DDE
links, but the information required (application, topic and item) will
always be the same. Search for DDE in the help for the application you
want to use.
Sources
and Symbols
How
do I decide which source to use?
Several factors influence the choice of source. The most important is
that the source must have data on the particular security you are interested
in. Most sites only cover particular types of securities (e.g. stocks)
from particular countries. Another factors is whether you are happy with
delayed quotes or want them to be real-time. 15 or 20 minute delayed quotes
are easier to get than real-time. There may also be a cost to register
for a service which has real-time quotes, or quotes for less common securities.
In addition, different services perform differently, i.e. the amount of
time it takes to get a quote from the service can vary from a tenth of
as second or less to two seconds or more. This will become especially
important if you are updating many quotes.
Fortunately you can use different sources for different quotes, so you
can choose the best source for each particular security. There is an extensive
comparison of quote sources in the QuoteCatalog.
How do I find the correct symbol for a stock?
All source sites have a lookup page. You can access this page by pressing
the 'Lookup' button on the QuoteCat Ticker 'Add Quote' dialog.
Can
I get prices for the same stock from more than one source?
Yes. You can get quotes from any number of sources for a particular stock,
provided the quote is available from the source. This can be useful for
comparing quotes or selecting the best market to trade on.
Do
I need to register with the source site to get the quotes?
Some sites do not require registration, and some do. Often a source site
will provide delayed quotes without registration, but will require registration
for real-time quotes. There may also be different types of registration.
Some registrations require a fee. We try to provide current registration
information in the 'Add Quote' dialog of QuoteCat Ticker, but you should
check with the source site before registering.
Installing
the Ticker Software
How
do I get the QuoteCat Ticker software?
The software is available free from the QuoteCat.com web site. Just click
on the 'Download' item on the top menu bar and follow the instructions
to download the software and install it on your system.
What
do I need to use QuoteCat Ticker?
You will need a PC running Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME, NT 4 or 2000.
If you are using Windows 95, you will need to have the latest service
pack installed, or Internet Explorer 3 or later. The PC will have to be
connected to the internet, either via a local network, a modem, cable
or DSL. Although you do not need to have a web browser to use the software
it is useful for looking up information such as quote symbols. Internet
Explorer or Netscape version 4 or later is recommended, although most
other browsers will work fine.
How
do I set up QuoteCat Ticker to work properly with my system?
The 'Download' page of the QuoteCat.com website gives instructions for
downloading and installing the Ticker software. QuoteCat has followed
very strict procedures to ensure that the software will run smoothly on
your system, and will not affect the operation of any other software.
Please see our Commitment To Software Quality statement.
Will
QuoteCat Ticker affect any other applications on my computer?
QuoteCat is designed so that it will not affect the operation of any other
software on your computer. Please see our Commitment To Software Quality
statement which explains how this is done.
Using the
Ticker Software
How
often are the quotes updated?
You can change how often the quotes are updated. There is a setting for
this in the 'Settings' dialog on the 'Updates' menu of the QuoteCat Ticker
Window. Your ideal update frequency will be influenced by:
The speed of your internet connection
Whether you are permanently connected or need to dial out for each update
Whether you are using real-time or delayed quotes
How often you want to check the updated prices
What
other information can I get on each stock?
Different sources provide different amounts of information on particular
stocks. This is often influenced by which exchange the stock is listed
on. Some of the items that QuoteCat Ticker will display if available are
latest, bid and offer prices, daily high, low, change and volume.
Where
do the stock quotes come from?
They come from various sources on the internet. The sources and respective
web pages (URLs) are given in the QuoteCatalog. The reader is responsible
for specifying the sources to use and ensuring that the appropriate terms
and conditions of use for that source are met.
Do
I need to pay anything for using the software?
No. The current version of the software is completely free. However, you
may need to pay some sources for the use of their data.
Which
securities does QuoteCat Ticker cover?
The securities covered by QuoteCat Ticker are those provided by the sources
we support. There is detailed information provided in the QuoteCatalog.
Not all sources in the QuoteCatalog are supported by QuoteCat Ticker.
What
sort of Internet connection do I need?
Virtually any internet connection can be used. Of course a quicker connection
will give you better performance and will permit you to monitor more quotes.
A permanent connection such as DSL, Cable or a local network is very preferable
to a dial-up modem connection, but any connection will work adequately.
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