path: root/invest-applet/docs/C/invest-applet.xml

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE article PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.1.2//EN" 
"http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.1.2/docbookx.dtd" [
  <!ENTITY legal SYSTEM "legal.xml">
  <!ENTITY appversion "2.32.0">
  <!ENTITY manrevision "1.0">
  <!ENTITY date "August 2010">
  <!ENTITY app "Invest">
  <!ENTITY panel-help SYSTEM "/usr/share/gnome/help/user-guide/C/user-guide.xml">
]>

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<!-- =============Document Header ============================= -->
<article id="index" lang="en">
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  <articleinfo> 
    <title>&app; Manual</title>       

    <copyright>
      <year>2004</year>
      <year>2005</year>
      <holder>Raphael Slinckx</holder>
    </copyright>
    <copyright> 
      <year>2007</year>
      <holder>Terrence Hall</holder> 
    </copyright> 
    <copyright>
      <year>2010</year>
      <holder>Enrico Minack</holder>
    </copyright>



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      <publishername> GNOME Documentation Project </publishername> 
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  <authorgroup> 
    <author>
      <firstname></firstname>
      <surname>GNOME Documentation Team</surname>
    </author>
    <author> 
      <firstname>Terrence</firstname> 
      <surname>Hall</surname> 
      <affiliation><address><email>teebob21@gmail.com</email></address></affiliation> 
    </author> 
    <author>
      <firstname>Enrico</firstname>
      <surname>Minack</surname>
      <affiliation><address><email>enrico-minack@gmx.de</email></address></affiliation>
    </author>
      
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    <revhistory>
      <revision> 
	<revnumber></revnumber>
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      </revision> 
    </revhistory> 

    <releaseinfo>This manual describes version &appversion; of &app;.
    </releaseinfo> 

    <legalnotice> 
      <title>Feedback</title> 
      <para>

        To report a bug or make a suggestion regarding the &app; application or this manual, follow the directions in the <ulink url="ghelp:gnome-feedback" type="help">GNOME Feedback Page</ulink>. 
      </para>

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    </legalnotice> 
    <abstract role="description">
      <para>User manual for &app;</para>

    </abstract>

  </articleinfo> 

  <indexterm zone="index"> 
    <primary>Invest</primary> 
  </indexterm> 
  <indexterm zone="index"> 
    <primary>invest-applet</primary> 
  </indexterm>

<!-- ============= Document Body ============================= -->
 <!-- ============= Introduction ============================== -->

  <sect1 id="invest-applet-intro">
    <title>Introduction</title>

    <para>
      The <application>&app;</application> GNOME panel applet downloads current quotes for stocks, stock indices, currencies and precious metals. Quotes are downloaded from <ulink url="http://finance.yahoo.com">Yahoo! Finance</ulink> and are displayed in a drop-down list.
    </para>
    <para>
      <application>&app;</application> provides the following features:
    </para>
	<itemizedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
                Retrieve quotes for any stock, stock index, currency or precious metal known by <ulink url="http://finance.yahoo.com">Yahoo! Finance</ulink>
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
                Quotes are automatically updated every 15 minutes
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
                The current price, today's change, and a chart of today's changes are displayed
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
		The currency of the quote is displayed, and if configured, automatically translated into a target currency
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
                The amount of the increase or decrease in the price since purchase, also translatable into the target currency
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
                The percentage increase or decrease in the price since purchase
              </para>
            </listitem>
	</itemizedlist>
  </sect1>

<!-- ============= Getting Started =========================== -->
  <sect1 id="invest-applet-getting-started">
    <title>Getting Started</title>

                                                                                
<!-- ============= To Start Invest ============================ -->
    <sect2 id="invest-applet-to-add">
      <title>Add &app; to a Panel</title>
      <para>To add <application>&app;</application> to a GNOME panel, right-click on the panel, then choose <guilabel>Add to Panel</guilabel>. Select <application>&app;</application> in the <guilabel>Add to Panel</guilabel> dialog, then click <guilabel>OK</guilabel>. Click <guilabel>Close</guilabel> when finished.</para>
    </sect2>
    <sect2 id="invest-applet-to-remove">
      <title>Remove &app; From a Panel</title>
      <para>To remove <application>&app;</application> from a GNOME panel, right-click on the icon, then choose <guilabel>Remove From Panel</guilabel>. </para>
    </sect2>
    <sect2 id="additional-applet-help">
      <title>More Information</title>
      <para>More information about the GNOME panel can be found in the <ulink url="ghelp:user-guide?panels" type="help">GNOME Panel documentation</ulink>.</para>
    </sect2>
  </sect1>


 <!-- ================ Usage ================================ -->
 <!-- This section should describe basic usage of the application. -->

  <sect1 id="invest-applet-usage">
    <title>Using &app; </title>
    <para>Before the applet can provide you with recent quotes, you have
	to configure it. Quotes can come from different stock exchange
	centers around the world, so the prices can have different currencies.
	The automatic translation of currencies can be configured, as well as the translation
	of your purchases done in different countries. Finally, charts are
	available for each of your configured quote.
    </para>

    <sect2 id="invest-applet-configure-quotes">
      <title>Configure your Quotes</title>

    <sect3 id="invest-applet-add-stocks">

      <title>Add New Quotes to the Applet</title>

      <para>
        To add new quotes to <application>&app;</application>, perform the following steps:
      </para>
      <orderedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Right-click on the icon, and select <guilabel>Preferences</guilabel>.
          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Click <guilabel>Add</guilabel> to add a quote to <application>&app;</application>.
          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            The default quote is GOOG. It is initially selected for editing so that you can instantly change it.
		Enter the <guilabel>Symbol</guilabel> of the quote here. If you do not know the symbol
		of your desired quote, see below.
          </para>
        </listitem>
	<listitem>
	  <para>
	    Then, click on the <guilabel>Label</guilabel> of the quote and type its proper name.
	  </para>
	</listitem>
	<listitem>
	  <para>
	    You can also edit the number of shares you own, the purchase price and the commission.
	  </para>
	</listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Click <guilabel>Close</guilabel> when you are finished adding quotes.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </orderedlist>
	<para>
	If you do not know the actual symbol of your quote, go to <ulink url="http://finance.yahoo.com/">http://finance.yahoo.com/</ulink>.
	Enter the name of the quote in the text field in the upper-left corner of the screen. While typing, it will list
	you matching quotes. The first column depicts the symbol of the quote, the second column shows the name,
	and in the third column, the stock exchange of the quote is listed. The currency of the quote may vary among
	different stock exchange centers, depending on their respective countries. Below, you can see a screenshot of
	searching for the "yahoo" quote.
	</para>

	<para>
	<mediaobject><imageobject>
	  <imagedata format="PNG" fileref="../symbol-search.png"/>
	</imageobject></mediaobject>
	Screenshot of Yahoo! Finance when searching a quote.
	</para>

	<para>
	&app; supports all quotes that can be found at <ulink url="http://finance.yahoo.com/">Yahoo! Finance</ulink>.
	In particular, these are of the following type.
	</para>
	<formalpara>
	  <title>Stocks, Bonds and Securities</title>
          <para> These are the majority of quotes that are available. Search or browse on
		<ulink url="http://finance.yahoo.com/">Yahoo! Finance</ulink> to find out what is there.
          </para>
	</formalpara>
	<formalpara>
	  <title>Stock Indices</title>
          <para> All quotes that start with an ^ are actually indices, a quote that represents a number of other quotes' performance.
		Examples are the Dow Jones Industrial Average (<ulink url="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=^DJI">^DJI</ulink>) and the
		NASDAQ Composite (<ulink url="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=^IXIC">^IXIC</ulink>).
          </para>
	</formalpara>
	<formalpara>
	  <title>Currencie rates</title>
          <para> Exchange rates between any two currencies are also available. The respective symbol is constructured as follows.
		Currency AAA in currency BBB, or in other words, how much does currency AAA cost in currency BBB, has the symbol AAABBB=X.
		If you want to know how much EUR you get for one USD (how much does one USD cost in EUR),
		you choose <ulink url="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=usdeur%3DX">USDEUR=X</ulink>.
		You can find more information at the <ulink url="http://finance.yahoo.com/currency-investing">currency page of Yahoo! Finance</ulink>.
		Currencies are represented using their <ulink url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_code">ISO 4217 currency code</ulink>.
          </para>
	</formalpara>
	<formalpara>
	  <title>Precious Metals</title>
          <para>
		The <ulink url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_code">ISO 4217 currency code</ulink> also
		lists precious metals as currencies. These are Gold, Silver, Palladium and Platinum. Their
		currency code starts with X, followed by their chemical symbol: XAU, XAG, XPD, and XPT, respectively.
		With those currency codes, the rate of precious metals in any currency are available via the currency rates described above.
		To give an example, Gold in USD has the symbol <ulink url="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=XAUUSD%3DX">XAUUSD=X</ulink>.
		You can even get the reverse (<ulink url="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=USDXAU%3DX">USDXAU=X</ulink>):
		how much Gold measured in troy ounce do you get for one USD?
          </para>
	</formalpara>
    </sect3>
    <sect3 id="invest-applet-to-view-stocks">
      <title>View Configured Quotes</title>
      <para>To view your configured quotes, click on the <application>&app;</application> icon on the panel. A list of your quotes will appear. To close the list, click the icon again. Notice that quotes are usually 15 minutes delay.
      </para>
    </sect3>

    <sect3 id="invest-applet-to-refresh-stocks">

      <title>Update the Display</title>
      <para>To immediately update the information that is displayed in the applet, right-click on the applet, then choose <guilabel>Refresh</guilabel>.
      </para>
    </sect3>
    <sect3 id="invest-applet-to-remove-stocks">
       <title>Remove Quotes from the Applet</title>
      <para>
        To remove quotes from <application>&app;</application>, perform the following steps:
      </para>
      <orderedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Right-click on the icon, and select <guilabel>Preferences</guilabel>.
          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Click the row containing the quote you wish to remove.
          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Click <guilabel>Remove</guilabel> to delete the listing.
          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Click <guilabel>Close</guilabel> when you are finished.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </orderedlist> 
    </sect3>
   </sect2>

    <sect2 id="invest-applet-configure-currencies">
      <title>Setup Currency Translation</title>
      <para>&app; displays all quotes in their original currency as retrieved from Yahoo! Finance.
	If you wish to have all quotes being displayed in one target currency, this can be configured
	in the preferences dialog.
      </para>
      <orderedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Right-click on the icon, and select <guilabel>Preferences</guilabel>.
          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Type the target currency into the <guilabel>Currency</guilabel> text field.
          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            While you type, the text field will suggest currencies that match entered currency.
          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Choose your target currency.
          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Notice that in your quote list the new <guilabel>Currency Rate</guilabel> column appears.
          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            For all purchases where the <guilabel>Price</guilabel> and <guilabel>Commission</guilabel>
		are given in original currency, the exchange rate at the time of purchase from the origin currency
		to the target currency has to be given in the <guilabel>Currency Rate</guilabel> field.
          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Click <guilabel>Close</guilabel> when you are finished.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </orderedlist>
      <para>
	Lets look at this example: You bought one Yahoo! share (YHOO) for 10.00 USD at a currency rate of
	0.75 EUR per USD. In other words, the share cost 7.50 EUR. You further paid 5.00 USD comission,
	equivalent to 3.75 EUR. When you set the target currency to EUR, you either have to enter the
	EUR (target currency) values and keep the <guilabel>Currency Rate</guilabel> at 0.00, or you enter
	the USD (original currency) values and enter the EUR per USD exchange rate
	(<ulink url="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=eurusd%3DX">USDEUR=X</ulink>).
      </para>
      <tip>
        <para>The <guilabel>Price</guilabel> and <guilabel>Commission</guilabel> both have to be given in the same currency.
        </para>
      </tip>
      <para>If you want to remove the target currency again, simply clear the <guilabel>Currency</guilabel> text field.
      </para>
   </sect2>

    <sect2 id="invest-applet-stock-charts-options">
      <title>Chart Options</title>
      <para>For each quote in your list, a financial chart is available. To open the financial chart, view the list of configured quotes, and double-click the quote that you wish to chart. The chart parameters can be customized by clicking <guilabel>Options</guilabel>.
      </para>
	<sect3 id="invest-applet-stock-chart-options-date">
	<title>Date Range</title>
              <para>
                The date range, in the top-right corner of the window,
      selects the length of time to report on. By default, it gives one
      day of data, but the following ranges can be choosen: <guilabel>Today</guilabel>, <guilabel>5 Days</guilabel>,
		<guilabel>3 Months</guilabel>, <guilabel>6 Months</guilabel>, <guilabel>1 Year</guilabel>,
		<guilabel>5 Years</guilabel>, <guilabel>Maximum</guilabel>.
              </para>

	</sect3>
	<sect3 id="invest-applet-stock-chart-options-graph">
	<title>Graph Style</title>
              <para>
                Historical price information can be graphed in three different ways.
		You can select a line chart, bar chart, or candlestick chart.
              </para>
	  <itemizedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
                <guilabel>Line Chart</guilabel> (<guilabel>l</guilabel>)
              </para>
	      <para>This is the default option. This graphs the historical price information in a familiar manner, connecting each day's closing price with a single line. Line charts for graphing quotes are useful if an analyst is interested only in a closing price each time.</para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
                <guilabel>Bar Chart</guilabel> (<guilabel>b</guilabel>)
              </para>
	      <para>A bar chart represents a full day's activity with a single vertical bar. The top of the vertical line indicates the highest price a security traded during the day, and the bottom represents the lowest price. The closing price is displayed on the right side of the bar, and the opening price is shown on the left side of the bar. One bar represents one day of trading.</para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
                <guilabel>Candlestick Chart</guilabel> (<guilabel>c</guilabel>)
              </para>
	      <para>A candlestick chart in which the open and close prices are represented as the top and bottom of a rectangle surrounding a vertical line connecting the high and low prices. The body of the rectangle is filled if the closing price is lower than the opening price and is left blank if the closing price is higher than the opening price.</para>

            </listitem>
	</itemizedlist>
	</sect3>
	<sect3 id="invest-applet-stock-chart-options-ma">
	<title>Moving Average</title>
              <para>
                A moving average is a statistical series of a security's closing prices throughout consecutive trading days. It is typically shown in the same graph as a line chart to indicate trends in prices.
              </para>
	</sect3>

	<sect3 id="invest-applet-stock-chart-options-ema">
	<title>Exponential Moving Average</title>
              <para>
		The exponential moving average (EMA) is defined as a moving average calculated by weighting recent values more heavily than older values. This type of moving average reacts faster to recent price changes than a simple moving average. The 12- and 26-day EMAs are popular short-term averages, while EMAs greater than 50 days are used to signal long-term trends.
              </para>
	</sect3>
	<sect3 id="invest-applet-stock-chart-options-overlays">
	<title>Overlays</title>
              <para>
                Overlays allow you to graph multiple statistical measurements onto a single chart. For example, you can compare the performance of a single quote against that of an index such as the NASDAQ or the DJIA.
              </para>
	</sect3>
	<sect3 id="invest-applet-stock-chart-options-indicators">
	<title>Indicators</title>
              <para>
                Indicators are used to attempt to predict future financial trends. Proper use of market indicators is beyond the scope of the Invest manual.
              </para>

	</sect3>
    </sect2>
  </sect1>
</article>