The best data capture software for your stock tables ASSOCIATED PRESS

Transcription

1 The best data capture software for your stock tables ASSOCIATED PRESS

2 AP Stocks Pagination Quickstart Guide AP STOCKSCAPFTP QUICKSTART GUIDE Use this QuickStart Guide to get AP FTP running in minutes. Refer to the full documentation for detailed information about features. AP FTP is available from our website. For questions or help installing call SETTING-UP AP STOCKSCAPFTP Before you get started: Have your login and password handy. You will need them during the set-up process. If you don t have a login and password contact or your AP Markets staff contact for help. You must be connected to the Internet to download files from our FTP server. If any version of AP ture is installed, start with Step 1 to save the old version should you need it. If this is the first time any version of AP ture or AP FTP has been installed, skip to Step 2. Step 1 - Quit AP if it is running. Create a folder in which to store the old version. Find and move any versions of AP ture to the folder you just created. Open the System folder then open the Startup items folder. Drag any AP ture alias to the trash. Close the Startup items folder. Open the Preferences folder and drag the AP ture prefs. file to the folder where the old version is saved. Be Careful! It is easy to select and move the AP StocksPage prefs. which may be next to the ture prefs. Close the Preferences and System folders Step 2 - Double-click on the AP FTP installer. Click Continue on the splashscreen (Figure 1). We suggest you install the new application in a folder on the desktop called FTP. Choose an installation location or create a new folder in which to install the application in the Choose a folder window. Click once on the folder in which you want to install the application and click the Choose button (Figure 2). 2

3 Step 3 - Create a Watchpath and Wirepath folder in the AP FTP application folder (Figure 3). Step 4 - Launch the application by double-clicking on the icon. Note any error messages that pop-up and click OK. The FTP log window will pop-up and should contain the message: Ready to receive via FTP. AP Stocks Pagination Quickstart Guide 3 Step 5 - Select Preferences from the Edit Menu. Step 6 - Set the Watchpath and Wirepath folders. Find the Watchpath folder by clicking on the little triangles at the end of the path selection bar. Once the Watchpath folder appears in the window, click on it once, then click once on the Select Watchpath button at the bottom of the window (Figure 4). Set the Wirepath folder by repeating Step 6 and choosing the Wirepath folder. Step 7 - Click the Purge button, select Auto Purge or select Purge times for each day of the week, click OK. Review the Purging function on page 8 for more detailed information about this feature. 4 Step 8 - Click the Configure button Enter your User Name and Password. Click OK then Save. You are ready to start manually downloading files. Review page 11 for more information on how the application can automatically download files.!you must have an ACTIVE INTERNET CONNEC- TION at the time you wish to download files. No Internet connection will result in an error message and no files downloaded until the connection is active. Step 9 - Select Download New, Download All or Choose files to download from the FTP dropdown menu to begin downloading files. Please review the full documentation for complete information on each step 3

4 AP Stocks Pagination Table of Contents CONTENTS Introduction/How it works Hardware/Software Requirements Installing AP Stockscap Setting up AP FTP Navigating the AP FTP menubar Wirepath and Watchpath folder selection Purging Data AP Application Password Feature Strip Slug Line Connection Mode: FTP Setting FTP Preferences Downloading Files Auto Poll Download All Download New Choose Files to Download Connection Mode: Modem Setting Modem Preferences Downloading Files Advanced Features Raw to Screen File Naming File Creator String Translates Troubleshooting

5 AP STOCKSCAPFTP INTRODUCTION AP FTP is one part of a two part system the AP has created to make financial market data easy to use and paginate. AP FTP handles data file download and parsing. AP StocksPage is a QuarkXPress extension that makes pagination of financial markets data quick and simple. AP Stocks Pagination Introduction The primary purpose of AP FTP is to receive your financial markets page data, strip the ANPA header information from the files, and replace the semicolon delimiters with tabs recognized by QuarkXPress. We pull the data for your market pages from our computer databases and format it into tabdelimited, ASCII text files with embedded QuarkXPress style calls. If you are familiar with FTP client applications, or if you want to get started quickly, turn to page 7 and refer to the heading Setting-up AP FTP. HOW IT WORKS AP FTP is a telecommunications program that allows your computer to use the Internet or a modem to receive data files automatically. This version of FTP incorporates all the features of past versions with new Internet delivery options that will make financial page production even smoother. We prepare the custom data files you use in your financial market pages on our computer systems. When your data files are ready, our systems prepare the data files and move them into your folder on our FTP server or dials your modem. The AP FTP program running on your computer allows you to download the files from the FTP server or, if your are using a modem, answers the call through the AP modem and downloads the files into the Watchpath folder. The application processes the files in the Watchpath folder and moves them to the Wirepath folder for use by QuarkXPress. Hardware/Software Requirements Any PowerPC running OS 8.5 or newer, including OS X. To check the OS on the target machine: click once on the desktop, then choose About this computer from the Apple Menu found in the upper left corner of the screen. F.Y.I. An active Internet connection is required. 5

6 AP Stocks Pagination FTP Installation 1 INSTALLING AP STOCKSCAPFTP AP FTP is available from our website. For questions or help installing call If any version of MacStocks, AP ture or AP is installed, start with Step 1 to save the old version should you need it. If this is the first time any version of AP ture or AP FTP has been installed, skip to Step 2. Step 1 - Quit any version of MacStocks, AP ture or AP FTP running on the machine. Create a folder in which to store the old version(s). Open the System folder then Open the Startup items folder. Drag any AP ture alias to the trash. Close the Startup items folder. Open the Preferences folder. Drag the AP ture prefs. file to the folder where the old version of AP ture is saved. Be Careful! It is easy to select and move the AP StocksPage prefs. which may be next to the ture prefs. Close the Preferences and System folders. Step 2 - Double-click on the AP FTP installer. Click Continue on the splashscreen. We suggest you install the new application in a folder on the desktop called FTP. Choose an installation location or create a new folder in which to install the application in the Choose a folder window. Click once on the folder in which you want to install the application and select the Choose button (Figure 1). The default settings are for FTP data transfers. Ftp set-up is covered in the following sections. Turn to page 12 for Modem set-up. F.Y.I. What gets Installed? The installer creates a folder named AP FTP and installs the application into the folder. It creates an alias of the application and installs the alias into the System Startup Items folder. It also installs an Apple serial tool and a Zmodem tool into the System Extensions folder. 6

7 SETTING-UP AP STOCKSCAPFTP Before you get started: Have your login and password handy. You will need them during the set-up process. If you don t have a login and password contact or your AP Markets staff contact for help. You must be connected to the Internet to download files from our FTP server. Navigating the AP StockscapFTP Menubar File-Open and process files manually, Show window, Close window and Quit from this menu (Figure 2). Edit-Open the application Preferences window from this menu (Figure 3). FTP-Choose from various manual FTP download options from this menu (Figure 4). Font and Size-Choose Log font and size from this menu. Window- Change log window size, clear, close and open from this menu (Figure 5). Folder Hierarchy We suggest you use a hierarchy that will help you easily find the folders required to use the application. Place the new folders explained below in the AP FTP application folder. The application requires two data folders to function properly. Data from an FTP download or modem transmission is placed into a raw data folder where it is held for processing.the processing portion of the application checks or watches this folder and automatically processes files placed there. We suggest you call this the Watchpath folder. Once data has been processed, it is moved into a finished data folder. We suggest you call this folder the Wirepath folder AP Stocks Pagination FTP Setup 7

8 AP Stocks Pagination Setting Preferences 6 Setting Application Preferences Launch the application by double-clicking on the icon. Note any error messages that pop-up and click OK. A splashscreen will pop-up for 30 seconds. The FTP window will pop-up and should contain the message: Ready to receive via FTP. Select Preferences from the Edit Menu. Alternately, you can hold down the Apple Command key and press the letter P to bring up the Preferences window. Each item in the preferences dialog box (Figure 6) is explained on the following pages. Most of the preferences are preset and you only need check them. Setting the Wirepath and Watchpath Step 1. Find the Watchpath folder you just created by clicking on the little triangles at the end of the path selection bar. The bar is labeled AP FTP in figure 6. Once the Watchpath folder appears in the window, click on it once, then click once on the Select Watchpath button at the bottom of the window (Figure 7). Step 2. Set the Wirepath folder by repeating step 1. 7 Step 3. A backup Wirepath may be set also. However, the ready availablity of FTP data minimizes the need for backup data. The application will write the processed data in two places. This backup Wirepath folder may reside on a server or another machine on the network. However, the link to the backup folder could be lost if the backup drive drops off the network. To set a Backup Wirepath, create a Backup Wirepath folder on the backup drive and set the Backup Wirepath repeating Step 1. Purging Data The Purge feature must be activated for all features of this application to function properly. In addition, it is one of two defenses we have created to help protect newspapers from printing old data. The second line of defense is through the AP StocksPage Quark extension. The Purge feature clears data files from the Wirepath folder. In addition, the Purge resets the downloaded files log. The log must be reset each day for the Download New and Auto Poll features to function properly. 8

9 Select the Purging button in the Preferences window. The Purge Preferences window will pop-up (Figure 8). We suggest you set daily purge times unless you are sure the machine will be on at midnight, everynight. Auto Purge will gray the other purging selections and the purge will take place every night at midnight. The Purge Backup feature deletes data files in the Backup Wirepath folder based on the auto or custom purge times selected. Select Purge Backup by clicking once in the box and a check will appear. AP Stocks Pagination Setting Preferences 8 Click OK when finished.!caution! AP FTP is not discriminating! It purges ALL files from the folder(s) during the purge process. Do not store any files or applications in the Wirepath folder other than data files that are to be thrown away. Purging Rules of Thumb Here are a few important things to remember when setting purge times: F.Y.I. 1- The capture computer must be on, and AP FTP must be running for purge to work. The application will not purge if the machine is not on at the set purge time. 2- The software doesn t know if the data it is purging is old or new. It s best to set the purge time for well after your final deadline. Most morning papers set purge times between 3 and 6 am. 3- Remember to pay careful attention when setting the purge day! Typically, Tuesday s market pages are prepared Monday evening. That data is then set to purge on Tuesday morning not Monday morning. 4- The data files for your Saturday and/or Sunday market pages are delivered on Friday night. If you run any weekend market pages that are not printed on Friday night it is best to set No Purge for Saturday and Sunday. You can safely set a Purge for Monday morning to clear this weekend data. Confused? Review point 3! 9

10 AP Stocks Pagination FTP Setup AP Application Password Feature You can password protect the AP FTP application so that only authorized personnel can change the preferences or quit the application. Using this feature is optional. You may choose to use the same password assigned from the AP or create your own. Choose Preferences from the Edit Menu, click the Password button in the Preferences pop-up window. Click the Enable Password check box at the top of the window. Click on the box labeled Enter Password, type in your AP Application Password and click Done (Figure 9). Move to the next preference setting or click Save to exit the Preferences window.!caution! REMEMBER YOUR AP APPLICATION PASSWORD. If you forget it you will have to reinstall AP! Strip Slug LIne The Strip Slug Line button should be checked. This removes the ANPA header information from the data files. CONNECTION MODE: FTP Setting FTP Preferences Click the Configure button (Figure 6). Enter your User Name and Password (Figure 10). Make sure the Host IP, Path, Port and PASV match those in Figure 10. These default settings should only be changed if you are having problems related to your firewall or proxy server. Refer to the Troubleshooting section for more information about firewall and proxy server problems. Auto Poll Settings This application will automatically check the AP FTP server for your data files, download and process them. The application makes a connection to our FTP server and checks for files every 15 minutes during the polling period. Your Internet connection must be active for this feature to work properly. We suggest you set Polling to begin one hour before you begin pagination and end an one 10

11 AP Stocks Pagination hour past your normal page deadline. Click the Auto Poll box and select the Start and Stop times. Click OK when finished. Downloading files Auto Poll Auto Poll will download files automatically. However, a user may decide to download files manually if all files did not download at last auto poll, or to check the current availability. Files can be downloaded manually even when Auto Poll is activated. FTP Setup Continued 12 There are three available manual downloading options for FTP transfer: Download All Download New Choose Files to Download See Figure 4 to review the FTP menu.!caution! You must have an ACTIVE INTERNET CONNECTION at the time you wish to download files. No Internet connection will result in an error message and no files downloaded until the connection is active. 13 Download All Select Download All from the FTP menu. The application will establish a connection and download all files from your folder on the FTP server. The log will show the names of the files downloaded and processed and display an end of connection message when finished (Figure 11). If the log shows an error message please refer to Troubleshooting at the end of this manual. Download New Select Download New from the FTP menu. The application will connect to the FTP server and download any new files added to the FTP server since the last download. The log will display a no new files message (Figure 12) if there have been no new files added to your folder on the FTP server since the last download. 11

12 AP Stocks Pagination Modem Setup Choose Files to Download Select Choose Files to Download from the FTP menu. The application will connect to the FTP server and display an FTP File and Folder List selection window (Figure 13). If the log shows an error message please refer to Troubleshooting at the end of this manual. View the files available for download by using the scroll buttons. Select a file to download by clicking on the file. Select several files to download by selecting the first file and then selecting the last file you wish to download while holding down the shift key. Select the OK button to start the download. CONNECTION MODE: MODEM Setting Modem Preferences Modem transmission is still available but is not the primary method of data delivery. Follow the instructions below for modem delivery. AP FTP supports only ZModem protocol. XModem transfers are no longer supported. Choose Preferences from the File Menu. Click on the Connection Mode selection bar and choose ZModem (Figure 14). Click the Configure button. Make sure the General, Files and Protocol settings match the ones in Figure 15, 16 and 17, respectively. Click on the Modem settings button. Make sure the settings match the example in Figure Connection Settings Method - Serial tool Port Settings Baud Rate: 38,400 or 57,600 depending on the AP modem at your location. Parity: None Data Bits: 8 Stop Bits: 1 Handshake: DTR & CTS The Current Port should be set to the serial port into which the modem is plugged. The default is the Modem Port. If you are using the Printer Port be sure you click on the Printer Port icon. On machines with USB ports using a USB-to-Serial adapter, be sure to select the USB Adapter Icon. 12

13 Downloading files The modem will automatically receive files as they are sent as long as the modem is on and AP FTP is running. NOTE: The modem setting is considerably slower than receiving files via FTP, but will still operate like always. AP Stocks Pagination Advanced Features 12 ADVANCED FEATURES These features are not typically changed from their defaults for normal operation. Raw to Screen This feature is occasionally used when testing the modem. The feature allows the application to write raw incoming data directly to the onscreen Log. Make sure this box is not checked for normal operation of AP FTP. File Naming This feature allows you to pick three different naming conventions for data files. Default is the most common file naming convention. The Default name contains only the actual numerical name for the data file. An Extended data file name contains the five letter SID Member Identification Code followed by a hyphen or underline and the Default file name. The Keyword file name contains the Extended file name followed by a description of the file contents. Here are some examples of how a typical data file containing New York Stock Exchange data might be named. Default data file name: 2A019. Extended data file name: MCLOR-2A019.TTXT Keyword data file name: MCLOR-2A019-NYSE-TUES.TTXT To change the File Naming preferences: Choose Preferences from the File Menu. Click on the File Naming drop-down menu and select the option you want to use. Click Save to exit. File Creator Allows you to select different text suffixes for data files. The suffix tells your computer which application to launch in order to view a data file when you double-click on the file. The default setting is ttxt which will launch Simpletext. Other signatures available include Microsoft Word, MacWrite and MACA. Most word processors will read Word/MacWrite files or straight text. 13

14 AP Stocks Pagination Advanced Features Continued To change the File Creator preferences: Choose Preferences from the File Menu. Click on the File Creator text box and enter the option you prefer. Click on Save to exit. String Translates This feature allows the application to translate text in data files into different text or symbols. For example, it translates traditional fraction characters into the codes representing the fraction characters in the font you ve chosen for the body of your market tables. It can also be use to translate a stub company name normally transmitted into a local name you prefer and strip data from an incoming file. Translation tables can be imported from any word processor capable of saving text-only files or exported to a word processor for editing. These files must be saved as tab-delimited files - that is, the From: and To: strings should be separated by a tab and each line should end with a return. To create a Translation table: Choose Preferences from the File Menu. Click on the String Translates button. Enter the code or text from the incoming data file in the From: field. Enter the code or text you want the data to become in the To: field or leave the To: field blank to strip the data from the file. Choose the Next Page button to continue entering data after you have filled Page 1. You can save up to 40 pages (200 lines) in AP FTP. Click Done when you re finished. To create a Translation table in a word processor: Launch the word processor and create a new document. Type the first From: string, for example AmExp, the AP abbreviation name for American Express. F.Y.I. Special and Control Characters Many special and control characters cannot be typed on a computer keyboard. Others can be typed but may have an unintended effect. Handle these special cases by entering a backslash (\) followed by the character s hexadecimal representation. For example, \0D is the hexadecimal representation for a carriage return. Three common characters have other backslash equivalents: \r for a carriage return \t for a horizontal tab \i for line feed. If you want to include a string that includes a backslash, enter two backslashes. For example, to translate an items named \text\ enter \\text\\. Warning! This only works for characters below hexadecimal

15 Press the Tab key and type the To: string, American Express. Press the enter or return key. This will convert the stub abbreviation of AmExp to the name American Express any place that it appears in your market tables. Repeat this process until the table is complete. Save the file in ASCII text format. AP Stocks Pagination Notes To import a table into AP FTP: Choose Preferences from the File Menu. Click the Import button at the bottom of the Preferences screen. Find the table you want to import in the Open dialog box and double-click on it or choose Open. Click Save to exit the Preferences Menu. To export a Translation table for editing in a word processor: Choose Preferences from the File Menu. Click the Export button on the Preferences screen. Choose the folder you want to save the translation table to and type in a file name. Click on Save. Click Save to exit the Preferences Menu. NOTES 15

16 AP Stocks Pagination Troubleshooting TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE Why do I have to use AP FTP to download my data files? AP FTP parses the raw datafiles. The application removes the ANPA headers and converts semicolons to tabs recognized by QuarkXPress application program. The installer crashes or quits when trying to install AP FTP. Some extensions conflict with installers. Restart your Mac using the Base Extension set. To change to the Base extension set: Open the Extensions Manager Control Panel and choose the Base setting in the Selected Set: menu bar. The application crashes on or shortly after launch, or hangs after connecting to the FTP server and won t finish downloads. Make sure you are running OS 8.5 or newer. Some Extensions and Control Panels, including Suitcase Font Menu 8 Control Panel, conflict with this application. Check your Extension Set for Suitcase Font Menu Control Panel, disable it and try again. If this control panel is not installed, it is likely that another Extension or Control Panel is conflicting with the application. You can isolate the problem by adding Control Panels and Extensions to the base set one at a time and restarting after each addition. There may be a problem with your firewall or proxy server. Some firewalls/proxy servers will not allow the return file transfer even though they allow the connection to an outside FTP server. Contact your IS department. They may need to open a secure port to the AP FTP server. The firewall/proxy server may require a certain FTP port to be selected or may require a Passive connection. Ask your IS department to give you the correct port number and enter it in the Use Port setting. Check the Use PASV box if your firewall/proxy server requires a Passive connection. (See Configuring for FTP on page 10.) The application crashes and gives an error message that includes a reference to any missing lib file. Make sure you are running OS 8.5 or newer. The error is caused by a change in the Appearance Manager. 16

17 The application was unable to make a connection to the AP FTP server. The application beeps when I try to download files or I get a could not connect error message. Make sure the Internet connection is active and working properly. Launch a web browser and go to a site that you normally don t visit (this will insure the site won t be loaded from your hard drive s cache). If the site won t load it is likely your Internet connection is down. AP Stocks Pagination Troubleshooting Cont. Some Firewalls and Proxy Servers will prevent the application from connecting to the AP FTP server. Contact your IS department for more information about your firewalls/proxy servers. They might need to open a secure port to the AP FTP server. An unusual looking logon window appears on my screen and nothing happens when I enter my logon and password This is likely an internal firewall/proxy server issue on your network. Contact your IS department and inform them they may need to open a secure portal to the AP FTP server. The log shows an unexpected end of file or State = 0 error message. Check the Watchpath folder for files that are not markets data files or files that were placed in the folder using some other FTP client. Trash the errant files, restart the application and download files from the FTP server again.this application is designed only as an FTP client for AP financial markets data. It may not function properly when downloading non-financial markets data. We recommend you use AP FTP to download files. Should you use a different FTP client make sure you choose the binary download setting when downloading data files. The application indicates files were downloaded and processed but I can t find them in the Wirepath folder. Check the Watchpath and Wirepath folder settings VERY carefully. Make sure you are checking the folders selected. Should I remove data files from the FTP server? No. Not for any reason. If you are missing files or if you get a date-related error message when paginating your financial market pages, call the AP Help desk and ask for assistance. 17

18 Associated Press Market s Information Department 50 Rockfeller Plaza New York, NY