| "Sequence
bug" fixed |
Certain
sequences of actions when using StockOpter® 1.00 and 1.01 could
result in erroneous values in Case sheets other than the BaseCase
sheet. The problem was most likely to occur if a stock plan
(of any type) had been added to the StockOpter® model after additional
Case sheets had been created. If the StockOpter® workbook had
no additional Case sheets beyond the BaseCase, or if all stock
plans were defined before any additional Case sheets were created,
this bug had no effect. |
| RSP
"Cost basis" bug fixed |
In
versions 1.00 and 1.01, if vested, non-83(b) shares are on hand
at the start of the initial model year (i.e. an entry exists
in Column B in the RSP row titled "Cum # of non-83(b) shares
vested"), the cost basis and capital gain calculations
will be incorrect in the initial model year ("Column C").
Since all subsequent cells in these rows refer directly or indirectly
to the Column C cell, their values will also be incorrect. This
bug has been fixed, as part of a general rewrite of the RSP
section. |
| AMT
calculation numbers updated from 1998 to 1999 |
For
AMT and MTC purposes formulas calculating income tax liability
using maximum capital gains rates (Part IV of Schedule D) had
used value from the 1998 Schedule D tax form rather than the
1999 schedule. The specific item is line 29 for Schedule D,
where taxable income is compared with IRS predetermined numbers.
A slight miscalculation occurred when recalculated taxable income
for AMT was below these threshold numbers. |
| Canned
strategies can be implemented by either numbers or formulas |
In
previous versions of StockOpter®, canned strategies (e.g. "Exercise
and hold forever") were implemented by putting formulas
in the dark yellow strategy cells. While this allowed any subsequent
changes to vesting schedules, etc. to automatically flow through
to the strategy rows, it meant Excel's "Goal Seek"
tool couldn't manipulate these strategy rows. A new option lets
you implement strategies with hard numbers rather than formulas,
allowing Goal Seek full access to all strategy rows. |
| CaseSummary
sheet formatting improved |
On
the CaseSummary sheet, The value in cell "A1" within
each case sheet is used as the label for that sheet's output
block. In previous versions, long, user-entered values in cell
"A1" did not wrap on the CaseSummary sheet, resulting
in visual truncation of the label. In version 1.02, the CaseSummary
label word-wraps as needed to accommodate long "A1"
values. |
| CaseSummary
sheet now rebuilt upon entry |
In
version 1.02, the CaseSummary sheet is fully rebuilt each time
you move to that sheet. In previous versions, certain patterns
of the addition and deletion of Case Sheets occasionally resulted
in #REFs appearing in blocks on the CaseSummary sheet which
referred to case sheets which had been deleted. This bug is
now fixed. |
| Graphs
now support more than 8 Case sheets |
In
previous versions, a bug prevented charts from displaying correctly
if more than 8 case sheets were in use in a particular model.
This bug has been fixed, and any number of case sheets is now
supported. However, the color scheme using in StockOpter® charts
in which each case sheet is mapped to a unique color, begins
to repeat after the 14th Case sheet is added. The Case sheet
data, lines and labels are still graphed correctly, its just
the color scheme that begins to recycle. |
| Memory
leaks fixed |
"Memory
leaks" refer to small areas of memory which are not released
by StockOpter® after the StockOpter® workbook is closed. We believe
these memory areas are reclaimed by Windows when Excel itself
is closed, although we have no way of verifying this. In any
event, these leaks have been fixed, and all were involved very
small amounts of memory. As far as we know, this bug has had
no impact whatsoever on users. |
| "Data
shift" within the Assumptions wizard has been addressed |
Particular
combinations of Excel versions and Windows versions, coupled
with particular sets of user behavior -- particularly those
involving the repeated addition and deletion of models and stock
plans -- would occasionally result in a "data shift"
in the Assumptions wizard. Users bringing up that form would
see data values offset by one box within that dialog box, although
the underlying data on the Assumptions sheet was correct. While
we are still investigating parts of this problem, version 1.02
has greatly reduced the number of situations in which this data
shift occurs. |
| "Cancel"
on workbook close event preserves menus and toolbars |
Previously
if users started to close either an unsaved StockOpter® workbook
or a full Excel session which contained an unsaved StockOpter®
workbook, and then decided to hit the "Cancel" button
in the standard Windows dialog box asking "Do you cant
to save changes...", the StockOpter® toolbar and menus would
disappear although the StockOpter® workbook remained open. In
this version, hitting the "Cancel" button will preserve
the StockOpter® menus and toolbars. |
| New
option available within "Customize Display" |
A
"StockOpter® Defaults" button has been added to the
dialog box brought up by the "Customize display" toolbar
button or the matching "SO Views" menu item. This
will set the displays on all Case sheets to default StockOpter®
values (i.e. "All rows" view) and disable any suppression
of StockOpter® messages. Sheet protection will be restored to
the Assumptions and all Case sheets. The StockOpter® menus and
toolbars will be made visible as needed. In addition it will
reset application-level Excel characteristics to StockOpter®
defaults (e.g. Calculation mode to automatic). |
| Case
sheet tabs can be renamed |
Tabs
on Case sheets can now be renamed with fewer punctuation limitations.
In previous versions, only letters or numbers were supported
and no embedded spaces were allowed. Starting with version 1.02,
spaces are permitted as well as a much wider variety of punctuation
symbols. |
| Case
sheets can be deleted |
A
new option within the StockOpter® "Navigator" utility
allows you to delete any Case sheet, other than the BaseCase
sheet, whenever you like. As in earlier versions of StockOpter®,
you could also delete a Case sheet using standard Excel commands,
but at the cost of complaining messages from Excel when you
subsequently came onto a chart. This new feature deletes the
chosen sheet, but also tells each StockOpter® chart not to complain
about the now-missing Case sheet. |
| Sheet
and cell protection enhanced |
In
previous versions of StockOpter®, Case sheets and the Assumptions
sheet would occasionally lose their sheet protection. This opened
the possibility of inadvertent user changes to key cell formulas.
This version greatly tightens the sheet protection scheme. |
