README file for SpreadMsg Lite Software 


Would you like to know:

When your stock has gone over or under a certain price?
If the NASDAQ has gone up xx points above yesterday's close?
If your future or currency has hit your limit buy price?
If your custom-calculated spreadsheet value has reached xxx?


...SpreadMsg Lite CAN DO ALL THIS AND MORE!


Monitor Stocks, Mutual Funds, Futures, Currencies, & More
Receive Alert Messages via E-Mail, Pager, Cellphone, etc.
Your Custom Rules Determine Content and Time of Message Delivery

      

CONTENTS

1. Description and Purpose
2. Installation
3. Status, Registration, and Distribution
4. Contact Information
5. Further Help and Features Description
     Basic Operational Overview
     Message Delivery Rules and Conditions
     Timed Interval Delivery
6. Application Examples
7. Software Removal
8. Release Notes



--------------------------
Description and Purpose
--------------------------


    SpreadMsg Lite 32-bit Software for Windows 95/98 and 
                      NT4.0 Platforms

SpreadMsg Lite software, designed and manufactured by 
Compuquest, Inc., automatically captures cell data values 
from your workbook or spreadsheet application, and/or 
streaming internet-delivered realtime financial data 
delivered by Quote.Com. Then, it turns them into e-mail 
messages, or wireless messages delivered to pagers, 
PCS/GSM digital cellphones,  and other devices. The 
messages are formed according to your rules and content 
specifications. You can trigger message delivery 
based on rules such as any change in data value, 
data above or below a specific numeric level, textual 
content match, periodic time interval, and more.

Today, spreadsheets, and their newer namesake, "workbooks", 
are being used in ways that are much more powerful 
than in the past. Interfacing to other applications, 
attaching themselves to realtime data gathering, 
process control, and financial quote retrieval, are just 
some of the new uses. Add in the connectivity to LAN or 
larger network, and the realtime link from spreadsheet 
to data source is almost limitless.

And, internet delivery of realtime financial 
information is enabling new frontiers of investment 
analysis and user participation. SpreadMsg Lite supports 
realtime internet datafeed from Quote.Com, a leading 
provider of these innovative new services. In the same 
way as spreadsheet data, SpreadMsg Lite will use and 
process data items from the Quote.Com realtime 
datafeed as a datasource for messaging features. 


--------------
Installation
--------------

The zip archive file from which you obtained this README 
file also contains the file SPDMLxxx.EXE (the "xxx" are
version numbers). This is a self-installing executable
file. Place it in a temporary directory, then execute the 
file, either by typing the filename from a DOS prompt, 
or using the File/Run dialog from Windows. You may 
select a directory where you would like the program 
to be installed.

(If your installation of SpreadMsg Lite is from a single 
executable file, the "archive" portions of the above 
paragraph do not apply).


---------------------------------------
Status, Registration and Distribution
---------------------------------------

The SpreadMsg Lite Software contained in this module is
a full-featured, 30-day trial version. When it is operated,
it will briefly show you the time remaining in a window 
every time the program is run. After the 30-day period has 
expired, it will not operate further. At that time, you may
either uninstall the software from your system, or purchase
a registered license.

Purchasing a registered license is easy and costs 
only US$119.95

Any time before the evaluation period has concluded, simply 
call Compuquest at 1-630-830-2700, have your userinfo number 
and credit card (MasterCard or Visa) ready, and we will email 
you the registration codes you need to personalize your 
software and make the operation of it permanent.

Distribution of the entire zipfile "SPDMLxxx.ZIP", or the
single-file executable "SPDML.EXE" is fully permitted
without restriction. Incomplete or other partial distribution
of the internal component parts of the zipfile is not 
permitted in any form or media.


---------------------
Contact Information
---------------------

If you have questions, comments, or other communications
regarding this product, please contact:

Compuquest, Inc.
Attn: Customer Service
366 S. Main St.
Bartlett, IL 60103

voice 630-830-2700
  fax 630-830-0877

email: support@compuquestinc.com
  URL: http://www.compuquestinc.com

The main internet product page may be found at:
http://www.compuquestinc.com/spmsgl.html


---------------------------------------
Further Help and Features Description
---------------------------------------

An online WINHELP-compatible set of help files are included.
Also, the "tooltip" help included throughout should
make the program very easy to use (if you don't know about 
these, they are pop-up text help messages that appear if you
click on a text-window, or position your mouse above a button 
and just wait about 2 seconds - the help or explanation 
message will appear...).  


	Basic Operational Overview

The user begins by setting up the communications 
parameters they will be using for messaging. 
Depending on features used, and message types chosen, 
this may include modem port and communication settings, 
wireless message service access data, 
alpha pager PIN number, outbound email server 
addressing data, and email message delivery address. 
Testing facilities are available to the user, so
that these setups can be operationally verified 
quickly.

Next, the user may define up to 10 "Selections" 
from either DataSource - spreadsheet data, or 
data from Quote.Com realtime internet datafeed.

Once defined, checking the "Start Link" will establish 
connection for each chosen Selection, between the 
DataSource and SpreadMsg Lite. A copy of the current 
value of the DataSource is shown, and visual indication 
of the established link is provided, until cancelled. 
This data is maintained in real time, and will be 
updated instantly upon any change from the DataSource.

Online operation (message delivery) is engaged by clicking 
a "START Messaging" button. The user may enable display 
of message delivery progress, or disable this feature. 
Also, a disk logging capability provides timestamped 
history of each message, and is stored to disk for audit 
trail or later retrieval. While still in offline mode, 
the user will continue receiving real time updates and 
display for each Selection of DataSource data, so long 
as that Selection remains activated.


	Message Delivery Rules and Conditions

A high level of flexiblity is afforded to the user for 
definition of the conditions under which message delivery 
occurs. Also, since in many cases, the DataSource data 
may consist only of a raw value, that does not serve 
well as a message by itself, provisions exist for the 
user to specify text that will precede, and additional 
text that will follow, the actual data itself, when the 
message is delivered. For example, let's imagine that a 
spreadsheet cell Selection was monitoring a real time 
update of a manufacturing process temperature value, or 
perhaps the Quote.Com DataSource was chosen for a 
Selection to monitor the realtime price value of IBM stock. 
In each case, the actual DataSource value may only be a 
single raw number, such as 72, or 148, but by adding 
the before and after text elements, the message delivered 
might read:

Acid bath HCL Vat 4 now at 72 degrees Celcius,  ...or 
Today's high price for IBM has reached 148 this hour 
 
See how much more valuable and descriptive the 
additional text is?
 
Limits may be put on message delivery, so that once 
the desired Selection Rules are met, (and should 
they be met repeatedly, such as a stock breaking 
out), the user will not receive a large number of 
message deliveries.

Message delivery choices allow the user to specify the 
method(s) to use, for each Selection. The user may 
choose from E-Mail message, dialout message to wireless 
device, such as alpha pager, Digital celfone, PDA, 
etc., or both. Individual Selections may be temporarily 
"de-activated" so that no delivery occurs.


 
Delivery rules are different, depending on whether the 
selected DataSource contents are a numeric value, or
textual content. Here are the differences for each case:
 
 
Textual Data: The user may select filtering rules,
which are applied to the DataSource realtime data: 
 
deliver the message whenever the data changes in 
any way, or... 

deliver the message if the dataa "contains" any 
user-specified symbol, word, or phrase, or... 

deliver the message if the data does NOT contain 
specific content 
 
 
Numeric Data: The user may select filtering rules based on: 
 
deliver the message if the data value is equal to a 
specified amount, or... 

deliver the message if the data value is greater than a 
specified value, or... 

deliver the message if the data value is less than a 
specified value 

 
 
	Timed-Interval Delivery

Alternative to the logic and content based rules, the user 
may choose to have message delivery performed at specific 
repeated intervals of 10, 15, 30 , 60, 120 or 240 minutes.
 
 
As you can see, the above features of SpreadMsg Lite 
software provide powerful, comprehensive, and flexible 
ways to monitor your data, and stay informed, through 
wireless messaging and/or email delivery, of exactly 
what is important to you.


----------------------
Application Examples
----------------------

Here are just a few of the many uses for SpreadMsg Lite:

* Provide alerts when manufacturing machine tolerance 
limits are reached

* Monitor stock, mutual funds, futures, or currencies for 
alert conditions

* Quality or yield level process control

* Monitor network, LAN, ISP, or other enterprise performance

* OSHA and other environmental standards alerting

* Hospital, chemistry, biotech -- lab experiment tracking 
and alerting


------------------------------------
Removal of SpreadMsg Lite Software
------------------------------------

Should you desire to remove this software from your
computer, do the following:

From Start Menu, go into Control Panel.
Select Add/Remove Programs, open it.
Select SpreadMsg Lite from the program list.
Click Remove



---------------
Release Notes
---------------


Ver 3.0.0
  Add support for Quote.Com as DataSource.
  Expand Selection Choices from 1 to 10
  Add E-Mail as Message Delivery Method Choice
  Add Max-Limits to message delivery for each Selection  

Ver 2.5.0
  Add message queue for improved handling of new messages generated
   while "old" message is being delivered.
  Add selective enabling for link activation. Activation not allowed
   until proper cell and filename data is present.
  Add tech support diagnostic aid for port/modem setup in Setup Menu


Ver 2.2.0
  Fix bug that allowed control characters in spreadsheet data display.
  Add help and error-traps for Cell row-column definition and entry.


Ver 2.1.5
  Add auto-timeout for intro screen

Ver 2.1.4
  Enhance international locale compatibility

Ver 2.1.3
  Re-issue due to potential error in 2.1.2 zipfile

Ver 2.1.2
  Initial online distribution release




Other Notes:

      if you have any problems with this file, either 
      with download or installation, the very latest version
      is always available at the Compuquest, Inc. website
      http://www.compuquestinc.com
      
      If you have the "Trial Version" of SpreadMsg Lite, 
      you may send unlimited Test Messages to either 
      your pager or other wireless device, and also to 
      the email address you specify. Realtime, 
      rule-based messages from DataSources are displayed 
      on-screen, identical in content to what is 
      actually delivered in the Registered Version.








Trademarked items mentioned herein are the properties of
their respective owners.

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