Captools/net is designed to take advantage of data available over the internet to populate it's securities database.  This is accomplished by the Captools/net software running on your server requesting information from the data sources that you designate, and then updating your database with that information if and when it is received.  Data downloads are a convenient way to update your database with data needed by Captools/net.  However, downloads are subject to limitations and risks as outlined in the disclaimer below.  Fortunately, downloads are not absolutely essential.  Many Pro/Enterprise users will find that data provided by their custodian or clearing firm, imported through the institutional custodian interface (see Custodian Interfaces) are sufficient to update account and portfolio records.  Non-pro users may find that they can import needed data using a generic import template or through a retail interface (see Generic Imports or Retail Interfaces), or even find that manual data input fills their needs.

 

Disclaimer

 

Unless otherwise specifically noted, Captools Company is neither the originator of downloaded data nor a conduit of downloaded data. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are eligible for that data under the terms and conditions of the data provider you select and your responsibility to review the data for accuracy for your particular data needs.  From time to time, data providers may, at their discretion, change the scope of available data as well as the data format.  This can cause interruption in data availability.  In these instances, Captools Company will endeavor to the best of its ability to make available software updates to licensees which will restore data download capability. However, we cannot guarantee that data download capability can always be restored to previous functionality, or that the terms or cost of such downloads or alternative downloads will be equal to or better than what was previously supported.

 

Captools/net users should also note that some download sources may restrict use of such data for non-professional and/or non-commercial use only.  Prior to using a download source you should review the source website terms to ensure that you qualify.  If you do not qualify, you should rely upon other data sources such as imports of custodian data, or download data from a source with less restrictive terms (typically a paid data source).

 

 

Download Data Types

 

The Captools/net download program is designed to gather various Security data from public and subscription-based data sources.  This data may include the following types of information, however, the information may vary depending upon the data source:

 

Pricing - Open, High, Low, and Closing quotes and volume.  Historical data may or may not be available depending upon data source.  This data is inserted directly into Captools/net Price History table.

 

Distributions - Cash dividend and share dividend (splits) into the Distributions History table.

 

Financials - EPS, RPS, P/E, etc. if available into the Financial History table.  This table maintains a running history of this data to support generation of plots of various financial parameters in reports.

 

Security Id - Security description and dividend payment rates and dates into the Security Id table.

 

Statistics - The Statistics table shares some of the data downloaded into the Financial History table, but keeps only the latest data.  Sorts and screens applied to this table may be useful in evaluating potential investments.

 

Fund Profiles - Mutual Fund profile information may be downloaded into the Fund Profile table, depending upon the data source.

 

 

Data Download Sources

 

The Captools/net download program uses scripts to specify the source of data to be downloaded,  Typically you should find several ready-made scripts accompanying the software, with at least one which downloads from a non-subscription website and one from a subscription website.  Licensees who use this software in a professional capacity should be aware that some sources may restrict the use of downloaded data.  You should accordingly read the terms and conditions of such sites.  We have provided a Terms link into these sites to facilitate this.  The Terms link for subscription sites should also connect you to the subscription data provider's website where you can obtain information on subscribing to their service.  More information on scripts is provided in the section Download Scripts including information on how you may construct your own scripts to download data from sites for which we have not provided scripts.

 

 

Manual vs Scheduled Downloads

 

Captools/net downloads may be triggered manually or may be scheduled to occur at a pre-set time.  If you are running a single-user version of Captools/net on a computer which is not continually running, you may find it preferable to  manually trigger downloads.   Manual Downloads are discussed in more detail in the following section.

 

However, if you are running a larger, multi-user systems running on a server operating 24/7, it is preferable for the Data Administrator to schedule downloads to occur on specific days of the week at specific times of the day.  Scheduled downloads are covered in more detail in the topic Autodownload Task in the Chapter on Scheduled Tasks.

 

Download Rights

 

On some multi-user versions, the right to configure scheduled downloads or execute manual downloads can be restricted to only users who are designated as having Data Administrator rights.  This restriction is set on the Server Control Panel (see CTControl for details).