Importing Mutual Funds Not in the Database

Last revised 01/17/12

FastTrack may use data that you provide which is not a standard part of the FastTrack database. FastTrack for the Web will read data that you maintain in an ASCII text file. When FNU files are properly formatted and placed in the C:\FT\ folder, FastTrack will recognize them as if they were in the regular database. You may add the FNU symbols to  families, rank, chart, and in all respects use the information normally.

File Name:

The file name can be any name or symbol from 1 to 5 characters PLUS the FNU extension. DO NOT use a symbol that is already in the FastTrack database. For example, you might have data on Abbott Labs (a stock) with a file name ABT$.FNU. The $ at the end of a symbol distinguished the ticker from FT ticker symbols. This way both ABT in the FT Stocks1 database and the FNU file, ABT$.FNU will both be accessible. 

Location:

FNU files saved in your FastTrack root directory, usually C:\FT\

File Format:

The file must be in ASCII text format, i.e.,variable length lines of text with carriage returns at the end of each line.

Line 1 should be the ticker symbol (usually the file name without extension). Five characters maximum.
Line 2 should be the name of the mutual fund, stock, etc. Forty characters maximum.
Lines 3 through the end of the file must have the date, price and distribution, if any, on that date. For example, if on Mar 4, 1991 the price was 35 5/8 and the equity went x-dividend with a dividend of $0.30. The corresponding line in the ASCII file would be:

03/04/91, 35.625,0.3

The date may or may not be surrounded by quotes. Both ways work.

Miscellaneous Requirements

• Spaces are insignificant.
• Commas are required.
• Decimal points are required.
• If you have no distribution data, insert 0 for the distribution on each line.
• FastTrack will give line number error messages when invalid formats are encountered. These messages usually are not fatal.
• FastTrack resynchronizes itself to the next valid line of data when a format problem has been detected. This means that your chart may appear to be perfect except that data discarded due to format problems will appear as a short (perhaps undetectable) horizontal line on the chart.

When FT4WEb Reads an FNU

1. The data is placed in date order regardless of misordering in the file.
2. The FNU is reread each time that it is accessed. This means the file may be edited outside of FT4WEB  and then immediately displayed by FT4WEB as changed. Data is not buffered.
3. Errors in the format of the file are logged in C:\FT\FT4WIN\LOG\FNU.LOG, and not displayed on the screen. If your data seems incorrect, load FNU.LOG with a text editor (like NotePad) and review it.

Updating the Data

You must keep this data in the FNU file current yourself. The FastTrack update process will not change the ASCII text files. If you are missing data from these files, then FastTrack will display a flat line on the chart for the periods missing.

Example, Data in Excel

If the data that you want FastTrack to read is in an Excel file. Then,

1. Load the Excel file.
2. Copy the column containing dates to a blank worksheet into the first column/third row (usually cell A3)
3. Copy the column containing dates to the new worksheet's second column in the third row (usually B3)
4. Fill the third column starting at C3 with zeros.
5. In cell A1, insert the ticker symbol, usually the same as the first word of the file name.
6. In cell A2, insert a 72 column (max) description. Do not use a comma in the description.
7. Save the new worksheet as a .CSV file. The path would typically be C:\FT\name.FNU where name is the same word as on the FNU's 1st line.

Limitations

The one thing you can't do is display data outside the data range in the main FastTrack database. Dates before the beginning of the database or after the date of the last online update will be ignored.