CONTENTS:           

A.         How To Proceed
B.         What's New in V2001 -- Overview
C.         Using the Smart Mouse Cursor
D.         New and Expanded Toolbars Have Many New Features

1. Standard Toolbar - Revised and Much Enhanced
2. New Formatting (text) Toolbar for Quicker Edits
3. New Numbers Toolbar For Easier Numeric Formatting

E.         Easily Open and Save Models in ZIP archive files
F.         Model Housekeeping Made Easy
G.         Pseudo Undo/Redo Now Available in non-BizPlan Modules
H.         Store and Use More Industry Data Study Years & Ranges in Reports
I.          New Menus Provide Greater Flexibility

A.        How to Proceed:

The following guide will help you most quickly discover what is new to you, based upon your current Profit Plan edition. We have been very busy over the five years since Profit Plan was conceived. So we have organized the upgrade information into several documents. Please review that which is most appropriate for you.  

Within each document, use the underlined topics to easily find the relevant text. Use the browser's Back button to return to the prior topic or the Table of Contents.

  B.       What's New in V2001 -- Overview:

Our Profit Plan v2001 Edition enhancements focus primarily on ease of use by enhancing visual prompts throughout the product. We have concentrated in several general areas for this release.

First, the mouse cursor now has new intelligence throughout Profit Plan. As you move the cursor about the screen, it will change shape to provide visual edit clues. An editable field now sports a "+" shaped cursor. A drill-down area will display a pointing hand, much as seen in browser links. And all other areas will display a simple pointer arrow instead, meaning that the area is for viewing but not editing.

Second, the standard toolbar has been enhanced and new formatting toolbars added. Use these to search for values, change fonts and colors, trace an account line from Account Setup to the Assumptions Sheet(s) or back from a report line, build Sum functions, expose the Edit Bar, and perform many other tasks with greater ease and speed.

Third, model housekeeping is now easier. Profit Plan models have always been composed of many interrelated components, making it difficult to manually copy or e-mail an entire model. But now you can archive a model into a single "zip" file for easy storage or e-mail, or quickly reopen a model directly from a "zip" archive. You can also delete entire obsolete models directly from the File menu, modify the maximum number of models that can appear in the "--Recent Models--" list and also remove items from that list without affecting the underlying model itself.

Fourth, even though the interactions involved within the models are extremely complex, Profit Plan now allows pseudo Undo/Redo operations. A clipboard is now extensively used to save the prior contents of any cell being edited. This often allows a simple paste operation to Undo (restore) the contents of that cell for you, if you quickly change your mind. Full multi-step Undo? No, but definitely better than no undo at all.

Fifth, we made it much easier to store, find, and utilize industry data within and between models. Industry data you enter can now be stored in a Master Index for easy retrieval later. So if parts of your business fit several different industrial classifications, enter data for all and select any one of these at will for use with the newly modified Annual Impact Analysis, Ratio Analysis, and/or the Diagnostics Report. Or switch between different industry data study years, asset ranges and/or sales ranges to compare current performance with various sizes of organizations and/or time periods.

Finally, we have enhanced the pop-up (right-click) menus to provide easy access to a wider variety of options, some of which you may not have realized applied to the selected area before.

The topics below provide more detailed highlights about enhancements made in these general areas of interest within Profit Plan V2001. Use the index to these provided in the Contents section above for easy browsing. And if you are upgrading from an edition preceding Profit Plan v2000SE, use the How to Proceed table for easy access to discussions of the enhancements added since your last upgrade.

C.         Using the Smart Mouse Cursor

Much of Profit Plan's presentation utilizes spreadsheet-like cells, such as are found in Excel and Lotus. Many of these cells are intended to contain text, formulas or data the user can enter and/or manipulate. These are editable. Others are normally locked to protect the logic of the cell and/or the sheet, and are not usually edited directly by the user. Rather, Profit Plan automatically builds and maintains the content.

Now, whenever the mouse cursor is above an editable cell, the cursor shape will become a fat "+". This shape indicates that information can be added to/edited in the cell without unlocking the sheet in which it resides. If the cell is locked or otherwise not intended for user entry, the cursor will assume a simple arrow shape to "point" to the cell instead.

Of course, during editing operations, the cursor will again reshape itself using those shapes found in most Windows editing applications.

Finally, we have discarded many of the old double-click operations in favor a more visual single-click pointing hand cursor. Now whenever the cursor shape switches to a pointing hand as you pass over an area, you will know that it contains buried treasure. Click it with the hand to display associated underlying information. For instance, the Ratio Analysis report will display the values and formula used to compute the ratios and the Diagnostics report will pop-up brief comparisons between the model's financial performance and the associated industry (assuming the industry data has been entered or selected.)

D.         New and Expanded Toolbars Have Many New Features

We completely rebuilt the Standard toolbar and added new Formatting and Numbers toolbars for quick and easy operation. For example, you can now search for numbers or values directly from the bar. You can quickly find the same account line on a report, in an Assumptions Sheet, or within the Chart of Accounts by using toolbar buttons. Or you can select fonts and create custom backgrounds and custom font colors from it. Add decimal points, convert to percentage, or add currency symbols to a number with a single click. Or use the toolbar to insert a Planning Item (account), expose the Edit bar to review a formula, build a custom Sum directly in a cell, and much more!

The following describes the new and revised toolbars and their features.

1. The Standard Toolbar - Revised and Much Enhanced

       Open - Now allows opening a model directly from a "zip" archive file.

       Save As - Allows creation of "zip" archive file during Save As operation.

       Undo/Redo - Provides conditional undo/redo outside of BizPlan module.

       Find Button - If the Find What field is empty, the Find button opens the standard Find operation from the Edit menu. Otherwise the Find button starts a search for the contents in the Find What field.

       Find What (field) - Enter what you wish to find (text) in this toolbar field. Then press the [Enter] key or click the Find button (binoculars) to search through the selected portion of a sheet. If nothing is selected, the entire sheet is searched. Frozen areas are excluded from the search.

       Edit/View Accounts - On the Account Setup tab, this button opens the Edit Account Window. On the Assumptions Sheet(s), or from reports with account lines displayed, this button opens the Account Setup tab and automatically selects the same account as selected on the report or Assumption. Easy way to check the line's account type.

       Edit/View Assumptions - On an Assumptions tab, this button opens the Assumptions Designer. From elsewhere, it selects the Assumptions tab and moves the cursor to the same account, if previously selected on the report or chart of accounts.

       Project Creation - Optionally takes you to the Assumptions tab, if on another tab. On the Assumptions tab, opens a new account line below the currently selected line with the same account type as the original account line. This new project line can be added to an existing project, or a new project can be created at this time.

       Sum (Subtotal) - Build special subtotal for a specific cell by point and click. Place cursor where answer is to be. Click Sum to start the Sum function. Then click account cells to be added. Press [Enter] key to finish.

       Edit Bar - Alternately opens/closes the Edit bar to expose the underlying contents (formula, value, or text) of the current cell. (Actual editing of the cell is still controlled by the cell's lock status and whether or not Cell Protection is currently on or off.

       Row/Col Headers - Use this button to quickly expose or hide the sheet's row numbers and column letters. This makes it easier to understand formulas that reference specific rows and columns on the sheet.

       Add or Remove Buttons - This drop-down arrow provides a list of all buttons that exist on the toolbar. Checked buttons are currently exposed. Clearing a button icon's checkmark, or clicking a cleared icon will expose or hide the button on the toolbar. However these are also automatically maintained by Profit Plan as you move between the main Profit Plan tabs. You would normally use this list only if you wish to temporarily remove buttons to make the remaining ones fit more easily on the toolbar when operating your PC at its lowest screen resolution (480x640).

       Planning Guide - This button has been removed from the Standard toolbar. The Guide can now be accessed from the main Help / Gen'l Planning Guide menu option.

2. The Formatting (text) ToolBar

The new Formatting toolbar provides access to most tools used for applying cosmetics to your plan. Unlike the Numbers toolbar, this bar is available from all Profit Plan main tabs.

       Font Name  - Selects/displays current font style. Applies to selected characters in BizPlan documents; otherwise to entire field(s) selected.

       Font Size - Selects/displays current font size. Applies to selected characters in BizPlan documents; otherwise to entire field(s) selected.

       Bold - Toggles bold font style on/off. Applies to selected characters in BizPlan documents; otherwise to entire field(s) selected.

       Italic - Toggles Italic font style treatment on/off. Applies to selected characters in BizPlan documents; otherwise to entire field(s) selected.

       Underline - Toggles underlines on/off. Applies to selected characters in BizPlan documents; otherwise to entire field(s) selected.

       Align Left - Left justifies field content, paragraph, or picture.

       Center - Centers field content, paragraph, or picture.

       Align Right - Right justifies field content, paragraph, or picture.

       Justify - Expands paragraphs to fit both left and right margins. (BizPlan only)

       Increase Indent - In BizPlan, indents paragraphs or pictures. Elsewhere, this button indents the selected fields by inserting spaces at the left of the field.

       Indent Size (drop down box) - The size of the indent produced by each Increase Indent or Decrease Indent click can be controlled by clicking this drop-down arrow located between the Increase Indent and Decrease Indent buttons on the toolbar. In BizPlan documents, use this to specify the indent in inches or centimeters (depending on Windows local setup). Elsewhere, this controls the number of spaces inserted into or removed from the left side of a text field. (Initial defaults are 4 spaces or 0.5 inches/centimeters.)

       Decrease Indent - In BizPlan, moves paragraph towards left margin by specified inches or centimeters. Elsewhere, removes up to the specified number of spaces from left of field, if any found there.

       Subscript/Superscript - These appear only when using BizPlan documents. They move the selected text above/below the zero line of the selected sentence by the number of points specified in the drop-down panel located between these buttons. The initial default is 3 points.

       Font Color - This button functions just like the main Format / Font menu option. This has been enhanced in the BizPlan module to include font colors, which was not the case in earlier editions of Profit Plan.

       Font Color (drop down panel) - This drop-down list is located immediately to the right of the Font Color button. Clicking any of its first four icons applies the associated color to the selected text in a BizPlan document or all text in a selected field elsewhere.

Custom color option - The fifth icon in the Font Color drop down panel opens the Color customization dialog window. Use this to select from among 48 standard colors provided to define a new custom color. For example, the golden color applied to the "-- Income Statement--" heading in the Alpha Plus Inc model's chart of accounts was created with a Hue of 36, a Saturation level of 94, and a Luminescence of 101. (Custom colors can be assigned to the Color dialog's Custom color panel by defining the color, selecting a Custom Color square, and then selecting the Add to Custom Colors button.)

The Color customization panel is a Windows operating system component. See Windows Help for details of its use.

       Borders - The Borders button behaves the same as the main Format / Borders menu option. However, the drop-down arrow to its immediate right opens a panel of up to 18 different predefined border options for easy selection. These options are additive, i.e. if one selects a top border, it will be added to the border of the field(s) or paragraph selected. Both single and double line options are provided, to simplify adding these below or within columns of numbers. In addition, a Clear Borders option is provided to remove all borders from the selected text or fields, and an At Tabs option can be used to create the appearance of a table in a BizPlan document.

       Custom Titles - This is equivalent to Profit Plan's main Format / Custom Titles menu option and allows creation and/or maintenance of custom data and layouts in report title areas. It appears on the toolbar only when applicable.

       Freeze Titles - This is equivalent to Profit Plan's main Options / Freeze Titles menu option and alternately freezes or unfreezes them. The button appears on the toolbar only when applicable. New with v2001, the original positioning of frozen titles is retained when they are unfrozen. When next refreezing the report's titles, a new prompt allows the automatic restoration of the original frozen conditions.

       Add or Remove Buttons - As with the Standard toolbar, this drop-down selection allows unwanted buttons to be hidden on the toolbar. Note that buttons that do not apply to the current main window tab are automatically hidden. It is recommended that you use this panel only to hide unwanted buttons; not to expose others that may not be applicable to the current tab.

3. Numbers Toolbar

This new toolbar is available for the Assumptions and Reports sheets. It does not apply to the BizPlan module other than within its Project Financials worksheets.

       Currency ($) - This button applies the local currency symbol to the selected number(s). Commas are automatically included if relevant.

       Comma (,) - This button inserts commas into the selected number(s) to improve the readability of long numbers.

       Percent (%) - This button converts the selected number to a percentage (multiplies by 100) and applies a percent sign.

       Increase/Decrease Decimal - These two buttons expose or remove the digits displayed to the right of the decimal point, one digit at a time. The displayed number is automatically rounded, although the actual underlying value remains unaffected.

       Custom Numbers - This button is equivalent to selecting the main Format / Numbers menu option. The window this opens allows selection from among many predefined formats or the creation of new custom formats.

E.         Open and Save Models in Zip Files

Profit Plan models store your information, plans, and assumptions in many different files, usually too large to fit on a floppy disk and too numerous to easily attach in e-mail. Now Profit Plan can archive (compress and store) an entire model into a single and much smaller "zip" file or read a stored model directly from such a zipped model. These files are much smaller and easier to store and e-mail than a fully expanded model.

In the File/Open dialog, a new File of Type drop-down list allows selection of *.fmp files to open an already expanded model, or *.zip files to automatically expand and open a model stored in a zip file archive.

For convenience, the new File/SaveAs Zip menu option automatically sets the File of Type of the SaveAs dialog to the *.zip file type. This setting causes the model to be automatically archived into a zip file with the same model name after the model is saved. Thus one is assured that the resulting archive is completely current when created or updated.

The old File/Save As menu option has now also been enhanced to allow automatic archiving into zip file. Simply be sure to select the *.zip Files of Type option before beginning the save.

Note: All these options assume that the archive file has the same name as the model it contains. If opening an old archive file, be sure to rename it first (via the Windows Explorer) if its name does not match the model names inside the archive.

Two new programs are now shipped with Profit Plan to accomplish the zip/unzip functions used herein. These are named Zip.exe and Unzip.exe. These industry standard programs are supplied by the Info-Zip Group and run in DOS, for the widest possible coverage. Information explaining how to use these programs directly can be found in the C:\Profplan folder (or wherever Profit Plan is installed) in the Zipinfo.txt and the Unzipinfo.txt notepad files. The freeware license agreement covering these products is also stored there in the Info-Zip License.txt notepad file.

F.         Model Housekeeping Made Easy

The new File / Delete Model menu option makes it easy to remove all components of an obsolete model from the hard drive with a single click. But to insure it really is an obsolete model, this option requires that you first Open the model in the normal way so you can review it and be certain you want to completely delete it from your hard drive. If so, you can then select Delete Model from the File menu to remove all its components.

The Delete Model option was intentionally designed to NOT delete an archive (.zip) copy of the model. Therefore, to save disk space and still be sure you can restore the old model later, first use the File / SaveAs Zip option to create a backup zip archive of it. Then delete the expanded model via File / Delete Model. You will now still be able to open the model later by using File / Open and setting the File of Type option for *.zip files.

-- Recent Models -- list

Two new features have been added to help maintain the File menu's -- Recent Models -- list. You can delete entries from it and change the maximum number of models that can appear there.

       Max Models in Recent List - Select the -- Recent Models -- entry on the File menu to open the Max Models in Recent List text box to review or change the maximum number of different models that can appear in the list. Prior editions of Profit Plan were limited to five. Now you can optionally change this up to a maximum value of ten.

       Deleting from Recent Models List - Occasionally it may be desirable to remove a model name from the recent models list without deleting the model from the hard drive. This can now be done when Profit Plan is first opened and before opening any model. At that point, simply open the File menu, hover the mouse cursor over the model name to be deleted (do not click it) and press the [Delete] key.  Or , if you actually wish to delete the entry and the entire model itself, first select the model from the --Recent Models-- list and then use the File / Delete Model menu option as discussed above.

G.         Pseudo Undo/Redo now available in non-BizPlan Modules

Profit Plan is a very tightly integrated and complex set of independent components that do not lend themselves to the usual Undo/Redo functions. However, we have now implemented a methodology that may help in a number of situations.

Each time you directly edit a spreadsheet cell, its prior contents is first saved into a special section of memory called a clipboard. It remains there until the clipboard is again used by another edit or other operation. So, you may be able to Undo the last edit as follows:

First, reposition your cursor so that the same cell or set of cells are again selected. Then select the Undo button. The current contents of the clipboard will be displayed to you. If it contains what you wish to reestablish in the cell, click OK, and the cell contents will be restored. But, if the data is no longer on the clipboard, you will again need to resurrect the contents manually, as in the past.

The Redo operation operates like the reverse of the Undo operation described above. Essentially, the Redo swaps the contents of the cell with that of the clipboard, restoring the condition undone by the Undo operation.

H.         Store and Use More Industry Data Study Years & Ranges in Reports

Profit Plan now maintains a Master Index that can be used to store copies of industry data statement studies for as many SIC categories, business sizes, and years as you may wish to enter or import. The Diagnostics report, Impact Analysis report, and the Ratio Analysis report have also been modified to utilize whatever statement study is currently loaded in the Industry Data form. This allows comparing the current model against the industry ratios for several different sized firms, different industries, and/or performance ratios from different historical periods. In addition, any statement study data stored in the Master Index can be directly loaded into ANY model opened by Profit Plan on the same machine that contains the Master Index.

Maintaining the Master Index

The master index file is created automatically as needed. Then, Statement Studies are added to this index whenever created or changed within the Industry Data form and if the OK button is pressed to use that information with the current model. Thus, without thinking about it, any information entered and used within one model will automatically become available to any other.

Occasionally you may wish to concentrate on updating the Master Index itself. This is all done from the Industry Data form available from the main Input / Industry Data menu option:

Update SIC - This button adds the current industry statement study data to the Master Index file. Use it if you wish to import or enter data for several statement studies in the same session. Simply import or enter the data for a statement study and click Update SIC. This performs the same function as the form's OK button, but keeps the Industry Data form open for additional data entry.

List Stored - Use this button so see what statement studies are currently in the Master Index. These are listed by SIC code, Year, and Study Range. In addition, the associated industry Category and number of firms whose data contributed to the study are listed. (If the Number of Firms field is blank, the statement study has been defined but its data has not yet been fully entered.)

To select one of the existing studies for use with the current model, simply double-click the study desired or select its line and click the list's OK button.

Delete SIC - To delete an empty or obsolete study from the Master list, first select it from the list to make it the current statement study loaded for the current model. Then press the Delete SIC button. Next reopen the list with the List Stored button, import new SIC data, or select and enter new SIC data manually to update the current model. Or, if you wish to delete more statement studies form the Master Index, continue to select them from the stored list and use the Delete SIC button on each.

I.          New Menus Provide Greater Flexibility

To avoid unnecessary relearning for current users, we usually maintain our menus as close to their original design as possible. Of course, we have added several new menu options with v2001, such as File / Save As Zip, File/ Delete Models, and others. In addition, our new toolbars have also allowed us to expand the pop-up Right-Click menus to provide easier access to some of the menu items. Hopefully we have made the more common commands more readily available via a simple right-click and select.

Back to Top