Report Period Dates in Memorized Reports

[erlconsult]

I have a couple of memorized reports that I batch print every day. I leave them open so each time I start up Fund Manager these reports open up. However, the report period is not retained so I have to reset it each day. When I memorized the reports I selected ytd as the reporting period. However,

1. When the reports appear after restarting Fund Manager, the reporting period shows as custom with the start date not beginning at Jan 1 and the end date going one day too far.

2. If I run these memorized reports, then the reporting period shows as "quarter to date" and the start and end dates are correct. Since we are still in the first quarter, I do not know what will happen in quarter 2.

It would streamline my process if the reports could retain the same reporting period (in this case - year to date) each time Fund Manager opens. Is there someway I can do this? This is getting tedious.

Also when I batch print the reports, it would be helpful if the setting for the Report printer could be retained instead of changing when I change printers in other programs. I am sending the Fund Manager reports to a PDF in dropbox which requires sending the output to a different "printer".

Eddy

[Mark]

Hi Eddy,

If you are leaving these reports open, then they are being saved as part of your portfolio file (*.mm4). In this case, the date range settings can be controlled under "Options / Report Preferences... / Other". There are 2 options there:

Float End Date:
When this option is on the ending report date for reports created by an opening portfolio will be adjusted to the current date.

Start Date Relative to End:
When this option is on the starting report date for reports created by an opening portfolio will be adjusted to be the same distance from the ending report date as when it was saved. For example, you may set the start date to be 180 days behind the ending date, such that whenever you open your portfolio the start date will always start off 180 days behind the end date, even if the end date is floating to the current date.

So, if you want a YTD date range, you would want to turn on "Float End Date", and turn off "Start Date Relative to End". Choose "File / Save Portfolio" after this, to make sure your changes are saved.

In addition to reports saved by the portfolio file (*.mm4) as discussed above, you can "memorize" reports using "Edit / Memorize...". When you use that command, those same 2 date range options are available. Those are memorized report specific. Memorized reports are available at the bottom of the main "Reports" menu.

[erlconsult]

Mark,
Thanks for the clarification. Now I understand the different results. However, I'm still not getting what I need as easily as I would like.

1. If I leave the reports open and change the settings under General Preferences to "Float end date" and turn off "Start Date Relative to End". The start date is correct, but the end date is one day too late. If I change the period to "year to date", it uses yesterdays date - not the current date. Since prices are as of yesterday - this is the date I want for the report.

2. Is there a way to see the memorized settings? Since I can't see what settings I used when I memorized the reports, it's harder to tell what's going on. I find it disconcerting to memorize a report with a specific period, but then when I run the report and check the report settings, it shows something else. Also do the float/relative date settings for the start and end dates for each individual memorized report show up anywhere?

3. Note that the reports that I am leaving open were customized and then memorized. From my perspective they are memorized reports. However, I do get the distinction that if I leave the reports open, then some of the report settings are based on the General Report Settings rather than the Memorized Report Settings. Does this mean that if I make changes to the open reports, but do not save them, leave them open when closing Fund Manager, the changes will still be reflected in the open reports (not the memorized versions) the next time Fund Manager opens?

4. When I batch print the reports, it would be helpful if the setting for the Report printer could be retained instead of changing when I change printers in other programs. I am sending the Fund Manager reports to a PDF in dropbox which requires sending the output to a different "printer".

Eddy

[Mark]

Hi Eddy,

1) Both memorized reports and portfolio recalled reports that use the "Float End Date" setting will set the ending report date to the current date. This is not always the same as the default ending date, like when you choose a report date range in the Report Settings dialog that says "to date". That "to date" uses the default ending date, which is the earlier of the current date or the last recorded price point. It sounds like this is how you'd like the "Float End Date" to work, but it currently always just uses the current date, and not the default ending date. I can see either way being desired, depending on the circumstances.

2) You can see your float/relative date settings for each memorized report when you go to "Edit / Memorize...". In that dialog, you can choose either a new memorized report, or from a list of your existing memorized reports. When you choose one of your existing memorized reports, those date options will be displayed as they are currently set for that memorized report.

3) Yes. Reports that are left open have their settings saved in the portfolio file when you exit with "Options / Save Portfolio on Exit" on, or when you choose "File / Save Portfolio". When you re-open FM and that portfolio file, the reports are re-created as they were when you last saved the portfolio file. Memorized report settings are used when you create a new report by selecting the memorized report from the bottom of the "Reports" menu.

4) Okay, thanks for the feedback.