OPTIONS CZAR CHANGE HISTORY
Version 2.0 from 2.0b06 - Posted 06/16/2006
- [All] NF: Strategy Maker has been included.
- [All] BF: Stable version now works with both Windows and Mac OSX.
Version 2.0b06 from 2.0b05 - Posted 11/17/2005
- [All] BF: The application will not crash when opening on some Windows computers.
- [All] BF: Removed the annoying "Expiration date not found" message when creating an Options montage.
- [All] BF: Montages with options in non-calendar order will now work fine.
- [All] BF: End-of-day data can be saved to any folder now.
Version 2.0b05 from 2.0b04 - Posted 05/23/2005
- [All] AF: The EOD data is loaded automatically based on the underlying assets in the portfolio. This makes loading the data a two-step process.
- [All] BF: Time chart is now updated when the user changes the asset in the pull-down menu located on top of the portfolio table.
- [All] BF: Clicking on an asset in the portfolio list updates the name and data in the pull-down menu.
Version 2.0b04 from 2.0b03 - Posted 05/04/2005
- [All] AF: Dragging options from the list onto the Portfolio window allows multiple options to be dragged.
- [All] AF: Options sales (shorting options) can now be done by pressing the control key. This works with multiple dragging.
- [All] AF: The exit chart now shows the date at the bottom left corner. This is useful because the options prices (and exit profits and losses) change with time.
Version 2.0b03 from 2.0b02 - Posted 03/18/2005
- [OSX] NF: CBOE data files can now be dragged onto the data table to parse the values and calculate the options quickly.
- [OSX] NF: Options can be dragged from the list onto the Portfolio window instead of having to open the operation window. If you want more than one, then they will add up automatically. A command from the Tools menu allows you to switch from long to short operations.
Version 2.0 beta 02 from version 1.9.1 - Posted March 2005
Complete overhaul of the Options Czar application. Now only one window is used per portfolio and the unsaved operations can be seen side-by-side with those that already belong to the portfolio. End-of-day data can be downloaded (available through subscription) to show ALL the underlying assets and the user can choose the options for these assets without having to download them one by one. Options Czar still works with data files that are downloaded from the CBOE web page. Time chart now shows historical data and shows how the options lose value through time. More work is still required before releasing the final application by April, 2005.
Version 1.9.1 from version 1.9.0 - Posted July 09, 2003
- [All] BF: Fixed registration bug that would provide the wrong user name.
Version 1.9.0 from version 1.8.0 - Posted June 24, 2003
- [All] NF: Options quotes can be downloaded directly from the web (an internet connection is required). Clicking on the stock name button now updates the data in the background.
- [OSX] AF: Changed the location of the Preferences menu item to use OSX conventions (under the program menu).
- [All] AF: Included the 2004 Options Calendar.
- [All] AF: The data window resizes to fit your screen better on opening. It also remembers your last size, which is cool. I hate when other apps don't do this.
- [All] BF: Minor bug and appearance fixes.
Version 1.8.0 from version 1.7.6 - Posted December 16, 2002
- [All] NF: Improved Strategy Maker. Now the user can pick among strategy types for different underlying assets.
- [All] AF: Added support for index options.
- [All] AF: Strategy Maker is now multi-threaded. This allows faster program execution with multiple processors.
- [All] AF: Program can now be purchased from the program itself.
- [All] AF: Warning window at startup can be disabled.
- [OSX] BF: Better overall appearance.
- [All] AF: Added calendar for year 2003.
- [All] BF: "Do Nothing" command wouldn't work correctly.
Version 1.7.6 from version 1.7.5 - Posted June 10, 2002
- [OSX] BF: Menus do not appear with different colors on some systems.
- [Win] AF: Now optimized for Windows XP.
- [All] BF: General improvements in window appearances.
Version 1.7.5 from version 1.7.4 - Posted April 10, 2002
- [All] NF: Added relative views to the strike price & the expiration date in the options chain view.
- [All] BF: Tutorial would crash when opening the operations window. This bug was introduced when multiple operations were added to the window.
- [All] BF: Text corrections in the tutorial.
- [All] BF: Centered Exercise and Exit charts.
- [All] AF: Charts can now be clicked further away from the current price.
- [All] BF: Display would not work correctly with high-priced underlying assets.
- [OSX] BF: Quote files downloaded with alternate browsers could not be loaded.
Version 1.7.4 from version 1.7.3 - Posted January 08, 2002
- [All] BF: Implied volatility display window contains correct number formatting.
- [All] BF: Implied volatility is also displayed correctly when using the Strategy Maker.
- [All] AF: Graphics redraw faster on both Profit/Loss charts.
Version 1.7.3 from version 1.7.2 - Posted November 25, 2001
- [All] BF: Added a more accurate message when the user opened an old data file.
- [All] BF: Volatility calculation now returns a weighted average based on the open interest of each option instead of depending on the number of options in the chain. This increases the accuracy of the calculation drastically.
- [All] AF: Expired options in a selected strategy now reflect the sunken profits or losses that originated just before expiration. Previous versions just ignored expired options.
- [All] BF: Fixed crash when user would cancel printing from the final box.
- [All] BF: The window menu is checked correctly when the user opens a new document and when the program is started.
Version 1.7.2 from version 1.7.1 - Posted November 3, 2001
- [All] AF: Program window now enlarges operations table when made bigger.
- [All] BF: Minor interface improvements.
- [All] AF: Renamed charts to better explain their purpose: Profit/Loss chart is now the Exercise P/L chart and the Value vs. Price chart is now the Exit P/L chart.
- [All] BF: Fixed bug that would display incorrect ROI in the main window.
- [All] BF: Exit chart now considers the additional commissions that would need to be paid to get out of the position.
Version 1.7.1 from 1.7 - Posted October 18, 2001
- [All] BF: Part of options data would be overwritten when calculating the stock trend.
- [All] BF: Some data would not load correctly when there were errors in the data files.
- [All] BF: Extremely long options chains can now be loaded without the overflow error.
Version 1.7 from 1.6 - Posted October 11, 2001
- [All] BF: Data Window grow icon was included.
- [All] BF: Changed default memory settings to prevent crashes when exporting large graphics.
- [All] AF: Options chain is visible, along with Implied Volatility for all listed options (where possible to calculate). Intrinsic value and time premium are included in this table.
- [All] AF: Strategies and listed options can be copied onto a spreadsheet using the good-old copy and paste.
- [All] BF: Program doesn't display an annoying message when average volatility is higher than 100%.
- [All] BF: Options where implied volatility could not be calculated are assigned the average volatility for charting purposes.
- [All] BF: Decimal notation for prices is default.
- [All] BF: Annualized volatility is displayed when user requests it although the normal distribution still reflects the three-month volatility. Volatility calculations are now more accurate.
- [All] AF: New common palette for entering all six types of trades. In this way, the user won't need to open a new window when changing operation.
- [All] AF: Volatility calculations are now faster. A progress bar was added when loading data so you don't despair. It's like mirrors in an elevator.
- [All] AF: Added arrows and percentages that indicate stock price change and profits change.
- [All] BF: Stock operations wouldn't show correctly in the Value vs. Price chart.
- [All] AF: Minor chart appearance fixes.
Version 1.6 from 1.5 - Posted September 25, 2001
- [All] BF: Options operations counter wouldn't reset when loading new data.
- [All] AF: New preferences item allows user to view long-term options contracts.
- [All] NF: Added a chart that plots strategy value vs. underlying asset price. What-if scenarios are now easier to create.
- [All] AF: Profit/Loss chart allows selection of faster redraws and lower quality chart or slower redraws and better quality.
- [All] AF: Fonts for tables and printouts can be changed now. The operations summary table font is now larger.
- [All] AF: Printouts can be made in portrait mode.
- [All] AF: Decimal or fraction modes are now saved so they don't have to be changed each time the user restarts the application.
- [All] BF: Fixed a crash that would occur when executing an operation without any data loaded onto the frontmost window.
- [All] BF: Program wouldn't recalculate commissions directly when editing the number of operations.
- [All] AF: Changed web page URL to reflect CBOE changes. Added a feature that saves the last URL (in case they change it again).
- [All] AF: Included 2002 CBOE expiration calendar.
Version 1.5 from 1.2 - Posted August 20, 2001
- [All] BF: Fixed crash when changing to decimal notation without a stock in front.
- [All] NF: Added the Stock Price vs. Time chart which allows the user to view how his/her options strategy should fare in the upcoming days, weeks and months to obtain a profit.
- [All] NF: Charts can now be zoomed in or out in order to detect the effects of smaller changes in the X-axis.
- [All] AF: Profit/Loss chart now displays better graphics.
- [All] AF: Trade volume is displayed directly in the data window. For Mac Carbon and Windows versions, placing the mouse over the volume will reveal the number of Calls and Puts that have been traded.
- [All] AF: Replaced the non-informative "NPI"* message for a more explanative one when viewing market predictions.
- [All] AF: Y axis lines are now in round numbers.
Version 1.2 from 1.1.1 - Posted July 30, 2001
- [All] Added trade volume feature which displays the total amount of options that have been traded for that date.
- [All] Stock prices can be displayed in decimal notation (besides default fractional display).
- [All] Quotetable.dat files can be opened directly from the web browser download screen. To do this, select Options Czar as the application when your browser indicates that it cannot open the file.
- [All] Multiple files can be dragged onto the application icon and opened simultaneously.
- [All] Added the possibility of opening an empty window in the Preferences.
- [All] Overall accuracy improvement.
Version 1.1.1 from 1.1 - Posted June 12, 2001
- [All] Updated web address to reflect change in CBOE web page.
- [Win] Fixed crash in Windows 95.
Version 1.1 from 1.0.1 - Posted May 31, 2001
- [All] Fixed bug that would show preferences window each time a stock window was opened.
- [All] Graphics redraw faster when making changes in options list.
- [All] Program runs faster as a whole.
- [All] Minor bug fixes.
- [All] Fixed bug that would leave the low and high values in the chart.
- [All] Fixed crash with graphics export.
- [Win] First commercial release.
- [Win] Fixed appearance bugs.
Version 1.0.1 from 1.0 - Posted May 16, 2001
- [OSX] Compiled with new version of compiling engine. General appearance improvements.
Version 1.0 from Beta 07 - Posted April 26, 2001
- [All] Bug Fix: Results window text now indicates "cash to receive" when you sell a security.
- [All] New Feature: Windows can now be expanded to show a larger graph (and use up your expensive monitor).
- [All] Bug Fix: Implied volatility does not show several messages when there are more than one operations listed.
- [All] Report window was modified for better display.
- [All] Portfolio synchronization with data: Opening a portfolio and saving is now more straight-forward.
- [All] Printing: Application now prints the portfolio operations and status.
- [All] About box now displays a nice scenery.
- [All] General application debugging.
- [All] All options strategies are available and working correctly.
- [All] Tutorial now works correctly.
- [OSX] Corrected appearance issues.
Beta 07 from Beta 06 - Posted April 19, 2001
- [All] Bug Fix: Corrected crash with stocks that don't have LEAPs.
- [All] Bug Fix: Applied the Year 2001 calendar for equity options expiration dates. This calendar can be downloaded at the CBOE web site.
- [All] Bug Fix: Calculations for Intrinsic value and Time Premium are now correct.
- [All] Bug Fix: Volatility calculation was corrected.
- [All] Stock Trend (whether the market is bearish or bullish on a stock) now indicates by how much and takes the volume into consideration.
- [All] Added keyboard shortcuts to navigate all the program windows (Data Window, Operations Window and Strategy Maker).
- [All] Bug Fix: Opening a data file and canceling would delete the previous file.
- [All] Bug Fix: Colors and numbers formats are now correct in yellow results window.
- [All] Divided Strategy Maker criteria in three: maximize profits (the heck with the risk), minimize risk (drive safely :) and best average profits (the best of both worlds).
- [All] The following strategies now work correctly: Buy and sell calls, buy and sell puts, Covered Call and Protective Put, Bear Spread, Bull Spread, Long and Short Strangles, Long and Short Collars, Long and Short Straddles.
- [All] Known Issues: Butterflies don't work well yet (bugs, pardon the pun).
- [All] Bug Fix: Program now works with international number settings (but only with free CBOE data).
- [All] Bug Fix: Fixed crash when the user would select the Strategy Maker with no data.
- [MacOS] Moved the Help menu to the end to comply with Interface guidelines (and because it makes sense).
- [All] Added the time-limit note.
- [Win] Program window now fills screen when opened.
- [Win] Data files now end with ".dat" so they can be understood by Options Czar for Windows.
- [All] = All operating systems (Win 95/98/NT4/2000/Me - Mac OS Classic - Mac OSX)
- [Win] = Win 95/NT4/98/Me/2000
- [Mac] = Mac OS Classic (7.5.3 to 9.x)
- [OSX] = Mac OSX 10.0.0 and later (Carbon).
- BF: Bug Fix
- AF: Added Functionality
- NF: New Feature
- KI: Known Issue
- WA: Workaround
For previous changes, please read the text file included in the program folder.
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