EVP Systems

EVP Office Release History

Release 9.1.3

July 18, 2024

Features

  • Name Preview is now on by default
  • The language around the PDF cover sheet has been clarified, and both merged and report-only options are now available from the Print Preview PDF button if a cover sheet is set

Fixes

  • Rounding is now done with a decimal floating point library, to eliminate corner-cases with binary floating point rounding
  • Long filenames now wrap more gracefully in dialog boxes

Release 9.1.2

March 25, 2024

This release provides more detailed crash reporting. If you are not having trouble with crashing in the EVP Office apps, there is no reason to upgrade.

Features

  • The application, account, and user are sent to the server during name look up
  • The MSI download is now cryptographically signed, like the Wizard-style installer

Fixes

  • A crash now generates a pop-up dialog during the session that crashed instead of the next launch of the applications, and the crash log includes a minidump and a stack trace
  • There are more debugging details added to the crash log during a Write from Print Preview

Release 9.1.1

February 5, 2024

This release solely fixes a bug related to the use of Blue Coat / Symantec / Broadcom’s ProxySG. If you do not use ProxySG or are not experiencing trouble, there is no reason to upgrade from 9.1.0.

Fixes

  • HTTP queries now use a proper Accept-Encoding header

Release 9.1.0

January 8, 2024

Features

  • Security names can now be previewed as securities are entered into the grid, via the “Show Name Preview” setting in Tools → Options → Standard
  • A PDF can be prepended to the report when it’s saved as a PDF, through the “PDF to Prepend to PDF Reports” setting in Tools → Options → Report; this allows the automatic addition of disclaimers and regulatory notices that must be in a certain format
  • Double-clicking on a portfolio (.evp) file now opens the document in the last application to use it, instead of always defaulting to EstateVal
  • Single values with a comma in them—1,000.00 for example—can now be pasted into the grid without triggering the assumption that they are an identifier and a share amount; instead they are treated as single value
  • Evaluating put/call options when their underlying security has undergone a split between the evaluation date and the processing date are now correct; the put/call OCC symbol modified to use the post-split strike price
  • Copy-and-pasting invalid security identifiers into the grid now gives a warning and leaves those lots empty
  • A modern-style dialog box is now used for folder browsing, allowing (among better displays and filtering) UNC paths to be entered directly into the program
  • CASH and $USD identifiers no longer need to be disposed of to run an early Alternate Date evaluation
  • “Secure” evaluation proxy connections now support HTTPS to the proxy as well as to the server
  • The EVP Office apps now detect crashes and alert the user when they restart, copying the path to the crash log to the clipboard and asking that it be mailed to our Support Department
  • The programs now write many, many more debug statements to the log, in the case that crash analysis must be done
  • The ability to turn off SSL host and peer verification for self-signed internal proxy certificates is now included in the Support preferences
  • A new “Foreign Prices” option is now available for the XML Report export, which does not convert the prices or the mean to US Dollars, so it behaves like the normal EVP Office report
  • A new command line option—/NOPOPUPS—will turn off any Message Center, user information update, old evaluation date, and evaluation cost pop-up messages during the session
  • A preferences to permanently turn off old evaluation date warnings was added

Fixes

  • EVP Administrator configurations are properly read by the apps again; this was a regression in 9.0.2 and 9.0.3
  • Research reports now properly pull corporate actions even if an evaluation has not previously been run
  • HTML proxy errors that include long sequences of characters without a space—for instance, a URL—no longer freeze the error dialog when the “word” is unable to be wrapped

Deprecations

  • This version drops support for Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2003; these operating systems have not been supported by Microsoft, even with security patches, for over six years

Release 9.0.3

November 17, 2022

Features

  • Each EVP Office application now can use the full Western European character set (Windows-1252), including letters with accents, umlauts, tildes, and other diacritical marks; these work in every text field, including the filename
  • Print Preview in EstateVal, GiftVal, and CostBasis now includes an “Excel” button, for exporting the previewed report as an Excel file
  • EstateVal, GiftVal, and CostBasis can now be configured to suggest an initial filename based on the portfolio’s name, account number, extra filed, and/or as-of date
  • Both the Setup Wizard and the MSI installer now accept command-line arguments for setting the Account Information Key at install-time, preventing the user from having to enter it when the programs are first run
  • Pop-up dialogs from the Message Center or that ask for user information that appear unpredictably can now be suppressed by preference file settings; this was done to allow the application to be controlled by bots
  • The shares held by a lot on the date-of-death can now be edited through the Inventory dialog as well as the grid; this was done to allow the application to be controlled by bots
  • A new field on the main screen can be enabled, for portfolio-specific information not included on the reports; it maintains the last 20 entries and supports typeahead for easy repeated entry, and it can be used as part of the default filename

Fixes

  • Loading a portfolio with an existing as-of date greater then ten years ago no longer brings up a warning dialog; entering a new as-of date over ten years old still produces the warning
  • Automatic system proxy detection now recognizes the <scheme>= format as well as <scheme>://, so PAC files can return either
  • The inventory items in the Log Information dialog now have consistent font sizes across reports
  • Excel (CSV), TrustWare 11, and GEMS exports now include proper accrual date ranges for delayed-payment mortgage-backed textual information
  • Better text is now used for dividend adjustments caused by reverse splits (“Adjusted up” instead of “Adjusted down”)
  • When a security splits on the same day that a dividend goes of-record, the dividend is now properly adjusted for the split
  • Using the “Advanced” button from the Inventory Information dialog now uses the appropriate date for the action, instead of always using the valuation date
  • Evaluation Status Icons for the Alternate Date for cash, unknown identifiers, and user-defined information now appear in the proper column
  • All the dialog boxes have been re-laid out to use less vertical space, so the OK and Cancel buttons are visible on laptop screens and field spacing is more consistent
  • GiftVal now allows user-defined prices to be set for Appraisal reports
  • The Excel export now properly shows user-defined values when they’re entered as “Per Share,” “Per Par,” or “Per Security Type”

Release 9.0.2

July 19, 2022

Features

  • The EVP Office applications can now have an extra-page disclaimer at the end of the report, in addition to the top, header, total, footer, bottom, and last-page disclaimer
  • Disclaimers can now be up to 16,000 characters long
  • Luna Classic (#LUNC) was added to the list of cryptocurrencies to allow for the both it and the rebooted Luna (#LUNA) to coexist, after the Terra de-peg; tokens on the old blockchain use #LUNA until May 28, 2022 and then are represented by #LUNC, new-chain tokens start on May 28, 2022 and are represented by #LUNA

Fixes

  • The watermark, header, and footer on Training Mode reports has been changed from “Training Evaluation – DO NOT USE” to “Training Evaluation – NOT REAL DATA” to make it explicit that the data is invented
  • Editing inventories for Appraisal Reports no longer causes an “Improper argument” error
  • Securities are now batched in groups of ten instead of twenty when sent to the Data Center, to reduce third-party data vendor timeout issues
  • Fixed a regression that caused user preferences to return to the default when the software was installed on a network drive

Release 9.0.1

February 8, 2022

Features

  • All numeric fields now support calculations; entering an arithmetic operator (+, -, * or x, /) while typing a number brings up a calculator that will put the result back into the field; the calculator obeys proper order of operations (PEMDAS)
  • The applications now support a dozen new cryptocurrencies: Cardano (#ADA), Avalanche (#AVAX), Binance Coin (#BNB), Dogecoin (#DOGE), Polkadot (#DOT), Chainlink (#LINK), Terra Luna (#LUNA), Shiba Inu (#SHIB), Solana (#SOL), Uniswap (#UNI), USD Coin (#USDC), Tether (#USDT)
  • A new Excel export named “Excel (XLSX, Simple)” exports a spreadsheet with each lot using only a single row
  • When data pasted into the grid has empty rows, a dialog appears asking if you want to preserve them or skip the blanks, and pastes the data accordingly
  • When a portfolio has a primary evaluation date over ten years old, a warning now pops up
  • For installations in C:\Program Files (x86)\EVP Systems\, adding an INI file for a program in that directory will cause its settings to be used as installation-wide defaults

Fixes

  • A double-memory free in the automatic proxy detection code would sometimes crash the apps on launch; this has been fixed
  • Exporting very large portfolios to Excel no longer corrupts the later entries
  • Fixed cryptocurrency evaluations on Appraisal Date reports
  • Fix the Identifier field in the lot-adjustment dialog to accept foreign currencies and commodities
  • Sorting securities now causes the grid to redraw correctly, and show the identifiers in the new order

Release 9.0.0

October 13, 2021

Features

  • All the applications have had a design refresh, including high-color toolbars, new icons, and a new about screen; on Windows 11, the applications reflect the new system-wide design
  • Put/Call Option, Foreign Currency, Cryptocurrency, and Commodity look-up icons have been added to the toolbar, replacing the User Identity and Web site buttons
  • Each application now obeys all OS-level scaling settings, including system dots-per-inch and text scaling percentages
  • Dialog text is 12.5% bigger and the grid is 25% bigger than previously
  • OpenSSL is now used for secure connections, replacing Windows’ built-in Schannel; this allows Widows XP and Vista to connect securely
  • Evaluation Status Icons are now on by default

Fixes

  • The weight of the font (both for “Normal” and “Bold” weights) has been increased, to make print-outs easier to read
  • Passthrough data can how handle very long filenames, and properly truncates ones that are over 256 characters
  • Passthrough data selection “Name, Account, Date, Report Type” now includes all those values, instead of just the Report Type
  • The Excel (XLSX) export now properly includes mutual fund daily dividend accruals as a line item
  • When in Demonstration Mode, the sample file is properly copied from the installation directory to the documents directory in all cases
  • The EVP Office installer deletes now-unused libraries from the installation directory, left over from previous versions and capable of causing problems with newer operating systems
  • The installer again requires administrative privileges to install; the non-admin option was removed after causing some confusion

Release 8.5.3

July 13, 2021

Features

  • The applications now default to the “Secure” evaluation method for new installations.
  • Tools → Find... now lists what was found rather than just indicating the lot, and does not include lots with “User-Defined Information” under the “Lots with any problems” search.
  • GiftVal and CostBasis can now search on lot statuses as well as names and warnings, including unpriced, user-priced, failed-price, and old-price lots.
  • On the Excel (XLSX) export from GiftVal, the Basis Value column now has a sum at the bottom of the report.
  • The default number of lots allowed in a portfolio has been raised from 500 to 1,000.
  • Modern “flat style” message box icons are now used on later versions of Windows.

Fixes

  • File associations (.EVP to EstateVal) are now properly set up at installation time, fixing a regression in 8.5.2.
  • HTML controls now always display their contents properly the first time.
  • When in Demo Mode, Put/Call options and import/export usage reporting now work successfully.
  • Import/export usage reporting no longer sends custom names, preventing unescaped XML entities from crashing the server-side HTTPS POST.
  • Very large portfolio notes no longer overflow memory when XML entities are escaped.
  • Evaluation status icons now properly show the state of lots with adjusted Alternate Date inventories.
  • The EstateWorks export can now export Common Trust Funds, CDs, and Savings Notes.
  • In GiftVal and CostBasis, the label “Estate of:” is now “Portfolio of:”.
  • GiftVal now shows basis values and dates on securities with user-defined values.

Release 8.5.2

April 8, 2021

Features

  • In EstateVal, GiftVal, and CostBasis, reports can now be exported as true Excel files (XLSX format).
  • The applications now allow automatic proxy detection (via the Windows system-level settings) and the use of system credentials to authenticate proxy connections.
  • Single columns can now be pasted into the grid, rather than requiring multiple columns at the same time and assuming that they’re in order.
  • GiftVal can now paste Basis Value and Basis Date into the grid along with Identifiers and Shares.
  • Users can now subscribe and unsubscribe from the EVP Systems mailing lists from inside the applications, by going to Tools → Update User....
  • The main-screen fields can now have input masks and minimum lengths, requiring that they be filled out with specific content before an evaluation can be run or a report generated.
  • In Training Mode, the identifiers CASH and $USD now “evaluate” as $1.00/share and with the name “Cash,” instead of invented values.
  • The reports can have added disclaimers at the top of the page, at the top of the content area (below the headers), and at the bottom of the content area (above the page number). Previously, they could only be at the bottom of the page, after the report total, and at the bottom of the last page (above the page number).
  • The hidden Support options pane now has the ability to reset the warning dialogs that appear before evaluations and research queries, but can be permanently dismissed.
  • The About dialog box how has a button to show the open-source licenses for each project that’s used in each application.
  • EVP Office has a new installer that allows for the programs to be installed for the current user, even if they don’t have administrative privileges. Installing for all users on the computer still requires an administrative password.
  • After nineteen years, EVP Office’s demo mode has a new sample portfolio, one that mirrors our latest marketing material.
  • HTTP proxy failures now offer more detailed error messages for response codes 300 and above.

Fixes

  • The top and bottom margin of the RTF report export were adjusted to paginate properly on a Mac as well as Windows.
  • When a CUSIP is entered as the security identifier and it is updated to a different CUSIP on the evaluation date, only the updated value now appears on the report, instead of both.
  • Appraisal Date reports can no longer be run before closing prices have been set for the day, and the evaluation of all reports is now disabled until after midnight Pacific Time, to allow for all data to load properly.
  • CapWatch will now properly show print-previews of billing records and write them to the local file, even if the application is closed with the X in the upper-right, Alt+F4, or the Close command from the upper-left icon.
  • CapWatch can now write word-processing documents and PDFs of billing records without crashing.
  • Shares and Basis Values pasted into the grid are now truncated to their minimum or maximum value, as appropriate.
  • GiftVal no longer shows Report Options for research reports, since it can’t actually produce them.
  • GiftVal no longer shows dividends with zero value as omitted; it just doesn’t show them at all.
  • The sample portfolio that appears when the programs are run in Demonstration Mode now successfully loads under any installation configuration.
  • The software can now successfully be installed by administrative accounts on Windows installations without access to per-user folders.

Release 8.5.1

October 15, 2020

Features

  • Saving a PDF from print preview no longer exits the preview
  • Pasting into the grid in CostBasis will now set the basis-date column if it is included in the copied data
  • Putting an Account Information File (EVPS.DT0) in the installation directory will cause the applications to fall back to it if there isn’t one available for the user in their personal data folder; this is intended to make enterprise installations easier, where many users can share a single machine
  • The “Custom (Fixed)” import now allows for an implicit decimal place to be configured on the Shares field
  • TrustWare exports can now exclude the file-version number from the filename

Fixes

  • “Secure” evaluations can now price large estates without timing out
  • TrustWare exports now properly increment the file-version number in the filename if previous versions exist

Release 8.5.0

June 17, 2020

Features

  • The EVP Office applications now allow encrypted communication with the EVP Systems servers for evaluations
  • The EVP Office applications now have proxies for secure communication, including the new encrypted evaluations, Tools → Look-Up... → Put/Call Options, metadata retrieval, user information submission
  • PDFs can now be generated directly from the print preview, using the new “PDF” button
  • Before an evaluation, the EstateVal, GiftVal, and CostBasis now estimate the price of the evaluation, and give the user the chance to continue or cancel
  • Warning and error dialog boxes are now colored yellow and red respectively, to draw more attention to them
  • EstateVal now allows a currency to be set on user-defined prices and will make the appropriate conversion in the calculations
  • Help → EstateVal on the Web... now attempts to open the default Web browser and only falls back to Microsoft Edge if it can’t
  • The “Contact Us” dialog now has a “Send E-Mail” button that opens up an e-mail pre-populated with information about the account and user
  • The Tools → Options... dialog now has a “Help” button with detailed information about each option
  • An arbitrary username can now be sent to EVP Systems in place of the Windows username, if a certain preference is set
  • In EstateVal, GiftVal, and CostBasis, the Name, Account, and Title can now each require values before an evaluation can be performed, if a certain preference is set
  • Preferences (including hidden preferences) can now be one-time loaded from a file via the Support options pane
  • EstateVal now has a Training Mode, accessible through Help → Training Mode
  • Passthrough data can now optionally be selected from a pre-defined list, loaded from a URL or file
  • The Passthrough field on the main screen can have its label changed with a preference setting
  • EVP Office applications now support IPv6 for evaluations

Fixes

  • Tools → Look-Up... → Put/Call Options now uses a more relaxed method of verifying its SSL certificate, to avoid host mis-match errors
  • Windows usernames are no longer sent on news queries if the option is turned off
  • Account Information Keys can now be pasted into their field even if the full field is not selected
  • A status-line description for the Contact Us menu item was added
  • Evaluation status icons now behave properly for the Alternate Date in certain corner-case situations

Release 8.4.2

February 5, 2020

Fixes

  • A regression in previous version assigned the wrong name and file extension to several portfolio export formats, and has been fixed

(This is a small but important fix if you are running EVP Office 8.4.1 and use EstateVal’s File → Export functionality. It will correct improper export format and file-extension problems.)

Release 8.4.1

January 29, 2020

Features

  • Searching on international currencies now supports synonyms; for instance, searching “pound sterling” or “British pound” now returns “United Kingdom pound”

Fixes

  • Using EstateVal to price directly from ONESOURCE no longer causes a crash
  • EVP Office now has better error reporting for SOCKS5 proxies
  • “Write” from the holdings print preview now works
  • The previous release broke the evaluation status icons for unidentified securities; this version fixes them
  • Exporting to “Excel” now generates a file that uses the “.csv” extension by default, allowing it to be properly opened by modern version of Excel

Release 8.4.0

October 25, 2019

Features

  • EstateVal, GiftVal, and CostBasis can now price foreign currency, using the $ symbol and the ISO currency code in the Identifier column: $AUD is Australian dollars, $JPY is Japanese yen, etc; the amount of foreign currency held goes into the Shares/Par column, and the report will show its worth in United States dollars
  • EstateVal, GiftVal, and CostBasis can now price commodities, using the ! symbol: !AUAM (London AM gold), !AUPM (London PM gold), !AG (Silver), !PTAM (London AM Platinum), etc.
  • EstateVal, GiftVal, and CostBasis now have the ability to look up foreign currency identifiers, cryptocurrency identifiers, and commodity identifiers, at Tools → Look Up...
  • EstateVal, GiftVal, and CostBasis can now price Small Business Administration asset-backed securities
  • GiftVal and CostBasis now have Evaluation Status Icons, and they can be enabled via Tools → Options... → Standard → Show Evaluation Status
  • GiftVal and CostBasis can now import CUSIP/Shares, Fixed Field, and Delimited Field files, via File → Import...
  • EstateVal, GiftVal, and CostBasis can now print holdings without any evaluation information, either before or after an evaluation, via File → Print...
  • EstateVal, GiftVal, and CostBasis now have keyboard shortcuts for their primary evaluation (Ctrl+E), and foreign currency (Ctrl+U), cryptocurrency (Ctrl+R) and commodity (Ctrl+M) lookups
  • EstateVal now has a keyboard shortcut for an Alternate Date evaluation (Ctrl+A)
  • EstateVal now has a generic adjusted inventory action, “Other,” that allows custom text to be entered and used on the reports for the date of the action
  • EstateVal now collects usage statistics (without Personally Identifiable Information, PII) for import and export formats
  • All the EVP Office applications can now have individual options or entire sections set to read-only, to prevent users from arbitrarily changing them when using the programs

Fixes

  • EVP Office applications no longer allow same-day evaluations from timezones east of Greenwich before the New York Stock Exchange closes
  • The input caret is now moved to the space after the right-most character when clicking on partially empty date fields
  • EVP Office applications in Demo Mode no longer request user contact information
  • The list of adjusted inventories for lots has a new look that keeps the columns properly aligned
  • Unidentified securities that have shares now show the shares on the report, and include the note “No shares on valuation date” if the shares are zero

Release 8.3.1

May 15, 2019

Features

  • Put or call options can now be easily entered via Tools → Insert Put/Call...
  • Add a dialog for clients to voluntary maintain their contact information
  • Added the ability to auto-display a message to users
  • Upgraded instruction dialog fields for Account Information and User Information to use Web-based text
  • Date fields now autofill the previous year if the month and day entered would be in the future of the current year
  • Added Notes to the menu and options for GiftVal and CostBasis, to match EstateVal
  • User contact information, EVP Systems news, and other metadata is now transmitted encrypted, via HTTPS

Fixes

  • Liquidating UIT dividends that are of-record for the Date of Death are no longer double-counted
  • The list labels in the Adjusted Inventory dialog now properly line up above the columns on high-DPI displays
  • Cut, copy, and paste now work in the Notes field
  • The applications no longer crash if no printer driver is installed
  • EstateVal no longer crashes if several dozen sales are entered consecutively
  • Fixed the display of the first user-defined price in the Billing options dialog

Release 8.3.0

January 12, 2019

Features

  • EVP Office now supports pricing cryptocurrencies
  • Individual values can now be pasted into any field in the grid, while multiple values will paste into the Identifier then Shares/Par field
  • The lot number will light up with a warning yellow if a fixed-income security has been entered using shares instead of par
  • Alert pop-ups now appear if an invalid CUSIP or SEDOL, a user-reserved CUSIP, or if a ticker with a share-class identifier is entered; the bad check-digit and user-reserved alerts can be turned off via Tools → Options... → Standard
  • If an invalid CUSIP or SEDOL is entered, the cell value is blanked as it was before, but now the same cell is used for entry of the corrected identifier instead of advancing to the next
  • EstateVal now supports merging two portfolios, along with their evaluation data
  • GiftVal’s default behavior for payments is now to include them on the report if they are not yet of-record, meaning that the giftee will be the owner when the dividend or accrual goes of-record; if the payment is already of-record by the date of the gift, it is omitted from the report as the giftor will receive it
  • A “passthrough” value — allowing the association of an evaluation with a client or account — can now be added to EstateVal portfolios and returned to the client in the spreadsheet included with e-mail invoices, via Tools → Options... → Billing
  • The default behavior of user-defined values for a lot can be set in preferences, via Tools → Options... → Methodology
  • Billing reports now include the decedent name in the header
  • Pending dividends with an unknown value at processing-time are now included on the report with a note
  • The EVP Office license changed to reflect the new fee and discount schedules
  • The DOS-based FET/FATE interface was removed
  • A proper User-Agent header to HTTP requests was added
  • An improved error message generated by a Windows share running SMBv1 under Windows 10 1803 or later was added
  • The installer and applications are now signed with a SHA256 certificate and properly date stamped
  • The National Day of Mourning for President George H. W. Bush was added to the list of holidays

Fixes

  • Good Friday in 2018 is now properly considered a market-closed day
  • Other information in the lot is preserved if the Identifier is deleted before a new one is pasted into the cell
  • Cut-and-paste from Excel now works properly in CostBasis and GiftVal
  • No longer show spurious warning dialog when the Acquisition Date is the same as the Date of Death
  • Existing inventory adjustments aren’t deleted if an edit is cancelled
  • Dividend notes are not longer repeated across multiple dividends within adjustment, accrual or principal groupings
  • Security notes now have any ampersands or less-than signs in them properly encoded in the portfolio file
  • Appraisal and Distribution Date adjusted inventories no longer generate visual warnings if they’re before the Date of Death
  • Dividends with a record-date before the acquisition date for a lot are ignored; previously the ex-date was used
  • CapWatch now scales properly on high-DPI monitors
  • CapWatch no longer crashes when Message Center messages are displayed in the menu bar drop-down
  • The XML report no longer lists an empty total field when a report failed to price any securities, now showing zeros

Release 8.2.2

May 3, 2018

Features

  • Adjusted inventories can now have fifty actions, up from the previous twenty
  • The contents of the Shares field in the adjusted inventory dialog is now selected when the dialog opens, allowing the value to be changed without deleting the default value
  • Any field in the adjusted inventory dialog that is changed from an illegal value to a legal one will show this immediately, without having to exit the field; the “OK” button will also become enabled, allowing the user to hit “Return” to exit
  • The GEMS export now includes the possibility of exporting to Schedule I
  • The hidden Support options now include the ability to erase the data for a single lot and reset GiftVal’s payment flags

Fixes

  • “Send Billing Records to” now preserves the selected option, instead of reverting to “Printer” whenever the programs are run
  • “Send Billing Records to” has been moved to the Tools → Options → Billing tab, which makes more sense
  • The grid’s scrollbar now always redraws after a window resize
  • The Contact Us dialog now displays the proper version of Windows, even under 8.1 an 10
  • The “on-line evaluation import/export” from EPScom and OneSource have been re-enabled
  • The Font Weight options on the Report tab now only allow Normal and Bold, as the Courier New font is only available in those weights
  • The XML Report now properly exports “number” for each lot

Release 8.2.1

March 26, 2018

Features

  • EstateVal inventories can now be adjusted with the “Transferred Out (within Estate)” action, to show shares removed from a portfolio (but not the estate) without pricing them
  • “Find…” now offers more searching options

Fixes

  • Grid performance is greatly improved
  • The evaluation status icons on the right side of the grid now display summary icons that include the status of each lot, not just the visible ones
  • Paste-from-Excel now allows for Shares/Par values with commas in them to be copied properly: 25,000 becomes 25000
  • Pasting to the grid now allows double-quotes to be used as an escape character for CSV-style pasting: IBM, “1,000” becomes IBM, 1000
  • For NASDAQ mutual funds evaluated on the next day but with prices from before then, re-evaluating will update the portfolio with the price for the valuation date; there is no extra charge
  • CostBasis and GiftVal no longer display a dialog that says “The parameter is invalid” when exiting
  • Text field focusing and selection is improved
  • Date fields are now limited to 01/01/1900 through 12/31/2099, to prevent wildly out-of-range dates from being accidentally entered
  • Exporting a GEMS file will no longer fail if the GEMS.INF file cannot be written to the EstateVal installation directory because of permissions

Release 8.2.0

March 5, 2018

Features

  • You can now cut from Excel and paste into the grid! A one-column paste will go in as Identifiers; a two-column paste will go in as Identifiers and Shares/Par
  • Tools → Find... and Ctrl+F bring up a search dialog, allowing lots to be found by their Identifier, CUSIP, name or evaluation status
  • A new preference in Tools → Options → Billing allows for the reverse chronological sorting of billing months and record selection lists
  • Adjusted Inventory items with invalid symbols, action dates, acquisition dates, share/par values, or user-defined information now have those values highlighted in yellow, with tool-tips that explain the problem
  • Adjusted Inventory items with invalid values will either grey out the “OK” button or cause a warning dialog explaining the problem to appear when “OK” is clicked
  • Adjusted Inventory items in the action list with invalid values are highlighted in yellow, and the report they belong to have a warning icon on its tab
  • Lots that contain invalid Adjusted Inventory items are highlighted in yellow, with a tool-tip that explains the problem; if any lots in the portfolio have invalid Adjusted Inventory items (including those scrolled out of view), a warning icon will appear on the Adjust Inventory button
  • If the par value of a mortgaged-backed security does not match the option setting for entry (either because it is a round value and remaining principal is the setting, or because it is not a round value and face-value is set), the lot item number is highlighted in yellow, and a tool-tip explains the problem
  • A new preference, Tools → Options → Standard → Show Evaluation Status, adds a new column to the main grid. When enabled, next to each lot, two icons (one for Date of Death and one for Alternate Date) indicate the evaluation status of the security — an empty circle for unpriced, a green dot for successfully priced, a yellow dot for a successful price that is not for the exact valuation date, a yellow pen for user-defined prices and a red X for an unsuccessful pricing; in the header of the column, icons summarize each column, showing the least-favorable status present for the each report
  • Headline-based progress messages are now longer and more numerous, and start on a random headline, to prevent repetition across multiple evaluations

Fixes

  • Appraisal Reports will now always evaluate the next day even for weekends and holidays, since all its prices are last-close
  • Veterans Day is now properly calculated during 1971-1977 and prior to 1938
  • Bond market closure calculations for 1996 and later now properly ignore Veterans Day when it lands on a Saturday
  • Internet connectivity issues (specifically, no Internet connectivity and the connection being blocked by a firewall) now have much better error messages
  • When using the mouse wheel while hovering over the grid, the grid now scrolls if a field is being edited
  • Report generation slowed down a lot in 8.1.0; it is now fast again
  • The progress dialog is now wider, to accommodate all headline-based progress messages
  • Headline-based progress messages are now more reliably gathered and formatted
  • Exchange rates now have their trailing zeros stripped
  • Securities without a price-currency but with a non-North American security-currency are now billed the foreign surcharge
  • Corporate bonds, municipal bonds and long-term CDs are no longer subject to stale-price limits if the old price is because they have matured
  • CUSIP/Shares import now strips whitespace from around each field, and only uses a comma (instead of a comma or a space) as the field delimiter

Release 8.1.0

November 10, 2017

Features

  • Added spiffy logo and program icons
  • Added the ability to select composite, primary or default pricing
  • Added dividend notes, to describe any special status of a dividend, such as non-standard tax rates or capital gains
  • Added a security note, to describe any special status of the entire security
  • Added adjustment for dividends in currencies other than the currency in which the security is traded
  • Added conversion and report of exchange rates for all foreign securities
  • Added Schedules F and H to the GEMS export
  • Improved the compatibility of ProBATE export
  • Added settable default options for second and third title line
  • Added the ability to set a last-page disclaimer
  • Added the ability to set default Portfolio Endnotes
  • Removed the “EPScom” and “ProBATE (Before)” exports, renamed the “ProBATE (After)” export to “ProBATE”, and renamed the “Fast-Tax FPS” export to “ONESOURCE”
  • Added the ability to skip a header line (rather than parsing it in one of several formats) to “Custom (Fixed)” and “Custom (Field)” imports
  • Added each title line to exported monthly billing records
  • Added a “First” button to Print Preview, to return to the first page

Fixes

  • Fixed PgUp, PgDn and ESC on Print Preview
  • Fixed a too-long line in EstateVal Research Reports that would truncate some CapWatch item reference number
  • Fixed the CapWatch window size, so it doesn’t have a scroll bar, no matter the screen resolution
  • Fixed the busy dialog during CapWatch queries
  • Fixed defaulted municipal bonds to say so, in certain, rare circumstances
  • Fixed the EVP Office Setup Wizard to allow installation directory selection
  • Fixed aborted Research Reports so they are no longer added to the list of available reports
  • Fixed a circumstance where importing a file and then exiting the program would create a directory with the name of the file, preventing it from being saved
  • Fixed the header import preferences for “Custom (Fixed)” and “Custom (Field)”

Release 8.0.6

August 30, 2016

Fixes

  • In IRS Mode, EstateVal now properly moves to the Return Value column when TAB is pressed in the Shares column
  • In IRS Mode, EstateVal now properly shows per-security principal subtotals on reports

Release 8.0.5

August 15, 2016

Fixes

  • EVP Office now works better on very high-resolution monitors
  • The CUSIP/Shares import again works correctly if the imported file uses CUSIP check-digits
  • The EVP Office applications report the proper version of Windows in the About → Contact Us dialog
  • EstateVal, CostBasis and GiftVal show more detailed error messages when a portfolio for Account Information Key fails to save
  • EstateVal, CostBasis and GiftVal now shows the “Price Currency” in the Advanced window; securities can have a currency for the security itself, each individual price and for each dividend — EVP Office now allows all of them to be viewed and changed
  • EstateVal now properly bills for Research when there are more than 20 securities in a portfolio

Release 8.0.4

January 2, 2016

Fixes

  • EstateVal, CostBasis and GiftVal now use the pricing currency to determine if a foreign surcharge applies to an evaluation, falling back to the security currency only if no pricing currency is available
  • All the programs will now always start with their main window visible on the screen, no matter what the configuration file says
  • The progress bar no longer appears in CapWatch when in demo mode
  • CostBasis will now properly select the dates surrounding a holiday, rather than assuming that Monday prices will always be available
  • EstateVal, CostBasis and GiftVal have expanded their definition of what types of dividends constitute “cash” to more closely match what the data vendor provides
  • GiftVal now properly shows User-Defined accruals
  • EstateVal now allows user-defined prices to be included on Alternate Date reports before the Alternate Date if all other securities have been sold off
  • EstateVal’s GEMS export will zero out the mean price if it is stale, matching the EstateVal report
  • Account Information Keys with an expiration of 2016 and beyond now work

Release 8.0.3

March 2, 2015

Features

  • The fixed-width font used for Identifiers and Shares/Par and on the printed reports can be changed with preference setting
  • The installer now includes a click-through license, laying out what rights and responsibilities the user’s of EVP’s software have

Fixes

  • No longer truncate INI files when copying from 7.x, C:\Program Files\ installations to %AppData%-based installations
  • Attempting to save a billing record to a non-existent Billing Path now produces an error instead of trying to create the directory
  • Improve error message when attempting to old an incompatible .EVP file
  • Report UNC path creation as successful if the path already exists, instead of offering an error

Release 8.0.2

December 1, 2014

Features

  • The installer now allows for the software to be installed for all users on a machine, instead of just the current user
  • Items in the EVP Message Center are only displayed in the drop-down if they’re relevant to you

Fixes

  • The programs no longer crash when the File → Exit menu item is used, instead of the close window icon

Release 8.0.1

September 30, 2014

Features

  • The installer now accepts a “/NOICONS” command-line option, to prevent the desktop and Start menu icons from being created during installation

Fixes

  • GiftVal now properly classifies stock and bonds when deciding which lots should include or omit payments based on the settings in Tools → Options → Methodology

Release 8.0.0

September 29, 2014

Features

  • GiftVal — a completely new application for evaluating gifts is included
  • New Look — Each program has new graphics and icons
  • User Identification — User’s EVP Admin or Windows usernames are now included on the billing records and data exports
  • Billing Export — Exporting the billing records for a month now include distinct fields for processing date, title, account, evaluation date and identifier
  • EVP Admin — User and group names are now alphabetically sorted, and have been expanded to sixteen and thirty-two characters respectively

Fixes

  • 30/360 time periods that begin on February 28th are now correctly calculated
  • Billing records stored on a NetApp SAN with an out-of-date driver are now accessible
  • EVP license and support files now migrate to the Windows Vista/7/8 security infrastructure properly

Release 7.4.0

November 1, 2013

EstateVal

  • After a complete sell-off, the Alternate Date can now be evaluated, even if six months have not passed
  • Old and unused imports and exports have been removed
  • A fix for during-holiday evaluations, to wait until the next-price available; this was a problem exposed by the unexpected market closure caused by Hurricane Sandy

All EVP Office Applications

  • The software includes the new fee schedule, for printing billing records
  • The applications now obey per-user User Access Control permissions on Windows Vista, 7 and 8
  • The software is now “signed,” meaning that it no longer issues a warning when you install it
  • The Windows username is stored in billing files and printed on billing records, to better identify who ran a portfolio
  • The applications now use native controls, meaning that they look like the version of Windows that they are running on
  • The Modem Communications option has been removed and EVP Office is now Internet-only
  • A fix to allow dollar-signs in UNC path names (hidden directories) was made

Release 7.3.1

July 25, 2012

EstateVal

  • Daily Accruals for 20,000 Mutual Funds
    • EstateVal Version 7.3 is the only source for accurate daily accruals (mil rates), Date of Death accruals and accrued interest on 20,000 Mutual Funds.
      • EVP Systems did the research. EstateVal gets it right.
  • International Stock & Bond Estate Valuations
    • Pricing and Accruals for Foreign Stocks
      • EstateVal reports exchange specific pricing along with ex-dividend and accrued dividend calculations in dividend specific currencies and exchange rates.
      • For example, you have a stock traded in Euros, paying Hong Kong Dollar dividends, registered in the Cayman Islands. EstateVal gets it right.
    • Accruals on Foreign Bonds
      • Foreign fixed income accruals are more complex than those for domestic bonds. EstateVal now includes 8 unique methods for calculating accrued interest on foreign bonds.
      • EVP Systems studied the accrual methods. EstateVal gets it right.

Release 7.3.0

November 30, 2011

EstateVal

  • Daily Accruals for 20,000 Mutual Funds
    • EstateVal Version 7.3 is the only source for accurate daily accruals (mil rates), Date of Death accruals and accrued interest on 20,000 Mutual Funds.
      • EVP Systems did the research. EstateVal gets it right.
  • International Stock & Bond Estate Valuations
    • Pricing and Accruals for Foreign Stocks
      • EstateVal reports exchange specific pricing along with ex-dividend and accrued dividend calculations in dividend specific currencies and exchange rates.
      • For example, you have a stock traded in Euros, paying Hong Kong Dollar dividends, registered in the Cayman Islands. EstateVal gets it right.
    • Accruals on Foreign Bonds
      • Foreign fixed income accruals are more complex than those for domestic bonds. EstateVal now includes 8 unique methods for calculating accrued interest on foreign bonds.
      • EVP Systems studied the accrual methods. EstateVal gets it right.

Release 7.2.2

September 26, 2011

EstateVal Features

Daily Accruals EstateVal now reports accruals for funds with daily accruals.

Release 7.2.1

June 16, 2011

EstateVal Features

  • Foreign Securities EstateVal now supports foreign securities.

Release 7.2.0

January 7, 2011

EstateVal Features

  • Foreign Securities EstateVal now supports foreign securities.

Release 7.1.1

August 29, 2008

EVP Office Feature

Vista Compatibility: EVP Office is now fully compatible with Windows Vista.

EstateVal Features

GEMS Export: Added fields to the GEMS export that allow a Schedule selection.Inventory Information: For user-defined prices, users can now select “Per Share” or “Lot Total” for Value and/or Accrual entered. They can now have different values for both the security value and the accrual.

EstateVal Fix

Billing: On-site billing records in Version 7.1.0 showed a surcharge on ADRs. This has been fixed. Month-end invoices were always correct.

Release 7.1.0

April 24, 2008

EstateVal and CostBasis Features

  • Rich Text Write Location: The default output directory for Rich Text is the same as for the portfolio file, instead of the desktop.
  • CUSIP Sorting: The order of the symbols in the grid can be sorted by CUSIP, by Name and by Type, as well as the Symbol itself.
  • Exchange Rate Format: Canadian exchange rates are printed with additional accuracy to match the internal calculations.

EstateVal Features

  • Accrual Only Report: EstateVal, Version 7.1.0 offers a new Accrual-Only report in a PDF format.
  • Adjusted Inventory Re-Ordering: Adjusted inventory items can now be re-ordered manually, using up and down buttons.
  • Additional Adjusted Inventory Actions: New adjusted inventory items are available. In addition to the old Held, Sold and Distributed, the program now includes: Held via Spin-Off, Held via Merger, Held via Name Change, Held via Transfer In, Held via Exchange, Redeemed, Called, Matured, Liquidated, and Transferred Out.
  • Actual/365 Accruals: Users can manually change the accrual method from 30/360 to Actual/365, to accommodate certain Certificates of Deposit.
  • New Import/Export Options: The following new import and/or export options are now available.
  • CMO Delayed Payments: New information is available to account for delayed payments on CMOs.

Release 7.0.4

July 25, 2004

EstateVal and CostBasis Fixes

  • Reagan Funeral: The applications now treat the day of former President Ronald Reagan’s funeral as a non-trading day. This affects inversely weighted means around June 11th.

EVP Office Features

  • New Holidays: Beginning with version 7.04, EstateVal will be automatically informed of new non-trading days.
  • Preview Write Uses More Descriptive Filename: Selecting “Write” from a print preview now suggests a more descriptive default filename, including the type of report being written.
  • Preview Write Uses Default Data Directory: The directory that preview writes are now stored in by default is the Data Path, not the Desktop.

Release 7.0.3

January 15, 2004

EstateVal and CostBasis Fixes

  • Duplicate Lot Bug Fixed: Under unusual circumstances, multiple lots could be set to the same number, causing problems with the portfolio. This has been fixed.
  • Dividend Scientific Notation Removed: Dividends will no longer every display in scientific (exponent) notation.
  • Report Font Weight: If you set a font weight for the report other than “Default,” it will now show up on the reports. This was broken in the previous version.

EstateVal Fixes

  • Trustware Export: The Trustware 11 export would often (though randomly) fail because of a memory overwrite. This has been fixed.
  • U.S. Trust Import: The U.S. Trust import now correctly imports files, even if they are white space column offsets.
  • Distribution Date and Appraisal Date Adjusted Inventories: Both types of reports now correctly load any adjusted inventories. Previously, they were ignored.

EVP Office Features

  • Do Not Send Windows User: The applications can now be set to disallow the sending of the Windows user, during log-in to the Data Center. This allows for a strict local security policy.
  • Contact Us Menu Item: All EVP Office applications now feature a “Contact Us” menu item, giving quick access to our Support Department.

EstateVal and CostBasis Features

  • Expanded Text Areas: The programs now allow longer titles, descriptions and notes.
  • Index Type: EstateVal and CostBasis now recognize security indexes and can correctly price them, with the assumption that they represent U.S. dollars.
  • Number of Lots: Both programs can now edit the maximum number of lots that can be entered into them, via the Standard Options tab.
  • Splits Shown as Integers: Information about splits is now shown as industry-standard usage, using integers — “5-for-4” — instead of decimal numbers — “1.25-for-1” — as before.
  • “Bid” Prices Re-Labeled: Prices that were listed only as a “Bid” were mislabeled and are now more correctly noted as “Market,” indicating an evaluated price based on bid, ask and prevailing trends.

EstateVal Features

  • ProBATE Export: When exporting to the latest version of Selden Systems’ ProBATE, EstateVal will now send accruals and adjusted inventories, which the previous version did not do.

Release 7.0.2

May 20, 2003

EVP Office Fixes

  • Print-Preview Characters No Longer Clipped: Previously, the bottoms of characters would be clipped off in certain print-preview modes. This has been fixed, making the previews easier to read.
  • Print-Preview Tearing Fixed: On certain zoom levels in previous version, the print preview page would “tear” when the page was scrolled. This has been corrected.

EstateVal and CostBasis Fixes

  • Floating Point Accuracy in Files Improved: Floating point numbers saved in portfolio files will now save to the accuracy that they can be edited. In previous 7.x versions of the software, they would truncate at six decimal places.
  • Custom Modem and Internet Preferences Preserved while Upgrading: If changes to the modem or Internet preferences were made directly in the application’s INI file on versions before 7.0.1, they are now preserved upon upgrading.

EstateVal Fixes

  • Exchange Rates Now Saved: A bug prevented Canadian exchange rates from being saved, causing re-loaded portfolios containing foreign securities to print incorrectly.
  • Long-Term CDs Now Saved: Long-Term CDs weren’t being saved, reverting to their unpriced state after being re-loaded. This has been fixed.
  • IRS Values Now Saved: Additionally, IRS values (return-list accrual and principal, when the program is in “IRS Mode”) weren’t saved.
  • Short Coupons Weighting Correct: Short coupons would occasionally be used, instead of indicating the presence of a long payment period.
  • Long Portfolio Names and Billing Records: Long portfolio names no longer cause the generation of billing records to crash EstateVal.
  • All X-for-X Splits Show Correctly: Occasionally, a miscalculation would show a “1-for-0.9999” split having occurred. This has been fixed.
  • Rounding Correct in All Cases: Previously, pennies would occasionally be truncated instead of rounded — 0.05 would become 0.00 instead of 0.01. This has been fixed.
  • Missing Import Shares Default: On an import, if no shares are available, the default of “1” will now be used.
  • Cosmetic CMO Billing Problem Fixed: Doing an Alternate Date evaluation of a portfolio with CMOs in it would produce non-billed entries for the Date of Death for those securities. This has been fixed.

EVP Administrator Fixes

  • Delete Works: The delete button for Users and Groups now works. Previously, it was failing because a confirmation dialog box was not being properly created.

EVP Office Features

  • UNC Path Names Now Allowed: All EVP Office applications now accept Universal Naming Convention paths (using the format \\server\share).
  • Longer Most-Recently-Used List: Each EVP Office application now saves the last eight most-recently-used portfolios on the File menu.

EstateVal Features

  • U.S. Trust Import: EstateVal now imports files produced in-house by U.S. Trust.
  • Series H Issue and Maturity Included: Reports that use Series H bonds now show their issue and maturity dates.
  • Schedule E-1, E-2 Export EPS: EstateVal can now export its data to Schedules E-1 and E-2 in EPS.

Release 7.0.1

January 22, 2003

EVP Office Features

  • New Installer: EVP Office now uses a new set-up program that follows the “modern” interface guidelines.

EstateVal and CostBasis Features

  • Windows 2000/XP File Dialogs: When running under the latest versions of Windows, EstateVal and CostBasis now use the new File Dialogs, with the “Places” bar along the side.

EstateVal and CostBasis Fixes

  • Ampersand Encoding: In 7.0.0, ampersands were not correctly encoded in the new XML storage files, causing any portfolio that used them in either the title or in a security description to report itself as corrupted. This problem has been fixed.
  • File Corruption: Previously, if one file was reported corrupt, EstateVal and CostBasis would then corrupt any other portfolio loaded into the programs until they were re-started. This problem has also been fixed.

Release 7.0.0

January 6, 2003

EstateVal Features

  • Research Reports: EstateVal now offers Research Reports, a fast and convenient way to gather all the significant capital changes for every security in a portfolio for six months prior to the Date of Death or the Alternate Date.

EstateVal and CostBasis Features

  • XML Storage Files: EVP Portfolio files now use a well-formed, non-validating XML file to store their data.

EstateVal, CostBasis, CapWatch and EVP Administrator Features

  • Windows/Office XP Look-and-Feel: All the EVP Office applications now feature the Windows XP look-and-feel, as well as the Office XP menus and toolbars. On older version of Windows, only the Office XP menus and toolbars are used. On machines with 256 colors or fewer, Office 97 menus are used.

EstateVal, CostBasis and EVP Administrator Fixes

  • Data Path No Longer Reset: If an EVP Office was using the suite’s enterprise features and a data path had been defined for the application or group, then it would over-ride the user’s settings. This has been fixed.

Release 6.5.0

October 26, 2002

EstateVal, CostBasis and EVP Administrator Fixes

  • Data Path No Longer Reset in Rare Circumstances: If an EVP Office was using the suite’s enterprise features and a data path had been defined for the application or group, then it would over-ride the user’s settings. This has been fixed.

Release 6.4.3

October 25, 2002

EVP Office Fixes

  • OLEACC.DLL Dependency Removed: Due to a mis-configuration in the latest release of Microsoft’s Foundation Classes, the previous version of EVP Office required that “Active Accessibility” features be available, in the form of OLEACC.DLL. Older version of Windows, 95 and NT 4.0, do not have these features turned on by default. This new version of EVP Office fixes the dependency, allowing the software to work on any version of Windows, upgraded or not.If you currently run EVP Office 6.4.2 and are not getting the error, “A required .DLL, OLEACC.DLL, was not found.”, you DO NOT need to upgrade. This release is only for people that cannot run the previous version.

Release 6.4.2

October 23, 2002

EVP Office Features

  • Visual Design Conformity: All the EVP Office applications now conform more closely to Microsoft’s official Visual Design Guidelines.
  • Virtual Paths Allowed: All the EVP Office applications now allow for Windows virtual folders — My Documents, Desktop, etc. — to be selected for data and billing storage.

EstateVal Features

  • Zane Portfolio Preservation: Previously, when the Windows version of Zane’s 706 program requested prices form EstateVal, the corresponding EstateVal portfolio was over-written. Now, previous valuations are preserved.

EstateVal Fixes

  • UIT Principal Distribution Dates: EstateVal 6.4.1 introduced a bug that would display incorrect dates for the principal portion of a UIT distribution. It has been fixed.
  • IRS Mode Alternate Date Adjusted Inventory Addition: The last release introduced a bug that incorrectly summed values during Alternate Date evaluations with adjusted inventories while in IRS mode. Individual items and the total difference were correctly reported, but the total of values entered by auditors from the returns always matched the total produced by EstateVal.
  • IRS Mode Properly Expands Window: When EstateVal is put into IRS Mode, if the window is too small, it will now automatically expand.

EstateVal and CostBasis Fixes

  • Bond Holidays Reinstated: Martin Luther King Day, Columbus Day and Veterans Day are all now considered trading holidays for bond markets. They were incorrectly removed from pervious versions.
  • DOS-Era Data Path No Longer Reset: In EVP Office 6.4.1, a bug was introduced that would always reset the data path to C:\ESTATES for installations in that directory. This has been fixed.

EstateVal, CostBasis and CapWatch Fixes

  • Expired Key Crash: The applications no longer crash occasionally when an expired Account Information Key is used.

EVP Administrator Fixes

  • Billing Edit Crash: EVP Administrator 6.4.1 would crash when the Billing tab was selected. This has been fixed.

Release 6.4.1

July 26, 2002

EstateVal, CostBasis and CapWatch Features

  • Exporting to Rich Text: Each application can now write rich text files from their Print Preview screens, for easier importing into word processors. Plain text exporting is still supported.
  • Export to Clipboard: Each application can now copy a text copy of the report to the clipboard from their Print Preview Screens.
  • Printer Default for Bills: For new installations, billing records are sent to the printer by default, to allow customers to track their usage better. Existing installations are unchanged.
  • Demo Mode Good-Bye: The programs, when run in Demo Mode, will offer the user a chance to sign-up for an account on EVP Systems’ Web site before exiting.

EstateVal and CostBasis Features

  • Edit-and-Print Mode: The programs can now be put into Edit-and-Print mode, which allows portfolio files to be edited and printed, but not evaluated. It is designed for Outsourcing clients who have portfolios e-mailed to them.
  • Long-Term CD Pricing: EstateVal and CostBasis can now provide prices for long-term certificates of deposit.

EstateVal Features

  • Note Text Shortcuts: EstateVal now has the ability to define up to eight short notes that can be automatically added to the Notes field. If a shortcut contains an underscore (“_”), it will be highlighted when the note is added, so that it can be easily replaced with custom information.

CapWatch Features

  • Report Title: CapWatch now allows a report title to be set, to be used on both printed information and billing records. This can help identify what client a CapWatch report was run for.
  • Ampersand Allowed in Searches: Previously, the ampersand (“&”) couldn’t be used in name searches. This has been added, to allow querying for “AT&T,” for example.

EstateVal and CostBasis Fixes

  • DOS-Era Data Directory Preserved: If a new version of either program is installed in the directory C:\ESTATES, that will be used as the data directory, to allow long-time users to easily find their previously evaluated estates. This feature broke in 6.4.0 and is now fixed.
  • Lessened Print Preview CPU Usage: Previously, EstateVal and CostBasis would use all available CPU resources during Print Preview. Now, the programs use only the fractional percentage they need for scrolling.
  • Billing Records Always Portrait: If you printed a Billing Record while either application was set to print a landscape-oriented report, the Record also printed as landscape. This has been fixed.
  • Crash on Portfolio Double-Click: The applications no longer crash when you double-click on a portfolio file.
  • Cut, Copy, Paste in Notes: Cut, Copy, Paste and Undo now work both via the menu and accelerator keys when the focus is in the Notes field.
  • MBS Factor Printing: The programs used to display scientific notation (“1.0e-005”, for example) for very small mortgage-backed factors. This has been fixed.
  • Mean Weight Cannot Be Zero: Though the Bond Market Association advises that bond markets should be closed on Martin Luther King Day, Columbus Day and Veteran’s Day, our data source provides information for each. This previously caused means for evaluations involving those dates — starting with version 6.4.0 — to be weighted incorrectly, with one day’s prices evaluating to zero, effectively removing it from the mean. The problem has been fixed.

EstateVal Fixes

  • Zane Windows Interface Extension: The extension “.VAL” is now always added to Zane Windows export files. Previously, if an extension was present, “.VAL” was not added, but this conflicted with file names that included periods.
  • EPScom and Zane On-Line Pricing Billing: If EstateVal was used to price securities from EPScom or Zane, they would be billed every time they were sent, even if they had been previously valued. This has been fixed, so that only the first pricing is billed.
  • Liquidating UITs Priced Correctly: Under certain circumstances, a liquidating UIT distribution wouldn’t remove the price from the security value, leaving the item’s value doubled. This has been fixed.
  • Additional Dates No Longer has “Help” Button: The “Additional Dates” Dialog — brought up with the “Edit Dates” button — no longer has a help button. All help in EstateVal is provided through the help menu.
  • Correct IRS-Mode Sums: In rare circumstances — an adjusted inventory on an Alternate Date report split across two pages — EstateVal would incorrectly sum values entered on tax returns when the program was in IRS mode. This has been fixed.
  • CUSIPs Uppercased on Import: Previously, lowercase CUSIPs could be imported into EstateVal, causing internal confusion between the uppercase and lowercase versions. Now, all CUSIPs are uppercased upon import.
  • Limited Partnership Disclaimer Removed: As EstateVal no longer prices limited partnerships, the disclaimer has been removed.
  • Appraisal Report Value Vertical Alignment: On Appraisal Reports, the security value is now on the same line as the closing price. This is visually consistent with the security value aligning with the mean on the other reports.
  • Split-Pricing Post-Ex Date of Death Last-Price Adjustment: Under very rare circumstances, a date of death will fall after the last available price, after an ex-date and before the next price. In this case, EstateVal was not adjusting the last price down to account for the dividend that is shown on the report. This has been corrected.

CapWatch Fixes

  • Proper Text for CapWatch on the Web: The Status Bar and Tooltip text for the “CapWatch on the Web” menu item was incorrect, listing CostBasis instead. This has been fixed.

Release 6.4.0

December 17, 2001

EstateVal, CostBasis and CapWatch Features

  • Name Change: The applications are now called EstateVal XP, CostBasis XP and CapWatch XP, to show that they are compatible with Microsoft’s new version of Windows. They remain compatible with Windows 95, 98, ME, NT 4.0 and 2000.
  • Easier Installation: When downloaded, EVP Office now begins its installation procedure simply by double-clicking on an icon. After the installation, the temporary files are removed.
  • Sorted Billing Months: When selecting a month of billing to examine, the order of the dates is now chronological.
  • Export Billing: A month of billing records can now be exported in comma-separated values format, for use with spreadsheets.
  • User-Selectable Billing Record Prices: The applications now allow users to select if they want billing records printed with their own information, or with the price that EVP will bill at.
  • System User: When someone logs into an enterprise-enabled installation, the applications try to default to the user name of the last person to run them. If this information isn’t available, they’ll now use the name of the person currently logged into the computer.
  • New Pricing: Each application will now correct switch to the new billing schedule on November 1, 2001.
  • No Login for Demo Mode: If the programs are started in demo mode, they are automatically set to single-user mode, even if the enterprise features have been enabled.
  • Expired Key Referral: When an expired Account Information Key is entered, the programs now give the phone number to get a new one.
  • Network Address Translation Proxy: The applications can now include “Network Address Translation” (NAT) as a proxy option, allowing for NAT’d clients to change their direct-connect IP address without having to muck with the .INI file.
  • Account Information Key Entry Default: Entering an Account Information Key, instead of an Account Information Disk, is now the default.

EstateVal and CostBasis Features

  • New Headlines: EstateVal and CostBasis now have more headline choices to select from, when you use the Internet to evaluate portfolios: Entertainment, Science, Technology, Politics and Health.
  • Sample Portfolio in Demo Mode: Both programs now automatically load the sample portfolio if the program is started in demo mode.
  • Internet Default Communication Method: The default method of communicating with the Data Center has been changed to “Internet,” for all new installations. Current installations keep their settings.

EstateVal Features

  • Re-Valuation During Market Closures: The unexpected market closures caused by the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center caused EstateVal to deliver correct prices with an incorrect date (the program claimed to have gotten the price during the closures). Re-valuing portfolios that have these prices — noted with the text “* Prices are based on nearest trading days.” — will correct the dates, without charge.
  • New Zane Interface: EstateVal can now import from and export to the Windows versions of Zane software. It can also act as an automatic pricing for those programs.

EstateVal, CostBasis and CapWatch Fixes

  • Copyright Date: Each program now shows the correct copyright date. This was wrong in 6.3.3.
  • Printing Without a Printer: The software now warns users if a printer is not available and a print or a print preview is requested.
  • Task Bar Label for Splash Screen: When each application starts, the button that appears on the Task Bar now has a label, instead of being blank.
  • System File Installation: The installation of EVP Office will now install MFC42.DLL, MSVCRT.DLL and COMCTL32.DLL if they’re needed. This was broken in the previous version.
  • HTTP Tunneling Proxy now HTTP/1.1: When used with an HTTP Tunneling proxy, the applications now declare themselves to be HTTP/1.1 clients instead of HTTP/1.0. The HTTP 1.0 spec does not recognize HTTP Tunneling commands, so, by default, all HTTP Tunneling clients must be 1.1.

EstateVal Fixes

  • UIT Distribution Mean Adjustments: In the rare circumstance where a the ex-date for a UIT distribution fell after the last available price but before the valuation date, EstateVal would incorrectly adjust the price for the supposedly excluded principal. This has been fixed.