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Toolkit 4 Download Helper
Download SSG Files to a Folder on Your Computer
(Especially for Toolkit 4 Owners) 

Joe Craig

January 14, 2006

Investor's Toolkit 4 will not automatically download files and it will not update existing data automatically from the BetterInvesting web site.  The intent of this page is to provide some tools that you can use to do your updates.  While they aren't automatic, they aren't really labor intensive.

Use the file attach to this page, courtesy of Erik Berg, to create a file from your Toolkit database that you can use this file to download multiple SSG files to a directory on your computer's disk and use those SSGs to update your data. You'll need to follow these instructions to to the entire thing.

  • You'll need to have Microsoft's .NET Framework installed on your computer.  (Download it from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.aspx?displaylang=en)
  • You will need to use Mozilla Firefox 1.5 or later. (Download it from http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/ and install it.)
  • You'll also need DownloadThemAll, an Extension for Firefox
  • Inside of Firefox, click on Tools, then click on Extensions, then click on the "Get More Extensions" link in the lower right corner.
  • Scroll through the page, locate DownloadThemAll, and install it.
  • Close and then restart Firefox.
  • Click Tools and verify that DownloadThemAll appears in the Tools menu
  • Download GenerateMySSGs.vbs from this page and save it one your computer.  I recommend that you save it on the Desktop so that you can find it easily.
    • Open GenerateMySSGs.vbs with Windows Notepad and modity the first two lines
      • The first line should point to your Toolkit database
      • The Second line should point to a folder that will store the downloaded files.  I recommend that you put this folder on your Desktop and name it MySSGs.
  • Double-click the icon for GenerateMySSGs.vbs.  It will create a file MySSGs.htm in the same folder as GenerateMySSGs.vbs.
  • Start Mozilla
  • Go the the BetterInvesting web site and make sure that you are logged in.
  • Open a new Firefox window or tab.
  • Select File, Open and select MySSGs.htm as the file to open. This file will appear in a Firefox browser window.
  • Right-click anywhere in the window and select DownThemAll in the menu that appears
  • Check the files you want to download
  • Select the directory into which the files will be downloaded (MySSGs)
  • Click Start Downloads and the SSG files will download into the directory (If you are using an existing directory, choose "Overwrite" and "From Now On" to make sure that old data is replaced.
  • Start Toolkit 4 and update data from the files that you just downloaded

Note if you receive the error "ActiveX component can't create object: 'ADODB.Connection'", you need to register the MSADO15.DLL file.  Verify that you have this file on your system and register it with regsvr32.  The following command entered at a command prompt should do the the trick:

regsvr32 c:\progra~1\common~1\system\ado\MSADO15.DLL

More information on debugging this error can be found here:  http://www.mvps.org/access/bugs/bugs0022.htm

Attachments
Name Version Size Date User
GenerateMySSGs.vbs 1 3 KB 2006-01-29 jncraig
Download this file!


Comments

From AlanH [65.102.149.59] - 2007-02-24

Looks like BI changed the path to the datafiles (I think).  The VBscript currently uses the address https://www.betterinvesting.org/member/login.html?target_uri=/ssg/ but I think it is now somewhere along the lines of http://tools.betterinvesting.org/CR/CrReport.aspx?ticker=

 I've tried tinkering with different directories and permutations but I ain't no programmer! Bottom line, DownloadThemAll is no longer writing the datafiles to my SSG folder -- it only writes "login.html".

 Anyone with a big brain have any ideas (assuming I'm even right in the first place)?
From B Fritz [71.205.193.208] - 2006-10-03
With Firefox version 1.5.0.7 and Downthemall version 0.9.9.6.5 I am unable to download. I click on Start Downloads and nothing happens. What can I do?

From BFritz [67.172.104.139] - 2006-01-29

After following Jim Thomas' BI Forum post to change my data subscription settings and to point to the MySSGs folder, I am able to update companies.

Thank you very much for the Toolkit4 download helper. 
From 64.53.150.221 - 2006-01-28

You want to do an Update not an Import in Toolkit 4:

File Menu --> Update Companies

I use Select All and Full options

erik
From BFritz [67.172.104.139] - 2006-01-28
I can only import the data which wipes out my judgments. I can't just update existing data. Is this the way it is supposed to work?
From jncraig - 2006-01-15

Erik's code is in the file that is attached to this page.  Download it, modify it for your system, and use it!

Thanks, Erik! 
From erik [64.53.150.221] - 2006-01-15

Enclosed is the first pass script.  With about 500 companies in Tk4 is took about 2 seconds to run.  This is on XP profressional with any development tools.

However the BI Web site or DownloadThemAll is timing out using at various places.  It could be a dead company issue.

Create a new text file and copy and paste the lines below the dotted line.

Rename file as GenerateMySSGsHtm.vbs

------------------------------------------------------------------

 ' Change the following variables to match your system.

CONST Tk4MdbPath = "C:\Documents and Settings\heather\My Documents\My Stocks\Tk040919.mdb"
CONST MySSGsPath = "C:\Documents and Settings\heather\Desktop\MySSGs.htm"

'
' Do NOT edit below this line
'
Const adOpenStatic = 3
Const adLockOptimistic = 3

Const URL1 = "<A HREF=""https://www.betterinvesting.org/member/login.html?target_uri=/ssg/"
Const URL2 = """>"
Const URL3 = "</A><br>"

Set cnn = CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
Set rs = CreateObject("ADODB.Recordset")
Set fs = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")


cnn.Open "Provider = Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0; Data Source = '" & Tk4MdbPath & "'"
rs.Open "SELECT * FROM Company", cnn, adOpenStatic, adLockOptimistic

if not rs.BOF then

 set f = fs.CreateTextFile(MySSGsPath, TRUE)

 while not rs.EOF
  f.Write(URL1)
  f.Write(rs(2))
  f.Write(URL2)
  f.Write(rs(2))
  f.WriteLine(URL3)
  rs.movenext
 wend

 f.Close

 msgbox "MySSGs.htm file was created successfully."
else
 msgbox "Could not connect to the database, check Tk4MdbPath path."
end if

rs.Close
cnn.Close

Set cnn = nothing
Set rs = nothing
Set fs = nothing
Set f = nothing
Last Modified 2006-03-29

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