FAQs About Financial Templates
Are the Financial Templates a program that I load on my PC?
No. The templates are Excel files that have been developed with many calculations embedded into them based on the specific data format of the FDIC web site. They are not a software program in that you use an install wizard. When you download them after ordering, you should save them to your hard drive in a directory convenient for you.
Can I create a desktop shortcut so I can open the files easily?
Yes, and you should. Using standard Windows functionality, right click your mouse and select 'New' and 'Shortcut' then find the file using the 'Browse' selection. Putting a shortcut is a good idea and you should do that immediately.
How do I keep from overwriting the template file?
First, make a backup copy of the template and store somewhere safe (on a CD, or in another directory from where you do most of your work). Second, whenever you're going to do an analysis, make your first step after you open the template file to be 'Save As' and save the file under a name that makes sense for the analysis. For example, you might want to 'Save As' a file for a peer group analysis of Jones County Bank as 'Jones County Bank.xls.'
I pasted the downloaded data, but the reports are all screwed up. What happened?
Probably one of two things: The simplest is not having the cursor in the upper left hand corner of the tab that is for 'pasting' (cell A1). Each template has this cell highlighted in yellow. Your cursor must be in that cell when pasting the downloaded FDIC data. The second possibility is that the custom report that must be developed within the FDIC web site as part of the process was improperly defined. Redo the custom report and make sure all the groups of items are included. There is only one custom report that is used for all templates, so it must be correctly defined in the FDIC web site.
The FDIC web site sometimes doesn't display as it is supposed to. What did I do wrong?
Probably nothing. Sometimes this happens because the FDIC web site requires 'cookies' to be activated. If you get odd looking screens, try a 'refresh' (press the F5 key) or click on 'Go' in your web browser. If that does not work, close your browser and try again. If still not working, try later as it may be an issue with the FDIC web site.
Can I do as many analyses as I want with a template?
Yes. However, by the license agreement you cannot make copies of the original template file other than a backup copy.
Except for the 'Input' tabs, I cannot enter or change anything in the spreadsheet.
This is how the template was designed. The tabs (other than input tabs) are 'protected' and cannot be altered. This ensures the integrity of the calculations. If you want to change something or add a new measure, send us a suggestion, and we can consider it for the next version.
When I access the FDIC site for a trend report, the four selection boxes have 'Reset Criteria' rather than 'Select One.' What's going on?
The issue is when linking to http://www2.fdic.gov/sdi/main.asp within the FDIC web site. Sometimes the screen looks like this:
Instead of 'Reset Criteria' the drop down boxes should say 'Select One.' The easiest way to fix this is click on the 'Clear All' button. This will refresh the screen and display 'Select One' in each drop down box.
FAQs About Web Site User Guides
Are the User Guides a program that I load on my PC?
No. They are simply .pdf document files. When you download them after ordering, you should save them to your hard drive in a directory convenient for you.
Can I create a desktop shortcut so I can open the files easily?
Yes, and you should. Using standard Windows functionality, right click your mouse and select 'New' and 'Shortcut' then find the file using the 'Browse' selection. Putting a shortcut is a good idea and you should do that immediately.
Our firewall does not let me click on the links to get to specific web site pages. How do I get around this?
This may be an internal IT issue at your company. There are three ways to get around this problem:
- You can manually enter the web address into your browser. But, since these addresses can be fairly long, this is not a very practical solution.
- If you use Adobe Acrobat, you can right click on the web address link and select "Copy Link Location" from the drop down list. Then go to your browser's address bar, right click your mouse, and select "Paste" which will paste the web address into the browser address bar. Press "Enter" or "Go" and you will get to that web site.
- Talk to your internal IT department about allowing access to FDIC web site links.
Absolutely, if it is for the use of the licensee (presumably, you). But, because of the links to specific web pages, it is probably a more useful tool when used on the PC.