OTC Dealer 5.3 Build 6 Release Notes

Version 5.3 Build 6 of OTC Dealer contains the following new features and bug fixes:

New Features/Enhancements:

• Quote update window modification Dealer 5.3 has been enhanced with a quote validation check. If the quote is unpriced then our logic is to display an empty QAP field in the 'Update Quote Window'. As a result of this enhancement a quote will retain its QAP value while changing state from priced to un priced and back to priced.
• Size change of the Incoming Message Window The incoming message window has been reduced in size to accommodate QAP functionality. Changes include:
  • Decreased size of the fill buttons
  • Repositioned 'Decline' (Dcl Msg and Dcl All) buttons to be positioned directly above 'Improve' and 'Counter' buttons.

OTC Dealer 5.3 Build 1 Release Notes

Version 5.3 Build 1 of OTC Dealer contains the following new features and bug fixes:

New Features/Enhancements:

• Quote Access Payment (QAP) Functionality Dealer 5.3 includes additional Quote Access Payment functionality including updates to the Incoming Order Window; however, the functionality will not be active for the initial release. For more information on QAP, please see our Introduction to Quote Access Payments.
• Unsolicited Quote Updates Unsolicited quotes may now only be updated using the Quote Update window. Use of the arrow keys or Away button will Unprice the quote.
• AutoQuote Updates AutoQuote now allows the submission of one-side quote updates. Timestamps will only be updated if there is a change in value on the respective side of the quote. In addition, updates will return the quote to tier size as a default.
• Time & Sales Window Addition of configuration options allowing users to hide and show columns.
• Market Minder/My Quote Windows Addition of configuration option allowing users to re-order columns. In both the Market Minder and My Quote windows, the size field now contains commas.
• Non-Liability Filter on Incoming Messages User can set in Trader Preferences an option to have the Incoming Messages Window pend and not bring to front some non-liability messages based on user specified options.

OTC Dealer 5.2 Release Notes

Version 5.2 of OTC Dealer contains the following new features and bug fixes:

New Features/Enhancements:

• Performance Enhancements Version 5.2 handles, without application latency, approximately 2.5 times more quote and trade messages per second than previous Dealer versions. Dealer 5.2 increases performance while reducing the amount of memory required by the application.
• OTC Tier and Venue Designations Dealer 5.2 will include the new branding for the OTC Market Tiers associated with the company name change to OTC Markets Group. The Pink Sheets tiers - Current, Limited and No Information - have been renamed 'OTC Pink - Current Information, OTC Pink - Limited Information and OTC Pink - No Information, respectively. In addition, the Pink Quote venue is now known as 'OTC Link.'
• Quote Access Payment (QAP) Functionality Dealer 5.2 includes Quote Access Payment functionality; however, the functionality will not be active for initial beta releases. OTC Markets Group will publish a QAP testing schedule for May 2011. For more information on QAP, please see our Introduction to Quote Access Payements

OTC Dealer 5.1 Release Notes

Version 5.1 of OTC Dealer contains the following new features and bug fixes:

New Features/Enhancements:

• Performance Enhancements Version 5.1 handles, without application latency, approximately 2.5 times more quote and trade messages per second than previous Dealer versions. Enhancements to message processing for the 'Market Minder' and 'My Ticker' windows along with logging optimizations have increased performance and reduced CPU usage.
• OTCQB Tier Designation Dealer 5.1 will properly note those securities within the new OTCQB tier. The OTCQB tier identifies companies that are Registered and current in their reporting obligations with the SEC or report to a U.S. banking or insurance regulator. The new 'QB' icon will appear in the OTC market tier area to the right of security information within the main window. In conjunction with the launch of OTCQB, the 'Dually Quoted' market tier has been discontinued.
• Keyboard Shortcuts Dealer users may use keyboard shortcuts to quickly access key Dealer functionality. Shortcuts include: Add/Update (Ctrl + U), Hit (Ctrl + H), Take (Ctrl + T), Sweep the Bid (Ctrl + J), Sweep the Offer (Ctrl + R), Max Order the Bid (Ctrl + K), Max Order the Offer (Ctrl + E).
• Debug Mode A 'Debug Mode' has been added to OTC Dealer to assist with issue troubleshooting. The 'Debug Mode' option captures all the message traffic between OTC Dealer and Pink OTC Markets' servers. This setting allows for a better understanding of application issues but also affects performance. For this reason, the default setting for 'Debug Mode' (in the Help menu) is set to off or false.
• Away Button Customization Dealers users can now set the default number of price levels for the 'Away' button. The new customization option is available within the Trader Preference window.
• Quote Text Box Behaviors Quote look up history has been updated to allow users to use the 'down' key to view and reference their past 10 quote searches. Users may also 'tab' directly to the Order Entry area from the quote text box.
• Time & Sales Window Dealer users may now sort time and sales information by data grouping (price, volume). In addition, time and sales columns may be reordered to suit user preference.
• AutoQuote-Dealer Link AutoQuote users may now bring up a symbol within the Dealer montage window by selecting a symbol cell within the AutoQuote spreadsheet and selecting 'Ctrl + D.'

Bug Fixes:

• Ticker Window Loading all Trades The Ticker window has been modified to not load all the day's trades for symbols that are selected (clicked on).
• Negative Numbers in Security Information Section The Security Information area has been altered to display the correct positive number for securities where the day's share or dollar volume has exceeded 1 billion.

OTC Dealer 5.0 Release Notes

Version 5.0 of OTC Dealer contains the following new features and bug fixes:

New Features/Enhancements:

• Pink Link Trade Advertisements Dealer allows Market Participants to advertise their participation in Pink Link trades. Traders may set advertisement defaults via the Trader Preferences window or note their advertisement status on a per trade basis. Advertisement data will appear in the Dealer Trades & Ads panel and will be broadcast on the new Pink Feed ' Trade channel.
• One-sided quote updates Dealer users may now update one-side of a quote without altering the timestamp for both sides.
• News Alerts News and Financial Reports that are published on the OTC Disclosure & News Service (Pink OTC's disclosure platform) are available in the Dealer News window and within the montage trade information pane. The News window defaults to items for securities that are being quoted by the Dealer user.
• Detach & Dock Toolbars & Panels The Trades & Ads panel, Execution panel and the 'Quick Links' toolbar may be detached from the main window. The detached windows may be resized and moved anywhere within the screen(s) display. The size and location of the panes/toolbars are saved between logins. All panes/toolbars may be docked back into the main window at any time.
• Look & Feel/Usability The look & feel of the Dealer application has been upgraded along with key usability elements like clearer button labels, information organization, and increased links to web based data.
• Log upload utility Dealers users may upload log files directly to Pink OTC with one click. This will enable quicker troubleshooting and resolution of Dealer technical issues.
• Speed keys window has a scroll bar for easier management of large speed key lists.
• Recent Quotes A drop down menu is available in the quote entry box which allows user to see/pull up the last 10 quotes entered.
• Scroll direction The scroll direction in Trades & Ads panel and Alerts window is user-configurable.
• Vwap Information is included in the montage trade info panel.
• Trades & Ads panel table headers may be configured to be displayed or hidden.
• Security preferences A link to Security Preferences is available on the MyQuotes and Market Minder windows for quick access to security subscriptions.
• Quote Entry Box (placement of cursor on screen) after a symbol is entered. This allows users to continuously enter symbols without having to move the mouse.

OTC Dealer 4.2 Release Notes

Version 4.2 of OTC Dealer contains the following new features and bug fixes:

New Features/Enhancements:

• Time and Sale display. In a new pane of the main window display, Dealer now shows time and sales of the most recent trade reports for the current security. Users can also click the "T. Hist" button to view their Pink Link trade activity in History Server.
• New Pink Sheets Tiers, Caveat Emptor displayed in the security information area of the main window.
• Liability display for orders in dually-listed securities. With the Pink Link Service calculating liability using OTCBB quotes where necessary, Dealer no longer displays orders on dually-quoted securities with the "OTCBB" label, instead using only "Liab" and "PLiab".
• Short-Exempt option removed. On June 28, 2007, the SEC amended Regulation SHO and Rule 10a-1 by eliminating all price tests and price test restrictions for short sales. In the process, the SEC also eliminated the requirement for marking short sale orders as "short-exempt" if the seller is relying on an exception from the price test. These tests and restrictions include Rule 10a-1 for NYSE and Amex stocks, and Rule 201 of Reg. SHO (the bid test) for NASDAQ Global Market Stocks. In the release adopting these changes, the SEC makes it abundantly clear that the short-exempt marking requirement only ever applied to short sales, and never ever applied to other aspects of Regulation SHO. As a result the short-exempt buttons in Dealer are no longer needed. The SEC's amendments become effective July 6, 2007.
• Confirm dialog for closing markets. Traders closing their markets are now presented with a confirm dialog in order to prevent fat-finger accidental market closing.
• Strict Limit added which flags an order or counter to not allow price improvement.
• Access to marketmaker directory in History Server has been added by right-clicking on the marketmaker ID.
• Security count in MyQuotes, MarketMinders in title bar displays total number listed in the window. In MyQuotes this represents the total count of user quotes.
• Pink Desktop Service address change from 0.0.0.0 to 127.0.0.1. Users of History Server integration with Dealer, or the Excel AutoQuote feature, use the Pink Desktop Service which implements a tiny HTTP server. Previously this was listening on 0.0.0.0 which could allow outside traffic into Dealer; this has been changed to the loopback 127.0.0.1 address to prevent this.
• Java JRE updated to 1.5.0 Build 12

Bug Fixes:

• Proxy Trader receives incorrect buy order type for unpriced security. When proxying another trader and viewing an order for an as-yet-unseen security, sometimes the liability display would be incorrect.
• Login failures via SSL with authenticating proxy were reported by some users. This was due to changes made in the 1.5 JRE between build 6 and the current one deployed with Dealer, build 10. The code has been updated to work with the new Java.
• Trade up, down icons show for last up/down, not for the daily trend as previously.
• QGuard jumps to top on reconnect. QGuard formerly would grab focus after a connection event regardless of user window behavior settings.

OTC Dealer version 4.1 Release Notes

Version 4.1 of OTC Dealer contains the following new features and bug fixes:

New Features/Enhancements:

• New "QGuard" Window A new window alerts users to problems with their quoted securities. Locked/Crossed markets, quote update failures, and differences between trader's OTCBB and PinkSheets quotes result in a warning flashing in the QGuard window. Also, when the user's market is closed, the window warns if any closed quotes will lock/cross the market upon open. User can configure which of these warnings he/she would like to see, as well as it's pop-up behavior.
• New User Defaults by Security for Quote Tick, Order Size Users can now specify a default quote update "tick" size and a default new order size by security. Ticks are automatically saved when the user changes the tick size in the main window. Order sizes can be set and cleared in the New Order dialog. Also, all preferences can be managed in the Security Preferences window.
• Enhanced Security Display with OTCQX Tiers The security information area of the main window has been redesigned for clarity and also features display of a security's OTCQX tier if present. Dealer also has capability to display additional security information such as Pink Sheets Category, Caveat Emptor and other data items that will be added into the system in late Q2 or early Q3 2007.
• New "Best" Quote Update Buttons Two new buttons aside the montage display, titled "Best", will allow the trader to price their quote just above the current inside with a single click. If your quote price is the best price the best button will improve it by one increment. The increment from the current inside is a penny above a dollar, $.005 above a dime, $.0005 above $.005, and $.0001 below or at $.005.
• Select Any Quote Previous versions of OTC Dealer only allowed users to select "PinkLink-able" (open) quotes. Now users can select any quote other than their own in order to use the "Join" button to match that price. The order dialog will ignore any selected non-open quote.
• Large Order Value Pop-up Warning and Preference Users can now specify an order value (shares x price) threshold over which Dealer will warn the user when creating a new order, requiring additional confirmation.
• New Ticker Filters for OTCBB/PinkSheets Quotes Ticker windows now have two additional filters: OTCBB and PS quotes. Users can thereby filter out OTCBB or Pink Sheets quotes from the ticker if they choose.
• Inside and MM Quote Columns broken out in MyQuotes/Market Minders MyQuotes and Market Minder windows now break out bid price, bid size, ask price and ask size into separate columns, for better readability and sorting functionality.
• Improved Performance MyQuotes and MarketMinder windows are now faster and more responsive, especially when window is sized to a large area.
• Saved Dialog Locations New Order and Quote Update dialog positions are now saved with the user's desktop settings.
• Alerts Scrolling Pause When Selecting or Searching When the user wishes to search or view a particular alert, the window will stop scrolling to the bottom for 10 seconds. This is especially helpful during heavy traffic if a user wants to investigate a reject, for instance.
• Option to Disable Outgoing Order/Execution Display for Proxies When proxying other firm traders, users can now specify whether they wish to see outgoing orders and executions in the message list in the main window. Incoming orders and executions will always show.
• Double-Click on Outgoing Order Brings Up Kill Dialog In the message list on the main window, double-clicking on an outgoing PinkLink order will present a dialog to the user with the option to kill the selected order, kill all for the security, or cancel.
• Changes to Price Improvement The price improvement implementation in Dealer has been modified to handle the NASD's newly amended Limit Order Protection Interpretation, IM-2110-2, that now covers all OTC Equity Securities. The rule now is to improve a penny for prices over or at a dollar, or no specified price; for under a dollar, improve the minimum of a penny or half the spread. Price improvement will be enabled in Pink Sheets systems in Q2 2007.

Bug Fixes:

• Quote Update Failure Feedback in MyQuotes MyQuotes now correctly signals a quote update failure by turning the symbol red; it's color is restored after a quote update is received for that security.
• AutoQuote Bug Fixes For the Excel-based AutoQuote feature of dealer some small fixes were made. Problems setting the symbol color in MyQuotes to green are fixed, along with general startup/shutdown issues in the template. Also, updates are prevented for unsolicited quotes.
• Main Window Bug Fixes Small fixes to the main interface include typo fixes in the New Order Dialog, displaying the warning message when "Reset Desktop" is selected, and displaying an error message if "Snd" is clicked when the quick-entry field is empty.
• Nightly Reset Fixed OTC Dealers for users in Mountain and Pacific timezones were failing to reset to the login page at night. Now Dealer suspends all relogin attempts between 10PM and 2AM local time, which works irrespective of time zone.
• Window divider position save working. Dealer 3.x versions correctly saved the window divider position in the main and Incoming Order windows as part of the users desktop prefs; however this functionality was missing from 4.0.x versions. The functionality is restored in Dealer 4.1.

OTC Dealer version 4.0.4 Release Notes

Version 4.0.4 of OTC Dealer contains the following new features and bug fixes:

New Features/Enhancements:

• New Quote Sizing Rule preserves larger-than-minimum sizes. In this version, changes to quote price will only update the quote size if the price update drops the existing size below Pink Sheets minimum size rules. Users can of course still explicitly set the size to smaller or larger if they choose.
• Marketmaker Quote Information Tooltip in the montage display will show the user information on both the Pink Sheets quote and the OTCBB quote for the marketmaker, if present. The tooltip becomes visible when hovering the mouse over a quote entry in the montage.
• Price improve enabled. OTC Dealer 4.0.4 will support Price Improvement via the Incoming Order Window. After completing the phase-out of support for OTC Dealer 3.1, Pink Sheets will enable price improve in Dealer. This will happen sometime in Q1 2007.
• New Installer and Launch Configuration. OTC Dealer 4.0.4 uses a new installer which is faster and easier to use, also featuring faster uninstalls. Also, the old Dealer.lax file is now replaced by a simpler, easier to manage Dealer.ini file for managing runtime application configuration. See install notes for details.
• New Java Runtime Environment. OTC Dealer's Java Runtime Environment (JRE) has been upgraded to version 1.5, build 10.

Bug Fixes:

• Inside ticker entries now show both sides of inside on single-side change. Previously Dealer only displayed the inside that was changing.
• Fix for montage freeze issues. Users had experienced situations, often in the afternoon, where the quote- and montage-related parts of the dealer interface would freeze up while PinkLink-related functionality would keep working. This was caused by a Java bug that is avoided in this version.
• OTCBB quote color updates on PinkSheets quote removal. For users with two quotes, removing the Pink Sheets quote would not update the color of the OTCBB quote property, which is fixed.
• Fix for infinite-loop problem in Main Window. Dealer under certain circumstances would start flooding Pink Sheets servers, causing availability issues. This is fixed in this version.
• Day-old previous close data problem fixed. For certain securities, problems receiving the OTCBB feed from NASDAQ were causing two-day-old Previous Close Price (PCL) and Previous Close Date data to display in Dealer. Dealer now correctly displays the previous days' close price and date.

Known Issues:

• Dealer crashes if secondary monitor disabled while running. If a user disables a secondary monitor with Dealer screens visible on it, selecting "Reload Desktop", "Reset Desktop" or simply showing new dialog windows can cause a crash. This is caused by bug 4417798 in the Java Runtime Environment that is currently unresolved. Users are advised to only disable secondary monitors while dealer is not running.

OTC Dealer version 4.0.3 Release Notes

Bug Fixes:

• Entitlements errors and warnings display fixed. Dealer was failing to show warnings and errors at login for entitlements problems like expired or unpaid accounts. This is now correctly implemented.
• Proxying failure after session relogin fixed. After long connection disruptions requiring auto-relogin to a new MDS server, Dealer was failing to re-establish proxying settings with the server, disabling proxy functionality despite the proxy window still showing the settings unchanged. In 4.0.3 proxy settings are established after relogins.
• Dealer manual updated with better AutoQuote section.

OTC Dealer version 4.0.2 Release Notes

Version 4.0.2 of OTC Dealer contains the following bug fixes:

Bug Fixes:

• HTTP Proxy initial load problem fixed. Dealer was not properly setting up HTTP proxies from saved settings at dealer launch, causing an error dialog to appear, after which connection could proceed; this is fixed.
• Fixes for dealer connection problems. Problematic race conditions in the Dealer connection monitor as well as flawed client heartbeat design were causing presence problems in 4.0.1 and 4.0. Dealer 4.0.2 fixes these issues, and also has Dealer visibly end the session in case of an unrecoverable problem, to prevent users from being disconnected without any gui feedback.
• Excel AutoQuote now unprices zero-priced updates. Instead of sending a zero-priced update to EQS, which resulted in a non-update, Dealer now interprets zero-price updates from Excel as UNPR quote updates.
• Changes to Save Desktop functionality to not include security and trader preferences in the save payload to the server. This should prevent certain cases causing security and trader prefs to be mysteriously deleted.

OTC Dealer version 4.0.1 Release Notes

Version 4.0.1 of OTC Dealer contains the following fixes:

Bug Fixes:

• Timezone for quote display changed from EST to America/New_York to address recent Sun Java Runtime Environments which now "correctly" interpret EST to not include daylight savings time. The area-based area code is compatible with older and newer JREs and accounts for daylight savings time.
• Power Update discontinued, Java WebStart offered as experimental install/update technology. Power Update is no longer supported as a Dealer update technology. Users wishing to receive automatic updates via WebStart can do so on an experimental basis. Contact PinkSheets at 1-800-LIST-OTC if you or your firm wish to do so.

OTC Dealer version 4.0 Release Notes

Version 4.0 of OTC Dealer offers a brand-new connection protocol with Pink Sheets servers, as well as integration of OTCBB level II quotes and trade data. Pink Sheets is very excited to offer this new version which combines exciting new features with dramatically enhanced performance as well as network-bandwidth efficiency.

New Features/Enhancements:

• Integration of OTCBB Level II quotes and trade data. Dealer 4.0 now integrates display of OTCBB trade data for all securities into the top of the montage display; for Otcbb-only and dually-quoted securities, the OTCBB NBBO and full level-II quote data is integrated into the main montage displays. Tickers, Market Minders, MyQuotes and the Incoming Order Window also display relevant OTCBB data, such as marketmaker quote, NBBO and trade data. OTCBB data is available to entitled users only.
• Red-background alert for OTCBB, PS quote differences. For marketmakers quoting in both OTCBB and Pink Sheets, the montage and MyQuotes/MarketMinder interfaces will alert the user when the two quotes are different by backgrounding the quote in red.
• New Security Preferences Interface. The "Security Subscriber" window of older Dealers has been replaced by "Security Preferences". A search box has been added to find securities in a long list, and a "Prf" button has been added to the main display to quickly add the currently-viewed security to preferences. Finally, a new data model will allow new security-based preferences to be added in future versions of OTC Dealer.
• Changes to quote size increments. The default pop-up step increment has been changed. It now gets a default value based on the quote step size required for the price of the user's current quote. Also, some smaller step sizes have been removed.
• Changes to quote minimum-size calculation. Unsolicited quotes in a non-PiggyBack-qualified security will have a minimum size assigned that is no larger than 100 shares; unsolicited quotes in a PiggyBack-qualified security will use the same minimum size rules as non-unsolicited quotes.
• New Connection and Messaging Protocol. Dealer 4.0 uses a brand-new protocol called MDP to communicate with Pink Sheets servers. The message size is smaller and batched messages are compressed, resulting in bandwidth savings of up to 75% and performance improvements of up to 50% in initial login.
• New Connection Setup. The connection setup interface and file methodology has been completely redesigned to allow for a more flexible primary and secondary connection configuration, as well as to standardize settings for extranets like Radianz and Savvis, etc. Utilizing a file called "listhosts.properties" new connection locations can be applied by admins for distribution to users. This flexible setup also allows extranet users to use the "Info" menu links for looking up quote and market data. Finally, proxy username and password (encrypted) are stored to save typing every time for login.
• Tighter Presence management. A feature of the new MDP protocol is a dramatic tightening of the presence-detection window on Pink Sheets servers. If a user loses connection to Pink Sheets, their presence will be updated within 10 seconds; likewise once the connection is regained.
• Java 1.5. Dealer 4.0 takes advantage of the many performance improvements and features of the latest major Java JRE, 1.5 ("Tiger"). Faster screen redraws, better memory management and stabler operation are key benefits.
• New Trader Preference settings. Users can now specify default Order Capacity settings for orders, counters and fills. Focus-grabbing and beeping behavior is now separately specified for Incoming Order Window and the Incoming Execution Window.
• New MyQuotes / Market Minder. MyQuotes and MarketMinders now have new columns for trade data, such as Last Price, Net Change, Acc. Vol., etc. The columns are completely customizable for width, order and visibility. Finally, users can click on column headings to sort on that column.
• New HTTP-based AutoQuote. AutoQuote has been completely redesigned to utilize a small HTTP server embedded in Dealer, as opposed to the buggy and creaky legacy DDE Excel technology. AutoQuote is far stabler and better performing with this change. Finally, the per-update throttle has been shortened to allow two quote updates per second (was one per sec. previously).
• Better integration with browser-based History Server. Using the same embedded HTTP server for autoquote, History Server now includes links on symbols to load that symbol in the Dealer interface, easing the process of searching for a symbol in the History Server browser to load into Dealer.
• Added Price Improvement controls to Incoming Order Window. Although currently disabled, the Incoming Order Window will allow users to improve price on execution. This feature is currently disabled until all users can upgrade to 4.0, as 3.x dealers will not display the improved price properly.

OTC Dealer version 3.1 Release Notes

Version 3.1 of OTC Dealer contains the following new features and bug fixes:

New Features/Enhancements:

• Support for Short Sale and Order Capacity reporting. Dealer's order interfaces have been modified to allow specifying short or short-exempt sales. Orders can also specify if a trade is Principal (the default), Agency or Riskless Principal. This has been implemented in all order-creation interfaces as well as the Counter order dialog. Note that support for short sale and order capacity reporting may not yet be implemented on Pink Sheets servers at time of this Dealer version's availability.

  When implemented, short and capacity information will display in the order lists. Only the seller will be able to see short information on live orders and executions. Order capacity as entered in a new order or execution is not shown to the counterparty.

• Changes and enhancements to the Incoming Order Window [IOW]. The incoming order window has been changed cosmetically and functionally in the following ways:
  1. Default Execution Size now a preference setting. In Dealer 3.0, the execution quantity field was automatically populated with the quote size of the issue of the selected order. Now, an Execution Size Preference controls whether the quantity is set to the selected order size, to the quote size, or not set at all.
  2. "Next" and "Ignore" buttons added. The IOW now has a "Next" button to step through orders in the incoming list. It also has an "Ignore" button which disables flashing and beeping. When a new order arrives, that order is selected and flashing/beeping resumes.
  3. Non-liable and OTCBB order feedback. The IOW now displays "Non-L", with a blue background, when an order is not liable, and "OTCBB", with a green background, if the issue is dually-quoted and the trader's quote is unpriced.
  4. Outside-spread and non-liable orders highlight inside, market maker quote area. O-NBBO and non-liable orders highlight the "inside:" and "you:" quote labels, respectively, with a blue background, to alert the trader to check the inside and their quote for a selected order.
  5. Right-click functionality on the incoming message list. You can right-click on an incoming order to view the montage, disable flashing and beeping, or remove the order from the list.
  6. More order execution size buttons added. The IOW now has pre-sized order execution size buttons ("500", "1k", etc) as well as x2, /2, x5 and /5 buttons, to make setting execution sizes faster and easier.
  7. Partially-executed orders now automatically "ignored". Orders that have been partially executed are no longer auto-selected by the IOW. Also, a partially-executed order will not cause flashing or beeping.
  8. Immediate de-selection of orders on execution or decline. To prevent multiple-submission of executions or declines by users when there are processing lags, Dealer now moves focus immediately to the next order when a user clicks execute or decline buttons.
  9. Window icon for flashing changed to pink "O" on a yellow background to make the window more attention-grabbing; when not flashing the icon is now a pink "O" on a black background.
• Order Confirmation Dialog changes. The order confirmation dialog has many changes to make entering orders easier. The Order Confirmation Dialog has now replaced the New Order Dialog.
  • The top of the dialog displays total quantity and price, for improved visual clarity.
  • Market maker IDs can now be entered or changed manually by typing them in. New order rows are automatically created every time a new ID is entered. In addition, side can be changed.
  • Multiplier buttons for total size have been added, along with new quote-size button.
  • The dialog is now used with the "Ord" button on the main panel (instead of the old New Order Dialog, which has been removed).
  • Loading more than 10 marketmakers makes a scroll bar visible, to prevent making the dialog bigger than the screen.
• Connection setup now accessible from within Dealer application. The "Dealer Setup" application, previously only launchable from the Start menu, is now accessible from within Dealer, by selecting "Connection Config ... " from the Setup menu.
• Support for up to 10,000,000 share orders via batch submittal. Pink Link limits order size to 9,999,999 shares; Dealer allows users to create larger orders by splitting the order into batches of 9,000,000 shares. Batch orders of more than 100,000,000 shares are not permitted.
• Quick-entry field now supports quote updates and orders. Versions prior to 3.0 supported quote update via the "Quote" radio button. Dealer 3.1 now supports quotes and orders in the same field without radio buttons; Dealer first attempts to parse an order and then tries to parse a quote.
• Quick-order entry supports short sales via the "SS" or "SX" sale-types.
• Counter order dialog uses preference settings for order flags. Instead of copying the original order's settings for time in force, all or nothing, etc., the dialog now uses user preference settings when showing the dialog.
• Warning text in red on pink background darkened for enhanced legibility.
• Trader's marketmaker quote in montage is now visually distinguished from other quotes with a dark blue background.
• "Sweep" buttons disabled on unpriced issues. When a trader loads an unpriced security into the montage the sweep button is now disabled.

Bug Fixes:

• Un-removable incoming orders bug fixed. Due to trader proxying, it was possible in Dealer 3.0 and prior for an incoming order, received in proxy for another trader, to become "orphaned" and impossible to remove from the Incoming Order list or any other order lists. This occurred if the user disabled proxying for the order's receiving trader before the order was acted upon, or expired; disabling proxying meant Dealer would not receive updated status for the order.
  In 3.1 this is fixed by "pruning" the order lists of all orders to marketmaker traders that are not enabled for proxying. This pruning occurs after changes are made to the proxying list.
• Time Zone problems fixed. Users not residing in the Eastern time zone were seeing quote update times properly displaying in EST, but orders, executions, and the system time displaying in their local time zone. In 3.1 this has been addressed to have all times display EST.
• Beeping/flashing in the Incoming Execution dialog, which had been disabled in 3.0, has been restored in 3.1
• Incoming Order Window grabbing focus bug, in which the window would pull focus away from other Dealer interfaces whenever a new order displayed in the window, regardless of focus preference settings, has been fixed.
• Montage printing of long-named securities bug, in which the text would spill to two lines that were illegible, has been fixed.
• Execution partial-and-counter changing price bug fixed. If a user partialled and then countered an order at a different price, Dealer would erroneously change the execution report price to the countered value in the list. This is fixed in 3.1.
• Main Window and Incoming Order Window sizing, panel divider issues resolved. These two windows now enforce a minimum size, and also insure that both the tops and bottoms of the user-resizable panels are visible.
• Reconnect infinite-loop bug fixed. Rarely, a Dealer would get into a state in which it would infinitely try to reconnect in such a way that always failed, which would happen in the background, sometimes while the user was successfully connected to a different server. This has been fixed in 3.1.
• Bugs with "All" execution-size button fixed. The "All" button in the Incoming Order Window did not work if the total shares exceeded 9,999,999. Also, "All" did not work for counters. This is fixed in 3.1.
• Dialogs not closing on logout bug has been fixed; various dialogs were not closing if the user logged out with them open. This is fixed in 3.1.
• "Montage" button in Incoming Order Window de-minimizes main window. Previously if the main window was minimized, clicking the "Montage" button in the Incoming Order Window did not restore the window. This is fixed in 3.1.
• Improper execution size warning on double-counters. On countered counters, the Incoming Order Window would improperly warn the user of executing more shares than in order, regardless of the order or exec size. This is fixed in 3.1.
• Security Subscriber new-security save bug fixed, in which a new, previously unviewed security would not show in speed keys, tickers or marketminders after being added; a second save was required to show it. This is fixed in 3.1.
• Contact Information for "grey" MPIDs in Dealer - DEA-187, Contact information is displayed in Dealer (when double-clicked) for MPIDs that are any color except grey. This is because grey MPIDs are not pink-linkable. For this reason alone, Broker-Dealers must do their business over the phone, thereby creating a need for that contact information. This is fixed with build 4.2.

OTC Dealer version 3.0 Release Notes

New Features/Enhancements:

• New Montage Look. The quote montage now allows selection of marketmaker quotes to allow quick assembly of multiple orders, selection of a price level with which to "sweep" all marketmakers at that level, or selecting a "target" quote to match your quote to with a single click.
• New Incoming Order Window Replacing the Incoming Order Dialog, which could only show one order at a time and only allowed one-way progression through the list of active incoming orders, is the Incoming Order Window, a powerful interface that allows traders to respond to multiple orders with a single click, a list display that shows all incoming orders, and "queue" information to group similar orders for a given issue and price.
• Order Confirmation Dialog While the pre-existing New Order Dialog is still accessible, orders created using the montage bring up a new Order Confirmation Dialog that allows for easy modification and confirmation of multiple orders for a given security.
• Other fixes and improvements In addition to the major changes already mentioned, many smaller bugs have been addressed and new features implemented to continue to improve the OTC Dealer experience.

OTC Dealer version 2.5 Build Release Notes

New Features/Enhancements:

• Commas added to order quantities. All order quantities are now formatted with commas for increased legibility and comprehension. The format of order displays in the list pane has also been compacted to display more information in smaller space.
• "Kill All" button added. Dealer now has a "Kill All" button to kill all outgoing, active orders with a single button click.
• "Prefs" button added to access Trader Preferences. The top button-bar of Dealer now has a "Prefs" button, which gives one-click access to the Trader Preferences dialog.

Bug Fixes:

• Initial window position and saved-position issues fixed. Dealer users on multiple-monitor systems experienced windows displaying on different monitors than the main interface; also certain window positions with portions of the dealer interface offscreen did not restore properly at next relogin. Both issues are addressed in Dealer 2.5.
• Latency Display Works After Re-Login/Re-Connect. Dealer 2.5 addresses a problem in which connection latency monitoring would stop updating after logout/login or during reconnects.
• Internet links support for Radianz customers. Customers connecting via the Radianz extranet can now use the web info links in the "Info" and "Help" to view information in a browser over the extranet.
• Reconnect causing duplicate order records bug fixed. Dealer 2.5 has a fix for a bug where sometimes orders would show up twice in the message list pane after a reconnect.

OTC Dealer version 2.4.2 Patch 01 Release Notes

Bug Fixes:

• Excessive CPU consumption by message list under heavy load fixed. The message list windows of Dealer previously redrew all data in the list for every single update that was received from MDS. In Patch 01, this has been improved such that only the affected data is redrawn, reducing CPU consumption.

OTC Dealer version 2.4.2 Release Notes

New Features/Enhancements:

• Pop-Up Focus-Grabbing Preference added The Incoming Order and Incoming Fill dialogs now will grab focus dependent on the user's preference settings. The user can select to always grab focus (this is what previous versions did), only grab focus on the arrival of the first order or execution in the dialog's queue (ie, only when the dialog is shown, not when it's already visible) or never grab focus.
• Order share limit raised to 9,999,999 Previously, Dealer limited orders to 999,999 shares. In 2.4.2 this has been raised to 9,999,999 (7 digits).
• Up-to-minute latency information now sent to Pink Sheets servers to help support teams assist users better.
• Latest Coroutine Binaries for Excel AutoQuote included with Dealer 2.4.2, which address some problems experienced by users of Windows XP.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed bug related to changing a user's password
• Pink Screen bug fixed for Trader Proxying users A bug experienced by users of the Trader Proxying feature was causing Dealers to "go pink", where the montage disappeared and only a blank pink screen was visible in its place, is fixed in 2.4.2.
• "Gray Screen" no longer ends prematurely in disconnect. Users with problematic network connections to MDS would sometimes experience Dealer looking normal (ie, not gray) even though a reconnect attempt had failed. This was caused by the gray screen going away too soon in the reconnect process; this has been addressed in 2.4.2.
• Reconnect Infinite Loop bug fixed A race condition caused by a reconnect to a different MDS forcing a logoff to the previous MDS would occaisionally send Dealer into an infinite loop, causing presence to fail. This has been fixed in 2.4.2.
• Autoquote no longer shuts down or loses updates due to network connection problems. Network problems causing Dealer to automatically re-login were causing AutoQuote to re-initialize, breaking the existing connection to the Excel process. In addition, failed quote submissions to the servers could be erroneously deleted from the update queue. Both problems are fixed in 2.4.2.
• Ticker WITHDRAW entry formatting fixed to match other ticker entries. Also, the "disconnected" entry's format matches now as well.

OTC Dealer version 2.4.1 Release Notes

New Features/Enhancements:

• Non-Pinksheets Primary Market display in Incoming Order Dialog. Orders for securities of other primary markets than PinkSheets (such as PinkSheets/OTCBB) now display the primary market on the Incoming Order Dialog.
• Better cross-platform support of Incoming Order window pop-ups. Problems preventing the Incoming Order Dialog from properly popping up in front of other applications on Windows 2000 and XP have been addressed in 2.4.1. Display code has been optimized, and instructions for necessary changes to the Windows desktop environment have been added to the install notes.
• Double-click on unpriced quote brings up Order Dialog. Now double-clicking on an unpriced quote in the Montage brings up the New Order dialog with the marketmaker, symbol and side pre-populated.

Bug Fixes:

• My Quotes/My Ticker bug for assistants fixed. A bug in 2.4 prevented trader assistants from viewing the MyQuotes and MyTicker interfaces. This has been fixed.
• PinkLink quick entry now accepts 6 digits for order size, matching the Order Dialog interface.
• Dealer no longer attempts to write to the registry on Windows platforms. This was a result of the new Trader Preferences feature and was causing Dealer startup to freeze in some environments where the user cannot write to the registry. Registry writing has been removed in 2.4.1.

OTC Dealer version 2.4 Release Notes

New Features/Changes:

• Improved Session User Experience. Dealer's handling of session connectivity has been completely overhauled to improve the user experience during a reconnect or auto-relogin:
  • During a lost connection to servers, windows stay up and are responsive, and data can be viewed from the local cache.
  • Trader is informed of session trouble by the status and title bars, and by montage and MyQuotes "greying out".
  • Upon auto-relogin, tickers add a "disconnected" item to indicate there was potentially missed activity.
  These changes complement session improvements and bugfixes detailed below.
• Immediate or Cancel (IOC) option for orders. Orders can now be sent as Immediate or Cancel, such that partial fills of the order will have the remainder instantly cancelled by PinkLink.
• Trader Preferences. Dealer now features a Trader Preferences window, where, in addition to messaging defaults, other preferences can be set which are saved for future sessions.
• Messaging Defaults. Traders can define default settings for orders that are implemented both in the order dialogs and in the quick-entry interface. Traders can set default time-in-force, IOC, AON, or negotiable settings.
• Incoming Order Dialog. The Incoming Order Dialog has been redesigned to incorporate feedback from PinkLink traders:
  • Better Visual Feedback: Colored text blocks now clearly indicate order liability, order outside NBBO, expired and declined orders. Orders killed by sender remain visible until the trader skips them.
  • Montage button to load the security for the current order in the montage.
  • Beeping can be turned on or off in the Trader Preferences window.
  • Pause between orders: to prevent accidental executions, the action buttons ("Accept", "Partial" etc) are now disabled for a half-second when the order changes on the dialog.
• Speed Keys window can now be clicked when the Incoming Order Dialog is open.
• Warning on new order outside spread change. Dealer will now warn both sender and receiver if an order price is outside the spread; previously Dealer would only warn seller if a sell price was lower than the inside bid or a buy price was higher than the inside ask.
• AutoQuote improvements and changes. Excel Autoquoting has been re-architected for better stability and inter-operation with Bloomberg and Reuters. In addition, updates are limited to every 30 seconds per security, except in extremely volatile changes. Finally, prices above $20 are now normalized on $.05 intervals, like prices over $1.
• Latency display. Dealer now displays the current round-trip latency in the bottom right corner, as well as latency statistics in the about box. These statistics display both HTTP latency to PinkSheets servers, as well as overall latency of the dealer "push channel".
• Startup splash screen. A "splash screen" now greets the user while dealer is initializing, providing feedback while the user waits for the main login interface to appear.
• Integrated login panel. The dealer login panel is now part of the main interface. "Morning messages" are now displayed in this interface, cutting down on dialogs popping up. In addition, logging out automatically displays the login panel, saving a menu click.
• Better version and update check. Dealer now integrates its version-compatibility check with its software-update check, speeding the startup process. Compatibility and update status are now shown in the Login Panel, eliminating confusing dialogs. This also eliminates the use of the separate "update.exe" application used for update check in prior versions.
• History window now defaults to PinkLink messages instead of loading the quote activity history for the currently-viewed security.
• Technical improvements.
  • Dealer now sends statistical information in the HTTP request URLs, improving our ability to monitor and improve the user experience.
  • Reconnects are more robust, attempting for up to 20 seconds to reconnect before resorting to an auto-relogin.
  • SSL is now possible using IP addresses, speeding connection and avoiding potential DNS problems on the client side.
  • All configuration scripts and log files are now stored in the user's home folder, in order to facilitate accessing those files during support incidents.
• Message field removed from PinkLink orders. PinkLink order dialogs no longer include the message field. Dealer remains compatible with orders containing a message, but will not allow creation of orders with messages.

Bug Fixes:

• AutoQuote no longer hangs Bloomberg, Reuters. A new, "push-driven" autoquote mechanism avoids the lockups experienced by some AutoQuote users. While the new architecture necessitates buttons and macros in Excel, it is far more stable and uses less computer resources, creating a better user experience.

  AutoQuote is now entitled on the Pink Sheets servers; only entitled users can use autoquote, which for them will be enabled automatically at logon.

  Also, for users affected by the Excel "No RETURN() or HALT()" bug, the install notes contain directions how to obtain an Excel patch from Microsoft.

• Reconnect problems addressed. Conflicts caused by re-entrant reconnect logic were causing reconnects on Dealer to fail, even though the network is present. These have been fixed, replaced by non-re-entrant, robust, thread-safe code. Finally, detection of missed messages during a reconnect is addressed by re-purging the Dealer cache.
• PinkLink precision fixed. Dealer now correctly limits decimal precision of order prices to 5 digits; was previously 4.
• Multi-monitor bugs fixed Dealer's "saved desktop" was previously not compatible with multi-monitor workstations: windows would only properly re-appear in their saved location if saved on the "main monitor", and some dialogs like the Incoming Order Dialog would appear off-screen and thus invisible. Dealer now fully supports multiple monitors, and in the case of a monitor configuration change, dealer re-locates the dialog on the main screen.
• Server-side bug fixes for Messaging Presence. We have implemented many fixes to the Market Data Server (MDS) that Dealer connects to, addressing presence problems in PinkLink Messaging.
• GUI behavior fixes If dealer is minimized and an incoming order arrives, Dealer will de-minimize and bring the incoming order dialog to front. Also, issues where the SpeedKeys dialog did not respond when the Incoming Order Dialog was up were addressed.

OTC Dealer version 2.3 Release Notes

New Features:

• Java 1.4.1 JRE. Dealer is now bundled with the 1.4.1 version of Sun's Java VM, offering improved performance and better security.
• Support for Secure Connection via Authenticating Proxy. Dealer now can securely connect to PinkSheets servers through proxy servers requiring a password.
• Password required for new-day login. Dealer now requires users to login with a password once a day for improved security.

Bug Fixes:

• Quote Time/Date Display bug fixed where users leaving their dealer running overnight would sometimes see quotes in the montage with update times later the same day.

Copyright © 2008 Pink OTC Markets Inc. All Rights Reserved.