Announcement

Frequently Asked Questions

27th November 2024

Important ShareScope upgrade announcement

I am writing to tell you about a planned programme to upgrade our service from early 2025.

When ShareScope was launched 27 years ago the internet was in its infancy and market data infrastructure was primitive compared to today. The requirements for faster systems to capture, process, analyse and deliver interactive investment data have grown exponentially. Until now we've kept pace with these changes through continued development and sustained our place as the most highly-awarded and longest-standing private investor service available in the UK.

However, we have reached the point where original ShareScope is approaching its 'end of life'.

For example, from 1st January 2025 ShareScope will no longer be able to process the third year of 3-year broker forecasts and the second forecast year will become unavailable at the beginning of 2026.

This is why we are announcing a programme to upgrade all original ShareScope users to a new ShareScope service formerly known as SharePad. This brings a host of additional benefits.

ShareScope (formerly SharePad):

  • 15-minute delayed data with intraday charts and alarms
  • Faster access with no installation and no data download waiting times
  • Access anywhere online - on PC, Mac, laptop, mobile and tablet
  • More features and analysis
  • More data coverage including Canadian market
  • Live news with MT Newswires, Alliance & RNS feeds
  • Full 3-year forecasts
  • Improved Data Mining with customisable filters for screening
  • Automatic product upgrades - no user action required
  • Real-time data updates
  • Secure and encrypted data backed-up on our protected servers

ShareScope Pro (formerly SharePad Pro):

  • Level 2 for London Stock Exchange & Aquis (AQSE)
  • Live, real-time prices including UK & US
  • Alliance News Professional with 275 more articles a day
  • Multi-monitor display with floating windows functionality

What happens next?

From today:

  • Original ShareScope products will be set to Legacy status with no new development.
  • Original ShareScope will be referred to as Legacy ShareScope.
  • Legacy ShareScope will only be available to existing and returning subscribers.

From 2nd December 2024:

  • SharePad will rebrand as ShareScope.
  • Anyone wishing to upgrade immediately can do so by contacting our Support team.

From early 2025:

  • Legacy ShareScope subscribers will receive invitations to upgrade.
  • Development work will continue to further enhance the new ShareScope service.

During 2026:

  • Legacy ShareScope will be decommissioned.

How can I upgrade to new ShareScope?

From 2nd December, simply contact our UK Customer Support team who are available by phone, live chat and email. As well as their usual support service, they will also be providing extra help if needed, such as:

  • 1-2-1 training sessions
  • Fully documented upgrade guides
  • Video tutorials
  • Live webinars with Q&A

Although sad to say goodbye to software I wrote over 27 years ago, I'm excited to be continuing our mission to be the best, most comprehensive private investor software available.

It only remains for myself and the team, to thank you for your continued support and wish you a very happy and prosperous 2025 and every success with your future investments.

Yours sincerely,

Martin Stamp
Founder & Chairman

1. Do I need to upgrade Legacy ShareScope as soon as possible?

Whilst our ShareScope upgrade programme officially began on 2nd December 2024, this is a long-term initiative and we are continuously developing new tools to ensure the smoothest transition possible for all users. Although we have already upgraded many subscribers, we are giving the option to remain on Legacy ShareScope, particularly where we believe a smoother transition can be provided at a later date. We will continue to work with subscribers in this way when we begin inviting Legacy ShareScope subscribers to upgrade at the beginning of 2025. Rest assured, Legacy ShareScope will not be decommissioned any earlier than during 2026.

2. What if I had a SharePad Add-on, how does the upgrade affect me?

As a Legacy ShareScope subscriber with a ShareScope (formerly SharePad) add-on, your current subscription will remain unchanged until you fully upgrade.

3. Will you be listening to development requests for ShareScope from Legacy subscribers and how will you prioritise them?

We are capturing all development requests for ShareScope as part of our upgrade programme and will be prioritising them based on those which are requested by the most subscribers.

So, if you do have development requests that you feel would help with your transition and the transition of others to ShareScope, please do let the support team know via support@sharescope.co.uk

4. What if I have a multicurrency portfolio in Legacy ShareScope?

For users with multicurrency portfolios, we're developing a new portfolio import tool which will support multicurrency functionality. The new portfolio import tool will also be able to handle even the most complex of transaction histories. This feature is scheduled for release in early 2025, so if you do have a multicurrency portfolio, we recommend waiting for the new tool to ensure your upgrade is as seamless as possible.

5. What if I need to export a large number of portfolios, large number of transactions or both from Legacy ShareScope?

Although it is already possible to import your portfolios and transactions from Legacy ShareScope to ShareScope, the new portfolio import tool coming in January 2025 will be able to handle even the most complex of transaction histories. So, if you do have a lot portfolios or transactions, we recommend waiting for the new tool to be released in early 2025.

6. Can I transfer over all my notes and chart annotations from Legacy ShareScope?

Currently you would need to create new notes and annotation in the new ShareScope but the new import tools that are coming in early 2025 will be able to transport over all notes and annotations automatically. So, if you have lots of notes and annotations you wish to keep from Legacy ShareScope, we recommend waiting for the new tool to be released in early 2025.

7. Can I transfer over all my alarms from Legacy ShareScope?

Setting alarms in the new ShareScope is now simpler than ever. However, if you would prefer to transfer all the alarms you've set in Legacy ShareScope, the new import tools launching in 2025 will make it easy to migrate them. If you have a large number of alarms, we recommend waiting for this tool's release in early 2025.

8. Will I be able to add imported data to my portfolio in ShareScope?

You can't currently create your own custom entries for your portfolio in ShareScope as you can in Legacy Sharescope. However, this is something the development team are already working on bringing to ShareScope in the near future.

In addition, if your custom entries in Legacy ShareScope are Canadian stocks, they can be added as normal portfolio entries given ShareScope comes equipped with Canadian market data as standard.

9. Can I customise the font size in ShareScope?

Yes. Following the December 2024 update to ShareScope, you can now customise the size of the text in the List and News views. Click the Design button at the bottom of the view and drag the zoom slider until the text is the size you want.

This setting applies to the window, so you do not need to adjust it for each individual list setting, but you can have different sizes on your different window layouts.

10. What are the plans for ShareScripts in the new ShareScope?

Whilst scripting is not currently available in the same manner as it was in Legacy ShareScope, much of the functionality made possible via scripts has now been made into standard features within the product.

Please get in touch with the support team via support@sharescope.co.uk with a list of the scripts you are currently using in Legacy ShareScope and we can then confirm whether the functionality is already available.

If the functionality you require is not currently available in ShareScope, your requirement will be fed into the development team who are already exploring scripting in ShareScope.

In the meantime, if scripting is fundamental to your investing or trading, we recommend continuing with Legacy ShareScope Plus & Pro for the time being.

11. Why am I seeing negative cash balances in my portfolio when I upgrade to ShareScope?

It's important to acknowledge that Legacy ShareScope and new ShareScope accommodate the cash balance of a portfolio in different ways. Legacy ShareScope catered for a separate and optional cash account environment. In addition, it was made possible to have multiple cash accounts attached to a single portfolio. ShareScope includes the cash as part of your portfolio. Recording cash credits/debits is a quick way of increasing/decreasing the cash balance accordingly. Our advice is to record your portfolio activity as accurately as possible reflecting the reality of your activity within your trading account.

For example, when opening a trading account with a broker, the first thing you'll do is add funds so you can then go on to purchase shares. When creating a new portfolio in ShareScope, your cash balance starts at zero so to reflect your trading account activity, we recommend starting with a cash credit. Any subsequent purchases you record will deduct from the cash balance accordingly. We believe this is important for any user who needs to see accurate and true portfolio performance figures. This is because your portfolio's value is derived from the value of the holdings + the cash balance. If you need any help with your cash balance in ShareScope, please get in touch with the support team.

12. How secure is my data in ShareScope?

We take data security very seriously. Please be assured we have taken every measure to ensure your data remains as secure as ever. We use up-to-date and secure encryption methods and the data is encrypted and stored on our own servers. You can find more details in our privacy policy by clicking here

13. I'm an Alpesh Patel Special Edition (APSE) subscriber, what does the upgrade mean for me?

As a Legacy ShareScope subscriber with an annual APSE subscription, your current access and subscription will remain unchanged for now. We are actively working on integrating APSE into the new ShareScope and will update you once it's ready. In the meantime, you can continue using APSE in Legacy ShareScope and renew your APSE access at your next renewal if you wish.