FastTrack -- Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
Overview: What is FastTrack - Technical Requirements - Machine - Software - Regional and Language Settings
Installation / Activation: Getting FastTrack - Activation
Getting Started: Best Way to Get Started - In-Depth Help - Print a List of HotKeys
FastTrack Tools: Auto Color - Menu Missing - Colors - Smart Cycles - Smart Precedents/Dependents - Undo - DM Tutorial - Move Registration to a New Machine
Customizing FastTrack: Change My Hotkeys - Disable “Check for Updates”
FastTrack and Other Applications: HotKeys Don't Work - Typing in Another Language - Personal Macros
Temporarily Disabling FastTrack: How to Temporarily Disable FastTrack
Uninstallation: How to Uninstall
Index of Resources: List of Resources
What is FastTrack™?
FastTrack™ is a time-saving application designed to aid in the creation, formatting, and auditing of Excel spreadsheets by connecting routine tasks to customizable shortcuts. With over 100 powerful, easy-to-use tools and a library of customizable formatting styles, FastTrack can reduce the time users spend in Excel by up to 75%. The application is currently used by thousands of financial professionals from investment bankers at bulge-bracket firms to independent accountants and even casual Excel users.
FastTrack runs within Microsoft Excel and appears on Excel's main menu toolbar. Each FastTrack tool is available from the 'FastTrack->Tools' menu or by hitting the keystroke shortcut associated with that tool.
Click here for more detailed information on FastTrack's features.
What are the Technical Requirements to run FastTrack?
At a minimum you will need the following specifications:
Machine
IBM-compatible PC, 266 MHz or higher with a Pentium II or higher CPU
64 MB RAM recommended minimum. More RAM generally improves performance
40 MB available hard disk space (includes 14 MB of optional help files and 10 MB of temporary installation files
Internet connectivity
Software
PC: Windows NT 4.0 SP 3+ or Windows 98, 2000, or XP; Macintosh: Virtual Windows
Microsoft Excel 97 or higher
Internet Explorer 5 or higher
Regional and Language Settings
The downloadable version of FastTrack for Excel is currently available for most language versions of Excel and keyboards. Click here to download a trial version of the product.
Please note that users in France and other countries that restrict 128-bit encryption cannot run the downloadable version of FastTrack for Excel. If you have special language requirements, please contact our sales team for more information.
Installation / Activation
How do I get FastTrack?
Click here to download a copy of FastTrack.
Then simply follow the installation prompts and voila! – FastTrack's welcome message should automatically appear the next time you open Microsoft Excel along with a "FastTrack" menu on Excel's main menu bar. (If you don't see FastTrack, contact our support team for assistance.)
If you encounter any problems during installation or simply want more information about the installation process, please visit our DealMaven Product Installation forum.
New users automatically receive a 60-day free trial of FastTrack. The product will warn you when your free trial is about to expire.
Once the trial period is up, you'll receive an expiration message each time you open Excel or attempt to use any of FastTrack's features. To use FastTrack after the trial period, you'll need to activate your copy of the product as detailed below.
How do I activate FastTrack?
If you've purchased FastTrack for Excel, please follow the DealMaven Product Activation instructions to activate the product. If you're receiving expiration messages and wish to continue using FastTrack, click here to purchase it.
If you have difficulty activating your copy of FastTrack or want to know more about the activation process, please visit our DealMaven Product Activation forum. If you can't find the answers you're looking for there, you can also contact our support team for assistance.
How Can I Move my registration to a new computer?
If you wish to move DealMaven software from one machine to another (or reinstall on the same machine) we need to release the license on our end. We can then send you a new Order File with which to register. In order to expedite the process, the helpful information you can send us is the “Computer Name” of your old machine (or the machine on which you are reinstalling). You can find out your computer name by right clicking on your “My Computer” icon, and selecting “Properties” and then the “Computer Name” tab. Please send transfer requests to support@dealmaven.com.
Getting Started
What's the best way to get started using FastTrack?
Because FastTrack contains over 100 tools, getting started with the product can seem daunting. We've developed three primary resources to aid you:
- 'FastTrack->Tools' menu: Lists all of the product's tools by category along with their associated keystroke shortcuts. A 'Getting Started' sub-menu steers you toward some of FastTrack's most frequently used features.
- Examples workbook: Select the 'Examples Workbook' option from the 'FastTrack' menu in Excel to see every tool in action and try them yourself. Like the 'Tools' menu, the Examples workbook categorizes tools by tab and offers a helpful 'Getting Started' section. Running through the entire workbook can take as little as 15 minutes and is a great way to see everything FastTrack has to offer.
- Reference guide: This printable PDF contains an overview of the product, instructions on how to get started with five of the product's top time-saving tools, and a handy list of keystroke shortcuts. We recommend that you print it on one double-sided page for easy desktop reference.
(NOTE: Keystroke shortcuts for corporate clients may have been customized. If you've received FastTrack from your company, please contact your application support group to obtain a FastTrack Reference Guide that reflects your firm's custom settings.)
Where can I find in-depth help documentation and other technical support for FastTrack?
You can access FastTrack's full help documentation at the bottom of the 'FastTrack' menu in Excel. Context-sensitive help for FastTrack is also available from forms within the application by clicking the question mark in the form's upper-right corner and then selecting the area of interest on the form.
Additional assistance is available through this forum or by contacting our support team.
Can I print a single, comprehensive list of DealMaven Hot Keys (shortcut key combinations) and native Excel shortcuts?
Yes. Select the 'FastTrack->Hot Key Manager...' menu option. The Hot Key Manager will display the currently active Hot Keys. Click the "Print" button to generate a list of FastTrack Hot Keys and native Excel shortcuts in an Excel workbook. You can sort the list by tool name, keystroke, category, priority, and application. DealMaven strongly recommends printing this list and placing it on your desktop to use as a quick reference.
FastTrack Tools
When I type in Excel, the font color of cells automatically changes sometimes. What is happening?
Color-coding cells based on their content is a very important Excel technique that helps you quickly identify where the inputs, values, and formula links are in your spreadsheet. This technique can be very time-consuming and error-prone when done manually.
AutoColor is a FastTrack feature that automatically color-codes cells based on their content as you work in Excel.
To enable or disable this feature, simply select the "AutoColor On Entry" item under the main FastTrack menu in Excel (you can tell if the feature is currently enabled by whether or not this menu item is checked). You can also fine-tune your AutoColor settings and preferences by selecting the 'FastTrack->User Settings...' menu option.
Files with a circular reference or numerous data tables take even longer to calculate when FastTrack is installed. How can I remedy this?
FastTrack's AutoColor feature automatically color-codes inputs and formulas as you work in Excel. Normally, the time lag from AutoColor is imperceptible. However, with data tables and/or circular references, you may find the delay magnified. To avoid this delay, you may wish to set calculation to "Manual" ('Tools->Options' menu option in Excel) while working in a spreadsheet with data tables (or see above to learn how to turn off AutoColor).
Why is my FastTrack menu missing from the menu bar in Excel?
Verify that FastTrack has been installed on the user's machine/profile.
Check that FastTrack is not a disabled item, and enable it if it is (Help->About Microsoft Excel->Disabled Items). Once re-enabled, restart Excel.
If the FastTrack menu is still not displayed in Excel, follow the steps below:
Close Excel and rename the file named "Excel11.xlb" (located in the C:Documents and Settings(your user profile folder)Application DataMicrosoftExcel folder. If you don't see the "Application Data" folder then you need to enable hidden folders. Simply go to Tools->Folder Options->View and select 'Show Hidden Files and Folders' then click 'OK' to exit. After that, restart Excel. Excel will regenerate this file the next time it is opened and the FastTrack menu should now be available.
Why do the colors shown in FastTrack's preview panes sometimes differ from the colors actually applied to a spreadsheet when I run a FastTrack tool?
Regardless of the method used, Excel only allows colors within the palette of a workbook to be applied to that workbook (font colors, cell background colors, border colors, etc.). When applying a color setting of any type, FastTrack automatically finds the closest available color in the palette of the workbook to which the color is being applied. In the preview panes, the colors you see are based on the closest available colors for the settings within the default color palette.
To see the same colors applied to a given workbook, simply return the palette of that workbook to its default settings (or simply add the color you wish to use). You may change the color palette of the active workbook from the Color tab of the Tools | Options menu option.
Running the same FastTrack tool on different workbooks sometimes results in different cell font or background colors. Why is this?
This is because the colors available for fonts and background colors are dictated by the color palette of the workbook to which the colors are being applied. See above for more information on adjusting the color palette of a workbook.
I created a customized SmartCycle with several different formatting styles. But FastTrack appears to get "stuck" on one of the styles of the SmartCycle and does not advance any farther. Why?
In order for a FastTrack SmartCycle to function properly, all of the styles it contains must apply the same set of formatting properties. Only "applied" style properties are used to determine if a given style is already applied to a cell or range. Not adhering to this rule may cause a SmartCycle to get "stuck" on a particular style.
Additionally, adding two styles with the exact same formatting properties to a particular SmartCycle will cause the SmartCycle to cycle between these two styles while ignoring other styles in the SmartCycle. This occurs because the application cannot distinguish between the two identical styles in the SmartCycle. If you encounter this problem, remove the duplicate style from the SmartCycle and try cycling through the SmartCycle again.
Why aren't the Smart Precedents and Smart Dependents tools working for me?
The Smart Precedents and Smart Dependents tools will be disabled if your version of Excel does not have the audit feature installed. From the Tools Menu in Excel, look for "Formula Auditing" to determine whether or not your version had this feature installed and supports auditing capabilities.
Why can't I undo the effects of certain FastTrack tools after running them?
You should be aware that not all FastTrack tools have undo functionality. As of now, all but eight of FastTrack's over 100 tools have some form of undo capability. Also note that there is a trade-off between the comprehensiveness of FastTrack's undo capabilities and the speed at which FastTrack tools will run. You can specify which formatting properties you would like FastTrack to retain when capturing undo information by selecting 'FastTrack->User Settings...' and going to the "Undo Capabilities" tab. If you have a fast processor, you should not see any delays even if you choose to have undo work with all formatting properties.
The FastTrack menu has a submenu called 'DM Tutorial' that opens spreadsheet files. What is this?
This menu item opens files that accompany DealMaven's online Financial Analysis Knowledge Base. The Knowledge Base is an online training application featuring over 1,000 pages of content, interactive model-building exercises, quizzes and a comprehensive glossary. It has been used to train over 10,000 financial professionals on Wall Street as well as globally.
Click here for more information about the DealMaven Knowledge Base.
Every time I open a new lesson from the 'FastTrack->DM Tutorial' menu item, it opens a new instance of Excel and fills my taskbar. Can I have the lessons open in one instance of Excel?
All of the files are actually being opened within the same instance of Excel, but there is a setting that allows for each Excel file to appear separately in the taskbar. Within Excel, if you select the 'Tools->Options...-->Views' tab and uncheck the "Windows in Taskbar" option, only one Excel icon will appear in the taskbar regardless of how many files you have open.
Customizing FastTrack
How do I change the Hot Keys (shortcut key combinations) assigned to FastTrack tools?
Select the 'FastTrack->Hot Key Manager...' menu option. If the "Add New" button in the lower-left corner of the Hot Key Manager is disabled, your Hot Keys have been locked by an administrator.* If the "Add New" button is enabled, you may change the Hot Key for a tool by locating it in the list and clicking the "Change" button. You may also add a Hot Key for a new tool by clicking the "Add New" button.
* FastTrack allows an administrator to lock the Hot Keys assigned to FastTrack tools. In some firms, administrators may opt to lock assigned Hot Keys so that users can roam from machine to machine without having to worry about encountering an unfamiliar set of keystrokes.
How do I disable the “Check for Updates” feature?
Please note the following steps involve editing the registry.
We advise you to backup your registry before making any changes. Click here for instructions.
Also, you will need full admin rights on your machine to edit the registry.
The following steps will disable the “look for updates” option that appears every time you open Excel.
1. Completely close Excel
2. Go to Start->Run and type in "regedit" (without quotes)
3. Browse to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE->Software->DealMaven->FastTrack XL directory
4. On the right hand window, right click and select New-->String Value
5. Name the string value "NoUpdates" (without quotes)
6. Double click on the "NoUpdates" key and when the dialogue box pops up, enter "true" (without quotes) for the value and hit "OK".
7. Open Excel. You should no longer receive the error
FastTrack and Other Applications
Some of my FastTrack tools don't run when I press the Hot Keys. What should I do?
DealMaven's Hot Key technology operates at the Windows level. That means most Excel add-ins will not conflict with FastTrack's Hot Keys. However, certain programs at the Windows level or above (such as keyboard language toggles and machine-specific shortcuts) may use one or more key combinations currently assigned to FastTrack tools.
If your administrative settings permit, you may individually change the Hot Keys for the affected tools in FastTrack by selecting the 'FastTrack->Hot Key Manager...' menu option. If your FastTrack Hot Keys are locked, you may want to disable the conflicting keystroke in your other application(s) if possible. (If you are using FastTrack, it is a good idea to disable the system level shortcut for toggling your keyboard's language settings. See the topic below for more information.)
There are several other potential reasons why a tool might not run as expected. Sometimes a formatting SmartCycle can get "stuck" on a particular style. You also may have run a tool that formats a cell with a color lighter than any color in the active workbook's color palette (treated as white) or darker than any color in the active workbook's color palette (treated as black). Please refer to the "FastTrack Tools" section of this document for a detailed discussion of these issues.
If you still have difficulties, please contact our support team for assistance.
Since I started using FastTrack, my keyboard types characters from another language from time to time...
You may be hitting a key combination that toggles your keyboard's language settings. Microsoft Windows allows you to set up your computer to allow multiple keyboard language configurations. Windows also allows you to set up a system level shortcut (usually Alt-Shift or Ctrl-Shift) to toggle between these configurations.
If you have this shortcut feature on, when you try to run a FastTrack tool with a Hot Key including the same key combination, your keyboard configuration will toggle, and the FastTrack tool will not run. If you are set up for multiple language configurations, you should see a Language Bar icon showing in your icon tray (if your current keyboard language setting is English, for instance, you will see the letters "EN").
To turn off the system level shortcut and avoid conflicts with FastTrack Hot Keys, click Settings on the Language Bar. This can also be done by clicking the Regional and Language Options from the Windows Control Panel and selecting the Languages tab. You can still easily toggle between languages by using the Language Bar from the icon tray.
I have my own macros, and they stopped working when FastTrack was installed on my machine. How do I get them to work again?
DealMaven Hot Keys will override native Excel shortcuts and shortcuts of other add-ins that use Excel's native "OnKey" functionality. If you encounter a case where a FastTrack Hot Key is overriding a shortcut also assigned to a macro or tool in another add-in, all you have to do is change the key combination for one of the tools in conflict.
If your administrative settings permit, you may change the Hot Key for the affected tool in FastTrack by selecting the 'FastTrack->Hot Key Manager...' menu option. If your FastTrack Hot Keys are locked, you may want to disable the conflicting keystroke in your other application if possible.
Temporarily Disabling FastTrack
How do I temporarily disable FastTrack?
To temporarily disable FastTrack, open Windows Explorer and browse to the 'C:Documents and SettingsUSERNAMEApplication DataDealMaven' folder, where USERNAME is your Windows username. (If you don't see the "Application Data" folder then you need to enable hidden folders. Simply go to Tools->Folder Options->View and select 'Show Hidden Files and Folders. Also, if the 'DealMaven' folder does not exist, go ahead and create it). In this folder, right-click and select 'New->Text Document' to create a new file named 'FastTrackXL_Off.txt'. The next time you open Microsoft Excel, FastTrack will not load.
To re-enable FastTrack, simply rename or delete the aforementioned file.
Uninstallation
How do I uninstall FastTrack?
To PERMANENTLY uninstall FastTrack:
- Close Excel.
- In Windows, select 'Start->Control Panel->Add or Remove Programs'.
- Select DealMaven FastTrack for Excel from the list and remove the program.
Please contact our support team if you require assistance.
Index of Resources
FastTrack Product Page: Learn about FastTrack, view demonstrations of the product's key features and concepts, read testimonials, and purchase the product from this web page.
FastTrack in Action: This video shows how relying FastTrack tools via keystroke shortcuts rather than using your mouse to invoke native Excel commands can drastically decrease the time required to build and format a typical spreadsheet.
FastTrack Reference Guide: This printable PDF contains an overview of the product, instructions on how to get started with five of the product's top time-saving tools, and a handy list of keystroke shortcuts. We recommend that you print it on one double-sided page for easy desktop reference.
(NOTE: Keystroke shortcuts for corporate clients may have been customized. If you've received FastTrack from your company, please contact your application support group to obtain a FastTrack Reference Guide that reflects your firm's custom settings.)
Product Installation Instructions: This forum post has detailed instructions on how to install all DealMaven products.
Product Activation Instructions: If you've purchased a subscription or a permanent license for FastTrack, go to this forum to get instructions on how to activate your copy of the product and use it beyond the 60-day trial period.