FAQ: Using The Site

How do I use the top toolbars to navigate the site?
Use the dark blue tabs at the top of each page to access the Investment Strategies, Markets, Indexes, Stocks, Funds, Sectors, and Learning Center main pages.

Right above the navigation tabs are links to the Home Page, Contact Us, the Help page, and the Glossary.

To visit the main Standard & Poor's home page, www.standardandpoors.com, click the S&P logo in the top left corner of any page. There, you can learn more about Standard & Poor's and our research methodology, view recent white papers that we have published and learn about our other products and services.
What type of information will I find on the home page?
The Outlook online edition home page offers timely features and commentary from Standard & Poor's on topics such as the economy, daily stock market activity, industry sectors, stocks, bonds, funds, and investment strategies.

Ready access to Standard & Poor's premium content such as Stock Reports and Fund Reports is also available on the home page. Subscribers to The Outlook can access these publications directly using the drop-down menu from the Research tool or the keyword search tool located in the left-hand navigator.
How do I search for a company?
To search for information on a company by name or ticker symbol, use the Research tool, which is found both in the left-hand navigator of all the pages.

To use the Research dropdown to find information on a particular company, select either Stocks, Bonds, Funds, or The Outlook from the first drop-down menu, select "Ticker" or "Company Name" from the second drop-down menu, and then enter the appropriate information in the search box below.

If you are unsure of the company's exact name, enter part of the name in the search box. For example, if you enter "micro", the search results will include all companies that have "micro" as part of their names, such as "Microsoft" or "Advanced Micro Devices."

If you would like to identify a group of companies that meet a set of common criteria, you can also use the Advanced Search tools located in the left-hand navigator. The Advanced Search tools, located in the Research tools section on the left-hand navigator, allow you to identify stocks, funds, or bonds that meet a common set of qualitative or quantitative criteria. To access the Advanced Search tools, first select a Research Tool from the left-hand navigator. Use the drop-down menus and search boxes to enter your search criteria, then click the "Search" button. To clear all fields and enter new information before conducting a search, click "Clear."

You may also access information about the stock of many companies on the Stocks main page. To access the Stocks main page, click on the Stocks tab at the top of the site.
How do I search for a fund?
To search for information on a fund by name or ticker symbol, use the Research tool, which is found both in the left-hand navigator.

To use the Research dropdown to find information on a particular mutual fund, select "Fund Reports" from the first drop-down menu, select "Ticker" or "Fund Name" from the second drop-down menu, and then enter the appropriate information in the search box below.

If you would like to identify a group of mutual funds that meet a common set of qualitative or quantitative criteria, you can use the Research Tools, also located in the left-hand navigator. Use the drop-down menus and search boxes to enter your search criteria, and then click the "Search" button. To clear all fields and enter new information before conducting a search, click "Clear."

You may also access information about funds on the Funds main page. To access the Funds main page, clink on the Funds tab at the top of the site.
How can I search and retrieve issues of The Outlook (PDF)?
Subscribers to The Outlook can retrieve PDF copies of the publication directly from the home page, using the drop-down menus located directly below the Outlook Newsletter Search tool. To search for an issue of The Outlook by date, use the first drop-down menu to select the appropriate year, use the second drop-down menu to select the publication date, then hit "Go." The most recent issue of The Outlook is always presented as the default option.

You can also search for issues of The Outlook that include references to specific companies, using the search tools in the left-hand navigator. Enter a ticker or company name in the second set of search boxes and click Go.
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How do I search for content using a keyword?
The keyword search is available on every The Outlook online edition page. The keyword search allows you to look for a mention of a company, mutual fund, or other term in any document, regardless of whether or not your search term is the main subject of that document.

Enter the text you would like to search for in the search box, located at the top right of the page, within the title bar. Click the arrow button, and you'll then see a list of results sorted by relevance..

The text search capability uses technology that Standard & Poor's has licensed from Google. If you have used the Google search engine, you can use the simple and advanced keyword search engines on The Outlook the same way to find premium content on our site.
How can I adjust my search results?
Search results include 25 items per page by default. You can choose to view as many as 999 results per page by adjusting the "Results per Page" setting at the bottom of each search results page.

If your search yields too many results, you can click on "Edit Search" to return to the screener and refine your search. The Outlook will remember the search criteria that you previously selected.
An "invalid user" message appears when I try to access certain content on the site. Why?
First, ensure that you have entered the correct e-mail address to access the site.

When using Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6.0, please ensure that you have enabled cookies from secondary sites. In addition, other browsers may contain security settings that affect the functionality of The Outlook. In general, users must allow cookies from secondary sites to use The Outlook. A "medium" security setting will usually allow for the site to operate properly.

If the message continues after you have investigated the above, please contact our Client Relations department at 1-800-8521641 (8:30am-5pm EST, Monday-Friday) or at support-outlook@standardandpoors.com.
How can I view the latest content on the site or the most recent issue of The Outlook?
If you are unable to view the latest content or the most recent issue of The Outlook, the site may be experiencing a technical difficulty or it is possible that your computer has "cached" an older version of the site.

Internet Explorer users should go to "Tools," then "Internet Options", then "Delete Files". Once in the Delete Files menu, users should click on "Delete all files in the Temporary Internet Files" after also checking the option to "Delete all offline content."

For other browsers, the process may be slightly different.

To view the current issue of The Outlook (PDF), you must have Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer. Adobe Acrobat allows you to view .PDF files. While many PCs come with this software, check to make sure that your computer has it. If not, the software is available for free from www.adobe.com. The most recent issue of The Outlook is always presented as the default option under the Outlook Newsletter Search tool. The current issue of The Outlook will open in a frameset within your current browser window.

If you are still experiencing difficulties, please contact our Client Relations department at 1-800-852-1641 (8:30am-5pm EST, Monday-Friday) or at support-outlook@standardandpoors.com.
I am having trouble viewing stock or fund reports. Why?
Stock and fund reports are available in three formats--.PDF, Interactive and HTML. To view stock and fund reports in PDF format, you must have Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer. The Adobe Acrobat software is available for free from www.adobe.com. Both the PDF and HTML format of the stock and fund reports will open in a frameset within the same window. Interactive Stock Reports requires only a web browser and will open in a new window. The information in these three formats is the same. If one format does not work, select the other format and resubmit your request. You will not be credited for an additional report as long as you request the same report within the same 24-hour period.

Please note that professional users of The Outlook are not entitled to view stock or fund reports. If the navigation to these features is not "clickable," you have been designated a professional user. Please contact Client Relations at 1-800-8521641 (8:30am-5pm EST, Monday-Friday) or at support-outlook@standardandpoors.com.
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How do I print reports?
When you are ready to view a report listed in your search results, click on the company, fund or bond name. The report will appear in the main content area of the page. If additional reports about the company are available, they will be linked in a list to the left of the main content window. For example, if you are finished viewing the Stock Report on a particular company in the main content window, you can view the company's description in Standard & Poor's Company Profile by clicking "Company Profile" at left.

To view a version of the report suitable for printing, click on the "Printer Friendly" link at the top of the site, and it will appear in a separate browser window. To print a report in PDF format, use the print command in Adobe Acrobat

To access the HTML version of the Standard & Poor's Stock Report or Bond Report, select the HTML option from the left hand navigation bar.
Why am I having trouble printing certain pages and reports?
If you try to print the current page and you only are able to print the left-hand/top/blank part of the screen, please verify your print settings. Please make sure that your default setting is "Print as laid out on screen" as this setting prints the entire screen exactly as you see it. If you cannot find or change the setting, try clicking on the area of the site (in the white space, not on a link) that you wish to print, then click Print. This should solve the problem because your default setting is likely set on "Print only the selected frame."

If you are unable to print Stock or Fund reports and you are viewing a .PDF version of the report, please verify your Adobe settings.

If you are having problems with an interactive or .HTML report, please verify your print settings. Please make sure that your default setting is "Print as laid out on screen" as this setting prints the entire screen exactly as you see it. If you cannot find or change the setting, try clicking on the area of the site (in the white space, not on a link) that you wish to print, then click Print. This should solve the problem because your default setting is likely set on "Print only the selected frame."

If you are still unable to print, the problem likely resides within your computer's printer settings or the printer itself. Please contact the manufacturer of your printer for further support for this problem.
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