August 10, 2008
I’ve received a few questions from people about how to import Savings Bonds from other programs where they haven’t entered their complete Serial Numbers. For example, they may only have the series and denomination instead of a complete serial number such as M555123456EE.
If you’ve got a CSV file to work with, you can open it using Excel, Numbers, CSVEdit, or any text editor of your choice. If you don’t want to enter the actual digits of the serial number from the front of your paper bond, you can simply use zeros instead, with the correct prefixes and suffixes.
The denomination codes are:
- 50 = L
- 75 = K
- 100 = C
- 250 = R
- 500 = D
- 1000 = M
- 5000 = V
- 10000 = X
The series codes are:
- E Bond = E
- EE Bond = EE
- I Bond = I
So for example if you have a $100 I bond without the serial number digits, you can edit the CSV file so that the Serial Number field for the bond reads “C00000000I”.
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June 3, 2008
I just released Hamilton 1.1.2 which includes the latest value data from the US Treasury with the application itself. If you’re already running 1.1.1 and have downloaded the latest data when Hamilton prompted you to, this is a low priority update.
I’m continuing work on 1.2, albeit at a slower pace than 1.1 since some contract work, another app, and a new baby has taken priority over 1.2 development for the time being.
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May 11, 2008
In case you missed the announcement of new rates for I and EE series bonds, here’s a summary and some analysis by Tom Adams of http://savings-bond-advisor.com
In other news I’m making good progress on Hamilton 1.2 so stay tuned for some screenshots and feature updates soon.
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May 1, 2008
Ooops!
I just fixed a silly bug that in some cases would prevent a button from showing up in the “Demo Expiration” dialog box to let you enter in a license code once your 30 day trial has expired.
Hamilton version 1.1.1 is now available with a fix in place. If you’re using 1.1 please upgrade as soon as you can.
Sorry!
- Steve
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April 22, 2008
After a brief private beta and just under a month after Hamilton 1.0 shipped, I’m happy to release Hamilton 1.1 today. Thanks to everyone who downloaded, tried out 1.0, and sent me their feedback. I wasn’t able to get everyone’s feature suggestions in for this release but will try to include as many as I can in 1.2 this summer.
Download 1.1 today!
Here’s what’s new in 1.1:
- Support for E Bonds
Hamilton now supports the E series of US Savings Bonds that were issued between 1941 and 1980. Many of these have already reached maturity the bonds issued in the late 70s are still earning interest.
- Search
I added a toolbar to the application window that has a new search field to let you quickly search by serial number. If you’re looking for a specific bond or a few bonds with similar serial numbers, finding them just got a lot easier.
- HTML Import & Export
Hamilton can now import HTML files generated by the US Treasury’s online Savings Bond Calculator, and can also export a HTML file that let’s you load your bonds back into the Savings Bond Calculator. It’s your data, use it where you like it!
- More CSV!
When exporting to CSV more information about your bonds is exported than just the Serial Number and Issue Date.
- Improved Error Handling
When importing CSV, HTML, or creating bonds by hand - errors with serial numbers and issue dates are handled much more gracefully.
- Printing
You can now print a basic report of your savings bonds (or just the selected group) and their information and value
- Better Groups:
You can now create a new group simply by dragging a selection of bonds to the list of groups. When groups are created their name is automatically selected for editing so you don’t have to double-click them right away to rename them either.
- More Clear Value Label
The total value label in the lower right-hand corner of the application window now only shows the total value of the bonds in the selected group. It no longer shows the total of the selected bonds, some people found this confusing and it wasn’t always easy to tell what the value was representing.
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April 21, 2008
Tom Adams has all the details of the next I bond inflation component rate at Savings Bond Advisor in his latest Savings Bond Alert.
If you’re buying US Savings Bonds, be sure to check out Hamilton so you can keep your bonds organized and always know how much they’re worth.
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April 9, 2008
Tom Adams, of Savings Bond Advisor and author of Savings Bond Advisor - Fifth Edition
(affiliate link) has posted a FAQ item about Hamilton.
If you’re looking to learn more about Savings Bonds Tom’s Book and website are invaluable resources, be sure to check them out.
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April 4, 2008
First of all thanks to everyone who downloaded Hamilton 1.0 and emailed me with questions and feedback. Since the release of 1.0 I’ve been busy working on 1.1 and have an update on some new features in 1.1, which should be in beta soon. I’ll post more info here when the 1.1 beta is available.
E Bond Support
In 1.1 I’ve added support for E series Savings Bonds. E series bonds were issued between 1941 and 1980. Most of these bonds have already matured, but some of those issued in the late 70s are still earning interest.
HTML Import
The US Treasury has an online savings bond calculator that stores your savings bond inventory as an HTML file. Hamilton 1.1 can now import those files, just like with your CSV files. If you’re trying out Hamilton and have your inventory as one of these HTML files, getting all your bonds into Hamilton just got a LOT easier.
Group Names Selected for Editing after Creation
Now after you add a new Group instead of it being added as “Untitled Group” the group name is selected so you can rename it right away. Most other Mac apps behave this way so it’s a feature that was sorely lacking from 1.0.
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March 24, 2008
I’ve posted version 1.0.1 of Hamilton, you can download a copy here: Hamilton 1.0.1.
Here’s a summary of the changes in 1.0.1:
- CSV import of dates has been switched to a MM/YYYY format until a workaround for the [NSDate dateWithNaturalLanguageString] method has been found. David was running into problems with dates of the format MM/YY such as 04/00 being converted to April 2008 instead of April 2000. Anyone know of a better date formatting method or approach? Please let me know: stevenhuey@stevenhuey.com
- After importing bonds from a CSV file the selection and value summaries in the status bar at the bottom of the application window were not being updated correctly.
- If you have problems importing a CSV files try changing the text encoding of the file to UTF-8. You can do this using TextEdit by choosing “Make Plain Text” from the “Format” menu, and then choosing “Save” from the “File” menu. In the Save dialog make sure the Plain Text Encoding is set to Unicode (UTF-8)
A huge thanks to David Maglott for finding these bugs and for all his help getting them resolved!
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March 22, 2008
I’m proud to release Hamilton 1.0 this evening - the first version of my US Savings Bond management application for Mac OS X. Download your copy today from hamiltonapp.com.
I’ve got a lot more planned for Hamilton, but wanted to get a version out the door to start getting some feedback and your ideas for future versions too. As things develop I’ll be posting tips for working with Hamilton, and will be posting some sneak previews of new features and updates to the UI so stay tuned.
Download your copy and let me know what you think!
- Steve
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