Earlier this week I explained that we would move all of our archive of ITEM_1A to the platform and index them. This was completed, I had a message soon after wondering if we could do the same with the ITEM_7 (affectionately known as MD&A). This was completed over night. I did change the index name – originally I named the Risk Factors archive RISKFACTORS. When I finished the MD&A and looked at the placement in the index list – I decided I was making this unnecessarily complicated. So the names were changed to ITEM_RISKFACTORS and ITEM_MDA.

And yes, you can use all of the existing features with these indexes. Specifically – if you want to run a CIK-DATE limited search, you need to have a file with the column headings CIK and MATCHDATE, there can be other columns but those columns must exist.

Notice in the file above, I have multiple instances of the same CIK but different dates. That is because for my research example I want to establish whether or not a MDA exists in a window around each of those unique dates with the search phrase(s) I will use in my search. Once the file is created and available select the CIK/DATE Filter checkbox and hit the Set CIK/Date File to activate the file selector tool.

After you select the file remember to specify the range and the specific date you want to use. The RDATE represents the dissemination date (which is often but not always the filed date) and the CDATE represents the balance sheet date AS REPORTED in the filing header. Once you have set the parameters hit the Okay button and enter your Search term(s) phrases into the search box before you hit the Perform Search button.

Expert tip – if you only want the existence of the document rather than identifying those with specific words/phrases use the search operator XFIRSTWORD (or XLASTWORD if you prefer).

Remember as well that the platform will generate a list of CIK-DATE pairs that did not match any criteria for the search. It could either be that they did not have the relevant search terms or if they did, the MATCHDATE you specified as well as the window did not match what is available.