How to change Min Date in Portfolio Slicer

Overview

MinDate is one of the most important settings in Portfolio Slicer.

It affects:

  • how far back your portfolio history starts
  • how much historical market data you need
  • which transactions are valid in the workbook
  • what the external scripts generate

Changing it after setup is possible, but it should be treated as a controlled rebuild rather than a quick edit.

Before You Change MinDate

Before making any changes:

  • back up your workbook files
  • back up your external data folders
  • confirm you really want a different historical starting point

If you shorten or extend your tracking history, you may need to recreate quotes, currency, and dividend files.

  1. Change MinDate in the Config table.
  2. Change MinDate in psConfig.txt.
  3. Back up your existing external data folders.
  4. Remove or replace generated files that depend on the old minimum date.
  5. Run UpdatePSData.bat to rebuild the external files.
  6. Compare regenerated files against your backup if you rely on older manual or no-longer-available source data.
  7. Update the required system or starting transaction date if your workbook version still uses that pattern.
  8. Review the Transactions table and make sure no rows now fall before the new MinDate.
  9. Refresh the workbook.

Why Backups Matter

Changing MinDate can affect multiple layers of the setup at once.

If your old folders contain manually maintained files or data that can no longer be downloaded, the backup may be the only easy way to preserve that history.

Common Things to Check After the Change

After rebuilding with a new MinDate, confirm that:

  • expected quotes still exist for all symbols
  • currency history still covers what your reports need
  • dividends data is still available where required
  • no transactions now fall outside the supported range
  • reports refresh without unexpected gaps

Practical Advice

If you are unsure, test the change on a backup copy first.

MinDate changes are much easier to manage carefully than to reverse after multiple other edits have already been made.