AMSNAG FARE WATCH

Desktop Version

Add Itinerary

Click ADD ITINERARY: in the screen that pops up
- Enter Origin and Destination station codes
- Select number of Adults
- Enter departure date
- Click CONTINUE.
If you change your mind, click ABANDON to return to the main screen
When the information has been retrieved from Amtrak (see below), a list of options appears. Select the ones you want to watch.
- Select individual options by clicking the check box to the right
- Select all options for a given connection by clicking the "C" to the left of the connection
- Select all options by clicking the check box "Check All"
- "Unselect" an option by clicking on a checked option.
- UnSelect all options for a given connection by clicking the "U" to the left of the connection
- Unselect all options by clicking the check box "UNCheck All"
Click "SAVE ITINERARY" to create an itinerary with the selected option(s).
If you change your mind, click "NEW ITINERARY" to try again.
To return to the main screen, click EXIT.

For a Selected Itinerary

Click CURRENT FARES to see the current fares for the options you saved.
Click FARE HISTORY to see how prices have changed since you entered the itinerary. The codes are:
- O = Original, i.e., when itinerary was created.
- I = Increase
- D = Decrease
- A = Available after being sold out
- S = Sold out after being available
- C = Train canceled after being available
Click PAID RESERVATION to enter or view the price and description of a ticket you have purchased. This will appear on alerts to remind you whether the new prices is worthwhile.
Click GO TO AMTRAK WEBSITE to purchase ticket
Click REMOVE ITINERARY if you no longer want to watch the itinerary.

Note: The day after a train leaves the station, the itinerary is automatically removed.

Other Features

You can also

Manually update fares by clicking UPDATE PRICES
View alerts
- Click on "View Alerts"
- Only "new" alerts, i.e., those generated by the last fare update will appear.
- To see all alerts, click the "All" radio button
View a log of automatic fare updates. For each itinerary the date and time of the update, the number of fare changes and number of alerts are displayed
Click RETURN TO AMSNAG or EXIT to quit

Schedule Automatic Update

You can schedule the program to automatically check fares in the background once a day and notify you if a fare has dropped or a sold out accommodation is now available, or a train has been canceled. If one of these events happens, an alert will pop up. To schedule

Click SCHEDULE AUTOMATIC UPDATES"
Click "SCHEDULE UPDATE"
Enter the time you wish the update to occur in the form hh:mm using a 24 hour clock. E.g. 01:00 is 1 AM; 13:00 is 1 PM.
Click OK, or CANCEL if you change your mind
You can change the time by clicking RESCHEDULE UPDATE.
You can stop having fares updated in the background by clicking DELETE SHEDULED UPDATE.

Technically, scheduling an update creates a "Windows Task" named "Amsnag Farewatch VFP" that executes a batch file called "monitor.bat".

If you computer is turned off, hibernating, or sleeping when the update is scheduled, it will not run. However, by tweaking the Windows Task Scheduler, it will run when you next turn on the computer or awake from hibernation or sleep.

Open the Task scheduler by clicking the WINDOWS key and typing "Schedule" in the search box, and clicking Task Scheduler
Right Click on Amsnag Farewatch VFP in the list of tasks and select properties from the drop down list
Select the Settings pane
Check the Run task as soon as possible after a scheduled start is missed check box.
Click OK and exit the task scheduler

Other parameters you can set are

General tab
- Select the Run whether user is logged on or not radio button
- Check the Run with highest privileges check box
- Configure for your version of Windows
Conditions tab - Uncheck the Start the task only if the computer is on AC power check box
If you are familiar with the Windows Task Scheduler, you can set the schedule for other than once a day, or even set up more than one task.

If a fare has dropped or becomes available after being sold out, or a train, formerly running, has been canceled, an alert screen will appear. Clicking on a train will bring up the Amtrak reservation web page. When the fare update runs, an entry is made in the "update log" (see below).

Important Notes: