Setting up a Chart
Select { File | New }
from the menu or select the New icon from the toolbar. This will
open a new chart with no symbol assigned. The default chart type
is "daily" , but this can be modified with { Chart | Properties... }.
Any time you enter a new symbol in a chart, either in the chart
properties dialog, or using the shortcut of just typing a symbol
in a selected chart, the program will attempt to retrieve the
data requested. This may cause it to connect to the internet
site currently configured for retrieving historic data for the
selected time unit (days, weeks, etc.). Depending upon your networking
configuration this may initiate dialing, if you are configured
for dial-up networking and have no current connection. If the
connection can not be made, it may take up to two minutes for
the program to "time-out" and give up trying. With
your internet connection established, type any stock symbol in
the chart and hit <enter>.
At this point data will be downloaded and displayed.
Retrieving Data
There are two types of data retrieved by SSChart. The first
is historic data used for displaying daily, weekly, and monthly
charts. The second is quote data (either realtime or delayed)
that is recorded to build intraday charts, (time frames less
than 1 day). There is no historic retrieval of intraday data
from free data sources. (Subscription sources may be added in
the future to provide this).
Historical daily, weekly, and monthly charts:
Each time a new symbol is typed in a chart, the program first
checks for data previously downloaded and saved in the .\Data
directory. If there is any data for this symbol it is loaded.
If the { Data | Auto Update On} menu item is selected (checked)
it will attempt to bring the data up to date with the latest
available.
You can also manually initiate the update with { Data | Update }, or with the cursor
in the chart window { <right
click> | Update }.
The "update" operation attempts to retrieve data
from the last day you already have, forward to today or whatever
date is set in the date fields in {Chart
| Properties... }.
The { Chart | Reload }
operation discards previously retrieved data and attempts to
refetch the full range requested by the date fields in { Chart | Properties... }.
Intraday Charts:
In order to get data for intraday charts, the program must
be running and gathering quotes continuously during market hours.
The program saves the data as one minute data. Other intervals
are generated by combining 1-minute data to produce the desired
interval. (1,2,3,4,5,10,15,30, and 60 minute intervals are currently
supported). To get a full day's intraday data, the program must
be run continually, with data collection on, the whole time the
market is open, otherwise there will be gaps in the data when
you stop collecting. If using the Yahoo US, source which combine
realtime ECN with delayed quotes, the price is available realtime,
but the volume is only in the delayed quote so the most recent
15 or 20 minutes of the chart will not have the volume information.
SSChart will save several days of intraday data for each active
symbol. By default, data is collected for all symbols in open
charts as well as all symbols in any open SLFMap
when data collection is on. The actual number of days can be
set in the Data Preferences dialog.
(You actually have to run the program during market hours for
each day you want to accumulate data for.) There is also a preference
setting to accumulate data only for symbols in open charts and
not symbols listed only in an SLFMap.
Note: Selecting an SLF file in the toolbar
selection box does not cause quote data to be collected for the
symbols listed in that file, unless you actually create an SLFMap
by clicking on the SLFMap button in the toolbar. For each symbol
listed in an open SLFMap, SSChart collects and saves 1-minute
data. From this saved 1-minute data it can construct intraday
charts for longer periods.
The Medved QuoteTracker program can
be configured to pass data through to SSChart, if you have
this program. What ever data limitations are applicable to the
data source set in QuoteTracker pass through to SSChart.
About Retrieved Data
All data suppliers disclaim any responsibility for the accuracy
of the data. This includes the live data streams you pay for,
and even data feeds direct from the exchange. You should double
check any data with multiple sources before relying upon it to
make trading decisions. We do not offer trading advice, any decisions
you make in this regard are yours alone.
About Intraday Data
Since the intraday charts are constructed using quote data,
they do not "see" every trade. There may be some trades
in between quotes that are beyond the range of the current "candle"
being constructed. This means in reality in some cases a candle
may be graphed shorter than it actually should be. When using
the "Yahoo delayed+ECN" source, the ECN data is realtime,
but only for trades on the ECNs reported. There may be other
trades on another market that would affect the range of the current
candle. SSChart puts a gray "halo" around the candle
when the data collected is incomplete. The data is marked this
way in two cases, (1) when the data is constructed from ECN data
only, and (2) when the data collection was interrupted for more
than a minute, in which case it plots data in a straight sloping
progression between the last time it had, and the latest quote.
You will notice when it has been able to fill this data with
delayed quote data, the halo goes away. We have noted with the
ECN data that for some symbols during the day the server may
stop updating the quote for several minutes at a time. You can
tell when this is happening if you notice the time of the last
quote displayed near the top left of a chart and compare this
with current time at the exchange when the last quote was requested
that shown in the right side of the status bar at the bottom
of the main window. (The actual quote time returned by the "Yahoo"
sources, does not contain the seconds, so the seconds will always
show as zero in the chart window when you are collecting quotes
from this source).
Special note for delayed data sources:
Keep collecting data with the delayed sources until the market
close time plus the delay time (usually 15 or 20 minutes past
the official close time).
Even with these problems, the charts are generally accurate
for most actively traded securities, but you need to be alert
to possible data errors. In a future version of SSChart we will
add the use of a subscription data source with more reliable
data. (Unfortunately this will not be free.)
Setting up Studies
There are three available display panes to each chart. By
default, only the top pane is visible. The volume information
will display in the bottom pane by default, but to make this
visible select { View | Bottom
Pane }. Other Studies are selected from the { Studies | Setup... } menu.
Each study has a default group it belongs to for purposes of
routing it to the desired pane for display. Experiment with the
pane selections under { Chart
| Properties... } to get what you want. This area
is still undergoing further development so some changes may occur
between releases.
Setting Data Sources for Retrieval
The { Data | Internet Sources...
} menu item can be used to select from available data
sources. Note different sources may update their data at different
times, and at any given time there may be errors. We have noted
missing days on some sources, that get filled in after a few
days, etc. If you do not seem to be getting good results from
one source, try one of the others available. If you find additional
web sites offering historic stock price data in either HTML or
download format (usually denoted as spreadsheet download format),
let us know the URL and we will attempt to add configurations
for these sites to the program.
Getting quote data from the
Medved QuoteTracker program:
SSChart can use the built in HTTP server in QuoteTracker to
supply quote data (if you have the QuoteTracker program). To
do this first follow the directions for enabling the built-in
HTTP web server in the QuoteTracker program as described in the
QuoteTracker program help. You must configure it for the default
port number of 16239. Next create a portfolio in QuoteTracker
named "SSChart" and add one valid symbol to it. This
portfolio must have at least one symbol in it for the communication
with SSChart to function properly. Lastly select the "QuoteTracker"
data source for quotes under {
Data | Internet Sources... } in SSChart, and be sure
to have the QuoteTracker program running before you enable the
{ Data | Get Continuous Quotes
} or create an SLFMap in SSChart. Note: If you have
not paid to register QuoteTracker then that program will only
activate its HTTP web server if you have a minimum "ad click"
percentage of .8 percent as of the time of this writing.
Setting Colors
The study colors are applied when the studies are created.
Other color selections are made under the { Chart | Color... } menu. To change
the background color select {
Chart | Color... }, highlight the Item BackGround
in the list box, and either click the [Color...]
button or double click the item name. All other items shown may
have their colors specified in a similar manner.
Once you have a chart setup to you liking, exit the SSChart
program so the setting will be saved. When you restart, the entire
layout with custom settings should be restored. This is the easiest
way to maintain your chart setup. Type a new symbol in the chart
to view a different stock. Another mechanism for saving your
settings and applying them to new charts is Chart Favorites.
Chart Favorites
You can now save your favorite chart layouts and save them
to a file. Once you have created a couple of favorite charts
it is easy to create as many charts with the saved characteristics
as you want. Create a chart to your liking and use the { Chart | Add to Favorites... }
menu item to save the chart settings to a file. The filename
you chose will appear as a submenu item under the { Chart } menu the next time you look
there. You can now create as many charts of that type as you
want by selecting the favorite name from the { Chart } menu.
Printing
Chart windows can be printed and will be centered on the page.
You need to experiment with the chart window dimensions and page
orientation until you get something to your liking You can view
the chart window before you print it with { File | Print Preview }. If it looks
OK on the screen it should also look OK on the printer.
Note that the chart window is colored in the Print Preview
window. If you have a black and white printer and use candlesticks
in your charts, then the up candles will print with a black outline
and the down candles will print solid black. If the background
is any other color than white the colors of the items will be
changed so that the background can appear white.
Hints & Shortcuts
Use the favorites feature:
First and most important, after you configure a chart to look
the way you like it, save it as a named favorite by selection
{ Chart | Add to Favorites...
}. It will be saved as a named file with the .fav
extension in the FAVORITE subdirectory
and also its name will appear under the {
Chart } menu. You will then save yourself the tedium
of setting everything up again for a new chart of this type.
You can set a favorite as the default chart that gets created
when you press the { File | New
} or { Chart | New
} button or the New icon from the toolbar. To do this,
select { Edit | Favorites...
}, select the chart from the list you want to be the
default, check the Set as default box and press [OK].
Load new symbols into the same chart
Whenever any chart window is the current window, you can just
start typing a new stock symbol on the keyboard. The symbol appears
in the upper left corner of the window while you type. When you
hit the <enter> key, the program attempts to load data
for the new symbol. You can open as many windows as you like,
but each one takes up memory resources. Rather than opening 100
different charts for 100 different stocks, I tend to open 3 or
4 with different time frames, then type in new symbols in these.
Mouse shortcuts:
Double clicking in any chart expands that chart to full screen.
Double clicking again restores its original size.
You can drag-and-drop a symbol from the SLFMap into a chart.
Symbol List Files
An even better shortcut for scrolling through all the stocks
you are interested in, is to use a symbol list file (SLF). A
symbol list file is a simple text file containing ticker symbols,
and optionally the company name one per line.
To create a symbol list file:
Use Notepad to create the file (or another text editor). The
file format needs to be plain text, do not use Word doc format,
as this contains binary information. (You can use Word however
if you save the file as text with line breaks). Enter your symbols,
one on each line. The ticker symbol is the first entry on the
line and anything following it is used as the company name. (If
the ticker symbol happens to contain spaces then it needs to
be surrounded by "double quotes").
The company name is optional, if it does not appear in the
.slf file, SSChart will attempt to get it from the data
stream (if present) and if not it will check its symbol database
for a match. If the program cannot find a name for the symbol,
the name field of the chart will be left blank.
The example below shows the contents of the file index_yahoo.slf
which contains the special ticker symbols used to retrieve indices
from the Yahoo finance website. (Note comment lines may be inserted
by beginning the line with the "#" character.
# index symbol names for yahoo
^DJI Dow Jones 30
^SPC S & P 500
^IXIC Nasdaq composite
^RUT Russell 2000
^TYX 30 yr bond
Save all symbol list files which you create with the extension
.slf (symbol list file) in the SLF subdirectory.
To use a symbol file:
Select the SLF file you want to view from the selection box
in the SLF Toolbar. Once you have selected a SLF file you can
then choose to view it in a chart or SLFMap window by pressing
the appropriate button next the the selection box. The main window
status line at the bottom of the main window should display a
message indicating the file was loaded. (You can also see this
message in the status message window, which will magically appear
if you hit F4).
What it does for you in a chart window:
Now for the neat part. Make any chart window your currently
selected chart (i.e. click on one of your charts so it becomes
the active chart). You can now scroll through your list of stock
symbols you loaded by using the <Page
up>, <Page Down>,
< Home>, and
<End> keys on
the keyboard.
Page Down |
loads the next symbol from the list into the
chart |
Page Up |
loads the previous |
Home |
loads the first |
End |
loads the last |
When you first open the symbol list file, it does not affect
the current chart. Start by hitting the <Home>
key to load the first symbol from the list, then scroll through
the rest with <Page Down>.
You can also select { Chart
| Slide Show } to automatically scroll through the
slf list in a chart once, loading a new symbol every few seconds.
This is especially useful for updating your daily charts at the
end of the day. You should first select {
Data | Auto Update On }. Once you've completed the
update, switch Auto Update off again so you can scroll back through
the charts without the delay of it trying to update them again.
What it does for you in an SLFMap window:
An SLFMap window lays out all the
symbols in the SLF file in a rectangular grid where each symbol
occupies a cell. All the cells are colored from the green to
the red color spectrum. The color coding shows you the relative
change of a group of stocks during the day (updated by quote
data). If you have an SLFMap open, you can drag-and-drop a symbol
from the SLFMap to an open chart. (You do this by positioning
the mouse cursor over the symbol in the SLFMap, press and hold
down the left mouse button, then move the cursor into an open
chart and release the mouse button. This will load that symbol
into the chart.
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