• By choosing Indicator, on the Format menu, the Format Objects Window(below) opens with the Indicator's tab selected.( Formatting an indicator can also be done by clicking on an indicator on a chart, and right clicking and choosing "Format...Indicator".)If there isn't an indicator listed, it's because one has not been initiated for the current active chart window. The window below has the following column headings:
o Name
This is the file name of the indicator.
o Input String
These are the input values set for the indicator.
o Status
This shows if the indicator is activated for the chart.
o Sub Chart
This details where the indicator shows up on the chart. Sub Chart #1
o Base Data #
This number indicates which time series the indicator will calculate. If only one symbol is shown on the chart, this number will always be one. If there are multiple symbols, this can be changed in Format/Indicator/Format/Properties Tab.
The Buttons on the Format Objects Window perform the following functions:
• Format
This is for formatting the indicator chosen in the format objects window. (Details on formatting indicators are listed below.)
• Remove
This will remove the selected indicator.
• Status
This will either activate (ON) or deactivate (OFF) the indicator.
• Add
This is used to insert an indicator.
• Open Script
This is used to open the code for the indicator in the Strategy Language Editor.
Formatting an Indicator
• Inputs Tab
An Input is a constant used in the indicator calculations. Indicators can have one or more inputs or none at all. Each input is assigned a name. There are three types of inputs: Numeric, True/False, and String. Indicators can be modified by changing the input Values.
One of the main advantages of using the inputs is that basic adjustments to the study's logic can be made by simply changing the input values, without the need to edit the studies' actual code.
Most, but not all, indicators use input values; to learn more see Default Studies Inputs.
The inputs can be modified before as well as after the indicator has been inserted.
• Style Tab
The Type, Color, Style, and Weight of the indicator's plot can be customized; if an indicator consists of multiple plots, each plot can be set individually.
Changes to indicator style settings will be applied to the Chart Window in real time.
• Properties Tab
The Properties Tab allows the user to be able to change the appearance of an indicator.
All indicators based on past data use a certain number of bars for their calculations. The number of bars is called Maximum number of bars a study will reference, or Maximum Bars Back. You can elect to set this value manually, or to have it set automatically (Auto‐
Detect).
An indicator can be based on any one of the data series in a multi‐symbol chart. The Base Study refers to which pair the indicator is pulling data on. When applied to a multi‐
symbol chart, an indicator is based on the data series with the Data # 1 by default.
Sub Chart shows where the indicator shows up on the window.
You can elect whether to recalculate an indicator every time a new tick is received, or only at the close of each bar. One or the other may be more appropriate, depending on the indicator's algorithm. Update on Every Tick option is enabled by default. Updating a large number of complex indicators on every tick will require substantial system
resources.
• Scaling Tab
The Scale is located on the left or/and on the right side of the chart, and consists of a vertical line with marks, indicating values, and identified by Labels. The values on the scale are specific to the indicator plotted on the chart. The scale represents the value range, within which the indicator is plotted. To determine the value of a point on a chart, the vertical position of the point is referenced to a value on the scale.
The Range of the scale and the top and bottom Margins can be set. The Labels,
identifying scale's marks, can be customized. A Linear or a Semi‐Log (percent‐of‐change) type of scaling can be chosen.
Scaling Range
o The range of the Screen scale is equal to the range of the plot segment that is actually visible in the Chart Window.
o The range of the Entire Series scale is equal to the range of the indicator’s entire plot, including any part of the plot that extends beyond the segment actually visible in the Chart Window.
o The range of the User Defined scale is set by the user.
o The range of the Same as Symbol scale is equal to the range of the base symbol's data series price scale.
Margins
o Margins are the extra spaces between the visual representation of an indicator and the chart's upper and lower borders, and are set as a percentage of the range of the plot's scale. Margins cannot be set for a chart with a User Defined scale.
To do this:
In Use Margins section, check the Use Margins check box to add margins;
uncheck the box to not add margins.
In the Top Margin text box enter the top margin as a percentage of the series price range.
In the Bottom Margin text box enter the bottom margin as a percentage of the series price range.
Scale Labels
o Scale Labels are the numbers that appear next to the marks on the scale that indicate what value the marks represent.
o If a chart contains multiple objects, the object, for which the label values are displayed, can be selected. The object is selected separately for the right and for the left scales, making it possible to display different label values on the right than on the left scale of the chart.
o The numbers displayed on the labels can be abbreviated, and either the
increment (step size) between the labels or the total number of labels can be set.
o Dividing Scale Labels‐ The numbers displayed on the labels can be abbreviated by dividing the values they represent by a set factor. You can elect to set the
division factor automatically or manually.
The Set Labels Manually checkbox lets the user choose specific steps on a chart along with the number labels to be shown. You can choose from three different settings that determine the increment (step size) between labels:
o Automatic ‐ the increment is optimized dynamically to aid the visual assessment of price levels.
o Set Step Size ‐ the increment between labels is set manually.
o Set Number of Labels ‐ a set number of labels is always displayed.
• Volume Profile
Volume Profile displays a histogram of the transaction volume at each price level over a certain time period. It's currently inactive in Strategy Trader.
• Alerts
Alert is a visual or/and audio notification triggered when the market conditions meet the criteria specified in the indicator. Audio and visual alerts can be enabled
simultaneously.
Alerts can only be used with the indicators containing Alert Triggering Conditions code.
Many indicators contain alerts. To learn how to add alerts to indicators' code refer to the Strategy Language Editor Help File.
Alert Conditions Check
You can elect whether to check for Alert Triggering Conditions every time a new tick is received, or only at the close of each bar.
Audio Alert
A PC speaker beep or a sound file played by the PCs sound card can be set as the audio
Visual Alert
Visual Alerts produce on screen messages when an alert is triggered.
Email Alert
E‐mail alerts can be sent when market conditions meet your defined criteria. This feature can be used to stay informed about market conditions while away from the computer.
To do this:
o Enter the email addresses of the sender.
o Enter the email address of the recipient. To send the email to multiple recipients, separate each email address with a semi‐colon.
o Enter the SMTP Server Name or IP address, and Port number into the textboxes.
Please get this information from your email provider. Check the SMTP Server authentication data checkbox if your SMTP server requires authentication to send emails. Enter the User name and Password.
o Press the Test button to send a test email.