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NV - Price Histogram, Study Name, DYO Section messages - Fonts - Labels - DYO Square Root |
August 29 , 2007
16:31 Ensign Howard: Welcome to today's training class... this is Howard and I will be today's trainer.
16:32 Ensign Howard: As many of you already know, we make frequent changes to the program throughout the year as we add new features, make improvements, fix bugs, etc.
16:33 Ensign Howard: However, the pattern of development has been for the last few years to save major changes for my retreat to the mountains where I can focus on the program overhaul without distractions. A year ago there were many nice improvements, such as the 3-D visual on the candle bars. The following link has a list of last year's major improvements.
http://www.ensignsoftware.com/whatsnew.htm
16:34 Ensign Howard: Scroll to the bottom of the page to see the changes for last Sept.
16:35 Ensign Howard: This year's major overhaul started near the end of July and a month later I am pleased with the progress made on 3 major objectives, and they are as follows:
16:36 Ensign Howard: 1) New Averages and all average formulas available throughout all the studies that use averages. Minor additions with this first objective have been renaming of study tabs, and individual scale control for sub-windows.
16:37 Ensign Howard: 2) Speed improvement, primarily in how graphics are performed. This will position Ensign for the next decade as the markets continue to increase in volume. Part of this graphics overhaul was been additional control for the study sub-window grids, to make them more flexible and powerful, yet not have any penalty for speed performance.
16:39 Ensign Howard: 3) Overhaul the Price Histogram to make it more like the industry standards for calculation of POC, VAH, and VAL.
16:39 Ensign Howard: In this effort, we have added a check box selection on the Setup | Charts form where you can select the methodology used by either eSignal or by CQG. There seems to be the two ways of calculating POC and VAH, VAL that are most widely used. They are similar, yet have some slight differences on how they handle TPO counts that are equal as the value area is determined.
16:42 Ensign Howard: Personally, I think the CQG method seems more logical and balanced, but that is just my opinion. You are welcome to use either, and in our comparisons of values with other programs across 3 weeks of trading days, our values match very well, with perhaps 3 differences in 60 comparisons.
16:43 Ensign Howard: I have not taken the time to determine exactly why the 3 differences exist, perhaps we have different bar highs on those days where there is a difference, or there was a particular situation where a test for equality might have been handled differently. It is hard to know exactly what the competition did for their implementation since I cannot see their program code. I assume they started with the same documentation for rules on how to make a calculation.
6:46 Ensign Howard: This is an example histogram chart for ES for earlier today using the eSignal methodology. You can get the same histogram using any of the supported data feeds... we just refer to the method or set of rules for calculation of the value area as an eSignal methodology
16:48 Ensign Howard: On the PH (price histogram) property form are check boxes for showing the outside TPOs, inside TPOs, and range bands, etc. Most users show them all.
16:49 Ensign Howard: Other choices are to show All POCs, visible POCs, and Virgin POCs.
16:49 Ensign Howard: A POC is considered Virgin until it is covered by the trading action of a subsequent histogram.
16:49 adrian: To get CQG one just leaves the election for esignal method unchecked?
16:50 Ensign Howard: Correct adrian, uncheck the box for the CQG method... checked is eSignal method, which is also the installation default.
Posted in Bline room as a result of another upgraded version..
12:40 Ensign Howard: The choices are named now as 24H Globex is the previous Combined, and it means it is both sessions with boundary on the Globex open.
12:41 Ensign Howard: 2nd choice is 24 hour but have the boundary on the day session open time.
12:41 Ensign Howard: 3rd choice is a PH on each of the session opens.
12:41 Ensign Howard: The other choices are same as before, but just in a new position on the list. The Minutes will restart on either session open time.
16:51 Ensign Howard: Now, the features shown are in the Beta version of the program, which still has issues I am working on, yet it is also in a pretty decent state of affairs now and used by several. Now let me show some training on the little vah, val and poc wordings shown on the chart example.
16:52 Ensign Howard: I have a DYO on the chart in addition to the Price Histogram, and the DYO is putting on the labels. The labels are shown in a column in the margin space, and the selection on the form is the Column 2 location.
16:53 Ensign Howard: Line A puts on the <- price label in blue in normal font size.
16:54 Ensign Howard: Now the reason for the training is not to illustrate a font size, but rather to point out the impact a font selection in the DYO has on the nature of the DYO labels. When you set the FONT, then the DYO will handle the label in a different way by using a TEXTOUT of a message to write the label on the chart using the selected font. If you DO NOT set a font, then the label characters are pen stroked by Ensign using a fixed size character.
16:55 Ensign Howard: This is a series of pen strokes, instead of a Windows platform font. If you do not set the font, then the Ensign pen stroke will draw commas that happen to be in the label. so see line D label of ,,,val
16:57 Ensign Howard: if we did not do the Line B font size, then the label would have been drawn showing 2 commas and the letters val.
16:58 Ensign Howard: However, when the label was processed by the label routine for the font, we treat the commas as line separators for a multi-lined message. So the ,,val ended up be two blank lines and val, all centered on the price for its location, which was the Range Low.
17:01 Ensign Howard: The LINE C which did the VAH had 2 commas after the label which made a 3 line message of VAL and 2 blank lines.
17:01 Ensign Howard: The POC was drawn in the pure position on top of the POC line.
17:02 Ensign Howard: So in this example you see illustrated 3 slightly different effects, a label above, on and below the price location. So that was one little trick I thought some of you might use with your PH presentations.
17:03 Ensign Howard: Now, in the 08-29 beta version that you can download now, there is a new ability to color the opening tick and the last tick or PH box. In my chart example, these are the Green (open) and the Red (close) boxes.
17:05 Ensign Howard: The color for the Close box is the 2nd color on the 2nd row. The color boxes have labels by each of these. Any questions about this property form?
17:06 scooter: Suggestion to the form. For open have a box for number of minutes to use for the opening some use 1 some use 5 then have it paint the range of the opening which many use
17:08 scooter: Like that in purple for O(pening)R(ange).... but just purple for the left most column of tpo's
17:08 Ensign Howard: Scooter, I intend to eventually have an opening range showing on the form, and you want it based on minutes instead of on number of bars?
17:09 jim-rainman: Yes, minutes please on the form
17:09 tick: OR very important and yes minutes
17:09 virt5: Minutes would be great
17:09 scooter: Yes minutes would be better I think because some use 5 minutes and some use 1 minute which is what the exchange uses.
17:09 Ensign Howard: When on a 30-min chart, it would be easy to do 30 min multiples, and much more difficult to do other time periods, such as a 15 min period.
17:10 Ensign Howard: ok, will keep that in mind when I work on that effort for an opening range.
17:10 scooter: That is why I have that 1 minute chart so I can see the OR for the Whole day, only reason I use that chart :)
17:10 Ensign Howard: Might have to be done after the 4th major overhaul objective of redesigning the database that drives Ensign. The 08-29 version will also update the PH in real-time.
Price Histogram GVs
17:15 virt5: What were the gv(s) 1 2 3 4 on the PH prop window?
17:15 Ensign Howard: the GVs are global variables used in various places, primarily in DYOs.
17:16 Ensign Howard: the first GV will be the VAH value for the last histogram
17:16 Ensign Howard: the 2nd GV will be the VAL value,
17:16 Ensign Howard: the 3rd on the POC line will be the POC value
17:17 Ensign Howard: and the 4th GV is VAH-VAL range
17:17 Ensign Howard: My example DYO used the study value selections, but I could have used the GVs to do the same thing. So the order was VAH, VAL, POC, and Value range.17:19 Ensign Howard: So the 08-29 version has the values unpegged to the right margin
17:19 Ensign Howard: if you want it pegged, say so... can be either way. I thought by being pegged to the right side, it got the values out of the way of the bars.
17:19 tick: So to use the Study and the property settings must we know DYO?
17:20 Ensign Howard: No tick, do not need to use any DYO
17:20 Ensign Howard: it is not an option.... but can be implemented either way... just give me your preference. So you like this last post over the earlier one?
17:21 scooter: Not sure yet for me, I am still trying to figure out the spacing and how to get it how I want it on the histogram
17:21 Randy: Option is nice but no otherwise
17:22 price: Howard, would be nice that you can add-in the initial balance, which is the first 2 periods on a 30 min chart.
Study Name
17:22 Ensign Howard: now on to next topic.
17:23 Ensign Howard: On the study property form, you have the ability to change the name of the study, and this is the name that shows on the chart objects list and in the sub-window at the mid-line position.
17:24 Ensign Howard: You can make this label a multi-line label by using the '|' line character in the text of the name.
17:24 Ensign Howard: Now, I am open for suggestions here as elsewhere in the program, such as in a DYO message line or label, it is the comma character that was the multi-line separator. As in the earlier example, each comma of the DYO label made a new line and the Section Message of Hello,World will print on 2 lines. In the Section Message, the text Hello | World will be treated as a 2 part message for a Boolean flag to resolve, where the True message would be Hello and the False message would be World
17:27 Ensign Howard: So the vertical line in the section message is a separator for the Boolean flag pick, and the comma is the multiple line separator.
Opinions wanted for Chart Objects Window Display
17:27 Ensign Howard: Now we get to the study name, like STO 6,3
17:27 Ensign Howard: The STO 6,3 would be a typical default provide by the program when the Name field on the study form is blank. This would show on the chart objects list and as the sub-window label The 6,3 are the first 2 parameters from the study property form, and helps you identify which study you are referencing. Many of you have multiple copies of the same study, and just have different parameters. So a comma in this setting is separating the parameters and was not intended to be a multiple line.
17:29 Ensign Howard: So give my your ideas -- Should I find a different character to use for the study properties so that comma can be the multi-line separator so it is then consistent with the meaning of a comma as used in DYO messages and labels? Or, it this much to do about nothing because multi-line study labels is not going to get used anyway??
17:31 Saroj: I would use the multiline study labels... great idea
17:31 @Buffy2: consistency is a good thing
17:32 DYoung: I think I would use the multi line because the whole line is usually not in the column. Looks great Sniffy.
17:32 Sniffy: consistency is what counts IMO
17:32 Ensign Howard: I thought consistency was needed too, so what shall we change the STO 6,3 to look like. Shall a period be used in place of the comma?
17:32 scooter: Yes consistency is good
17:33 @Buffy2: For many a period is usually too hard to see and therefore missed.
17:33 Ensign Howard: Would anyone be bothered to see STO 6.3 on the property form instead of STO 6,3?
17:33 Sniffy: something that is obvious / Maybe
17:33 aww: 6-3
17:34 Sniffy: 6-3 works for me, but as long as its obvious
17:34 Ensign Howard: I am proposing the comma be the multiple line separator everywhere, and so I need to switch out its use in the default name in the parameter.... I am proposing using a period where I used a comma: example STO 6.3
17:35 Sniffy: personally .. the period is not obvious
17:37 Ensign Howard: These are default names return by Ensign for labeling a sub-window or chart properties when the name field is left blank Typical is a 3 letter mnemonic followed by 1st 2 parameters.
Price Histogram cont.
17:40 Ensign Howard: First price in histogram and last price in histogram
17:40 Ensign Howard: So if you are Day Session open for the histogram, it is today's day session open price and current price
17:40 Sniffy: Pink box is current price, yellow is session open in the chart I posted
17:43 Ensign Howard: Sniffy, is the open and close box coloring an improvement you will use?
17:44 Sniffy: Definitely thank you. It's appreciated.
17:44 Ensign Howard: ok, more will be coming as time permits.
17:41 tick: Love Ensign -- Howard -- but it seems that it is starting to be a program for engineers, programmers and those who enjoy lots of fiddling with gizmos and charts -- I just want to be able to use Ensign to TRADE and not worry about whether I can master setting it up.
17:41 Ensign Howard: tick, you can just use it as is. (Like trading Ensign can be as simple or complex as you want it.)
17:42 virt5: tick...you don't have to use the "fancy" stuff
17:42 Ensign Howard: However, there are those who want to customize it and get special effects and I am showing how additional effects can be achieved.
17:42 Saroj: That's what I love about ensign... you can get it set up very quickly with basic stuff... unlike Tradestation for instance
17:42 virt5: Saroj is right -- you can make it as plain or as complicated as you wish
17:43 tick: Are there good explanations in the help menu for all these settings ? Especially for the PH?
17:43 Ensign Howard: You do not have to use all the tools in the toolbox, but please don't let your lack of use of some features dictate that the tool or feature is not available for others who do want to use them.
17:43 virt5: Just watch the videos and read the help files
17:43 tick: Sometimes those do not fit the versions though.
17:44 scooter: I have to go to an appointment Howard, so thanks for all your hard work and listening to the users suggestions. great stuff in the upgrade ,cya :)
DYO Section Fonts Options
17:44 Ensign Howard: Now let me cover another training topic about the beta.
17:45 Ensign Howard: A comment was made that the user had a separate DYO for each font size used in a section.
17:46 Ensign Howard: Well, the Beta has an improvement in that area where you can set a section font size directly using the Global Action statement, and the trick here is to identify the section in the line label using the |x| notation.
17:46 Ensign Howard: LIne A is setting the font size to 6 for section |1| and also putting the message Hello in that section.
17:47 Ensign Howard: Now the |1| had to be on Line A for use by the Global Action | Section Font Size statement but the Hello did not have to be on that line. It might have been on some other line later in this DYO or even in a different DYO.
17:47 Ensign Howard: The |1| in the label was the direction to use section 1
17:48 Ensign Howard: Line B operates on section 2 with the |2| tag in the label
17:48 Ensign Howard: and Line C is the control of the 4th section
17:49 Ensign Howard: You can see the Hello in different sizes in the chart example above the DYO property form. So, this ability to set the section font size in any of the 7 sections directly on a DYO row should simplify the custom implementation some are trying to achieve.
17:49 Ensign Howard: Any questions about the font size?
17:50 DYoung: Will the font and column govern what is before that entry?
17:50 Ensign Howard: This example was for messages in the section window, and not labels for showing in the chart margin columns. The earlier example would have to use Label Font Size and not Section Font Size as in this example. So they are two different font controls for 2 different locations
17:52 Ensign Howard: Now Line B has a negative number for the size and the negative is the control for making it BOLD. So 16 would be different than -16. The -16 is size 16 that is also BOLD
17:53 Flag: Is that section label surrounded by pipes and not brackets?
17:53 Ensign Howard: yes, vertical line character on both sides of a single digit in the range of 1..7
17:54 Ensign Howard: A square bracket would have been a GV look-up
17:54 Ensign Howard: So [1] would have been the content of GV[1] and |1| is section 1 reference.
DYO Long Messages
17:54 Ensign Howard: Now there is also a change (and improvement) on how we handle messages that are too long to fit in a section.
17:55 Ensign Howard: In the past, we would center the text and let it overflow in both directions. The improvement was to start the long message at the left edge of the section and let it overflow in just the rightward direction. This means it affects its right side neighbor instead of both neighbors and it makes it much easier to build big fat messages in the section by putting them in the 1st section.
17:56 Ensign Howard: Sniffy had some nice examples earlier this week
17:57 Ensign Howard: Now, in the past the leading and trailing spaces would be stripped.
17:58 Ensign Howard: In the Beta, they are no longer stripped and serve as a way to horizontally change the centering that is being done
17:58 Ensign Howard: if you pad to the left side, you shift the centering rightward
17:58 Ensign Howard: if you pad after the string, you shift the centering leftward.
17:59 Ensign Howard: In this person's chart example of the sub-window labels, note they started the message with a period as a way to insert some spaces ahead of the It's part of the label. The period could be omitted now and the space padding will still be present.
18:00 Ensign Howard: Any questions about labels, sections, messages, font sizes?
18:03 jim-rainman: Looks good
18:05 DYoung: Howard, what is your thoughts about upgrading to beta and how it will affect current templates
18:07 Ensign Howard: Dyoung, beta is used by several who have complex workspaces and templates. I think the transition was minor, and probably most work was in picking new grid settings and the plot ahead or behind bars setting.
18:16 jim-rainman: Howard, if I may..........for a very long time I have tried over and over to just get a square root of a number but unable to do so...it has to be something simple,,,could you possibly show a dyo with square root of number please or I could ask another time.
18:16 Ensign Howard: yes - 1 moment
18:21 Ensign Howard: Line A initializes [1] with value of 100
18:21 Ensign Howard: Line B is the square function, ie 100*100
18:21 Ensign Howard: Line C is the square root function, answer is then 10
18:22 jim-rainman: okay, thanks so much
18:23 Ensign Howard: ok, thanks for attending class... have a good week, and mutually we can look forward to another week of implementation progress on the beta version.
18:23 Ensign Howard: bye
18:23 ae: thanks Howard - jim-rainman: thanks again - Saroj: thanks much Howard
18:24 DYoung: Many beta thanks
18:26 @Buffy2: That is the template on dacharts template page