zenlando

Thanks Mike, I can sort of see what you're saying, but if I thought I could do the kind of backtesting I'm envisioning right now on MT I wouldn't be looking for apps . What I think I'm getting at is this: Let's say I wan't to backtest a simple EMA crossover on a 65 minute chart, and I want to see what the P&L is for trading SPY for a specific three month period that I knew was a market downturn in 2015. ideally I would just need to plug in the OHLC at 65 minute somehow, then select the two different EMAs I want to cross, then somehow click on "run", and it would then show all instances of the crossover for that three month period, along with a P&L for each instance, along with a P&L total for the chosen time period. If it showed all these points on a chart, great, but in a way not necessary. Of course it would need to be able to be set up for any time period consistent with appropriate historical data availability in MT, as well as have its own simple UI that's made for this backtesting purpose. My point in the earlier email was that it seems it's possible that much of the development work has already been done with the implementation of all the indicators and the ability to create rules for paintbars. If I'm missing something here, please let me know...

I've been looking into different backtesting apps recently, and it occurred to me that MT is possibly already well on its way to getting some kind of backtesting feature implemented if the choice were made to do so. The reason I say that is that paintbars are done, and essentially all the indicators have now been implemented. And it seems that writing and saving paintbar rules creates various logic operations using specific indicators, including the "and" "or" as necessary, and might form a good foundation for some kind of simple backtesting app for ETFs and Equities? Option backtesting would be amazing, but even a start with just being able to backtest ETFs with the ability to control historical start and stop times would be pretty awesome. But of course I'm not a coder, so I have NO idea how much time it would take to actually tie what's already there now in MT to historical data of varying chart frequencies and the like to make something viable . But that said, it seems that most of the more time-consuming features created for MT have now been implemented. Food for thought... would really be handy to have as part of MT at some point. Thanks, Dave

Jerry and Mike - ditto the congratulations! Glad to have been able to help a bit in the ongoing beta testing. From my perspective now the the last of the major puzzle pieces is probably the paintbars, which you've mentioned before would come after the public release, so seems all is on track. So for now a well deserved break may be in order :-). Great job & great software. Dave

Hey guys, much appreciation for all the time and work in getting options chains up and running. It'll be great now to be able to drag and drop the option symbols directly into a portfolio. And I really like the way the drop down menus can be added to the QAT in the same manner as a portfolio. Good job, and totally consistent with the design of the other windows. A few comment and questions: I presume that the existing option chain button that shows in the QAT will be updated in a future release so that it opens the option chain window of the current portfolio symbol selected? Since I won't have the option chain window open all the time, I really need to have it behave like a child window so that it will always open up on top of the charts (the same way my Level II and Raw Data do). Right now it appears to function like a portfolio window. Since I have the "child windows on top" box checked, I'm assuming there's nothing else I can do on my end to make the change? It appears that when an option TYPE like a vertical spread is selected, the columns do not automatically laterally adjust for the change in width like they do in QT. Instead there is an overlap of the other columns, and then a gap when it goes back to a narrow TYPE like calendar. I'm assuming this just hasn't been addressed yet. In QT I'm able to trade something like a vertical spread in its entirety by right clicking on the bid or ask of the spread itself which brings up the filled out trade ticket showing both legs. I'm likewise just assuming this will be something added in a future release update? I noticed that in the dark color sets like Silverback or Night there is not much contrast in the background shading of the ITM vs. OTM strikes. Would be nice if these areas had better visual definition. If that's not possible, maybe some kind of more visible horizontal line differentiation at the separation? I'd really like to be able to delete an option symbol form a portfolio list by a simple right click... and of course that means I'd also like to be able to add or delete a stock symbol the same way, using the context menu rather than clicking on the + or - in the QAT. Now that I've been using MT for some time I can say for sure that for me it would be more intuitive, simpler and faster. Thanks again, Dave

Hey Jerry, it seems we may be talking the same language on this to some degree. I'm absolutely in favor of the tile panel being embedded, and in such a situation those things like trying to hide the QAT would have no meaning. You had just asked if hiding the ribbon would be enough in that situation, and I was giving a more far-fetched example of what else it might require if it had to function as a separate window to be a viable index panel. And the "gap" is just that small space that occurs between the first tile "row" below the QAT if in a separate window. Likewise it would probably just go away in an embedded situation. And I wasn't proposing a right click to link the charts... only to create a new chart if it would then free up the left click on a tile to allow linking. That sounds like what you are proposing -- if it detects the portfolio window is linked. Seems fine to me...

Hmmm… to me I wonder if that's just trying to force something into being what it’s not, since unfortunately what I’d like to see for an index panel is pretty much exactly the way it looks and functions in QT. Meaning – you’d have to make the tiles smaller with more length, have the index value also show as red or green, maybe have the time on the tile, allow for the ability to scroll the tiles horizontally, and get rid of the gap below the QAT. Then on top of all that have the ability to somehow “hide” both the QAT and the lower scroll bar band so that all four window borders are the same… and at the absolute minimum width. Even that as a separate window might seem like a bit of an ungainly solution compared to my current “interim fix” that you had recommended – a separate mini-portfolio window in the upper right corner of one screen using the quote grid with a half dozen indices, and columns showing “change”, “last”, and “% chg”. Maybe it won’t be interim after all :-). And I’m sure I’m probably missing something, but I guess I’m still not clear on the issue with linking to charts. Since the left click on a tile now brings up a new chart (which I personally don’t really see a need for), couldn’t that be handled as a contextual menu item and then free up the ability to allow the left click on a tile to link to charts instead?

Roger that. Guess I'll just look forward to seeing what you come up with. I've tried playing around with the tile views as some kind of index panel in a separate narrow horizontal window, but even if I overlooked the inability of the index tiles to link to charts (which to me is a necessity) that solution was just way too clunky and would eat up too much screen real estate for me to consider as a permanent solution. So integrating it as a tile panel at the top of the portfolio sounds good...

Hi Jerry – Regarding this discussion relating to a tile view being a replacement for an index panel: I’m still assuming that at some point you will be adding a “real” index panel feature that will be seamlessly integrated to function as part of a portfolio window – essentially the same location, simplicity and look as in QT, and with the ability to link to charts with a mouse click on a given index. Is that correct? Thanks, Dave.

Very cool indeed. This was totally unexpected, and appears to be a very useful feature. I was just playing around with it and especially like the different tile choices, dynamic color idea, and ability to drag the tiles around. Some comments: One thing that might be pretty useful is the ability to be able to set any of these new display choices as “unique to portfolio/ watchlist”, meaning one might be able to choose specific ones for specific portfolios, instead of a choice of one becoming the new default for all. And seems it also might be nice to preview what the new tile style choice will look like in the portfolio before selecting it. If that can’t be done, then maybe just getting rid of the need to click “OK” after selecting, thus eliminating the extra step. Also, don’t know if it’s intentional, but it appears that clicking on a tile opens a new chart instead of charting the symbol in a symbol link group as it does in the standard grid. Thanks, Dave

Rob, as I mentioned in your other post, I think this may be more about just getting used to the software and releasing any preconceived notions about how you think it "should" work. While of course it's a beta version and is still being refined, I think Jerry and Mike have done a truly stellar job in the development of MT. From my perspective (and experience) the UI is more user friendly and intuitive BY FAR than any of the "usual suspects" that pass for serious trading software that are out there.

Rob, this may just be a matter of getting used to the software. I've been using MT for a while and find the data box really seems fine just the way it is. I actually wouldn't want to change anything about it.

Everything works like a champ! Thanks much.

Thanks Mike, if I'm understanding you correctly that sounds like it will do the trick.

Hey guys, thanks for the responses. I'm admittedly a bit confused by your comment Mike, as the way the trendline alerts that show on multiple charts in QT don't seem to care about any extended hours info (?). I'm probably misunderstanding, but for example, if in QT in my 65 minute chart for a particular symbol I just draw a trendline, right click and choose "set trendline alert" and it then shows up as a dashed trendline in my 65 minute, 15 minute, and 5 minute charts simultaneously. And these dashed trendlines with their alerts then stay no matter what the market (price) does over the next few days unless I change or remove them. But maybe you're saying the architecture between the two platforms (QT and MT) is such that MT simply can't do that, and there is really no way to add it? As far as historical trendline alerts, I had thought it had to be a pretty difficult animal, and the only question I might ask there is would it make any difference if it only used EOD data to trigger? And yes, it might be nice to have the choice of choosing which monitor to have the alert popup show on... I presume you mean it would still be in the lower right corner of whichever screen you choose. Thanks, Dave

First, let me say how much I appreciate all the time and effort you guys put into getting the Alerts up and running... well worth the wait, as Trendline Alerts I use all the time in QT. These are some preliminary questions now that I've used the feature in MT for a bit, with the first one being far more important to me than the others: 1) I notice in MT that when I activate a Trendline Alert it only shows on the specific intraday chart that I am on, while in QT once activated it automatically also shows on all other intraday charts that are open for the same symbol (different time frames, etc.). Am I missing something here, or has the feature not been implemented in MT? Needless to say, in my mind this is a very helpful and time saving feature to have. 2) This may be a long shot, and is probably actually a feature request, but I'm curious if it's possible to implement Trendline Alerts on historical charts also at some point? Since they were never part of QT, I don't even know if they're doable. 3) Minor point, but would it be possible to have the ability to relocate the alerts popup if one chooses? Default appears to be lower right corner of screen, but always nice to have the flexibility if one wanted it to appear somewhere else. Thanks, Dave