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Q: Is ordering online (the software)
safe?
A: Yes. And here is why: Our online store is operated for us by our
e-commerce partner ShareIt. (http://www.shareit.com)
Trading-Tools.com uses this prestigious and time-honored company in
order to provide you with round the clock ordering services, plus
state-of-the-art safety and security when using your credit card
online. If you buy your software online, you will receive an email
with your license key in less than a minute! ShareIt keeps your credit
card info; we do not ever see it. In any case, we do not share, sell,
or otherwise distribute any of your personal data. We resent companies
who do this to us, so we certainly will not do it to you.
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Q: Do you provide a free trial
period? What are the limitations of a trial version?
A: You can enjoy a free 14-day trial
of all our programs. All programs are fully functional with the only
restriction - they will stop to work when the trial period expires.
MLDownloader has one more restriction: You can only download
historical quotes back to 1st June 2006. (There is no limit in the
full version)
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Q: After downloading I cannot open
the program and get following error message:
"c:\windows\microsoft.Net\framework\v1.1.4322\mscorwks.dll could not
be loaded "
You have to install the Microsoft
.NET 2.0 framework. The .NET framework can be downloaded for free
on:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0856eacb-4362-4b0d-8edd-aab15c5e04f5&DisplayLang=en
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Q:
Do any of your programs support the new Metastock
Data Format that allows more than 255 files per folder?
A: Yes. All programs support the
latest MetaStock format and can read/write 6000 securities per folder.
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Q: Are your
programs compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7?
A: Yes. All our
programs are compatible with Windows Vista, Windows 7 and all other Windows
versions.
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Q: Which trading software is
compatible with MLDownloader?
A: MLDownloader can store quotes in
MetaStockTM format or in form of ASCII files. Therefore any software
that is able to read ASCII files is compatible to MLDownloader. Just a
few of them: AmiBroker, Advanced GET, Elliot Wave, Hermes, Homebroker,
Excel, MetaStock, OmniTrader, VISION 2000, Wealth-Lab etc. You can
also use the program "SmartChart" for plotting the data. So you do not need
any other expensive trading software!
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Q: Which data does MLDownloader
support?
A: MLDownloader allows you to
download stock quotes, indices, mutual funds, corporate bonds,
warrant, FOREX data etc.
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Q: How long is the data history?
A: That depends upon the symbol how
far the historical data hoes back. Most of the symbols go back until
1990, however there are also symbols which have 30+ years history.
You can check how far the data goes back directly on the Yahoo
server. All the data which is available on the Yahoo server can be
downloaded with MLDownloader.
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Q: Are stock quotes displayed in
real-time?
A: No, they are 15-20 minutes delayed
quotes.
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Q: What time can
I get the data everyday?
A: If you use the
Download->Update View command then the data will be downloaded with a
15-20 minute delay. The old data will be overwritten with the latest
data if you execute the Download->Update View command several times
during a day.
If you want to update
the data e.g. every 15 minutes automatically than you have to tick off
the "Automatically download data every xx minutes" option in the
Download->Options dialog.
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Q: How does MLDownloader handle split and
dividends?
A: Data is adjusted
using appropriate split and dividend multipliers, adhering to Center
for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) standards. Split multipliers
are determined by the split ratio. For instance, in a 2 for 1 split,
the pre-split data is multiplied by 0.5. Dividend multipliers are
calculated based on dividend as a percentage of price, primarily to
avoid negative historical pricing. For example, when a $0.08 cash
dividend is distributed on Feb 19 (ex-date), and the Feb 18 closing
price was 24.96, the pre-dividend data is multiplied by (1-0.08/24.96)
= 0.9968. Below is a detailed example of adjusted close calculations.
Example: Adjusted
Close Calculations
2/13/03 Close =
46.99
2/14/03 Close = 48.30
2/18/03 Split = 2:1
2/18/03 Close = 24.96
2/19/03 Cash Dividend = 0.08 (ex-date)
2/19/03 Close = 24.53
Split Multiplier =
0.5
Dividend Multiplier = 1 – (0.08/24.96) = 0.9968
2/13/03 Adj. Close
= 0.5 * 0.9968 * 46.99 = 23.419816
2/14/03 Adj. Close = 0.5 * 0.9968 * 48.30 = 24.07272
2/18/03 Adj. Close = 0.9968 * 24.96 = 24.880128
2/19/03 Adj. Close = 24.53
If a dividend or
split has occurred, MLDownloader downloads the whole entire stock's
history again considering the splits/dividends. (Currently this works
for US stocks only) Please make sure that you tick of the “Check for
splits/dividend when program starts and recalculate entire stock’s
history” option in the “Download->Options->Preferences” dialog.
Alternatively, you can also manually search for splits/dividends by
clicking on the “Tools->Search Securities where Dividends/Splits
occurred” menu item.
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Q: Why is the adjusted close price downloaded by MLDownloader
different from the Yahoo adjusted close price?
A: On the Yahoo
server the adjusted close price is available with 2 decimals only.
After a few adjustments, it is not sufficiently accurate. Therefore
MLDownloader does not use the adjusted close price from Yahoo.
Consequently, MLDownloader has its own function to calculate the
adjusted close price. The formula for the calculation is exactly the
same as Yahoo is using. However, MLDownloader does not round the
result to 2 decimals only, which leads to lack precision.
Furthermore,
MLDownloader adjusts the volume also for dividends.
Example:
Assume a company distributed a $0.20 dividend in 2004 and its volume
were 250,000 on the ex-date. Later in 2005, the company split the
stock 2:1. Consequently, the raw data downloaded from Yahoo would now
show a $0.10 dividend in 2004 and 500,000 shares traded on the
dividend ex-date in 2004. MLDownloader further adjusts OHLC/V based on
this information.
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Q: When I open a
MetaStock directory in Tradestation only 255 securities will be
displayed. What's wrong?
A: Tradestation can only
read the first 255 securities of a MetaStock directory. Therefore not
all securities can be displayed. MLDownloader can split directories
containing more than 255 securities in multiple sub directories with
only 255 securities. Click on the Download->Options->Change button to
define the number of securities in a MetaStock directory.
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Q: Why no data for Dow Jones Index
(^DJI) can be downloaded anymore?
A: This is due to restrictions by the
Dow Jones Index. Yahoo! and Google are no longer able to provide Dow
Jones Index data as they do it for other symbols. That is why
MLDownloader cannot download data for this symbol anymore. Please note
only the index itself is effected. The components of the DJI can of
course be downloaded.
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Q: What is the data source of
MLDownloader?
A: At the moment MLDownloader
supports
following servers: Yahoo Finance and Google Finance
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Q: How can I update my symbol
lists?
A: You can use the update feature of
MLDownloader. (Symbol Lists->Update) Please go to the “Keeping Symbol
Lists up-to-date” chapter in the help file to find out more details.
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Q: I have existing historically
data (Metastock format) and want to update this with MLDownloader. Is
this possible?
A: Yes that is possible. Click on the
Symbol list->Wizard menu. Then select the option “Create symbol lists
using existing MetaStock directories”. Click on “Next” and follow the
instructions in the “Symbol List Wizard” dialog.
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Q: I have added new securities to my symbol
list. How can I download the historical data of the new securities
only?
Click on
“Download->Get Quotes”. Make sure that the option “Download new
securities only” is selected. Then MLDownloader will only download the
securities that have been added to the symbol list.
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Q: How can I remove duplicate securities in my portfolio?
Click on the Portfolio->Search for
duplicate Securities menu entry. MLDownloader will display a list with
all duplicate securities. Click on the “Remove selected securities”
button to remove all duplicate securities.
However, e.g. Microsoft belongs to
both Nasdaq 100 and the Dow Jones 30 list. If you delete this symbol
one group looks not completed. Therefore it is also possible to store
all securities of a portfolio in one directory. Each portfolio has
subdirectories of A, B, C,...Z, 0,1,..9 and each symbol's data will be
downloaded to those subdirectories based on its start letter or
number. Like MSFT will be placed only in the M subdirectory.
On the other hand, you can have
different groups for displaying data like Nasdaq100, S&P 500, etc.
When clicking each symbol within a group, it will actually load data
from the subdirectory which saves its data.
To enable this function you have to
click on the “Portfolio->Settings” menu entry. Tick the option “Store
securities of all symbol lists in one directory”. In the MS and Ascii
directory text boxes you have to enter the directories where the data
files should be stored.
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Q: How can I store data of a security with
different interval in one directory?
Click on “Options”
in the “Download” menu. In the “Options” dialog you have to click on
the “Define custom ASCII file format” button. Now you have to check
the option “Add interval/peridocity to the file name”. The interval
code will be automatically added at the end of the file name. The
ASCII files can look like this:
-
MSFT_Microsoft_D.txt (Daily
format)
-
MSFT_Microsoft_15.txt (15 Minute interval)
-
MSFT_Microsoft_30.txt (30 Minute interval)
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Q: At the end of the download the error message
“Access denied” occurs.
This error occurs
when MLDownloader tries to add new securities to a directory and this
directory is currently opened by MetaStock. (or any other program) You
have to close the program before new securities can be added to the
directory.
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Q: When I want to open a security
within Metastock, I get the error "Not a Valid Metastock for Windows
file"
A: You have to
change the "Files of Type" to "Smart Charts". So the Open dialog will
display the list of your securities.
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Q: How can I add a large list of
stocks without manually typing them?
A: There are two ways:
1. Click on "Symbol List->Edit". Afterwards click on the "Import ASCII
file" button. Then select an ASCII file that contains all the
securities you want to import. Specify a column separator and the
columns where the name and symbol information is stored. Then click on
import.
2. There is an Excel file named
“Convert2MLD.xls” located in the directory where you have installed
MLDownloader. (By default this directory is “C:\Program
Files\MLDownloader”) This Excel workbook allows you to convert stock
lists to the MLDownloader symbol list format. You only have to enter
all the download symbols in column “A” and the stocks names in column
“B”. Click on “Convert” and you have a symbol list that can be used by
MLDownloader.
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Q: How can I remove invalid stock
symbols from my symbol lists without deleting them manually?
A: After a download has finished
the "Download Report" dialog will appear. All symbols that are invalid
will be displayed in this dialog. All you have to do is to click on
the "Securities->Remove from Symbol List" menu. Then MLDownloader will remove
all invalid symbols from all symbol lists automatically.
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Q: How can I download a symbol list using the
command line?
A: First you have
to define the lists you want to download. Click on "Download->Timer".
Enter a task name and select the lists you want to download. Click on
OK.
Now you can run MLDownloader using following command line:
C:\Program
Files\MLDownloader\MLDownloader.exe -MLD_<TASKNAME>
C:\Program Files\MLDownloader\MLDownloader.exe -MLD_test
You have to replace the "test" with your task name.
To open the "Symbol
List Update" dialog from the command line enter following command:
C:\Program
Files\MLDownloader\MLDownloader.exe -UpdateSL
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Q:
How can I download FOREX data?
A: It is possible to download intraday (15 min delayed) FOREX data
using the Yahoo server. However, no historical FOREX data can be
downloaded. The symbols you have to use to download forex data are
in the format EURUSD=X, USDGBP=X, etc.
To download FOREX data execute following steps: 1. Open
the "Get Quotes" dialog by clicking on the "Download->Get Quotes"
menu. 2. Select the option "Download latest data". 3. Click on the
"Browse" button and select the FOREX.MLD file that can be found in
the
C:\Program Files\MLDownloader\Symbol
Lists folder. 4. Click on "Download latest data". By default
MLDownloader stores the data in the C:\MetaStock\Forex folder.
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Q:
How can I download futures data?
A:
You have to search for the symbols you need on
the Yahoo page. Then you can add the symbols in the "Symbol
list->Edit" dialog. Please note that for futures Yahoo only provides
EOD data at the moment and no historical data. Therefore for
downloading futures data use the option "Download latest data" in
the "Download->Get Quotes" dialog.
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Q: Can I store the
downloaded data in a database (e.g. MS-Access)?
A: MLDownloader cannot
store data directly in a database file. However, you can use or
product
Convert2DatabaseFile to convert the Metastock files to a database
file.
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Q: Can I download and update both
Metastock and ASCII file format at the same time?
A: Yes you can update
them at the same time. Simply tick off the "Ascii file format" and
"MetaStock format" checkbox in the "Download->Options" dialog.
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Q: Can I download
ETF's (exchange traded funds) with MLDownloader?
Yes that is possible.
You have to use the symbol list Etfs.mld that can be downloaded on
http:/www.trading-tools.com/downloads/Etfs.mld
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Q: Can I use MLDownloader with one
license on two computers?
A: With a single license you can run the
program on two computers that are owned by you. If you want to run the
program on more computers then you have to buy additional licenses:
Product price (one time payment, free updates)
Single license: 59.95 Euro (can be used on two computers)
2-5 licenses: 54.95 Euro per license
6-14 licenses: 49.95 Euro per license
15 or more licenses: 35.95 Euro per license
You can order online on
http://shareit1.element5.com/product.html?productid=157007
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Q: Is it possible to run
MLDownloader under Linux?
A: Yes it is possible.
However, you need a compatibility layer on Linux for running Windows
programs like Wine HQ.
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MetaLib
FAQ
Q: What do I need
to do to install MetaLib when using Windows Vista?
A: In order
to install the software, you can either:
* Install using Safe Mode
* Disable Hardware DEP on regsvr32.exe
Vista by default installs with DEP enabled on "essential Windows
processes and services only", so in order to use the second method DEP
must be disabled on regsvr32.exe. This can be accomplished from the
"Performance Options" property sheet, accessible via System
Properties. Also make sure that you are logged
in as administrator when you install MetaLib.
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SmartChart FAQ
Q: Will Smart Chart be able to read
the new Metastock format directories which support 6000 symbols?
A: Yes SmartChart can read up to 6000
symbols per directory. The program supports the old and the new
MetaStock format.
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DDEChartUpdater FAQ
Q: How can I connect
to the Bloomberg data feed?
A: DDE links to Bloomberg real-time
and snapshot data retrieve values as tab separated strings for
specified securities and fields. An example is:
=BLP|M!’IBM Equity,[BID]’
where:
BLP - is the name of the DDE server
M - is the topic of the DDE conversation (monitoring)
The rest of the string is the item of the conversation whose syntax
explanation follows.
Syntax
Real-time DDE items have the following syntax:
<ticker> “,” <fields> [ “(” <orientation_flag> “)” ]
The Bloomberg real-time DDE item has the following parts:
Part Description
<ticker> Bloomberg security identifier (ticker).
<fields> “[” <field> { “,” <field>” } “]”where <field> is Bloomberg’s
Data Dictionary mnemonic identifying some Bloomberg Field. For
example:“PX_LAST” or “[BID, ASK]”
< orientation_flag > One of the following: “H”“V”where “H” (the
default) means that field values will be returned in a tab separated
string and “V” means that values will separated by
carriage-return/line-feed character pairs.
Notes:
· Elements in <…> brackets are required.
· Only one of the elements enclosed in (…) and separated by ‘|’ can be
present.
· Text between square brackets [...] is optional.
· Text between curly brackets {...} can appear zero, one or more
times.
· Constant strings are delimited by double quote characters and are
not case sensitive.
· Field mnemonics with any form of capitalization are accepted.
· The ’_’ characters may be replaced with spaces. The casing is not
important. For example, instead of typing LAST_TRADE, you could enter
“LAST Trade”.
Example items:
“CT10 Govt, [YLD_SEM_ANN_MID]”
“IBM Equity, [EQY_OPT_CHAIN]”
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