|
Operation Appearance and misc |
Q: What's a "stock scan", and how can I run one?
A: A Stock Scan (otherwise known as a Stock Screen) will query the databse of stock quotes and information
to produce a sorted list of symbols meeting the conditions specified in the dropdown
boxes, and also the dates in the Scandate and Chartdate fields (if the dates aren't
properly formated it will default to "now").
To run a stock screen, you can select your desired conditions from the dropdown boxes in the SCREENS menu (click the SCREENING
button to bring up the menu if needed). Select the desired criteria, then press the UPDATE SCAN button
near the top of the control panel to run the scan. For example, you might want to scan for stocks
making a 52-Week High, and Up on Big Volume, with an RS Ranking >=60, sorted by Volume Surge.
A chart will appear in the display window. It will be the first chart in the screened
results, sorted according to the Sort parameter that was specified (in the 2nd-to-the-bottom
dropdown box).
Use the FWD and BACK buttons to cycle through the list from here. The total number of symbols found and
the current position in the list is indicated in the Info Box below the chart.
Note that you can use the BACK button after running a scan to view the chart at
the bottom of the list. For example, you could sort by Volume Surge, and use
the back button to see the stocks with very low volume.
|
Q: How can I go back in time and look at stocks?
A: Located just above the SYMBOL box is a text box to enter a Scandate. This date
is used to set the date for a scan. It defaults to NOW. Dates are accepted in MM-DD-YYYY
or MM/DD/YYYY format. or can be some negative number of days back from the current date, i.e., "-200".
An unrecognizable date will be treated as today's date.
There's also a field for the Chartdate, which is used to set the date for the right edge of the chart. The formatting is the same as
above. The Chartdate doesn't have to be the same as the Scandate.
Note: We discovered the other day that a positive number, such as "+12" will cause the charting module to crash! So
that's not a recommended procedure.
|
Q: Starting from a past date, how can I advance a chart forward?
A: Just use the TIME + button. The TIME + and TIME - buttons will move you forward
and backward in time, two weeks per click. As the chart moves forward, you can decide
real-time how you would have managed the trade.
|
Q: How often is the data updated?
A: We receive delayed data from Briter Systems every 30 minutes. Database columns are processed
within seconds after that, ready for fresh scanning.
|
Q: Can I run a scan and look at the results in a table?
A: Yes. After selecting the scan parameters, just click the UPDATE TABLE button
near the top of the Control Panel. Or, click the DATA TABLE button along the top
of the chart window. This will bring up a list of the stocks meeting the scan results
including the key data for each stock such as RS and EPS rankings. The stocks symbols
are displayed as links, so you can view a chart for any of the symbols. Just click
the DATA TABLE button along the top of the chart to return to the table.
|
Q: How can I save my favorite symbols in a list, then cycle through
the list?
A: First bring up your desired chart by entering the symbol in the SYMBOL box and
hitting Enter key or the REFRESH CHART button. The SYMBOL box is located about halfway
down the control panel. Next select your desired SYMBOL LIST from the dropdown box,
and then click the ADD SYMBOL button to add the chart to the list. The SCREENS menu
then can be used to cycle through the list. Just select the desired Symbols List
as the Universe. You can apply conditions, filters and/or a sort, or just leave
them blank to look at them all in their original order.
|
Q: How can I delete a symbol from the list?
A: Pressing the DROP SYMB button will remove the currently displayed chart from
the selected Symbols List (if it's there).
|
Q: How can I save the results of a scan?
A: Pressing the ADD SCAN button will add all the symbols from the current scan into
the selected Symbols List.
|
Q: So what's a good way to use the GigaScanner?
A: One of the basics is to keep track of the overall market swings, visualizing
bottoms and tops as they happen.
To set it up, first bring up your desired Workspace, say "WORKSPACE 1" from the
drop-down box on the CONTROL PANEL.
Enter the symbol 'NASDAQ' or 'DJIA' in the SYMBOL box, and press the GET SYMB button
to bring up the chart.
Next, select your favorite Signals, Indicators and colors using the INDICATORS, SIGNALS,
and SETTINGS menus. Signal-wise, the Climax Low, Follow-Through, All-Time High,
and Climax High Signals are ideal for catching the broad market turning points. Indicator-wise,
at the risk of information overload, you might like the NUM CLIMAX LOWS and NUM
ALL-TIME HIGHS in the top pane, and the NUM UP > 3 DAYS and NUM DN > 3 DAYS
in the second pane. You might also like the 50-DAY XMA CLOSE and 200-DAY XMA CLOSE,
17-DAY XMA VOL, and the ACCUM / DIST Percentage.When everything is ready, press
the UPDATE CHART button to apply your settings.
The market indexes by themselves are pretty revealing, but from here you might want
to go ahead and populate a Symbol List to look at the Nasdaq together with a selection
of market-leading stocks.
Select your desired Symbol List, for example "SYMBOL LIST 1". Press the DROP ALL
button in case you need to drop any symbols already in the Symbol List, and then
press the ADD SYMB button to add the Nasdaq or Djia to the list (the symbol for
the chart currently being displayed will be added).
Having added the Nasdaq or Djia to the list, you can repeat the procedure for a
handful of stocks with the highest Relative Strength Rank, market cap, and/or average
volume. You can add the symbols one-by-one, by bringing up the chart and pressing
the ADD SYMB button, or you can determine which stocks are the market leaders by
running a Scan of all stocks, with no conditions, sorted by Market Cap (or Average
Volume, or RS Rank), limited to 5 results, and then using the ADD SCAN button to
add the entire scan results to the symbol list.
After the Symbol List is populated, you can use it as the Symbol Universe for a
Scan, without any conditions or filters. Just press the UPDATE SCAN button, and
then use the BACK and FWD buttons to cycle through the list.
Once the workspace has been set up, you can return to it every day (or as often
as every 30 minutes during the day), moving through the symbols in the list with
the BACK and FWD buttons to follow the market trends and turns with total clarity.
|
Q: What is a Workspace?
A: A Workspace is your custom collection of chart settings, colors, flags, indicators,
and scan settings, zoom factor, enddate, etc. Workspaces are remembered between
sessions. There are 10 workspaces and 10 Symbol Lists total. The 10 Symbol Lists
are common between all 10 workspaces.
|
Q: Where do I find the Market Breadth indicators?
A: The top four fields in the Indicators menu contain the Market Breadth indicators.
These indicators show the total daily "numbers" of things across the database. The
indicators in the top two fields will be displayed together in the same window at
the top of the screen. Indicators in the next two fields will be displayed together
in another window below. The remaining fields contain the non-breadth indicators
for each stock.
|
|