home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Der Mediaplex Sampler - Die 6 von Plex
/
6_v_plex.zip
/
6_v_plex
/
DISK4
/
BUSIN_04
/
PARITY11.ZIP
/
MANUAL.DOC
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1992-02-12
|
176KB
|
3,402 lines
Parity
Technical Analysis System
Version 1.1
User's Guide
Copyright 1991, 1992 Paul Rickert. All Rights Reserved.
The software described in this document is provided under the terms
of a license Agreement. Please read it carefully. The software may
be used or copied only upon acceptance and in accordance with the
terms of this agreement. Unauthorized use, duplication,
distribution, or disassembly is strictly prohibited by federal law.
Parity, Parity Plus and The Display Matrix are trademarks of Parity
Software Systems.
IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines,
Inc.
Lotus and 1-2-3 are registered trademarks of Lotus Development
Corporation.
Microsoft is a registered trademark and Windows is a trademark of
Microsoft Corporation.
MetaStock, The Technician, and The Downloader are trademarks of
EQUIS International.
CompuTrac is a trademark of Compu Trac Software Inc.
Parity Software Systems
Two Bryant Street, Suite 200
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 546-9316
Printed in the United States of America
Part 1 Introduction
Welcome to the Parity Technical Analysis System. This User's Guide
is a comprehensive guide to all of the features and procedures
offered by the Parity software. Most of the text of this manual is
also available through Parity's on-line Help files. You can access
Parity's help at any time by pressing F1 or by clicking on the Help
button on most of Parity's forms and dialog boxes.
We strongly recommend that you read the Basic Concepts and The Tool
Bar sections of the manual and follow the brief tutorial described
in the "Getting a Head Start" section of the README.1ST file
included in your Parity Installation Disk. This should give you
enough of an overview to permit you to quickly become productive
using Parity.
The Menu Command sections are a reference to all the commands that
are available from Parity's Menu Bar. You will benefit from a
careful reading of the Create/Modify Current Study section and the
detailed description of each of the Study Editors which follows.
More advanced users should skim through the Indicators and Chart
Procedures section to get a sense of the full range of tools Parity
gives you for creating charts incorporating a wide variety of
technical indicators and chart types. The Technical Indicators
section also includes a bibliography for the best technical analysis
books we have found. We strongly recommend John Murphy's "Technical
Analysis of the Futures Market" for a beginning text, and Perry
Kaufman's "The New Commodity Trading Systems and Methods" for a
comprehensive overview of technical analysis. Despite their titles
these books are excellent for the analysis of stocks as well as
commodities.
Part 6, Formulas, Operators and Functions, is designed as a
reference guide to the various functions and operators which are
available to you when you want to chart your own formulas and
indicators. This section assumes a fair amount of knowledge about
standard math and computer notations and conventions. You will
probably want to ignore this part of the manual until you are ready
to start creating formulas which express your own ideas about the
best ways to analyze price data.
Part 7, Odds and Ends, includes some general comments about Parity
and Windows 3.0 and the idiosyncrasies of both.
As you use Parity please remember that when you make a mistake in a
formula you are trying to chart, Parity will seem to "freeze up" and
the mouse cursor will be locked into an hour glass shape. Just hit
the up arrow key and you can proceed normally.
What Is Parity?
Parity is a Stock Charting and Technical Analysis Program designed
to take full advantage of the Windows Graphical User Interface. The
program permits the user to design sophisticated charts of stock
price data using a wide range of technical indicators and tools.
Parity's charting capabilities permit you to graph a security's
price, volume and up to nine indicators in a single chart using any
combination of stacked or overlapping panes, each of which can
include one or more indicators.
Parity incorporates traditional Open, High, Low, Close charts, Line
and Bar charts, Japanese Candlestick charts, Point and Figure
charts, Equivolume charts, Horizontal Bar charts, and a Price at
Volume chart which is similar to The Crocker Chartc.
The program includes over 30 of the most popular predefined
indicators plus a wide range of math and statistical functions.
These indicators and functions can be combined in user defined
formulas.
The most innovative aspect of Parity is its unique use of Groups of
Stocks, Batches of Studies, and Clusters of Charts in order to
simplify the analysis of a large number of securities at one time.
In order to manage the profusion of sophisticated charts you can
design with Parity, virtually all of its settings can be saved to
disk and recalled for another Technical Analysis Session.
In addition, Parity provides a graphical Display Matrix that permits
the user to easily jump from stock to stock and study to study.
Parity has no intrinsic limit on the number of charts you can
create, although Windows' limited System Resources restrict the
number of charts that can be displayed at one time.
Parity and Shareware
Parity is distributed as Shareware. Parity is not free or public
domain software. Shareware permits you to try Parity before you buy
the software. However if you continue to use Parity you must
Register the software by paying the current licensing fee.
Shareware provides a good channel for a software vendor to
distribute its products without incurring the high marketing costs
involved in normal commercial distribution of software. These cost
savings are passed onto the user through the lower cost of Parity
compared to other "commercial" technical analysis programs. Our
goal is to make Parity the finest technical analysis program you can
buy anywhere.
In addition to the ability to "try before you buy", Shareware also
permits us to make more frequent updates to Parity than would be
possible with retail software. The most recent version of Parity
will always be available on the INVFORUM of CompuServe. We will
also send you the most current version of Parity if you send us your
credit card number or a check for $5 to cover the cost of shipping
and handling.
Feel free to "share" the evaluation version of Parity as long as you
follow the guidelines in the LICENSE.DOC file included with the
program. However, you may not share the registered version of
Parity or any copies of this manual. Under no circumstances may you
give a copy of the REGISTER.DAT file to any other user.
About Parity Plus
Parity Plus is the Enhanced Retail Version (ERV) of Parity. Parity
Plus is only available directly from Parity Software Systems or our
designated distributors. In addition to all of the great features
of the shareware version, Parity Plus includes advanced features
such as Profit Testing, Optimization, Stock Filtering and Scanning,
and Cycle Analysis.
Registered users of Parity will be able to upgrade to Parity Plus at
any time by paying the difference between the current price of
Parity Plus and their registration fee for Parity.
Installing Parity
The complete Parity program consists of several types of files which
are detailed in the PACKING.LST file included with the program.
Initial Installation
If you are installing Parity from compressed ZIP files which you
have downloaded or purchased from a disk vendor:
1 Copy the *.ZIP files to a directory on your hard disk. Unzip
the files using PKUNZIP or ARCE or LHA depending on the
compression used. Do not copy the files to the \Parity
directory since this is normally where you will want the
program installed to.
2 Start Windows. From the Program Manager Click on the File Menu
and select Run. Type in the drive and directory where you
unzipped the files followed by INSTALL.EXE, i.e.,
C:\TEMP\INSTALL.EXE.
3 Parity will automatically install itself. If this is a first
time installation you should let Parity install the sample data
files and the sample configuration files. If this is not a
first time install uncheck these options to avoid overwriting
any files you have created.
YOU MAY NOT INSTALL PARITY TO THE SAME DIRECTORY AS THE UNZIPPED
FILES YOU ARE INSTALLING.
If you are installing Parity from uncompressed files on a single
high density floppy diskette:
1 Start Windows and insert the diskette in drive A or B.
2 From the File Menu of the Program Manager select Run. Type in
the floppy diskette drive and INSTALL.EXE, i.e. A:INSTALL.EXE.
3 Parity will automatically install itself. If this is a first
time installation you should let Parity install the sample data
files and the sample configuration files. If this is not a
first time install uncheck these options to avoid overwriting
any files you have created.
If you are installing the registered version of Parity also copy the
REGISTER.DAT file to your Parity directory. The Installation
Program will not do this automatically.
Parity's installation routine will automatically create a RLZRUN10
directory under your Windows directory and a C:\PARITY directory by
default. It will not modify your WIN.INI, AUTOEXEC.BAT or
CONFIG.SYS files in any way.
Subsequent Installations
If you are installing an upgraded version of Parity follow the
appropriate installation procedure as outlined above. However it is
very important that in step 3 you uncheck the Sample Data Files and
Sample Configuration Files options before you proceed with the
installation. If you don't do this you may overwrite the *.DAT
files which contain the definitions of the Studies, Groups, Batches
and Clusters etc. that you have created. We suggest you make backup
copies of these *.DAT files regularly.
If you are installing the registered version of Parity also copy the
REGISTER.DAT file to your Parity directory. The Installation
Program will not do this automatically.
Always check for a README file with more up-to-date installation
instructions.
Price Data
Parity is compatible with either MetaStock/CompuTrac data files or
ChartPro/MegaTech data files. If sufficient demand exists, other
data formats will also be provided. Daily, weekly and monthly data
in these formats are widely available from various on-line and data
disk services.
Parity also permits you to import price data from Excel 2.1 and 3.0
files, Lotus 123 WKS files, Comma Separated Value text files and Tab
Separated Value text files. Data from these file formats cannot be
included in the definition of a Group but can be charted in the same
fashion that Load a Security permits you to chart a single stock.
See Import Other Formats for more information.
At this time Parity does not include any utilities for downloading
or maintaining price data files. A number of commercial and
shareware programs provide these functions. An excellent program
for converting ASCII text files of price data into MetaStock data
files is the Prodigy MetaStock Loader (PML). PML is shareware and
the most recent version is always available by calling the FlexSoft
BBS at (510) 829-2293.
Part 2 Basic Concepts
The Basic Concepts section of the User Guide explains some of the
more innovative terms and concepts which give Parity its power.
Like most technical analysis programs, Parity permits you to chart a
single stock with a single indicator. However, the real usefulness
of Parity comes from its unique ability to chart "Groups" of stocks
using predefined "Studies" which include multiple indicators and
very flexible chart formats. These features are summarized below.
Charts
A price chart created by Parity has many different components, most
of which are defined by the user in a Study.
Every chart includes one or more panes. A Pane is an area of the
chart where you can plot price or indicator data. A pane can
include up to 11 different data arrays including stock prices and
trading volume. Parity permits you to define up to 11 individual
panes.
Panes are "transparent". They can be stacked or overlaid and their
size can be set relative to other panes and the size of the total
chart. Any number of panes can be overlaid and each overlaying pane
maintains its own scale. A pane's scale can be displayed on the
left axis, the right axis or not displayed at all.
Stacked panes can be separated in order to show the end values of
the scales more clearly. By default a pane will be separated by 5%
of the total chart size.
Each pane has its own vertical and horizontal grid that can be
displayed or hidden.
Individual indicators within a pane can have a label defined by the
user that displays in the same color as the indicator.
The user can set a title for the chart that automatically includes
the Security Name and the Study Name used to create the chart. This
title is displayed in the chart window's Title Bar and can also be
added to the top of the chart itself.
The user can also control the number of days between tick marks on
the X axis.
You can use the tools in the Tool Bar and the Pointer Menu to draw
various types of lines in a chart, zoom in on the data, and add text
anywhere in the chart.
Groups
While Parity can load price data for a single security at a time, a
powerful feature of the program is its ability to define a Group of
securities that can be displayed in any sequence using the Display
Tools.
A Group is a list of an unlimited number of security price data
files, in any supported format, located in any directory, on any
disk. You might prefer to think of a Group as a portfolio of stocks
or a list of ticker symbols.
Parity permits you to mix data files in different directories, in
different formats, and of different sizes within a single Group.
Parity stores all of the information necessary to locate and import
a data file in the Group definition.
The User can define an unlimited number of Groups, each of which has
a unique name with up to 16 characters.
Group definitions can be edited, reordered and deleted at any time.
All defined Groups can be saved to disk for reuse in subsequent
sessions. Group definitions are stored in the GROUPS.DAT file in
the Parity directory on your disk.
Visually, the securities in a Group define the vertical axis of the
Display Matrix.
Studies
A Study defines how Parity will chart an individual security,
regardless of which security is chosen.
Parity permits the user to define the following aspects of a chart.
- How the price data is displayed, i.e., HLC bar chart or Japanese
candlestick chart.
- Where and whether volume is displayed.
- What indicators and formulas are plotted on the chart and where.
- How individual panes are stacked and overlapped and what their
relative sizes are.
- Whether to set a pane's scale to Maximize Y Axis, or Optimize
Scale Labels.
- Which side of the Y axis scale labels are displayed on.
- What colors to use for the chart.
- What labels to use for each data array plotted.
- The number of days between ticks on the X axis.
- How to label the chart with the Security Name and/or the Study
Name.
- Whether to include the chart title at the top of the chart as
well as in the title bar of the chart window.
A Study is defined using the Create/Modify Current Study selection
in the Studies Menu. Each Study can have up to a 16 character name
and all Studies can be saved to disk for subsequent sessions.
Batches
A Batch is analogous to a Group of stocks. However, instead of
defining which stocks will be displayed, a batch defines a list of
studies that will be displayed.
The concept of a "Batch of Studies" is a novel idea. Unlike other
stock charting programs, Parity permits you to define an unlimited
number of studies. One study might just show a Candlestick chart of
a stock with some moving averages. Another study might plot all of
the components of Welles Wilder's Directional Movement Index. A
third study might only show volume related indicators, while a
fourth study might include oscillators like MACD, Chaiken's
Oscillator or Stochastics.
Parity permits you to define a Batch of any or all of these studies.
When you select a Batch, Parity displays each of these studies in
sequence on a single security or each stock in a Group.
Selecting a Group of stocks and a Batch of studies creates a two-
dimensional Display Matrix, where the stocks form the vertical axis
and the Studies make up the horizontal axis. It may help to think
of the Display Matrix as a graphical spreadsheet with individual
stocks as the rows and studies as the columns. Each cell of the
"spreadsheet" is potentially a chart.
Depending on the Display Tool you select, you can move through the
Display Matrix vertically - looking at the same study on dozens of
different stocks, or horizontally - looking at multiple studies on a
single stock. By selecting a different display tool you can
instantaneously change direction.
Clusters
A Cluster defines the screen configuration for displaying multiple
Studies at one time. Like a Batch, a Cluster is a list of
individual Studies. However, a Cluster displays all of the Studies
at once in your predefined screen configuration.
You can use a Cluster with a Group of stocks, or when you load
individual securities. Use the forward and reverse display tools to
display the Cluster for each security in the Group.
To define a Cluster, first arrange charts of each of the Studies you
want to include in the Cluster on the screen. Make sure that each
chart is positioned and sized the way you want it reproduced when
you display the Cluster. Then select the Make a Cluster menu item
and enter a name for the Cluster. Note that Parity automatically
excludes any "UNNAMED" or "DEFAULT" studies from a Cluster.
You can save the definition of all of your Clusters to disk for
reuse in subsequent sessions. Parity creates a CLUSTERS.DAT file in
its directory that is automatically loaded the next time you start
the program.
Since all the charts in a Cluster are erased when you move up or
down in a Group, the Fast Forward and Fast Reverse tools are
meaningless and are disabled.
The Display Matrix
Parity offers the user the possibility of creating dozens of types
of charts on hundreds of individual securities through the use of
its Group and Batch features. In order to manage this potential
complexity we created an intuitive and easy to use tool we call the
Display Matrix.
The Display Matrix Concept
Conceptually, the Display Matrix is a two dimensional array of all
the charts you could create from the individual stocks in a group
combined with the individual studies in a batch.
It is easiest to think of this two dimensional array (the "matrix")
as being similar to a spreadsheet. Each cell of the spreadsheet
corresponds to a chart.
The rows of the spreadsheet are the price data for each security in
the group. The columns of the spreadsheet are the studies that are
used to plot that price data. The intersection of each row and
column, i.e., the cell, corresponds to a unique chart created by
combining the price data for the security in that row, with the
definition of the study in that column.
Unlike a spreadsheet, most of the charts/cells in the Display Matrix
aren't displayed. Even more importantly, only one chart at a time
is "current" in the sense that you can retrieve numeric data from
it.
What Do We Mean by "Current"?
At any given time Parity can only have one of each type of "thing"
in memory. By "thing" we mean the data from one stock, the settings
from one study, and the definition of one group and one batch. So,
for example, when we talk about the current group we mean that one
group whose list of securities is currently available to define the
vertical axis of the Display Matrix.
The only time that having just one of each type of thing in memory
limits us is when we want to use the Data Microscope on a chart to
see the numbers behind the scene. Then we are limited to the
"current" chart, i.e., the one for which Parity still has the price
data and study settings stored in memory.
The Display Matrix Tool
Parity's Display Tools visually correspond to the conceptual display
matrix. When you move from one stock to another, you are moving up
and down the vertical group axis of the spreadsheet. When you move
from one study to another you move left and right along the
horizontal axis of the spreadsheet. When you select a Display Tool,
you tell Parity how to interpret the Forward and Reverse tools, when
it creates new charts.
With the Display Matrix Tool you can position yourself anywhere
within the Display Matrix. Your current location is shown by the
intersection of the current study and the current security. By
clicking on any cell in the matrix you can immediately reposition
the current study and current security. You can select from the
drop down list boxes to do the same thing. The Display Matrix Tool
doesn't affect the display state you selected by clicking on one of
the display tools, it simply repositions you within the matrix.
Part 3 The Tool Bar
The Tool Bar
The Tool Bar incorporates most of the tools that are used to display
and manipulate charts after you have selected whatever Stocks,
Groups, Studies, Batches or Clusters you want displayed. Several
less frequently used tools can be accessed through the Pointer Menu.
Moveable Versus Fixed Tool Bar
By default, the Tool Bar is in a fixed position on the left side of
the screen. The Tool Bar can be set to be moveable with the
Moveable Tool Bar command on the Options Menu.
You can also use the Moveable Tool Bar and Fixed Tool Bar commands
to recreate the Tool Bar if it gets mispositioned. This can happen
when you have a fixed tool bar and have moved charts off the screen
and then do a Window Cascade or Window Tile command.
Normally, though, the Tool Bar is simply hidden under a chart. You
can bring the Tool Bar forward by clicking in a chart or selecting
TBar in the Window Menu. To hide the Tool Bar behind a chart, click
in the chart's title bar.
Action Tools
Click on the tool and then click on the chart you want to act on.
These tools are "sticky" and stay active until you select another
action tool or click on the Pointer Tool. The Pointer Menu includes
a selection of some less frequently used action tools.
Tool Description
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Print Tool Prints selected chart. Since the Print Tool
gives you much greater control over the
printing of a chart you should always use it in
preference to the File Print command. See
Printing Charts.
Trash Can Tool Closes selected chart or all open charts.
Data Microscope Displays price and indicator data for the most
recently created chart and can print the data
or export it to an Excel, Lotus 123, or text
file.
Pointer Tool Resets other action tools and goes to a neutral
pointer mode.
Text Tool Used to draw text on a chart.
1:1 Magnifying Glass Restores chart to fully expanded state.
+ Magnifying Glass Zooms in on a chart to focus more closely on a
date range. Each use expands the chart to
roughly 1/3 its previous data range.
- Magnifying Glass Opposite of + Magnifying Glass
Vertical Line Tool Draws a vertical line the entire height of the
chart wherever you click.
Horizontal Line Tool Draws a horizontal line the entire length of
the chart wherever you click..
Limited Line Tool Draws a line between any two points you click
on.
Extended Line Tool Draws a line defined by any two points and
extending to the chart boundaries.
Display Tools
Used to select the Display State and Direction used to move through
the Display Matrix.
Tool Description
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Display Matrix Tool Shows a graphical depiction of the Display
Matrix and the Current Chart's position in
it. By clicking on the grid of the Display
Matrix or selecting from the drop down list
boxes you can reposition yourself anywhere
within the Display Matrix.
Forward & Reverse Tools Used to move through the Display Matrix in
the direction indicated by the Display State
tools. If the next chart in the direction
already exists these tools will bring it to
the front. Otherwise the next chart is
created from scratch.
Fast Forward & Reverse Used to create multiple charts at a time.
Clicking on one of these tools causes Parity
to create the maximum number of charts in
the current direction. The number of charts
was defined when you selected the current
group.
Display Group Tool This sets the display state to vertical
movement between securities in a group. It
causes the current graph in the Display
Matrix to be created if it isn't already
displayed.
Display Batch Tool This sets the display state to horizontal
movement between studies in a batch. It
causes the current graph in the Display
Matrix to be created if it isn't already
displayed.
Display Group on Batch This sets the display state to move through
the Display Matrix showing all the studies
in a batch for a security in a group before
moving up or down to the next security in
the group.
Display Batch on Group This sets the display state to move through
the Display Matrix showing all the
securities in a group before moving left or
right to the next study in a batch.
Window Management Tools
The Window Management Tools provide the same functionality as the
Window Menu Cascade and Tile commands.
Tool Description
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Tile Windows Works exactly like the Window Menu Tile
selection; it tiles all the displayed charts.
Cascade Windows Works exactly like the Window Menu Cascade
selection; it cascades all the displayed
charts.
Part 4 Menu Commands
This section of the User's Guide reviews all of the Menu Commands
that are available in Parity. Most of the Tool Bar tools do not
have any equivalent functionality from the Menu or the Keyboard.
File Menu
The File Menu has relatively limited functionality in Parity since
no files are "opened" in the traditional Windows sense. Instead use
the appropriate commands in the Groups, Studies, and Clusters menus
to select the items you want to chart.
Command Description
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Close Will close the currently selected chart.
Generally it will be easier to close a chart by
double clicking on the Control-Menu box or using
the trash can tool.
Save As Can only be used to save the contents of the
Print Log to a file. You must save studies,
groups, batches, and clusters using their
respective Save All commands.
Print Will print the currently selected chart using
default settings. Generally you should use the
Printer Tool instead. See Printing Charts.
Printer Setup Standard Windows 3.0 Printer Setup dialog.
Exit Exits Parity. If you have any unsaved groups,
batches, studies, or clusters Parity will ask if
you want to save them.
Edit Menu
The Edit Menu provides the standard Edit functionality common to
most Windows 3.0 applications and they will not be discussed here.
Most of these selections will be disabled except when you enter text
in a dialog box or use the print log.
Command Description
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Copy Window The Copy Window menu item will copy the
currently selected chart to the Clipboard. You
can paste the chart into most word processors or
into a paintbrush program. If you hold down the
shift key while you issue this command the title
bar of the window will also be copied to the
clipboard.
Groups Menu
The Groups Menu provides all of the commands to load one security,
or to create, select and modify a Group of securities.
Command Description
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Load a Security Loads price data for a single stock that is
automatically displayed using the current study.
Create/Modify Group Creates a new group of securities or modifies
an existing group. A group holds an unlimited
number of securities, in any of the supported
data formats, located anywhere on your disks.
Select Current Group Selects the group to use from any of the groups
previously defined.
Reorder a Group Permits you to change the order in which the
securities in a group are displayed.
Save All Groups Saves the definition of ALL the groups to the
GROUPS.DAT file. Once saved, these definitions
are automatically loaded when you start Parity.
Delete Groups Removes the definition of one or more groups
from memory. This change isn't permanent unless
you Save All Groups.
Display Displays the first security in the currently
selected group using the current study.
Import Other Formats Permits you to import data from Excel, Lotus
123, Comma Separated Value, and Tab Separated
Value files.
Load a Security
The Load a Security command permits you to select and load a single
security for charting using the current study. Loading a security
overwrites the current group if one had been selected.
This command consists of two dialog boxes:
Open a File for Charting
This dialog permits you to select a security by symbol or name for
loading. Parity will display all the files in the directory you
have chosen which match the file format criteria. If the file
format permits it, the file will be displayed with additional
information such as company name and data period. To select a
security for loading, highlight the security and click OK or double
click on the security.
Change directories by double clicking on the directory you wish to
change to in the directories list box.
Range of Data to Load
This dialog permits you to select which data records in a file will
be loaded. The range of records to load can be specified in two
ways:
Range of Records Description
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Absolute Record Number Specify the number of the record in the file.
The First Record is the oldest record to be
loaded and has to be an integer greater than or
equal to 1. The Last Record is the most recent
record to be loaded and must be an integer
greater than the first record and less than or
equal to the total number of records. By
default, Parity will load all of the records
in the data file. There is no limit on the
number of records you can load.
Relative Record Position Permits you to select a range of records
to load relative to the most recent record in the
file (the Last Record). Indicate relative record
positions by using negative numbers that count
back X records from the last record. If you enter
a relative record position for the first record,
e.g., -100, Parity will set the Last Record to 0.
In this example a total of 101 records will be
loaded starting with the most recent record and
counting back 100 records. Hitting enter after
inputting a relative record position in the First
Record field will execute the dialog box.
Absolute Date Range NOT CURRENTLY SUPPORTED.
Compression Parity gives you two options you can use to
"compress" your data files into weekly or monthly
formats. If you select the "Weekly - 5 Periods"
option, Parity will use the highest and lowest
values of the previous 5 days and the total volume
to create its psuedo weekly data. The "Monthly -
21 period" option works in the same way. The most
recent data point is always taken as the end of
the week or month, regardless of the actual day of
the week.
Create or Modify Group
The Create or Modify Group command defines a new group or modifies
the contents of an existing group. A group can contain an unlimited
number of securities in any of the supported data formats, located
anywhere on your disks.
Dialog Form Items Description
Groups This box lists all of the defined groups
currently in memory. Double clicking on a group
will add all of the securities in that group to
the Securities in Group list. To modify an
existing group double click on its name to add its
stocks to the Securities in Group list. Make any
modifications you want and save it under the same
name.
Securities in Group This box lists all of the securities you have
selected to be in the group. Add securities by
double clicking on an available security or an
entire group. To delete securities from the
group, double click on the security in the group.
Available Securities Lists all the securities of the specified data
type that are available in the selected directory.
Double click on any available security to add it
to the group. Type the first letter of a security
to search the list for it.
Add All Securities Clicking on this button will cause all the
securities in the available securities list box to
be added to the group.
Directories Lists all the directories on your disk. To
move around the directory tree simply double click
on the directories or drives that are listed. The
Available Securities list will be updated for the
directory you select.
New Group Enter the name of the group you are creating or
modifying in this text box. The name can contain
16 significant characters including A-Z, a-z, 0-9,
%, _, $, !, and %. Names cannot begin with a
number and are not case sensitive.
Double Click Action Selects the effect of double clicking in the
list boxes. By default double clicking will add
or remove securities from the Securities in Group
list. Selecting Show Details will cause double
clicking on a security to list any available
details on the data file. ChartPro data formats
contain very little information on the underlying
security.
File Format Selects the data file format Parity looks for
in the selected directory. Only files from one
data format at a time can be displayed in the
Available Securities list. Note that you can mix
files of any format in a group.
Sort Available Securities By default Parity sorts the Available
Securities list by symbols. You can also sort
certain file formats by name. This option is
disabled for ChartPro files.
Create Group Button Clicking Create Group will save the list of
securities in the group to the group name you
entered in the New Group text box. If you didn't
enter a name Parity will prompt you for one. To
make the group you created the current group you
must use the Select Current Group command.
Cancel Button Will exit the dialog without creating or
modifying a group.
Select Current Group
Use the Select Current Group command to select the group of
securities which you want to be able to display.
Select Current Group Dialog Box
The Select Current Group command lists all the groups and allows you
to select the group you want to become the current group by double
clicking on the group's name. After you select a group, a second
dialog box will appear prompting you to enter a data range and some
other parameters controlling the display of charts for the
securities in the group
Options for Displaying Groups
This dialog box sets up certain options that will be identical for
all of the securities in the current group. These options control
the size and number of the charts that will be shown and the range
of data Parity will display from each security in the group.
Dialog Form Items Description
---------------------------------------------------------------------
# of Graphs Displayed The number of charts Parity can display at
one time is constrained by Windows' available
System Resources. You will receive a warning if
you specify more than 12 graphs to be displayed at
once. To display a single graph at a time, click
on the Close Graph After Displayed check box.
Chart Size Permits you to set the chart size in pixels.
Parity sets the default chart size to equal the
size of a chart after a Window Cascade command.
To maximize the size of each chart as it is
displayed click on the Maximize Graph Size check
box.
Print Each Graph This prints each chart when it is displayed.
See Printing Charts.
Data Range Options Since Parity permits you to group securities
with different numbers of records and starting and
ending dates you must use Relative Record
Positions to specify the data range to be printed.
A future release of Parity will include the option
to use Absolute Date Ranges. See Load a Security
for details about data ranges.
OK Sets the display and data range options you
have selected and loads the first security in the
group. This will overwrite the group or security
that was previously selected.
Cancel Exits the Select Current Group command without
selecting a new group. The group or security that
was previously selected will remain in effect.
Help Brings up this help file.
Reorder a Group
When you reorder a group you change the display sequence of the
securities within the group. You can also change the definition of
the group by excluding securities from the Reordered Group list.
Dialog Form Items Description
List of All Groups Select the group you want to reorder by double
clicking on the group's name in this list box.
Original Group Lists all the securities in the group you
selected for reordering which have not been added
to the Reordered Group list. Add a security to
the Reordered Group list by double clicking on the
security name.
Reordered Group Lists the display order for all the securities
that have been selected for reordering. Double
Clicking on a security in the Reordered Group list
will add it back to the Original Group List.
Double Click Action Permits you to select if double clicking on a
security will move it from the Original Group to
the Reordered Group or back, or cause any
available details about the securities data file
to be shown in the upper left corner of the dialog
box.
O.K. Button Resets the securities list and display sequence
of the group to be identical to the Reordered
Group list.
Cancel Exits without making any changes.
Save All Groups
The Save All Groups command will save the definition of ALL the
groups in memory to the GROUPS.DAT file in your Parity directory.
This is the only way to make any changes, deletions, or newly
created groups permanent. It is not possible to save just the
changes of a single group.
Delete Groups
The Delete Groups command permits you to remove the definition of a
Group from memory. Groups will not be permanently deleted unless
you Save All Groups.
To add a group to the list of groups to be deleted, double click on
the group name in the All Defined Groups list. To remove a group
from the list of groups to be deleted double click on the group name
in the Groups to be Deleted list. Click on Delete to make these
changes or Cancel to exit without deleting any groups.
Display Group or Security
The Display command in the Groups menu will display a chart of the
current security using the current study and set the display mode to
Display Group. This command is included for your convenience only
and we recommend controlling the Display Matrix using the Display
Tools found on the Tool Bar.
Import Other Formats
Parity permits you to import data from Excel 2.1 and 3.0 files,
Lotus 123 WKS files, Comma Separated Value text files and Tab
Separated Value text files.
You can import price data using the 5 field date, high, low, close,
volume format or the 7 field date, open, high, low, close, volume,
open interest formats. You can also include other data arrays in
the file which will be imported as named variables which you can use
in your formulas.
Each "column" in the file you import is treated as a variable. The
first "row" of the column must contain the name of the variable.
Each subsequent row contains the elements of the variable's data
array. A variable can contain up to 8000 elements.
The Import Other File Formats dialog box is straight forward.
Simply select the file you want to import, check the correct file
format radio button and click on the Import button.
In order to be correctly imported the file must be formatted very
specificly. Please read the following sections carefully. Parity
performs very limited error checking when it imports data so you may
need to experiment with the layout of your file before you are able
to import data correctly.
Importing Price Data
To successfully import price data you must observe the following
conventions exactly. Each variable name must appear in the first
row of the file and must be exactly as shown. Subsequent rows must
include data formatted as described below.
Variable Name Description
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Date Mandatory. Subsequent rows must contain date,
rather than text or numeric values for Excel and
Lotus files. Text files must include dates
formatted as mm/dd/yy. Any other formatting will
cause an error. Note you must use Date not Dates.
High Mandatory. High price values. Excel and Lotus
must format the high prices as numeric, rather
than text values. Text files must not contain non-
numeric characters such as "," or "$".
Low Same as High.
Close Same as High.
Volume Same as High.
Open Optional. Same formatting as High.
OpenInterest Optional. Same formatting as High. It is
safest if you fill openinterest with zeros if you
include open data. However, this is not
mandatory. Note, there is no space between open
and interest in the OpenInterest variable name.
Name Mandatory. You must include a text value for
name. The use of more than 16 characters will be
unpredictable. Only the first row after Name will
be recognized.
Symbol Mandatory. You must include a text value for
symbol. The use of more than 8 characters may be
unpredictable. Only the first row after Symbol
will be recognized.
NumFields Mandatory. NumFields must include a numeric
value of either 5 or 7 depending on whether the
data includes Date, High, Low, Close, Volume or
Date, Open High, Low, Close, Volume, OpenInterest.
Note NumFields is one word with no spacing. Only
the first row after NumFields will be recognized.
The columns can occur in any order and the variable names are not
case sensitive. If you are using comma separated or tab separated
text files we strongly recommend that you include Name, Symbol, and
NumFields at the end of the first and second lines. Otherwise you
will need to maintain the correct comma or tab separation in each
and every row.
You must have the "File Includes Price Data" check box checked to
correctly import price data. Once price data is imported you can
create charts using any study or batch. If you Load a Security, or
Select Current Group, the price data you imported will be
overwritten. You must use Parity's Predefined Variables to access
price data you import. The Date, High, Low, Close, Volume, Open,
OpenInterest, Name, Symbol, and NumFields variable names will not be
accessible to you.
An Example of a Comma Separated File
Row 1 date,high,low,close,volume,name,symbol,numfields
Row 2 3/1/90,33.5,33,33.25,12500,Good Stock,GSTK,5
Row 3... 3/2/90,34,33,33.75,15000
Importing Other Data
Parity does not limit you to importing only price data. You can
import an array of any numeric data. The name of the data array
variable will be the same as the name in the first row of the data's
column. You can use this variable in exactly the same way as
Parity's Predefined Variables. Non-price data can be imported in
the same file as price data. These imported variables persist
throughout your session.
Parity performs no checking to prevent you from accidentally
overwriting an internal variable. You may also experience problems
with certain formulas when an imported variable doesn't have the
"array range" the formula expects. This is definitely an advanced
option which will require experimentation. One possibility you
might explore is importing data from a package like The Technician,
and including it in your analysis.
See the Predefined Variables section for more suggestions on how to
handle imported data.
Studies Menu
Study Commands
A study controls every aspect of how a chart is displayed except for
which security is being charted. The Studies Menu provides you with
all of the tools necessary to create sophisticated charts. Multiple
studies can be "batched" or "clustered" together to automate
repetitive display tasks.
Command Description
Create/Modify Study Using a series of dialog boxes you define all
of the key aspects of how and what is displayed in
a chart. You can create an unlimited number of
studies.
Select Current Study Selects the study to display from any of the
studies you have previously defined. If you don't
select a current study a default study is used to
display charts.
Save All Studies Saves the definition of ALL the studies to the
STUDIES.DAT file. Once saved, these definitions
are automatically loaded when you start Parity.
Delete Study Removes the definition of one or more studies
from memory. This change isn't permanent unless
you Save All Studies.
Display Current Study Displays the current study charted on the
current security. If no security or group has
been selected you will receive an error message.
Batch Commands
A batch is a predefined list of one or more studies that is
displayed sequentially on a single security or group. Use batches
to automate and simplify your charting. A batch can hold an
unlimited number of studies and you can define an unlimited number
of batches.
Command Description
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Batch Studies Creates and names a batch of studies.
Select Current Batch Selects the batch to display from any of the
batches you have previously defined.
Reorder Batch Changes the order in which the studies in a
batch are displayed.
Save All Batches Saves the definition of ALL the batches to the
BATCHES.DAT file. Once saved, these definitions
are automatically loaded when you start Parity.
Delete Batch Removes the definition of one or more batches
from memory. This change isn't permanent unless
you Save All Batches.
Create/Modify Current Study
The Create/Modify Study command opens the Formula Editor, which is
the first of several dialog boxes that control how a chart is
displayed. These dialog boxes always display the settings for the
currently selected study, or the Default Study if no study has been
selected.
The changes you make to the study you are modifying will be
temporary if you select O.K. from the Formula Editor which will then
create an "UNNAMED" study. The "UNNAMED" study is overwritten if
you move through the Display Matrix or select a new current study
and your changes will be lost. You can save your changes under a
new or existing study name by clicking on the Save As button. These
changes will be stored for the current session and can be made
permanent with the Save All Studies command.
The Study Editors
Formula Editor The Formula Editor lets you create
sophisticated technical indicators using the
predefined indicator list and your own formulas.
All of the subsequent Study Editors return you to
the Formula Editor which controls how your changes
will be saved.
Pane Layout Editor Controls how the indicators you defined with
the Formula Editor will be displayed in the chart.
You can specify which pane to plot the indicator
in, where the pane should be displayed, what the
pane size should be, and whether the pane should
be displayed with a scale or a grid.
Color Editor Controls what colors to use for plotting the
indicators as well as the colors used for the
background, scales, labels and grid of the chart.
Options Editor Controls how you label the panes and what to
use for the chart title. Also lets you select the
number of days between ticks on the X axis and
whether the Y axis scale of each pane is optimized
for labels or data. You can also use the options
editor to separate stacked panes with white space.
Formula Editor
The Formula Editor permits you to create up to nine formulas that
can be displayed on a chart and/or used in another formula. Each
formula can contain any of the indicators, predefined variables,
arithmetic operators, or chart procedures available in Parity.
The result of each formula is assigned to an array variable named F1
to F9 as shown to the left of the Formula to Plot box. The F1 to F9
variables can be used in exactly the same fashion as the predefined
variables, O, H, L, C, V, and OI which hold the data for the current
security. The values for the first security in a group are stored
in the predefined variables FO, FH, FL, FC, FV, and FOI. You can
use these predefined variables to create spreads and relative
strength calculations.
Since the formulas are processed sequentially, the result of a
formula, e.g. F3, can only be used in subsequent formula
definitions, e.g., F4 - F9.
Some indicators such as BolBands(), and Stoch() are actually
procedures rather than functions. You cannot reference the result
of these procedures by F1-F9 or by including them within another
formula calculation.
A formula box can also contain a chart procedure. Chart procedures
perform special processing in order to create displays like Point
and Figure Charts, EquiVolume Charts, Crockerc type charts, and
horizontal bar charts of the number of days at a price, or the total
volume at a price. The ChartFirstSecurity() procedure even lets you
include a chart of the first security in a group on the same chart
as the current security. To see the selection of Chart Procedures
available click on the Chart Procedure radio button.
To Define a Formula
1 Click in the Formula Box.
2 Type in your formula or edit an existing formula. Or
3 Double click on a predefined indicator in the indicator list box.
If the Formula Box you clicked on in 1) was empty the indicator
will be copied to the Formula Box.
If the Formula Box already contained a formula definition the
indicator you selected will be saved to the clipboard and you can
position the cursor in any Formula Box and paste the indicator
you selected using SHIFT-INS or the Edit Paste Menu Command.
If you click on the Functions radio button a list of Parity's
operators and functions will be displayed. When you double click
on one of these functions it is saved to the clipboard. You can
paste the function into any Formula Box using SHIFT-INS. You
will need to edit the function manually.
To Define a Chart Procedure
1 Click on the Chart Procedure radio button. The list box will now
display all the chart procedures available to you.
2 Double Click on the Chart Procedure you want to include in your
chart. Complete the dialog box if necessary, and the Chart
Procedure will be copied to the Formula Box or saved to the
clipboard.
To Define the Line Style
You can select the line style that will be used to plot the result
of a formula by clicking on the drop down list box to the right of
the Formula Box. An example of each of the available line styles
will be shown. The Bars style will plot the formula as a histogram
or bar chart.
Using Japanese Candlestick Charts
By default, Parity will plot the price data as an Open, High, Low,
Close bar chart. To plot this data as a Japanese Candlestick chart
just check the Candlestick check box.
Using Point and Figure, EquiVolume, Crockerc, and Horizontal Bar Charts
Parity provides nine powerful Chart Procedures which permit you to
include special types of graphs in the panes of your chart. Click
on the Chart Procedures radio button to see the selection of charts
available to you. Simply double click on the chart procedure you
want to include and complete the dialog box which will pop up. The
chart procedure will be copied to the empty formula box.
Button Commands
Button Name Description
---------------------------------------------------------------------
O.K. Button Saves the settings of all the Study Editors as
an "UNNAMED" Study. These settings will be lost
when another study is loaded.
Save As Button Permits you to save the settings of all the
Study Editors as a "Named" Study. These settings
can be made permanent by selecting the Save All
Studies menu command.
Cancel Button Exits Formula Editor without making any changes
in the current study.
Reset All Button Will reset all of the Study Editors' settings
to the Default Study settings. Useful if you want
to create a new study from scratch when a named
study is loaded.
Panes Button Brings up the Pane Layout Editor dialog which
controls the layout and appearance of all the
panes in a chart.
Colors Button Brings up the Color Editor dialog which
controls the layout and appearance of all the
colors in a chart.
Options Button Brings up the Options Editor dialog which
controls pane labels, chart titles and pane
scaling.
Pane Layout Editor
The Pane Layout Editor controls how each data array will be plotted
in a chart. As many as 11 different data arrays can be plotted in a
single chart. These data arrays include price and volume as well as
the array variables F1 to F9 that contain the results of the
formulas defined in the Formula Editor.
By default, Parity plots each data array you define in its own pane,
and each pane is displayed in the chart stacked from top to bottom
in ascending order.
By changing the Pane to Plot In and Pane to Overlay settings you can
plot multiple data arrays in a single pane and stack multiple panes
on top of each other. The Pane to Overlay settings also control the
order in which each pane appears. Each pane maintains its own scale
that can be displayed on the left or right side of the pane or not
at all by adjusting the Scale settings. The Relative Size settings
control the size of each pane in the chart. The Grid Settings
control how each pane displays its horizontal and vertical grids.
Dialog Form Item Description
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Pane To Plot In In order to display a data array you must
specify a pane to plot the data array in. A pane
can contain any number of data arrays but each
pane only maintains a single Y axis scale. This
scale is automatically adjusted for the largest
and smallest values plotted in the pane and the
Maximize Y Axis settings in the Options Editor
controls how the scale is fitted to the data. The
Pane to Plot In setting must contain an integer
from 0 to 11. Setting the Pane to Plot In or the
Pane to Overlay to 0 will cause the data array to
not be displayed. The figure above shows ADX(14)
and ADXR(14) plotted in the same pane.
Pane to Overlay The Pane to Overlay setting controls where the
pane is displayed in a chart. By default each
data array is plotted in its own pane that
overlays itself. Panes are plotted in the chart
from top to bottom in ascending order of the Pane
to Overlay value.
If you change the Pane to Overlay to a
different pane then the contents of the pane will
be overlaid onto the other pane. The size of the
panes will be controlled by the first pane that is
created. Since each pane maintains its own scale,
you would overlay panes, rather than plot in the
same pane, when two or more data arrays have very
different ranges. A good example would be
overlaying panes containing PVI() and NVI() data
arrays as shown in the figure above.
You can also change the order in which panes
are displayed on a chart by changing the Pane To
Overlay settings. Valid settings for Pane To
Overlay are 0 to 13. Although you can't plot in
panes 12 or 13 these settings can be useful to
quickly change the display sequence. For example,
if you prefer to show the price and volume panes
at the bottom of the chart, simply set their Pane
To Overlay settings to 12 and 13 respectively.
Using 0 will cause the data array not to be
plotted at all.
Relative Size Since Parity permits you to dynamically resize
your charts, all pane size settings are relative
to the total size of the chart. To calculate the
display size of a pane, Parity totals the relative
sizes of all the panes in the stack (overlaid
panes are not counted) and allocates a percentage
of the chart's display area to the pane based on
the pane's relative size divided by the total
relative sizes of all the panes in the stack.
Relative sizes can be any number greater than
zero.
Scale Settings Each Pane maintains its own Y-axis scale. This
scale can be displayed to the left or right of the
pane or not at all. Parity will display all the
scales of overlaid panes. Unless you have the
Pane Separation setting selected in the Options
Editor the highest and lowest labels of stacked
panes with scales set to the same side will
overlap. To change the Scale Setting insert the
cursor to the far left of the scale box and type
L, R, or N. It is not necessary to type the whole
word or delete the setting already there.
Grid Settings The frequency of the horizontal and vertical
grids in a pane are automatically controlled by
Parity based on the size of the chart and the
pane. However you can control whether either,
both or none of the grids are displayed in the
pane. To change the Grid setting insert the
cursor to the far left of the grid box and type H,
V, B, or N. It is not necessary to type the whole
word or delete the setting already there.
O.K. Button This temporarily stores any changes you have
made in the Pane Layout Editor and returns you to
the Formula Editor. Your changes won't be saved
unless you select O.K. or Save As from the Formula
Editor.
Cancel Button Ignores any changes you made and returns you to
the Formula Editor.
Color Editor
The Color Editor permits you to control the colors used to plot each
data array, as well as specifying what colors to use for the chart
background, scales and labels.
To change a color simply click on the button for the item you wish
to change. The color selection dialog box will appear. Select one
of 38 predefined colors by double clicking on the color name, or
create your own color using the RGB slider bars.
The lines Parity plots are only one pixel wide. Consequently if
your display adapter or Windows settings are set to 16 colors and
you select a dithered color the data plots will be unsatisfactory.
Also with a one pixel width, similarly colored lines will look
almost identical.
As a final caution, you should note that not all printer drivers
will print all the colors you can display and some printer drivers
may print any color except white as a solid black line. Given the
diversity of drivers for Windows we can only suggest that you
experiment with the best settings for your particular mix of
equipment.
Preview Chart
If you have price data loaded, you can preview the chart as it is
currently defined by clicking on the Preview Chart Button. This
will create a small copy of the chart your study is defining in the
Color Editor form. A complicated study may take a few seconds to
display as Parity calculates the value of each formula.
Options Editor
The Options Editor controls the display of pane labels, chart
titles, pane scales and pane separations. Each of its settings is
explained below.
Dialog Form Item Description
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Pane Labels Each pane can have a label within the pane that
will appear in the upper left corner of the pane.
By default pane labels are displayed using the
text of the formula used to create the data arrays
in the pane. You can edit the text of a pane
label and/or completely disable its display using
the Pane Labels text box and check box
respectively. Labels will be displayed in the
same color used to plot the data array.
Parity attempts to display all the Pane Labels
for all the data arrays plotted in a particular
pane area. In other words, labels for all the
data arrays plotted IN a pane or OVERLAID on a
pane will be printed. However, the logic for
arranging these labels is complicated and can
easily become confused when you overlay panes that
contain multiple data arrays. Also the pane may
not be large enough to contain all the labels.
Once a Pane Label has been created, either
manually or automatically, subsequent changes in
the underlying formula will not affect the label.
We recommend that when you overlay panes you
use the pane label to indicate whether a data
array is plotted to the left or right scale.
Maximize Y Axis? The Y axis scale can be adjusted to maximize
the fit to the data plotted in the pane by
checking this box. This maximizes the amplitude
of the data plotted in the pane. If the box is
unchecked Parity will display the Y axis scale
with "rounded" values, i.e. 10 to 50, or 100 to
200. This will result in "prettier" labels but
can flatten the data out quite a lot. We prefer
maximizing the fit to data but the choice is
yours.
Separate Panes? By default, Parity abuts stacked panes top to
bottom with no separation. If you check Separate
Panes? Parity will add 4% of the area of the chart
as white space to the top of the pane. Depending
on the size of the chart this will usually permit
the top and bottom scale labels of two adjacent
panes to be displayed without overlapping.
However less space will be available to display
the data. The total white space in the chart is
added together and used to adjust the relative
size of all of the panes.
Chart Title Includes: The title bar of a chart can include either
the underlying security name, or the study name,
or both. In order to use a chart in a cluster the
chart title must include the study name.
X Axis Tick Days This controls the minimum number of days
displayed between tick marks on the X Axis. If
the chart is too small to display all the ticks
the number of tick days will be multiplied by a
factor of 2 or 5 until the largest possible number
of ticks can be displayed. In addition this
setting may affect the frequency of the Vertical
Grid.
Select Current Study
Use the Select Current Study command to select the study used to
display the price data from any of the studies you have previously
defined.
Note that when you select a new study to become the current study it
will replace the study, batch, or cluster you had previously
selected and reset the X or study axis of the Display Matrix.
To display the study using the current security use the Display
Current Study command or click on one of the display options on the
Tool Bar.
Save All Studies
The Save All Studies command saves the definition of ALL the studies
in memory to the STUDIES.DAT file in your Parity directory. This is
the only way to make any changes, deletions, or newly created
studies permanent. It is not possible to save changes to a single
study.
Delete Study
The Delete Study command removes the definition of a study from
memory. Studies will not be permanently deleted unless you Save All
Studies.
To add a study to the list of studies to be deleted, double click on
the study name in the All Defined Studies list. To remove a study
from the list of studies to be deleted, double click on the study
name in the Studies to be Deleted list. Click on Delete to make
these changes or Cancel to exit without deleting any studies.
Display Current Study
The Display Current Study command displays a chart of the current
security using the current study and sets the display mode to
Display Group. This command is included for your convenience only
and we recommend controlling the Display Matrix using the Display
Tools found on the Tool Bar.
Batch Studies
The Batch Studies command lets you define a new Batch of studies
using the Create Batch form. A Batch can contain an unlimited
number of studies.
To add studies to the batch, double click on the study name in the
All Defined Studies list. If you change your mind and want to
remove a study from the batch just double click on the study name in
the Studies to be Batched list.
Type the name you want to assign to the batch in the Name of New
Batch box. The name can contain 16 significant characters including
A-Z, a-z, 0-9, %, _, $, !, and %. Names cannot begin with a number
and are not case sensitive.
Clicking O.K. will save the batch to memory and Cancel will exit.
To make your changes permanent you must issue a Save All Batches
command.
Select Current Batch
Use the Select Current Batch command to select the batch used to
display the price data from any of the batches you have previously
defined.
Note that when you select a new batch to become the current batch it
will replace the study, batch, or cluster you had previously
selected and reset the X or study axis of the Display Matrix.
To display the first study in the batch using the current security
use the Display Current Study command or click on one of the display
options on the Tool Bar.
Reorder Batch
When you reorder a batch you change the display sequence of the
studies within the batch. You can also change the definition of the
batch by excluding studies from the Reordered Batch list.
Dialog Form Item Description
---------------------------------------------------------------------
List of All Batches Select the batch you want to reorder by double
clicking on the batch's name in this list box.
Original Batch Lists all the studies in the batch you selected
for reordering which have not been added to the
Reordered Batch list. Add a study to the
Reordered Batch list by double clicking on the
study name.
Reordered Batch Lists the display order for all the studies
that have been selected for reordering. Double
Clicking on a study in the Reordered Batch list
will add it back to the Original Batch List.
O.K. Button Resets the studies list and display sequence of
the Batch to be identical to the Reordered Batch
list.
Cancel Exits the Reorder Batch form without making any
changes.
Save All Batches
The Save All Batches command saves the definition of ALL the batches
in memory to the BATCHES.DAT file in your Parity directory. This is
the only way to make any changes, deletions, or newly created
batches permanent. It is not possible to save changes to a single
batch.
Delete Batch
The Delete Batches command removes the definition of a Batch from
memory. Batches will not be permanently deleted unless you Save All
Batches.
To add a batch to the list of batches to be deleted double click on
the batch name in the All Defined Batches list. To remove a batch
from the list of batches to be deleted double click on the batch
name in the Batches to be Deleted list. Click on Delete to make
these changes or Cancel to exit without deleting any batches.
Clusters Menu
A Cluster is similar to a batch. However, instead of displaying its
studies sequentially, a cluster displays all the studies it contains
at the same time and in a predefined screen configuration.
Command Description
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Make a Cluster Creates a cluster using the current screen
display. A cluster contains information on the
size, location, and underlying study of every
"named" chart that is currently displayed. The
underlying security is irrelevant to the
definition of a cluster.
Select Current Cluster Selects the cluster to display from any of
the clusters you have previously defined.
Save All Clusters Saves the definition of ALL the clusters to the
CLUSTERS.DAT file. Once saved, these definitions
are automatically loaded when you start Parity.
Delete Cluster Removes the definition of one or more clusters
from memory. This change isn't permanent unless
you Save All Clusters.
Display Current Cluster Displays the current cluster charted on
the current security. If no security or group has
been selected you will get an error message.
Note that the configuration of a cluster is display specific.
Displaying a cluster created for a higher resolution display, i.e.
Super VGA resolutions of 800 x 600 or 1024 x 768, on a 640 x 480 VGA
display, will have unpredictable effects.
Make a Cluster
To make a cluster you must display screen charts of all the studies
you want included in the cluster. Size and arrange these charts on
your screen exactly as you want them to appear when you display the
cluster. Any charts which exist, whether or not they are visible,
will be added to the cluster as long as they based on "named"
studies. This includes charts that are minimized. Only charts with
titles including the study name can be clustered. Charts without a
named study in the title, or with a "DEFAULT" or "UNNAMED" study
title are excluded from the cluster.
The Make a Cluster command is completely automatic. All you need to
do is name the cluster. The name can contain 16 significant
characters including A-Z, a-z, 0-9, %, _, $, !, and %. Names cannot
begin with a number and are not case sensitive. Clusters, batches,
groups and studies can all have the same name.
Note that the configuration of a cluster is display specific.
Displaying a cluster created for a higher resolution display i.e.
Super VGA resolutions of 800 x 600 or 1024 x 768, on a 640 x 480 VGA
display will have unpredictable effects.
Select Current Cluster
Use the Select Current Cluster command to select the cluster you
want to display.
Note that when you select a new cluster to become the current
cluster it will overwrite the cluster, batch, or study you had
previously selected and reset the X or studies axis of the Display
Matrix.
To display the cluster using the current security click on one of
the display options on the Tool Bar.
Save All Clusters
The Save All Clusters command saves the definition of ALL the
clusters in memory to the CLUSTERS.DAT file in your Parity
directory. This is the only way to make any changes, deletions, or
newly created clusters permanent. It is not possible to save
changes to a single cluster.
Delete Cluster
The Delete Cluster command removes the definition of a Cluster from
memory. Clusters will not be permanently deleted unless you Save
All Clusters.
To add a cluster to the list of clusters to be deleted double click
on the cluster name in the All Defined Clusters list. To remove a
cluster from the list of clusters to be deleted double click on the
cluster name in the Clusters to be Deleted list. Click on Delete to
make these changes or Cancel to exit without deleting any clusters.
Display Current Cluster
The Display Current Cluster command displays the charts that
comprise the current cluster on the current security. If no
security or cluster has been loaded you will receive an error
message. This command is included for your convenience only and we
recommend controlling the Display Matrix using the Display Tools
found on the Tool Bar.
Pointer Menu
The Pointer Menu includes less frequently used Action Tools than are
accessible by clicking on an icon on the Tool Bar.
Choose the action you want to perform from the Pointer Menu
selections. Then click on the chart you want to act on. These
tools are "sticky" and stay active until you select another action
tool or click on the Pointer Tool on the Tool Bar.
Command Description
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Erase Vertical Lines Erases any vertical lines that have been drawn
on the chart you click on, including lines drawn
with ChartVertLine().
Erase Horizontal Lines Erases any horizontal lines that have been
drawn on the chart you click on, except lines
drawn with ChartHorizLine() which cannot be
erased.
Erase Drawn Lines Erases any lines drawn with the limited line
tool, the extended line tool, or the Fibonacci
tools.
Erase All Lines Erases all the lines drawn on the chart except
lines drawn with ChartHorizLine().
Draw Fibonacci Lines Click on any two points in a chart, usually two
extreme price points. Parity will draw horizontal
lines at the two points plus lines at 38.2%, 50.0%
and 61.8% of the vertical difference between the
two points. Note that the calculations are
performed based on the actual points you click on,
not the data values they are proximate to.
Draw Fibonacci Fans Click on any two points in a chart, usually two
extreme price Points. Parity will draw 3 diagonal
trend lines extending from the first point,
through the points that are 38.2%, 50.0% and 61.8%
of the vertical difference between the two points
and vertical to the second point. These trend
lines are automatically extended to the far right
of the chart. Note that the calculations are
performed based on the actual points you click on,
not the data values they are proximate to.
Draw Channel Lines Click on any two points in a chart, usually two
points which you believe define a trend. Parity
will draw an extended trend line between the two
points. Then click on any third point and Parity
will draw and extended trendline at the third
point which is parallel to the first two points.
Options Menu
The Options Menu includes several commands used to customize
Parity's operation.
Command Description
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Default Study Permits you to save the settings of the current
study as the "DEFAULT" study. The "DEFAULT" study
settings are loaded when you first start Parity,
and whenever you click on the Reset All button in
the Formula Editor.
To make a new "DEFAULT" study use the
Create/Modify Current Study editors to define all
of the settings for the current study as you want
them to appear in the "DEFAULT" study and click
OK. Then choose Default Study from the Options
Menu and click on Make Default Study. All the
settings, including formulas and chart procedures,
of the current study will be saved to the
DEFSTUDY.DAT file. To return to Parity's standard
"DEFAULT" settings delete the DEFSTUDY.DAT file
from your disk.
Chart Preferences Permits you to save settings which affect the
colors and sizes used to display various Chart
Procedures, Action Tools, and the chart size
itself. The various settings should be self
explanatory.
You can enable your preference settings for the
current Parity session only, or you can save them
to the CHRTPREF.DAT file which is automatically
loaded when Parity starts. To return to Parity's
standard chart settings delete the CHRTPREF.DAT
file from your disk.
Directory and File Permits you to set a Startup Directory used for
the Load a Stock and Create Group commands. You
can also save a preference for MetaStock or
ChartPro file formats. Your settings will be
saved to the FILEPREF.DAT file which is
automatically loaded when Parity starts. To
return to Parity's standard settings delete the
FILEPREF.DAT file from your disk
Windows maintains a "current" directory for
each disk. If you change from the "Startup
Directory" to a different directory using Parity,
or any other Windows application, that will be the
directory which will be displayed when you use
Load a Stock or Create Group. Parity can only set
your initial startup directory.
Moveable Tool Bar Will recreate the Tool Bar as a moveable window
of fixed size. The moveable Tool Bar will be
affected by the Window Cascade and Tile commands.
Fixed Tool Bar Will recreate the Tool Bar as a fixed windows
of fixed size. The fixed Tool Bar is not affected
by the Window Cascade and Tile commands unless you
have moved a chart off the "desktop" and used the
scroll bars which will appear to move around on
the virtual desktop. Then Window Cascade or Tile
may adversely affect the Tool Bar and you may need
to recreate it using either the Moveable Tool Bar
or the Fixed Tool Bar commands.
Window Menu
The Window Menu provides the standard functionality of the Windows
3.0 windowing commands.
Command Description
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Cascade Arranges chart windows in an overlapping
pattern so that the title bar of each window
remains visible.
Tile Arranges chart windows side by side so that all
windows are visible.
Arrange Icons Arranges all chart icons in rows at the bottom
of the Parity window.
Show Print Log Opens a very simple and limited text editor.
You can make notes and comments in the print log
and use the File Print command to print them or
the File Save As command to save them to a file.
Show Scheduler This command has no function in this release of
Parity.
Help Menu
The Help Menu provides access to Parity's extensive on-line help
files. You can also access help by pressing F1 at any time or
clicking on the Help button in most of the dialog boxes.
Part 5 Indicators & Chart Procedures
The technical analysis of stocks and commodities generally falls
into three general types of activity; chart reading, indicator
analysis, and wave or cycle analysis. Vociferous proponents of each
method exist, but most technicians make use of tools from each of
these three general types of analysis in some measure. Parity
provides the user with a wide variety of chart types and predefined
technical indicators which can be used to predict potential price
trends.
Chart Reading
Chart reading typically involves the visual recognition of
historical price and volume trends and patterns which are believed
to be useful for forecasting the future direction of a security.
Most chartists draw trendlines and resistance and support lines on a
chart which identify key price patterns. Parity provides a full
complement of drawing tools which are accessible from the Tool Bar
or the Pointer Menu. Just by "pointing and clicking" the user can
quickly add trendlines, text, channel lines and Fibonacci lines to
any chart. Also, Parity's Chart Procedures allow you to create many
different chart types.
Indicator Analysis
Over the years technicians have developed a number of widely
recognized "indicators" which can be useful for predicting when a
security has peaked or bottomed or is continuing in its current
trend. An indicator is simply a predefined formula which takes
historical price and volume data and calculates a new indicator
value which may have predictive significance. Indicator analysis
usually looks for indicator values above or below a certain point,
divergences from an indicator chart and the price chart, or a peak
or trough in the indicator itself. Parity offers most of the
commonly used indicators as predefined functions which can be easily
charted or included in your own formulas.
Cycle and Wave Analysis
Many technicians believe that stocks and commodities follow certain
naturally occurring wave patterns and price cycles. The most
comprehensive (and difficult) theory of this type is the Elliot Wave
Theory. Parity provides a full set of trigonometric functions which
can be used to generate any sort of cycle and many of the same
drawing tools used for chart reading will also be useful for wave
analysis.
The retail version of the program, Parity Plus, includes special
tools to draw and position two sets of independent cycle lines on
any of your charts.
Technical Indicators
Parity includes over 30 of the most popular indicators for the
technical analysis of stocks and commodities. These majority of
these indicators act as functions that return an array which can be
used as the input to another indicator or within a user defined
formula. This makes it easy for you to do "studies on studies" or
to develop your own proprietary charting tools.
A complete list of the indicators available in Parity is shown
below. A full description of the derivation and interpretation of
these indicators is well beyond the scope of this documentation.
Please see the Bibliography which follows for a list of books which
discuss these indicators in detail.
Notes on Syntax
The naming and syntax for indicators generally follows the
conventions established by MetaStock and TAS. Some indicators
expect parameters of a specific type as shown below:
d Any data array including predefined variables or the result of
another indicator.
p The number of periods to use to calculate the indicator.
t The type of moving average to use. Must be "S" for simple,
"E" for exponential, "W" for weighted. The quotes are
required.
r Express the result of the indicator in points or percentages.
Must be "$" for points or "%" for percentages. The quotes are
required
Note that Parity is not case sensitive. D is the same as d, AD() is
the same as aD().
List of Predefined Technical Indicators
Indicator Function Description
-------------------------------------------------------------------
AD() Accumulation/Distribution
ADX(p) Average Directional Movement Index
ADXR(p) Average Directional Movement Rating
BolBands(p, deviations) Bollinger Bands. The deviations
parameter is the number of standard
deviations used to calculate the top and
bottom bands. BolBands() is a procedure.
CCI(p) Commodity Channel Index
CO() Chaikin Oscillator
DX(p) Directional Movement Index
MACD() MACD Indicator
MDI(p) Minus Directional Indicator
MO(p) Momentum Indicator
MOV(d, p, t) Moving Average
NVI() Negative Volume Index
OBV() On Balance Volume
OSCP(p1, p2, t, r) Price Oscillator
OSCV(p1, p2, t, r) Volume Oscillator
PDI(p) Plus Directional Indicator
PVI() Positive Volume Index
PVT() Price Volume Trend
ROC(d, p, r) Rate of Change
RSI (d, p) Relative Strength Index
SAR(AF, MAF) Parabolic Stop and Reverse System. AF is the
acceleration factor. MAF is the maximum
acceleration.
STD(d) or STD(d, p) Standard Deviation. STD(d) calculates the
standard deviation of each element of d from
all the values in d. STD(d, p) calculates
the standard deviation of each element of d
from the values of the preceding p periods.
Stoch(%Kperiods, %Kslowing, %Dperiods, %Dmethod)
Stoch(%Kperiods, %Kslowing) Stochastic Oscillator. Stoch()
takes two forms. You must specify the number
of %K periods and the %K slowing periods.
Optionally you can also specify the number of
%D periods and the %D moving average method,
i.e. "E", "S", "W". By default %Dperiods is
3 and %Dmethod is "E". Stoch() is a
procedure
TR() True Range
TRIX(p) TRIX Indicator
TSF(d, p) Time Series Forecast
ULT(p1, p2, p3) Larry Williams' Ultimate Oscillator.
VAR(d) or VAR(d,p) Variance. VAR(d) calculates the variance of
each element of d from all the values in d.
VAR(d, p) calculates the variance of each
element of d from the values of the preceding
p periods.
VOL(pm, pr) Chaikin's Volatility Indicator, pm is the
number of moving average periods, pr is the
number of rate of change periods.
VOLW(p) Wilder's Volatility
WC() Weighted Close
WILLA() Williams' A/D
WILLR(p) Williams %R
ZIG(d, change, r) Zig Zag Indicator. Filters out changes that
are less than change points or change
percent. If r is "%" then change must be
less than 1.0.
Bibliography of Technical Analysis Texts
The New Commodity Trading Systems and Methods. Perry J. Kaufman
Technical Analysis of the Futures Markets. John J. Murphy
The Encyclopedia of Technical Market Indicators. Robert W. Colby &
Thomas A. Meyers
Technical Analysis of Stock Trends. Robert D. Edwards & John Magee.
Technical Analysis Explained. Martin Pring.
New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems. J. Welles Wilder.
MetaStock Function Compatibility
Parity supports virtually all of the indicators and functions
provided with MetaStock 2.5, and adds many new indicators and
functions of its own. The following details the differences between
MetaStock and Parity.
MetaStock Functions Not Supported In Parity 1.0.
Options & Commodities None of MetaStock's options or commodities
related functions are supported in Parity 1.0.
These include the option functions delta(),
gamma(), life(), option(), theta(), and vega().
The commodity related functions are aswing(),
csi(), hpi(), and swing(). A future release of
Parity will provide equivalent support for these
functions.
Indicators We have had trouble finding the correct
formulas for the following indicators: corr(),
di(), and ffi(). These indicators will be added
as we figure out how to calculate them.
MetaStock Functions which will never be supported.
Function Description
------------------------------------------------------------------
fml() This has no equivalent in Parity since the
result of a formula can be referred to directly
using F1 to F9.
if() if is a reserved word. Equivalent
functionality is provided by: IF test THEN d1 ELSE
d2.
mod(d, v) mod is a reserved word. Equivalent
functionality is provided by: d mod v.
ref(d, p) Equivalent functionality is provided by d[-p]
or d[+p].
sqr(d) sqr is a reserved word. Equivalent
functionality is provided by: SQRT(d).
sub(a, b) sub is a reserved word. Equivalent
functionality is provided by: a - b.
sum(d, p) sum is a reserved word. Equivalent
functionality is provided by: StatMovTot(d, p)
Trivial MetaStock Functions which are supported.
For your convenience we do support the following MetaStock
functions. The actual underlying Parity equivalent is shown for
your edification. We cannot guarantee that these functions will be
supported in future releases of Parity.
Function Description
------------------------------------------------------------
ADD(a,b) a + b
DIV(a,b) a / b
FRAC(a) a mod 1
HHV(d, p) StatMovMax(d , p)
INT(d) d \ 1
LLV(d, p) StatMovMin(d, p)
MID(d, p) (StatMovMin(d,p) + StatMovMax(d,p))/2
MP() (H + L) / 2
MUL(a, b) a * b
NEG(d) -d
PER(d) (d - d[StartValid(d)])/ d[StartValid(d)]
PREC(d, p) ((d * 10^p) \ 1) * 10 ^ p
PWR(a, b) a ^ b
Procedures vs. Functions
Parity includes several indicators which are defined as Procedures
rather than Functions. These indicators, which include BolBands()
and Stoch() do not return an array of data values. However,
BolBands() and Stoch() do create named Global Variables which can be
used in subsequent calculations.
Parity also includes a special class of Chart Procedures which are
used to create special chart types in a pane of a study. Chart
procedures are used in a study just like indicators but they do not
return an array of data values.
Indicator procedures and chart procedures cannot be used within any
other function and the result of the procedure cannot be referred to
using the F1 to F9 array variables.
The following predefined indicators are Procedures rather than
Functions.
BolBands(p, deviations). Calculates the Bollinger Bands for
the closing price using p periods and deviations standard
deviations. The result of the calculation are stored in the
global variables topband, centerband, and bottomband which may
be referenced in subsequent calculations.
Stoch(%Kperiods, %Kslowing, %Dperiods, %Dmethod) Calculates
the Stochastic Oscillator for the price data. The results of
the calculation are stored in the global variables %KLine and
%DLine which may be referenced in subsequent calculations.
Chart Procedures
Parity includes the ability to display multiple types of price
charts within the same Study/Chart. Parity accomplishes this with
its Chart Procedure functionality. Chart Procedures are used in a
Study almost exactly like Parity's predefined indicators. However,
instead of returning a data array which is plotted in a pane of the
chart, chart procedures create an entirely different chart type in
the specified pane.
Like indicators, chart procedures can be added to a study by double
clicking in the Formula Editor's list box when the Chart Procedure
radio button is on. Or you can manually type a chart procedure into
a formula box. Note that the color and width used for many of the
Chart Procedures can be set with the Chart Preferences command on
the Options Menu.
Types of Chart Procedures
ChartFirstSecurity(typechart)
Creates a bar, line, or candlestick chart of the first security in
the Group. Use "B", "L", or "J" for the typechart parameter. See
Predefined Variables.
ChartHorizLine(data), ChartVertLine(data, c1, c2)
Draws vertical and horizontal lines on a chart based on the values
of data. No results are returned. See Adding Lines to a Chart.
DaysAtPrice(array, band)
Plots a horizontal bar chart of the number of days array was within
the price range defined by band. DaysAtPrice() is usually used with
price data such as C, but you can use it with any array variable
such as F1-F9. The band parameter sets the "granularity" of the
price ranges which are used to total the occurrences of array. For
example a band of 1 will treat a closing price of 33, 33.5 and 33.75
as occurring in the same band while .25 would treat them as falling
into separate bands. The horizontal bar is plotted at the midrange
of the band. Each increment along the X axis equals 1 day where
array's price was within the band. By default Parity will plot
DaysAtPrice in the Price Pane.
DBarPointFigure(boxsize, reversals, $or%, reverseWhen, constantBox)
Causes a modified point and figure chart which incorporates the
duration or time period of a column to be displayed in its pane. No
results are returned.
EquiVolumeChart()
Creates the Equivolume chart popularized by Richard Arms. The width
of each box on the chart is proportional to the volume traded, while
the top and bottom of the box corresponds to the High and Low prices
for that day. A future version of Parity will include Equivolume
Candlestick charts. If you plot more than 1500 days of data with
EquiVolumeChart() you will hit Parity's limit of 8189 data array
elements and receive an error message.
VolumeAtPrice(array, band)
Plots a horizontal bar chart of the total volume when array was
within the price range defined by band, proportional to the total
volume traded during the period of the chart. Unlike DaysAtPrice(),
the length of the horizontal lines is relative, not absolute.
Roughly speaking, a line twice as long had twice as much volume at
that price. See DaysAtPrice() for more detail.
XOPointFigure(boxsize, reversals, $or%, reverseWhen, constantBox)
Causes a traditional point and figure chart to be displayed in its
pane. No results are returned.
XVolumeYPrice()
This procedure plots a line chart where the X axis is volume and the
Y axis is the closing price. The first day is indicated by an "S"
on the chart, and the last day by an "E". The direction of the
lines is indicated by their color. By default, the lines cycle
through Red, Green, and Blue. So the line for the first data point
is Red, the second is Green, the third is Blue, the fourth is Red
etc. The overall effect is to create something akin to The Crocker
Chartc. The analysis of Crocker Chartsc is beyond the scope of this
documentation.
Point and Figure Charts
Point and Figure charts are used to plot price movement rather than
price action over time like bar or candlestick charts.
You create point and figure charts by typing one of Parity's two
types of point and figure chart procedures in the formula box of the
Formula Editor. Point and figure charts can be plotted in a unique
pane, which can be stacked or overlaid on another pane, or plotted
in a pane with other indicators.
Constructing Point and Figure Charts
Traditional point and figure charts display price movement as a
series of columns of X's and O's. An X column indicates rising
prices and the O column indicates falling prices. By default Parity
also colors the X columns blue and the O columns red to facilitate
their interpretation.
The two most important parameters in the construction of a point and
figure chart are the box size and the reversal criterion. The box
size determines the minimum price movement necessary to add an X or
O to a column. The reversal criterion is usually expressed as x
number of boxes and is used to determine if a new column of X's or
O's should be started. The procedure to create a chart in an
English/BASIC dialect is:
Get the high and low prices for today
SELECT CASE current column
CASE current column is X's
IF today's high is at least 1 box > than previous high
THEN
Plot new X's.
Do not fill box if scale price is > today's high
ELSE IF today's low is x boxes below the X column high
THEN
Move right one column
Enter O's beginning 1 box below the X column high
Do not fill box if scale price is < today's low
END IF
CASE current column is O's
Do the reverse of the X case.
END SELECT
Traditional point and figure charts disregard time. This makes it
difficult to relate point and figure charts to standard price volume
charts. To alleviate this problem Parity incorporates a point and
figure chart type, DBarPointFigure(), which changes the width of the
X and O columns to reflect the passage of time.
The Point and Figure Procedures
Parity has two chart procedures which can be used to create point
and figure charts.
XOPointFigure(boxsize, reversals, $or%, reverseWhen, constantBox)
Plots a traditional point and figure chart of X and O columns. If
you have a color display, X's will be displayed in blue and O's in
red. The procedure is entered as a formula in a Study. How point
and figure charts are displayed can be controlled in the same
fashion as any other item plotted in a study.
DBarPointFigure(boxsize, reversals, $or%, reverseWhen, constantBox)
Plots a modified point and figure chart which incorporates time by
varying the width of a column to match the entry and exit dates. X
columns are displayed as blue rectangles, O columns are displayed as
red rectangles.
Parameters
Parity permits you to experiment with a number of varieties of the
point and figure method by changing the parameters used with
XOPointFigure() and DBarPointFigure.
Parameter Description
-----------------------------------------------------------------
boxsize The box size of the chart can be expressed in
points or percentages, i.e. 1.0 could
indicate one point, or .05 could indicate 5%
depending on the setting of $or%
reversals Determines the number of boxes need to reverse
direction and start a new column. Must be a
positive number. Note that a boxsize of 1
and reversals of 3 and boxsize of .5 and
reversals of 6 will create identical charts.
$or% Determines whether the value of boxsize is used
as an absolute dollar amount or a percentage
of the closing price. $or% must be either
"$" or "%" including the quotes.
reverseWhen An important question for point and figure
charts is when to test for a reversal if the
high and low prices of a volatile trading day
could be used to continue a column or reverse
to a new column.
Setting reverseWhen to "A" causes Parity to
test for a reversal even after a column has
been continued.
Setting reverseWhen to "N" causes Parity to
only test for a reversal if the column has
not been continued. This is the case shown
in the chart construction example above.
Setting reverseWhen to "B" causes Parity to
test for a reversal before it tests if the
column has been continued.
constantBox Parity can automatically vary the box size as a
function of closing price when $or% is set to
"%". constantBox must be either "Y" for a
constant box size or "N" for a variable box
size based on boxsize * today's close. If
$or% is set to "$" constantBox is ignored.
Limitations
An XOPointFigure() chart can contain a maximum of 8189 X and O
elements. This is a limitation for all data arrays in Parity. An X
or O element is created for every box movement. If you use a very
small box size relative to the volatility and price of the security
it is possible to hit the 8189 element limit. An example would be
using a 0.5 box size on something like the Dow Jones Industrial
Average.
Adding Lines to a Chart
Parity includes two procedures which can be used to automatically
plot vertical or horizontal lines on a chart. ChartVertLine() is
particularly useful for indicating buy/sell criteria while
ChartHorizLine() is useful to graphically illustrate threshold
values for the formulas and indicators you plot.
To use these procedures simply type them into a formula box in the
Formula Editor.
ChartVertLine(array, type, color1, color2)
Causes vertical lines to be plotted the full height of the chart.
ChartVertLine requires 1, 2 or 4 parameters as explained below.
Generally, you will want to set the Pane To Plot In to the value of
a pane which contains data. This doesn't affect how ChartVertLine()
works but otherwise you will have an empty pane in your chart.
ChartVertLine(array) -- One Parameter Case.
array Holds a data array which can be a predefined
variable, F1 to F9, the result of an
indicator, or an expression combining any of
these. ChartVertLine(array) tests for array
<> array[-1] and plots a vertical line
whenever it is True. In other words
ChartVertLine will plot a vertical line
whenever today's array value is not equal to
yesterdays array value. For example:
ChartVertLine(C > MOV(C, 50, "S")
Will plot a vertical line when the closing
price crosses above or below the 50 day
simple moving average.
ChartVertLine(array, type) -- Two Parameter Case
array Holds a data array as above. Or array can
contain an array of dates. The type
parameter determines how array will be
evaluated.
If you want array to be a list of dates you
must express the dates as follows:
ChartVertLine({"07/01/91", "09/15/91",
"10/20/91"}, "dates")
This will plot a vertical line at each date
contained in array if that date exists in the
chart. If the date doesn't exist no line
will be plotted. Dates must be enclosed in
quotes and can be expressed as "MM/DD/YY",
"YYMMDD", or "DD-MMM-YY" type formats. To
plot a singe date use
ChartVertLine({"07/01/91"}, "dates") or
ChartVertLine("07/01/91","dates")
type Must be set to either "dates" to plot an array
of dates, or "values" to plot a data array as
in the one parameter case.
ChartVertLine(array, type, color1, color2) -- Four Parameter Case
array As above
type As above
color1 The name of a color, enclosed in quotes. Valid
names are shown in the select color list in
the Color Editor. Examples include "Blue",
"Black", "Red", "Green", "Yellow", "Cyan",
"Magenta". The first vertical line will be
drawn in color1, the second in color2, the
third in color1, etc.
color2 As above.
ChartHorizLine(data)
Plots horizontal lines at the Y axis values held in data, in the
Pane To Plot In assigned in the Pane Layout Editor. The color of
the line is set using the Color Editor.
By plotting ChartHorizLine in the same pane as a formula, indicator,
or price chart it is possible to set one or more visual "thresholds"
which you can use to judge whether the formula or indicator is
signaling a buy or sell condition.
ChartHorizLine(data) takes a single parameter, data, which can be
either a scalar or array value. For example to plot 4 horizontal
lines in a pane use:
ChartHorizLine({100, 50, 0, -50, -100})
To plot a single horizontal line you can use either:
ChartHorizLine({0})
Or
ChartHorizLine(0)
The values in data can appear in any order.
Part 6 Formulas, Operators & Functions
Parity provides a full complement of powerful mathematical functions
and operators which can be used to create very complex user defined
formulas.
Formulas
Parity permits you to create extremely sophisticated formulas using
the Formula Editor.
With Parity you can create formulas using:
Arithmetic Operators +, -, *, /, ^, Mod, \
Comparison Operators =, <>, <, >, <=, >=
Logical Operators AND, OR, NOT, XOR, EQV, IMP
Trigonometric Functions Cos(), Sin(), Tan(), ACos(), ASin(),
ATn(), ATan2()
Exponential Functions Exp(), Exp10(), Log(), Log10(), Sqr(),
Sqrt()
Rounding Functions Round(), Ceil(), Floor(), Abs(), Sgn(),
Bool()
Array Related Functions Sum(), Product(), RunTot(), Min(),
Max(), IF test THEN data1 ELSE data2
Statistical Functions StatNorm(), StatPercent(),
StatRegress(), StatMovTot(), StatMovMin(),
StatMovMax()
Technical Indicators Predefined technical indicators for
stock and commodity charting, i.e. AD(),
ADXR(), MOV(), TRIX(), TSF() etc..
Other Formulas F1 to F9 when previously defined
Custom Formulas Not Supported in Version 1.0
Limitations of Formulas in Parity
Version 1.0 of Parity includes several important limitations on the
formulas you create:
1 A formula cannot contain more than 512 characters.
2 You cannot assign the result of a formula to a variable. By
default, formulas created using the Formula Editor will assign
the result of a formula to its corresponding F1 to F9 variable,
which can be used in subsequent calculations. You cannot use =
as an assignment operator within a formula. The following will
cause an error when you chart a study.
x = H - L
The Custom Formulas feature, which will be implemented in a
future version of Parity, will permit you to assign the result of
a formula to a temporary variable.
3 Parity calculates the result of a formula "all at once" and does
not support FOR or WHILE loops. This can create a problem where
you might want to use "yesterdays" value of the formula in the
formula. For example the predefined Volume
Accumulation/Distribution indicator, AD(), is defined as:
((Close - Low) - (High - Close) / (High - Low) ) * Volume +
"the value of yesterdays calculation"
In Version 1.1 of Parity there is no way to reference "the value
of yesterdays calculation" before all the elements of the array
are calculated. This feature will be implemented in the Custom
Formula feature in the future.
Note that it is easy to reference the previous value of an array
once it has been calculated using the [-x] array notation, you
simply can't do it while its being calculated. This is
equivalent to MetaStock's ref( data array, period) function but
is much more powerful and direct.
4 Parity does not perform any error checking on user defined
formulas before it executes them. If you attempt to plot a
formula with an error in it Parity will issue a cryptic error
message and appear to hang. To resume the program simply hit the
up arrow key and close the error message.
Examples of Valid Formulas
AD()
MOV(C, 20, "S")
Stoch(5, 3, 3, "E")
(H - L) / C
ROC( RSI(14) , 10, "%" )
(MOV(C,10, "E") > MOV(C, 40, "E") AND RSI(14) <= 70) * 2 - 1
TSF(C, 21)[-1] <= TSF(C,21) AND TSF(C,21) >= TSF (C,21)[+1]
C > 30
Examples of Invalid Formulas
x = H- L
Stoch(5,3,3,"E") / C
Any formula that results in division by 0.
Arrays versus Scalars
Scalars contain a single value, such as 2.7 or 5. Arrays contain
multiple values, each element of which is addressed by an index.
Most of Parity's operators work equally well on arrays and scalars
and the two can be mixed together in computations. An array can
contain a maximum of 8189 elements.
Referencing Arrays
There are several ways to refer to arrays and to their elements as
shown below.
V The whole array Where V is {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}
V[x] Element x of array V V[4] would be {8}
V[x:y] Elements x to y of V V[2:4] would be {4, 6, 8}
V[-x] V with elements shifted ahead by x units. The valid range is also
adjusted to match the shifted elements V[-1] would be {?, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10}
V[+x] V with elements shifted back x units. Elements shifted before x are
discarded. V[+1] would be {4, 6, 8, 10}
The size of an array is the total number of elements it contains.
In the example above V's size is 5 element. Arrays also have valid
ranges and they do not have to be defined starting with index 1. In
our example the valid range of V[-1] is [2:6]. Index [1] of this
array is undefined.
Array Calculations
All of Parity's operators and most of its predefined functions and
indicators work on arrays. The careful use of array shifting can
permit you to create very powerful formulas using Parity. For
example to calculate the percent change of today's closing price
versus two days ago you could use the formula:
( (C - C[-2]) / C[-2] ) * 100
Or, to calculate the difference between a 14 day simple moving
average and the closing price:
C - MOV(C, 14, "S")
Generally Parity is able to automatically compensate for the changes
in size and valid range that occur in array calculations. However
it is conceivable that you might create a formula which tries to
perform an operation on two arrays that don't have overlapping valid
ranges and have different sizes. In that case Parity will give you
an error message when you try to execute the formula.
Predefined Variables
Whenever Parity loads price data for a security it creates a number
of predefined array variables that can be used in your formulas.
These variables include:
H Array of High Prices
L Array of Low Prices
C Array of Closing Prices
V Array of Trading Volume
If the data file which is loaded includes open and open interest
data Parity will also create these additional variables:
O Array of Opening Prices
OI Array of Open Interest
Each element of these predefined variables contains data from the
corresponding record in the data range that was loaded. The first
element is always the oldest record and the last element is the most
recent record loaded.
Predefined Variables for the First Security in a Group
Parity also stores the price data for the first security in a group
in a special set of predefined variables. This lets you create
formulas that perform spread or relative strength calculations.
These special variables include:
FH Array of High Prices of First Security in a
Group
FL Array of Low Prices of First Security in a
Group
FC Array of Closing Prices of First Security in a
Group
FV Array of Trading Volume of First Security in a
Group
FO Array of Opening Prices of First Security in a
Group
FOI Array of Open Interest of First Security in a
Group
If the date range of the first security in a group is different from
subsequent securities in a group, the use of these special variables
will be misleading at best.
The ChartFirstSecurity(type of chart) chart procedure can be used to
plot a line, bar, or candlestick chart of the first security in any
pane of a chart.
If you Load a Security before you select a current group these Fx
variables will be identical to the predefined variables for that
security. However, if the Fx variables are already defined they
will not be overwritten, except when you select a new group. This
prevents "Undefined Variable" errors and gives you maximum
flexibility in designing your studies.
The Fx variables are extremely useful for charting spreads and
relative strength comparisions. Typically the first security in a
group would be an index like the S+P 500 or the leading company in
an industry. You could then use a formula like
C - FC
to plot a spread or
(C-C[1])/(FC - FC[1])
to plot relative strength.
Importing User Defined Variables
Parity gives you the unique ability to import user defined variables
using the Import Other Formats command. These user defined
variables will persist for the duration of your session with Parity
and can be used just like predefined variables. Note that Parity
provides no error or range checking for user defined variables.
There is a special syntax which can make user defined variables more
useful to you. Let say you imported a variable called NYSEADVANCE
which has 800 data elements. The data you are charting includes 101
data elements. Assuming the date of the last element of NYSEADVANCE
is the same as the last day of your price data you could use the
following command to include NYSEADVANCE in a formula correctly:
NYSEADVANCE[EndValid(NYSEADVANCE) - 100 : EndValid(NYSEADVANCE)]
To actually chart NYSEADVANCE you might also need to adjust its
valid range by appending
[ + (EndValid(NYSEADVANCE) - 100) ]
To the formula above. Obviously user defined variables are a
powerful AND complex feature. You will need to experiment to become
familiar with this capability.
Operators, Parenthesis and Mathematical Precedence
Formulas in Parity follow the normal conventions for the use of
parenthesis and precedence to control the order in which
mathematical operations are performed. Parity also supports the
normal mathematical operators available in most BASIC dialects
including (in order of precedence):
( ) Parentheses
[ ] Array Brackets
^ Exponentiation
- (unary minus) Unary Minus
* / Multiplication and Division
\ Truncated Division
Mod Modulus
+ - Addition and Subtraction
= <> > < >= <= Comparison
Not Logical Negation
And Logical And
Or Logical Or
Xor Logical Exclusive Or
Eqv Logical Equivalence
Imp Logical Implication
With some rather complicated exceptions these operators can be used
equally well with Scalar or Array values. The Logical Operators
consider a 0 value to be False and any non zero value to be True.
Using a Logical Operator on an array will return an array of ones
and zeros.
Arithmetic Operators
Parity permits you to use all of the standard arithmetic operators
in your formulas as shown below.
A + B Add B to A
A - B Subtract B from A
A * B Multiply A and B
A / B Divide A by B
A ^ B Compute AB
A Mod B Return the integer remainder of A / B
A \ B Truncated Division. Divide A by B and discard
digits to the right of the decimal place.
- A Negate A. This is a unary operator
Comparison Operators
The Comparison Operators compare two values which can be either an
array or a scalar. The comparison operators return 1 if the
comparison is true or 0 if it is false. Using a comparison operator
with an array will return an array of 1's and 0's for each element
in the array.
A < B If A is less than B the result is 1, and 0
otherwise.
A <= B If A is less than or equal to B the result is
1, and 0 otherwise.
A <> B If A is not equal to B the result is 1, and 0
otherwise.
A = B If A is equal to B the result is 1, and 0
otherwise.
A > B If A is greater than B the result is 1, and 0
otherwise.
A >= B If A is greater than or equal to B the result
is 1, and 0 otherwise.
Logical Operators
Logical Operators work on true and false values. Parity considers
any non-zero value to be true and 0 to be false. Logical Operators
can be combined with comparison operators and other values to form a
logical statement. Using Logical Operators with arrays will return
an array of 1's and 0's.
A AND B If A and B are both non-zero the result is 1.
Otherwise, the result is 0.
A OR B If A or B is non-zero the result is 1.
Otherwise, the result is 0.
A XOR B If A is non-zero and B is 0, or A is 0 and B is
non-zero, then the result is 1. Otherwise,
the result is 0.
NOT A If A is non-zero, the result is 0. If A is 0,
the result is 1
A EQV B If A and B are both non-zero, or A and B are
both 0, then the result is 1. Otherwise, the
result is 0.
A IMP B If A is 0 or B is non-zero, the result is 1.
Otherwise, the result is 0.
Trigonometric Functions
Parity supports the standard trigonometric and inverse trigonometric
functions. Angle measurements are in radians.
Degree measurements are converted to radians by multiplying by the
factor pi/180. The value of Pi can be obtained using ACos(-1).
Trigonometric functions will operate on either scalar or array
values.
Cos(data) Computes the cosine of a value given in
radians.
Sin(data) Computes the sine of a value given in radians.
Tan(data) Computes the tangent of a value given in
radians.
ACos(data) Computes the arccosine of a value given in
radians.
ASin(data) Computes the arcsine of a value given in
radians.
ATn(data) Computes the arctangent of a value given in
radians.
ATan2(Xdata, Ydata) Computes the tangent of a line from the
origin to a point.
Exponential Functions
Parity includes a set of common exponential functions:
Exp(data) Computes ex
Exp10(data) Computes 10x
Log(data) Computes ln(x)
Log10(data) Computes log10(x)
Sqr(data) Computes x2
Sqrt(data) Computes the square root of a value.
The logarithm of a number for a base other than e or 10 is computed
with the following formula:
Logbx = Log(x) / Log(b)
The value of the constant e is calculated with the equation below:
e = Exp(1)
Rounding Functions
Rounding functions are used to adjust scalar or array data in a
number of ways.
Round(data) Returns the nearest integer to a value
Ceil(data) Returns the smallest integral number >= the
value.
Floor(data) Returns the largest integral number <= the
value.
Abs(data) Returns the absolute value of a number.
Sgn(data) Returns the signum function of a number, i.e. 1
for 6 and -1 for -6.
Bool(data) Converts a number to a Boolean. Either 1 for a
non- zero value or 0.
Array Related Functions
The Array Related Functions will operate on scalar parameters,
though generally they are only meaningful for array values.
RunTot(array) Creates an array containing a running total of
the input array.
Sum(array) Returns the sum of all the elements in an
array.
Product(array) Returns the product of all the elements in an
array.
Min(array) Returns the smallest value in an array.
Max(array) Returns the largest value in an array.
IF test THEN data1 ELSE data2 Returns data1 if test is true (non-
zero) or data2 if test is false (0). If test
is an array this evaluation is done element
by element and the corresponding element in
data1 or data2 is returned. Arrays and
scalars can be mixed.
Statistical Functions
Parity provides you with a number of statistical functions which you
can use in the formulas you define.
StatNorm(data, min, max) Normalizes an array to a specified
range. The smallest element in the array
will be mapped to min and the largest will be
mapped to max with all intermediate values
linearly scaled.
StatPercent(data) Computes the sum of all the elements in data
and returns an array containing data divided
by the sum. Equivalent to data / Sum(data).
StatRegress(data) Computes a best fit least squares regression
line for data. The result is an array filled
with values representing the Y values of the
regression line.
Time Series Functions
The following functions perform an operation, such as computing an
average, involving an element of an array and the preceding N
elements where N is determined by the parameter lengths. Since
lengths can be either a scalar or an array of the same size as data,
it is possible for undefined values to occur in the middle of an
array. For example if element 4 of array lengths is 15. This would
mean that the fourth element was a function of the preceding 15
elements. In this case the fourth element of the result, and all
preceding elements, would be undefined.
StatMovAvg(data, lengths) Determines the moving average of an
array. The ith element in the result will be
the average of the ith element and the
preceding N-1 elements, where N is the ith
element of lengths. If lengths is a scalar,
N is always equal to lengths.
StatMovMax(data, lengths) Determines the moving maximum of an
array.
StatMovMin(data, lengths) Determines the moving minimum of an
array.
StatMovTot(data, lengths) Determines the moving total of an
array.
Part 7 Odds and Ends
The odds and ends section includes information on printing, some
known problems with Parity and optimizing the program for speed.
Printing Charts
There are three ways you can print a chart.
1 Use File Print to print the a chart if it is the current window.
A window is current when the title bar of the window is blue.
This will print the chart as it is displayed. If the chart's
window is small then it will print a smaller chart than if the
window is large. A chart that has been maximized may not fit
within the margins of your printer. File Print provides the
least control over how the chart is printed.
2 Use the Print Tool. When you select the Print Tool from the Tool
Bar a dialog box will pop up asking if you would like to print
the chart "As Displayed", i.e., the way File Print does, or "Full
Size." Full Size is the default and it will print your chart to
fit the size of the page. To print a chart just click anywhere
within the chart while the Print Tool is active. Parity also
gives you the option of including or excluding the title bar of
the chart as the header for the print out.
3 Check the "Print Each Chart" option in the Select Current Group
dialog. This prints a chart each time it is created. The chart
will be printed according to the same settings as the Print Tool.
Use File Printer Setup or the Printer Setup button on the Printer
Tool dialog to select the device to print to and adjust the
orientation of the page.
Printing Caveats
Windows prints slowly. Graphics print very slowly. Unfortunately
there is nothing we can do to improve Window's printing speeds. A
product called SuperPrint from Zenographics claims to accelerate
graphics printing from Windows but we have never used it.
How charts print depends on the printer driver you use. The Hewlett
Packard LaserJet II driver prints everything in black and
inexplicably prints some High, Low Close bars as a dashed rather
than a solid line. Postscript printers try to show colors with
shading and the results are usually less than satisfactory. The
Epson printer driver is exceptional. Printing is fast and the
printed graph is very accurate.
If you have a Laser Printer you may run into problems with
inadequate memory to print full page charts. We are unable to print
charts full page using a LaserJet II with only 512 KB. With 1.5 MB,
the LaserJet II prints fine. This is a limitation of the printer,
not Parity.
Windows 3.0 System Resources
System Resources or Program Resources refers to a 64K byte segment
of memory where Windows maintains the USER and GDI heaps which
include information on all the Windows applications that are
currently running. Regardless of the amount of memory you have
installed, Windows still includes this 64K constraint on the total
System Resources that are available to ALL the Windows applications
that are running.
Every window, icon, menu, bit map, and chart etc. consumes some
percentage of these System Resources. Selecting the Help About
command from the Program Manager will tell you what percentage of
System Resources is available at any given time. Note that running
the Program Manager or the Norton Desktop Utilities often consume as
much as 40% of total System Resources. Deleting unused icons and
program groups will free up these resources.
Because of the complexity of some of its dialog boxes Parity is also
a resource hog. With no charts displayed, but using the
Create/Modify Studies dialog, Parity consumes 30% of the System
Resources. Each chart Parity displays typically requires an
additional 1.5-2% of these System Resources.
Generally, you encounter a problem with System Resources when a
large number of charts are displayed and you then open the
Create/Modify Studies dialog box. You may also have a problem if
you try to have multiple Windows applications open at one time.
Unfortunately, Windows doesn't provide any particular error message
for no more resources. You will simply be unable to open a dialog
box or create a chart. The more you try the worse it gets since
partially created charts and dialog boxes will continue to take up
more and more memory. We suggest you save all your studies, groups,
batches and clusters and restart Parity.
On occasion, System Resources will be so low that Windows, and
therefore Parity, will start to crash. If this happens you may need
to do a CTRL-ALT-F2, which will wipe all of Parity's charts and
variables from memory. If you do this you will lose any unsaved
studies, groups and clusters and you will need to restart Parity.
System Requirements and Execution Speed
Minimum System Requirements
Parity requires Windows 3.0 set in VGA or higher display mode,
running on an 80286/80386/80486 IBM compatible computer with at
least 2 MB of memory and 1 MB of free disk space. Parity will
perform best on a 80486 DX or a 33 MHz 80386 DX computer equipped
with a math coprocessor and 8 MB of memory. Parity takes full
advantage of high resolution displays and 17 inch monitors.
Maximizing Execution Speed
Depending on your perspective Parity is either fast or very slow.
For a DOS program Parity is very slow. Its execution speed pales in
comparison to similar programs like MetaStock, ChartPro, or
CompuTrac. However, relative to other graphics intensive Windows
programs such as Corel Drawtm, Ventura Publishertm, or Publishers
Paintbrushtm, Parity compares quite favorably.
While every effort has been made to optimize Parity's execution
speed there are inevitably two factors that make it (and every other
Windows application) slow compared to their DOS equivalents. The
first is the processing overhead required by Windows' multitasking
operating system. This is a necessary evil although rumor has it
that Windows 3.1 will execute many operations much faster.
Secondly, Parity is graphically processor intensive. This also
consumes significant CPU cycles.
Finally, Parity performs calculations on large data arrays. Each
time you create a chart is equivalent to recalculating a large
spreadsheet filled with formulas.
What to do?
The first thing is that Parity is not intended to run on 80286 or 16
MHz 80386 computers. If that is your hardware configuration
nothing we suggest is likely to make Parity perform adequately. If
you do have adequate hardware and would like Parity to perform
faster here are a few suggestions in order of their importance.
1 Install a Math Coprocessor. Unlike most programs Parity makes
full use of a Math Coprocessor when it calculates the result of a
formula or loads a data file. A math coprocessor will increase
the speed of these operations , which can involve tens of
thousands of floating point calculations, 3-5 fold. Best of all,
math coprocessors are cheap and easy to install.
2 Make sure you have at least 4 MB of available memory on your
computer, i.e. memory not devoted to disk caches etc. Studies
have shown that 8 MB is the optimal memory configuration for
Windows 3.0 from a speed standpoint.
3 If screen redraws are a problem buy a new graphics card with an
accelerator or coprocessor chip optimized for Windows. These
cards cost $300 to $500 and have display resolutions up to
1280x1024 pixels.
4 Upgrade your motherboard. This is technically more challenging
but an excellent AMI Baby Voyager 80486 motherboard can be
purchased by Mail Order for about $1100 dollars. Based on our
own experiences, we do not advise you to buy off-brand
motherboards. We do not recommend 80386 SX or 80486 SX
computers.
5 The best enhancement we ever made to our computers was to go to
17" flat screen 1024x768 non-interlaced monitors. This won't
enhance the speed of Parity at all but we guarantee you will find
a whole new pleasure in running any Windows program.
6 Parity is relatively insensitive to your hard disk speed but, if
you don't have a disk cache installed, we strongly recommend that
you install the SmartDrive cache that comes with Windows 3.0 and
DOS 5.0 or even better buy Super PC-Kwik 4.1 from MultiSoft.
Additional Factors
The XOPointFigure() and DBarPointFigure() procedures and the SAR()
and ZIG() functions have not been optimized for speed in the 1.1
Version of Parity. They will be optimized in a future release.
Problems and Solutions
Although Parity is as bug free as possible, there are a few things
that may cause problems. In particular, Parity performs no error
checking on the formulas in a study before it attempts to chart a
study. This causes two problems if you make an error in a formula.
The Hour Glass Cursor
If a study has an invalid formula, Parity gives an error message
when it attempts to chart the study. In most cases, Parity will not
have reset the Hour Glass Cursor for the mouse. When the Hour Glass
Cursor is set, all commands and mouse clicks are disabled. To reset
the cursor hit the up arrow key on your keyboard.
Incomplete Charts and System Resources
When Parity encounters an error in a study, it has already begun
constructing a chart, but is stopped before the chart can be
displayed. It is not possible to close this chart and free up the
System Resources it consumes. Since each chart only consumes 1.5-2%
of the System Resources this isn't a problem in and of itself.
However, if you have created a large number of partial undisplayed
charts, you may find your self running out of resources. The only
solution is to exit Parity (and possibly Windows) and restart.
Remember to save any studies, groups, clusters and batches you may
have created or modified.
Other Problems
If you attempt to display a cluster created for a higher resolution
display the effects will be unpredictable. In many cases the Tool
Bar will be locked onto a new screen position. This can also happen
if you move a chart partially off the "desktop" and then use the
scroll bars to view it and the perform a Window Cascade or Tile
command. In either case you should simply recreate the tool bar
using the commands on the Options Menu.
Also, note that a maximized chart is restored to its previous size
when you open a dialog box or display another chart. If the Tool
Bar is hidden behind a maximized chart, use the Window Menu to
select the "TBar" window.
Appendix
Data Vendors
Version 1.0 of Parity does not include any utilities for collecting
price data or maintaining data files. If you are upgrading to
Parity from another technical analysis program you should continue
to use whatever data collection and file maintenance utilities you
are comfortable with. If your price data is not in the
MetaStock/CompuTrac or ChartPro/MegaTech formats Parity supports
please contact us. If you are able to provide sufficient
information on the file format you are currently using we may choose
to include file compatibility with your data format in a future
version of Parity.
If you do not own any utilities for collecting and maintaining price
data you have several alternatives. You can manually maintain price
data files in Excel, Lotus 123 WKS, comma separated value (CSV) or
tab separated value files and use Parity's Import Other Formats
command to chart the data in these files. However, you will not be
able to include these files in a Group and using Parity will
generally be more cumbersome than if your data is in one of the
supported formats.
A number of third party utilities exist which can create or maintain
price data files in MetaStock or ChartPro formats. One of the best
general purpose tools is the Prodigy MetaStock Loader (PML). PML is
a shareware program which can convert ASCII text files into
MetaStock data files. PML will also update and maintain your
existing data files from data downloaded from on-line services like
CompuServe, Genie, Prodigy, and Dow Jones News/Retrieval. The
latest version of PML can be downloaded from the FlexSoft BBS at
(510) 829-2293. The cost of registering the software is $30.
Parity Software Systems will also provide PML on a diskette for a $5
shipping and handling fee.
Most of the Price Data Vendors listed below also offer software
which can be used to access their data service and download price
data into MetaStock data files. Each vendor's service is different
and we suggest you contact them directly for information on the
capabilities and current pricing of there products. Also most of
the Disk Data Vendors include software which generates MetaStock
data files from their price data.
Ret-Tech Software, the maker of ChartPro and MegaTech, offers
several utilities for maintaining that data format. The Ret-Tech
BBS is (708) 246-1385, you can order the programs on-line, but they
are not shareware. We have no experience with Ret-Tech's utilities.
General Information Services
CompuServe, Inc.
P.O. Box 20212
5000 Arlington Centre Blvd.
Columbus, OH 43220
(800) 848-8199
(614) 457-8650
GEnie
401 North Washington Street
Rockville, MD 20850
(800) 638-9636
Current quotes only.
Prodigy Service Company
P.O. Box 791
White Plains, NY 10601
(800) 284-5933
Current quotes only.
Dow Jones News/Retrieval
P.O. Box 300
Princeton, NJ 08543
(609) 452-1511
Price Data Vendors
Commodity Systems, Inc (CSI)
200 W. Palmetto Park Road
Boca Raton, FL 33432
(800) 327-0715
(407) 392-8663
Mostly commodity data.
Genesis Financial Data Services
P.O. Box 49578
Colorado Springs, CO 80949
(719) 260-6111
Tick Data, Inc.
720 Kipling Street, Suite 115
Lakewood, CO 80215
(800) 822-8425
(303) 232-3701
Mostly commodity data.
Warner Computer Systems, Inc.
17-01 Pollitt Drive
Fair Lawn, NJ 07410
(800) 336-5376
(201) 797-4633
Disk Data Vendors
Stock Data Corp.
905 Bywater Road
Annapolis, MD 21401
(301) 280-5533
Only Stock Data.
Technical Tools
334 State Street, Suite 201
Los Altos, CA 94022
(800) 231-8005
(415) 948-6124
Mostly commodity data.
Other Resources
An excellent source of information on technical analysis is the
magazine, Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities. TASC can be
difficult to find on a newstand but you can get a sample copy by
calling 1-(800) 832-4642.
The Traders Press offers a comprehensive catalog of books on the
Stock Market and Technical Analysis. You can reach them at 1-(800)
927-8222 or at 1-(803) 298-0222.
The Farpoint BBS offers a free source of historical stock data.
Call 1-(312) 274-6128 to log on. Farpoint gives you 120 minutes of
free time daily. They have historical data files on hundreds of
stocks and you can use PML to convert Farpoint's ASCII data files to
the MetaStock format.
The Market Technicians Association BBS is an excellent source of
advanced technical analysis information and discussion. Log on at 1-
(914) 478-7311. Other good on-line sources for information and
discussion on investing include the INVFORUM on CompuServe and Money
Talk on Prodigy.
ChartPro File Format
For users that are interested in developing programs to create or
maintain price data files themselves we recommend the
ChartPro/MegaTech file format. Although the current ChartPro format
doesn't include as much information about the underlying security as
the MetaStock/CompuTrac format it is much simpler and ChartPro files
are processed more quickly by Parity.
ChartPro format files consist of daily records that are each 26
bytes long. The first two bytes are an integer value representing
the date. The next 24 bytes are 6 four-byte single precision IEEE
floating point fields for the open, high, low, close, volume and
open interest in that order. The first 2 records or 52 bytes are
ignored by Parity for compatibility with future versions of
MegaTech. The date numbering of ChartPro files is somewhat unusual.
ChartPro assigns a value of 1 to January 1, 1983. Add 1 for each
subsequent day including weekends and leap years. For periods prior
to 1983 use negative numbers subtracting 1 for each day of the year.
In order to be recognized by Parity, ChartPro format files must end
with the .PRO extension. Generally the first 8 letters of the file
name are the security's symbol.