VisuaData for Windows (ViDA)

Copyright 1995, NIBS Pte Ltd.

For more details, please refer to the Users Guide.

Help Topics

Objective of VisuaData

VisuaData Program Files

VisuaData Data Files

Installing VisuaData

Quick Tips

Tutorial 1 - To open a file

Tutorial 2 - To add a moving average

Tutorial 3 - To shift a column down by one day

Tutorial 4 - More on column operations

Tutorial 5 - To open files with charts

Tutorial 6 - To open files from other directories

Using the indicator library

Indicator library listing

Customizing the indicator library

Charting

Menu functions

Reporting problems to NIBS Inc.

VisuaData (ViDA), NeuroForecaster and Genetica are registered trademarks of NIBS Pte Ltd.  Other marks belong to their respective owners.


ViDA Objective of Vida

Objective of VisuaData

VisuaData for Windows, (or ViDA), is a user-friendly data management program designed for intelligent technical analysis.  It reads MetaStock, CSI, Computrac, FutureSource and various ASCII data file formats directly, generates over 100 popular and new technical indicators and buy/sell signals, and builds them into single ascii data files.  Some of these indicators have been found to be useful for neural network processing, examples are the adx, vertical horizontal filer, random walk index, etc.  Several new indicators have also been included in the indicator library, examples are Chandes vidya.  Some indicators, such as zigzag, filter out the noise in the raw data signals, so that the smoothed signals can be applied to neural network or fuzzy computation.  A number of indicator functions generate buy/sell signals.

With VisuaData, Multiple data files can be opened and processed simultaneously, in spreadsheet-like data grids for easy data manipulation, and output directly to popular neural network, genetic algorithm or fuzzy programs.  Graphical functions are provided for data visualization.

VisuaData is NOT a charting nor spreadsheet program - there are many such powerful programs available, eg. Metastock, Superchart, Wall Street On Windows, Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, etc., just to name a few.  VisuaData combines some of the useful functions of these programs to achieve the above-mentioned objective.

The Tutorial Sessions

Tutorial 1 shows the basic steps involved in opening a Metastock file and save it as an ASCII file.  Tutorial 2 illustrates how to add a moving average (or other indicators) to your data file.

Tutorials 3 and 4 explain the basic column operations.  Some neural network programs require you to shift certain columns down by N periods (say, 15 days) if you want to do a N-day (15-day) ahead prediction (some others, such as NeuroForecaster, have the built-in capability to achieve the same purpose, by specifying the forecast horizon instead of shifting the columns).  Tutorial 3 shows an example on how to shift a column.  Tutorial 4 shows you how to copy a column of data from one file to another, using the Edit\Copy selected cells and the Column\Paste to column menu functions.  The Windows Clipboard is also involved in these copy and paste operations.

You can plot the indicators by dragging it from the Clipper to the various charts. See Tutorial 5 on how to open a file with charts, and the drag-and-drop operations.

You can either place your own data files in VisuaData directory, or change the default setting of VisuaData to open files from other directories.  See Tutorial 6 on how to use the Browse button to set the directory paths.

You can set up your own indicator library list, modify the default parameters, etc.  See the topic on Customizing the indicator library.


ViDA Program Files

VisuaData Program Files

Check that these files are in the VisuaData folder:

vida.exe	-  the VisuaData executable Windows program

vida.hlp	-  the VisuaData help file

vida.lib	-  pre-defined built-in indicator library definition file

user.lib	-  user-modifiable indicator library definition file

grid.vbx	-  the Microsofts grid.vbx program for grid control

threed.vbx	-  the Microsofts threed.vbx program for 3D dialog control

readme.txt 	-  the readme file

You may also receive these two files:

setup.exe	-  the VisuaData setup program

setup.inf	-  the VisuaData setup information file

If the setup program is present, just double click on it from the Windows File Manager, or run a:\setup or b:\setup from the Windows Manager to install VisuaData.


ViDA Data Files

VisuaData Data Files

The VisuaData program comes with these sample data files:

Binary data files:

ms folder	-  contains Metastocks sample data files

cpt folder	-  contains Computracs sample data files

csi folder	-  contains CSIs sample data files (some files deleted)

fs folder	-  contains FutureSource sample data files

Text data files:

ascii folder	-  contains sample data files in ASCII format

brainmak folder	-  contains sample data files in BrainMaker format (exchange.dat)

nfga folder	-  contains sample data files in NeuroForecaster/GENETICA format

VisuaData is initialized to read from these sample data folders. (For the CSI folder, only the first 5 files remain - the rest have been deleted).

Use the menu function File\Open... to open these files.  When the dialog box appears, click on the button Open File.

To change the directory paths from the default to your own, click on the buttons on the left side of the dialog box with the file types on them.  For example, to change the Metastock directory setting from c:\vida\ms to c:\data\ms, click on the Metastock button, and browse or select c:\data\ms.  From now on, all future references to Metastock file from VisuaData will be set to the new directory c:\data\ms.

Go through the tutorial session to find out how to change the directory paths.


ViDA Installing ViDA
Installing VisuaData

(1) From uncompressed files on diskette (vida.exe)

If you received a diskette containing all the above uncompressed files, insert the diskette into the floppy disk drive, select the Program Manager or File Manager menu function "File\Run...", type

a:\setup

or "b:\setup" depending on whether Drive a or Drive b is used.

Wait for the VisuaData icon to appear in the Program Manager window, and a message informing you that the installation is successful, then double click the icon to run VisuaData.

Note: If the above setup method does not work, or if the programs you received does not have the setup.exe program, or if you have subsequently moved the files around, create a directory (eg. c:\vida) in your hard disk and copy all the files from the diskette to the directory.  Use the Windows Program Manager's "File\New..." menu to create a new program group and item, click on the "Browse" button to select vida.exe and "Change Icon" button to choose the icon, and set the directory path (eg. c:\vida).  The correct setting of the directory is important for the program to access the various files.  Check to make sure that you have all the files listed above.

(2) From zipped file (vida108a.zip, vida108a.exe)

If you received a single zipped file through the electronic means (email, ftp, www)l, to unzip and setup VisuaData from the zipped file, do the following:

STEP 1. Create a temporary directory c:\vidatemp

STEP 2. Move the zipped file to c:\vidatemp

STEP 3. Unzip the file

If you received vida108a.exe (a self-extracting file), run

vida108a.exe -d

If you received vida108a.zip (zipped file), run

unzip vida108a.zip        or        pkunzip -d vida108a.zip

The -d option is needed to extract the various files into their respective directories.

STEP 4. Run setup.exe

You should have these two files in addition to those list below:

c:\vidatemp\setup.exe - the setup program

c:\vidatemp\setup.inf - the setup info file

From Windows File Manager, double click on setup.exe to run it.  Wait for the VisuaData icon to appear in the Program Manager window, and a message which informs you that the installation is complete.  Double click on the icon to run VisuaData.

Backup the zipped file if need be.  The temporary direcotry c:\vidattemp and the zipped file can now be deleted.

vida.exe runs on Windows 3.1.  You can run it directly from the File Manager by double-clicking on vida.exe, or make it into an icon as described above.  See the ReadMe.txt file and go through the tutorials in the help file.


Quick Tips

The first time when VisuaData is run, a vertical floating tool bar will appear on the extreme left of the screen.  It can be turned on or off by clicking on the Tool Bar button on the top of the VisuaData main screen.  The first icon (marked with a 1) is for opening a data file;  the second icon (marked with a 2) is for selecting an indicator;  the third is for opening the clipper.

To find out the meanings of these and other icons, or the menu functions, just position the mouse cursor on the item, click and hold the mouse button - and an explanation of the item will be shown in the status bar at the bottom of the screen.


ViDA Tutorial 1

Tutorial 1 -  To open a Metastock file and save it as ASCII text file.

The first time when VisuaData is run, a vertical floating tool bar will appear on the extreme left of the screen.  It can be turned on or off by clicking on the Tool Bar button on the top of the VisuaData main screen.

Step 1.	Click on the first icon (marked with a 1) on the floating tool bar to select a file to open.

Step 2.  When the File Directory dialog appears, click OK.  The Metastock folder has been pre-selected, so a listing of Metastock files will appear in the File dialog for selection.

Step 3.	When the File dialog appears, click to select the first file in the file list and click OK.  The selected file will be opened and displayed in a spread-sheet format.  A typical file will consist of the date, high price, low price, closing price.  Others may also have open prices, volumn and open interest.

Step 4.	Use the menu function File/Save as ASCII.. to save the file in ASCII format.  Enter a name and the directory to save it to.

Step 5. 	Re-open the ASCII file again to ensure that the file has been saved correctly.

Note:

1.  The yellow icons on top of the sceen can be used to adjust the size of the grid cells, if the cell contents are too long to be displayed.

2.  When you click on a cell, its content is also displayed in the editing box on top of the sceen, with the cell location next to it.  You can edit a cell directly, or through the editing box.

3.  The new ASCII file can now be used directly for most purposes.  You can re-open and edit it using VisuaData or other programs.

4.  At times there might be some unwanted symbols attached to the end of the file to indicate blank spaces.  Remove these symbols if necessary.

5.  The same file can be saved as a NeuroForecaster/GA or BrainMaker data file.  Always re-open and check the saved files to ensure that the contents are saved correctly.

6.  Most neural network programs can read data files stored in the VisuaData directory.  Alternatively, you may want to move or copy the output files to their directories.

For example, move your data file MyData.dat to the data folder of NeuroForecaster:

c:\NFGA\DATA\MyData.dat

and then run NFGA.EXE to load in MyData.dat.


ViDA Tutorial 2

Tutorial 2 - To add in a moving average of 5-day period.

Follow the above example to open a file:

Step 1.	Click on the second icon (marked with a 2) on the floating tool bar to select an indicator.

Step 2.  When the indicator dialog appears, scroll the listing downward until movs 10 appears in the display.

Step 3.	Click on movs 10 to select it. movs 10 means moving average (simple) with pre-defined  period of 10.  The period and other parameters can be changed easily.  Click OK to continue.

Step 4.	The Indicator Input dialog will appear.  To compute the moving average of the closing prices, click on ANY cell of the column labeled with close.  The entry on the Indicator Input dialog will be changed to reflect the selection.  Also change the period from 10 to 5, and the output name from movs to movs5, then click OK.

Step 5.	The Indicator Output dialog will appear.  Just click OK to proceed.  The 5-period moving average will be generated and placed in the next available column of the file.

You have to scroll the file to to the left to see the new column.

Step 6.  To display the moving average, click on the newly generated label movs5.  The entire column will be highlighted.  Click on the Clipper button to display it in the Clipper.  See Tutorial 5 on how to drag the plots from the Clipper to a chart.

Note:

1.  There are some empty symbols inserted at the beginning of the file to indicate blank spaces.  Just leave these symbols intact and save the file as an ASCII file.

2.  If the file is saved as a BrainMaker data file, these empty symbols will be changed into 0 (zeros).  When the file is re-opened again by VisuaData, they will remain as zeros.

3.  If the file is saved as a NeuroForecaster data file, these empty symbols will be changed into ? (question marks) to indicate blank, undefined cells.  When the file is re-opened by VisuaData again, they will still appear correctly as empty.

4.  Others indicators can be added to the file in a similar way.  Some of the indicators, such as moving averages,  are user definable, meaning that you have to click on the cells to select the input column.  Some of the indicators require fixed input columns, eg.  the hlc (high low close) indicator will search for the column positions of the high, low and closing prices.  However, you are able to redefine the input columns in both cases.

5.  If you cannot scroll the data grid properly, click on any of its cells to activate it, then scroll again.

See the chapter on Indicator to find out more about the indicator library.


ViDA Tutorial 3

Tutorial 3 - To shift a column down by 1 day.

Step 1.	Open a data file, click on the label of any column (or any cell of a column).

Step 2.  Select the menu function Column/Shift column down...  The selected column will be shifted forward (downward) by 1 day (or 1 week in the case of a weekly data file).

Note:

1.  A warning message may appear if you operate on a price or volume column of the binary type (ie. Metastock, Computrac or CSI files).  Future computations and charting based on the modified column might be affected.

2.  A better approach is to first copy the selected column, paste it to the next available column then shift the pasted column.

3.  There are other column operations under the Column menu.  It is advisable to operate on the price and volumn columns only after you have generated all the indicators you want.  A better approach is to generate all the indicators you want, save the file as ASCII or other types, and re-open it for further editing of the columns.


ViDA Tutorial4

Tutorial 4 - More on column operations.

Some indicators require the open prices as input.  The daily raw figure based on buy and sell pressure (waddrf) is an example:

waddrf - wad daily raw figure, Input=open high low close, Outptu=waddrf%

Since most of the data files do not have the open prices, you can use the closing price of the previous day as todays open price.  To do this,

Step 1 - click on the label of the closing price (close) to select the entire column,

Step 2 - select the menu function Edit\Copy selected cells.. to copy it

Step 3 - click on the label of the next availble empty column (on the right of the volume)

Step 4 - select the menu function Column\Paste to column

Step 5 - rename the new column as open

Step 6 - now select the indicator waddrf from the indicator menu

Step 7 - when the indicator dialog asks you to supply the open prices, just click on any cell of the new column you have just generated.


ViDA Tutorial 5

Tutorial 5 - To open a Metastock file with charts.

There are two types of charts:  the Clipper for displaying the selected data columns or indicators, and the charts associated with an opened files for displaying the prices and volume information (for Metastock, CSI and Computrac files).

These charts support drag-and-drop function:  those plots in the Clipper can be dragged into a comparable charts, and the program will check for their compatibility (in terms of their value range).  If the ranges of the plots are not the same, they can be overlaid.  Similarly, the plots in a chart can dragged and dropped into another chart.

Step 1.	Open a Metastock file as before, but now click on the Display Chart button on the File dialog.  Click OK to display the file content and the price/volumn charts.

The top chart will display the open, high, low and close prices in the standard format, while the second chart will display the volumn, and the third will display the prices in candlestick format.

Move the mouse cursor across these charts, and the values at the cursor point will be display on top of the chart.  Scroll the chart to the right if the plots are out of range.

Step 2.  Click on the third icon (marked with a 3) on the floating tool bar to open the clipper.

Step 3.	Click on the low label on top of the data file to select the low price column.  The data will be displayed in the Clipper.  Scroll the Clipper if necessary.

Step 4.	Click any where on the Clipper, while holding the mouse button, drag the mouse cursor to the top chart, then release the mouse button.  The plot in the Clipper will appear in the top chart.

Step 5.	To delete a plot in a chart, click any where near it.  When it is selected, press the DELETE button on the keyboard to delete it.

Note:

1.  Click on a chart to active or refresh its plots.  When a chart is activated, the various Chart menu functions will be enabled.

2.  Repeat the above procedure to add or remove one or more plots to a chart.

3.  Click near a plot to select it for deletion.

4.  See the chapter on charting for more charting functions.


ViDA Tutorial 6

Tutorial 6 - To open files from other directories.

If your data files are contained in another folder,  you can set the directory path using the Browse buttons on the File Directory dialog.  Supposing your own Metastock data files is located in c:\ms\msdata, to set the directory path for Metastock data to msdata, do the following:

Step 1.	Click on the first icon (marked with a 1) on the floating tool bar to change the file directory.

Step 2.  When the dialog appears, click on the Browse button next to the Metastock directory.

Step 3.	A listing of file directories will appear.  Click on [..] to move up the directory path, until your directory msdata appears in the list.

Step 4.	Click on the msdata folder, a listing of data files will be displayed on the file window.  Click OK to accept the directory path.

Note:

1.  In the above example, all future calls to open Metastock data files will be directed to the msdata folder, until you change the directory path again.

2.  Repeat the same procedure for other file types.  The new folder must contain the same or similar type of data files, eg.  the new Metastock folder must contain Metastock or Computrac data files, but not CSI or ASCII files which have different file formats.

3.  For binary files, the master file (either master or qmaster) must be present in the new folder.  The master file contains essential file information for the group of data files in the folder.  If the master file is missing or corrupted, the files cannot be listed.


ViDA Indicator Library

VisuaData Indicator Library.

The indicator library ViDA.LIB is invoked by using the menu function Indicator\ViDA indicator library....

The information used by the indicator library routine is stored in the ViDA.LIB file.  Do not modify the entries as the program might be affected by the changes.  Instead, you can change the parameters at run time when the Indicator Input dialog appears.  You can, however, customize your own version of indicator library listing based on ViDA.LIB, and store the output in USER.LIB.  See the Help session on Customizing the indicator library.

Each line of ViDA.LIB has the following format:

Indicator Name - Description, Input= input1 input2..., Output=output1 output2..., Parameter1=para1 Parameter2=para2 ....

The fields in bold characters are the reserved keywords.  VisuaData looks for these keywords and the delimiters (  - , = and the blank spaces) and reads in their values.  For example:

movs 10 - moving average simple (sma), Input=user, Output= movs, Period=10

movs 10 stands for the simple moving average with a period of 10.  The name (sma) is an alias for movs.  The entry user means that you can click on any cells of the input column to select the input data.  The output label movs and period of 10 can be changed at run time.  For instance, you can change the output label to movs_close or movsClose, and the period to 5 instead.  For daily or weekly data, a period of 5 means 5 days or 5 weeks respectively.

Most indicator routines generate real values, as in the above movs example.  Other generates 1 or 0 to indicates whether a certain condition has been met.

An example is :

above - true if first signal above second , Input=user user, Output=above

In this example, you click on the cells of two different columns to select the inputs.  A 1 is generated whenever the first column is higher than the second, else 0 is output.

A small number of indicators are duplicated with their aliases.  This is provided because some users are more accustomed to using different names.  If you want to have a shorter list, see the topic on Customizing the indicator library.


ViDA Indicator Library Listing

VisuaData Indicator Library Listing.

For a description of the indicator library routines, please refere to the Users Guide.  Here is a listing of the indicators and their entries:

above - true if first signal above second , Input=user user, Output=above

accel - acceleration (rate of change) , Input=user, Output=accel, Period=20

adv - accumulation distribution volume, Input=high low close volume, Output=adv

advosc - adv oscillator, Input=high low close volume, Output=advosc, Period=10

adx - average directional movement index, Input=high low, Output=adx, Period=14

adxr - adx rating (adx + adx Period ago)/2,Input=high low, Output=adxr, Period=14

ama - moving average adaptive (mova),Input=user, Output= ama, Period=10

atr - average true range, Input=high low close, Output=atr, Period=14

bbandb - bollinger band bottom signal, Input=close, Output=bbandb, Period=20 dev=2

bbands - bollinger bands , Input=close, Output=bband bbandb bbandt, Period=20 dev=2

bbandt - bollinger band top signal, Input=close, Output=bbandt, Period=20 dev=2

bbandx - bollinger band close crossing , Input=close, Output=bbandx, Period=20 dev=2

below - true if first signal below second ,Input=user user, Output=below

cci - commodity channel index (buy/sell signal) , Input=high low close, Output=cci, Period=14

chaikin - chaikin oscillator ( move(adv 3) - move(adv 10)) , Input=high low close volume, Output=chaikin, PeriodFast=3 PeriodSlow=10

change - change in value over the interval, Input=user, Out=change, Interval=1

changep - change in percent, Input=user, Out=changep, Interval=1

cmo - chande momentum oscillator, Input=close, Output= cmo, Period=14

cmoc - chande momentum count, Input=close, Output= cmoc, Period=14 Below%=30 Duration=30

cmot - chande momentum turning count, Input=close, Output= cmot, Period=14 Interval=1

cross - true if first signal crosses above second, Input=user user, Output=cross

di - directional movement index (wilder's), Input=high low close, Output=mdi pdi, Period=14

dic - crossing of pdi and mdi, Input=high low close, Output=dic, Period=14

dm_adx - average directional movement index, Input=high low, Output=adx, Period=14

dm_adxr - adx rating (adx + adx Period ago)/2,Input=high low, Output=adxr, Period=14

dm_di - directional movement index (wilder's), Input=high low close, Output=mdi pdi, Period=14

dm_dic - crossing of pdi and mdi, Input=high low close, Output=dic, Period=14

dm_dx - net directional movement (pdi -mdi)/(pdi+mdi) (buy/sell signal), Input=high low, Output=dx, Period=14

dm_mdi - minus directional movement downtrend index, Input=high low close, Output=mdi, Period=14

dm_pdi - plus directional movement downtrend index, Input=high low close, Output=pdi, Period=14

dx - net directional movement (pdi -mdi)/(pdi+mdi) (buy/sell signal), Input=high low, Output=dx, Period=14

ema - moving average exponential (move),Input=user, Output= ema, Period=10

filter - filter out insignificant moves (zigzag), Input=user, Output= filter, Filter%=5

gapdown - true if current value gapped below last, Input=high low, Output= gapdown, Interval=1

gapup - true if current value gapped above last, Input=high low, Output= gapup, Interval=1

hlc - high low close prices combination, Input=high low close, Output=hlc, HighFactor=1, LowFactor=1, CloseFactor=1, Denominator=3

inside - true if current values are inside previous ones, Input=high low, Output=inside

log - natural log, Input=user, Output=log

macd - moving average convergence/divergence , Input=close, Output=macd, PeriodFast=12 PeriodSlow=26

macd fast - fast macd , Input=close, Output=macd, PeriodFast=5 PeriodSlow=10

macdbsc - macd crossing buy and sell counts, Input=close, Output=buycount sellcount, PeriodFast=12 PeriodSlow=26 Trigger=9 Duration=30

macdlx - last cross of macd and signal, Input=close, Output=macdlx, PeriodFast=12 PeriodSlow=26 Trigger=9

macdosc - macd oscillator (buy/sell signal), Input=close, Output=macdosc, PeriodFast=12 PeriodSlow=26 Trigger=9

macds - macd difference line slope, Input=close, Output=macdslope, PeriodFast=12 PeriodSlow=26 Interval=1

macdt - macd trigger signal, Input=close, Output=macdtslope, PeriodFast=12 PeriodSlow=26 Trigger=9

macdt fast - fast macd trigger signal, Input=close, Output=macdtslope, PeriodFast=5 PeriodSlow=10 Trigger=3

macdts - macd trigger signal slope , Input=close, Output=macdtslope, PeriodFast=12 PeriodSlow=26 Trigger=9 Interval=1

macdwt - macd with trigger , Input=close, Output=macd trigger, PeriodFast=12 PeriodSlow=26 Trigger=9

macdwt fast - fast macd with trigger , Input=close, Output=macd trigger, PeriodFast=5 PeriodSlow=10 Trigger=3

macdx - macd crossing signal (buy/sell signal), input=close, Output=buy/sell, PeriodFast=12 PeriodSlow=26 Trigger=9

macdxc - macd crossing count, Input=close, Output=macdxc, PeriodFast=12 PeriodSlow=26 Trigger=9 Duration=30

mdi - minus directional movement downtrend index, Input=high low close, Output=mdi, Period=14

mfi - money flow index, Input=high low volume, Output=mfi, Period=14

mlr - moving linear regression (mlr), Input=user, Output=tsf, Period=10

mo - momentum (roc) , Input=close, Output=roc, Period=10

mov3e - triple exponential moving average (trix), Input=close, Output= trix, Period=10 Interval=1

mov3ewt - triple exponential moving average (trixwt), Input=close, Output=trix buy/sell, Period=10 Interval=1 Trigger=9

mova - moving average adaptive (ama),Input=user, Output= move, Period=10

move - moving average exponential (ema),Input=user, Output= move, Period=10

movs 10 - moving average simple (sma), Input=user, Output= movs, Period=10

movs 20 - moving average simple (sma), Input=user, Output= movs, Period=20

movt - moving average triangular (tma),Input=user, Output= move, Period=10

movv - moving average variable (Chande's vidya),Input=user, Output= move, PeriodSigma=10 PeriodEma=19

movw - moving average weight (wma), Input=user, Output= movw, Period=10

mp - median price (h+l)/2, Input=high low, Output=mp

lsf - linear regression using least-squares-fit line, Input=user, Output=leastsq

regress - difference between data and moving least-squares-fit, Input=user, Output=regress, Period=10

tsf - time series forecast indicator (last point of linear regression), Input=user, Output=tsf, Period=10

nvi - negative volume index, Input=close volume, Output=nvi

nviosc - negative volume index oscillator, Input=close volume, Output=nviosc, Period=10

obv - on-balance volume, Input=close volume, Output=obv

obvosc - on-balance volume oscillator, Input=close volume, Output=obvosc, Period=10

outside - true if current values are outside previous ones, Input=high low, Output=outside

pdi - plus directional movement uptrend index, Input=high low close, Output=pdi, Period=14

pvi - positive volume index, Input=close volume, Output=pvi

pviosc - positive volume index oscillator, Input=close volume, Output=pviosc, Period=10

pvt - price volumn trend, Input=close volume, Output=pvt

pvtosc - price volumn trend oscillator, Input=close volume, Output=pvtosc, Period=10

roc - rate of change, Input=close, Output=roc, Period=10

roc volume - rate of change of volume, Input=volume, Output=rocv, Period=10

rocp - rate of change in percent, Input=close , Output=rocp, Period=10

rocs - regression oscillator (tsf), Input=user, Output=rocs, Period=10

rsi - relative strength index (wilder's), Input=close, Output= rsi, Period=14

rsic - relative strength index count, Input=close, Output= rsic, Period=14 Below%=30 Duration=30

rsit - relative strength index turning count, Input=close, Output= rsit, Period=14 Interval=1

rwih short - random walk index based on high price (short term), Input=high low close, Output=rwih, Period=2

rwih medium - random walk index based on high price (medium term), Input=high low close, Output=rwih, Period=17

rwih long - random walk index based on high price (long term), Input=high low close, Output=rwih, Period=25

rwil short - random walk index based on low price (short term), Input=high low close, Output=rwil, Period=2

rwil medium - random walk index based on low price (medium term), Input=high low close, Output=rwil, Period=17

rwil long - random walk index based on low price (long term), Input=high low close, Output=rwil, Period=25

sar - parabolic stop and reversal, Input=high low, Output=sar, AccelStart=0.00 AccelStep=0.02 AccelMax=0.2

sma 10 - moving average simple (movs), Input=user, Output= sma, Period=10

sma 20 - moving average simple (sma), Input=user, Output= sma, Period=20

stddev - standard deviation (volitality), Input=user, Output=stddev, Period=10

stddevc - standard deviation directional change, Input=user, Output=stddevc, Period=10

stoch fast - stochastic, Input=high low close, Output=%K %D, PeriodK=5 PeriodSlow=1 PeriodD=3

stoch slow - stochastic, Input=high low close, Output=%K %D, PeriodK=5 PeriodSlow=3 PeriodD=3

stoch%d fast - stochastic fast %d, Input=high low close, Output=%D, PeriodK=5 PeriodSlow=1 PeriodD=3

stoch%d slow - stochastic slow %d, Input=high low close, Output=%D, PeriodK=5 PeriodSlow=3 PeriodD=3

stoch%k fast - stochastic fast %k, Input=high low close, Output=%K, PeriodK=5 PeriodSlow=1 PeriodD=3

stoch%k slow - stochastic slow %k, Input=high low close, Output=%K, PeriodK=5 PeriodSlow=3 PeriodD=3

stochobos - stochastic overbought oversold, Input=high low close, Output=stochobos, PeriodK=5 PeriodSlow=1 PeriodD=3 Overbought=80 Oversold=20

stochosc - stochastic oscillator, Input=high low close, Output=stochosc, PeriodK=5 PeriodSlow=1 PeriodD=3

tema - triple exponential moving average (trix), Input=user, Output= trix, Period=10 Interval=1

temawt - triple exponential moving average with trigger (trixwt), Input=user, Output=trix buy/sell, Period=10 Interval=1 Trigger=9

tma - moving average triangular (movt),Input=user, Output= tma, Period=10

tr - true range, Input=high low close, Output=tr

trix - triple exponential moving average, Input=close, Output= trix, Period=10 Interval=1

trixwt - triple exponential moving average with trigger, Input=close, Output=trix buy/sell, Period=10 Interval=1 Trigger=9

ultimate - william's ultimate oscillators, Input=high low close, Outptu=ultimate, Period=7

vhf - vertical horizontal filter, Input=high low close, Output=vhf, Period=28

vidya - moving average variable (movv),Input=close, Output= vidya, PeriodSigma=10 PeriodEma=19

volitality - volitality (standard dev), Input=close, Output=volitality, Period=10

volitalityc - volitality (chaikin) using high low prices, Input=high low, Output=volitalityc, Period=10

w%r - william's %r, Input=high low close, Output=w%r, Period=10

wad - william's accumulation/distribution indicator , Input=high low close, Outptu=wad

waddrf - wad daily raw figure based on buy and sell pressure, Input=open high low close, Outptu=waddrf%

wma - moving average weight (movw), Input=user, Output= wma, Period=10

zigzag - zigzag modifier (buy/sell), Input=user, Output= zigzag, Filter%=5


Customizing indicator library list

Customizing the indicator library

The user-modifiable indicator library listing is stored in USER.LIB, and can be loaded by using the menu function Indicator\User indicator library....

It is not advisable to modify the indicator library listing in ViDA.LIB.  Instead, you can build your own listing in USER.LIB.  There are 3 reasons to customize the listing:

1.  To have a shorter list of  frequently used indicators

2.  To re-arrange the order, so that the most-frequently used one will appear on top of the selection list without scrolling

3.  To modify the output names and parameter setting

Follow the steps bellow:

Step 1 - Use a text editor (such as Windows Notepad) to open ViDA.LIB and USER.LIB

Step 2 - Copy the entries you want from ViDA.LIB and paste them to USER.LIB

Step 3 - Make the necessary changes in USER.LIB.  See the examples below.

Step 4 - Use back slashes /// at the beginning of comments

Step 5 - Use asterisks ********** as end-of-file delimiter

Examples:  Some library listing and their variations

movs 10 - moving average simple (sma), Input=user, Output= movs, Period=10

movs 5 - 5-day simple moving average, Input=user, Output= movs5, Period=5

movs - simple moving average, Input=user, Output= sma, Period=5

stochosc - stochastic oscillator, Input=high low close, Output=stochosc, PeriodK=5 PeriodSlow=1 PeriodD=3

stochosc - stoch oscillator, Input=high low close, Output=stosc, KPeriod=7 SlowPeriod=2 DPeriod=5

Do not change the fixed fields (bold characters in the above examples) and the various delimiters separating the fields.  Notice that some fields require multiple entries (eg. the input and parameters of the stochastic oscillator examples).  The final list should resemble that below.  Save it as text file USER.LIB in the VisuaData folder.  When the indicator routine is called, the new output names and parameters will be used as the default values.

If you have problems in using the menu function Indicators/User indicator library... to load USER.LIB, refer to the examples given in ViDA.LIB and the original USER.LIB provided.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

// 	VisuaData Indicator Definitions, Copyright (c) 1995, NIBS Pte Ltd.

//	file name: USER.LIB

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

adx - average directional movement index, Input=high low, Output=adx, Period=14

cmo - chande momentum oscillator, Input=close, Output= cmo, Period=14

rsi - relative strength index (wilder's), Input=close, Output= rsi, Period=14

rwi - random walk index, Input=high low close, Output=rwih, Period=2

wad - william's accumulation/distribution indicator , Input=high low close, Outptu=wad

//Period changed from 10 days to 5 days

wma - moving average weight, Input=user, Output= wma5, Period=5

//Filter changed from 5% to 3%

zigzag - zigzag modifier, Input=user, Output= zigzag3, Filter%=3

************************************


ViDA Charting
Charting

The main purposes of the charts and Clipper are to provide a quick means to display the data and the indicators.  For more elaborate charting functions, please use other programs which are designed for such purposes.

Charts for prices and volume plots:

When you open a binary file, you can display the prices and volume in a splitter window next to the file.  The top chart will plot the open, high, low and closing prices in standard format, the second chart will plot the volume, and the third  will plot the prices in candlestick format.  There are some additional empty charts below these charts, for displaying plots which are dragged and dropped from the Clipper.

Scroll the chart to display the plots if they are out of range.  Move the mouse cursor across the charts to display the values on top of the charts.

The plots in a chart will be refreshed when the chart is clicked.  A blue colored frame will be drawn around the active chart.

When a column is deleted from the file, or after the content of a cell has been changed, the changes will be reflected in the chart when it is refreshed (by clicking on the chart, or when the document size is changed).

Grid and chart control:

To enlarge a chart, click on the chart number on its left.  A chart can also be re-sized by adjusting the divider line between two adjacent charts.

The splitter window divider between the grid cells and the charts, as well as the sizing icons on top of the screen can be used to the display.  The yellow icons are for the grid cells, and the green icons are for the charts.

Memory and speed constraints:

The charts require a lot memory to store the graphic information and a fast cpu to display them.

Typically if you open not more than 4 files containing 50 to 100 rows of data, you could display the charts with no problems.

If you choose not to display the charts, you can open and manipulate several large files (500 to 1500 rows of data or more) concurrently.

Clipper:

The Clipper can display one or more adjacent columns, or a connected region of cells of a file.  Click on the label of a column to select it for plotting in the Clipper.  To select another column, hold the Shift key on the keyboard, and click on the next column label.  The second column will be plotted on the Clipper.  If you first click to select the high price, then hold the Shift key to select the close price, all the high, low and close prices will be plotted on the Clipper.  If you Shift select the vol, the volume will be plotted together with the prices.  In the later case, the plots will not be displayed properly, because the prices and volume are not comparable in their values.

The plots in the Clipper can be dragged and dropped to a comparable chart.  For instance, the moving average of the closing prices can be dragged to the top or third chart which contain the prices, but not the second chart which contains the volume plot which is not comparable with the prices.  In the later case, a warning message will appear to ask you whether you want the plot to be ovelaid onto the chart.


Menu Functions

On startup, most of the menu items are grayed and disabled.  When a file is opened, the associated menu functions will be enabled automatically.

When you click on the data cells to activate the grid, the Edit, Row, Column and Operations menu functions will be enabled;  When you click to activate a chart, the Chart menu functions will be enabled, and you can use the menu functions to operate on the chart.

File/New

Open a new file.

File/Open

Open an existing file.

File/Save

Save the active file.  Text-based files will be saved as their default types.  Eg. ASCII, NFGA and BrainMaker files will be saved as ASCII, NFGA and BrainMaker files respectively.  For binary files, use one of the following to save.

File/Save as ASCII

Save the active file as ASCII.

File/Save as BrainMaker

Save the active file as data file for BrainMaker.

File/Save as NFGA

Save the active file as data file for NeuroForecaster/GENETICA.  The file header will be generated and saved.  Re-open the file and check to make sure that the file header entries are correct, especially the number of data columns and the target column which you want to forecast.

File/Close

Close the active file.

File/Print

Print the active file.

File/Printer Setup

Setup the printer.

File/Exit

Quit VisuaData.

Edit/Copy selected cells

Copy the contents of the selected cells (for pasting later).  The cell contents is also copied to the Clipboard.

Edit/Paste to selected cells

Paste the Clipboard content to the selected cells.

Edit/Erase selected cells

Erase the selected cells.

Row/Paste to rows

Paste the Clipboard content to the selected rows.

Row/Erase rows

Erase the selected rows.

Row/Delete rows

Delete the rows and their contents.

Row/Insert a new row

Insert a new row on top of the selected row and shift it down.

Row/Add more rows

Add more rows at the end of the file.

Row/Fill rows...

Fill the selected rows with blanks, string or running sequence.

Row/Zero rows

Set the contents of the selected rows to zero value.

Row/Shift row right

Shift the row to the right by 1 cell.

Row/Shift row left

Shift the row to the left by 1 cell.

Column/Paste to column

Paste the Clipboard content to the selected column.

Column/Erase columns

Erase the selected columns.

Column/Delete columns

Delete the selected columns.

Column/Insert a new column

Insert a new column to the left of the selected column and shift it to the right.

Column/Add more columns...

Add more columns to the right of the file.

Column/Fill columns...

Fill the selected columns with blanks, string or running sequence.

Column/Zero columns

Set the contents of the selected columns to zero.

Column/Shift column up

Shift the selected column up by 1 cell.

Column/Shift column down

Shift the selected column down by 1 cell.

Operations/Add 2 columns

Add the contents of 2 columns and place the results in the next available empty column.

Operations/Substract 2 columns

Subtract the contents of 2 columns and place the results in the next available empty column.

Operations/Multiply 2 columns

Multiply the contents of 2 columns and place the results in the next available empty column.

Operations/Divide 2 columns

Divide the contents of a column by another and place the results in the next available empty column.

Operations/Add value to column

Add a value to the selected column and place the results in the next available empty column.

Operations/Subtract value from column

Subtract a value to the selected column and place the results in the next available empty column.

Operations/Multiply column by value

Multiply a value to the selected column and place the results in the next available empty column.

Operations/Divide column by value

Divide the contents of the selected column by a value and place the results in the next available empty column.

Operations/Square root of column

Take the square root of the contents of the selected column and place the results in the next available empty column.

Operations/Absolute values of column

Take the absolute value of the contents of the selected column and place the results in the next available empty column.

Operations/Statistics of column..

Compute the maximum, minimum, range, sum, mean, average and standard deviation of the selected column and display them in a file.

Operations/Detrend by difference

Detrend a signal by taking the first difference.

For example:     t1, t2, t3, t4, t5, t6.....

becomes:          empty, t2-t1, t3-t2, t4-t3, t5-t4, t6-t5, .....

empty is inserted to indicate an invalid value as the result of the computation.

Operations/Detrend by percentage difference

Detrend a signal by taking the first difference in percentage.

For example:     t1, t2, t3, t4, t5, t6.....

becomes:          empty, 100%*(t2-t1)/t1, 100%*(t3-t2)/t2, .....

Operations/Detrend by log difference

Detrend a signal by taking the first difference in natural log.

For example:     t1, t2, t3, t4, t5, t6.....

becomes:          empty, log(t2/t1), log(t3/t2), log(t4/t3), .....

Operations/Detrend by least square

Detrend a signal by taking the difference between its data and its least-square fit.

The program fragment below explains the computation:

//compute the slope and intercept of the signal

//where x is the time interval, and y is the signal value

float Slope =  (sumxy - (sumx*sumy)/nTotalData)/(sumxx - sumx*sumx/nTotalData);

float Intercept = (sumy - Slope*sumx)/nTotalData;

//detrend by taking difference between each data value and the least-square fit

for (i = 0; i<nTotalData; i++, Input++, Output++)

{

*Output = *Input - Intercept - Slope*i;

}

Operations/Outliers

Remove outliers from a signal if its data exceeds n standard deviations.  If any outliers are detected, they are invalidated (set to empty).  The number of standard deviation is user-definable and is usually 2.

MeanValue = sumx/nTotalData;

StdDevValue = (float)(sqrt(sumxx/nTotalData - MeanValue*MeanValue));

for (i = 0; i<nTotalData; i++, Input++, Output++)

{

if(*Input > (MeanValue+nStdDev*StdDevValue) )*Output =empty;

else if(*Input < (MeanValue-nStdDev*StdDevValue) )*Output =empty;

else *Output = *Input;

}

Indicators/Select an indicator

Select an indicator from the indicator library.

Charts/Reset all charts

Reset all the charts (for files opened with the Display Chart option) to their original states.  The top chart will display the open, high, low and closing prices in the standard format, the second displays the volume in bar chart format, and the third displays the prices in candlestick format.  The other charts will be erased.

Charts/Clear all charts

All the charts will be cleared.  To restore the charts, use the Charts/Reset all charts function above.

Charts/Update all charts

If the contents of some cells have been modified, use this function to update the charts.

Charts/Clear selected chart

Clear the selected (active) chart.  The active chart is the one surrounded by a thick blue frame, and is activated by clicking on it.

Charts/Update selected chart

Update the selected chart when the contents of some cells have been modified.

Charts/Delete selected plot in chart

When you click on a chart, it becomes the active chart, and one of its plots will be ready for the next action.  You can select a plot by clicking any where near it, and use this function or the DELETE key to delete it.

Windows/Cascade

Arrange all windows in an overlapped manner.

Windows/Tiles

Arrange all windows as non-overlapping tiles.

Help/About...

The About dialog.

Help/Help on VisuaData

This Help file.


Reporting to NIBS

Reporting Problems to NIBS Inc.

If you encounter any problem in using VisuaData, or have a suggestion to make, please write in or fax to NIBS Inc.  Please refer to the Readme.txt file or Users Guide for NIBS Inc. address and fax number.

If you would like us to include your favorite indicators into VisuaData, please provide the details, formula, information sources, a short description and usefulness of the indicators, data or any other relevant materials, and your contact address.  If they are included in the next release, we will be happy to send you a complimentary copy.