MultiCharts: Trading Software for Automated Trading and Backtesting

I don't often use "point" (as opposed to time based) charts, but I was playing with them today and found it impossible to obtain more than a few days worth of data.

When I was playing with these charts last year, I think it was before FXCM switched to 1/10 pip accuracy. It seems that what used to be a 50 pip "point" chart is now a 50/10 pip chart. Trying to request a 500 point (i.e. a 500/10 pip) chart runs into severe problems with (I presume) restrictions on the amount of data requested. Is there a way to restore the previous definition of one point = one pip, or to allow requests for more reasonable quantities of data?

Thanks.

Hi MKlein,

What symbol(s) did you have this problem with?

All that I've tried - GBP/USD, EUR/USD, USD/CAD, GBP/JPY ...

I'm not sure that I've explained well, so I'll try again.

Let's say I want a 50 pip chart in GBP/USD, i.e. a "count" chart, where every bar has a total height of 50.0 pips. In the old version of MCFX, before 1/10 pip accuracy, I would enter "50" and "point" in the "Resolution" dialogue. In the new version, entering "50" gives me bars with a height of fifty 1/10 pips, i.e. five pips. So, logically, I enter "500" "point" to obtain 50 pip bars. When I do this, requesting 600 bars back, the data takes a very long time to arrive, and when it does there are only 25 bars.

Hello MKlein,

According to our tests, if you choose the 50-point resolution, bars with the height of 50 pips are plotted. If you choose the 500-point resolution, bars with the height of 500 pips are plotted. Please see the attached screenshots.

If you believe that the bars aren't plotted correctly, could you please send us screenshots illustrating the problem or demonstrate the issue via a remote connection session with our customer support representatives?

Thank you.

Regards.

According to our tests, if you choose the 50-point resolution, bars with the height of 50 pips are plotted. If you choose the 500-point resolution, bars with the height of 500 pips are plotted. Please see the attached screenshots.

Marina,

Your pictures illustrate the problem. Your "50 point" chart has 5-pip (i.e. 50 one-tenth-of-a-pip) bars, and your "500 point" chart has 50-pip (i.e. 500 one-tenth-of-a-pip) bars. The problem lies in MCFX redefining "point" to mean "one tenth of a pip" (a pip being one hundredth of a cent) when previously a point and a pip were equal.

Note also that your images show only a few bars of data. Are you able to request, for example, 600 bars of 500 point data?

If you believe that the bars aren't plotted correctly, could you please send us screenshots illustrating the problem or demonstrate the issue via a remote connection session with our customer support representatives?

I can try to make screenshots this evening, but they will only show what your images already show.

According to our tests, if you choose the 50-point resolution, bars with the height of 50 pips are plotted. If you choose the 500-point resolution, bars with the height of 500 pips are plotted. Please see the attached screenshots.

In your screenshots (as in FXCM) prices are quoted to five decimal places. To take an example from your screenshot, GBPUSD 1.98919 means:

one dollar

and

ninety eight cents

and

ninety one pips

and

nine tenths of a pip

So the indicator in your lower window, showing the same five decimal places, in fact shows not 50 and 500 pips respectively, but 5.0 and 50.0 pips.

Please see the attached screenshots.

Another interesting point is that your "500 point" (50 pip) chart shows a number of short bars. All bars in a 50 pip chart should have a total height (high - low) of 50 pips. Your indicator shows that there are several bars in that short sample that are not full height. Do you know why this is?

Hi MKlein,

I apologize for the earlier confusion.

MCFX now shows prices 10 times more accurately. One point now equals 1/10 of a pip. So you are right: to plot a 50 pip chart, you need to enter 500 points.

The small number of bars is related to the limitation on tick data provided. Only one week is available. No matter what resolution you are requesting, it will always be 7 days (I'm talking about tick-based resolutions, of course).

As for some bars being short, this happens because some of them are cut off by session ends.

Regards.

The small number of bars is related to the limitation on tick data provided. Only one week is available. No matter what resolution you are requesting, it will always be 7 days (I'm talking about tick-based resolutions, of course).

Thanks. I wasn't aware previously that such restrictions applied to point charts. I think you can see that this places great restrictions on the resolutions that can be produced. 50 point is the minimum resolution I would have any use for, but 1000 plus would be useful too for longer term analysis. With the restrictions in place, charts of higher resolution quickly become too short to be useful.

As for some bars being short, this happens because some of them are cut off by session ends.

Is this a bug, or is that how things are supposed to be?