Unable to automatically update charts using ASCII mapping

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novaleaf
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Unable to automatically update charts using ASCII mapping

Postby novaleaf » 18 Mar 2015

Hi, I see from the documentation and forum posts that adding lines to an ascii mapped file should automatically update a chart plotting it. However I'm not able to get it working.

One of the previous forum posts mentions:
Just for everyone else out there, you need to have the instrument set to Real Time data and the data must be updated after the close of the instrument session.
But I don't know what this means / how to verify it.

Here are the steps I am taking:
  • QuoteManager --> Map ASCII.
    Ascii Mapping Options: Symbol from file's field, Category=Stocks, Exchange=NYSE.
    Ascii Mapping Auto detected settings: res=1min, field=trade, timezone=exchange. pricemult=1, volmult=1
here is the data in my ascii file:

Code: Select all

symbol,date,time,open,high,low,close,volume
AAAAA,20150318,0930,10.350000,10.450000,10.350000,10.450000,1200
AAAAA,20150318,0934,10.710000,10.710000,10.710000,10.710000,100
AAAAA,20150318,0936,10.610000,10.610000,10.610000,10.610000,200
AAAAA,20150318,0948,10.620000,10.620000,10.620000,10.620000,100
AAAAA,20150318,0958,10.670000,10.670000,10.670000,10.670000,100
AAAAA,20150318,1002,10.670000,10.670000,10.670000,10.670000,132
AAAAA,20150318,1112,10.580000,10.580000,10.580000,10.580000,100
AAAAA,20150318,1115,10.580000,10.580000,10.580000,10.580000,100
AAAAA,20150318,1117,10.580000,10.580000,10.580000,10.580000,104
AAAAA,20150318,1118,10.540000,10.540000,10.520000,10.520000,500
AAAAA,20150318,1119,10.500000,10.510000,10.500000,10.510000,300
AAAAA,20150318,1120,10.490000,10.490000,10.490000,10.490000,100
AAAAA,20150318,1122,10.510000,10.510000,10.510000,10.510000,100
AAAAA,20150318,1139,10.510000,10.510000,10.510000,10.510000,300
AAAAA,20150318,1143,10.520000,10.520000,10.520000,10.520000,100
AAAAA,20150318,1301,10.620000,10.620000,10.620000,10.620000,100
AAAAA,20150318,1312,10.620000,10.620000,10.620000,10.620000,300
AAAAA,20150318,1316,10.630000,10.630000,10.630000,10.630000,100
AAAAA,20150318,1322,10.630000,10.630000,10.630000,10.630000,200
AAAAA,20150318,1323,10.640000,10.640000,10.640000,10.640000,100
AAAAA,20150318,1330,10.640000,10.640000,10.639500,10.639500,200
AAAAA,20150318,1335,10.590000,10.590000,10.590000,10.590000,100
AAAAA,20150318,1336,10.620000,10.620000,10.620000,10.620000,100
AAAAA,20150318,1401,10.610000,10.630000,10.610000,10.630000,200
AAAAA,20150318,1404,10.610000,10.640000,10.610000,10.640000,200
AAAAA,20150318,1405,10.640000,10.640000,10.600000,10.600000,600
AAAAA,20150318,1409,10.640000,10.640000,10.640000,10.640000,100
AAAAA,20150318,1415,10.640000,10.640000,10.640000,10.640000,300
AAAAA,20150318,1416,10.610000,10.610000,10.610000,10.610000,100
AAAAA,20150318,1432,10.650000,10.650000,10.650000,10.650000,100
AAAAA,20150318,1437,10.650000,10.650000,10.650000,10.650000,100
AAAAA,20150318,1446,10.610000,10.610000,10.610000,10.610000,100
AAAAA,20150318,1448,10.610000,10.610000,10.610000,10.610000,500
AAAAA,20150318,1451,10.600000,10.600000,10.600000,10.600000,100
AAAAA,20150318,1455,10.620000,10.620000,10.620000,10.620000,100
I then
  • new --> Chart Window
    choose AAAAA instrument from the "ASCII Mapping" data source
    leave everything else default and press OK. Chart now shows up as expected.
I then start adding lines like this to the bottom of the ascii file and saving, but nothing shows up in the chart automatically. I need to create a new chart for the appended data to show up.

Code: Select all

AAAAA,20150318,1501,10.630000,10.630000,10.630000,10.630000,100
So what am I doing wrong? Help would be appreciated!

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Henry MultiСharts
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Re: Unable to automatically update charts using ASCII mappin

Postby Henry MultiСharts » 25 Mar 2015

Hello novaleaf,

Please come to our live chat Monday-Friday 6:30 am - 1 pm EST to demonstrate this behavior remotely. We will do our best to help you.

novaleaf
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Re: Unable to automatically update charts using ASCII mappin

Postby novaleaf » 09 Apr 2015

ok, so I figured out the issue (with Henry's help).

The last value in your ascii data MUST be less than 1 minute old when *CONSTRUCTING* the chart. This puts the chart into some kind of "realtime" mode. If the last value is more than 1 minute old, the chart is put into some kind of "historical" mode.

If the last value is in the future, it's also put into realtime mode.

if the chart is in historical mode, it will NEVER check for updates. full stop.

if the chart is in realtime mode, it will ALWAYS check for updates. full stop.

Dear Multicharts: If my analysis is correct, Thinly traded securities would have a hard time getting set into realtime mode. I believe I have a much better solution to this. It would be much, much better if you provided a dropdown in the ascii mapping ui to let the user specify if it's in realtime mode, and you can "auto preset" this by looking at the last value if you wish.

This also facilitates my need: to setup a collection of securities that will be updated in realtime based on an external process. As it currently stands, multicharts requires my external process to update every security within 1 minute of loading the chart.

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Henry MultiСharts
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Re: Unable to automatically update charts using ASCII mappin

Postby Henry MultiСharts » 10 Apr 2015

Hello novaleaf,

This is not exactly correct.
When you plot a chart for ASCII mapping instrument - MultiCharts reads historical data (from a text file) from the starting point of your data range until current moment. That is not required to have the data in the file until current time. Data can end at any historical time point and it will be successfully plotted.

If you add data lines to your file with timestamps after the chart creation time - these bars will appear as realtime on a chart. But if you add any historical data (with timestamps prior to chart creation time) to your file after you have plotted the chart - they will not appear on the chart.

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Re: Unable to automatically update charts using ASCII mappin

Postby FutureTrader » 24 Apr 2015

Hello novaleaf,

This is not exactly correct.
When you plot a chart for ASCII mapping instrument - MultiCharts reads historical data (from a text file) from the starting point of your data range until current moment. That is not required to have the data in the file until current time. Data can end at any historical time point and it will be successfully plotted.

If you add data lines to your file with timestamps after the chart creation time - these bars will appear as realtime on a chart. But if you add any historical data (with timestamps prior to chart creation time) to your file after you have plotted the chart - they will not appear on the chart.
Henry could you give the definition of "chart creation time" and where we find it in Multicharts, so we can compare this value against the timestamps from the ascii file.

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Re: Unable to automatically update charts using ASCII mappin

Postby novaleaf » 24 Apr 2015

Not meant to be anything fancy, sorry if my language is.... complex.

the chart creation time is the time in which you create the chart, and/or when you reload the chart's data.

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Re: Unable to automatically update charts using ASCII mappin

Postby waveslider » 23 Oct 2015

Henry I know we have been over this before, but my ASCII mapped symbol is not updating even after refreshing.
The symbol is correctly mapped and the historical data shows up. Last night a new line was added and after hitting refresh this morning, the chart did not show the new line.
Any tips?

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Henry MultiСharts
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Re: Unable to automatically update charts using ASCII mappin

Postby Henry MultiСharts » 27 Oct 2015

Henry I know we have been over this before, but my ASCII mapped symbol is not updating even after refreshing.
The symbol is correctly mapped and the historical data shows up. Last night a new line was added and after hitting refresh this morning, the chart did not show the new line.
Any tips?
Hello waveslider,

Please close all MultiCharts processes, start QuoteManager, remove the instrument you are having issues with, re-map the required ASCII file, start MultiCharts.

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Re: Unable to automatically update charts using ASCII mappin

Postby waveslider » 27 Oct 2015

ASCII mapping is quirky and seems to work for a while then may suddenly stop. In any case it is working now and I will delete/remap when necessary (hopefully not too frequently) thanks Henry


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