Empty periods

Questions about MultiCharts and user contributed studies.
johnyx2
Posts: 36
Joined: 18 Apr 2008

Empty periods

Postby johnyx2 » 19 Jun 2008

Hello there,

Is there a way so the chart can plot empty periods in real time?

I use 1 min charts 24 hrs. sessions and use trendlines to set up the trades.
In the overnight session when volume is low, a lot of minutes are not drawn, therefore the width of that day in bars could be for example 1000 instead of 1440 (minutes in a day).
After restarting MC I have seen that those missing empty minutes are filled with the data of the last minute with a tick before the empty period. Now after backfilling I have 1440 bars in the day.

When using trendlines this is of paramount importance.
If I have a 45 degree TL and 1000 bars in a day, price may never touch the TL to trigger the trade, but when there are 1440 then price may touch the TL.

There must be a way to plot empty periods in real time before backfilling.
TS 2000i has this option.

Thanks

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TJ
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Postby TJ » 19 Jun 2008

right click on chart...

"Format Window" will pop up

under X-Time Scale tab...

check "Show Empty Periods"



unfortunately it will also show Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.

johnyx2
Posts: 36
Joined: 18 Apr 2008

Postby johnyx2 » 20 Jun 2008

Thanks TJ for the replay.

In the NQ Sep 08 1 minute chart I have this did not work.

Thanks

wodru
Posts: 6
Joined: 23 Aug 2006

Postby wodru » 21 Jun 2008

'Show Empty Periods' works in MC 2.x but never in a 3.x version!

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Marina Pashkova
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Joined: 27 Jul 2007

Postby Marina Pashkova » 23 Jun 2008

Empty periods are no longer shown if only one symbol is plotted in a chart. This has been done to increase the chart plotting speed.

Best regards.

wodru
Posts: 6
Joined: 23 Aug 2006

Postby wodru » 23 Jun 2008

Drawing speed!?
I think that decision makes no sense, sorry.
I either want to see 'empty periods' or not.
Who exactly does benefit from this new restriction, in which situation?

There are many reasons for showing the empty periods for a single symbol:
- to have a true linear time axis on all charts
- the use of n-second charts or thinly traded intruments
- a consistent base for drawing objects like trendlines and channnels
- to see missing data! (MultiCharts doesn't fill the holes reliably)

Now i have to add a hidden symbol to every chart...
Please remove this restriction.

fs

Postby fs » 23 Jun 2008

Empty periods are no longer shown if only one symbol is plotted in a chart. This has been done to increase the chart plotting speed.

Best regards.
With other words, that option has no effect at all? If you chose to display empty periods with only one symbol plotted, the setting is ignored. If you plot two symbols and you chose the option not to plot empty periods, the setting is ignored as well, unless the two symbols have an empty period at the exact same time.

This is a really odd way to "increase chart plotting speed", by removing a critical piece of functionality and really odd having an option which has no effect.

MC has many good features and has great potential, but some of the decisions made by TSSupport latest releases are really puzzling. They remove the option to plot empty periods to plot charts faster, but on the other hand they happily tried to download data on dates after a futures contract has expired, having no data because they decided to not save the To date setting. Surely trying to download data which doesn't exist anymore is much more resource intensive than plotting empty periods?

johnyx2
Posts: 36
Joined: 18 Apr 2008

Postby johnyx2 » 24 Jun 2008

So, just to confirm.

Is MC bringing back the regular functionality of the 'Empty Periods' on a single chart?

Thanks

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Marina Pashkova
Posts: 2758
Joined: 27 Jul 2007

Postby Marina Pashkova » 25 Jun 2008

Hi johnyx2,

We are not planning to bring this functionality back. At least not in the nearest future.


Regards.


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