Problems with Data in MultiCharts

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Revision as of 11:29, 9 November 2016 by Henry Multicharts (talk | contribs)
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General Information

There are several components that may affect data shown on a chart, DOM, or market scanner windows in MultiCharts.

Green Light Indication in MultiCharts

  • At the bottom right corner of MultiCharts there is an indicator to show the current connection status to MultiCharts authorization server. If it is green, the connection is established and your registration name (usually the customer's first and last name, all lower case) and registration code (16 digits that should not be mixed with the MultiCharts User ID) is verified. As a result, it is possible to receive data from connected data source. Red or yellow means you can’t receive data. Possible reasons:
    • Incorrect registration name/code.
    • Internet connection problem.
    • Antivirus or firewall blocks MC from license verification.
    • Proxy connection should be used but it is not set up.
    • A problem on MultiCharts Authorization server.
  • At the top of the program there is the Trade Bar (shown by default), where all Broker Profiles are located. Each of them has an indicator that is showing the current connection state to a particular broker. Connection to a data source and to a broker is separate in MultiCharts. It is important to understand that a connected status (green) has nothing in common with plotting data in MultiCharts. However, it is required to be connected to receive prices in the DOM window, Chart Trading Panel and Trade Bar.

Online/Offline Mode

MultiCharts can be running either in online mode that allows user to receive real-time and historical data from data vendors’ servers, or customer can work in offline mode to develop studies and strategies and backtest them on locally saved historical data. There are 3 key points customers should know about the modes of MultiCharts:

  • It is not possible to receive any data from your data source in offline mode.
  • It is possible to connect a broker profile and place orders in offline mode.
  • Offline/Online mode affects not only MultiCharts; it affects tsserver.exe process that are responsible for data in the software, so the selected mode will be set for MultiCharts, QuoteManager and Portfolio Trader.

It is possible to change tsserver.exe mode only when the following conditions are met:

  • QuoteManager and Portfolio Trader are not running, only MultiCharts is launched;
  • There is not a single workspace opened in MultiCharts.

To change the mode in MultiCharts click:

  1. File;
  2. Preferences;
  3. Data Server Mode tab.
Note: If the Download Missing Historical Data box is checked, MultiCharts will receive requested historical data from a data vendor’s servers, that is, if the data is not previously stored in MultiCharts database. If the box is not checked, only real-time data will be received.

To learn more about how data is saved to MultiCharts database, read this article.

Data Source Settings

In order to receive data from a particular data source, it should be active and set up. To learn more about data sources, read this article. Each supported data vendor in MultiCharts provides a different limited amount of data. To learn how much data is provided in MultiCharts by a specific data source, follow this [[1]] link. Offline/Online mode affects all data sources; however, there are also some specific data sources with additional settings that can affect data being received in MultiCharts from particular data vendors’ servers:

Troubleshooting

Missing Historical Data on Charts

Before checking the settings in MultiCharts, it is recommended to check the historical data's availability in data vendor's software. If the historical data is not coming from the data vendor’s server in MultiCharts, please check the following settings:

  1. The software is in Online mode and the Download Missing Historical Data box is checked;
  2. The data source is set up correctly in QuoteManager;
  3. The data vendor provides this type of data;
  4. The symbol should be added correctly;
  5. Merging is not checked until it is required (this should be used only for merging 2 different data sources into 1 single chart);
  6. The chart type and chart Resolution are correct;
  7. The Quote Field is correct;
  8. The sessions are correct;
  9. The Data Range of the chart is correct (compare to point 3 and 5);
  10. Windows date and time corresponds to current date and time for the selected time zone;
  11. If your data vendor has its own software or there is another program on your PC working with the same data provider, please try to plot an identical chart there and compare the results.
  12. Reload the chart by pressing CTRL+R on your keyboard (when the chart window is active) or by going to View -> Reload -> ...
Note: To learn more about how various resolutions are built, read this article.
Note: To learn more about how the sessions setting affects charts, read this article.
Important information: When the software requests historical data from a data source’s server, the returned data is stored locally in the database (TradeStation data can be either saved or unsaved depending on the specific setting). If a data vendor doesn’t return historical data for whatever reason, a so-called “empty interval” is recorded in the database, so MultiCharts will not fill the gap when the missing data becomes available on data source end (you can check what data is already stored in the database by making a right-click on the symbols in QM and selecting "Edit Data..."). In this case customers should reload the data manually in MultiCharts: new historical data for the specified period will be requested; previously stored data and empty intervals will be replaced by new data from the server and saved in the local database.

If there is a gap in the data series when a custom futures is plotted, please make sure the data is available for the individual contracts used for this custom futures.

Absence of Real-Time Data

Before checking the settings in MultiCharts, it is recommended to check the real-time data availability in the data vendor's software. In case real-time data is not coming from the data vendor’s server in MultiCharts, please check the following settings:

Absence of Real-Time Data on Chart

  1. The software is in Online mode;
  2. The date source is set up correctly in QuoteManager;
  3. The data vendor provides this type of data;
  4. The symbol should be added correctly;
  5. Merging is not checked until it is required (this should be used only for merging 2 different data sources into 1 single chart);
  6. The Quote Field is correct;
  7. The sessions are correct;
  8. Windows date and time corresponds to current date and time for the selected time zone;
  9. Your data subscription is not delayed. When the time zone of the chart is set to local, the time in the status line of the chart should match your local Windows clock. If the time in the status line doesn't match it, the data is delayed and you will have to wait until the delay is over and the real-time comes in.

A custom indicator that helps find out if data is not coming in real-time can be found here: [2]

Absence of Real-Time Data in DOM, Trade Bar or Chart Trading Panel

  1. The software is in Online mode;
  2. The date source is set up correctly in QuoteManager;
  3. The same Broker Profile is set up correctly and connected;
  4. The data vendor provides this type of data;
  5. The symbol should be added correctly;
  6. Symbol Mapping is set up correctly;
  7. Your data subscription is not delayed.