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Date/Time: Fri, 26 Apr 2024 13:38:03 +0000



Setting an alert based on an overlay study from another chart

View Count: 281

[2023-03-08 20:00:41]
User806953 - Posts: 6
Hi - I promise I've probed the support boards and wasn't able to come up with an answer. I have a chart where I have macd overlaid for four separate time frames at the bottom as studies. I want it to generate an alert when the 4hr macd crosses over from either side and was able to get it set up easily on the 4hr chart by itself, but using the same syntax (tried different combinations of identifiers) am unable to get it triggered on the composite chart with all the timeframes. I've tried putting the alert on the specific 4hr study but it doesn't seem to work. Is just impossible to do due to the mismatch in bar time periods? I can live with having it just on the 4hr chart but would prefer to disable that one and have it on the main composite one as I rarely open the individual 4hr chart. Thanks!
[2023-03-08 22:59:17]
John - SC Support - Posts: 31131
You should be able to create an Alert based on the Study/Price Overlay just as you would if it were the original study itself.

What exactly are you checking the MACD against for the crossover?
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[2023-03-09 00:56:21]
User806953 - Posts: 6
I used crossover of SG1 and SG2 to get it set up on the 4hr chart. I am only concerned with whether the relative histogram is building or retreating, not the absolute value of MACD or the moving average value. My suspicion is that because the main time frame is set to 30 minutes, it isn't recognizing the 4hr bar from the overlay and hence not returning any alerts at all. I have jpeg screenshots of both instances if that would help.
[2023-03-09 15:19:58]
John - SC Support - Posts: 31131
So you are comparing the MACD to the MACD Moving Average (SG1 and SG2 of the MACD study)?

If you use the Study/Price Overlay, are you getting the MACD displayed on the chart? What you will see are straight lines for every 8 bars in the 30 minute chart, as the 4 hour chart only has data for every 4 hours.

Still, you should not have a problem, if there is a crossover, then it should register. Are you properly referencing the Study/Price Overlay study when creating your alert (using IDx.SGy for subgraph y of study x?
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[2023-03-09 16:14:16]
User806953 - Posts: 6
Images attached. ID8 is the correct reference for the overlay study, at least as indicated by the spreadsheet study.


COMPOSITE chart no alert - www.sierrachart.com/image.php?Image=1678378023873.png

4HR chart with alert - www.sierrachart.com/image.php?Image=167837776681.png
[2023-03-09 18:06:25]
John - SC Support - Posts: 31131
Open your Alert Manager and see if there are any messages about why the alert did not sound, or if the alert is going off, but you are perhaps not getting the sound.
For the most reliable, advanced, and zero cost futures order routing, use the Teton service:
Sierra Chart Teton Futures Order Routing
[2023-03-10 14:55:23]
User806953 - Posts: 6
I've checked, it just isn't triggering. I am using the same alert settings for both (Alert 1 | 4hcross) and whenever 4hr cross triggers, I have set it up so that the alert window pops up and the composite one is always missing. Also at one point was testing a different formula-based alert to trigger whenever all of the MACD histograms were either positive or negative and that worked fine on the composite screen bc I think it was only concerned with the absolute value of the histo and the different time bars wouldn't have mattered. Was using the same alert set so I know that isn't the issue.

FWIW whenever I was trying to figure out the correct crossover and identifier syntax and was testing in the spreadsheet, it was returning all 0s too, even when a 4hr cross happened.
[2023-03-10 18:04:11]
User806953 - Posts: 6
Hey following up on the above - I kept both running in the live environment today and both successfully triggered when they were supposed to, so looks like it was just the replay environment where the composite wasn't working. For backtesting I can just rely on the 4hr signal which works in both so all good here, apologies for the false alarm.

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