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Log of Changes and Improvements to Sierra Chart
This list contains major items of development, items which are notable, and changes and additions which users need to be informed about.
This is not a comprehensive changes and additions log. It only represents less than 25% of the actual development performed every day. There are not version notes for each version. The main Sierra Chart documentation is updated as needed relating to the changes and additions.
In addition to the below listed items for each version, there are also various low-level improvements, issues resolved, and small additions that a release has which are not listed.
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425 Release Date: 2009-04-30
- Corrected some issues with the Automatic Trendlines study.
- Added the Average Fill Price (AvgFillPrice) to the ACSIL trading s_scTradingOrderDetails structure.
- The ACSIL Trading functions and structures have been internally improved. When using this version or higher it is necessary to rebuild your study functions that were built with prior versions in order to work properly on this version and up.
- Various low-level improvements.
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423 Release Date: 2009-04-24
- Filled Orders can now be displayed on the chart in Chart Trade Mode. The settings for this feature can be found in Trade >> Global Trade Settings in the Chart Trading Section.
- The Text Size for the Volume By Price study has been fixed so that it resizes to the bar size as it did in previous versions.
- A problem with trailing stops arising in a recent pre-release, has been corrected.
- Our simple alert feature for studies has been enhanced. It is now possible to use an Excel-style formula for alerts. Alert condition formulas can refer to other studies on the chart by using this syntax: ID#.SG# where # is the study ID number shown on the right side of the study in the list of Studies to Graph and the number of the subgraph. To use an enhanced alert condition, precede the formula with an equals (=) sign. Documentation is being worked on. An example would be =CROSSOVER(ID1.SG1, ID2.SG1). This would give an alert when the first subgraph of study with ID 1 crosses the first subgraph of study with ID 2.
- Added a Copy Symbols button to the Alerts Log. When this button is pressed, it will create a list of symbols which have alert lines in the Alerts Log that can be pasted anywhere.
- Added a new study subgraph Draw Style pair named: Transparent Fill Top and Transparent Fill Bottom.
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421
- Added a Copy Command to the Trade Orders Window and to the Positions Window.
- When downloading Historical Data from the Barchart Real-Time and Historical Data Service, the chart is updated as the data is being downloaded.
- Added a new option to the Study Settings Window to save the current settings as the default for newly added instances of the study. This option is named Save these settings as the default. There is also a Reset Defaults button that will clear these saved default settings.
- A Length input has been added to the Swing High and Low study.
- Added a new input to the Envelope Study to support a fixed value.
- A new function has been added to the ACSIL Trading Interface, sc.SCTrading_GetFilledOrderByIndex(), that is used to get order details of orders that have already been filled.
- When the connection is lost to the TransAct trade engine, Sierra Chart will retry every 20 seconds for 5 times, then every 1 minute for 55 times and stop. In no case will the Message Log open up indicating the retries during this time. Sierra Chart will not attempt to reconnect to the Transact trade engine if it was never able to successfully connect previously. If Sierra Chart has difficulty reconnecting to the Transact trade engine, then be certain your Transact AT software is fully up to date as Transact has resolved some issues with this.
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419 Release Date: 2009-04-10
- A new input has been added to the Spreadsheet Study to cancel all orders on a reversal. This input is called Cancel All Orders on Reversals. The ACSIL Trading interface has been enhanced to support the same functionality. The variable that controls this is called sc.CancelAllOrdersOnReversals.
- For the Spreadsheet System for Trading studies, cell J29 is now used to flatten and cancel all working orders. Be sure to update your formulas if you were using this cell for calculations before.
- Corrected a problem where when duplicating a detached chart, it would not show.
- Text drawn with the Stationary Text tool is now Stationary along the Y-axis.
- Added controls to the Global Settings >> Spreadsheets Settings window for controlling options affecting the interface to Excel.
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418 Release Date: 2009-04-08
- Support for trading through GAIN Capital (OEC Trader) is now available. This is our initial release. It should only be used with the OEC simulation server until you are certain that it works properly for you. Any problems or questions should be directed to Sierra Chart Support on the Sierra Chart Support Board.
- A new study input has been added to the Renko Chart titled "Draw Renko Boxes on Bar Close". This tells the study to only draw Renko Boxes when a bar in the underlying base data has completely closed.
- The Trade Orders Window and Positions Window now use color coding.
- Downloading Historical Data from the Barchart Service is much faster.
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417 Release Date: 2009-04-03
- When you double click on a Highlight chart drawing in the middle, it will move it instead of adjusting it.
- Added new calculated values to the Chart Calculator Tool. These can be found under Global Settings >> Tool Settings >> Calculator.
- Corrected a problem from the prior release where this error was given: "c_Chart::GetWndPtr: c_Chart object doesn't have assigned Window." This has now been solved.
- Added the Automatic Trendlines study.
- Added to the Time and Sales settings window, controls to highlight lines based on the specified price or volume conditions.
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416 Release Date: 2009-04-02
- Corrected a problem with the sc.Parabolic ACSIL function where it would not function properly when used with the Watcom compiler.
- Added the study function scsf_StudyPriceOverlay to Studies6.cpp. This function works like the Study/Price Overlay study. It does not copy all of the settings of the source study, as the built-in version. We have provided it as an example of how the Study/Price Overlay study works.
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415 Release Date: 2009-04-01
- Corrected some issues that arose with version 414 with downloading historical data from the Barchart Real-Time and Historical Data Service.
- Corrected a problem from version 414 with the Commodity Channel Index not being back compatible with existing study collections.
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414 Release Date: 2009-03-31
- The Spreadsheet System for Trading study has been improved. There is now a cell that allows you to disable all trading, this is located in cell J28 and titled Disable Auto Trading. There are also 2 new cells that record the last DateTime of Entries and Exits. These cells are located in cell J42 and J43 respectively and titled Last Trade Entry DateTime and Last Trade Exit DateTime.
- The ACSIL has a minor improvement. sc.PlaySound now displays a more descriptive alert line in the alert log. Additionally, Go To Chart now works with alert lines generated from sc.PlaySound.
- Historical intraday data for the SC Real-Time Data (DDF) service is now downloaded directly by Sierra Chart instead of using the Barchart API.
- Added the ability to quickly change the color of chart drawings. To do this, right click on a chart drawing, and select one of the colors from the Color submenu.
- Settings for the line style and width were added for the Linear Regression tool.
- Added the Save Message Log To File option in the General Settings that will save the log to a file. The file is saved in the Logs subfolder where Sierra Chart is installed to. The saving of the log is automatic once this option is checked. The file is updated every time a new message is added.
- Added a new study collection for the Buffy Trading system named Buffy 2. This is installed when you choose to install the Additional Files in the installer.
- When using the chartbook and window tabs, the active tabs are now highlighted.
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413 Release Date: 2009-03-20
- Added support for Financial Advisor accounts trading through Interactive Brokers. To fill in your Financial Advisor information, select File >> Date/Trade Service Settings on the menu and go to the More Interactive Brokers Settings... section.
- Removed the Immediate and Good Till Date/Time expiration types from the TransAct client because they are not known to be supported.
- If the bid and ask are both the same as the value of a trade, then the volume of that trade will be split evenly into the bid volume and ask volume of the bar so that the sum of the bid volume and the ask volume will equal the total volume. Previously the sum of the bid volume and the ask volume had both been set under this condition so that the sum ended up being greater than the total.
- A Zoom In tool has been added.
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412
- The ACSIL Trading interface has been improved. A new member variable has been added, sc.GlobalTradeSimulationIsOn, that is set to TRUE when a user has enabled Trade Simulation, and is set to FALSE when the Trade Simulation is disabled. Another new member function has been added to modify orders. The declaration for this function is int sc.SCTrading_ModifyOrder(const SCString& OrderID, s_scTradingOrderInput& OrderModifications);.
- Fixed an issue where the replay control window did not work on detached charts.
- Added Good Till Canceled, Good Till Date/Time, and All or None order options to the TransAct trading interface.
- Corrected a problem where if a text file did not contain the carriage return character at the end of a line, and only had a line feed character, the lines were not read in correctly. This applies to historical text files and when importing intraday data. Files created by Sierra Chart were not affected.
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411 Release Date: 2009/03/13
- This version includes the latest TransAct API.
- The message log can now be minimized. If an important message is added to the message log while it is minimized, the log window will flash in the task bar.
- Corrected a problem from a recent release where stopping a replay causes high CPU usage when using Trade Simulation and when disconnected from the feed.
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410
- A new member varable has been added to the sg struct for ACSIL trading, sc.SupportAttachedOrdersForTrading. When this variable is set to TRUE, the orders that are entered from the ACSIL trading interface will use the Attached Orders that are specified from the Trade / Settings Window of the chart in which the ACSIL study is applied to. This only applies to Buy/Sell Entries, Exits can not have attached orders attached to them.
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409
- Added an option for the IB trading service to multiply stock data volume by the specified multiplier. By default this is 1. This option can be found under Global Settings >> Data/Trade Service Settings >> {Service set to Interactive Brokers} >> More Interactive Brokers Settings.
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408 Release Date: 2009/03/10
- Added an Import function for importing a list of symbols from a text file, to the Global Settings >> Intraday File Update List window. Each symbol needs to be on its own line in the file.
- Added an option for Simple Study Alerts to Evaluate on Bar Close.
- This version has significantly reduced CPU usage. Especially when loading a large number of bars in a chart.
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407 Release Date: 2009/03/09
- Corrected a problem from a recent release where some Trade Position related prices would sometimes not be set correctly for Simulated Trading. If you are using Simulated Trading, it is important to upgrade.
- Automated trading now takes into consideration multiple attached orders when calculating the Internal Position with working orders quantity.
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406 Release Date: 2009/03/04
- Updated interface files for Transact and the Barchart Real-Time and Historical Data Service are included.
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405 Release Date: 2009/03/03
- Corrected a problem with the displaying of Compiler Output on the Build Studies DLL window.
- Various low level improvements.
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404 Release Date: 2009/02/27
- Corrected a problem with the Volume Weighted Average Price study where the last bar would produce incorrect results for the VWAP line.
- On the Associated Symbols List there is now an Import button that lets you import symbols from a text file. Each symbol should be on its own line.
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403 Release Date: 2009/02/26
- Created a new Buffy studies template. This is very fast and reliable compared to prior templates that were available.
- Corrected a problem with the output displayed on the Build Studies DLL Window.
- The problem with abnormal shutdown when using the IB service experienced by some users, apparently is due to extreme out of range trade position values received from the IB service. We now reject those values and this should resolve the problem.
- When the connection to the TransAct trade server used for trading functionality is lost, a reconnect will automatically be performed unlike prior versions since support for the new TransAct pricing API. Working orders and Positions are also refreshed after the connection. It is important if you are using the trading functionality in Sierra Chart with Transact that you update to this version. Additionally, Transact has released a new trade engine file to solve some reconnection issues. That is available on our Support Board.
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402 Release Date: 2009/02/24
- This version has new API files from Transact. This should resolve the problem where that data feed from Transact stops and does not resume. If you still have a problem be sure to let us know and we will contact Transact about the issue.
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399 Release Date: 2009-02-19
- Fixed a problem with the Volume Weighted Average Price study that arose from a recent release.
- This version solved the problem where some users would experience an abnormal shutdown when using IB. This relates to the code that processes Position Data from Trades. We are still in the process of determining the exact cause and have disabled position data processing. This will be reactivated in the next release. Therefore, in this release you will have to rely on the Internal Position data. Flatten and Reverse may not work.
- Color Coded the data feed status window.
- Added an associated symbol list feature for charts. This lets you add a list of symbols to a chart and be able to cycle through them on that chart. This can be found on the Chart Menu.
- Added High/Low of Day study. This study will mark the high and the low of the day.
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397 Release Date: 2009-02-17
- Improved the function for the Interactive Brokers debug logging.
- Corrected a problem with the names shown on window tabs.
- Color coded the data feed and program status window.
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396 Release Date: 2009-02-16
- Corrected some issues from a recent pre-release where some menu commands and shortcuts were not working properly with Detached Charts.
- Corrected a problem from 395 where charts were not updating in real-time.
- Corrected a problem where the Start Market Depth Updates option was not always saved.
- Finalized the development of three new options found on the Subgraphs tab of the Study Settings window for controlling the display of the Study Name, and the name and value for individual subgraphs, along the Region Data Line and in the Tool Values and Chart Values Windows.
- Added Swing High and Low study.
- Various other low level improvements.
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394 Release Date: 2009-02-13
- Corrected a problem where the Profit Loss value in Simulation Mode was not always up to date.
- Support for the new OEC Simulation environment API.
IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR OEC USERS: If you are connecting to the OEC simulation system, you must upgrade to Sierra Chart version 394 or higher in order to use the OEC simulation system. Otherwise the connection will fail. To upgrade select Help >> Download Prerelease on the menu.
If you are using the OEC production system you cannot use version 394 or higher until the OEC production system is updated with their latest API software. - In order to debug a problem some users are experiencing when using the IB service, we added a special logging feature. To enable this, use the command line parameter iblogging when running Sierra Chart. To do this, you may need to create or modify a shortcut to SierraChart.exe so that it includes this parameter. For example, the shortcut's target should be:
C:\SierraChart\SierraChart.exe iblogging
This will cause IB specific debugging messages to be added to the message log, and store the message log in the Logs folder where SierraChart.exe is located.
If you experience an abnormal shutdown of Sierra Chart when using IB, please use this logging feature and at the time you experience the abnormal shutdown, provide the latest log file for support on the Support Board - When we get a session disconnect from TransAct, Sierra Chart will handle this as a connection lost and automatically reconnect.
- Various other low level improvements including improvements to trading features.
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391 Release Date: 2009-02-10
- This version has new API files from Transact. This should resolve the problem where that data feed from Transact stops and does not resume. If you still have a problem please be sure to let us know and we will contact Transact about the issue.
- This version has also re-enabled optimizations for faster performance. They were disabled in version 388 due to some abnormal termination problems that a very small number of users infrequently experience when using IB. We are still looking into the cause of the issue, it may be something external to Sierra Chart. We did make one change that should prevent the abnormal termination. However, this is more of a workaround than a solution. We are continuing to monitor the issue from the very few users who are having it.
- When you move either the Stop or Limit price of a Stop Limit order when in Chart Trade Mode, the opposite price will also automatically adjust to maintain the original offset. To enable this select Trade >> Global Trade Settings >> Chart Trade Settings on the menu. Enable On Modify, Use Constant Offset for Stop Limit Order Prices.
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389 Release Date: 2009-02-07
- Corrected a problem with the drawing of dotted and dashed lines.
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388 Release Date: 2009-02-06
- Improvements to the DOM Graph on the chart. The options for this can be found under Chart >> Chart Settings. To enable this select Trade >> Draw DOM Depth on Chart.
- When there is a Chart Multiplier used, you can now enter orders using the Chart DOM as well and it will correctly interpret the prices you want (removing the multiplier). This is the completion of a feature introduced in 386 where the Chart Multiplier is removed with Chart Trading.
- When a chart is scrolled back, and you are not on the very last bar in the chart, a red box is shown in the lower right of the chart. Otherwise, it is green. This is a change from the previous pre-release, where the study subgraph line labels were dimmed.
- This version does not use optimizations. They have been temporarily disabled in an effort to discover a possible problem involving an abnormal shutdown that some users experience when using the IB service. These will be re-enabled in the next release. It should not cause any noticeable change. Chartbooks may load slightly slower, that's about all.
- Corrected a problem from a recent release where the appearance of OHLC bars when printed had a too great of a width for the Open/Close dashes. Also improved the printed appearance of Bid Ask bars.
- Added the float sc.GetArrayValueAtNthOccurrence(SCFloatArrayRef TrueFalseIn, SCFloatArrayRef ValueArrayIn, int Index, int NthOccurrence) function to ACSIL.
- It is now possible for studies to draw into future chart columns that are beyond the last bar. The sc.Subgraph[][] arrays have 100 additional elements beyond sc.ArraySize. Those elements can be referenced as usual and can be read and set. They will be drawn beyond the last bar in the chart. To specify how many Data Array elements per subgraph to draw beyond the last bar, set sc.Subgraph[].ExtendedArrayElementsToGraph to the number of extended elements you want. An example can be found in the scsf_ExtendedArraySample function in studies6.cpp in the ACSIL_Source folder.
- When replaying charts, the Bid and Ask value for simulated trading are now more accurately simulated. Bid/Ask data is now simulated by averaging the high and the low of each bar to have a more accurate estimation. Before, the high was seen as the ask and the low was seen as the bid.
- Added support for downloading more historical data from the DTN IQ feed.
- For the Renko Chart study, a Yes/No input to build the Renko chart from the High and Low values of the underlying bars instead instead of the closing prices has been added.
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387 Release Date: 2009-01-28
- When a chart is scrolled back, and you are not on the very last bar in the chart, study subgraph line labels are dimmed. The purpose of this is to provide a visual indication that you are not at the end of the chart.
- Corrected some minor issues with the Pivot Points - Variable Period study. And with the Pivot Points - Daily study, when referencing a daily chart, the support and resistance lines now will follow the set chart session times instead of going from 0:00 to 23:59.
- Corrected an issue where a chart may jump back to the end when scrolled back to another position. This is an unusual condition that could occur when using custom charts such as Renko or TPO.
- Added a command to the Trade menu named Draw DOM Depth On Chart. This will draw the DOM depth as horizontal lines on the right side of the chart. This is the first revision, and it will be improved.
- More features to be documented soon.
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386 Release Date: 2009-01-27
- Corrected a problem from 384 with ACSIL Trading functions not being able to submit orders due to a change to add a maximum position limit for Spreadsheet Trading.
- Corrected a problem with the Spreadsheet System for Trading study where saved instances of this study would default the new input Maximum Position Allowed in Same Direction to 0 which not allow any order entries from the Spreadsheet.
- When there is a Chart Multiplier used, this multiplier is removed when trading from the chart before orders are sent to the order system. Orders and Position displayed on the chart are also multiplied by the chart multiplier now. The Chart DOM does not yet support removal of the multiplier.
*Last modified Wednesday, 22nd February, 2023.