Login Page - Create Account

What Is New

Available Pages

Log of Changes and Improvements to Sierra Chart

This list contains major items of development, and changes and additions which users need to be informed about.

This is not a comprehensive changes and additions log. And it should never be relied upon for such. It only represents a very small percentage of the actual development being performed every day. The vast majority of development is not documented here. Or receives, one small comment after it is all complete. There are not version notes for each version. The main Sierra Chart documentation is updated as needed relating to the changes and additions.

The maintenance of this page has mostly been abandoned by Sierra Chart development for many years due to the difficulty of maintaining it and because users can be incorrectly misled by or misinterpret notes that are made here. This does not change, the development of Sierra Chart which is very active every day and new releases are made nearly weekly or several times a week. The Sierra Chart project is still very active, with extensive development and it remains a very high quality software in the world. The engineering is at the very top of the world.

  • 71.6

    • Added Constant Range Scaling. This option is available in the Scale Window for charts and studies. For example, select fChart >> Chart Settings on the menu and press the Scale button.
    • To re-center the chart, press the "End" or "Insert" key on your keyboard.
  • 71.5

    • Added the Linear Regression tool with Raff Channels. You can find this by selecting Tools >> Linear Regression. The Linear Regression works like the standard Trendline tool. Just draw the line and Sierra Chart will auto-fit the line as a regression line. It will also solve the Raff Channels and apply them to the chart.
  • 71.4

    • Made revisions to the improved volume reporting for the IB data feed.
    • All Bid, Ask, BidSize, and AskSize data received from the data feed is now stored and is available through the Time and Sales feature. Currently the only way this data can be used is through custom DLL studies.
    • Custom DLL studies that have already been written and use the Time and Sales array will need to be recompiled to work with this version.
  • 71.3

    • Added a new option in Chart Settings to Preserve the Fill Space that is created when scrolling past the last bar in the chart. One use of this feature is for custom DLL studies to place text information in this open space on the right of the chart.
    • Added an option to General Settings that allows you to Hide all Study Inputs displayed on charts.
    • We have separated the Erase All Lines command into two commands:
      • Erase All Non-Text Drawings
      • Erase All Text
    • The Bid Size and Ask Size fields for Quote Lines on a Spreadsheet have been separated. Additionally, a Number of Trades field has been added.
  • 71.2

    • Corrected a problem with the improved volume reporting for IB.
  • 71.1

    • Added the Copy and Move Line/Text command to the Tools menu.
  • 71.0

    • Improved volume reporting for the IB Data feed.
  • 70

    • NOTE: Chartbooks saved with version 70 will not work on older versions.
    • Charts can now be linked together within chartbooks. When you change the symbol of a linked chart, all other charts with the same link number will be set to that same symbol. For more information see the Link Number Setting on the Chart Settings documentation page.
    • A Only Charts in Chartbook option has been added to the Chart menu. If this option is checked the Previous File, Next File, and Start Scan commands on the Chart menu only switch to symbols within the chartbook. Otherwise, these commands switch to all symbols you have a data file for. You can now switch to the next or previous symbols of a chartbook within a chart itself. For more information see: Moving Through Your Data Files.
    • A Go To Chart button has been added to the Message Log window. If an alert has been triggered, you can now highlight the alert and click on the Go To Chart button to open the chart that gave the alert. If the chart has been changed to a different symbol, the chart will load the symbol that triggered the alert.
  • 70.9

    • The global cursor feature correctly corresponds to the date and time axis on all charts compared to the active chart.
    • When the price graph type is set to Candlestick and you are using a study that uses a Price Graph style, then the color of the Candlestick's is set through the color settings for the study.
  • 70.8

    • A "Prompt to Remove Studies" checkbox has been added to the Studies Window. This applies to Study Collections.

    • If you have a lot of trendlines and text on the chart, the cpu usage will be much less. The algorithm has been made 100 times faster.
  • 70.7

    • When a custom DLL study is removed from the chart, the study function is called one last time and the LastCallToFunction flag variable is set to 1.
  • 70.6

    • We've added an option to enable the global cursor feature in the Tools menu. If you need to use the Global Cursor feature, enable it in the Tools menu.
    • Chart settings such as minutes/seconds per bar can be changed by a custom DLL study. Refer to the sample function ChangeSettingsExample() in the studies.cpp file.
    • Additional variables are passed to custom DLL studies. Refer to the SierraChart.h file to see what's new.
    • The Y axis values are are synchronized across all graphs when using the global cursor. Also, the chart values displayed in the status bar and chart value's windows are no longer dependent on the active window when using the global cursor.
  • 70.5

    • There was a bug with the Time and Sales studies that would cause unexpected behavior such as Sierra Chart shutting down. This has been corrected.

    • Additionally, the Time and Sales studies have been enhanced. A Volume filter input has been added to filter out trades below a certain volume level. The Time and Sales price value is color coded. There is a different color depending upon whether a trade occurred at the bid, ask, or other level. If you have developed or are using custom DLL studies that use Time and Sales, they will need to be recompiled because of the improvements. They will recompile without any modifications.
  • 70.3

    • The Link Number of Charts are now saved within chartbooks.
  • 70.2

    • A Global Cursor feature has been added. When the chart values tool is used, the cross hair is displayed on all charts at the corresponding location.
    • The Set Charts to Same Symbol command has been added back to the chart menu.
  • 70.1

    • The Set Charts To Same Symbol command has been removed. Instead use the Link Number setting in the Chart Settings window. This is described above.
    • The short cut for disconnecting has been changed from F12 to Ctrl-F11.
  • 69

    • Made changes to IB backfill handling to accommodate changes from IB. If you are having any difficulty with IB backfill, make sure you are running version 69 or higher. Any unsolved problems you continue to have with IB backfill are not because of Sierra Chart.
    • A number of new Custom DLL features have been added. This includes a function to use tools in Sierra Chart such as lines and text. For more information see the Creating Custom DLL Studies and Using Tools From a Custom DLL Study pages.
    • Added Short Fibonacci Button onto the toolbar
    • Enhanced the Replay feature so that it now skips rapidly over data that is beyond your Start and End time in Chart Settings.
  • 68.4

    • Added a feature to control the replay of multiple charts at the same time. For more information see the Replaying Charts Documentation page
  • 68.3

    • A new Export/Import Intraday Data File feature has been added. This converts intraday files into regular ASCII text files for editing purposes. You can now combine, split, and edit files with just a text editor such as notepad. For more information see the Importing and Exporting Intraday Data files documentation page.
    • When a Study Subgraph Style is set to Ignore, the graph now ignores that subgraph when calculating the scale.
    • Fixed a bug where a text input box was missing under Technical Study Settings.
    • Added support for up to 8 sound Alerts. Additionally there are 2 ways to specify alerts for Spreadsheet Alerts. Each column can trigger alerts 1 through 4 as previously if Spreadsheet Column is selected under the Alert Number drop down list in the Technical Study Settings window, or you can play a specific alert sound, 1~8, when any of the column conditions are TRUE.
    • Added specific revision number to the Version displayed in Sierra Chart.
    • Fixed a minor bug under "Data Source Settings" that made unchecking the "Data Feed Server" and "Dial Data Database" buttons impossible.
    • Fixed a bug in Moving Average - Weighted that caused the graph to be shifted when data was coming in and displacement was not 0.
  • 67

    • Fully supports older TWS versions.
    • A new alert sound feature has been added. Sierra Chart now supports up to 4 different alert sounds. The default Windows "ding" will be sounded if an alert sound does not exist.
    • Go to Beginning of Chart and Go to End of Chart has been added to the Chart menu.
    • A problem with Sierra Chart handling of custom DLL study names in the Studies and Study Settings Window has been corrected. When connected to the data feed, the program may have displayed incorrect graph names, subgraph names, and input names for existing studies on the chart when you added, removed, or changed the settings for a study.
    • Added support for Time and Sales. Currently this data is accessible through custom DLL studies. To have Sierra Chart store this data, go to File >> Data Source Settings. The number of Time and Sales to be stored can be specified anywhere between 20 and 20,000. For a graphical view of Time and Sales, under Analysis, select "Time and Sales". This will give you a graph of Price, Volume and Time. For an example on how to use this in a DLL, see the TimeAndSalesPrice, TimeAndSalesVolume, and TimeAndSalesTime functions in the studies.cpp file supplied with the program.
    • A new custom DLL function GetCorrespondingIndex has been added to synchronize 2 charts together. For an example on how to use this function, see the PriceOverlay example function in the studies.cpp file supplied with the program
  • 66

    • A Toolbar has now been added to Sierra Chart with the most common commands.
    • The error filter has been greatly improved over version 64. For more information see the Error Filter Settings documentation page.
    • Support for extended IB Backfill for multiple days has been added. In order to use this IB Backfill, you must be running the newest versions of TWS. There are no known problems with this feature. However, the IB system that provides this data is still in beta. If you have any problems with IB backfill, see help topic #3.1. This section explains possible problems and how to disable the feature. IB Backfill times out after 60 seconds, this is the same as disabling it.
    • IB Currency symbols are charted whether the "Include Bid/Ask Data in Intraday Charts" option is on or not. Additionally, you should be able to get IB Historical Intraday Data for currencies.
    • The active Study Collection on the chart is now check marked in the Analysis menu.
  • 64

    • Supports our new login system. Support for all versions prior to 64 will be discontinued after September 31, 2005. You will not be able to log into prior versions after this date.
  • 63

    • The problem of intraday charts not updating in some cases relating to historical intraday data downloading from myTrack has been corrected.
    • If you are using an invalid symbol with the IB data feed, all other intraday charts will continue to update.
    • If you have any trouble with the new IB historical intraday data feature, see help topic #3.1.
  • 62

    • Sierra Chart will now download all available IB historical intraday data to fill in the areas of your charts for times that you were not connected. This version requires that your IB TWS is up to date.
  • 61

    • The data service interface and data processing architecture has been improved and simplified in order to make integration to existing and new data services easier. Expect support for new services to be added.
    • When the Spreadsheet Study is added to a chart, the associated Spreadsheet window will be opened in the background. The chart will continue to be visible and active.
    • An option has been added to the Data Source Settings window to disable composite trade and quote data from the myTrack service. This may be useful if you are tracking a large number of symbols and you want to reduce bandwidth. When the option is on, all trade and quote data from all exchanges a symbol is traded on is received by the software. Otherwise only data from the primary exchange is received.
    • Data arrays passed to custom DLL studies now have safety zones to protect against programming errors in custom studies. Custom study programming errors in the past could cause Sierra Chart to be unstable or to abnormally shut down. It is very unlikely that custom DLL studies will cause these problems with this and future versions. If a custom DLL study has an error, it will now be reported when you remove the study from a chart. Upgrading to this version is safe if you are using custom DLL studies.
  • 60

    • A Replay Chart feature has been added.
    • Pivot Point half level studies have been added. Pivot Point studies now show pivots for all days. A Formula Type input has been added to select among 3 different available pivot point formulas. A # Days to Calculate input has been added to set the number of days to display pivot points for.
    • When using a quote request symbols on a Spreadsheet, all data is outputted unformatted. To control formatting highlight the cells and select Spreadsheet >> Number Format on the menu.
    • Three new tools have been added. A Move line tool, a Change Color tool, and a tool that can "snap" a trendline to highs or lows. The Adjust line tool has been improved to allow you to adjust from the beginning of a trendline. For more information on using these new tools see the Chart Drawing Tools page.
    • When using a command to adjust or erase lines, the number of the line is printed along the entire line for easy identification.
    • If you are using the myTrack service, 45 days of intraday data is initially downloaded.
  • 58.1 Release Date: 2004-12-31

    • Corrected a problem where studies and trendlines would not appear when using Windows 98 or ME.
    • Corrected a problem where if an invalid password is used to login to the software it would shut down and not allow the correct password to be entered.
  • 58

    • Intraday charts based on volume have been added. This is similar to tick charts except that bars are based on volume instead of ticks. To make an intraday chart based on volume select Chart >> Chart Settings on the menu. In the Volume Per Bar box enter the number of shares/contracts that each bar in the chart should have a minimum of. The Number Of Ticks box needs to be left blank.

    • The Chart Values window has been made into three separate color coded enhanced windows. To display these windows select Tools on the menu.
    • Keyboard commands to switch to volume and second charts have been added. For instructions see Changing the Period of the Chart Bars.

    • Version 57:
    • Greater control over candlestick bar coloring. Select Chart >> Graphics Settings on the menu to adjust colors.
    • Upgraded IB data processing. IB now sends trade volumes along with trade prices. Sierra Chart now processes this data as one unit.
    • Formulas should now fill down in non-English versions of Excel.
    • Long symbols can now be used on Quote Spreadsheets. For example IB IdealPro symbols can be used.
    • Options to enable or disable the display of the Fibonacci tool values, percentage, and diagonal line. Select Chart >> General Settings on the menu to set these.
    • This version no longer flushes file buffers every 2 seconds because of concern that this could slow data processing on slower computers. It is unnecessary to flush buffers. Versions 47 to 55 never flushed the buffers. It was added to solve intraday chart updating problems that some users had as a result of problems with their file system. If version 57 causes intraday chart updating problems for you, then you have a problem with your file system. There DEFINITELY is nothing wrong with Sierra Chart file processing. For a solution to this problem, see help topic 3.5. If you continue to have trouble, you will need to examine your computer.
  • 56

    • When erasing lines, the line number is shown in the middle of the line also and at the end of the Fibonacci retracement lines. This makes identifying lines easier.
    • The Studies window has been improved. Move Up and Move Down buttons have been added to control the calculation order of Studies.
    • The status bar has been improved. The adjust spacing buttons have been removed. To adjust spacing use the Up and Down arrow keys on your keyboard.
    • The font for text typed on the chart can be independently controlled. Select Chart >> Graphics Settings on the menu to set the font.
  • 55

    • Sierra Chart starts intraday trade and quote data updates from regional exchanges a symbol is traded on. This is in addition to the data already received from the primary exchange. This feature applies to the myTrack service. This increases the amount of real time trade information the program receives. This makes a significant difference with ETF's (example QQQQ).
    • A text input box has been added to the Study Settings window. This text is passed to custom DLL studies to allow text input for the DLL function.
    • Problems with the Donchian channel study and the new studies added to the version 54 have been corrected.
    • Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) study has been added.

*Last modified Sunday, 25th February, 2024.