MasterDATA's Composite Plug-in for
MetaStock
and historical composite breadth datafiles on 31
major stock indexes and the 111 highest trade volume
ETFs.
Download Lists 1 through 5 are used primarily throughout
the trade day and several hours after the close to quickly update previously
downloaded full composite breadth datafiles. If MasterDATAlink
detects that the complete datafile on your disk is too far out of date
or inaccurate, it will automatically download the full, start to finish
datafile from the web site. This process may slow down your datafile
updates significantly. Therefore, try to structure your
download schedule to use Lists 1 through 5 during the trade day and
a few hours thereafter. Run a full download (Lists "All
Daily" and/or "All Periods") previous
to the market open or late night when your computer is generally idle.
This full download will update your datafiles to reflect price corrections
and constituent changes in the historical datafiles and prepare your
computer for the fastest possible updates during the subsequent trading
session.
Certainly, you will set up your own download lists
specific to your own needs, but, for purposes of learning, the following
takes you step by step through the process. The result will be
five newly configured download lists in addition to the two built in
"full" download lists.
Set Up Download List 1 To "Update" All Available Index and ETF
Daily Historical Datafiles
Click on the "Download File Settings"
tab.
Select List 1 by clicking on its button
in the "Select a Download List" section.
In the Data Vendor section, select your data
vendor, either "eSignal", "Reuters" or, if you wish to use the
original web site datafile names, "Original". The differences
are that eSignal and Reuters use different index symbols and the
appropriate symbol will be used based upon your Data Vendor selection.
Reuters index symbols begin with a period (.). The MasterDATAlink
substitutes an underscore (_) for the period so ".DJI" becomes "_DJI".
Additionally, selecting eSignal or Reuters will sort the daily,
weekly, monthly and quarterly datafiles into separate directories.
Selecting "Original" will maintain everything as it was previously
structured for .csv file downloads. We recommend that subscribers
eventually select either eSignal or Reuters.
In the Data Period section, select the data
period(s) you wish to download, daily, weekly, monthly and/or
quarterly. For this example, put a check mark next to "Daily"
and leave the other data periods unchecked.
Since you want to download all daily datafiles,
toward the lower right corner of the window, click on the "Move
All Issues To List 1" button.
Click on the "Save Download List 1" button.
Try downloading the historical composite data
in your newly created list by clicking on the large button, "Download
136 Datafile(s) On Download List 1 Now".
When the download is complete, the caption on
the large button will change to "Download 1 Complete" and
additionally display the elapsed time.
Verify that the files have downloaded correctly
to your "C:\MasterDATA\CSVFiles\Daily" directory (assumes
installation to the default directories). Open a file by clicking
on it.
* If you
selected "Original" as your data vendor the downloaded datafiles
will be in the "C:\MasterDATA\CSVFiles\"
directory.
You have now created and saved one of five of
your configurable download lists. The next time you open the
MasterDATAlink program, clicking on List 1 will load this
download list into the right hand column, ready for updating the
current datafiles.
Set Up Download List 2 To "Update" All Available Index (only)
Historical Datafiles
Click on the "Download File Settings"
tab.
Select List 2 by clicking on its button
in the "Select a Download List" section.
In the Data Vendor section, select your data
vendor, either "eSignal", "Reuters" or, if you wish to use the
original web site datafile names, "Original". The differences
are that eSignal and Reuters use different index symbols and the
appropriate symbol will be used based upon your Data Vendor selection.
Reuters index symbols begin with a period (.). The MasterDATAlink
substitutes an underscore (_) for the period so ".DJI" becomes "_DJI".
Additionally, selecting eSignal or Reuters will sort the daily,
weekly, monthly and quarterly datafiles into separate directories.
Selecting "Original" will maintain everything as it was previously
structured for .csv file downloads. We recommend that subscribers
eventually select either eSignal or Reuters.
In the Data Period section, select the data
period(s) you wish to download, daily, weekly, monthly and/or
quarterly. For our purposes here, put a check mark next to
them all.
Toward the lower right corner of the window,
click on the "Clear Download List 2" button.
In the lower right corner of the window, enter
a dollar sign ($) symbol in the text box (to the left of the
"Select" button) and then click on "Select".
All of the available indexes and ETFs with a
"$" in either their name or symbol will be immediately moved to
the right column titled "Index and ETF Composite Datafiles To Be
Downloaded" (You can do this with any character combination such
as iShare, SPDR, NASDAQ, etc.). eSignal index symbols begin
with a dollar sign ($), so all index symbols are automatically selected
and moved to the right column.
Click on the "Save Download List 2" button.
Try updating the historical composite data in
newly created List 2 by clicking on the large button, "Download
100 Datafile(s) On Download List 2 Now". Why is the number
100 and not 25 (the number of indexes we cover)? You are downloading
four data periods, so the number of files is the number of indexes
multiplied by the number of data periods selected (in this case,
four).
When the download is complete, the caption on
the large button will change to "Download 2 Complete" and
additionally display the elapsed time.
Verify that the files have downloaded correctly
to your "C:\MasterDATA\CSVFiles\Daily", "C:\MasterDATA\CSVFiles\Weekly",
"C:\MasterDATA\CSVFiles\Monthly" and "C:\MasterDATA\CSVFiles\Quarterly"
directories (assumes installation to the default directories).
Open a file by clicking on it.
* If you
selected "Original" as your data vendor all downloaded datafiles
will be in the "C:\MasterDATA\CSVFiles\"
directory.
You have now created and saved the second of
five of your download lists. The next time you open the MasterDATAlink
program, clicking on List 2 will load this download list of all
available indexes into the right hand column, ready for updating
the current datafiles.
Set Up Download List 3 To "Update" Five Specified Historical Datafiles
Click on the "Download File Settings"
tab.
Select List 3 by clicking on its button
in the "Select a Download List" section.
In the Data Vendor section, select your data
vendor, either "eSignal", "Reuters" or, if you wish to use the
original web site datafile names, "Original". The differences
are that eSignal and Reuters use different index symbols and the
appropriate symbol will be used based upon your Data Vendor selection.
Reuters index symbols begin with a period (.). The MasterDATAlink
substitutes an underscore (_) for the period so ".DJI" becomes "_DJI".
Additionally, selecting eSignal or Reuters will sort the daily,
weekly, monthly and quarterly datafiles into separate directories.
Selecting "Original" will maintain everything as it was previously
structured for .csv file downloads. We recommend that subscribers
eventually select either eSignal or Reuters.
In the Data Period section,
select the data period(s) you wish to download, daily, weekly,
monthly and/or quarterly. In this case, place a check mark
next to "Daily" and "Monthly".
Toward the lower right corner of
the window, click on the "Clear Download List 3" button.
In the left column, "Available
Indexes and ETFs", click on an index name. It is now
highlighted.
Click on the same highlighted index
name again, and, while holding down the mouse button, drag it
over to the right column. Release the mouse button.
The index you selected should now appear in the right column.
While you can simply repeat this
process for each index or ETF you wish to put on your download list,
you can also make multiple selections at one time.
While holding down the control key, click on four more indexes and/or
ETFs. All four selections will be highlighted.
While continuing to hold down the
control key, click and drag your selection over to the right column.
You should now have a list of five indexes and/or ETFs in the right
column (1 + 4).
Click on the "Save Download
List 3" button.
Try downloading the historical
composite data in newly created List 3 by clicking on the large
button, "Download 10 Datafile(s) On Download List 3 Now".
Remember, the number represents the number of composites selected
(in this case, five) times the number of data periods selected (in
this case, two).
When the download is complete,
the caption on the large button will change to "Download 3 Complete"
and additionally display the elapsed time.
Verify that the files have downloaded
correctly to your "C:\MasterDATA\CSVFiles\Daily" and "C:\MasterDATA\CSVFiles\Monthly"
directory. Open a file by clicking on it.
* If you
selected "Original" as your data vendor all downloaded datafiles
will be in the "C:\MasterDATA\CSVFiles\"
directory.
You have now created and saved the third of five
of your download lists. The next time you open the MasterDATAlink
program, clicking on List 3 will load this download list of the
five indexes and/or ETFs you selected into the right hand column,
ready for updating the current datafiles.
Set Up Download List 4 To "Update" All Historical Datafiles Related
To the S & P Indexes
Click on the "Download File Settings"
tab.
Select List 4 by clicking on its button
in the "Select a Download List" section.
In the Data Vendor section, select your
data vendor, either "eSignal", "Reuters" or, if you wish to
use the original web site datafile names, "Original". The
differences are that eSignal and Reuters use different index symbols
and the appropriate symbol will be used based upon your Data Vendor
selection. Reuters index symbols begin with a period (.).
The MasterDATAlink substitutes an underscore (_) for the period
so ".DJI" becomes "_DJI". Additionally, selecting eSignal
or Reuters will sort the daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly
datafiles into separate directories. Selecting "Original"
will maintain everything as it was previously structured for .csv
file downloads. We recommend that subscribers eventually
select either eSignal or Reuters.
In the Data Period section, select the data
period(s) you wish to download, daily, weekly, monthly and/or
quarterly. In this case, place a check mark next to "Daily".
Toward the lower right corner of the window,
click on the "Clear Download List 4" button.
Below this button, in the lower right corner
of the window, enter "S & P" in the text box (to the left
of the "Select" button) and then click on "Select".
All of the available indexes and ETFs with
the character sequence "S & P" in either their name or symbol
will be immediately moved to the right column titled "Index and
ETF Composite Datafiles To Be Downloaded".
To delete any one of the composites in the
right hand column, double click on it. Try it on
one of the listed composites now. Only five S & P composites
should remain.
To restore the original six "S & P" related
composites, click once again on the "Select" button ("S
& P'" should remain in the text box from the previous step).
Click on the "Save Download List 4"
button.
Try downloading the historical composite data
in newly created List 4 by clicking on the large button, "Download
6 Datafile(s) On Download List 4 Now".
When the download is complete, the caption
on the large button will change to "Download 4 Complete"
and additionally display the elapsed time.
Verify that the files have downloaded correctly
to your "C:\MasterDATA\CSVFiles\Daily" directory. Open a
file by clicking on it.
* If
you selected "Original" as your data vendor the downloaded datafiles
will be in the "C:\MasterDATA\CSVFiles\"
directory.
You have now created and saved the forth of
five of your download lists. The next time you open the
MasterDATAlink program, clicking on List 4 will load this download
list of all S & P related composites into the right hand column,
ready for updating the current datafiles.
Try Setting Up Download List 5 To "Update" All the Daily ETFs
But No Indexes Yourself
Hint: You should wind up with 111 ETFs
in your download list. Click on the "Save Download List
5" and the large download button will count the list for you.
Full Downloads
While download lists 1 through 5 are very configurable
as to selecting indexes and/or ETFs and data periods, the "All Daily"
and "All Periods" download lists are largely pre-configured.
They are deliberately designed to always download the entire datafile
for every index and ETF available from MasterDATA. These two
downloads therefore require significantly more time than update
lists 1 through 5. The only difference between the "All Daily"
and "All Periods" downloads is that the former downloads all 136 indexes
and ETFs for the daily data period only, while the later downloads
daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly data periods for all 136 indexes
and ETFs (561 total files). The only changeable setting for
these two download types is your data vendor, eSignal, Reuters or
Original. (Shouldn't the total number be 544? The NYSE,
AMEX and NASDAQ Exchange Composite Indexes do not have available quarterly
datafiles so 544 - 3 = 561).
Select "All Daily" by clicking on
its button in the "Full Downloads" section.
In the Data Vendor section, select your
data vendor, either "eSignal", "Reuters" or, if you wish
to use the original web site datafile names, "Original".
The differences are that eSignal and Reuters use different index
symbols and the appropriate symbol will be used based upon your
Data Vendor selection. Reuters symbols begin with a period
(.). The MasterDATAlink substitutes an underscore (_)
for the period so ".DJI" becomes "_DJI". Additionally,
selecting eSignal or Reuters will sort the daily, weekly, monthly
and quarterly datafiles into separate directories. Selecting
"Original" will maintain everything as it was previously structured
for .csv file downloads. We recommend that subscribers
eventually select either eSignal or Reuters.
Click on the "Save 'All Daily' Periods
Download Settings" button.
Try downloading the historical composite
data for the "All Daily" list by clicking on the large button,
"Download All Datafiles for 'All Daily' Periods Now".
When the download is complete, the caption
on the large button will change to "Download "All Daily"
Periods Complete" and additionally display the elapsed time.
Verify that the files have downloaded correctly
to your "C:\MasterDATA\CSVFiles\Daily" directory. Open
a file by clicking on it.
* If
you selected "Original" as your data vendor, all the downloaded
datafiles will be in the "C:\MasterDATA\CSVFiles\"
directory.
You have now configured and saved the "All
Daily" download list. The next time you open the MasterDATAlink
program, clicking on "All Daily" will load this list of all
136 indexes and ETFs, ready for downloading the entire daily
historical composite breadth datafile for each.
Select "All Periods" by clicking on
its button in the "Full Downloads" section.
In the Data Vendor section, select your
data vendor, either "eSignal", "Reuters" or, if you wish
to use the original web site datafile names, "Original".
The differences are that eSignal and Reuters use different index
symbols and the appropriate symbol will be used based upon your
Data Vendor selection. Reuters symbols begin with a period
(.). The MasterDATAlink substitutes an underscore (_)
for the period so ".DJI" becomes "_DJI". Additionally,
selecting eSignal or Reuters will sort the daily, weekly, monthly
and quarterly datafiles into separate directories. Selecting
"Original" will maintain everything as it was previously structured
for .csv file downloads. We recommend that subscribers
eventually select either eSignal or Reuters.
Click on the "Save 'All Periods' Download
Settings" button.
Try downloading the historical composite
data for the "All Periods" list by clicking on the large button,
"Download All Datafiles for 'All Periods' Now".
When the download is complete, the caption
on the large button will change to "Download "All Periods"
Complete" and additionally display the elapsed time.
Verify that the files have downloaded correctly
to your "C:\MasterDATA\CSVFiles\Daily", "C:\MasterDATA\CSVFiles\Weekly",
"C:\MasterDATA\CSVFiles\Monthly" and "C:\MasterDATA\CSVFiles\Quarterly"
directories. Open a file by clicking on it.
* If
you selected "Original" as your data vendor, all the downloaded
datafiles will be in the "C:\MasterDATA\CSVFiles\"
directory.
You have now configured and saved the "All
Periods" download list. The next time you open the MasterDATAlink
program, clicking on "All Periods" will load this list of all
136 indexes and ETFs, ready for downloading the entire historical
composite breadth datafiles for each for all available data
periods (561 datafiles).
Disclaimer: This material is for your private
information. We are not soliciting any action based upon
it. Opinions expressed are present opinions only. The
material is based upon information considered reliable,
but we do not represent that is accurate or complete,
and it should not be relied upon as such. We, or persons
involved in the preparation or issuance of this material
may, from time to time, have long or short positions in,
and buy or sell the securities or options of companies
mentioned herein.
