PREVISIONS 2 Charting Program for Precision Timing

Transcription

1 PREVISIONS 2 Charting Program for Precision Timing Copyright Update for Version (This version is for FDate Members only) 1

2 Getting Started... 5 Creating Your Portfolios... 5 Add Charts to Portfolio... 7 Using the Tool Bar Trend Line Tool Trend Line Channel Tool Fibonacci Retracement/Expansion/Alt Expansion Tools Gann Retracement/Expansion/Alt Expansion Tools Gann Lines tool Fibonacci Ratio Fan Lines tool Fibonacci Ratio Lines (CLOSE) Andrew s Pitchfork tool NumTrend tool Percent tool Fibonacci Bar Counts Fixed Cycles Tool Fibonacci Time Expansion tool Price and Time Squares Swing Chart Swing Bars WhatIF Tool Pivots Tool Chart Capture Erase Tool Cursor Crosshairs Save Exit Chart Selector Time Frames Text Tool Arrow Tool MENU

3 File Menu Calculators Menu Indicators Menu Tools Menu Draw Menu Colors Menu Settings Menu Help Menu Other Features Overbought/Oversold Indicator Seasonals Calculator Version (Build 218) Updates OHLC SC/BC COLOR CHART NEW INDICATORS UNDER THE INDICATOR MENU The Indicator Menu Directional Movement System

4 Introduction This manual is an effort to document all the features and options of Previsions. This is NOT intended to teach trading techniques, with some brief exceptions. Each feature of the program will be discussed, with some limited examples included. Consider this manual a work in progress. As you find errors or require greater clarification, please feel free to me at rick@amazingaccuracy.com. Please provide as much detail as you can in your . The Previsions application was designed to be used by traders who also trade FDates turn dates. While many charting applications today load up on all sorts of common indicators, this program only contains those indicators and tools that have proven extremely useful for market timing with turn dates (with some exceptions, such as the Andrew s Pitchfork which was added by request). Some of the tools and features in this program are extremely valuable as stand-alone tools. For them to be grouped in a program with other tools uniqueness and value makes this program quite special for the market timer. Some of the tools available in this program require an understanding about subjects such as Time and Price Squaring, Support and Resistance levels, etc. It is beyond the scope of this User s Guide to discuss various methods and techniques that these tools are useful for. It is assumed that you are already familiar with the method or technique for which you are using a tool to analyze. For example, while this User s Guide will teach you HOW a particular tool or indicator is activated within this program, it will not teach you the technique or strategies in which to employ it. The tools incorporated in this program are often demonstrated from within the FDates Market Timing Membership and can be learned by following along and then asking questions. Tools such as the Trend Line, Channels, Fibonacci and Gann Levels, Fibonacci and Gann Angles, Andrews Pitchfork, Fibonacci Time Counts and the Square Timer are all based on information that is available outside the membership and can be learned by a study of such subjects as Fibonacci, Gann, Technical Analysis, etc. Again, it is beyond the scope of this User s Guide to teach all these subjects. 4

5 Getting Started This program uses Metastock formatted data only. Most data vendors offer this format as it is quite common. My preference is the 24-hour Continuous Reverse-Adjusted data provided by Pinnacle Data Corp. ( You are free to choose your own as long as it is in Metastock format. Once you have downloaded data on your computer, you are ready to start using Previsions. Creating Your Portfolios Previsions uses Portfolios to group together charts. For example, you might create a Portfolio to hold all your Futures charts, another to hold your Stock charts. Or you might create a Portfolio to hold all your charts on grains only, another for livestock only, etc. It is up to you. Whether you create one chart or many, at least one Portfolio must be created to hold the chart(s). Portfolios and Charts are created from within the Portfolio Manager. There are two ways to access the Data Manager. From the main menu at the top of the application, select FILE PORTFOLIO MANAGER. The keyboard short-cut is to simply press the P key to bring up the (P)ortfolio Manager. (Figure 1) 5

6 Figure 1 Portfolio Manager To create a Portfolio, make sure that the Portfolios tabb is selected. There is a textbox where you can enter the name you wish to call your Portfolio. Give it a name that will describe the group of charts you will be placing in it, such as Futures or Forex, for example. Once you type in the name, click on the Add button too add the new Portfolioo to the Portfolios list below. The Portfolio list will show all the Portfolios you have created. In order to add charts to a particular Portfolio, make sure you click on the name of the Portfolio in the list before you proceed to add charts to it. If you ever want to delete a whole Portfolioo of charts, first select the Portfolioo you wish to delete from the Portfolios list and then click on the Delete button.. Warning: Once a Portfolio has been deleted, it cannot be restored and is gone forever. The list window on the right shows all the charts you currently have in the selected Portfolio. If this is a newly created Portfolio, it will be an empty list. 6

7 Add Charts to Portfolio Once you have created a Portfolio, you are ready to add charts to it. Click on the Portfolio you wish to add charts to from the Portfolio list. A list of charts (if any) already in the selected Portfolio will show in the Charts in Portfolio list. To add a chart to the Portfolio, click on the Charts tab. (Figure 2) Figure 2 Add Charts to Portfolio Notice that the Charts in Portfolio list is still showing. You can delete any chart from the list of charts found in the selected Portfolio by clicking on the chart name in the list and the clicking on the Delete button found at the bottom of the list. To add a chart to the Portfolio, you need to locate the Metastock data for that chart. Click on the Select Data for Chart button to bring up the drive browse box. You will use this drive browse box to locate your Metastock data directory on your computer s hard drive. (Figure 3) 7

8 Figure 3 Metastock Data Directory As of this writing, the only data type available is Metastock, so you do not need to change this setting. The two windows below the Select Data Type box are used to browse your hard drive(s) to locate the directory that contains your Metastock data. Once you locate a valid Metastock data directory, your Metastock data files will show up in the Select Data File for Chart list. If you select a directory and nothing appears in this list, then you have no Metastock data in the selected folder (directory). If you have more than one Metastock data folder on your computer, you may want to add that directory to your Speed Buttons list for quick future access. Once you have selected a folder you want to add to the button list, click on any button that is shown as (empty). The full path of the folder will appear as the name of the button. If you click on any button that has a folder path name assigned to it, your drive browse boxes will automatically go to that folder and the files within that folder will display in the Select Data File for Chart list. If you wish to remove a folder path from a speed button, simply right-click on the button and it will revert back to (empty). You can then set that button to a new path or leave empty. 8

9 There is two ways you can use a data file to create a chart in your Portfolio. One way is to double-click the file name of the data file you wish to use in the Select Data File for Chart list. The other way is to left-click the name of the file in the list to highlight it, and then click the OK button. Whichever method you decide to use, the Metastock Data Directory will close. Once the Metastock data window closes, you will see your selected data file name showing in the box just under the Select Data for Chart button of the Portfolio Manager. (Figure 4) Figure 4 Adding a Chart You now must decide whether to use the name of the data file as shown or give it a name that better describes the chart. In Figure 4 above, I have chosen to name the chart December COCOA rather than use the data file name of CC_REV-COCOA-R. This is typed into the Chart Title box. If you want to keep the name the same as the data file, you can type it into the Chart Title box, or better, highlight the data file name by left-clicking to the right or left of the name and, while holding down the left mouse button, drag across the name to highlight it. Once highlighted (you can let go of the mouse now), hold down the Ctrl-V key to paste the name into the Chart Title box. 9

10 Once you have a name entered in the Chart Title box, you are ready to create the chart. First, decide whether you want all the data in the file to be loaded into the chart or to start the data as a particular data to limit load times. For example, if you have 10 years of data for Cocoa but you know that you won t need that much data loaded each time you view this chart, you can set the date to start loading data in the Load Data From box. For example, if you set the date to 05/22/2005 (this example is mm/dd/yyyy), only data from that date will be loaded and all data prior to that date will not be loaded. If you want to load all the data, click on the ALL checkbox. Once you have completed these steps, click on the Create Chart button to create the chart from your loaded data file. You should see the name of the new chart show up in the Charts in Portfolio list. You can continue adding more charts to the selected Portfolio by repeating the previous steps, or click on the Portfolio tab to create new Portfolios if you like. Once you are done creating Portfolios and charts, click on the Exit Portfolio Manager button to close. The last created chart will likely be the one that loads up once you have exited the Portfolio Manager. The current opened Portfolio is shown at the bottom-left of the application window in the status pane. To view the available charts you can select from the currently opened Portfolio, use the menu drop-down box found on the tool button bar labeled Charts:. Drop-down the list by clicking on the down arrow that is right of the box, then scroll down and select the chart you wish to work with. 10

11 Using the Tool Bar Once you have a chart opened, you are going to want to do some work on it. We will start with the Tool Bar menu because that is where you will likely spend the most time when selecting things to do with your chart. As we cover each tool, we will also visit the Settings Program Defaults menu when applicable. I will cover the tools from left to right. This is just the order of the tools and does not imply that one tool is more important than the other. Trend Line Tool This is a common tool of charting programs. To use this tool, first click on its button. The mouse should change to a Trend Line cursor. Left-click on the chart where you want to start your trend line. Left-click on the chart where you want the trend line to end. A trend line will be drawn from the two points you have indicated. If you want the trend line to snap to the closest price bar low or high of where you clicked the mouse, you can select this feature in the Program Defaults window. Go to SETTINGS PROGRAM DEFAULTS from the menu. Select the Tools 1 tab and locate the section called Trend and Channel Lines. There you will see a checkbox that you can check to make the trend lines snap to nearby price bar low or high. Normally the trend line will stop at the location of your second click. If you want the trend line to continue to draw clear off the right side of the chart (into the future), hold down the Shift key as you do the second click. The trend line will then start at your first mouse click location and draw to your second mouse click location, and then it will continue to draw in that direction off the chart. Another useful feature of the Trend Line tool is the ability to draw horizontal lines at the mouse location. This is great for marking your support and resistance levels. With the Trend Line tool button selected, move your mouse cursor to the price level that you would like a horizontal line to appear and press the SPACE BAR. A horizontal line will appear that extends to both the left and right of the chart. To delete a trend line, right-click the line anywhere between the starting and ending points for that line. This is important to note when deleting trend lines that have been extended by holding down the Shift key. You must right-click between the start and end click points to 11

12 delete the trend line. If you click on the line where it extends past the second click point, it will not delete the line. Trend Line Channel Tool This tool is similar to the Trend Line tool with the exception that it also draws a parallel line copy of the first line. When you select this tool, the cursor changes to the Trend Line Channel tool cursor. Like the Trend Line tool, left-click where you would like to start your first line. Left-click again where you would like the line to end. The first line will then be drawn between the two click points on the chart. A clone copy of the line will then appear and will follow your mouse cursor on the chart. Move the mouse to where you would like the clone line to start and then left-click the chart to anchor the line. To delete the channel lines, right-click either line. Fibonacci Retracement/Expansion/Alt Expansion Tools No charting program would be complete without the standard Fibonacci price ratio tools. The button for this tool also includes a drop-down menu by clicking on the small down arrow just to the right of the button. Whichever item is selected in this menu is the type of tool that is activated by clicking the button. There are three choices that you can assign to this tool button. 1. Fib Retrace (Fibonacci Retracement Ratios) 2. Fib Expansion (Fibonacci Expansion Ratios) 3. Fib Alt Expansion (Fibonacci Alternate-Expansion Ratios) Start by using the drop-down menu and selecting the type of Fibonacci ratio tool you would like assigned to the tool button. Once selected, click on the tool button to activate the tool. 12

13 The Fibonacci Retracement Tool Regardless of which Fibonacci ratio tool you select, the cursors are the same. The only difference is that the Fibonacci Retracement and Fibonacci Expansion tools only need two points on the chart to be drawn, while the Fibonacci Alt-Expansion tool requires 3. So when using these tools, you will see a PEN cursor labeled A for the first point, and once selected it will change to B for the second point. If a third point is required (i.e. Fib Alt-Exp), once the B point has been selected the cursor will change to C. When plotting the Fibonacci Retracement ratios, you first decide on a price range to use. For example, if prices form a bottom and then move up to later form a top, and then is dropping again, you may want to use that range to try and determine the Fibonacci retracement levels that could serve as support to dropping prices. While the cursor is showing the A pen, click on the bottom of that range as shown below. (Figure 5) 13 Figure 5 Starting point for Fibonacci Retracement

14 Once you click the first point, the mouse cursor will change to B and it will be time to click the end of the range to complete the steps. (Figure 6) Figure 6 Select the B point to complete the range selection. Once you have clicked the second and final point on the chart, the Fibonacci Retracement tool will take that price range and multiply the value in points by several Fibonacci ratios. Each ratio of that range will then plot on the chart showing where you should look for possible price support. (Figure 7) 14

15 Figure 7 Fibonacci Retracement ratios drawn on chart As shown in Figure 7, prices retraced the previous range (A to B) at the 50% level and found support. From there, prices resumed the upward move. You can also use this tool to calculate possible resistance levels. Simply start point A at a top and point B at a bottom. 15

16 Fibonacci Expansion Ratios Tool This tool is useful when you have a price range that, after it has corrected and found support, has continued in the original direction. For example, look at the previous chart example of Figure 7. In Figure 7, notice that we started with a range from A to B. Prices then retraced to what we will call C and found support. From there, prices continued to move in the original direction of A to B and eventually moved above B. If you want to use range A to B to determine possible resistance levels that are above the B top, you can use the Fibonacci Expansion Ratios tool. Just like the Fibonacci Retracement tool and using the same example of Figure 7, you would start your first point at A and end with your second point at B. However, the Fibonacci Expansion Ratios tool will draw resistance levels above the range (in this example). (Figure 8) Figure 8 Fibonacci Expansion Ratios 16

17 Fibonacci Alternate Expansion Ratios The Fibonacci Alternate-Expansion ratio tool is very similar to the Fibonacci Expansion ratios tool, except that it requires one additional point. Using the previous example of Figure 8, we not only use the A to B range, but we include the end of the range correction of point C. (Figure 9) Figure 9 Fibonacci Alt-Expansion requires 3 points Once you have completed the third and last point C, the Fibonacci Alt-Expansion ratios will be drawn on your chart. 17

18 Figure 10 Fibonacci Alt-Expansion Ratios Gann Retracement/ Expansion/ /Alt Expansion Tools This tool is exactly like the Fibonacci Retracement/Expansion/Alt Expansion tool. The only differencee is that Gannn ratios are used instead of Fibonacci ratios. Use the instructions provided for the Fibonacci Retracement/Expansion/Alt Expansionn tool when using this tool. To delete either the Fibonacci or Gann Ratios, right click on point A or B. 18

19 Gann Lines tool Use this tool to plot Gann angles. When this tool is selected, the cursor will change to look like this: To delete this tool, right-click on the starting top or bottom bar. Click on any prominent top or bottom when this tool is active to plot Gann angles on the chart. You can also turn off one or more of the angles or change the Master Degree that the angles are based on from within the SETTINGS PROGRAM DEFAULTS menu. Select the Tools 1 tab and locate the Gann Angles section. The Monthly Override to 360-Degrees checkbox is for when the Gann Angles are used on a monthly time-frame chart and the lines are too compressed to be useful. You can enable or disable this override by checking or unchecking the checkbox. Fibonacci Ratio Fan Lines tool The Fibonacci Ratio Fan Lines is an effective tool for discovering dynamic Fibonacci support and resistance levels. Dynamic levels differ from static levels (such as those found with the Fib Ret/Exp/Alt-Exp tool) in that the value of the levels change from day to day (bar to bar) in time. When this tool is active, the cursor will change to the A pen. The key to using this tool is to locate chart patterns that resemble a large letter V or inverted-v. 19

20 This chart pattern is simply a trend range in one direction followed by a correction range in the opposing direction. The following two charts demonstrate what these two formations might look like. Figure 11 Inverted V Formation 20

21 Figure 12 V Formation Notice that both formations are labeled A, B and C. When the cursor shows the A pen, you click on the top that will be point A, as shown in Figure 12, or the bottom as shown in Figure 11. After you select point A, the cursor will change to Pen B. 21

22 You will then click on the bottom (for V formations) or on the top (for inverted-v formations) for point B. The cursor will then change for point C. Once you select point C, the cursor will change to complete the plot.. Select point somewhere past point C to the right to When you are applying this tool on a V-Formation, prices are dropping from top C. Therefore, you would be solving for dynamic support levels. If you are applying this tool on an inverted-v formation, prices are rising from bottom C. Therefore, you would be solving for dynamic resistance levels. Figure 13 demonstrates this tool for solving resistance using an inverted-v formation. To delete, right-click on bar of point A or B. Figure 13 Fibonacci Fan applied to Inverted-V formation 22

23 Fibonacci Ratio Lines (CLOSE) This tool works identically to the Fibonacci Ratio Lines tool previously covered. The only difference is that when you are selecting point A, for a top it should be the bar with the highest close, and for a bottom the bar with the lowest close. Andrew s Pitchfork tool A very common tool that is applied just like the Fibonacci Ratio Lines tool just covered. Select a V or inverted V formation pattern on the chart to apply your A, B and C points. The tool is then drawn on the chart providing support and resistance channel lines. When this tool is selected, the cursor will change to a lettered pitchfork. To delete this tool, right click the starting bar which is point A. NumTrend tool This is one of my favorite and often used tools. It works much like a trend line, but will provide the price level at the end of the line. Just like a trend line, you only need two points, A and B. When this tool is selected, you will see the cursor change to: The best use of this tool is for short distance support and resistance analysis. For example, often two consecutive lows will provide a good support level for the next low, or two consecutive highs will provide good resistance for the next high. Here are some examples: 23

24 24 Figure 14 Numtrend off two previous lows finds next low level

25 The above example is just another way I use this tool. There are more ways than I can demonstrate. Here I was keeping track of the trend line price level for each trading day and noting price staying nicely upon this level. When prices started to break below the price calculated, I would expect that something is changing. It is best to experiment with this tool to discover its many benefits. Trend lines are simple yet powerful tools to use. One that tells you the price is a bonus. You can also set this tool to do dual lines by going to SETTINGS PROGRAM DEFAULTS and selecting the Tools 2 tab. Locate the Numtrend Tool section to turn Dual Lines on or off. With Dual Lines enabled, you would be using the high and low of the starting and ending price bars to plot the lines. Very interesting results come from doing this. 25

26 Percent tool This tool allows you to determine what the percentage of any move. For example, if you click on a starting price, this tool will start at 0% and then start to increment or decrement in percentage values as you move your mouse up or down. Once you have moved your mouse to where you want it, you can just click the left-mouse button again to freeze the percentage value. Now you can move your mouse anywhere on the chart to place this percentage text. Once you have located a place to plot the value, right-click your mouse and the percentage value will be plotted on your chart at that location. To change the frozen value before plotting, left-click again to unlock it and move your mouse to continue to a new value. If you wish to also reset the value to zero upon unfreezing, hold the SHIFT key down as you left click to unfreeze. To plot the value on your chart, you must freeze the value first. With the value frozen, Right-Click the chart where you want the value plotted. The Percentage tool deactivates automatically whenever you plot your value onto the chart. To delete the plotted value from the chart, make sure no tool is active and Right-Click the plotted text. Fibonacci Bar Counts Another very useful tool to use along with other tools for determining points in time where another top or bottom may occur. Used with other tools or FDates it is quite useful. This tool is also based on Fibonacci and performs Fibonacci day counts from any starting point you choose. When the tool is activated, the cursor will change to this: Locate any significant top or bottom and click on it. The counts will appear at the top of the chart. You can add additional counts from other tops and bottoms on the chart to determine clusters where a top or bottom may occur. To delete, click the staring marker at the top of the chart for the count set you wish to delete. 26

27 Fixed Cycles Tool This tool is used to plot fixed cycles. If you see a pattern of equally spaced bottoms or tops, or use any other means for determining cycles (such as oscillators, or techniques found in my special MFS book available from our website at you can use this tool to plot them visually on your chart. When this tool is selected, the cursor changes to: To plot, locate a starting point on the chart and click, then a second point and click again. Whatever the spacing was from your two points will be the spacing for each consecutively plotted line. To delete from the chart, right-click the starting point. Fibonacci Time Expansion tool This tool performs Fibonacci ratio time expansion calculations on two points on the chart. Select two points as A and B, and this tool will take the time distance of those points and multiply by.618 and and project forward in time. When selected, the cursor changes to location A or B.. To delete this tool from the chart, right-click on the drawn tool at Price and Time Squares Useful tool for calculating time/price support and resistance levels as well as and square time intervals. This tool comes with 3 built-in degree values of 45, 90 and 180. A UDR (user defined ratio) is provided to allow you to enter your own custom square degree values. An understanding of the Gann Wheel (Square of Nine) is helpful for using this tool. When you select this tool, you will get a cursor that looks something like this: To use the tool, first select what square degrees you wish to plot by clicking on one of the pre-configured buttons or the UDR with a value entered in the text box next to it. Locate a significant top or bottom you wish to start your plot from and click it. The squares will draw 27

28 from that low or high depending on where your mouse was when you clicked. To delete this tool from the chart, right click the starting bar. Another feature for this tool is the F2 key. When pressed while the square tool is still activated, it will draw shadow squares from your starting point. Additional settings can be found in the SETTINGS PROGRAM DEFAULTS menu under Tools 1 tab. Locate Squares Settings. There you can enter a default UDR value, enable the Squares window (displays the price levels of the squares), or disable the angles that appear with the squares by default. Learning the Price and Time Squares (SQT) tool takes some practice. It is suggested that you apply it to clearly defined swing bottoms (when prices are rising and you wish to solve for resistance levels) or clearly defined swing tops (when prices are dropping and you wish to solve for support levels). The horizontal and angled lines within each square acts as support and resistance to prices. The vertical lines represent the end and start of each new square and often market tops and bottoms occur near these points. When this tool is applied to a price bar, the price low or high of the bar (depending on where you click the mouse) is used to make the calculations. If the price is less than 100 or greater than 999, the decimal point of the price is moved in order to make the value less than 1000 and greater than 99 (3 whole digits left of decimal). Sometimes better results can be achieved by changing this default so that the decimal is moved to make the price between 9 and 100 (2 whole digits left of decimal) or between 999 and (4 whole digits left of decimal). To override the default, toggle x10 to increase the range or 10 to decrease. Whenever the Squares tool is selected, you will see the word Squares appear in the Status Panel (displayed at the bottom of the chart) just left of the Price panel at the bottomright corner. If you click on the x10 button, this will toggle the multiplier and the status will change to Squares X10. Click the x10 again and it will return to the default Squares. If you click on the 10 button, this will toggle the multiplier and the status will change to Square 10. Click the 10 again and it will return to the default Squares. If you have overridden the default by using x10 or 10 and wish to override it again to change from x10 to 10 or vice-versa, you can simply click your choice without the need to 28

29 toggle first to the default. For example, if you click on x10 when the current status is either Squares or Squares 10, it will simply change to Squares x10 directly. Swing Chart This will plot a 1-bar swing chart over the displayed price bars by default. If you want to display a 2-bar swing chart, press the 2 key. Press the 3 key for a 3-bar swing chart. If you press 1, 2 or 3 on the keyboard, you will be able to toggle these swing charts on and off. This tool can be activated without selecting the tool button by directly pressing the 1, 2 or 3 key. Selecting 1, 2 or 3 on the keyboard will automatically select the Swing Chart tool. If you toggle off all swing charts, the tool will deactivate automatically. (Note: The swing charts plotted are based strictly on W. D. Gann s Trend Indicator swing line rules. It will not draw swings based on PAUSE formations, nor will it draw swings off an outside bar where the trend does not change but continues in the original direction following the outside bar. If you use Fdates, keep this in mind that PAUSE formations and outside bars are important for buy and sell setups. Therefore, do not rely solely on the swing chart to determine all possible swings for Fdate setups. This tool is designed for trend identification, not Fdate setups.) 29

30 Swing Bars This tool will draw a Swing Bar chart in place of price bars. It is useful for noting the current trend. When you see higher swing bar lows, that is considered a bull trend. When you see lower swing bar highs and lows plotted, that is considered a bear trend. You will also see the date displayed for each swing bar high and low to identify the exact price bar that formed that swing. (Figure 16) Figure 16 Example of a Bull Trend Swing Bar chart. 30

31 When the Swing Bar tool is activated, you can change the swing-type by pressing the 1, 2 or 3 key on the keyboard. This will cause the swing bar chart plotted to change to 1, 2 or 3- bar, respectively. Unlike the Swing Chart tool, you cannot plot the 1, 2 or 3-bar types all at once. Only one type will display at a time. For example, if you are viewing a 1-bar Swing Bar chart and press the 3 key, the 3-bar Swing Bar chart will then display alone. To deactivate the Swing Bar tool, you must click on the Swing Bar tool button to toggle it off. This is different than the Swing Chart tool, where the tool will deactivate automatically if all swing charts have been toggled off. WhatIF Tool Starting with version (Build 217), this tool now has a major role within this application. In previous versions, this tool would plot a temporary price bar so that you can consider What if scenarios, such as when plotting a trend line and wanting to see what it would look like if price moved to the line, etc. It also allowed for noting what the OB/OS indicator would plot if the next price bar was higher or lower. However, it did not affect the indicators or other tools since the WhatIF bar is not real. Starting with v1.9.13, the WhatIF created price bar IS real, as far as the program is concerned. Once you create the WhatIF price bar, the program will treat it just like any other price bar that was loaded from your price data file. Therefore, when you create a WhatIF price bar, it will add a single new price bar to the end of the chart and all indicators and tools activated will see it as a real price bar and respond accordingly. This feature allows for noting what the indicators will look like if the next price bar was as you created. To activate the WhatIF tool, click on the WhatIF button on the tool button strip. WhatIF tool window will then display. (Figure 17) The 31

32 Figure 17 WhatIF Tool If this tool was not recently used for the current chart, it will open with the prices of the last price bar on the chart and draw a new copy of that bar in red as the next bar. (Figure 18) Figure 18 Chart with initial WhatIF bar plotted 32

33 The initial red WhatIF bar is used as a visual aid as you go about changing the Open, High, Low and Last values within the WhatIF window. When you enter a price value into any of the price boxes and then click the mouse outside that box, the red WhatIF bar will redraw with that next value. This allows you to see how your price bar is forming based on the values in the price boxes. If you change a price value, the program will make adjustments to insure that it makes sense. For example, if you change the LAST price to be lower than the current LOW price, the program will automatically change the LOW price to accommodate the new LAST price you entered. Since the HIGH cannot be lower the LOW, or the LAST and OPEN cannot be higher than the HIGH or lower than the LOW, the program tries to adjust. Once you have settled on the price values for your new WhatIF price bar, you can store it one of two ways. The Store Temp button will temporarily store the new price bar so that you can close the WhatIF tool and still plot indicators and tools onto the chart that will take into account the new price bar. You will note that its color is CYAN indicating that it is a stored price bar. The prices in the price box will also turn a DARK BLUE whenever there is a stored price bar on the chart. The temporary stored bar will remain on the chart for as long as you do not change the chart to another chart, or change the time-frame. Once you change the time-frame or load a different chart, the new price bar will be removed from memory and not be available when you return to the chart again. If you decide to change the values for the stored temporary price bar, change the values in the price box(s) and click on the Store Temp the temporary bar on the chart and also in memory. 33 button again. This will update To remove the temporary stored bar without having to change charts or time-frame, click on the Delete Temp button. The stored button will be deleted, and the red temporary (non-stored) bar will display until you close the WhatIF tool. If you want the price bar to remain stored even when changing charts or time-frames, or even closing the program, select the Store Session button. When you store the session, the new price will affect the price bars of all the time frames that use that data and all the indicators and tools will treat that new stored session price bar as a regular price bar. When you select Store Session, the WhatIF window will close automatically. To delete the stored session price bar, bring up the WhatIF tool window and select the Delete Session button. This will remove the stored session price bar from the system. If you load updated price data that includes the data for the date you saved a stored session price bar, the stored session data will automatically be removed in favor of the actual data

34 loaded. This prevents any stored session price bar data from carrying over to the next day, and the day indefinitely. Another feature of the WhatIF tool are the AutoBar buttons. If you want the program to display an UP or DOWN bar automatically for you, click either the UP or DN button to create the bar. It will display the bar based on simple pivot calculations and then automatically store it as a temporary stored bar. The color of the bar will appear CYAN to indicate it is a stored bar and the values in the price boxes will change to a DARK BLUE. Once the AutoBar is displayed, you can treat it as a regular temporary stored bar. Pivots Tool When the Pivots tool is activated, it will plot simple high and low pivot lines. These lines are calculated using a very simple and well-known formula. You can do a search on the Internet for calculating pivot points if you wish to know more about this tool. Chart Capture If you want to capture part of your chart into the Windows clipboard or save it as a GIF file for pasting into , forums or another program, you can use this tool. Select the tool, then click anywhere on the chart and while holding down the mouse button, drag the cursor to form a box around what you wish to capture. Once you let go of the mouse button, everything that was within the drawn box will be displayed in a new window called Clip Tool. Select the FILE menu from the window to save to clipboard or to a GIF file. 34

35 Erase Tool Most tools that are drawn on the chart (ex: Trend Lines, Channel Lines, Squares, etc.) can be deleted using the right-mouse button and clicking on the appropriate location for the item to be deleted from the chart. However, when more than one item is located at the delete point, the program may not be able to determine which item it is that you want to delete. In such situations, the Erase Tool window will automatically open so that you can select what you want to delete. If you want to open the Erase Tool directly, click on the Erase Tool button found on the tool button bar. Below is an example of what you might see with the Erase Tool when several tools have been drawn on the chart. (Figure 19) Figure 19 Erase Tool You can select one or more items in the Erase window for deleting. Once one or more items been selected, click on the Erase button to remove those items from the chart. If you want to delete all items from the list, just click the Erase All button without selecting the individual items. 35

36 Cursor Crosshairs This will activate the Cursor Crosshairs tool so that your cursor changes to a crosshair cursor for more precise measurements when using the cursor to determine price and time at the mouse point. Save Click on this button to save your chart after adding or deleting drawn tools. Exit Click this button to exit the program. You can also exit the program by clicking the X button found in the upper-right corner of the application. Chart Selector This drop-down list contains all the charts available for loading within the currently selected Portfolio. Click on the down arrow to the right of the box to show all the available charts. Click on a chart name to load. Time Frames Select the D button for DAILY, the W button for WEEKLY, or the M button for MONTHLY time-frame. You can also click on the D, W and M key on the keyboard to automatically change from one time-frame to another. 36

37 Text Tool Click the text tool button to enable writing text on the chart. When the tool is selected, the cursor will have a date attached to it. As you move the cursor, the date will change to the date of the price bar that the mouse is above or below. Once you locate where you want to start typing your text, click the left-button of the mouse to anchor the text onto the chart. The date will be placed on the chart but will be highlighted, allowing you to type whatever you want in place of the date. Once you are done entering text, click the mouse anywhere outside of the textbox to confirm you are done and to complete the text addition. To delete text from the chart, move the mouse over the left character of the text and rightclick it. If you want to move the text from one location of the chart to another, hold the SHIFT key and left-click the first character of the text to activate the text move box. Release the shift-key and move the mouse around the chart until you locate where you want the new location to be. Once you have the cursor over the new location on the chart, left-click to anchor the text. Arrow Tool Click the arrow tool button to allow drawing arrows on the chart. The cursor will change to an arrow cursor. Left-click on the chart where you want the tail end of the arrow to start, and then click another location where you want the arrow to end with the arrow tip. When using this tool, keep in mind that the arrow will point at the location of the second leftclick of the mouse that ends the drawing. Like most draw tools in this program, you can right-click the arrow to delete it. 37

38 MENU The following items are found on the Menu bar at the very top of the program. Some of these also have a tool button associated with it and has already been covered in the previous section. This will be noted when applicable. File Menu Portfolio Manager This sub-menu item will open the Portfolio Manager. (See Getting Started section). Save Chart This sub-menu item will save the chart. This is same as the Save Chart button on toolbar. Print Chart This sub-menu item will print the chart currently displayed. Exit This sub-menu item will exit the program. Calculators Menu MarketScan This sub-menu item activates the MarketScan calculator. This calculator will scan every chart that is within the current portfolio to determine if there is a possible Buy or Sell pattern. Not to be confused with a Buy or Sell setup. A possible buy pattern is when the last price bar is a potential higher daily swing bottom. A possible sell pattern is when the last price bar is a potential lower daily swing top. This is useful when trading setup patterns using FDates. 38

39 Stats Calc This sub-menu item activates the Chart Statistics window. This window provides some useful information about the chart loaded. (Figure 20) The top of the Chart Statistics displays the most recent data record for the chart currently loaded. Below that is the time frame of the chart (Daily, Weekly or Monthly) ). There is only two boxes in this window that you can change the values directly. The # of Bars: setting (default 10) and the Days to Exp: setting (default 30). The # of Bars: setting is for the Largest Range, Smallest Range, ATR (Average Trading Range), and Highest and Lowest price results. These values are based on the # of Bars: setting. In the example of Figure 20 above, these values are based on the last 10 days. If the Time Frame is showing as Weekly, then thesee values would be based on the last 10 weeks, etc. The Pivots box provides the standard pivot level values for the date and prices listed at the top. These pivot values are based on the common formula for support/resistance pivots and are available via a search on the Internet along with suggested usage. 39 Figure 20 Chart Statistics

40 In the Options Dataa section is information that would be of value to option traders. If you are an option trader, then you may be familiar with these values. If you are not familiar with these values, then it is suggested that you learn about option trading if you wish to use these values as they would not do you any good otherwise. If you change the # of Bars: and/or Days to Exp: setting, click on the Re-Calc button to refresh the results. If you want to change the default value of the # of Bars: from 10 to something else, you can do so via the Settings Program Defaults and click on the Stat Calc tab. The setting is called ATR Bars. Gann Range Calculator This sub-menu opens the Gannn Range Calculator window as shown below. (Figure 21) Figure 21 Gann Range Calculator 40

41 The Gann Range Calculator takes a High and Low price that represents some price range you want to perform the calculation on. Usually, this would be a significant top and bottom price. The results box on the left is based on taking the range from Low to High and dividing that range by 16. The results box on the right is based on taking the range from zero to the High and dividing that range by 16. The bottom-left box displays the results of dividing the range from Low to High by 3 The bottom-right box displays the results of dividing the range from zero to High by 3. To use this calculator, locate a major range on the price chart. Enter the high of the top of the range and the low of the bottom of the range. Another way to enter the High and Low is to use the Left and Right button of the mouse. Move the cursor to the price bar for the top of the range and Left-Click. The high price will be entered automatically. Move the cursor to the price bar for the bottom of the range and Right-Click. The low value will automatically be entered. When done, click the Calculate button to produce the results. The Compare button can be clicked to have the values compared to each other. Matches will turn Red in color. When you click on Compare, an input box will ask for a margin value. Since it is not likely to get exact matches, you can enter the acceptable difference that the prices can have and still be a match. Day Count Calculator This sub-menu item will open the Day Count Calculator. (Figure 22) Figure 22 Day Count Calculator 41

42 This calculator is used to simply determine the number of Trading Days (TD) and Calendar Days (CD) there are from the Starting Date to the Ending Date. You can manually enter the Starting Date and Ending Date, or you can click into the box where you want to the date to appear and left click on the chart for the date you wish to have entered automatically. If you enter the dates by clicking on the chart, the calculator will calculate the results automatically once both date boxes are filled. If you enter the dates manually, click on the Calculate button to calculate. Price to Time (Gann Wheel) Select this sub-menu item to open the Price to Time (Gann Wheel) window. (Figure 23) 42 Figure 23 Price to Time (Gann Wheel) This calculator takes a price and calculates where it appears within the Gann Wheel (Square of Nine). It provides the TIME and DEGREES in various intervals from that price entered. To use, enter a price in the Price box. Usually, this will be the price of a top or bottom clearly defined on the chart. You can enter this price manually and click the Calculate button to perform the calculations, or you can move your cursor over a price bar that contains the price you are interested in and Left-Click to use the HIGH or Right-Click to use the LOW of that price bar. It will automatically be entered into the Price box and the calculations will

43 start and display its results in the Results box. An understanding of the Gann Wheel (Square of Nine) is recommended. Indicators Menu This menu lists the Indicators that are available with this program. Five of these indicators are common and found in most charting programs. They are the Stochastic, the MACD, the RSI, the Ultimate Oscillator, and the BollingerBands. If you are not familiar with these indicators, it is recommended that you do a search on them via the Internet or learn about them in a book about Technical Indicators. Stochastic, MACD and BollingerBand Indicators The BollingerBands indicator is plotted directly on the chart along with the price bars. The Stochastic, RSI, Ultimate Oscillator and MACD indicators are opened in their own indicator window below the chart. The height of the indicator windows is based on the setting found under SETTINGS PROGRAM DEFAULTS Indicators 2 tab, under Default Indicator Window Height. The indicator settings are also found in the SETTINGS PROGRAM DEFAULTS. For Stochastic and BollingerBands, click on the Indicators -1 tab. For MACD, RSI and the Ultimate Oscillator, click on the Indicators 2 tab. Another way to open the SETTINGS window is to double-click in the Indicator window itself. If you Right-Click on any open indicator window, it will be deleted from the chart. 43

44 TriggerInd This sub-menu item plots the Trigger Indicator onto the price chart. It is based on two Exponential Moving-Averages that have been shifted forward. This indicator is useful, especially with long-term charts (weekly and monthly), for determining the current trend. When the two EMA s cross, an indicator arrow is plotted. Red for a cross-down and Blue for a cross-up. (Figure 24) Figure 24 Trigger Indicator 44

45 FDates Indicator This sub-menu will only be enabled if the program finds a FDates file located in the computer s My Documents\Previsions Charting folder. The file is only available via download each week from the FDates Market Timing Membership forum and is a member s only forum. (Visit for details). As a FDates member, the file you will want to download from the forum each week is the fdates.exe file. Simply download this file onto your computer. Once download, run the file and it will automatically place a file into your Previsions Charting folder under Documents. There is no need to access this file directly once this is done. The Previsions Charting program will detect the existence of this file automatically and enable the FDates Indicator menu item. To use this indicator on your charts, you will need to assign the market code to your chart. These codes are listed next to the market names on your FDate report. For example, if the chart is of Live Cattle, you will need to assign the code ZT to the chart so that the FDates indicator will know the correct turn dates to plot on the chart. You only need to do this once for each chart. If this menu item is enabled, selecting this sub-menu item will plot the FDates listed in the FDates file onto the price chart. These FDates will appear as red diamonds under the most recent price data on the daily and weekly charts. (Figure 25) 45

46 Figure 25 The FDates Indicator Swing tops and bottoms are expected to occur within a bar of the FDate. Some FDates have additional information that is displayed within the red diamond. These additional indicators are the <, > and $. The less-than (<) indication suggests the turn is likely to occur either on-time or a bar early. The greater-than (>) indication suggests the turn is likely to be either on-time or one bar late. The dollar-sign ($) indication is used to denote those FDates that also produced an asterisk rating (that s a high rating) from the H.O.T. Dates program (High Octane Turn Dates). 46

47 Tools Menu This menu makes available the same tools as found on the Tool Button bar and has already been covered earlier in this Users Guide. Draw Menu This menu makes available the same drawing tools as found on the Tool Button bar. 47

48 Colors Menu This menu allows you to change the color of some of the drawing and text tools. The tool should be selected first, then the color, before you use the tool in order for the color to take. Settings Menu 48

49 Program Defaults The Program Defaults sub-menu brings up the Program Defaults window. This window contains tabs that separate the settings into sections. (Figure 26) ) Figure 26 Program Defaults Chart tab selected. The many of the tools, calculators and indicators found in this program have settings that can be changed through the Program Defaults. Default parameters for the data being used and loaded into the program are also set here. You can set the price bar thickness, display a grid in 3 different shades, add a calendar display to the bottom of the chart, and set the numberr of bars to display initially. In the Chart Margins section, you can set the margin of blank space for the right side of the chart, as well as the top and bottom of the chart. The Default Chart Type sets the default type of chart to display for all charts, whether OHLC (Open, High, Low, Close) bar chart, Candlesticks or Color Bars (colored OHLC bars). 49

50 The Date Format should be set to match the date format of your system. In the US, this is MM/DD/YYYY. In many countries outside the US, the format would be DD/MM/YYYY. Edit Chart Symbols This sub-menu is used only for the FDates Indicator. Each market is assigned a two-letter code on the FDate Report. For example, AN = Australian Dollar, SP = SP500, etc. When using the FDates Indicator, the program needs to know which FDates should be used for your charts. Since you likely did not name your Australian Dollar chart AN, select the Edit Chart Symbols sub-menu to assign the two-letter codes to the charts they belong to. If the FDates Indicator is activated and the current chart does not have the two-letter code assigned, the program will automatically ask you for it. If a code has already been assigned but you wish to change it, select the Edit Chart Symbols sub-menu item. A box will appear letting you know that it was already assigned a code, tells you what the code currently is, and whether you want to change it. If yes, you will then be able to provide a different code. Help Menu Instructions You are currently reading them so this item will likely not be enabled. If it is enabled, then it will likely have instructions like these. Shortcuts There is a file in your Previsions Charting folder called keyfunction.txt. It is a text file that contains a list of the keyboard shortcuts available. By selecting this sub-menu, this text file is displayed in a box for easy reference. It is highly recommended that you get familiar with these short-cuts as they contain lots of functions and conveniences available. The current list of shortcuts is shown on the next few pages. 50

51 KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS (As of version ) Key Function ===================================================================== Right Left Up Down Shift-Left Shift-Right Cntrl-Left Cntrl-Right PageUp PageDn Home End Shift-Up Shift-Dn Subtract Add Ctrl-V Bars move to the left. Bars move to the right. Bars move up. Bars move down. Chart scrolls to beginning of chart data Chart scrolls to most recent data Chart scrolls back one page at a time Chart scrolls forward one page at a time Same as Cntrl-Right Same as Cntrl-Left Same as Shift-Left Same as Shift-Right Chart expands vertically Chart contracts vertically Decreases number of bars on chart. Increases number of bars on chart. Pastes Highlighted Data File Name into Chart Title box (Portfolio Man.) 1 Activates Swings tool and toggles 1-bar swings on and off 2 Activates Swings tool and toggles 2-bar swings on and off 3 Activates Swings tool and toggles 3-bar swings on and off A Decimal Adjust when Gann Angle Tool is active. 51

52 B C D E F G H Toggles chart between Bars and Candlesticks and other views Activates calendar day/trading day count. Displays on bottom status bar. Selects Daily chart view (instead of weekly or monthly) Opens Erase Tool window Toggles on/off FDate Indicator (if available) Opens "GO to Date" window Hides chart drawings if no calculators are open at the time pressed I J Will tab from one tool group on chart to the next if in Hide mode (H) K L M N Shift-N O P Stores date of highlighted bar. Ctrl-L draws the chart from stored date. Selects Monthly chart view Load the next chart from the chart list box. Load the previous chart from the chart list box. Displays Overbought/Oversold Indicator Opens Data Manager (Portfolios and Chart Creation) Q R S T Resets chart parameters Opens Seasonals Calculator Sets training mode (hides most recent bars - Settings\Tools2) U V W X Displays the Volume bars at the bottom of the chart Selects Weekly chart time frame Hides price bars only Y Z Toggles the ZOOM Magnifier 52

53 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 Shift-F5 Shift-F6 Shift-F7 Shortcuts Help (what you are looking at now.) Will display mirror squares if Square tool active Tab locates first square of each square group on chart. Toggle Swing top and bottom color coding for Candlestick charts. Toggles Moving Average 1 (MA1) on/off Toggles Moving Average 2 (MA2) on/off Toggles Moving Average 3 (MA3) on/off Toggles Exponential Moving Average (EMA1) on/off Toggles Exponential Moving Average (EMA2) on/off Toggles Exponential Moving Average (EMA3) on/off F8 F9 Toggles settings for active tool (Trendline/Fib Tool/Gann Lines only) Brings up window with chart statistics Backspace Undo function. Removes last tool drawn on chart. 53

54 About Previsions This sub-menu opens up the program s splash screen. The splash screen lists the version number, the build, the User, the Hardware-Fingerprint of the machine and the Registration- Key code. Other Features Price Bar Details A price box will appear on the chart whenever you hold down the left mouse button for a couple of seconds and will move with the mouse cursor as long as you keep the button pressed. Scrolling the Chart Use the left or right arrow buttons to scroll the chart. Left arrow moves the bars to the right (left is going back in time), and the right arrow moves the bars to the left (right is moving into the future). You can also double-click the chart, holding down the left button of the mouse on the second click and then drag in the direction you wish to scroll. The actual scrolling will take place once you let up the mouse button. When you double-click and hold down the mouse button, the cursor will change to a scroll cursor. 54

55 To scroll the chart one chart width at a time, hold down the Ctrl-key and then press the left or right arrow key. To scroll to the beginning or end of the chart at once, hold down the Shift-key then press the left or right arrow key. The PageUp and PageDn buttons act like the Ctrl-key combinations, and the Home and End keys act like the Shift-key combinations. Expanding or Compressing the Chart When expanding the chart, you are adding more space between price bars resulting in less bars being displayed. When compressing the chart, you are moving the bars closer together, therefore showing more bars on the chart. To expand the chart (less bars), press the minus key (-) on the keyboard. To compress the chart (add bars), press the plus key (+) on the keyboard. Overbought/Oversold Indicator This is a very special and powerful indicator. To activate this indicator, press the letter O key. To remove it, press the key again. This indicator plots green (OB) and read (OS) rectangles that represent price areas that are considered overbought or oversold. The width of these rectangles represent the range of bars being used for the calculation. The ranges are 4-bars (very short-term), 8-bars and 16- bars (longer-term). As each new price bar is added to the chart, these OB/OS ranges are recalculated because a new bar is added and an old bar is dropping off at the other end. 55

56 Seasonals Calculator A very useful calculator that takes all the price data available for the current chart loaded and calculates the seasonal tendencies for that market. Many markets tend to repeat certain moves during certain times of the year, especially the grains and the livestock complex. This calculator clearly shows what those tendencies are. To activate this calculator, click on the S key. (Figuree 27) Figure 27 Seasonals Data Report 56

57 Final Comments: Get familiar with the Shortcuts list. Some items on that list were not covered in this guide but are easy to determine by reading that list. Version (Build 218) Updates The following are new updates and additions to the program since this manual was originally written. OHLC SC/BC COLOR CHART If you are a member of FDates Market Timing, you may find this new addition quite useful. The FDate Guidelines describes each price bar as either a BC or SC bar. The OUTSIDE BAR is labeled both BC and SC. When viewing a chart in Previsions Charting, press the B key to alternate between the different types of charts available within the program. One of these will be the OHLC SC/BC COLOR chart. This chart automatically colors each price bar based on its type. If the bar is a BC bar, it will be in GREEN. If the bar is a SC bar, it will be in RED. And for outside bars, it will be in both GREEN and RED. 57

58 58 Figure 28 OHLC SC/BC Color Chart

59 NEW INDICATORS UNDER THE INDICATOR MENU The Indicator Menu 59

60 Directional Movement System Created by Welles Wilder, it is best used to determine whether a trend is suitable to trade. There are three indicator lines for this indicator. The DI+, DI-, and the ADXR lines. Since this is a commonly used indicator, you can find plenty of information online on how to use it for your technical analysis. This guide explains which lines are which and just a basic use for this indicator. Figure 29 Directional Movement System indicator The BLUE line represents the DI+ value. The RED line represents the DI- value. The GREEN line represents the ADXR value. The basic understanding of the ADXR line is that is that if it is above 20, the market is trending. The higher the value of the ADXR is, the stronger the trend. When the ADXR is declining, the trend is weakening. The DI+ line above the DI- line represents a market in a BULLISH phase. When the DI+ is below the DI- line, the market is considered to be BEARISH. This indicator is useful as a filter. Using this filter, you can gauge whether the market is trending or not, and whether it is bullish or bearish. When the market is not trending, this is when oscillator indicators become more reliable, such as the Stochastic. When trading FDates, this indicator helps determine whether or not to take a setup, and whether the setup itself is in line with the expected trend. And when setups are also qualified using Stochastics or MACD, the value of those oscillators becomes more important when the market is not showing a strong trend. When a market is in a strong bullish phase, it has the tendency to make its swing tops late and its swing bottoms early. As a FDate trader, you would favor taking Buy Setups over Sell 60

61 Setups during this phase, and you may also give early Buy Setups (setups based on the -1 bar) just as much weight as you give late setups (setups based on the +1 bar). The MMA Indicator (F11 Key) This Multiple Moving Average indicator displays a series of exponential moving averages that can be useful in determining current trend and the potential for a volatility breakout. To activate the MMA Indicator display, press the F11 key. This indicator will only remain active on the current chart and time frame. If you change time-frame or go to a different chart, you will have to press F11 again if you wish to use this indicator on the new chart. 61