Opening a Bar Chart

The fastest way to open a chart is by doing the following:

1.    Press F3 on your Keyboard
2.    The Data File Selector will open.  From this window you can either enter in a security code (DJI for the Dow Jones for example), or you can navigate down the Data exchanges to locate the security you’re after.  Double clicking on the security will open the chart.  (Click the picture below to enlarge the view).



There are many other chart styles available in Market Analyst 5.  For a complete list of these styles, and how they are used in Market Analyst click here.

Changing a Charts Time Frame

Once a chart has been opened you can begin adjusting its view.  By default the chart will open using a 1 day time frame.  You can adjust this to 1 Week, 1 Month, 1 Year or custom time frame of your own design.  To do this, navigate to the bottom left corner of the chart.  You will see a small dark blue bar.  Hover over this bar and the Time Frame selector will display.  To change the time frame left click on the arrow and a list of available time frames will be displayed.  Left click on the desired time frame and the chart will adjust immediately.



Note:  Intraday time frames are not enabled in the trial.  If you are interested in using Real Time data with your trial please contact the sales team by submitting a ticket here.

Zooming In and Out of the Chart, and Scrolling

Located at the top of a Market Analyst charting window is the History slider.  Using this interface you can zoom in and out of the chart, and move backwards and forwards through the charts history.
To zoom out go to the History Slider.  Move your cursor to the edge of the dark blue section.  Your mouse cursor will change.  Hold down the left mouse button and move your mouse to the left / right to increase the current view distance.



To scroll through the chart move your cursor to the History Slider.  Hover over the centre of the dark blue section.  Hold down the left mouse button and move your mouse to the left or right.  The chart will scroll until you release the left mouse button.

Applying Indicators to the Chart

In this example we’ll apply a common Technical Analysis tool to your chart called a Moving Average.  To do this, left click on the Tools menu located along the top of the program window.  The Tool Wheel will display:



Along the outside of the circle will be the various tool groups (Averages, Cycles, Drawing, etc).  Locate the group called Averages and left click it once.

Located in the centre of the circle will be the tools located within the selected group.  Find the Moving Average tool and left click it once.  The tool wheel will close and you will be taken back to the chart.  Left click once on the chart and the Moving Average tool will be applied.

There are many tools available in Market Analyst.  For details information on tools please click here.

Modifying a Tools Properties

Once the Moving Average has been applied to the chart there are a number of settings you can adjust.  (Calculation Style, colour, etc).

To adjust the Moving Average properties, left click on the tool applied to your chart.  The properties will be displayed on the left hand side Control Panel.

Actions

Save Settings as Default:    Once you’ve adjusted the settings of a tool you can save them as a default setting.  So the next time you apply this tool it will already be setup as desired.

Restore Default Settings:    Reverts a tool back to the standard settings.

Add Tool to Group:        You can add the selected tool to a custom tool bar located to the right of the Help menu.  For more information on this click here.

Properties

Bars:    The number of bars that are averaged (e.g. if 5 then the values for the last 5 bars are added and divided by 5).

Calc Style:    This option is used to set the type of calculation for the Moving Average. The calculation options are Exponential, Simple, Weighted, Smoothed, or Modified. 

Calc Using:    This option is used to determine which components of the data are used in calculating the Moving Average. You can choose from Open Price, Closed Price, High Price, Low Price, HL (High + Low / 2), HLC (High + Low + Close / 3), OHLC (Open + High + Low + Close / 4), OC (Open + Close / 2).

Display Type:    Allows you to choose the display style for the Moving Average tool.  There are 4 options, Line (Default)
Histogram, Dot, Stepped.

Width:    Sets the width of the Moving Average line.

Colour:    Allows you to select the colour of the Moving Average line.  Clicking on the drop down arrow will display a colour swatch.  Locate the desired colour and left click it once to select it.

Tool Name:    Allows you to set a custom tool name as displayed in the Structures panel.

Transparency:    Use this slider bar to adjust the transparency of the Moving Average tool.

Visible:    Un-tick this checkbox to hide the Moving Average tool from the chart.

Offset:    Moves the Moving Average tool forward or backward in time. The offset is measured in bars, so a value of 2 will push the Moving Average forward 2 bars, and -2 will move Moving Average back 2 bars.

Saving the Page as a Workbook

Market Analyst 5 provides you with a unique way of organising your charts into pages within a workbook.

A Market Analyst Workbook can have an unlimited number of pages, and on each of those pages there can be an unlimited number of charts. A page can consist of Bar Charts, Swing Charts, Notes, or any of the other Market Analyst Charts. A chart can then consist of any number of windows. Each window holds any number of data displays, tools, and/or indicators.

To save the page you currently have open as a workbook, click on the Files menu and select Save Workbook As.  In the window displayed enter in a name (Trial 1 for example) and click the Save button.

Your work will then be saved.  The next time you open the program you can open this workbook from the Recently Opened list on the Welcome screen, or by clicking on the Files menu and selecting the Open Workbook option.

More Information

Now that you have a basic understanding of Market Analyst 5 there are some additional modules you may want to investigate:

Scanning Manager

The Market Analyst Scanning Manager has been designed as an instrument to save you time.  Where in the past there was a need to manually look over charts, Market Analyst 5 has automated the process for you.  Simply enter in your scan’s criteria, the data you want to scan and the date at which the criteria needs to be met, and Market Analyst 5 does the rest.

For more information click here.

Templates

Templates are a great time saving function in Market Analyst 5.  Templates allow you to set up a page, or workbook using various time frames, tools and chart styles and have those settings used for any new pages that you open.  For example, if you always use a 150 period Moving Average on your charts, and prefer Swing Relations as your Bar Chart’s colour scheme, you can set up this layout once as a Template.  With that Template selected, all new charts that you open will display the Moving Average and preferred Colour Scheme.

For more information click here.

Training Mode

Implementing a new trading plan, or testing an existing one can often be a time consuming exercise, as you need to wait for the days to pass before results start appearing. To overcome this, Market Analyst 5 brings to you an excellent training tool called the Trade Tracker, which allows you to do in minutes what would otherwise take weeks. With a couple of clicks of the mouse, you can take your chart back in time two weeks or even two years, and simply add one bar at a time, effectively giving you a real trading simulation. While your charts are updating, all of the indicators that you have applied are also updating, allowing you to see weeks of trading action within a matter of minutes.

For more information click here.

System Tester

The System Tester combines the power of the Scanning Manager and Trade Tracker into one module that will provide a fast and simple method for evaluating your trading plans.

For more information click here.

Portfolio Manager

Market Analyst 5 contains a Portfolio Manager module that allows you to keep track of all your trades, their profit / loss, dividend payments, share splits and other types of special issues.  It has support for Stocks, Commodities, Foreign Exchange and CFD’s (both Short and Long).

For more information click here.

Contact Us

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Ireland Toll Free:    1800 550 420
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Email:  support@market-analyst.com