See Chart Operation and Watchlist Operation for instructions on how to access the parameters dialog to adjust the settings listed below.
General Options |
The following parameters fall in the general indicator parameter category. |
Check this box to place marketDirection Monitor in EOD Scan Mode.This would typically be used with Daily, Weekly, or Monthly data after the market has closed. EOD Scan Mode includes the most current price bar in the analysis so it would serve to give you a heads-up as to any inflection points that might be forming as of the next bar. This option should ONLY be used after the market has closed as all alert features are disabled when in this mode. When EOD Scan Mode is active, a message indicating this will be clearly displayed in the indicator pane. The default is unchecked (false). (See also: End of Day Scan in the Chart Operation section). |
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Activate Params Linking? |
Check this box to activate the Params Linking feature. With Params Linking turned on, any parameter changes made in the watchlist component will automatically be transferred to the chart component (i.e., no need to make parameter changes in both the watchlist AND the chart). If Params Linking is turned off then the watchlist and the chart components will each operate with their own parameter settings. This parameter is only used by the chart component, so no need to check or uncheck this parameter in the watchlist component as it is completely ignored. The default is checked (true). (See also: Params Linking) |
Type of Params Linking? |
This option determines how the Params Linking feature will be implemented. Select "Interval" or "Unique Link ID". The default is "Interval". (See also: Params Linking) |
ID (if Type is 'Unique ID') |
Input a numeric value to be used as the link identifier. This only applies if the Params Linking type is set to "Unique Link ID". The default is 1. (See also: Params Linking) |
Strict Formation Evaluation? |
Check this box to force the indicator to use a more strict approach in evaluating possible price formations, which involves more variables being checked. When checked, fewer formations will qualify for display but they will generally be of higher quality. If not checked then a less stringent evaluation process is used which will generally result in more formations being displayed. The default is checked (true). |
Signals to Show |
Select from "Both", "Bullish Only", and "Bearish Only". The default is "Both". Keep in mind that, while there is a built-in bullish or bearish bias in most of the formations, there are a lot of variables outside the scope of the actual formation that can dictate whether the price action will react in the direction of the bias or in the opposite direction. In other words, a lot of "bearish" formations can end up being quite bullish, and vice-versa. |
Set the period to be used for the internal Average True Range calculation which is used as part of the formation evaluation and filtering process. ATR is also used by the Alert Padding logic. Range is from 1 to 300. The default is 20 (bars). |
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Set the period to be used for the Average Volume calculation. This is only used for purposes of the Volume Dialog which is available when the indicator is running in a chart and for the high-volume display when running in a watchlist. Range is from 1 to 300. The default is 20 (bars). (See also: Chart Operation) |
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Check this box to display the Volume Dialog when the indicator is running in a chart. This option has no affect when the indicator is running in a watchlist. Default is checked (true). (See also: Chart Operation) |
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Display Bid/Ask Vol Monitor? |
Check this box to display the Bid/Ask Volume Monitor widget, which is part of the Volume Dialog. If activated this widget will display the volume traded at the Ask vs the volume traded at the Bid in a graphical format. Note that this will only work when the market is open, and only in conjunction with securities that have bid/ask data available in eSignal. The default is checked (true). (See also: Chart Operation) |
Display Logo? |
Check this box to display the indicator logo when the indicator is running in a chart. If you are tight on vertical space you can use this option to disable the logo. The default is checked (true). |
The following parameters pertain specifically to the Dome and Chevron formations. |
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Show Dome & Chevron Formations? |
Check this box to have Dome and Chevron formations included in the price activity scan. If not checked then these types of formations will not be considered. The default is checked (true). |
Minimum Rank for Display |
Set the minimum rank that will be considered as acceptable when analyzing for Dome and Chevron formations. This can be any value between 0 and 100. The default value is 45. (See also: Rank) |
Maximum Age (bars) |
Set the maximum number of bars that a Dome or Chevron formation will continue to display if no new formations are found. Range is from 1 to 15. The default value is 15. (See also: Formation Age) |
Minimum Proximity (ATRs) |
Set the minimum allowable distance, measured in ATRs, that current price can be from the prior swing high or swing low. In other words, current price must be within this distance in order for the formation to be displayed.
Keep in mind that price can be above the prior swing or below the prior swing...as long as price is within the specified ATRs from the prior swing price level then the formation will be displayed. This can come in handy if you miss a formation when it is first identified. Even if price has already moved past the inflection point the formation will continue to display as long as the distance has not exceeded the specified ATRs.
Range is from 0.001 to 100. The default value is 2.0 (ATRs). If you find that the system is displaying Dome and Chevron formations too early for your taste then you can set this to a lower number.
You can adjust the length of the ATR calculation used, see ATR Length under the General Options section above. |
Minimum Formation Width |
Set the minimum allowable width, in bars, for a Dome or Chevron formation to be considered for display. This is the distance from current price to the prior swing high or swing low (i.e., just the Chevron or Dome formation) and does not include the preceding leg. Range is from 4 to 50. The default is 4 (bars). If you prefer to see only larger formations then set this to a higher value. |
Min 'Retrace' Depth (ATRs) |
Set the minimum allowable height of the formation (measured in ATRs). Range is from 0.001 to 20. The default value is 1.0 (ATR).
You can adjust the length of the ATR calculation used, see ATR Length under the General Options section above. |
Unbroken Formations Only? |
Check this box if you only want to consider Dome and Chevron formations whose high or low level has not yet been breached. The logic operates from approximately the middle of the Dome or Chevron formation to the most recently-closed bar. If activated then if any bars in this region have a high greater than the high at the beginning of the formation (or a low that is below the low at the beginning of the formation) then the formation will not be considered. The default is unchecked (false).
While it may seem counter intuitive, we strongly suggest that you leave this setting at its default value of false. In today's markets we often find that the first move tends to be a head-fake intended to draw in new buyers. The bottom falls out briefly and these nervous buyers scramble to cut their losses and sell. Only then does price resume in the original direction. If this option is set to true then you will get the first part but not the second part. |
Alert Padding - Type |
Select the basis for the alert padding calculation. You can select from "Min Tick" and "ATR". The default value is "ATR". (See also: Alert Padding) |
Alert Padding - Factor |
Set the factor that will be applied to the Alert Padding - Type selected above. This can be any real number between 0 and 100. The default value is 0 meaning that no alert padding will be used. (See also: Alert Padding) |
The following parameters pertain specifically to Incline formations. |
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Show Incline Formations? |
Check this box to have Incline formations included in the price activity scan. If not checked then this type of formation will not be considered. The default is checked (true). |
Minimum 'Rank' for Display |
Set the minimum rank that will be considered as acceptable when analyzing for Incline formations. This can be any value between 0 and 100. The default value is 75. (See also: Rank) |
Maximum Age |
Set the maximum number of bars that a Incline formation will continue to display if no new formations are found. Range is from 1 to 15. The default value is 15. (See also: Formation Age) |
Alert Padding - Type |
Select the basis for the alert padding calculation. You can select from "Min Tick" and "ATR". The default value is "ATR". (See also: Alert Padding) |
Alert Padding - Factor |
Set the factor that will be applied to the Alert Padding - Type selected above. This can be any real number between 0 and 100. The default value is 0 meaning that no alert padding will be used. (See also: Alert Padding) |
The following parameters pertain specifically to Top and Bottom formations. |
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Show Top/Bot Formations? |
Check this box to have Top and Bottom formations included in the price activity scan. If not checked then this type of formation will not be considered. The default is checked (true). |
Minimum 'Rank' for Display |
Set the minimum rank that will be considered as acceptable when analyzing for Top and Bottom formations. This can be any value between 0 and 100. The default value is 50. (See also: Rank) |
Maximum Age |
Set the maximum number of bars that a Top or Bottom formation will continue to display if no new formations are found. Range is from 1 to 15. The default value is 15. (See also: Formation Age) |
Minimum Top/Bot Width |
Set the minimum allowable width, in bars, for a Top or Bottom formation to be considered for display. This is the distance from current price to the prior top or bottom. Range is from 10 to 100. The default value is 10 (bars). |
Maximum Top/Bot Width |
Set the maximum allowable width, in bars, for a Top or Bottom formation to be considered for display. This is the distance from current price to the prior top or bottom. Range is from 10 to 500. The default value is 300 (bars). |
Min Top/Bot Depth (ATRs) |
Set the minimum allowable height of the formation (measured in ATRs). Range is from 0.001 to 20. The default value is 2.0 (ATRs).
You can adjust the length of the ATR calculation used, see ATR Length under the General Options section above. |
Bars for Slope Check |
Set the number of bars to use to conduct a slope-check on the price data that occurs before the beginning of the candidate Top or Bottom formation. Range is from 1 to 500. The default value is 50 (bars). |
Alert Padding - Type |
Select the basis for the alert padding calculation. You can select from "Min Tick" and "ATR". The default value is "ATR". (See also: Alert Padding) |
Alert Padding - Factor |
Set the factor that will be applied to the Alert Padding - Type selected above. This can be any real number between 0 and 100. The default value is 0 meaning that no alert padding will be used. (See also: Alert Padding) |
The following parameters pertain specifically to Consolidation formations. |
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Show Consolidation Formations? |
Check this box to have Consolidation formations included in the price activity scan. If not checked then this type of formation will not be considered. The default is checked (true). |
Minimum 'Rank' for Display |
Set the minimum rank that will be considered as acceptable when analyzing for Consolidation formations. This can be any value between 0 and 100. The default value is 55. (See also: Rank) |
Maximum Age |
Set the maximum number of bars that a Consolidation formation will continue to display if no new formations are found. Range is from 1 to 15. The default value is 15. (See also: Formation Age) |
Alert Padding - Type |
Select the basis for the alert padding calculation. You can select from "Min Tick" and "ATR". The default value is "ATR". (See also: Alert Padding) |
Alert Padding - Factor |
Set the factor that will be applied to the Alert Padding - Type selected above. This can be any real number between 0 and 100. The default value is 0 meaning that no alert padding will be used. (See also: Alert Padding) |
The following parameters pertain specifically to Cycle formations. |
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Show Cycle Formations? |
Check this box to have Cycle formations included in the price activity scan. If not checked then this type of formation will not be considered. The default is checked (true). |
Minimum 'Rank' for Display |
Set the minimum rank that will be considered as acceptable when analyzing for Cycle formations. This can be any value between 0 and 100. The default value is 70. (See also: Rank) |
Maximum Age |
Set the maximum number of bars that a Cycle formation will continue to display if no new formations are found. Range is from 1 to 15. The default value is 15. (See also: Formation Age) |
Minimum Cycle Length |
Set the period for the smallest cycle that will be analyzed. Range is from 10 to 100. The default value is 16. |
Maximum Cycle Length |
Set the period for the largest cycle that will be analyzed. Range is from 10 to 200. The default value is 120. |
Full Cycles to Test (40 or smaller) |
Set the number of full cycles to test, when the cycle period is 40 or less, when checking for fit and correlation between price and the designated cycle. Range is from 1 to 3. The default value is 3. |
Full Cycles to Test (41 or larger) |
Set the number of full cycles to test, when the cycle period is 41 or more, when checking for fit and correlation between price and the designated cycle. Range is from 1 to 3. The default value is 2. |
Alert Padding - Type |
Select the basis for the alert padding calculation. You can select from "Min Tick" and "ATR". The default value is "ATR". (See also: Alert Padding) |
Alert Padding - Factor |
Set the factor that will be applied to the Alert Padding - Type selected above. This can be any real number between 0 and 100. The default value is 0 meaning that no alert padding will be used. (See also: Alert Padding) |
The following parameters pertain specifically to the indicator when it is running inside of a chart. |
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Bullish Formation Color |
Select the color to be used to draw bullish formations. The default value is green. |
Bearish Formation Color |
Select the color to be used to draw bearish formations. The default value is red. |
Thickness |
Set the line thickness to use to draw all formations. Range is from 1 to 10. The default value is 3. |
Line Type |
Select the line type to use to draw all formations. Select from "Solid", "Dot", "Dash", "DashDot", and "DashDotDot". Default is "Solid". |
Select the color to be used to draw 'aged' bullish formations. An 'aged' formation is any formation with an age greater than 1. The default value is grey. |
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Aged Bearish Formation Color |
Select the color to be used to draw 'aged' bearish formations. An 'aged' formation is any formation with an age greater than 1. The default value is darkgrey. |
Thickness |
Set the line thickness to use to draw all 'aged' formations. Range is from 1 to 10. The default value is 3. |
Line Type |
Select the line type to use to draw all 'aged' formations. Select from "Solid", "Dot", "Dash", "DashDot", and "DashDotDot". Default is "Solid". |
Reference Line Color |
Select the color to be used to draw any reference lines that may be part of the formation display. The default value is black. |
Thickness |
Set the line thickness to use to draw all reference lines. Range is from 1 to 10. The default value is 2. |
Line Type |
Select the line type to use to draw all reference lines. Select from "Solid", "Dot", "Dash", "DashDot", and "DashDotDot". Default is "Dot". |
Cycles Upper Reference Level |
Set the level at which the upper reference line should be drawn when displaying a cycle formation. Range is from -1.0 to +1.0. The default value is 0.90. |
Cycles Lower Reference Level |
Set the level at which the lower reference line should be drawn when displaying a cycle formation. Range is from -1.0 to +1.0. The default value is -0.90. |
Dialog Font Size |
Set the font size to be used in all information dialogs that are displayed when the indicator is run in a chart. Range is from 6 to 12. The default value is 9. |
The following parameters pertain specifically to the indicator when it is running inside of a watchlist. Note that the colors specified here are also used inside of the information dialogs that appear when the indicator is run in a chart. |
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Rank (Bullish) Cell FG Color |
Select the foreground color to be used to display values inside of a watchlist cell when the formation in question is bullish. The default value is black. |
BG Color |
Select the background color to be used to display values inside of a watchlist cell when the formation in question is bullish. The default value is light green. |
Rank (Bullish) Cell FG Color |
Select the foreground color to be used to display values inside of a watchlist cell when the formation in question is bearish. The default value is black. |
BG Color |
Select the background color to be used to display values inside of a watchlist cell when the formation in question is bullish. The default value is light red. |
Formation Length Cell FG Color |
Select the foreground color to be used to display values inside of a watchlist cell in the Length column. The default value is black. |
BG Color |
Select the background color to be used to display values inside of a watchlist cell in the Length column.The default value is light purple. |
Age Cell FG Color |
Select the foreground color to be used to display values inside of a watchlist cell in the Age column. The default value is black. |
BG Color |
Select the background color to be used to display values inside of a watchlist cell in the Age column.The default value is light grey. |
Trend (Positive) Cell FG Color |
Select the foreground color to be used to display values inside of a watchlist cell in the Trend column when the slope of the trend is rising. The default value is black. |
BG Color |
Select the background color to be used to display values inside of a watchlist cell in the Trend column when the slope of the trend is rising.The default value is light green. |
Trend (Negative) Cell FG Color |
Select the foreground color to be used to display values inside of a watchlist cell in the Trend column when the slope of the trend is falling. The default value is black. |
BG Color |
Select the background color to be used to display values inside of a watchlist cell in the Trend column when the slope of the trend is falling.The default value is light red. |
Vol Dialog Header Color |
Select the background color to be used for the Volume Dialog header row.The default value is light teal. |
All Dialog FG Color |
Select the foreground color to be used to display values inside of all information dialogs when the indicator is run in a chart. The default value is dark grey. |
The following parameters pertain specifically to alert generation and apply to both the watchlist and the chart. Alerts are generated when a new formation is discovered and when an existing formation begins moving in the anticipated direction. |
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Set the minimum Rank that a new formation must have in order for a "New Formation" alert to be generated. Range is from 0 to 100. The default value is 60. Note that this setting does not determine whether or not a particular formation will be displayed, it only determines if an actual alert will be generated for that particular formation when it is first discovered. |
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Use Sound Alerts? |
Check this box if you want audible alerts generated. The default is unchecked (false). |
Use Pop-up Alerts? |
Check this box if you want pop-up alerts generated. The default is unchecked (false). |
Use Email Alerts? |
Check this box if you want email alerts generated. Note that this option only pertains to the indicator when it is run in a chart. Email alerts are not allowed from within a watchlist. The default is unchecked (false). |
Bullish Alert WAV File |
Input the file name of the WAV file to be used when an alert is generated for a bullish formation. Only applies if Use Sound Alerts? is checked. The default value is DING.WAV. eSignal provides a folder full of WAV files that can be used for alert purposes. Just type in the full name of any WAV file that is located in this folder, which is located at <My Documents>\Interactive Data\Sounds\ |
Bearish Alert WAV File |
Input the file name of the WAV file to be used when an alert is generated for a bearish formation. Only applies if Use Sound Alerts? is checked. The default value is BOING.WAV. eSignal provides a folder full of WAV files that can be used for alert purposes. Just type in the full name of any WAV file that is located in this folder, which is located at <My Documents>\Interactive Data\Sounds\ |
Consolidation Alert WAV File |
Input the file name of the WAV file to be used when an alert is generated specifically for a Consolidation formation. Only applies if Use Sound Alerts? is checked. The default value is CHIMES.WAV. eSignal provides a folder full of WAV files that can be used for alert purposes. Just type in the full name of any WAV file that is located in this folder, which is located at <My Documents>\Interactive Data\Sounds\ |
