Downloading Data and Creating a Chart Window

In this short section we look at loading a price chart including what happens for the first time.

Create a Chart Window

If you have not yet added any symbols in the QuoteManager see MultiCharts – Data Feed and Broker Connection

Now we have added some symbols in the QuoteManager we can create a price chart.  To do this click the “Create New Chart Window” button in the toolbar as shown in the image below. 

“Create New Chart Window” Button

Then from the drop down select your Data Source and find the instrument from the list which you added previously in the QuoteManager.

Before clicking “OK” click on the “settings” tab.  Here’s where you can choose the chart resolution and date range.

Choose 60 minute or 1 hour for example. And then choose your desired date range.

Important:  In this window make sure “Sessions” is set to Default and “Time Zone” is set to Exchange.  

This is the most common reason why people have problems replicating my strategies.  They use Local time or change the session.  By keeping the settings Default and Exchange time zone, the timestamps on the chart will be set to EST New York time.

Instrument Settings

In the 3rd Tab “Style” you can change the style of the chart from bar type to custom colours etc.

When you are ready hit “OK” to open the chart.

Downloading Price Data

The first time you create a chart for each instrument, MultiCharts has to download the data from the data feed.  This will show up as “backfilling” when the chart opens.

Backfilling Price Data

It doesn’t matter what resolution or time frame you have selected as MultiCharts downloads the data in tick or minute format and then builds the desired resolution bar on your request.

Don’t think that you have to download Daily bars, Hourly bars etc all individually.

MultiCharts will download price data according to the date range which you select.  Note that if you select 1st Jan 2002 – present day and the data feed only provides data back to 1st Jan 2008, you won’t get an error but you will only get the maximum data available from the data feed.

I have personally used 3 different Forex data feeds; Oanda, LMAX and Interactive Brokers.  I can say that Oanda by far has the slowest download rate.  This can be very timely.  But once MultiCharts has downloaded the data it saves the data locally to your PC when you shut down MultiCharts.

Note:  When you close MultiCharts do not immediately shut down your PC as within a few seconds MultiCharts will start saving data.  Saving the data only takes a few seconds and is visible in the pop up window.  Once that is done it is safe to shut down your PC.

Next time you open MultiCharts and pull up a chart it will load the chart within seconds from the saved data.

As said above, if this is the first time opening a chart for the instrument it will take a while to backfill / download data otherwise the chart will appear in a few seconds.

Now you have data for the desired instrument, you can start testing a trading strategy.  
Backtesting is covered in the section Backtesting a Trading Strategy

MultiCharts User Guide Index:

MultiCharts – Data Feed and Broker Connection

MultiCharts – Creating a Price Chart

MultiCharts – Backtesting a Trading Strategy

MultiCharts – Automated Trading

MultiCharts – Programming a Trading Strategy