When I change the tracking data for a stock I often want to change the TRACKING DATE - usually to the current date. When I click on the little calendar icon, however, I often get a date from about 10 years ago, eg Feb 2003! Then I need many clicks to get back to the current month. Ugly!

Q1: How can I get directly to the current month??

Q2: How can I set the date format, eg to Year-Month-Day ?

Thank you!

Quote from ?Bruce: Example: An Indicator Formula for a 21 period Detrended Price Oscillator (DPO) can be written as follows.

C - AVGC21.12

Question: My understanding is that AVGC21.12 would give the SMA of Close for the period from 33 to 12 days ago. Is this correct?

I thought that DPO21 uses the Close for the date of calculation divided by the SMA for the period extending from 10 days earlier to 10 days later than the date of calculation. Therefore DPO21 can be displayed only up to 11 days ago.  

It occurred to me that you could shift the time by changing the "bars back" parameters. For example a formula for the slope of a 10-day log regression line would use parameters Log(C), Log(C1) ... up to Log(C9). This could be time-shifted by one month (21 bars) for example BY ADDING 21 TO EACH OF THESE PARAMETERS. The resulting formula would use Log(C21), Log(C22) ... up to Log(C30).

This would be easier if TC2000 allowed you to define a "constant" eg "D=21" for the time shift. Then the above formula could be written using something like Log(C.D), Log(C.D+1) ... up to Log(C.D+9). Thus you could change the time shift by merely changing the "D=21" constant.

Perhaps a better approach would be if TC2000 allowed the user to set a "Reference Date" to any date they want. Some systems - eg VectorVest - let you do this. Then you could run your scan unchanged at any date in the past.

Any comments or other ideas??

Hello: I have written a number of scans and would like to run them at specified dates, eg a month ago or a year ago. Is it possible to do this? My goal is to see how stocks that scanned well at a previous date have performed since then - sort of a backtest. Thank you!

As a new user, it took me a long time to figure out how to create and manage my custom formulas. I use Version 12.5 on a Mac via the web, and some features are rather different from what is described in the TC2000 12.4 User Guide (which I discovered by accident a week after I joined). Below are my notes, in the hope that they might help others.

Intro to Creating and Managing Formulas:

1. A formula can yield either a true /false (Boolean) result or a Numeric result.
2. In TC2000 a true /false (Boolean) formula is sometimes called a Condition, and a numeric formula may be called an Indicator or a condition. The terminology is not consistent and may create some confusion.
3. There are different ways you can create, access, edit and delete formulas. Some of these ways are described below, but see the Hint near the end!
4. Formulas can be created at New (top left). You can click on either Condition or Indicator but which you choose doesn't matter much. What does matter is whether its a Boolean or a Numeric formula and this over-rides your starting point. They cannot be edited here.
5. Formulas can also be created at the big green + (Add Plot) in front of the ticker at the top left of the chart area, under the Formulas tab.
6. Your numeric and boolean formulas can both be accessed at New EasyScan to add them to a scan. (Here, they are all called Conditions). For the numeric formulas, you need to specify min and max values. They cannot be edited here.
7. Your Numeric and Boolean formulas can be accessed via the big green + (Add Plot) window via the Formulas. This is intended to add them to your chart, but they can also be Edited and Deleted here. Note: A similar Add Plot window can be accessed at Library, but it provides access to only the Numeric formulas.
8. Your Boolean formulas (only) can be accessed at Library / Conditions under either All or My Formulas. They can also be Edited and Deleted here. (They are not displayed at My Conditions, which seems strange.)
9. Formulas can also be created at Library / Conditions by clicking New Condition Formula. Curiously they do not appear under the My Conditions tab! (although they appear under the All and the My Formulas tabs).
10. Hint: The big green “+” (Add Plot) / Formulas can be used to Create, Edit and Delete both Boolean and Numeric formulas. This is where I usually go to do anything with formulas.
11. When you click the Orange + to add a column to a scan result, your Booleans and Numerics are displayed in separate columns (My Conditions and My Indicators). This makes it easier to find your personal formulas.
12. If you Edit a formula, you need to add it again to any Scan that uses it. TC2000 copies the formula into each scan.
13. I prefix my formula names with k.bool or k.260.20 etc. to indicate their type. (The k is my initial.)
14. When you add a Plot with one of your custom indicators, the formula shows but not the name. I prefix each indicator with an ID code, eg 260.20, and put this in both the Name and in the Formula (followed by *0+). Can I get the name to show instead? There is No comment feature in the language.

As a new user, it took me a long time to figure out how to create and manage my custom formulas. I use Version 12.5 on a Mac via the web, and some features are rather different from what is described in the TC2000 12.4 User Guide (which I discovered by accident a week after I joined). Below are my notes, in the hope that they might help others.

Intro to Creating and Managing Formulas:

1. A formula can yield either a true /false (Boolean) result or a Numeric result.

2. In TC2000 a true /false (Boolean) formula is sometimes called a Condition, and a numeric formula may be called an Indicator or a condition. The terminology is not consistent and may create some confusion.

3. There are different ways you can create, access, edit and delete formulas. Some of these ways are described below, but see the “Hint” near the end!

4. Formulas can be created at “New” (top left). You can click on either Condition or Indicator but which you choose doesn't matter much. What does matter is whether its a Boolean or a Numeric formula and this over-rides your starting point. They cannot be edited here.

5. Formulas can also be created at the big green “+” (Add Plot) in front of the ticker at the top left of the chart area, under the “Formulas” tab.

6. Your numeric and boolean formulas can both be accessed at “New EasyScan” to add them to a scan. (Here, they are all called “Conditions”). For the numeric formulas, you need to specify min and max values. They cannot be edited here.

7. Your Numeric and Boolean formulas can be accessed via the big green “+” (Add Plot) window via the “Formulas”. This is intended to add them to your chart, but they can also be Edited and Deleted here. Note: A similar Add Plot window can be accessed at “Library”, but it provides access to only the Numeric formulas.

8. Your Boolean formulas (only) can be accessed at “Library” / “Conditions” under either All or My Formulas. They can also be Edited and Deleted here. (They are not displayed at My Conditions, which seems strange.)

9. Formulas can also be created at “Library” / “Conditions” by clicking New Condition Formula. Curiously they do not appear under the My Conditions tab! (although they appear under the All and the My Formulas tabs).

10. Hint: The big green “+” (Add Plot) / Formulas can be used to Create, Edit and Delete both Boolean and Numeric formulas. This is where I usually go to do anything with formulas.

11. When you click the Orange “+” to add a column to a scan result, your Booleans and Numerics are displayed in separate columns (My Conditions and My Indicators). This makes it easier to find your personal formulas.

12. If you Edit a formula, you need to add it again to any Scan that uses it. TC2000 copies the formula into each scan.

13. I prefix my formula names with k.bool or k.260.20 etc. to indicate their type. (The “k” is my initial.)

14. When you add a Plot with one of your custom indicators, the formula shows but not the name. I prefix each indicator with an ID code, eg “260.20”, and put this in both the Name and in the Formula (followed by *0+). Can I get the name to show instead? There is No comment feature in the language.

TC2000 has an elaborate Notes system, with lots of "bells and whistles". What I would like, however, is a SIMPLE NOTE feature, like MorningStar offers in its Portfolios. I.e. a text field that the user could add to each stock in a Watchlist. This text field could be added along with the other TRACKING values.

Why do I want this? To keep track of various investment accounts, classes of investments, and ideas. If I could add a SIMPLE NOTE to each Stock in a Watchlist, I could do all these things!

With the current system, when I display My Notes as a watchlist column it displays the date of my most recent note, but having the actual text of a simple note would be wonderful.

My workaround at present is to format the "Tracking # Shares" as a 3-digit number AAN, where AA indicates which account the stock is in and N indicates Buy /Watch /Sell /Sold etc. Unfortunately this prevents me from using "Tracking Gain /Loss" in a meaningful way.

This should be an easy feature to add, eg as a "Tracking Comment" field separate from the existing My Notes feature. Users could enter and edit this field along with the other tracking values. Simple!

Please consider adding a feature like this - you would make a lot of users happy!