hey carl..... most lists can be transformed into sym files following a couple steps..... first the list must be in plain text form with the name first then a comma and lastly the ticker..... excel helps......save that as a .sym file..... so your name might be similar to "ibd 100.sym " without the quotations..... place that file in your downloader folder..... then use it to create the list..... the first time goes slow, or at least did for me, but soon you'll be a pro...... some examples..... save target as ........h

Thanks Storkbite and hayseed for the help. I opened up Excel and copied column C to notepad, saved it as a text file in E:/programfiles/metastock/downloader. Then went in and changed it to IBD100.sym. When I open up the downloader and go to file: new: security: lookup, I don't see my folder. Can you tell me what I'm doing wrong ? I guess I need a class on this downloader because I'm just not getting it for some reason. Thanks again for all your help. Carl

Storkbite, I get the IBD in Excel format off the website. The Column C just has the ticker symbols so my text file is just the list of the ticker symbols, there is no comma's, and the ticker is not on there twice. I also have Metastock Pro 9.2 version if that makes a difference. Should I type in the ticker twice with the commas or should I copy the name and the ticker with the commas. I'm sure that it is in the right path but no files in the downloader have the .sym on the end. When I installed the program it put a metastock data file in the E:/ directory but I put my file in the E:/program files/metastock/downloader. Thanks for your time, Carl

If you are in the right directory, you will see 'dlwin.exe', 'dlwin.hlp', and an assortment of DTA files... Another way... Ok, you have the right directory, then copy the attached DTA file to that directory and edit it with notepad in the format you choose. Then click SAVE and YES to overwrite the original file. Hayseed is exactly right, your list might be abbreviated to nothing but symbols and the Downloader will ignore the blanks. Oops, shoulda mentioned that one first. By far the easiest solution though is to use the Excvel macro I gave you above and change the directory. From then on you won't have to worry about the individual steps. I use the XLS files straight from their website too. It's worked for me for years.

Equis used to set up DataLink accounts free for QC users. I'm not sure that option it still exists. You'd need to call sales and ask.

:oops: I thought that the '_test' suffix might suffice... didn't pass the hayseed test though. :P

Step 1: When you have the sym file in the correct format and located in the Downloader folder, start the Downloader and press Ctrl-N to bring up the NEW SECURITY dialog. Select the folder where you want to store the IBD100 securities, then press 'Look-up' button to bring up the SYMBOL DATABASE dialog. In the 'Type' dropdown box, select your sym file... this will list all of your symbols in the box below. Press 'Select All' and then OK. >> Make sure that the 'First Date' is as far back as you want to go. << and press OK.

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Step 2: When you have the Downloader running, press Ctrl-D to bring up the SELECT SECURITIES dialog. Select your symbols and press OK to bring up the VENDOR SELECTION dialog. >> Make sure that the 'Ending Date' is set to the current date... i.e., today's date. << and press OK. This will start the symbol update process.

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If you'd prefer to try to salvage what you have, you can try to adjust the Start and End times. In the Downloader, select TOOLS | ADJUST | START & END TIMES.

Hi Carl- Yes, the Downloader will update whatever symbols are in your IBD folder when you run it. If you decide to update your IBD list weekly, you will need to consider that the symbol list will probably not be exactly the same from one week to the next. I originally assumed they would be, but they're not. Aside from ranking changes, some symbols might drop off the list altogether and new ones will be added. For this reason, I create a new folder for each IBD update that I get. It makes for a lot of symbols to d/l, but I like to test my systems on them all. If one folder happens to exceed another in testing, I'll focus more on the differences in composition at that time. You're right... there is a ton of things that MS can do. Every time I get comfortable, I'll start reading Hayseed's tips and tricks and realize that I'm nowhere near the end of the rainbow. :)

[list:edb2ef77d1][*:edb2ef77d1]Are you sure you have the right path to the Downloader? It should be off of the Equis directory by default... \\\\Program Files\\Equis\ he DownLoader [*:edb2ef77d1]Also, make sure that your file isn't 'IBD100.sym.txt'. That's another pitfall. If so, just rename the file and strip off the ".txt". [*:edb2ef77d1]Make sure your sym file is correctly formatted and contains only valid symbols (you can check the validity using your dataondemand feature).[/list:u:edb2ef77d1] Open the Downloader and then select FILE | NEW | SECURITY. From this dialog box, select LOOKUP. Select the dropdown listbox labeled "Type". In it, you will find your sym file. e.g., IBD100_06262006.sym. Select your sym list to populate the securities that it contains in the listbox below it. Move over to the buttons on the right side of the screen and choose SELECT ALL | OK. This will bring you back to the New Security dialog box. Make sure that your first date and periodicity are what you desire. Finally, select OK to finish. Note: you can also select CREATE if you have other symbols to create aside from this current list. Open the Downloader and then select FILE | NEW | SECURITY. From this dialog box, you can create new directories to hold different lists. Just type the desired directory name into the first line labeled "Folder". If it doesn't exist, DL will create it for you. See above. In addition, when you select TOOLS | DOWNLOAD (or Ctrl-D), you will need to point the DL to the new folder that you want to update. Select the folder where you just created the securities from the treeview on the left side of the screen and choose ADD to put it into the Folders tab on the right side of the screen. When you select OK, a Vendor Selection dialog will appear. Make sure that you have the desired ENDING DATE listed. You'll probably want it to be whatever the current date is. Finally, select OK and you should be set.

hey carl.... was wondering what your refering to here, they are not smart charts ..... and how are you determining they are not smart charts..... is the chart plain or something.... if so you might need to replace your default template.... if your opening a chart from your local data folder, c:\\metastock data\\IBD100, the second the chart opens , that instant, a smart chart is created if one has not already been created prior..... if the chart has never been opened before it should open in the default template style..... unless you specificaly choose the option "open with template", where you prechoose a template to open with....... changes are automaticaly saved in the associated security's smart chart file.... you can save charts outside the metastock data folder.... if any changes are made to them while open, when you atempt to close the chart meta will always ask whether or not to save changes..... h