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Date/Time: Fri, 22 Nov 2024 17:57:19 +0000



Savings charts to images for manual back testing

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[2024-09-29 09:40:15]
User813832 - Posts: 7
Hi,

I just have this idea which I have always wanted on other platforms I have used but never found anything even close to, but seeing as Sierra Charts is the best platform I have used and has so much functionality (I do not know about) I am wondering if I can so this or something similar.

For a long time, when I want to manually backtest, I have to select a range (based on dates, market regime or the presence of a setup) then painstakingly screenshot all the charts, save them, and then study them. Sometimes when I study these things I study hundreds of charts and it takes hours sometimes to manually screen capture and save all of these charts. So before I do any study there can be hours of prep just saving lots of images.

Does SC offer any functionality to make this process quicker? For example, can you save charts within a certain range (time or date) as images automatically? For example, if I could pick a certain date period and then save all the configured sessions automatically.

The closest thing I have found to this on the SC Support is this threat (Automate Chart Image Export) but I was not a particularly long thread and I am not sure it does exactly what I am asking.

I know about Edit > Screen Images - which is a step up in fuctionality on most platforms but I am wondering if it can be automated even further?

Thanks
[2024-09-29 13:34:33]
ticinotrader - Posts: 391
Not sure if this is what you are looking for, but you can simply use an external screen capture application and automate its functions:

On Linux, there are many (Ksnip, Flameshot, etc).
On Windows, Greenshot or the most powerful is Sharex (getsharex.com) > recommended (see below).

All these applications allow you to
- assign keyboard hotkeys to certain screenshot functions (no need to use the mouse or click through menus)
- automatically save the screenshot to a preset folder (or upload to FTP, etc) using a filename pattern (can be set to anything and autoincrements are allowed), and automatically create the directories based on the date/time structure, etc - all without manual intervention (other than pressing a hotkey on the keyboard).

This alone can significantly reduce the time you spend saving images.

Sharex also has a 'timer' function that allows you to save screenshots of a preset region or the entire screen at regular intervals, so you can automate the whole process and can select an interval suitable for bar-by-bar or preset interval based backtesting.

All these apps have the option to save files to multiple different locations or publish them somewhere + copy the screenshot to the clipboard, so pasting it into other applications (notes) is just takes using CTRL+V

There are SC plugins (studies) for similar functions, but they are 3rd party studies and usually have some limitations.
One free I know of is SimpleSystemTrading's screenshot study, that automatically can take a shot when you open a position and when it closes - can also be helpful if you execute trades during backtesting.

Hope this helps.
Regards,
tt
Date Time Of Last Edit: 2024-09-29 13:38:33
image20240929_152214.png / V - Attached On 2024-09-29 13:38:28 UTC - Size: 45.92 KB - 27 views
[2024-09-30 13:50:47]
John - SC Support - Posts: 36222
There is an option with Alerts now where you can get a screenshot when an alert condition is met. Refer to the following and the item below it:
General Settings Window: Capture Chart Image on Alert for Chart (Global Settings >> General Settings >> Alerts >> Alert Settings)
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