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Log of Changes and Improvements to Sierra Chart

This list contains major items of development, and changes and additions which users need to be informed about.

This is not a comprehensive changes and additions log. And it should never be relied upon for such. It only represents a very small percentage of the actual development being performed every day. The vast majority of development is not documented here. Or receives, one small comment after it is all complete. There are not version notes for each version. The main Sierra Chart documentation is updated as needed relating to the changes and additions.

The maintenance of this page has mostly been abandoned by Sierra Chart development for many years due to the difficulty of maintaining it and because users can be incorrectly misled by or misinterpret notes that are made here. This does not change, the development of Sierra Chart which is very active every day and new releases are made nearly weekly or several times a week. The Sierra Chart project is still very active, with extensive development and it remains a very high quality software in the world. The engineering is at the very top of the world.

• 1466 Release Date: 2016-10-01

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  • The BitMEX service now supports automatically listing symbols through the Find Symbol window Get Symbols command.
  • Two digit years in future symbols are now supported when using the Gain Capital trading service when updating to this version. Symbols in charts and Quote Boards will be automatically converted.
  • Resolved some issues related to the new user interface for Service specific settings in Global Settings >> Data/Trade Service Settings.

• 1464 Release Date: 2016-09-24

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  • Universal support for converting Profit/Loss values to a common currency. The Currency field needs to be specified on a symbol in the Global Symbol Settings for this to work and also the common currency has to be specified in the Global Trade Settings.
  • Added new Bar Period Types: Unaligned Renko. Universal Renko (still under development and not properly implemented yet).
  • Added Divergence Detector study. Documentation will be added to Technical Studies Reference as soon as possible for this study.
  • The Global Profit/Loss Management feature now supports Trade Simulation Mode. It works independently for each trade account used by the opened charts or Trade DOMs.
  • The user interface for Service specific settings in Global Settings >> Data/Trade Service Settings has been redeveloped and improved upon. The ability to Load, Save and Delete saved Service settings currently is not supported but this will be implemented in about a week.

• 1462 Release Date: 2016-09-20

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  • The Trading: Market if Touched Order and Trading: Bid/Ask Quantity Triggered Stop Order now support modification of the order price by left clicking with your Pointer on the price level and dragging the price line up or down.
  • Enhancements to the Global Profit/Loss Management feature. This feature is also in the process of being updated to support simulated trading.
  • The second revision of 1462 corrects a problem where the CQG Trading platform service Server setting was not set correctly upon updating to this version.

• 1461 Release Date: 2016-09-14

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  • Added the order entry study: Trading: Bid/Ask Quantity Triggered Stop Order. Full source code for this is in the /ACS_Source/OrderEntryStudies.cpp provided file.
  • New option to hold market order from Flatten or Reverse action until working orders are confirmed canceled. For details, refer to: Hold Market Order Until Pending Cancel Orders Are Confirmed.
  • There is now a letter displayed after the Position Average Price on the Trade Window indicating if it is the Average Price provided by the external trading service (E). There is no letter if it is calculated by Sierra Chart from the order fills.

• 1459 Release Date: 2016-09-03

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  • New input added to High/Low for Time Period study.
  • Added support for the Microsoft Visual C++ compiler when building custom studies through Analysis >> Build Custom Studies DLL. The previously supported compiler is no longer supported. It is necessary to install the new Visual C++ compiler with the Install Compiler button on the Build Custom Studies DLL window.
  • Reviewed and revised the program code for Point and Figure bars set through Chart >> Chart Settings.

• 1457 Release Date: 2016-08-28

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  • Added a prompt when a chart is being referenced by another chart to clear that chart reference when the user tries to change the timeframe of a chart bar and that is not possible because of the reference.
  • When a TPO Profile period is greater than one day and the letter subperiod is less than one day, the letters will be based upon the time segment the subperiod is within the overall period and they will not be based strictly upon a 24-hour period.
  • Support for automatically changing CQG account password when this is required.
  • Historical Daily data is now loaded on a separate thread.
  • Chart trading is now supported in other chart regions that the main price graph is set to. This is set through Chart >> Chart Settings >> Regions >> Chart Region.

• 1455 Release Date: 2016-08-23

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  • Spreadsheet formula functions HLOOKUP and VLOOKUP have been fixed where the third parameter was off by 1. Any existing spreadsheet formulas using these functions need to be updated to pass in a value of 1 greater to continue to work as expected. For example: VLOOKUP(3, C1:E6, 1) should be changed to VLOOKUP(3, C1:E6, 2).
  • Text can now be added to an Arrow Chart Drawing on a chart by right clicking on the Arrow drawing and selecting Modify Text. This allows you to add text with an Arrow to point out something specific in a chart.
  • Improved handling of data errors when building the Volume at Price data for Historical Daily data. This will prevent Sierra Chart from freezing for an extended time when there are significant data errors in the Daily data.
  • Improved the Linear Regression End Channel study to support starting the lines in the current day using a starting Time only.
  • Added new study named Write Bar and Study Data to File.
  • Support for the new CTS order routing option with a lower per contract cost. More details will come shortly on this.

• 1453 Release Date: 2016-08-09

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  • Simple Alert formulas now support the ability to reference data beyond the last bar in the chart. This is useful for referencing the pullback data of the Numbers Bars Calculated Values study.
  • Corrected a problem from a recent release where Sierra Chart could freeze when displaying/selecting the Positions tab on the Trade Orders and Positions window.

• 1452 Release Date: 2016-08-07

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  • Corrected stock futures symbol parsing problem for Global Data Feeds.
  • Resolved the problem where when there is corrupted data received during a historical data download, an excessive number of messages were added to the Message Log causing Sierra Chart to freeze.
  • Added the option Global Settings >> Data/Trade Service Settings >> SC Server Settings >> Use Encryption for Historical Data Downloads, in an effort to to work around corrupted data downloads that some users are experiencing. We would like to hear from users who are having a problem with receiving corrupted data during a historical data download, if this option resolves the problem.
  • Corrected problem with the setting of Price Multipliers in Chart Settings for futures spread symbols from the Sierra Chart Exchange Data Feed.
  • Other development.

• 1448 Release Date: 2016-07-29

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  • Ask Volume and Bid Volume difference above and below the point of control is now calculated for the Volume by Price study and can be viewed through the Chart Values windows.
  • A new TPO Profile Chart study Input has been added to not include singles in TPO count calculation above and below the Point of Control.
  • For Intraday Continuous Futures Contract charts, the rollover Date-Time now follows the Session Times and no longer rolls over exactly at midnight unless the Session times use a 00:00:00 Start Time.
  • In recent versions, for non-simulated trading the Position Quantity field in the Trade Activity Log and the Flatten button on the Trade Positions Window was incorrectly using the order fill calculated Position rather than the Position data provided by the external Trading service. This is now resolved.

• 1446 Release Date: 2016-07-22

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  • Further enhancements and issues resolved with the new window tiling functionality on the Window menu.
  • The Clock - RealTime study now supports an AM/PM Input setting.
  • Various other low-level development and issues resolved.

• 1445 Release Date: 2016-07-14

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  • Corrected a problem from version 1427 where scanning of Historical Daily and Intraday charts was not functioning properly due to some changes in that version. This is now resolved.
  • Added Input Copy Column J From Formula Source Sheet to the Spreadsheet studies.
  • Basic cell range references and basic column range references are now supported by the INDIRECT Spreadsheet function.
  • Added the setting Draw Advanced Custom Study Drawings Above Other Drawings in Chart >> Chart Settings >> Advanced Settings .
  • Added the following menu commands:
    • Analysis >> Hide All Studies
    • Analysis >> Unhide All Studies

• 1444 Release Date: 2016-07-13

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  • Continued enhancements to the Market Depth Historical Graph feature.
  • Resolved issues with Symbol Settings and saving of trade orders. These were low-level issues which arose in version 1442 and 1443 relating to low-level internal changes.
  • Various other low-level development and issues resolved.

• 1441 Release Date: 2016-07-07

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  • Continued enhancements to the Market Depth Historical Graph feature.
  • Corrected a problem with the Relative Volume study which occurs when a new trading day begins in the chart during real-time updating or during a replay.
  • Corrected a problem where price multipliers for symbols that use a real-time multiplier were being incorrectly used for trading related messages when using the DTC Server in Sierra Chart.
  • Implemented new chart Tiling functions on the Window menu.
  • Various other low-level development and issues resolved.

• 1437 Release Date: 2016-06-30

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  • Corrected a significant problem from an earlier release with the storage of market depth data where full snapshots were getting saved every market depth update after the first 10 minutes of each hour. This was causing very large depth files. This problem is now resolved.
    
    This is a mandatory update and versions 1428 through 1436 will be locked out July 4. It is important to go to the /SierraChart/Data/MarketDepthData folder on your system and delete all of the existing depth files because they are excessively large and have unnecessary data in them.

• 1435 Release Date: 2016-06-29

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  • Continued enhancements to the Market Depth Historical Graph study.
  • Added new ACSIL functions: c_ACSILDepthBars* GetDepthBars(), c_ACSILDepthBars* GetDepthBarsFromChart(int ChartNumber), SaveChartImageToFileExtended(int ChartNumber, SCString &OutputPathAndFileName, int Width, int Height, int IncludeOverlays). Documentation for these will be added as soon as possible.
  • The Volume by Price study now supports the Display Underneath Main Price Graph study setting so its position can be fully controlled relative to other studies on the chart and the main price graph.
  • Corrected a problem where studies were not always getting fully calculated in Historical Charts under certain conditions. This problem arose from a recent release.
  • Various other low-level development and issues resolved.

• 1430 Release Date: 2016-06-19

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  • Added new Market Depth Historical Graph study which displays market depth data historically on the chart.
  • There is now support to store market depth data. Market depth data can be replayed both on a chart and on a Trade DOM and is accessible through ACSIL as well. For programmatically accessing the historical market depth data, refer to the c_ACSILDepthBars page.
  • The Number of Rows setting for the Spreadsheet studies now can be set as low as 2.
  • Various low-level improvements and issues resolved.

• 1425 Release Date: 2016-06-07

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  • Corrected an issue with the new Set As Independent Volume Profile for TPO Chart Volume by Price study Input setting.
  • Corrected an issue where Intraday data from the Sierra Chart Historical Data service was not being downloaded in time units less than 1 minute.
  • When replaying a chart, there is a new replay mode for calculating studies on every tick/trade.
  • Corrected small low-level issues.
  • In the next release, there are two new options for Rectangle Highlights: Center Text Vertically - When set the text is split from the top label and centered vertically within the highlight. Center Price Labels On Level - When set, the price labels (and potentially the text) are centered on the upper/lower highlight level. These are also supported from ACSIL in the s_UseTool structure.

• 1419 Release Date: 2016-05-27

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  • When using the Volume by Price study with the TPO Profile Chart study, all of the extension options for the Point of Control and Value Area are now supported with optional labels and they are all based upon volume profile calculations rather than TPOs.
  • Resolved a problem where you could receive an error about creating the Trade Manager. This has now been solved. It occurred from a recent release related to logging improvements for Trade Position data updates.
  • Other low-level development.

• 1416 Release Date: 2016-05-24

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  • The Message Log, Trade Service Log, Trade Orders Window, Trade Positions Window, and Alerts Manager, now use the following Global Settings >> Graphics Settings color settings: General Text Window Background Color and General Text Window Text Color.
  • Added a new Input Setting to the Volume by Price study named Set As Independent Volume Profile for TPO Chart which when set to Yes, allows single Volume Profiles to be added to TPO Profile charts which are independent of the individual TPO profiles.
  • A new Volume Graph Period Type has been added to the Volume by Price study named "Specified Volume" which creates profiles based on the specified volume set with the Volume per Profile for Specified Volume Input.
  • This was previously added but now is currently documented: New ACSIL functions for getting and setting persistent SCStrings have been added to ACSIL.
  • Restored the original date control to the Date and Time Input setting for studies.
  • Intraday file writing is now done on a background thread of execution.
  • Other low-level development and issues resolved.

• 1412 Release Date: 2016-05-14

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  • Added Time Series Forecast study.
  • Corrected an exception issue from the previous release related to downloading of user files like Chartbooks at startup.
  • The new Sierra Chart installer is now released.

• 1411 Release Date: 2016-05-12

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  • Various low-level improvements.
  • Sierra Chart now receives updated account information even while running. Therefore changes to your account like with usage time payments and the Sierra Chart Exchange Data Feed are automatically received by Sierra Chart. There is no longer a need to restart. In the case of when using custom studies from other sources which require authorization, those authorizations and any associated files are also received without restarting Sierra Chart.

• 1406 Release Date: 2016-05-06

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  • Corrected a problem with New Spreadsheets where when referencing data on a different Sheet within a Spreadsheetwindow and the data changes in the source sheet, the cell containing the reference does not update in the destination sheet.
  • Added a new Background Coloring Method: "Based On AskVol BidVol Diagonal Difference Percentage" in the Numbers Bars study.
  • Added Global Settings >> Set System Date-Time from Server.
  • The two Username and Password settings for CQG FIX Trading have been combined into one. There is now also a new CQG setting in Global Settings >> Data/Trade Service Settings: Connect to Market Data Server.

• 1401 Release Date: 2016-04-27

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  • Corrected a problem from a recent release with the Move to Breakeven for Stop functionality not being active for server-side bracket orders.
  • Now when using the Sierra Chart Exchange Data Feed with the lower-priced CME Group exchanges, it is only necessary to connect once a month to a live trading account. The other times you can connect to the SC Data - All Services and still receive the CME real-time data. For Interactive Brokers, added the option Global Settings >> Data/Trade Service Settings >> Trade Settings >> Perform Automatic Trading Account Check for SC Exchange Data Feed. When this is enabled, a connection to TWS will occur automatically as needed when using the SC Data - All Services service in order to receive the real-time CME data if using the lower-priced CME exchange fees.
  • Numbers Bars Calculated Values study has two new subgraphs: Diagonal Positive Delta Sum, Diagonal Negative Delta Sum
  • The Numbers Bars study has a new Text Type named Ask Bid Volume Difference Diagonal. Separate color coding for this type has not yet been implemented. It also does not support minimum and maximum highlighting.
  • Internal performance improvements with the handling of text strings.
  • File >> New Instance now works for Transact users.
  • The list of spread symbols returned when using Get Spreads on the Find Symbol window are now sorted.

• 1400 Release Date: 2016-04-23

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  • Corrected a problem with CQG Bid and Ask processing which occurred during some recent changes.
  • For the Spreadsheet System for Trading study added the following new Spreadsheet Sheet inputs to control the order quantity for Buy Exit and Sell Exit: Use Seperate Exit Order Quantity and Exit Order Quantity.

• 1399 Release Date: 2016-04-22

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  • Corrected a problem with Bid and Ask update processing for Interactive Brokers and Rithmic which arose due to some recent changes.
  • Corrected a problem from 1398 which was causing a protocol buffer error when using the CQG trading platform service. This arose because a new protocol buffer definition file was being used ahead of the release on the CQG Web API production server.

• 1397 Release Date: 2016-04-19

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  • Additional performance improvements with TPO Profile Charts. The most recent changes are not likely to make a noticeable difference.
  • Corrected a problem that arose in the prior pre-release causing an abnormal shutdown related to chart drawings from Advanced Custom Studies.
  • New Data Recording Suffix: -BID_ASK_TRADE_SYNC.

• 1395 Release Date: 2016-04-13

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  • Added Study Subgraph Daily High Low study. This study will draw lines at the highest high and lowest low of the Study Subgraph being referenced, incrementally throughout the day.
  • Added support for TPO Profile splitting when the Sub Period Price Display Style study Input is set to Horizontal Bars.
  • Additional performance improvements with TPO Profile Charts.

• 1394 Release Date: 2016-04-10

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  • Additional performance improvements with New Spreadsheets. The opening of Spreadsheets is now faster when a spreadsheet is opened by the Spreadsheet Study.
  • Finalized improvements to the TPO Profile Chart study scaling which now has much improved performance.
  • Various other low level improvements and additions.

• 1393 Release Date: 2016-04-05

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  • Reduced CPU usage for the TPO Profile Chart study. The way scaling is handled is different and more efficient. The automatic adjustment of the scale based upon the high to low range is not yet fully implemented in this release but the basic functionality works. There is also a new study Input named Sub Period Price Display Style. It can be any of the following: Blocks, Letters, Horizontal Bars. Horizontal Bars is limited with display functionality but it is very fast.