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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.

• 1332 Release Date: 2015-12-01

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  • The OHLC Ray Drawing Tool will allow a different color/style/width for the Open/High/Low/Close levels.
  • Ongoing enhancements to the Find Symbol Window to improve getting spread symbols from the remote server and also perform searches for stock symbols. This functionality is still under development. At the moment, it is not possible to get spread symbols when using the CTS T4 trading service or to search for symbols when using TeleTrader. These limitations will be removed with a new release later today.

• 1331 Release Date: 2015-11-30

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  • For the Ellipse drawing tool a new option has been added: Second Point Is Radius. This option combined with the First Point Is Center option now allow for the easy drawing of a circle from the center to the radius.
  • Added new study named Cumulative Adjusted Value which accumulates a bias adjusted input. This can be used to form the Adjusted Cumulative Tick when applied to a TICK-NYSE chart.
  • Low-level improvements to the Time Line study. Corrected a problem arising in a recent release with the Time Line study.
  • Improved the determination of the symbol for a Trade Order and Trade Position when using the Interactive Brokers trading service. Additionally, we have determined that this cannot be done reliably for historical order fills from Interactive Brokers. So there is unreliable matching of historical order fills which are downloaded from TWS, to a particular symbol.
  • Added support for simulated trading using the DTC Protocol Server and also for the new ACSIL functionality for trading a symbol and/or account different than the chart the automated trading study is applied to.
  • Added new study Subgraph Draw Styles named Fill Rect To Zero and Trans. Fill Rect To Zero.
  • Improvements to the File Open/Save window used for opening chart data files, Chartbooks, and Spreadsheets.
  • Corrected a problem from a recent release where market data requests for real-time data for stocks were not being routed correctly when using the Sierra Chart Exchange Data Feed. The result of this is that real-time market data updates would not be received for stocks. This is now resolved. This issue only applied to the Sierra Chart Exchange Data Feed and when using the US Equities or BATS exchanges.

• 1329 Release Date: 2015-11-20

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  • Corrected a problem with the symbol formatting for Trade Positions data for 2016 futures symbols when using the Interactive Brokers Trading service. For complete details, refer to this Support Board thread. This is an important update for Interactive Brokers users.

• 1328 Release Date: 2015-11-18

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  • Added the Spreadsheet function MOSTRECENTNONZEROVALUE.
  • Ensured that after connecting to the data feed, that the ACSIL variable sc.DownloadingHistoricalData is set to 1 before the chart studies are calculated when a Intraday chart has to download data. This ensures that automated trading does not take place until after the new data has been downloaded in the chart. Also corrected an apparent but probably insignificant problem with the updating of the Numbers Bars Pullback data which should not be done during a historical data download.
  • The Control Bar / ToolBar can now be attached to a Trade DOM window through the Window >> ToolBars >> ToolBar 1-8. You can add the Watchlist control item to the Control Bar for easily changing the symbol on a Trade DOM.
  • Added the following new ACSIL members:
    • sc.LoadChartDataByDateRange
    • sc.ChartDataStartDate
    • sc.ChartDataEndDate
  • The Load Weekend Data Chart Settings option now again considers the actual trading day date of a chart bar. If the trading day date is in the next day based upon the Session Times, and this day is not a Saturday or Sunday it will still be loaded in the chart even if the bar starts on a Sunday.
  • Added rectangle around Date-Time box displayed on the timescale when using the Chart Values tool.

• 1324 Release Date: 2015-11-11

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  • Can now control the first Date and Time of order fills to load in a chart or Trade DOM when it is maintaining a Trades list. This is very useful for the Order Fill Calculated Trade Position data feature to start calculating the Trade Position data from a specific Date-Time. This setting is in Chart >> Chart Settings >> Trading.
  • Corrected another problem from a recent release with historical data downloading for some symbols when using the SC Historical Data Service. This arose with support for the new SC Data - All Services service.
  • Corrected a problem with the interpretation of the Symbol from the Trade Position data from Interactive Brokers to allow for differences with the Currency and Multiplier for some future symbols like the DAX.
  • For the Spreadsheet System for Alert study and the Spreadsheet System for Trading study, added a new option to the Column K-Z Alert inputs named "Alert Disabled". When this is selected, the formula column will not generate an alert sound or add a message to the Window >> Alerts Manager >> Alerts Log.
  • The coloring of the Profit/Loss Column on the Chart/Trade DOM has been changed. By default, the numbers use the coloring of the values scale. When a Position has a profit, only those profit values are colored from the entry price to the level of the current price. When a Position has a loss, only those loss values are colored from the entry price to the level of the current price.
  • Added support in ACSIL for submitting orders using unmanaged automated trading that are for a different Symbol and/or Trade Account than the chart the trading study is applied to. The documentation is being worked on and will be located here.
  • Corrected a low-level problem associated with the System Notification message that possibly could cause under some conditions an exception. Corrected a problem when selecting Study Collections from the main menu when there are detached charts and there are no charts open in the main MDI window.

• 1322 Release Date: 2015-11-07

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  • Corrected some issues arising from recent changes to unify data services into a single service which caused some data feed connections to not be made to some services and causing historical Daily data downloads to not occur.

• 1319 Release Date: 2015-11-05

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  • Removal of "Replay/BackTest" and "All Simulated" order activity sources. This was actually done earlier but was not previously mentioned.
  • Support for Ninja Trader brokerage using Rithmic has been added back.
  • Working on support for trading a Symbol and Trade Account different from the chart the trading study is on, when using ACSIL. This is still under development and not yet available.
  • Fixed an issue with the Horizontal Grid spacing.
  • Bitcoin data can now be accessed at the same time when using the SC Forex data and other services.
  • Added an option in Global Settings >> General Settings to enable and disable logging of Continuous Futures Contract Chart messages to the Message Log. The default setting is disabled. This greatly reduces the messages added when the option is disabled. Now that the Continuous Futures Contract feature has reached a stable state, this logging is no longer necessary by default.
  • Changes to Interactive Brokers Trading service Position handling for Financial Advisor accounts. Sierra Chart now uses the same model as normal IB accounts. Based on user feedback, this resolves problems with Position reporting for Financial Advisor accounts.

• 1316 Release Date: 2015-10-26

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  • Corrected some low-level issues with the updating of controls on the Trade Window related to recent changes to support Trade Window linking.
  • Removed unnecessary logging related to HTTP communication.
  • Continued development to support the Chart >> Chart Settings >> Invert Prices option. This option is still not yet fully implemented.

• 1314 Release Date: 2015-10-22

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  • Corrected a problem with the OEC Trading service where the Target and Stop Attached Orders which are pending the parent order fill, could not be modified. We had incorrectly thought that this was a limitation of OEC FIX when in fact because the status of the Attached Orders were "Pending Open", Sierra Chart never processed the modification and delayed it until the parent order filled. More testing is now being performed on this functionality. Update: The testing is now complete and server-side bracket orders with OEC are now considered to be working properly and reliable in this version.
  • Performed testing of the Trading related messages in the DTC Protocol Server. Corrected some issues found. More testing and analysis is needed of the Trading related messages.
  • Added an option to require authentication when connecting to the DTC Protocol Server. This requires the same Sierra Chart Account Name and Password which was used to log into Sierra Chart.
  • Corrected a problem with the Draw Volume Profile Tool Configuration (opened with Global Settings >> Tool Configs >> Draw Volume Profile ) where the selected Study Collection was not applying when drawing a volume profile on the chart.
  • Previously historical and real-time volume data for stocks when using the Interactive Brokers Trading service was being multiplied by 100. This volume multiplication has now been removed.

• 1313 Release Date: 2015-10-19

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  • Improved handling when encountering an Interactive Brokers "Pacing Violation" historical data error. The historical data request which encountered this error will be retried on a delay. There should no longer be problems with missing data.
  • The Ellipse drawing tool has a new configuration option First Point Is Center. When this is set, the center can be placed first, and the second point will determine the bounds.
  • Improved the feature to add time and sales records to Intraday data files at the time a historical Intraday data download is complete to ensure there is no missed data.
  • Old Spreadsheets have been removed from Sierra Chart. Sierra Chart only supports New Spreadsheets at this time.
  • Added an Output Debugging Messages option for the Interactive Brokers trading service.
  • Removed the stock data multiplier for historical and real-time data when using the Interactive Brokers Trading service.
  • Continued development for supporting Trading messages in the DTC Protocol Server.
  • Partially have implemented support for the Invert Prices option in Chart Settings.
  • Removed the Trade >> Simulation Fills Source menu options.
  • Various low-level improvements and issues resolved.

• 1309 Release Date: 2015-10-13

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  • Corrected a problem with the Volume by Price study involving update calculations which may not have caused a full recalculation for some types of Volume Profiles when there should have been.
  • TransAct bridge program has been updated.
  • Corrected a problem arising from a recent release with the TD Ameritrade service where the current day historical Intraday data was not being received from the TD Ameritrade server.
  • Full trading support has been added to the DTC Protocol Server. However, this has not yet been tested and must not be used with a live trading account until testing is complete! By default, Trading support from the DTC Protocol server is disabled for all users.
  • Corrected some issues with the Zig Zag study when Reset Zig Zag at Start of Trading Day is set to Yes.

• 1308 Release Date: 2015-10-10

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  • Added cumulative/running sum calculation mode options to the Bid & Ask Depth Bars study.
  • Other low-level development and issues resolved.

• 1307 Release Date: 2015-10-08

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  • Corrected a problem arising in a version near 1296 where Spreadsheet >> Add Sheet was not adding a new sheet to the active Spreadsheet window.
  • When using Trade Window linking, changing the Trade Account on a Trade Window will update the Trade Windows for other charts.
  • Added an ACS Safe Mode option to the Login window. When this option is enabled during the Login process, Advanced Custom Study DLL files will not be downloaded, if your account is been set to download those files, and third-party Advanced Custom Studies other than User Contributed Studies, will not be loaded on the charts. Therefore, if an Advanced Custom Study is causing an abnormal problem in Sierra Chart, this is an easy way to remove the effects of those studies.
  • In the second revision of 1307, we corrected a problem that developed recently where a chart could continuously reload. This related to a changing Tick Size setting.

• 1306 Release Date: 2015-10-06

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  • Corrected a problem with the downloading of historical Daily data when using CQG which began in version 1301. The historical data requests were going to CQG when they should not have. This would result in a blank historical Daily charts or they would not update with recent bars. This is now corrected.
  • Updated the study Inputs for the Volume Weighted Average Price studies to use 4 separate Inputs for the Band Multipliers and Fixed offsets.
  • Spreadsheet Sort capability has been added for New Spreadsheets.
  • Continuing work on the DTC Protocol server in Sierra Chart.

• 1303 Release Date: 2015-10-02

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  • Use Separate Market Data Connection and Use Separate Historical Data Connection are now fully supported for the Global Settings >> Data/Trade Service Settings >> Service >> DTC Service.
  • Corrected a problem with the Volume Weighted Average Price calculation in the Volume by Price study.
  • Corrected a problem with the writing of negative numbers to Historical Daily data files. If you are using Historical charts and negative numbers are used, you will need to re-download data in the chart after updating, by selecting Edit >> Delete All Data and Download.
  • It is now supported to customize a ToolBar/Control Bar button caption, description, color and image. This can be done by selecting the button through Global Settings >> Customize Toolbars >> ToolBar # >> [select button in Selected ToolBar Commands] >> Properties.

• 1301 Release Date: 2015-09-30

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  • Added support for downloading historical price data from the CQG FIX Trading and CQG Web API services for symbols that Sierra Chart does not have historical price data support for. This would include less common futures markets and spread symbols.
  • Corrected a problem from a recent release with the table view in the Chart Values Windows where the columns would be too wide.
  • Added Volume Weighted Average Price support in the Volume by Price study. This is a new Subgraph which can be optionally displayed.

• 1299 Release Date: 2015-09-24

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  • The Chart Drawing type DRAWING_GANNGRID is now supported with the ACSIL sc.UseTool function. Also, there is a new example study showing the use of the Gann Grid: "UseTool Example: GannGrid" which is in scsf_UseToolExampleGannGrid function in the /ACS_Source/studies.cpp file.
  • It is now supported to select Chart Drawings with different symbols when using the Adjust command in the Manage Chart Drawings Window. All selected drawings will be adjusted by the same amount.
  • New options for the Chart Values tool in Global Settings >> Tool Settings >> Chart Values. The Chart Values Tool Settings documentation will be updated shortly.
  • The Chart Replay functionality now supports accurate stepping through chart bars. Refer to Stepping through Chart Bars One by One.
  • Added new draw style named Line at Last Bar to Edge for Study Subgraphs. Description: The Line at Last Bar to Edge Draw Style draws a horizontal line from the last displayed chart column to the left edge of the right side Values Scale. The purpose of this particular Draw Style is to draw only the current value of a study Subgraph. You can optionally enable the Subgraph Name and Value Labels if you require.
  • Resolved some issues with the recent changes with the Trade Window to support linking of Trade Windows. One issue was that a negative number could not be used for the Breakeven (BE) Level Offset setting.

• 1296 Release Date: 2015-09-13

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  • Due to recent changes with historical data downloading, and the new HTTP functionality, 3 different historical data downloading issues have arisen. These have all now been solved. Under usual cases, users will not have encountered these issues. They were less common scenarios. One issue was when using IQ Feed and TeleTrader, another issue involved invalid symbols when downloading from the Barchart historical data server, and another issue was when a download had to be retried, it did not occur. One of the issues was serious which could cause Sierra Chart to freeze.

• 1293 Release Date: 2015-09-08

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  • Corrected a problem with the Intraday Data File Management function which compresses Intraday files. For single tick records, which contain bid and ask data, these were not being properly recognized and the bid and ask data was included in the compression and the record Open value remained at 0. This problem is now solved. However, if you have used this feature in the past, we recommend re-downloading the historical Intraday data in your Intraday charts because the data is not 100% technically correct after the compression.
  • Corrected a problem where the Display Study Documentation in the Analysis >> Studies >> Add Custom Study window was not working properly and was causing an exception.
  • Added various new studies to the User Contributed Studies file.
  • Corrected some issues related to support for futures spreads from the Sierra Chart Exchange Data Feed.

• 1292 Release Date: 2015-09-05

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  • Corrected a problem from version 1291 where the market depth quantities were not properly aligned to the prices that they are for.
  • Continued development of the DTC Protocol Server. Market data is fully supported now. The server can be enabled through Global Settings >> Data/Trade Service Settings >> SC Server Settings >> DTC Protocol Server.
  • Implemented Quote Line fields in Quote Spreadsheets which were not previously implemented.
  • Window >> Cascade, Tile Horizontally, Tile Vertically now arrange MDI child windows in the same order as they appear in the Windows and Chartbooks window, which is also the same order as the tabs on the Chartbook.
  • Removed the use of the Microsoft Windows HTTP functions. All HTTP communication now uses Sierra Chart developed HTTP functionality.
  • Corrected a problem from a recent release where there would be continuous messages added to the Message Log related to SSL and HTTP.
  • Corrected a problem from a recent release where a freeze would occur when there is a login error at the main Sierra Chart login window.
  • Various other undocumented small development and issues resolved.

• 1288 Release Date: 2015-08-27

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  • The Vertical Line Tool has new option called Vertical Text. From ACSIL, the s_UseTool struct also has a new member called VerticalText, which applies to Vertical Line drawings.

• 1287 Release Date: 2015-08-24

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  • Added Google Protocol Buffer encoding support in the DTC Protocol.
  • Reorganized and added new Chart Values tool options. These are in Global Settings >> Tool Settings >> Chart Values.
  • Significant performance improvements with the Volume by Price study have been made when using single Volume Profiles like manually drawn profiles.
  • A separate font setting for the Compact Tool Values window in Global Settings >> Graphics Settings >> Fonts has been added.
  • Notice: The Sierra Chart Relay Server now uses DTC protocol version 7. With the removal of the Fundamental Data messages from the DTC Protocol, there is now a breaking structure change to the s_SecurityDefinitionResponse data structure. This will require changes to any code that uses the relay server. For the current structure, refer to the /DTC/DTCProtocol.h file.

• 1285 Release Date: 2015-08-18

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  • Added support to access SC Forex Data when using any of the other supported Data and Trading services. The symbols are listed in File >> Find Symbol under the categories CFD and Forex. This symbol listings may not be up-to-date until the end of the day on 2015-08-18.
  • Corrected a problem with the new Control Bar with setting the focus to the last active window. The timing of this has been changed. Previously when pressing the TOP Control Bar button to open the Trade Orders and Positions window, it would not become visible. This is now solved.
  • Implementing a new DTC Protocol Server in Sierra Chart.
  • Continued Control Bar improvements.
  • Improvements to the Trade Window. Trade Windows can now be linked between charts. This is set through Chart >> Chart Settings >> Linking >> Chart Linking.

• 1282 Release Date: 2015-08-08

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  • Continued improvements and development with the new Control Bar. For complete details about this and alternatives to the old Status Bar, refer to this Support Board thread. Refer to this Support Board post for complete instructions to set up the Compact Tool Values window to be equivalent to the old Status Bar.
  • Renamed the ACSIL function sc.GetOrderFillSize to sc.GetOrderFillArraySize.

• 1281 Release Date: 2015-08-05

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  • Corrected a problem where when using a data recording suffix like -BID with an Intraday chart, historical Intraday data would be continuously downloaded over and over again. This is a critical update if you are using these data recording suffixes.
  • Added new order line color settings for child orders. These are set through Global Settings >> Graphics Settings.
  • Corrected another problem with the positioning of the Compact Tool Values Window when it is saved for each individual chart, when a chart is moved and when using the option to automatically hide the title bar and scrollbar for charts.
  • For the Trading Loss Management feature in Trade >> Global Profit/Loss Management , the Loss Trigger Value now needs to be a negative number. A zero or positive number will disable this feature.

• 1280 Release Date: 2015-08-01

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  • Added support to track Positions using the internal Trade Position data for OEC exchange traded spread/strategy symbols. OEC only reports the Positions for the individual parts of the spread/strategy but not the spread/strategy symbol itself. With this new feature you will see the Trade Position reported for the spread/strategy symbol, on the Trade Window for the chart.
  • Corrected a problem with the positioning of the Compact Tool Values Window when it is saved for each individual chart, when a chart is moved.
  • Added a new feature in Trade >> Global Profit/Loss Management to flatten all current Trade Positions when a certain Daily Loss is reached among the open charts and Trade DOMs. This only works for non-simulated trading.
  • Continued improvements with the new Control Bar.

• 1276 Release Date: 2015-07-23

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  • Completed the main development on the new Control Bar.
  • Corrected a problem with New Spreadsheets where a Reference (#REF!) error would be given under certain conditions related to an incorrect determination of a circular reference. This is now solved.
  • Enhancements to automated trade logging to precisely identify the source of order cancel and position flatten operations.
  • Various improvements to the new Control bar and fixed some issues related to it.
  • Corrected an issue with chart printing where the chart would be small and not occupy the entire page.
  • Corrected a problem with User Contributed studies which under some conditions would cause a freeze of Sierra Chart when pressing the Add Custom Study button in the Chart Studies window.

• 1270 Release Date: 2015-07-10

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  • On the QuoteBoard Alerts menu, there is a new command: Alert Num For New High/Low. This menu item is appended with either None or the Alert Number to be used. When this command is selected, an Alert Number can be entered. When there is a new High or Low for a symbol on the Quote Board and the Alert Number is nonzero, then an alert is triggered using this Alert Number.
  • Released support for the new Control Bar which contains ToolBar buttons, a Status Bar and a Watch List. This feature is still under active development and currently has some limitations. The old Status Bar has been removed. For complete details about this and alternatives to the old Status Bar, refer to this Support Board posting.
  • The DRAWING_REWARD_RISK now can be used from ACSIL. For an example function which demonstrates its use, refer to the scsf_UseToolExampleRewardRisk() function in the /ACS_Source/Studies.cpp file. The Reward/Risk drawing is a rather complex drawing to add due to the number of options. The example lays out all of the options and documents what they do. The example should be used to understand how to add a DRAWING_REWARD_RISK drawing.
  • Low-level improvements to the Continuous Futures Contract feature related to the recent improvements with this feature.

• 1269 Release Date: 2015-07-10

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  • Added support for out of order order fills when using the TransAct trading service. This ensures that when this condition occurs, that Attached Orders will have the same quantity as the parent order.
  • Corrected a condition where there could be continuous historical Intraday data downloading for a Continuous Futures Contract chart when insufficient data is returned from the server.

• 1268 Release Date: 2015-07-07

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  • Added the ability to configure keyboard shortcuts for TPO Chart commands through Global Settings >> Customize Keyboard Shortcuts. When keyboard shortcuts are configured, the TPO Profiles can be selected with the left click of the pointer on the TPO Profile. The TPO command invoked with the keyboard shortcut will then apply to the selected TPO Profile, if that command is profile specific.
  • Added a new input to the Trade Management by Study study named: Only Modify Stops In One Direction.
  • Added a new input to the Auto Retracement/Projection study named: Round to Nearest Tick Size.
  • Added new study: Adaptive RSI Moving Average With Smoothing.
  • Improvements to the Analysis >> Studies >> Add Custom Study function where an abnormal shutdown or freezing condition which could occur due to a faulty DLL file, has been eliminated in most cases.
  • For both of the Heikin-Ashi studies, when they are set to Display as Main Price Graph, the Ask/Bid Volume Difference Bars and all of the Cumulative Delta Bars studies can be used with the Heikin-Ashi studies.