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What Is New

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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.

  • 411 Release Date: 2009/03/13

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    • This version includes the latest TransAct API.
    • The message log can now be minimized. If an important message is added to the message log while it is minimized, the log window will flash in the task bar.
    • Corrected a problem from a recent release where stopping a replay causes high CPU usage when using Trade Simulation and when disconnected from the feed.

  • 410

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    • A new member varable has been added to the sg struct for ACSIL trading, sc.SupportAttachedOrdersForTrading. When this variable is set to TRUE, the orders that are entered from the ACSIL trading interface will use the Attached Orders that are specified from the Trade / Settings Window of the chart in which the ACSIL study is applied to. This only applies to Buy/Sell Entries, Exits can not have attached orders attached to them.

  • 409

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    • Added an option for the IB trading service to multiply stock data volume by the specified multiplier. By default this is 1. This option can be found under Global Settings >> Data/Trade Service Settings >> {Service set to Interactive Brokers} >> More Interactive Brokers Settings.

  • 408 Release Date: 2009/03/10

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    • Added an Import function for importing a list of symbols from a text file, to the Global Settings >> Intraday File Update List window. Each symbol needs to be on its own line in the file.
    • Added an option for Simple Study Alerts to Evaluate on Bar Close.
    • This version has significantly reduced CPU usage. Especially when loading a large number of bars in a chart.

  • 407 Release Date: 2009/03/09

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    • Corrected a problem from a recent release where some Trade Position related prices would sometimes not be set correctly for Simulated Trading. If you are using Simulated Trading, it is important to upgrade.
    • Automated trading now takes into consideration multiple attached orders when calculating the Internal Position with working orders quantity.

  • 406 Release Date: 2009/03/04

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    • Updated interface files for Transact and the Barchart Real-Time and Historical Data Service are included.

  • 405 Release Date: 2009/03/03

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    • Corrected a problem with the displaying of Compiler Output on the Build Studies DLL window.
    • Various low level improvements.

  • 404 Release Date: 2009/02/27

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    • Corrected a problem with the Volume Weighted Average Price study where the last bar would produce incorrect results for the VWAP line.
    • On the Associated Symbols List there is now an Import button that lets you import symbols from a text file. Each symbol should be on its own line.

  • 403 Release Date: 2009/02/26

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    • Created a new Buffy studies template. This is very fast and reliable compared to prior templates that were available.
    • Corrected a problem with the output displayed on the Build Studies DLL Window.
    • The problem with abnormal shutdown when using the IB service experienced by some users, apparently is due to extreme out of range trade position values received from the IB service. We now reject those values and this should resolve the problem.
    • When the connection to the TransAct trade server used for trading functionality is lost, a reconnect will automatically be performed unlike prior versions since support for the new TransAct pricing API. Working orders and Positions are also refreshed after the connection. It is important if you are using the trading functionality in Sierra Chart with Transact that you update to this version. Additionally, Transact has released a new trade engine file to solve some reconnection issues. That is available on our Support Board.

  • 402 Release Date: 2009/02/24

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    • This version has new API files from Transact. This should resolve the problem where that data feed from Transact stops and does not resume. If you still have a problem be sure to let us know and we will contact Transact about the issue.

  • 399 Release Date: 2009-02-19

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    • Fixed a problem with the Volume Weighted Average Price study that arose from a recent release.
    • This version solved the problem where some users would experience an abnormal shutdown when using IB. This relates to the code that processes Position Data from Trades. We are still in the process of determining the exact cause and have disabled position data processing. This will be reactivated in the next release. Therefore, in this release you will have to rely on the Internal Position data. Flatten and Reverse may not work.
    • Color Coded the data feed status window.
    • Added an associated symbol list feature for charts. This lets you add a list of symbols to a chart and be able to cycle through them on that chart. This can be found on the Chart Menu.
    • Added High/Low of Day study. This study will mark the high and the low of the day.

  • 397 Release Date: 2009-02-17

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    • Improved the function for the Interactive Brokers debug logging.
    • Corrected a problem with the names shown on window tabs.
    • Color coded the data feed and program status window.

  • 396 Release Date: 2009-02-16

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    • Corrected some issues from a recent pre-release where some menu commands and shortcuts were not working properly with Detached Charts.
    • Corrected a problem from 395 where charts were not updating in real-time.
    • Corrected a problem where the Start Market Depth Updates option was not always saved.
    • Finalized the development of three new options found on the Subgraphs tab of the Study Settings window for controlling the display of the Study Name, and the name and value for individual subgraphs, along the Region Data Line and in the Tool Values and Chart Values Windows.
    • Added Swing High and Low study.
    • Various other low level improvements.

  • 394 Release Date: 2009-02-13

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    • Corrected a problem where the Profit Loss value in Simulation Mode was not always up to date.
    • Support for the new OEC Simulation environment API.

      IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR OEC USERS: If you are connecting to the OEC simulation system, you must upgrade to Sierra Chart version 394 or higher in order to use the OEC simulation system. Otherwise the connection will fail. To upgrade select Help >> Download Prerelease on the menu.

      If you are using the OEC production system you cannot use version 394 or higher until the OEC production system is updated with their latest API software.
    • In order to debug a problem some users are experiencing when using the IB service, we added a special logging feature. To enable this, use the command line parameter iblogging when running Sierra Chart. To do this, you may need to create or modify a shortcut to SierraChart.exe so that it includes this parameter. For example, the shortcut's target should be:
      C:\SierraChart\SierraChart.exe iblogging
      This will cause IB specific debugging messages to be added to the message log, and store the message log in the Logs folder where SierraChart.exe is located.

      If you experience an abnormal shutdown of Sierra Chart when using IB, please use this logging feature and at the time you experience the abnormal shutdown, provide the latest log file for support on the Support Board
    • When we get a session disconnect from TransAct, Sierra Chart will handle this as a connection lost and automatically reconnect.
    • Various other low level improvements including improvements to trading features.

  • 391 Release Date: 2009-02-10

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    • This version has new API files from Transact. This should resolve the problem where that data feed from Transact stops and does not resume. If you still have a problem please be sure to let us know and we will contact Transact about the issue.
    • This version has also re-enabled optimizations for faster performance. They were disabled in version 388 due to some abnormal termination problems that a very small number of users infrequently experience when using IB. We are still looking into the cause of the issue, it may be something external to Sierra Chart. We did make one change that should prevent the abnormal termination. However, this is more of a workaround than a solution. We are continuing to monitor the issue from the very few users who are having it.
    • When you move either the Stop or Limit price of a Stop Limit order when in Chart Trade Mode, the opposite price will also automatically adjust to maintain the original offset. To enable this select Trade >> Global Trade Settings >> Chart Trade Settings on the menu. Enable On Modify, Use Constant Offset for Stop Limit Order Prices.

  • 389 Release Date: 2009-02-07

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    • Corrected a problem with the drawing of dotted and dashed lines.

  • 388 Release Date: 2009-02-06

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    • Improvements to the DOM Graph on the chart. The options for this can be found under Chart >> Chart Settings. To enable this select Trade >> Draw DOM Depth on Chart.
    • When there is a Chart Multiplier used, you can now enter orders using the Chart DOM as well and it will correctly interpret the prices you want (removing the multiplier). This is the completion of a feature introduced in 386 where the Chart Multiplier is removed with Chart Trading.
    • When a chart is scrolled back, and you are not on the very last bar in the chart, a red box is shown in the lower right of the chart. Otherwise, it is green. This is a change from the previous pre-release, where the study subgraph line labels were dimmed.
    • This version does not use optimizations. They have been temporarily disabled in an effort to discover a possible problem involving an abnormal shutdown that some users experience when using the IB service. These will be re-enabled in the next release. It should not cause any noticeable change. Chartbooks may load slightly slower, that's about all.
    • Corrected a problem from a recent release where the appearance of OHLC bars when printed had a too great of a width for the Open/Close dashes. Also improved the printed appearance of Bid Ask bars.
    • Added the float sc.GetArrayValueAtNthOccurrence(SCFloatArrayRef TrueFalseIn, SCFloatArrayRef ValueArrayIn, int Index, int NthOccurrence) function to ACSIL.
    • It is now possible for studies to draw into future chart columns that are beyond the last bar. The sc.Subgraph[][] arrays have 100 additional elements beyond sc.ArraySize. Those elements can be referenced as usual and can be read and set. They will be drawn beyond the last bar in the chart. To specify how many Data Array elements per subgraph to draw beyond the last bar, set sc.Subgraph[].ExtendedArrayElementsToGraph to the number of extended elements you want. An example can be found in the scsf_ExtendedArraySample function in studies6.cpp in the ACSIL_Source folder.
    • When replaying charts, the Bid and Ask value for simulated trading are now more accurately simulated. Bid/Ask data is now simulated by averaging the high and the low of each bar to have a more accurate estimation. Before, the high was seen as the ask and the low was seen as the bid.
    • Added support for downloading more historical data from the DTN IQ feed.
    • For the Renko Chart study, a Yes/No input to build the Renko chart from the High and Low values of the underlying bars instead instead of the closing prices has been added.

  • 387 Release Date: 2009-01-28

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    • When a chart is scrolled back, and you are not on the very last bar in the chart, study subgraph line labels are dimmed. The purpose of this is to provide a visual indication that you are not at the end of the chart.
    • Corrected some minor issues with the Pivot Points - Variable Period study. And with the Pivot Points - Daily study, when referencing a daily chart, the support and resistance lines now will follow the set chart session times instead of going from 0:00 to 23:59.
    • Corrected an issue where a chart may jump back to the end when scrolled back to another position. This is an unusual condition that could occur when using custom charts such as Renko or TPO.
    • Added a command to the Trade menu named Draw DOM Depth On Chart. This will draw the DOM depth as horizontal lines on the right side of the chart. This is the first revision, and it will be improved.
    • More features to be documented soon.

  • 386 Release Date: 2009-01-27

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    • Corrected a problem from 384 with ACSIL Trading functions not being able to submit orders due to a change to add a maximum position limit for Spreadsheet Trading.
    • Corrected a problem with the Spreadsheet System for Trading study where saved instances of this study would default the new input Maximum Position Allowed in Same Direction to 0 which not allow any order entries from the Spreadsheet.
    • When there is a Chart Multiplier used, this multiplier is removed when trading from the chart before orders are sent to the order system. Orders and Position displayed on the chart are also multiplied by the chart multiplier now. The Chart DOM does not yet support removal of the multiplier.

  • 385 Release Date: 2009-01-26

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    • Corrected a problem with the TPO and Volume profile chart that arose in version 384.
    • Corrected an issue, from a recent prerelease, with the Custom Order Quantity cell when using the Spreadsheet System/Alert for Trading study, where the quantity would still be used when the cell is set back to 0.
    • On the Fills tab within the Trade Activity Log, the fields "Total Quantity Filled" and "Current Position Quantity" have been added for logging purposes.
    • With the Spreadsheet System/Alert for Trading study and the ACSIL trading functions, a method to Cancel All Working Orders for the symbol that the study is applied to has been added. For a ACSIL trading function, simply call sc.SCTrading_CancelAllOrders(). For the Spreadsheet System/Alert for Trading study, a new cell has been added titled "Cancel Working Orders" that will cancel all the working orders when set to 1 or TRUE.
    • Various options have been added to the Volume by Price study that enables the user to specify how they want the Volume by Price bars to be colored based on the Bid/Ask data.
    • The Spreadsheet System/Alert for Trading study has a new input Maximum Position Allowed in Same Direction that lets you specify the maximum position quantity the Spreadsheet System for Trading study will allow. This only applies when Allow Multiple Order Signals in Same Direction is set to Yes.

  • 383 Release Date: 2009-01-23

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    • Corrected some issues with the Copy Chart Drawings from Chart # that could cause high CPU usage and abnormal shutdown of Sierra Chart.
    • When Graphical Displacement is set to a positive value for a study subgraph, then the subgraph that is forward shifted will be displayed in the fill space on the right of the chart, if there is a fill space displayed.

  • 382 Release Date: 2009-01-21

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    • Direct support for the new Transact Data feed is now supported in this release.
    • Added the Murray Math study. Please provide feedback about this study.
    • Improvements to the Arrow Drawing tool.
    • Added new IB Setting named "Download Historical Data Always At 5 Seconds".

  • 381 Release Date: 2009-01-14

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    • Corrected issues with study subgraph line labeling and study subgraph name and value display on a Region Data Line and in the Chart Values windows.

  • 379 Release Date: 2009-01-11

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    • With the Spreadsheet System/Alert for Trading study and the ACSIL trading functions, the logic for Support Reversals has been changed. There were some initial changes made with Reversal logic made in 374. Additionally, in this release (379) an issue preventing order signals from being processed during a reversal condition, which arose in a recent prerelease, has been corrected. The logic has been changed so that when a reversal signal is given, what happens is that an order is given that will flatten the existing position, and create a new position which will have a quantity equal to the order quantity input or the custom order quantity specified on the Spreadsheet.

      Due to changes such as these, It is very important that whenever you upgrade Sierra Chart, you test any automated trading systems you might be using to make sure that they work as expected, before using them for live trading.

  • 377 Release Date: 2009-01-10

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    • Some improvements with the Accurate Backtest option for replays.
    • Added a stationary text tool.
    • Corrected a problem from a recent pre-release where IB position data for some symbols would not display on the chart and the Flatten and Reverse buttons would not be enabled on the trade window.

  • 376 Release Date: 2009-01-08

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    • Corrected a problem with the new Accurate Backtest option found on the Replay window. Even though this option may have been unchecked, an accurate backtest may have been performed anyway which can cause multi-chart replays to be out of synchronization. It will also cause slower replays.
    • The new color coding of Spreadsheet Quote Lines is much more efficient and will not cause high CPU usage.
    • Corrected a problem with trade order prices when fractional formatting is being used. This would cause the fractional portion to be left off of the order price. It is important that when you are using the trading features, and the chart is set to a fractional price display format such as 1/32 that you upgrade to this version. This only affected simulation mode and Transact.
    • The Name and Value Line Labels for a study subgraph are now more customizable and can be positioned in more places on the chart.
    • Added support for Market Depth for the Barchart Real-Time and Historical Data Service.
    • Minor low level improvements to the Trade Activity Log. Additional improvements are planned.
    • Improvements to the Linear Regression tool.
    • Added an auto-snap option for trendlines and extending trendlines.
    • Added the ACSIL function sc.CancelAllOrders().

  • 373 Release Date: 2009-01-05

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    • Corrected a problem with errors relating to Trailing Stops when in simulation mode.
    • When the Adjust Tool Values to Tick Size option is enabled in Chart Settings, then prices are precisely rounded to the tick size on display. Previously they may have been slightly off due to normal errors converting from pixel coordinates back to floating point values. This change also applies to the Chart Values tool.

  • 372 Release Date: 2009-01-04

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    • Corrected a problem with the internal processing of Reset Condition on New Bar and Signal/Alert Only Once per Bar options used by Simple Alerts and the Spreadsheet studies where when there is a new bar added to the chart, the internal state was reset too early.

  • 370 Release Date: 2008-12-26

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    • When the Spreadsheet studies are used as a trading system or for alerts, or you are using simple alert conditions on a study, and there is more then 1 bar that appears during a chart update, all of those bars will be evaluated for your System/Alert condition. This condition can occur with short duration bars or during high speed replays. There were changes to the evaluation of the system/alert conditions to support this.
    • Additional text label control options have been added to the Fan tool.
    • It is now possible to double click on a chart drawing, drawn with one of the drawing tools. For most drawings, such as trendlines, if you double click near an end of the line, you will be able to adjust the position for that end. If you double click near the middle, you will be able to move the line.
    • We have initially implemented a feature to color code quote lines on a Spreadsheet created by Quote Requests that are entered into column A. This can be configured by selecting Global Settings >> Quote Spreadsheet Settings >> Color Settings.

  • 368 Release Date: 2008-12-22

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    • Corrected a problem from a recent prerelease with the processing of data from the Barchart Real-Time and Historical Data Service, where index symbol data was not processed properly and the charts would not update.

*Last modified Thursday, 25th April, 2024.