Getting Quotes

Introduction

Sierra Chart provides a Quote Board feature. A Quote Board provides real-time and current daily quote data for a list of symbols. The symbols can be selected to change the symbol of the associated chart. Open Order and Position data for the symbols is provided on the Quote Board as well.

Symbols that provide historical data only and not streaming real-time or delayed data, will only provide zero values on the Quote Board.

Theupdate interval of the Quote Board is controlled through a setting and updates at specific time intervals. Global Settings >> General Settings >> Quote Board Update Interval in Milliseconds. The default is 800 ms. We do not recommend making this too low of a value as it will increase CPU usage.

Opening Quote Board

To open a Quote Board, select File >> New Quote Board .

A Quote Board is associated with the active Chartbook at the time it is opened. If a Chartbook is not already open, when you open a new Quote Board, then a Chartbook will be created.

Setting Symbols

To set the symbols on the Quote Board, select Settings >> Set Symbols on the menu on the Quote Board window.

To add a symbol to the end of the list of symbols, select the last row in the list of symbols and type the symbol into the box below the list or press the Find button and select a symbol from the list of available symbols. To add a symbol anywhere else in the list, click at the location in the list where you want to add the symbol and press the Add button. After inserting a blank row into the list, type the symbol into the box below the list or press the Find button .

In the case of when using the Sierra Chart Quote Board, you do not need to prefix symbols with a / or # when adding them to the list of symbols, unlike when you enter Quote Request symbols on a Spreadsheet.

The list of symbols for a Quote Board is specific to each individual Quote Board window.

Select a symbol in the list of symbols and use the Move Up or Move Down buttons to move the symbol up or down in the list.

Saving/Loading Symbol Lists and Importing Symbols

To easily save and load a set of symbols to and from a text file respectively, select File >> Save Symbol List or File >> Load Symbol List on the Quote Board menu.

The default file extension is SymbolList. The files are plain text files. If you are loading a list of symbols from other sources, the symbols can be separated with a comma character, a tab character or a new line character.

The Settings >> Set Symbols window also has Import and Export commands for reading and saving a list of symbols from and to a text file, respectively. The symbols in this text file can be separated with a comma character, a tab character or a new line character.

Setting Colors

To set the colors for the Quote Board, select Settings >> Graphics Settings on the menu on the Quote Board window. The relevant color settings begin with Quote Board in the list of Colors and Widths.

• Quote Board: Background: This is the background color of the Quote Board window.
• Quote Board: Blank Row Background: This is the background color for a blank row.
• Quote Board: Label Row Background: This is the background color for a row used as a label.
• Quote Board: Foreground/Text: This is the color for the quote board text.
• Quote Board: Label Row Foreground/Text: This is the color for the label text.
• Quote Board: Price Change Up: This is the color for DailyChange, DailyChange%, TradeDirection, ChangeFromOpen, Non-Sim Position field values which are positive.
• Quote Board: Price Change Down: This is the color for DailyChange, DailyChange%, TradeDirection, ChangeFromOpen, Non-Sim Position field values which are negative.
• Quote Board: New High Highlight: This is the background color for the high price of the day when a new high is reached.
• Quote Board: New Low Highlight: This is the background color for the low price of the day when a new low is reached.
• Quote Board: Alert Triggered Highlight: This is the highlight color for a symbol which has an alert condition which is true.
• Quote Board: Gridlines: This is the color for gridlines on the Quote Board.
• Quote Board: Selected Symbol: This is the background color for the selected symbol.
• Quote Board: Selected Border Highlight: This is the color for the border around the selected cell in a Quote Board.

Setting Fields to Display

To set the fields to display and the order of those fields, select the Settings >> Set Fields on the menu on the Quote Board window.

The Quote Board field configuration is specific to each individual Quote Board window. For a new Quote Board window, the initial field configuration will be based upon the global Quote Line field configuration for Quote Spreadsheets which is set through Global Settings >> Quote Spreadsheet Settings.

For a description of the available fields, refer to Field Descriptions.

Futures Contract Rollover

When a Quote Board is opened, any expired futures symbols will be automatically rolled over to the current contract month if Settings >> Auto Rollover Futures Symbols on the Quote Board menu is enabled which is the default. This occurs when the Quote Board is opened as part of a Chartbook.

The actual rollover date for a particular symbol is controlled by the rollover rules for the symbol in the Global Symbol Settings. There are very specific date based rollover rules for each futures contract symbol which are based upon the exchange rules.

The Detect Rollover Of Current Futures Contracts Symbols Based On Real Time Volume setting has no effect upon the rollover date for the Quote Board.

To manually rollover a symbol, right-click anywhere along the Quote Line for the symbol on the Quote Board, and select Roll Forward Futures Symbol. You also have the ability to roll back a symbol by using Roll Back Futures Symbol.

All future symbols in the Quote Board can be rolled over at any time by selecting Settings >> Rollover Futures Symbols Now on the Quote Board menu.

Changing Symbol of a Chart or Trade DOM

To change the symbol of a chart or Trade DOM to the selected Quote Board symbol, it is first necessary to establish a common link between a Quote Board and the charts and/or Trade DOMs.

To do this, set a nonzero link number on the Quote board by selecting Settings >> Set Chart Link on the menu on the Quote Board window.

To set the same link number on a chart or Trade DOM, select Chart >> Chart Settings >> Linking from the menu. In the Chart Linking >> Link Number list box, select the same Link Number as is set for the Quote Board. Press OK. Any number of charts or Trade DOMs can use the same link number so they are changed to the same selected symbol on the Quote Board.

For complete documentation about Chart Linking, refer to Chart Linking.

Simply left click on the symbol in the Symbol column on the Quote Board to change the symbol of the linked charts or Trade DOMs. The selected symbol will be highlighted on the Quote Board. Either the symbol field will be highlighted or the entire Quote Board line for the symbol will be highlighted if Settings >> Highlight All Fields is enabled on the Quote Board menu.

After left clicking on one of the lines on the Quote Board, it is then possible to use the Up Arrow key and Down Arrow key on your keyboard to move up and down through the list of symbols on a Quote Board.

You will not want to link a Quote Board to a chart that uses the Trade and Current Quote Symbol, unless you specify a Trade and Current Quote Symbol in the Global Settings >> Global Symbol Settings for the Symbols you are using in the Quote Board. Otherwise, what you will find is that the Trade and Current Quote Symbol will remain with the chart and only the main symbol of the chart changes.

New Daily High and Low Highlighting and Alert

The Sierra Chart Quote Board will highlight a new Daily High or Low on the quote board when the High and/or Low fields are displayed. The High and Low fields are directly highlighted.

The color is controlled by the Quote Board: New High/Low Highlight color setting set through the Global Settings >> Graphics Settings - Global or Chart >> Graphics Settings windows. Refer to Graphics Settings for complete details.

The highlight will remain for approximately 30 seconds.

An optional alert sound can also be enabled through Alerts >> Alert Number For New High/Low on the Quote Board menu. Select a particular Alert Number that you want to use for a new Daily High or Low. To configure that particular Alert Number, refer to Alert Sound Settings.

Adjusting Column Widths

To adjust the width of a column on the Quote Board, move your Pointer to the column header line at the top of the Quote Board window that displays the column names.

After this move the Pointer to the right side of the column that you want to adjust. You will notice that the dividing area between columns will then change to a different color (normally red). Left click with the Pointer to start the adjustment operation and move left or right, then release.

Attaching and Detaching Quote Board

A Quote Board window is a floating window which by default is owned by the main Sierra Chart window and will remain on top of the main window. It can be freely moved around outside of the main window frame.

To detach a Quote Board from the main Sierra Chart window and allow the Quote Board to be completely independent so that it can be moved to other monitors or anywhere on your screen space, select Settings >> Attach/Detach Window on the Quote Board menu. Select that command again to reattach it to the main Sierra Chart window.

Always Visible or Always on Top

A Quote Board can be made always visible no matter which Chartbook is active, by enabling Settings >> Always Visible Across Chartbooks.

If you want the Quote Board to be always on top of other windows on your system, then enable Settings >> Always on Top. This is only supported when a Quote Board is detached. To detach a Quote Board, refer to Attaching and Detaching Quote Board.

Changing Quote Board Font

The font used for the text on the Quote Board can be changed.

To change the Quote Board Font, select Global Settings >> Graphics Settings >> Fonts.

For complete documentation, refer to Fonts on the Graphics Settings page.

Setting Comments on Symbols

It is supported on a Quote Board to set up to 10 comments per Quote Line for a symbol. Follow the instructions below.

1. On the Quote Board menu select Settings >> Set Fields.
2. In the Available Fields list, there will be the fields Comment1 through Comment10. Add the comment fields that you want for a Quote Line.
3. Press OK.
4. Go to one of the Comment# fields you added for a quote line for a symbol on the Quote Board. Left click on that field two times.
5. An edit box will display. Type the Comment in the edit box and press OK.

Quote Board Label Rows

Quote Boards support custom Label Rows to identify groups of symbols. Follow the instructions below.

1. On the Quote Board menu select Settings >> Set Symbols. This will display the symbols list window.
2. On the right side of that window there is the list of symbols. Select the line where you want to insert a label.
3. Press the Add Label button. A new entry will be added that is prefixed with Label: .
4. Make sure that line is selected in the list of symbols and in the edit box below the list of symbols, type the label name that you want.
5. Press the Close button when done. The label will then be displayed on the Quote Board.
6. To set the color for a label row, on the Quote Board menu select Settings >> Graphics Settings. Set the Quote Board: Label Row Background Color.

Quote Board Scroll Bars

The vertical scroll bar on a Quote Board will display when there are more lines in the Quote Board than can be displayed based on the size of the window. The number of quote lines can be adjusted through Setting Symbols.

To remove the scroll bar by adjusting the size of the Quote Board window, use the standard Windows functionality to grab the side or corner of the window and drag it to make the window larger.

Likewise for the horizontal scroll bar, that will display when there are more fields displayed and the width of those fields is greater than can fit in the current window size.

There are several solutions to this. Make the window larger as explained above. Adjust the width of the columns. Or, remove fields. To do this, refer to Setting Fields to Display.

Delete Rows

One or more rows in the quote board can be selected and deleted. One row can be selected by clicking on it and multiple rows can be selected by holding Ctrl or Shift Key while clicking on a row. The selected rows can then be deleted in the following ways:

Insert Rows

One or more rows can be inserted above the first selected row in the Quote Board.

Inserting is not supported when Quote Board column sorting is being used. Sorting can be disabled, by left clicking with your Pointer on the header of any of columns until there is no longer an arrow shown on that header.

One row can be selected by left clicking on it and multiple rows can be selected by holding Control or Shift Key while left clicking on a row. Rows can then be inserted in the following ways:

Note that the number of rows inserted is equal to the number of rows selected.

Move Symbol

Keyboard shortcuts can be assigned to move a selected symbol up and down. Keyboard shortcuts Move Symbol Up and Move Symbol Down can be configured by selecting Global Settings >> Customize Keyboard Shortcuts and selecting the QuoteBoard Keyboard Shortcuts. For example, if U is assigned to Move Symbol Up, then pressing the U key in the quote board window will move the selected symbol up.

Refer to index.php?page=doc/GlobalSettingsMenu.html#CustomizeKeyboardShortcuts for instructions to assign a keyboard shortcut.

Note that the assigned keyboard shortcut key is global and cannot be used for any other functionality even if the quote board window is closed. Refer to Keyboard Shortcuts are Global and Affect All Windows for information.

Quote Board Sorting

The columns of a Quote Board can be sorted alphabetically or numerically either ascending or descending. Sorting can also be disabled. When sorting is enabled for a particular column, it does increase the CPU usage of the Quote Board. Sorting should only be used when necessary.

Left clicking on a column header, (Symbol, Last, Bid, Ask, ...) on the Quote Board window will either enable sorting ascending, enable sorting descending, or disable sorting.

When an up arrow is displayed on the column header, the sorting is enabled and ascending. When a down arrow is displayed on the column header, the sorting is enabled and descending. When there is no arrow displayed, on any of the Quote Board columns, then sorting is disabled.

Quote Board Not Visible

If a Quote Board is not visible, then select Window >> Reset Windows. It should then appear near the top left.

If it does not appear, close the Chartbook with File >> Close Chartbook and reopen it.

To make the Quote Board appear on the taskbar, then detach it. You can do that through Settings >> Attach/Detach Window from the Quote Board menu.

Introduction

Symbols can be entered into a Sheet in a Spreadsheet window to obtain detailed quotes that are continuously updated while connected to the data feed. This is called a Quote Spreadsheet.

The symbol entered to request a quote needs to follow the format required by the Data or Trading service Sierra Chart is currently connected to.

The advantage with a Sierra Chart Quote Spreadsheet is that they are highly customizable. You are using a fully functional Spreadsheet that can contain Excel formulas and can perform calculations on the Quote data. Therefore, you can enter custom formulas to perform many different kinds of calculations that you may require.

Creating a Spreadsheet and Getting Quotes

1. Sierra Chart needs to be connected to the real-time data feed to get continuously updating quotes. Select File >> Connect To Data Feed on the menu to connect if not already connected. If this command is disabled, then this means Sierra Chart is already connected to the data feed.
2. Create a new Spreadsheet or open an existing Spreadsheet. Select File >> New Quote Spreadsheet on the menu to create a new Spreadsheet.
3. For more information about Spreadsheets, refer to the Working with Spreadsheets documentation page.
4. To open an existing Spreadsheet, select File >> Open Spreadsheet.
5. Go to the Spreadsheet window and make sure the Spreadsheet >> Quote Spreadsheet menu option is checked.
6. Right-click with the Pointer on a row on the Spreadsheet where you want to insert a Quote Line and select Find Symbol and Insert on the shortcut menu. This will give you a list of many of the symbols available for the Data or Trading service you are using. Simply select one and press Insert.
   
   If the symbol is not listed, then manually type the symbol into the Selected Symbol box. The symbol needs to follow the symbol format used by the Data or Trading service you are using.
   
   You can also left click on the row on the Spreadsheet and select Spreadsheet >> Find Symbol and Insert from the top level menu.
7. Alternative Quote Request Entry Method: Left click two times in column A in the row on a Sheet where you want to enter a Quote Line. Manually enter the symbol and press OK.
   
   A symbol has to be in rows 1 to 150 and has to be in one of the first 10 Sheets in the Spreadsheet. They cannot be entered just anywhere on a Spreadsheet. With cell references, you can use the data anywhere on a Spreadsheet.

Quote Spreadsheet Settings

To set which fields to display along a Quote Line on a Spreadsheet and to configure Color and Sort settings, refer to the Quote Spreadsheet Settings documentation page.

Number Format

For a Quote Line on a Spreadsheet, all numeric values are automatically formatted with the appropriate number of decimal places.

Prices are formatted according to the Price Display Format setting in Global Settings >> Symbol Settings for the symbol or symbol pattern.

Volume values are typically formatted with no decimal place.

If you want to change the format for prices, then alter the Price Display Format setting in Global Settings >> Symbol Settings for the symbol or symbol pattern. For further details, refer to Global Symbol Settings.

Color Coding

The Bid, Ask, Bid Size, Ask Size, Last, High, Low, Last Size, and Net Change Fields can be color coded based upon if they are Increasing, Decreasing or not changing. To enable this color coding and to set these colors, select Global Settings >> Quote Spreadsheet Settings >> Color Settings on the menu. Enable the option Enable Coloring of Quote Request Fields. Set the color controls as you require.

Scrolling and Locking Header Row and Symbol Column

Opening or Activating a Chart for a Quote Line

When you select any cell along a Quote Line on a Spreadsheet, then select Spreadsheet >> Open Historical Chart or Spreadsheet >> Open Intraday Chart on the menu and the symbol for the Quote Line will be opened as a Historical or an Intraday Chart respectfully, or be activated if the chart is already open.

You can also right click on any cell along a Quote Line to access these commands.

Sorting

In Quote Spreadsheets it is supported to sort Quote Lines based on a selected Quote Line field. For example, you may want to sort based upon the Daily Change % field.

Follow the step-by-step instructions below to configure sorting.

1. Select Global Settings >> Quote Spreadsheet Settings >> Sort Settings.
2. Set the Field to Sort By to the Quote Line field you want to sort by. Select No Sorting to disable sorting.
3. Set the Sort Order to the either Ascending or Descending.
4. If you want to include additional Sheet columns in the rows to be sorted than are normally outputted by a Quote Line, then set the Sort Range >> Last Column to the last column to include.
   
   Otherwise, this is not necessary because Sierra Chart sets the number of columns to sort to the number of Quote Line fields being outputted. Only if the Last Column is greater than number of fields outputted, will it increase the number of columns to sort.
5. Press OK.