Resolving Custom Study File and Access Issues

Introduction

This page explains issues and the solutions related to the automatic downloading of Custom Study files and also access to the studies within a Custom Studies DLL file.

These are not studies that are developed by Sierra Chart. These are Custom Studies that have been created by a third party developer who is willing to share these studies with Sierra Chart users.

If you are having a problem with a Sierra Chart developed study, then contact Sierra Chart through the Support Board for help.

Custom Study Problems - Things to Check

Custom Studies and associated files provided by the original developer can be automatically downloaded by Sierra Chart to a list of specific users for use of those studies. Or you could have manually downloaded the custom studies DLL file yourself or have been provided that file.

Regardless of how the particular Custom Studies file is acquired, the developer of the Custom studies also has the ability to control access to which users can use those studies based on the Sierra Chart Account Name.

The following lists the common reasons Custom Studies may not work, and how to resolve the issue:

1. The user of the Custom Studies is running Sierra Chart in Safe Mode. When in Safe Mode, all Custom Studies are removed from charts and it is not possible to add any Custom Studies. In Safe Mode Custom Study files are also not downloaded.
   
   In order to verify if Sierra Chart is in Safe Mode, exit the program and restart. When the initial Login window is present, look to see if the option for Safe Mode is selected/checked. If it is, unselect/uncheck it in order to start Sierra Chart not in Safe Mode.
2. The developer of a Custom Study can specify an Ending Date associated with specific users. After the Ending Date the Custom Study will cease to function for that user.
   
   If the Ending Date is set for the Custom Study for your account and you feel that this is incorrect, then as the user of the Custom Study you will need to contact the developer of the study to have them modify the Ending Data for your account associated with that Custom Study.
   
   If you are the developer for a Custom Study that is having trouble with the Ending Date, be sure to check the Custom Studies Authorization page and ensure that the user either does not have an Ending Date specified, or that the Ending Date is in the future and is formatted correctly.
3. Custom Studies and associated files can also be set up to be automatically downloaded to the Sierra Chart installation of those users authorized to use the custom studies.
   
   If you are the end user of these Custom Studies, then make sure that the option for File Downloads is Enabled on the Enabled Studies and Files to Download page.
   
   If you are the developer of the Custom Study that is set to be automatically downloaded to users, ensure that the all the necessary files have been provided. Refer to the Upload Files page.
   
   The users that have access to these files is controlled through the Manage Custom Studies Users Control Panel.
4. The Custom Studies may not be authorized for use for your particular Sierra Chart Account Name (Username). To ensure that you are properly authorized to use a particular set of Custom Studies, contact the developer and ensure that your Account Name is entered correctly for the studies. The Account Name can be found under Help >> About within Sierra Chart.
   
   Make sure you provide the exact Account Name that you see. If there is any mistake with this, you will not be authorized for the custom studies.
   
   The Account Name (Username) is not case sensitive. The case can differ between how it is entered on the Sierra Chart Login window and how it is entered on the Manage Custom Studies Users Control Panel.
   
   The developer can check the users that are authorized and add users as necessary from their Manage Custom Studies Users Control Panel.
5. The Account Name is not properly entered for the particular study. To ensure that the correct Account Name is entered, select Help >> About within Sierra Chart. The Account Name is listed in the middle of the About window in Sierra Chart. This Account Name should be sent to the developer of the Custom Studies to ensure that it is entered properly in the Manage Custom Studies Users Control Panel.
6. If the Custom Study is not even being listed as a study to be a added to a chart, then it is possible that the custom studies DLL file has not downloaded properly.
   
   Restart Sierra Chart in order to force the download of the necessary files. Make sure the DLL file that contains the custom studies is located in the Sierra Chart Data Files Folder. The custom studies developer will know the name of the DLL file. Check with them on this.
7. The particular Custom Studies DLL file is not compatible with the architecture of the current running Sierra Chart. In other words, it may be a 32-bit version but the user is running the 64-bit version of Sierra Chart. For complete instructions about this, refer to Custom Study Not Listed or Not Displaying on Chart.
8. It is possible that the developer of the Custom Studies has not setup the automatic distribution of the files properly. In this case, contact the developer of the study and ensure that they have properly setup the files that need to be downloaded to Sierra Chart.
9. Finally, perform a Forced Login to ensure that Sierra Chart receives the proper authorization data for the Custom Studies.
   
   This will also solve a potential problem where the Custom Studies files do not get downloaded if there was not a successful login after your Sierra Chart account was authorized to receive those files.