QCharts - Workspaces
If this is the first time you have run QCharts after installing it, a screen that looks similar to the picture shown below should appear. Do not worry if your screen does not look exactly the same as what is shown here. A different background may be displayed. The charts and quote sheets may use up more or less of the screen space, depending on your screen resolution.
If you have no idea what a Chart or Quote Sheet is, don’t worry. That will be explained in later sections as you learn how to use the various windows in the workspace.
What is a Workspace
A Workspace is a collection of Charts, Quote Sheets, Browser Windows, and so forth, that you arrange in a way that is useful to you. You can have multiple Workspaces saved on your computer, but you can only view one Workspace at a time.
Think of Workspaces as pages in a Book. There are lots of pages in a Book, but you only view them one at a time. You can easily change to other pages and even bookmark a page.
In a similar manner, you can easily change between Workspaces and even "bookmark" ones used the most.
QCharts comes with several pre-made Workspaces. The first time QCharts is started, the "Welcome to QCharts" workspace is loaded. You can either use this workspace or choose to open a new one.
How to Open a Workspace
There are two ways to open a Workspace. One way of opening a Workspace is to move your pointer over the "Open Workspace" icon and click on it, as shown below. This icon is located on the QCharts toolbar.
Just move the arrow pointer over the icon and click on it.
The second way to open a workspace to select the File at the top of QCharts and then select Open Workspace.
With either method, an "Open" dialog box will appear, as shown in the picture below.
To open one of the workspaces listed, single click on Buffett Watch.qcw and then click on "Open" button.
A Workspace, similar to what is shown below, will appear.
This workspace contains one Quote Sheet, two Time and Sales windows, and two Bar Charts as shown below.
Congratulations! You have opened your first Workspace.
At the very top left of the window, QCharts displays the name of the Workspace. If the directions given on this page were followed, it will show "Buffett Watch".
How to create a New Workspace
What if none of the pre-made workspaces don't include what you want?
Make a new workspace following these steps:
- Move the pointer to the menu at the top left of the screen and click on the word "File". A new menu will appear.
- On the new menu, move the pointer over the word "New" and hold it there. A sub-menu will appear.
- On the sub-menu, move the pointer over the word "Workspace" (all the way at the bottom of the "New" sub-menu) and click on it.
It’s okay if everything disappeared. When you request a new workspace, an empty workspace is provided, which can be filled with whatever you want.
Directions for adding things to the workspace are given in the following sections.
How to add a Quote Sheet to a Workspace
Quote Sheets display the current prices for stocks, options or futures. There are two ways to add a new quote sheet.
One way is to move the pointer over the "New Quote Sheet" icon, and click on it, as shown below.
The second way to add a new quote sheet to your Workspace is to do the following:
- Move the pointer to the menu at the top left side of the screen, and click on the word "File". A new menu will appear.
- On the new menu, move the pointer over the word "New" and hold it there. A sub-menu will appear.
- On the sub-menu that appears, move the pointer over the "Quote Sheet" line and click on it.
With either method, a new default Quote Sheet will appear in the middle of your Workspace area, and it will look similar to what is shown below.
Do not worry if the column headings are different from what is in the picture. That just means your default quote sheet settings are a little different from what is shown.
You can learn more on using the Quote Sheet window here.
Chart Window
You can learn how to add and use a Chart Window here.
Time and Sales Window
You can learn how to add and use a Time and Sales Window here.
Tabular Bar Window
You can learn how to add and use a Tabular Bar Chart here.
Single Quote Window
You can learn how to add and use a Single Quote Window here.
Hot List
You can learn how to add and use a Hot List Window here.
Option Chain and Option Montage Window
You can learn how to add and use a Option Chain and Option Montage Window here.
Market Depth Window
You can learn how to add and use a Market Depth Window here.
Saving a Workspace
You now have a Workspace that contains the window types you want. It is time to save what you have done so far. There are two ways to save a workspace.
The fast way is to click the "Save" icon on the QCharts toolbar (as shown in this picture). It is usually near the top of the screen on the right side.
The second way is to do the following:
- Move the pointer to the menu in the upper left corner, and click on the word "File". A New menu will appear.
- Move the pointer over the "Save Workspace As" line and click on it.
Give the Workspace a name and click the Save button.