The following problems are covered in this article:
Charts suddenly bottom to zero
Spikes or dashes are visible
Point and Figure charts aren't correct in some cases
Spreads don't update in real-time
Differences between charts and indicator results between two PC's or two users
Refreshing your connection, clearing spikes that have been fixed by our QA team.
Charts become sluggish over time.
No access to Advanced Charting - options are greyed out.
Problem: In my charts, the current bar suddenly bottoms to a 0 (zero) price. In my quote window, I'll see problems ranging from data fields disappearing (like the bid or ask) to flashing rows and infrequent updates.
Solution: The key question is whether or not you've ever installed Omega Tradestation 2000i software on this PC. If you have, your Omega Global Server has likely turned OFF the databasing routines of the eSignal application, causing the sorts of issues described in this FAQ.
To change the code back, simply re-run the Global Server Set-up Wizard. Open up Omega's Global Server. Go to "Tools" on the menu bar, and select "Run Setup Wizard". This will begin the setup process. When it prompts you to choose End of Day or Real-time/Delayed, be sure to select the one that matches your eSignal subscription. It will then ask you which Datafeed to install. You should select "DBC Online Subserver". Once you complete the Setup Wizard, restart the eSignal program, and you should no longer experience these errors.
If you continue to see these display problems or have never installed Omega Tradestation on this PC, please contact Technical Support so we can further troubleshoot.
Problem: I see price spikes and dashes displayed on my stock charts.
Solution: This is likely caused by pre- and post-market trading. During these times, there can be a dramatic drop in volume and activity lending to "dashes" or when the Open, High, Low, and Close are all equal on a bar chart. The price spikes seen during these times are also commonplace.
To remove the pre- and post-market trading periods from your Advanced Chart Window, we suggest using Time Templates in an Advanced Chart window. There are pre-built Time Templates for Eastern and Pacific Time Zones that will limit the data that is displayed to only the regular trading hours (RTH). These can be found under the Chart Options menu, and the Time Templates sub-menu. For more information about creating your own Time Templates, please see this FAQ.
To remove the pre- and post-market trading periods from a Standard Chart Window, edit the times in the Chart Properties window (Chart Options à Properties, General tab).
Problem: Point & Figure charts don't show correctly on some issues.
Solution: Depending on the issues you are looking at you will need to adjust the reversal and box size parameters. To do this right-click your Point & Figure chart, select Edit Studies. That will bring up the properties box where you can change the Box Size and Reversal numbers. They are currently set to a Box Size of 2 and a Reversal of 1. That means that every X and O will be 2 points tall and will reverse (or change from X to O or O to X) after 1 full point.
These settings are normally OK for stocks, however, if you are looking at issues such as FOREX or Futures these settings might show you an unreadable chart. On some FOREX issues many people might use .2 Box Size and .1 Reversal. You should test different settings to find out which one works best for your style of trading.
Problem: My spreads don't update in real-time.
Solution: Regular spreads update at the end of the interval that you have set. This is because it is nearly impossible to take a true comparison of two symbols that are not necessarily updating at the same time. We take the price of each at the end of each interval and do the math for the result.
If you would like a spread that updates in real time you will need to create a custom formula.
Problem: I'm comparing eSignal on two different computers and I'm noticing very slight differences in 1 minute candlesticks. What would account for these differences? I also notice changes when I refresh my own chart?
Solution: We time-stamp the quotes as they are received from the exchanges. These quotes are then sent to our tick servers to build our database for tick and interval charts. Records are processed within milliseconds of each other. Even so, it is possible that slight differences can occur across the various tick servers, resulting in a trade being moved up to the next bar.
There's an additional factor to keep in mind as well. When you initially request a new chart, the data is supplied from our Tick Server and loaded onto your desktop. From that point forward, data is then streamed in from our Network and cached locally on your system. When you "refresh", all of the data on that chart is re-sent by our Tick Server and the cached data is cleared. If your PC clock is slightly fast or slow, this could also result in slight differences after a refresh.
These two issues explain fairly small differences in bar-type charts. If you see significant differences, you should contact Technical Support.
We continue to investigate the possibility of altering our current network configuration so that we would take the time-stamp SENT by most exchanges. This would increase the size of each record, increase our bandwidth usage and increase the load on our servers because we are talking about several million records each day. This project is still under consideration.
Update: We have implemented a new synchronization process so all of our servers will now synchronize to a single network timestamp. This has greatly enhanced the consistency of our intraday history data across our server farms. This solution was completed in March 2004.
Problem: I'm seeing some odd prices or spikes in eSignal but I'm not sure I have a good connection to the server. How do I refresh my own chart?
Solution: Make sure that your cursor window is displayed; then hold down your CTRL key while clicking the green OK. This sends a request to our servers to refresh the chart. You can also exit/all eSignal, wait 5-10 seconds and retart eSignal, as that routine will create new connections for data, charting, news, etc.
Problem: My charts seem to become progressively more sluggish as the day proceeds. The program is quick and responsive when I first start, but starts crawling 2-3 hours into the market day. How can I fix that?
Solution: If you are a frequent user of lines on your charts, first thing you want to do is clean-up the lines already in use. Even though lines aren't present on the screen, the program is accounting for them as the screen is redrawn and as the file increases in size more system resources are needed to manage this file. This is why we've added the "Lines" list pop-up window. This gives customers the ability to manage their own lines, i.e. edit, delete and even be warned when you've reached a pre-selected number of lines. Removing lines that are not being used will most likely help the overall performance of eSignal.
While in an Advacned Chart, right-click for the menu, choose Line Tools, then Line List. Clean away all the lines you can and make sure you have the warning boxes checked so you get a reminder to keep these lines under control. You'll also want to remember to save each page/chart/layout so your changes are retained next time your exit eSignal.
For more on troubleshooting performance issues, please review KB Article 1639 and KB Article 1640.
Problem: I don't seem to have access to Advanced Charting (i.e. icons missing or greyed out). Do I need to reinstall?
Solution: Advanced Charting is controlled by entitlement so your software installation should be just fine. You are likely using the eSignal Basic package. This package does not include access to Advanced Charting so you'll need to upgrade to at least the eSignal Premier level. We offer a free 14 day trial (one time per existing customer only) so you can try Advanced Charting before you upgrade. Just email us or use LiveRep and we'll add the service to your account temporarily. If you want to upgrade to Premier or need additional information, please visit our main pricing page.