eSignal - DDE Help

DDE Linking - Excel Sample

DDE stands for Dynamic Data Exchange which allows two or more programs to share information. Using eSignal you can export data from the Data Manager to Microsoft® Excel*, or any other application that supports DDE. We currently only have support for use with Microsoft Excel. Note: Microsoft no longer supports DDE technology and while it still functions in most operating systems, it's considered obsolete technology.

Opening the Excel Sample
Sigtool™ Icons
How To Create A New Spreadsheet
DDE Link - Data FAQ
Troubleshooting
Support

Opening the Excel Sample
We offer a sample spreadsheet that it is available under Start / Programs / eSignal / Excel Sample.

Clicking Excel Sample it will open the Excel application with the following Security Warning window, Click Enable Macros

Once you click Enable Macros, it will open a toolbar called SigTools™. SigTools is an Excel add-in that automatically generates DDE links within your spreadsheet, and was created by Montgomery Investment Technology, Inc.

To open an Excel sample spreadsheet, click the Sample Matrix icon. Make sure that the Data Manager is open before opening the sample spreadsheet.
Please note that the sample spreadsheet contains columns with field names such as "Symbol" and "Last", and at the bottom there are tabs such as "Qualifiers" and "Qualifiers Description". You can find an updated sample spreadsheet under the eSignal Sample Screenshots File Sharing Group.

SigTool™ Icons
Below is the explanation for the three most used icons in the SigTool™ toolbar. To find the version being used click the About icon.  The Help icon opens the SigTool™ Help File. The SigTool™ Help File will give you access to the following:

Sample Matrix Icon
Opens a new workbook containing a sample matrix. If you change any of the Symbols or Qualifiers, update the DDE links using the DDE MatrixFill Icon.
The second sheet in the sample matrix file has a list of all the available qualifiers.  The qualifiers are listed across the top to make it easy to copy and paste as many of them as you need. The third sheet has the same list of qualifiers with a description of their function.

DDE Matrix Fill
This feature is used to update the DDE links after you have changed or added any symbol or qualifier. Select any cell containing a symbol or qualifier.
Click the DDE MatrixFill icon. The matrix will automatically be updated with DDE links based on the specified symbols and qualifiers.

DDE Hot Link
This feature is used to paste DDE link(s) to a single or multiple cells. Click the DDE Hot Link icon. The DDE Hot Links dialog box will appear.
Input the Symbol or specify the reference cell(s). Select the qualifier from the drop-down list. In the Paste to Cell box, specify the destination cell(s). The current cell or cells is the default destination.

If more than one symbol is referenced:
1) If the destination is specified as a single cell, hot links will be pasted vertically or horizontally according to the symbol range reference direction.
2) If the destination is specified as a range of cells, hot links will be pasted to the selection. The destination range may be horizontal or vertical.
3) The destination range may only be one dimension.

How To Create a New Spreadsheet
1) To create a matrix, input the list of qualifiers in a row and the symbols in a column as shown below. The upper left-hand corner of the matrix may be named "Symbol" or may be left blank.

    An example of a valid Matrix:

2) Select any symbol or qualifier.

3) Then click the DDE MartrixFill icon, data will show and update in the cells for the corresponding symbols.

4) To update a matrix that includes an empty cell in the qualifier row or symbols column, simply highlight the entire matrix and click the DDE MatrixFill icon.


DDE Link - Data FAQ

Is it possible to utilize data from the regional exchanges for NYSE and AMEX? 
Yes, eSignal has regional symbols for each listed stock. In a quote sheet, IBM=N will get you NYSE data only, where IBM alone shows data from all regional exchanges. In DDE, you'd do the same but enclose the symbol in single quotation marks ( ' ). for ex: =WINROS|BID!'IBM=N'

Note: You'll need to manually enter these regional symbols as both the DDE Matrix Fill-in and DDE Hot link options (on the SigTools menu) don't properly recognize these special regional symbols. If you use the DDE Hot Link tool, enter in the composite symbol (i.e. IBM) and then using the edit function of Excel (F2), change the symbol to 'IBM=N' or whatever symbol you choose.

How do I create a DDE link for a Futures contract or an option? I can't get them to update.
If the symbol you are entering has a space in it or is an index, you'll need to enclose the entire symbol in single quotation marks for the DDE link to work. For options, you also need to use the short form symbol. For example:

Other DDE Alternatives
ICE XL is a RealTimeData (RTD) add-on service that makes it quick and simple to download real-time, streaming data into your Excel worksheets. You can then perform further analysis suited to your market and your strategies for trading that market.