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Create lists______________________________________________________________________
Customizing the columns of your lists..........................................................................................................7 Changing columns order..............................................................................................................................8 Sorting columns...........................................................................................................................................9 Creating, renaming and deleting a list.........................................................................................................9 Adding securities to your lists....................................................................................................................10
Drawing introduction_____________________________________________________________
Drawing lines.............................................................................................................................................13 Adding comments......................................................................................................................................13 Modifications..............................................................................................................................................13
Drawing tools____________________________________________________________________
Cursor Mode (Default Mode).....................................................................................................................14 Create an Alert...........................................................................................................................................14 Zoom on a specific period of time..............................................................................................................14 Drawing a segment or a line......................................................................................................................14 Drawing Fibonacci Retracements..............................................................................................................15 Typing text.................................................................................................................................................15 Copying an object......................................................................................................................................15 Moving an object........................................................................................................................................15 Deleting an object......................................................................................................................................16 Changing the options of an object.............................................................................................................16
Create charts____________________________________________________________________
Let's change from a closing line view to a candlestick view:......................................................................22 Let's add a 5-day moving average, 20-day Bollinger and standard Parab SAR on a Daily Chart..............23 Let's add a (12, 26, 9) MACD and a 14-periodRelative Strength Index.....................................................25 Let's move the window "Relative Strength Index" above the MACD window.............................................27
Create multi-charts_______________________________________________________________
Opening multiple charts.............................................................................................................................29 Linking / unlinking secondary charts to your main chart............................................................................31 Configuring multiple charts........................................................................................................................31
Top movers_____________________________________________________________________
Variations top movers................................................................................................................................57 Tip: Customizing the columns of your table...............................................................................................59 Sorting columns.........................................................................................................................................60
Tick by tick______________________________________________________________________
Tick by Tick data........................................................................................................................................61
ProBuilder module_______________________________________________________________
Indicator MyRSI.........................................................................................................................................66
Introduction
INTRODUCTION
The following presentation will help you understand the basics of ITCharts Advanced in just a few minutes. Please note: The instruments available via your version may differ from the instruments displayed in the images in this manual (included for illustrative purposes) and some features may vary depending on your version. The workstation is composed of several windows that are fully customizable (location, size, colors, etc.) - the main window is titled "IT-Charts" and allows you to display or hide all of the windows by minimizing it or restoring it.
In the main window you will find the Tool bar that allows you to draw objects in charts and make charting modifications.
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Introduction
- the window "Lists" allows you to edit, create, modify and delete lists.
-the window "Top Movers" displays the top movers based on selected conditions. - the window "ProScreener" lets you scan the market for securities meeting multiple customizable conditions. - the Chart window. You can open an multiple chart windows and customize them.
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Introduction
- the window "Alerts status" allows you to see the current status of your alerts
- the window "Cursor details" allows you to display information related to the current cursor position.
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Contextual help
CONTEXTUAL HELP
To activate or diactivate the contextual help, go to the "Help" menu and check or uncheck the option "Contextual Help". If you activate it, keep in mind that every time your cursor stays motionless for one second on most features of the workstation, a temporary help window will open as shown below.
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Loading securities
LOADING SECURITIES
To look for a security, type its name or ticker code in the blue marked area of the main window as shown in the following image. Then click on to launch the search engine. When more than one result is found, all results will be listed in a pop-up window. There you can select the one of you are interest in.
You can limit your search to one specific stock exchange or a particular financial instrument (warrant, bond, stock, etc.). To do so, use the dropdown menuselectors of the search module.
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Loading securities
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Create lists
CREATE LISTS
Customizing the columns of your lists
Securities are generally displayed in lists. The columns of these lists can be modified as you wish. Leftclicking on the wrench icon outlined below in blue, opens a small window with the list of all available colums.
Checked columns are the ones currently displayed. Note that when you see a table in the window "Lists", "Top Movers" or "Portfolios", you can always left-click on the tool icon and choose the columns to add or to delete. The columns will appear or disappear as you click.
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Create lists
The meaning of the data in each column is explained below: Last - Latest quotation. %Chg - Percentage variation between the current quotation and the closing quote of the day before. Chg - Difference between the closing quote of the current day and the closing quote of the day before.
Open - Opening quote of the trading day. High - Highest quotation for the security during the trading day. Low - Lowest quotation for the security during the trading day. Prev - Closing quote of the day before.
Bid - Buying quote. Bid Vol - Volume of buying orders. Bid Nbr - Number of buying orders.
Ask - Selling quote. Ask Vol - Volume of selling orders. Ask Nbr - Number of selling orders.
Volume - Volume of orders in thousands (K) or millions (M). Capital - Volume x Last quote. Tick time - Time of the latest tick, displayed in format hh:mm:ss.
Ticker - Code symbol composed of 3 characters. ISIN - Share code composed of 12 characters of which the first two signify the place where the shares are quoted. Security - Nature of financial instrument (bond, currency, fund, future, index, option, stock or warrant). Exchange - Financial market where the security is traded.
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Create lists
Sorting columns
The items of your list can be sorted from A to Z or from Z to A for columns displaying texts and from ascending or descending order for columns displaying numbers. To switch from one order to the other, leftclick on the header of the column you wish to sort. E.g.: Clicking on the header "Name" sorts the items of the list from A to Z, whereas clicking again on the header "Name" sorts the items from Z to A.
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Create lists
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Calculation method
In the weekly representation for instance, the open, high, low, close prices are respectively Monday's opening, the highest and the lowest prices during the week and Friday's close of each week. The volume in this mode is the sum of the volume of the 5 trading days of each week. Bear in mind that changing timescale resolution affects all charts, indicators and trendlines. You can also display a "tick by tick" list that contains all the ticks of the day for a selected quote. Columns can be sorted by left-clicking on the column head you wish to sort.
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DRAWING INTRODUCTION
This section will show you three different examples on the usage of the drawing interface. Please refer to the section "Drawing tools" to read a complete overview of the drawing tools available.
Drawing lines
You can draw support, resistance and channel lines. To do so, select the appropriate drawing tool among the icons in the main window displayed below. Left-click to define the first point of your line. Move the mouse cursor and click again on the left button to define the second point of the line. The line will be drawn automatically.
Adding comments
Comments can be added to a chart using the icon " T " among the icons in the main window displayed above.
Modifications
Our trader's workstation allows you to modify and tweak every setting, parameter or drawing element in a chart. To do so, click right button on the corresponding drawn element.
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DRAWING TOOLS
The following guide will help you understand the use of the different tools located on the "Tools" menu. Each tool will be studied hereafter, from left to right. Tip: Clicking on the right button of the mouse will cancel the action of any tool described in this section. This is useful when you click on the chart by mistake, having previously clicked on a tool icon.
B. Create an Alert
The icon allows you to create an alert. Click on the "bell" and then in the chart displaying the security upon which the alert will be set. Please refer to the section "Create alerts" for details.
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Tip: Let the workstation assist you when drawing a line! The drawing assistance can be selected from the menu "Options" Go to the menu "Options" and check "Drawing assistance". Drawing Assistancehelps you to draw support and resistance lines: each time you place the mouse cursor near a specific point in the chart (high, close, open) or near a specific point on an indicator (ex: bollinger band), this point will automatically be selected as the starting or ending point of your line.
F. Typing text
Clicking on the icon allows you to add text on the charts. Once the icon is pressed, you can click anywhere on the charts to type your text. A window will automatically open, allowing you to select the font, size, style and color. Click on Close to confirm your choice. Bear in mind that you can modify the place in which the text is situated (refer to paragraph H) and the style options of the text (refer to paragraph J).
G. Copying an object
The icon represents two parallel lines. This button allows you to make a copy of any line, but also of any other object. Simply click on the object to copy and click anywhere else on the chart to paste the new object. Note that when you approach an object, this object turns to light blue, indicating that you can already click with your left mouse button to select it ; it thus prevents you from having to aim precisely on the object, giving you a wider area in which to click.
H. Moving an object
The button is very similar to the previous one, in the sense that instead of copying an object, the same procedure will move any object you have selected. This feature is very much like the "cut and paste" function in word processing software. Note that you can also use this mode to move only one part of the object (ex: move one point in a drawn line to change its slope).
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I. Deleting an object
Click on this deleted. icon first and then click on any object within your chart (text or line). The object will be
Note that the object turns to light blue when you approach it with the mouse cursor, indicating that you can already click with your left mouse button to delete it. Tip: To simultaneously delete all the objects on the chart, right-click on any drawn object and select Delete all drawn objects. Individual objects may also be deleted by right-clicking on them in cursor mode and selecting Delete.
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Create charts
CREATE CHARTS
Your charts can be fully customized: change colors, style, scale type, add indicators, switch indicators, change indicators parameters, make comparisons between securities and resize indicators windows by rightclicking on the chart and selecting the option "Chart settings...".
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Create charts
In your charts, you may display odd and even days in different colors, adjust the vertical scale density and show or hide chart grids. You may apply these changes to all charts or only to the active one. The image below explains how to change the background colour between odd and even days.
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Create charts
The image below explains how to display or hide the titles of your indicators:
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Create charts
The image below explains how to define the different types of scale you can display:
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Create charts
Here are some examples of customization: We begin with a 3-month closing line view of a price chartwithout any indicators.
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Create charts
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Create charts
Then click on the "style" drop-down menu and choose "Candlestick". Please note that a new "secondary" drop down menu appears allowing you to choose the colors of the candlesticks as shown below. The changes will appear as you select them.
Let's add a 5-day moving average, 20-day Bollinger and standard Parab SAR on a Daily Chart.
Launch the window "Settings Price" and click on "Add" drop-down menu to add these indicators one by one. Make sure you have on the left side of the "Settings Price" window: Moving Average ; Parab SAR and ( Boll up Boll down Boll middle). Click on Moving Average and select "Nb Periods" 5. Please note that you can change other settings of the MA depending on your needs.
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Create charts
Here is an example with a thicker line, a blue color and a exponential calculation method:
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Create charts
You can resize the horizontal scale by left-clicking in the area delimited by the horizontal blue rectangle outlined below, holding down left button and moving the mouse to the left or to the right. You can also resize the vertical scale by left-clicking in the area delimited by the vertical blue rectangle outlined below, holding down left button and moving the mouse upwards or downwards. You will see that the intervals of the vertical scale will change as you do this. As the timescale changes, the main intervals will be accordingly adjusted so that they remain displayed in bold. Note that you can customize the density of the vertical scale by right-clicking in the chart window and selecting the option "Chart Settings":
You can come back to the optimised zoom level by clicking on the icon
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Create charts
You can choose when to display the title for any given indicator (or all of them). Selecting "Never" hides the title; "Cursor on chart" displays it only when the pointer passes over the window, and "Always" (which is the default setting) shows it permanently. To set this feature for all indicators, tick the square next to "Apply to all charts". You can access this command in the menu "Chart settings..." by right-clicking on the chart window where the indicator is located.
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Create charts
Let's move the window "Relative Strength Index" above the MACD window.
Left-click on the "Relative Strength Index" title, outlined below in blue, hold down and move the mouse upwards until you see the rectangle outlined in blue.
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Create charts
Note that you can also enlarge the window "Relative Strength Index" by left-clicking and holding the mouse down on the white blank space between windows "Price" and "Relative Strength Index", andmoving the mouse upwards.
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Create multi-charts
CREATE MULTI-CHARTS
Opening multiple charts
Open the "Lists" window. Clicking on the This icon opens a window displaying a new chart of the security.
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Create multi-charts
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Create multi-charts
On the other hand, to deactivate the link option, click again on the link icon so that it looks like
Please note that the main chart corresponds to the first chart window displayed and it's the only charting window to have a link icon that looks like chart window is the main one. . The red cross means that the link icon is inactive, since this
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Create alerts
CREATE ALERTS
You can create alerts based on: a specific price of a security a specific price of a customized indicator the crossing of a customized line with a customized indicator the crossing of a customized indicator with another customized indicator
An alert may be either a single condition of the ones listed above, or be made up of several conditions which happen simultaneously.
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Create alerts
Then click on the chart of the security you wish to create an alert for. For example, if you want to create an alert on the price of the security shown on the chart, you should click on the blue area outlined below:
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Create alerts
A new window appears in which you can define all the characteristics of your alert: let's set an alert for a price above 1.4775.
2. Let's create another alert based on 2 conditions: price below 20-day simple moving average (that has already been drawn in blue on the chart (Condition 1) and when MACD histogram for 12 26 9 is greater than 0 (Condition 2). To create Condition 1, simply repeat step 1 and select "Moving average" in the drop-down menu as shown below:
To create Condition 2, click on "Add condition" (see button in image above), then click again on the blue area outlined below and set the conditions as shown in the second image below. Finally, click on "Create Alert".
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Create alerts
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Create alerts
Let's add another alert on the Stochastic Indicator: the alert should be triggered when the Stochastic %K crosses the red line shown below that we have drawn on the chart. Click on the and click on the red line. icon of the tools menu
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Create alerts
The characteristics of the alert are automatically filled as shown below and you just need to click on "Create Alert" !
The current status of the alerts we have just created is available in the "Alerts status" window. You can launch this window from the "Display" menu of the main window: 3 alerts have been created and one of them (id=1) has 2 conditions.
Lots of customizable alerts can be created within a few clicks. So enjoy the alerts module!
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In any case, a pop-up window will remind you to save your changes every time you close the workstation, as shown by the following image:
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Save yo ur templat es
The template is now saved for the rest of the session. To save it for future sessions, remember to save the current session by clicking "File" and "Save" in the main window. Please refer to the section "Save your studies" for more details. Once a template is saved, you can open it again anytime in the future. You can save as many templates as you want. As stated above, templates save the size and position of all your windows, all the characteristics of your charting windows including indicators, but also the options and preferences you have chosen. The following paragraphs will describe available customization features of these options.
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Save yo ur templat es
Options menu
Fit all windows to screen size - Useful when you work on different computers and you want to fit automatically your windows to the new screen resolution. Simultaneous reduction of all windows - Checked if you want to minimize every window of the workstation when you minimize any single one of them. If this option is unchecked, each window can be minimized separately. A particular case concerns the main window: no matter whether this option is checked or not, minimizing the main window will simultaneously minimize every other active window. If other windows are minimized in this way, they can be restored again by restoring the main window.
Cursor type - Choice for the mouse type, between the circles on price and indicators for current mouse cursor position (select "Circles"), the vertical line ("Line"), the standard cross ("Cross") and nothing ("None"). Cursor mode after each drawing - Once you have drawn the object (line, text, Fibonacci...), the workstation will switch to the Cursor mode allowing you to move the chart by left-clicking on the charts, holding down the left button and moving the mouse. If this preference is unchecked, you"ll be able to draw as many lines or other objects as you want in a row without having to select the object each time from the toolbar or objects menu. Drawing assistance - This feature helps you draw lines: each time you place the mouse cursor near a specific point on the chart (high, close, open) or near a specific point on an indicator (ex: bollinger band), this point will automatically be selected as the starting or ending point of your line. Lines displayed on inferior time units - Each time you draw a line, you may want to display the line in smaller timescale views by checking this option. For instance, all the trendlines drawn in Daily views are available in 1-hour views. Our workstation includes an exclusive "transfer process" that guarantees the quality of the transfer of line display from one view to another. Dividend adjusted charts - It applies to charts displaying stocks. In case of dividends, you can check this option to display charts adjusted for dividends or not.
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Save yo ur templat es
Display "Cursor details" on chart windows - Small boxes appear on charts to let you see the values of each displayed indicator. Note that these boxes only appear if you stop moving your mouse for a couple of seconds. The following image is an example of such value boxes.
Display objects - Checked if you want to display all the trendlines, objects and comments you draw on the charts. Tip: Should you ever not see your studies, note that in most cases this is due to this option being unchecked. In such cases, simply check it again display your studies. Display comments - Checked if you want to display a box in all your charting windows where you may enter your comments and save them. Don"t forget to save your comments before leaving by clicking on menu "File / Save" of the main window.
Set time zone and trading hours... - This option allows you to set the daily opening and closing times of market activity to be displayed in the chart (in case you want to display only certain hours of the trading day), or to leave the default opening and closing times of that market. You can also set the time zone to adjust it to that of the market (selected by default), of your computer's, or set any other time zone of your choice. Finally, you can choose whether to display or not week-end market data in markets that operate during these days, such as Forex.
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Help menu
Contextual help - If the box is checked, a help window will appear each time you leave the mouse motionless for 1 second over many elements of the software.
Troubleshoot... - If you are experiencing any trouble with your workstation, this option opens a window with technical information that may help us to solve your problem. Upon request of our support service, you can send this information to us by clicking on the "e-mail" button.
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Save yo ur templat es
Chart properties
You can set different parameters for your charts. Properties may be defined for each separate chart by clicking on the icon below outlined in blue, which is present on every charting window.
Background color - This drop-down menu allows you to choose the background color for your charts. We advise you to choose different background colors for your various charts to quickly differentiate them visually. Please refer to the section "Create charts" for details regarding changing the colors of your charts and indicators. Display indicator name - If selected, your charting windows will display the titles of all your indicator windows.
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Save yo ur templat es
Horizontal grid - Shows or hides horizontal grids on the charts. Vertical grid - Shows or hides vertical grids on the charts. Apply to all charts - If selected, the background color, the grid and the status of your indicator titles will be the same for all your charting windows.
Examples Here are some examples of templates (screen resolution 1024x768). Do not hesitate to create your own!
Standard
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Save yo ur templat es
Stocks
Forex
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Save yo ur templat es
Single Future
Multi-future
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Save yo ur templat es
Portfolio
Chart Styles
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Get the chart study by email or send it to several people at the same time
We advise you to use this feature if you wish to post charts on the web or if you want to send your studies to several contacts at the same time. To get your chart by email, display the corresponding chart window and click on the envelope icon outlined in blue below.
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First, you need to create your contact list. The first step is creating your list of contacts. You can start by entering your own email address and those of all of your friends, as shown below:
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Once an email address is saved, it will be available for later use on other messages. You just need to click on the address of the person that you want to send the email to. Selected emails will appear on the top left side as it is shown below. In this example we will send the email to Pieter and Ronald.
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Next, choose the subject of the email the width and the height of the image and the actual text of the email.
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The chart will be sent to each person listed in the left box.
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Please note that you can also display several charts of the same security in a single image. To do so, make sure that you are currently displaying all the views of the security (1 charting window per view) and check "Send simultaneously all charts displaying this security" in the window "Send chart analysis by email" shown in the image above. For example, if you display several chart windows as shown below and you check "Send simultaneously all charts displaying this security", you will be able to generate and mail the second image shown below:
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Print charts
We advise you to choose this feature if you just want to print your chart or save it as a file without sending it by email. To save or print your charts, click on the icon outlined below in blue.
Choose the width and the height of the image, then save it or print it out. In both cases, a browser window will appear. If you want to save it on your hard disk, right-click on the image so that a menu appears, and select "Save as".
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To p m o v e r s
TOP MOVERS
The window Top Movers is available from the "Display" menu of the main window. Top movers is a powerful scanning aimed to detect promising investments through price variations on EQUITY MARKETS and the FOREX in real-time with tick-by-tick precision. The top movers scanner requires no programming or coding to use. Furthermore, two "Top Movers" windows are available so you can access simultaneously several functions. In either of these windows, you can switch effortlessly between different features by simply clicking on the corresponding labels. Note that you may fully customize the contents of every list, exactly as you do with your lists of securities (please refer to the section "Create lists" for more details on this subject). This section will explain in detail the use of different tools exploiting in depth the price variations on the market of your choice.
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To p m o v e r s
Left drop-down menu: Market choice Select the market in this drop-down menu where you want "Top Movers" to search.
Middle drop-down menu: Criteria choice This menu allows you to set the search criteria for the Top Movers. The "Up" option will display the largest positive price variations of the securities on the timeframe defined in the third drop-down menu. The "Down" option will display the largest negative price variations of the securities on the timebasis defined in the third drop-down menu. The option "Volume(unit)" will display the largest variations of the volume exchanged for each security on the timeframe defined in the third drop-down menu.
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To p m o v e r s
The option "Volume(cash)" will display the largest variations of cash exchanged on the time-basis defined in the third drop-down menu. The option "Opening Gap Up" will display the securities with the largest positive gaps (gains) between the close of the previous session and the opening of today's session. The option "Opening Gap Down" will display the securities with the largest negative gaps (losses) between the close of the previous session and the opening of today's session. The option "Abnormal Volume" will display the highest ratios of the day between today's volume of a security and its average volume on a time-basis defined in the third drop-down menu. Right drop-down menu: Choice of timescale This menu will define the time period in which the variations are calculated. For instance, selecting "30 minutes" will automatically calculate variations between the current quote and the quote 30 minutes ago. Example: Selecting "1 Hour" in the "Since" drop-down menu; "Up" in the "Variation" drop-down menu;
displays the Top Winners during the previous hour of trading. For instance, at 4:18pm, you can display the top gainers of all Euronext securities since 3:18 pm.
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To p m o v e r s
Checked-in columns are the ones currently displayed in the tables. Please note that when you see a table in the "Lists" menu, the "Top Movers" menu or the "Portfolios" menu, you can always left-click on the above tool and therefore choose the columns to add or to delete. The columns will appear or disappear as you click. The data on each column for the variations section is described below: Last - Latest quotation. %Chg - Percentage variation between the current quotation and the closing quote of the day before. Chg - Difference between the closing quote of the current day and the closing quote of the day before. Volume - Volume in thousands (K) or millions (M). Capital - Volume x Last quote. Open - Opening quote of the trading day. High - Highest quotation for the security during the trading day. Low - Lowest quotation for the security during the trading day. Prev - Closing quote of the day before. Security - Nature of financial instrument (bond, currency, fund, future, index, option, stock or warrant). ISIN - Share code composed of 12 characters of which the first two signify the place where the shares are quoted. Ticker - Code symbol usually composed of 3 characters.
Sorting columns
To switch from one order to the other, left-click on the title of the column you wish to sort. eg. clicking on the "Name" once sorts the column from A to Z, whereas clicking again the column title the securities will be sorted from Z to A.
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Tick by tick
TICK BY TICK
Tick by Tick data
With ITCharts Advanced, you can view all the ticks of the day of a given security! To open the Tick by Tick window, you can either click on the "Tick" icon as shown below (number 1) or rightclick on a charting window of the security to launch the menu shown below and select "Tick by tick list..." (number 2). You may then click on a headline to sort the Tick by Tick list (Time, Price or Volume). You can display a Tick by Tick window for each security. As an example, EUR/USD has more than 30000 ticks per day and you can display this list in just a few seconds !
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ProBuilder module
PROBUILDER MODULE
ProBuilder programming language allows you to create your own real-time indicators.
Your workstation can store an unlimited number of personal indicators. Your own indicators will be added to the default indicator list of ITCharts Advanced. The default indicators will appear in black whereas your own indicators appear in blue as shown below. You can delete your own indicators or modify their code. To view in detail the characteristics of the ProBuilder module, you can access the ProBuilder User Manual from the Workstation. To access the ProBuilder programming language, open a chart and click on the button "Indicator / Backtest". Then click on the button "New Indicator". Note that some of the default indicators are given as example probuilder indicators so you can customize their code. You will recognize them by the italic font in which they appear.
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ProBuilder module
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ProBuilder module
On the image above, it is possible to distinguish 4 particular areas: - the blue area allows you to define the name of your new indicator. - the red area allows you to type the program of the new indicator. Note that you can click on "Insert function" button in order to make the Functions List appear (as shown in the image below). This allows you to select and insert all ProBuilder functions in an easy way.
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ProBuilder module
Note that your existing indicators may be used as functions within your new indicator. The possibilities are endless! - the green area corresponds to the parameters section. For instance, Stochastic has usually %K and %D parameters. The idea is that you can create all the parameters of your new indicator by using the "Add" button. There is no limit in the number of parameters allowed. When clicking on this button, a new window like the one below will appear. There you can configure the parameter in many different ways, such as: the label of the parameter used in the program (usually short names like "MA","b"...), the label of the parameter displayed in the Properties window of your new indicator (for instance, "Number of days" or "Applied to" or "Period Shift" ...), the type of the parameter (Integer, Decimal, Boolean, ...), other possible restrictions.
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ProBuilder module
- the blue area allows you to insert the help that describes your new indicator. It appears on the right side of the Indicators window as shown in the first image of this page.
ProBuilder includes the most powerful technical analysis engine ever developed: your creations will have no limits thanks to its many functions. Here is an example of indicator that is available for viewing and modification on the "ITCharts Advanced workstation".
Indicator MyRSI
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ProBacktest module
PROBACKTEST MODULE
To view in detail the characteristics of the ProBacktest module, you can access the ProBacktest User Manual from the Workstation. You can reach the ProBacktest module by clicking on the "Indicator / Backtest" button of any charting window. Then click on the top left menu "ProBacktests". First, click on the button "New ProBacktest". The following window will appear:
We use by default an "Assisted creation" mode that allows you to create your strategy without having to write a single line of code! Note that you can also create your own code by clicking on the label "Creation by programming" of the window displayed above. The window "Assisted creation" is composed of several buttons (Buy, Sell, Short, Exit short) which allow you to define your buying and selling conditions. You can now define the money management of your strategy by clicking on the button "Capital management" then on the button "Stops". Finally, click on the button "OK" to automatically generate the code for your backtest!
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ProBacktest module
Example: Let's create a strategy based on the Stochastic indicator. On a 30-year period with daily candlesticks, let's start by displaying a simple 150-day moving average on the price and also the stochastic indicator.
First, click on the button "Indicator / Backtest". Then go to "ProBacktests" in the top left corner, click "New ProBacktest" and choose the "Buy" button to define your buying conditions. Finally, click on the Stochastic chart. The following window will appear:
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ProBacktest module
Let's select "%K 1" "Cross Over" "%D 1" We will now add another condition clicking on the button "Add condition". We click this time on the price chart. The following window will appear:
Let's select "Price 1", ">=" and "Moving average 1". Finally click on the "OK" button. Let's now define how to sell the buying positions by clicking on "Sell" and then on the Stochastic chart. Let's choose "%K 1" "Cross Under" "%D 1" and click on "OK".
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ProBacktest module
Then, we click on "Capital management" and we set the parameters illustrated below:
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ProBacktest module
To define the Stops strategy, we click on "Stops" and we choose the settings below:
Click on the "OK" button and then click again on the "OK" button of the window "Assisted Creation". Congratulations ! The program is done, you just need to give a name to your backtest such as "Stochastic" and click on "Validate program".
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ProBacktest module
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ProBacktest module
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ProBacktest module
As you see, the results are not so good. Let's click on the "Tool" icon of the Equity curve as shown below (outlined in blue):
and then on "Modify ProBacktest". Let's create a variable instead of the number 150 for the moving average. To do so, remove the number "150" from the program and write "number" instead. Then click on the "Add button" of the field "Optimization parameters" and choose the settings below:
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ProBacktest module
and click on "OK". Finally, click on the button "Validate program". After a few seconds, you get an optimization report that gives you the best strategies upon different criteria like net profits, Maximum DrawDown, % winning trades...
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ProBacktest module
The results of our optimization are poor since the best detected strategy is a losing strategy. To improve it, you could try to add new conditions like buying signals only if the %K is below a variable named "BuyingLevel". This variable could in turn be optimized between 15 and 40... With ProBacktest, all your ideas can be tested ! On the window "ProBacktest programming", you can apply far more sophisticated functions by using our Functions library which you can access by clicking on the button "Insert function" as shown below.
A window appears with all the functions available with ProBacktest module and the corresponding help. By clicking on "Add", you can insert this function in your program at the location of the mouse cursor.
To view in detail the characteristics of the ProBacktest module, you can access the ProBacktest User Manual from the Workstation.
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ProScreener module
PROSCREENER MODULE
To view in detail the characteristics of the ProScreener module, you can access the ProScreener User Manual from the Workstation. The ProScreener module is available through the item "ProScreener" on the menu "Display". ProScreener is a powerful scanning tool that will allow you to scan markets for securities: meeting one or multipe customizable conditions defined by you in one timescale view or in multiple different timescale views (ex: 1 minute and 1 hour) in real-time with tick-by-tick precision ProScreeners can be created easily through the assisted creation mode without any knowledge of code (see below) or by programming. To start configuring it, click on the button "Set ProScreener" and then on the button "New ProScreener". The following window will appear:
By default, we are on an "Assisted Creation" mode that allows you to create your screener without having to write a single line of code! Note that you can also create your own code by clicking on the "Creation by programming" menu. The window "Assisted Creation" is composed of several buttons (Conditions, Criteria) that allow you to define your filtering conditions and sorting criteria. Finally, click on the button "OK" to generate automatically your screener code !
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ProScreener module
Example: Let's create a screener on Nasdaq stocks based on the RSI indicator. On a 150-unit period with daily candlesticks, let's first display a 50 simple moving average on the price and also the RSI indicator.
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ProScreener module
Let's click on the "Screener conditions" button to define screener conditions. Then, click on the RSI chart. The following window will appear:
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ProScreener module
We will now add another condition clicking on "Add condition" button. We click this time on the Price chart. The following window will appear:
Let's select "Price 1" ">=" "Moving average 1". Finally click on the button "OK".
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ProScreener module
Let's now define how to sort and filter selected stocks by clicking on "Sorting criteria" button, then on the option "Indicator to be selected..." and finally on the RSI chart. Next click on the button "Ok".
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ProScreener module
Congratulations ! The program is done, you just need to name your ProScreener and define its settings:
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ProScreener module
You will note that the list of securities is refreshed in real time and tick by tick.
To view in detail the characteristics of the ProScreener module, you can access the ProScreener User Manual from the Workstation.
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P r o o r d e r v 2 Tr a d i n g M o d u l e
Order Display
Every order is visually represented by a line drawn at its the price level. Line color and width change depending on the order's status: A thin grey line is used for pending orders A bigger blue line is used for open positions
On the left side of each order line, a tab illustrates the most important information concerning the order: Color: green for buy orders, red for sell orders, grey for orders being processed Volume & price: shown as quantity at (@) the current price level. The price level can evolve in case of oblique orders The eye shows the order's status: These orders are recorded on our servers and may be processed even when your session is closed. The order is stored in the workstation only and is not visible from the market (so called "soft" orders, examples include oblique orders and orders associated to alerts). These orders will be deleted if they have not been executed when you close the workstation.Order type: Buy/Sell and Stop/Limit, are mentioned only if the order is pending.
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P r o o r d e r v 2 Tr a d i n g M o d u l e
Red cross: allows you to quickly exit an open position or delete a pending order. Order validity: a yellow dot is displayed on the bar on which the order was placed. For a pending order, the length of the line represents the validity of the order set in the order: until the end of the day, until a specific date or no limit. Modify: the icon allows you to modify the price level of a pending order. Click on the icon and the line will follow the cursor of the mouse until you click a second time. The order will be set at the new price level, while the other settings remain unchanged.
It is also possible to modify an order by right-clicking on the line and selecting the "Modify" option. A new window (see image below) will allow you to modify the quantity and the price associated to the pending order.
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P r o o r d e r v 2 Tr a d i n g M o d u l e
Order lines can be curved or straight. You can choose the order display mode from the "Trading" Menu by selecting "Preferences" and then "Trading details on charts" (see image below).
Choose the curved line icon (left) for a curved line style. Choose the straight line icon (right) for a straight line style.
Contingent orders
The main order can be associated to one or two contingent orders when it is placed using order templates or the New order window (see below).
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P r o o r d e r v 2 Tr a d i n g M o d u l e
Place Orders
The ProOrder V2 trading module introduces a variety of icons in most charting windows, creating an integrated interface for trading. The different ways to place orders are introduced below.
Order Templates
The quickest way to place an order is to use the Order Templates Toolbar, that appears in the top-right of the charting window (see the blue frame in the image below). Order Templates allow you to place predefined orders by simply clicking on the chart. A number of order templates have been created for you. You can customize or delete them to create order templates more appropriate to your trading style.
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P r o o r d e r v 2 Tr a d i n g M o d u l e
You will be able to associate an order to an Alert by activating the check box shown in the image.
First define the conditions composing your Alert, by using the drop-down menus proposed. Then check the "Associate Trigger" box and setup your Order: Choose Buy or Sell if the conditions are met Associate a quantity to the order
Every order associated to an Alert is an "At market" order, that will be placed only if the conditions are met and the alert is triggered. This functionality is very useful to associate orders to indicators and to create an order based on multiple conditions.
Example: Let's assume the price is close to the resistance of a downtrend channel and RSI(14) < 70. We can set an alert that opens a short position if the price crosses the resistance line and RSI >= 70. Orders associated to Alerts are not visible to the market (these are called "soft-orders"). These orders will be deleted if they have not been executed when you close the workstation.
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P r o o r d e r v 2 Tr a d i n g M o d u l e
Therefore, you can open a chart or select a security from a list and click on these icons to place an order for that security. A "New Order" windows appears and gives you the choice among all the order types available (see image below).
Place your order by choosing "Buy" or "Sell", the validity and the order type. In case the order is not "At market", just type the price level for the order type of your choice. Then click OK and the order is placed directly on the chart selected. You can also associate a stop and a limit to your order, to do this, check the appropriate boxes and choose the number of points away to place your stop or limit.
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P r o o r d e r v 2 Tr a d i n g M o d u l e
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P r o o r d e r v 2 Tr a d i n g M o d u l e
Order Templates
Order Templates are orders that you can set and save for later use. You can place them very quickly just by clicking on the chart. You can create Order Templates appropriate to your trading style.
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P r o o r d e r v 2 Tr a d i n g M o d u l e
On the right side of the window, several options are at your disposal to better define the order: 1. Size Quantity: set the quantity you wish to associate to the order. You can type the number directly or use the up/down buttons to define it. 2. Valid until GTC: the order is valid until cancelled. Remember that soft orders such as orders associated to alerts or oblique lines are cancelled automatically if they have not been executed when you quit the workstation. 3. Type Limit Stop At market price 4. Contingent orders Once defined your order from the "Type" section described above, you can link it to one or more contingent orders. To create contingent orders, click on the related check box and the options below will become available. When the first order is executed, one or two contingent orders can be set, usually as a protection stop and target limit for the position. To set a contingent limit order, activate the check box "limit" in the contingent orders section and a new window will allow you to set its parameters:
Name: name your limit order and if you want, associate an abbreviation to it for easier identification when the order template is displayed in the drop-down menu. Set target: define the way you wish to place the limit. You have choice between placing the limit order directly on a chart, by clicking with your mouse on a price level; or manually fixing it in terms of points away per position.
Click "OK" to save the limit order. The limit order can be modified at any time by clicking on the related wrench icon and will be available for later use, even in other order templates with contingent orders.
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P r o o r d e r v 2 Tr a d i n g M o d u l e
To set a contingent stop order, check the box "Stop" in the contingent orders section and a new window will allow you to set its parameters:
Name: name your stop order and if you want, associate an abbreviation to it for easier identification when the order template is displayed in the drop-down menu. Set order: define the way you wish to place the stop. You have choice between placing the stop order directly on a chart, by clicking with your mouse on a price level; or manually fixing it in terms of points away per position.
Click "OK" to save the stop order. It order can be modified at any time by clicking on the related wrench icon and will be available for later use, even in other order templates with contingent orders.
You can create a wide range of Order Templates, adapted for various trading strategies. Once you have finished, click on the "Close" button. The Order Templates created are displayed on the toolbar in the top-right area of the chart.
To place an order, click on the first drop-down menu and select the Order Template you wish to use (1). If necessary, you can modify the volume associated to your order from the rectangle (2). Select one of the icons on the right (3) and simply place the order by clicking on chart. Except for "At market" orders, Order Templates include an assistant that automatically defines the direction of your order, by comparing the position of the cursor to the last price quoted.
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P r o o r d e r v 2 Tr a d i n g M o d u l e
Example: let's assume you select a limit order and the last price of the security considered is 10. If your cursor is below 10, a buy limit order is proposed; if your cursor is above 10, a sell limit order is proposed.
Depending on the settings of the Order Template created, different icons may be availabe. We can distinguish three main categories:
1. "At market" orders: Click on Click on to place a BUY market order. The order is sent to the market immediately. to place a SELL market order. The order is sent to the market immediately.
2. Horizontal orders (fixed price level): Click on to place an order at a fixed price level. Next, move the cursor to the chart and click
on the price level of your choice. The integrated assistant will detect if the order should be buy or sell depending on the price level chosen. Click on to consecutively place multiple orders at a fixed price level. The integrated assistant
will detect if the order should be buy or sell. Next : Click on the first price level to place the Leg 1 order Click a second time to place the first contingent order (Leg 2) Click a third time to place the second contingent order if applicable (Leg 3)
3. Oblique orders (evolving price level): Click on the icon to set an order with an evolving price level. These "soft orders" will be
deleted if they have not been executed when you close the workstation. The integrated assistant will detect if the order is to buy or to sell. Next you have to draw an oblique line: Click to define the first point of the oblique line Click on the second point to create the line
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Portfolio window
PORTFOLIO WINDOW
The Portfolio gives an exhaustive overview of your trading activity. The Portfolio window is composed of a section giving an overview of your performance (top) and a section listing the securities that compose your portfolio (bottom). You can customize the columns to be shown, by clicking on the wrench icon.
ORDER LIST
From the "Trading" menu in the main window, you can access the "Order List" window where you can track order activity. The window is split into 5 different tabs: Pending orders: a complete list of orders not triggered yet. Executed orders: a complete list of triggered orders. These orders can be related to an open position or previous positions. Rejected orders: lists the orders expired or orders not accepted from the market rules. Multiple-leg orders: lists all the multiple leg orders (ex: main order + contingent limit and/or stop orders). All orders: shows an exhaustive list of all of the orders listed in the previous categories.
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K e yb o a r d s h o r t c u t s
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
For a simple and quicker use of the ITCharts Advanced workstation you may use the following list of shortcuts:
File
Save Exit Ctrl+S Ctrl+Q
Display
Lists Top Movers ProScreener Alerts status Cursor details Ctrl+L Ctrl+1 Ctrl+E Ctrl+A Ctrl+D
Templates
Save/Remove Personal Template 1 Personal Template 2 Personal Template X Ctrl+W Ctrl+F1 Ctrl+F2 Ctrl+FX
Lists
To move up/down on "Lists" or "Top Movers" or "Portfolios" lists, you can use either up/down keys or the mouse wheel's vertical scrollbar.
Charts
To zoom, you can press + or - on your keyboard. To slightly zoom into the chart, you can use the mousewheel when the chart window is selected.
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K e yb o a r d s h o r t c u t s
Windows
All windows can be minimized simultaneously by minimizing any ITCharts Advanced window. You can press Alt+F4 to close the active window. You can press Esc each time you want to click on a "Cancel" button.
You can also view our shortcuts in the menus of our main window:
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Customize fonts
CUSTOMIZE FONTS
To customize the font size of the ITCharts Advanced workstation, simply display the Options menu and then select "Fonts...". In the window "Fonts", you have two options: modify all texts or modify specific texts among lists, charts and buttons/menus.
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Customize fonts
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Customize fonts
Have a look now at the image below to see an example on how the lists may appear when applying larger font sizes:
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Customize fonts
You can also select other font types for the charts:
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Customize fonts
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Customize colors
CUSTOMIZE COLORS
To customize the look & feel of the ITCharts Advanced workstation, go to "Options" and then select "Colors...". Here are the 4 standard layouts we propose.
Remember that you can also customize your own atmosphere ! Choose the colors of the general interface, lists, charts or flickerings.
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Customize colors
Bluish black
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Customize colors
Golden black
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Customize colors
Blue
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Customize colors
White
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Customize colors
You may also differentiate even and odd days on intraday charts by changing background colors for each.
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