Evaluating eSignal

[Dimension]

Hi,
i am trying to evaluate eSignal and downloaded the trial software.
Problem is, i am not sure how to get started. I enter a symbol, and no data is available for that symbol (QQQ). how do i connect to a datasource to test again?

also, i particularly interested in programming my own systems. Can someone tell me a bit more about the scripting engine? where is it exactly and what your thoughts are on this?

thanks much

[ACM]

Dimension
Probably the best way to get started is to go through the New User Orientation.
After that you may want to visit eSignal University where you can find a collection of videos explaining various aspects of the application.
Lastly with regards to the scripting engine called EFS (Esignal Formula Script) you may want to go through the EFS KnowledgeBase
Alex

[Dimension]

thank you Alexis,
i am going thru the EFS kb righ know. one thing strikes me on the main page. i notice there is an article regarding creating custom indicators, which is great! however, i don't see any regarding creating "systems".

I am coming from Wealth-Lab Developer environment, and have many systems i have written there that i would eventually like to convert so that they can work in eSignal. Some of these are as simple as buying/selling when certain indicator conditions are met. Other's were implemented using much more complicated algorithm such as the TD Power of 9 system.
Can eSignal support these types of systems? in other words, can i code buy/sell signals/alerts in eSignal based on a series of built in AND custom indicators conditions? Can these systems be used to backtest and automate trading in eSignal?

thanks much....forgive all the questions. it is possible that i can find the answers to these in the documentation. but my dilema is that i am evaluating 3 software packages and they are all limited trial version. so it is right now much more efficient for me to ask...

thank you again

[gspiker]

Dimension,

Can eSignal support these types of systems? in other words, can i code buy/sell signals/alerts in eSignal based on a series of built in AND custom indicators conditions? Can these systems be used to backtest and automate trading in eSignal?

I'm not familiar with the specific indicators you are talking about (there are a lot of indicators already coded, and you might do a search on this BB to see if someone has posted any of them yet), so I can't comment directly on the ability to code those, but the generic answer is yes, you can code in new/custom indicators by using EFS. You can also generate systems, by using EFS. These systems can use the built-in eSignal indicators or custom indicators (as well as many of the add-on/third party eSignal indicators). These systems can then be backtested and automatic trade signals can be generated.

Depending on what you mean by "Automatic trading signals" you can either use native eSignal (for tasks like just popping up a buy/sell alert or to go the next step and popping up buy/sell buttons to place orders to your broker), or you can go to a third party add-on's if you want the EFS to automatically place orders for you with no user intervention (last I looked, native eSignal still lacked a few features to allow it to do fully automatic trading). I have posted many cautions on the risks of fully automated trading (using any platform) before, so I will not go into that again here. If you are interested you can search the BB to find my warnings. I now have feed back from one trader who says he has heeded my warnings - so this not not just random "danger-danger" stuff.

My additional caveat is that for backtesting intraday systems, currently eSignal only keeps about 120 days worth of information (they have plans to expand this - but it isn't going to happen soon according to the last report from eSignal). There has been much discussion about this on this BB. The bottom line is, if you feel 120 days is enough for you to backtest on, the eSignal sounds like a good match. If not, then you might wait until they provide more historical intraday data.

Hope this helps,

Garth

[Dimension]

thanks much for taking the time to respond. What are your thoughts on NeoTicker? i am debating between eSignal and NeoTicker. Of most importance to me is the ability to convert my systems from Wealth Lab.

on additionaly question...EFS looks very much like javascript. Question, does eSignal use the Microsoft Scripting Engine by any chance? If so, Now that Microsoft has no plans to enhance that engine, does this not limit future enhancement as far as the scripting language is concerned?

[eSignal_JasonK]

Hello Dimension,

For a detailed explanation of EFS, please review our KnowledgeBase article, All About JavaScript - The Foundation of EFS.