Do not reposition the chart to the last bar when adjusting a parameter slider (wish) ?
Author: Ben_Zurich
Creation Date: 11/26/2012 10:59 AM
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Ben_Zurich

#1
Here's a 'nice to have':

Sometimes I'd like to watch how my indicators behave at a certain time frame whenever I change one of the strategy parameter's value (the sliders). However this is not possible as WL6 moves the chart to the end of the selected data range, and consequently the time range currently visible disappears. Personally I can see no benefit in changing the time frame by just pressing 'Go'.

Yes, there is a circumvention in setting the data range to the time frame under investigation, but this obviously has other disadvantages.
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Eugene

#2
"Time frame" is not equal to "time range", so unless I'm mistaken your request can be rephrased as...

"Do not re-position the chart to the last bar after making a parameter slider adjustment" [option]

Right? Otherwise I do not understand what's going on.

If I'm right, it's a considerable change in user experience.
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streak

#3

Hear hear

Please make the improvement;
QUOTE:
"Do not re-position the chart to the last bar after making a parameter slider adjustment"


When doing hours of testing, having to scroll back is not nice and this is not just for viewing indicator changes.

Thanks Jon

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Eugene

#4
Gentlemen, please ask something more simple than turning the user experience upside down. Not repositioning the chart is counter-intuitive, because feedback is lost. It's far easier to load a particular data range for experimenting with indicator's behavior on historical data.
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Ben_Zurich

#5
Feedback could be provided in many other ways. User experience is readily forgotten when there is an improvement. Are there any other reasons why this should not be done ?
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Eugene

#6
1) For at least two next releases of Wealth-Lab, the queue is filled up.
2) We and Fidelity are opposed to making changes that are single-user and obscure by their nature.
3) It's a habit for every user of the product out there that the program re-positions the chart.
4) Support woes.
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streak

#7
Had a non-programmer colleague come over to try the strategy parameters for curve-fitting an indicator (!!!). He loved the tool but did not find the chart very friendly when the displayed bars jumped as he moved the slider.

I often use the tool for odd parameters that affect things like entries & exits unrelated to any indicator. Generally there are just a few entries in 'qu' at a time and I want to see the exact area of the chart just as the slider is altered....but the chart 'auto-scrolls' to the last bar and I spend much time scrolling back to find the particular point in qu. It's tedious in respect of how good the tool otherwise is.

Sorry I really do not believe a 'fix' here would be "turning the user experience upside down", and its definitely not easier to continually be resetting date ranges.

My guess is that many users would find the strategy parameter tool friendlier & more productive if the associated chart's date range did not jump.

"...obscure..." Isn't obscurity just what this would overcome?
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Eugene

#8
Like F5, Go, "Execute", or an added streaming bar, adjusting a Strategy parameter executes the Strategy. Executing in single-symbol mode always redraws the screen. Redrawing means repositioning to the last added bar. This is how it always has been.

If somebody doesn't want this, he/she can adjust the chart to load a limited data range so that no scrolling would happen.
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Ben_Zurich

#9
"This is how it always has been." - A striking argument.
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Eugene

#10
Clearing stale (outdated!) alerts in Strategy Monitor in 6.4.49, valid from a programmer's standpoint, have resulted in releasing a patch (6.4.52) to revert this behavior just days since because many users have immediately become confused. And you're talking about changing the manner in which Wealth-Lab charts are redrawn! You just don't have an idea what would this hypothetical change mean in terms of increased support.
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Eugene

#11
P.S. I'm renaming this thread's title because "steady time frame" sounds extremely confusing to me - like if tweaking a Strategy parameter resulted in changing the chart's bar scale!
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Ben_Zurich

#12
Thank you for changing the title. English is not my mother tongue.

I think we should have a second opinïon on that. How about Cole?

The best thing would be a poll.
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Dave B.

#13
If I may chime in with my humble opinion, the answer is neither.

Wealth-Lab is a tool and its power lies in the ability of the user to make it do things as the user intends (hopefully make a profit!)

This path we are on is one of the most time consuming pursuits a person can choose (with a computer) and we are taking about individual efficiency in this endeavor and request.

The solution in not to change the behavior of Wealth-Lab for all users, but rather to add programmatic methods to increase the efficiency of any user who chooses to use the internal programming capabilities at their disposal (human and contained in the tool).

I have used (and enjoyed) Wealth-Lab for many years and have, at times, asked for a feature to make my life easier. I have never agreed with "simplification", or "how it’s been", or "cluttered interface", etc.

My suggestion for this request, and others like it, is to add some simple programmatic functions that the user can embed in their code to make the tool do exactly what the user desires, thereby speeding their workflow, increasing their efficiency, and not changing the user experience for anyone but themselves.

Examples:

1. A command in code to center a specific bar number on the screen - eliminates scrolling while developing and testing
2. A command in code to set the number of bars to be displayed on the screen - eliminates zooming in and out
3. A command in code to select the type and position of the cursor - further reduces effort / time
4. A command in code to pretty much perform any function limited currently to the user interface - that's real power

I believe this philosophy of software development provides all users with the most power while providing a consistent user experience for the bulk of the users. I also believe support for these type of simple commands would not overwhelm the competent staff at Fidelity or MS123.
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streak

#14
Agreed Dave.

For anyone listening in, something of a workaround (for entries/exits only) is to double-click any particular trade listed on the 'Trades' tab, that flicks it up on the 'Chart'. A great feature!
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Ben_Zurich

#15
This is a very good idea.

As I wished in another post, we should also be able to set basic parameters such as

Base Symbol
Scale
Data Range
Position Size (and its options)

by program, because every strategy is designed for a specific set of those basic parameters.

Those who need it could use it, the others would not even notice a change.
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Cone

#16
QUOTE:
we should also be able to set basic parameters such as
This is already a feature that you have to enable in F12 > Advanced Options. In the middle of that dialog, check the items you want to have a strategy default to.
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Ben_Zurich

#17
That is right. But in my case useless, as I have just one single program for all my strategies. This program reads an XML file that tells it which strategy to perform. Depending on what that is I wish to set these parameters.
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