In the past number of months I have done a lot of backtesting,creating different files, and now I need to consolidate.

First question refers to going into wlab folders outside of the wlab prorgram running..in Explore function of XP operating system:

I have two folders with files that are clutter but I am not perfectly sure that I wish to delete.
The files are within 1.0.0.0:/Data/ Strategies and 1.0.0.0:/Data /Datasets.

One option is to remove them and place them outside of wlab as backup files.
Another option...if you approve is to bundle them into a folder ("inactive") within the folder originally created, such as Datasets or Strategies. ?



Second questionand in this case I am referring to a change with wlab open:

In the Dataset folder I would prefer (not entirely necessary, more of a preference) is to rename a few of the data sets files. These datasets are apart of strategies that have been saved. And, fwiw, it really appreciate how wlab allows me to open a strategy that immediately runs with all the parameters saved ...namely time frame and dataset. Every week I run about 24 strategies to see if a signal has occurred. My concern is that if I "rename" the data set that when I open and run a strategy that I will loose this above convenience that I had before. Namely, a strategy will not know what data set to use.

Third question:
Can I rename strategy files...again by opening up the wlab folder in explore function of xp...and see the change carry over to when I run wlab and without fear of loosing whatever was saved for this strategy..such as mentioned above...namely dataset and time frame associated with it?

#1 - Either option will work.
#2 - If you rename a DataSet, your Strategies won't find it. Note: renaming an XML file in Explorer won't rename the associated DataSet.
#3 - Yes, you can rename if you please.

For the first question, I created a folder("inactive") within the Strategy folder. The files moved over as intended, but when wlab was opened the "inactive" folder was empty. So, I assume that the individual strategies can be re-activated only by going into explore function and taking them back out of the "inactive" folder and placing them directly under the Strategy folder.?

I'm not sure what you were trying to do in #1. My understanding is that you were trying to hide some Strategy files from WLP because there's clutter, you're not perfectly sure etc.

In this case, shutting WLP down and creating a subfolder inside a folder in the Strategy directory will effectively hide it from WLP, because for simplification, Version 5 doesn't support subfolders. Is this clear?

Re: empty folders, there's something incomplete about your description. You can't do what you described by doing it the way you describe.

Yes, I wanted to hide some Strategy files....which by

QUOTE:
creating a subfolder inside a folder in the Strategy directory

does the job. When I open up wlab and open up Strategies I have removed what I consider clutter.

What I wanted, ideally, was to be able to check on these strategies at a later time. Evidently, to do this I will have to go back into the directory and reverse what I did; which,is not easy as simply opening up the inactive folder that shows up when wlab is opened up.

Now, that I think more about this...I should have simply created the same folder with wlab open, and then drag and dropped. Then when I open up the "inactive folder" it will not be empty.

QUOTE:
Re: empty folders, there's something incomplete about your description.

Sorry, not sure how to explain it further...by empty...I mean that with wlab open, and i open up Strategies, indeed,there is an "inactive" folder....and even though the directory has many files located there, these files do not show up when wlab is open. The left side of the screen, with "inactive" highlighted, shows nothing on the right side of the screen.

I guess that this discrepancy demonstrates what you mean when you say:

QUOTE:
Version 5 doesn't support subfolders. Is this clear?

FWIW...when i spoke to fidelity rep i was told that I could go into the directory and manipulate to accomplish my goal...however, i have found out that it is best to check with you.

IF I MAY add an additional question to this inquiry:

After I finish my consolidation and getting rid of clutter, I want to update wlab that resides on my laptop.
Most updating will involve changes in two subfolders: strategies and/or datasets.

If I backup the entire 1.0.0.0. folder from my PC to an external flash drive, and then insert this flash drive into the laptop...what is the best procedure for updating the laptop wlab directory? Should I just copy these two folders and paste them into the Data folder, and answer with "yes" replace all file,etc.? What would you suggest? Since wlab does not support "subfolders" I am a little uncertain. In the past, I have deleted the entire 1.0.0.0 and pasted in the new 1.0.0.0 folder...but Fidelity rep said that this is not necessary. Hopefully, I am being clear...enough.

I was meaning to say that there's no way to create a subfolder in WL5 natively. Consequently, you will need to use a file manager (Explorer etc.) to drag the files back when you want them again to show up in the Strategy list.

QUOTE:
Should I just copy these two folders and paste them into the Data folder, and answer with "yes" replace all file,etc.?

Yes, you need not deal with all the other folders in ..Data if your purpose is just syncing the 2 folders, DataSets and Strategies. If you want to simply mirror these 2 folders on your laptop, just replace all the files on the pen drive.