Recent SR indicator

I knw your busy and thanks fpr the reply!!! I'm not trying to make this hard at all!! I try to keep everything simple!!! The alert can be for any line price goes 2 and bounces 3 to 5 pips awaway from it. I didn't know it would be so hard or wouldn't have asked you because I knw your busy! Message me and ill tell you the settings I'm using and you can see wat I'm doing and maybe if you have time then we can go from there! Thank you for taking the timme to write back

I apologize if my last post sounded condescending. I wasn't suggesting that you were trying to make it unnecessarily complex.

Although the indicators that I've posted here are primarily for my own use, they are written in an open-ended fashion, instead of being customized to meet individual requirements. The idea is to provide enough options and parameters so that they meet the expectations of a large number of people. I don't want to get into the situation where I have to maintain different versions for different people, especially as I'm not being paid to perform this extra work.

I am definitely planning on adding some kind of open-ended alert facility, unless it's completely illogical or impossible to do so. I have a number of other enhancements planned, and it is more efficient to code, test, document and post them all in the same release. I hope to have some spare time within the next 4-8 weeks. I will send you a message before I start the work.

Just want to say that you have my fullest admiration for the good person you are and all that you have done in the manner you did them.
May you be blessed with good health and fortune

Many thanks for your kind words.

My best wishes to you also.

Hello its me again.. Im going to post the settings Im using for this indicator. A friend gave them to me. Hanover can you take a look at the settings and tell me what I should be looking for when trading these lines and what the indicator is doing and saying please. Please break it down for me so I can understand witch line that appears could be a turning point in the market! I have been using it blindly and making money. I hate that. Please if you would help me out with this. I trade the 15min tf with these settings . Just wait for a line to appear and trade it! if it is above the candle a short and if its below I go long. I use a huge stop and I have not lost one trade that I have took but this means nothing to me. I would like to put a system together with this but I have to understand this thing way better before I can even try.

Here are the settings:


ParameterFile =
TimeFrame = D1
LookbackCandles = 200
StartDateTime = 1971.01.01 00:00
IncludeCurrentCandle = false
BandwidthPips = 3
FrequencyLevels = 1,2,3
FrequencyColors = LightSkyBlue,SpringGreen,Gold
IncludeNextBandAbove = True
VisibilityLevel = 4,4
ClearancePips = 0
CandleHighsValid = true
CandleLowsValid = true
CandleClosesValid = false
AllCandlePointsValid = false
FilledBoxes = false
HistogramSize = 0
HistogramFontSize = 8
HistogramFont = Arial
HistogramFontColor = White
HistogramPriceMask = 4.4
ShowHistogramOnly = false
PlotProximityPips = -1
HistoricalShift = 0
RefreshEveryXMins = 60
OutputFile =


Thanks

Firstly I would point out that any indy is nothing more than a tool, and that the info it provides can be interpreted and traded in many different ways. Most successful trading systems involve using a combination of tools that a trader has, over many hours of chart analysis and practise, evolved into a proven method that he trusts and feels comfortable with.

The SR indy is nothing more than a tool that automates the drawing of horizontal lines, matching previous candle highs and lows, on your chart.

The best I can do is to try to explain how I interpret and use them. But what 'works' for me may not necessarily be suitable for you.

But first I will post some charts based on the parameters that you posted. The only parameter that's different is that I've set FilledBoxes = TRUE, so that each band appears as one line, instead of two, on the chart.

The first attachment is a DAILY chart of a strongly trending pair, EU. Your VisibilityLevel = 4,4 settings mean that only candle highs that are straddled on each side by 4 lower highs; and candle lows that are straddled by 4 higher lows; will have lines plotted. This means that only 'salient' prior S/R levels will be plotted. Because the price is trending strongly, there is little opportunity for it to retrace to S/R lines projected off recent candle tops. This is even more apparent if you plot the daily S/R on lower TFs (you mentioned M15).

The second screenshot is a chart of two currencies that are currently more correlated USD and CAD, resulting in sideways movement. Consequently (and even at 4,4 visibility) there are many more S/R levels plotted through the recent PA. Because of the way you've allotted colors to different frequencies, there are yellow/green lines appearing where price bounces repeatedly off the same level. When you drill down to a M15 chart (screenshot 3), there is less 'clutter'.

The question is how can this information be traded profitably. I'd say the first decision is whether you are going to pick NEGATIVELY correlated currencies (e.g. currently EUR/USD) and trade with the strong trend, backed by some kind a 'let profits run/cut losses quickly/pyramiding' strategy; or POSITIVELY correlated currencies (e.g. currently USD/CAD) and attempt to fade extremes back to, and possibly beyond, the mean, backed by an exit strategy that takes profit more quickly, possibly at key S/R levels.

If the latter, you could combine the S/R with an overbought/oversold indicator (e.g. Bollinger bands, regression channel, almost any oscillator). Then you could decide upon how you'll time your entries. Are you going to go for extreme RR trades by attempting to anticipate a bounce (i.e. that would form a double top/bottom) off key S/R, accompanied by signs of exhaustion (climax candles, slowing of momentum, possible oscillator divergence); or are you going to wait for a suitable candle pattern (e.g. pinbar or engulfing bar) that 'confirms' a bounce? Are you going to combine some other lines (pivot levels, round numbers, trendlines) to confirm your entry (see my visibility post)? Are there key S/R levels that might obstruct the trade?

Then you need an exit strategy. Where are you going to set your SL, and when are you going to bring it to breakeven? Are you going to take profits at S/R levels, or something else; or are you going to trail your SL, hoping to catch a really big move?

I trade the opposite way, i.e. attempt to catch longer moves using D1/W1-NEGATIVELY correlated currencies. For example, I currently have long positions in EURUSD and AUDCAD, some of which are up 500+ pips. In a strong uptrend, resistance is more likely to be broken, and support (if it's even reached) is more likely to hold. Vice versa for downtrend. By trading with the tide, I am catching and riding the longer, impulse waves. I can reasonably hope for resistance levels to be broken, i.e. S/R becomes less important, and hence I use an exit strategy (using my strength indy) that's designed to allow me to catch a decent chunk of the potentially strongest moves. Although I use confluences to attempt low risk entries on M15/M30, I ride out the daily/weekly moves because I believe that they have the backing of macroeconomic factors. For more info on how I trade, see the links near the foot of this post.

Hopefully this illustrates how S/R is only one tool in a (hopefully) successful trading strategy. Many folk use a much more simple approach than mine, and of course that's fine. See BRV's no-brainer trade thread for more S/R based ideas. The trade-off with using S/R is that it's extremely difficult to know which levels will hold, and which won't; but that (on shorter, intraday TFs) those that do hold occasionally do so with great accuracy. Generally, price will stall at a high confluence level for long enough to allow a tight SL and a quick move to BE for a free trade, that's if you want to trade very short intraday moves.

Finally, I suggest that you put any of my ideas in perspective with my background and experience. My philosophy is that trading is a very tough occupation, and the best that I can do is stack as many potential independent edges in my favor, and hope that it's enough to overcome the minimum requirement of '50/50+spread'. I say 'hope' because I've yet to prove conclusively that my last 8 profitable months haven't been a fluke. If, after 12+ months and 500+ trades in demo I'm still significantly on-balance profitable, only then I'll start to entertain the idea that I have attained a positive expectancy, that will allow me to trade a live account with a fair degree of confidence.

Anyway, hopefully that's given you some ideas to start with.
________________

Now, some specifics about the S/R indy parameters, and the type of S/R levels that they create. The key parameters are:

LookbackCandles: as a very general rule, recent S/R is more visible, and therefore more likely to be respected than distant, historical S/R, although the latter may still hold if it hasn't been broken too often in the interim. If there's a lot of intervening candle 'traffic' in a sideways moving market, then setting a smaller lookback value allows you to focus on more recent S/R.

BandwidthPips: determines the thickness of the zones that are plotted, and is significant if you're focusing on the Frequency parameter. The wider the bandwidth, the more likely bounces are likely to occur within the width, thereby contributing to frequency (see below). Setting IncludeNextBandAbove = TRUE helps this even further.

FrequencyLevels/Colors: this can be used to highlight areas where S/R has been respected on multiple occasions.

VisibilityLevels/Clearance Pips: this brings 'salience', or conspicuousness, into the mix. Higher visibility will highlight candle highs/lows that appear at the end of significant price moves. ClearancePips can be used to further accentuate this effect, i.e. highs/lows that stand out like a lighthouse.

Those are the key parameters that determine the type of S/R you wish to highlight (recentness, frequency, salience). Obviously, all of the above assumes that CandleHighsValid = TRUE and CandleLowsValid = TRUE. In an earlier post in this thread (#10), I discuss some of this further.

In a later release, I hope to address additional facets, one of which is robustness, i.e. how seldom a level has been disregarded/broken previously. That would then allow a higher LookbackCandles value, picking up valid levels from a long way back, after which there's been little intervening activity.

Thank you for the reply. Sorry it took so long to get back here just been busy with work. This is great stuff!

Is there an easy way to access the levels with an EA? Are the positions stored in an index buffer or would I have to use ObjectGet()?

P.S This is definitely one of my favorite SR indicators! It is very dynamic/adaptable. I can't wait for the next version

Edit: I just looked at the data screen and saw that there is no index buffer. Would you be able to put that in the next version?
In the meanwhile do you think its faster to have the indy output to a text file and have my EA read it, or to have my EA detect the on-screen rectangle objects (for a backtest)?

Can you please explain the column called "Start" that is in the .csv generated by the output? Is it the # of candles back that the level was drawn?

Is there an easy way to access the levels with an EA? Are the positions stored in an index buffer or would I have to use ObjectGet()?
There are only 8 buffers available, and it might be necessary to plot more than 8 lines on a chart. Hence the S/R bands are plotted as rectangles (objects).

P.S This is definitely one of my favorite SR indicators! It is very dynamic/adaptable. I can't wait for the next version
Glad you find it useful.

Edit: I just looked at the data screen and saw that there is no index buffer. Would you be able to put that in the next version?
Unless I'm somehow misunderstanding what you mean by "index buffer", please see my earlier answer.

In the meanwhile do you think its faster to have the indy output to a text file and have my EA read it, or to have my EA detect the on-screen rectangle objects (for a backtest)?
I'm guessing here, but I think detecting the on-screen rectangles would be faster (because the indy outputs every possible band to the file), but reading the file might be simpler programatically.

Can you please explain the column called "Start" that is in the .csv generated by the output? Is it the # of candles back that the level was drawn?
Yes, it's the starting point (leftmost candle number) of a band that contains one or more qualifying candles. The rightmost candle on the chart is #0, the second rightmost is #1, and so on. The 'Count' column is the number of qualifying candles within a band.

If you have any suggestions for the next version, please post them here.

Well, regarding what you said about there being only 8 index buffers... I don't see why you would need more than that, even if you have more resistance levels.

Your indicator already has the ability to shift backward in time via the HistoricalShift variable. Instead of storing SR levels of past bars in the index buffers (for which you really WOULD need way more than 8), you could use one single buffer to store SR levels.


Ex. If call index buffer 0 of iCustom your indicator would return the lowest SR level at shift = 0, a higher level at shift = 1, even higher at shift = 2, and so on.

What do you think?

Sorry, but I don't understand. You can plot only one price level for any given time value, in a buffer. If the price levels are different for different time values, then the result is a curve connecting all of the points (x=time coordinate, y=price coordinate). A moving average is an example of using one buffer in this way; an envelope is an example of using two buffers; etc.

How is it possible to plot multiple S/R levels (lines) in the same buffer?

I could be misunderstanding some fundamental aspect of index buffers, but wouldn't the following example work? :

init()
{
SetIndexStyle(0,DRAW_NONE);
SetIndexBuffer(0,ExtBuffer1);
SetIndexEmptyValue(0,EMPTY_VALUE);
...
}

start()
{
...

ExtBuffer1[0] = SR1;
ExtBuffer1[1] = SR2;
ExtBuffer1[2] = SR3;
ExtBuffer1[3] = SR4;
ExtBuffer1[4] = SR5;
ExtBuffer1[5] = SR6;
ExtBuffer1[6] = SR7;
ExtBuffer1[7] = SR8;
ExtBuffer1[8] = SR9;
ExtBuffer1[9] = SR10;
ExtBuffer1[10] = SR11;
etc, etc.
...
}



Basically what I'm saying is to override the built-in purpose of index buffers, which is to store variables pertaining to the bar, and instead use that array dimension to store different values of SRs.

You would have to execute code once per bar to reassign the appropriate values to the buffer, and delete the value shifted back but it seems to me like that should work..

Also, I understand that you can't draw the SR lines using the index buffer.... it would be some sort of crazy all-over-the-place curve.. But if the levels were available through iCustom it would simplify things a lot for EA integration.

Ah, I see it now. You're not trying to use the buffer to draw the lines (that's the part I couldn't make sense of), just as a means of storing values for easy reference by an EA.

Yup exactly. I'm trying to get around referencing an index buffer through iCustom, but I can't figure out how else to get it to generate objects (rectangle SRs) in back testing.

Its not a problem if there is a live chart; then I can just attach it and use ObjectGet(). But I when I try to call it from my EA during back-testing with nothing manually attached to the visual chart, it doesn't work.

I am calling it by using iCustom...which probably doesn't work because there is no index buffer at all. I'm not sure how else to do it though.

Here is a crude script I hastily made to check if closing your real historic orders at levels produced by handover's SR indy would have been profitable. (You need actual trades on an account; it won't work in backtesting because it is a script.)

I am sure it has some bugs in it. If someone has the time to take a look at it, I'm sure that such a script could be very useful.

Has anyone tried using this indicator on Renko charts?

The result is quite impressive (at least visually).
http://furlender.com/Forex/renko.gif

Renko Charts

Hi David,

I recently came across your Recent SR indicator and appreciate it's potential capabilities. I have problem plotting histogram. I,1st installed the SR indicator w/ default values and edited parameters w/ values from your post#29. It failed to plot the histogram to the right of chart like your image.

Perhaps you can attach a tpl file instead

Many thanks for attention

hello, first forgive me for my english, I think all your work perfect, I wonder any chance you can put a date and time specified in parameter "historicalshift" instead of putting number of bars

I look back. thanks

Hanover, to complete the previous post
Another suggestion

# Break when the price level of support or resistance ax pips we put on our preference, but that area will not be shown

will appear only summarizing the areas that were never broken.

Thanks

this is the best indicator that I see until now. I'm writing some suggestions that can be calmly. look for a next version


1 - I would like to set up an automatic mechanism to clear the levels of support and resistance after the fall of these levels, with the following parameters below

* Delete the levels that are exceeded (True) (False)

* Delete these levels (X) pips after the break level

* The level will be deleted after (X) candles forming the front of the break

***it will enhance the organization in the graph


2 - "historicalshift" - release date and time "01/01/1971 00:00";

*instead of just putting number of bars, like that could put the option with the date and time.


by chance would have date for changes

Thanks.