Hi everybody,
Please refer to post #1 to download v 1.25
This adds the following functionality to FFcal.EXE (see the red area in the screenshot below):
You can now specify which columns (Date, Time, Currency, Description, Impact, Actual, Forecast, Previous, Revised from, FF ID code) you wish to export to XML and CSV files, by checking them on or off. Clicking the "Clear" button unchecks all of these items. Clicking the "All" button checks them all ON. [Note: for more info on the exporting options, see: http://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?p=1697254]
You can check "Numbers only" on to have numbers extracted from the text, in the Actual, Forecast, Previous and Revised from columns. The following symbols are recognized: digits (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9), minus sign (–), decimal point (.), K (which multiplies the value by a thousand) , M (which multiplies the value by a million), B (which multiplies the value by a billion). Any other characters are passed over (stripped out). This can be useful if you’re exporting numbers to Excel, and want to perform arithmetic calculations on the numbers.
You can now place an asterisk (*) in front of the file name in the "Path\filename" field. This will ensure that the export file is created in the …\experts\files\ folder, so that MT4 can find the file. This uses the path from the "Path\name of output (News.CSV) file" parameter (see blue area of screenshot).
The "Plot_External_Data format" button will automatically adjust all of the settings to ensure that the export file created is formatted compatibly with the Plot_External_Data.MQ4 indicator:
-- The separator character will be set to a comma (,) only (i.e. no enclosing quotes)
-- The date format to Y.
-- The path\file to *Data.CSV (you may subsequently change the name, but must leave the leading asterisk)
-- "Numbers only" is checked ON
-- "Date", "Time" and "Actual" are checked ON. All other items are checked OFF. You can replace "Actual" with any one of "Forecast", "Previous" or "Revised from", if you wish. Only one of these values should be selected.
This is because the format of each row in the Data.CSV file must be exactly as follows:
yyyy.mm.dd,hh:mm,<numeric value>
-- Each item (date, time, value) must be separated by a comma, must NOT contain embedded spaces (nor any other character), and must NOT be enclosed in quotes.
-- The numeric value must NOT contain embedded commas. If negative, it must be preceded by a minus sign(–). The only other permissible characters are digits (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9) and a decimal point (.). Only one numeric value per line.
-- Each item must occupy a separate row (line) in the file.
-- Dates/times must be in ascending sequence (earliest date at the start of the file).
-- To be recognized by MT4, the file must exist in the …\experts\files\ folder.
Here is a sample of correct format (Unemployment Claims from 1/1/2008):
2008.01.03,15:30,336000
2008.01.10,15:30,322000
2008.01.17,15:30,301000
2008.01.24,15:30,301000
2008.01.31,15:30,375000
2008.02.07,15:30,356000
2008.02.14,14:30,348000
2008.02.21,14:30,349000
2008.02.28,14:30,373000
2008.03.06,15:30,351000
2008.03.13,13:30,353000
2008.03.20,13:30,378000
2008.03.27,13:30,366000
2008.04.03,14:30,407000
2008.04.10,14:30,357000
2008.04.17,14:30,372000
2008.04.24,14:30,342000
2008.05.01,14:30,0
As usual, only data that complies with all of the filters (date range, currency, impact level, description content, etc – the green areas in the screenshot) will be exported to the file.
Example: to export all interest rate changes for the USD from 1/1/2007
Set the "Output only events between" date range to 1/1/2007 thru 12/31/2009, set all non-USD currency values in the Wingdings symbol output area to 0, and type INTEREST RATE into the "Show only events whose descriptions contain only" field.
Then click the "Plot_External_Data format" button to set the format, and click OK in the normal fashion to process the export.
[Tip: to ensure that you get the spelling of the event descriptions correct, press F9 and select the "Currency/Descr" tab.]
The Plot_External_Data.MQ4 indicator
This is included with v 1.25, and as with all MT4 indicators, must reside in the …\experts\indicators folder. When attached to an MT4 chart, it will plot all data from any file name that you specify, provided that the file exists in the …\experts\files\ folder, and complies with the format described above. The file can be either created automatically as an export from FFcal.EXE, or manually by you (e.g. using a text editor like Notepad, or via an export from Excel).
When you attach the indicator, the only parameter required is the file name. This defaults to data.csv. Be sure to get the spelling, including any spaces or punctuation, in the file name, 100% correct. Upper or lower case doesn’t matter. Of course you can also adjust color, line width, levels, visualization, etc on the relevant properties tabs.
To apply several different data sets to the same chart, attach the indicator multiple times, specifying a different file name for each data set (see section below). [In case you’ve forgotten how to attach an indicator in MT4: press Ctrl-N to summon the Navigator, and open the ‘Custom Indicators’ tree. Then, to plot the indicator in its own separate window, right-click on Plot_External_Data, and click ‘Attach to a chart’. To plot the indicator in the same window as another indicator(s), simply drag Plot_External_Data into the required window.]
Multiple export files
You can plot data from multiple files on your MT4 charts. Simply give each one a different name. For example, you could have one export file gold.csv with gold prices, another file sp500.csv with the S&P 500 values, another file int90.csv with 90 day interest rates, another file cot.csv with weekly Commitment of Trader values, and so on. The only requirement is that each of these files complies with the format described above, and resides in the …\experts\files folder. Then attach the Plot_External_Data indicator to your chart(s) once for each file (and save as an MT4 template if you wish).
The same applies if you’re exporting and plotting multiple economic indicators from the FF calendar. Simply create a different export file name for each one (e.g. *pmi.csv for PMI values, *usdint.csv for US interest rate values, and so on). You can use the Load/Save Profiles facility to save, and then easily recall, a separate set of parameters for each export (see the purple area in the screenshot).
[NOTE: v 1.26 of FFcal.EXE will introduce the capability of having a "master" profile group, which consists of multiple export parameter profiles. That way, you FFcal.EXE will create all of the export data files simultaneously when you ask it to process the master profile.]
See the screenshot in post #289 above for an example of both Unemployment Claims and Chicago PMI both plotted on a GBPUSD,D1 chart.
Please note that I have done my best to test all of the above on both my Win-98 and Win-XP platforms, which run firewalls and anti-virus software. However, you download and run this software at your own risk. I accept no liability for any damage or losses that you might incur.
Please feel welcome to report any bugs, and post queries or suggestions in this thread.
David
Please refer to post #1 to download v 1.25
This adds the following functionality to FFcal.EXE (see the red area in the screenshot below):
You can now specify which columns (Date, Time, Currency, Description, Impact, Actual, Forecast, Previous, Revised from, FF ID code) you wish to export to XML and CSV files, by checking them on or off. Clicking the "Clear" button unchecks all of these items. Clicking the "All" button checks them all ON. [Note: for more info on the exporting options, see: http://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?p=1697254]
You can check "Numbers only" on to have numbers extracted from the text, in the Actual, Forecast, Previous and Revised from columns. The following symbols are recognized: digits (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9), minus sign (–), decimal point (.), K (which multiplies the value by a thousand) , M (which multiplies the value by a million), B (which multiplies the value by a billion). Any other characters are passed over (stripped out). This can be useful if you’re exporting numbers to Excel, and want to perform arithmetic calculations on the numbers.
You can now place an asterisk (*) in front of the file name in the "Path\filename" field. This will ensure that the export file is created in the …\experts\files\ folder, so that MT4 can find the file. This uses the path from the "Path\name of output (News.CSV) file" parameter (see blue area of screenshot).
The "Plot_External_Data format" button will automatically adjust all of the settings to ensure that the export file created is formatted compatibly with the Plot_External_Data.MQ4 indicator:
-- The separator character will be set to a comma (,) only (i.e. no enclosing quotes)
-- The date format to Y.
-- The path\file to *Data.CSV (you may subsequently change the name, but must leave the leading asterisk)
-- "Numbers only" is checked ON
-- "Date", "Time" and "Actual" are checked ON. All other items are checked OFF. You can replace "Actual" with any one of "Forecast", "Previous" or "Revised from", if you wish. Only one of these values should be selected.
This is because the format of each row in the Data.CSV file must be exactly as follows:
yyyy.mm.dd,hh:mm,<numeric value>
-- Each item (date, time, value) must be separated by a comma, must NOT contain embedded spaces (nor any other character), and must NOT be enclosed in quotes.
-- The numeric value must NOT contain embedded commas. If negative, it must be preceded by a minus sign(–). The only other permissible characters are digits (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9) and a decimal point (.). Only one numeric value per line.
-- Each item must occupy a separate row (line) in the file.
-- Dates/times must be in ascending sequence (earliest date at the start of the file).
-- To be recognized by MT4, the file must exist in the …\experts\files\ folder.
Here is a sample of correct format (Unemployment Claims from 1/1/2008):
2008.01.03,15:30,336000
2008.01.10,15:30,322000
2008.01.17,15:30,301000
2008.01.24,15:30,301000
2008.01.31,15:30,375000
2008.02.07,15:30,356000
2008.02.14,14:30,348000
2008.02.21,14:30,349000
2008.02.28,14:30,373000
2008.03.06,15:30,351000
2008.03.13,13:30,353000
2008.03.20,13:30,378000
2008.03.27,13:30,366000
2008.04.03,14:30,407000
2008.04.10,14:30,357000
2008.04.17,14:30,372000
2008.04.24,14:30,342000
2008.05.01,14:30,0
As usual, only data that complies with all of the filters (date range, currency, impact level, description content, etc – the green areas in the screenshot) will be exported to the file.
Example: to export all interest rate changes for the USD from 1/1/2007
Set the "Output only events between" date range to 1/1/2007 thru 12/31/2009, set all non-USD currency values in the Wingdings symbol output area to 0, and type INTEREST RATE into the "Show only events whose descriptions contain only" field.
Then click the "Plot_External_Data format" button to set the format, and click OK in the normal fashion to process the export.
[Tip: to ensure that you get the spelling of the event descriptions correct, press F9 and select the "Currency/Descr" tab.]
The Plot_External_Data.MQ4 indicator
This is included with v 1.25, and as with all MT4 indicators, must reside in the …\experts\indicators folder. When attached to an MT4 chart, it will plot all data from any file name that you specify, provided that the file exists in the …\experts\files\ folder, and complies with the format described above. The file can be either created automatically as an export from FFcal.EXE, or manually by you (e.g. using a text editor like Notepad, or via an export from Excel).
When you attach the indicator, the only parameter required is the file name. This defaults to data.csv. Be sure to get the spelling, including any spaces or punctuation, in the file name, 100% correct. Upper or lower case doesn’t matter. Of course you can also adjust color, line width, levels, visualization, etc on the relevant properties tabs.
To apply several different data sets to the same chart, attach the indicator multiple times, specifying a different file name for each data set (see section below). [In case you’ve forgotten how to attach an indicator in MT4: press Ctrl-N to summon the Navigator, and open the ‘Custom Indicators’ tree. Then, to plot the indicator in its own separate window, right-click on Plot_External_Data, and click ‘Attach to a chart’. To plot the indicator in the same window as another indicator(s), simply drag Plot_External_Data into the required window.]
Multiple export files
You can plot data from multiple files on your MT4 charts. Simply give each one a different name. For example, you could have one export file gold.csv with gold prices, another file sp500.csv with the S&P 500 values, another file int90.csv with 90 day interest rates, another file cot.csv with weekly Commitment of Trader values, and so on. The only requirement is that each of these files complies with the format described above, and resides in the …\experts\files folder. Then attach the Plot_External_Data indicator to your chart(s) once for each file (and save as an MT4 template if you wish).
The same applies if you’re exporting and plotting multiple economic indicators from the FF calendar. Simply create a different export file name for each one (e.g. *pmi.csv for PMI values, *usdint.csv for US interest rate values, and so on). You can use the Load/Save Profiles facility to save, and then easily recall, a separate set of parameters for each export (see the purple area in the screenshot).
[NOTE: v 1.26 of FFcal.EXE will introduce the capability of having a "master" profile group, which consists of multiple export parameter profiles. That way, you FFcal.EXE will create all of the export data files simultaneously when you ask it to process the master profile.]
See the screenshot in post #289 above for an example of both Unemployment Claims and Chicago PMI both plotted on a GBPUSD,D1 chart.
Please note that I have done my best to test all of the above on both my Win-98 and Win-XP platforms, which run firewalls and anti-virus software. However, you download and run this software at your own risk. I accept no liability for any damage or losses that you might incur.
Please feel welcome to report any bugs, and post queries or suggestions in this thread.
David
Attached Image (click to enlarge)
