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FFcal - Plot News indicator

  • #581
  • Edited 9:45am Apr 29, 2009 6:22am | Edited 9:45am
Quoting hanover
O hell ......
Not that bad....

Having manually loaded the data I'm ok for this week. I'll try again this weekend.

This is my work pc which for one or two reasons I need to 'hibernate' during the week rather than re-boot so perhaps that's something to do with it. I'll also install on my home pc over the next couple of days.

I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again.

David

UPDATE: I think I know what this is. Your first page help text reminded me of something. My work pc is a dog and so I try to optimise for performance. A tool I used (Ashampoo WinOptimizer 5) switched off Dos 8.3 recognition (or file creation to be exact). It's set in the registry in the NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation tag. I've unset it but I think I have to do a re-boot before it will change the behaviour. I'll do that over the weekend and let you know.
  • #582
  • Edited 1:32pm Apr 29, 2009 12:57pm | Edited 1:32pm
Quoting d-Squared
Not that bad....

Having manually loaded the data I'm ok for this week. I'll try again this weekend.

This is my work pc which for one or two reasons I need to 'hibernate' during the week rather than re-boot so perhaps that's something to do with it. I'll also install on my home pc over the next couple of days.

I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again.

David

UPDATE: I think I know what this is. Your first page help text reminded me of something. My work pc is a dog and so I try to optimise for performance. A tool I used (Ashampoo WinOptimizer...
David,

FFcal.EXE is developed using a very old version of Clarion, which I purchased circa 1997, and haven't been able to cost justify upgrading it (maybe $2k-$3k?) since. I did a lot of Clarion programming during the 1990s. It definitely has issues with filenames > 8 characters (the old DOS limit).

FFcal.EXE calls GNU's free WGET.EXE utility to grab the webpage containing the FF calendar for the specified week. The file it saves is named something like calendar.php@c=2&week=1240704000 (FFcal.EXE then parses the HTML and extracts the news event text). Clarion wasn't able to recognize this filename, presumably because there are too may characters after the highlighted dot (DOS allowed 3). So I worked around it by telling it to open a file called "calend~1.php". This has always worked fine for me - and supposedly many other users - but for some strange reason, chokes on the occasional computer. I have no idea why.

Anyway, that's a (semi-)technical explanation - at least as much as I know - about the problem, but I'm afraid it's not a solution.

I'll revisit WGET and see if it's possible to save the file as a 8.3 filename, or search for another webpage-grabbing tool that has this facility. I guess enough folk are having problems with this to make it worthwhile (given that Plot_News is a freebee, LOL).

David

[EDIT] I've found a way of having WGET simply create a file called (for example) 'ffcalout'. It was so simple that I feel embarrassed.
The command line simply becomes:
wget -O ffcalout http://forexfactory.com/calendar.php@c=2&week=1240704000
Anyway, that should solve the problem forever. I will post a new version of FFcal.EXE (v 1.35) as soon as I can.
  • #583
  • Apr 29, 2009 1:38pm Apr 29, 2009 1:38pm
Quoting hanover
David,

FFcal.EXE is developed using a very old version of Clarion, which I purchased circa 1997, and haven't been able to cost justify upgrading it (maybe $2k-$3k?) since. I did a lot of Clarion programming during the 1990s. It definitely has issues with filenames > 8 characters (the old DOS limit).

FFcal.EXE calls GNU's free WGET.EXE utility to grab the webpage containing the FF calendar for the specified week. The file it saves is named something like...
Sounds like you could have fixed it.

Hey, if you knew how many times on a Daily basis I'm embarrassed by my own inability to even program the simplest logic you'd laugh yourself to death. I don't think you need to feel embarrassed by the quality product you produce so prolifically...

David

ps This problem doesn't exist on my home pc
  • #584
  • Apr 29, 2009 1:44pm Apr 29, 2009 1:44pm
I was wondering actually... would it be possible to create a version of 'Build News' which just sits in the background and on a 30-min (or user-selectable period) carries out an update?

That way the news actuals would always be up-to-date and the NCI would always have latest data to work on...

Just an idea. I know you've got enough to do!

David
  • #585
  • Apr 29, 2009 1:50pm Apr 29, 2009 1:50pm
Plot_News v 1.35 is now available.

This fixes the error "Open(calend~1.php) - File Not Found" experienced by some users. See the last few posts for more info.

Download from post #1 in the usual manner.
  • #586
  • Edited 5:40pm Apr 29, 2009 1:59pm | Edited 5:40pm
Quoting d-Squared
I was wondering actually... would it be possible to create a version of 'Build News' which just sits in the background and on a 30-min (or user-selectable period) carries out an update?

That way the news actuals would always be up-to-date and the NCI would always have latest data to work on...

Just an idea. I know you've got enough to do!

David
Thanks for this good idea. I don't know how much CPU time/resource it would gobble up, or how the FF admins/mods would feel about any extra traffic (obviously they wouldn't want to have 100 users polling FF calendar every 5 mins, LOL). But I will certainly give it some thought.

________________________________

[EDIT]

As an interim workaround, you could attach Plot_News.MQ4 to any chart, and set its AlertMins parameter in to 1 (and also ensure AutoRefresh = TRUE). This will cause an alert to sound 1 minute before each news event. A few minutes after the event (to allow time for the Actual value to be recorded in FF calendar), you would run FFcal.EXE yourself (simply click on the FFcal.EXE icon in your Windows taskbar, wait for the 'News.CSV output' screen to appear, and click OK).
  • #587
  • Apr 29, 2009 8:45pm Apr 29, 2009 8:45pm
Quoting d-Squared
I was wondering actually... would it be possible to create a version of 'Build News' which just sits in the background and on a 30-min (or user-selectable period) carries out an update?

That way the news actuals would always be up-to-date and the NCI would always have latest data to work on...

Just an idea. I know you've got enough to do!

David
David, (and anybody else)

The attached indicator should do the following:

Wait 10 mins following any news event (allowing time for the 'Actual' value to be populated), then when the first tick occurs on any new M5 candle appearing within the next 4 mins, display/sound an Alert reminding you to rerun FFcal.EXE

It only rechecks the situation on the first tick on a new M5 candle (on the currency pair to whose chart the indicator is attached). Checking only once every 5 mins shouldn't slow computer performance too drastically. And hopefully it should only display an alert no more than once every 5 mins (and that's assuming there's been a recent news event that hasn't already caused an alert).

I haven't tested it exhaustively - give it a try, and let me know if it works OK. Download into the ...../experts/indicators folder, restart MT4, and attach it to any one chart.

IMO this is a better solution than having a Windows-based app running in the background, that's constantly polling Forex Factory. What do you think?

In haste,
David
Attached File(s)
File Type: mq4 Alert after News.mq4   3 KB | 814 downloads
  • #588
  • Apr 30, 2009 1:27am Apr 30, 2009 1:27am
Looks great but...

Is it possible to enter a different directory to the default "Crogram Files" (in setup). My MT4 is on a different drive and dir.

Thanks!
-//-
  • #589
  • Apr 30, 2009 2:11am Apr 30, 2009 2:11am
Quoting hybrid
Looks great but...

Is it possible to enter a different directory to the default "Crogram Files" (in setup). My MT4 is on a different drive and dir.

Thanks!
No problem. You can bypass the folder selection dropdown in the Setup window.
See the graphic back in post #562. You can enter any path name in the highlighted field, i.e.

<drive letter>:\<MT4 folder name>\experts\files\news.csv

The only purpose of the folder dropdown in the Setup is to help you populate this field.

However, make sure that you have the spelling 100% correct, including number of spaces, backslashes, and any other symbols (the only thing that doesn't matter is upper or lower case). If Windows can't locate the path you've typed, you'll get a "Path not found" error.
  • #590
  • Apr 30, 2009 3:06am Apr 30, 2009 3:06am
Quoting hanover

The attached indicator should ...
That will do nicely sir. Many thanks.

David
  • #591
  • Apr 30, 2009 3:18am Apr 30, 2009 3:18am
Quoting hanover
Plot_News v 1.35 is now available.

This fixes the error "Open(calend~1.php) - File Not Found" experienced by some users. See the last few posts for more info.

Download from post #1 in the usual manner.
David,

I can confirm this does fix the problem. Have just run on my work PC and everything works as intended.

Thanks for the quick fix.
David
  • #592
  • Apr 30, 2009 12:46pm Apr 30, 2009 12:46pm
Quoting hanover
No problem. You can bypass the folder selection dropdown in the Setup window.
See the graphic back in post #562. You can enter any path name in the highlighted field, i.e.

<drive letter>:<MT4 folder name>expertsfilesnews.csv

The only purpose of the folder dropdown in the Setup is to help you populate this field.

However, make sure that you have the spelling 100% correct, including number of spaces, backslashes, and any other symbols (the only thing that doesn't matter is upper or lower case). If Windows can't locate the path you've...
Great that worked! The indicator works, and the news are being fed, however there's a small issue of overlapping (see screenshot). Multiple news seem to bunch together rather than stack vertically...

Thanks for all your help.
Attached Image (click to enlarge)
Click to Enlarge Name: ffcal-overlap.jpg Size: 453 KB
-//-
  • #593
  • Apr 30, 2009 12:55pm Apr 30, 2009 12:55pm
Quoting hybrid
Great that worked! The indicator works, and the news are being fed, however there's a small issue of overlapping (see screenshot). Multiple news seem to bunch together rather than stack vertically...

Thanks for all your help.
Actually I think I solved it...changed VertSpacing in indicator parameters to 60... all nicely stacked now like pancakes!
-//-
  • #594
  • Apr 30, 2009 1:15pm Apr 30, 2009 1:15pm
Quoting hybrid
Actually I think I solved it...changed VertSpacing in indicator parameters to 60... all nicely stacked now like pancakes!
Yes, you got it!

If your broker quotes prices using 4 decimals (2 decimals for JPY pairs), then a VertSpacing value somewhere between 5 and 10 usually works well. If 5 decimals (3 for JPY), then you'll probably need to multiply the VertSpacing value by 10, i.e. 50 to 100 should work well.

A negative VertSpacing value will cause the news objects to be plotted above the candles, instead of below.
  • #595
  • Apr 30, 2009 1:30pm Apr 30, 2009 1:30pm
Huge thanks for your hard work, hanover. You've done an exceptional job here.
-//-
  • #596
  • Apr 30, 2009 9:48pm Apr 30, 2009 9:48pm
The answer to this is probably no, but I thought I'd ask:
Does the program allow for "live-streaming" of news within MT4 itself? Another words, would it be possible to get news updated without having to run ffstart and restart mt4 every time news results come out?

Thank you.
-//-
  • #597
  • May 1, 2009 5:47am May 1, 2009 5:47am
Quoting hybrid
The answer to this is probably no, but I thought I'd ask:
Does the program allow for "live-streaming" of news within MT4 itself? Another words, would it be possible to get news updated without having to run ffstart and restart mt4 every time news results come out?

Thank you.
Yes, you do need to re-run FFstart, to have the software grab the latest news updates from FF calendar, update its Event History database (which displays when you press F9), and output news to the News.CSV file ready for plotting. Obviously you can create an icon on the Windows launch taskbar, to make this easier. Once the screen (displayed in post #562) appears, all you need do is click OK. You can use the Alert after News indicator (see post #591) to remind you to run this 10 mins after each news event.

However, you don't have to restart MT4. To have the calendar changes replotted, do any one of the following:
-- re-attach the Plot_News indicator to the chart
-- edit the Plot_News indicator (press Ctrl-I). You don't need to change the parameters, simply click OK to refresh the indicator
-- toggle between timeframes on the chart
-- if you have the AutoRefresh parameter = true, the chart will automatically update once per minute (provided that the chart receives a price tick during that minute)

Re the "live streaming", if you want an MT4 indicator that reads a calendar automatically, see post #483. Please note that I did not develop, nor do I support this indicator. It reads Daily FX's calendar, not Forex Factory's.

David
  • #598
  • May 1, 2009 12:44pm May 1, 2009 12:44pm
Quoting hanover
Yes, you do need to re-run FFstart, to have the software grab the latest news updates from FF calendar, update its Event History database (which displays when you press F9), and output news to the News.CSV file ready for plotting. Obviously you can create an icon on the Windows launch taskbar, to make this easier. Once the screen (displayed in post #562) appears, all you need do is click OK. You can use the Alert after News indicator (see post #591) to remind you to run this 10 mins after each news event.

However, you don't have to restart...
Thanks for your guidance, David. Yeah I saw the post #483 Indicator and have no interest in it. I think your easily whoops its ass. And you're right autorefresh does the job. I don't mind running ffstart every few hours. A tiny price to pay for the superb app you get.

Regards,
Marco
-//-
  • #599
  • May 11, 2009 4:15pm May 11, 2009 4:15pm
Dear Hanover,

I tried to download v1.35 but the version on the server appears to be corrupt and does not download despite many attempts to do so.

The other 3 files of instructions download fine but not the zip.

Perhaps you would be kind enough to re-post the zip file in post #1.

Many thanks for your good work and kind regards,

Pipalot
  • #600
  • May 12, 2009 5:31am May 12, 2009 5:31am
Quoting pipalotUK
Dear Hanover,

I tried to download v1.35 but the version on the server appears to be corrupt and does not download despite many attempts to do so.

The other 3 files of instructions download fine but not the zip.

Perhaps you would be kind enough to re-post the zip file in post #1.

Many thanks for your good work and kind regards,

Pipalot
I've attached the file to this post.

But I think you'll find the same problem occurs, because there's a bug in Internet Explorer that prevents downloading the complete file. The same problem has been reported while trying to download prior versions (e.g. see earlier post #276).

You could try downloading using a different browser, e.g. Mozilla Firefox or Opera. I just tried with Opera and it worked fine, at the first attempt.

If the ZIP file downloads successfully, the file size (viewed in 'My Computer') should show as 1,130 KB.

If you prefer, PM or e-mail me with your e-mail address, and I will send the file to you.
Attached File(s)
File Type: zip FFcal135.zip   1.1 MB | 1,017 downloads
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