TL-Users: Idea Changing Linear MT4 Charts to Logarithmic Charts

Hi there ,
I have very special idea for everyone who blames MT4/MT5 for not drawing the right and correct trendlines with the Linear Charts whcih MT4/MT5 is using.
May any Coder could change this Period Converter from the normal MT4 -Arithmetic -Linear Charts to Logarithmic Chart Scale.
I think this is the only way to get Logarithmic Charts in MT4/MT5 for all technical Trendline-Lovers.
here is the indi and the source code:
//+------------------------------------ ------------------------------+
//| Period_Converter_Opt.mq4|
//| Copyright (c)2005, MetaQuotes Software Corp. |
//| http://www.metaquotes.net |
//| Ver.1.6 Modified by micclly|
//| Ver.1.5 Modified by fai |
//| Modified by wfy05@talkforex based on Period_Converter|
//| http://www.talkforex.com |
//+------------------------------------ ------------------------------+
#property copyright "[email protected]"
#property link "http://www.mql4.com/codebase/indicators/277/"
#property indicator_chart_window

#include <WinUser32.mqh>

/*
Readme:

I. Features:
This is an improved version of period converter for MT4 based on the
MT4's default period converter by metaquotes.
The default period converter script do not support real-time refreshing,
and consume lots of CPU (50%-9x%) making the whole system slow.
Also, the default one is a script which do not save when you exit MT4,
so you have to apply every converter script again after restarting, quite
annoying.

This one fixed all above problems:
1. Real-time updating or custom interval millisecond level updating.
2. Low CPU cost, average 5%-10% or less.
3. Works as an indicator, so can be saved and reloaded during restart.
4. There is no one converter per chart limitation as it is not script
any more, you can only use one window as source to generate as many
new timeframe chart as possible.
5. Auto updating if there is new history block loaded.

II. How to use:
Copy the mq4 file to your MT4 indicators folder (experts\indicators)
to install it as an indicator, NOT script. then in the custom indicator
list, attach period_converter_opt to the chart you want.
It support 4 parameters:
PeriodMultiplier: new period multiplier factor, default is 2
UpdateInterval: update interval in milliseconds,
zero means update real-time. default is zero.
Enabled: You can disable it without remove it with this option.

Other parameters are comments or for debugging, it is safe to ignore them.

Also Make sure you have Allow Dll imports option checked in common tab or
it won't work

After that, File->Open Offline to open the generated offline data. then
the offline data will be updated automatically.

As long as you keep the source chart open and the converter indicator
running, the generated chart including indicators inside will always
be updated. also you can close the generated chart and open again
later from File->Open Offline without problem.

If you want to quit MT4, you can leave those offline chart as other
normal online charts. when you start MT4 next time, those charts will
also be loaded and updated.


III. Notes:
1. Do NOT uncheck the "offline chart" option in offline chart common properties.
or after MT4 restart, it will treat that chart as online chart and request
the data from server, resulting empty chart window.
2. You can attach more than one converter to same window with different
PeriodMultiplier, e.g: you can attach 3 converter with
PeriodMultiplier = 2, 4, 10 to M1 to generate M2, M4, M10 at the same time.
It is even ok to use the M1 chart to generate Hourly chart like H2, which
only cost a few more CPU resource during initial conversion. but usually
most server don't have much data for those short period. resulting the
generated data isn't long enough for long period. so it is suggested
to use Hourly/Daily charts as source when needed.
3. The real-time updating mode updates quotes as fast as possible, but as
this is done via script, and MT will skip calling start() function when
your PC is busy and lots of quotes income. anyway, this seldom happen,
and you can at least get 10 updates each seconds which is much more
than enough.
4. The offline chart don't have a bid line showing in chart, but all data
in the chart including the indicators is still being updated,
so don't worry. you can show the bid line by unclick the "offline chart"
option in chart properties. but which don't helps much and if you forget
to check "offline chart" option before exit. it will cause errors and
become empty on next startup. you have to close the window and open
again from File->Open offline, which don't worth the trouble.

IV. History:
2014.03.10 1.6 Modified to support build 600 and later
2009.08.07 1.5 Added 3 options.(ShiftTiming,GMTShift,OmitD igit)
2005.12.24 1.4 faster to detect if data changed by removing float point
operations, added support to output CSV file in real time.
OutputCSVFile = 0 means no CSV.
OutputCSVFile = 1 means CSV + HST
OutputCSVFile = 2 CSV only, no HST .
(useful if you want to generate CSV for builtin periods)
CSV Filename will be the same as HST file except the extension.
added safe checking for PeriodMultiplier.
2005.12.04 1.3 Fixed missing data when there is large amount of data
loaded in several blocks, and support auto updating
when new history is loaded.
2005.11.29 1.2 Additional fix for missing data and server changing.
2005.11.29 1.1 Fixed missing partial data after restart.
Reinitialize after changing server or data corrupted.
2005.11.28 1.0 Initial release
*/


extern double Version = 1.6; // code version
extern string BuildInfo = "2014.03.10 by micclly";
extern int PeriodMultiplier = 1; // new period multiplier factor
extern int OutputCSVFile = 0; // also output CSV file?
extern int UpdateInterval = 0; // update interval in milliseconds, zero means update real-time.
extern bool Enabled = true;
extern bool Debug = false;

extern int ShiftTiming = 0;//0-3,Using H1Chart and PeriodMultiplier=4;
//if 1, ServerH4Chart = 00:00/04:00/08:00/12:00...
// =>OfflineH4Chart = 01:00/05:00/09:00/13:00...
extern int GMTShift = 0;// if 9, ServerTime = GMT+0 -> OfflineChartTime = GMT+9
extern int OmitDigit = 0;// if 1, 5Digits -> 4Digits

int FileHandle = -1;
int CSVHandle = -1;
int NewPeriod = 0;
string MySymbol = "";
int ShiftBase;
#define OUTPUT_HST_ONLY 0
#define OUTPUT_CSV_HST 1
#define OUTPUT_CSV_ONLY 2


#define CHART_CMD_UPDATE_DATA 33324

void DebugMsg(string msg)
{
if (Debug) Alert(msg);
}

int init()
{
ShiftBase = Period() * 60;//sec
string suffix = "";
if(ShiftTiming != 0) suffix =StringConcatenate(suffix,"s",Shift Timing);
if(GMTShift != 0) suffix =StringConcatenate(suffix,"g",GMTSh ift);
if(OmitDigit != 0) suffix =StringConcatenate(suffix,"o"/*,OmitDigit*/);
MySymbol =Symbol() + "_" + suffix;
if(StringLen(MySymbol)>11)
MySymbol = StringConcatenate(StringSubstr(MySy mbol,0,11-StringLen(suffix)),suffix);
//safe checking for PeriodMultiplier.
if (PeriodMultiplier <= 1 && suffix == "") {
//only output CSV file
PeriodMultiplier = 1;
OutputCSVFile = 2;
}
NewPeriod = Period() * PeriodMultiplier;
if (OpenHistoryFile() < 0) return (-1);
WriteHistoryHeader();
UpdateHistoryFile(Bars-1, true);
UpdateChartWindow();
return (0);
}

void deinit()
{
//Close file handle
if(FileHandle >= 0) {
FileClose(FileHandle);
FileHandle = -1;
}
if (CSVHandle >= 0) {
FileClose(CSVHandle);
CSVHandle = -1;
}
}


int OpenHistoryFile()
{
string name;
name = MySymbol + NewPeriod;
if (OutputCSVFile != OUTPUT_CSV_ONLY) {
FileHandle = FileOpenHistory(name + ".hst", FILE_BIN|FILE_WRITE|FILE_SHARE_READ );
if (FileHandle < 0) return(-1);
}
if (OutputCSVFile != OUTPUT_HST_ONLY) {
CSVHandle = FileOpen(name + ".csv", FILE_CSV|FILE_WRITE|FILE_SHARE_READ |FILE_ANSI, ',');
if (CSVHandle < 0) return(-1);
}
return (0);
}

int WriteHistoryHeader()
{
string c_copyright;
int i_digits = Digits-OmitDigit;
int i_unused[13] = {0};
int version = 400;

if (FileHandle < 0) return (-1);
c_copyright = "(C)opyright 2003, MetaQuotes Software Corp.";
FileWriteInteger(FileHandle, version, LONG_VALUE);
FileWriteString(FileHandle, c_copyright, 64);
FileWriteString(FileHandle, MySymbol, 12);
FileWriteInteger(FileHandle, NewPeriod, LONG_VALUE);
FileWriteInteger(FileHandle, i_digits, LONG_VALUE);
FileWriteInteger(FileHandle, 0, LONG_VALUE); //timesign
FileWriteInteger(FileHandle, 0, LONG_VALUE); //last_sync
FileWriteArray(FileHandle, i_unused, 0, ArraySize(i_unused));
return (0);
}


static double d_open, d_low, d_high, d_close, d_volume;
static int i_time;

void WriteHistoryData()
{
if (FileHandle >= 0) {
FileWriteInteger(FileHandle, i_time+GMTShift*60*60, LONG_VALUE);
FileWriteDouble(FileHandle, d_open, DOUBLE_VALUE);
FileWriteDouble(FileHandle, d_low, DOUBLE_VALUE);
FileWriteDouble(FileHandle, d_high, DOUBLE_VALUE);
FileWriteDouble(FileHandle, d_close, DOUBLE_VALUE);
FileWriteDouble(FileHandle, d_volume, DOUBLE_VALUE);
}
if (CSVHandle >= 0) {
int i_digits = Digits-OmitDigit;
FileWrite(CSVHandle,
TimeToStr(i_time, TIME_DATE),
TimeToStr(i_time, TIME_MINUTES),
DoubleToStr(d_open, i_digits),
DoubleToStr(d_high, i_digits),
DoubleToStr(d_low, i_digits),
DoubleToStr(d_close, i_digits),
d_volume);
}
}

int UpdateHistoryFile(int start_pos, bool init = false)
{
static int last_fpos, csv_fpos;
int i, ps;
// if (FileHandle < 0) return (-1);
// normalize open time
ps = NewPeriod * 60;
i_time = (Time[start_pos]-ShiftBase*ShiftTiming)/ps;
i_time = i_time*ps + ShiftBase*ShiftTiming;
if (init) {
//first time, init data
d_open = Open[start_pos];
d_low = Low[start_pos];
d_high = High[start_pos];
d_close = Close[start_pos];
d_volume = Volume[start_pos];
i = start_pos - 1;
if (FileHandle >= 0) last_fpos = FileTell(FileHandle);
if (CSVHandle >= 0) csv_fpos = FileTell(CSVHandle);
} else {
i = start_pos;
if (FileHandle >= 0) FileSeek(FileHandle,last_fpos,SEEK_ SET);
if (CSVHandle >= 0) FileSeek(CSVHandle, csv_fpos, SEEK_SET);
}
if (i < 0) return (-1);

int cnt = 0;
int LastBarTime;
//processing bars
while (i >= 0) {
LastBarTime = Time[i];

//a new bar
if (LastBarTime >= i_time+ps) {
//write the bar data
WriteHistoryData();
cnt++;
i_time = (LastBarTime-ShiftBase*ShiftTiming)/ps;
i_time = i_time*ps + ShiftBase*ShiftTiming;
d_open = Open[i];
d_low = Low[i];
d_high = High[i];
d_close = Close[i];
d_volume = Volume[i];
} else {
//no new bar
d_volume += Volume[i];
if (Low[i]<d_low) d_low = Low[i];
if (High[i]>d_high) d_high = High[i];
d_close = Close[i];
}
i--;
}
//record last_fpos before writing last bar.
if (FileHandle >= 0) last_fpos = FileTell(FileHandle);
if (CSVHandle >= 0) csv_fpos = FileTell(CSVHandle);
WriteHistoryData();
cnt++;
d_volume -= Volume[0];
//flush the data writen
if (FileHandle >= 0) FileFlush(FileHandle);
if (CSVHandle >= 0) FileFlush(CSVHandle);
return (cnt);
}

int UpdateChartWindow()
{
static int hwnd = 0;

if (FileHandle < 0) {
//no HST file opened, no need updating.
return (-1);
}
if(hwnd == 0) {
//trying to detect the chart window for updating
hwnd = WindowHandle(MySymbol, NewPeriod);
}
if(hwnd!= 0) {
if (IsDllsAllowed() == false) {
//DLL calls must be allowed
DebugMsg("Dll calls must be allowed");
return (-1);
}
if (PostMessageA(hwnd,WM_COMMAND,CHART _CMD_UPDATE_DATA,0) == 0) {
//PostMessage failed, chart window closed
hwnd = 0;
} else {
//PostMessage succeed
return (0);
}
}
//window not found or PostMessage failed
return (-1);
}


/*
int PerfCheck(bool Start)
{
static int StartTime = 0;
static int Index = 0;
if (Start) {
StartTime = GetTickCount();
Index = 0;
return (StartTime);
}
Index++;
int diff = GetTickCount() - StartTime;
Alert("Time used [" + Index + "]: " + diff);
StartTime = GetTickCount();
return (diff);
}
*/

static int LastStartTime = 0;
static int LastEndTime = 0;
static int LastBarCount = 0;

void reinit()
{
deinit();
init();
LastStartTime = Time[Bars-1];
LastEndTime = Time[0];
LastBarCount = Bars;
}

bool IsDataChanged()
{
/*
static int LastBars = 0, LastTime = 0, LastVolume = 0;
static double LastOpen = 0, LastClose = 0, LastHigh = 0, LastLow = 0;
if (LastVolume != Volume[0] || LastBars != Bars || LastTime != Time[0]||
LastClose != Close[0] || LastHigh != High[0] || LastLow != Low[0] ||
LastOpen != Open[0]) {

LastBars = Bars;
LastVolume = Volume[0];
LastTime = Time[0];
LastClose = Close[0];
LastHigh = High[0];
LastLow = Low[0];
LastOpen = Open[0];
return (true);
}
return (false);
*/
/*
fast version without float point operation
*/
static int LastBars = 0, LastTime = 0, LastVolume = 0;
bool ret;
ret = false;
if (LastVolume != Volume[0]) {
LastVolume = Volume[0];
ret = true;
}
if (LastTime != Time[0]) {
LastTime = Time[0];
ret = true;
}
if (LastBars != Bars) {
LastBars = Bars;
ret = true;
}
return (ret);
}

int CheckNewData()
{
static string LastServer = "";
if (Bars < 2) {
//the data is not loaded yet.
DebugMsg("Data not loaded, only " + Bars + " Bars");
return (-1);
}

string serv = ServerAddress();
if (serv == "") {
//no server yet
DebugMsg("No server connected");
return (-1);
}

//server changed? check this and reinit to prevent wrong data while changing server.
if (LastServer != serv) {
DebugMsg("Server changed from " + LastServer + " to " + serv);
LastServer = serv;
reinit();
return (-1);
}

if (!IsDataChanged()) {
//return if no data changed to save resource
//DebugMsg("No data changed");
return (-1);
}

if (Time[Bars-1] != LastStartTime) {
DebugMsg("Start time changed, new history loaded or server changed");
reinit();
return (-1);
}
int i, cnt;
//try to find LastEndTime bar, which should be Time[0] or Time[1] usually,
//so the operation is fast
for (i = 0; i < Bars; i++) {
if (Time[i] <= LastEndTime) {
break;
}
}
if (i >= Bars || Time[i] != LastEndTime) {
DebugMsg("End time " + TimeToStr(LastEndTime) + " not found");
reinit();
return (-1);
}
cnt = Bars - i;
if (cnt != LastBarCount) {
DebugMsg("Data loaded, cnt is " + cnt + " LastBarCount is " + LastBarCount);
reinit();
return (-1);
}

//no new data loaded, return with LastEndTime position.
LastBarCount = Bars;
LastEndTime = Time[0];
return (i);
}

//+------------------------------------ ------------------------------+
//| program start function |
//+------------------------------------ ------------------------------+
int start()
{
static int last_time = 0;

if (!Enabled) return (0);
//always update or update only after certain interval
if (UpdateInterval != 0) {
int cur_time;
cur_time = GetTickCount();
if (MathAbs(cur_time - last_time) < UpdateInterval) {
return (0);
}
last_time = cur_time;
}

//if (Debug) PerfCheck(true);
int n = CheckNewData();
//if (Debug) PerfCheck(false);
if (n < 0) return (0);

//update history file with new data
UpdateHistoryFile(n);
//refresh chart window
UpdateChartWindow();
//if (Debug) PerfCheck(false);
return(0);
}

Attachment indicator:
Attached File
http://assets.forexfactory.net/images/attach/mq4.gif P4L PeriodCon.mq4 60 KB | 0 downloads

Edit:
Although a Trader can not be Trading in a preferred Offline-Chart with such an Indicator it is possible to manage Trades from a normal Chart which I am doing since many years now.
Anyway is there anyone interested in this idea.

If someone is not the same opinion as me please have a look for yourself.
Make the test by your own in comparing a normal Linear Scaled MT4/MT5 -Chart with Trendlines and do the same with a Logarithmic Scaled Chart available everywhere in the net with some free software.
It will be amazing.
Its a huge difference between normal Linear Scaled Chart and Logarithmic Scaled Chart drawing Trendlines.
Greeds Zack

Can you post some images to show the differences please?

I am very time-limited so please have a look for yourself.
Logarithmic Charts available all over the net to comßpare for yourself.Thanks.
If some Coder is interested please let me know.
It is obviously better to work on this Code than Coding a worthless Indicator which really helps no one.
Thanks for your attention.
Greeds Zack

the indicator P4L PeriodCon.mq4 did not work on my platform. If it has some other bugs in the code. please fix it.

But the .ex4 should be working.It is working on my Platform with no limits.
Thanks for any info.
Z.

then could you upload the ex4 version of P4L PeriodCon. Tks

Here it is.
Z.

very thanks . could you gIve explanation of the parameter setting and how to use this indicator(offline chart or...?)?
timeshiftadd in hptmm
periodmultiplier
....
....
...

----

hey there. very nice. i've another idea for you that is similar to logarhithmic trendlines but perhaps eve better. Gann talked about squaring price with time. he referred to a king of normalization of price to time relationship. he talked about a 'price vibration'. he used geometry, but he didn't have the technology we have to day. long story short

for example, if you measure or example gj and it goes on average of 55 pips per hour its price vibration can be thought of as 55/60.

there is a renko/time chart hybrid to square price and time, but it only prints if both conditions are met and it uses renko instead of range bars. http://backtothefuturetrading.com/fl...-hybrid-renko/

in other words a candle is drawn every time price does either one, goes 55 pips OR 60 minutes passes. Either a range bar is made or a time bar is made. perhaps there would be usefulness of trendlines on such a chart.

http://www.dataminingblog.com/standa...normalization/ the idea of normalization/standardization of differeing units ..namely price , time is something to consider perhaps

does log chart do that?

yes it is helpful to use renkon with trendlines.
but thats have nothing to do with logarithmic scale.

can I plot a log base 2 chart with this?