# Software systems



## Pappon (2 April 2009)

Hi guys

I'm new to all this and am keen to trade via technical analysis. I've been looking at a few systems and have looked at 2 can you guys tell me what you think of:

Protrader
Sharefinder

Thanks


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## MS+Tradesim (2 April 2009)

I don't know either of them. Although Comsec used to have a trading platform called Protrader - it's discontinued. Maybe you mean something else?

If you're completely new, just find something free on the net to play around with. You could start here: http://www.incrediblecharts.com/

You can download a free charting program, and on that site you will find a bunch of introductory information about technical analysis.


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## CanOz (2 April 2009)

Pappon said:


> Hi guys
> 
> I'm new to all this and am keen to trade via technical analysis. I've been looking at a few systems and have looked at 2 can you guys tell me what you think of:
> 
> ...




Start out with something free until you decide on what kind of a trader you really want to be. 

I like bigcharts, its free and does plenty. 

Later on you may want to check the whole package from Amibroker or Metastock.

keep in mind to that many broker platforms include software for TA.

Cheers,


CanOz


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## Pappon (2 April 2009)

MS+Tradesim have you found incrediblecharts has given you good entry points into a share has it worked well for you?


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## MS+Tradesim (2 April 2009)

Pappon said:


> MS+Tradesim have you found incrediblecharts has given you good entry points into a share has it worked well for you?




No program gives you good entry points. "Good" entries and exits and *far more importantly* money management/position sizing are functions of a trader's skill. This comes with time and experience.

Most charting programs allow you to overlay various indicators and studies. But these are traps. The average beginner comes to the market and believes if they can just get the right combination of indicator values they will make a fortune. It doesn't work like that. Any program, free or purchased, is still only as useful as the person driving it. 

At this stage, you need to learn the basics of how to understand a chart. As you learn you will start to see what interests you and what direction you would like to explore.

Look at some charts and paper trade ie. set up a spreadsheet with some basic info and then pretend you are making real trades. Log your trades in the spreadsheet and see how you go. Keep a journal of why you buy or sell something including what the overall market was like at the time. Look for patterns in your play trades, things that worked, things that didn't work.

It will take time, lots of it, before you start to grasp what is important and what is just noise. There is no way to short cut this process.

Use the search feature on this forum.

Ps. For an absolute beginner, I would also recommend getting a copy of Leon Wilson's book _The Business of Share Trading_. It's a decent place to start.


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## johenmo (2 April 2009)

Listen to MS+Tradesim....

The software is a tool, that's all.  You can download Amibroker and play with that.  I did and I will likely purchase it when I reach a level at which I'm happy.


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## Pappon (3 April 2009)

Thanks for the replies guys.

Buy signals is what i'm looking for, hen i look for indicators to support these "buy" signals is this correct?

I downloaded the free trial of incredible charts.


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## Uncle Festivus (3 April 2009)

If you want to scan first on criteria then look at the chart then have a look at Bullcharts. Not free though.


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## MS+Tradesim (4 April 2009)

Pappon said:


> Buy signals is what i'm looking for, hen i look for indicators to support these "buy" signals is this correct?




All indicators are derived from a combination of price and/or volume and/or time. Learn to read these factors on a chart, and you'll start to understand what indicators, if any, can add value to your analysis. If you really want a suggestion of where to start, I would recommend learning about Volume Spread Analysis (VSA). Use the search feature of this forum and google it. There are some free resources available.  

For starters, all you need is a basic chart that has open, high, low, close plotted for each day and a volume chart at the bottom. Read up on the basics and then start going through charts to see how the principles of VSA apply.


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