Amibroker FAQ

[trash]

I have since corrected the faulty database to open with my original database BUT

MY TRENDLINES HAVE STILL DISAPPEARED ALONG WITH MA'S & TICKERS IN MY CUSTOM WATCH LISTS

Ffs the norgate support are useless and can't work out why either. I told them everything was fine and dandy until i did the monthy 30day backup procedure. I have done that in the past many times with no problems

Imagine that. A backup service that actually destroys days, upon days of charting

Now I have to redraw all my lines, ma's, watchlist tickers etc etc

I'm not sure I can be bothered. Has this happened to anyone?

Andrew

Trendlines are saved to symbol's binary data file.

From the AB manual:

A database (or a workspace) is a directory that holds a set of binary files, which are stored in 0-9, a-z, '_' subdirectories. Those binary files hold quotes, symbol information, your studies (trend lines, Fibonacci stuff). Each symbol's information is stored separately in the file with the name of the ticker symbol located in the subdirectory corresponding to the first character of the symbol, so IBM quotation data/studies are stored in the 'IBM' file located in the 'I' subdirectory.

If norgate's backup tool has erased those data files then the trendline data is lost too.
I dont use norgate but they dont have anything to do with amibroker. They are 3rd party and if their tools destroy/overwrite files then it's their fault.

If your MA chart panes have disappeared then it appears that your layout and/or broker files of Amibroker directory have been overwritten too. Chart layouts info are saved to awl layout files (local layout files are stored in the database layouts folder because they are per database ones, global layouts are stored to layouts folder of AB directory since those ones are appliable to all data bases) and broker.newcharts file, parameter settings are stored to broker.params file.

http://www.amibroker.com/guide/x_files.html

Watchlist info is stored to database too. Do you have any text files in there?

 

[trash]

These charts don't seem very smart if they delete themselves after a premium data backup lol. Thanks for the response anyway. I am so bummed about this. I am praying there is a simple fix to this..

You are hilarious. Going even further.. Do you think that there is anything smart left if you hit on your harddrive with a sledgehammer or drive over it with a bulldozzer?

The biggest threat to any file is the guy sitting in front of his PC. Ask Maxwell Smart.

 

[Newt]

Really sorry to hear LC
I'm sure your notations, trend lines etc were in the Amibroker directory. Any chance you would have backed that up any time recently?

The data directory is purely the price database - no Amibroker notations etc in there.

 

[Habakkuk]

These charts don't seem very smart if they delete themselves after a premium data backup lol. Thanks for the response anyway. I am so bummed about this. I am praying there is a simple fix to this..

Do you know where the data is backed up? And are there any backups from the previous month or does each backup overwrite the older one?

I'm not using Norgate so I don't know. I back up my AB database into a .zip file - right-click and Send To | Compressed (zipped) Folder. Takes about 10 seconds.

 

[trash]

Really sorry to hear LC
I'm sure your notations, trend lines etc were in the Amibroker directory. Any chance you would have backed that up any time recently?

The data directory is purely the price database - no Amibroker notations etc in there.

You are wrong! In a database there is not just price data stored. Have you actually read the link/quote above you? Why adding wrong assumptions (leading to confusion) instead of actual facts.

http://www.amibroker.com/guide/h_workspace.html
http://www.amibroker.com/guide/x_files.html

 

[lockscombi]

Evening fellas, thanks for the replies

I've been back and forth with Norgate support and they are making it very clear that the backup procedure on their end should NOT affect my AB Data!

I believe they are right because since I have restored my ASX database and saved it as default, I seem to have not lost my custom information (text files) that i write down about companies on the bottom left of screen. That has remained. TBH I would much rather that info disappear then my trend lines & MA's.

The only things that vanished was trend lines, MA's & tickers in my custom watch lists... weird

The last time i backed up AB was probably about 3 months ago (i know that's bad).

I will try some things suggested... perhaps the sledgehammer idea. I think I'll try that one first

 

[trash]

Evening fellas, thanks for the replies

I've been back and forth with Norgate support and they are making it very clear that the backup procedure on their end should NOT affect my AB Data!

I believe they are right because since I have restored my ASX database and saved it as default, I seem to have not lost my custom information (text files) that i write down about companies on the bottom left of screen. That has remained. TBH I would much rather that info disappear then my trend lines & MA's.

The only things that vanished was trend lines, MA's & tickers in my custom watch lists... weird

The last time i backed up AB was probably about 3 months ago (i know that's bad).

I will try some things suggested... perhaps the sledgehammer idea. I think I'll try that one first

If they do backup the database then their tool tries to access and copy data files. So of course it is rather Norgate's fault if something goes wrong with their tool. There is no AmiBroker required in order to backup files. You only need to zip, rar, 7zip it when AB is closed. So it means there is not even any Norgate tool required in order to backup some data.

Another possiblity could be that you have done something weird leading to data loss. Since no one knows what you have done and as long as you can not reproduce it there is anything possible that has lead to your situation.

 

[Wysiwyg]

With regard to Norgate data I have never had a problem and I am 100% sure their program does not interfere negatively with Amibroker.

MY TRENDLINES HAVE STILL DISAPPEARED ALONG WITH MA'S

I "Save" my chart layout using the "Templates" - "Save" feature. From there you can load any of your saved Templates. When saving, I use the option from the drop down menu Complete (*chart) as in the pics.

Hope this helps.

 

[trash]

Chart templates dont save studies (trendlines etc.).
Studies are saved to symbols data files. I think it is the 3rd time being mentioned on this page.

 

[Richard Dale]

Just clarifying a few things here - the Premium Data app does not touch anything in the AmiBroker folder at all, including its "backup" feature.

Our data is stored in MetaStock format (which defaults to c:\Trading Data). The backup part of Premium Data simply zips up this folder. Amibroker uses its in-built MetaStock data plugin to read price data.

AmiBroker has its own databases and places that settings are stored. For example, if your database is called ASX-PremiumData and resides in a sub-folder of the AmiBroker folder (C:\Program Files\AmiBroker\ASX-PremiumData), the trendlines are stored in subfolders of its database folder (e.g. a trendline on BHP is in the file C:\Program Files\AmiBroker\ASX-PremiumData\B\BHP), Notepad notes on BHP are stored outside the database folder - c:\program files\amibroker\notes\BHP.txt. Watchlists are stored in C:\Program Files\AmiBroker\ASX-PremiumData\Watchlists. Security data and associated metadata (market/group etc) are stored in C:\Program Files\AmiBroker\ASX-PremiumData\broker.master, broker.wtach and broker.workspace.

If you want to backup your AmiBroker app and its settings, you need to backup C:\Program Files\Amibroker. Your AmiBroker databases normally reside as sub-folders from there. To check, click File -> Database Settings to determine the path. If it's not under AmiBroker, then back that up too. For a complete backup of the settings/window locations/toolbars etc., you should also backup the registry at HKCU\Software\TJP.

You can do that with the following command line.
For 64 bit AB:

REG EXPORT HKCU\Software\TJP c:\amibrokerbackup\amibrokerregistry64.txt /reg:64 /y

For 32 bit AB:

REG EXPORT HKCU\Software\TJP c:\amibrokerbackup\amibrokerregistry32.txt /reg:32 /y

Should you have to install AmiBroker on a new PC, make sure you do a full install of AmiBroker first, prior to restoring any backups. This is especially important if you use OLE (which we use in our maintenance scripts) as it won't function properly until a full install has taken place.

If anybody has more tips about backing up AmiBroker please add them here.

 

[trash]

Me thinks the guy has removed the ASX AB database and then has recreated it from scratch from that tradingdata folder being mentioned. Thats why his studies data has been lost. Possibly that former database had local layouts in Layouts folder in addition. Thats why MA panes have gone too. And of course watchlist have been there too. But since original DB has gone (not by some magical but human powers) all its data has gone too.

 

[lockscombi]

Whatever has happened has happened. I just put it down to the universe being a douche again

In future I will

1) Never ever use the norgate 30 day backup procedure (This is where it all started)

2) Make daily backups of Amibroker data

Hopefully I don't encounter this problem ever again.

Thanks

 

[Tigs21]

Hi guys,
Does anyone happen to have code for a trendline break?
I haven't been able to find anything on Amibroker forums.

Thanks

 

[Wysiwyg]

Wisestock Trader might have something along those lines.

 

[Tigs21]

Yeh I've have a quick look on wisestock and tradingtuition but no luck. Are you aware of any other sites similar to these?

 

[Wysiwyg]

Google search engine is very efficient nowadays to find what you want. Type in the keywords and you will get those returns. I have done this for you and provided the link for your comfort. Trendline Breakout

 

[Tigs21]

Thanks

 

[Newt]

You are wrong! In a database there is not just price data stored. Have you actually read the link/quote above you? Why adding wrong assumptions (leading to confusion) instead of actual facts.

http://www.amibroker.com/guide/h_workspace.html
http://www.amibroker.com/guide/x_files.html

Actually, really sorry you're the one confusing things further by accusing me of being incorrect trash? I know you can get cranky at times, but as Richard has mentioned above, and your links clearly re-iterate, the default location for trend lines, notations etc is in the ASX-PremiumData sub directory underneath the Amibroker directory.

The actual price database will typically be located in another directory well away from the executable. Obviously those can be user adjusted, however in my case the ASX-PremiumData is a sub folder under Amibroker, therefore I periodically backup my entire Amibroker (and sub folder) directories.

The Norgate price database is typically in a completely separate directory called "Trading Data". I have frequently deleted the entire directory and re-installed when the odd price corruption has occured.


Therefore for Norgate users it is probably very important to ensure you keep backups of your ASX-Premium database moreso than the actual price database.

On 2nd thoughts, I guess I did say in the Amibroker directory, not in a sub-dir beneath. Presumably that's what the excitement was about. All the discussion will be a success however if just one other user gets to salvage their precious notations data.....

 

[trash]

Actually, really sorry you're the one confusing things further by accusing me of being incorrect trash? I know you can get cranky at times, but as Richard has mentioned above, and your links clearly re-iterate, the default location for trend lines, notations etc is in the ASX-PremiumData sub directory underneath the Amibroker directory.

There is nothing mentioned in my links to amibroker.com about any ASX-PremiumData. I was talking about any AmiBroker databases. I was referring to AB's database concept. You didn't mention anything about trendlines being in an AmiBroker database. Where have you done so?

Instead you wrote this one

The data directory is purely the price database - no Amibroker notations etc in there.

Where you have seemed to refer to an AB database. If you didn't mean AB database then you should have pointed it out unmistakably!

I replied to that your comment with actual facts from AmiBroker manual...
"A database (or a workspace) is a directory that holds a set of binary files, which are stored in 0-9, a-z, '_' subdirectories. Those binary files hold quotes, symbol information, your studies (trend lines, Fibonacci stuff)."

Even Richard Dale was repeating it
"(e.g. a trendline on BHP is in the file C:\Program Files\AmiBroker\ASX-PremiumData\B\BHP)"

So manually drawn trendlines data or any other studies data are saved in AmiBroker database subfolder's binary sample symbol file 'BHP' or any other symbol file of an AB database. So studies are saved to a database only. Only there studies are getting stored but nowhere else. Please re-read your first post of this page, it is clearly misleading on that part.

Do you understand that the mentioned sample BHP file or any other symbol file (which are part of AmiBroker Database) do not only save price data but also store studies data? Yes? Fine, but then you should have been more precise.

The actual price database will typically be located in another directory well away from the executable. Obviously those can be user adjusted, however in my case the ASX-PremiumData is a sub folder under Amibroker, therefore I periodically backup my entire Amibroker (and sub folder) directories.

Yeah, and that subfolder (ASX-PremiumData) is an actual AmiBroker database but not just some generic subfolder and once again it does not just store price data! Also the location of any AmiBroker database doesn't matter. An AmiBroker database can be located where ever you want it to be located. It may be AmiBroker's main directory, it may be a different partition on your hard drive or it may be located on an external dropbox folder far away from AB installation folder (let's ignore any disadvantages of the last example).

The Norgate price database is typically in a completely separate directory called "Trading Data". I have frequently deleted the entire directory and re-installed when the odd price corruption has occured.

That data folder is not an AmiBroker database as mentioned by Richard Dale. I was talking about AB databases. Since that "Trading Data" folder is not an AB database there is no AB studies data being stored in there.

On 2nd thoughts, I guess I did say in the Amibroker directory, not in a sub-dir beneath. Presumably that's what the excitement was about. All the discussion will be a success however if just one other user gets to salvage their precious notations data.....

You wrote a general statement about trendlines being part of AmiBroker directory. This is not the case if you choose a different location for your AmiBroker database. Why? Because as we have learned.. studies are part of symbol files and as such are part of an AB database. An AB database even after its first creation (which may be in AB directory or elsewhere) is not bound to its creation place. It is movable to any place after being created. And if you move an AB database and you have created manual studies for that AB database then such manual studies get moved too since they are part of an AB database (whatever its name may be since you can give a database any name you want even after its creation) but they are nowhere else placed. An AB database may be located in AB directory or elsewhere.

As a summary if you delete a symbol file of an AB database or if you overwrite it by some file having the same symbol name then all your studies of the former file are removed too.

PS: please stop putting any fictional emotions into my posts. I am commenting on things and facts but not persons. I guess some people don't like facts that's why they try to distract by drawing emotion cards not being there.

 

[trash]

In case it is not yet fully clear yet I am repeating which main data is stored in an AB database.

- Quotation data (stored in symbol file of '-', 0-9, a-z subfolders), this is the data of DateTime,O,H,L,C,V,OI and Aux fields that you see in AmiBroker's quote editor.

- Information data (stored in symbol file of '-', 0-9, a-z subfolders), this is the data that you see in AmiBroker's information window.

- studies data (stored in symbol file of '-', 0-9, a-z subfolders), this is the data of your manually drawn studies.

- symbol memberships in watchlist (stored in database subfolder "Watchlists"), these are standard text files just having file extension TLS .

- chart layouts (stored in database subfolder "Layouts" having file extension AWL), these layouts are local chart layouts, which means these are per database layouts. So they are not accessible by any other database. See layouts window within AmiBroker software. There you have sections local and global layouts (as aside global layouts are saved in AmiBroker main directory in subfolder "Layouts". That layouts folder is not the same one as the layouts folder of your database. Global means that those ones are accessible by any database. But you can move layout files from global to local layouts folder of course. No problem.). In addition AWL files are human readable files too and can be opened, read and edited by any text file editor. But be careful if you are trying to edit these files. You won't be able to start a nuclear bomb by editing them nor will you destroy your hard drive but you may not get the result you are looking for if you don't know what you are doing.