MT4/tickstory/TDS

[gabriele]

Hi,
I am new to this site and fairly illiterate when it comes to programming/backtesting/MT4.

I have installed MT4 (alpari demo-pro) ticksoryLite and TDS (tick data suite). They all seem to be working fine alone, but I can't manage to get them working together.
Having exported from TSL the data of 15-20 pairs to MT4. I can see the data on my pc on C\Tickstory Lite, where I have a folder for each of the pairs I have downloaded.
Each folder then contain a folder for each year/month/day. The data is there

If I go to the directory where my TSL was supposed to download I can see all the files
C\program files\meta trade-Alpari UK\ history\AlpariUK-Demo-pro has all the HST files, where by the "currency"1.hst files have a size of 16,284 kb and the "currency"43200.hst files have 1kb. This is true for all the currency pairs I have downloaded. ( I have downloaded a year of data)

In my FXT direcory however not all files seems to be there. C\program files\ Metatrader AlpariUK\tester\history
So my first question is should I have a matching number of HST and FXT files?
If so then, is there a known issue on why the HST files are downloaded but not the FXTs?
Do I need to download the data again or can I extract them from my C\tickstory Lite folders?

Also, how can I make sure that once downloaded, the data stays on my pc? I have the feeling, but not the proof, that some of the files get deleted as I close my MT4 and shut down my pc.

many thanks in advance

Gabriele

[tickstory]

Hi Gabriele,

Given that you are just getting familiar with back-testing, we would recommend that you consult the Help guide to find out more about how MT4 databases work (and also Tickstory). You can go to the Help guide by going to this link: http://www.tickstory.com/help/tickstorylite/ or simply pressing F1 when you are using Tickstory. The section on "MT4 - A Quick Primer" will be useful for you to learn more about FXT & HST files. There is also a section in "The Basics"->"Downloading data" which also explains how data is retrieved from Dukascopy and stored on your local computer so it does not need to continually request this information over the Internet.

To address some of your other questions, note that MT4 databases (and therefore HST and FXT files) do not get generated until you perform an 'Export' from Tickstory (this is also explained in the Help guide). This may be why you are not seeing FXT files (and the existing HST files may already exist because they were downloaded from your broker).

As a starting point, have a look at our 5-step video guide for using Tickstory to back-test:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-rMOen4UHg

Hope this helps.

[gabriele]

tickstory,

thanks for your reply.
However the step by step guide and help pages do no provide any of the answers I am looking for.
I have followed every single step , and I have found myself in the position described on my previous post.
So no luck for me on the guide, my only hopes are for some generous soul to reply with step by step instructions for my previous questions and failing that, I will have to try to do a new download and start from scratch again.

Gabriele

[tickstory]

Hi Gabriele,

Here is a response to all your questions above:

So my first question is should I have a matching number of HST and FXT files?

A HST file is generated for every time-frame. If you have generated FXTs for every time-frame then yes, you will also have the same number of FXT files.

If so then, is there a known issue on why the HST files are downloaded but not the FXTs?

If you have exported from Tickstory you will automatically generate the FXT files.

Do I need to download the data again or can I extract them from my C\tickstory Lite folders?

You don't need to touch the Dukascopy data files (*.bi5 files) in any way. These files are automatically downloaded and contain the tick data used by Tickstory to export to MT4. Once they are downloaded they do not get downloaded again.

Also, how can I make sure that once downloaded, the data stays on my pc? I have the feeling, but not the proof, that some of the files get deleted as I close my MT4 and shut down my pc.

- Data downloaded from Dukascopy is never deleted unless you explicitly choose to delete it.
- Data that you export for MT4 from Tickstory will reside in the Metatrader directory. Ensure you have selected 'Mark files read-only' when you do your export and always launch MT4 via the Tickstory 'Launch' feature (press F8 in the application). This will ensure MT4 cannot delete your FXT files. If you do not follow the 'Launch' procedure then yes, it is possible that MT4 will delete the FXT files when you try to back-test (and if these files are deleted then, yes, you will need to generate them again).

Hope this answers your questions.

Regards.

[gabriele]

thanks for you exhaustive and precise reply.

Something is not working on my side.
I have followed the guide rigorously and yes the "make FXT read-only box" is ticked.
However my metatrader/tester/history folder only keeps files until I close my machine.
If I just log out, and never mind if I restart my pc, and I re-open tickstory and then metatreder from there with F8, the FXT files are no longer there.

Therefore so far in order to perform a back test I need to download the data, over and over again, before being able to run a test.

regards,

Gabriele

[tickstory]

Hi Gabriele,

I'm not sure if your issue has something to do with Windows 7 file virtualisation? The first thing to do is identify exactly when your files are deleted so you can hone-in on the culprit.
Check the files just before shutdown/logout, then when you start up again, then when you start MT4 and then when you hit the 'back-test' button. Once you know the exact point at which your files are deleted you can most likely find out why this is occurring. As far as we're aware, if the files are marked as read-only, MT4 cannot delete them.

Hope this helps.

[gabriele]

Thank you.
I am using windows vista business.
I will try to establish when the files are getting deleted.

kind regards,

Gabriele

[experienced_tester]

Gabriele

First you have to check if the generated FXT files are read-only. This check should be done immediately after downloading/exporting the data towards the mt4.

If they are not read-only then we face the same issue, you can check up my thread here:
http://www.tickstory.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=246

although I am using a different operating system than yours: XP

Hope this helps, good luck.

[gabriele]

Dear expert tester,
thanks for your post. While it does not solve my issue, it does make feel better as at least I am not the only "mad guy" in town

Something is seriously wrong.
117 files for over 100 GB of data have disappeared from my database over the week end.
C:\Program Files\MetaTrader - Alpari UK\tester\history

I am following all the instructions.

I believe the issue lies either with ticksory, with MT4 or possibly both working together.
Last week in order to protect my work, following previous disappearances, I made a backup of all my downloaded data to an external HD.
The data on the external HD is still there, while the files saved on the above directory have gone!

Following the post from expert tester, I have checked both the few files left on my C drive and all the files that I still have on the external HD.
The are all saved as "read only".

However I have noticed something quite interesting.
Yesterday by mistake I had started to download a new pair, only to stop the process when I realized that the download was not intended.
This morning those "mistaken files" were on my C drive, but they were not "read-only"

I have re opened tickstory to see if there was a box to be ticked for the files to be downloaded as "read only" and I couldn't find it.
Am I missing something?

Whether or not my missing files were saved in C as read-only or not, why would they get deleted anyway?

And if indeed the missing files were not saved as read only, how comes that the copy I made from my C drive to the external HD were transferred as "read only" ?

And how is possible that following always the same "Exprt to MT4" process some files are most definitely being saved as "read only", and possibly some others (the missing ones) are not?


Could anyone help?

Kind regards,

Gabriele

[experienced_tester]

Hi Gabriele

1. Even if you studied and applied the rules let me remind once more one of them, just in case:
- you choose an mt4 terminal for backtest and then you NEVER start that terminal by itself, without Tickstory. The terminal for backtest purposes will only be started through Tickstory. It is better for you to delete the terminal shortcut from the desktop.

2. No offense, you did not answer my question:
- immediately after downloading/exporting the data, the FXT files are read-only? In order to answer this question you could download/export a short interval, like a week of data. This will be fast enough.
I remind you the option "Make FXT read-only" in the export menu is checked by default. In fact you can leave untouched that group of 5 default settings.

Try again, good luck.

Kind regards