Tickstory

When I export data from TS 1.7.2 to MT4 Build 890 and then launch MT4 from the Tools tab in TS, the data is not properly picked up in MT4. As a consequence Strategy Tester has no data to work on. Shortly after, MT4 loads its own data.

However, when I look at the files in Terminal before launching MT4, the relevant HST and FXT files are present and in the right place. They also have the right names, corresponding to the name of the instrument I wish to test.
Once MT4 is launched from the Tools tab in TS, I notice that the HST file is overwritten with MT4's own data giving just a couple of days' worth of data which of course is not a tick level. The FXT file is unchanged.

Grateful for advice on how to correct this. I have tried loading TS in administrator mode but it makes no difference.

Hi Mamgee,

It sounds like your MT4 is connected to your broker which may be overwriting the data when it connects. Please log out if this is the case.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the advice, but I'm afraid it didn't work. I went offline and launched MT4 from TS. Although the correct files were in Terminal, Strategy Tester processed only the first bar and then stopped. No data was shown in History Center.

Some screenshots might help. They show the correct files in History and Tester in the correct terminal location. Also shown are the Journal entries after the Strategy Test.

Incidentally, saving the TS data to file and importing it through History Center works, but of course the tick data is missing.

Grateful for any further advice.

Hi Mamgee,

Thanks for the screenshots - they are always helpful. It appears as though your symbol is actually called FTSE100(£), including the pound sign which is the first I've seen. Have you actually mapped GBRIDXGBP to FTSE100(£)? The procedure to do this in in the manual and also in the forum (see http://tickstory.com/forum/search.php?k ... c=1&sf=all). You will need to ensure that the symbol name is exactly the same as it appears in MT4.

If you have already done this, the other thing to make sure is that your MT4 Data Folder (File->Open Data folder in MT4) matches the Data folder that was detected in Tickstory (File->Settings->MT4 Settings).

If this also checks out, I see that you have a "tester cannot calculate prices" error which means you will not be getting any results. For this, check out this thread: http://tickstory.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=811.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the speedy reply.

I confirm that the data is mapped to the right name (as you say it's pretty unusual) and it's the right data folder - they're the ones shown in the screenshots.. The calculation problem is due to its being offline. Online, there's no such problem. Nevertheless I tried the fixes in the topic you mention, but it makes no difference. The problem is not that the data isn't sent from TS to the right folders in MT4- the data is transferred fine. The problem is that MT4 does not process it, either in the History Center or in the Strategy Tester.

So I'm stumped. Grateful for any more ideas.

I've solved the problem by using a generic version of MT4. Clearly the Broker version I was using didn't like the adjustments TS was making. So if anyone else experiences a problem like this, using a non-broker version of MT4 may solve it.

Hi Mamgee,

We've managed to download a demo copy of IG's MT4, however it seems there is only a "FTSE100" symbol - not "FTSE100(£)". We've followed the export procedure as per normal with the attached settings. After checking the History Center, everything appears to be there as expected.

Looking back at your "screenshot.docx" again, I can possibly see a hint at what's going wrong. Note the warning "HistoryBase database 'FTSE100(?)' instead of 'FTSE100(£)'". It seems that the "pound" character you are mapping to is not understood correctly by MT4. At this stage I think you may have 2 choices:

1) Just download the demo copy of IG again and use the normal "FTSE100" symbol.
2) Try to fix the pound symbol in your current MT4 installation by:
----- a) Removing all your FXT files in your data directory.
----- b) Starting MT4 from the Start Menu and generating a random back-test with FTSE100(£).
----- c) Start up Tickstory and in the FXT Editor, open the FXT file.
----- d) Try to copy (CTRL-C) the pound symbol that is listed in the "Symbol" field.
----- e) Follow the usual procedure to export & map the FTSE data. In your "Maps To" field, type "FTSE100" and then try paste the pound symbol at the end. Hopefully this will result in the filename that MT4 expects.

Of course, given that we can't try Step 2 ourselves, I'm not sure if it work. I would highly recommend you go with option 1) first if things get too fiddly.

Please let us know how you go.

Thanks.

Hi Mamgee,

Looks like we posted at the same time. If you found a solution that's great. You can try Option 2) if you really need to back-test with the IG terminal.

Regards.