(yet another thread about) Complete Symbol Lists [UN-SOLVED]
Posted: Nov 09 2020
I have read way too many threads on this forum about how MC "doesn't do symbols right", and I agree, having to add each symbol by hand is a real pain. I also realize that asking a company to keep the "symbol download, translation and import service" up-to-date to a professional level is too much to ask for.
That being said, I think that we users might be able to come up with something that is way better than what we have now, but not something that MC could officially support.
Here is how I am thinking about augmenting my list of symbols, but I don't want to do it if it is going to cause heartburn moving forward. I use Trade_Station as my data provider.
I currently use an external CSV file, and import it continuously as new symbols come up throughout the day. This is non-negotiable, as I require that there be a way to bring in the symbols in case of a computer error. I do not believe using QMD files is appropriate, as they are opaque blobs, without an open standard. If I am wrong, please let me know how to parse that file. I think I found a way tonight to come up with a more complete list than my current one-at-a-time approach.
1. Bring up the symbol importer, using ctrl-alt-t (I'm using Trade_Station)
2. Make sure I'm on the 'Stock' tab
3. Change the 'Country' to "United States"
4. Put 'A' in the "Symbol" field.
5. Click on "Lookup"
6. Wait for them all to be loaded.
7. Import them all.
8 - 32. Repeat this 25 times, one for each letter in the alphabet.
33. Back in the QuoteManager, click on "All Symbols"
34. Click on the top symbol in your QuoteManager
35. Press Ctrl-a to select all symbols.
36. Right-click, choose "Export Data, ASCII"
37. In "Select Resolutions and Fields, chose _only_ "Day"
38. Select "Export Symbol Name"
39. Select "Export Description"
40. In the field export box, deselect every field.
41. Click on "OK"
42. Select a directory that is empty. This is important, as this directory will be full of files. I use Desktop/exports/
There will be one file per symbol in this directory. The good news is that we get the symbol and the broker in the filename, so it shouldn't be hard to write a program that grabs those and builds the CSV file for us. One filename is as follows:
*AAAU-Trade_Station-NYSE-Stocks-Day-Trade.txt*
The second piece of good news is that the top two rows of one of the files looks like the following:
"Symbol","Description","TotalVolume"
AAAU,Perth Mint Physical Gold ETF,433293
It should be easy for us to parse that file and get the information we need.
The bad news is that we don't get that information unless the symbol has been loaded in the UI and downloaded some data.
98. (do some magical things here that I don't know how to fix right now)
Is this something that we can fix with EasyLanguage? I'm envisioning running through a list of all symbols available to the system, loading data for one day of data, and then moving forward. Of course, then I would do this once a month for a *blistering* fun Friday night.
Thanks,
Rob
That being said, I think that we users might be able to come up with something that is way better than what we have now, but not something that MC could officially support.
Here is how I am thinking about augmenting my list of symbols, but I don't want to do it if it is going to cause heartburn moving forward. I use Trade_Station as my data provider.
I currently use an external CSV file, and import it continuously as new symbols come up throughout the day. This is non-negotiable, as I require that there be a way to bring in the symbols in case of a computer error. I do not believe using QMD files is appropriate, as they are opaque blobs, without an open standard. If I am wrong, please let me know how to parse that file. I think I found a way tonight to come up with a more complete list than my current one-at-a-time approach.
1. Bring up the symbol importer, using ctrl-alt-t (I'm using Trade_Station)
2. Make sure I'm on the 'Stock' tab
3. Change the 'Country' to "United States"
4. Put 'A' in the "Symbol" field.
5. Click on "Lookup"
6. Wait for them all to be loaded.
7. Import them all.
8 - 32. Repeat this 25 times, one for each letter in the alphabet.
33. Back in the QuoteManager, click on "All Symbols"
34. Click on the top symbol in your QuoteManager
35. Press Ctrl-a to select all symbols.
36. Right-click, choose "Export Data, ASCII"
37. In "Select Resolutions and Fields, chose _only_ "Day"
38. Select "Export Symbol Name"
39. Select "Export Description"
40. In the field export box, deselect every field.
41. Click on "OK"
42. Select a directory that is empty. This is important, as this directory will be full of files. I use Desktop/exports/
There will be one file per symbol in this directory. The good news is that we get the symbol and the broker in the filename, so it shouldn't be hard to write a program that grabs those and builds the CSV file for us. One filename is as follows:
*AAAU-Trade_Station-NYSE-Stocks-Day-Trade.txt*
The second piece of good news is that the top two rows of one of the files looks like the following:
"Symbol","Description","TotalVolume"
AAAU,Perth Mint Physical Gold ETF,433293
It should be easy for us to parse that file and get the information we need.
The bad news is that we don't get that information unless the symbol has been loaded in the UI and downloaded some data.
98. (do some magical things here that I don't know how to fix right now)
Is this something that we can fix with EasyLanguage? I'm envisioning running through a list of all symbols available to the system, loading data for one day of data, and then moving forward. Of course, then I would do this once a month for a *blistering* fun Friday night.
Thanks,
Rob