TradeStation Help

Setting the Number of Bars to Include in an ActivityBar Study

ActivityBar studies, just like other analysis techniques, require a certain number of bars of data to perform their calculations. When you insert the ActivityBar study in a chart, cells will not appear on the first bar of data; cells will begin plotting once the necessary number of bars is present.

By default, the Max number of bars study will reference option is set to Auto-detect, so you do not need to modify this option; however, should you want to modify it and set it to a user-defined number of bars, you can do so.

 If you use the User-Specified option and do not include enough bars to calculate the ActivityBar study, you will receive a Runtime Error message when you apply the study to your chart. We recommend you leave it set to Auto-detect.

 Activate a Chart Analysis window containing an ActivityBar study. Access using the menu bar Insert > ActivityBar menu sequence. The Insert Analysis Techniques dialog is displayed.

 If the ActivityBar study is already applied to a chart, use the Format > Analysis Techniques menu sequence, select the ActivityBar study to format, click Format, and continue with Step 4.

1. Select the desired ActivityBar study you want to insert into the chart.
2. Select the Prompt for Format check box.
3. Click OK. The Format ActivityBar dialog is displayed.
4. Click the General tab.
5. Under Maximum number of bars study will reference, select the option to use:
   • Auto-Detect - The number of bars needed to perform the calculations required by the ActivityBar study is detected automatically. We recommend you use this option.
   • User Specified - Enables you to specify how many bars of data the ActivityBar study requires to perform its analysis. Type the number of bars that the study will use.

 Click OK to apply changes or Cancel to exit without changes.