Primary, Secondary, and Service Signals

TradingSolutions uses special signal designations to allow you to easily track and analyze your favorite entry/exit signals for each data series.

Special Signal Designations

The following special signal designations are available.

·      Primary Signal

This signal designation is typically used to indicate the signal you are currently trading for a data series.

·      Secondary Signal

This signal designation is typically used to indicate an alternate signal you would like to watch for a data series.

·      Service Signal

This signal designation is used to indicate the signal that is currently being generated by the Solution Service for a data series.

Ä    Note: The Service Signal designation is only available in the Active Solutions group of the Solution Service. Selection of the Service Signal is controlled by the Solution Service.

&  For information about the Solution Service, see The TradingSolutions Solution Service.

Specifying Primary and Secondary Signals

The Primary and Secondary signal for a data series can be specified from the Modify Data Series Dialog: Entry/Exit Signals page. Simply select the signal that you would like to specify as the primary or secondary signal and press the Make Primary or Make Secondary button. An icon will appear next to the selected signals.

Ä    Note: Optimal signals cannot be designated as Primary or Secondary signals since they cannot be actively traded.

Ä    Note: The setting of the current Primary or Secondary signals can be cleared from the same panel by selecting the Buy/Hold entry and pressing the Clear Primary or Clear Secondary button.

If a Primary Signal is not currently selected for a data series, the next signal that is created for that data series will automatically be designated as the Primary Signal.

Uses of Special Signals

Fields that are designated as Primary, Secondary, or Service signals can be selected using their special designation in a variety of places:

·      Display Fields

Add the current value of Primary or Secondary signal as a display field and easily track the current position you should be in for each stock in your portfolio.

·      Signal Analysis Fields

Create signal analysis fields for an entire group and automatically have them apply to your favorite signals. You can even add these analysis fields as display fields to track signal performance or sort the winners from the losers.

·      Other Calculated Fields

Function definitions that take signals as inputs can use special signals. This allows you to use Signal Processing Functions and other types of functions on all of the Primary or Secondary signals in a group.

·      Chart and Spreadsheet Selection

When selecting the fields to display in a chart or spreadsheet, you can select the current Primary or Secondary signal as fields to display.

·      Trading Solution Creation

When selecting the source field for a trading solution, you can specify to use the current Primary or Secondary signal field.

Ä    Note: One current restriction of Primary and Secondary signals is that they cannot be selected from external data series. For example, a chart for one stock cannot select to include the Primary signal of another stock. The field itself can be selected and used, but the selection "Primary Signal" will not be available for the external data.

&  For more help with signals, see Creating and Analyzing Entry/Exit Signals.