Tutorial: Using the Interface
Displaying Spreadsheets
Displaying Spreadsheets
i Tutorial Task
Learn how to display and manipulate spreadsheets
Spreadsheets are useful for seeing the data behind the charts. While charts can be useful for seeing the big picture, spreadsheets quickly show the actual numbers involved.
Displaying spreadsheets is very similar to displaying charts and was touched on in an earlier tutorial, so this task will only highlight a few features.
Step-by-step Instructions
1. Right-click on Amgen in the Portfolio View and select Display in Spreadsheet….
Figure 1. Selecting "Display in Spreadsheet."
2. If you performed the previous tutorial, various fields are probably currently selected. Let’s change to the default selections by selecting * Default Spreadsheet.
Figure 2. Selecting "* Default Spreadsheet".
3. Press OK. This will display the spreadsheet.
Figure 3. Sample spreadsheet.
4. Let’s add a new calculation to the spreadsheet. Right-click on the header and select Add/Change Fields in Spreadsheet. This will re-display the Display Spreadsheet Dialog we just saw.
Figure 4. Selecting "Add/Change Fields…"
5. Select Create a New Field….
Ä Note: Creating new fields will be covered in detail in the next tutorial. This tutorial will go through these steps quickly to illustrate the effect of this on the spreadsheet.
Figure 5. Location of "Create a New Field".
6. Press Next to advance into the Calculate a Value Wizard. Then, press Next to pass the Introduction page.
7. On the Select Function page, in the Function Group list, select Series Averaging Functions.
Figure 6. Selecting "Series Averaging Functions"
8. In the Functions in the Selected Group list, select Moving Average.
Figure 7. Selecting "Moving Average"
9. Press Next.
10. On the Select Inputs page, select Volume from the list of fields.
Figure 8. Selecting "Volume" for spreadsheet.
11. Press Next, then press Finish to create the Moving Average (V, 10) field.
12. This new field will automatically be added to the list of fields being displayed.
Ä Note: You may have noticed the similarities between the Display Chart Dialog and the Display Spreadsheet Dialog. This same technique could be used to add new indicators to charts.
13. Press OK to view the updated spreadsheet.
14. Scroll to the right end of the spreadsheet to see the added field.
Figure 9. Last row of Amgen data series.
15. Raw data in spreadsheets can be modified directly. This allows you to examine "what if" scenarios, as well as update incorrect figures. Let’s see how the Volume field affects the other fields that are displayed. Right-click on the last Volume cell and select Copy Value to preserve the current value.
Figure 10. Copying Volume cell.
16. With that cell selected, type 0 and press the Enter key.
17. TradingSolutions will confirm you want to modify a value in the spreadsheet. Press Yes.
Ä Note: Only the first modification to a spreadsheet window requires confirmation.
18. The Moving Average (V, 10) decreased as expected. The value of the Primary Signal also decreased from an enter long signal (above 50%) to an exit short signal (below 50%). This is because the current Primary Signal for Amgen uses Volume in its calculation.
Figure 11. Last row after Volume changed to 0.
19. Right-click on the cell and select Paste Value to restore the previous value.
Figure 12. Pasting the previous value back in the cell.
Congratulations!
You have learned how to display a spreadsheet, add a new field to a spreadsheet or chart, and how to modify values. The next task will teach you the basics of analyzing signals.
_ Continue to the next task.