Optuma brings you one of the easiest to use formula languages ever seen in trading platforms. Many of the modules in Optuma use this language (such as the Back Tester and Scanning Manager) providing you with a level of customisation previously unavailable. The following tools and modules can be used with custom formulas: To download a detailed whitepaper on Scripting, click here. To watch a video on using the scripting language to create custom tools, click here. The following is the interface that displays when selecting the Script Manager in Optuma (located under the Settings menu). When the Script Manager is accessed it is ready for you to add a new custom formula, you just need to enter a name for the script and then type the formula in the window beneath the Script Name. When complete left-click the Update Button. Optuma includes a list of pre-programmed scripts/formulas that you can use. These are listed in the left-hand pane of the Script Manager under Default Scripts.

You can search for any default or created scripts by just typing the name of the script you are looking for in the Type to search field. The interface for using formulas is extremely user-friendly: As soon as you start typing in a formula field, you will see a list of functions or operations that are available for you to enter. The more letters you type, the more the list is reduced to only show items that match what you are typing. A formula you create can contain any or all of the following parts: Functions: A function, such as MA(), represents an existing calculation or indicator (in this case a Moving Average) and you can enter adjustments for the function within its parentheses. Each function has a specific adjustment syntax. Constants: You can also enter constants, such as numbers, directly into a formula. Operators: Operators are the symbols that are used to specify the type of calculation that you want the formula to perform. For example, the * (asterisk) operator multiplies numbers.

Each function available in Optuma has a number of properties that can be adjusted (number of bars used to calculate a Moving Average, for example).chandelier letras.mus Rather than having to commit the syntax to memory, Optuma simplifies this process by providing you with a properties panel identical to the one available in the Control panel.chandelier cambridge dictionary Once a function is added to the formula, if you left-click on the empty parentheses the properties panel will display:chandelier blockheads As you made adjustments in the panel, the formula will be updated automatically to include the function adjustments. The following table contains a list of all the functions available in the Optuma formula language.

If no adjustments are made within the functions parentheses, Optuma will use the default settings saved for that indicator. Operators are the symbols that are used to specify the type of calculation that you want the formula to perform. Clicking the Add Function will display the Function list as per below. From here you can either scroll down to manually locate the desired function, or you can starting typing the function name to do a search. In the following example, I have entered "moving" and the automated script adviser has provided a list of suggested functions. So if you want a moving average, for example, you need to use the function MA. It is possible to save scripts under different groups. For example, if your scripts have a Gann focus, then a Gann group can be created: Scripts can then be moved to the new group by dragging them over. To add new scripts to a group, first left-click on the group and then select New > Add Script. When you make an adjustment to an existing script, the script will then be updated in each instance that it has been used, e.g. indicators on charts (like Show Bar).

If the new script is very similar to an existing one, the original can now be cloned so that it doesn't have to be created from scratch. To clone a script, first left-click on the script name and click the Clone button. A duplicate will then be added with a '1' at the end of the name. If a default script has been cloned then the new script will be added under My Scripts. It is also possible to make a copy of a script by first selecting it and then selecting Save Script As. You can then save a copy of the script under a new name. Clicking the Scripting Help... button, will provide access to the Scripting Knowledge Base and Scripting Forum in our Support Centre.The Multi-Stops study will plot five different types of volatility stops. The input parameters for the stops are a volatility coefficient which is a multiplier (larger=looser stop) and the look-back length which is the distance the stop is looking backwards to compute volatility and other factors. The various methods are: Average True Range Stops, Wilder Average Stops, Chandelier Stops, Elder Safe Zone Stops and Fibonacci Stops.

There is an option to allow stop expansion that is disabled by default but will allow the stop to “breathe” if you so choose otherwise you will only see the stop move in the direction of the current trend. There are two ways to use Multi-Stops. First, it gives you a great reference point for placing trailing stops so you don’t get pipped out of the bigger moves. Rather than guess, Multi-Stops will give you a scientific guess based on recent volatility and calculated in one of five different ways. Secondly, Multi-Stops can be used as a supplementary trend tool. Looser stops will capture longer trends and avoid whipsaws but have larger drawdowns. Tighter stops will get whipsawed more often but will limit losses when the trend goes against you. $97Purchase the MultiStops indicator for thinkorswim today. Type and Press “enter” to SearchList of StudiesDescriptionAnalysisFormulaATR SettingsATR CalculatorATR Screener The Average True Range (ATR) indicator was developed in 1978 by J. Welles Wilder as a measurement of a security's volatility.

The ATR indicator does not reflect the price direction and is not used to predict price. Nevertheless, this indicator is widely used in technical analysis to measure the degree of price movement or price volatility.The ATR indicator attempts to take overnight trading into account for those instances in which the price of a security leaps upward at the opening of the market. In some cases, there will be a gap between the opening price of a stock or commodity and its previous day closing price, but the price will remain unchanged for the rest of the trading day. Since the difference between High and Low in this case is not large, the candle of this bar will be small, which will not reflect the actual jump in price from the precious day's close. In order to more precisely reflect the volatility of an analyzed security, Wilder suggested using the previous bar's closing price to capture gaps that would not be included by a formula that is based only on the high-low price range.In the majority of cases, the high-low range is the largest and is used in the calculation of TR and ATR.

Still, for volatile securities (that have a tendency to start trading with a gap up or gap down at the market opening) the previous day's close would be used in the TR and ATR calculations. The TR value is always positive and its absolute value should be used if the previous bar close is higher than the current bar High or lower than the current bar Low.After the TR has been determined, the moving average is calculated. For example, an ATR(11) is an 11-bar moving average of TR. Some technical analysts use a simplified method to calculate the TR moving average. For instance, to define the ATR (11), the previous ATR (11) bar is multiplied by 10, the current bar TR value is added and the result is divided by 11.Keep in mind that low priced stocks have lower ATRs than high price stocks (a $5 stock has a lower ATR than a $500 stock). Furthermore, it would be wrong to compare the ATR of stocks that have different price ranges. In technical analysis Average True Range is used to evaluate a security's volatility with the purpose of selecting high or low volatility stocks for trading.

It is also used in stop loss and trade's exit strategies. The ATR indicator also can be very useful in the long-term trading systems to define stock market long-term trends. Plus, some traders monitor this indicator to spot radical changes in volatility with purpose of re-adjusting trading to fir new market conditions.It is well known that high volatility stocks offer higher potential reward. Many high risk traders are using various stock filters to select high volatility stocks for their portfolios. However, with higher volatility comes higher risk. Trading risk is always aligned with potential profit - with higher risk a trader may expect higher profit.Click HERE to see an example of the Stock Screener which allows to select high volatility stocksThere are several trading strategies that uses ATR to define stop loss and avoid choppy trading. In less volatile market we gave small price swings and respectfully smaller stop-loss could be used. Controversially, during high volatility in order to avoid price fluctuation bigger stop loss could be recommended.

In many sources you will find 3 times ATR as recommended stop-loss level. Chandelier Exit is one of the variation of using ATR as a trailing exit.As a rule, volatility is lover during long-term uptrends and volatility is higher during long-term down-trends, recessions and stock market crashes This characteristics could be used to define long-term trends. On the Nasdaq 100 chart below you may see period when 14-day Average True Range increased by 2-3 times. Strong increase in volatility to such high levels is an indication of the coming stock market crash in 2008.Chart 1: NASDAQ 100 index - Average True Range (ATR).When it comes to recognizing long-term trends, it could be recommended using Absolute ATR (ATR%) as it will not depend on a price level of an analyzed stock or index. As an example, before 1973 crash the S&P 500 index was traded around $110 and before crash in 2008 the same S&P 500 index was traded around $1500. Such, in the first case the ATR was around 2.3 points and in the second case the ATR was around 30 points.

However, in both cases, prior to the crash the Absolute ATR (ATR%) was below 2% and during the crash above 2%. As you may see, the Absolute Average True Range indicator allows comparing different securities and different periods in order to find patterns.Number of technical analysis noticed that adding volatility analysis component to other technical indicators may substantially improve output as signals could be adjusted to the volatility - less sensitive during periods of lower volatility and more sensitive during the periods of higher volatility. This union allows reducing lag without an increase in the false signals. Some of the technical indicators that use ATR in their calculations areVolatility is one of the most important characteristic describing a trend. Volatility monitoring and analysis allows to define periods of different price behavior. During the periods of low volatility (recorded during long-term up-trends), price trend changes are prolonged in time and the price corrections are small In opposite, during higher volatility price trends changes occurs more often and they are sharper and stronger (deeper).

Furthermore, it is logical to use different indicators setting for technical indicators that are used to generate trading signals.As an example, on the S&P 500 index chart below, you can see that, since July 2007, the S&P 500 index has been 2-3 times more volatile. This means that the  price has been changing its direction 2-3 times more frequently since July 2007 then before. As a result, the technical indicator settings that were used in the period prior to August 2007 may fail to generate signals in subsequent months. The old indicator settings may simply open and close a trade when it is already too late.Chart 2: S&P 500 index chart - 14-day Average True Range (ATR).As you can see, the ATR helps to identify highly volatile periods. In August 2007, by having ATR data, a trader could be willing to adjust the indicators to be more sensitive to, and react more quickly to, price changes, or a trader could be willing to adjust an indicator setting to avoid stronger swings. The calculation of the ATR is simple and consists of two steps:Step #1: Define the True Range (TR) - The True Range is defined as the highest of the following numbers:Step #2: Apply the moving average to the defined TR.