Fractals scanner indicator

19 May 2020, 18:24
Jan Flodin
0
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The main purpose of this blog is to describe and explain the input parameters of my Fractals scanner indicator (MT4 version / MT5 version). 

This is an out-of-the-box product which will normally not be modified based on request from a single customer. Please therefore first read this blog to the end and/or test the indicator in the strategy tester in order to understand what it can and cannot do.

Input parameters

Parameters marked with an asterisk (*) in the beginning are only available in the MT5 version and parameters marked with two asterisks (**) in the beginning are only available in the MT4 version.

  • GENERAL SETTINGS
    • * Scanning interval in seconds: Default is 1. Can be set to a higher value in order to prevent possible performance issues on slower computers.
    • Panel width: If you are using a non-standard font size in Windows you could set this to a larger value in order for the whole text to be visible.
    • Custom panel title: If you put some text here this text will be shown instead of the default panel title.
    • Template name: Your own custom chart template you put here will be applied to the chart which will be opened when you click on a signal in the panel. The name must be written without the file extension (.tpl). You could prepare your template with for instance a support/resistance indicator.
    • * Delay in seconds for applying chart template: This parameter can be set to a higher value in case the trade advice lines are now drawn on the chart in MT5.
  • SIGNAL SETTINGS
    • Amount of signals to show in the panel: Default is 20. But you can set it to more if it will fit on your chart. The signals will be shown in descending order, i.e. the latest signal first. The panel can be moved around on the chart by dragging it with the top list. It can also be minimized. If closing it with the x button the indicator will be unloaded from the chart as well. The panel does not support having font size set to for instance 125% in Windows. You can set the last (XX) signals in the indicator settings. You can change it to for instance 30. The panel height will then increase and in some cases it might not fit on your chart. To disable to panel you must set the value to 0. The text on each row contains information about time (server time) when the signal was generated, symbol, time frame, if bull or bear, type of alert and time of signal candle. For instance "3.5 16:00-USDJPY-H4-Bear-FRACTALS-3.5 8:00". The time is written in the format M.D hh:MM. When clicking on a row a new chart will be opened with the selected symbol and time frame. The opened chart will be opened with the chart template which you have defined in the indicator settings.
    • Scan for bullish and/or bearish: List box with 3 selections.
    • ** Write signals to file: Set to True to save signals to a .CSV file. The file is located in the \MQL4\Files folder (MQL5 in Metatrader 5) and the name of the file is "FRA_symbol_timeframe.csv". For instance "FRA_EURUSD_M5.csv". This file could be used by an Expert Advisor for automatical trading. The format in the file is: [type of pattern];[symbol name];[time frame (text)];[time of signal candle];[Bull or Bear]. For example "FRACTALS;EURUSD;M30;6.11.2019 12:30;Bear". Always separated by a semi colon.
    • * Where to write signals (For EA): Listbox with the following selections:
      • Disabled
      • File in data folder: The signals will be saved to a .csv (text) file for further usage. The file is located in the \MQL5\Files folder and the name of the file is "FRS_symbol_timeframe.csv". For instance "FRS_EURUSD_M5.csv". This file could be used by an Expert Advisor for automatical trading. The format in the file is: [alert type];[symbol name];[time frame (text)];[date of signal candle];[Bull or Bear]. For example " FRACTALS;EURUSD;M30;6.11.2019 12:30;Bear". Always separated by a semi colon.
      • File in common folder: The file is stored in the common folder instead which is a folder shared by all Metatrader instances installed on the machine.
      • Global variables: The name of the global variable is divided into 5 parts. The first part (FRA) is the short name of this indicator. The second part is the symbol name, the third part the time frame, the fourth part the trade direction (Bull or Bear) and the last part is the name of the formation/pattern. The value of the global variable is the time of the alert/signal in MQL format
    • Amount of signals to save in file: When this value has been reached then older signals will be deleted.
  • FRACTALS SETTINGS
    • Enable scanning: True or False.
    • ZigZag depth: Depth is the minimum number of bars where there isn’t any second maximum or minimum deviation from the bar.
    • Amount of left bars: Amount of bars to the left which has to be higher/lower than the fractal bar.
    • Amount of right bars: Amount of bars to the right which has to be higher/lower than the fractal bar.
    • Only perfect fractalsTrue or False. If set to true then the midpoint of the right and left candles must be lower/higher.
    • Candle shift for RSI filterThe defult value is the fractal (middle) candle. This default value is based on the default Amount of left/right bars value
  • PARABOLIC SAR SETTINGS
    • Enable scanning: True or False.
    • Step
    • Maximum
    • Candle shift for RSI filterThe defult value is 2 which is the candle prior to the Parabolic SAR trend change.
  • MOVING AVERAGE (MA) FILTER SETTINGS
    • Enable MA filter
    • Period
    • Candle shift
    • Method
    • Price type
    • Time frame (current = signal time frame)
  • RSI FILTER SETTINGS
    • Enable RSI filter
    • Overbought level (signals from this level and above): If you set this to for instance 70, alerts will be sent for the fractal candle shift where RSI >= 70.
    • Oversold level (signals from this level and below): If you set this to for instance 30, alerts will be sent for fractal candle shift where RSI <= 30
    • Period
    • ** Candle shift: The defult value is the fractal (middle) candle. The default value is based on the default Amount of left/right bars value.
    • Price type
    • Time frame (current = signal time frame)
    • SYMBOLS AND TIME FRAMES
      • Symbols to scan: Here you will put all symbols you would like to monitor. Every symbol must be entered in the exact way as it is visible in the Market Watch window and separated with a comma, without spaces. By design in Metatrader 4 the amount of character in a text (string) parameter is limited to 255. You can put more characters in the Symbols parameter but when reading the value, Metatrader cuts at 255. 255 characters will allow for 36 symbols and 35 commas (,) if the symbol length is 6 characters. If you need more symbols you can always drag the indicator with the remaining symbols to another chart. To come around this limitation you can set the value in the 'Use symbols from Market Watch window instead' parameter below to  true. By doing this the indicator will use the symbols visible in your Market Watch window instead.
      • Use symbols from Market Watch window instead: With this option set to True all visible symbols in your Market Watch window will be scanned instead of the symbols above. Due to performace reasons It is not recommended to use more than 40 symbols if you have a slower computer. 
      • Time frames: Set to true for each time frame you would like to monitor.
    • * OBJECT SETTINGS
      • Panel background color
      • Panel text color
      • Bull arrow color
      • Bear arrow color
    • ALERTS
      • Alerts: Set to True for each alert type you would like to receive. All alert types are supported.



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