SortWizard – Stock Screening and Stock Scanning Software, Search Development and Consulting

We would first like to welcome you to the SortWizard - Seminar #2. As this seminar was actually used for a live text chat room presentation, the format is set up is a little different. Rather than in conventional paragraph format, the session is broken down a sentence or two at a time format.

We appreciate your interest and the time you are going to spend with us today. In return for that, our goal it to have you well on your way to finding better trades by using the SortWizard Stock Screening Software.

We'd like to take a few minutes to give you a quick overview of the SortWizard.

The SortWizard works with in tandem with the premier real time trading application called RealTick.

One of the sources of data that the SortWizard uses is the RealTick data feed. The RealTick data feed supplies the real-time data. As a result of using RealTick for real-time data, there are no additional data feed expenses or exchange fees. The other source of data is the SortWizard's database.

The SortWizard was designed specifically to operate with minimal processor overhead and without creating a data feed performance lag with your RealTick application.

You can search the entire equities market in real-time in seconds while concurrently running your RealTick based quotes and charts software. You will not notice any degradation of your system's performance.

The SortWizard provides hot links, drag and drop capability and other speed, efficiency and convenience features built in to make use with RealTick as efficient and seamless as possible.

Unlike other applications, the SortWizard has no symbol list size restrictions.

A scan with the SortWizard will return all the symbols in all exchanges that meet your criteria; not just the symbols from a list you have already created (although you can do that too).

The SortWizard is available in two versions: the Standard and the Plus. We will be releasing a new version very soon that adds many powerful additional intraday capabilities that have been requested by our users.

The Standard Version requires no programming to set up a search. Just select the desired criteria and enter values; then run the scan.

The Plus Version adds the capability to create your own customized formulas and data fields and have access to the SortWizard database.

When you run searches during the trading day with the Plus you will see potential intraday long or short trade opportunities displayed when they hit your entry point targets.

If you know how to work with a spreadsheet, you can create formulas for the SortWizard Plus.

With the Plus Version, choose from a comprehensive list of fields on the RealTick servers and use the SortWizard's historic database that contains, moving averages, average volumes, directional trends, ADX, RSI, stochastics and much more.

There are plenty of references to help you start using the software quickly and to show you different ways to create searches. There are samples and templates included with the installation and tutorials in the Learning Center and many other examples in the Resource Center on the web site.

Once you are a little bit familiar the operation of the SortWizard, you can also start setting up searches using the criteria from many popular trading magazines, manuals and books available on the market.

You can download the Search file from this seminar for your SortWizard at the bottom of the master link that follow

The first thing I would like you to do now is go to this web site: http://www.sortwizard.com/files/training/seminar2_links.htm and let that page stay open.

You can just follow along and you won’t have to leave that page anytime during the session.

Just click on the hyperlink corresponding to the number posted in the room as we move through the session. Then close the window and move to the next one.

The screen shots are best viewed with your monitor’s screen resolution set to 1024 x 768 or greater. If the screen shot looks like they are missing parts of the characters you have trouble viewing the image increase the size of your viewing window in both width and height. If that doesn’t work increase you screen resolution in Windows Control Panel / Display / Settings / Screen Resolution.

I’d like to start with a few example searches to give you the look and feel of the SortWizard. Some of examples used will be a repeat for those who attended Seminar #1 The basic functions and features will not be repeated in this seminar. Please feel free to ask any questions you have about them when prompted to do so throughout this seminar.

At http://www.sortwizard.com/files/training/seminar2_links.htm

Please click on link #1

This shot is shows you some for the features of the SortWizard.

To the far left, in black, you see a file browser that will display the search files you created in the User’s Area.

If you were to click on the Templates button you could then choose from a list of available templates.

To make getting started easy, there sets of templates and sample user files for you to use when you install the SortWizard.

In the center you will find the search results symbol display for the “Gainers” search.

The symbols in the display can be sent directly to RealTick’s Market Maker (Level 2) window by clicking on a symbol and then the Rainbow icon (looks like a small Level 2 window). See the yellow call out at the top.

You can also hot link to charts in the same manor, but we would recommend you link the RealTick Level 2 window to all the charts you use to analyze a stock instead. That way, all the charts linked to that Market Maker will be updated with the new symbol in one step.

And, you can right click on the symbol then select from a number of different news sources for news related to that stock with another click of the mouse. Yahoo is the news source in this example and is displayed in the lower section titled “Recent News”.

You can open any number of searches and run them all at the same time. In this example, the searches overlap each other and can be easily selected by clicking on the row of tabs just underneath the symbol display.

If you don’t want to use the integrated browser to save desktop space, you can also setup the SortWizard to open a separate session of Internet Explorer instead. Everything else will work the same way.

Those are some of the basic functions of the SortWizard for background purposes. So now – we will jump into creating a search with the SortWizard that will look for a wide variety of candlestick patterns in a single search. We will not go into the definitions or trading of the different candle patterns as these were addressed in previous seminars

Please click on link #2

The Search Parameters Setup window is the heart of the SortWizard. You will spend 98% of your time creating searches using this window when building your searches.

The other 2% will be in View on the Menu Bar where you can modify the actual look of the display.

The shot we are looking at is of the Standard version’s Parameters Setup window. Note the 4 tabs at the top of the window. The Plus adds additional tabs (you will see that next)

With the Primary Criteria tab selected, you can see where you select the field you want to setup from the Available Fields column on the right side of the window.

After you have the selected field you want to edit, you would go to the Search Criteria Setup list box and select the criteria you want to use and then set the values for that selection.

You would then repeat this setup process for every field to be used in the search.

A summary of your search is displayed at the bottom of the Parameters Setup window (see yellow call out)

Please click on link #3

This shot shows what the Plus version Parameters Setup window looks like.

The important differences are the addition of the Add Fields, Limits and Formulas tabs.

We will be using those tabs later in the seminar.

Please click on link #4

With Plus version of the SortWizard you have access to all the data fields in RealTick’s server pool and over 150 additional fields in the SortWizard’s custom database.

Under the Add Field tab and in the Available Fields column list box is where you make the selections of the fields you wish to add for your search creation.

These fields can be used as is and then set to a certain criteria in Primary Criteria or used as elements in Formulas and Limits or both.

All the fields needed for a search must appear in the Selected Fields list box (on the left) for them to be accessible for use in a search.

Note: the Column Information section at the top left of the window. It is important to reference the source of your data to make sure it is synchronized with the time frame of your scan.

The reason for this is that the SortWizard database is updated with end of day data about an hour after the close of the market. And, the RealTick data is not updated until the following day after the close.

If you use the wrong reference frame or mix reference frames your search results with not be as expected.

Check out the list available fields we are talking about:

Please click on link #5 Take a little time to look and familiarized yourself with the.

Please click on link #6

If you have trouble viewing the image increase the size of your viewing window.

In this shot we are adding the fields needed for to create the candlestick scan from the SortWizard’s database by clicking on the Add/Remove tab in Search Parameters Setup.

Select the TODAY Table and then just click on the Candlestick BearishEngulfing field in the Available Fields list box to select it. Clicking the button with arrows pointing left will move the selected field to the Selected Fields list.

Repeat that process until all the fields prefaced by “Candlestick” in Available Fields column have been moved to the Selected Fields column. In this example, you can see then all listed in the Selected Fields section to the left.

Please click on link #7

When the candle patterns are determined by the SortWizard at the close of each trading day, it will determine the pattern based on the short term or “micro” trend for the stock. For example, a Hammer and a Hangman look identical but are defined by the trend of the stock preceding reference candlestick.

The SortWizard looks back 4 days to determine if it is generally an up or down “micro” trend. Then the SortWizard sets the status condition of the search results accordingly.

The status condition for all the fields except a doji return either a “1” or a “0”. If the conditions of the pattern are met, the result displayed will be "1" if not, then, a "0" is displayed.

In this example you can see the Dark Cloud column highlighted and sorted in descending order to bring all the qualifiers (=1) to the top of the display. The column to the left also shows some Bullish Engulfing patterns starting with the symbol “WLS” in row #5.

All you have to do from here is double click on each of the column headings to toggle the data and find the symbols that qualify for each pattern.

Please click on link #8

The Doji is a little different because the results can be used for multiple patterns and as a setup form specialized searches. The result displayed for a Doji is number between "1" and "0". In the case of the Doji, a "1" is a perfect Doji, where the open = close. A "0" is a Marubozu, where the open and close are at the high and low extremes of the day.

Along with Doji result, you can use the percent of the range of the day displayed as the "% Doji Range" field to determine the type of pattern you have where (100% = high of the day, 0%=low of the day).

For example: A Spinning Top pattern would have ".75" in the Doji column and 40 to 60% in the %Doji Range column.

A perfect Dragonfly Doji would have a "1" in the Doji column and 100% in the %Doji Range column.

A classic Doji (looks like a +) would have a "1" in the Doji column and ~50% in the %Doji Range column.

The next step in this analysis is to apply a longer term trend. In this example we will find long and short opportunities from stocks that have maintained a consistent uptrend over the last 60 days.

To do that we will need to add some criteria to our search to isolate those uptrending stocks.

Under the Add/Remove fields table we will add in the required moving averages that will do the job for us.

Please click on link #9

If you have trouble viewing the image increase the size of your viewing window.

Here we will add the Moving Averages (MA) 10, 20 and 50 to our list of Selected Fields in Add/Remove Fields as we did with the candle patterns before.

Now we will need to create the filters that will eliminate all the symbols that do not have an long term upward trend. This is performed under in the Limits tab section of the SortWizard’s Search Parameters Setup window.

Please click on link #10

This shot shows you the Limits tab window. To create a new Limit, click on the “Fx” icon at the bottom left of the window. An unchecked “New Limit” will show up the Defined Limits window.

The Limits sets up the filtering criteria that filters symbols based upon a true or false test. This is known as Boolean logic. If the test returns a true (qualifying) the symbols are allowed to pass through the filter or if they do not qualify (false) the filter discards the symbols.

You create limits exactly in the same manor as you would create one in a spreadsheet application like Microsoft Excel. There are many situations where it is much more efficient and easier to create Limits than to create Formulas.

This is especially true when you are creating more advanced statements involving IFs, ORs and ANDs. The Limit capability makes the SortWizard extremely flexible and powerful.

We are now ready to enter the criteria for the first limit.

Please click on link #11

We first want all stocks that their 10 Moving Average (MA) is greater than their 20 MA

To the right of the S= in the formula bar you simply double click on “Mov Avg 10” in the Selected Fields list box, type “>” then double click on “Mov Avg 20”. Then in the Defined Limits window check the box in front of the new limit to activate it. The finished formula is shown in the Defined Limits window.

Please click on link #12

We need to create another new Limit to complete the filtering. Click on the f(x) icon at the bottom left of the window again. As before, another unchecked “New Limit” will show up the Defined Limits window.

We now want to eliminate all the stocks that do not have their 20 MA greater than their 50 MA.

To the right of the S= in the formula bar you simply double click on “Mov Avg 20” in the Selected Fields list box, type “>” then double click on “Mov Avg 50”. The in the Defined Limits window check the box in front of the new limits to activate them.

If you would like to change the limit to find downward trending stocks, simply change the “>” used in the MA limits to “<”.

Please click on link #13

If you have trouble viewing the image increase the size of your viewing window.

We are now going to add an entry point field based upon what you learned in Alan Williams’s candlestick seminar for a long position. The entry point is based upon waiting for confirmation of direction of the bullish pattern by going long only when the stock is trading above the previous day’s high.

Under the Formulas tab of the Search Parameters Setup window is where you set up formulas. Creating a formula will also create a field that will be populated with results in your search results display. You will also be able to set the criteria for that new field in the Primary Criteria tab window.

In this example, we are going to create a formula that determines the difference between the previous day’s high and the current intraday trading price.

To start creating a formula, click on the “+Fx” button at the bottom left of the window to open a new formula and then name new field in the Formula Definition Dialog window that will pop up. We will name it “DifPrevHigh”. Click “Accept” to accept the name.

Please click on link #14

Select your new formula name in the Selected Fields column on the right. The formula bar is located at the bottom left of the Formulas window. Enter the formula after the “Fx=” using a spreadsheet format.

Please click on link #15

Enter the current intraday trading price by double clicking on the Last Price field in the Selected fields column. This will enter the field (TRDPRC_1 as defined by RealTick) in to the formula bar. Then type “-“ to subtract. Double click on Hist High to enter that field into the formula. The completed formula is as show in the formula bar.

Please click on link #16

To cover the down trending scenario for those of you that are looking for shorts, a field needs to be created that calculates the difference between the current intraday trading price and the previous day’s low (DiffPrevLow).

This screen shot shows the completed formula.

Please click on link #17

To make search results easier to read and analysis easier to review, we’ll change the characteristics of the column display under the Column Display Setup tab in the Search Parameters Window.

First you select the DiffPrevHigh from the Available Fields column. Then in the Column Setup section to the left, click on the down arrow for the Precision field. Select “0.00” to display dollars and cents. Then check the AutoColor box to display the results with a positive change in green and a negative change in red.

Please click on link #18

Ok we are now ready to run a search. Let’s assume that the search was run in the morning and we are looking for new trades. Hammer patterns are a pretty reliable pattern to work with so we’ll look for those.

In this screen shot the primary sort and secondary sorts are set on the “Candlestick Hammer” and “Diff Prev High” columns respectively. Those are marked with a single and a double down arrow in the column heading.

The “1”in the Candlestick Hammer column indicates the symbols that have qualifying patterns. The Diff Prev High indicates potential candidates with results in green (trading greater than previous day’s high).

Please click on link #19

What we are looking for are stocks that are trending up, have pulled back for a few days and then could reverse their pullback and break out to the upside. What you will see in these screen shots are the results at the end of the trading to illustrate how the pattern works

Looking at this chart of BNO the last bar is the current intraday bar and the second bar to the left (at the cursor arrow) is the reference bar that sets up the candle pattern. The Hammer pattern looks like a sledge hammer standing on the end of its handle. We see here that there was a pullback for a few day on and generally uptrending stock. The hammer was supported by a moving average increasing the probability that this might be a good trade opportunity. You can see this was a real winner.

Please click on link #20

Ok, now this is one we should consider a high probability trade. The pullback, the hammer with a bounce off a moving average. This is a perfect setup to enter when the stocks trades above the high of the day of the hammer. You can see there was a nice gain in the day.

Please click on link #21

This is another example that does fit the pattern but not exactly however would be one to consider based on the current hammer pattern, a previous hammer and a break out from a consolidation. Here were have a nice bounce off of a moving average, a repeated hammer pattern with positive results from about a week ago.

This setup has two entry points to consider given your tolerance for risk. The first would be over the high of the day of the hammer knowing that the stock might meet resistance at the top of the consolidation.

You could sell at the consolidation top if you don’t want to take the risk. Then, the second entry would be over the high of the consolidation. Breaking out of a consolidation generally produces a nice run up where further profit could be realized.

Please click on link #22

We have just scratched the surface of candlestick patterns and what you can do with the SortWizard. The hammer pattern is one of many patterns that can be found easily and quickly using the SortWizard.

In this screen shot you can see the standard candlestick setup fields shown in the column headings provided with SortWizard Plus. Where there is a “I” in a row will define a qualifying symbol for that specific pattern. Doji’s are different as we discussed previously.

The SortWizard provides the flexibility you need to create a full range of stock searches to fit your trading requirements and style. You can use the candlestick fields as a foundation and add additional criteria to further refine your searches. Or, you can just create your own searches from scratch. All you have to do is set your imagination free

While this was a seminar to address a specific application, we hope it gave you a overall understanding of how the SortWizard works and how you can easily setup searches. If you are not a SortWizard subscriber already, why not try out the SortWizard for yourself with our 2 week free trial?

Thank you for spending today with us and now I’ll turn the floor over to you for questions.

Good luck and profitable trading.