About checking data. Well, I first check visually, usually my gaps are in days, so when zoomed out I can spot them easily. After that I use FSB, it shows stats in the History Center and when data is troublesome, it usually complains about gaps and missing data.

P.S .: My special project, which I show here in the forum again and again, has nothing to do with it.

Thanks for your reply, and taking time to explain it a bit - I like the idea of testing strats on different data sets.

Something that I struggle with is being sure that the broker data is consistent, that it is free from gaps, comma’s in the right places etc, can you suggest the most efficient and accurate way to check that it is reliable?

When you say optimising on the last 20k bars at the weekend, do you mean adding the latest 20k bars to the data you already have? A week of M1 bars is 7,200 (+ sunday bars), so obv you wouldn’t have 20k M1 bars after a week?

I do have broker data going back to Jan 19, but as mentioned I’m not convinced it’s intact, most of the time I run strats that look good in EA Studio on the MT4 strategy tester, the results are awful. I would love to confirm that the broker data I have is ok, then perhaps I could get past the first hurdle at last!

Basically if you plan to employ (regular) optimization and you have successfully accumulated the amount of data you plan to run optimization on, then it is just a matter of running your strats on the broker's data in the optimizer and then go live with them.

Let me explain further if I don't make sense: for example, you develop the strats on 50k duka data and you plan to re-optimize your strats every weekend on the latest 20k bars. So, assuming you have got the latest 20k bars from your broker, you put your newly developed strats on that 20k newest bars from your broker and optimize them. Then your strats should be adapted in the best possible way to your broker's data.

If you don't use this kind of re-optimization workflow and/or you don't have enough new data from your broker, then there's not much else you can do unfortunately. If backtest data characteristics are similar to your broker's data, then it should be ok. If your strats are really good, then slight offset in the nature of data should not have a pronounced effect.

Come to think of it, maybe you can acquire like 3 sets of data from different sources and pick only those strats, which perform well over all 3 data sets. That will theoretically give you strats, which should be more immune to slight data discrepancies.

That’s sounds great, thanks for the work you do.

I am still unclear about the idea of using one source of data to build an EA, and then another set of data to run it on. How can the EA work properly when you do this?

We hope the new data feed will be ready for testing in July.

Do volumes not have a part to play? I.e. different price action due to how many clients a broker has?

I am experiencing frustration with collecting data from my broker - I have a VPS for that purpose, but problems happen, like they shut it down for maintenance six months ago, and when it comes back up online, MT4 did not reboot, so I lost six months of data. If I can avoid problems like that by using Tickstory data instead, I'm all ears, but only if the data is compatible with my broker...

rantampla wrote:

You can use Tickstory to export the data to your MT4. And with Popov's tool then download the data for EA Studio down there.

There's an import limit of 200,000 bars.

I managed to get tickstory data into mt4. It was more straightforward than I thought.

When you a registered User, then you can the Limit set to 500k

You can use Tickstory to export the data to your MT4. And with Popov's tool then download the data for EA Studio down there.

There's an import limit of 200,000 bars.

I managed to get tickstory data into mt4. It was more straightforward than I thought.

If I can import tickstory data into EA Studio then I will buy it because that's the only thing from holding me back right now from purchasing.

1.First you need a clean MT4 Backtest Installation. Make it as portable

So i add in my shortcut this.

M:\MT4Backtest\terminal.exe /portable /skipupdate

Than you are save that the MT4 Folder will always be same.

2. You need also from your Broker an MT4 Installation.
For example call it MT4Live and use same extensions in the terminal shortcut /portable

3. In Tickstory you set in settings the file where tickstory will put his downloaded files.

4. The Next Settings like in pic for the launcher. Here the Folder of your Backtest MT4 and add here also /portable in command as in pic. Now you have done all settings to get exported data to your MT4 Backtest Terminal.

5. Now you need to get your Broker Forex data like digits etc. which you get a script here. Put it into the MT4LIive experts Folder.
And attach this to a chart. Now you will get a file called xxx.mt4config.

6. In Tickstory choose your symbol right click export to mt4.

7. On Metatrader Info you now load the mt4config file to get the symbol specifications.
8. Choose your Start End date and check your timezone and now its downloading. Before close your MT4Vacktest Terminal
9. Now when is ready exported. Click on the symbol

Now your MT4Backtest Terminal is opening with only the Dukascopy charts in it.

10. To get this data for EA Studio download this script from eastudio
Once compiled you put it on your e.g exported EURUSD Chart and the script download the files, which you find in M:\MT4Backtest\MQL4\Files Folder.

Now you can upload it.

I hope it is clear.

The Problem is when you use tickstory with a connected demo account than you broker will overwrite the dukascopy backtest data everytime you run the terminal. So thats why you have to use a seperate mt4 install only for backtesting without beeing connected to a broker.

tonyD wrote:

I'm just two days into evaluating EA Studio and I'm hooked!

You can export data from tickstory so is there any way I can import tickstory dukascopy data into EA Studio?

Yes you have to export to mt4 with Tickstory. Than you open mt4 with Tickstory. Than open the chart and you will see the chart of exported Data. Now you put the eastudio Script into chart..this files you find in mql folder and you upload to eastudio.

You can only export from tickstory in MT5 format, not MT4 as a CSV file. It won't import into mt4 history center. You can select the tick data from tickstory from within the strategy tester of mt4 and I see there are options in the settings to save the FXT file and the HST files when running a back test. Is that how it's done I'm confused.

I'm just two days into evaluating EA Studio and I'm hooked!

You can export data from tickstory so is there any way I can import tickstory dukascopy data into EA Studio?

Yes you have to export to mt4 with Tickstory. Than you open mt4 with Tickstory. Than open the chart and you will see the chart of exported Data. Now you put the eastudio Script into chart..this files you find in mql folder and you upload to eastudio.