Topic: Moving average/BBand Lookback periods greater than 200

I use some strategies that use 1m/5m/15m charts with some pretty long lookback period MAs and bollinger bands.  For instance the 365ema and 764period lookback bollinger bands (I know that's not how Bollinger intended them used but there are cases where they do some pretty neat things.)  These longer lookback periods give you the ability to utilize higher timeframe waves on a lower timeframe entry.  I know there's the "Longer Timeframe" option which might get it part of the way there but that appears to be locked to the previous bar and I need to act on the current timeframe. 

Is there any way that the hardcoded cap of 200 can be pulled off the moving average and the bollinger bands or at least moved to say 800.  I can accept that it won't act until the lookback period of that length is populated (should always have that many points in the lower timeframe anyway) or even as a backdoor config setting... I just don't see any obvious way to make it work right now otherwise.

Re: Moving average/BBand Lookback periods greater than 200

Gizmo,

Yes, if only we have the option to enable/disable PBV features, we don't have to crack our brains to think of how to go around this whole issues such as using large parameters to overcome or by pass this "stumbling" block - PBV.

Finding a winning strategy is already challenging enough, the last thing/hurdle we need is to face the challenge of overcoming the software's limitation (use of PBV). 

i though a good trading software is one that allows the traders to work with it and not the traders having to learn to work around it (the "cumbersome PBV features).

When users have to use their "ingenuity" to work around this PBV issue by using large parameters, it is very telling that we wanted to overcome (get rid) a feature we don't wish to have but are force to work around it.  I thought FSB is built for different traders/users but now it seem like we have to trade according to Popov's trading philosophy instead of adapting our own.

FSB has a few functions such as backtesting, Optimisation and Generator.  But we often forgot that there is another function call the Execution function.  This is one of the core and main factor why many of us buy FSB.  We want to turn our strategy into workable EA but we lack the programming skills to do it.  We want FSB to Execution our EA according/authentic to our trading theory/strategy/system.

As for me, the Execution function was and is the very reason why I use FSB.  If I have programming skills, I won't be here.  I thought FSB, though with it's great customer support, isn't really consumer centeric, it failed to recognised what traders really want.  Now we are asking for PBV features to turn off or asking to use large parameters (to overcome the PBV features)...it beginning to sound like we are at the mercy of Popov.  All these years of trying to fine tune my EA only to learn lately, that it was not my EA's "fault" but the PBV features (which I all the long thought it was the 1min's previous bar...1min lag is something I can still tolerate but to realised it's LTF's PBV...I "flipped and was flabbergasted"...I "wasted" so much time trying to perfect my EA only to realised I was targetting at the wrong problem.  Now I understand this phase "select and use your tools wisely"...a blunt axe going to cost you lots of energy and time lost/wasted.  If I knew this is what it would ended up...I wished I've spent those 4 years while I'm at FSB, learning some programming skills instead of now being at someone else's mercy (whereby I can't proceed any further till this PBV is turned off, otherwise I need to seek alternative software/products).

I wish more traders like you will step up and voice our trading preference (the freedom to turn off PBV) instead of being forced to change our trading style and strategies to suit this whole PBV features.

Re: Moving average/BBand Lookback periods greater than 200

Using a text file editor it is easy enough to change the parameters.

Note.

Footon has a thread re indicators, he has become an 'indicator mechanic' and has a lot of knowledge as to what we can do with them.... don't be afraid to ask him

Re: Moving average/BBand Lookback periods greater than 200

Sure changing the numeric parameter's default max value can be done. 

Does anyone know why we are doing this in the first place?  We don't want PBV features in the LTF and we are trying to by pass this feature.  We are trying so hard to work around the software instead of the software working for us.

Yeah sure, turning off the PBV can also be done, just go and learn some programming skills and you will also know where to turn off.  It becomes absurd when we as users have to dig into those files and learn to get around the system, isn't it very telling...so much for customer support/consumer centric

Re: Moving average/BBand Lookback periods greater than 200

Thank you so much Hannahis, That's very helpful!  It would have taken me forever to find that validation limiter without that info (probably would have eventually run across it when I got desperate enough to recode the EMA to increase the limit.) smile

hannahis wrote:

Gizmo,

Yes, if only we have the option to enable/disable PBV features, we don't have to crack our brains to think of how to go around this whole issues such as using large parameters to overcome or by pass this "stumbling" block - PBV.

Finding a winning strategy is already challenging enough, the last thing/hurdle we need is to face the challenge of overcoming the software's limitation (use of PBV). 

i though a good trading software is one that allows the traders to work with it and not the traders having to learn to work around it (the "cumbersome PBV features).

When users have to use their "ingenuity" to work around this PBV issue by using large parameters, it is very telling that we wanted to overcome (get rid) a feature we don't wish to have but are force to work around it.  I thought FSB is built for different traders/users but now it seem like we have to trade according to Popov's trading philosophy instead of adapting our own.

FSB has a few functions such as backtesting, Optimisation and Generator.  But we often forgot that there is another function call the Execution function.  This is one of the core and main factor why many of us buy FSB.  We want to turn our strategy into workable EA but we lack the programming skills to do it.  We want FSB to Execution our EA according/authentic to our trading theory/strategy/system.

As for me, the Execution function was and is the very reason why I use FSB.  If I have programming skills, I won't be here.  I thought FSB, though with it's great customer support, isn't really consumer centeric, it failed to recognised what traders really want.  Now we are asking for PBV features to turn off or asking to use large parameters (to overcome the PBV features)...it beginning to sound like we are at the mercy of Popov.  All these years of trying to fine tune my EA only to learn lately, that it was not my EA's "fault" but the PBV features (which I all the long thought it was the 1min's previous bar...1min lag is something I can still tolerate but to realised it's LTF's PBV...I "flipped and was flabbergasted"...I "wasted" so much time trying to perfect my EA only to realised I was targetting at the wrong problem.  Now I understand this phase "select and use your tools wisely"...a blunt axe going to cost you lots of energy and time lost/wasted.  If I knew this is what it would ended up...I wished I've spent those 4 years while I'm at FSB, learning some programming skills instead of now being at someone else's mercy (whereby I can't proceed any further till this PBV is turned off, otherwise I need to seek alternative software/products).

I wish more traders like you will step up and voice our trading preference (the freedom to turn off PBV) instead of being forced to change our trading style and strategies to suit this whole PBV features.

Re: Moving average/BBand Lookback periods greater than 200

Well crap, not as easy as it first appeared.  Didn't realize you wanted me to change the c# files, was hoping it was just a user config.  In any case it seems that the indicators I need to modify the lookback periods on BB's and Moving average/EMA aren't in the indicator folder, it must not ship the builtin indicator code in that folder.

So... is there a place where I can get the standard indicators from to do the modifications?  Would those modifications in turn also need to be performed on the mql files or is it just a limit in the UI?

I recon I could start decompiling things to find them but it seems like there should be an easier way. smile

7 (edited by footon 2016-05-25 21:30:36)

Re: Moving average/BBand Lookback periods greater than 200

Go here - > https://github.com/PopovMP/FSB_Pro_Indi … tors/Store
Pick your indis
Open them in notepad or other text editor
Find the lines of The NumericUpDown parameters
Adjust period maximum values to your liking, example below

IndParam.NumParam[0].Max     = 2000;

Save the files to FSB's indicator folder
Allow overriding of main indicators in FSB's control panel->custom code
Reload indis and you're done.

Re: Moving average/BBand Lookback periods greater than 200

footon wrote:

Go here - > https://github.com/PopovMP/FSB_Pro_Indi … tors/Store
Pick your indis
Open them in notepad or other text editor
Find the lines of The NumericUpDown parameters
Adjust period maximum values to your liking, example below

IndParam.NumParam[0].Max     = 2000;

Save the files to FSB's indicator folder
Allow overriding of main indicators in FSB's control panel->custom code
Reload indis and you're done.

Thanks Footon, it worked like a champ!

Re: Moving average/BBand Lookback periods greater than 200

Great to hear you worked it out! smile

Re: Moving average/BBand Lookback periods greater than 200

footon wrote:

Great to hear you worked it out! smile

Hah, well I thought it had... guess I've got a late followup on the question.

Modified the MovingAverage indicator to extend the available periods, put it in the indicator folder etc. and everything appeared to work but then when I go to export as an EA I get "Cannot find the following Indicator: Moving Average" and "Expert Advisor is not exported.  Cannot create the expert file."

I'm guessing that because it's using a "custom" version of the moving average indicator, it's also looking for a custom mql file?  If I look in the MQL\Forexsb.com\Indicators folder there's a MovingAvrg.mqh which appears to be the corresponding ma file for the mql side of things but I'm not really sure what needs to be done to tell it to utilize it to correspond to the overriden c# ma class as really the only difference is the parameter validation which shouldn't effect the mql.

Re: Moving average/BBand Lookback periods greater than 200

We cannot use the "MovingAvergae" file name and class name because they conflict with another MovingAvergae class. This is the reason we use the "MovingAvrg" name for the original MA indicator.

..

When you modify an indicator, FSB Pro loads it a s a custom one and searches for a respective file in the
"C:\Program Files\Forex Strategy Builder Pro\User Files\MT4 Files\MQL\Forexsb.com\Custom" folder.

The program searches for a "MovingAverage.mqh" file in the "Custom" folder. You can fix the problem by placing such indicator there.

To be convenient for you I attached a file below. The only change is the class name.

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