Advanced User-Defined Scan backtest using "Starting"

karenbcz

On the User-Defined Scans: Advanced page it says:
"Starting "#" trading days BEFORE the (todays date) show me the symbols that meet the following criteria" ...
But when I enter the number "2" in the box after the word "Starting", the scanner does NOT go back 2 days.
It keeps giving me today's results in real time. The "Rank" column is giving me today's rank, not the rank "2 days ago".
What's up??????

karenbcz

Hmmmm .. still not working.

markd

The results page charts are always in your default style. So if the end date of your default style is today, your results will be charted for today.

BUT -

If you inspect the results, and you look at the specific date you scanned for, you will see that the data on that date (the indicators, the overlays, price values, etc.) match the criteria in your scan. So, even though the charts are displayed as of today, they were SELECTED from data for 2 days ago.

To see this, you can modify the date range of your chart using the "Select start/end" option under "Range" in the "Chart attributes" section.

NOTE: you should have a chart style that includes the criteria in your scan. For instance, if your scan looks for a MACD crossover, your chart style should include the MACD indicator (with the same parameters as your scan specifies - remember this if you don't use the default parameters for any indicator). It doesn't have to be your default style. You can have multiple chart styles, maybe a separate one for each scan, if necessary. When you run the scan, put the results in a list and then apply the right chart style for that scan.

ANOTHER NOTE: it may be easier to select the scan date from the calendar tool, instead of entering a number in the "starting x trading days before" window. To get the calendar, just click in the window with your cursor and wait a moment for the calendar to pop up. Then select a date on the calendar. If you enter a number, there might be some confusion when the market is open about which date is x days ago. For instance, 2 days ago from today (6/8) is 6/6 from the current intraday update, but, 2 days ago from last market close, if your scan uses that option, is 6/3. If you sometimes run scans during the day and sometimes after the market closes, and you enter 2 days ago with a number, you might be surprised by the results. If you use the calendar tool, you know exactly which date you are scanning. It might help also when you save your scan, to be sure to note whether it will run as of the intraday update or the last close update.