14 Jun 05

There is now an Alan Square Draw tool built into Ensign Software. It has features similar to the ESPL version, but incorporates all the features of the object box, allowing total flexibility to draw it anywhere. I have switched over myself. Details and How to.

How to run the "AlanBox" ESPL

This tutorial will step you through everything you need to place an automatically drawn Alan Box on your charts. The first time through using ESPL to make the Alan Box may take a bit longer, but once you've done the set-up and learned the steps, it will be "easy peasy".

The final Alan Box ESPL code represents the cooperative efforts of many people at Buffy's Bline chat room. An initial version was written by Kent, then Terry optimized and adapted for all time zones , then Quartz made a few more enhancements, then with a few "testers" of this tutorial, here you are! This type of team effort is extraordinary, we are more than fortunate to have this type of creative, positive, energy at work for all of us.

A special "gi-normous" thanks goes to Alan Kelland for bringing this method to us all (eChat handle "mbh", also known as "Alanzo "il Diamante" Boxinacci).

Steps you will do:

Create a Chart like this
Save the ESPL, templates
Make Tab Settings
Run the ESPL
Apply the new Study
What if it doesn't work
What's next

Some Preliminaries

This particular ESPL file is for a 10m all sessions chart only (*). . The code is written, at this time, only for the following symbols: YM, ES, ZB, ER2, AB, EU, NQ, DAX, and GBL. It can also be be drawn on any prior day, limited by the number of bars on your chart.
The ESPL now supports DEMO for use during playback. NOTE: the default is for YM. Please read the code and change line 229 as instructed for all other symbols in playback only.
Bar1 (8:20-8:30am ET) must have started to print before the Box will draw for the current day. ie, it must be at least 8:20:01 am ET.

(*) Please see here for using this method on other symbols and time frames (eg, RTH)

Save the ESPL File to Ensign ESPL Folder

IMPORTANT *** IMPORTANT *** IMPORTANT
THIS IS THE MOST CRITICAL STEP. READ EVERYTHING,
ESPECIALLY IF IT DOESN'T WORK AFTER YOU DOWNLOAD

Be sure to select ALL FILES in the the "Save As type" pull-down menu .
What to do if you are not offered this choice.

ESPL: Right click and Save to your Ensign/ESPL folder, keep same name).

10m Alan Box ESPL
(updated 11 Jun 05
to include DEMO) AlanBoxMay22B.spt

You might find these template add-ons useful
(right click and Save to Ensign Templates Folder)

ALAN BARS AlanBars.dat

This template from dblue highlights Bar1, Bar8, Bar11, and the 2pm bar. Optionally, it will also number the bars (click to turn on), and paint close/open bar relationships (click to turn on).

NOTE: this DYO may not work with DEMO

4-DAY
ROTATION
PVAC2.dat
[ chart image ]
This template by Quartz adds two DYOS that puts a line of letters along the bottom, along with the "color" designating the 4-day rotation.

4-DAY
ROTATION
(2nd option)
pvac.dat
[ chart image ]
This template adds a simple Color Band study of colored letters designating the 4-day rotation. Change the letters to Color Bar for another visual effect on longer term charts.

Make Tab14 Settings for Gann Square

The ESPL uses Tab14 of your Gann Square tool to draw and color all the lines.These are not "real" Gann Box settings.

Please read the Tab14 Instructions.

"RUN" the AlanBox ESPL

You are ready to run the ESPL. "Run" in ESPL-talk means to compile the code.

Click on the ESPL icon along the top menu, next to the printer or exit icon.
This will open up the ESPL editor.

Click on the folder icon within the ESPL editor

Select the 'AlanBoxMay22.spt' File. Text will appear in the Editor window.

Click the Run button

Click the "Close" button (with a blue book), not the window X.

You now have a new Study named AlanBox in the right-click Studies List.

Apply the AlanBox Study

Note Alan's method uses the lowest low of the past 24 hours (Globex Low or High if they exceed the Day Session H or L, or even yesterday's 8:20 bar if it was lower). Study your chart and jot the H, L down ahead of time.

To use the AlanBox,

Open your 10m YM (or ES, etc) chart

Right-click Studies

Select Alan Box, which is at the top of the List.

A series of confirmation boxes will appear:

The first asks you to confirm the date. Select OK.

The next asks to confirm the High. Change it at this time if needed. Select OK.

The last asks to confirm the Low. Change it at this time if needed. Select OK.

At this point, you will see the Box and lines assemble themselves on the chart. Done!

What If it Doesn't Work...

IF when you open the ESPL Editor, the study isn't there

You did not download the ESPL either to the right place or in the wrong format.
Please repeat the Download Instructions carefully.

IF it doesn't work, the most typical reasons are:

Your box is Day Session. Please uncheck day session on your Chart Property

The time frame is not 10-minutes. Please change the time to 10m (this ESPL works only on 10m).

There are bars missing. Please refresh your data.

You shut Ensign down. Please RUN the ESPL again.

IF the study still doesn't work,

Open your Chart Objects List

Remove any AlanBox items: any lines, Gann Squares, and "Alan Box" study items. ie, return it to a "clean" chart ready for the correct lines. You can leave non-ESPL items, however.

Reopen the ESPL Editor

Click Run a couple of times again. A few times I had to do this 3 times, don't know why...but it does eventually work.

IF the AlanBox is no longer on the study list, RUN the ESPL again (you most likely shut down Ensign).

IF your AlanBox did draw properly, but you want to change the high or low.

Delete all the AlanBox items as above.

Reselect AlanBox from the Studies List

Manually enter the corrected times when the "Verify Hi" or low dialog boxes pop up.

IF you want to change the look, change it as you would ordinarily change any drawing tool, being sure to "copy Tab" to "Tab14" first, before you make the changes, and again click Copy Tab (but no number) after you make the changes.

Caution: DO NOT change anything in the Spread Marker Boxes

IF you try to put the box on a regular-hours chart, it will not look right as the bars are not correct. This can be changed within the code, but you will need to know how to count and change the number of bars for the box, along with some experience in understanding the ESPL enough to modify it.

IF you want to make additional modifications, please use the Ensign Windows internal ESPL help files, the online ESPL manual, or the Ensign ESPL web pages.

Note

Once the ESPL has been run and the study placed on your chart, the Lines are just ordinary studies on your chart . You can change, remove, delete, etc. Be sure, however, to also delete the "AlanBox" study from the chart, or the program will keep asking you for H and L values :)

Whats next...

14 Jun 05: The Alan Square Draw Tool is now available within Ensign

20 May 05: Terry has also been working on a "Object Box", that is more like the Gann Square, which can be freely changed once drawn by dragging the marked corners. Here is a page about that effort.

20 May 05: Howard Arrington knows about the Alan Box and has mentioned a direct implementation in Ensign, but aside from "perhaps this summer", no commitment to a specific date or form that it will take if it does get implemented within Ensign as a study.

People have worked to share this code as is. Please be considerate about special requests, but do offer suggestions for improvement.

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