Quotelf: Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.)

Common Questions Metastock OmegaResearch WOW  

Supported software :

  • Metastock Downloader v7.22 +
  • TradeStation v4.23+ and v2000i ProSuite b771+
  • SuperCharts v4.10+
  • Window on Wall Street v7.17+

If you have not found the answer to your question, please send us e-mail and specify the problem details.

Attention: Since September 2003 Quotelf v3.10 and lower is no longer supported.

Common Questions
  1. What's the monthly cost for using Quotelf?
  2. Do you have a free trial period? What are the limitations of a trial version?
  3. What's the source of historical data used in Quotelf? Is it reliable?
  4. What's the length of historical data?
  5. When today's data is available for download ?
  6. How Symbol Alias works
  7. Can't start the program, it tells that "Quotelf already running"
  8. Should I use "Proxy" settings in Quotelf?
  9. Can I update fundamental data? Are quotes split adjusted?
  10. Is registration through Internet safe? Do I have other payment options?
  11. What are FAST and SLOW symbols?
  12. Can I update weekly or monthly or intraday data?
  13. How do I uninstall your software?
  14. I have a paid account with DialData (or another vendor). Can I use it while trying Quotelf?
  15. What do I need to use your software?
  16. Quotelf is running, but quotes don't update. Why?
  17. I can't update a particular symbol. What do I do?
  18. How do I update software?
  19. How do I transfer the program to a new computer?
Metastock Questions
  1. I can't find DialData Vendor Option in my Metastock Downloader. What's wrong?
  2. I can't update mutual funds in Metastock ( #FSAIX, #AIVSX and other symbols)
  3. It looks like Quotelf downloads zero Volume
  4. What's the cause for 'Network Logon Error' ?
  5. Error codes in Metastock Downloader
  6. Who's paying $0.50 I see at the end of download?
  7. How can I update Nikkei-225 symbol "^N225" or other Market Indices?
  8. How can I update my software?
  9. How do I set up a Capture File?
  10. I use Metastock Downloader 7.x. Should I update it to 7.22 version?

 

 

OmegaResearch Questions
  1. I have ProSuite but I don't see any Omega Downloader installed.
  2. I see negative Volume on my charts. Why?
  3. How can I update my software?
  4. Omega Downloader fails to connect to Quotelf. How to fix it?

 

WOW Questions
  1. WOW doesn't update the last date of the last symbol in portfolio. Why?
  2. How can I update my software?

Answers to Common Questions

What's the monthly cost for using Quotelf?
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The great advantage of using Quotelf is that you don't pay any monthly fees for retrieving and updating your stock market data. You pay just a small one time licensing fee to become a registered user of Quotelf software, nothing more.

Do you have a free trial period? What are the limitations of a trial version?
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Yes! You have a free 21-day trial period for unrestricted data downloads to decide whether Quotelf works for you or not. If you don't like it, just uninstall it from your HD and own nothing, no questions asked! Actually there's only one limitation of a trial version of Quotelf - it will stop to update the quotes after 21 days. Also we limited the number of stocks you can update by 200. If you register software, it will work for you again, no reinstallation required.

What's the source of historical data used in Quotelf? Is it reliable?
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The data source is a quite reliable free Internet server : Yahoo Finance

What's the length of historical data?
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Of course, it all depends on a symbol. For most symbols a price history from 5 to 10 years is available.

When today's data is available for download?
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You can download today's data 30 minutes after market close.

How Symbol Alias works
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Let's consider an example. Suppose, you want to update Nasdaq Composite Index quote from within your Supercharts software. Supercharts knows it under "*OTC" name and under this name it will wait the data from Quotelf. Meanwhile Yahoo! has another symbol for this index : "^IXIC". To overcome this difficulty please use the tab "Tickers" in Quotelf and specify in Yahoo's column ^IXIC and in a corresponding cell in the Local Alias column enter *OTC Doing this you tell Quotelf that when it receives a data request for *OTC symbol it should download the data from Yahoo for ^IXIC and when received to pass the data back to your charting software under originally requested name.

To add a new alias, click the last line of the list and then press <Enter> key on your keyboard - a new blank line will appear.

Can't start the program, it tells that "Quotelf already running"
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You already have started one copy of Quotelf (maybe you checked "Run at Windows startup" option). Please see a minimized icon in Windows taskbar near system clock. When clicked, this icon will maximize the Quotelf's window.

Should I use "Proxy" settings in Quotelf?
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If you access the Internet directly through a dial-up connection then you don't need to check "Use Proxy" option. If you access the Internet from an office you probably use firewall or proxy server for external connections. Read more about it in the help file or consult your network administrator.

Can I update fundamental data? Are quotes split adjusted?
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You can't update fundamental data. The requests for it from your charting software are ignored by Quotelf. As for splits, the quotes are split adjusted. That's why Quotelf never sends a split command to your charting software.

Is registration through Internet safe? Do I have other payment options?
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Yes! Your purchases are securely processed by RegSoft.com , the recognized leader in electronic payment processing. You can order Quotelf by a credit card, Postal Mail Ordering, Phone Ordering, FAX Ordering

What are FAST and SLOW symbols?
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FAST symbols are those which at the moment of update lack the data for latest trading session only or are already updated. All other symbols are SLOW. The speed of update depends dramatically on whether the symbol is SLOW or FAST. For example, 500 fast symbols are updating within ~ 10 sec, while the update of the same symbols when they lack the data for two previous sessions,e.g. may take as long as 10 minutes.

Can I update weekly or monthly symbols?
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The table below shows what time frames are supported by Quotelf depending on the type of charting software you use :

Type of software Supported time frame
Metastock D
Omega D, W, M
Window on WallStreet D, W, M
Intraday data is not supported.

How do I uninstall your software?
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Please read about it in Quotelf's help file.

I have a paid account with DialData (or another vendor). Can I use it while trying Quotelf?
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No. You would need to uninstall Quotelf first. Please read in help file how to do it correctly.

What do I need to use your software?
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Two things: (1) an Internet connection, and (2) a charting program that uses the Dial/Data downloading protocol, such as MetaStock, Window on Wall Street, or any of OmegaResearch's product offerings (TradeStation, for example). If you have these two things, you are ready to use Quotelf.

Quotelf is running, but quotes don't update. Why?
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Look at the color of Quotelf's icon in Windows taskbar. If it's completely red then Quotelf's server part is not active and thus it can't receive data requests from your charting software. Click "Run" button from the main panel or right click Quotelf's icon in system taskbar and choose "Run Services" menu.

I can't update a particular symbol. What do I do?
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First, check out whether the symbol is valid and the price history is available for it - click here and enter symbol ticker. If the symbol has price history but Quotelf doesn't update the history , you can check the content of 'ersymb.tmp' file (located in Quotelf's folder). Quotelf collects the bad symbols in this file and if a data request is being received for any of these blocked symbols, Quotelf simply ignores this request and goes to the next symbol in the queue. This speeds up the update process further.

How do I update software?
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We always maintain backward compatibility between newer and older versions (if otherwise not specified). So you simply download a newer version of the program and install it over the older copy. No data will be lost. Make sure that during installation the older program is not running.

How do I transfer the program to a new computer?
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You need to download and install the latest version of Quotelf from our web site. Then copy to it the registration file regkey.reg (sent to you when you registered Quotelf) and double-click on it. This will make Windows to import the encrypted registration information into Windows registry. When you run Quotelf next time, it will be fully registered on your new machine.

 

Answers to Metastock users Questions

I can't find DialData Vendor Option in my Metastock Downloader. What's wrong?
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Please contact us.

I can't update mutual funds in Metastock ( #FSAIX, #AIVSX and other symbols)
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Such symbols simply do not exist on Yahoo! web site. Use normal FSAIX and AIVSX symbols instead of #FSAIX, #AIVSX .

It looks like Quotelf downloads zero Volume
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Quotelf reports the Volume in lots of 100 shares. So if actual volume was 100M, you'll have 1M shares reported. If you have already a database where the Volume was saved not divided by 100, you should adjust the Volume and divide it by 100. To do this run MS Downloader and click Tools->Adjust Data for Multiple Securities and select all the securities. Then mark Volume field to be divided by 100 from Start date until your last unadjusted date.

What's the cause for 'Network Logon Error' ?
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If MS Downloader can't connect to Quotelf a "Network Logon Error" is reported by QCenter. Make sure that Quotelf is running and the service status is 'Initialized'

Error codes in Metastock Downloader
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Collection Aborted - Checksum Error The DownLoader couldn't get the correct checksum on the data block
No Data Received The security was requested, but no data was sent.
Network Log_on Failed The DownLoader was unable to log-on to the network.
Error Collecting Data An error occurred during the data collection process.

Who's paying $0.50 I see at the end of download?
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At the end of the download session you see "Download Cost $0.50" phrase. Don't pay attention to it as actually nobody's paying this sum - it's just a formal protocol ending for any session.

How can I update Nikkei-225 symbol "^N225" ?
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Nikkei-225 has a symbol ^N225 in Yahoo's database, but some charting software (Metastock,e.g.) don't like tickers with special characters like "^" in this case. We recommend to do the following thing: In Quotelf assign an alias for Yahoo symbol ^N225, say N225. In your Metastock Downloader create a new symbol N225. Now every program will be satisfied and correctly understand each other.

How can I update my software?
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To correctly collect the data you need to have the latest patches applied to your MS Downloader. To see the list of available updates, click EQUIS Update & Patch Files page.

How do I set up a Capture File?
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A capture file is an ASCII text file that records all the communications between The DownLoader ™, your modem and Quotelf. Read here about how you can set it up . It is used for detecting errors and download troubleshooting by Quotelf technical support

I use Metastock Downloader 7.x. Should I update it to 7.22 version?
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Yes. Please go to download page and when filling in the on-line form, please answer NO to the last question.

 

Answers to OmegaResearch users Questions

I have ProSuite but I don't see any Omega Downloader installed.
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Omega Downloader is an optional component and you probably have not chosen to install it during installation process of ProSuite software. You need to re-intstall OmegaResearch Prosuite package, choose Custom installation during setup and check Install Omega Downloader option.

I see negative Volume on my charts. Why?
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When you download the quotes using OmegaResearch downloader for a symbol which has "Download Volume Multiplier" higher than 1 to 1, the Downloader multiplies the received Volume value by 10,e.g. and if the result is too big, then Downloader interprets the Volume wrongly, setting its value to negative number. Use "Download Volume Multiplier" setting equal to 1, and you'll never get this error.

How can I update my software?
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To update your software please visit OmegaResearch FTP server and download the latest patches along with instructions how to apply them. Make absolutely sure that you applied Y2K patches to SC4 and TS4 products.

Omega Downloader fails to connect to Quotelf. How to fix it?
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You need to replace 'dd_inet.oms' file located in OmegaResearch\Dataman directory. This configuration file is often being modified by some data vendors. You need to use an original OmegaResearch configuration file.

TS2000i ProSuite users download it from here
SC4 and TS4 users click here

 

Answers to WOW users Questions

WOW doesn't update the last date of the last symbol in portfolio. Why?
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This error sometimes occurs due to the internal bug in the WOW software. Chances are that if you press the Download button again, this will be updated entirely, or it will be updated tomorrow. We cant' do anything with this bug.

How can I update my software?
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At the moment of writing this document the latest software build is 17. Click here to download and install it.

 

 


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