Make lines drawn by indicator static

[buschkt]

I am reposting this here...originally posted in wrong forum

I have created an indicator that posts a dialog box allowing me to enter a single value for a horizontal line using the Drawline funtion. This saves me a lot of mouse clicks required when using the drawing tool.

The problem is the lines disappears if I refresh the chart to restart Ninja. Is there a way to flatten the chart after I draw the line making it part of the chart?

Thanks!

[ninZa]

I am reposting this here...originally posted in wrong forum

I have created an indicator that posts a dialog box allowing me to enter a single value for a horizontal line using the Drawline funtion. This saves me a lot of mouse clicks required when using the drawing tool.

The problem is the lines disappears if I refresh the chart to restart Ninja. Is there a way to flatten the chart after I draw the line making it part of the chart?

Thanks!

How many lines do you have?

Suppose there are just several lines. Please save the price of each line as a "double" property (in the indicator settings dialog). When the platform and chart start, you have the price of the line to draw.

Regards,
Pi

[NinjaTrader_PatrickH]

Please see my response at the following link: http://www.ninjatrader.com/support/f...80&postcount=2

[buschkt]

I can draw up to a dozen or more lines in a day and would like to keep the historical lines I have drawn. I was hoping there was a method to convert the drawing object to the chart xml.

If there is not a way to do this in Ninja I may create my own database and log the values there.....

I don't like all the mouse clicks required to draw a simple line. It would help if only one price value was required instead of the beginning and the end. Maybe a checkbox the ties them together.

Thanks

[ninZa]

I can draw up to a dozen or more lines in a day and would like to keep the historical lines I have drawn. I was hoping there was a method to convert the drawing object to the chart xml.

If there is not a way to do this in Ninja I may create my own database and log the values there.....

I don't like all the mouse clicks required to draw a simple line. It would help if only one price value was required instead of the beginning and the end. Maybe a checkbox the ties them together.

Thanks

That is a good solution. Write data to a file and read data from that file to draw lines when charts restart /refresh.

Alternatively, you can make a public property which is double array or a List<double>. They will be serialized to survive platform restarts.

If you want to use a double array (fixed size, so make it 30 elements for example):

double[] dataArray = { 0, 0, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 };

[GridCategory("Parameters")]
        public double[] DataArray {
            get { return dataArray; }
            set { dataArray = value; }
        }

If you want to use a List<double> (dynamic size, automatically expand on the fly):

using System.Collections.Generic;

List<double> dataList = new List<double>();

[GridCategory("Parameters")]
        public List<double> DataList {
            get { return dataList; }
            set { dataList = value; }
        }

Screenshots for both solutions are attached.

The rest is how well you manage the array or list to save the prices of the lines.

Thanks.
Pi

[ninZa]

IMO writing data to a file is the last solution to consider.

[buschkt]

Thanks for the great idea....

I am writing all the Drawline parameters to a file and reading them in the StartUp function.

Works great!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks

KB

[arbuthnot]

Alternatively, you can make a public property which is double array or a List<double>. They will be serialized to survive platform restarts.

Hey ninZa

That's fascinating about Arrays and Lists. I've tried to use these once or twice but it's never worked!

Could you kindly explain what 'serialized' means in this context?

Thanks in advance.

[ninZa]

Hey ninZa

That's fascinating about Arrays and Lists. I've tried to use these once or twice but it's never worked!

Could you kindly explain what 'serialized' means in this context?

Thanks in advance.

I mean they will be saved and recovered every time charts refresh or NinjaTrader restarts.

This may be different from the standard definition of serialization, because I'm actually not a C# guru.

Happy holidays!
Pi

[arbuthnot]

I mean they will be saved and recovered every time charts refresh or NinjaTrader restarts.

This may be different from the standard definition of serialization, because I'm actually not a C# guru.

Happy holidays!
Pi

Thanks very much, ninZa.

You mentioned 'standard definition': this is what I came across by way of a MSFT/C# definition:

Serialization is the process of converting an object into a stream of bytes in order to store the object or transmit it to memory, a database, or a file. Its main purpose is to save the state of an object in order to be able to recreate it when needed. The reverse process is called deserialization.

which is effectively what you stated.

I'd seen this before in the Forum and I was completely baffled by it.

Hope you and other users are having a great holiday!

Ed

[ninZa]

Thanks very much, ninZa.

You mentioned 'standard definition': this is what I came across by way of a MSFT/C# definition:

which is effectively what you stated.

I'd seen this before in the Forum and I was completely baffled by it.

Hope you and other users are having a great holiday!

Ed

Wow. So my own understanding of serialization is actually correct

Thank you for being active and supportive in many threads here.

All the best to you and the whole NT community!
Pi

[buschkt]

My line drawing indicator is working great. Now I would like to add some functionality to update the file when a line is changed via the normal chart interface. I would like to compare what is in the file to the current values and update file if needed.

I only see the DrawObject "type" not the tag value when I list the draw objects. Is there a way to get the tag value or better yet is there a callback function that would alert me to a change?

Thanks again!!

Happy New Year!!

[NinjaTrader_ChelseaB]

Hello buschkt,

Thanks for your post.

You will need to cast the object to the drawing object type to find the tag.

For example:

foreach(IDrawObject draw in DrawObjects)
{
if (draw.DrawType == DrawType.HorizontalLine)
{
IHorizontalLine hLine;
hLine = (IHorizontalLine) draw;
if (hLine == null)
return;
Print(hLine.Tag);
}
}

[buschkt]

Thanks!!! That worked great!!!!!!!!!!!!!