No. of Recommendations: 29
I have written a LiveCode program which I call "Screen Picks" which I have been using for the last year to get the SI Pro Rankings that I have been posting each week. The same program can also be used to get the VL and WER picks provided you have access to the source data. LiveCode is the language that I used to program "GTR1 Helper" and, aside from it being the only language my limited brain can now remember, it also allows me to compile both PC and Macintosh versions of the program. A part of the program is a database called "Screen Picks.db" which contains the Radiscript for all the screens whose picks are posted each week. Just like Radiscreen, the picks are generated from their Radiscript definitions. In my opinion it is easier and faster to use than Radiscreen.
For anyone interested in trying it, here are Dropbox links to the PC and Mac versions:
PC:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/19uf7oc3voiifoif8ko...Mac:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/su659vgathvgzw6mlcj...You may want to review the program's Help file which I show below:
Introduction
This application is designed to get the stock 'picks' for each of the universes SI Pro, VL and WER. For each universe you are required to supply the source data that is needed each week. Since this source data is by subscription, you may only have access to one universe. Just specify which one at the beginning and you are ready to load the data. If you have access to more than one universe's set of data, just set the appropriate radio button and load the new data. Once you have the 'picks' for the universe they may be exported to a .csv file or to the clipboard. If you have clipboard data, you can paste between '
' and '
' and it is perfect for the Motley Fool.
Getting Started
1. Unzip the file that you get from my DropBox link. You will most likely get security warnings from your computer since I am not a licensed developer. (You just have to trust me that my program will not hurt you or your computer.)
2. Put the unzipped folder in a place where you have read-write privileges. The desk-top is fine because it will be easier to delete if you decide not to use it. An alternate location might be Documents.
3. In that folder you will the following: Screen Picks.exe (the executable), Screen Picks.db (the SQLite database containing Radiscript definitions for all three universes), Screen Picks Main.livecode (where my code is) and a folder called Externals which contains LiveCode routines. These components must all be kept together in a 'read-write' place.
4. Run 'Screen Picks.exe'. At this point you probably will have to give your computer permission to run this foreign application. That should only happen the first time you run the program.
5. At the upper left of that first window select the Universe you want to use and the format this program can expect to see for the source data.
6. These next steps should only be needed one time to verify that you have a valid database connection.
a. Use the Option Menu and take the Radiscript choice. This opens the Radiscript window.
b. Double-click on the name of one of the screens at the left.
c. If the radiscript for the screen appears at the right, your database connection is fine and you may go to step seven.
d. If not, click once on 'Database' (blue link at lower left) and make a connection to 'Screen Picks.db'.
7. Close the Radiscript window.
8. Press the 'Load Source Data' button (looks like a blue link)**. If your data source is a file you will be asked to locate the file. If the data is already in the clipboard, the top grid will fill with all the data and the middle grid will fill with the screen names for that universe.
9. Select one or more screens from the middle grid and press the button 'Picks for Selected'. (Ctrl-A will select all.)
10. That's it.
** For the WER universe, pressing the 'Load Source Data' button has to be done two times. The first time it is to Erase the old data and load the 'list' file. The second time you press it, use the 'Append' choice to append the 'export' file.
The Preparation Window
The main window for this application is called 'Preparation' and it consists of a number of buttons (blue underlined) and three datagrids. The top datagrid holds all the data for your chosen universe. It consists of all the stocks for that universe along with all the data for each stock. You can scroll horizontally to see all the fields and vertically to see all the stocks. at the lower left of that grid is a number showing how many records there are. Above that window is a Find button to find a specific symbol. There is also a button for scrolling to a specific field if you want to see its value.
The middle grid contains all the screens for your chosen universe. Initially it is just screen names but eventually it will show up to thirty picks for the screen depending on the radiscript for each screen. This grid is also scrollable both horizontally and vertically. You may have noticed already but it is a property of datagrids that they can be sorted on any column just by clicking on the heading, The first click sorts all the data in ascending order for that column, a second click sorts in descending order.
For that middle grid you have already seen how to use the 'Picks for Selected' button. If you want the picks for all screens just click the first row and shift-click the last row (to select them all) and then press 'Picks for Selected'. Ctrl-A (or Cmd-A on a Mac) will also select all of the screens. At the middle-right you will see two more buttons 'Compare Picks' and 'Export Picks'. Once you have the screen picks, you can either compare them with the picks someone else has posted (more in that later) or export the picks you have produced either to a .csv file or to the clipboard.
It should be noted here that this application allows you to discover the function of a particular button just by hovering the cursor directly above the text of the button. Hover over 'Pause Radiscript' and you will see 'Pause after each line of radiscript to inspect results'. The other checkbox 'Track Symbol' allows you to follow a particular symbol through the radiscript steps to see whether or not it makes it to the screen. Track Symbol puts its data in the clipboard where it can be pasted into a text editor for inspection. If Track Symbol and Pause Radiscript are used together you can see the position for the symbol after each radiscript line is executed.
The bottom grid is a work area or scratch pad. Under normal running, things happen so fast that it is impossible to see what is going on. In the Pause Radiscript mode you can see what is going and then press Continue to see how the data changes. If you press Stop you can get a more thorough look at the data but have to use 'Picks for Selected' and start again. The Preparation window itself may be made larger by dragging the bottom or the right edge of the window.
Subsets
Subsets are a recent addition to Screen Picks and this feature allows you to set up sub groupings of screens so that you may get the picks for any of the sub groups (subsets) without having to get the picks for the entire universe. Subsets may be accessed from the menu Options/Screen Subsets or by Ctrl+6. The application does not provide you with any sample subsets so the first time you access Screen Subsets there are no existing subsets and you have to create and save one or more yourself. The subsets you create must be uniquely named and its members (screens) are limited to 1 or more from the current universe.
There are two windows associated with subsets. The first shows all your existing subsets and lets you choose the one for which you want to get the picks. All you need to do is select the one you want and press the OK button. Your subset will replace all the screens that were installed in the center grid of the main window. That first subset window also has buttons and menu options for adding new subsets or deleting existing subsets. There is an option called 'Restore to Original' that will bring back to the center grid all the screens of the universe. Finally, a double-click on an existing subset will take you to a second window where you can edit that subset.
This second or edit window is where you need to go to create new subsets or edit old ones. At the top is a place to name the subset and at the bottom is a grid that contains all the screens in that subset. Between the Name and the grid is a drop-down initially called 'Screens' where you select a screen and push the '+' button at the right to add it to the grid below. When you have added all the screens you want in the subset, you click the save button. There is a button to cancel your edits. On that window there are two arrow buttons to the left of the grid for moving the selected screen up or down in the grid. There is a button to delete a screen from the grid.
The Radiscript Window
The Radiscript window is connected to the database and allows you to examine the radiscript for each screen. The drop-down at the upper left allows you to change universes. You have the option of a 'Find' button or simply sorting and scrolling the screen list to find a particular screen. The Radiscript definition of a screen may be edited but must be saved before the changes can be used. Two dashes (') before a line of radiscript mean that that line will not be interpreted when running the screen. At the left are buttons for adding or deleting particular screens. Be very careful if you edit any of the scripts. My program expects to see certain things and may fail to run properly when it sees something unexpected.
The Comparison Window
The Comparison window only needs to be used if you are planning to compare the 'picks' you generate with the official list as published on the Motley Fool (or on the WER mailing list). If you have the 'official' list either in a file or in the clipboard, just use the Load 'Published' List button on the Comparison window to get the data into the grid. You may then close the Comparison window and go back to the Preparation window to do the checking. On the Preparation window select one or more screens to check, then click the Compare 'Picks' button. You will see numbers appear in the C-Score column of that middle grid. These numbers will range from 100 to 0 where 100 means your picks match exactly with those on the 'published' list. Numbers less one hundred indicate there are differences. When these differences are studied, it is often found that they are cause by tied values and the way they are sorted. Differences also are caused when there are radiscript lines like 'Top X% PlusTies'. It should be noted that, except for a score of 100, C-Scores are just numbers produced by my program and not actual percents. When exporting your picks, the C-Score is omitted.
There is a Find Screen button that allows you to find screens using all or just part of the name. By default the screen list is in alphabetical order so screens are simple to find. At the far right is a button called 'Show Mismatches' which is used to show detail information on how the 'Preparation' screen compares to the 'Comparison' (or official) screen. The numbers you see are the positions of that symbol on its respective screen. Zero indicates symbol is not present on that screen while 'Match' indicates symbol is on both versions of the screen and in the same position.
Larry
