OmniScan User Guide OmniScan User Guide November 2005 Edition PF-12-01-02
Worldwide Technical Support and Product Information www.nirvanasystems.com Nirvana Systems Corporate Headquarters 7000 N. MoPac, Suite 425, Austin, Texas 78731 USA Tel: 512 345 2545 Fax: 512 345 4225 Sales Information For product information or to place an order, please contact 800 880 0338 or 512 345 2566. You may also fax 512 345 4225 or send email to sales@nirvanasystems.com. Technical Support Information For assistance in installing or using Nirvana products, please contact 512 345 2592. You may also fax 512 345 4225 or send email to support@nirvanasystems.com. To comment on the documentation, send email to documentation@nirvanasystems.com. 2005 Nirvana Systems Inc. All rights reserved.
Important Information Copyright Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Nirvana Systems, Inc. Trademarks OmniTrader, VisualTrader, Adaptive Reasoning Model, ARM, ARM Knowledge Base, Easy Data, The Trading Game, Focus List, The Power to Trade with Confidence, The Path to Trading Success, The Trader s Advantage, Pattern Tutor, and Chart Pattern Recognition Module are trademarks of Nirvana Systems, Inc. Product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. DISCLAIMER REGARDING USE OF NIRVANA SYSTEMS PRODUCTS Trading stocks, mutual funds, futures, and options involves high risk including possible loss of principal and other losses. Neither the software nor any demonstration of its operation should be construed as a recommendation or an offer to buy or sell securities or security derivative products of any kind. Neither Nirvana s OmniTrader, VisualTrader, Nirvana Systems, Inc., nor its employees and affiliates recommends any specific security for purchase or sale, nor do they recommend any specific approach to investing in securities. Nirvana Systems, Inc. is not an investment advisory service nor a registered investment advisor or broker/dealer. No representation is being made that the methods presented will guarantee profits in trading. Past performance, whether actual or indicated by historical systems testing, is no guarantee of future performance or success. Information presented by Nirvana Systems, Inc. is from sources Nirvana believes are reliable. However, Nirvana has not independently verified such information.
Conventions The following conventions are used in this manual:» The» symbol leads you through nested menu items and dialog box options to a final action. The sequence File»Page Setup»Options directs you to pull down the File menu, select the Page Setup item, and select Options from the last dialog box. This icon denotes a tip, which alerts you to advisory information. This icon denotes a note, which alerts you to important information. bold italic Bold text denotes items that you must select or click in the software, such as menu items and dialog box options. Italic text denotes variables, emphasis, a cross reference, or an introduction to a key concept. This font also denotes text that is a placeholder for a word or value that you must supply.
Contents Chapter 1 Getting Started with OmniScan What is OmniScan?...1 Guidelines for Using OmniScan...1 Setting Up OmniScan...2 Installing OmniTrader...2 Updating OmniTrader (If Already Installed)...3 Installing OmniScan and OmniData...3 Setting Up OmniData...4 Downloading the Latest Data...5 Chapter 2 OmniScan Features Scan Menu...9 My Symbols...10 Summary Lists...11 OmniScan Window...12 Scan List...13 Data Source Selector...14 Symbol Lists...15 Starting Population...17 Criteria Rules...19 Chapter 3 Working with OmniScan Lists Selecting a List from the Scan Menu...25 Opening the OmniScan Window...27 Viewing a Symbol List...28 Flagging/Unflagging Symbols...29 Enabling an OmniScan List...30 Creating a New List...31 Deleting Lists from OmniScan...32 Duplicating a List...32 Renaming a Custom List...33 Importing Custom Lists...34 Exporting Custom Lists...35 Nirvana Systems Inc. vii OmniScan User Guide
Contents Creating a New Folder... 37 Renaming a Folder... 38 Deleting a Folder... 39 Chapter 4 Creating Fundamental & Technical Scans Introduction to Fundamental & Technical Scans... 41 Nirvana s Scan Lists... 41 Using the Criteria Rule Library... 43 Creating Fundamental Scans... 45 Creating Technical Scans... 47 Syntax for Formula Builder... 49 OmniScan IntelliSense... 49 Example Technical Scans... 50 Chapter 5 Creating Custom Lists Specifying the Starting Population for a Scan... 53 Deleting Lists from Your Starting Population... 55 Scanning on Fundamental or Technical Factors... 55 Viewing the Scan Criteria of a List... 56 Adding Fundamental Scan Criteria... 57 Adding Technical Scan Criteria... 58 Adding Symbol, Index, Sector, Group, or Subgroup Criteria to a Technical Scan... 59 Deleting Scan Criteria... 61 Modifying a Criteria Rule... 61 Specifying the Order of Scan Criteria... 62 Viewing the Results of a Scan... 63 Adding a Criteria Rule to the Criteria Library... 64 Editing a Rule in the Criteria Library... 65 Deleting a Rule from the Criteria Library... 66 Renaming a Rule in the Criteria Library... 67 Duplicating a Rule in the Criteria Library... 68 Adding a Criteria Rule from the Library to Your Scan... 69 OmniScan User Guide viii nirvanasystems.com
Contents Appendix A Additional Resources Appendix B Fundamental Scan Reference Appendix C Technical Scan Reference Operators...85 Math Functions...86 Pricing Data...87 Indicators...87 Parameters...92 Glossary Nirvana Systems Inc. ix OmniScan User Guide
Getting Started with OmniScan 1 Congratulations and thank you for choosing OmniScan! You have before you one of the most powerful tools for scanning a list of securities based on fundamental and technical conditions. OmniScan is designed to help you quickly find a list of trade opportunities that meet your specific criteria. What is OmniScan? OmniScan is a plug-in to OmniTrader that allows you to scan the market for fundamental and technical conditions, identify the securities that meet your conditions, and easily access a list of these securities. You can create lists of thousands of securities and use OmniScan to examine each security one-by-one to look for fundamental or technical criteria. If a security meets the criteria you specify, OmniScan places the security in a list so that you can easily apply OmniTrader s analysis to the list, giving you further confirmation. OmniScan, together with OmniTrader, helps you narrow a large list of securities down to a list of filtered and confirmed trade possibilities. Guidelines for Using OmniScan In order to use OmniScan, you must be a registered user of OmniTrader and OmniScan, you must subscribe to OmniData as your data source, and you must select an End of Day profile. Nirvana Systems Inc. 1 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 1 Getting Started with OmniScan Setting Up OmniScan Before you begin using OmniScan, you must install OmniTrader. OmniScan is a plug-in application that works only with OmniTrader 2006 or later. If you have OmniTrader installed, you do not need to reinstall it. However, you should update the program to the latest version of OmniTrader by completing the Updating OmniTrader (If Already Installed) section in this chapter. If you already have OmniScan and OmniData installed, please skip ahead to Chapter 2, OmniScan Features for an introduction to OmniScan. Installing OmniTrader Follow these instructions to install OmniTrader for the first time: 1. Insert the OmniTrader CD into the CD-ROM drive. The installation should begin automatically. If it does not, click Start»Run from the Windows Start menu. Type x:\setup.exe (where x is the CD-ROM drive you are using) in the command line box and click OK. Figure 1-1. Run Dialog Box in Microsoft Windows 2. Follow the instructions that appear in the installation wizard dialog boxes. OmniScan User Guide 2 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 1 Getting Started with OmniScan Updating OmniTrader (If Already Installed) Follow these instructions to update your previously installed version of OmniTrader: 1. Make sure you are connected to the Internet. 2. In Windows, click Start»Programs»OmniTrader2006»OmniTrader Updater. You will be redirected to the OmniTrader Support website. Figure 1-2. OmniTrader Support and Updates Page 3. Enter your Nirvana ID and Password. 4. Click Login. 5. Follow the on-screen instructions to update to the latest release. Installing OmniScan and OmniData Follow these instructions to install and begin using OmniScan. 1. With OmniTrader closed, insert the OmniScan CD into the CD-ROM drive. The installation should begin automatically. If it does not, click Start»Run from the Windows Start menu. Type x:\setup.exe (where x is the CD-ROM drive you are using) in the command line box and click OK. 2. Follow the instructions that appear in the installation wizard dialog boxes. Nirvana Systems Inc. 3 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 1 Getting Started with OmniScan Setting Up OmniData Once you have installed OmniScan, you can begin collecting data by setting up OmniData as your data vendor. 1. Launch OmniTrader and select Edit»Data Settings. Figure 1-3. Symbol and Data Settings Dialog Box 2. Select OmniData from the Datafeed drop-down menu. 3. Enter your OmniData Username and Password found on the back of your OmniData CD case 4. If you would like OmniTrader to check for the latest data every time you plot a chart, enable On Demand Downloading. 5. From the Batch Download drop-down menu, select All Symbols, Stocks, or Funds. If you select All Symbols, OmniTrader collects data for both stocks and funds. 6. Click OK to accept the data settings information. OmniScan User Guide 4 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 1 Getting Started with OmniScan Downloading the Latest Data Before you can begin using OmniScan, you must Run the To Do List. This process updates OmniScan and enables the OmniScan features. 1. Click the To Do List button in OmniTrader. todolist Figure 1-4. To Do List Button 2. Enable the Download historical & current price data option, as shown in Figure 1-5. tododialog Figure 1-5. To Do List Settings Nirvana Systems Inc. 5 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 1 Getting Started with OmniScan 3. Click the Perform Selected Tasks button. You will see the OmniData Update dialog box while OmniData downloads the latest data available. omnidata Figure 1-6. OmniData Update Dialog Box Now that you have completed the process necessary to install OmniScan, you will learn about the two main features for accessing the power of OmniScan the OmniScan Menu and the OmniScan window. OmniScan User Guide 6 nirvanasystems.com
OmniScan Features 2 The Focus List is a list of securities with signals and the statistical analysis OmniTrader completes on each security in the list. From the OmniTrader Focus List, you can access OmniScan. When you click on the Scan Menu, you can select an OmniScan list to display in the Focus List. ScanFL Figure 2-1. OmniTrader Focus List with Scan Menu Nirvana Systems Inc. 7 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 2 OmniScan Features Clicking on the Edit (pencil) icon opens the OmniScan window where you can view and create OmniScan lists, perform fundamental and technical scans on the lists, and mark lists to appear in the Scan Menu of the OmniTrader Focus List. editfl Figure 2-2. OmniTrader Focus List with Edit (Pencil) Icon OmniScan User Guide 8 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 2 OmniScan Features Scan Menu When you click on the Scan Menu, it will expand to show you all of the lists that you currently have enabled in OmniScan. For more information on enabling or disabling a list, refer to the Enabling an OmniScan List section in Chapter 3, Working with OmniScan Lists. The Scan Menu always shows you the Summary Lists and a My Symbols list where you can add individual symbols. ScanExpand Figure 2-3. Scan Menu Expanded with Standard and Custom Lists Enabled Nirvana Systems Inc. 9 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 2 OmniScan Features When you select a list from the Scan Menu, OmniScan displays the securities in your Focus List. For example, if you want to see a list of all the new and reinforced daily signals for securities that meet the scan criteria in your enabled lists, you would select New Signals from the Summary Lists folder. The lists in the Scan Menu are organized into folders to help you find similar lists quickly. You can click on the plus (+) or minus (-) sign next to any folder to expand or collapse a folder. My Symbols The My Symbols list is a default list that appears at the top of the Scan Menu. The My Symbols list is designed so that you can create a list of individual symbols of your choosing, rather than using one of the preconfigured lists. You cannot delete the My Symbols list, and you cannot run OmniScan on the list. You can add symbols to the My Symbols list using the Quick Chart feature. When you enter a symbol, OmniTrader searches the list for the symbol. If the symbol is not in the list, OmniTrader adds it to your My Symbols list. For more information, refer to the Adding and Removing Symbols for Easy Data section in Chapter 3, Focus List Concepts of the OmniTrader User Guide. OmniScan User Guide 10 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 2 OmniScan Features Summary Lists The lists in the Summary Lists folder are designed to give you easy access to a summary of various groups of securities. The Summary Lists that come standard with OmniScan and cannot be modified are as follows: All Analyzed Symbols Displays a list of every security that meets the scan criteria (if any) of each enabled list. For example, if you enable two custom lists, you will be able to click on the All Analyzed Symbols list to view a single list of securities that meet the criteria in both lists. Note If a security appears in more than one enabled list, that security is only counted once in the total count for the All Analyzed Symbols list. Current Positions Displays a list of securities that meet all of the following conditions: Security is currently in your portfolio Security is in an enabled list Security meets the scan criteria for the enabled list Flagged Symbols Displays a list of all the symbols that you have flagged. New Signals Displays a list of all new and reinforced daily signals for securities that have passed the scan criteria in all enabled lists. Weekly Signals Displays a list of all new and reinforced weekly signals for securities that have passed the scan criteria in all enabled lists. Nirvana Systems Inc. 11 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 2 OmniScan Features OmniScan Window In the OmniScan window, you can create lists of securities and scan them for specific criteria. You can access the OmniScan window by clicking on the Edit (pencil) icon in the Focus List and selecting OmniScan from the Data Source drop-down menu. For more information, refer to the Opening the OmniScan Window section of Chapter 3, Working with OmniScan Lists. scanview 1, 2 3 4 5 Figure 2-4. OmniScan Window Following is a brief description of each section in the OmniScan window, referenced in Figure 2-4. 1 Scan List Displays the symbols in the selected list or scan. 2 Data Source Specifies which data source OmniScan uses. 3 Symbol Lists Displays a list of default symbol lists as well as any custom lists you have created, organized into folders for easy location. 4 Starting Population Defines the set of symbols with which to start a custom scan. 5 Criteria Rules Displays the criteria rules for the selected scan. This section also contains buttons for adding new rules for fundamental and technical scans. OmniScan User Guide 12 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 2 OmniScan Features Scan List The Scan List is dynamically updated each time you modify any option in the OmniScan window. If you add a new list, modify the starting population, or add new criteria rules to the scan, your changes will be reflected in the number and quality of securities in your Scan List. scanlist Figure 2-5. Scan List in the OmniScan Window Note The first time that you add a list to the Starting Population or add a new scan, you may see the Building OmniScan Cache for Fast Technical Scans window. During this process, OmniScan is loading optimized data into memory in order to make subsequent scans faster. Nirvana Systems Inc. 13 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 2 OmniScan Features At the bottom of the Scan List, you will see a symbol count. This number indicates the number of symbols currently in the selected list. As you modify the starting population and criteria rules, you may see the symbol count change. The total symbol count is dynamically updated each time you change one of the options in the OmniScan window. When you right-click in the Scan List, you will see a series of menu items. When a command does not apply to a particular column or field, it is disabled. Some columns have special commands visible only when you right-click in a particular column. For more information on any of these commands, refer to the Focus List Right-Click Menu section of Chapter 3, Focus List Concepts in the OmniTrader User Guide. Data Source Selector OmniTrader uses historical and daily price data to perform its analysis. The Data Source drop-down menu specifies which data source OmniTrader uses for your data. In order to use OmniScan, you must select OmniScan as your data source. If you select a data source other than OmniScan, you will not see the OmniScan window. Instead, you will edit the OmniTrader Focus List just as you would if you did not have OmniScan installed. datasel Figure 2-6. Data Source Selector in the OmniScan Window Tip Select OmniScan from the Data Source selector to begin using OmniScan. All other options are available to you in case you want to use OmniTrader without OmniScan. OmniScan User Guide 14 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 2 OmniScan Features The options available in this drop-down menu are: Easy Data Specifies that OmniTrader collects data directly from a supported Easy Data vendor. The Easy Data vendors supported by OmniTrader are OmniData, esignal, IQFeed, Quote.com, Telescan, and TradeStream. For more information on OmniTrader data options, refer to Chapter 2, Getting Started in the OmniTrader User Guide. User Data Specifies that you are using a data vendor other than one supported directly within OmniTrader. You will need to download your data outside of OmniTrader and set it up so that OmniTrader knows the correct path to your data. For more information on OmniTrader user data options, refer to Chapter 2, Getting Started in the OmniTrader User Guide. OmniData Specifies OmniData as your data source. Selecting OmniData allows you to collect data from OmniData without using OmniScan. OmniScan Specifies OmniScan as your data source. OmniScan relies on OmniData as its data source. For more information, refer to the Setting Up OmniData section of Chapter 1, Getting Started with OmniScan. While OmniScan updates your Scan List dynamically, it does not automatically get the latest data available. In order to collect the latest historical and current price data from OmniData, you will need to run your To Do List. For more information, refer to the Downloading the Latest Data section in Chapter 1, Getting Started with OmniScan. AIQ Specifies that you are using AIQ as your data source. If you are using AIQ data, you will need to run the AIQ data component so that OmniTrader can properly recognize your data. For more information, refer to the Setting Up Your Data section in Chapter 2, Getting Started of the OmniTrader User Guide. Symbol Lists Each list in the OmniScan Symbol Lists section is comprised of the symbols that make up the list. The lists in the Nirvana s Lists, Standard Lists, Exchanges, Indexes, and Industry Groups folders are default lists that you cannot modify. You can create your own custom lists that contain the lists you specify along with the criteria rules you create. When you create a custom list, OmniScan uses the starting population of symbols, filters out the symbols that do not meet your criteria, and displays the remaining symbols in your Scan List. Nirvana Systems Inc. 15 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 2 OmniScan Features symbollist Figure 2-7. Symbol Lists in the OmniScan Window The Symbol List section of the OmniScan window organizes the lists into folders to help you find lists quickly. The default folders are Custom Lists, Nirvana s Lists, Standard Lists, Exchanges, Indexes, and Industry Groups. You can create new folders and name them to describe the types of lists that you will create in the folder. You can also rename and delete any folder that you add. The Nirvana s Lists folder contains some common scans that you may find useful. These scans are designed to find specific types of opportunities, such as securities that are overbought and turning or uptrending stocks under $10. For more information about each of the lists in this folder, refer to the Nirvana s Scan Lists section in Chapter 4, Creating Fundamental & Technical Scans. OmniScan User Guide 16 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 2 OmniScan Features A plus (+) sign next to a symbol list folder indicates that the folder can be expanded to view the lists within that folder. You can enable the lists using the checkbox next to each one. Once you enable a list, it is marked for OmniTrader analysis; the next time you run the To Do List, OmniTrader analyzes the securities in each enabled list. Also, when you enable a list, it is added to the Scan Menu so that you can easily view results of the list in your OmniTrader Focus List. You can enable a single or multiple symbol lists. The Count column in the Symbol List section indicates the total number of symbols in the list (for Standard Lists, Exchanges, Indexes, and Industry Groups) or the total number of symbols that meet all of your scan criteria for the list (for Custom Lists and Nirvana s Lists). The New List and Delete List buttons allow you to add and remove lists from the Symbol List folders. The Duplicate List creates a new list with exactly the same criteria. This allows you to copy any list in the Nirvana s Lists folders so that you may modify them for your particular needs. Starting Population The starting population determines which symbols OmniScan starts with before filtering the list down using your criteria rules. The only lists that actually begin with a starting population are those custom scans that you create and Nirvana s Lists. The starting population can include an entire symbol list or it can include the narrowed results of another already defined list. You can also add multiple lists to the starting population, and OmniScan will use all of the symbols from the combined lists. For example, if you add the NASDAQ and NYSE lists to your starting population, then OmniScan will use all stocks from both exchanges. startpop Figure 2-8. Starting Population Section in the OmniScan Window Nirvana Systems Inc. 17 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 2 OmniScan Features The Count column next to each list indicates the total number of symbols included in the list. The Add and Delete buttons allow you to add and remove symbol lists. When you click the Add button, the Add to Starting Population dialog box appears. addstartpop Figure 2-9. Add to Starting Population Dialog Box This dialog box contains a list of Symbol Lists from which to choose. You can choose from any of the symbol lists in OmniScan, including custom lists you create as well as lists from the Nirvana s Lists, Standard Lists, Exchanges, Indexes, and Industry Groups folders. OmniScan User Guide 18 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 2 OmniScan Features Criteria Rules OmniScan uses criteria rules to filter the starting population down to a smaller, specific set of symbols. Each criteria rule that you add could potentially reduce the number of symbols in your final Scan List results, showing you only the symbols that meet all of your criteria. critrule Figure 2-10. Criteria Rules in the OmniScan Window The Criteria Rules section has three columns, Rules, Symbol, and Count. The Rules column displays either the formula for each criteria rule or the name for the criteria rule, if it is saved to the Criteria Rule Library. The Symbol column indicates the whether the rule is being applied to the current symbol, index, sector, group, subgroup, or to another symbol. For more information about using the Symbol options, refer to the Adding Technical Scan Criteria section of Chapter 5, Creating Custom Lists. The Count column indicates the total number of symbols in the list after OmniScan scans the list for symbols that meet each criteria rule. If you have several criteria rules, you will see the total number of symbols remaining after each rule is applied. The Edit button allows you to edit any of the criteria rules. Click on any rule to highlight the one you want to edit. Then, click the Edit button to access the Criteria Editor or Formula Builder. The Delete button immediately removes the selected criteria rule. Nirvana Systems Inc. 19 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 2 OmniScan Features The Up and Down buttons dictate the order in which OmniScan applies the rules. This is useful in determining which scans filtered out the most symbols. If you notice that a scan is eliminating too few or two many symbols, you can move the various criteria up or down to see the total number of symbols left after OmniScan applies each criteria rule to the list. The Up and Down buttons do not affect the total symbol count of the scan as all rules are always applied in a scan. That is, a security must pass every single criteria rule in order to be included in your scanned and filtered Scan List. The New Rule buttons allow you to add Fundamental and Technical criteria using either the Criteria Library, Criteria Editor, or Formula Builder. When you click the New Rule buttons, a new window opens and you can begin to add fundamental and technical rules from the Criteria Rule Library, Fundamental Criteria Editor, or Formula Builder. For more information on the difference between fundamental and technical data, refer to the Introduction to Fundamental & Technical Scans section of Chapter 4, Creating Fundamental & Technical Scans. OmniScan uses the criteria you specify in this section to filter down your starting population to only symbols that pass the rules you define. For more information on the Fundamental Range criteria, refer to Appendix B, Fundamental Scan Reference. For more information on the Technical Formula criteria, refer to Appendix C, Technical Scan Reference. OmniScan User Guide 20 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 2 OmniScan Features When you click the Library button, you can select from the drop-down list of criteria already in the library or you can open the Criteria Library. crit lib Figure 2-11. Criteria Rule Library in OmniScan The Criteria Rule Library contains some default criteria that you can add to your custom scans. You can also modify these criteria or add new criteria of your own. For more information about using the Criteria Library, refer to the Using the Criteria Rule Library section in Chapter 4, Creating Fundamental & Technical Scans. Nirvana Systems Inc. 21 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 2 OmniScan Features When you click the Fundamental button, you can select from a list of fundamental criteria and then specify the range, upper (below) value, and lower (above) value for the scan. OmniScan filters your list of securities to find only the securities that fall within the range and limits you specify. fund editor Figure 2-12. Fundamental Criteria Editor in OmniScan For specific information about specifying a range or range of values, refer to the Creating Technical Scans section in Chapter 4, Creating Fundamental & Technical Scans. OmniScan User Guide 22 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 2 OmniScan Features When you click the Technical button, you are presented with the Formula Builder. Here you can write your own technical scans using some basic operators and OmniScan technical indicators. form bldr Figure 2-13. Formula Builder For more information, refer to the Creating Technical Scans section in Chapter 4, Creating Fundamental & Technical Scans. For information about the operators and indicators that you can add to your scan, refer to Appendix C, Technical Scan Reference. Nirvana Systems Inc. 23 OmniScan User Guide
Working with OmniScan Lists 3 There are two types of OmniScan lists, default lists included with OmniScan and custom lists that you create. You can modify any lists and folders that you create. You cannot modify the lists in the Nirvana s Lists, Standard Lists, Exchanges, Indexes, and Industry Groups folders. Except for Nirvana s Lists, the other default lists are designed to help you get a starting population of securities. You can add the default lists to the starting population of any new scan that you create. The lists in Nirvana s Lists folder are scans complete with criteria rules designed to help you pinpoint specific types of trades. You can duplicate these lists and modify the criteria to meet your needs. As explained in Chapter 2, OmniScan Features, OmniScan has two main features, the OmniScan window and the Scan Menu. You can view a scan list by selecting it from the Scan Menu in the Focus List. You can open the OmniScan window by selecting the Edit (pencil) icon in the Focus List. This chapter gives you step-by-step instructions for completing basic OmniScan tasks. Selecting a List from the Scan Menu From the Scan Menu, you can quickly access any list that you have enabled in the OmniScan window, as well as any Summary List or the My Symbols list. When you select an OmniScan list from the Scan Menu, OmniScan instantaneously displays the list or the results of the scan in your Focus List. Nirvana Systems Inc. 25 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 3 Working with OmniScan Lists 1. In the OmniTrader Focus List, click the Scan Menu. scanfl Figure 3-1. Scan Menu 2. From the drop-down menu, select any one of the OmniScan lists. Click the plus (+) or (-) minus sign next to a folder to expand or collapse the folder containing the list you want to view. OmniScan immediately displays the results of the scan in your Focus List. Tip To add other lists to the Scan Menu for easy access, refer to the Enabling an OmniScan List section in this chapter. OmniScan User Guide 26 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 3 Working with OmniScan Lists Opening the OmniScan Window The OmniScan window is where you access the default OmniScan lists as well as where you create new scans. 1. In the OmniTrader Focus List, click the Edit (pencil) icon. editfl Figure 3-2. Edit (Pencil) Icon Nirvana Systems Inc. 27 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 3 Working with OmniScan Lists 2. Select OmniScan from the Data Source drop-down menu. The OmniScan window appears. datasel Viewing a Symbol List Figure 3-3. Data Source Drop-Down Menu You can view the securities in a default symbol list by clicking on the list in the Symbol Lists section of the OmniScan window. Click on any one of the lists in the Symbol Lists section and OmniScan immediately displays the symbols in the Scan List at the left. dailysigs Figure 3-4. Russell 1000 Stocks List Selected and Displayed If you click on a list with criteria rules, OmniScan displays only the symbols that met all of the criteria rules. For more information about each of the lists, refer to the Symbol Lists section of Chapter 2, OmniScan Features. OmniScan User Guide 28 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 3 Working with OmniScan Lists Flagging/Unflagging Symbols You can flag your favorite securities using the right-click menu. Flagging a symbol adds it to the Flagged Symbols list. 1. In the Scan List, click on the Symbol that you want to flag. This highlights the symbol. 2. Right-click on the symbol and select Flag Symbol from the menu. flag Figure 3-5. Flag Symbol Right-Click Menu with AIG Symbol Selected Once you have flagged a symbol, it is immediately added to the Flagged Symbols list. You can also add a Good Opportunity Flag column to your Focus List by clicking the Configure (wrench) icon and adding the column from the Profile Statistics tab. To unflag a symbol, right-click on it and select Unflag Symbol from the menu. You can select and view the list of flagged symbols from the Scan Menu in the Focus List. Nirvana Systems Inc. 29 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 3 Working with OmniScan Lists Enabling an OmniScan List The Symbol Lists section allows you to enable OmniScan lists. Once a list is enabled, OmniTrader immediately analyzes the securities in each enabled list, and OmniScan scans the list for securities that meet the scan criteria. Also, when you enable a list, it is added to the Scan Menu so that you can easily view results of the list in your OmniTrader Focus List. You may enable a single list or multiple lists. Note Processing time for OmniTrader analysis and OmniScan may be affected by the number of lists and scans you have enabled. 1. Click the plus (+) sign next to a folder to expand the folder containing the list you want to enable. expandlist Figure 3-6. Big Bears Nirvana s List Enabled in OmniScan 2. Click the checkbox next to the list you want to enable. A check appears in the box, marking the list to be analyzed by OmniTrader and adding the list to the Scan Menu in the Focus List. OmniScan User Guide 30 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 3 Working with OmniScan Lists Creating a New List When you create a new list in OmniScan, the list is automatically added to the Custom Lists folder or to a folder that you have created. 1. Click the New List button at the bottom of the Symbol Lists section. You can also right-click in the Symbol Lists section and select New List. 2. Type the name of your new list into the text field. 3. Press <Enter> on your computer keyboard. If you do not enter a name for the new list, OmniScan creates it and names it New List. namelist Figure 3-7. New List Text Field Note OmniScan does not automatically get the latest data available. In order to collect the latest historical and current price data from OmniData, you will need to run your To Do List. Nirvana Systems recommends that you download the latest data available before creating or performing a scan. Nirvana Systems Inc. 31 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 3 Working with OmniScan Lists Deleting Lists from OmniScan You can only delete the lists that you have created. You cannot delete any of the default lists in the Nirvana s Lists, Standard Lists, Exchanges, Indexes, or Industry Groups folders. 1. Click on the list that you want to delete. 2. Click the Delete List button at the bottom of the Symbol Lists section, or right-click on the list and select Delete List. Duplicating a List You can duplicate lists in the Nirvana s Lists folder as well as any list you have created. This option is useful if you have a list that you would like to add scan criteria to while maintaining the integrity of the original list. 1. Click on the list that you want to duplicate. 2. Select Duplicate List from the right-click menu. OmniScan creates a copy of the list and places it below all the lists in the current folder. duplicate Figure 3-8. Duplicate List Right-click Menu OmniScan User Guide 32 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 3 Working with OmniScan Lists 3. Type the new name of your list into the text field. dup list Figure 3-9. Duplicated List Created in OmniScan 4. Press <Enter> on your computer keyboard to submit the name you have typed for your duplicated list. Renaming a Custom List Once you have created a new list in OmniScan, you may want to change the name of the list to make it more descriptive of the securities included in the list. You cannot rename any lists in the following folders: Nirvana s Lists, Standard Lists, Exchanges, Indexes, and Industry Groups. The only lists that you can modify are the lists that you have created. 1. Right-click on the list that you want to rename. 2. Select Rename from the right-click menu. rename Figure 3-10. Rename List Right-click Menu 3. Type the new name of your list into the text field. 4. Press <Enter> on your computer keyboard to submit the name you have typed for your new custom list. Nirvana Systems Inc. 33 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 3 Working with OmniScan Lists Importing Custom Lists You can import an already created list into OmniScan. This is useful for sharing OmniScan lists with other OmniScan users. 1. Right-click on any list in OmniScan. import Figure 3-11. Import List Right-click Menu 2. Select Import List from the right-click menu. 3. Browse to the directory where you have saved the OmniScan list. Nirvana Systems recommends that you place all custom lists in the same directory where you installed OmniTrader, for example, c:\program Files\Nirvana\OT2006\ OmniScan. 4. Select the OmniScan list (.otl) and click the Open button. OmniScan User Guide 34 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 3 Working with OmniScan Lists Exporting Custom Lists You can export any list you create. This is useful for troubleshooting and sharing your OmniScan lists with other OmniScan users. 1. Right-click on the list that you want to export. export Figure 3-12. Export List Right-click Menu 2. Select Export List from the right-click menu. 3. In the File name field, type a name for your list and browse to the directory where you want to save the file. By default, OmniScan places the file in an OmniScan folder in the same directory where you installed OmniTrader, for example, c:\program Files\Nirvana\OT2006\OmniScan. Nirvana Systems Inc. 35 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 3 Working with OmniScan Lists exportsave 4. Click the Save button. Figure 3-13. OmniScan List Export Dialog Box OmniScan User Guide 36 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 3 Working with OmniScan Lists Creating a New Folder You can create new folders and name them to describe the types of lists that you will create in the folder. When you create a new folder in OmniScan, it is automatically added to the top of the Symbol Lists section. You can rename and delete any folder that you add. 1. Right-click on any OmniScan folder. newfolder Figure 3-14. New Folder Right-click Menu 2. Select New Folder from the right-click menu. 3. Type the new name of your folder into the text field. newfldrtext 4. Press <Enter> on your computer keyboard to submit the name you have typed for your new folder. Nirvana Systems Inc. 37 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 3 Working with OmniScan Lists Renaming a Folder Once you have created a new folder in OmniScan, you may want to change the name of the folder to make it more descriptive of the lists included in the folder. You cannot rename the following folders: Nirvana s Lists, Standard Lists, Exchanges, Indexes, and Industry Groups. 1. Right-click on the folder that you want to rename. renamefldr Figure 3-15. Rename Folder Right-click Menu 2. Select Rename from the right-click menu. 3. Type the new name of your folder into the text field. 4. Press <Enter> on your computer keyboard to submit the name you have typed for your custom folder. OmniScan User Guide 38 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 3 Working with OmniScan Lists Deleting a Folder You can delete only folders that you have created. You cannot delete the Nirvana s Lists, Standard Lists, Exchanges, Indexes, and Industry Groups folders. 1. Right-click on the folder that you want to delete. deletefldr Figure 3-16. Delete Folder Right-click Menu 2. Select Delete Folder from the right-click menu. 3. Click Yes if you are sure you want to delete the folder. deleteconfirm Figure 3-17. OmniScan Editor Folder Deletion Prompt Nirvana Systems Inc. 39 OmniScan User Guide
Creating Fundamental & Technical Scans 4 You can write your own custom scans based on technical criteria or fundamental criteria using OmniScan. After you have created a new list, you can begin to add criteria to the scan. OmniScan searches through the starting population that you specify to find only those securities that meet each criteria. OmniScan displays the results of the scan in the Scan List. This chapter explains custom scans and gives you some examples of scans you might want to use. Introduction to Fundamental & Technical Scans OmniScan gives you the option to scan your lists using either fundamental or technical data criteria. Fundamental analysis attempts to evaluate a security by determining its potential for growth based on company revenues, earnings, future growth forecasts, return on equity, profit margin, etc. Technical analysis attempts to predict future growth potential of a security by studying its historical price and volume movements and other statistics generated by activity in the market. In short, fundamental analysis measures the intrinsic value of a security while technical analysis uses charting to identify patterns that could suggest future movement. With OmniScan, you can use both of these two powerful analysis techniques to filter your symbol list down to only symbols that meet all of your criteria. Nirvana s Scan Lists OmniScan comes complete with many common scans that you may find useful. These scans are designed to find specific types of trades. OmniScan contains the following default scan lists. Bearish MACD Crossovers Scans for stocks that present good short to medium-term short candidates as defined by the MACD indicator. Big Bears Scans for stocks that have been declining for an extended period of time. Nirvana Systems Inc. 41 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 4 Creating Fundamental & Technical Scans Big Bulls Scans for stocks that have been rising for an extended period of time. Bullish MACD Crossovers Scans for short to medium-term long candidates as defined by the MACD indicator. Gaps Down Scans for heavily traded stocks that show a significant gap down on the current bar. Gaps Up Scans for heavily traded stocks that show a significant gap up on the current bar. Large Cap Stocks Scans for heavily traded stocks. Low P/E with Earnings Growth Scans for stocks that are both showing growth potential and showing lower price than they have historically shown. New 52 Week High Scans for stocks where the current bars exceed the stock s high price over the last year. New 52 Week Low Scans for stocks where the current bars exceed the stock s low price over the last year. Overbought and Turning Scans for stocks with falling prices after a bullish run. Oversold and Turning Scans for stocks with rising prices after a bearish run. Smooth Movers Scans for heavily traded stocks that do not gap often. Stocks At or Near 52 Week High Scans for heavily traded stocks that are near or have exceeded their high price over the last year. Stocks At or Near 52 Week Low Scans for heavily traded stocks that are near or have exceeded their low price over the last year. Strong Stocks Showing Weakness Scans for stocks that have been bullish for an extended period but are beginning to turn bearish Uptrending Stocks under $10 Scans for low priced stocks with rising prices. Volume Climax Scans for stocks that have shown a steady increase in volume, followed by a steady decrease over the last week. Volume Declining Scans for heavily traded stocks that are showing a decline in volume. Volume Rising Scans for heavily traded stocks that are showing a rise in volume. OmniScan User Guide 42 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 4 Creating Fundamental & Technical Scans Weak Stocks Showing Strength Scans for stocks that have been bearish for an extended period but are beginning to turn bullish. Using the Criteria Rule Library When you click the Library button in OmniScan, you can select from the drop-down list of criteria already in the library or you can open the Criteria Rule Library. The Criteria Rule Library allows you to add new technical and fundamental criteria rules, edit existing rules, and insert any rule from the library into the current list. crit lib Figure 4-1. Criteria Rule Library in OmniScan When you create any new fundamental or technical criteria rule, you can add the rule to the Criteria Rule Library for later use. Nirvana Systems recommends that you use the criteria name and description to help you remember details about the scan. The Criteria Rule Library contains the following features: Technical Rules tab Lists the technical criteria rules currently in the Criteria Rule Library. You will see both the Criteria Name and the formula for the criteria. Nirvana Systems Inc. 43 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 4 Creating Fundamental & Technical Scans Fundamental Rules tab Lists the fundamental criteria rules currently in the Criteria Rule Library. You will see both the Criteria Name and the formula for the criteria. Add Creates a new criteria rule. If you are on the Technical Rules tab when you click the Add button, OmniScan displays the Formula Builder where you can create a new technical criteria rule. If you are on the Fundamental Rules tab when you click the Add button, OmniScan displays the Fundamental Criteria Editor. Edit Allows you to edit the selected criteria rule. Click on any criteria rule to highlight the one you want to edit. Delete Deletes the criteria rule from the library. Deleting a criteria rule from the Criteria Library does not remove the rule from OmniScan lists that already use the rule. If there are current scans that use the rule, OmniScan removes the criteria name from the rule but leaves the underlying calculation in the scan. Rename Renames the selected criteria rule. If the rule is already used in a scan, the rule is also renamed in the scan. Duplicate Duplicates the selected criteria rule and adds a sequential number after the new rule to indicate that the rule is a copy. Description Displays the description of the selected criteria rule. This field is optional and is populated when you create a new criteria rule. Close Closes the Criteria Rule Library and returns to OmniScan. Insert Rule Inserts the selected criteria rule into the current scan. OmniScan User Guide 44 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 4 Creating Fundamental & Technical Scans Creating Fundamental Scans When you click the Fundamental button to add a fundamental scan, OmniScan displays the Fundamental Criteria Editor where you can choose from a list of fundamental criteria. The options on the left or the slider on the right set the range and upper/lower values. For example, you can specify that the earnings per share of a security be between 1.87 and 0.85 or you can specify only that the the security be above 0.85. For each Fundamental Range criteria, OmniScan calculates the actual value and percentage range of the selected item based on all US Stocks. The actual value is the value at which all US Stocks correspond to the percentage for the selected criteria. For example, in Figure 4-2, you can see that 90% of all US Stocks have an Earnings Per Share value of at least 0.75, 75% of at least 0.40, and so on. Depending on the fundamental criteria that you select, you will see different values and percentages. fund example Figure 4-2. Fundamental Criteria Editor Nirvana Systems Inc. 45 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 4 Creating Fundamental & Technical Scans In this example, the scan is looking for securities with an Earnings Per Share value between 0.85 and 1.87. From the corresponding percentage scale, you can see that fewer than 10% of stocks fall within this range. OmniScan enables you to apply many different fundamental range criteria to your custom list of securities. For example, you can scan for securities with a return on assets value or close price above a value you specify. The Fundamental Criteria Editor contains the following features: Select Item Select a fundamental scan criteria from the drop-down list. For more information about each of the different fundamental criteria you can add, refer to Appendix B, Fundamental Scan Reference. Range Requires that the value of the selected fundamental item is between the range of values you specify in the slider. Below Requires that the value of the selected item is below the upper value you specify using the text field or slider. Above Requires that the value of the selected item is above the lower value you specify using the text field or slider. Instant Rule Update Updates the list as you make changes to the range, below, and above values. If you do not use this option, you will need to click the Apply or OK button to commit your changes. Use Percentages Specifies the range, below, and above values as a percentage of the total number of all US Stocks for the specified criteria. If you select the Use Percentages option, the Criteria Editor changes the range, below, and above option from actual values to percentages. Description Allows you to enter a description of the criteria rule into the text field. This is useful if you are going to save the criteria rule to the Criteria Rule Library. Save to Library Displays the Save to Criteria Library dialog box where you can name and save the criteria rule. All criteria rules currently in the Criteria Library are displayed in this dialog box so that you can create a unique name for your criteria rule. Apply Submits your selections for the scan. If you are not using the Instant Rule Update option, you will need to click the Apply button to commit your changes. OmniScan User Guide 46 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 4 Creating Fundamental & Technical Scans OmniScan adds the scan to your Criteria Rules list and runs the scan on the symbols in your list. Creating Technical Scans When you click the Technical button to add a technical scan, OmniScan displays the Formula Builder where you can write your own technical scans using some basic indicators, operators, and other building blocks. For a complete list and descriptions of the technical building blocks, refer to Appendix C, Technical Scan Reference. form bldr Figure 4-3. Formula Builder The Formula Builder contains the following features: Formula window Displays the technical formula as you create it using the building blocks in the column on the right. You can also type a formula directly into the Formula window using Intellisense as a guide. For more information, refer to the OmniScan IntelliSense section in this chapter. Save to Library Displays the Save to Criteria Library dialog box where you can name and save the criteria rule. All criteria rules currently in the Criteria Library are displayed in this dialog box so that you can create a unique name for your criteria rule. Nirvana Systems Inc. 47 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 4 Creating Fundamental & Technical Scans Formula Building Blocks Select from the following lists of building blocks available in OmniScan. You can add individual building blocks to your formula by double-clicking on any item in the list or by clicking the Insert button. All Displays a complete list of all available indicators, math functions, operators, and pricing data. Criteria Library Displays a complete list of all technical scans currently in the Criteria Rule Library. When you select a rule from the Criteria Library, you will see an Insert Code Only option below the Formula Building Blocks list. If you enable this option, Formula Builder adds the criteria rule to the scan and maintains no reference to the original criteria rule in the Criteria Library. If you disable the Insert Code Only option, Formula Builder adds the criteria function to the scan and maintains a reference to the original criteria rule. In this case, if you make future changes to the rule in the Criteria Library, OmniScan updates every instance of that rule in any scan. Indicators Displays a complete list of only the technical indicators available in OmniScan. Math Functions Displays a complete list of only the math functions available in OmniScan. Operators Displays a complete list of only the operators available in OmniScan. Pricing Data Displays a complete list of only the pricing data available in OmniScan. Insert Adds the selected formula building block to the Formula window. Insert Long Names When enabled, adds the long name for the building block you select. For example, if you add a MACD indicator to the formula, OmniScan displays the full long name for the indicator (MovingAverage ConvergenceDivergence) rather than the short name (MACD). Insert Parameters When enabled, adds the default parameters for the technical indicator you select. For example, if you add the Relative Strength Index indicator to the formula, OmniScan displays the parameters (C, 14) along with the indicator name. Symbol Applies the criteria rule to the current symbol in the list, by default. You can also specify that OmniScan apply the criteria rule to an index, sector, group, subgroup, or another symbol. OmniScan User Guide 48 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 4 Creating Fundamental & Technical Scans Apply Submits the scan for confirmation. OmniScan verifies that your scan meets all the language rules. If the scan is valid, OmniScan adds the scan and you can close the Technical Formula Editor. If the scan is not valid, OmniScan returns a compile error and you may re-enter your criteria rules. Syntax for Formula Builder You do not need to be a programmer to use OmniScan. You can combine any OmniScan technical indicator with some basic commands, operators, and variables to come up with a useful technical formula. As you type your scan, you will notice that the OmniScan technical indicators appear in red, while variables and values appear in black. OmniScan and language keywords appear in blue. The OmniScan keywords are as follows: High (H) High daily price for the security. Low (L) Low daily price for the security. Close (C) Daily closing price for the security. Open (O) Daily opening price for the security. Volume (V) Number of shares traded in a security. Volume is calculated as the exact number of shares. For example, 100,000 means one hundred thousand shares. You can use operators to create an expression that evaluates as True or False. For example, if you want to find all securities that closed up for the day, you would write a scan that looks for securities with a close price higher than the open price, as in C > O or Close > Open. You can use any OmniScan indicator, price value, and volume level together with operators to create a new scan. OmniScan IntelliSense When you manually add one of the OmniScan indicators to your scan by typing the indicator name, you will notice the IntelliSense feature. IntelliSense is a form of auto complete that provides you a list of options and syntax you need to complete the scan. In order to see the IntelliSense feature, you must type the indicator s short or long name followed by an open parenthesis. Nirvana Systems Inc. 49 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 4 Creating Fundamental & Technical Scans ind popup Figure 4-4. RSI Indicator with IntelliSense For each indicator, IntelliSense shows you the parameter variations and syntax necessary. For example, in Figure 4-4, the RSI indicator has two variations, as indicated by the 1 of 2 notation. To see the second variation, press the down arrow on your computer keyboard. The first variation calculates the relative strength index using the periods (number of bars used to calculate the indicator) you specify. For more information about the parameters associated with each indicator, refer to the Parameters section in Appendix C, Technical Scan Reference. Example Technical Scans To get you started, here are a few examples of Technical Formula scans you might like to add to your scans. The stock closed up for the day. closeup OmniScan User Guide 50 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 4 Creating Fundamental & Technical Scans The stock gapped up. gapup The stock gapped up on higher volume. gapvol RSI (14) today is greater than RSI (14) yesterday. rsitodayyest RSI is greater than a 20 period simple moving average of the RSI Indicator. rsisma Close Price is greater than a 20 period exponential moving average. cema Nirvana Systems Inc. 51 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 4 Creating Fundamental & Technical Scans RSI is greater than 80 and declining or equal over 3 periods. rsi4rules Close Price is greater that EMA today, but less than EMA yesterday. cematodayyest Close Price is greater than EMA, and Open Price is less than EMA. cemaoema Close Price is greater than the highest high of the last 20 days. closehigh OmniScan enables you to apply many different technical criteria to your custom list of securities. For more information about each of the different technical criteria you can use as well as the operators you need to use in a scan, refer to Appendix C, Technical Scan Reference. Now that you have learned what fundamental and technical scans are, you will learn how to create a scan, specify a starting population, and create new criteria rules. OmniScan User Guide 52 nirvanasystems.com
Creating Custom Lists 5 You can customize any OmniScan list that you create. You can use the preconfigured OmniScan lists from the Nirvana s Lists, Standard Lists, Exchanges, Indexes, and Industry Groups folders as a starting population for a new scan. You can also use other custom lists that you have created as a starting population. After you add lists to the Starting Population section, you can add criteria to the scan. OmniScan then scans the list of securities in your starting population and narrows it down to only the securities that meet all of the criteria on which you have searched. In this chapter, you will learn about scanning a list of securities and filtering them down to a list that meets your conditions. This chapter also gives you step-by-step instructions for creating new scans and customizing them. Specifying the Starting Population for a Scan Before you can begin a new scan, you must specify which securities to analyze in the scan. This group of securities is called the starting population. OmniScan contains many preconfigured lists that you can add to your starting population. 1. After you have created a new list, click on the list in the Symbols Lists section to highlight it. For more information, refer to the Creating a New List section of Chapter 3, Working with OmniScan Lists. examplelist Figure 5-1. OmniScan Example Custom List Highlighted Nirvana Systems Inc. 53 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 5 Creating Custom Lists 2. Click the Add button in the Starting Population section, or right-click and select Add List. addstartpop Figure 5-2. Add Starting Population 3. In the Add to Starting Population menu, select the list you want to add to the scan. 4. Click OK to add the list to the Starting Population section. OmniScan uses the securities in these lists as the starting point for its scan. There is no limit on the number of lists you can add to your starting population. Note The first time that you add a list to the Starting Population or add a new scan, you may see the Building OmniScan Cache for Fast Technical Scans window. During this process, OmniScan is loading optimized data into memory in order to make subsequent scans faster. OmniScan User Guide 54 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 5 Creating Custom Lists Deleting Lists from Your Starting Population You can remove lists from a scan by deleting the list from the starting population. 1. After you have added a new list to the Starting Population section, click on the list to highlight it. 2. Click the Delete button in the Starting Population section to remove the selected list from the starting population. deletestartpop Figure 5-3. Deleting OmniScan Starting Population List Scanning on Fundamental or Technical Factors OmniScan offers you the ability to scan lists of securities for both fundamental and technical criteria. As we discussed earlier, fundamental factors are related to the economic well-being of a company. Fundamental analysis uses factors such as earnings, assets, and revenue to determine the value of a security. For more information, refer to the Adding Fundamental Scan Criteria section in this chapter. For a complete reference of the available fundamental scan factors, refer to Appendix B, Fundamental Scan Reference. Technical analysis is related to the historical price and volume information of a security. Technical analysis uses charting to identify patterns that could predict future movement of a security. For more information, refer to the Adding Technical Scan Criteria section in this chapter. For a complete reference of the available technical scan factors, refer to Appendix C, Technical Scan Reference. Nirvana Systems Inc. 55 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 5 Creating Custom Lists Viewing the Scan Criteria of a List You can view the criteria rules of any custom list by clicking on the list in the Symbol Lists section of the OmniScan window. When you click on the list, OmniScan displays the starting population and criteria rules for the selected list. Figure 5-4 shows the scan criteria for a custom scan called My DEMO List. scanview Figure 5-4. View of Scan Criteria for OmniScan Example The Rules column in the Criteria Rules section displays either the formula for each criteria rule or the name for the criteria rule, if it is saved to the Criteria Rule Library. The Symbol column indicates the whether the rule is being applied to the current symbol, index, sector, group, subgroup, or to another symbol. For more information about using the Symbol options, refer to the Adding Technical Scan Criteria section in this chapter. The Count column in the Criteria Rules section displays the number of securities in the starting population that meet each criteria. For example, in Figure 5-4, the first criteria specifies that earnings per share be between 0.45 and 186.76. The total number of symbols that pass this criteria is 1,548. If you have several criteria rules, you will see the total number of symbols remaining after each rule is applied. OmniScan User Guide 56 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 5 Creating Custom Lists Adding Fundamental Scan Criteria The Criteria Rules section of the OmniScan window shows you all of the rules that are associated with a selected list. If you add many criteria rules and those rules are restrictive, you will most likely end up with a very specific (and small) list of securities that pass all of your criteria. There is no limit on the number of scan criteria you can add to your list. 1. Click on the Fundamental button in the Criteria Rules section. OmniScan adds a line to the Criteria Rules section that says (New Criteria) and the Fundamental Criteria Editor appears. fund editor Figure 5-5. Creating a New Fundamental Criteria Rule 2. In the Define Criteria Rule section, select the fundamental item you want to add from the Select Item drop-down menu. Nirvana Systems Inc. 57 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 5 Creating Custom Lists 3. Specify the parameters for the selected item using the Range, Below, and Above limit options or use the slider to set the values for the criteria. 4. Click the Apply button to add your new criteria rule to the scan. 5. Click OK to close the Fundamental Criteria Editor and return to the OmniScan window. Adding Technical Scan Criteria The Criteria Rules section of the OmniScan window shows you all of the rules that are associated with a selected list. If you add many criteria rules and those rules are restrictive, you will most likely end up with a very specific (and small) list of securities that pass all of your criteria. There is no limit on the number of scan criteria you can add to your list. 1. Click on the Technical button in the Criteria Rules section. OmniScan adds a line to the Criteria Rules section that says (New Criteria) and the Formula Builder appears. form bldr Figure 5-6. Formula Builder 2. Write your own technical scans using the indicators, operators, and other building blocks available. For more information about writing scans, refer to the Creating Technical Scans in Chapter 4, Creating Fundamental & Technical Scans. OmniScan User Guide 58 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 5 Creating Custom Lists 3. When the criteria rule is complete, click Apply. If the rule is invalid, you will see a compile error message, and you will be returned to the Formula Builder where you can modify your criteria rule. If the scan is valid, it is applied to the scan. 4. Click OK to close the Formula Builder and return to the OmniScan window. Adding Symbol, Index, Sector, Group, or Subgroup Criteria to a Technical Scan By default, OmniScan applies a criteria rule to the current symbol in the list. You can specify that OmniScan apply the criteria to the symbol s index, group, subgroup, or sector. This allows you to better define your lists by requiring a symbol s index, group, subgroup, or sector to pass a certain criteria. Note The Symbol option is restricted to only one option. You can either apply it to the currrent symbol in the list or to the symbol s index, group, subgroup, or sector. 1. Click on the Technical button in the Criteria Rules section. OmniScan adds a line to the Criteria Rules section that says (New Criteria) and the Formula Builder appears. form bldr Figure 5-7. Formula Builder Nirvana Systems Inc. 59 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 5 Creating Custom Lists 2. Write your own technical scans using the indicators, operators, and other building blocks available. For more information about writing scans, refer to the Creating Technical Scans in Chapter 4, Creating Fundamental & Technical Scans. 3. Click the Symbol... button to open the Symbols Input dialog box. symbol Figure 5-8. Symbols Input Dialog Box 4. By default, OmniScan applies the criteria rule to the current symbol in the list. Click the Specify option to apply the criteria rule to an index, sector, group, subgroup, or another symbol. 5. Either select one of the options from the drop-down menu or type a symbol into the text field. 6. Click OK to close the Symbols Input dialog box. 7. Click OK to close the Formula Builder and return to the OmniScan window. Notice that the Symbol column in the Criteria Rules section indicates whether the criteria rule is applied to the current symbol, index, sector, group, subgroup, or another symbol. symbol col Figure 5-9. Symbol Column Shows Criteria Applied to Group OmniScan User Guide 60 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 5 Creating Custom Lists Deleting Scan Criteria After creating a scan criteria, you may have reason to delete the criteria from the scan. 1. In the Symbol Lists section, select the list that contains the criteria rule you want to delete. This highlights the list. 2. In the Criteria Rules section, select the criteria rule you want to delete. 3. Click the Delete button to immediately remove the criteria rule from the scan. Modifying a Criteria Rule In order to modify the scan criteria for a particular list, you must first select the list. After you make a change, OmniScan immediately displays any modification that you make to a list. 1. In the Symbol Lists section, select the list that contains the criteria rule you want to modify. This highlights the list. 2. In the Criteria Rules section, select the criteria rule you want to modify. 3. Click the Edit button. OmniScan displays the Fundamental Criteria Editor or the Formula Builder, depending on whether the rule is a fundamental or technical rule. 4. Make your modifications to the criteria rule or the parameter values. 5. Click the Apply button to add your changes to the scan. 6. Click OK to close the editor/builder and return to the OmniScan window. Nirvana Systems Inc. 61 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 5 Creating Custom Lists Specifying the Order of Scan Criteria A security must pass every single criteria rule in order to be included in your scanned and filtered Scan List. As shown in Figure 5-10, the Criteria Rules section has Up and Down buttons. The Up and Down buttons serve as a tool for you to determine which scans filtered out the most symbols. If you notice that a scan is eliminating too few or two many symbols, you can move the various criteria up or down to see the total number of symbols left after OmniScan applies each criteria rule to the list. 1. Click the criteria rule that you want to reorder. This highlights the rule. crit rule Figure 5-10. Up and Down Buttons Specify Order of Completion for the Criteria Rules 2. Click the Up or Down buttons to move the rule and reorder the rules in the scan. OmniScan dynamically makes your changes. OmniScan User Guide 62 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 5 Creating Custom Lists Viewing the Results of a Scan You can view the results of any OmniScan by selecting a list from one of the folders in the Symbol Lists section of the OmniScan window. Click on custom list that you have created. OmniScan immediately displays the results of the scan in your Scan List. Note OmniScan does not automatically get the latest data available. In order to collect the latest historical and current price data from OmniData, you need to run your To Do List. Nirvana Systems recommends that you download the latest data available before creating or performing a scan. scanview Figure 5-11. Symbol Lists in OmniScan Nirvana Systems Inc. 63 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 5 Creating Custom Lists The Criteria Rule Library makes it easy for you to create custom scans, save them to the library, and quickly add them to other scans. Also, if you make changes to a scan in the Criteria Library, those changes will be replicated in every scan that contains that criteria rule. The following sections explain how you can use the options and tools in the Criteria Library. Adding a Criteria Rule to the Criteria Library As you create new criteria rules, you can add them to the library using the Save To Library button. You can also open the Criteria Library directly and add them directly to the library. 1. After you have created your fundamental or technical scan, click the Save to Library button. For more information about creating a fundamental or technical rule, refer to Adding Fundamental Scan Criteria or Adding Technical Scan Criteria in this chapter. save lib Figure 5-12. Save to Criteria Library Dialog Box 2. In the Save As field, type the name for your new criteria rule. 3. Click the Save button. OmniScan saves your criteria rule to the library, adds the rule to the current scan, and returns you to the OmniScan window. OmniScan User Guide 64 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 5 Creating Custom Lists Note You may see the Building OmniScan Cache for Fast Technical Scans window. During this process, OmniScan is loading optimized data into memory in order to make your scans faster. Editing a Rule in the Criteria Library Once you have created a new rule in OmniScan, you may want to make changes to it. You cannot edit any of the default lists included with OmniScan. The only criteria rules that you can modify are the rules that you have created. 1. In the Criteria Rules section of OmniScan, click the Library button. OmniScan displays the Criteria Rule Library dialog box. crit lib example Figure 5-13. Criteria Rule Library 2. Highlight the criteria rule that you want to edit by clicking on the rule in the Technical or Fundamental Rules tab. 3. Click the Edit button. OmniScan displays either the Fundamental Criteria Editor or the Formula Builder. 4. Make your changes to the criteria rule, and click the Save button. Nirvana Systems Inc. 65 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 5 Creating Custom Lists Deleting a Rule from the Criteria Library When you delete a rule from the Criteria Library, OmniScan deletes the rule from the Criteria Library list but not from OmniScan lists that already use the rule. If there are current scans that use the rule, OmniScan removes the criteria name from the rule but leaves the underlying calculation in the scan. You cannot delete any of the default lists included with OmniScan. 1. In the Criteria Rules section of OmniScan, click the Library button. OmniScan displays the Criteria Rule Library dialog box. 2. Highlight the criteria rule that you want to delete by clicking on the rule in the Technical or Fundamental Rules tab. 3. Click the Delete button. Figure 5-14. Confirm Deletion of Criteria Rule from Library 4. Click Yes to permanently delete the criteria rule from the Criteria Rule Library. OmniScan User Guide 66 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 5 Creating Custom Lists Renaming a Rule in the Criteria Library When you rename a rule in the Criteria Library, the rule is also renamed in any scans that use the rule. You cannot rename any of the default lists included with OmniScan. 1. In the Criteria Rules section of OmniScan, click the Library button. OmniScan displays the Criteria Rule Library dialog box. 2. Highlight the criteria rule that you want to rename by clicking on the rule in the Technical or Fundamental Rules tab. 3. Click the Rename button. 4. Type the new name of your rule into the text field. rename rule Figure 5-15. Rename Rule in Criteria Library 5. Press <Enter> on your computer keyboard to submit the name you have typed for the criteria rule. Nirvana Systems Inc. 67 OmniScan User Guide
Chapter 5 Creating Custom Lists Duplicating a Rule in the Criteria Library You can duplicate the default criteria rules as well as any rules you have created. This option is useful if you have a rule that you would like to add scan criteria to while maintaining the integrity of the original rule. This option is also useful if you want to modify any of the default criteria rules included with OmniScan. You can duplicate the list, name it something different, and make your changes to the criteria. 1. In the Criteria Rules section of OmniScan, click the Library button. OmniScan displays the Criteria Rule Library dialog box. 2. Highlight the criteria rule that you want to duplicate by clicking on the rule in the Technical or Fundamental Rules tab. 3. Click the Duplicate button. 4. Type the new name of your rule into the text field. dup rule Figure 5-16. Duplicate Rule in Criteria Library 5. Press <Enter> on your computer keyboard to submit the name you have typed for the criteria rule. OmniScan User Guide 68 nirvanasystems.com
Chapter 5 Creating Custom Lists Adding a Criteria Rule from the Library to Your Scan There are several ways to add a criteria rule from the Criteria Library to your scans. As you create new criteria rules in the Formula Builder, you can add rules from the Criteria Library using the Building Block drop-down menu. You can also open the Criteria Library directly and add them using the Insert Rule. Possibly the simplest way to add a criteria rule is to select it from the Library drop-down menu in the Criteria Rules section of the OmniScan window. 1. In the Criteria Rules section of OmniScan, click the drop-down menu arrow on the Library button. OmniScan displays the Criteria Rule drop-down menu. crit menu Figure 5-17. Criteria Rule Drop-Down Menu 2. Select the criteria rule you want to add to your scan. OmniScan immediately adds the rule to your scan and displays the results of the scan in your Scan List. Figure 5-18. Nirvana Systems Inc. 69 OmniScan User Guide