Videos

Watching the videos is the fastest way to learn the mechanics of using the NeuroShell Trader. Once you’ve mastered the mechanics, you can begin to craft successful trading systems.

You must have a speaker and sound card on your computer to properly view these video files.

Click on the each topic below to view the corresponding video. The script for each video is included in a help topic with the same name in the NeuroShell Trader help file.

The videos are displayed in the Camtasia Player. If you’re having trouble seeing the entire video, select the Play Menu, and click on Full Screen. When you’re viewing in Full Screen mode, you need to right mouse click anywhere on the screen to view a list of Camtasia Player controls.

Overview

Getting Started – Watch the videos, set up a data source, and learn how to get help.

Charts

Create a chart and save it – Go the File Menu and select New Chart. You'll be asked to specify the time frame and ticker symbol.

Open an existing chart – From the File Menu select Open Chart and browse the directory which includes a previously saved chart that you want to open.

Format data series – Change the name, color, or line style of a data series.

Chart views – In addition to the default chart, you can view a snapshot of data values, historical data, or an entire portfolio.

E-mail a chart – Send a chart with data to another user or to tech support.

Zoom controls – Click on the magnifying glass for a closer look at your data.

Existing Data and Other Instrument Data – Display data from the chart or other instruments.

Drag and drop subgraphs – Rearrange subgraphs on the chart using the mouse.

Format a chart – Right click on the chart to changes dates, height, and colors.

Deleting Data – Rename a data series, or delete data from a chart.

Drawing tools – Add trend lines, channels, Fibbonaci retracements, lines, text, and more.

User chart templates – Store your favorite charts for later use.

Trader chart templates – Easily apply standard technical analysis studies in the NeuroShell Trader.

Workspaces – Save your favorite charts in a workspace that may be opened all at once .

Add chart pages – Automatically apply your model to other instruments.

Display multiple charts – Open more than one chart and arrange them on the screen.

Indicators

Indicator options – Use the Tools menu, options for wizards, to select indicator categories to display, move categories up and down, display different colors for multiple indicators, select the option to save custom indicators or a DayTrader option to cross day boundaries.

Insert an indicator – Add one of the more than 800 indicators to your chart.

Modifying indicator default parameters – Change the number of periods over which to calculate an indicator such as Relative Strength Index, the number of periods in a moving average, etc.

Indicator shortcuts – Build indicators with multiple parameters, parameter ranges, etc.

Complex indicators – Use either the bottom up or top down method to build multipart indicators.

Bottom up method – Create individual indicators and then combine them into a complex indicator.

Top down method – Construct a single indicator based on other indicators.

Custom indicators – Turn on the option for custom indicators and create your own indicator categories.

Building Trading Models

Traditional Trading Strategies

Build a Trading Strategy – Create trading rules based on an indicator with the Trading Strategy wizard.

Dates – Select dates for building and testing your model.

Sizing – Specify the size of trades similar to your trading style to accurately calculate profit and commissions.

Costs – Enter commissions, margin percentage, slippage, point values.

Advanced – Select an objective for building the model, choose from four different optimization methods, set limits on how long to train the model, and specify an average trade span.

Setting Optimization Ranges – Choose whether or not to optimize parameters in trading rules, and set optimization ranges for parameters you select.

Session Start End Times – Specify the first time and last time displayed on the chart and used in calculations.

Applying Trading Strategies – Apply the trading rules you've developed to new data for the same instrument.

Applying Trading Strategies to other instruments - Add additional chart pages to test the same rules on other stocks, futures, Forex, etc. Learn how to answer questions about retraining the model.

Built-in Trading Strategy Templates – Choose from popular systems such as RSI or Moving Average Crossovers.

Save Trading Strategy Template – Develop a library of trading rules that may be applied to any market.

Neural Network Predictions

Neural Nets Overview – Understand how neural nets learn to make predictions from patterns in past data.

Create Your Own Prediction – Create a prediction model with price momentum and regression slope indicators.

Prediction Output Tab – Select what you want to predict and how far ahead in the future to make the prediction.

Dates – Choose sections of the data file for evaluating the model and specify time periods for signals in intraday charts.

Shares – Enter information such as the size of your account balance or the number of shares you want the model to trade.

Costs – Enter commissions, margin percentage, slippage, point values.

Positions – Decide if you want the prediction to trade long and/or short, and specify the trading thresholds.

Training – Set a training objective for the neural network, as well as the number of hidden neurons to use in the network.

Optimization – Select an optimization method as well as how long to train the model and the average trade span.

Save prediction template – Save a prediction template for use in other charts.

Built-in prediction templates – Choose from prediction templates based on popular indicators.

What to predict and which inputs to use – Learn how to build successful predictions.

Prediction results – Examine the results in order to determine if the model is successful.

Applying Models and Examining Results

Equity curves and position indictors – Examine the success of a model using the Trader’s Trading Strategy system and position indicators. Learn how to use the trading signal from one model in another model.

Applying Trading Strategies and Predictions to new data – Either open the chart with new data from a datafeed or update a data text file and open the chart in order to view current trading signals.

Applying Trading Strategies and Predictions to new stocks, futures, etc – Add chart pages to apply existing models to new instruments.

Portfolio view – Display the data and trading signals for all of the instruments in a chart in summary form.

Data Feeds and Files

Data overview – Use data from a data vendor or your own text files to create models in the Trader.

Data servers – Choose from several different end-of-day or intraday data feeds that work with NeuroShell Trader. Either choose the data feed from the servers list included with the Trader or download data feed programs directly from the vendors.

Compatible types of data files – Choose from text files saved in .CSV format, as well as CSI and MetaStock formats.

Mapping data files – Designate folders on your computer that store data files you want to use in the Trader.

Modifying data in a chart – Correct bad data ticks by modifying a price or volume data stream.

Exporting data from a chart – Export chart data and graphs from the Trader using the Tools menu.

Alerts

Alerts and orders window – Add sound or screen warnings to your Trading Strategy.

Integrated Trading

Sending orders from Trader to a brokerage or E-mail account – Choose to send trades from a Trading Strategy directly to a brokerage or to a list of E-mail addresses.

Choosing a broker or E-Mail list – Select trading options such as sounds and pop-up confirmations, or choose a broker or the order E-mailer option.

Interactive Brokers installation – Install the Trader WorkStation trading platform to accept trades from the NeuroShell Trader.

Sending orders to Interactive Brokers – Send orders directly to Interactive Brokers based on signals from a Trading Strategy in the Trader.

Order Emailer – Learn how to set up the Trader’s Order Emailer with or without an E-mail account on the trading computer.

Trading Forex

Forex sizing and costs – Learn how to set the sizing and costs tab in the Trading Strategy Wizard when building models for Forex.

When to use exchange rates – Set up the Trader to show results in your home money denomination, as well as trade based on an account balance.

Exchange rate terminology – Find out how the Trader uses the terms base, quote, and home to set up exchange rates.

How to set exchange rates - Learn to set the exchange rates in either the Prediction or Trading Strategy wizards, and select the appropriate symbol that will be used as an exchange rate. 

Optimization

How optimization works in Trading Strategies – Learn how optimization changes parameters such as the number of periods in a moving average indicator in order to create a more profitable trading rule.

How optimization works in Predictions – Discover how optimization selects indicators and/or changes indicator parameters when they are used as inputs to a neural network.

Optimization algorithm – Choose from among GeneHunter, evolution strategy, swarm, and brute force optimization methods.

Multi-core distributed optimization – Set up NeuroShell Trader to distribute optimization processing across multiple computer cores and multiple hyper threads on a single computer for faster results.

Scanning

Ticker Scanning – Scan a large number of ticker symbols based on single or multiple rules and/or indicators.

Portfolio Analysis

Chart Page Calculations – Use these special indicators to decide which stocks, futures, etc. to buy and which to sell in order to maximize your portfolio equity.

Options

Setting NeuroShell Trader Options – Set preferences for your trading style.

Activate/Deactivate

Activate and Deactivate the Trader – Deactivate before you want to use Trader on another computer or when you make changes to the computer where Trader is installed.

Power User Videos

Multiple Frequencies on the Same Chart – Adds the ability to mix and match multiple time frame data, indicators, predictions, and trading strategies.

Position Sizing – Adds options for determining how many shares/units to buy with each trade. Includes the option to let the optimizer choose the best position sizing parameters and/or method.

Pyramiding/Scaling – Adds the ability increase or decrease a position in increments. The optimizer can determine the max number of entries and percentage change for each increase or decrease.

Pyramiding/Scaling Fixed Shares – Explains the relationship between setting a fixed number of shares on the Sizing tab and the scaling settings on the Pyramiding tab.

Position Size Graph Notation – Trader charts display the number of shares/units to buy or sell.

Walkforward Optimization – Trading Strategies only: Adds the ability to “walkforward” optimizations such that each new optimization is applied to a new out-of-sample actual trading period. This allows users to evaluate the out-of-sample performance of a strategy reoptimized regularly on newer data.

Multiple Template Optimization and Backtesting – Trading Strategies Only: Adds the ability to optimize and backtest multiple templates simultaneously using the same data, cost, position sizing, position scaling and optimization parameters.