FXCM setting up instructions and example DB - PREVIEW

This page describes how to connect to FXCM using our generic DDE plugin to DDE server called Order2GoDDE which is free tool provided by FXCM see: http://www.fxprogrammers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13

Our version of Order2GoDDE is fixed one (original did not work on fresh Windows installations).

CAVEAT: this is first "preview" version.

QUICK START INSTRUCTIONS ( 5 easy steps ):

1. download Order2Go runtime from: http://www.fxcorporate.com/Order2Go/FXOrder2GoRE.EXE and run it.
   
   
2. download FXCM sample DB pack from http://www.amibroker.com/bin/FXCMExampleDB.exe and run it.
   During installation pick the directory where AmiBroker was installed. The package includes sample database (with 1 day worth of data), updated DDE plugin and our fixed version of O2GDDE.exe.
   
   
3. Go to AmiBroker installation directory and double click on O2GDDE.exe file - this will run DDE server. Enter your FXCM account login and password and wait until it connects and displays a couple of quotes
   
   
4. Run AmiBroker, in AmiBroker choose File->Open Database... and pick FXCM subdirectory (under AB dir) and click OK. It will load the database filled with several currency pairs. You can go to View->Real Time quote to see quotes arriving. Important note: you need to put instruments you are interested in to your watch list in FXCM Trading Station software otherwise symbols won't update. Later on you can exit Trading Station - it is not required to be running once watch list is set up.
   
   
5. In order to display 4 decimal digits in real time quote window and on the charts, please go to Tools->Preferences, "Miscellaneous" tab and change marked settings:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

TROUBLESHOOTING INSTRUCTIONS IN CASE OF TROUBLE:

• Run AmiBroker

• Choose File->Open Database, choose FXCM subdir

• Make sure that data source selected is similar to this:
   
  
  
  
• Choose DDE universal data plugin from Data source combo and "Enable" from Local data storage
• Enter 10000 or more into "Number of bars to load" field

• Now choose Base time interval. Supported intervals are: EOD, hourly, 15-minute, 5-minute, 1-minute. Professional Edition of AmiBroker allows also to select Tick, 5-second, 15-second intervals.

• Click CONFIGURE button - Now make sure that Configure screen looks as follows:

  
  
• Click OK.

The Plugin status indicator should change from Yellow "WAIT" to Green "OK" within a few seconds.

If it does not turn to "OK" state it means that eiter:

a) server name and/or fields are not set up correctly
  or
b) DDE server (3rd party application) is not running or is not enabled

If indicator shows "OK" - then real time qutoes flow into AB. You can check it by displaying View->Real time quote. Note: since there is no backfill you would need to wait for at least 3 bars of data to be collected before chart shows up.

NOTES ON DDE PLUGIN:

1. There is NO BACKFILL in DDE plugin. You can use however ASCII importer (this includes AmiQuote) to import historical data right into the database that you will update later in real time using DDE plugin.

2. Change, % change fields are NOT available (yet)

3. Time and Req fields are now ignored (this may change in the future)

4. The current system time is used to timestamp each tick.

5. When your source does not offer "LAST" price (like several Forex sources) you should make "Last" field EMPTY in the configuration dialog. This will tell the plugin to use "BID" field instead.

6. Plugin status (connected/disconnected) always initially comes up with "Wait" state (Yellow indicator). It means that no DDE conversation has been established. If at least ONE DDE conversation starts successfully it will turn to "OK" state (green indicator). If DDE server was not running at first attempt to connect, the plugin wil NOT attempt to reconnect automatically. Instead you should force reconnection manually (see point 7). The indicator may turn to "Disconnected" (red indicator) only in two cases:

 a) you were connected properly but DDE server (3rd party app) has been closed

 b) you selected "shutdown" from plugin status menu

7. You can reconnect at any time by selecting "reconnect" from plugin status menu.