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eSignal QLink

By Jay Frank, Product Manager

I’m pleased to announce the launch of eSignal QLink, which heralds the arrival of the next generation of DDE functionality. QLink makes it easy to bring essential market data into Microsoft Excel, such as Last, Net, Volume, and so on, with a unique toolbar that is automatically integrated within Excel.

For the first time, historical bar and tick data is available to eSignal users through a DDE interface. In addition, eSignal QLink comes with a DDE API for users wishing to create direct formula entries for use with Excel’s Visual Basic for Applications programming language.

Bar Data in Excel

Need to pull down the historical Open, High, Low, Close and Volume data for a 5-, 15- or 60-minute chart? You now have the ability to do so with eSignal QLink. Perhaps you’ll want to use the data for building your own graphical displays using Excel’s built-in charting. There’s a sample of doing just this included in the QLink download.

You can also use this chart data for building and tracking your own indicators. Excel has a powerful formula language that enables savvy technicians to create a variety of studies directly into an array of cells. Alternatively, you can use Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to bring even more options to the table.

Streaming Quote Data

More than 45 data fields are available for importing into your spreadsheets. You’ll have all your typical Quote Window columns available, such as the Last price, the High of the day and the total Volume. Some additional indicators may also prove useful to your trade analysis:

• % In Range -- Quickly determine where the current price is in relation to the High / Low Range.
• VWAP -- Volume Weighted Average Price is often used by institutions to determine if a company is trading at a discount or a premium.

 

Time & Sales

View streaming trade-by-trade and quote-by-quote data flowing directly into your data sheets. A knowledgeable Excel / VBA user can take advantage of these data streams to look for possible scalping opportunities. Historical trades, along with their size, exchange, time and date, provide a personal record for you to track exactly what the market was doing at that time.

Direct Formula Entries

For the higher-end users who demand even more from DDE, QLink comes with an API to allow for further customization either through a direct formula entry in a cell or by using Excel’s programming language, Visual Basic for Applications.

If you have used eSignal’s former DDE methods, you are likely familiar with this process. A direct formula entry request could look something like this:

=QLink|Bars!'MSFT,5,100,DTOHLCV'

This would provide 100 bars with a 5-minute interval of Microsoft. The letters at the end of that request represent the various fields that are available, such as Date, Time, Open, High, and so on.

30 Days Free

You can now take QLink out for a spin for 30 days, free. Head on over to your Account Maintenance page and log in. From there, click on Add / Cancel Add-on Services and follow the remaining instructions. You can find the QLink application on eSignal’s Download Page.