sean.dbtrader

Is it possible to check the coordinates of a Control that I've captured?

Once I've captured the Focused Control. I would like to have the macro behave differently if the control is in a different position. (e.g. I may have multiple Lightspeed windows open and I want to link each of those windows to there own TradeStation window).

Success! I solved problem 2 by also using controls. Here is the final script that seems to work very well:

I think I just solved Problem 1. Instead of using Text Type and clipboard copy I switched to Capture Control from Focused Control and then Get Control Text from that control. It seems to work much better that way.

I have the full macro working, except it is not consistent. There seem to be 2 problems.

Problem 1:

The first command is Text Type: <SHIFTD><HOME><SHIFTU> to highlight the ticker that I just typed and then I do a clipboard copy. This works the first time and maybe the second and third time I run the macro, but after a few runs it seems to stop working. I put in a delay of 2 seconds so I can see what is happening. When it stops working the text is not highlighted but the cursor goes to the start. So the <HOME> command still runs, but it is like the SHIFT key is not being pressed. What could cause the macro to start behaving differently?

Problem 2:

The TradeStation behavior is also inconsistent. I'm calling Window Activate, then Type Clipboard Text, then Text Type: <ENTER> and then Wait for Text Playback. In some cases this works and at other times it seems the platform was activated but the text did not go through. I'm wondering if this might be a timing issue and I need to delay just a little bit after activating the window.

I figured out the issue with the activation. TradeStation is running as an administrator so I needed to run Macro Express as administrator also. Now the simple activation and text type script works.

I found some old posts on the forum about TradeStation that were helpful.

I also tried using the Get Control command. Again, this works with Notepad. But if I try to set this up with TradeStation I get an error "You must first select a control. Please correct". It is like it does not consider the TradeStation child window I selected to be a control.

I've attached a screenshot of this error.

OK, I've run into my first problem. At this point I'm just trying to create a macro to activate the window and type some text to change the ticker (e.g. GOOG). I was able to get this to work with Notepad, but it doesn't work with the trading platform I'm using, TradeStation.

If I manually activate the window, type the text "GOOG" and press enter it changes the chart symbol to GOOG. However, the macro does not change the chart symbol. I can see it activate the window but the text never goes through.

I've attached a screenshot of the simple script.

Yes, I have a multi-monitor setup. However, for this particular solution both applications will be on the same monitor and visible.

I would be happy to post screenshots, but I can't even log in to one of the platforms right now because the trading servers are offline over the weekend. I'll post screenshots early next week.

I think the solution posted by rberq would work. I'm going to try creating a script using his steps, but this would be my first Macro Express script so any help would be greatly appreciated.

No more than 1 second. Do you think that the macro would work that fast?

Both platforms are windows apps.

Thanks for your input rberq, but that sounds like it will take too long. I need this process to be fast and automatic. I need the program to detect that the ticker has been changed in one window and automatically change it in the other window.

Any other thoughts on how I can solve this problem?

I would like to know if I can use Macro Express to solve a problem. I use two different trading platforms. When I type a stock ticker (a string of no more than 4 characters) into a window in one of the platforms (the sending platform) I would like that same string to be entered into a window of the other platform (the receiving platform). Is there any way to do this using Macro Express?

The sending platform has an external linking feature, but it does not work with the receiving platform I'm using.