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FAQ
Trade
Import Expert™
Frequently
Asked Questions:
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| General Questions | Conversion | Converting Ranges | Display Issues | Folders | Memory Requirements |
| Output Formats | Processing Accounts | Processing Alerts | Setting The Side | Trade Reconciliation |
TIE™ can process a Russell™ 3000 list in several seconds.
Excel is an excellent tool, but it is not designed to import trade lists. TIE™ is many times faster than Excel™ and fully validates each order. In addition, TIE™ can process noisy data and detect errors. Finally, TIE™ gives trade summary statistics allowing the trader to confirm the order with the client in seconds. This allows the trader to focus on how to trade the list effectively.
TIE™ utilizes a proprietary parsing technology from Software Intelligence, Inc.
1.4 Can I enter orders manually in TIE™?
Orders can be entered manually in TIE™'s Excel folder, by typing data directly into the cells in the grid.
1.5 What does it mean if I am opening a file into TIE™ and I get an Excel™ Read Sheet Error?
It usually means that the file was written using an older version of Excel™ that is no longer supported. Try copying and pasting the data into TIE™'s Tabular folder, to process the order.
1.6. How do I clear the screen?
Click on the Clear button in the center of TIE™'s toolbar.
1.7 How do I open another file without clearing the one I already have open?
Click on the New button, which is displayed with a white page icon on the left side of the TIE™ toolbar, then open the file into the new TIE™ window.
TIE™ will display "Done" on the Status Bar when processing is completed.
2.2 Can I begin processing a new list while resolving problems with another list?
Absolutely! TIE™ is an MDI application which allows multiple instances to run simultaneously. To start a new instance of TIE™, simply click the New icon on the toolbar. Each instance is independent.
2.3. What should I do if there is a conflict between security identifiers?
Several options are available. A) You can set the correct security identifier or the column containing the correct security identifier(s) you want to use. B) You can delete or correct and replace the wrong security identifier. C) You can press Shift+Right Click over the identifier to initiate FastFind, select the correct security and click the Security Reference dialog box paste button to insert the new information into the order. After any of these options is executed, then reconvert.
2.4 What should I do if one of my alert lights is red?
A security alert indicates that there is a row in the list that did not convert. An example would be a row containing an outdated security identifier, which needs to be corrected. Another example would be a row containing extraneous data such as a header, in which case it can be ignored.
A conflict alert indicates that there is a conflict between data elements in a security row. It may be caused by an error in the security information the client sent, in which case it needs to be resolved by finding out which security the client wants to trade, and then setting the correct identifier. A country abbreviation may match a ticker creating a conflict with the sedol, setting security the attributes will resolve the conflict.
A price alert indicates that one or more of the reference prices a client sent is out of range with the prior night's closing price, by plus or minus 5% or more. It is up to the trader's discretion whether this can be ignored, or should be researched.
The account alert indicates an account imbalance, meaning the total allocation shares processed doesn't match the total shares processed for the list. This may be caused by an unknown client account, in which case the account names need to be set so that all the allocations can be processed.
2.5 What should I do if my Reconciliation lights are red?
First check to see if you also have any security or conflict alerts that are red, indicating that an order was not converted. Usually correcting invalid security data or a conflict will resolve the issue.
If there are no red alert lights, then check the client's total against the actual total of the shares in the list and make certain there is no error in the information that was given. If the client's total is off, it is up to the trader's discretion whether to research the issue further or to ignore the alert.
2.6 What if my Reconciliation lights are gray?
If the reconciliation lights are grayed out, it simply means that the client did not include a share total at the end of the list or totals following each buy and sell section of the list, so there is nothing to compare.
3.1. Why does TIE™ use spin controls for processing ranges?
TIE™ processes huge program trades. It is too easy to make errors selecting ranges with the mouse. The spin controls are slightly slower to use, however, they provide visual feedback. In addition, the values in the spin controls are not automatically reset, allowing the same conversion to be repeated for reference purposes.
3.2. Can ranges be processed by highlighting selection ranges with the mouse?
Yes, ranges can be processed by highlighting the selection with the mouse. However, the selection range will have to be re-highlighted each time an order is converted. If attributes need to be set, this should be done prior to highlighting the range.
4.1. Why does TIE™ display only 2/3 of the application window when I am using large format mode?
There is currently no way for TIE™ to determine what mode the driver is in. The small font mode is roughly 96 pixels/inch while the large font mode is 120 pixels/inch. Since, there is no way through MFC or SDK to determine the mode, TIE™ relies on the user. To adjust for this problem click the Large/small font button on the toolbar until the screen looks correct.
4.2. What screen resolutions can TIE™ operate in?
TIE™ was designed to use XVGA mode 1024 * 768 or greater.
4.3. How do I resize the application to adjust the appearance?
To adjust the screen size, simply grab a corner of the application with the mouse and drag. TIE™'s onSize() event will adjust the size and locations of all the controls on the screen proportionally.
4.4. How can I view all the lists I have open in TIE™?
To view all the lists you have open in TIE™ at any one time, go to the TIE™ menu at the top of the screen and select WINDOW and then CASCADE or TILE.
TIE™ utilizes folders to display processing stages in a pipeline. There are input and output folders. Each stage of processing can be viewed or edited from its respective folder.
5.A.1. What can I do if TIE™ did not calculate the columns correctly?
If, due to several rows of leading text or summary data,TIE™ has miscalculated the column boundaries, these can be adjusted in the Tabular folder. This is done by clicking on the column boundary in the header area for that column, holding down the Shift key and dragging the boundary to its new location,and then releasing the mouse button. A drag to the left will bisect a column. A drag to the right will merge the columns.
5.A.2. How do I adjust the column boundaries?
Column boundaries, can be adjusted by clicking on the column boundary in the header area for that column, holding down the Shift key and dragging the boundary to its new location,and then releasing the mouse button. A drag to the left will bisect a column. A drag to the right will merge the columns.
5.A.3. How do I delete a column?
To delete a column, click on the column header to select the entire column, and then click the delete button on the toolbar.
A selection range is a set of cells which are grouped together. To select a range simply hold down the control key and click the cells to form a range, or drag over the cells with the mouse. When the range is selected, the cells will be highlighted.
Columns in the Tabular folder can be bisected or merged, but not widened, at the moment. (Columns in the Country, Total, and side folders can be adjusted to increase or decrease the display width.)
To bisect a column, place the cursor in the header area, over the right column boundary of the column you wish to bisect, until the cursor arrow changes to a vertical line with an arrow running through it. Then, hold down the Shift key while holding down the left mouse button and drag the boundary to the left. Releasing the mouse button will place the column boundary in its new location. A drag to the left will bisect a column. A drag to the right will merge the columns.
To merge a columns, place the cursor in the header area, over the leftmost column boundary of the columns you wish to merge, until the cursor arrow changes to a vertical line with an arrow running through it. Then hold down the Shift key and the left mouse button and drag the boundary to the right. Releasing the mouse button will place the column boundary in its new location, merging all columns in between. A drag to the right will merge columns. A drag to the left will bisect a column.
The Input folder displays the original file in its original format. The only files that do not display in the input folder are Excel files, whose content is displayed in the Excel folder.
5.C.1. Why do my Excel sheets behave differently in TIE™?
TIE™ does not process Excel macros. Worksheets which contain buttons with macros can be displayed and converted, however, the buttons will not function.
5.C.2. Do I have to bring each Excel worksheet from one order into TIE™ separately?
When an Excel file has multiple worksheets, TIE™ will display the worksheet tabs in the Excel folder. You do not have to bring them in separately. You can convert each one by clicking on its tab, converting and uploading the worksheet. Simply repeat the process for each additional worksheet.
5.D.1. How do I widen a column to view all of its contents?
Place your cursor in the column header, over the right field delimiter. When the cursor arrow becomes a line with double arrow through it, hold down the left mouse button and drag the edge of the column to the right. While holding down the left mouse button, you can drag the column border to the right or left, to increase or decrease the column width.
5.D.2. Can I edit data in the Total folder?
5.D.3. Can I sort the data in the Total folder?
5.D.4. How do I display the account allocations?
Allocation details for each order in the Total folder are displayed by clicking on a toggle button marked "SUB ACCT" located just left of the reference buttons on the toolbar
5.E.1. Can I sort this Country folder results by side?
5.E.2. Can I sort the Country folder results by account?
5.F.1. How do I correct errors in the Unknown folder without having to reprocess the entire list?
The row in the Unknown folder can be edited and corrected incrementally. To make incremental fixes, simply correct the errors in the Unknown folder and click the Convert button.
5.F.2. How can I determine whether my incremental correction worked?
When the correction is successful, the error will be removed from the Unknown folder, and an order for the security will be added to the Total folder.
6.1. Why do I get "low on virtual memory" errors when I run TIE™?
TIE™ caches 10,000 tickers and 1,000 accounts in client memory for processing. These collections utilize ~25 megabytes of RAM. To eliminate the low on virtual memory error you must increase the amount of virtual memory.
6.2. Memory on my workstation is a critical resource. Is there a way to use less memory?
The best way to reduce the memory requirement is to reduce the number of tickers cached.
6.3. How do I reduce the number of tickers cached?
To reduce the number of tickers cached you must alter the rdbms query, which retrieves the tickers, by providing a filtering constraint. An example might be to select only the tickers which have exceeded some threshold.
There are several ways for TIE™ to output the converted list. TIE™ can be configured to use SI's Parser Loader/Unloader. TIE™ can be customized to use RogueWave's DBTools.h++rdbms class library which provides access to: Oracle, Sybase, SQL Server, ODBC, Ingress, Informix, or DB2. TIE™ can also be configured to output FIX messages.
8.1. Why is my Account Alert light red?
The Account Alert light will light up red if there is some sort of an account imbalance. When the allocation share total does not equal the total shares for the order, TIE™ generates an account imbalance warning.
TIE™ gets its account information from your company's account data. If a client has sent new account names that have not yet been added to the database, TIE™ will not automatically recognize them. You must set these accounts and reconvert the file so that TIE™ can allocate the orders.
If account names are not automatically recognized, then you can manually set the sub-accounts, and reconvert the file.
On the tool bar at the top of the TIE™ screen, slightly left of center, is a button marked "SUB ACCT". This button works like a toggle switch. You click it once to display the allocations, and click it again to only display the aggregate shares.
Red warns the user of a problem, Green lets the user know that there are no problems, and Gray means the alert does not apply.
A security alert warns the user if any of the securities in the list have one of the following issues:
A conflict alert warns the user of the following situations:
A price alert warns the user when a client price is out of range of the prior night's closing price by +/- 5% for one or more securities in the list.
An account alert warns the user when there is an account imbalance, or when one or more of the accounts is not known.
The security alert can be red if there are duplicated security ids in the list or if a security has a "Bad Symbol" notation in the database. While these situations will not prevent an order, TIE™ alerts the user of the special situation.
TIE™ can deduce side at the order level or at the list level. On each line TIE™ recognizes various side synonyms of one character or greater. TIE™ can also detect a side and apply it to a range of adjacent rows when the side synonym is greater than three characters in length. TIE can also infer the side from the sign of the shares.
Yes. You can manually override TIE™'s side selection by using the side radio buttons located on TIE™'s control panel to the right of the screen. To override, select any radio button other than deduce and reconvert the order.
In TIE™'s Tools menu there is an Advanced Features selection. The Advanced Features dialog box has a check box for deducing side by the sign of the shares. If you wish to be required to set the side manually, uncheck this box. The result is that if there is more than one side indicator, TIE™ will still deduce the sides for you, however, when the sign of all shares in the list is identical, TIE™ will pop up a warning telling the user to set the side manually.
The LEDs give visual feedback on the results of the conversion.
Green means the list has reconciled. Gray means there was no trade summary information in the file. Red indicates there is a problem.
Usually, but not always. In a small percentage of cases a red LED means that TIE™ misinterpreted additional data to be a summary record. In this case, the record is merely "noise" and the results are probably fine. Check the Unknown folder for these records, then delete them from the Tabular folder and try reconverting.
TIE™'s reconciliation lights only display reconciliation of the total shares per side.
TIE™ will try to interpret records with no orders which contain share quantities as trade summary records. If the quantities detected in these records match the sum of either buys, sells, or totals, TIE™ will set the appropriate LED to green. If the numbers do not match, TIE™ will set the LED to red. If there are no such records, TIE™ will set the LEDs gray.