Lab: Install AmiBroker and Verify Your Setup

By the end of this lab you will have AmiBroker running, you will be able to state your version, edition and bitness from evidence inside the program rather than from memory of what you downloaded, you will know where the three windows this course lives in are, and you will have a written setup record.

That last item is the point of the lab. Everything else takes ten minutes. The record takes five, and it is what stops a lesson in Part 22 from failing for a reason you could have discovered today.

Step 1 — Install

Download the setup program from AmiBroker’s download page and run it. The guide’s own instruction is that you can safely accept every default: click Next on each page and Install on the last one. If the installer asks to restart the machine, do it — it is replacing system components.

The default install location is C:\Program Files\AmiBroker, and the documentation calls this the main AmiBroker directory. That phrase appears repeatedly in later lessons — it is where the Formulas folder, the Plugins folder, the Formats folder and the sample data database live — so it is worth knowing where yours actually is if you changed it.

After installing, start AmiBroker from the Windows Start menu. You will see a splash window, then a pause of a few seconds while the quotation database loads, then the main screen: a toolbar across the top, a workspace pane on the left containing a symbol list, and chart windows filling the rest.

=Expected result

The default installation opens the sample database that ships with AmiBroker: the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, with a price chart and a couple of indicator panes already drawn. If your first launch shows charts with data in them, the install worked. You are looking at the sample data, not at anything you own.

⚠Warning

Do not build your work in the sample database. It is a demonstration dataset with a fixed set of thirty symbols and an end-of-day base interval that cannot usefully be changed later. The lesson after next creates a database of your own; leave the sample one intact so you always have a known-good database to compare against when something misbehaves.

If you already own a licence, install the licensed version from the Members’ Area rather than applying a key to the demo build — the demo build is not upgraded in place by a key. Registration for the 32-bit build uses ABReg.exe and for the 64-bit build ABReg64.exe, and running the wrong one produces no error message whatsoever. If a licence appears not to have taken, that is the first thing to check.

Step 2 — Confirm what you actually installed

Three facts, each read from the program rather than assumed.

▷Exercise

Open Help -> About. Write down two things: the full version number, and whether the dialog says 32-bit or 64-bit. The About box states the bitness explicitly; it is the definitive answer, and it is quicker than inspecting the install path.

For the edition, use capability rather than a label. The most reliable single test is the interval list, because the Standard edition has no tick or second bars at all:

▷Exercise

Open the View -> Intraday submenu and look at the entries for tick, 5-second and 15-second intervals. If they are absent or permanently unavailable even after you have an intraday database, you are on Standard. If they are present, you are on Professional.

Two caveats before you conclude anything. First, on a freshly installed sample database every intraday interval will be greyed out, in both editions, because the sample database has an end-of-day base interval. That is a database property, not an edition property, and the next lesson explains it in full. Second, the trial installer serves both editions and the documentation does not state which one it behaves as, so treat a trial result as provisional.

A second, complementary check exists once you have a database with data in it: the Real-Time Quote window holds at most 10 symbols on Standard and any number on Professional, and the Time and Sales window is limited to one symbol on Standard. Neither is useful yet, since you have no live feed, but both are worth remembering as confirmations for later.

✕Common mistake

People frequently try to determine their edition from the install folder name, the installer file name, or the presence of a menu item. None of these is reliable: the menu item for the AFL Code Wizard, for example, is present in stock AmiBroker even when the Wizard is neither installed nor licensed. Test capabilities, not appearances.

Step 3 — Find the three windows this course lives in

Almost everything in the remaining thirty-four parts happens in one of three places. Open each one now, so that when a lesson says “in the Analysis window”, you do not have to go looking.

The Formula Editor — Analysis -> Formula Editor. This is where AFL is written, checked and saved. Note two things about its toolbar, because the naming trips people up: the button is labelled Check syntax, while the equivalent menu item is Tools -> Verify syntax. Same action, two names. There is also a Formula Name edit field on the toolbar: type a name there and press Save to store the formula under it. The Apply indicator button puts the formula on the current chart.

⚠Warning

The Formula Editor’s Analysis button does more than it looks like it does. It saves the formula, selects it in the Analysis window, and repeats the most recently used analysis operation. If the last thing you ran was a portfolio backtest over the whole database, pressing Analysis starts another one. Until you know what the Analysis window is set to, prefer to open the Analysis window yourself and press the button you mean.

The Analysis window — Analysis -> New Analysis, or File -> New -> New Analysis, or the New Tab button in an existing Analysis window. This is where scans, explorations, backtests and optimizations run. Its three most important controls are the Apply to combo (All symbols, Current symbol, or Filter), the Range combo (All quotations, N recent bars, N recent days, or a From-To date pair), and the Settings button. Multiple Analysis windows may be open and running at once.

Preferences — Tools -> Preferences. Global program settings, arranged in tabs: Charting, Color, Editor, Data, Intraday, Miscellaneous, Alerts, AFL, Debugger and Currencies, plus an AI tab in version 7.00. You are not changing anything here yet, but two of its behaviours matter later and are worth reading now.

✦Tip

Two Preferences settings the guide itself recommends, both on the AFL tab: Stop parsing on first error should be off, so the editor lists every error in a formula at once instead of only the first; and Catch system exceptions in Indicators and commentaries should be on, so a run-time error prints in the chart pane rather than opening a crash-recovery dialog. Set both now and you will save yourself an afternoon later.

Two further panes are worth opening once so you recognise them: Window -> Symbols, the symbol tree with the category system in it, and Window -> Charts, the tree of chart formulas. Both are covered properly in the next lesson.

Step 4 — Run the setup report

Goal

You have read three facts out of dialog boxes. Now produce them as data, alongside something the dialogs cannot tell you: what is actually inside the database that is currently open. How many symbols, how many bars each, over what date range. This is the first AFL you will run in the course, and its job is to describe your environment rather than to say anything about markets.

The formula

Complete runnable AFL

setup-report.afl

// ===========================================================================
//  Setup report
//  One row per symbol describing what this installation and this database
//  actually hold. Written for the "Install AmiBroker and Verify Your Setup"
//  lab in Part 3 of the AmiBroker technical analysis course.
//
//  HOW TO RUN
//    Analysis -> Formula Editor, paste, save, press the Analysis button.
//    In the Analysis window set Apply to = All symbols and
//    Range = All quotations, then press Explore.
//
//  ASSUMPTIONS, STATED SO THEY CAN BE CHECKED
//    - The formula only reads. It writes nothing to the database.
//    - Interval() reports the interval of THIS analysis run, not the
//      database's base time interval. Change the Analysis window interval
//      and run it again if you want to see a different periodicity.
//    - "First bar" is the first bar inside the selected Range, which is only
//      the first bar ever stored if Range = All quotations.
//    - Version() returns the running AmiBroker version as a number, so 7.00.1
//      is reported as 7 rather than as a three-part version string. Read the
//      full build number from Help -> About instead.
// ===========================================================================

// One row per symbol: report on the last bar the analysis range contains.
Filter = Status( "lastbarinrange" );

// Replace the automatic Ticker and Date/Time columns with explicit ones, so an
// exported CSV explains itself without the reader needing this formula.
SetOption( "NoDefaultColumns", True );

BarsInRange  = Cum( 1 );                                  // 1 on the first bar
FirstBarDate = ValueWhen( BarsInRange == 1, DateTime() );

// Calendar span, not trading days: DaysSince1900 counts every day, so the
// difference is real elapsed time rather than a bar count.
FirstDayNumber = ValueWhen( BarsInRange == 1, DaysSince1900() );
CalendarYears  = ( DaysSince1900() - FirstDayNumber ) / 365.25;

AddTextColumn( Name(),        "Symbol",        1.0, colorDefault, colorDefault,  80 );
AddTextColumn( FullName(),    "Full name",     1.0, colorDefault, colorDefault, 200 );
AddTextColumn( Interval( 2 ), "Interval",      1.0, colorDefault, colorDefault,  90 );
AddColumn( Version(),         "AmiBroker",     1.2 );
AddColumn( BarsInRange,       "Bars",          1.0 );
AddColumn( FirstBarDate,      "First bar",     formatDateTime );
AddColumn( DateTime(),        "Last bar",      formatDateTime );
AddColumn( CalendarYears,     "Calendar years", 1.1 );

// Sort by bar count ascending so the thinnest histories - the ones most likely
// to break a study later - come to the top of the list rather than hide at the
// bottom of a long table.
SetSortColumns( 5 );

Download setup-report.afl51 lines

How it works

The formula has four logical sections.

The filter decides which bars produce a row. Filter = Status("lastbarinrange") evaluates to true on exactly one bar per symbol — the last one inside the range you selected — so the exploration produces one row per symbol rather than one row per bar. Without it, running over the sample database would emit tens of thousands of rows.

SetOption("NoDefaultColumns", True) turns off the automatic Ticker and Date/Time columns. Every column in the output is then one you asked for, which matters when the result is exported to CSV and read by someone who does not have the formula.

Two derived quantities are computed before any column is added. Cum(1) is a running count of bars, so it equals 1 on the first bar and the total bar count on the last one. ValueWhen(BarsInRange == 1, DateTime()) carries the first bar’s date forward to every subsequent bar, which is how a value from the start of the history becomes readable at the end of it. The calendar span uses DaysSince1900() rather than the bar count, because bars are trading days and the question “how much history is this” is a calendar question.

The columns are added in reading order, and the sort is deliberate. SetSortColumns(5) sorts ascending by the fifth column, the bar count, so the symbols with the least history appear first. Thin histories are what break studies later, and a report that hides them at the bottom of a long table is a report you will not read.

Key functions

Function	What it gives you
Version()	The running AmiBroker version as a number, so 7.00.1 reads as 7
Interval(2)	The name of the current analysis interval, as a string
Status("lastbarinrange")	1 on the last bar of the selected range, 0 elsewhere
Cum(1)	A running bar count, starting at 1
ValueWhen(condition, array)	The value the array had at the most recent bar where the condition was true
DaysSince1900()	Calendar days elapsed, so date arithmetic ignores weekends and holidays
SetSortColumns(n)	Sorts the result by column n; a negative number sorts descending

Expected result

Run it as an Exploration with Apply to = All symbols and Range = All quotations.

=Expected result

On the sample database you should get 30 rows, one per Dow component, with an interval of “Daily”, an AmiBroker version matching what Help -> About told you, bar counts in the low thousands, and first-bar dates in the same era for most symbols. Sorted ascending by bar count, any symbol with a noticeably shorter history sits at the top — which is exactly the sort of thing you want to know before you compare it against the others.

Test it

A report you cannot falsify is not evidence. Two checks:

1. Change the Range to 1 recent bar(s) and re-run. Every bar count should collapse to 1 and every first-bar date should equal the last-bar date. If it does not, the filter is not doing what you think it is.
2. Change the Analysis window’s interval to Weekly and re-run at All quotations. The interval column should read “Weekly” and every bar count should drop to roughly a fifth of the daily figure. This proves that the interval column reports the run rather than the database, which is the formula’s most important limitation.

Common errors

Symptom	Cause
Thousands of rows instead of one per symbol	The Filter line was edited or removed
Only one row appears	Apply to is set to Current symbol rather than All symbols
The interval column says “Daily” on an intraday database	Correct behaviour: it reports the analysis interval, not the base interval
Calendar years looks far too small	Range is not set to All quotations
Empty result, no error	The database has no symbols, or the range excludes all data

Extension

Add a column that flags symbols whose last bar is not the same as the newest last bar in the database — the ones that quietly stopped updating. You have everything you need: DateTime() on the filtered bar is that symbol’s last bar, and comparing it against the date you expect is a subtraction. That check becomes a lesson of its own in Part 12.

Step 5 — Record your capability level

This course uses three labels for what a setup can do. They are the course’s own shorthand, not AmiBroker terminology, and they exist so that lessons can say “Level A path” without restating the whole matrix each time.

Level	What you have	What it unlocks
A	Any edition, end-of-day data only, free sources	Parts 1–16 and 27–36 in full; the Level A path through Parts 17–26
B	Any edition plus an intraday feed at one-minute grain or above	Everything in A, plus Parts 19–26 worked at one-minute bars
C	Professional plus a real-time streaming feed	Everything in B, plus tick and second intervals, GetRTData(), unlimited streaming symbols, wait-for-backfill, MAE/MFE charts, and up to 32 analysis threads

Level A is the default and is entirely sufficient. The course is designed so that it can be completed end to end at Level A, and the two labs in this part are Level A work. If you are at Level A, say so in your record and stop worrying about it.

Step 6 — Write the setup record

Copy this into a text file and fill it in. Keep it somewhere you will find it: alongside your database folder is a good choice.

AMIBROKER SETUP RECORD
Date recorded:            .......................................
Version (Help -> About):  .......................................
32-bit or 64-bit:         .......................................
Edition (or "trial"):     .......................................
Main AmiBroker directory: .......................................
Windows version:          .......................................
RAM:                      .......................................

Course capability level:  A / B / C
Data source in use:       .......................................
Databases on this machine:
  1. path ................................ base interval .........
  2. path ................................ base interval .........

Preferences changed from default:
  - AFL tab: Stop parsing on first error = OFF
  - AFL tab: Catch system exceptions = ON
  - ...........................................................

!Important

The two database lines will be blank until the next lesson. Come back and fill them in then, and add a line every time you create another database. Knowing which database has which base interval, without opening each one, is worth more than it sounds — it is the single most common source of “why is this menu greyed out” for the rest of your AmiBroker life.

Verification checklist

What you should be able to do before moving on

1. 1State your version and bitnessRead from Help -> About, not from the installer filename
2. 2Justify your edition claimFrom a capability test, not from a label
3. 3Open the Formula Editor, the Analysis window and PreferencesBy menu path, without hunting
4. 4Run an exploration and read its outputThe setup report returns one row per symbol
5. 5Produce your setup recordWritten down, saved, findable

Work through it item by item. Everything below is a yes/no question with an answer you can point at.

• AmiBroker starts and shows the sample DJIA database with charts drawn.
• Help -> About reports a version number, and states 32-bit or 64-bit.
• You have run the interval test and formed a view on your edition, with the end-of-day-database caveat understood.
• Analysis -> Formula Editor opens, and you can find the Formula Name field and the Check syntax button on its toolbar.
• Analysis -> New Analysis opens, and you can find Apply to, Range and Settings.
• Tools -> Preferences opens, and Stop parsing on first error is now off while Catch system exceptions in Indicators and commentaries is on.
• The setup report runs and returns one row per symbol, sorted ascending by bar count.
• Both of the setup report’s tests behave as described.
• Your setup record file exists, is filled in as far as it can be, and you know where it is.

If any item fails, fix it now rather than continuing. Every one of them is a dependency of something later.

What changed in your understanding

You have moved from “I downloaded AmiBroker” to a set of statements about your installation that you could defend with evidence from inside the program. You have run AFL for the first time, in the mode that this course uses most — an exploration producing one row per symbol — and you have seen that a formula’s output depends on the Analysis window’s settings as much as on the code. You have a written record that later parts will refer back to.

You have also met the distinction that dominates the next lesson without it being named yet: the difference between a property of your installation and a property of your database. The greyed-out intraday menu is not a limitation of the program you installed. It is a consequence of a choice made when a database was created.

Check your understanding

Question 1. Why does the setup report use `Filter = Status("lastbarinrange")` rather than `Filter = 1`?

Filter = Status( "lastbarinrange" );

• Because Filter = 1 is invalid AFL
• To emit one row per symbol instead of one row per bar
• To restrict the exploration to the current symbol
• To make the exploration run on the daily interval only

Show the answer and why

Answer: To emit one row per symbol instead of one row per bar

Filter is evaluated on every bar, so `Filter = 1` would produce a row for every bar of every symbol. Status("lastbarinrange") is true on exactly one bar per symbol, which turns a bar-level exploration into a symbol-level report. This idiom recurs throughout the course.

Question 2. On a freshly installed AmiBroker showing the sample database, every entry under View -> Intraday is greyed out. What does that tell you?

• You have the Standard edition
• The installation is corrupt
• The open database has an end-of-day base time interval
• You need a real-time data subscription

Show the answer and why

Answer: The open database has an end-of-day base time interval

Intraday intervals are disabled whenever the open database has an end-of-day base time interval, in both editions. It is a database property, not an edition property or an installation fault. Reading it as an edition signal is the classic misdiagnosis this lab exists to prevent.

Question 3. You run the setup report with the Analysis window set to Weekly. The Interval column reads "Weekly" even though the database stores daily bars. Is the formula wrong?

• Yes — it should report the database base interval
• No — Interval() reports the interval of the current run, which is what it is documented to do
• Yes — Interval(2) always returns "Daily"
• No — but only because the sample database is end-of-day

Show the answer and why

Answer: No — Interval() reports the interval of the current run, which is what it is documented to do

Interval() returns the bar interval of the context it runs in, not a database setting. AmiBroker compresses coarser intervals from stored bars on the fly, so a daily database genuinely produces weekly bars when asked. The formula documents this limitation in its own header, which is why the assumption block at the top of a formula is worth writing.

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