AFL Function Reference

How this page is built

The list of taught functions is discovered from the lessons themselves — from the aflFunctions field in each page’s frontmatter — and the signatures are extracted verbatim from the official per-function pages.

Two consequences follow, and both are the point.

A function taught in a lesson cannot be missing from this page. If a lesson claims to teach ApplyStop(), it appears here.

A signature here cannot disagree with the official documentation, because it was taken from it rather than retyped.

If a name in a lesson does not exist in the official reference, this page renders a build warning naming it. In a correct build there is no warning — and separately, an automated check fails the build if any AFL example anywhere in the course calls a function that is not in the official list.

Using it

Functions are grouped by AmiBroker’s own categories and sorted alphabetically within each group. Each entry has a stable anchor — #fn-applystop, for instance — so a lesson can link straight to a function’s entry.

Site search covers this page, so searching for a function name finds both its entry here and the lessons that teach it.

Build warning: these names appear in lesson frontmatter but are not in the official AFL Function Reference: filter, barcount, title, graphxspace, exclude, positionscore, roundlotsize, positionsize, null. Check them.

243 AFL functions are taught in this course, out of 445 in the official reference for AmiBroker 7.00.1. Signatures below are as AmiBroker documents them (retrieved 2026-08-31).

Basic price pattern detection

GapDownreturns ARRAY

GapDown()

Gives a "1" or "true" on the day a security's prices gap down. Otherwise the result is "0". A gap down occurs if yesterday's low is greater than today's high.

Taught in:Part 5 — Breakouts, Failed Breakouts and Role Reversal Part 7 — Multi-Bar Candlestick Patterns Official documentation

GapUpreturns ARRAY

GapUp()

Gives a "1" or "true" on the day a security's prices gap up. Otherwise the result is "0". A gap up occurs if yesterday's high is less than today's low.

Taught in:Part 5 — Breakouts, Failed Breakouts and Role Reversal Part 7 — Multi-Bar Candlestick Patterns Official documentation

Insidereturns ARRAY

Inside()

Gives a "1" or "true" when an inside day occurs.Gives "0" otherwise. An inside day occurs when today's high is less than yesterday's high and today's low is greater than yesterday's low.

Taught in:Part 5 — Breakouts, Failed Breakouts and Role Reversal Part 5 — Consolidation and Volatility Contraction Part 7 — Multi-Bar Candlestick Patterns Official documentation

Outsidereturns ARRAY

Outside()

Gives "true" (or 1) when an outside day occurs

Taught in:Part 5 — Breakouts, Failed Breakouts and Role Reversal Part 5 — Consolidation and Volatility Contraction Part 7 — Multi-Bar Candlestick Patterns Official documentation

Peakreturns ARRAYAFL 1.1

Peak(ARRAY, change , n = 1)

Gives the value of ARRAY n -th peak(s) ago. This uses the Zig Zag function (see Zig Zag) to determine the peaks. n =1 would return the value of the most recent peak. n =2 would return the value of the 2nd most recent peak. Caveat: this function is based on Zig-Zag indicator and may look into the future.

Taught in:Part 4 — Swings, Highs and Lows Part 5 — Trendlines and Channels Part 7 — Classic Chart Patterns Official documentation

PeakBarsreturns ARRAYAFL 1.1

PeakBars(ARRAY, change , n = 1)

Gives the number of bars that have passed from the n -th peak. This uses the Zig Zag function (see Zig Zag) to determine the peaks. n =1 would return the number of bars that have passed since the most recent peak. n =2 would return the number of bars that have passed since the 2nd most recent peak Caveat: this function is based on Zig-Zag indicator and may look into the future.

Taught in:Part 7 — Classic Chart Patterns Official documentation

PlotTextSetFontreturns NOTHINGAFL 2.80

PlotTextSetFont( ''text'', ''fontname'', pointsize, x, y, color, bkcolor = colorDefault, yoffset = 0 )

This function writes text in specified co-ordinates using specified font where: 'text' is a text to display 'fontname' is a type face name pointsize is a font size in points x - is x-coordinate in bars

Taught in:Part 10 — PlotShapes() and Visual Signals Official documentation

ShellExecutereturns NUMBERAFL 3.40

ShellExecute( ''filepath'', ''arguments'', ''parameters'', showcmd = 1 )

The function opens a file or runs executable. It is equivalent of Windows API ShellExecute, with one difference, it always uses "open" verb. This allows running executables, scripts, opening document files using their associated editors, etc. If the function succeeds, it returns a value greater than 32. If the function fails, it returns an error value that indicates the cause of the failure.

Taught in:Part 25 — Alert Mechanisms and AlertIf()Part 35 — From Candidate to Decision Official documentation

Troughreturns ARRAYAFL 1.1

Trough(ARRAY, change , n = 1)

Gives the value of ARRAY n -th trough(s) ago. This uses the Zig Zag function (see Zig Zag) to determine the troughs. Caveat: this function is based on Zig-Zag indicator and may look into the future.

Taught in:Part 4 — Swings, Highs and Lows Part 5 — Trendlines and Channels Part 7 — Classic Chart Patterns Official documentation

TroughBarsreturns ARRAYAFL 1.1

TroughBars(ARRAY, change , n = 1)

Plots the number of bars that have passed from the n -th trough. This uses the Zig Zag function (see Zig Zag) to determine the troughs. Caveat: this function is based on Zig-Zag indicator and may look into the future.

Taught in:Part 7 — Classic Chart Patterns Official documentation

ZIGreturns ARRAYAFL 1.1

zig(ARRAY, change )

Calculates the minimum % change Zig Zag indicator. Caveat: this function is based on Zig-Zag indicator and may look into the future - this means that you can get unrealistic results when back testing trading system using this indicator. This function is provided rather for pattern and trend recognition formulas.

Taught in:Part 7 — Classic Chart Patterns Official documentation

Composites

AddToCompositereturns NOTHINGAFL 2.0

AddToComposite( array, ''ticker'', ''field'', flags = atcFlagDefaults )

Allows you to create composite indicators with ease. More info... Parameters: array - the array of values to be added to "field" in "ticker" composite symbol "ticker" - the ticker of composite symbol.

Taught in:Part 16 — Building Composites with AddToComposite()Part 16 — Project: Market Breadth Dashboard Part 30 — Look-Ahead Bias Part 36 — Performance: QuickAFL, Multi-Threading and Cost Official documentation

ADLinereturns ARRAYAFL 1.2

ADLine()

Calculates Advance/Decline line indicator

Taught in:Part 16 — Breadth Concepts: Participation and Its Measures Official documentation

AdvIssuesreturns ARRAYAFL 1.2

AdvIssues()

Returns the number of advancing issues for a given market (the one that currently analysed stock belongs to)

Taught in:Part 16 — Breadth Concepts: Participation and Its Measures Official documentation

AdvVolumereturns ARRAYAFL 1.2

AdvVolume()

Returns the volume of advancing issues for a given market (the one that currently analysed stock belongs to)

Taught in:Part 16 — Breadth Concepts: Participation and Its Measures Official documentation

DecIssuesreturns ARRAYAFL 1.2

DecIssues()

Returns the number of declining issues for a given market (the one that currently analysed stock belongs to)

Taught in:Part 16 — Breadth Concepts: Participation and Its Measures Official documentation

DecVolumereturns ARRAYAFL 1.2

DecVolume()

Returns the volume of declining issues for a given market (the one that currently analysed stock belongs to)

Taught in:Part 16 — Breadth Concepts: Participation and Its Measures Official documentation

Trinreturns ARRAYAFL 1.2

Trin()

Calculates TRIN (Arms Index) indicator. NOTE: All built-in a/d indicators (AdLine/Trin) work only with composites calculated inside AmiBroker http://www.amibroker.com/newsletter/04-2000.html If you are using QP2 database for example you should use QP2's own symbols for advances/declines.

Taught in:Part 16 — Breadth Concepts: Participation and Its Measures Official documentation

UncIssuesreturns ARRAYAFL 1.2

UncIssues()

Returns the number of unchanged issues for a given market (the one that currently analysed stock belongs to)

Taught in:Part 16 — Breadth Concepts: Participation and Its Measures Official documentation

UncVolumereturns ARRAYAFL 1.2

UncVolume()

Returns the volume of unchanged issues for a given market (the one that currently analysed stock belongs to)

Taught in:Part 16 — Breadth Concepts: Participation and Its Measures Official documentation

Date/Time

BarIndexreturns ARRAYAFL 2.3

BarIndex()

returns zero-based bar number - the same as Cum(1)-1 but it is much faster than Cum(1) when used in Indicators New in 5.30: BarIndex() now returns values always starting from zero (even if QuickAFL is turned on). This change is required because Cum() now does not require all bars and formulas mixing Cum(1) and BarIndex would work improperly otherwise.

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 1: Market Dashboard Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 37 — Component 3: Scanner Part 37 — Component 2: Stock Exploration Part 37 — Component 6: The Trading Strategy Part 5 — Reality Check: Do Support Levels Actually Hold?Part 7 — Reality Check: Can We Test Whether a Pattern Predicted Anything?Part 8 — Errors, Debugging and Sanity Checks Part 8 — Null Values, Nz() and Warm-Up Periods Part 8 — The Array Model: The Most Important Lesson in This Course Part 9 — Counting and Accumulating: BarsSince, Cum, Sum Part 9 — Referencing Past Bars with Ref()Part 9 — ValueWhen(): Carrying a Value Forward Part 10 — Project: Configurable Moving-Average Indicator Part 11 — Defensive AFL: Guarding Against Bad Input and Bad Data Part 11 — Project: Your Personal AFL Utility Library Part 15 — Benchmarks and Relative Performance Part 15 — Data Alignment Pitfalls Across Symbols Part 15 — Project: Relative Strength Comparison Tool Part 16 — Project: Market Breadth Dashboard Part 18 — Choosing a Data Source: A Decision Framework Part 23 — Knowing Where You Are: Status() and Execution Context Part 25 — Alert Mechanisms and AlertIf()Part 25 — Duplicate Alerts and How to Stop Them Part 25 — Project: Real-Time Breakout Alert Part 26 — Replay Exercise: Intraday Setups and Alerts Part 28 — Stops with ApplyStop()Part 30 — Insufficient Evidence and Regime Dependence Part 36 — Performance: QuickAFL, Multi-Threading and Cost Official documentation

BeginValuereturns NUMBERAFL 2.3

BeginValue( ARRAY )

This function gives the single value (number) of the ARRAY at the beginning of the selected range. If no range is marked then the value at the first bar is returned. To select the range you have to double click in the chart at the beginning of the range and then double click in the chart at the end of the range. Then >

Taught in:Part 3 — Navigating and Scaling Charts Part 8 — The Array Model: The Most Important Lesson in This Course Official documentation

Datereturns STRINGAFL 1.1

date()

It is used to display the selected date in commentary / interpretation window

Taught in:Part 3 — Lab: Build Your First AmiBroker Workspace Official documentation

DateNumreturns ARRAYAFL 1.4

datenum()

Returns the array with numbers that represent quotation dates coded as follows: 10000 * (year - 1900) + 100 * month + day, so 2001-12-31 becomes 1011231 and 1995-12-31 becomes 951231

Taught in:Part 15 — Benchmarks and Relative Performance Part 15 — Project: Relative Strength Comparison Tool Part 18 — Choosing a Data Source: A Decision Framework Part 18 — Free and End-of-Day Sources with AmiQuote Part 20 — Challenge: The Opening Range That Moved Part 20 — Daylight Saving and Alignment Failures Part 20 — Exchange Time versus Your Clock Part 20 — Sessions: Regular Hours, Pre-Market and After-Hours Part 30 — Survivorship and Selection Bias Part 32 — In-Sample and Out-of-Sample Official documentation

DateTimereturns ARRAYAFL 2.3

DateTime()

Returns array of encoded date/time values suitable for using with AddColumn and formatDateTime constant to produce date time formated according to your system settings. VERSION 5.27 and above: It is important to understand that DateTime is not a simple number but rather bitset and two datetime values can only be reliably compared for equlity or inequality using == or != operators.

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 37 — Component 3: Scanner Part 37 — Component 2: Stock Exploration Part 2 — Data Defects in Practice Part 3 — Importing and Updating Market Data Part 3 — Lab: Install AmiBroker and Verify Your Setup Part 12 — Exploration: Filter, AddColumn and AddTextColumn Part 12 — Exporting Results and Building a Daily Workflow Part 12 — Reality Check: Do High-Volume Breakouts Lead Anywhere?Part 13 — StaticVarGenerateRanks() and Top-N Selection Part 17 — Plugins and the Database Relationship Part 17 — The Real-Time Architecture, End to End Part 18 — Choosing a Data Source: A Decision Framework Part 18 — Free and End-of-Day Sources with AmiQuote Part 18 — Appendix: IQFeed Part 20 — Exchange Time versus Your Clock Part 24 — Repeat Scanning: Mechanics and Costs Part 26 — Bar Replay: Mechanics and Honest Limits Part 27 — From Rules to AFL Part 30 — Unrealistic Fills, Costs and Liquidity Part 36 — Performance: QuickAFL, Multi-Threading and Cost Official documentation

DateTimeConvertreturns NUMBERAFL 2.90

DateTimeConvert( format, date, time = Null )

The function allows to convert from DateTime format to DateNum and TimeNum and vice versa. format parameter controls the direction of conversion: format = 0 - converts DateTime format to DateNum format

Taught in:Part 20 — Exchange Time versus Your Clock Part 23 — GetRTData() and the Live Quote Fields Part 23 — Project: Real-Time Quote Dashboard Official documentation

DateTimeDiffreturns NUMBERAFL 3.30

DateTimeDiff( arg1, arg2 )

DateTimeDiff( arg1, arg2 ) which will return positive values if arg1 > arg2 and negative values if arg1 The difference is given in seconds. The function can operate on scalar and array arguments, returning scalar if both inputs are scalars, and array otherwise.

Taught in:Part 2 — Survivorship, Delistings and Index Membership Part 17 — Plugins and the Database Relationship Part 17 — The Real-Time Architecture, End to End Part 19 — Backfill and Database Maintenance Part 19 — Challenge: The History That Is Not All There Part 19 — Intraday Database Settings in Detail Part 19 — Lab: Build an Intraday Market Database Part 20 — Daylight Saving and Alignment Failures Part 20 — Exchange Time versus Your Clock Part 21 — Challenge: The Chart That Stopped Updating Part 21 — Feed Updating versus Chart Refresh Part 22 — Quote Fields and the Real-Time Quote Window Part 23 — GetRTData() and the Live Quote Fields Part 23 — Project: Real-Time Quote Dashboard Part 24 — Project: Intraday Breakout Scanner Part 24 — Repeat Scanning: Mechanics and Costs Part 35 — The Research Lifecycle End to End Official documentation

DateTimeToStrreturns STRINGAFL 2.8

DateTimeToStr( NUMBER, mode = 0 )

Converts number representing date/time value (for example obtained using GetCursorXPosition(), Now(), DateTime() functions) to the corresponding STRING (text). The mode parameter defines the output mode: 0 - convert both date and time portion 1 - only date 2 - only time.

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 10 — Chart Titles and Dynamic Text Part 15 — Data Alignment Pitfalls Across Symbols Part 17 — The Real-Time Architecture, End to End Part 18 — Appendix: eSignal and Other Supported Feeds Part 19 — Intraday Database Settings in Detail Part 20 — Exchange Time versus Your Clock Part 21 — Feed Updating versus Chart Refresh Part 25 — Alert Mechanisms and AlertIf()Part 25 — Project: Real-Time Breakout Alert Part 26 — Bar Replay: Mechanics and Honest Limits Part 36 — Performance: QuickAFL, Multi-Threading and Cost Official documentation

Dayreturns ARRAYAFL 1.4

day()

Returns the array with days (1-31)

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 18 — Choosing a Data Source: A Decision Framework Part 25 — Project: Real-Time Breakout Alert Official documentation

DaysSince1900returns ARRAYAFL 3.20

DaysSince1900()

The function returns the number of days that passed since January 1st, 1900, counting from 2. January 1, 1900 is serial number 2, and January 1, 2008 is serial number 39448. Technically is equal to Windows OLEDATE and Excel's DATEVALUE function. As to why it starts counting from 2 (two) - it is to get the same values as Excel DATEVALUE.

Taught in:Part 3 — Lab: Install AmiBroker and Verify Your Setup Official documentation

EndValuereturns NUMBERAFL 2.3

EndValue( ARRAY )

This function gives the single value (number) of the ARRAY at the end of the selected range. If no range is marked then the value at the last bar is returned. To select the range you have to double click in the chart at the beginning of the range and then double click in the chart at the end of the range. Then >

Taught in:Part 3 — Navigating and Scaling Charts Official documentation

GetPlaybackDateTimereturns NUMBERAFL 3.0

GetPlaybackDateTime()

The function returns bar replay playback position in datetime format, or zero if bar replay is NOT active

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 17 — The Real-Time Architecture, End to End Part 18 — Appendix: eSignal and Other Supported Feeds Part 19 — The Base Interval Decision Part 19 — Intraday Database Settings in Detail Part 19 — Lab: Build an Intraday Market Database Part 20 — Exchange Time versus Your Clock Part 21 — Challenge: The Chart That Stopped Updating Part 21 — Feed Updating versus Chart Refresh Part 21 — Lab: Build a Real-Time Trading Layout Part 22 — Quote Fields and the Real-Time Quote Window Part 23 — Project: Real-Time Quote Dashboard Part 24 — Defining Intraday Setup Conditions Part 25 — Duplicate Alerts and How to Stop Them Part 25 — Project: Real-Time Breakout Alert Part 26 — Bar Replay: Mechanics and Honest Limits Part 26 — Replay Exercise: Reading a Session Live Part 26 — Replay Exercise: Intraday Setups and Alerts Official documentation

Hourreturns ARRAYAFL 2.0

Hour()

Retrieves current bar's hour

Taught in:Part 20 — Challenge: The Opening Range That Moved Part 20 — Daylight Saving and Alignment Failures Part 20 — Exchange Time versus Your Clock Part 24 — Defining Intraday Setup Conditions Official documentation

Intervalreturns NUMBERAFL 2.1

Interval( format = 0 )

Interval() function returns bar interval. Possible formats: format = 0 - returns bar interval in seconds format = 1 - as above plus TICK bar intervals are returned with negative sign so Interval() func

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 4: Multi-Timeframe Chart Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 3 — Lab: Build Your First AmiBroker Workspace Part 3 — Lab: Install AmiBroker and Verify Your Setup Part 10 — Chart Titles and Dynamic Text Part 11 — Defensive AFL: Guarding Against Bad Input and Bad Data Part 11 — Include Files and Building a Library Part 14 — TimeFrameSet() and TimeFrameRestore()Part 17 — Plugins and the Database Relationship Part 17 — The Real-Time Architecture, End to End Part 18 — Choosing a Data Source: A Decision Framework Part 18 — Appendix: eSignal and Other Supported Feeds Part 19 — The Base Interval Decision Part 19 — Challenge: The History That Is Not All There Part 19 — Intraday Database Settings in Detail Part 19 — Lab: Build an Intraday Market Database Part 20 — Exchange Time versus Your Clock Part 20 — Sessions: Regular Hours, Pre-Market and After-Hours Part 21 — Challenge: The Chart That Stopped Updating Part 21 — Intraday Chart Intervals and What They Cost Part 21 — Lab: Build a Real-Time Trading Layout Part 24 — Defining Intraday Setup Conditions Part 25 — Project: Real-Time Breakout Alert Part 26 — Bar Replay: Mechanics and Honest Limits Official documentation

Minutereturns ARRAYAFL 2.0

Minute()

Retrieves current bar's minute

Monthreturns ARRAYAFL 1.4

Month()

Returns the array with months(1-12)

Taught in:Part 5 — Lab: Map the Structure of a Real Chart Official documentation

Nowreturns STRINGAFL 2.3

Now( format = 0 )

Returns current date / time in numerous of formats: format = 0 - returns string containing current date/time formatted according to system settings format = 1 - returns string containing current date o

Taught in:Part 2 — Survivorship, Delistings and Index Membership Part 12 — Exporting Results and Building a Daily Workflow Part 17 — Plugins and the Database Relationship Part 17 — The Real-Time Architecture, End to End Part 19 — Backfill and Database Maintenance Part 20 — Exchange Time versus Your Clock Part 21 — Feed Updating versus Chart Refresh Part 24 — Project: Intraday Breakout Scanner Part 24 — Repeat Scanning: Mechanics and Costs Part 26 — Bar Replay: Mechanics and Honest Limits Part 35 — The Research Lifecycle End to End Official documentation

TimeNumreturns ARRAYAFL 2.0

TimeNum()

Returns the array with numbers that represent quotation time coded as follows: 10000 * hour + 100 * minute + second, so 12:37:15 becomes 123715

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 18 — Choosing a Data Source: A Decision Framework Part 19 — Challenge: The History That Is Not All There Part 19 — Lab: Build an Intraday Market Database Part 20 — Challenge: The Opening Range That Moved Part 20 — Daylight Saving and Alignment Failures Part 20 — Exchange Time versus Your Clock Part 20 — Sessions: Regular Hours, Pre-Market and After-Hours Part 25 — Project: Real-Time Breakout Alert Part 26 — Replay Exercise: Intraday Setups and Alerts Official documentation

Exploration / Indicators

_DEFAULT_NAMEreturns STRINGAFL 2.70

_DEFAULT_NAME()

This function returns the default name of plot in the drag-drop section. The default name consists of section name and comma separated list of values of numeric parameters defined in given section.

Taught in:Part 10 — Parameters: Param, ParamToggle, ParamList and ParamColor Official documentation

_Nreturns nothingAFL 2.1

_N( string )

Protects from printing string to the commentary output window

Taught in:Part 10 — Chart Titles and Dynamic Text Part 10 — Project: Multi-Indicator Analysis Panel Part 11 — Defensive AFL: Guarding Against Bad Input and Bad Data Part 11 — Project: Your Personal AFL Utility Library Official documentation

_PARAM_VALUESreturns STRINGAFL 2.70

_PARAM_VALUES()

_PARAM_VALUES retrieves the values of the parameters defined in current drag-drop section. It works the same as _DEFAULT_NAME except that no section name is included (so only the list of parameter values is returned).

Taught in:Part 10 — Parameters: Param, ParamToggle, ParamList and ParamColor Official documentation

_SECTION_BEGINreturns NOTHINGAFL 2.70

_SECTION_BEGIN( ''section name'' )

Marks beginning of the drag-drop section. IMPORTANT: "section name" must be a constant, literal string, enclosed in double quotation marks. You must NOT use variable here.

Taught in:Part 3 — Lab: Build Your First AmiBroker Workspace Part 8 — Syntax Basics: Statements, Comments and Names Part 8 — What AFL Is and Where It Runs Part 8 — Your First Formula Part 10 — Parameters: Param, ParamToggle, ParamList and ParamColor Official documentation

_SECTION_ENDreturns NOTHINGAFL 2.70

_SECTION_END()

marks end of drag-drop section

Taught in:Part 3 — Lab: Build Your First AmiBroker Workspace Part 8 — Your First Formula Part 10 — Parameters: Param, ParamToggle, ParamList and ParamColor Official documentation

AddColumnreturns NOTHINGAFL 1.8

AddColumn( array, name, format = 1.2, textColor = colorDefault, bkgndColor = colorDefault, width = -1, barchart = Null )

Adds a new column to the exploration result list. The column shows array values and has a caption of name. The values are formatted using format specification. By default all variables are displayed with 2 decimal digits, but you can change this by assigning a different value to this variable: 1.5 gives 5 decimal digits, 1.0 gives no decimal digits.

Taught in:Part 37 — Components 7 and 8: Backtest and Robustness Evaluation Part 37 — Component 4: Multi-Timeframe Chart Part 37 — Component 3: Scanner Part 37 — Component 2: Stock Exploration Part 2 — Data Defects in Practice Part 2 — OHLCV and What a Bar Hides Part 3 — Importing and Updating Market Data Part 3 — Lab: Install AmiBroker and Verify Your Setup Part 5 — Reality Check: Do Support Levels Actually Hold?Part 6 — Reality Check: Does RSI Above 70 Mean Sell?Part 7 — Reality Check: Can We Test Whether a Pattern Predicted Anything?Part 11 — Project: Your Personal AFL Utility Library Part 12 — The Analysis Window and Its Four Modes Part 12 — Challenge: The Scan That Returns Nothing Part 12 — Conditional Formatting, Sorting and Ranking Columns Part 12 — Exploration: Filter, AddColumn and AddTextColumn Part 12 — Exporting Results and Building a Daily Workflow Part 12 — Project: Build a Daily Stock Screener Part 12 — Reality Check: Do High-Volume Breakouts Lead Anywhere?Part 14 — Project: Multi-Timeframe Scanner Part 16 — Building Composites with AddToComposite()Part 17 — Plugins and the Database Relationship Part 18 — Choosing a Data Source: A Decision Framework Part 18 — Free and End-of-Day Sources with AmiQuote Part 18 — Appendix: IQFeed Part 23 — Knowing Where You Are: Status() and Execution Context Part 26 — Replay Exercise: Reading a Session Live Part 27 — From Rules to AFL Part 28 — Stops with ApplyStop()Part 30 — Insufficient Evidence and Regime Dependence Part 30 — Unrealistic Fills, Costs and Liquidity Part 33 — Sequence Risk and Risk of Ruin Part 33 — What Monte Carlo Can and Cannot Tell You Part 34 — Portfolio Exposure, Concentration and Correlation Part 35 — Journalling and Separating Two Kinds of Performance Part 35 — The Research Lifecycle End to End Part 35 — Defining Your Universe and Market Regime Official documentation

AddMultiTextColumnreturns NOTHINGAFL 4.20

AddMultiTextColumn( ARRAY, ''TextList'', ''Caption'', format = 1.2, fgcolor = colorDefault, bkcolor = colorDefault, width = -1 )

Adds a text column to the exploration where text displayed is choosen based on array value. Parameters: ARRAY - parameter decides on bar-by-bar basis which item from TextList is choosen TextList - newline-separated list of texts to be displayed depending on ARRAY value.

Taught in:Part 12 — Building Screening Filters That Mean Something Part 12 — Conditional Formatting, Sorting and Ranking Columns Part 12 — Exploration: Filter, AddColumn and AddTextColumn Part 35 — The Research Lifecycle End to End Part 35 — Defining Your Universe and Market Regime Official documentation

AddRankColumnreturns NOTHINGAFL 5.70

AddRankColumn()

The function adds ranking column(s) according to current sort set by SetSortColumns to exploration result list.

Taught in:Part 12 — Conditional Formatting, Sorting and Ranking Columns Part 12 — Project: Build a Daily Stock Screener Part 13 — Ranking versus Filtering Part 35 — From Candidate to Decision Official documentation

AddSummaryRowsreturns NOTHINGAFL 3.2

AddSummaryRows( flags, format = 0, onlycols = 0, ...)

AddSummaryRows automatically adds "summary" row(s) to the exploration output. Parameters: The flags parameter can be combination of the following: 1 - add TOTAL row 2 - add AVERAGE row 4 - add MIN row 8 - add MAX row 16 - add COUNT row 32 - add STANDARD DEVIATION row (new in 5.70) format - defines the numeric formating in WriteVal style so 1.2 for example means 2 decimal digits.

Taught in:Part 37 — Components 7 and 8: Backtest and Robustness Evaluation Part 37 — Component 4: Multi-Timeframe Chart Part 37 — Component 3: Scanner Part 37 — Component 2: Stock Exploration Part 5 — Reality Check: Do Support Levels Actually Hold?Part 6 — Reality Check: Does RSI Above 70 Mean Sell?Part 7 — Reality Check: Can We Test Whether a Pattern Predicted Anything?Part 12 — Building Screening Filters That Mean Something Part 12 — Challenge: The Scan That Returns Nothing Part 12 — Conditional Formatting, Sorting and Ranking Columns Part 12 — Exporting Results and Building a Daily Workflow Part 12 — Project: Build a Daily Stock Screener Part 12 — Reality Check: Do High-Volume Breakouts Lead Anywhere?Part 24 — Project: Intraday Breakout Scanner Part 24 — Repeat Scanning: Mechanics and Costs Part 26 — Replay Exercise: Reading a Session Live Part 28 — Stops with ApplyStop()Part 30 — Insufficient Evidence and Regime Dependence Part 30 — Survivorship and Selection Bias Part 30 — Unrealistic Fills, Costs and Liquidity Part 34 — Portfolio Exposure, Concentration and Correlation Official documentation

AddTextColumnreturns NOTHINGAFL 1.8

AddTextColumn( string, name, format = 1.2, textColor = colorDefault, bkgndColor = colorDefault, width = -1 )

Adds a new text column to the exploration result list. The column shows text and has a caption of name. Next two parameters allow to modify text and background color. Width parameter allows to control pixel width of the column

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 3: Scanner Part 37 — Component 2: Stock Exploration Part 3 — Importing and Updating Market Data Part 3 — Lab: Install AmiBroker and Verify Your Setup Part 12 — Exploration: Filter, AddColumn and AddTextColumn Part 12 — Exporting Results and Building a Daily Workflow Part 12 — Project: Build a Daily Stock Screener Part 14 — Project: Multi-Timeframe Scanner Part 16 — Building Composites with AddToComposite()Part 17 — Plugins and the Database Relationship Part 18 — Choosing a Data Source: A Decision Framework Part 23 — Knowing Where You Are: Status() and Execution Context Part 24 — Project: Intraday Breakout Scanner Part 33 — What Monte Carlo Can and Cannot Tell You Part 35 — Journalling and Separating Two Kinds of Performance Part 35 — The Research Lifecycle End to End Official documentation

EncodeColorreturns STRINGAFL 2.2

EncodeColor ( colorIndex )

Converts color index to string escape sequence that changes color of text output in chart title. Color escape sequence uses cXX sequence where XX is 2 digit number specifying color index c38 - defines violet, there is a special sequence c-1 that resets to default axis color.

Taught in:Part 10 — Chart Titles and Dynamic Text Part 21 — Intraday Chart Intervals and What They Cost Part 21 — Lab: Build a Real-Time Trading Layout Official documentation

GetChartIDreturns NUMBERAFL 2.3

GetChartID()

returns the chart ID of current indicator formula. Returns 0 if used in Automatic analysis.

Taught in:Part 3 — Navigating and Scaling Charts Part 5 — Trendlines and Channels Part 10 — Parameters: Param, ParamToggle, ParamList and ParamColor Part 23 — RequestTimedRefresh() and Real-Time Performance Official documentation

GetPriceStylereturns NUMBERAFL 2.70

GetPriceStyle

Returns price chart style value to be used in Plot statement Returned value depends on selection in View->Price chart style menu

Taught in:Part 4 — Chart Types and What Each One Shows Part 10 — Plotting with Plot(): Styles, Colours and Panes Official documentation

LineArrayreturns ARRAYAFL 2.5

LineArray( x0, y0, x1, y1, extend = 0, usebarindex = False )

The LineArray function generates array equivalent to trend line drawn from point (x0, y0) to point (x1, y1). x coordinates are in bars (zero based), y coordinates are in dollars. Note: x0 must be SMALLER than x1. Note 2: the function accepts only numbers therefore generates single line. To produce multiple lines you have to call it many times with different co-ordinates.

Taught in:Part 5 — Trendlines and Channels Official documentation

Paramreturns NUMBERAFL 2.3

Param( ''name'', defaultval, min, max, step, sincr = 0 )

Adds a new user-definable parameter, which will be accessible via Parameters dialog : right click over chart pane and select "Parameters" or press Ctrl+R allows to change chart parameters - changes are reflected immediatelly.

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 37 — Component 6: The Trading Strategy Part 3 — Lab: Build Your First AmiBroker Workspace Part 3 — Navigating and Scaling Charts Part 3 — Symbols, Watchlists and Categories Part 4 — Linear versus Logarithmic Scaling Part 4 — Market Structure: Trends, Ranges and Transitions Part 4 — Swings, Highs and Lows Part 6 — Moving Averages: SMA and EMA Part 7 — Candlestick Anatomy and Single-Bar Patterns Part 7 — Reality Check: Can We Test Whether a Pattern Predicted Anything?Part 10 — Parameters: Param, ParamToggle, ParamList and ParamColor Part 10 — Project: Multi-Indicator Analysis Panel Part 11 — User-Defined Functions and Procedures Part 14 — Project: Multi-Timeframe Trend Indicator Part 16 — Breadth Divergence and Market Regime Part 18 — Appendix: IQFeed Part 21 — Intraday Chart Intervals and What They Cost Part 28 — Stops with ApplyStop()Part 29 — Reading the Backtest Report Part 30 — Challenge Collection: Six Broken Backtests Part 30 — Challenge: 180% a Year with a 3% Drawdown Part 30 — Data Snooping, Curve Fitting and Overfitting Part 30 — Insufficient Evidence and Regime Dependence Part 30 — Position Sizing and Portfolio Errors Part 30 — Unrealistic Fills, Costs and Liquidity Part 31 — What Optimize() Actually Does Part 33 — Sequence Risk and Risk of Ruin Part 35 — Defining Your Universe and Market Regime Part 36 — Advanced Debugging and Tracing Official documentation

ParamColorreturns NUMBERAFL 2.3

ParamColor( ''name'', defaultcolor )

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 1: Market Dashboard Part 10 — Parameters: Param, ParamToggle, ParamList and ParamColor Part 10 — Project: ATR Volatility Indicator Part 10 — Project: Configurable Moving-Average Indicator Part 10 — Project: Multi-Indicator Analysis Panel Part 23 — Project: Real-Time Quote Dashboard Official documentation

ParamDatereturns NUMBERAFL 2.60

ParamDate( ''Name'', ''Default date'', format = 0 );

Adds a new user-definable date parameter, which will be accessible via Parameters dialog : right click over chart pane and select "Parameters" or press Ctrl+R allows to change chart parameters - changes are reflected immediatelly. "name" - defines parameter name that will be displayed in the parameters dialog "default date" - is a string holding date in any any format: YYYY-MM-DD, MM/DD/YY, DD-MM-YY, etc, etc.

Taught in:Part 10 — Parameters: Param, ParamToggle, ParamList and ParamColor Part 15 — Benchmarks and Relative Performance Part 15 — Project: Relative Strength Comparison Tool Official documentation

ParamFieldreturns ARRAYAFL 2.70

ParamField(''name'', field = 3 )

Allows to pick the Price field for the indicator (field which is used to calculate values of the indicator). Function returns the array defined by field parameter. Default value = 3 returns Close array.

Taught in:Part 4 — Chart Types and What Each One Shows Part 10 — Parameters: Param, ParamToggle, ParamList and ParamColor Part 10 — Project: Configurable Moving-Average Indicator Official documentation

ParamListreturns STRINGAFL 2.70

ParamList( ''Name'', ''Values'', defaultval = 0 )

Creates the parameter that consist of the list of choices (specified in "values" parameter - or comma separated). defaultval parameter defines ordinal position of the default string value specified in "values" parameter. Returned value is a STRING representing choosen item. IMPORTANT: Parameter names and values must NOT contain non-printable characters (ASCII codes

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 4: Multi-Timeframe Chart Part 5 — Reality Check: Do Support Levels Actually Hold?Part 10 — Parameters: Param, ParamToggle, ParamList and ParamColor Part 10 — Project: Configurable Moving-Average Indicator Part 16 — Project: Market Breadth Dashboard Part 22 — Time & Sales: What It Does and Does Not Tell You Part 23 — Project: Real-Time Quote Dashboard Official documentation

ParamStrreturns STRINGAFL 2.3

ParamStr( ''name'', ''default'' )

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 1: Market Dashboard Part 37 — Component 3: Scanner Part 37 — Component 6: The Trading Strategy Part 10 — Parameters: Param, ParamToggle, ParamList and ParamColor Part 21 — Lab: Build a Real-Time Trading Layout Part 30 — Insufficient Evidence and Regime Dependence Part 35 — Journalling and Separating Two Kinds of Performance Part 35 — Defining Your Universe and Market Regime Official documentation

ParamStylereturns NUMBERAFL 2.70

ParamStyle(''name'', defaultstyle = styleLine, mask = maskDefault )

Allows to select the styles applied to plot. Parameters name - parameter name defaultstyle - default value of style , takes combination of style* constants mask - binary mask that defines which styles

Taught in:Part 3 — Lab: Build Your First AmiBroker Workspace Part 3 — Navigating and Scaling Charts Part 4 — Chart Types and What Each One Shows Part 10 — Parameters: Param, ParamToggle, ParamList and ParamColor Part 10 — Plotting with Plot(): Styles, Colours and Panes Part 10 — Project: Configurable Moving-Average Indicator Official documentation

ParamTimereturns NUMBERAFL 2.60

ParamTime( ''Name'', ''Default time'', format = 0 );

Adds a new user-definable time parameter, which will be accessible via Parameters dialog : right click over chart pane and select "Parameters" or press Ctrl+R allows to change chart parameters - changes are reflected immediatelly. "name" - defines parameter name that will be displayed in the parameters dialog "default time" - is a string holding time in any any format: HH:MM:SS, HH:MM, etc.

Taught in:Part 10 — Parameters: Param, ParamToggle, ParamList and ParamColor Official documentation

ParamTogglereturns NUMBERAFL 2.70

ParamToggle(''name'',''values'',defaultval=0 )

Function that allows to use boolean (Yes/No) parameters. ''name'' - the name of the parameter ''values'' - parameter values (separated with character, e.g. "No Yes" - first string represents false value and second string represents true value) defaultval - default value of the parameter IMPORTANT: Parameter names and values must NOT contain non-printable characters (ASCII codes

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 3 — Lab: Build Your First AmiBroker Workspace Part 3 — Navigating and Scaling Charts Part 4 — Chart Types and What Each One Shows Part 7 — Multi-Bar Candlestick Patterns Part 10 — Parameters: Param, ParamToggle, ParamList and ParamColor Part 10 — Project: ATR Volatility Indicator Part 10 — Project: Configurable Moving-Average Indicator Part 10 — Project: Multi-Indicator Analysis Panel Part 13 — Ranking versus Filtering Part 14 — Project: Multi-Timeframe Trend Indicator Part 15 — Project: Relative Strength Comparison Tool Part 16 — Building Composites with AddToComposite()Part 19 — Challenge: The History That Is Not All There Part 20 — Daylight Saving and Alignment Failures Part 32 — The AmiBroker Walk-Forward Workflow Part 36 — Performance: QuickAFL, Multi-Threading and Cost Official documentation

ParamTriggerreturns NUMBERAFL 2.70

ParamTrigger( ''Name'', ''Button text'')

Creates trigger (button) in the Parameter dialog. If you place ParamTrigger in the indicator code it will create a "button" in Parameter dialog that can be pressed. Normally ParamTrigger will return ze

Taught in:Part 10 — Parameters: Param, ParamToggle, ParamList and ParamColor Part 23 — RequestTimedRefresh() and Real-Time Performance Official documentation

Plotreturns NUMBERAFL 1.8

Plot( array , name , color/barcolor , style = styleLine, minvalue = {empty}, maxvalue = {empty}, XShift = 0, Zorder = 0, width = 1 )

Plots the graph using array data. Parameters: array - data array to be plotted name - defines graph name used for displaying values in a title bar. color - defines plot color that could be static (if third argument is a number) or dynamic (when third argument is an array).

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 1: Market Dashboard Part 37 — Component 4: Multi-Timeframe Chart Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 3 — Lab: Build Your First AmiBroker Workspace Part 3 — Navigating and Scaling Charts Part 4 — Chart Types and What Each One Shows Part 4 — Linear versus Logarithmic Scaling Part 4 — Market Structure: Trends, Ranges and Transitions Part 6 — MACD Part 6 — Moving Averages: SMA and EMA Part 8 — Boolean Arrays: Close > MA(Close, 50)Part 8 — Errors, Debugging and Sanity Checks Part 8 — Logic, Conditionals and IIf()Part 8 — Null Values, Nz() and Warm-Up Periods Part 8 — Syntax Basics: Statements, Comments and Names Part 8 — The Array Model: The Most Important Lesson in This Course Part 8 — What AFL Is and Where It Runs Part 8 — Your First Formula Part 10 — Plotting with Plot(): Styles, Colours and Panes Part 10 — Project: ATR Volatility Indicator Part 10 — Project: Configurable Moving-Average Indicator Part 10 — Project: Multi-Indicator Analysis Panel Part 10 — Project: Trend Regime Indicator Part 11 — Defensive AFL: Guarding Against Bad Input and Bad Data Part 11 — Include Files and Building a Library Part 11 — Project: Your Personal AFL Utility Library Part 11 — User-Defined Functions and Procedures Part 23 — Knowing Where You Are: Status() and Execution Context Part 28 — Stops with ApplyStop()Part 29 — Equity Curve Analysis Part 30 — Challenge Collection: Six Broken Backtests Part 30 — Challenge: 180% a Year with a 3% Drawdown Part 30 — Data Snooping, Curve Fitting and Overfitting Part 30 — Position Sizing and Portfolio Errors Part 30 — Unrealistic Fills, Costs and Liquidity Part 31 — Lab: Optimise Without Fooling Yourself Part 34 — Drawdown and Risk of Ruin in Practice Official documentation

PlotGridreturns NOTHINGAFL 2.3

PlotGrid( level, color = colorDefault, pattern = 1, width = 1, Label = True )

Plots hotizontal grid line using built-in dotted style at given level, color, pattern, width, with or without Label. New in version 5.90: pattern - defines line pattern. Available grid patterns 1..10 a

Taught in:Part 4 — Lab: Structured Chart Interpretation Part 5 — Consolidation and Volatility Contraction Part 5 — Support and Resistance as Zones Part 6 — ADX and Directional Movement Part 6 — Reality Check: Does RSI Above 70 Mean Sell?Part 6 — RSI and Rate of Change Part 6 — The Stochastic Oscillator Part 6 — Volatility: True Range, ATR and Bollinger Bands Part 10 — Plotting with Plot(): Styles, Colours and Panes Part 11 — User-Defined Functions and Procedures Part 16 — Breadth Divergence and Market Regime Part 16 — Project: Market Breadth Dashboard Official documentation

PlotOHLCreturns NUMBERAFL 2.2

PlotOHLC( open, high, low, close , name , color/barcolor , style = styleCandle styleOwnScale , minvalue = {empty}, maxvalue = {empty}, XShift = 0, ZOrder = 0, width = 1 )

Plots the price chart using custom open, high, low, close arrays supplied as parameters. Fifth argument name defines graph name used for displaying values in a title bar. Graph color could be static (if sixth argument is a number) or dynamic (when sixth argument is an array).

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 4: Multi-Timeframe Chart Part 5 — Lab: Map the Structure of a Real Chart Part 5 — Support and Resistance as Zones Part 14 — Project: Multi-Timeframe Trend Indicator Official documentation

PlotShapesreturns NOTHINGAFL 2.3

PlotShapes( shape, color, layer = 0, yposition = graph0, offset = -12, XShift = 0 );

Plots arrows and other shapes on any chart pane. Parameters: shape defines type of the symbol. when shape is zero nothing is plotted values other than zero cause plotting various pre-defined shapes. Odd values plot shape BELOW indicator, even values plot shape ABOVE indicator.

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 4 — Swings, Highs and Lows Part 5 — Breakouts, Failed Breakouts and Role Reversal Part 5 — Lab: Map the Structure of a Real Chart Part 6 — Moving Average Slope and Crossovers Part 7 — Candlestick Anatomy and Single-Bar Patterns Part 7 — Classic Chart Patterns Part 10 — PlotShapes() and Visual Signals Part 10 — Project: Configurable Moving-Average Indicator Part 10 — Project: Trend Regime Indicator Part 11 — Variable Scope: local, global and the Traps Part 25 — Project: Real-Time Breakout Alert Part 26 — Replay Exercise: Intraday Setups and Alerts Part 27 — From Rules to AFL Part 28 — Stops with ApplyStop()Part 30 — Challenge Collection: Six Broken Backtests Part 30 — Challenge: 180% a Year with a 3% Drawdown Part 30 — Data Snooping, Curve Fitting and Overfitting Part 30 — Unrealistic Fills, Costs and Liquidity Official documentation

SelectedValuereturns NUMBERAFL 2.1

SelectedValue( ARRAY )

Retrieves array value at currently selected bar. Main purpose: commentary and interpreration code.

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 1: Market Dashboard Part 37 — Component 4: Multi-Timeframe Chart Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 6 — Lab: Indicator Behaviour Workbench Part 8 — The Array Model: The Most Important Lesson in This Course Part 10 — Chart Titles and Dynamic Text Part 10 — Project: Multi-Indicator Analysis Panel Part 11 — Defensive AFL: Guarding Against Bad Input and Bad Data Part 11 — Project: Your Personal AFL Utility Library Part 13 — StaticVarGenerateRanks() and Top-N Selection Part 16 — Project: Market Breadth Dashboard Official documentation

SetChartOptionsreturns NOTHINGAFL 2.70

SetChartOptions( Mode = 0, Flags = 0, gridFlags = chartGridMiddle, ymin = 0, ymax = 0, blankbars = 0 )

Allows to set/clear/overwrite/set defaults for chart pane options Mode - specifies how options are set: 0 - set only the DEFAULT values for new chart. Defaults are applied only once when chart is inser

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 1: Market Dashboard Part 37 — Component 4: Multi-Timeframe Chart Part 10 — Chart Titles and Dynamic Text Part 10 — Project: Multi-Indicator Analysis Panel Part 21 — Intraday Chart Intervals and What They Cost Part 29 — Equity Curve Analysis Official documentation

SetSortColumnsreturns NOTHINGAFL 2.90

SetSortColumns( col1, col2, .... )

sets the columns which will be used for sorting. col1, col2, ... col10 -Column numbers are ONE-based. Positive number means sort ASCENDING, negative number means sort DESCENDING. Upto 10 columns can be specified for multiple-column sort. Each subsequent call to SetSortColumns overwrites previous one, but multiple SetSortColumns make sense if you want to add multiple rankings by different columns via AddRankColumn

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 4: Multi-Timeframe Chart Part 37 — Component 3: Scanner Part 37 — Component 2: Stock Exploration Part 3 — Importing and Updating Market Data Part 3 — Lab: Install AmiBroker and Verify Your Setup Part 12 — Challenge: The Scan That Returns Nothing Part 12 — Conditional Formatting, Sorting and Ranking Columns Part 12 — Exporting Results and Building a Daily Workflow Part 12 — Project: Build a Daily Stock Screener Part 12 — Reality Check: Do High-Volume Breakouts Lead Anywhere?Part 13 — Project: Market Relative Strength Ranking Tool Part 13 — Ranking versus Filtering Part 14 — Project: Multi-Timeframe Scanner Part 15 — Data Alignment Pitfalls Across Symbols Part 16 — Building Composites with AddToComposite()Part 17 — Plugins and the Database Relationship Part 19 — Backfill and Database Maintenance Part 24 — Project: Intraday Breakout Scanner Part 24 — Repeat Scanning: Mechanics and Costs Part 35 — From Candidate to Decision Part 35 — Journalling and Separating Two Kinds of Performance Part 35 — The Research Lifecycle End to End Official documentation

WriteIfreturns STRING

WriteIf( EXPRESSION, "TRUE TEXT", "FALSE TEXT" )

If EXPRESSION evaluates to "true", then the TRUE TEXT string is displayed within the commentary. If EXPRESSION evaluates to "false", then the FALSE TEXT string is displayed.

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 1: Market Dashboard Part 37 — Component 4: Multi-Timeframe Chart Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 2 — Survivorship, Delistings and Index Membership Part 3 — Symbols, Watchlists and Categories Part 4 — Market Structure: Trends, Ranges and Transitions Part 6 — Lab: Indicator Behaviour Workbench Part 7 — Multi-Bar Candlestick Patterns Part 8 — Errors, Debugging and Sanity Checks Part 8 — Logic, Conditionals and IIf()Part 10 — Chart Titles and Dynamic Text Part 10 — Project: Multi-Indicator Analysis Panel Part 10 — Project: Trend Regime Indicator Part 11 — Defensive AFL: Guarding Against Bad Input and Bad Data Part 11 — Include Files and Building a Library Part 11 — Project: Your Personal AFL Utility Library Part 11 — User-Defined Functions and Procedures Part 13 — Project: Market Relative Strength Ranking Tool Part 16 — Breadth Divergence and Market Regime Part 19 — Challenge: The History That Is Not All There Part 26 — Replay Exercise: Reading a Session Live Part 36 — Advanced Debugging and Tracing Official documentation

WriteValreturns STRING

WriteVal( NUMBER, format = 1.3, separator =True, roundAndPad = False ) WriteVal( ARRAY, format = 1.3, separator =True, roundAndPad = False )

THIS FUNCTION IS OBSOLETE. Use functionally identical NumToStr() instead. It is used to convert numeric value of NUMBER or ARRAY to string. It does NOT write anything, it simply returns a string that can be used in other operations or as a text column in exploration or displayed using printf(). The second parameter - format - allows you to control output formatting (decimal places and leading spaces).

Taught in:Part 10 — Chart Titles and Dynamic Text Part 34 — Drawdown and Risk of Ruin in Practice Official documentation

File Input/Output functions

fclosereturns NOTHINGAFL 2.5

fclose( filehandle )

Closes a file. The filehandle (NUMBER) should be the handle returned by fopen function.

Taught in:Part 12 — Exporting Results and Building a Daily Workflow Official documentation

fopenreturns FILEAFL 2.5

fopen( ''filename'', ''mode'', shared = False )

Opens file, returns filehandle (NUMBER). File handle is non-zero if file opened successfully, zero on failure. Parameters: filename - STRING - contains the path to the file name. Please note that singl

Taught in:Part 12 — Exporting Results and Building a Daily Workflow Official documentation

fputsreturns NOTHINGAFL 2.5

fputs( string , filehandle )

Writes (puts) the string to the file. The filehandle must be a number returned by fopen function used to open the file. The file has to be open for writing or appending ("w" or "a") for this fputs to work.

Taught in:Part 12 — Exporting Results and Building a Daily Workflow Official documentation

Indicators

AccDistreturns ARRAY

AccDist()

Calculates the Accumulation/ Distribution indicator.

Taught in:Part 6 — Volume and Volume-Based Indicators Official documentation

ADXreturns ARRAYAFL 1.3

adx( period = 14 )

Calculates Average Directional Index indicator

Taught in:Part 6 — ADX and Directional Movement Part 6 — Lab: Indicator Behaviour Workbench Official documentation

ATRreturns ARRAYAFL 1.3

atr( period )

Calculates Average True Range indicator

BBandBotreturns ARRAY

BBandBot( ARRAY, periods = 15, width = 2 )

Calculates the bottom Bollinger Band of ARRAY shifted down w idth standard deviations (using periods averaging range ).

Taught in:Part 6 — Lab: Indicator Behaviour Workbench Part 6 — Volatility: True Range, ATR and Bollinger Bands Official documentation

BBandTopreturns ARRAY

BBandTop( ARRAY, periods = 15, width = 2 )

Calculates the top Bollinger Band of ARRAY shifted up width standard deviations (using periods averaging range ).

Taught in:Part 6 — Lab: Indicator Behaviour Workbench Part 6 — Volatility: True Range, ATR and Bollinger Bands Official documentation

ColorBlendreturns NUMBERAFL 3.30

ColorBlend( colorFrom, colorTo, factor = 0.5 )

The function blends (mixes) colorFrom with colorTo with 'factor' proportion using the following algorithm RGB = ( 1 - factor ) * RGB(colorFrom) + factor * RGB(colorTo ); So factor = 0 means use colorFrom only, factor = 1 means use colorTo only. All in-between values mean create mix of colors. The lower the factor value means more colorFrom.

Taught in:Part 5 — Support and Resistance as Zones Part 10 — Plotting with Plot(): Styles, Colours and Panes Part 10 — Project: Trend Regime Indicator Official documentation

GetChartBkColorreturns NUMBERAFL 3.20

GetChartBkColor()

Returns color value of chart background. Color value in AmiBroker is either one of predefined color constants (colorWhite, colorBlack), or RGB value with offset of 56 (number of predefined colors). So to get actual RGB value you need to subtract 56 from the result of that function.

Taught in:Part 10 — Plotting with Plot(): Styles, Colours and Panes Part 10 — Project: Trend Regime Indicator Official documentation

MACDreturns ARRAY

macd( fast = 12, slow = 26)

Calculates the MACD indicator using fast and slow averaging periods.

Taught in:Part 6 — MACD Official documentation

MDIreturns ARRAYAFL 1.3

mdi( period = 14 )

Calculates Minus Directional Movement Indicator (-DI line)

Taught in:Part 6 — ADX and Directional Movement Part 6 — Lab: Indicator Behaviour Workbench Official documentation

MFIreturns ARRAY

mfi( periods = 14 )

Calculates the Money Flow Index with period range

Taught in:Part 6 — Volume and Volume-Based Indicators Official documentation

OBVreturns ARRAY

obv()

Calculates the On Balance Volume indicator.

Taught in:Part 6 — Volume and Volume-Based Indicators Official documentation

PDIreturns ARRAYAFL 1.3

pdi( period = 14 )

Calculates Plus Directional Movement Indicator (+DI line)

Taught in:Part 6 — ADX and Directional Movement Part 6 — Lab: Indicator Behaviour Workbench Official documentation

PercentRankreturns ARRAYAFL 3.40

PercentRank( array, range )

INPUTS: array - input data range - lookback range Returns percent rank (0...100) of the current element of the array within all elements over the specified range. A value of 100 indicates that the current element of the array is the highest for the given lookback range, while a value of 0 indicates that the current value is the lowest for the given lookback range.

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 1: Market Dashboard Part 37 — Component 2: Stock Exploration Part 5 — Consolidation and Volatility Contraction Part 5 — Lab: Map the Structure of a Real Chart Part 6 — Volatility: True Range, ATR and Bollinger Bands Part 10 — Project: ATR Volatility Indicator Part 10 — Project: Multi-Indicator Analysis Panel Part 12 — Conditional Formatting, Sorting and Ranking Columns Part 12 — Project: Build a Daily Stock Screener Official documentation

PlotTextreturns NOTHINGAFL 2.80

PlotText( ''text'', x, y, color, bkcolor = colorDefault, yoffset = 0 )

This function writes text in specified co-ordinates. where: x - is x-coordinate in bars (like in LineArray) y - is y-coordinate in dollars color is text color bkcolor is background color yoffset (new in 5.80) is a Y-axis offset in pixels If bkcolor is NOT specified (or equal to colorDefault) text is written with TRANSPARENT background, any other value causes solid background with specified background color.

Taught in:Part 10 — PlotShapes() and Visual Signals Official documentation

RequestMouseMoveRefreshreturns NOTHINGAFL 4.30

RequestMouseMoveRefresh()

The function causes that the chart is refreshed (and formula re-executed) when user moves mouse cursor over the chart area

Taught in:Part 23 — RequestTimedRefresh() and Real-Time Performance Official documentation

RequestTimedRefreshreturns NOTHINGAFL 2.90

RequestTimedRefresh( interval, onlyvisible = True )

The function causes given indicator window to refresh automatically every seconds regardless of data source used or connection state. interval parameter defines timeout in seconds between refreshes. Am

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 17 — The Real-Time Architecture, End to End Part 18 — Appendix: eSignal and Other Supported Feeds Part 20 — Exchange Time versus Your Clock Part 21 — Challenge: The Chart That Stopped Updating Part 21 — Feed Updating versus Chart Refresh Part 21 — Lab: Build a Real-Time Trading Layout Part 22 — Quote Fields and the Real-Time Quote Window Part 23 — Project: Real-Time Quote Dashboard Part 23 — RequestTimedRefresh() and Real-Time Performance Part 24 — Defining Intraday Setup Conditions Part 25 — Project: Real-Time Breakout Alert Part 26 — Bar Replay: Mechanics and Honest Limits Official documentation

ROCreturns ARRAY

roc( ARRAY, periods = 12, absmode = False )

Calculates the periods rate-of-change of ARRAY expressed as percentage. if absmode = False the value returned is 100*( array - ref( array, -periods ) )/ref( array, -periods ) if absmode = True the value returned is 100*( array - ref( array, -periods ) )/abs( ref( array, -periods ) )

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 1: Market Dashboard Part 37 — Component 2: Stock Exploration Part 6 — RSI and Rate of Change Part 6 — What an Indicator Actually Is Part 7 — Classic Chart Patterns Part 12 — Building Screening Filters That Mean Something Part 12 — Project: Build a Daily Stock Screener Part 13 — Project: Market Relative Strength Ranking Tool Part 13 — Ranking versus Filtering Part 13 — Relative Strength: What It Does and Does Not Mean Part 15 — Sectors and Intermarket Analysis Part 29 — Reading the Backtest Report Part 30 — Challenge: 180% a Year with a 3% Drawdown Part 32 — Lab: Run a Walk-Forward Analysis Part 33 — The AmiBroker Monte Carlo Workflow Part 34 — Portfolio Exposure, Concentration and Correlation Part 36 — Dynamic Variables: VarSet, VarGet and Friends Official documentation

RSIreturns ARRAY

RSI( periods = 14 ) RSIa( array, periods = 14 )

Calculates the RSI indicator using periods range Second version RSIa accepts input array so it RSI can be applied to other arrays than close.

Taught in:Part 6 — Lab: Indicator Behaviour Workbench Part 6 — Reality Check: Does RSI Above 70 Mean Sell?Part 6 — RSI and Rate of Change Part 6 — What an Indicator Actually Is Part 8 — Errors, Debugging and Sanity Checks Part 10 — Project: Multi-Indicator Analysis Panel Part 12 — Challenge: The Scan That Returns Nothing Part 34 — Lab: Same Strategy, Three Position-Sizing Models Official documentation

SetBarFillColorreturns NOTHINGAFL 3.1

SetBarFillColor( colorarray )

SetBarFillColor( colorarray ) allows to independently control candlestick, bar, cloud, and area chart fill color SetBarFillColor must PRECEDE the Plot() function call it applies to. when applied to: st

Taught in:Part 7 — Candlestick Anatomy and Single-Bar Patterns Part 10 — Plotting with Plot(): Styles, Colours and Panes Official documentation

SetChartBkColorreturns NOTHINGAFL 2.80

SetChartBkColor( color )

Sets chart background to user-specified color

Taught in:Part 21 — Challenge: The Chart That Stopped Updating Part 21 — Lab: Build a Real-Time Trading Layout Official documentation

Signalreturns ARRAY

Signal( fast = 12, slow = 26, signal = 9 )

Calculates the Signal line of MACD indicator.

Taught in:Part 6 — MACD Official documentation

StochDreturns ARRAY

StochD( periods = 14, Ksmooth =3, Dsmooth =3 )

Calculates the %D line of Stochastic Oscillator (with internal slowing KSmooth, DSmooth).

Taught in:Part 6 — The Stochastic Oscillator Official documentation

StochKreturns ARRAY

StochK( periods = 14, ksmooth =3 )

Calculates the %K line of Stochastic Oscillator (with internal slowing KSmooth).

Taught in:Part 6 — The Stochastic Oscillator Official documentation

Information / Categories

CategoryAddSymbolreturns NOTHINGAFL 2.5

CategoryAddSymbol( symbol , category , number )

The CategoryAddSymbol function adds the symbol to given category, note that for markets, groups, industries 'adding' means moving from one category to another, since the symbol is assigned always to one and only one market, group, industry and sector. This limitation does not apply to watchlists, favorites, and index categories. When symbol string is empty ("") then current symbol is used.

Taught in:Part 12 — Exporting Results and Building a Daily Workflow Official documentation

CategoryGetNamereturns STRINGAFL 2.5

CategoryGetName( category , number )

The CategoryGetName function retrieves the name of category. category is one of the following: categoryMarket categoryGroup categorySector categoryIndustry categoryWatchlist categoryFavorite categoryIndex categoryGICS categoryICB number is a market/group/industry/sector/watchlist number: 0..255 for categoryMarket, categoryGroup, categoryIndustry 0..63 for categorySector no limit for categoryWatchlist.

Taught in:Part 3 — Symbols, Watchlists and Categories Part 15 — Sectors and Intermarket Analysis Official documentation

CategoryGetSymbolsreturns STRINGAFL 2.5

CategoryGetSymbols( category, index, mode = 0 )

Retrieves comma-separated list of symbols belonging to given category Supported categories: categoryMarket categoryGroup categorySector categoryIndustry categoryWatchlist categoryFavorite categoryIndex

Taught in:Part 3 — Symbols, Watchlists and Categories Part 13 — Project: Market Relative Strength Ranking Tool Part 13 — Static Variables for Cross-Sectional Work Part 15 — Sectors and Intermarket Analysis Part 35 — Defining Your Universe and Market Regime Official documentation

FullNamereturns STRINGAFL 1.1

FullName ()

The function returns stock full name which is definable by the user in Symbol Information window.

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 3: Scanner Part 37 — Component 2: Stock Exploration Part 3 — Lab: Build Your First AmiBroker Workspace Part 3 — Lab: Install AmiBroker and Verify Your Setup Part 12 — Exploration: Filter, AddColumn and AddTextColumn Part 12 — Exporting Results and Building a Daily Workflow Part 16 — Building Composites with AddToComposite()Official documentation

GetDatabaseNamereturns STRINGAFL 2.3

GetDatabaseName()

retrieves the name of the database - the last part (folder) of the database path

Taught in:Part 18 — Appendix: eSignal and Other Supported Feeds Official documentation

GroupIDreturns NUMBER/STRINGAFL 1.8

GroupID( mode = 0 )

Retrieves current stock group ID/name When mode = 0 (the default value ) this function returns numerical group ID (consecutive group number) When mode = 1 this function returns name of the group.

Taught in:Part 3 — Symbols, Watchlists and Categories Part 15 — Sectors and Intermarket Analysis Official documentation

IndustryIDreturns NUMBER/STRINGAFL 1.8

IndustryID( mode = 0 )

Retrieves current stock industry ID/name When mode = 0 (the default value ) this function returns numerical industry ID (consecutive industry number) When mode = 1 this function returns name of the industry.

Taught in:Part 3 — Symbols, Watchlists and Categories Part 15 — Project: Relative Strength Comparison Tool Part 15 — Sectors and Intermarket Analysis Official documentation

InGICSreturns NUMBERAFL 3.40

InGICS( "gics_code" )

The function performs yes/no test if current symbol belongs to given GICS category for example if GICS set for the symbol is 15103020 InGics("15"), InGICS("1510"), InGics("151030") and InGics("15103020") will ALL return true but all others (like InGics("20")) will return false.

Taught in:Part 15 — Sectors and Intermarket Analysis Official documentation

InICBreturns NUMBERAFL 3.60

InICB(''icb_code'')

The function performs yes/no test if current symbol belongs to given ICB category for example if ICB set for the symbol is 9537, InICB("9000"), InICB("9500"), InICB("9530") and InICB("9537") will ALL return true but all others (like InICB("5000")) will return false.

Taught in:Part 15 — Sectors and Intermarket Analysis Official documentation

InWatchListreturns NUMBER

InWatchList( listno )

Checks if the stock belongs to a watch list number listno . If yes - the function returns 1 otherwise 0.

Taught in:Part 2 — Survivorship, Delistings and Index Membership Part 3 — Symbols, Watchlists and Categories Official documentation

InWatchListNamereturns NUMBERAFL 3.0

InWatchListName( ''name'' )

Checks if the stock belongs to a watch list number "listname" . If yes - the function returns 1 otherwise 0.

Taught in:Part 2 — Survivorship, Delistings and Index Membership Part 3 — Symbols, Watchlists and Categories Part 35 — Defining Your Universe and Market Regime Official documentation

MarketIDreturns NUMBER/STRINGAFL 1.8

MarketID( mode = 0 )

Retrieves current stock market ID/name When mode = 0 (the default value ) this function returns numerical marketID (consecutive market number) When mode = 1 this function returns name of the market.

Taught in:Part 3 — Symbols, Watchlists and Categories Part 15 — Sectors and Intermarket Analysis Official documentation

Namereturns STRINGAFL 1.1

Name()

It is used to display the stock short name (ticker)

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 37 — Component 2: Stock Exploration Part 3 — Lab: Build Your First AmiBroker Workspace Part 3 — Lab: Install AmiBroker and Verify Your Setup Part 10 — Project: Multi-Indicator Analysis Panel Part 11 — Defensive AFL: Guarding Against Bad Input and Bad Data Part 11 — Include Files and Building a Library Part 11 — Project: Your Personal AFL Utility Library Part 12 — Exporting Results and Building a Daily Workflow Part 18 — Appendix: eSignal and Other Supported Feeds Part 31 — Lab: Optimise Without Fooling Yourself Official documentation

SectorIDreturns NUMBER/STRINGAFL 1.8

SectorID( mode = 0 )

Retrieves current stock sector ID/name When mode = 0 (the default value ) this function returns numerical sector ID (consecutive sector number) When mode = 1 this function returns name of the sector.

Taught in:Part 3 — Symbols, Watchlists and Categories Part 15 — Project: Relative Strength Comparison Tool Part 15 — Sectors and Intermarket Analysis Part 34 — Portfolio Exposure, Concentration and Correlation Official documentation

Low-level graphics

GfxSelectFontreturns NOTHINGAFL 3.0

GfxSelectFont( ''facename'', pointsize, weight = fontNormal, italic = False, underline = False, orientation = 0 )

Initializes a font with the specified characteristics. Then selects the the as current for subsequent drawing operations. Parameters: "facename" - specifies the typeface name of the font pointsize - specifies point size of the font (fractional numbers are allowed), for example 11.5 gives 11.5 point font. weight - specifies the font weight (in inked pixels per 1000).

Taught in:Part 23 — Project: Real-Time Quote Dashboard Official documentation

GfxSetOverlayModereturns NOTHINGAFL 3.0

GfxSetOverlayMode( mode = 0 )

Sets overlay mode for low-level graphics. Parameters: mode - desired overlay mode. Possible values are: 0 - (default) low-level graphic is overlaid on top of charts 1 - charts are overlaid on top of low-level graphics 2 - only low-level graphics is displayed (no charts, no grids, etc) To learn more about low level graphics please read Tutorial: Using low-level graphics

Taught in:Part 23 — Project: Real-Time Quote Dashboard Official documentation

GfxTextOutreturns NOTHINGAFL 3.0

GfxTextOut( ''text'', x, y )

Writes a character string at the specified location using the currently selected font. Parameters: "text" - Specifies the character string to be drawn x - Specifies the x-coordinate of the starting point of the text y - Specifies the y-coordinate of the starting point of the text Character origins are at the upper-left corner of the character cell.

Taught in:Part 23 — Project: Real-Time Quote Dashboard Official documentation

Lowest/Highest

HHVreturns ARRAY

hhv( ARRAY, periods )

Calculates the highest value in the ARRAY over the preceding periods ( periods includes the current day). HHV accepts periods parameter that can be constant as well as time-variant (array).

HHVBarsreturns ARRAY

HHVBars( ARRAY, periods )

Calculates the number of periods that have passed since the ARRAY reached its periods period peak. HHVBars accepts periods parameter that can be constant as well as time-variant (array).

Taught in:Part 4 — Lab: Structured Chart Interpretation Part 9 — Running Extremes: HHV, LLV and Friends Official documentation

Highestreturns ARRAY

Highest( ARRAY )

Calculates the highest value in the ARRAY since the first day/bar present in the database.

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 4: Multi-Timeframe Chart Part 2 — Lab: Prove That Bad Data Breaks Analysis Part 3 — Importing and Updating Market Data Part 9 — Challenge: State or Event?Part 9 — Running Extremes: HHV, LLV and Friends Part 18 — Choosing a Data Source: A Decision Framework Part 18 — Free and End-of-Day Sources with AmiQuote Part 19 — Backfill and Database Maintenance Part 19 — Challenge: The History That Is Not All There Part 28 — Stops with ApplyStop()Part 29 — Equity Curve Analysis Part 34 — Drawdown and Risk of Ruin in Practice Part 36 — Advanced Debugging and Tracing Official documentation

HighestSincereturns ARRAYAFL 1.4

HighestSince( EXPRESSION, ARRAY, Nth = 1 )

Returns the highest ARRAY value since EXPRESSION was true on the Nth most recent occurrence.

Taught in:Part 5 — Lab: Map the Structure of a Real Chart Part 9 — Challenge: State or Event?Part 9 — ValueWhen(): Carrying a Value Forward Part 19 — Backfill and Database Maintenance Part 19 — Challenge: The History That Is Not All There Part 20 — Challenge: The Opening Range That Moved Part 20 — Sessions: Regular Hours, Pre-Market and After-Hours Part 24 — Defining Intraday Setup Conditions Part 24 — Project: Intraday Breakout Scanner Part 30 — Look-Ahead Bias Official documentation

LLVreturns ARRAY

llv( ARRAY, periods )

Calculates the lowest value in the ARRAY over the preceding periods ( periods includes the current day). The function accepts periods parameter that can be constant as well as time-variant (array).

Taught in:Part 37 — Components 7 and 8: Backtest and Robustness Evaluation Part 37 — Component 6: The Trading Strategy Part 4 — Lab: Structured Chart Interpretation Part 4 — Market Structure: Trends, Ranges and Transitions Part 4 — Swings, Highs and Lows Part 5 — Breakouts, Failed Breakouts and Role Reversal Part 5 — Consolidation and Volatility Contraction Part 5 — Lab: Map the Structure of a Real Chart Part 5 — Reality Check: Do Support Levels Actually Hold?Part 5 — Support and Resistance as Zones Part 6 — The Stochastic Oscillator Part 7 — Classic Chart Patterns Part 9 — Running Extremes: HHV, LLV and Friends Part 16 — Project: Market Breadth Dashboard Part 26 — Replay Exercise: Reading a Session Live Part 28 — Single-Symbol Thinking versus Portfolio Reality Part 29 — Reading the Backtest Report Part 30 — Challenge Collection: Six Broken Backtests Part 30 — Position Sizing and Portfolio Errors Part 30 — Unrealistic Fills, Costs and Liquidity Part 32 — Lab: Run a Walk-Forward Analysis Part 34 — Risk Per Trade and Stop Distance Official documentation

LLVBarsreturns ARRAY

LLVBars( ARRAY, periods )

Calculates the number of periods that have passed since the ARRAY reached its periods period trough. The function accepts periods parameter that can be constant as well as time-variant (array).

Taught in:Part 4 — Lab: Structured Chart Interpretation Part 9 — Running Extremes: HHV, LLV and Friends Official documentation

Lowestreturns ARRAY

Lowest( ARRAY )

Calculates the lowest value in the ARRAY since the first day/bar present in the database.

Taught in:Part 2 — Lab: Prove That Bad Data Breaks Analysis Part 9 — Running Extremes: HHV, LLV and Friends Part 18 — Choosing a Data Source: A Decision Framework Part 19 — Backfill and Database Maintenance Part 19 — Challenge: The History That Is Not All There Part 29 — Equity Curve Analysis Part 34 — Drawdown and Risk of Ruin in Practice Official documentation

LowestSincereturns ARRAYAFL 1.4

LowestSince( EXPRESSION, ARRAY, Nth = 1 )

Returns the lowest ARRAY value since EXPRESSION was true on the Nth most recent occurrence.

Taught in:Part 5 — Lab: Map the Structure of a Real Chart Part 9 — ValueWhen(): Carrying a Value Forward Part 20 — Challenge: The Opening Range That Moved Part 20 — Sessions: Regular Hours, Pre-Market and After-Hours Part 24 — Defining Intraday Setup Conditions Part 24 — Project: Intraday Breakout Scanner Official documentation

Math functions

absreturns NUMBER

abs( NUMBER ) abs( ARRAY )

Calculates the absolute value of the NUMBER or ARRAY.

Taught in:Part 2 — OHLCV and What a Bar Hides Part 3 — Importing and Updating Market Data Part 11 — Include Files and Building a Library Part 18 — Free and End-of-Day Sources with AmiQuote Part 18 — Appendix: IQFeed Part 28 — Portfolio Backtesting: Many Symbols, One Account Part 33 — The Limits of Simulation Part 33 — What Monte Carlo Can and Cannot Tell You Part 36 — Advanced Debugging and Tracing Official documentation

EXPreturns NUMBER,

exp ( NUMBER ) exp ( ARRAY )

Math functions SYNTAX exp ( NUMBER ) exp ( ARRAY ) RETURNS NUMBER, ARRAY FUNCTION Calculates e raised to the NUMBER or ARRAY power.

Taught in:Part 33 — Sequence Risk and Risk of Ruin Official documentation

floorreturns NUMBER,

floor ( NUMBER ) floor ( ARRAY )

Calculates the highest integer that is less than NUMBER or ARRAY.

Taught in:Part 35 — From Candidate to Decision Official documentation

Intreturns NUMBER

Int( NUMBER ) int( ARRAY )

Removes the fractional portion of NUMBER or ARRAY and returns the integer part.

Taught in:Part 20 — Daylight Saving and Alignment Failures Official documentation

logreturns NUMBER

log( NUMBER ) log( ARRAY )

Calculates the natural logarithm of NUMBER or ARRAY.

Taught in:Part 4 — Linear versus Logarithmic Scaling Part 33 — Sequence Risk and Risk of Ruin Official documentation

Maxreturns ARRAY

Max( ARRAY1, ARRAY2 )

Returns the largest of the two parameters.

Taught in:Part 37 — Components 7 and 8: Backtest and Robustness Evaluation Part 37 — Component 1: Market Dashboard Part 37 — Component 4: Multi-Timeframe Chart Part 37 — Component 3: Scanner Part 37 — Component 2: Stock Exploration Part 37 — Component 6: The Trading Strategy Part 7 — Candlestick Anatomy and Single-Bar Patterns Part 10 — Project: ATR Volatility Indicator Part 10 — Project: Multi-Indicator Analysis Panel Part 30 — Insufficient Evidence and Regime Dependence Part 31 — Best Value versus Robust Region Part 31 — Lab: Optimise Without Fooling Yourself Part 31 — What Optimize() Actually Does Part 34 — Drawdown and Risk of Ruin in Practice Part 34 — Lab: Same Strategy, Three Position-Sizing Models Part 34 — Risk Per Trade and Stop Distance Part 34 — Volatility-Based Position Sizing Part 35 — From Candidate to Decision Official documentation

Minreturns ARRAY

Min( ARRAY1, ARRAY2 )

Returns the smallest of the two parameters.

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 1: Market Dashboard Part 7 — Candlestick Anatomy and Single-Bar Patterns Part 10 — Project: ATR Volatility Indicator Part 10 — Project: Multi-Indicator Analysis Panel Part 28 — Position Sizing with SetPositionSize()Part 30 — Insufficient Evidence and Regime Dependence Part 30 — Position Sizing and Portfolio Errors Part 34 — Lab: Same Strategy, Three Position-Sizing Models Part 34 — Risk Per Trade and Stop Distance Part 34 — Volatility-Based Position Sizing Part 35 — From Candidate to Decision Official documentation

SafeDividereturns NUMBERAFL 4.40

SafeDivide( x, y, valueifzerodiv )

Safe division that handles division by zero using special handling (replace result with user-defined value) Parameters: x - dividend y - divisor valyeifzerodiv - the value that is returned by the function if divisor (y) is equal zero The function returns the value of x / y ( x divided by y ) as long as y != 0. If y == 0 the value specified in valyeifzerodiv argument is returned.

signreturns ARRAYAFL 2.50

sign( x )

Sign function returns 1 if x value is greater than zero, -1 if the x is less than zero and 0 if x equals zero. x can be a number or array.

Taught in:Part 22 — Time & Sales: What It Does and Does Not Tell You Official documentation

sqrtreturns NUMBER,

sqrt( NUMBER ) sqrt( ARRAY )

Calculates the square root of NUMBER or ARRAY. The square root of a negative number always returns a zero result.

Taught in:Part 33 — What Monte Carlo Can and Cannot Tell You Part 36 — Matrices and Advanced Data Handling Official documentation

Matrix functions

Matrixreturns MatrixAFL 4.0

Matrix( rows, cols, initvalue, increment = 0 )

The function creates a new matrix of user specified dimensions with all elements filled with initvalue. An optional parameter 'increment' that allows to create a matrix with monotonically increasing elements. To create a matrix use my_var_name = Matrix( rows, cols, initvalue) To access matrix elements, use: my_var_name[ row ][ col ] where row is a row index (0... number of rows-1) and col is a column index (0...

Taught in:Part 36 — Matrices and Advanced Data Handling Official documentation

MxCopyreturns NOTHINGAFL 4.40

MxCopy( & dstmatrix, src_matrix, dst_start_row, dst_endrow, dst_start_col, dst_end_col, src_start_row = -1, src_end_row = -1, src_start_col = -1, src_end_col = -1 )

Copy rectangular block from one matrix to the other (copy portions of one matrix to the other matrix) The function works in-place (ie. no allocation occurs - first argument is a reference to existing a

Taught in:Part 36 — Matrices and Advanced Data Handling Official documentation

MxDetreturns NUMBERAFL 4.10

MxDet( mx, method = 0 )

The function calculates determinant of the matrix method = 0 - auto (use slow method for matrices of upto and including 5x5, fast for larger matrices) method = 1 - slow (Laplace expansion method, more

Taught in:Part 36 — Matrices and Advanced Data Handling Official documentation

MxFromStringreturns MatrixAFL 4.10

MxFromString(''string'')

creates a new matrix out of string in Mathematica/Wolfram list-style: "{ { 1, 2, 3 }, { 4, 5, 6 } }", or Matlab/Maple style "[ [ 1, 2, 3 ], [ 4, 5, 6 ] ]", or GNU Octave comma-semicolon style [ 1, 2, 3; 4, 5, 6 ]

Taught in:Part 36 — Matrices and Advanced Data Handling Official documentation

MxGetBlockreturns MatrixAFL 4.10

MxGetBlock( matrix, startrow, endrow, startcol, endcol, asArray = False )

Retrieves items from rectangular submatrix (block) and returns either smaller matrix (when asArray is set to False) or "normal" AFL array (when asArray is set to True). If array has different number of bars, unused elements are filled with Null.

Taught in:Part 36 — Matrices and Advanced Data Handling Official documentation

MxGetSizereturns NumberAFL 4.0

MxGetSize( matrix, dim )

The function retrieves the matrix size in given dimension. matrix is the matrix variable to query for size dim is the dimension to query - 0 means rows, 1 means columns

Taught in:Part 36 — Matrices and Advanced Data Handling Official documentation

MxIdentityreturns MatrixAFL 4.0

MxIdentity( size )

The function creates an identity matrix of defined size (square matrix with rows and columns equal to size argument filled with ones on the main diagonal and zeros elsewhere).

Taught in:Part 36 — Matrices and Advanced Data Handling Official documentation

MxInversereturns MatrixAFL 4.10

MxInverse( mx )

The function calculates inverse of the matrix. Matrix can only be inverted if it is not singular, i.e. when its determinant is not equal zero. Inverse matrix can be used for example to solve linear equation system, but it is faster and slightly more accurate to use MxSolve for this purpose. For more info on usage of inverse matrices see MxSolve documentation.

Taught in:Part 36 — Matrices and Advanced Data Handling Official documentation

MxSetBlockreturns MatrixAFL 4.10

MxSetBlock( matrix, startrow, endrow, startcol, endcol, values = 0 )

Sets values in the rectangular block of cells (rows in the range startrow..endrow and columns in the range startcol..endcol inclusive). This allows to fill entire or partial rows, columns and all other kind of rectangular areas in the matrix with user specified data. Row and column numbers are zero based. If values parameter is scalar, all cells in specified block are filled with that value.

Taught in:Part 36 — Matrices and Advanced Data Handling Official documentation

MxSolvereturns MatrixAFL 4.10

MxSolve( A, B )

The function solves linear equation system A@X = B. A needs to be square matrix NxN B has to have N rows and at least one column (vertical vector). Then calling X = MxSolve( A, B ); would give vertical vector holding solution of the system of equations A @ X = B B can also be a matrix,with each of its column representing different vector B.

Taught in:Part 36 — Matrices and Advanced Data Handling Official documentation

MxSortreturns MatrixAFL 4.10

MxSort( mx, dim = -1, ascening = True )

Sorts all items in a matrix When dim == -1 (the default) it would sort: a row if there is only one row (vector is horizontal) a column if there is only one column (vector is vertical) each column separately if there are more rows and columns than one (so we have actual 2D matrix). When dim == 0 the function sorts the items in each row separately When dim == 1 the function sorts the items in each column separately

Taught in:Part 36 — Matrices and Advanced Data Handling Official documentation

MxSortRowsreturns MatrixAFL 4.10

MxSortRows( mx, ascending = True, col1 = 0, col2 = -1, col3 = -1 )

Sorts the rows of the matrix in ascending/descending order of the col1 column. When the col1 column has equal values, SortRows sorts according to the col2 and col3 columns in succession (if col2 and col3 are specified and >= 0 ).Column numbers are zero based. Hint: if you want to sort columns instead you can Transpose/Sort rows/Transpose back.

Taught in:Part 36 — Matrices and Advanced Data Handling Official documentation

MxSumreturns NUMBERAFL 4.20

MxSum( matrix )

The function calculates sum of all elements of matrix (grand sum)

Taught in:Part 36 — Matrices and Advanced Data Handling Official documentation

MxToStringreturns StringAFL 4.10

MxToString( mx )

Creates string out of matrix variable in the Wolfram list style like this (for 3x3 matrix): "{ { x00, x01, x02 }, { x10, x11, x12 }, { x20, x21, x22 } }"

Taught in:Part 36 — Matrices and Advanced Data Handling Official documentation

MxTransposereturns MatrixAFL 4.0

MxTranspose( matrix )

The function creates a transpose of an input matrix matrix. Transpose of a matrix is a new matrix whose rows are the columns of the original.

Taught in:Part 36 — Matrices and Advanced Data Handling Official documentation

Miscellaneous functions

_TRACEreturns NOTHINGAFL 2.4

_TRACE(''string'')

Write debug messages from AFL code to system debug viewer (it calls internally OutputDebugString Win API function) or to internal Log window (Window->Log) To view debug messages sent to system debugger

Taught in:Part 8 — Errors, Debugging and Sanity Checks Part 11 — Defensive AFL: Guarding Against Bad Input and Bad Data Part 11 — Project: Your Personal AFL Utility Library Part 36 — Advanced Debugging and Tracing Official documentation

_TRACEFreturns NOTHINGAFL 4.0

_TRACEF(''format string'', arg1, .... )

This function is the same as _TRACE but the very first argument is printf-style formatting string and it allows to output formatted numbers like combination of _TRACE and StrFormat. The function writes

Taught in:Part 8 — Errors, Debugging and Sanity Checks Part 11 — Defensive AFL: Guarding Against Bad Input and Bad Data Part 36 — Advanced Debugging and Tracing Official documentation

ColorHSBreturns NUMBERAFL 2.80

ColorHSB( hue, saturation, brightness )

The function allows to specify color out of 16 million color (24 bit) palette using Hue, Saturation and Brightness parameters. The return value is a number that can be used in Plot, PlotOHLC, PlotForeign, AddColumn, AddTextColumn functions to specify chart or column color.

Taught in:Part 10 — Plotting with Plot(): Styles, Colours and Panes Part 12 — Conditional Formatting, Sorting and Ranking Columns Official documentation

ColorRGBreturns NUMBERAFL 2.80

ColorRGB( red, green, blue )

The function allows to specify color out of 16 million color (24 bit) palette using Red, Green, Blue components. The return value is a number that can be used in Plot, PlotOHLC, PlotForeign, AddColumn, AddTextColumn functions to specify chart or column color.

Taught in:Part 10 — Plotting with Plot(): Styles, Colours and Panes Official documentation

GetFormulaPathreturns STRINGAFL 3.90

GetFormulaPath()

The function returns full file path of current formula

Taught in:Part 12 — Exporting Results and Building a Daily Workflow Official documentation

GetPerformanceCounterreturns NUMBERAFL 2.90

GetPerformanceCounter( bReset = False )

GetPerformanceCounter retrieves the current value of the high-resolution performance counter. Returned value is in milliseconds. Resolution is upto 0.001 ms (1 microsecond). The value of high-resolution counter represents number of milliseconds from either system start (boot) or from last counter reset. To reset the counter you need to call GetPerformanceCounter function with bReset parameter set to True.

Taught in:Part 23 — RequestTimedRefresh() and Real-Time Performance Part 24 — Repeat Scanning: Mechanics and Costs Part 36 — Advanced Debugging and Tracing Part 36 — Performance: QuickAFL, Multi-Threading and Cost Official documentation

GetRTDatareturns NUMBERAFL 2.60

GetRTData(''fieldname'')

Retrieves the LAST (the most recent) value of the following fields reported by streaming real time data source: "Ask" - current best ask price "AskSize " - current ask size "Bid" - current best bid pri

Taught in:Part 37 — Capstone Overview and Requirements Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 17 — Edition Requirements and the Three Access Levels Part 18 — Appendix: eSignal and Other Supported Feeds Part 22 — Quote Fields and the Real-Time Quote Window Part 23 — GetRTData() and the Live Quote Fields Part 23 — Project: Real-Time Quote Dashboard Official documentation

GetRTDataForeignreturns NUMBERAFL 2.80

GetRTDataForeign( ''fieldname'' , ''symbol'' )

This function is similar to GetRTData but allows to specify symbol OTHER than currently selected and it is much faster than SetForeign/GetRTData combo. The function retrieves the LAST (the most recent)

Taught in:Part 17 — Edition Requirements and the Three Access Levels Part 18 — Appendix: eSignal and Other Supported Feeds Part 22 — Quote Fields and the Real-Time Quote Window Part 23 — GetRTData() and the Live Quote Fields Official documentation

IsEmptyreturns ARRAYAFL 1.5

IsEmpty( ARRAY )

returns 1 (or 'true') when given point in array is {empty} Note: {empty} value is used internaly by AFL to mark bars when the value is not available - for example for the first 20 bars the value of 20-day simple moving average is not available ({empty}) IsNull is a synonym for IsEmpty. It is suggested to use IsNull in new formulas, because of naming consistency with Null constant.

Taught in:Part 8 — Null Values, Nz() and Warm-Up Periods Official documentation

IsFinitereturns NUMBER,AFL 2.3

IsFinite( x )

returns a nonzero value (1 or TRUE) if its argument x is not infinite, that is, if –INF x can be number or array

Taught in:Part 8 — Variables, Numbers and Expressions Part 11 — Defensive AFL: Guarding Against Bad Input and Bad Data Part 11 — Include Files and Building a Library Part 11 — Project: Your Personal AFL Utility Library Part 11 — User-Defined Functions and Procedures Official documentation

IsNullreturns NUMBER,AFL 2.3

IsNull( x )

this function is synonym of IsEmpty(). Gives True if value is equal to Null (empty) value.

IsTruereturns ARRAYAFL 1.5

istrue( ARRAY )

returns 1 (or 'true') when given point is not {empty} AND not zero

Taught in:Part 8 — Boolean Arrays: Close > MA(Close, 50)Part 9 — Challenge: State or Event?Part 9 — Cleaning Signals: ExRem, ExRemSpan and Flip Part 9 — Counting and Accumulating: BarsSince, Cum, Sum Part 9 — State versus Event: The Distinction That Breaks Formulas Part 12 — Challenge: The Scan That Returns Nothing Part 12 — Exporting Results and Building a Daily Workflow Part 12 — Project: Build a Daily Stock Screener Part 12 — Reality Check: Do High-Volume Breakouts Lead Anywhere?Part 16 — Breadth Divergence and Market Regime Part 16 — Building Composites with AddToComposite()Part 16 — Project: Market Breadth Dashboard Official documentation

NullCountreturns NUMBERAFL 3.90

NullCount( array, mode = 1 )

Counts the number of consecutive nulls at the beginning of the array (mode = 1), at the end of the array (mode=2), from both ends (mode=3) and all nulls in the array (including non-consecutive) (mode=0)

Taught in:Part 6 — ADX and Directional Movement Part 8 — Errors, Debugging and Sanity Checks Part 8 — Null Values, Nz() and Warm-Up Periods Part 9 — Challenge: State or Event?Part 9 — Referencing Past Bars with Ref()Part 9 — Running Extremes: HHV, LLV and Friends Part 11 — Defensive AFL: Guarding Against Bad Input and Bad Data Part 14 — TimeFrameSet() and TimeFrameRestore()Official documentation

Nzreturns NUMBER,AFL 2.3

Nz( x, valueifnull = 0 )

Converts Null/Nan/Infinity values to zero (or user defined value) x can be number or array. You can use the Nz function to return zero, or another specified value when argument x is Null or Nan or Infinite. For example, you can use this function to convert a Null (empty) value to another value and prevent it from propagating through an expression.

Taught in:Part 37 — Components 7 and 8: Backtest and Robustness Evaluation Part 37 — Component 1: Market Dashboard Part 37 — Component 6: The Trading Strategy Part 2 — Data Defects in Practice Part 2 — Lab: Prove That Bad Data Breaks Analysis Part 3 — Importing and Updating Market Data Part 4 — Linear versus Logarithmic Scaling Part 6 — Reality Check: Does RSI Above 70 Mean Sell?Part 7 — Context, Evidence and Base Rates Part 7 — Reality Check: Can We Test Whether a Pattern Predicted Anything?Part 8 — Boolean Arrays: Close > MA(Close, 50)Part 8 — Errors, Debugging and Sanity Checks Part 8 — Null Values, Nz() and Warm-Up Periods Part 8 — Variables, Numbers and Expressions Part 10 — Project: Trend Regime Indicator Part 11 — Defensive AFL: Guarding Against Bad Input and Bad Data Part 11 — Project: Your Personal AFL Utility Library Part 11 — Variable Scope: local, global and the Traps Part 12 — Building Screening Filters That Mean Something Part 12 — Challenge: The Scan That Returns Nothing Part 13 — Static Variables for Cross-Sectional Work Part 16 — Building Composites with AddToComposite()Part 16 — Project: Market Breadth Dashboard Part 18 — Choosing a Data Source: A Decision Framework Part 18 — Free and End-of-Day Sources with AmiQuote Part 18 — Appendix: IQFeed Part 20 — Challenge: The Opening Range That Moved Part 20 — Daylight Saving and Alignment Failures Part 20 — Sessions: Regular Hours, Pre-Market and After-Hours Part 21 — Challenge: The Chart That Stopped Updating Part 21 — Feed Updating versus Chart Refresh Part 24 — Defining Intraday Setup Conditions Part 28 — Reality Check: Is the Golden Cross Worth Anything?Part 28 — Stops with ApplyStop()Part 29 — Equity Curve Analysis Part 30 — Insufficient Evidence and Regime Dependence Part 34 — Lab: Same Strategy, Three Position-Sizing Models Part 34 — Risk Per Trade and Stop Distance Part 34 — Volatility-Based Position Sizing Part 35 — The Research Lifecycle End to End Part 35 — Defining Your Universe and Market Regime Part 36 — Static Variables in Depth Official documentation

PlaySoundreturns NUMBERAFL 3.40

PlaySound( "filename" )

The function plays back specified .WAV file. Returns 1 on success, 0 on failure

Taught in:Part 25 — Alert Mechanisms and AlertIf()Part 35 — From Candidate to Decision Official documentation

SendEmailreturns NOTHINGAFL 3.90

SendEmail(''subject'', ''message'', ShowUI = False )

Send an e-mail to an address defined in the Preferences/Alert page. A direct version of functionality already provided by AlertIF. This function sends e-mail unconditionally and it is easier to use if you don't need state logic provided by AlertIf. Note that "From" and "To" addresses as well as SMTP email configuration should be done in Tools->Preferences, "Alerts" page.

Taught in:Part 25 — Alert Mechanisms and AlertIf()Part 35 — From Candidate to Decision Official documentation

SetBarsRequiredreturns nothingAFL 2.1

SetBarsRequired( backwardref = -1, forwardref = -1 )

set number of previous and future bars needed for script/DLL to properly execute. If your formula is pure AFL you don't need to use this function at all, as AmiBroker automatically calculates number of bars required for all its built-in functions. But if you are using script or a DLL you may need to use this function to make sure that your indicators are properly calculated in QuickAFL mode.

Taught in:Part 37 — Components 7 and 8: Backtest and Robustness Evaluation Part 37 — Component 1: Market Dashboard Part 37 — Component 4: Multi-Timeframe Chart Part 37 — Capstone Overview and Requirements Part 37 — Component 3: Scanner Part 37 — Component 2: Stock Exploration Part 7 — Reality Check: Can We Test Whether a Pattern Predicted Anything?Part 9 — Challenge: State or Event?Part 9 — Cleaning Signals: ExRem, ExRemSpan and Flip Part 9 — Counting and Accumulating: BarsSince, Cum, Sum Part 9 — Running Extremes: HHV, LLV and Friends Part 14 — Project: Multi-Timeframe Trend Indicator Part 14 — Project: Multi-Timeframe Scanner Part 14 — TimeFrameSet() and TimeFrameRestore()Part 16 — Building Composites with AddToComposite()Part 16 — Project: Market Breadth Dashboard Part 24 — Defining Intraday Setup Conditions Part 24 — Project: Intraday Breakout Scanner Part 24 — Repeat Scanning: Mechanics and Costs Part 28 — Stops with ApplyStop()Part 29 — Equity Curve Analysis Part 30 — Insufficient Evidence and Regime Dependence Part 30 — Look-Ahead Bias Part 30 — Survivorship and Selection Bias Part 30 — Unrealistic Fills, Costs and Liquidity Part 32 — Interpreting Out-of-Sample Degradation Part 35 — The Research Lifecycle End to End Part 36 — Advanced Debugging and Tracing Part 36 — Performance: QuickAFL, Multi-Threading and Cost Official documentation

StaticVarAddreturns NOTHINGAFL 4.10

StaticVarAdd( "name", value, keepAll = True, persistent = False )

StaticVarAdd implements an atomic addition (interlocked read-add-write) operation for static variables. It is multithreading safe addition for static variables that are shared by multiple threads. This function is atomic with respect to calls to other static variable functions. KeepAll flag when it is set to true emulates the behavior of AddToComposite.

Taught in:Part 36 — Performance: QuickAFL, Multi-Threading and Cost Part 36 — Static Variables in Depth Official documentation

StaticVarCompareExchangereturns NUMBERAFL 3.50

StaticVarCompareExchange( ''varname'', exchange, comperand )

Parameters: "varname" - Specifies the name of the destination static variable. Static variable if exists must be scalar numeric type. If static variable is not initialized, the function assumes that it has value of zero. exchange - specifies the exchange value. Scalar numeric. comperand - specifies the value to compare to the destination static variable. Scalar numeric.

Taught in:Part 36 — Static Variables in Depth Official documentation

StaticVarCountreturns NUMBERAFL 3.30

StaticVarCount()

the function returns total number of static variables in memory

Taught in:Part 13 — Static Variables for Cross-Sectional Work Part 36 — Static Variables in Depth Official documentation

StaticVarGenerateRanksreturns NOTHINGAFL 3.70

StaticVarGenerateRanks( "outputprefix", "inputprefix", topranks, tiemode )

The function implements general-purpose multiple symbol bar-by-bar ranking. StaticVarGenarateRanks( "outputprefix", "inputprefix", topranks, tiemode ) "inputprefix" is a prefix that defines names of static variables that will be used as input for ranking. AmiBroker will search for all static variables that begin with that prefix and assume that remaining part of the variable name is a stock symbol.

Taught in:Part 13 — Project: Market Relative Strength Ranking Tool Part 13 — StaticVarGenerateRanks() and Top-N Selection Part 30 — Look-Ahead Bias Official documentation

StaticVarGetreturns NUMBERAFL 2.60

StaticVarGet( ''varname', align = True' )

Gets the value of static variable. Static variable - the variable has static duration (it is allocated when the program begins and deallocated when the program ends) and initializes it to Null unless another value is specified. Static variables allow to share values between various formulas. ARRAY static variables are now supported (version 5.30 and above).

Taught in:Part 12 — Exporting Results and Building a Daily Workflow Part 13 — Project: Market Relative Strength Ranking Tool Part 13 — Static Variables for Cross-Sectional Work Part 13 — StaticVarGenerateRanks() and Top-N Selection Part 21 — Challenge: The Chart That Stopped Updating Part 21 — Feed Updating versus Chart Refresh Part 21 — Lab: Build a Real-Time Trading Layout Part 23 — RequestTimedRefresh() and Real-Time Performance Part 36 — Static Variables in Depth Official documentation

StaticVarGetRankedSymbolsreturns STRINGAFL 3.70

StaticVarGetRankedSymbols( "outputprefix", "inputprefix", datetime )

Retrieves the comma-separated list of symbols from static variables generated using StaticVarGenerateRanks. For more information see StaticVarGenerateRanks documentation.

Taught in:Part 13 — StaticVarGenerateRanks() and Top-N Selection Official documentation

StaticVarGetTextreturns STRINGAFL 2.60

StaticVarGetText( ''varname'' )

Gets the value of static variable as string. The only difference between StaticVarGet is that this function always returns string, so if given static variable does not exist it returns empty string "" instead of Null. Numbers are also converted to string.

Taught in:Part 36 — Static Variables in Depth Official documentation

StaticVarInforeturns STRINGAFL 3.60

StaticVarInfo( ''varname'', ''field'' )

The function provides information about static variables. Arguments: "varname" - is a variable name. It can be also a wildcard template such as "myvariable*" and then it means that AmiBroker will search for all variables beginning with " myvariable". * character matches any string, ? matches any single character "field" - defines the information to retrieve.

Taught in:Part 13 — Static Variables for Cross-Sectional Work Part 36 — Static Variables in Depth Official documentation

StaticVarRemovereturns NOTHINGAFL 2.80

StaticVarRemove( ''variablename'' )

This function removes static variable and releases associated memory. With AmiBroker version 5.30, StaticVarRemove() supports wildcards in the variable name. "varname" parameter can be either exact variable name or wildcard match string. The '*' matches any number of characters, including zero characters. The '?' matches exactly one character.

Taught in:Part 13 — Project: Market Relative Strength Ranking Tool Part 13 — Static Variables for Cross-Sectional Work Part 13 — StaticVarGenerateRanks() and Top-N Selection Part 36 — Static Variables in Depth Official documentation

StaticVarSetreturns NUMBERAFL 2.60

StaticVarSet( ''varname'', value, persistent = False, compressionMode = cmDefault )

Sets the value of static variable. Returns 1 on success 0 on failure. Static variable - the variable has static duration (it is allocated when the program begins and deallocated when the program ends) and initializes it to Null unless another value is specified. Static variables allow to share values between various formulas.

StaticVarSetTextAFL 2.60

StaticVarSetText( ''varname'', ''value'', persist = False )

Sets the value of static string variable. Returns 1 on success 0 on failure. Static variable - the variable has static duration (it is allocated when the program begins and deallocated when the program ends) and initializes it to Null unless another value is specified. Static variables allow to share values between various formulas. Starting from version 5.80 there is a new parameter 'persist'.

Taught in:Part 36 — Static Variables in Depth Official documentation

Statusreturns NUMBERAFL 1.65

status( ''statuscode'' )

Returns run-time status of the analysis engine. Supported status codes: "stocknum" - gives you the ordinal number of currently analysed symbol "action" - gives information in what context given formula is run: 1 - actionIndicator (INDICATOR), 2 - actionCommentary (COMMENTARY), 3 - actionScan (SCAN), 4 - actionExplore (EXPLORATION), 5 - actionBacktest (BACKTEST / OPTIMIZE), 6 - actionPortfolio (portfolio backtest).

Taught in:Part 37 — Components 7 and 8: Backtest and Robustness Evaluation Part 37 — Component 4: Multi-Timeframe Chart Part 37 — Capstone Overview and Requirements Part 37 — Component 9: The Research Report Part 37 — Component 3: Scanner Part 37 — Component 2: Stock Exploration Part 2 — Data Defects in Practice Part 2 — Lab: Prove That Bad Data Breaks Analysis Part 2 — Survivorship, Delistings and Index Membership Part 3 — Importing and Updating Market Data Part 3 — Lab: Install AmiBroker and Verify Your Setup Part 6 — Reality Check: Does RSI Above 70 Mean Sell?Part 7 — Reality Check: Can We Test Whether a Pattern Predicted Anything?Part 8 — What AFL Is and Where It Runs Part 9 — Challenge: State or Event?Part 9 — Cleaning Signals: ExRem, ExRemSpan and Flip Part 9 — Counting and Accumulating: BarsSince, Cum, Sum Part 11 — Project: Your Personal AFL Utility Library Part 12 — The Analysis Window and Its Four Modes Part 12 — Building Screening Filters That Mean Something Part 12 — Challenge: The Scan That Returns Nothing Part 12 — Exploration: Filter, AddColumn and AddTextColumn Part 12 — Exporting Results and Building a Daily Workflow Part 12 — Lab: Your First Scan Part 12 — Project: Build a Daily Stock Screener Part 12 — Reality Check: Do High-Volume Breakouts Lead Anywhere?Part 13 — Project: Market Relative Strength Ranking Tool Part 13 — Static Variables for Cross-Sectional Work Part 15 — Benchmarks and Relative Performance Part 15 — Data Alignment Pitfalls Across Symbols Part 15 — Project: Relative Strength Comparison Tool Part 16 — Breadth Divergence and Market Regime Part 16 — Building Composites with AddToComposite()Part 16 — Project: Market Breadth Dashboard Part 17 — Plugins and the Database Relationship Part 17 — The Real-Time Architecture, End to End Part 18 — Choosing a Data Source: A Decision Framework Part 18 — Free and End-of-Day Sources with AmiQuote Part 18 — Appendix: eSignal and Other Supported Feeds Part 19 — Backfill and Database Maintenance Part 19 — The Base Interval Decision Part 19 — Challenge: The History That Is Not All There Part 19 — Intraday Database Settings in Detail Part 19 — Lab: Build an Intraday Market Database Part 20 — Challenge: The Opening Range That Moved Part 20 — Daylight Saving and Alignment Failures Part 20 — Exchange Time versus Your Clock Part 21 — Challenge: The Chart That Stopped Updating Part 21 — Feed Updating versus Chart Refresh Part 21 — Lab: Build a Real-Time Trading Layout Part 22 — Quote Fields and the Real-Time Quote Window Part 23 — Knowing Where You Are: Status() and Execution Context Part 23 — GetRTData() and the Live Quote Fields Part 23 — Project: Real-Time Quote Dashboard Part 23 — RequestTimedRefresh() and Real-Time Performance Part 24 — Repeat Scanning: Mechanics and Costs Part 26 — Replay Exercise: Reading a Session Live Part 28 — Project: A Realistic Portfolio Backtest Part 28 — Reality Check: Is the Golden Cross Worth Anything?Part 28 — Single-Symbol Thinking versus Portfolio Reality Part 28 — Stops with ApplyStop()Part 30 — Data Snooping, Curve Fitting and Overfitting Part 30 — Insufficient Evidence and Regime Dependence Part 30 — Survivorship and Selection Bias Part 30 — Unrealistic Fills, Costs and Liquidity Part 32 — In-Sample and Out-of-Sample Part 33 — What Monte Carlo Can and Cannot Tell You Part 34 — Portfolio Exposure, Concentration and Correlation Part 35 — Journalling and Separating Two Kinds of Performance Part 35 — The Research Lifecycle End to End Part 35 — Defining Your Universe and Market Regime Part 36 — Introduction to the Custom Backtester Interface Part 36 — Advanced Debugging and Tracing Part 36 — Performance: QuickAFL, Multi-Threading and Cost Part 36 — Static Variables in Depth Official documentation

Studyreturns ARRAYAFL 1.5

Study( STUDYID, CHARTID = 1, scale = -1 )

generates an array equivalent to a trendline study drawn by the user - allows detecting trendline breakouts from AFL. STUDYID is a two-character identifier of the study. identifiers are: "UP" - uptrend, "DN" - downtrend, "SU" - support, "RE" - resistance, "ST" - stop loss, however you can use ANY identifiers (there are no limitations except that AmiBroker accepts only 2 letter codes).

Taught in:Part 3 — Navigating and Scaling Charts Part 5 — Trendlines and Channels Official documentation

ThreadSleepreturns NOTHINGAFL 3.50

ThreadSleep( milliseconds )

ThreadSleep( milliseconds ) suspends current thread for specified number of milliseconds (maximum is 100 ms). Works only from NON-UI threads. When called from UI thread the function does NOTHING and returns immediatelly. Please do NOT abuse this function. Using it may negatively impact performance. The function is provided for advanced users to implement inter-thread synchronization.

Taught in:Part 36 — Static Variables in Depth Official documentation

VarGetreturns ARRAYAFL 2.60

VarGet( ''varname'' )

Gets the value of dynamic variable. Returns the NUMBER or ARRAY depending on type of underlying variable. Dynamic variables are variables that are named dynamically, typically by creating a variable name from a static part and a variable part. For example, the following example dynamically constructs the variable name from a variable prefix and a static suffix. Dynamic variables are always global.

Taught in:Part 36 — Dynamic Variables: VarSet, VarGet and Friends Official documentation

VarGetTextreturns STRINGAFL 2.80

VarGetText( ''varname'' )

Gets the text (string) value of dynamic variable. Similar to VarGet but always returns always string values (if underlying variable has different type it is converted to string) Allows for example appe

Taught in:Part 36 — Dynamic Variables: VarSet, VarGet and Friends Official documentation

VarSetreturns NUMBERAFL 2.60

VarSet( ''varname'', value )

Sets the value of dynamic variable. Returns 1 on success, 0 on failure. Dynamic variables are variables that are named dynamically, typically by creating a variable name from a static part and a variable part. The following example dynamically constructs the variable name from a variable prefix and a static suffix. Dynamic variables are always global.

Taught in:Part 36 — Dynamic Variables: VarSet, VarGet and Friends Official documentation

VarSetTextreturns STRINGAFL 2.80

VarSetText( ''varname'', ''valuetext'' )

Sets the text (string) value of dynamic variable. Similar to VarSet but allows to assign string (text) instead of number/array. Dynamic variables are variables that are named dynamically, typically by creating a variable name from a static part and a variable part. For example, the following example dynamically constructs the variable name from a variable prefix and a static suffix.

Taught in:Part 36 — Dynamic Variables: VarSet, VarGet and Friends Official documentation

Versionreturns NUMBERAFL 1.9

Version( minrequired = 0)

Returns the AmiBroker version number as float ( 3.90 for example ). Additionally when you specify Version( 4.0 ) AmiBroker will issue an error message when running the formula on AB earlier than 4.0 :)

Taught in:Part 3 — Lab: Install AmiBroker and Verify Your Setup Part 11 — Defensive AFL: Guarding Against Bad Input and Bad Data Part 11 — Include Files and Building a Library Part 11 — Project: Your Personal AFL Utility Library Official documentation

Moving averages, summation

AMAreturns ARRAYAFL 1.5

ama ( ARRAY, SMOOTHINGFACTOR )

calculates adaptive moving average - simliar to EMA() but smoothing factor could be time-variant (array).

Taught in:Part 6 — Moving Averages: SMA and EMA Part 8 — Logic, Conditionals and IIf()Part 36 — Advanced Debugging and Tracing Part 36 — Performance: QuickAFL, Multi-Threading and Cost Official documentation

Cumreturns ARRAY

Cum( ARRAY ) Cum( Value )

Calculates a cumulative sum of the ARRAY from the first period in the chart. Note: Starting from AmiBroker 5.30, the Cum() function does NOT force using all bars. In the past versions Cum() functions effectively turned OFF QuickAFL feature by requesting all bars to be processed. Since Cum() function was popular it caused that many legacy formulas that used it were not benefiting from QuickAFL.

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 4: Multi-Timeframe Chart Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 2 — Data Defects in Practice Part 2 — Lab: Prove That Bad Data Breaks Analysis Part 2 — Survivorship, Delistings and Index Membership Part 3 — Importing and Updating Market Data Part 3 — Lab: Install AmiBroker and Verify Your Setup Part 4 — Lab: Structured Chart Interpretation Part 4 — Swings, Highs and Lows Part 6 — Moving Average Slope and Crossovers Part 6 — Reality Check: Does RSI Above 70 Mean Sell?Part 7 — Candlestick Anatomy and Single-Bar Patterns Part 7 — Context, Evidence and Base Rates Part 7 — Multi-Bar Candlestick Patterns Part 7 — Reality Check: Can We Test Whether a Pattern Predicted Anything?Part 8 — Boolean Arrays: Close > MA(Close, 50)Part 8 — Errors, Debugging and Sanity Checks Part 9 — Challenge: State or Event?Part 9 — Cleaning Signals: ExRem, ExRemSpan and Flip Part 9 — Counting and Accumulating: BarsSince, Cum, Sum Part 9 — State versus Event: The Distinction That Breaks Formulas Part 11 — Project: Your Personal AFL Utility Library Part 11 — Variable Scope: local, global and the Traps Part 14 — Expansion Modes and the Look-Ahead Trap Part 14 — Project: Multi-Timeframe Trend Indicator Part 14 — Project: Multi-Timeframe Scanner Part 15 — Benchmarks and Relative Performance Part 15 — Data Alignment Pitfalls Across Symbols Part 15 — Project: Relative Strength Comparison Tool Part 16 — Breadth Divergence and Market Regime Part 16 — Building Composites with AddToComposite()Part 16 — Project: Market Breadth Dashboard Part 17 — Plugins and the Database Relationship Part 18 — Choosing a Data Source: A Decision Framework Part 18 — Free and End-of-Day Sources with AmiQuote Part 20 — Challenge: The Opening Range That Moved Part 20 — Daylight Saving and Alignment Failures Part 20 — Sessions: Regular Hours, Pre-Market and After-Hours Part 22 — Time & Sales: What It Does and Does Not Tell You Part 25 — Duplicate Alerts and How to Stop Them Part 28 — Reality Check: Is the Golden Cross Worth Anything?Part 28 — Stops with ApplyStop()Part 30 — Insufficient Evidence and Regime Dependence Part 33 — Sequence Risk and Risk of Ruin Part 33 — What Monte Carlo Can and Cannot Tell You Part 34 — Portfolio Exposure, Concentration and Correlation Part 36 — Performance: QuickAFL, Multi-Threading and Cost Official documentation

DEMAreturns ARRAYAFL 2.0

dema( ARRAY, periods )

Calculates double exponentially smoothed average - DEMA. The function accepts time-variable periods.

Taught in:Part 10 — Project: Configurable Moving-Average Indicator Official documentation

EMAreturns ARRAY

ema ( ARRAY, periods )

Calculates a periods exponential moving average of ARRAY

Taught in:Part 6 — Lab: Indicator Behaviour Workbench Part 6 — Moving Averages: SMA and EMA Part 6 — What an Indicator Actually Is Part 10 — Project: Configurable Moving-Average Indicator Part 28 — Backtester Basics: Signals and Trade Prices Official documentation

MAreturns ARRAY

ma( ARRAY, periods )

Calculates a periods simple moving average of ARRAY The function accepts periods parameter that can be constant as well as time-variant (array).

Taught in:Part 37 — Components 7 and 8: Backtest and Robustness Evaluation Part 37 — Component 1: Market Dashboard Part 37 — Component 4: Multi-Timeframe Chart Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 37 — Component 3: Scanner Part 37 — Component 2: Stock Exploration Part 37 — Component 6: The Trading Strategy Part 2 — Lab: Prove That Bad Data Breaks Analysis Part 3 — Lab: Build Your First AmiBroker Workspace Part 5 — Breakouts, Failed Breakouts and Role Reversal Part 6 — Lab: Indicator Behaviour Workbench Part 6 — Moving Averages: SMA and EMA Part 6 — Volatility: True Range, ATR and Bollinger Bands Part 6 — Volume and Volume-Based Indicators Part 6 — What an Indicator Actually Is Part 7 — Context, Evidence and Base Rates Part 7 — Reality Check: Can We Test Whether a Pattern Predicted Anything?Part 8 — Boolean Arrays: Close > MA(Close, 50)Part 8 — Errors, Debugging and Sanity Checks Part 8 — Logic, Conditionals and IIf()Part 8 — Null Values, Nz() and Warm-Up Periods Part 8 — Syntax Basics: Statements, Comments and Names Part 8 — The Array Model: The Most Important Lesson in This Course Part 8 — Variables, Numbers and Expressions Part 8 — Your First Formula Part 10 — Project: Configurable Moving-Average Indicator Part 10 — Project: Multi-Indicator Analysis Panel Part 10 — Project: Trend Regime Indicator Part 11 — Defensive AFL: Guarding Against Bad Input and Bad Data Part 11 — Project: Your Personal AFL Utility Library Part 11 — User-Defined Functions and Procedures Part 11 — Variable Scope: local, global and the Traps Part 12 — Building Screening Filters That Mean Something Part 12 — Challenge: The Scan That Returns Nothing Part 12 — Exporting Results and Building a Daily Workflow Part 12 — Lab: Your First Scan Part 12 — Reality Check: Do High-Volume Breakouts Lead Anywhere?Part 16 — Project: Market Breadth Dashboard Part 26 — Replay Exercise: Reading a Session Live Part 27 — Execution Assumptions You Must State Part 27 — From Hypothesis to Rules Part 27 — Project: Your First Complete Trading System Part 27 — From Rules to AFL Part 28 — Costs: Commissions, Slippage and the Spread Part 28 — Portfolio Backtesting: Many Symbols, One Account Part 28 — Position Sizing with SetPositionSize()Part 28 — Project: A Realistic Portfolio Backtest Part 28 — Reality Check: Is the Golden Cross Worth Anything?Part 28 — Single-Symbol Thinking versus Portfolio Reality Part 28 — Stops with ApplyStop()Part 29 — Reading the Backtest Report Part 30 — Challenge Collection: Six Broken Backtests Part 30 — Challenge: 180% a Year with a 3% Drawdown Part 30 — Data Snooping, Curve Fitting and Overfitting Part 30 — Insufficient Evidence and Regime Dependence Part 30 — Position Sizing and Portfolio Errors Part 30 — Unrealistic Fills, Costs and Liquidity Part 31 — Best Value versus Robust Region Part 31 — Lab: Optimise Without Fooling Yourself Part 31 — Reading Parameter Surfaces Part 31 — What Optimize() Actually Does Part 32 — Lab: Run a Walk-Forward Analysis Part 33 — The AmiBroker Monte Carlo Workflow Part 34 — Lab: Same Strategy, Three Position-Sizing Models Part 35 — Defining Your Universe and Market Regime Part 36 — Introduction to the Custom Backtester Interface Part 36 — Matrices and Advanced Data Handling Official documentation

Sumreturns ARRAY

Sum( ARRAY, periods )

Calculates a cumulative sum of the ARRAY for the specified number of lookback periods (including today). The function accepts periods parameter that can be constant as well as time-variant (array).

Taught in:Part 5 — Reality Check: Do Support Levels Actually Hold?Part 8 — Boolean Arrays: Close > MA(Close, 50)Part 9 — Counting and Accumulating: BarsSince, Cum, Sum Part 10 — Project: Trend Regime Indicator Part 20 — Challenge: The Opening Range That Moved Part 36 — Matrices and Advanced Data Handling Official documentation

SumSincereturns ArrayAFL 4.10

SumSince( condition, array, incFirst = False )

The function calculates running sum of array elements since condition was true. It works like: x = Cum ( array ) - ValueWhen ( condition, Cum ( array ) ); or like: x = Sum ( array, BarsSince ( condition ) ); but much faster. When incFirst is set to True, the sum includes the very first value at the bar when condition was true.

Taught in:Part 9 — Counting and Accumulating: BarsSince, Cum, Sum Part 24 — Defining Intraday Setup Conditions Part 24 — Project: Intraday Breakout Scanner Official documentation

TEMAreturns ARRAYAFL 2.0

tema( ARRAY, periods )

Calculates triple exponentially smoothed average - TEMA. The function accepts time-variable periods.

Taught in:Part 10 — Project: Configurable Moving-Average Indicator Official documentation

Wildersreturns ARRAYAFL 1.4

Wilders( ARRAY, periods )

Calculates Wilder's average of the ARRAY using periods averaging range

Taught in:Part 6 — ADX and Directional Movement Part 10 — Project: Configurable Moving-Average Indicator Official documentation

WMAreturns ARRAYAFL 2.0

wma( ARRAY, periods )

Calculates weighted average. 5 day weighted average gives weight of 5 to the most recent quote, 4 to the previous quote, downto 1 for the 5-bar back quote. The function accepts time-variable periods.

Taught in:Part 6 — Moving Averages: SMA and EMA Part 10 — Project: Configurable Moving-Average Indicator Official documentation

Referencing other symbol data

Foreignreturns ARRAYAFL 1.5

foreign ( TICKER, DATAFIELD, fixup = 1)

Allows referencing other (than current) tickers in the AFL formulas. TICKER is a string that holds the symbol of the stock. DATAFIELD defines which array is referenced. Allowable data fields: "O" (open

Taught in:Part 37 — Components 7 and 8: Backtest and Robustness Evaluation Part 37 — Component 1: Market Dashboard Part 37 — Capstone Overview and Requirements Part 37 — Component 3: Scanner Part 37 — Component 2: Stock Exploration Part 37 — Component 6: The Trading Strategy Part 2 — Splits, Dividends and Adjusted Data Part 13 — Relative Strength: What It Does and Does Not Mean Part 15 — Benchmarks and Relative Performance Part 15 — Data Alignment Pitfalls Across Symbols Part 15 — Foreign(), SetForeign() and RestorePriceArrays()Part 15 — Project: Relative Strength Comparison Tool Part 15 — Sectors and Intermarket Analysis Part 16 — Breadth Concepts: Participation and Its Measures Part 16 — Breadth Divergence and Market Regime Part 16 — Building Composites with AddToComposite()Part 16 — Project: Market Breadth Dashboard Part 29 — Equity Curve Analysis Part 30 — Insufficient Evidence and Regime Dependence Part 33 — What Monte Carlo Can and Cannot Tell You Part 34 — Drawdown and Risk of Ruin in Practice Part 34 — Portfolio Exposure, Concentration and Correlation Part 35 — From Candidate to Decision Part 35 — Journalling and Separating Two Kinds of Performance Part 35 — Defining Your Universe and Market Regime Official documentation

GetBaseIndexreturns STRINGAFL 2.1

GetBaseIndex( )

Retrieves base relative-strength index for given security as defined in Symbol->Categories.

Taught in:Part 15 — Benchmarks and Relative Performance Part 15 — Foreign(), SetForeign() and RestorePriceArrays()Part 15 — Project: Relative Strength Comparison Tool Official documentation

PlotForeignreturns NUMBERAFL 2.2

PlotForeign( tickersymbol , name , color/barcolor , style = styleCandle styleOwnScale , minvalue = {empty}, maxvalue = {empty}, XShift = 0, ZOrder = 0, width = 1 )

Plots the foreign-symbol price chart (symbol is defined by tickersymbol parameter). Second argument name defines graph name used for displaying values in a title bar. Graph color could be static (if third argument is a number) or dynamic (when third argument is an array).

Taught in:Part 15 — Foreign(), SetForeign() and RestorePriceArrays()Part 32 — The AmiBroker Walk-Forward Workflow Part 32 — Lab: Run a Walk-Forward Analysis Official documentation

RelStrengthreturns ARRAYAFL 1.3

RelStrength( "tickername", fixup = 1)

Calculates relative strength of currently selected security compared to "tickername" security. When you give an empty string as argument, a standard relative strength base security taken from Stock->Categories will be used.

Taught in:Part 13 — Relative Strength: What It Does and Does Not Mean Part 15 — Benchmarks and Relative Performance Part 15 — Foreign(), SetForeign() and RestorePriceArrays()Official documentation

RestorePriceArraysreturns NOTHINGAFL 2.5

RestorePriceArrays( tradeprices = False )

The RestorePriceArrays restores original price and volume arrays after the call to SetForeign . tradeprices parameter has to match the one used in SetForeign() function. When tradeprices argument is set to TRUE, then not only OHLC, V, OI, Avg arrays are restored, but BuyPrice, SellPrice, ShortPrice, CoverPrice, PointValue, TickSize, RoundLotSize, MarginDeposit variables too.

Taught in:Part 13 — Project: Market Relative Strength Ranking Tool Part 13 — Relative Strength: What It Does and Does Not Mean Part 13 — Static Variables for Cross-Sectional Work Part 15 — Foreign(), SetForeign() and RestorePriceArrays()Part 36 — Dynamic Variables: VarSet, VarGet and Friends Official documentation

SetForeignreturns NUMBERAFL 2.5

SetForeign( ticker, fixup = True, tradeprices = False )

The SetForeign function replaces current price/volume arrays with those of foreign security, returns True (1) if ticker exists, False (0) otherwise. If ticker does not exist (and function returns false) price arrays are not changed at all. fixup parameter controls if data holes are filled with previous bar data or not.

Statistical functions

Correlationreturns ARRAYAFL 1.4

correlation( ARRAY1, ARRAY2, periods )

Calculates correlation between ARRAY1 and ARRAY2 using periods range For more information about correlation please check this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correlation

Taught in:Part 15 — Sectors and Intermarket Analysis Part 34 — Portfolio Exposure, Concentration and Correlation Official documentation

LinearRegreturns ARRAYAFL 2.2

LinearReg( ARRAY, periods )

Calculates linear regression line end-point value according to a + b * x (where a and b are intercept and slope of linear regression line) from the ARRAY using periods range. The function accepts periods parameter that can be constant as well as time-variant (array).

Taught in:Part 5 — Trendlines and Channels Part 6 — Moving Average Slope and Crossovers Official documentation

LinRegSlopereturns ARRAYAFL 1.4

LinRegSlope( ARRAY, periods )

Calculates linear regression line slope from the ARRAY using periods range. The function accepts periods parameter that can be constant as well as time-variant (array).

Taught in:Part 5 — Trendlines and Channels Part 6 — Moving Average Slope and Crossovers Official documentation

Medianreturns ARRAYAFL 2.5

Median( array, period )

The Median function - finds median (middle element) value of the array over period elements. Note that LOWER median is returned when 'period' is an even number. If you want to get average of upper and lower median for even 'periods' you need to use Percentile( array, period, 50 ) instead. It will do the averaging for you but runs slower.

Taught in:Part 37 — Components 7 and 8: Backtest and Robustness Evaluation Part 37 — Component 3: Scanner Part 37 — Component 2: Stock Exploration Part 37 — Component 6: The Trading Strategy Part 6 — Volume and Volume-Based Indicators Part 11 — Project: Your Personal AFL Utility Library Part 13 — Project: Market Relative Strength Ranking Tool Part 13 — Ranking versus Filtering Part 30 — Survivorship and Selection Bias Official documentation

mtRandomreturns NUMBERAFL 3.0

mtRandom( seed = Null ) mtRandomA( seed = Null )

mtRandom( seed = Null ) - returns single random number (scalar) in the range [0,1) mtRandomA( seed = Null ) - returns array of random numbers in the range of [0,1) seed is random generator seed value. If you don't specify one, the random number generator is automatically initialized with current time as a seed that guarantees unique sequence Both functions use Mersene Twister mt19973ar-cok algorithm.

Taught in:Part 30 — Data Snooping, Curve Fitting and Overfitting Part 33 — The AmiBroker Monte Carlo Workflow Part 33 — Sequence Risk and Risk of Ruin Official documentation

mtRandomAreturns ARRAYAFL 3.0

mtRandomA( seed = Null )

This is array version of mtRandom function For more details please check mtRandom function.

Taught in:Part 30 — Data Snooping, Curve Fitting and Overfitting Part 33 — The AmiBroker Monte Carlo Workflow Part 33 — The Limits of Simulation Official documentation

Percentilereturns ARRAYAFL 2.5

Percentile( array, period, rank )

The Percentile function gives rank percentile value of the array over last period bars. rank is 0..100 - defines percentile rank in the array Performance note: the implementation of percentile function involves sorting that is relatively slow process even though that quicksort algorithm is used. Since version 5.92 Percentile supports variable period.

Taught in:Part 6 — Volume and Volume-Based Indicators Part 10 — Project: ATR Volatility Indicator Official documentation

StDevreturns ARRAYAFL 1.4

StDev( ARRAY, periods , Population = True )

Calculates moving standard deviation of the ARRAY over periods bars AmiBroker 6.20 adds 3rd argument "Population = True". When Population is True it calculates population based stdev, otherwise sample based StDev( Array, range, False ) - works the same as Excel's STDEV StDev( Array, range, True ) - works the same as Excel's STDEV.P

Taught in:Part 5 — Consolidation and Volatility Contraction Part 5 — Trendlines and Channels Part 6 — Volatility: True Range, ATR and Bollinger Bands Part 11 — Project: Your Personal AFL Utility Library Part 34 — Portfolio Exposure, Concentration and Correlation Part 36 — Matrices and Advanced Data Handling Official documentation

String manipulation

NumToStrreturns STRINGAFL 2.5

NumToStr( NUMBER, format = 1.3, separator =True, roundAndPad = False ) NumToStr( ARRAY, format = 1.3, separator =True, roundAndPad = False )

It is used to convert numeric value of NUMBER or ARRAY to string. The second parameter - format - allows you to control output formatting (decimal places and leading spaces). The integer part of the number controls minimum number of characters used to display the number (if you specify high number the output will be space-padded).

Taught in:Part 3 — Lab: Build Your First AmiBroker Workspace Part 4 — Lab: Structured Chart Interpretation Part 6 — Lab: Indicator Behaviour Workbench Part 7 — Candlestick Anatomy and Single-Bar Patterns Part 10 — Chart Titles and Dynamic Text Part 10 — Project: Multi-Indicator Analysis Panel Part 11 — Defensive AFL: Guarding Against Bad Input and Bad Data Part 11 — Include Files and Building a Library Part 11 — Project: Your Personal AFL Utility Library Part 11 — User-Defined Functions and Procedures Part 12 — Exporting Results and Building a Daily Workflow Part 18 — Appendix: eSignal and Other Supported Feeds Part 19 — Intraday Database Settings in Detail Part 21 — Intraday Chart Intervals and What They Cost Part 36 — Introduction to the Custom Backtester Interface Part 36 — Advanced Debugging and Tracing Part 36 — Dynamic Variables: VarSet, VarGet and Friends Official documentation

printfreturns NOTHINGAFL 2.5

printf( formatstr , ... )

The printf function formats and prints a series of characters and values to the output window, which can be either commentary or interpretation window. If arguments follow the format string, the format string must contain specifications that determine the output format for the arguments.

Taught in:Part 8 — Errors, Debugging and Sanity Checks Part 36 — Advanced Debugging and Tracing Official documentation

StrCountreturns NUMBERAFL 3.20

StrCount( ''string'', ''substring'' )

Function returns integer which is number of times substring was found in string. It is case sensitive. The function can be used for example to count the number of commas in comma-separated list

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 1: Market Dashboard Official documentation

StrExtractreturns STRINGAFL 2.4

StrExtract( list, item, separator = ',' )

Extracts given item (substring) from comma-separated list of items. item is a zero-based index of the item in the list (see also note below). If no substring at given index is found then empty string is returned (""). Useful to retrive symbols from the list obtained via GetCategorySymbols function.

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 1: Market Dashboard Part 13 — Static Variables for Cross-Sectional Work Part 36 — Dynamic Variables: VarSet, VarGet and Friends Official documentation

StrFormatreturns STRINGAFL 2.5

StrFormat( formatstr, ... )

The StrFormat function formats and returns a series of characters and values in the result string. If arguments follow the format string, the format string must contain specifications that determine the output format for the arguments. StrFormat and printf behave identically except that printf writes output to the window, while StrFormat does not write anything to output window but returns resulting string instead.

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 1: Market Dashboard Part 37 — Component 4: Multi-Timeframe Chart Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 4 — Chart Types and What Each One Shows Part 4 — Lab: Structured Chart Interpretation Part 4 — Linear versus Logarithmic Scaling Part 4 — Market Structure: Trends, Ranges and Transitions Part 8 — Boolean Arrays: Close > MA(Close, 50)Part 8 — Errors, Debugging and Sanity Checks Part 8 — Logic, Conditionals and IIf()Part 8 — Null Values, Nz() and Warm-Up Periods Part 8 — The Array Model: The Most Important Lesson in This Course Part 8 — Your First Formula Part 10 — Chart Titles and Dynamic Text Part 10 — Project: ATR Volatility Indicator Part 10 — Project: Configurable Moving-Average Indicator Part 10 — Project: Multi-Indicator Analysis Panel Part 10 — Project: Trend Regime Indicator Part 11 — Defensive AFL: Guarding Against Bad Input and Bad Data Part 11 — Project: Your Personal AFL Utility Library Part 11 — Variable Scope: local, global and the Traps Part 16 — Project: Market Breadth Dashboard Part 29 — Equity Curve Analysis Part 36 — Advanced Debugging and Tracing Official documentation

StrLeftreturns STRINGAFL 2.0

strleft ( STRING, count )

Extracts the first (that is, leftmost) count characters from STRING and returns a copy of the extracted substring. If count exceeds the string length, then the entire string is extracted.

Taught in:Part 12 — Project: Build a Daily Stock Screener Official documentation

StrLenreturns NUMBERAFL 1.5

strlen ( STRING)

calculates the length of the string

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 1: Market Dashboard Part 37 — Component 3: Scanner Part 37 — Component 6: The Trading Strategy Part 11 — Project: Your Personal AFL Utility Library Official documentation

Time Frame functions

TimeFrameCompressreturns ARRAYAFL 2.5

TimeFrameCompress( array, interval, mode = compressLast )

The TimeFrameCompress function compresses single array to given interval using given compression mode available modes: compressLast - last (close) value of the array within interval compressOpen - open

TimeFrameExpandreturns ARRAYAFL 2.5

TimeFrameExpand( array, interval, mode = expandLast )

The TimeFrameExpand function expands time-compressed array from interval time frame to base time frame ( interval parameter must match the value used in TimeFrameCompress or TimeFrameSet ) The TimeFrameExpand is used to decompress array variables that were created in different time frame. Decompressing is required to properly display the array created in different time frame.

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 4: Multi-Timeframe Chart Part 2 — Timeframes, Ticks and How Bars Are Built Part 14 — Expansion Modes and the Look-Ahead Trap Part 14 — Project: Multi-Timeframe Trend Indicator Part 14 — Project: Multi-Timeframe Scanner Part 14 — TimeFrameSet() and TimeFrameRestore()Part 24 — Defining Intraday Setup Conditions Part 24 — Project: Intraday Breakout Scanner Part 26 — Replay Exercise: Intraday Setups and Alerts Part 30 — Look-Ahead Bias Official documentation

TimeFrameGetPricereturns ARRAYAFL 2.5

TimeFrameGetPrice( pricefield, interval, shift = 0, mode = expandFirst )

The TimeFrameGetPrice - retrieves OHLCV fields from other time frames. This works immediatelly without need to call TimeFrameSet at all. First parameter - pricefield - is one of the following: "O", "H", "L", "C", "V", "I" (open interest). Interval is bar interval in seconds. You can use pre-defined interval constants: in1Minute, in5Minute, in15Minute, inHourly, inDaily, inWeekly, inMonthly.

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 4: Multi-Timeframe Chart Part 14 — Expansion Modes and the Look-Ahead Trap Part 14 — Project: Multi-Timeframe Trend Indicator Part 14 — Project: Multi-Timeframe Scanner Part 14 — TimeFrameSet() and TimeFrameRestore()Part 24 — Defining Intraday Setup Conditions Part 24 — Project: Intraday Breakout Scanner Part 30 — Challenge Collection: Six Broken Backtests Part 30 — Challenge: 180% a Year with a 3% Drawdown Part 30 — Look-Ahead Bias Official documentation

TimeFrameRestorereturns NOTHINGAFL 2.5

TimeFrameRestore( tradeprices = False )

The TimeFrameRestore function restores price arrays replaced by TimeFrameSet . Note that only OHLC, V, OI and Avg built-in variables are restored to original time frame when you call TimeFrameRestore() . All other variables created when being in different time frame remain compressed. To de-compress them to original interval you have to use TimeFrameExpand . Tradeprice argument should be set to false.

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 4: Multi-Timeframe Chart Part 14 — Expansion Modes and the Look-Ahead Trap Part 14 — Project: Multi-Timeframe Trend Indicator Part 14 — Project: Multi-Timeframe Scanner Part 14 — TimeFrameSet() and TimeFrameRestore()Part 24 — Defining Intraday Setup Conditions Part 24 — Project: Intraday Breakout Scanner Part 26 — Replay Exercise: Intraday Setups and Alerts Part 30 — Look-Ahead Bias Official documentation

TimeFrameSetreturns NOTHINGAFL 2.5

TimeFrameSet( interval )

The TimeFrameSet replaces current price/volume arrays: open, high, low, close, volume, openint, avg with time-compressed bars of specified interval once you switched to a different time frame all calculations and built-in indicators operate on selected time frame. To get back to original interval call TimeFrameRestore() function.

Trading system toolbox

AlertIfreturns nothingAFL 2.1

AlertIf( BOOLEAN_EXPRESSION , command , text , type = 0, flags = 1+2+4+8, lookback = 1 );

Triggers alert action if BOOLEAN_EXPRESSION is true. 1. BOOLEAN_EXPRESSION is the expression that if evaluates to True (non zero value) triggers the alert. If it evaluates to False (zero value) no alert is triggered. Please note that only lookback most recent bars are considered. 2. The command string defines the action taken when alert is triggered.

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 20 — Challenge: The Opening Range That Moved Part 21 — Challenge: The Chart That Stopped Updating Part 25 — Alert Mechanisms and AlertIf()Part 25 — Duplicate Alerts and How to Stop Them Part 25 — Project: Real-Time Breakout Alert Part 26 — Replay Exercise: Intraday Setups and Alerts Part 35 — From Candidate to Decision Official documentation

ApplyStopreturns NothingAFL 1.7

ApplyStop( type, mode, amount, exitatstop, volatile = False, ReEntryDelay = 0, ValidFrom = 0, ValidTo = -1 )

controls built-in stops from the formula level (allows optimization of stops) Parameters: type = 0 = stopTypeLoss - maximum loss stop, 1 = stopTypeProfit - profit target stop, 2 = stopTypeTrailing - tr

Taught in:Part 37 — Components 7 and 8: Backtest and Robustness Evaluation Part 37 — Component 6: The Trading Strategy Part 9 — Cleaning Signals: ExRem, ExRemSpan and Flip Part 27 — Execution Assumptions You Must State Part 27 — Project: Your First Complete Trading System Part 28 — Position Sizing with SetPositionSize()Part 28 — Project: A Realistic Portfolio Backtest Part 28 — Stops with ApplyStop()Part 29 — Reading the Backtest Report Part 30 — Challenge Collection: Six Broken Backtests Part 30 — Challenge: 180% a Year with a 3% Drawdown Part 30 — Data Snooping, Curve Fitting and Overfitting Part 30 — Unrealistic Fills, Costs and Liquidity Part 32 — Lab: Run a Walk-Forward Analysis Part 33 — The AmiBroker Monte Carlo Workflow Part 34 — Lab: Same Strategy, Three Position-Sizing Models Part 34 — Risk Per Trade and Stop Distance Part 34 — Volatility-Based Position Sizing Official documentation

BarsSincereturns ARRAY

BarsSince( ARRAY )

Calculates the number of bars (time periods) that have passed since ARRAY was true (or 1)

Taught in:Part 4 — Swings, Highs and Lows Part 5 — Consolidation and Volatility Contraction Part 9 — Challenge: State or Event?Part 9 — Counting and Accumulating: BarsSince, Cum, Sum Part 9 — State versus Event: The Distinction That Breaks Formulas Part 9 — ValueWhen(): Carrying a Value Forward Part 10 — Project: Trend Regime Indicator Part 16 — Breadth Divergence and Market Regime Part 18 — Free and End-of-Day Sources with AmiQuote Part 27 — From Hypothesis to Rules Part 29 — Equity Curve Analysis Part 30 — Survivorship and Selection Bias Part 34 — Drawdown and Risk of Ruin in Practice Official documentation

Crossreturns ARRAY

Cross( ARRAY1, ARRAY2 )

Gives a "1" or true on the day that ARRAY1 crosses above ARRAY2. Otherwise the result is "0". To find out when ARRAY1 crosses below ARRAY2, use the formula cross(ARRAY2, ARRAY1)

Taught in:Part 37 — Components 7 and 8: Backtest and Robustness Evaluation Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 37 — Component 3: Scanner Part 37 — Component 6: The Trading Strategy Part 2 — Lab: Prove That Bad Data Breaks Analysis Part 5 — Breakouts, Failed Breakouts and Role Reversal Part 5 — Trendlines and Channels Part 6 — Moving Average Slope and Crossovers Part 6 — MACD Part 9 — Challenge: State or Event?Part 9 — Referencing Past Bars with Ref()Part 9 — Running Extremes: HHV, LLV and Friends Part 9 — State versus Event: The Distinction That Breaks Formulas Part 9 — ValueWhen(): Carrying a Value Forward Part 10 — PlotShapes() and Visual Signals Part 10 — Project: Configurable Moving-Average Indicator Part 12 — Exporting Results and Building a Daily Workflow Part 12 — Lab: Your First Scan Part 14 — Project: Multi-Timeframe Scanner Part 20 — Challenge: The Opening Range That Moved Part 24 — Project: Intraday Breakout Scanner Part 25 — Alert Mechanisms and AlertIf()Part 25 — Duplicate Alerts and How to Stop Them Part 25 — Project: Real-Time Breakout Alert Part 26 — Replay Exercise: Intraday Setups and Alerts Part 27 — From Hypothesis to Rules Part 27 — Project: Your First Complete Trading System Part 27 — From Rules to AFL Part 28 — Backtester Basics: Signals and Trade Prices Part 28 — Costs: Commissions, Slippage and the Spread Part 28 — Portfolio Backtesting: Many Symbols, One Account Part 28 — Project: A Realistic Portfolio Backtest Part 28 — Reality Check: Is the Golden Cross Worth Anything?Part 28 — Single-Symbol Thinking versus Portfolio Reality Part 28 — Stops with ApplyStop()Part 30 — Insufficient Evidence and Regime Dependence Part 31 — Best Value versus Robust Region Part 31 — Lab: Optimise Without Fooling Yourself Part 31 — What Optimize() Actually Does Part 33 — The AmiBroker Monte Carlo Workflow Part 34 — Lab: Same Strategy, Three Position-Sizing Models Part 35 — From Candidate to Decision Part 36 — Introduction to the Custom Backtester Interface Official documentation

EnableRotationalTradingreturns NOTHINGAFL 2.5

EnableRotationalTrading()

When placed on the top of system formula it turns on rotational-trading (aka. fund-switching) mode of the backtester. Note: this function is now marked as obsolete. Use SetBacktestMode( backtestRotational ) in new formulas. IMPORTANT NOTE: Unless you specifically want to implement fund-switching/rotational trading system you should NOT use this mode. Rotational trading is popular method for trading mutual funds.

Taught in:Part 28 — Portfolio Backtesting: Many Symbols, One Account Official documentation

Equityreturns ARRAYAFL 2.0

equity ( Flags = 0, RangeType = -1, From = 0, To = 0 )

NOTE: This function is left here for backward compatibility and is using old, single-security backtester. New coding should rather use portfolio-level equity (special ~~~EQUITY ticker). Function: Returns single-security Equity line based on buy/sell/short/cover rules, buy/sell/short/coverprice arrays, all apply stops, and all other backtester settings.

Taught in:Part 9 — Cleaning Signals: ExRem, ExRemSpan and Flip Part 28 — Stops with ApplyStop()Official documentation

ExRemreturns ARRAYAFL 1.5

exrem ( ARRAY1, ARRAY2 )

removes excessive signals: returns 1 on the first occurence of "true" signal in Array1 then returns 0 until Array2 is true even if there are "true" signals in Array1

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 9 — Challenge: State or Event?Part 9 — Cleaning Signals: ExRem, ExRemSpan and Flip Part 10 — PlotShapes() and Visual Signals Part 10 — Project: Configurable Moving-Average Indicator Part 12 — Lab: Your First Scan Part 20 — Challenge: The Opening Range That Moved Part 24 — Project: Intraday Breakout Scanner Part 25 — Duplicate Alerts and How to Stop Them Part 25 — Project: Real-Time Breakout Alert Part 27 — Execution Assumptions You Must State Part 27 — From Hypothesis to Rules Part 27 — Project: Your First Complete Trading System Part 27 — From Rules to AFL Part 28 — Backtester Basics: Signals and Trade Prices Part 32 — In-Sample and Out-of-Sample Part 32 — Lab: Run a Walk-Forward Analysis Official documentation

ExRemSpanreturns ARRAYAFL 2.0

exremspan ( ARRAY1, numbars )

Removes excessive signals that span numbars bars since initial signal. (In other words first non-zero bar passes through, then all subsequent non-zero bars are ignored (zero is returned) until numbars bars have passed since initial signal. From then on a new signal may pass through) This function is marked as obsolete. To implement N-bar stop you should use ApplyStop function instead.

Taught in:Part 9 — Cleaning Signals: ExRem, ExRemSpan and Flip Part 25 — Duplicate Alerts and How to Stop Them Official documentation

Flipreturns ARRAYAFL 1.5

flip ( ARRAY1, ARRAY2 )

works as a flip/flop device or "latch" (electronic/electric engineers will know what I mean) returns 1 from the first occurence of "true" signal in Array1 until a "true" occurs in Array2 which resets the state back to zero unil next "true" is detected in Array1...

Taught in:Part 9 — Challenge: State or Event?Part 9 — Cleaning Signals: ExRem, ExRemSpan and Flip Part 9 — State versus Event: The Distinction That Breaks Formulas Part 10 — PlotShapes() and Visual Signals Part 16 — Breadth Divergence and Market Regime Part 25 — Duplicate Alerts and How to Stop Them Part 28 — Stops with ApplyStop()Official documentation

GetBacktesterObjectreturns OBJECTAFL 2.60

GetBacktesterObject()

This funciton is used in custom backtester procedures to get the access to backtester object. Note that GetBacktester method should only be called when Status("action") returns actionPortfolio. For more details please read Custom Backtester documentation

Taught in:Part 29 — Trade Statistics: Wins, Losses, Payoff and Expectancy Part 31 — Optimization Targets and Search Engines Part 36 — Introduction to the Custom Backtester Interface Official documentation

GetOptionreturns NUMBERAFL 2.60

GetOption(''fieldname'')

Gets the value of various options in automatic analysis settings. field - is a string that defines the option to read. There are following options available: "NoDefaultColumns" - if set to True - explo

Taught in:Part 12 — The Analysis Window and Its Four Modes Part 12 — Exporting Results and Building a Daily Workflow Part 13 — Project: Market Relative Strength Ranking Tool Part 13 — Static Variables for Cross-Sectional Work Part 28 — Costs: Commissions, Slippage and the Spread Part 28 — Project: A Realistic Portfolio Backtest Part 33 — The AmiBroker Monte Carlo Workflow Official documentation

GetTradingInterfacereturns OBJECTAFL 2.70

GetTradingInterface(

Retrieves OLE automation object to automatic trading interface. "Name" is the interface name. You have to have trading interface installed separately to make it work otherwise you will get the error message attempting to use this function. Trading interface for Interactive Brokers is available from download section: http://www.amibroker.com/download.html

Taught in:Part 18 — Appendix: Interactive Brokers Part 35 — From Candidate to Decision Official documentation

IIfreturns ARRAY

IIf( EXPRESSION, TRUE_PART, FALSE_PART )

Trading system toolbox SYNTAX IIf( EXPRESSION, TRUE_PART, FALSE_PART ) RETURNS ARRAY or NUMBER FUNCTION "Immediate-IF" - a conditional function that returns the value of the second parameter (TRUE_PART) if the conditional expression defined by the first parameter (EXPRESSION) is true; otherwise, the value of third parameter is returned (FALSE_PART).

LastValuereturns NUMBER

LastValue(ARRAY, lastmode = True )

Returns last calculated value of the specified ARRAY. The result of this function can be used in place of a constant (NUMBER) in any function argument. If last bar of the ARRAY is undefined or Null (e.g., only 100-days loaded and you request the last value of a 200-day moving average) then the lastvalue function returns zero.

Taught in:Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 6 — Reality Check: Does RSI Above 70 Mean Sell?Part 7 — Reality Check: Can We Test Whether a Pattern Predicted Anything?Part 8 — Boolean Arrays: Close > MA(Close, 50)Part 8 — Errors, Debugging and Sanity Checks Part 8 — Null Values, Nz() and Warm-Up Periods Part 8 — The Array Model: The Most Important Lesson in This Course Part 9 — State versus Event: The Distinction That Breaks Formulas Part 11 — Project: Your Personal AFL Utility Library Part 18 — Choosing a Data Source: A Decision Framework Part 18 — Free and End-of-Day Sources with AmiQuote Part 23 — Knowing Where You Are: Status() and Execution Context Part 25 — Alert Mechanisms and AlertIf()Part 25 — Duplicate Alerts and How to Stop Them Part 25 — Project: Real-Time Breakout Alert Part 26 — Bar Replay: Mechanics and Honest Limits Part 26 — Replay Exercise: Intraday Setups and Alerts Part 28 — Stops with ApplyStop()Part 29 — Equity Curve Analysis Part 30 — Insufficient Evidence and Regime Dependence Part 35 — The Research Lifecycle End to End Part 36 — Dynamic Variables: VarSet, VarGet and Friends Official documentation

Optimizereturns NUMBERAFL 1.7

Optimize( " description ", default, min , max, step )

Defines optimization process parameters. With normal backtesting, scanning, exploration and comentary modes the optimize function returns default value, so the above function call returns default ; In optimization mode optimize function returns successive values from min to max (inclusively) with step stepping.

Taught in:Part 37 — Components 7 and 8: Backtest and Robustness Evaluation Part 37 — Component 9: The Research Report Part 10 — Parameters: Param, ParamToggle, ParamList and ParamColor Part 28 — Costs: Commissions, Slippage and the Spread Part 28 — Position Sizing with SetPositionSize()Part 28 — Reality Check: Is the Golden Cross Worth Anything?Part 30 — Challenge: 180% a Year with a 3% Drawdown Part 30 — Data Snooping, Curve Fitting and Overfitting Part 31 — Best Value versus Robust Region Part 31 — Lab: Optimise Without Fooling Yourself Part 31 — Optimization Targets and Search Engines Part 31 — Reading Parameter Surfaces Part 31 — What Optimize() Actually Does Part 32 — The AmiBroker Walk-Forward Workflow Part 32 — Interpreting Out-of-Sample Degradation Part 32 — Lab: Run a Walk-Forward Analysis Part 32 — Walk-Forward Methodology Part 33 — The AmiBroker Monte Carlo Workflow Official documentation

OptimizerSetEnginereturns NOTHINGAFL 3.20

OptimizerSetEngine( "name" )

The function selects external optimization engine defined by name. The following optimization engines are shipped with AmiBroker as of version 5.20 Standard Particle Swarm Optimizer ("spso") Tribes (improved PSO) ("trib") Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolutionary Strategy ("cmae") New engines may be added in the future.

Taught in:Part 31 — Optimization Targets and Search Engines Official documentation

OptimizerSetOptionreturns NOTHINGAFL 3.20

OptimizerSetOption("name", value )

The function set additional parameters for external optimization engine. The parameters are engine-dependent. For example SPSO, TRIBES and CMAE optimizers support "Runs" (number of runs) and "MaxEval" (maximum evaluations (tests)per single run) parameters.

Taught in:Part 31 — Optimization Targets and Search Engines Official documentation

Refreturns ARRAY

Ref( ARRAY, period )

References a previous or subsequent element in a ARRAY. A positive period references "n" periods in the future; a negative period references "n" periods ago. The function accepts periods parameter that can be constant as well as time-variant (array).

Taught in:Part 37 — Components 7 and 8: Backtest and Robustness Evaluation Part 37 — Component 4: Multi-Timeframe Chart Part 37 — Component 5: Real-Time or Replay Workspace Part 37 — Component 3: Scanner Part 37 — Component 6: The Trading Strategy Part 2 — Data Defects in Practice Part 3 — Importing and Updating Market Data Part 4 — Market Structure: Trends, Ranges and Transitions Part 4 — Swings, Highs and Lows Part 5 — Breakouts, Failed Breakouts and Role Reversal Part 5 — Lab: Map the Structure of a Real Chart Part 5 — Reality Check: Do Support Levels Actually Hold?Part 5 — Support and Resistance as Zones Part 6 — Moving Average Slope and Crossovers Part 6 — Reality Check: Does RSI Above 70 Mean Sell?Part 6 — RSI and Rate of Change Part 6 — Volume and Volume-Based Indicators Part 7 — Classic Chart Patterns Part 7 — Context, Evidence and Base Rates Part 7 — Multi-Bar Candlestick Patterns Part 7 — Reality Check: Can We Test Whether a Pattern Predicted Anything?Part 8 — The Array Model: The Most Important Lesson in This Course Part 9 — Challenge: State or Event?Part 9 — Referencing Past Bars with Ref()Part 9 — Running Extremes: HHV, LLV and Friends Part 9 — State versus Event: The Distinction That Breaks Formulas Part 9 — ValueWhen(): Carrying a Value Forward Part 10 — Project: ATR Volatility Indicator Part 10 — Project: Trend Regime Indicator Part 12 — Challenge: The Scan That Returns Nothing Part 12 — Reality Check: Do High-Volume Breakouts Lead Anywhere?Part 16 — Breadth Divergence and Market Regime Part 18 — Choosing a Data Source: A Decision Framework Part 18 — Free and End-of-Day Sources with AmiQuote Part 18 — Appendix: IQFeed Part 20 — Challenge: The Opening Range That Moved Part 20 — Daylight Saving and Alignment Failures Part 20 — Sessions: Regular Hours, Pre-Market and After-Hours Part 25 — Project: Real-Time Breakout Alert Part 26 — Replay Exercise: Reading a Session Live Part 27 — From Rules to AFL Part 28 — Backtester Basics: Signals and Trade Prices Part 28 — Reality Check: Is the Golden Cross Worth Anything?Part 28 — Single-Symbol Thinking versus Portfolio Reality Part 28 — Stops with ApplyStop()Part 29 — Reading the Backtest Report Part 30 — Challenge Collection: Six Broken Backtests Part 30 — Insufficient Evidence and Regime Dependence Part 30 — Look-Ahead Bias Part 30 — Position Sizing and Portfolio Errors Part 30 — Unrealistic Fills, Costs and Liquidity Part 32 — In-Sample and Out-of-Sample Part 32 — Lab: Run a Walk-Forward Analysis Part 34 — Lab: Same Strategy, Three Position-Sizing Models Part 34 — Risk Per Trade and Stop Distance Part 34 — Volatility-Based Position Sizing Part 35 — Defining Your Universe and Market Regime Official documentation

SetBacktestModereturns NOTHINGAFL 3.0

SetBacktestMode( mode )

Sets working mode of the backtester. A 'mode' parameter is one of the following backtest modes: Supported backtest modes: backtestRegular - regular, signal-based backtest, redundant signals are removed

Taught in:Part 37 — Components 7 and 8: Backtest and Robustness Evaluation Part 37 — Component 6: The Trading Strategy Part 28 — Backtester Basics: Signals and Trade Prices Part 28 — Portfolio Backtesting: Many Symbols, One Account Part 28 — Project: A Realistic Portfolio Backtest Part 28 — Reality Check: Is the Golden Cross Worth Anything?Part 30 — Challenge Collection: Six Broken Backtests Part 33 — The AmiBroker Monte Carlo Workflow Official documentation

SetCustomBacktestProcreturns NOTHINGAFL 2.70

SetCustomBacktestProc( filename, enable = True )

This function allows changing custom backtest procedure file from AFL formula level. To learn more about custom backtester procedures please read this document . Parameters filename parameter instructs

SetOptionreturns NOTHINGAFL 2.3

SetOption( field, value )

Sets various options in automatic analysis settings. Affects also Equity() function results. field - is a string that defines the option to change. There are following options available: "NoDefaultColu

Taught in:Part 37 — Components 7 and 8: Backtest and Robustness Evaluation Part 37 — Component 9: The Research Report Part 37 — Component 2: Stock Exploration Part 37 — Component 6: The Trading Strategy Part 3 — Importing and Updating Market Data Part 3 — Lab: Install AmiBroker and Verify Your Setup Part 12 — Exploration: Filter, AddColumn and AddTextColumn Part 12 — Exporting Results and Building a Daily Workflow Part 15 — Data Alignment Pitfalls Across Symbols Part 23 — Knowing Where You Are: Status() and Execution Context Part 24 — Repeat Scanning: Mechanics and Costs Part 27 — Execution Assumptions You Must State Part 27 — Project: Your First Complete Trading System Part 28 — Backtester Basics: Signals and Trade Prices Part 28 — Costs: Commissions, Slippage and the Spread Part 28 — Portfolio Backtesting: Many Symbols, One Account Part 28 — Position Sizing with SetPositionSize()Part 28 — Project: A Realistic Portfolio Backtest Part 28 — Reality Check: Is the Golden Cross Worth Anything?Part 28 — Single-Symbol Thinking versus Portfolio Reality Part 28 — Stops with ApplyStop()Part 29 — Reading the Backtest Report Part 29 — Return Metrics: Net Profit, CAR, RAR and Exposure Part 30 — Challenge Collection: Six Broken Backtests Part 30 — Challenge: 180% a Year with a 3% Drawdown Part 30 — Data Snooping, Curve Fitting and Overfitting Part 30 — Look-Ahead Bias Part 30 — Position Sizing and Portfolio Errors Part 30 — Unrealistic Fills, Costs and Liquidity Part 31 — Best Value versus Robust Region Part 31 — Lab: Optimise Without Fooling Yourself Part 31 — Optimization Targets and Search Engines Part 31 — Reading Parameter Surfaces Part 31 — What Optimize() Actually Does Part 32 — The AmiBroker Walk-Forward Workflow Part 32 — In-Sample and Out-of-Sample Part 32 — Interpreting Out-of-Sample Degradation Part 32 — Lab: Run a Walk-Forward Analysis Part 33 — The AmiBroker Monte Carlo Workflow Part 33 — The Limits of Simulation Part 33 — Sequence Risk and Risk of Ruin Part 33 — What Monte Carlo Can and Cannot Tell You Part 34 — Lab: Same Strategy, Three Position-Sizing Models Part 34 — Portfolio Exposure, Concentration and Correlation Part 34 — Risk Per Trade and Stop Distance Part 35 — Journalling and Separating Two Kinds of Performance Part 36 — Introduction to the Custom Backtester Interface Part 36 — Static Variables in Depth Official documentation

SetPositionSizereturns ARRAYAFL 2.70

SetPositionSize( size, method )

This function allows to control trade (position) size in four different ways, depending on 'method' parameter. Parameters: size (ARRAY) defines desired trade size method (ARRAY) defines how 'size' is i

Taught in:Part 37 — Components 7 and 8: Backtest and Robustness Evaluation Part 37 — Component 6: The Trading Strategy Part 27 — Execution Assumptions You Must State Part 27 — Project: Your First Complete Trading System Part 28 — Costs: Commissions, Slippage and the Spread Part 28 — Portfolio Backtesting: Many Symbols, One Account Part 28 — Position Sizing with SetPositionSize()Part 28 — Project: A Realistic Portfolio Backtest Part 28 — Reality Check: Is the Golden Cross Worth Anything?Part 28 — Single-Symbol Thinking versus Portfolio Reality Part 29 — Reading the Backtest Report Part 30 — Position Sizing and Portfolio Errors Part 31 — Best Value versus Robust Region Part 31 — Lab: Optimise Without Fooling Yourself Part 31 — What Optimize() Actually Does Part 32 — In-Sample and Out-of-Sample Part 32 — Lab: Run a Walk-Forward Analysis Part 33 — The AmiBroker Monte Carlo Workflow Part 34 — Lab: Same Strategy, Three Position-Sizing Models Part 34 — Portfolio Exposure, Concentration and Correlation Part 34 — Risk Per Trade and Stop Distance Part 34 — Volatility-Based Position Sizing Part 36 — Introduction to the Custom Backtester Interface Official documentation

SetTradeDelaysreturns nothingAFL 2.1

SetTradeDelays( buydelay, selldelay, shortdelay, coverdelay )

Sets trade delays applied by the backtester. This function allows you to override trade delays from the "Settings" page. It is important do understand what trade delays really do. They in fact internal

Taught in:Part 37 — Components 7 and 8: Backtest and Robustness Evaluation Part 37 — Component 6: The Trading Strategy Part 27 — Execution Assumptions You Must State Part 27 — Project: Your First Complete Trading System Part 27 — From Rules to AFL Part 28 — Backtester Basics: Signals and Trade Prices Part 28 — Costs: Commissions, Slippage and the Spread Part 28 — Portfolio Backtesting: Many Symbols, One Account Part 28 — Project: A Realistic Portfolio Backtest Part 28 — Reality Check: Is the Golden Cross Worth Anything?Part 28 — Single-Symbol Thinking versus Portfolio Reality Part 29 — Reading the Backtest Report Part 30 — Challenge Collection: Six Broken Backtests Part 30 — Challenge: 180% a Year with a 3% Drawdown Part 30 — Data Snooping, Curve Fitting and Overfitting Part 30 — Look-Ahead Bias Part 30 — Unrealistic Fills, Costs and Liquidity Part 31 — Best Value versus Robust Region Part 31 — Lab: Optimise Without Fooling Yourself Part 31 — What Optimize() Actually Does Part 32 — In-Sample and Out-of-Sample Part 32 — Lab: Run a Walk-Forward Analysis Part 33 — The AmiBroker Monte Carlo Workflow Part 34 — Lab: Same Strategy, Three Position-Sizing Models Part 34 — Risk Per Trade and Stop Distance Part 34 — Volatility-Based Position Sizing Part 36 — Introduction to the Custom Backtester Interface Official documentation

ValueWhenreturns ARRAYAFL 1.1

ValueWhen(EXPRESSION, ARRAY, n = 1)

Returns the value of the ARRAY when the EXPRESSION was true on the n -th most recent occurrence. Note: this function allows also 0 and negative values for n - this enables referencing future

Taught in:Part 2 — Data Defects in Practice Part 3 — Importing and Updating Market Data Part 3 — Lab: Install AmiBroker and Verify Your Setup Part 4 — Lab: Structured Chart Interpretation Part 4 — Market Structure: Trends, Ranges and Transitions Part 4 — Swings, Highs and Lows Part 5 — Lab: Map the Structure of a Real Chart Part 9 — Challenge: State or Event?Part 9 — State versus Event: The Distinction That Breaks Formulas Part 9 — ValueWhen(): Carrying a Value Forward Part 10 — Project: Trend Regime Indicator Part 15 — Benchmarks and Relative Performance Part 15 — Data Alignment Pitfalls Across Symbols Part 15 — Project: Relative Strength Comparison Tool Part 17 — Plugins and the Database Relationship Part 18 — Choosing a Data Source: A Decision Framework Part 19 — Backfill and Database Maintenance Part 19 — Challenge: The History That Is Not All There Part 20 — Challenge: The Opening Range That Moved Part 20 — Daylight Saving and Alignment Failures Part 20 — Exchange Time versus Your Clock Part 20 — Sessions: Regular Hours, Pre-Market and After-Hours Part 22 — Time & Sales: What It Does and Does Not Tell You Part 24 — Defining Intraday Setup Conditions Part 24 — Project: Intraday Breakout Scanner Part 28 — Stops with ApplyStop()Part 30 — Survivorship and Selection Bias Official documentation

Sources for this lesson

2 verified · checked 2026-08-31

01AmiBroker AFL Function Referenceamibroker.com/guide/a_funref.html2026-08-31
02AmiBroker AFL Function Reference by categoryamibroker.com/guide/a_catfunref.html2026-08-31

Every technical claim on this page was checked against the official AmiBroker documentation on the date shown. Where the course disagrees with folklore, the source is how you can tell which one to trust.