UPDATE: The ELITE rollout has been postponed.  We will keep you informed about a new date, which should be prior to Christmas.

All,

A new ScottradeELITE will be launched after market close on Tuesday, December 15.

The upgrade will automatically download when you log in to your ScottradeELITE platform.

The following items will be included in this ScottradeELITE rollout:

 

Buy or Sell on Right Click

Place trades even more quickly by right clicking within many ScottradeELITE windows and then left clicking on the “Place a Trade” selection.  This functionality (already available in the QuoteGrid window) is being added to many windows, including the Chart, FullQuote, Level II, TotalView, Velocity & Forces, Time & Sales and Option Chain windows.

In charts that contain several symbols, right-clicking will cause a fly-out list of symbols to pop up.

 

Trade-Ideas Update

Test strategies for up to the last 30 trading days of data using the Backtest feature.  The previous maximum number of past trading days was 15.

Use the mouse wheel to scroll quickly and easily through the many available filters and alerts.  In the past, the Trade-Ideas window did not allow scroll wheel functionality in several areas.

The new status bar in the lower left hand corner of the Trade-Ideas window allows you to see how quickly data is being sent from Trade-Ideas.

Ability to Save QuoteGrid Lists

Save your symbol list in the order in which it appears in the QuoteGrid window, using a new “Save List” button.  Create new lists quickly and easily without the need to use the Create/Modify Symbol Lists settings area.

The new Save List button will be located just to the right of the current Symbol Lists button within the QuoteGrid Window.

 

20-Minute Delayed Quotes for Professionals

You may now log into any professional account which is not currently paying a fee for real-time streaming quotes and receive 20-minute delayed data for all exchanges.  A pop-up window will appear when first entering an account of this type to inform you of the delayed status of these quotes.  After entering the account, you will see a flashing red notification in the status bar at the bottom of your ScottradeELITE screen for the duration of your session.  At this time professionals who pay for real-time streaming quotes for specific exchanges will not see any data for other exchanges, something which has not changed.  We do hope to add this feature in a future release.

 

Edit Average Price Functionality

The Average Prices field in the Positions window will now account for splits and dividends automatically.

 

Note: I would suggest, as I do prior to all ScottradeELITE rollouts, that you use the Export Data Wizard to save your current ScottradeELITE layouts, templates, lists, etc. prior to the ScottradeELITE rollout on Tuesday night.  For those of you unfamiliar with the process, I have included step by step instructions below:

Exporting Data from ScottradeELITE

To export layouts you currently have on your computer to a disk, thumb drive, zip drive, etc., please follow the steps below:

• Open ScottradeELITE.
• Left click the Wizards button in the top left corner of ScottradeELITE.
• Left click Export ScottradeELITE Data.
• The ScottradeELITE Data Export Window will open. Left click Next at the bottom.
• Select the layouts you want to save and export. You can make multiple selections by holding the CTRL key and left clicking on the various layouts you want to save and export. When done choosing the layouts, left click Next.
• Select the templates (Charts, Quote Grid, etc.) you want to save and export. You can make multiple selections by holding the CTRL key and left clicking on the templates you want to save and export. When done choosing the templates, left click Next.
• Select the symbol lists you want to save and export. You can make multiple selections by holding the CTRL key and left clicking on the symbol lists you want to save and export. When done choosing the layouts, left click Next.
• A new window will open asking where you want to save the ScottradeELITE file (with a .sco extension), and asking you to name it. Feel free to save this file to a disk, thumb drive, zip drive or anywhere on your computer. Be sure to change the default file name of "ScottradeELITE" to something you can easily recognize and identify. When you are satisfied, left click Save.
• Left click Finish.
• After you have the file downloaded, you may either e-mail the file to another computer or physically transport a disk, zip, thumb drive to another computer. At that point, you can start the import process which is described below.

After you have exported your data, importing is a snap!

Importing Data to ScottradeELITE

• If you have not already done so, install ScottradeELITE on the computer to which you wish to import data. If you have difficulty with the installation, feel free to e-mail elitesupport@scottrade.com for installation instructions.
• Open ScottradeELITE.
• Make sure you have saved the .sco file from the export process above on the new computer, either by e-mailing the file or bringing it over on a disk, zip or thumb drive.
• Left click the Wizards button in the top left corner of ScottradeELITE.
• Left click Import ScottradeELITE Data.
• The ScottradeELITE Data Import Window will open. Left click Next at the bottom.
• Locate the .sco file you placed on this computer in step 3. Left click the file to highlight it and left click Open.
• Congratulations! Your layouts, templates, symbol lists, etc. have now been successfully transferred to a new computer. Left click Finish to close the Data Import Wizard and begin using your customized information.

Remember, exporting your layouts, templates, symbol lists, etc. to an external disk and storing them in a safe location is a great way to protect the work you have put into creating your customized ScottradeELITE platform. Should you ever encounter technical difficulties, having a backup file can save you a lot of time and worry. We recommend you backup ScottradeELITE regularly.

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Question: "Thanks for the new back testing function! Is there a reason it only goes back 15 days?"

T.D.
Cincinnati, OH

 

Answer:

Thank you for asking!  Yes there is.  Trade-Ideas Backtest is a strategy-based back testing tool rather than a symbol-based back testing tool.  This means you are testing how specific Trade-Ideas strategies will do in the current market environment.  As we all know, especially in light of recent events, the market can change rapidly, causing strategies which worked only a short time ago to be less than ideal today.  For this reason, our back testing tool goes back fifteen days, giving you a current look at how your strategy would have done.

Sincerely,

Brett Schulte

ScottradeELITE Product Specialist and Active Trader Services at Scottrade (more)

Did you know you can import and export data from ScottradeELITE? You can import/export information such as layouts, symbol lists and chart templates. If you have ScottradeELITE on multiple computers, using the import/export feature will allow you to update ScottradeELITE on other computers using nothing more than a disk or e-mail message. You can even use the import/export feature to create a backup of your customized ScottradeELITE platform, which becomes extremely valuable should you ever encounter technical difficulties.

It is easy to export your ScottradeELITE data to either the hard drive of your computer or to some external data storage device such as a disk, a zip drive or a thumb drive.

Exporting Data from ScottradeELITE

To export layouts you currently have on your computer to a disk, thumb drive, zip drive, etc., please follow the steps below:

• Open ScottradeELITE.
• Left click the Wizards button in the top left corner of ScottradeELITE.
• Left click Export ScottradeELITE Data.
• The ScottradeELITE Data Export Window will open. Left click Next at the bottom.
• Select the layouts you want to save and export. You can make multiple selections by holding the CTRL key and left clicking on the various layouts you want to save and export. When done choosing the layouts, left click Next.
• Select the templates (Charts, Quote Grid, etc.) you want to save and export. You can make multiple selections by holding the CTRL key and left clicking on the templates you want to save and export. When done choosing the templates, left click Next.
• Select the symbol lists you want to save and export. You can make multiple selections by holding the CTRL key and left clicking on the symbol lists you want to save and export. When done choosing the layouts, left click Next.
• A new window will open asking where you want to save the ScottradeELITE file (with a .sco extension), and asking you to name it. Feel free to save this file to a disk, thumb drive, zip drive or anywhere on your computer. Be sure to change the default file name of "ScottradeELITE" to something you can easily recognize and identify. When you are satisfied, left click Save.
• Left click Finish.
• After you have the file downloaded, you may either e-mail the file to another computer or physically transport a disk, zip, thumb drive to another computer. At that point, you can start the import process which is described below.

After you have exported your data, importing is a snap!

Importing Data to ScottradeELITE

• If you have not already done so, install ScottradeELITE on the computer to which you wish to import data. If you have difficulty with the installation, feel free to e-mail elitesupport@scottrade.com for installation instructions.
• Open ScottradeELITE.
• Make sure you have saved the .sco file from the export process above on the new computer, either by e-mailing the file or bringing it over on a disk, zip or thumb drive.
• Left click the Wizards button in the top left corner of ScottradeELITE.
• Left click Import ScottradeELITE Data.
• The ScottradeELITE Data Import Window will open. Left click Next at the bottom.
• Locate the .sco file you placed on this computer in step 3. Left click the file to highlight it and left click Open.
• Congratulations! Your layouts, templates, symbol lists, etc. have now been successfully transferred to a new computer. Left click Finish to close the Data Import Wizard and begin using your customized information.

Remember, exporting your layouts, templates, symbol lists, etc. to an external disk and storing them in a safe location is a great way to protect the work you have put into creating your customized ScottradeELITE platform. Should you ever encounter technical difficulties, having a backup file can save you a lot of time and worry. We recommend you backup ScottradeELITE regularly. If you have any questions or need assistance feel free to contact your local branch office.

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Beginning Jan.  1, 2010,Microsoft is discontinuing security updates for its Windows 2000 operating system.  As a result, Scottrade will no longer be able to offer support for this operating system.

Please note that users of Windows 2000 may still be able to access the Scottrade Web site and tools such as ScottradeELITE® and Scottrader (streaming quotes); however, if difficulties arise and clients use the Windows 2000 operating system, we will be unable to provide technical assistance.  

Scottrade is providing advance notice to allow existing customers to upgrade their operating systems and/or hardware before Jan. 1, 2010 to continue using Scottrade tools as effectively as possible.

There are several reasons that Scottrade can no longer support Windows 2000:

1. Microsoft stopped supporting the Windows 2000 operating system on June 28, 2005.  As of 2005, Microsoft no longer issues updates.
2. Microsoft is discontinuing security updates for this product as of Dec. 31, 2009.  In order to make sure our clients are protected, we can no longer safely recommend using this operating system after Dec. 31.
3. To provide as much value to our customers as possible, Scottrade must use new technology, which in most cases may not be compatible with Windows 2000.

To determine which operating system you currently use, do the following:

1. Left click on the Start button in the lower left hand corner of the screen
2. Left click on “Run”
3. Type in “winver”
4. Left click on “OK” to view a pop-up window displaying your current operating system

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. 

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I've gotten more than one personal message in the Community asking how someone can tell when I (ELITE Deuxd), The ELITE Trader, Elite Broker, and screamerstreamer007 post in the Active Trader Group or elsewhere.  The easiest way is to "friend" us, or make us your online friend.  I generally try to friend new clients I see in this group, but the growing size of the Community is making it more difficult to do this as thoroughly as I've been able to in the past. 

 So what can you do?  Left click on each of our names when we post to get to our profile pages, where you can then left click on the"Add as Friend" button below our pictures.  Then you'll be able to see when we post by keeping an eye on the "What's New? column on your profile page.

In fact, to make things easier on you, I've added links to our profile pages below.  Feel free to click the links and add us as friends if you haven't already.

The ELITE Trader

ELITE Deuxd

Elite Broker

screamerstreamer007

So who do you have in the NCAA Tourney? 

 

Who are you rooting for? 

Who's going to get upset in the first round? 

Who's going to win it all?

 

Let's see if Scottrade clients can predict the winner!

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All,

I had Mod Mike create a new poll for ELITE users asking which Operating System you use.  Please take a moment to fill this out when you get a chance.  Your choices are:

Windows 2000

Windows XP 32-bit

Windows XP 64-bit

Windows Vista 32-bit

Windows Vista 64-bit

Macintosh

Feel free to let us know here as well in the form of a reply, especially if you use multiple computers and several Operating Systems. (more)

Since we are so close to Christmas, I thought I'd see what favorite Christmas movies the Scottrade Community members have fond memories of.  I'll start off with my list and give some brief reasons for my choices.  Feel free to join in!

1. It's A Wonderful Life - I'm a classic movie fan, what can I say?  TCM is on more than HBO at ELITE Deuxd's house.  Jimmy Stewart steals the show, and this movie features Donna Reed as well before she starred in the Donna Reed Show in the late 1950s to early 1960s.  Although the movie is widely considered to have a happy ending, have you noticed how one particularly nasty individual gets away with theft?

More Christmas movies listed after the break!

2. A Christmas Carol (1938 & 1951) - Again I'm sticking with the classic versions of this timeless Dickens classic, though I'll throw out a nod to Bill Murray's Scrooged and Disney's cartoon version of the story as well.  I preferred Reginald Owens' 1938 performance as the miserly grouch Scrooge, but more people prefer the 1951 version as a whole.

3. Meet Me In St. Louis - I know what you might be thinking.  This Judy Garland starring vehicle is about the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.  It's not a Christmas movie!  Well, for whatever reason, my family loves to watch it on Christmas Eve, mainly for the scene where Judy Garland sings "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" to her younger sister, who is distraught because the family is moving to New York.  If you haven'[t seen this one, I highly recommend it whenever you decide to watch it.

Honorable mentions:

*National Lampoon's Chrsitmas Vacation

*Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (with Burl Ives as the voice of the snowman narrator)

*A Charlie Brown Christmas

 

Most Hated:

* A Christmas Story - I hate this movie with a passion.  Why?  Maybe because TNT plays it for 24 hours straight.  AAAAAGH!

 

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I just wanted to let the Online Community know that I will be attending the Ontario, CA Trade Show next week from Wednesday, June 18 through Saturday, June 21.  I look forward to meeting some of you.  See you there!
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Hello, everyone. I'd like to start off my (probably infrequent) blogging career here on the Scottrade Online Community by expanding a little on the items mentioned on my profile page. In addition to online trading, I have a lot of other personal interests.

First, I absolutely LOVE military history, with a main focus on the American Civil War. I've got a personal library with over 1,000 books, the majority of which pertain to the Civil War. I'm also very interested in other military history as well. I am the main blogger at TOCWOC - A Civil War Blog. If you share my interest in history, I encourage you to go check it out.

I'm also a HUGE St. Louis Cardinals fan. I can often be found using my season tickets in the left field bleachers at Busch Stadium. Two great Cards' sites are Gateway Redbirds and Viva El Birdos.

Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss either of these topics. I'll be posting more on my position here at Scottrade and my areas of expertise in a later blog entry.

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