PRODUCT REVIEW - Reprinted from Stocks and Commodities Magazine (c) Technical Analysis Inc  www.traders.com

HotTrader 2.081
Product:Gann swing charting
program for stocks,options,and futures.

Equipment requirements:Windows
95/98/NT,Pentium processor (at
least 64 MB RAM recommended),18
MB hard disk space for installation,
20 MB of hard disk space.

by Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan

There is no doubt that software that automates swing chart
drawing benefits the Gann swing chartist.If you have
attempted to draw these charts manually, you know exactly
what I ’m talking about.To address the needs of swing
charting enthusiasts,the developers at HotSwings.com created
HotTrader, Gann swing charting program for trading securities.
Users told me that when it comes to swing trading,there is no
other product that even comes close. The product is a favorite
among Gann traders who swear that the real secretsof Gann
an be found in these charts.

INSTALLATION

Installing HotTrader is just a matter of following on-screen
nstructions.The step-by-step instructions are clear and
easy to understand.The entire process took a couple of minutes
but it did pause for a few seconds,giving the impression
that installation was not complete.

However,a little patience paid off. After installation,you must
set up tick values for your data in order for HotTrader to
display the swing calculations.You have the option of applying
the same value to all securities or editing tick values for
individual securities.

HotTrader,which is a favorite among Gann traders,is a Gann swing charting
program for trading securities.

DATA
HotTrader is compatible with MetaStock format datafiles,ASCII text
files,and TradeStation system report files.The program will not recognize
data with errors in it,so it is your responsibility to make sure that
your data is error-free.

FEATURES
HotTrader is simple to use.Bringing up displays of charts involves only a few
mouse-clicks and shortcuts.An instruction manual,which includes list of
the keyboard shortcuts,is included in the package.The context-sensitive
helpfile is also a helpful tool.Chart colors and backgrounds can easily be
changed and indicators inserted easily. One of the attractive features of this
program is that charts can be displayed side by side on the screen.In Figure 1,
note how the price chart,swing chart, and indicators can be arranged on the
same screen.The price chart identifies the highs and lows of a swing with dots.

FIGURE 1: BAR AND SWING CHARTS.One of the attractive features of HotTrader is that bar
and swing charts can be analyzed side by side.The data line on the bar chart corresponds
with the data line on the Swing Chart.

The number of bars to analyze can be changed so if you want to see fewe
bars,the swings will be easier to identify. Because swing charts don ’t have
corresponding point to each bar on a bar chart,HotTrader has incorporated
feature where you can see the corresponding point of a swing chart on the
bar chart.This is done using the data line button. The swing charts contain small
horizontal lines,which indicate points where swings are confirmed.When this
price is hit,the swing point or dot is formed on the bar chart and appears on
the corresponding swing chart.

An information panel at the bottom of the screen displays information on
the swings.The panel is divided into three rows,with the top displaying
information on any gaps that may have affected the swing,date (or time,if
intraday),and price of the swing and date (or time)and price of the swing
confirmation.If two swings occur simultaneously,information on the
second swing will be displayed in the middle row.The bottom row displays
the typical bar chart information such as open,high,low,close,and volume.

FIGURE 2: BULLISH RANGE COMPARISON.Identify the top and
bottom of a swing, and the bullish range comparison lines will be
displayed on the chart. A window displays the prices of the range
projections.

HotTrader also includes a trend change indicator.You can select how
much higher or lower the ticks have to be from the previous swing before
identifying a change in trend.Several drawing tools are included in this
program.These include comparing bull/bear ranges, bullish/bearish Fibonacci
retracements, bull/bear Gann retracements, bar counters that count
the number of bars between two points, trendlines,parallel trendlines,and
vertical lines.To see these tools at work, take a look at Figure 2.This chart is the
result of selecting the bullish range 

comparison option.All you have to do is identify a swing high and low. Note
the appearance of the range comparison lines and the window showing the prices
of the range projections. Fibonacci retracements are also included in HotTrader.


FIGURE 3: BEARISH FIBONACCI RETRACEMENTS.The retracements
are displayed on the chart along with a window that shows the
prices of these retracements.

In Figure 3,you see the bearish Fibonacci retracements displayed on the chart.
Again,a window displays the prices of these retracements. Gann angles can
also be drawn on price charts;an example can be seen in
Figure 4.You can manipulate the angles by dragging them or altering the tick
values of the bars.

FIGURE 4: GANN ANGLES.Gann angles can be overlaid on the price chart. These
angles can be moved around by either dragging them or altering the tick values of the bars.

Another significant feature is the Hot Scan.This feature lets you scan your
entire directory of securities using swing trends and oscillators.The swing trend
scan lets you scan stocks that are just beginning to trend and the oscillator
scan uses common oscillators such as moving average convergence/
divergence (MACD)and stochastics to identify overbought or oversold
securities.Both allow you to scan for bullish and bearish signals.

For the benefit of those not familiar with trading using Gann ’s techniques,
a trading course can be found on the CD-ROM.

TECH SUPPORT
Tech support is provided by Paritech, they will try to answer any and all questions you may have,and if there
is anything he doesn ’t have an answer for,he will promptly refer you to
someone who does.

CONCLUSION
HotTrader is a complete swing trading package and has found a dedicated
following among Gann traders.Most features applicable to Gann swing
trading have been incorporated into HotTrader,but the addition of advanced
Gann features such as time by degrees will make it a complete package and
thoroughly worth the while of anyone interested in Gann swing trading.

Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan is Technical Editor of STOCKS &COMMODITIES.

gReprinted from Technical Analysis of STOCKS &COMMODITIES magazine.© 2000 Technical Analysis Inc..,(800)832-4642,http://www.traders .com

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