Scanning & Alerts FAQs

Questions about Scanning

Do you provide real-time stock scanning?

Sort of. Because of the vast amounts of data involved, all scanning systems work with datasets that are slightly older than “real-time.” When the market is open, our scan engines are continually updating the most recent data point for all of the stocks and indexes that they track on a rotating basis. When a StockCharts member runs a scan based on the “Last Intraday Update”, the scan engines will use a “most recent” data point that is somewhere between 5 and 30 seconds old, depending on when the scan is run.

How do I create a scan based on weekly or monthly data?

If you are using the Standard Scan Workbench, simply change the “Date Offset” part of the “Additional Technical Expression” from “Days Ago” to “Weeks Ago” and adjust the corresponding parameters.

If you are using the Advanced Scan Workbench, simply add the word “weekly” or “monthly” in front of the expression that you are using. To refer to previous weeks or months, you can add modifiers like “6 months ago” or “last week's” where appropriate.

Here are a few examples:

• [weekly MACD Line(12,26,9) x 0]

• [monthly RSI(14) > 0]

• [daily close > weekly close]

• [this week's high > 2 weeks ago high]

• [monthly low < last month's low]

For more information about modifying dates in scan clauses, see our Support Center article on Writing Scans.

What data periods are supported by the scan engine?

Our Scan Engine allows you to create scans based on daily, weekly, or monthly price bars. However, it doesn't support scans based on intraday (1-minute, 5-minute, etc.) bars. See our Support Center articles about Scanning to learn more about the Scan Engine.

The first data update for the Scan Engine starts a minute after the market opens, 9:31 AM Eastern Time. Because of the vast amount of data during trading hours, our Scan Engine scours through a universe of stocks. As a result, the data used in the scanning systems may be slightly delayed.

How do I create a scan that only looks at stocks in my ChartList?

StockCharts members can scan for stocks that are listed in one or more of their ChartLists. This is particularly handy when scanning for stocks on your watchlist that meet specific criteria.

For detailed instructions on scanning for stocks on your ChartList, please see our Support Center article on Scanning Your ChartLists.

How do I save my scan results?

As a StockCharts member, you have the ability to create and run custom scans. You may want to save your scan results to review later, and StockCharts offers multiple different ways to do this:

• Store the results in a new ChartList.

• Merge the results with an existing ChartList.

• Replace the results of an existing ChartList.

• Download results to a new CSV file.

All of these options are available from the Member Actions section at the top of your scan results page. Click the green “Save to ChartList” button to save results to a new ChartList or merge/replace results with an existing ChartList. Click the gray “Download CSV” button to download the results to a CSV file.

For more detailed instructions on how to save or download your scan results, please see our Support Center article on Working with Scan Results.

How can I quickly delete saved scans from my account?

If you have created scans that you no longer want in your account, there is a simple way to delete them, as outlined in the steps below.

1. Go to the Advanced Scan Workbench.

2. On the Advanced Scan Workbench, click the “View All” icon located next to the “Your Saved Scans” dropdown menu.

3. On the page that subsequently appears, check the box on the left for each scan you wish to delete, then click the red “Delete Selected Scans” button.

Questions about Alerts

How do I create a price alert for a single stock?

StockCharts members can easily create price alerts for symbols on our Price Alert Workbench.

Simply specify the symbol you would like to be notified about, the price you are watching for it to cross above or below, and the method(s) you'd like to be notified by (email, text, or a notification banner on the workbench).

For more details about setting up price alerts, please see our Support Center article on Building a Price Alert.