The Settings Panel supplies the key run parameters and output selections for the next test or scan that are not set by the script itself.

Any setting that a script specifies always overrides the panel for that run.

This panel can be hidden or shown using the View Menu or by pressing the F11 key.

The panel has two rows. The top row holds the run parameters -- Date Range, Bar Size, Account Size, Currency, and Test Name. The bottom row holds the output options -- Test Output, Keep Trades, Log Detail, and Results By Year.

The chevron at the top-right corner collapses or expands the top row. Click it to hide the parameters row (the chevron points down when the row is expanded and right when it is collapsed, matching the Files Panel). With the top row collapsed, the output row slides up and the panel's height is halved. The collapsed or expanded state is remembered between sessions.

How the run parameters are applied

The top-row parameters fill in any of these settings that your script does not specify -- but only while the parameters row is actually visible and editable.

Whenever the parameters row is not an interactive surface -- the panel is hidden, the top row is collapsed with the chevron, or the script is run from the command line (batch mode) -- RealTest ignores the saved panel values for these parameters and uses its own built-in defaults instead. The run is then determined entirely by the script plus RealTest's standard defaults, rather than by whatever values happen to be left in the panel.

Your saved panel values are preserved in this case: they are restored as soon as the run finishes, so a hidden, collapsed, or batch run never overwrites them.

In effect, collapsing the top row has the same impact on a run as hiding the entire panel -- it switches these parameters from "use my saved panel values" to "use the standard defaults." Expand the row (or show the panel) whenever you want the panel's Date Range, Bar Size, Account Size, Currency, or Test Name to apply to the run.

A script directive always takes precedence over both the panel and the defaults, and only for that run -- for example, a script's Currency or date-range setting is rolled back afterward, leaving the panel unchanged.

The output options on the bottom row are always applied from the panel, regardless of the chevron, panel visibility, or batch mode.

Run Parameters

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❖Date Range

Specifies the range of dates to use for the next test or scan. Check Earliest to begin at the earliest available date, and/or Latest to run through the latest available date; otherwise choose explicit start and end dates. The field between the two dates shows the number of bars in the range, and can be typed into to set the range by length.

❖Bar Size

Specifies the default data time period to use when running a script or using the debug panel. Currently supported bar sizes are Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly and Yearly. Sizes above Daily are derived from daily bars. RealTest does not support direct import of larger bar sizes. Can be overridden by the BarSize setting in a script.

❖Account Size

Specifies the amount of money to use in the simulated account when running tests. Can be overridden by the AccountSize setting in a script.

❖Currency

Sets the base currency of the simulated account, as a three-letter code. Can be overridden by a script's Currency directive; the program-wide default is set on the Display tab of Program Options.

❖Test Name

A place to type a brief note that will be displayed in the results window row for the test after it is run. Can be set by the TestName setting in a script.

Output Options

These selections are also available from the Outputs button on the toolbar; the two stay in sync.

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❖Test Output

Specifies which type of additional output to create when a test is run, besides the usual results data.

Some of these (Report, Graph, Trades) can also be run manually at any time by selecting a row in Results and then clicking the corresponding toolbar button. The others (Log, Scan, Debug) must be selected before a test is run in order to be generated by that test.

Available choices are:

•Report - generates the per-strategy and per-month summary report at the end of the test

•Graph - opens a stats graph at the start of the test and updates it dynamically as the test runs

•Trades - displays the round-trip trade list at the end of the test

•Log - generates a detailed transaction and position log and displays it at the end of the test (use the Log Detail group below to choose what it contains)

•Scan - runs a TestScan simultaneously with the test, allowing fully customizable output of test-related data

•Debug - opens the debug panel before closing end-of-test positions to allow full examination of the test context on the last date, and whether to show output from DebugEntry, DebugExit and DebugTargetStop statements (if any) in the script

❖Keep Trades

Specifies the categories of trade records to keep in each test result record (each row of the Results window). Options are:

•Strategy - include normal strategy trades

•Benchmark - include benchmark strategy trades

•Skipped - include skipped trades (from each of the above categories if selected)

❖Log Detail

Selects which categories of detail are included when a Log is generated (whether from the Log box above or by a script): Positions, Setups, Trades, Caps, and Cashflow. Corresponds to the LogDetail setting.

❖Results By Year

Adds per-year columns to the test's row in the Results window: ROR, MaxDD, and Trades. Corresponds to the ResultsByYear setting.

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