Optuma 101 - Getting Started
Overview
One of the very best things about Optuma is that it is a blank canvas that allows you to do almost anything. One of the most difficult things is that it is a blank canvas and there is a bit of a learning curve to get started. Linked throughout this article are video lessons by our Optuma software specialist, Darren Hawkins, MSTA, who will guide you through the basics of Optuma, helping you to progress from getting started to leveraging many of the most powerful features of Optuma, such as scanning and watchlists.
Taking the small investment of your time to read this article and watch these videos will allow you to yield massive returns in time savings and access to analysis that you may have never considered before.
Note: All of the images in this article are links to our Learn.Optuma.com Optuma 101 course. By clicking on the images, you will be taken to the Learn.Optuma.com site. You will need to log in with your Optuma username and password to start the free course in order to be able to view these videos. If you don’t have an active account contact us at support@optuma.com or request a demo here.
Installing Optuma
This video takes you through how to install and log into Optuma so that you can start your analysis.
The Optuma Screen Layout
This video gives an overview of the Optuma screen layout and how you can use and adjust it to best suit your needs.
This includes Page Tabs, Menu Buttons, Tool Bars, Actions Bar, Charting Window, the Price Scale, and the Right-Click menu.
For additional information on the screen layout, please refer to our knowledge base article on this here.
Opening a Chart
This video covers all the various ways that you can use to open and navigate a chart in Optuma.
For additional information on Opening Charts, please refer to our knowledge base article on this here.
For a complete list of all the different kinds of charts available in Optuma, please click here.
Chart Properties
In this video, we go over how to manipulate and adjust the chart using the Actions and Properties panels.
Introduction to Tools - Part 1
Optuma has over 200 tools and indicators to help you analyse the markets and make informed trading decisions. These tools are split into three types: Drawing, Oscillator and Indicator. In this video, Darren takes you through how to apply and adjust these tools in Optuma.
Introduction to Tools Part 2
Now that we have covered the basics of how to apply and adjust tools, in this video, we look at some of the more advanced features and properties of tools
Workbooks
Optuma provides a unique way of organising charts into pages within a workbook.
An Optuma workbook can contain an unlimited number of pages, and on each of those pages, there can be an unlimited number of charts. A page can consist of bar charts, swing charts or any of the other Optuma chart styles. A chart can then consist of any number of windows for any timeframe, with each window having any number of tools and indicators.
This video covers how to create, save, edit, and delete workbooks in Optuma as well as how to change timeframes.
- For additional information on creating workbooks in Optuma, please see our knowledge base article on this here.
- For additional information on saving workbooks in Optuma, please see our knowledge base article on this here.
- For additional information on opening workbooks in Optuma, please see our knowledge base article on this here.
- For additional information on deleting workbooks in Optuma, please see our knowledge base article on this here.
- For additional information on different workbook features in Optuma, please see our knowledge base article on this here.
- For additional information on changing time frames in Optuma, please see our knowledge base article on this here.
Settings
From the Settings menu, you can customise your workspace, create keyboard shortcuts, change Optuma’s theme colour, restore files from Backup and much more. This video goes over how to make the most of the flexibility that Optuma provides through the Settings menu as Darren takes us through the Autosave, Backup, Shortcut, Colours and Workspace settings in Optuma.
For additional information on the Settings menu, please refer to our knowledge base article on this here.
Tiling Charts
Each page of your workbook can contain any number of chart windows (depending on your screen size). This video takes us through how to tile charts so that we can have multiple charts open on one page to assist in our analysis.
For additional information on Tiling Charts, please refer to our knowledge base article on this here.
Custom Toolbar
Creating a Custom Toolbar is a great way to quickly access your favourite tools using the settings you require. You can even add the same tool multiple times with different settings, such as a green horizontal dotted line labelled ‘Buy’, and a red horizontal dotted line labelled ‘Stop’. It is also possible to add templates and most frequently used actions. This video shows how you can adjust and build the Custom Toolbar to make your analysis even easier and quicker.
To learn more about the Custom Toolbar, please refer to our knowledge base article on this here.
Chart Overlays
The chart overlay facility enables you to show multiple charts overlayed on each other in Optuma. This video will take you through how to apply a chart overlay to get multiple charts on the same page.
For additional information on chart overlays, please refer to our knowledge base article on this here.
Relative Comparison Charts
The Relative Comparison chart is one of our most used features in Optuma by Portfolio Managers and allows you to plot the performance of securities against each other from a common starting date to compare performance over a given period. This videos takes us through how to apply and adjust this chart.
For additional information on Relative Comparison Charts, please refer to our knowledge base article on this here.
The Structure Panel
The Structure Panel’s primary purpose is to help you arrange analysis under different layers, giving you greater control when hiding/displaying a set of tools. It is very helpful when many tools and indicators have been applied to a chart as it allows you to hide and show these in order to keep your charts as uncluttered and easy to read as possible. This video will cover how to use the Structure Panel in Optuma.
For additional information on the Structure Panel in Optuma, please refer to the knowledge base article on this here.
Introduction to Watchlists
Watchlists are one of the most necessary features in Optuma when analysing large portfolios or numbers of securities. This video will cover how to create and open a watchlist.
For additional information on Watchlists, please refer to the knowledge base article on this here.
Using Watchlists
Watchlists are extremely customisable allowing you to add a multitude of different columns to help with your analysis. This video will take you deeper into the flexibility of watchlists and show you how you can use watchlists to help further your analysis and make the most out of Optuma.
For additional information on Watchlists, please refer to the knowledge base article on this here.
Chart Layouts
Chart Layouts allow for greater flexibility and faster access to your existing analysis. They allow you to mix global dynamic indicators (such as Moving Averages, RSI, MACD, etc - basically those which are calculated based on the price action) with static tools (like Trend Lines, retracements, etc - those which are manually applied to the chart) which can be saved on a code by code basis. This video will cover how to create, save, open and use chart layouts in Optuma.
For additional information on Chart Layouts, please refer to the knowledge base article on this here.
Page Layouts
Optuma has the ability to store multiple charts as a template or “Page Layout”. The Page Layout can be made up of multi-code charts like Watchlists, or RRGs and single-code charts like Bar, Candle and Swing charts. It is a great way to set up your favourite desktops and easily be able to switch between them. This video will take you through how to create, use, save and apply Page Layouts to help apply the tools and indicators you prefer to any chart to make your analysis quicker and easier.
For additional information on Page Layouts, please refer to the knowledge base article on this here.
Headers and Footers
Chart headers are available for Professional Services clients which allow for more information to be displayed on the chart. It can include text, values of script formulas, and even your company logo - which is particularly useful if you publish reports.
It is also possible to add a page header and footer to your charts. This can be customised to display a variety of information from general comments, script results and price bar information, such as last close or volume.
This video covers how to apply, edit and delete Headers and Footers in Optuma.
Note: The Page Header differs from the Chart Header and is applied across tiled charts above History Slider.
- For additional information on Chart Headers, please refer to the knowledge base article on this here.
- For additional information on Page Headers and Footers, please refer to the knowledge base article on these here.
Scanning Manager
The Optuma Scanning Manager has been designed as an instrument to save you time. Whereas in the past there was a need to manually look over charts to identify opportunities, Optuma has automated the process. Simply enter your scan’s criteria, the data you want to scan and the date at which the criteria needs to be met, and Optuma does the rest. This video will take you through the Scanning Manager and how to use it to scan for any signal you may choose.
For additional information on the Scanning Manager, please refer to the knowledge base section on this here.
Relative Rotation Graphs®
A Relative Rotation Graph® (RRG®), developed by Julius de Kempenaer after many years of research, is a complete top-down analysis technique. RRGs will help you look at the relative performance of a Security, Index or even an Asset Class and determine how it is performing relative to the benchmark.
RRG charts in Optuma allow you to move back and forth through history, seeing not only where a security is today, but where it has come from and what it has done in the past.
This video will cover the creation and use of the RRG in Optuma as well as how to apply the RRG Lines tool to your chart.
- For additional information on the RRG chart, please refer to the knowledge base article on this here.
- For additional information on the RRG Lines tool, please refer to the knowledge base article on this here.
Training Mode
Implementing a new trading plan can often be a time-consuming exercise, as you need to wait for days to pass before results start appearing. To overcome this, Optuma provides an excellent feature called Training Mode which allows you to accomplish in minutes what would otherwise take weeks. With a couple of clicks of the mouse, you can take your chart back to any point in time and simply add one bar at a time, effectively giving you a real trading simulation. While your charts are updating, all of the indicators that you have applied are also updating, allowing you to see weeks of trading action within a matter of minutes. This video will take you through the use of the Training Mode and Trade Tracker to help you start testing your trading plans.
For additional information on the Training Mode and Trade Tracker, please refer to the knowledge base section on these here.
Creating Custom Codes
The Custom Code Builder allows you to enter a script formula to generate a range of chart types, from simple spread charts or custom indices to the more exotic types of charts, such as complex economic models used by the Federal Reserve or weighted indexes generated from a custom list of security codes. This video will take you through how to open, build, and edit Custom Codes in Optuma.
- For additional information on creating Custom Codes, please refer to the knowledge base article on this here.
- For additional information on opening Custom Codes through the Security Selection Window, please refer to the knowledge base article on this here.
Alerts
In Optuma, it is possible to be notified of price targets being reached by using the Alerts module. There are three types of alerts available: Price, Line and Technical. This video will take you through how to create, edit, and delete these Alerts.
For additional information on Alerts in Optuma, please refer to the knowledge base section on these here.
