Software Reviews
Genesis Navigator v 2.07
Although I have been a customer of Genesis Financial Data for many years, I
hadn't really used their Navigator program until now. I have tried several
times, but in the past (a couple years ago) it was buggy and had more problems than I was willing to
deal with.
This time (12/2004), Glen Larson asked me to take a look at Trade Navigator again, and
I am REALLY impressed. What follows below, in the way of a review, are
bulleted items I encounter as I click icons and just play with the program.
I have not opened a manual for any purpose, including installation. I am
just letting the program itself lead me through its usage. It's as simple
as that.
Here are my "real-time" comments as I inspect Genesis Trade Navigator:
- No real-time yet in this version. I'm told it will be ready next
week.
- Tried to Install Entire Data History from CD. Created an error
message, so I just installed the 1 year back history.
- Next tried only installing EOD for stocks, futures and indexes--it was
very slow.
Figure 1
- First chart automatically appeared on screen, shown above.
- Inserting Indicators is as easy as clicking on the "plus" at the top of
the page
- Able to size one chart to 1/2 screen by clicking on the blank page icon
and selecting 2 charts per window.
Figure 2
- Clicking the icon with the southwesterly arrow opens the view above, where
you can easily change all inputs and aspects of the charts and indicators
- Wonderful feature I have been searching for for years: space above and
below the bars, to allow one to view higher and lower prices than current
scaling would automatically calculate
- Brought up symbol RSH. Only data for the past week appeared on the
chart. Try the 3rd CD for historical data.
Figure 3
- The System Development component of this software is amazing!
Putting together the rules for buying and selling is as simple as the click of
a mouse. No more memorizing dozens of odd words; no more need to be a
programmer.
- Even more amazing is the flow chart showing the logic behind the system.
(Figure 3) With a complicated system, this feature would eliminate
confusion and help debug strategies.
- Clicking on the Inputs tab takes you to a screen as in Figure 4.
Figure 4
- If you don't like the default inputs chosen by the program, simply click
on the [ ]optimize button and the screen instantly changes to include default
optimization ranges. It's like magic. Click on Figure 5.
Figure 5
- After choosing your optimizations by clicking (or changing the numbers if
you wish), click on Next and the program offers you the choice of trying this
strategy against one symbol, or a group of symbols!
- I clicked Next a few times as the Wizard led me through making choices
regarding the testing. When I hit Run, the program whipped through the
mass of tests and immediately brought up the next screen I would want to see:
the Optimization Report. This program anticipates my every need.
Figure 6
- Clicking on any column, does exactly what you would expect it to, it sorts
the column. A second click and it sorts the column in the opposite
order.
- At the bottom of the chart window is an amazing feature called Quote
Board. I like the box style, which shows symbols with their open, high,
low, close in type, and a bar beside the prices table so you can see the same
thing visually. (Figure 7) As you click and add symbols (simply by
typing, or using the automatically launched symbol finder) the Quote Board
grows and adds a scroll bar along the bottom. And, even more exciting,
if you click and hold on the blue bar at the top of a window you can drag it
around the desktop and drop it wherever you want--it automatically resized
itself to fit. Then, if you double-click the symbol in the Quote Board,
the chart above becomes that symbol.
Figure 7
- There's another amazing feature for traders who are learning, or who are
refining their techniques, or who simply goofed up today and want to see it
again as it played out. At the top of the page there is a little icon
that looks like a piece of yellow photographic film. Hovering over it
reveals that it is "Instant Replay." You can choose how fast you want
the day to replay itself and give yourself the opportunity to decide how you
should of, could of, would of played it if you were just following your
system.
- The Trade Console at the top of the page can be turned on or off by
clicking on the hand-with-dollars icon. (Figure 8) Here's a wonderful
feature: there's imaginary money in an imaginary account to play and test
ideas with. It even tracks your imaginary trade as it accumulates
profits (or losses.)
Figure 8
- I wanted to add Average True Range to my chart, but couldn't find it in
studies, indicators or functions. Was I going to have to write it
myself? Yikes. Finally I noticed the little check box named
Favorites in the Indicators window pane. I unchecked it, and ALL of the
indicators I could ever want appeared. (Figure 9)
Figure 9
- Here's a cute little tidbit I just happened upon. I though I would
take a look at how many ways I could customize the toolbar--and what other
commands are available that are hidden from the default view. Enlarge
Figure 10 by clicking on it, and take a look at the scrolldown box in the
middle of the page. This is easy-to-use, self-explanatory, gives you
quick icons and their meanings--in all, it's excellent! In 3 minutes of
reading through the icons and their definitions, I got an hour's worth of
education.
Figure 10
- Next, I found a little button that looks like an organization tree chart.
Push it and find out; that's my motto. Pretty as you please, up comes a
pulldown list of sectors. Clicking on the + sign expands the sector to
show all the stock symbols in that sector.
Figure 11 - Sector Browser
- My excitement and curiousity is getting the best of me. I want to learn
more, and faster. This program is phenomenal. So, I click on the
"Drawing" command to bring down the dropdown box of available commands.
See Figure 12.
Figure 12-Drawing Tools
- All the tools you could want, and more live under the "Drawing" command.
Fibonacci time and support/resistance lines accurately anchor to the high and
low prices, as they should but don't in other programs. Nice feature:
the percentage retracement is printed on the left of the line, and the price
on the right. I double clicked on the Fibonacci line, thinking I could find
the defaults for retracement values and set them with extensions. Nope.
The program created an identical set of lines which I could then drag upward
and drop on top of the first set, creating a lovely extension and target map.
Double-clicking again created yet another duplicate, and I simply pressed the
Delete key to get rid of it. I'm still searching for the default values
so I can add extensions. Oops, I held down the CTRL key and clicked on
the chart, but it didn't give me access to the Fib values. Instead, I
found another instant and helpful tool--it placed a dashed horizontal line at
the place I clicked. I right clicked the line to see if I could delete
it, but again got something unexpected--a menu box many more options, one of
which was "Charting Hot Keys and Tips." Let's see what's in there!
- Figure 13, below, shows the pane that comes from the Hot Keys selection.
Wow! A little memorization and I'm going to be fast as lightning with
this program!!
Figure 13
- It turns out that a simple click on the Horizontal Line I accidentally
drew gives me several options (color, style, draw behind, ...) one of which is
delete. Ok, that cleaned up the chart. Still no default values for
Fibonacci retracements.
- Now, playing with some more of the drawing tools, I tried the
speed-resistance fan. It laid down smoothly and accurately. One of
the features common to the other line drawing tools in this program is that
the extension of the line after the end drop point is in a thinner style.
It makes it very easy, and is an elegant solution to, spotting where the
beginning and end are.
- Wow! Another great feature! I just clicked on the "Sector" command
on the top tool bar, and got the Retail Index. I wondered whether I
could page through the different stocks by pressing page down (the answer was
no) but instead I found something else neat. Page down, and page up
cycle the price chart backward and forward in history, a full page at a time.
Home and End do just what you would expect, take you to the beginning data and
the end (current date) of the chart.
- OK, it's time to try out their Technical Support. I'm going to call
anonymously to see if their techies can tell me where the Fibonacci extensions
are, and how well they handle the call. Here goes. The number
should be under the "Help" command, and it is. (719) 884-0245.
They answered after 1 ring (!), showed me the tool icon just below the
Fibonacci S/R tool, which upon hovering says "Fibonacci Expansions."
Boy, did I feel stupid. Turns out that if you click and drag the pencil
from left to right you get expansions to the downside; and if you drag from
right to left, you get expansions to the upside. Brilliant!
(There's a little bug in it, however. The right to left doesn't always
work to the upside. I'll call right back and they'll fix it
immediately.)
Figure 14
-
Let's
try something else. I am not an options trader, but I know lots of
folks who are, or who are at least interested. There is an icon (CTRL+O)
that looks like a yellow chain at the top toolbar. I clicked it, and
the program immediately started downloading the option chain for the active
stock, GRMN. Click on the small chart with this paragraph and you can
see the beautiful display of options, codes and current values. GRMN is
trading today at 53.56, so Navigator highlighted the 50 and 55 calls & puts
in darkish teal, and the just out-of-the-money 40-45 and 60-65 in a lighter
teal. (My favorite color.) It's incredibly easy to use and easy
to read.
Summary: Genesis Navigator is sophisticated, well-rounded, full and robust
... and incredibly easy to use. Genesis has been very imaginative in
their solution to the Trading Platform problem and their product is intuitive
and brilliant. There seems to be no end to the beauty of this program;
the more I click, the more I like it. Genesis Navigator's TradeSense
language actually makes sense! Everything in this program has simplicity
and power.
-Sunny Harris