This tutorial will guide you through the main steps to complete when importing trades into the Stator database from a spreadsheet or csv file.
Stator provides the ability to import either open trades or closed trades in a "one line per trade" format. Please note that you cannot import a mixture of both open and closed trades.
Importing trades into the Stator database is an excellent way to historically populate your database with completed trades. Many brokers allow you to download completed trade information into a spreadsheet and Stator is flexible enough to cater for a wide variety of different formats.
In this tutorial we will import a series of closed trades into a Stator Professional database.
Access the Trade Import Screen
1. Open the Owner you wish to allocate trades to.
2. From the "Tools" menu, select "Import Data".
3. Choose either "Import Open Trades" or "Import Closed Trades"
The Trade Import Screen
The trade import screen is divided into five main sections, each of these sections represent steps which need to be taken in order to complete a trade import.
A step by step summary of the trade import process is as follows:
1. Define the format and ordering of the trade data in the text file.
2. (Optional) Confirm the format of the text file against the example provided.
3. (Optional) Choose to assign all the trades to a single type, i.e. System.
4. Import trades from the text file to the trade import screen.
5. Confirm each trades details and tick to assign to database.
6. Import ticked trades into the Stator database.
Screen section details
1. Import Fields
Stator will display all the fields which are available for importing. Some of the fields are compulsory and are required in order for Stator to import the trade.
By ticking / un-ticking the fields you can toggle which fields Stator will expect to find when it reads your text file.
2. Additional Options
You can select various settings from the dropdowns provided. Stator will allocate the selected setting to each imported trade. This is useful for example when you wish to assign all the imported trades to a setting which is not defined in the import file.
3. Example Format
Stator will display an example text file format in this space. After each field is ticked, Stator will display the item in the example format space. This is useful so that you can confirm the correct format of each field in your text file.
Screen section details
1. File selection
From this space you select the text file which contains the trade information.
2. Import results
After the trades have been read from the text file, Stator will display the results in this section.
Designing the Spreadsheet/CSV File
For both open and closed trades, Stator requires various compulsory fields. Stator will be unable to import the trades if any of the compulsory fields are missing.
In addition to the compulsory fields, Stator provides numerous additional fields which can be populated, you are free to provide as many of the available fields as you like when defining each trade.
The compulsory fields for an Open trade are:
Code/Symbol
Entry Date
Entry Price
Quantity
The compulsory fields for a Closed trade are:
Code/Symbol
Entry Date
Entry Price
Quantity
Exit Price
Exit Date
The easiest way to create a file which is suitable for importing is to open a blank spreadsheet and enter each trade (one line per trade). An example is shown in the picture below:
Please note that you are free to provide as many fields as possible so long as all the compulsory fields are populated. For a full list of available fields please refer to the trade import screen which also provides examples of the appropriate format required.
For further information regarding the correct format of each field, please review the Stator help file topic:
Maintenance Features/Trade Import/Data Formats
Saving the Spreadsheet
If you have created the trade file in a spreadsheet, you should save it as a .csv file. This is shown below:
Importing the Closed Trades
From the Stator Trade Import screen, you will be able to complete the importation of closed trades into the Stator database.
The process to follow is:
1. Define the file format
The flexibility of the trade import function ensures that you can structure the columns in your trade file in any order. When you have the file saved and ready for import, you only need to define the ordering of the data columns on the trade import screen to match your file.
Once you have defined the format of the .csv file you can save it for future use.
Assign Additional Items
You can use the various dropdown selectors provided to make bulk assignments to the imported trades. For example, selecting the ASX from the Exchange dropdown will force Stator to assign the ASX to each closed trade which is imported.
Please Note:
The values chosen in the dropdown selectors will override any corresponding values in the import file. i.e. If you create a file with a column for Exchange and also select an exchange from the dropdown, the dropdown will take priority.
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Select the Trade File and Import the Trades
After clicking on the "Next >>" button you will be required to select the trade file which contains the files you wish to import. Additional information can also be specified at this stage, i.e. should Stator ignore the first line in the trade file.
After you have selected the trade file, click on the "Retrieve Trades" button to load the trades into the import section. Please note, this action does not cause the trade to be imported.
After the trades have been retrieved from the file, Stator will confirm if the trades are valid for importing. The trades which are valid will be displayed with a green tick and those that cannot be imported will be displayed with a red cross and will not be permitted for importing.
Stator also displays complete trade information allowing you to make a final check of each trades data before importing the trades into the Stator database.
Importing the Trades
Tick the trades which you wish to import into the Stator database and select your preference for account transactions, i.e. if you tick the "Assign transactions to Account" Stator will automatically create debit and credit transactions to the chosen account to reflect the cash flow movements for the imported trades.
Click on the "Import Trades" button and Stator will progress to import the closed trades.
