Database Upgrade: November 2, 2020

Database Upgrade: September 3, 2020

Database Upgrade: July 28, 2020

Available Database Upgrades

Fixing Connection Problems

DataTools & Windows Operating Systems

De-Listed Contracts

Problems with Continuous Contracts

Database Upgrade: November 2, 2020

MSCI Taiwan Index
In May 2020, MSCI announced that the licensing for most of their derivatives products would be moving from Singapore to Hong Kong in 2021. In October the SGX decided to discontinue their MSCI Taiwan Index Futures ("STW"). As of October 31, STW has been suspended from trading; pending de-listing. This market has been replaced in DataTools by the new Hong Kong Futures Exchange MSCI Taiwan Index Futures ("HTW"). HTW having the same contract specifications, is effectively a continuation of the STW contract. The data history for HTW contains the old STW data up to and including the October 2020 contract. The HTW data takes over with the November 2020 contract.

We are now providing updates for the following futures markets:

Contract	Code	Exchange
MSCI Taiwan Index	HTW	Hong Kong Futures Exchange
MSCI Taiwan Index D (day-only session)	HTW1	Hong Kong Futures Exchange

Please note -

the newly added symbols won't update for you unless you obtain the historical data first.
the continuous contracts for these markets won't exist unless you create them!
to incorporate the new markets, first do an update to ensure that you have the latest data and configuration files then perform a "Database Upgrade".

The full list of available database upgrades and instructions on how to add these markets can be found here > Available Database Upgrades

To remove the SGX MSCI Taiwan Index data from your Futures database, please follow the instructions shown here > De-Listed Contracts

Discontinuation of Coverage
For many years now, trading in the ICE Futures US 100oz Gold and 5000oz Silver contracts has declined to the point where it is practically non-existent. As a result, we have discontinued coverage effective immediately.
To remove these items from your Futures database, please follow the instructions shown here > De-Listed Contracts

Database Upgrade: September 3, 2020

We are now providing updates for the following futures market:

Contract	Code	Exchange
EUA	EUA	ICE Futures Europe

Please note -

the newly added symbol won't update for you unless you obtain the historical data first.
the continuous contracts for these markets won't exist unless you create them!
to incorporate the new market, please perform a "Database Upgrade".

The full list of available database upgrades and instructions on how to add these markets can be found here > Available Database Upgrades

Database Upgrade: July 28, 2020

We are now providing updates for the following futures market:

Contract	Code	Exchange
UK Natural Gas	GWM	ICE Futures Europe

Please note -

the newly added symbol won't update for you unless you obtain the historical data first.
the continuous contracts for these markets won't exist unless you create them!
to incorporate the new market, please perform a "Database Upgrade".

The full list of available database upgrades and instructions on how to add these markets can be found here > Available Database Upgrades

Available Database Upgrades

The following markets are currently available as database upgrades in DataTools:

Market	Code	Added
UK Natural Gas	GWM	20200728
EUA	EUA	20200903
MSCI Taiwan Index	HTW	20201102
MSCI Taiwan Index D	HTW1	20201102

Please note -

the newly added symbols won't update for you unless you obtain the historical data first.
the continuous contracts for these markets won't exist unless you create them!
to incorporate these new markets, please make sure that all charting programs are closed and perform a "Database Upgrade".

To perform a Database Upgrade -

Do a data update to ensure that you have the latest data and configuration files.
Click on Program Utilities and then Database Upgrade.
Highlight any market histories you wish to incorporate and then click "Download".

To create Continuous Contracts -

Open the Continuous Contracts module (Tools > Continuous Contracts)
Highlight the required market(s) in the market list and click "Create Contracts".

Fixing Connection Problems

Occasionally DataTools may have trouble connecting to one of our data servers.

If you experience any issues where DataTools cannot connect or it is not updating past a certain date, you can try changing the server that DataTools connects to.

You can do this on the Update Window in DataTools, by changing the "Server Selection" to try each of the 4 servers in turn.

DataTools & Windows Operating Systems

Microsoft has ended support for the following operating systems and service packs:

Operating System	Date
Windows 98	July 11 2006
Windows ME	July 11 2006
Windows 2000	July 13 2010
Windows XP SP2	July 13 2010
Windows Vista SP1	July 12 2011
Windows XP SP3	April 08 2014
Windows Vista SP2	April 11 2017
Windows 7 SP1	January 14 2020
Windows 10 (v1803)	November 12 2019

As such, we are advising potential clients that they need to have Windows 7 SP1 (or above) in order to run our updating products. Whilst DataTools should continue to function under W98/ME/2k/XP and Vista, we can no longer guarantee that it will work seamlessly. In particular, problems may arise when we issue an automatic upgrade to a program component. If you are using an earlier version of windows and you find that an upgrade causes the program to fail, you can usually work around the problem simply by doing a program re-install. Program installers are always available for this purpose from the Downloads area of our website.

Contracts De-listed

To remove a market from the database, use Windows to delete the relevant market sub-folder from the ...\Futures\Contracts\ folder (or cut-and-paste it to an archive) If you're not sure where your "Futures" folder is located, you can read the location from the DataTools Configuration page, where the entry for "Data Folder" shows the path to its top level. (Program Utilities / Configuration / General). The default installation path is c:\Trading Data\Futures\.

Redundant continuous contracts can be removed (along with any unwanted continuous contracts) by using the "Remove Contracts" command in the DataTools Continuous Contracts module.

The following markets have been de-listed since the DataTools service commenced:

Exchange	Market Name
ASX	All Ords SPI
ASX	Australian Dollar (SFE)
ASX	Barley (SFE)
ASX	Broad Wool
ASX	Canola (ASX)*
ASX	Canola (SFE)
ASX	Cattle (SFE)
ASX	Fine Wool
ASX	Greasy Wool
ASX	Sorghum (ASX)*
ASX	Sorghum (SFE)
ASX	W.A. Wheat (ASX)*
ASX	Wheat (SFE)
CME Group	E-mini Russell 2000 (code=ER delisted in 2008)
CME Group	Deutschemark
CME Group	Dow Jones
CME Group	Nasdaq 100
CME Group	Pork Bellies (Frozen)
CME Group	Treasury Bills
CME Group	Unleaded Gas
Eurex	Nemax 50
ICE Futures Canada	Western Barley
ICE Futures US	Cocoa
ICE Futures US	Coffee
ICE Futures US	Continuous Commodity Index
ICE Futures US	Cotton
ICE Futures US	Orange Juice
ICE Futures US	Russell 2000 Mini
ICE Futures US	Sugar #11
ICE Futures US	US Dollar Index
MGEX	Wheat (MGEX)
NYSE Liffe	Euro-Lira
NYSE Liffe	Euro-Mark
NYSE Liffe	Italian Govt. Bond
NYSE Liffe	Coffee (LIFFE)
SGX	Euroyen TIBOR*
SGX	Taiwan Index
ICE Futures US	Gold 100oz*
ICE Futures US	Silver 5000oz*

*Contract was still listed for trading at the time of removal.

Problems with Continuous Contracts

General Advice

If any problem is noticed with a continuous contract, the first thing to try is to re-build the contract from scratch. Continuous contracts are made from the data in your underlying futures database. As long as this data is sound, you can always quickly re-create a continuous contract. The Continuous Contracts module can be accessed from the chain-link icon, or from under the Tools item on the DataTools menu line. See below for a complete description of the process.

Re-creating Continuous Contracts

Open DataTools and select "Tools" from the menu line and then "Continuous Contracts".
Highlight the market in question and click "Edit Roll Settings".
Make sure that the "End Year" setting shows some year beyond the current year (towards the bottom of the Annual Template window)
Click "Save & Exit"
With the market in question still highlighted, click "Create Contracts".