Run AmiBroker
Choose Tools->Auto-update quotes (US & Canada)
HOW IT WORKS
AmiQuote loads (or retrieves from AmiBroker) a ticker list file (.TLS) which is simple ASCII file with ticker symbols, then parses it and generates URLs to the Yahoo! finance site based on ticker name, mode (current quotes or historical), country and From/To date. Then, when you start the download process, it requests the data from Yahoo and stores downloaded data in the separate .AQD (daily) or .AQH (historical) files for each ticker. After download, if AmiBroker is running, AmiQuote will import the quotes into AmiBroker automaticaly.
USAGE
Automatic update
The easiest method to work with AmiQuote and AmiBroker is to use the procedure
given in Quick Start section of this document. Just run AmiBroker and
AmiQuote and choose Tools->Auto-update AmiBroker database. This method
updates historical quotes from the last date present in AmiBroker upto today.
When performing automatic update, AmiQuote performs internally 4 steps a) retrieves
the ticker list from AmiBroker (all symbols loaded currently in AmiBroker);
b) gets the last quotation date available in AmiBroker;
c) performs historical download from last date upto today;
d) instructs AmiBroker to import downloaded files.
Please note that this procedure works only for US & Canada markets, because Yahoo provides historical quotes only for that markets.
Note that AmiQuote currently supports a new command line parameter: /autoupdate.
This option forces AmiQuote to perform automatic update procedure without user
intervention.
By default AmiBroker's Tools menu is configured as follows:
C:\Program Files\AmiBroker\AmiQuote\Quote.EXE /autoupdate
So, you are able to update your US database with a single click on Tools->Auto-update quotes (US & Canada) in AmiBroker
Manual operation
Automatic mode is nice but there are cases when you have to perform some tasks manually. There is a good old document describing that mode of operation at: How to download quotes manually using AmiQuote . Everything written in this document remains valid with one exception - now importing to AmiBroker are performed automatically if you have Automatic import checkbox marked.
There are also several cases when you prefer to do things manualy, then please don't forget about some useful tools available at your fingertips:
File->Open, File->Save, File->Save As
These functions enable you to load and save your edited ticker lists for future repeated use.
Edit->Add tickers
This function allows you to add the tickers to the list. Just type space separated tickers into the field that will show up when you choose this function.
Edit->Delete tickers
This function allows you to delete tickers from the list. Just select the items you want to delete from the list view (multiple selection possible by holding SHIFT or CTRL key while clicking on items), and choose this function.
Edit->Mark all, Edit->Unmark all, Edit->Toggle, Edit->Mark selection, Edit->Unmark selection
These functions allow you to mark the tickers for download. Please note that AmiQuote puts a checkmark before ticker name in the list view. ONLY MARKED items will be downloaded. This allows you to perform selective downloads/updates.
View->Refresh
Basically AmiQuote handles refreshes by itself when needed. For example if you changed the date range, the list will be refreshed before starting download. But there are some cases when you may want to refresh the list by yourself. For example if you downloaded and imported quotes once and want to do this again you would need to choose this function. The Refresh function simply applies all date and type settings to the URLs listed, and MARKS all tickers for a new download.
Tools->Import into AmiBroker
This function is useful if you want to import just downloaded quotes into AmiBroker but you have Automatic import checkbox cleared.
Tools->Get tickers from AmiBroker
This function retrieves all symbols from currently loaded AmiBroker database and fills the AmiQuote ticker list with them.
Tools->Get last update date
This function retrieves the date of the most recent quotation of the first symbol present in currently loaded AmiBroker database and sets the From date to this date.
Tools->Settings
Displays the settings window where you can define the destination directory where all downloads are stored. Note that blank destination directory means that downloads will be stored in the current working directory (in most cases this is the folder from where current .TLS file was loaded).
In this window you can also change the mode of writing the files. By default historical files are overwritten while daily files get appended. This is recommended setup. Appending daily files simply allows you to create intra-day historical files when you do the updates daily. You may change this behaviour for your particular purpose.