Hi,

Just want to ask if anyone knows how to import data from CSI Unfair Advantage into Wealthlab. The portfolio exported from CSI is under the ASCII format however the file extensions are not in the .csv, .txt, .asc, .dat formats prescribed by Wealthlab.

Also, Wealth lab requires field separators (comma, space, tab), decimal separators (period, comma), and thousands separators (space, period, comma) in the format however CSI Unfair Advantage does not have this when one creates and formats the securities in a portfolio.

I am new to this so glad if there is someone who can show me the ropes here. Thanks very much

QUOTE:
however the file extensions are not in the .csv, .txt, .asc, .dat formats prescribed by Wealthlab.

Not sure if we're supposed to guess what file extension is assigned by CSI but Wealth-Lab's ASCII provider is agnostic in this matter i.e. can handle any extension. Just type in your extension.

QUOTE:
Also, Wealth lab requires field separators (comma, space, tab), decimal separators (period, comma), and thousands separators (space, period, comma) in the format

Separator can be anything, not just comma or whatever. Again, you can simply type in your separator character in the field.

QUOTE:
however CSI Unfair Advantage does not have this when one creates and formats the securities in a portfolio.

Incorrect. ASCII data is always separated with some char. If you want us to take a look, zip (!) and attach your file making sure the archive is under 2-3 MB in size.

Hi Eugene,

Extension used by the exported file from CSI data is .adm hence cannot upload it to this site as it is not .jpg, .gif, .png, .zip, .rar, .pdf, or .txt.

Also, in CSI, one can edit the ASCII fields but the only separator they use is the date separator. The other separators are not present and these are required by Wealthlab.

I guess I will have to contact them and bring this up with them

QUOTE:
hence cannot upload

I expected that you're going to ask something like this and hence stressed to zip (!) the file before attaching as ZIP is allowed. Sorry, I'm at a loss as how to make this more prominent.

QUOTE:
exported file from CSI data is .adm

You're looking in the wrong place in CSI UA. I haven't seen this software but a brief glance in their online guide suggests that being a "UA Portfolio" format, .ADM itself is unlikely to contain ASCII data. You should rather look for ASCII Export facility rather than some Portfolio Export options.

QUOTE:
Also, in CSI, one can edit the ASCII fields but the only separator they use is the date separator.

Incorrect. CSI does have Field Separator in ASCII Format (prooflink) which makes me believe you're playing with the wrong option. However, I did not say that you should configure it. All you practically need to know at this point is that a separator exists there beyond our will: computers are unable to import data without separators. Your task is to look into the file and determine what it is and then configure the ASCII provider accordingly.

QUOTE:
The other separators are not present and these are required by Wealthlab.

Peek inside the data ("View data file in Notepad...") and determine the separator visually.

If you fail to get beyond this point, CSI UA supports export to Metastock format (click to visit). Just review its manual carefully and you should be fine.

Hi Eugene,

I was able to export my UA Portfolio under the extension .CSV

I filled in the date format, field separator, decimal separator, thousands separator and other fields of Wealthlab based on what I saw when I viewed the data from CSI through the Notepad. However, as I click on "Next", a parse error occurs and this prompt pops up----

String was not recognized as a valid DateTime.

File: C:\ua\Data\CSI Futures Sample \ ED_0@I0B.CSV
Line:0
Field:Date
Field Name: Date (or Date with Time)
Field Type: Date

What does this mean?

Benedict,

String was not recognized as a valid DateTime.

1. This (pretty self-descriptive) message means that you made an error setting up the date/time. You'll find a pointer to the Microsoft guide on date/time formats in the User Guide (Data > Data Manager > Create New DataSet > Data Providers > ASCII).
2. If you're sure there's no error, it's most likely that line 0 contains a header. Find out how many lines should be skipped (usually 1) and type in that number in "Ignore First/Last Lines in File".