DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange) Links
The Equis DDE Server provides a consistent interface for any DDE clients that wish to use security data provided by the MetaStock Data Server (EqDatSrv.exe).
Like all DDE servers, EqDdeSrv uses a topic/item pair to designate requested information. The topic is a string containing the requested security, and the item is a string containing one of the following values:
| Item Name | Description |
| OPEN | Today's Opening Value |
| HIGH | Today's High Value |
| LOW | Today's Low Value |
| LAST | Today's Last Trade Value |
| TOTALVOL | Today's Total Volume |
| YDTOTALVOL | Yesterday's Total Volume (futures only) |
| TRADEVOL | Last TradeVolume |
| PREVCLOSE | Previous Day's Close |
| CHANGE | LAST – PREVCLOSE |
| DATE | Date of Last Trade (mm/dd/yyyy) |
| TIME | Time of Last Trade (hh:mm) |
| OPENINT | Open Interest |
| BID | Bid Value |
| ASK | Ask Value |
| BIDSIZE | Bid Size |
| ASKSIZE | Ask Size |
Notes: TRADEVOL may be 0 until the first trade takes place following the initial request for data.
Not all items apply to all security types. If an item does not apply to a particular security type the item's value will be 0.
Many spreadsheets support DDE links. For example, you can create a "hot" (continuously updated) link in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet by entering the following formula in any cell:
=eqddesrv|'msft'!lastThe previous example would display the LAST value of Microsoft Stock (MSFT), updating the display with every trade. See the documentation for your spreadsheet for a full description of how to specify DDE links.
The data provided by EqDdeSrv is raw data. A change in the value of some items, such as BID and ASK, does not necessarily indicate that a trade has taken place. The best indicator of a trade is a change in value of TOTALVOL.
If the Equis Data Server (EqDatSrv.exe) is not running when EqDdeSrv.exe is started, EqDdeSrv will attempt to start it.
Additional documentation for EqDdeSrv, complete with a DDE client programming example, is available in the MetaStock Developers Kit.
If you have any questions about DDE links, feel free to Contact Us.
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