The XMIM interface consists of several major components which include: the title bar and frame which are used to control the size and location of the window; the menu and toolbar which provide access to commonly used administrative functions in the software such as opening and saving files and the Edit pane which appears as the white field within the window used to display and build queries using the XMIM query language.
Select the Query Wizard tab to build a query using pre-defined criteria including date files and market events. Select the Query Builder tab to build a query from scratch or to add more conditions to your query.
The menu bar is the primary way to access XMIM's functions. These functions are commands that control the behavior of the XMIM program when invoked by the user. Each word in the menu bar represents a menu that invokes a command. Additionally, for a few function selections a small arrow will appear next to the menu label. These arrows invoke cascade or sub menus that contain additional menu criteria for selection.
Table: XMIM Menu Bar
| File | New (Ctrl+N) - Creates a new query. Open (Ctrl+O) - Open a query. Save (Ctrl+S) - Save a query. Save As - Save a query with a new name. Save As Job - Save a query to run and execute it later in a batch mode. Print - Print a query. Exit - Exit the software.
|
Edit | Undo (Ctrl+Z) - Undo the last action. Redo (Ctrl+Y) - Redo the last action. Cut (Ctrl+X) - Cut a portion of the query. Copy (Ctrl+C) - Copy a portion of the query. Paste (Ctrl+V) - Paste a portion of the query. Replace - Replace a entry with a different entry. Check and Format - Perform a check of the query syntax and format the query. # Toggle Comment (Ctrl+K) - Use Toggle Comment to comment out entries in the Edit window for the query. |
Templates |
Analog - Opens a list of complex query templates (for example the Best Match Analog query and the Threshold Analog query) that may be modified and added to the Edit pane.
|
Options |
Execution Units - Set the Execution Units. This setting determines the time-frequency over which queries will range through the database looking for answers. The default is Daily. Attribute Units - The Attribute Unit sets the default time frequency for any attribute expressions built in XMIM. Execute Options - Execute Options customizes the execution of the query results. User Preferences - Use the User Preference settings to control the appearance of the display window and output results. Connection - Configure the host and port for your server (Server Config), configure the server host and port for your Jobs (Job Server Config), or enter the license number for XMIM (Enter License).
|
Tools |
Text Editor - The Text Editor allows the user to open any file on the local system for editing outside of the XMIM Edit window. If opening a saved XMIM query, any non-default options that were selected will be displayed at the top of the query. (For example: %exec.units: 1 minute) Macro Editor - Some of the studies are macros which may be modified, saved and renamed using the Macro Editor. XMIM Jobs - The Jobs feature provides the ability to execute saved XMIM queries in a batch mode. My Queries - The My Queries pane is an area on the XMIM window where you can save often used queries for easy access. When you setup the saved queries in the My Queries pane you have the option of saving the query as a graph or a report so that when the query is selected the chart or report is generated. Add Query Block - Use this selection to change the type of query block. The choices are: SHOW WHEN, ORDER, DO SHOW WHEN, DO EVERY TRADE, and DO EVERY PERIOD. Initialize - The INITIALIZE statement allows you to pre-assign values to a variable to be used later in the query. Anything that needs to be done once, and not over and over every period (depending on the execute units of the query) can be placed in the INITIALIZE block. This is a good place to initialize variables used to count to a starting value of zero. Finalize - The FINALIZE statement block lets you perform calculations after a query has finished running. It can be used to calculate performance statistics on the results of P&L queries, etc. LET - The LET statement allows the user to assign properties to variables and is defined in the query above the query block. The variables may be used to range the query over different symbols or values, used in place of complex query statements, or query data from a file. Local History - Temporary versions of query edits are saved in the View Local History Revisions window. See the section called “Saving Temporary Revisions with Local History” for more information. MarketHistory.com - Opens the MarketHistory.com website. MarketHistory.com provides subscribers with trading ideas they can't get anywhere else for US and global stocks, commodities, bond, and international currency markets. MarketHistory.com's ideas are based on quantitative analysis of market events using history to show how the markets respond to those events. This event-based analysis is made possible by the powerful, patented technology and extensive historical database provided by LIM's Market Information Machine (MIM).
|
Help |
XMIM Help (Ctrl+H) - Opens the online
help documentation. (For context sensitive help, select the Help
About - Lists the software version, build date, copyright, and server version details. Java Console - Used for troubleshooting purposes by the LIM Customer Support staff. |
Many of the more commonly used administration functions of XMIM are contained in easy access icons located within the toolbar of the main window. These functions allow you to perform simple file management functions and edit or modify your query.
Table: XMIM Toolbar
  | New - Create a new query. |
 | Open - Open a query. |
 | Save - Save a query. |
 | Print - Print a query. |
 | Check Query - Performs a check of the query syntax. |
 | Report - Create a report from the query. |
 | Chart - Graph the query. |
 | Cut - Cut a portion of the query. |
 | Copy - Copy a portion of the query to the clipboard. |
 | Paste - Paste a portion of the query. |
 | Execution Units - Set the Execution Units. This setting determines the time-frequency over which queries will range through the database looking for answers. The default is Daily. |
 | Execute Options - Execute Options customizes the execution of the query results. |
 | LET - Create a LET statement in the query. |
 | How Do I Say - How Do I Say is a list of query examples showing the query syntax and description. These examples may be modified and added to a query in the Edit pane. New examples can be created and added to the How Do I Say list for future reference. |
 | Templates - Opens a list of complex query templates (for example the Best Match Analog query and the Threshold Analog query) that may be modified and added to the Edit pane. |
 | Help - Select the context sensitive help button then select an item on the window. The online help will open and will take you to the information. |
There are three methods for creating queries using XMIM. A query may be typed directly into the Edit pane (the white field underneath the Query Builder and Query Wizard tabs); a query can be constructed with the assistance of the Query Wizard or built with the Query Builder. The Query Builder guides you through the process of building a correct query using the XMIM language. You can build a query by simply clicking on buttons and selecting options - you don't have to remember the exact syntax of the language.
