This formatting is used mainly when exporting data to a MetaStock format but can be configured for any format. It was necessary a few years ago when the MetaStock format was limited to 255 files per sub-directory. Some software, like SuperCharts & Gannalyst, still use this old MetaStock format.

The DEFAULT distribution in BodhiGold automatically selects the alpha multi-directory structure if you choose MetaStock or software that uses the MetaStock format (during installation of BodhiGold).
The graphic below, shows this default distribution. You can see from the selected (highlighted) directory that the Format is set to MetaStock and the Symbol Criteria has been filtered to (A [begins with the letter A]. If you are happy to use this directory structure, you need not go any further with these instructions. However, if you want to create your own directory structure (eg. c:\data\ms) or change to a different disk drive (eg. D:\My Databases\MetaStock\ASX\A) you will need to continue reading.

BodhiGold has a simple mechanism in place which creates these directories automatically and enters the filtering required. The only items you need to enter are the underlying directory and the format you are exporting data to.

Creating a alphabetical directory structure

For this example we will create directories that filter symbols into a d:\data\ms\%source%\a to z directory structure.

1. Open BodhiGold and click the Configure button.
2. Right-click on the words DEFAULT Distribution.
3. Click the Manager button. The Profile Manager dialog box will open.
   

4. Go to File>Copy Selected Profile.
5. Enter a name - (for example: ALPHA) then click OK.
   

6. Click OK to the Warning Message. Your new ALPHA distribution list will now be active.
7. If you only want your data filtering into ALPHA directories, delete all the other records in this list. You can do this quickly by clicking on the first directory then scrolling to the bottom of the list and clicking on the last directory, whilst holding down the Shift key. The entire list should now be highlighted. Go to Path>Delete.
   

8. To create the ALPHA directories, go to Path>Insert. The Insert Path form will appear.
9. In Group, type in the directory you want to create (D:\Data\MS\%Source%). Wildcards such as: %Source% which filters all the data into a 3 letter exchange code (i.e. Australian Stock Exchange = ASX) and %Market% which filters all the data into market groups such as Equity, Indice, Option etc. are available in BodhiGold.
   Important Note: If you are following multiple Exchanges (i.e. ASX, LSE & NYSE) and you want all the data to go into the one group of ALPHA directories you will need to add a prefix or suffix to the market groups so you can easily identify them. To learn how to do this, read the tutorial: Creating Prefix and Suffix.
   

10. In Format, choose your required format from the drop-down box (MetaStock). You can only do one format at a time. If you are using multiple formats, simply repeat these instructions.
11. Tick the AlphaNumeric box then exit the Insert Path box (x).
12. BodhiGold will now create and filter directories for every letter of the alphabet (A to Z) and for the numbers 0 to 9 (some exchanges have numbered codes). It will also create a ! directory that will contain any advance-decline lines and personal indices.
    If you did not use the %Source% in your directory then all the exchanges that you choose will be added to these directories (for example: if you are downloading ASX & LSE Equities they will both be found in the same directories). This could cause problems where the symbols are identical on the different exchanges. To solve this problem either add extra filtering or create a prefix or suffix for your codes.
    

13. If you click on any of these directories you will see that the Symbol criteria has been filtered to include all symbols that begin with that letter or number.
    To view a list of 3-letter Exchange codes that will be used in place of the
    %Source% wildcard, click here.

READ OTHER FILTERING EXAMPLES

Below are some tutorials that will give you specific instructions on filtering directories:
• Create a directory that contains the Banking index.
• Create a directory that contains the Top 150.
• Create a personal portfolio of securities.
• Create separate directories for each exchange.
• Create separate directories for each product.
• Exclude symbols with codes longer than 3 letters.
• Load a presaved tick list into a directory.
• Choose securities by family group (i.e. all BHP equities/options/warrants).