Importing Watchlists from Excel
A watchlist is merely a text file with extension .viz.
Each security is recorded on a separate line with the format:
MICROSOFT [MSFT]:msft_us
The code in square brackets is redundant and can be left out*. Each line will then appear as:
MICROSOFT:msft_us
*If you do include the square brackets, there must be two blank spaces in front of them and not just one.
Creating a watchlist file with Excel
Our thanks to Peter Andersen who contributed the following code:
- In Excel create a worksheet called Names
- Place your stocks in two columns:
- Column A with the security name
- Column B with the security code (e.g. msft)
- Create a separate worksheet and create a column with the following
function in each cell:
=CONCATENATE(UPPER(Names!$A1)," [ ",UPPER(Names!$B1)," ]:",LOWER(Names!$B1),"_us") or
=CONCATENATE(UPPER(Names!$A1)," [ ",UPPER(Names!$B1)," ]:",LOWER(Names!$B1),"_ax")
There are two blank spaces in front of the [square brackets], not just one. - Save the file as a CSV (Comma delimited) file
- In the place you saved to, right-click on the file name and rename
with .viz extension
(e.g. Technology.viz) - Open Incredible Charts and use File >> Import to import the new watchlist
Example
Here are two example Excel files:
The completed file should appear as follows, with no header row:
MICROSOFT [ MSFT ]:msft_us
INTEL [ INTC ]:intc_us
GOOGLE [ GOOG ]:goog_us