Traders who use "Technical Analysis" as an aid in arriving at trading decisions understand that getting daily price and volume data is a vital part of their business. But to be of real use, the data that an analyst uses must be suitably prepared and maintained - it can't just be any old data.

The dataHQ service offers an easy-to-use and affordable solution to the task of obtaining end-of-day security prices. But more than that, the service takes care to ensure that the data it provides is well-organised and consistent, so that technical analysis may be performed on it with ease and confidence.

Easy installation.
Fast downloads and data distribution.
Fully-adjusted price history.
Automatic database maintenance.
Data held in the MetaStock^tm compatible format.
International indices.

Installation of dataHQ is straight-forward. Download the file named "setup.datahq.exe " and the history file(s) that corresponds with your subscription (eg if you have subscribed to Australian and Singapore data then you need to download the ASX and the SGX histories from our download area).

Save all the files you need to the same folder.

Once you have saved the file(s) onto your hard drive, double click the file named "setup.dataHQ.exe", an installation wizard will guide you through the program installation, if you have also downloaded data history files the installation wizard will ask you to select the data files you want installed.

The files can also be downloaded and installed independently so if you have the dataHQ program installed and you need to reinstall the history files you can, just download the history files you need and double click the file, the installation wizard will guide you through the process. When prompted for an installation path we recommend you leave the install path on the program and data installers at the default settings.

Once the program and data history have been installed you will have a new dataHQ shortcut on your desktop, double click the dataHQ shortcut and enter your username and password when prompted (These details were emailed to you when you first signed up).

Once the username and password details are entered click on the configuration page "SAVE" button, your user details will be remembered and used to retrieve the data you have subscribed to.

Updates are achieved via the Internet by a single click (Update button). The speed of your data distribution will depend on your subscription level and the capacity of your computer (and also on whether or not you have real-time virus scanning enabled).

We recommend you add your dataHQ data folders to the exclusions list for "real time" virus checking. There are 2 paths we have used, for old installs exclude the address c:\dataHQ for newer installs exclude C:\Trading Data, if unsure check the dataHQ program's "Support" page it will tell you where your data is located or check your hard drive to see which folders you have.

A base level ASX Equites update (involving about 2,000 securities) may take as little as 20 to 30 seconds. A full update (involving over 6,000 securities) should take, on average, a couple of minutes.

dataHQ remembers the date of your last update. If you are away for a period of time, the program will automatically catch up on the intervening data as soon as you click "Update". There are no restrictions on the number of times a subscriber can access our servers.

The complete dataHQ database is supplied to clients who have paid the once only historical data licence fee, otherwise you will only have access to a limited (6 month) data history.

The complete ASX database has ASX equity prices going back to 1992. Other services may offer longer price histories, but that data may not be fully adjusted for splits & consolidations, the dataHQ history IS.

The dataHQ ASX database is split up by security type, to keep things tidy. This arrangement keeps the equities folder as slim as possible, to make the task of locating the ordinary shares of companies that much easier.

ASX Exchange-traded options, indices, interest-bearing securities, warrants and market indicators each have their own folder all of these (except indices and indicators) are further sub-divided alphabetically.

The complete SGX database has SGX equity prices going back to 1994 and also includes data for SGX indices and SGX Loans and Debentures.

The complete US database includes the AMEX, NASDAQ, NYSE and OTC data going back to 1997, the US history also includes separate US Indices data folders that contain a comprehensive array of US Indices data.

It's one thing having an accurate and self-consistent database - its another thing keeping it that way! dataHQ does your database house-keeping for you.

Maintenance is performed on a weekly basis, with maintenance files being published over the weekend to allow the house-keeping to be completed as a stand-alone task.

The following actions are performed as part of database maintenance.

Equity prices are adjusted for changes to a company's capital base.

De-listed securities are moved from the main database into a "De-listed Securities" folder (from where you may delete them at your leisure).

Securities that have undergone a name or code change are refreshed to reflect the new name or code.

New securities that have been added to the database during the week are assigned their full names.

The dataHQ database is held in the MetaStock^tm compatible format. While this is an awkward format to deal with, it has effectively become the industry standard by virtue of the popularity of the MetaStock^tm charting program.

Nearly all reputable charting and analysis packages will read the MetaStock^tm compatible format, even if they employ a proprietary format as well. If your third-party software can read the MetaStock^tm compatible format, it will read our data.

So what else can we offer you? dataHQ updates 14 benchmark international indices on a daily basis as a free bonus.

For more specific information about the program and the service, please visit either the What's New page or the FAQ page.