If you are new to the Zerodha Pi Trading Terminal, the following checklist will help you get started with the Pi Scanner.
The Zerodha Pi Scanner is a great tool for daytrading. The Zerodha Pi supports realtime stock screening.
The Zerodha Pi Scanner can be productive if you know how to use it and have the right kind of expectation.
Here is a list of points to be used as a checklist and as a troubleshoot manual when using the Pi Scanner.
Get to know your Pi Scanner :
1) The Pi scanner works realtime, so it can generate alerts only during Market hours from 9am to 3:30pm.
2) The are no sound alerts on The Pi Scanner. Watch out for the ALERT TIME column on your scanner to turn YELLOW. When the Alert Time column highlights Yellow, it means a stock has been screened matching your Tradescript condition.
3) The Alert Time Column stays YELLOW highlighted only till the next scan period you have set on Scanner settings. If you are using a 1 min scanner the alert stays ON for 1 min. If you are using a 15 minute scanner it stays on for 15 mins. So, it is important you catch this alert visually on time.
4) The Zerodha Pi Scanner, is an intraday scanner. It cannot validate tradescript conditions that refers to OHLC values beyond today’s intraday candle range.
Troubleshooting Error Messages on the Zerodha Pi Scanner:
If the Zerodha Pi Scanner shows an error, it is most likely you are doing something wrong. Read through this list to see if you are doing it the correct way.
1) Formatting errors can happen when you copy paste tradescript codes from the web to the scanner. Different lines of the tradescript codes gets merged into one continuous line.
THIS IS OKAY as long as you make a one character free space between the different lines of the code. Make a one character space after every AND , OR on your code.
2) The Pi Scanner currently accepts only one SET function. If you have a strategy with many SET functions that worked fine on back testing but generating errors or Scanner, this is why.
3) The Pi scanner needs sufficient back-fill candles to start generating alerts. The scanner identifies candles only from 9:15 am . If you have a 50 sma strategy and wait for alerts at 9:20 this will not work. You need to have 50 candle back-fill before it starts generating alerts for 50 sma and likewise for other Functions. So plan your Pi scanner strategy accordingly.
Some Tips on using the Zerodha Pi Scanner more effectively:
1) If you have a long list of stocks on your scanner and if it does not fit all in one screen. You can create 2 or more scanners with the same code and split stocks across the scanners. This way, it is convenient for you to watch more stocks on the same screen without having to scroll up and down all the time.
2) Load your Scanners before 8:50 am or after 9:30 am for a smooth take off. It is better not to start loading you Pi scanner between 9 am to 9:30 am. This is high traffic time on the remote Pi Tradescript Server. If not important, close all the scanners after 3pm if you are a last minute trader on the Pi terminal.
3) You can use both entry and exit conditions of your strategy on the same scanner using the OR condition.
Understanding the above facts will help you use the Zerodha Pi Scanner is a more productive way.