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    Time Machine

    Requires SuperAvailable on: Web · iOS · Android

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    The Time Machine runs a filter group against the market as it stood on a past date. Use it to see what a scan would have found before a move, or to test a setup on every sell-off before this one.

    The date belongs to a filter group, not to the whole scan. One group can read today while another reads five trading days ago, so a single scan can ask for "near a 52-week high today, and not there a week ago". The Time Machine is in beta on Super and Super Pro.

    Tour

    Each filter group has its own date. Days the scan can't read are grayed out, with the reason on hover.

    Each filter group's header has a clock button. It reads Latest for a live group, or As of and the date once you pick one. It opens the Time Machine panel:

    • Fixed date and Days ago: the two ways to pick a date. See Reference.
    • Calendar: the days this scan can read. Full data days can be picked. Limited and Out of reach days can't, and weekends and market holidays stay gray. The note under the calendar says how far back the history reaches.
    • Price basis: Restated or As traded.
    • Latest: clears the date, so the group reads today's market again.

    Scan a past date

    1. Open the scanner and build or load a scan.
    1. Click the clock button (Latest) on a filter group's header.
    1. Pick Fixed date and a day on the calendar, or Days ago and a number of trading days.
    2. Leave Price basis on Restated unless you need the prices the tape printed that day.
    3. Run the scan.

    The results header reads As of and the date, or As of 2 past dates when groups use different dates.

    To scan the whole market on one past date, give every group the same date.

    Reference

    Fixed date or days ago

    ModeWhat it doesSaved scan
    Fixed dateReads one calendar day. The result never changes.Saves as a snapshot: it doesn't refresh in the background and can't send alerts. My Scans marks it with a badge.
    Days agoCounts back a number of trading days, 1 to 90, and counts again on every run. One-tap choices: 1d, 3d, 5d, 10d and 30d.Keeps refreshing and can still alert you, though never about today's session.

    Days ago counts trading days, so weekends and holidays don't count. Zero isn't offered: a group that reads today is Latest.

    Saving a live scan with a new fixed date asks first, because it stops the scan's background refresh and alerts. Click Save as snapshot to go ahead. To undo it, set the group back to Latest and save again, then turn alerts back on.

    Count from another group

    In Days ago mode, Count from picks where the count starts: Today, or another group's date. Set one group to a fixed date, then set a second group to "10 trading days before" it. Move the first group's date and the second follows.

    When the base group itself counts back in days, the two together stop at 90 trading days.

    Price basis

    BasisWhat you get
    Restated (default)Prices on today's split basis, so they match the chart you see now. With a 2019 date, a scan reads AAPL at about $100.
    As tradedThe prices the market printed that day. The same 2019 date reads AAPL at about $400.

    The two give the same answer for market cap, percentage filters and candlestick shapes. They differ only on price and share-count thresholds, such as Last trade price>50.

    What reads the past, and what doesn't

    Part of the scanOn a past date
    Filters in the groupEvaluated on that day's bars and indicator values.
    Result chartsEnd on that date when every group shares one date on the Restated basis. Otherwise they show today, and the header says why.
    Price, market cap, RS and fundamentals columns in the resultsCurrent values.
    Supply and demand zones, chart patternsCan't read a past date. The panel names the filters a past date can't answer, and the scan won't run until you remove them or clear the date.
    Upcoming-event windowsNot available: nobody can know what was scheduled on that date. Use a window over the last N days.
    Earnings on the date itselfOnly reports released before that day's open count.

    How far back you can go depends on the filters in the group. A filter whose data starts later moves the earliest day forward. The note under the calendar gives the earliest date for this group.

    Plans

    PlanTime Machine
    FreeNo. The clock button shows Latest with an upgrade tooltip.
    SuperYes
    Super ProYes

    Anyone can open a shared scan that was run on a past date. Its groups show the As of date.

    Tips

    • Pair a live group with an Exclude matching group set to Days ago. The scan returns stocks that match today and didn't a few days ago: the new arrivals.
    • Use Days ago for a scan you want to save with alerts. A fixed date never has anything new to tell you.
    • Rerun one scan on several past lows to see how a setup behaved in each.
    • Check the calendar before you pick. On the web, hover a day you can't pick to see why.

    Troubleshooting

    IssueCauseSolution
    The clock button shows Latest with a bolt and won't open.The Time Machine needs a paid plan.Upgrade to Super or Super Pro.
    The date I want is grayed out.It's a weekend or holiday, it's past the history your filters need, or some filters have only partial data that day.On the web, hover the day for the reason. Pick a nearby trading day, or remove the filter that needs more history.
    The panel says no past date can answer a filter.Supply and demand zones and chart patterns have no history to read.Remove those filters from the group, or set it back to Latest.
    My saved scan stopped sending alerts.You saved it with a fixed date, which makes it a snapshot.Switch the group to Days ago or Latest, save, and turn alerts back on.
    The charts show today, not my date.The groups use different dates, or the group is on As traded.Give every group the same date on Restated.
    The price column shows today's price.Result columns show current values.Open the chart: on a single Restated date it ends on that day.
    "Not enough history to scan that far back".A filter's data starts later than the date you picked.Pick a later date, or remove the filter the message names.

    Related

    Saved scans and scan historySave a Time Machine scan and find it again.Share a scanSend a link to past-date results.Scanner 101How filter groups combine.Plans and limitsWhat Super and Super Pro include.

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