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Premium Data Updater - Major Upgrade

How to Upgrade

  1. Make a note of the existing Database location
    Click the Master Database tab to check the location.

  2. Close down PDU
    The application shortcut icon is located in the Windows Notification Area (System Tray). Right-click on the icon and select "Exit".

  3. Uninstall PDU
    Start > All Programs > Premium Data Updater > Uninstall
    Note: The existing PDU Database will be left intact - it can be deleted to recover disk space after the new NDU database is in place.

  4. Follow the instructions to install NDU

  5. Follow the instructions to install the AmiBroker plugin

  6. Follow the instructions to create the AmiBroker database

Summary of Major Changes - from "PDU" to "NDU"

  1. New installation paths and product branding
  2. New application shortcut location
  3. New database format
  4. AmiBroker version 6 (or higher) required
  5. New method of handling symbol maintenance for AmiBroker ("Synchronization")
  6. New organization of the data in AmiBroker
  7. New suffix for Australian stock market symbols
  8. Referencing Norgate Functions
  9. Revised Function name
  10. New system for AmiBroker Watchlists
  11. Revised Watchlist names
  12. More Information fields populated in AmiBroker
  13. Change to "Open Interest" field
  14. Date padding and price adjustment settings
  15. Cosmetic changes
  16. Change to support email address

New installation paths and product branding

The application has been re-branded from Premium Data Updater (PDU) to Norgate Data Updater (NDU). This is to better distinguish it from our legacy updating applications.

  • The application installation path has been changed to "c:\Program Files\Norgate Data Updater"
  • The database installation path has been changed to "c:\ProgramData\Norgate Data"
The upgrade from PDU to NDU makes PDU redundant. The NDU installer will check to see if PDU exists and uninstall it before proceeding with the NDU installation. When NDU is updated for the first time, an entirely new database is downloaded in a new format.

New application shortcut location

The previous version of the application was accessed from the Windows Notification Area (System Tray). However, a considerable number of alpha testers could not find the shortcut icon or didn't know where to look for it. This issue generated enough support queries for us to change the location of the shortcut to the Windows Taskbar.

New database format

This is the most significant change from PDU to NDU. We have developed a proprietary database format ("Cobra") that allows for more rapid access to the data. Users should notice a substantial increase in performance when running intensive scans and back-tests. The existing PDU Master Database will become redundant and a new Database in the Cobra format will be downloaded.

AmiBroker version 6 (or higher) required

Version 6 is now mandatory and can be obtained here: http://www.amibroker.com/download.html

New method of handling symbol maintenance for AmiBroker ("Synchronization")

In the past, AmiBroker needed to be closed for performance of symbol maintenance (incorporation of symbol changes, name changes, new listings, delistings etc). Maintenance was initiated by clicking the "Synchronize" button in PDU. With the release of AmiBroker version 6, users can now perform maintenance whilst AmiBroker is running. This is more convenient and the process goes a lot faster. The Synchronize button no longer exists. Instead, maintenance is initiated from AmiBroker by right-clicking on the Norgate Data plug-in status button.

New organization of the data in AmiBroker

We have thoroughly overhauled the way the data is organized in AmiBroker under Markets and Groups to make the structure more coherent and yet provide more detail. To see an illustration of the new structure, along with explanatory notes, click here.

New suffix for Australian stock market symbols

The previous suffix was ___.asx
The new suffix is ___.au

The suffix is appended to distinguish Australian tickers from U.S. tickers where a subscription exists to both.
In this situation, if you would like to transfer watchlists from your old PDU database to your new NDU database you will need to edit each of the watchlists and do a search for ".asx" and replace with ".au".

Referencing Norgate Functions

The NDU plugin for AmiBroker combines what were formerly two DLLs into one.
As a result, you will need to add the following code to the top of any AFL file that references a Norgate function:

#include_once "Formulas\Norgate Data\Norgate Data Functions.afl"

Revised Function name

The function IsIndexConstituent has been renamed to NorgateIndexConstituentTimeSeries. We introduced this new name to:
a) identify our branding and not have the function name confused with in-built AmiBroker functions,
b) show that the indicator returns a TimeSeries rather than an individual (current) value, and
c) maintain consistency across other platforms for which plug-ins are being developed.

New system for AmiBroker Watchlists

The PDU plug-in maintained a set of pre-configured "dynamic" Watchlists for use in AmiBroker. The NDU plug-in still supplies and maintains a number of pre-configured lists, but also provides a facility for generating lists. The "Watch List Library" in NDU holds such lists for use in AmiBroker (or any other 3rd party application that can be linked to the NDU Database by way of the Norgate Data plug-in). The lists are generated from a "screening" page. The NDU Database can be searched and filtered with the results added to either a "Dynamic" or "Static" Watchlist.

Revised Watchlist names

Pre-configured Watchlists holding historical index constituents have been renamed to clarify the nature of the content, as per the example below -
Old name = S&P 500 Historical Constituents
New name = S&P 500 Current & Past

More Information fields populated in AmiBroker

The "Address" field is populated with web address.
The "Country" field is populated with country of domicile.
Additional Fundamentals - Operating Cash Flow, Levered Free Cash Flow, Last Split Date, Last Split Ratio.
We have also added a Dividend Indicator to the AmiBroker Formula Language which allows you to distinguish ordinary distributions and special distributions.

Change to "Open Interest" field

The Open Interest field will only be used for instruments that provide Open Interest (Futures & Options). For all Stocks, the Open Interest field will now hold a value of zero "0".
To access the original unadjusted close, use the NorgateOriginalCloseTimeSeries indicator.

Note: if you previously referred to the Open Interest field in your scan/exploration/backtest to test against the original unadjusted close, you will need to amend your code to use this new indicator.

Date padding and price adjustment settings

The mechanism for storing the date padding and price adjustment settings has changed. You may need to click File > Database settings and click Configure to ensure that your adjustment settings are correct.

Cosmetic changes

The "Master Database" tab is now the "Database" tab.
The "Related Databases" tab is now the "Integration" tab.

Change to support email address

NDU questions, feedback and problem reports should be directed to