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Drawing Objects Export

The simplest built-in strategy — a 119-line utility that exports chart drawing objects (indicators that draw on the chart, such as Boss Order Blocks, Imbalance Profile Lidar markers, etc.) to CSV files. Demonstrates DrawingObjectsExport, XML schema loading/creation, ChartObjectDescriptor with MapItem mappings, and the DataSchema.LoadFromXml/SaveToXml persistence pattern.

Source: [INSTALL PATH]/API/Strategies/DrawingObjects_Export/DrawingObjects_Export.cs

What It Covers​

  • Minimal strategy — no trading, no indicators, no signals
  • DrawingObjectsExport setup with ExportArgs
  • XML schema loading from file with fallback to sample schema creation
  • DataSchema with ChartObjectDescriptor and MapItem for mapping drawing tool text to numeric values
  • DataSchema.LoadFromXml / SaveToXml for schema persistence

Architecture​

DrawingObjects_Export : MZpackStrategyBase
 └── DrawingObjectsExport
      └── DataSchema (loaded from XML or auto-generated sample)
           └── ChartObjectDescriptor[] with MapItem[] mappings

Complete Source​

The entire strategy is short enough to show in full:

public class DrawingObjects_Export : MZpackStrategyBase
{
    protected override void OnStateChange()
    {
        base.OnStateChange();

        lock (Sync)
        {
            if (State == State.SetDefaults)
            {
                BarsRequiredToTrade = 1;
                EnableBacktesting = true;
                Export_Delimiter = ";";
            }
            else if (State == State.Configure)
            {
            }
            else if (State == State.DataLoaded)
            {
                char delimiter = !string.IsNullOrEmpty(Export_Delimiter)
                    ? Export_Delimiter[0] : Export.DELIMITER;

                // Create DrawingObjectsExport
                var export = new DrawingObjectsExport(this,
                    new ExportArgs()
                    {
                        IsExportWhileCollecting = false,
                        IsHeader = Export_Header,
                        IsTime = Export_Time,
                        Delimiter = delimiter,
                        IsFile = true,
                        FileName = Export_File,
                        IsBatch = Export_Batch,
                    });

                // Load schema from XML file
                string path = GetBasePath(this) + "\\" + Export_SchemaFile;
                if (System.IO.File.Exists(path))
                {
                    export.DataSet.Schema = DataSchema.LoadFromXml(this, path);
                }
                else
                {
                    ShowMessageBoxAsync(
                        $"Schema file not found: {path}",
                        DisplayName, MessageBoxImage.Information);

                    // Create sample schema
                    DataSchema schema = new DataSchema();
                    schema.Append("BOB", ValueKind.Feature,
                        new ChartObjectDescriptor()
                        {
                            Script = "ninZaBossOrderBlock",
                            Map = new List<MapItem>()
                            {
                                new MapItem()
                                    { Tool = DrawingTool.Text, Text = "▲", Value = 1.0 },
                                new MapItem()
                                    { Tool = DrawingTool.Text, Text = "▼", Value = -1.0 }
                            }
                        });

                    schema.SaveToXml(path);

                    ShowMessageBoxAsync(
                        $"Sample schema has been created. Saved to file: {path}.",
                        DisplayName, MessageBoxImage.Information);

                    export.DataSet.Schema = schema;
                }

                Register(export);
            }
        }
    }


    #region Export
    [Display(Name = "Schema file", GroupName = "Export", Order = 1)]
    public string Export_SchemaFile { get; set; } = "schema.xml";

    [Display(Name = "Temporality", GroupName = "Export", Order = 2)]
    public ExportTemporality Export_Temporality { get; set; }
        = ExportTemporality.Historical;

    [Display(Name = "File", GroupName = "Export", Order = 3)]
    public string Export_File { get; set; } = "";

    [Display(Name = "Header", GroupName = "Export", Order = 4)]
    public bool Export_Header { get; set; } = true;

    [Display(Name = "Time", GroupName = "Export", Order = 5)]
    public bool Export_Time { get; set; } = true;

    [Display(Name = "Batch", GroupName = "Export", Order = 6)]
    public bool Export_Batch { get; set; }

    [Display(Name = "Delimiter", GroupName = "Export", Order = 7)]
    public string Export_Delimiter { get; set; }
    #endregion Export
}

Key Concepts​

ChartObjectDescriptor​

Defines how to find and map a chart drawing object:

FieldDescription
ScriptNinjaScript indicator name that draws the objects (e.g., "ninZaBossOrderBlock")
MapList of MapItem rules that convert drawing object properties to numeric values

MapItem​

Maps a drawing tool's visual properties to a numeric export value:

FieldDescription
ToolThe DrawingTool type to match (e.g., DrawingTool.Text)
TextThe text content to match (e.g., "▲" for bullish, "▼" for bearish)
ValueThe numeric value to export (e.g., 1.0 for bullish, -1.0 for bearish)

Schema Persistence​

The schema is loaded from an XML file at the strategy's base path. If the file doesn't exist, a sample schema is auto-generated and saved:

Documents\NinjaTrader 8\mzpack\strategy\...\DrawingObjects_Export\schema.xml

This allows users to customize the schema by editing the XML file directly — adding new drawing object descriptors, changing mappings, etc.

Configurable Properties​

PropertyDefaultDescription
Export_SchemaFile"schema.xml"XML schema file name
Export_TemporalityHistoricalHistorical or Realtime export
Export_File""Custom output file path (optional)
Export_HeadertrueInclude column headers
Export_TimetrueInclude timestamp column
Export_BatchfalseBatch write mode
Export_Delimiter;Column separator

See Also​