Scan Workbench Tutorial

Scan Workbench Tutorial

This tutorial will walk you step-by-step through running a simple scan with the Advanced Scan Workbench. Our scanning tutorials assume only a basic knowledge of common technical indicators and chart patterns.

By the end of this tutorial, you will be able to launch the Advanced Scan Workbench, enter scan criteria, run the scan and view the results. Once you've mastered these skills, be sure to check out our other scanning tutorials to learn about and practice other aspects of scanning.

Tip: We recommend printing out this page or opening it in another tab so that you can refer to it as you follow along on your computer.

Launching the Advanced Scan Workbench

Step 1:

Open a web browser, go to StockCharts.com and, once there, click on the Your Dashboard link at the top of the page.

Step 2:

If you are not already logged in, enter your login information. After successfully logging in, go to the Advanced Scan Workbench by clicking on its link in the “Member Tools” section, visible at the top left of the page.

Entering Scan Criteria

Step 3:

Select the existing text in the Scan Editor Box with your mouse and delete it. Afterwards, carefully enter the following:

[type = stock]
and [RSI(14) > 80]

Now, your Scan Editor Box should look like the one below.

Step 4:

Click the “Check Syntax” button to make sure there are no mistakes in your scan. If an error appears, check to make sure what you entered exactly matches what's in the box above.

Running the Scan and Viewing Results

Step 5:

Click the “Run Scan” button to send your scan to the Scan Engine. A new browser window (or a new tab in your current browser window) should appear with a results page like the one below.

Step 7:

Notice that there are some international stocks in the scan results. We may want to limit ourselves to US stocks. We can edit the scan to add this new criteria.

Editing the Scan

Step 8:

Go back to the first browser window (the one that has the Advanced Scan Workbench in it).

Step 9:

In the Scan Components area, located below the Scan Editor Box, click on the “Ticker Properties” menu and choose “country.” Click the “Add” button to the right of the Ticker Properties menu to add this criteria to your scan.

Step 10:

Notice that an additional line has been added in the Scan Editor Box:

and [country is US]

This clause can be edited to limit your scan results to a different country, but, in this case, we are interested in US stocks, so the default clause is fine.

Step 11:

Click the “Check Syntax” button to make sure all of the scan clauses are correct, then click the “Run Scan” button to run the scan again.

Step 12:

Go back to the Scan Results window and notice that the scan results have been updated. Now, only US stocks should be included in the results.

This cycle of viewing the scan results, adjusting the scan criteria and re-running the scan may be repeated several times as you fine-tune your scan.

Learn More

Now that you've had some practice at using the Advanced Scan Workbench, check out our Scan Results Tutorial and learn more about how to verify and use the scan results that you've received from the Scan Engine.

For more in-depth information on using the Advanced Scan Workbench, please check out our Advanced Scan Workbench article in the Support Center.