Convert Csv To Metastock Format < RECENT — 2026 >

| File | Description | |-------|-------------| | MASTER | An index file containing all security names and their properties. | | EMASTER | Extended master file for additional fields (optional). | | F<nnnn>.DAT | The actual price data file (e.g., F00001.DAT ). |

| Field | Bytes | Type | Example | |--------|-------|------|---------| | Date | 4 | Signed long int | 20241231 (YYYYMMDD) | | Open | 4 | Float | 150.25 | | High | 4 | Float | 152.00 | | Low | 4 | Float | 149.50 | | Close | 4 | Float | 151.75 | | Volume | 4 | Signed long int | 1234567 | | Open Interest | 4 | Float | 0 | convert csv to metastock format

Part 2: Required CSV Format Your CSV must contain these columns (exact names not required, but data is): | File | Description | |-------|-------------| | MASTER

# Write to MetaStock .DAT file dat_path = os.path.join(output_folder, 'F00001.DAT') with open(dat_path, 'wb') as f: for record in data: # Pack: date (long), open (float), high (float), low (float), # close (float), volume (long), open interest (float) packed = struct.pack( '<lffffl f', # < = little-endian, l = long, f = float record['date'], record['open'], record['high'], record['low'], record['close'], record['volume'], record['open_interest'] ) f.write(packed) | | Field | Bytes | Type |

Once done, your CSV data will function exactly like native MetaStock data, allowing full charting, backtesting, and scanning.

Then update the MASTER file with all security names (requires binary editing or use a tool like ). Best Free Tools Summary | Tool | Platform | Ease of Use | |------|----------|-------------| | MetaStock Converter (MSconv) | Windows | Easy | | Python script (above) | Any | Moderate | | Excel + Binary editor | Windows | Hard | | Notepad++ + Hex plugin | Windows | Very Hard | Final Checklist ✅ CSV has headers: Date, Open, High, Low, Close, Volume ✅ Dates converted to YYYYMMDD integers ✅ Data sorted newest to oldest (descending) ✅ Volume is integer, prices are floats ✅ Output folder path contains no spaces or special characters ✅ MetaStock is closed during file write (to avoid locking)