Typically, a person will have only one data type on their computer. If you have more than one data type, Investigator will automatically open files using the correct data type when it performs historical testing, system library testing, relative strength generation, etc. The only time you need to be concerned with multiple data types on your computer is when you open files using the File…Open menu selection (or its associated toolbar icon), since you can only open files of one data type at a time.
The preferred data type is the data type that Investigator uses to automatically open files. It should be the data type that you use most often. If you only have one data type on your computer, you do not need to be concerned about this option.
You can easily switch the preferred data type that Investigator uses. Select the Special…Data Types…Change Preferred Data Type menu selection. The change preferred data type dialog box appears, asking you which data type you use most often. You can now click on the data type that you wish to use to view files. Note that you can only select the data types that are specified in your data directory information. If you feel you have a data type that is not available (i.e., the checkbox is grayed out), you can add the data type using the Special…Data Types…Change Data Directory Information menu selection to add the data type.
Also note that this is a permanent change (unless, of course, you later use this menu selection to once again change your preferred data type). If you exit and then re-enter Investigator, your preferred data type will be used when you open charts, even if you previously changed your data type by selecting the Special…Data Types…Change Data Types menu selection.