Custom strategies not appearing in Strategy Analyzer (NT7)

[bluelou]

I'm trying to run a backtest but my custom strategies aren't in the Strategy Analyzer pull down menu.

I just moved some existing strategies from one PC to another. The strategies compiled properly on the new PC but I can't get them to show up in the Strategy Analyzer menu. I've tried restarting NT7 but that didn't work. Please help.

[NinjaTrader_RyanM1]

Hello bloulou,

One thing to check is that the strategy files are in the right directory. This would be:
My Documents\NinjaTrader 7\bin\custom\strategy

If you're still having issues with this, it may be better to follow the proper distribution procedure.

On your old PC:
Click File > Utilities > Export NinjaScript

Export the file, move file to your new PC, then:
Click File > Utilities > Import NinjaScript > Open the file.

http://www.ninjatrader.com/support/helpGuides/nt7/distribution.htm

[bluelou]

Ryan,
When I copied the files I followed the exact distribution procedure that you specified. Any other advice?

[bluelou]

As I mentioned b/f, when I originally copied the files I used the distribution procedure you specified. The strategy files are in the correct subdirectory. Also, I just tried rebooting the PC and restarting NT7. None of this has helped.

It might be worth noting that this is my first try using NT7 on this particular PC. NT6.5 was on the machine previously. However, I've been using NT7 on another PC for a few months w/o major problems.

Also, I just tried to create a new strategy and then copy/paste existing strategy code into the new strategy file. The program compiles but I can't get this new strategy to appear in the backtest pull-down box either.

[NinjaTrader_RyanM1]

Thanks for the reply. If the files are in the right place, then NinjaTrader is having trouble accessing within strategy analyzer.

Do you see similar issue when right clicking on chart > Indicators screen?

Is there anything different about your windows my documents folder? (Installed on network or other hard drive, non-native windows os)

[bluelou]

Thanks for the reply. If the files are in the right place, then NinjaTrader is having trouble accessing within strategy analyzer.

Do you see similar issue when right clicking on chart > Indicators screen?

Is there anything different about your windows my documents folder? (Installed on network or other hard drive, non-native windows os)

My indicators appear to work fine. I'm not having any problems accessing them. I don't think there's anything unique about the my documents folder. I've been running NT6.5 on this PC for 2 years. I upgraded it to NT7 a few weeks ago.

The only thing I can think of is that all of the indicator and strategy files were copied on to the current 32-bit XP system from a 64-bit Win7 system. But this wasn't a problem with NT 6.5 and, as I mentioned, I'm not having any problems with the indicators.

Also, as I mentioned b/f, even when I create a new strategy on the current 32 bit XP PC, I can't even access the new strategy in Strategy Analyzer.

[NinjaTrader_RyanM1]

I'm not sure why you're seeing these results. Could you share one of the custom strategies so I can test on my side? Send to [email protected] or attach in this thread.

[bluelou]

Ryan,
Unfortunately, I can't do that. There are 2 custom DLLs that I'd rather not send out. Is there any other way to resolve the issue? Can someone log into my PC? Please send a private message to resolve. Meanwhile, I'm going to try running the strategy on NT6.5. I'll let you know if I have any problems there.

[bluelou]

Ryan,
I'm pretty sure I've resolved the issue and I think it points to a bug (or, maybe this by design?) in NT7. By copying the strategy on PC#1 into Notepad and then pasting it into an NT7 strategy on PC#2 I was able to get the strategy to compile properly AND appear and run in the StrategyAnalyzer.

To reiterate, the problem was as follows:
1) I had an existing strategy compiled using NT7 on PC#1 (running 64-bit Win 7).
2) I exported the strategy and imported it into a version of NT7 on PC#2 (running 32-bit Win XP)
3) On PC#2, the file was properly compiled and visible for editing, but I was unable to locate the strategy in the StrategyAnalyzer tab or in the Strategies tab for live strategy operations.

4) I resolved the issue by using Notepad to move the file from PC#1 to PC#2 and then I copied the code from Notepad into a new strategy on PC#2.

5) So, it appears that NT7 won't allow the importing of files if the exported file was on a different version of the Windows operating system. Is this incompatibility by design? I didn't have this problem with NT 6.5 on the same 2 PCs.

[NinjaTrader_RyanM1]

Thanks for your observations here. We're not aware of any issues with transfering NinjaScript files from one operating system to another. We recently tried a test exporting on 64 bit win 7 and importing on XP and were able to view the strategy in the strategy analyzer. We tried some other OS combinations and didn't run into this.

It may relate to your particular files. If you can reproduce this scenario please send a note to [email protected]


Let us know:

• The operating system you exported from.
• The OS you're attempting to view the strategy in.
• Include the NinjaScript distribution file you're using.

[sharpie]

This is not an issue with transferring files. I have developed my strategies in NT7 from scratch. I saved a strategy under another name and it did not appear in the pull down list for the strategy analyzer. After much frustration and reading this post I decided to generate another strategy, cut and paste the code I wanted to save into the new strategy. After generating the new strategy I checked to see if it appeared in the pull down list and UREKA, not only was it there, but so were the strategies I had been saving (and could not see).

If the problem reappears I will document it in a little more detail. I am using NT7.19

[bluelou]

sharpie,
I'm glad the cut and paste approach worked for you. I tried that approach before resorting to Notepad but it didn't work for me.

-bluelou

[sharpie]

I should make myself clearer. I never got to the point of doing the cut and paste. After I generated the new strategy, but before the cut and paste I brought up the strategy analyzer to see if the new strategy I just generated was in the pull down list. It was, but so were all of the others that were not previously.

I should also add, for whatever it's worth, that when the problem was first apparent I had changed a strategy and filed it with "save as". The file name was the same as a previous strategy (save as and replace). The save appeared successful, but when I ran the strategy analyzer, it picked up an old version of that strategy. I tried the "save as" again replacing the original file, but the same old version kept popping up in the strategy analyzer. Then I deleted the strategy I was trying to replace and did the "save as" again. It is at that point that I was unable to see the saved strategy in the pull down list. I pulled a few hair out (troublesome because I have a buzz cut) until I generated the new strategy (see top of this memo). Sorry for the chronological disorder.

[NinjaTrader_RyanM1]

Thanks again for your observations. If you encounter this again, please send the specific strategy file to [email protected] and reference this thread:

http://www.ninjatrader.com/support/forum/showthread.php?t=31931