Placing stops and targets - help needed

[AussieBob]

I'm fairly new to Ninjatrader and I'm having a few problems with basic entry orders - hopefully someone here can help.

Yesterday I placed a trade using the "Buy Market" button on the chart trader, with the OCO feature enabled. I then placed a stop loss by right-clicking on the chart and selecting "Sell Stop 0.01M @x.xxxx". I placed a target by right-clicking and selecting "Sell Limit 0.01M @ x.xxxx"

I then closed Ninjatrader overnight.

This morning I checked my trade and both target and stop loss orders had disappeared off the chart. I checked the "orders" tab in Control Center and under the 'state' column they are listed as "unknown"... which is a little worrying.

I also had another trade pending with stops and targets, and those orders had also disappeared with the 'state' listed as "unknown".

Have these orders been cancelled at my broker or am I going to find that they are still pending and going to be placed unexpectedly without showing up in Ninjatrader?

Also, why would they have disappeared off the charts in the first place? I'm suspecting that maybe the orders were cancelled automatically at the end of the day?

[NinjaTrader_VinceB]

Hi Bob,

Thank you for your post.

We don't advice to close/disconnect NinjaTrader when you have working orders. NinjaTrader needs to be connected to receive any updates. If the order would get filled when disconnected we would never receive the signal since you're not connected.

Also, keep in mind that it depends on your broker/provider on where the orders rest:

http://www.ninjatrader-support.com/vb/showthread.php?p=27076#post27076

[AussieBob]

Thanks for the reply. My stops or targets on the trade that is open were not reached during the period overnight when Ninjatrader was disconnected. My second pending order was also not reached. This doesn't really explain why the stops, targets or pending orders are no longer showing up on the charts or why they are listed as "unknown". It sounds like a corrupted file and I have tried repairing the database but this hasn't resolved the problem.

I'm really surprised and also disappointed to hear that Ninjatrader needs to be connected 24 hours/day in order to operate correctly. Now I'm wondering what will happen when running Ninjatrader on both the desktop PC and laptop at different times.

[NinjaTrader_VinceB]

Hi,

I'm not sure who you are connected to, but it could be that your broker/provider has a shutdown period for maintenance. Your stop and target would be taken off. You can protect your position then by following the instructions from the post below:
see a post in our support forum

We don't have to be connected 24/7, however if you have orders working we recommend being connected to receive signals and updates. We also advice to stay with the software when you have working orders so you can monitor it and take action if anything unexpected happens. This is electronics and there is always something that can go wrong. Think of a computer crash, lost of internet, an exchange or broker server that goes down. If you're not present at your computer this could cost you a lot of money. I don't know if you want to take this risk.

[AussieBob]

Thanks for the information Vincent. I believe the reason all my working orders disappeared next morning was because I had placed them all with the TIF set to "Day" instead of "GTC". I'm sure this was the cause although after looking through the documentation I couldn't find anything on this. I'm slowly getting the hang of it but I do find Ninjatrader much more difficult to operate compared to other trading platforms.

[NinjaTrader_VinceB]

Hi Bob,

Ok, thanks for letting us know.

There is a learning curve to get familiar with all the powerful features in the software, but once you have this down I'm sure you will find a lot of joy in using the software. Hopefully you'll make some money as well then. :-)

Not sure, if you've already done, but we have Free evening webinars twice a week for people who are overseas. Perhaps you want to attend them. See for more info the link in my signature.

In addition, I've included some links that should help you getting up to speed.

Help Guide V7:

http://www.ninjatrader.com/support/helpGuides/nt7/index.html

Video Library V7:

http://www.ninjatrader.com/support/helpGuides/nt7/video_library.ht

Major enhancements in V7:

http://www.ninjatrader.com/ninjatrader7-features.php

Historical Data V7:

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

Check under the section 'Understanding the data provided by your connectivity provider'

Performance Improvement tips:

http://www.ninjatrader.com/support/helpGuides/nt7/performance_tips2.htm

Risks of Electronic Trading:

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

Submitting Orders:

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