Specifying a range of bars in strategy wizard

[matthew splitt]

Hi

Can someone please help me here. For the life of me I cannot figure out how to specify a range of previous bars in a strategy. Like , if this event happened anytime during the last 5 bars. Example:

Price high > SMA 15 "anytime during the last 5 bars". I can do 1 bar ago 2 bars ago, or 3 bars ago, but where do I tell strategy wizard "anytime over the last x bars"?

So in the "bars ago" field, instead of a single value like "1" bar ago, can i specify a range?

Thanks!!!

[NinjaTrader_Jim]

Hello matthew splitt,

Thanks for opening the thread.

To create a condition that will look for the high being above a moving average, you have a few different options.

You can create a CrossAbove() condition that checks if the price crossed above anywhere in the last number of bars specified for the Lookback period.

You can also create smaller conditions that define this logic. For example, you can create multiple conditions that check if the High is greater than a previous SMA value. These conditions can then set a bool to true. This bool can then be checked to see: "If any of these conditions, do this action." Finally, you can create a last condition set without a condition, that sets the bool back to a false value.

The Strategy Wizard is designed only for creating simple strategies. More robust logic can be handwritten, but requires unlocking the code and making modifications manually and is reserved for advanced users.

If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

[matthew splitt]

Thank you!

[mfletch7]

How do you specify a "lookback period?" How is this used in NinjaTrader? (Note, if this is only feasible after unlocking the code; please explain how to do this after unlocking)

TIA

[bltdavid]

It means -- starting at the most recently closed bar -- how many previous recently
closed bars shall the algorithm examine (aka, "lookback") to see if the 'event' or
'condition' has happened.

[EDIT: The 'algorithm' is the NinjaScript code the Strategy Wizard (NT8 calls it the
Strategy Builder) will generate for you -- the code is the result of all the conditions you
specified in the Wizard -- a 'lookback' is usually a crucial part of those conditions.]

For ex, on a 1-min chart, a lookback of 5 bars means "did this occur within the last 5 mins?"

Looked at in a vacuum, a lookback doesn't really mean much when talking about one
signal. (Remember, in the Wizard, think of one 'condition' as one 'signal'.)

But a lookback becomes really useful when identifying a concurrence of multiple signal
events all happening close enough together.

What does that mean?
Thank about it, rarely do multiple signals all happen on the exact same bar. So, most of the time
you're more interested in finding events that all occurred inside an 'event window' -- well, that is
your lookback period. That is, they all occur within a few bars of each other.

For ex: if all your signals, say, SMA crossing above the High, and RSI below X, the MACD rising, etc
etc -- well, if all those events occur within the same lookback period of 5 bars (ie, all events occurred
in the same 5-bar event window) then you have just found your signal for entry. Make sense?

See attached screenshot.

After you unlock the code, the lookback period becomes a coding effort. Either you have
a loop examining your signals over the most recent 5 bars, or you specify '5' as an argument
to certain functions, such as CrossAbove or CrossBelow.

[NinjaTrader_Kate]

Hello mfletch,

Thank you for your reply.

Looks like bltdavid is quick on the draw this morning and he's pretty much covered it: essentially is is the number of bars to look back to check for the test condition. The test is evaluated on the current bar and the bars in the look back period.

In the Wizard, you'd primarily use this with CrossBelow and CrossAbove conditions, as he mentioned:

https://ninjatrader.com/support/helpGuides/nt7/crossabove.htm

https://ninjatrader.com/support/helpGuides/nt7/crossbelow.htm

https://ninjatrader.com/support/help...on_builder.htm - Specifically the section on creating a crossover condition

Please let us know if we may be of further assistance to you.

[matthew splitt]

Thanks everyone. Appreciate the input. Got it!