Drawing bugs & enhancement requests

[biegea]

Hi,
A few things here.

Bugs:

1. Setting drawing object defaults for objects like the ray and trend channel are inconsistent. Templates seem to save and work, but setting the default does not.

2. Copy/pasting a trend channel with non-default properties are lost on paste. The copied channel's properties are that of the default, not my source object that I copied.


Enhancement requests:

3. Setting properties for drawing objects like trend channels or fib retracements/extension is harder, not easier, than in NT7. It takes too many clicks to modify these drawing properties at present:

A. I can live with the number of clicks to set basic properties if I must, since templates allow me to save these... but it is 'clicky.'

B. To add levels and set those properties, however, is EXTREMELY clicky - far more than in NT7.

C. It would be great if some properties were quickly/easily accessible from right-mouse-clicking (RMC) the objects, and not requiring to go into the 'Properties' dialog box at all.

D. Additionally, it needs to be easier to load from templates more easily (maybe in the Properties dialog mousing over 'template' and 'load' would auto-load a list of 'favorites' for example... just one thought. An even better thought: RMC the drawing object on the screen and select from templates to load (or even save) right there).

4. Writing text on the chart has gone from someone tedious in NT7 to virtually unusable in NT8. Not only can I not enter carriage returns or use standard windows paradigms like selecting or editing like I can in Powerpoint, for example, but now I don't even have a popup window to edit my text like I used to in NT7. I just have a single form field in properties. This is brutally poor usability, unless there is other capability I'm not aware of.

5. This is not drawing-tool specific but rather re. Chart Trader. Chart trader order lines felt much more responsive to clicking in NT7 than they do in NT8. I find myself often having to try click chart trader order lines multiple times before they 'take' or before I'm sure they took.

All of these things directly impact my ability to speedily alter trade ideas and execute changes to my trades. Please consider prioritizing bug-fixes and enhancements in these areas. Any tips in the meantime are appreciated.

Thank you.

[Tasker-182]

,

4. Writing text on the chart has gone from someone tedious in NT7 to virtually unusable in NT8. Not only can I not enter carriage returns or use standard windows paradigms like selecting or editing like I can in Powerpoint, for example, but now I don't even have a popup window to edit my text like I used to in NT7. I just have a single form field in properties. This is brutally poor usability, unless there is other capability I'm not aware of.

Thank you.

Text tool tips:

While typing text on the chart, to enter a new line press Alt then Enter key.

If you double click the text on the chart to edit it, you can:

A) Use the Enter key to create a new line in the drawing tool.
B) Select text and delete it using the cursor selection and the delete key.
C) Copy/paste (using Ctrl-c and Ctrl-v)

[Joe_T]

Drawing Tools

I concur with the items in this post. In addition, I would like to add some specific items.

1) Anchor points for Fibonacci extensions and retracements should always default to "bar & price" regardless of what Snap Mode one is in. Fibonacci extensions and retracements are not accurate unless the actual price point of the bar is attached to the tool. It is a user configuration nightmare to keep switching back and forth between Snap Modes just to re-configure these in the required tools.

2) The Fibonacci extensions tool, should always default to the 0, 1.00, 1.272, 1.618, 2.618, 4.236 and 6.864 expansion levels without reconfiguration. (Right now they are set to default for retracement waves and this makes no sense. Why have two tools that are doing the same thing?). Those are the only valid values for expansions, and again requiring users to go through and reset all of these tools is a time-waste. Even if one loads a template for them, one can need to work so quickly that taking the time even to re-load a template is a serious misuse of user time. Further, there are often times when one has to re-install the basic configuration, and then this requires going through and re-setting each of these basic defaults again. Big time waste.

3) Many other software packages and even free on-line services have basic Elliott Wave labeling tools. I would guess this is what a good 60 - 70% of what your users want too. As a result, a simple 1 - 5 tool, with end points showing price labels and points traveled would be of great help. All the user should have to do is select the 'degree' of the wave label (Primary, Intermediate, Minor, Minute, Minuette, Sub-minuette, etc). An A,B,C correction tool, and an A,B,C,D,E triangle tool would be next on the list. Once again, these tools should default to "bar & price" for the snap mode, unless the user wants to disable it with a right-click.

Thanks for listening. Many of us are just trying to help make you competitive with other packages.

Hi,
A few things here.

Bugs:

1. Setting drawing object defaults for objects like the ray and trend channel are inconsistent. Templates seem to save and work, but setting the default does not.

2. Copy/pasting a trend channel with non-default properties are lost on paste. The copied channel's properties are that of the default, not my source object that I copied.


Enhancement requests:

3. Setting properties for drawing objects like trend channels or fib retracements/extension is harder, not easier, than in NT7. It takes too many clicks to modify these drawing properties at present:

A. I can live with the number of clicks to set basic properties if I must, since templates allow me to save these... but it is 'clicky.'

B. To add levels and set those properties, however, is EXTREMELY clicky - far more than in NT7.

C. It would be great if some properties were quickly/easily accessible from right-mouse-clicking (RMC) the objects, and not requiring to go into the 'Properties' dialog box at all.

D. Additionally, it needs to be easier to load from templates more easily (maybe in the Properties dialog mousing over 'template' and 'load' would auto-load a list of 'favorites' for example... just one thought. An even better thought: RMC the drawing object on the screen and select from templates to load (or even save) right there).

4. Writing text on the chart has gone from someone tedious in NT7 to virtually unusable in NT8. Not only can I not enter carriage returns or use standard windows paradigms like selecting or editing like I can in Powerpoint, for example, but now I don't even have a popup window to edit my text like I used to in NT7. I just have a single form field in properties. This is brutally poor usability, unless there is other capability I'm not aware of.

5. This is not drawing-tool specific but rather re. Chart Trader. Chart trader order lines felt much more responsive to clicking in NT7 than they do in NT8. I find myself often having to try click chart trader order lines multiple times before they 'take' or before I'm sure they took.

All of these things directly impact my ability to speedily alter trade ideas and execute changes to my trades. Please consider prioritizing bug-fixes and enhancements in these areas. Any tips in the meantime are appreciated.

Thank you.

[James108]

I would add rather than make Bar And price the default Snap mode, make the snap mode default configurable, I don't want bar and price snap mode when I am doing Fib work, possibly just bar snap.

[Joe_T]

Makes sense, if the snap mode could be a property of the drawing tool, then in could be selected from within the tool, at least.

[FightOn2]

assigning a default size/color to a drawing tool

I'm sure someone else covered it already but we really need to be able to assign defaults to drawing tools. Something simple like a horizontal line should have a way to make it a default color and size so we don't have to go change its properties each time we drop a line on the charts...

thank you!

[NinjaTrader_JessicaP]

Thank you for your reports. I had a few questions that would help me see the same thing on my end that you are seeing on yours. Would it be possible to answer as many of these as possible?

1. Setting drawing object defaults for objects like the ray and trend channel are inconsistent. Templates seem to save and work, but setting the default does not.

I'm sure someone else covered it already but we really need to be able to assign defaults to drawing tools

I will refer to the Ray for now, as I mention this with the TrendChannel later. For these tests I also used an in-development version of NinjaTrader, so if my steps are correct, you can expect to see this fixed in the next version of Ninja, and no further action will be necessary.

That said, I was unable to see the same thing you were seeing on my end with these steps. Could you review them and correct them as needed?

1. Create a new Ray
2. Copy and paste this Ray
3. Double click the new ray, and change its color to a different color
4. Save this as the Default template
   1. Select the "Template" link in the lower right
   2. Select "Save"
   3. Set the name of the Template to save to "Default"
   4. Press "Save"
   
   
5. Create a new Ray

On my end, the newly created Ray had the same color as the 2nd Ray

2. Copy/pasting a trend channel with non-default properties are lost on paste. The copied channel's properties are that of the default, not my source object that I copied.

I was unable to reproduce this with the following procedure :

1. Create a TrendChannel using the current default colors
2. Copy this TrendChannel
3. Modify the copy's colors to different colors
4. Save these new colors to the default template
5. Create a new trend channel to make sure the default template took
6. Copy and paste my first TrendChannel

The result of this test is that my default template was used at step 5, and my 1st TrendChannel was copied at step 6


Could you review the above steps to make sure I have them correct? Are there any other things I will need to do to see the same thing on my end that you are seeing on yours?

3. Setting properties for drawing objects [...] takes too many clicks

I typically open a drawing object's properties dialog by double-clicking on the drawing object. Would selecting a drawing object with a single click, and then allowing a user to press alt + enter to bring up a properties dialog, satisfy this request?

4. Writing text on the chart [is] tedious in [NT8] I [can] not enter carriage returns or [...] [select or edit] [and] now I don't even have a popup window to edit my text

I have submitted a feature request to the product management team for the following feature :

This user would like to use a text field editor widget to enter text on charts

I will follow up with more information as soon as it's available. If the feature requests already exists, a vote will be added to it.

5. This is not drawing-tool specific but rather re. Chart Trader. Chart trader order lines felt much more responsive to clicking in NT7 than they do in NT8. I find myself often having to try click chart trader order lines multiple times before they 'take' or before I'm sure they took.

I would like to propose satisfying this by expanding the clickable area for a price flag to that shown in the attached picture (click for a larger image ). Would this satisfy this request?

Anchor points for Fibonacci extensions and retracements should always default to "bar & price"
[...]
The Fibonacci extensions tool, should always default to the 0, 1.00, 1.272, 1.618, 2.618, 4.236 and 6.864 expansion levels without reconfiguration.

Make the snap mode default configurable

I have submitted a feature request to the product management team for the following feature :

This user would like the default Fibonacci extensions and retracements snap mode to be bar and price (configurable through a property), and stock "out of the box" levels to be 0.000, 1.000, 1.272, 1.618, 2.618, 4.236, and 6.864.

Many other software packages and even free on-line services have basic Elliott Wave labeling tools

Please see the forum post in the link below for more information on Elliot Waves:

http://ninjatrader.com/support/forum/showthread.php?t=42500

Thank you all once more for your efforts to improve NinjaTrader 8

[biegea]

Jessica,

thank you for the genuine effort. I provide feedback below.

Re. your attempt to reproduce 1 & 2, my scenario is actually simpler.
1. Press F2 to create ray. Go into properties, change color from gray to yellow. Press template, press save, save a Default, select "yes" to override the existing 'Default.' Press Ok. Now draw a new ray. The updated default does not stick. The new ray is gray, not yellow.

2. Take the same yellow ray manually created earlier. Click it. Ctrl-C > Ctrl>V. The new copied ray is gray, not yellow.

Re your additional responses:
3. Thank you for the effort, but no. Getting into properties is fine.

My 3B as an example. Once in properties, I want to be able to set all remaining properties in a single screen. Take Fib Retracement as an example. Say I want to modify a few lines, add some, remove, some, change colors, etc. I want to see all the lines and properties at once like I could in NT7. Presently, I have to hit "Edit levels," then I have to modify one line at a time. I have to remember the colors and line formats of everything while I set the rest. I have to remember which ones I updated and which I didn't. It's very tedious in general, and especially compared to NT7.

3C proposes an RMC to set properties without even having to open the Properties box at all.

3D proposes an RMC to to load or save templates without having to go into the Properties dialog. I would *really* like to see this feature.

Re your response to my #4 - thank you. I would like the editor to provide flexible formatting. For example, boldface or underline one word here, another there. Color just one word something different than the rest, etc. Basic commonplace text editing. Thank you.

Re your response to my #5 - This would likely be anti-productive in reality, because far too often, the extra width would likely cover other chart objects that I would not easily be able to access behind the thicker order line. I'm just looking for the line to be more responsive and likely to be "hit" on the first effort to click it, like it was in NT7

Thank you again for your help.

[NinjaTrader_JessicaP]

Thank you for the updated instructions biegea. After reading through these I am confident that these are fixed in the next version of NinjaTrader. If you see this behavior persist through the next release, please let us know right away.

With regard to the feature requests, I have some feedback from the product management team :

• This user would like to use a text field editor widget to enter text on charts
  • This feature is being reviewed by the product management team and has been assigned the following unique tracking ID : SFT-103
  • As a reminder, currently alt + enter should enable you to use carriage returns
  
  
• This user would like the default Fibonacci extensions and retracements snap mode to be bar and price (configurable through a property)
  • This feature is being reviewed by the product management team and has been assigned the following unique tracking ID : SFT-1795
  
  
• This user would like the stock "out of the box" Fibonacci extensions levels to be 0.000, 1.000, 1.272, 1.618, 2.618, 4.236, and 6.864
  • This feature is being reviewed by the product management team and has been assigned the following unique tracking ID : SFT-1824
  • As a reminder, you may create your own default templates
  
  

Based on your recent feedback I have submitted the following additional requests :

This user would like the menu navigation for drawing objects to have a depth of 1 screen wherever possible, as was the case for NinjaTrader 7


This user would like to be able to load and save templates for drawing objects by right-clicking on the chart, without entering the properties dialog

With regard to 3C, could you provide some examples of properties that you would like to see accessible via right-click menu?


With regard to 5, would it be possible to send a picture our way similar to the picture sent to you? To clarify the intent behind that picture, the shaded area would not be visible, but clicking in that shaded area could move the flag. This picture was created with the built-in MS Paint program. If you can prepare a picture please make it clear which areas are invisible, but can be clicked on. Otherwise, if you could describe in words how wide the clickable area should be so that lines are more responsive and easier to hit in NT8, or situations where you were unable to get a line to respond after clicking it if you do not believe this is related to the clickable area around a line, this would be appreciated.

Please keep an eye on the NinjaTrader 8 Release Notes page for updates and bugfixes.

http://ninjatrader.com/support/helpGuides/nt8/en-us/release_notes.htm

[biegea]

Thanks again, Jessica.

With regard to your new questions:

3c: This would be context-sensitive depending on the object clicked. For example, right clicking a Ray might allow the user to change color, style, and thickness of the ray. For a line, you would have the same options and also perhaps options for "extend right" or "extend left" that can be toggled right there, for example. For Fibs or Channels, you might have an option to instantly pop-up the Edit Price Levels dialog (bypassing the Properties screen). For text, you might have an option to instantly pop-up the text editor window that I have requested. In all cases, one of the RMC options of any object should be to save and/or load a template right then and there.

Regarding 5 - thank you for clarifying your intent. Now that I understand, I totally agree that that is along the lines of what I am asking for. If/when you implement that feature, perhaps make it a user configurable property in chart trader how wide the 'invisible shaded' area would be for order lines on the screen - that way different users can set the sensitivity to their liking, and perhaps vary the sensitivity depending on the chart they plan to use (i.e. will it be small or large, will there be lots of indicators or none... the desired sensitivity could be different to different people in different scenarios).

Thank you again for the responsiveness!

[James108]

these are great suggestions I like the way this is headed

[NinjaTrader_JessicaP]

I am glad to be able to help facilitate the process of using your suggestions to make NinjaTrader a better product.

For 3C, it is usually best if we can give the product management clear guidelines, and so I have made the following requests.

When a Ray is right-clicked on, this user would like options to change the appearance of the Ray available from the Right-click menu

When a Line is right-clicked on, this user would like options to change the appearance of the Line, as well as the ability to extend the line 1 bar to the right or left.

When a Fibonacci tool is right-clicked on, this user would like to be able to edit all the tool's levels through the right-click menu

Your notes will be added to the existing notes for the new Text editor widget.

For 5, I have made the following request.

This user would like the clickable area surrounding a price flag's extending arm to be widened without changing the appearance. This user used NinjaTrader 7 as a reference.

Thank you once more for your suggestions