NT 8 Suggestions

[tradetree]

I have not seen NT 8 except for a webinar intro, but I know NT 7 very well. There are three things that would make NT 8 so much better than NT 7:
1) Allow optimizations on user defined criteria. Right now optimizations are from a fixed list such as Net Profit, Profit Factor, Min Drawdown. Instead there are performance metrics that can be put together such as Net Profit / Max Drawdown. The idea is that you want to maximize this ratio. This one ratio is an order of magnitude more powerful than Profit Factor or Net Profit alone. This is already being done by your competition and is a major flaw in NT today. I go to the other platform to optimize my strategies because of this one issue.

2) Make an explicit checkbox if you don't want real-time data in a chart or otherwise. Currently NT bases real-time data updates on if the date in the chart is today's date. That is such a terrible way to handle it with a whole series of bugs coming out of it that I don't even want to get started. There should always be real-time data unless you opt out, not by some date mechanism, but because that is what you want, by checking a check box.

3) There should be built in an independent checker for real-time data and broker connectivity. Here again, the current NT gives a green highlight, but it doesn't mean much. There should be a thread monitoring if data is coming into NT, and into your charts, and if not be able to pop up and warning box, for those that want it. For real traders using money, these kind of features are critical.

I look forward to NT 8! Thanks.

[NinjaTrader_VinceB]

Hi Tradertree,

Thanks for the post.

I have forwarded it to development and asked if they can add it to the Feature Request list and provide it with a tracking ID number.

[koganam]

I have not seen NT 8 except for a webinar intro, but I know NT 7 very well. There are three things that would make NT 8 so much better than NT 7:
1) Allow optimizations on user defined criteria. Right now optimizations are from a fixed list such as Net Profit, Profit Factor, Min Drawdown. Instead there are performance metrics that can be put together such as Net Profit / Max Drawdown. The idea is that you want to maximize this ratio. This one ratio is an order of magnitude more powerful than Profit Factor or Net Profit alone. This is already being done by your competition and is a major flaw in NT today. I go to the other platform to optimize my strategies because of this one issue.

You can always roll your own criteria. Look in the ...\NinjaTrader 7\bin\Custom\Type folder. The criteria files are all in there. Use them for guidance to roll your own.

[tradetree]

I did not know this! Thanks, I'll try it out this evening. Vince, please take suggestion #1 off my list, but keep #2 & #3.

You can always roll your own criteria. Look in the ...\NinjaTrader 7\bin\Custom\Type folder. The criteria files are all in there. Use them for guidance to roll your own.

[JerryWar]

I would like to add suggestion for NT 8

One of the issues I have with the NT editor is that you cannot create multiple windows or load multiple instances of the same indicator such that you could look at separate sections of code simultaneously. Windows could be setup to be created on #region or method. This kind of multiple windowing feature was available to programmers as far back as DOS. How about going back to the future.

Jerry

[NinjaTrader_VinceB]

I did not know this! Thanks, I'll try it out this evening. Vince, please take suggestion #1 off my list, but keep #2 & #3.

Hi Tradertree,

Our development team has added your 2nd and 3rd suggestion to their Feature Request list and provided it with tracking ID #s: 2475 and 2476

[NinjaTrader_VinceB]

One of the issues I have with the NT editor is that you cannot create multiple windows or load multiple instances of the same indicator such that you could look at separate sections of code simultaneously. Windows could be setup to be created on #region or method. This kind of multiple windowing feature was available to programmers as far back as DOS. How about going back to the future.

Jerry

Hello Jerry,

Your suggestion has been passed on to our development team and requested to be added to our Feature Request list.

[darmbk]

You can always roll your own criteria. Look in the ...\NinjaTrader 7\bin\Custom\Type folder. The criteria files are all in there. Use them for guidance to roll your own.

Hi koganam et al,

I need to lean on your omniscience again...

[1] I wanted to replicate this and have created a custom type that divides net profit (i.e. gross profit + gross loss) by drawdown. (As an aside, to compile this custom type you simply open any custom strategy or indicator and hit compile). However, the drawdown is a percentage value:

systemPerformance.AllTrades.TradesPerformance.PERC ENT.DrawDown

and if I remove the .PERCENT then NT7 complains that this does not exist, i.e:

systemPerformance.AllTrades.TradesPerformance.Draw Down

How might I get to the net profit / drawdown ratio that divides like against like?

[2] Is there a way to add this custom optimisation criteria type into the Summary tab as a performance metric of the Strategy Analyzer? Currently, it will only show up as the Performance Metric during an optimisation but I would like to be able to refer to it when running backtests as well.

Thanks,
darmbk.

[koganam]

Hi koganam et al,

I need to lean on your omniscience again...

[1] I wanted to replicate this and have created a custom type that divides net profit (i.e. gross profit + gross loss) by drawdown. (As an aside, to compile this custom type you simply open any custom strategy or indicator and hit compile). However, the drawdown is a percentage value:

systemPerformance.AllTrades.TradesPerformance.PERC ENT.DrawDown

and if I remove the .PERCENT then NT7 complains that this does not exist, i.e:

systemPerformance.AllTrades.TradesPerformance.Draw Down

How might I get to the net profit / drawdown ratio that divides like against like?

[2] Is there a way to add this custom optimisation criteria type into the Summary tab as a performance metric of the Strategy Analyzer? Currently, it will only show up as the Performance Metric during an optimisation but I would like to be able to refer to it when running backtests as well.

Thanks,
darmbk.

You may be looking at the wrong metric. Drawdown is Performance.AllTrades.TradesPerformance.Currency.DrawDown

ref: http://www.ninjatrader.com/support/h...l?drawdown.htm

Optimization criteria do not make sense in the context of a BackTest: nothing is being varied. A BackTest is a single run, with invariant parameters.

[darmbk]

You may be looking at the wrong metric. Drawdown is Performance.AllTrades.TradesPerformance.Currency.DrawDown

ref: http://www.ninjatrader.com/support/h...l?drawdown.htm

Optimization criteria do not make sense in the context of a BackTest: nothing is being varied. A BackTest is a single run, with invariant parameters.

[1] Thanks, that has fixed my calculation.

[2] I would like to see the ratio as a performance metric just as I can review profit factor and percentage drawdown and it would be nice if I can simply add it into the Summary tab.

Thanks again.

[NinjaTrader_Bertrand]

[1] Thanks, that has fixed my calculation.

[2] I would like to see the ratio as a performance metric just as I can review profit factor and percentage drawdown and it would be nice if I can simply add it into the Summary tab.

Thanks again.

Currently that would not be possible, however our next major platform update will add that support in for custom performance metrics.

[koganam]

[1] Thanks, that has fixed my calculation.

[2] I would like to see the ratio as a performance metric just as I can review profit factor and percentage drawdown and it would be nice if I can simply add it into the Summary tab.

Thanks again.

So why not just post it on the chart itself, with DrawTextFixed() or a Custom Plot()?