TradeStation 6 Order Entry

P

PXG

Hi,
I was wondering if there is a way to have more than one Order Bar present on screen.
I trade 4 stocks systematically, and usually have more than 1 position open. What I need is to have entry and exit orders ready for most of them, since sometimes the signal is triggered for two or more stocks at the same time. So when the time comes, I just would like to click on "send order" for the appropriate stock.
Is there any way to solve it?

Also, what are your experiences to let TS trade your system automatically without confirming the order? Is it reliable?

Thanks.
 
Hi,

Try pointing at the open order in the order record, and right clicking, although I don't know if you can have multiple order setups.
 
hi ,
i have tested the automated trading feature one day.
had 6 stocks to watch and enter by a 'strategy'.

well, all 6 stocks where bought(and short) correctly with fast execution.
tahnks to good, i was in front of my screen the moment, one stop loss was activated.
the stock was NOT SOLD automatically, a confirm was required !

so i guess, the automation works only 1 time !? entry or exit, whatever u want !?

i havent told that their tech service, as i dont use thise feature currently, but i am very intersted to use it.
what makes more sorrow:
they have changed their commissions to a 1.2/share fee. was 15$/trade before.
well, i still have to pay 15$ a trade + few cents .
got no answer from clientservice by email, will clear that tomorrow.

have great deals

lippi
 
I'm using the auto entry/exit feature on TS6 also and have experienced similar problems getting my stop loss executed. The problem (I think!) is that the software is chart based, so it only references the price in the time frame described by the chart. For example, if I'm using hourly charts, the program will confirm every hour whether my price is below my stop loss point. Obviously this is a BIG problem if you are using time frames longer than 2 minutes.
I called Easy Language to complain and the guy laughed (in a sort of nice way) and told me I shouldn't be using the canned exit features. I should tell them what I want to do, and they would set it up for me.

Hmmm.....
 
PXG:

No way to have more than one Order Bar present. Though upcoming upgrades are supposed to bypass this limitation through various means, discretionary traders have to use other methods to facilitate quick order entry on multiple stocks. Re-check the on-line documentation, or play around/look around/click around to find them... Just to give one example: For exiting, I find the most efficient method under the current set-up is to right-click on the position graph - and hit customize (then do so), if I'm not satisfied with an intelligent market order. Another option that's useful when managing multiple positions and partly closing them is to utilize the L2 linking function (click on the L2 box to populate the OB, then customize from there).

As for the problem you describe with (semi-)automated executions, if you're runninga system on multiple tradables, and have "automate" turned on AND "confirm" set to "yes," then, when entry criteria are satisfied simultaneously, you should be presented with confirmation dialogue boxes, one after the other, as you appeared to expect. You can execute the order, send it to the Order Box for customization, cancel it, or hit ignore and have the order parked in the account manager. If this isn't happening for you, then you may have missed something in your formatting or coding.

For system/signal-based entries and exits, you have to keep in mind that interaction between the system logic (what the system, according to coding, formatting, and price action, presumes about your positions) and account manager (what it "knows" about your actual positions) can become complex.

Regarding lippi's story, it does seem odd to me that the same signal or system that entered automatically wouldn't exit automatically as well. The "one-off" idea doesn't sound likely to me, and, without knowing the details, I'd suspect something else might have been going on. I've never put a signal on full auto and would be very reluctant to do so - I just don't have enough trust in quote systems and dumb luck. Neither did TS, at first, but, apparently, there was demand for the feature... I also don't have a whole lot of faith in true system-trading, at least in any form that I'm capable of or very interested in implementing.

As for Lightning's speculations, the situation is somewhat more complicated than that: Like alerts and limit order fills, almost any "stop" signal can be set to trigger "intrabar," but the conditions have to be established (i.e., anticipated) at the end of the prior bar. It is also true that some of the canned indicators behave differently than you might hope or expect (and MIGHT have something to do with lippi's problems).

In general, my advice would be to remain wary of jumping to conclusions, and, presuming you're determined to automate your trading, not to be in too much of a hurry to get it up and running, and to consult TS directly for a full explanations if a thorough study of available documentation and whatever formatting and coding options you're using (intentionally and otherwise) doesn't suffice.
 
Thanks everybody for your responses and for sharing your experience.
I will look at the executions possibilities you suggested. I have been using TS software for a couple of years now, but only now am in the process of opening a trading account with them. I am not in a hurry to fully automate my trading strategies, although it is my ultimate goal one day.
Recently I have noticed many short disconnects from the data feed, which last a couple of seconds. And this leads me to my next question, just out of curiosity: let's say you have the system on full auto, you have an open position, you get disconnected for a minute or two, and while you were disconnected, your system exited the open position. Would the order be entered after you get connected again?
Thanks again.
 
I just wrote to Easy Language and explained that my stop losses weren't getting hit at the appropriate time. Sure enough, no sooner had I sent the mail, and three of my stop losses got hit within a 2 minute time frame. All of them were sent at the "right" time. Hmmmm?
 
PXG: If your system disconnects while you have an open position as you've described, you'll get a dialogue box that gives you the option to close the position.
 
hi fellows,
first wanna tell that fee problem(discussed earlier) is solved. as a ts account holder you just have to find (really: find :-) ) a certain button on ts website, which prints out a form you fill out , your account will be changed to the new commsission structure within 24 hrs.
that to my described sorrows earlier,

automated trading:

what is the real sense of automated trading???

in my case, it means to trade stocks without sitting in front of my screen. lets say it is only theoretical, ok. but thats the sense.

if u trust quotes or not:
the computer is meant to to do your work.
isnt it?
and as i am not trading for a living ( my job is developing software, im a 'professional' programmer) i do trust computers.
the probs that could occur in using computers are not prevented by doing the job by yourself.
there are still a lot of things, u are depending on:
the connection must stay. no help if it doesnt.
the trading software has to be 'alive'. no help if it doesnt.
would find more reasons to tell, but i am sure, u understand what i mean.

and trading???

isnt it exactly the wish of a lot of traders, to sweep beside the human factor? to trade without emotion and entry/exit in certain, predefined cases ?
im not the one who says, that is trading. but im one of those who say:
my kind of trading, my kind of (simple) strategy is possible to be handled by a machine, without my emotions, without my work !

so, thats enough stuff to be discussed, i guess,
and thanks to you for replying my post.
again:
wish u all great trades, doesnt matter if made by computer or by you own :-)

lippi
 
pxg,
as long as ts6 is disconnected, it cant receive any signal, so it wouldnt exit a position neither a exit of '3 bars later' nor a exit of 'stop loss', cause it doesnt know the signal has been.
but:
the stops of ts6 are limited for 5 minutes(in a 5 minute bar).
after that 5 minutes, you dont have any more stop loss!
i think its important to consider, isnt it?
(just watch the 'strategy order bar' to make sure i a m right)

lippi
 
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