Upon loading StrategyBot and getting it appearing the very first time on your screen, your first action shall be to add "Contracts" .
Caution: If you use StrategyBot on different computers, you have to do the settings below on each one.

Here is what you may/shall do.
1. Set up your StrategyBot screen
2. Securing Profit & Limiting Losses

1. Set up your StrategyBot screen

How to set up your StrategyBot screen? Don’t forget to click on “Apply” in each window upon changing then click on “OK” to validate all of your new settings. When you have completed it all, click on “File” then “Save Portfolio” in the menu and click on “Save”. Then your changes will be applied automatically the next days.

Go to "Settings" > "System Options" > "Trading" > "General" > "Trading Mode"

- If you are a user of automated strategies, Click on "Combined".

- Whether you are a user of manual or automated strategies. click on "Save Last Exit Style" & "Save Trading Lots".

List of what you can set up.

1. You can select what to view of the Contract field (Go to A below)
2. You can select what to view of the Strategy field (Go to B below)
3. You may select how to view the Market. Click on "Settings" -> "Chart Settings "
   • Click on "Orders Options". There you can select the colour and the size of the bubbles of your Buy and Sell orders.
• Click on “Window”
  • In “Background Options”, select the background colour of your choice.
  • In "Grid Options", select whether or not you want horizontal and vertical grids. You may also select colour, style, width and its visibility.
  • In "Snapshot Caption", select the 3 options show "OHLC Settings", "Show Positions" and "Show P&L".
• Click on “Chart Style”. There you may select the "Bars/Candles Size" and colour.
• Click on "Studies". This is where you may set the parameters and colours of each technical indicator.
• Click on "Lines" . Select all 5, (Average Price, High, Low, Open, Prev. Close) and in "Line Settings" , select their size and colour.
• Click on "Custom Lines" and set up your own private lines.
4. Click on "Chart". Be aware that all settings below have to be done for each single contract. Ensure you allocate enough time to complete this process.
   • Click on Price Scale
     • We recommend you use 100%
   • Click on Time
• We recommend you use 24 hours at the start of the day
  Then reduce to 2 to 5 hours during the day or night to better view the trades and market movements.
• Click on Interval
  • We recommend you use 5 min when placing orders along with MACD(13, 30, 9).
  • You may switch to 1min interval to watch the market moves.
• Click on "Style"
• We recommend you select “Candlestick”
• But you have “Bar” and “Tick” as selection too.
• Click on "Study".
  • This is where you select Technical Analysis Indicators on the Market window . For their settings of values and color (Go to C below). We recommend you use "Exponential/Double Moving Average" and "MACD". By clicking on the above right box of "Study", you may select the parameters and colours of each technical indicators. By clicking on the above left side box of "Study", you may zoom in or out of the screen.
    
5. You can add lines to better check what the market does. Click on the box above “Style”, then click on the chart where the market moves, drag the mouse where you wish. If you wish to cancel that line, then click on the next box on the above right side of “Style”.
6. You may change various colors on your screen. (Go to “Settings”, “Graphic Settings” and select what you wish to change)
7. You may change other settings while clicking on “Settings”, “System Options”, “Tables” or “Trading” or “Misc”. Each selection to be addressed later on.
   Enabling or Disabling “Sounds” and "Hot Keys" is to be selected in “Misc”.

A. What to view on your Contract field (Top window showing under “Contracts (#)”

Click on “Settings” on the menu, Click on “System Options”, Click on “Tables”, Click on “Contract”,
It is then recommended to click on
Id,
Contract,
Last (which is the market value),
Vol,
Exch Time,
Low,
High,
Open,
Prev Close,
Change,
#Orders Pos (which the position + for Buy, - for Sell),
Avg,
Points,
Open P&L (P&L of the last trade),
P&L (cumul P&L of all trades of the day)

You may then change colors by clicking on “Setting” , “Graphic Settings”, “ContractGrid”

B. What to view on your Strategy field (Window below the Contracts window). This is only valid if you do have Automated Strategies running or selected. If you do not have any fully as automated Strategies then this window will not display.

Click on “Settings” on the menu, Click on “System Options”, Click on “Tables”, Click on “Strategies”,
It is then recommended to click on
Id
Name
Lots
Direction
Start Time
End Time
Status
#Wins
#Losses
#Orders
Pos (which the position + for Buy, - for Sell)
Points
Open P&L (P&L of the last trade)
P&L (cumul P&L of all trades of the day)

You may then change colors by clicking on “Setting” , “Graphic Settings”, “StrategyGrid”

C. Which Technical Analysis Indicators to chose?

• Click on “Study”
  • We advise you to select
    • Volume
    • MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence)
    • RSI (Relative Strength Indicator)
    • Stochastic
    • Bollinger Bands
    • Moving Average
    • Exp. Moving Average
    • Momentum
    • MomentumDiv
    • CLV (Close Location Value)
    • OBV (On Balance Volume)
    • PVO (Percentage Volume Oscillator)

  Go to the glossary for the definition of these indicators.

Upon completing your selection above you may;

• allocate the size of each indicator of your screen by dragging the line up or down as you wish. Click on the line separating the Indicators and drag.
• change the colors and the parameters of each Indicator.

Go to the square box above “Study” then Click on each Indicator to set up the colors you wish.
We recommend as below ;

• MACD : Fast Len = 13, Slow Len =30, MACD Len =9
  • Colors : Fast line = clNavy
  • Histogram = clHighlight
  • Slow Line = clRed
  • If you analyse MACD, use the 5 min Interval.
  • Click on Apply for the changes to take effect.
• Bollinger : Period = 5, Deviation = 7 and no Exponential
  • Chart Settings : Line Color = clGradientlnac
  • Click on Apply for the changes to take effect.
• Moving Average : Parameters, click on Double, set
  • Period =6, Period2 =3, Chart Settings, Line Color = clRed
  • Click on Apply for the changes to take effect.
• Volume : Chart Settings : Line Color = clTeal
  • Click on Apply for the changes to take effect.

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2. Securing Profit & Limiting Losses

You may read our article published on December 2004 in Pulses Magazine. On the menu click on "Account", then click on "Account Limits".

Below are suggested values to secure a Profit for the day and Limiting your losses for the day: Upon reaching either one of these 3 values (Max Daily Profit, Max Daily Loss or Guaranteed Profit) all orders in all Contracts will be closed for the day. Guaranteed Profit value is computed from "Initial Min P&L" added all increases performed by "Change Min P&L by". These settings are valid for Manual Traders as well as users of fully automated Strategies. These settings are highly recommended for users of fully automated Strategies. For Manual Traders keeping overnight positions, these settings are not recommended or need to be calculated each day upon getting the portfolio status daily via E-mail.

Max.Daily Profit ($) = at least 5% of your Portfolio. Higher would be somehow risky.
Max Daily Loss ($) = 3% to 5% of your Portfolio. Lower could be somehow too strict.
Activate at Profit = 50% to 75% of "Max Daily Profit".
Initial Min P&L  = 95% to 99% of "Activate at Profit". This is the value securing a Minimum Profit for the day.
When Profit Increases by = Change Min. P&L by = 20% to 25% of "Activate at Profit" value.

Be aware that these values shall be provided to the fields in US$. So you may have to translate from the currency you are using for your investment.

Examples :
1st time using the program. Amount invested is US$20,000
Max.Daily Profit ($) = US$1,000. If this amount is reached every day for the 22 trading days in a month, that means US$22,000 ROI.
Max Daily Loss ($) = US$800. Setting up this value too low would not allow the market(s) to recover from low to high which may happen daily.
Activate at Profit = $700 Profit management will start at this value. Not to be set too low, nor too close to Max Daily Profit which is the optimum for the day.
Initial Min P&L  = $690  This value which guarantees a Minimum Profit for the day shall be close to Activate at Profit to secure the maximum gain.
When Profit Increases by = Change Min. P&L by = US$150 secure your minimum profit daily by increments of this value.

Portfolio Amount is at US$3,000 (Comments apply as above.)
Max.Daily Profit ($) = US$150 . If this amount is reached every day for each of the 22 trading days in a month, that means US$3,300 ROI .
Max Daily Loss ($) = US$100 .
Activate at Profit = $120
Initial Min P&L  = $115
When Profit Increases by = Change Min. P&L by = US$25.

Portfolio Amount is at US$150,000 (Comments apply as above.)
Max.Daily Profit ($) = US$7,500 . If this amount is reached every day for the 22 trading days in a month, that means US$165,000 ROI .
Max Daily Loss ($) = US$4,500
Activate at Profit = $5,500
Initial Min P&L  = $5,450  
When Profit Increases by = Change Min. P&L by = US$1,250.