Hi!
I just started experimenting with NT 7 and I have to say that I'm really excited about all the changes and new features. I'm also happy to see that some requests I (and others) have made were considered (e.g. access to account information, multi-timeframe/instrument indicators, indicators on indicators, hotkeys, low-level order handling, ...). This really takes NT - which already is the best trading software around (regarding flexibility and extensibility) - to a next level!
While testing the new version, I encountered some errors and issues or had other thoughts and questions which I'd like to share (I know the focus is now on fixing bugs and not adding/changing features, but I thought I'd just make a list of everything I came across):
1. During the installation the 64-bit files (I'm using a 64-bit Vista) were correctly installed. However, the shortcut to the 64-bit executable was placed in the root directory of C: and not on the desktop (and also not in the start menu). The 32-bit shortcut was correctly added to the desktop and the start menu.
2. I also installed NT 7 on a laptop running Windows XP SP2. However, after the splash screen goes away, the main window never shows up (and there is no error message either). NinjaTrader.exe is however still running according to the task manager. Any logs I could check? NT 6.5 runs fine on this machine. I don't know what's different with this laptop, as I also use a virtual machine (as a test environment) that also runs Windows XP and NT 7 works fine there.
3. As stated in the document listing all the changes in NT 7, plot values are no longer shown in the data window if the plot color is set to transparent. I do not like this change (or see a reason for it) as I used transparent plots for data (e.g. some extra info) which I want to make available to the user (through the data window) but which I do not want to be drawn on the chart (e.g. to avoid clutter or if the scales of the plots are different). Now this is not possible anymore (or is there a workaround?).
4. The attribute "Gui.Design.DisplayName" does no longer work for indicator names (still works for properties of an indicator). Now the class name is always displayed in the indicator window with no way of changing what title is shown (I tried overwriting ToString(), etc. but with no luck). I liked that I was able to give more meaningful titles to indicators.
5. One thing I really need is an attribute to hide indicators in the indicator list. This I need for indicators which are only to be accessed programmatically and which should therefore not be shown in the list (I have quite a few of those). A workaround that has been suggested in this forum is to name all such indicators something like xxxMyInternalIndicator so that they would show up as a group at the end of the list. Now with "Gui.Design.DisplayName" not working anymore, not even this is possible. I'd actually have to name the indicator class XXXMyInternalIndicator which would make it ugly to use it in other code.
6. The documentation of the new version says that I always should use the attribute "GridCategory" instead of "Category" for properties. I like how I can now group parameters in different sections. However, before it was possible to have parameters (if the "Category" was set to anything else than "Parameters") that could still be set by the user in the indicator window but which would not be processed by the code stub generator (i.e. these parameters would not be included in the constructors of the indicator). This was useful for options concerning how an indicator is displayed on the chart. These options could be set by the user interactively through the indicator window but it makes no sense to have them in the constructor when the indicator is accessed programmatically (and it also makes the constructors very cluttered). I have noticed that I can still use the "Category" attribute and achive the old behaviour. My question is if I can keep using the old attribute for this purpose of if this is going to be changed (I hope not)?
7. A bug I encountered: I had a chart with two panels (candlesticks on the top, indicator on the bottom). First I changed the scale of the top panel from linear to logarithmic, later I changed it back to linear. As soon as I hit F5 after changing the scale back to linear, the top panel suddenly became almost totally collapsed and the bottom one occupied the whole screen. I could drag the separator between the panels to restore the size of the top panel. Interestingly this only happens after changing from logarithmic to linear and not the other way around and also only after F5 has been pressed.
8. If I have two data series in a chart (let's say $EURUSD 1min and $EURUSD 60min) and if I then try to change the second series to match the settings of the first (i.e. change the period from 60min to 1min), then I get an error message saying that this data series ($EURUSD 1min) is already on the chart. First, I see no reason why I should not have the same data series more than once on a chart (e.g. with different session settings - I was checking how my data feed behaves in relation to the preset session times). Second, if I remove the second data series and then add a new one and specify $EURUSD 1min right away on the fresh series, then it let's me add the same series twice. If I later open up the data series window again, I can't press OK or Apply (even if I did not make any changes), as I get the mentioned error message again.
9. It would be nice if the workspace also remembered all open editor windows (indicators and strategies) and restored them once the program is started the next time.
10. There should be a built-in way of adding plots to strategies (i.e. add plots to strategies like plots are added to indicators) without having to rely on an extra "StrategyPlot" indicator.
11. It would be nice if the different code regions in indicators (does not apply to strategies) were not all collapsed when the indicator is compiled. I know that this is related to the automatic stub code generation and might not be so easy to change but it still is annoying if all the code regions I have been working on need to be expanded again after every compile.
12. The inline syntax checking of code is generally a nice thing (although IMHO not really necessary). However, sometimes the bottom panel containing the error list pops up, which is kind of annoying (you can tell that I code a lot). This mostly happens when there are missing/mismatching curly braces (which happens while I code, I can only write the opening brace first and the closing one a second later and I don't really need a pop-up telling me in between that there is a missing brace). This is obviously just a minor annoyance but I thought I'd just mention everything - maybe for NT version 77.
Edit: Never mind. I just saw that I can turn off inline syntax checking in the editor context menu.
13. My two cents in regard to the logo discussion: I kind of like the new logo although I agree that it does not have that professional look (so it might not be ideal for a trading application). Altough I guess that's all a matter of taste.
Ok, that's all for now. I'll post more in this thread if I come across more issues/have more questions/etc.
I just started experimenting with NT 7 and I have to say that I'm really excited about all the changes and new features. I'm also happy to see that some requests I (and others) have made were considered (e.g. access to account information, multi-timeframe/instrument indicators, indicators on indicators, hotkeys, low-level order handling, ...). This really takes NT - which already is the best trading software around (regarding flexibility and extensibility) - to a next level!
While testing the new version, I encountered some errors and issues or had other thoughts and questions which I'd like to share (I know the focus is now on fixing bugs and not adding/changing features, but I thought I'd just make a list of everything I came across):
1. During the installation the 64-bit files (I'm using a 64-bit Vista) were correctly installed. However, the shortcut to the 64-bit executable was placed in the root directory of C: and not on the desktop (and also not in the start menu). The 32-bit shortcut was correctly added to the desktop and the start menu.
2. I also installed NT 7 on a laptop running Windows XP SP2. However, after the splash screen goes away, the main window never shows up (and there is no error message either). NinjaTrader.exe is however still running according to the task manager. Any logs I could check? NT 6.5 runs fine on this machine. I don't know what's different with this laptop, as I also use a virtual machine (as a test environment) that also runs Windows XP and NT 7 works fine there.
3. As stated in the document listing all the changes in NT 7, plot values are no longer shown in the data window if the plot color is set to transparent. I do not like this change (or see a reason for it) as I used transparent plots for data (e.g. some extra info) which I want to make available to the user (through the data window) but which I do not want to be drawn on the chart (e.g. to avoid clutter or if the scales of the plots are different). Now this is not possible anymore (or is there a workaround?).
4. The attribute "Gui.Design.DisplayName" does no longer work for indicator names (still works for properties of an indicator). Now the class name is always displayed in the indicator window with no way of changing what title is shown (I tried overwriting ToString(), etc. but with no luck). I liked that I was able to give more meaningful titles to indicators.
5. One thing I really need is an attribute to hide indicators in the indicator list. This I need for indicators which are only to be accessed programmatically and which should therefore not be shown in the list (I have quite a few of those). A workaround that has been suggested in this forum is to name all such indicators something like xxxMyInternalIndicator so that they would show up as a group at the end of the list. Now with "Gui.Design.DisplayName" not working anymore, not even this is possible. I'd actually have to name the indicator class XXXMyInternalIndicator which would make it ugly to use it in other code.
6. The documentation of the new version says that I always should use the attribute "GridCategory" instead of "Category" for properties. I like how I can now group parameters in different sections. However, before it was possible to have parameters (if the "Category" was set to anything else than "Parameters") that could still be set by the user in the indicator window but which would not be processed by the code stub generator (i.e. these parameters would not be included in the constructors of the indicator). This was useful for options concerning how an indicator is displayed on the chart. These options could be set by the user interactively through the indicator window but it makes no sense to have them in the constructor when the indicator is accessed programmatically (and it also makes the constructors very cluttered). I have noticed that I can still use the "Category" attribute and achive the old behaviour. My question is if I can keep using the old attribute for this purpose of if this is going to be changed (I hope not)?
7. A bug I encountered: I had a chart with two panels (candlesticks on the top, indicator on the bottom). First I changed the scale of the top panel from linear to logarithmic, later I changed it back to linear. As soon as I hit F5 after changing the scale back to linear, the top panel suddenly became almost totally collapsed and the bottom one occupied the whole screen. I could drag the separator between the panels to restore the size of the top panel. Interestingly this only happens after changing from logarithmic to linear and not the other way around and also only after F5 has been pressed.
8. If I have two data series in a chart (let's say $EURUSD 1min and $EURUSD 60min) and if I then try to change the second series to match the settings of the first (i.e. change the period from 60min to 1min), then I get an error message saying that this data series ($EURUSD 1min) is already on the chart. First, I see no reason why I should not have the same data series more than once on a chart (e.g. with different session settings - I was checking how my data feed behaves in relation to the preset session times). Second, if I remove the second data series and then add a new one and specify $EURUSD 1min right away on the fresh series, then it let's me add the same series twice. If I later open up the data series window again, I can't press OK or Apply (even if I did not make any changes), as I get the mentioned error message again.
9. It would be nice if the workspace also remembered all open editor windows (indicators and strategies) and restored them once the program is started the next time.
10. There should be a built-in way of adding plots to strategies (i.e. add plots to strategies like plots are added to indicators) without having to rely on an extra "StrategyPlot" indicator.
11. It would be nice if the different code regions in indicators (does not apply to strategies) were not all collapsed when the indicator is compiled. I know that this is related to the automatic stub code generation and might not be so easy to change but it still is annoying if all the code regions I have been working on need to be expanded again after every compile.
12. The inline syntax checking of code is generally a nice thing (although IMHO not really necessary). However, sometimes the bottom panel containing the error list pops up, which is kind of annoying (you can tell that I code a lot). This mostly happens when there are missing/mismatching curly braces (which happens while I code, I can only write the opening brace first and the closing one a second later and I don't really need a pop-up telling me in between that there is a missing brace). This is obviously just a minor annoyance but I thought I'd just mention everything - maybe for NT version 77.
Edit: Never mind. I just saw that I can turn off inline syntax checking in the editor context menu.13. My two cents in regard to the logo discussion: I kind of like the new logo although I agree that it does not have that professional look (so it might not be ideal for a trading application). Altough I guess that's all a matter of taste.
Ok, that's all for now.
I'll post more in this thread if I come across more issues/have more questions/etc.
I guess it must have had something to do with the specific chart configuration I had at this time (can't remember the details though). Well, if I come across it again, I'll tell you, otherwise just never mind.
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