Troubleshooting Trailing-Stop Plot Issues in Custom Indicator

[DanielSanMartin]

Hello NinjaTrader Forum,

This is my first post here, and I'm open to guidance if there's a better way to engage with the community.

I'm working on a custom indicator that has two states: one for when a WMA is bullish and another for when it's bearish. For a bullish WMA, it should plot the minimum price of the candle minus the ATR value. Conversely, for a bearish WMA, it should plot the maximum price of the candle plus the ATR value. This is intended as a visual guide for a trailing-stop.

However, I'm encountering an issue where the plot always appears below the prices, even when the WMA is bearish, which doesn't make sense. The logic seems correct. I declare the plot value variables at the beginning of the class:

private double tsAtrEnLargos1;
private double tsAtrEnCortos1;

And I handle the assignments and value changes within OnBarUpdate(). What am I missing?

Here the code for reference, though I should mention there are actually three plots involved-I've simplified the explanation to focus on the main issue.

protected override void OnBarUpdate()
{
double valorWMA = WMA(PeriodoWMA)[0];
Values[0][0] = valorWMA;
double valorATR;

if (CurrentBar > 0)
{
valorATR = ATR(PeriodoATR)[1];
double maximo = High[1];
double minimo = Low[1];

if (tsAtrEnLargos1 < minimo-valorATR)
{
tsAtrEnLargos1 = minimo-valorATR;
tsAtrEnLargos2 = minimo-(valorATR * 2);
tsAtrEnLargos3 = minimo-(valorATR * 3);
}
if (tsAtrEnCortos1 > maximo+valorATR)
{
tsAtrEnCortos1 = maximo+valorATR;
tsAtrEnCortos2 = maximo+(valorATR * 2);
tsAtrEnCortos3 = maximo+(valorATR * 3);
}

if (valorWMA > WMA(PeriodoWMA)[1])
{
PlotBrushes[0][0] = Brushes.Green;
Values[1][0] = tsAtrEnLargos1;
Values[2][0] = tsAtrEnLargos2;
Values[3][0] = tsAtrEnLargos3;
PlotBrushes[1][0] = new SolidColorBrush(Color.FromArgb(100, 0, 0, 255));
PlotBrushes[2][0] = new SolidColorBrush(Color.FromArgb(150, 0, 0, 255));
PlotBrushes[3][0] = new SolidColorBrush(Color.FromArgb(200, 0, 0, 255));
}
else if (valorWMA < WMA(PeriodoWMA)[1])
{
PlotBrushes[0][0] = Brushes.Red;
Values[1][0] = tsAtrEnCortos1;
Values[2][0] = tsAtrEnCortos2;
Values[3][0] = tsAtrEnCortos3;
PlotBrushes[1][0] = new SolidColorBrush(Color.FromArgb(100, 255, 0, 0));
PlotBrushes[2][0] = new SolidColorBrush(Color.FromArgb(150, 255, 0, 0));
PlotBrushes[3][0] = new SolidColorBrush(Color.FromArgb(200, 255, 0, 0));
}
}
else
{
valorATR = ATR(PeriodoATR)[0];
tsAtrEnCortos1 = Double.PositiveInfinity;
}
}

Thanks in advance for your help!

Best

[NinjaTrader_ChelseaB]

Hello DanielSanMartin,

Welcome to the NinjaTrader forums!

Use prints to debug and understand the behavior.

There appear to be two conditions that set the plot value

if (tsAtrEnCortos1 > maximo+valorATR)

else if (valorWMA < WMA(PeriodoWMA)[1])

Print the time of the bar and all of the values in these conditions (i.e. tsAtrEnCortos1, maximo, valorATR, maximo+valorATR, valorWMA, and WMA(PeriodoWMA)[1] to the output window.
Include labels for each value and comparison operator so we know what is being compared and how in the print output.

Below is a link to a support article that demonstrates using prints to understand behavior and includes links to videos.

https://support.ninjatrader.com/s/article/Developer-Guide-Debugging-using-Print-and-TraceOrders

After adding the prints, save the output to a text file (right-click the output window > select Save as).
Attach the output text file to your next post and I will be happy to assist with analyzing the output.

[DanielSanMartin]

I found the problem. There is something wrong with the logic. I could say "incomplete", since it is not anticipating a sharp change in trend. Now it's my turn to think about the solution. Thanks for the good predisposition.