fix frozen "cancel pending" orders in sim accounts

[tradgrad]

The orders described here:

https://forum.ninjatrader.com/forum/ninjatrader-8/platform-technical-support-aa/1191393-sim101-account-are-with-cancel-pending-orders-even-i-restart-ninjatrader

and here:

https://forum.ninjatrader.com/forum/ninjatrader-8/add-on-development/1111672-orders-in-orderstate-cancelpending-should-be-deletable

It appears currently the only way to clear these is to reset the sim account (or the entire database), which means losing all account history. As jeronymite said in the first thread above, "It's a Sim Account, completely within control of the platform. If an Order is Cancelled, it should, of course, go through the Cancel pending state, but should be easily cancelled after that."

Can't this be fixed?

[NinjaTrader_Emily]

Hello tradegrad,

Thank you for your post.

Simulation orders can become stuck for a number of reasons such as a connection loss, database issue, or attempting to change an order while it is in the process of filling. If you are able to provide steps that consistently result in a "stuck" or "frozen" sim order, please feel free to report the steps to us so we can pass that on to the development team. Otherwise, without the steps to reproduce the behavior, it is difficult to pinpoint what exactly caused the order to be stuck and identify a resolution.

With the release of NinjaTrader 8.1, there is now a server-side demo account that you may trade with. This account still trades in simulation, though the information is not stored locally in the database so it does not have the possibility of an order getting stuck in the database. Account history is stored on the servers, so you would have access to that information from any instance of NinjaTrader desktop, web, or mobile that you log into.

To update to the latest version of NinjaTrader Desktop (if you haven't already) please follow the steps below.

• Login into the NinjaTrader Account Dashboard
• Click "Download" in the bottom left-hand corner of the sidebar
• Next, select "Download" in the "Most Recent Release" Window in the main screen
• Once the installation had downloaded, ensure any previous version of NinjaTrader is closed before running the installation package.
  • Note: You may need to locate this in your "Downloads" folder in a Windows File Explorer

After the installation package is completed you will be able to log into NinjaTrader Desktop with the connection guide linked below.

Connecting in NinjaTrader Desktop

Please let me know if I may be of any further assistance.

[jeronymite]

NinjaTrader_Emily You will find at least one very simple, repeatable method in the post tradgrad referenced above: https://forum.ninjatrader.com/forum/...d-be-deletable Quite simply: Create an Order with Account.CreateOrder() but do not Submit it; then Cancel that Order, or simply terminate the NinjaScript that created that UN-Submitted Order. Bingo!

The bottom line is quite simple: no matter what causes a "stuck" CancelPending Order, it should be able to be deleted without having to completely reset a Sim Account. That is a sledgehammer approach to peeling a grape!

The CancelPending State is only relevant if an Order has been Submitted. Clearly, if an Order has not been Submitted, the Order does not need to be Cancelled, and putting it into CancelPending is erroneous. Common sense says that if an Order in CancelPending has not been Submitted and has no other references to it, it should be easily, readily, and preferably automatically, deleted without affecting any other history.

Thanks.

[jeronymite]

One further point to note.

NinjaTrader_Emily says

With the release of NinjaTrader 8.1, there is now a server-side demo account that you may trade with. This account still trades in simulation, though the information is not stored locally in the database so it does not have the possibility of an order getting stuck in the database.

That may be so, but:

• Server-side is only available to NinjaTrader Brokerage Accounts
• This acknowledges that Orders do get "stuck" in the database, which is exactly the point

The approach of server-side, therefore, is completely useless for anyone who is not trading via NinjaTrader Brokerage, for two reasons:

• It is not available for any broker other than NinjaTrader Brokerage, which means it does not address the issue for anyone except NinjaTrader Brokerage clients; and even then, it is only "overcome" for those clients if they choose to use server-side -- it remains even for NinjaTrader Brokerage clients who choose to not use server-side
• For all brokers other than NinjaTrader Brokerage, the buggy behaviour of Orders becoming stuck in the CancelPending State in the database remains unfixed

Quite simply, the "stuck" CancelPending Orders is a bug that needs to be fixed. (It needs to be said clearly too: it's a bug, not a "feature request".)

And unless NinjaTrader is about to make server-side available for all brokerage Accounts, or is about to remove support for all brokers other than NinjaTrader Brokerage, the bug remains and is detrimental to anyone using even the latest 8.1.

Thanks.

[Leeroy_Jenkins]

Oh I remember this bug back in 2019 when I started using NT8. 4 years later and still not fixed.

[tradgrad]

Leeroy_Jenkins At least you have chicken.