FAQ

Three things, automatically and in sync: it sizes your trade from your real account balance and risk %, draws live planning lines (your 1R/2R/3R distances trailing the market) before you enter, and the moment you're filled it draws locked risk/reward zones from your real entry and stop. It clears itself when you go flat.

No. The suite is read-only: it reads your balance, positions, and stop loss orders to do its math. You always place and manage your own orders.

No. It's a risk-management tool, not a signal system. It makes the risk math you should already be doing visible and automatic.

NinjaTrader 8 (desktop) with a real-time data connection, and an account connection (sim or live). The planning lines and zones are real-time only — nothing draws on historical bars, so give it a moment after connecting.

Click the Free Trial button anywhere on the site and submit the short request form with the email you sign into NinjaTrader with. We'll activate your 14-day trial and email your download and install instructions — usually within one business day. Prefer email? support@guardlinetrading.com works too.

The two usual reasons: (1) No protective stop order is working. The zones measure R from your real stop — enter with a stop attached (an ATM strategy stop is detected automatically) or type a manual stop price in the settings. Until a stop exists you'll see your entry line flagged "set a stop for R levels." (2) Wrong account. The suite watches Chart Trader's account (or the account you pinned in the Account name setting) — make sure that's the account you actually traded. Note the Balance acct dropdown in the panel only chooses which balance the calculator sizes from; it doesn't change which account the zones watch.

Two simple layers. Trades: the zones and stop detection automatically follow Chart Trader's account — the same account your orders go to — so a mismatch is impossible; to pin a specific account instead, type its exact name in the Account name setting. Balance: the calculator has its own Balance acct dropdown. Left on "Chart Trader" (the default) it sizes from the account you're trading; or pick any other account (for example, size from your live balance while practicing on sim), or choose Manual and click the balance to type your own figure.

Yes — that's what the Balance acct dropdown is for. Pick your live account there and the calculator sizes from its balance while your orders, zones, and stop detection stay on the account you're actually trading. That account just needs to be connected so the suite can read its live balance (if it isn't, the panel shows "acct not found" until you connect it). Prefer a fixed number? Choose Manual and click the balance to type any figure — it shows in gold with a pencil so you always know a manual balance is in effect.

A volatility-based starting point for your stop: 1.5× the current ATR(14), converted to ticks for the chart you're on. If the market's moving more, it suggests a wider stop; quieter, tighter. Click its Use button to set your 1R stepper to that distance in one click — the planning lines and suggested contract count follow instantly. Both the ATR period and the multiplier are adjustable in the settings, and the row can be hidden entirely. It's a suggestion, not a signal — your stop is always yours to set.

Yes. The Zone label value setting controls what the in-trade labels show next to each level: dollar P/L (the default), points, or ticks. The calculator panel always shows all three side by side regardless.

That's the design. By default, trailing your stop does not recalculate your existing R-based targets — tightening your stop reduces the risk shown (the red zone shrinks) while the target levels stay where they were set. The stop line itself always follows your real stop order.

Two intentional cases: you toggled PLAN off, or you're in a position (planning hides while the in-trade zones are showing, and returns when you're flat). If neither applies, check your data connection — the lines need live data.

The planning lines and calculator refresh from live market data, so during trading hours the PLAN toggle and 1R stepper respond instantly. When the market is closed or your data feed is disconnected — a quiet weekend, for example — there is no incoming data for the chart to redraw against, so an on-chart change takes effect once data resumes. This has no impact on live trading; it only shows up when testing on a market that is not ticking.

That's the default: all charts of the same instrument share one set of values (ticks, risk %, contracts, toggles) and stay in step within a second — your MNQ risk plan is the same no matter which timeframe you're looking at. Prefer independent charts? Untick Sync same-instrument charts in the settings and each chart/timeframe keeps its own values — e.g. 5 contracts on your 15-second MNQ chart and 2 on your 5-minute.

No — in independent mode, values are remembered per instrument and timeframe. Change a chart from 15 seconds to 3 minutes and that's a "new" combination, so it starts from your settings-dialog defaults; switch back to 15 seconds and your old values are still there. If you flip timeframes on one chart a lot, leave sync ON (values follow the instrument, not the timeframe). Independent mode works best with dedicated charts at fixed timeframes.

Yes — drag the button row by its grip or the calculator by its title bar, anywhere on the chart. There are also corner + X/Y offset settings, and a "Remember dragged positions" option that saves your layout so it persists after a restart.

Any instrument with real-time data — it reads each instrument's tick size and value automatically. Futures examples: on MES try Risk % 1–3 with stops around 10–20 ticks; on MNQ stops nearer 20–40 ticks. The suggested-size line does the per-instrument math for you.

Your risk budget is smaller than the risk of one contract at your stop distance (the position-size calculation rounds down, staying conservative relative to your selected risk). Widen the risk %, tighten the stop, or trade a smaller instrument (e.g. micros).

The suite keeps its locked zones and re-syncs when data returns. Remember it's a display tool — your protection during a disconnect is your resting stop order at the broker, which is exactly why the suite is built around real stop orders.

14-day free trial, then licensed through NinjaTrader's vendor licensing system, tied to your NinjaTrader account. Send us your NinjaTrader account email after purchase and we activate your license — no codes to type into the platform.

Your license is tied to your NinjaTrader account, so it works wherever you run NinjaTrader signed in with that account — your desktop and laptop, or your PC and a trading VPS, for instance.

No problem — your license follows your NinjaTrader account, not a specific computer. Install NinjaTrader on the new machine, sign in with the same account, and the suite is licensed. Nothing to swap.

The files won't run without a license tied to a NinjaTrader account, so a shared copy simply won't activate for anyone else. If a friend wants the suite, point them to the 14-day free trial.