VO-Pro: Comprehensive visual order management system for MT4

Hi mtbf40,

now it works - why also always - no idea
Good to hear that it works! I have no idea what the problem was --- guess we'll have to file it in my huge "Unsolved Mysteries" basket.

but now i can't change the colors for "modify Orders" and the width.
if I press the scrollwidget, nothing changes
This is perhaps a little confusing. The colors/widths/styles in area #1 in the screenshot apply to the entry/SL/TP for 'Create New Order', and also for 'Modify Orders' if a SL/TP already exists.

However, the 'Modify Orders' script also allows you to ADD a SL or TP if one doesn't already exist. If the SL or TP (see area #2 in the screenshot) is checked ON, and a SL or TP doesn't already exist, then the 'Modify Orders' script will display lines using the colors/widths/styles in area #2. (By having these as different color/width/style, you can tell which already existed and which didn't).

If you don't want to add SLs and/or TPs, then you can uncheck their respective checkboxes BEFORE you attach 'Modify Orders' script to the chart. Otherwise, simply right-click and delete any SL and TP lines (whether they previously existed or not) that you don't want. Then when you click the green tickmark button to EXECUTE, the 'Modify Orders' script will add, move and/or delete SLs and TPs according to the (remaining) lines on MT4's price chart.

Hope that makes sense.

1. it's possible that the Panel always stay on top - as a option (off/on)? - it's make easier to handle the Orders
Yes it is, by using a freeware product called Desk Pins. See the "Desk Pins" section in post #1 for more info. Desk Pins will allow you to keep any window that you wish "on top". I've tested it on Win XP, and others have tested it on Win 7, and it seems to work 100% on both platforms. Not sure about other Windows versions. Please note that I didn't write Desk Pins, I found it when Googling to find a solution to the same problem you've described.

2. it's possible that you add three Buttons to execute the three scripts
Originally I wanted to do it this way, but then I realized that it wasn't possible for the following reason: A script or EA would need to be running on every open MT4 chart, in order to poll continuously to see if one of the Create/Modify/Close&Delete buttons was pressed. If you had a lot of charts open, the overhead on CPU usage could potentially be huge, and slow your computer to a crawl.

The way it works currently, the relevant script (Create, Modify, or Close/Delete) needs to be run only when you need to place or change an order, and only on the current chart, allowing the computer to run at full speed the rest of the time.

There are ways to make navigation easier. I think you'll find that Desk Pins helps a lot, because it means that VOConsole and MT4 can reside compatibly with each other allowing each program to be accessed simultaneously. By switching MT4's Navigator to Favorites (see the tabs at the bottom of the panel), you can have just the VO scripts sitting alongside each other (see the second screenshot). This is the setup that I use myself. It is very compact with all of the necessary controls in one place.

You can also undock the Navigator by dragging it from the left edge of MT4, and then resize it so that it floats around the chart (see the third screenshot). In this way, VOConsole and Navigator take up the least possible screen space. (NOTE: If you want to re-dock the Navigator to the left edge of the MT4 window, double-click on it).

The three arrow buttons at the top left of VOConsole make it easy to open and close the various VOConsole features, as you need them.

Advanced features:
You can also resize the smallest VOConsole window, to make it even smaller, if you wish. Drag the right/bottom corner of the VOConsole window to your desired size, then press Alt-F10. After this, whenever you click the up/left diagonal arrow button, the window will return to this size.

You can also press Shift-F9, Shift-F10, Shift-F11, and Shift-F12 to obtain 4 other factory-preset window sizes.

David

I've seen this problem for a while but just lived with it. Not sure if I brought it up before but the line accuracy seems to have a problem after the order has been created. I know it will change the location of the line for a new trade if you have "adjust for spread" ticked, however it also changes this after the order has already been placed.

For example, lets say an order has been created with the entry @ 1.5050. When I go to modify the line it will move by a few pips (i.e. 1.5048), however the text title and order window shows the correct price (1.5050). I can produce a video of this problem if necessary but I think it should be simple enough to duplicate.

Unfortunately I can't try this as the market has just closed for the weekend. I'm pretty sure that any discrepancies relate to the spread, and the way that VO-Pro necessarily treats it differently in the Modify and Create functions. Anyway, I will have a look when the market re-opens on Monday (NZ time).

While I'm on this subject, I've also noticed if I draw a line on the chart and try to overlap your lines, as soon as I let go of the mouse, it "snaps" away from the level by a few pips/pipettes, almost like it's trying to avoid overlapping that line. Was this intentionally coded in? It makes it a bit difficult to set my entry at the exact levels that I would like.

Not sure that I understand you here. The lines created by VO exist only until you click EXECUTE. Not sure why anybody would want to add lines while the VO lines are present.

Anyway, I've attempted to reproduce your problem. In the screenshot, I've added 3 (yellow) horizontal lines, and 1 (magenta) horizontal trendline, at the same levels as the VO-generated lines. They move there quite happily and smoothly without any 'magnetic' effect.

The only thing that I can think of is that the lines you're adding might be drawn toward candle highs/lows/closes, if you have MT4's Magnet Sensitivity setting > 0 (see screenshot).

David

could anyone explain what this function is meant to archieve ( stop loss to break even) and how to use it. thanks

Austine,

' move SL to BE' is shorthand for 'move stoploss(es) to the breakeven point'. This widely used trade management strategy is used on profitable orders, to ensure that - no matter how price moves thereafter - they can never become a loss, since the order(s) will be stopped out if the price returns to the entry (or 'breakeven') point.

Here are the steps needed to achieve this, using VO-Pro:

1. Select ' move SL to BE' from VOConsole's dropdown. (or you could simply click the '6' button near the top of VOConsole's window, since this preset has been assigned to button #6. See the first screenshot below).

2. Select one or more orders that are in profit in VOConsole's Orders List window. (These are colored blue, and you can simply click the NONE, and then +Profitable buttons, to select all profitable orders, if you wish. Or you can simply select individual orders by clicking on them, to check them ON).

3. In MT4, go to any chart where such orders exist (e.g. if you have selected profitable GBPJPY orders, then go to a GBPJPY chart).

4. Drag the ' VO Modify Orders' script onto the chart. The SLs (red lines) of all of these trades should be set at the breakeven level. (You can select and move these lines to a different level, if you wish).

5. Click the green tickmark (EXECUTE) button.

6. Repeat steps 3 thru 5 if you have selected orders with other pairs, and you want to move their SLs to BE also.

NOTE: All the preset ' move SL to BE' does is set the SL value (in the Modify Orders panel) to 0. See first screenshot. That is what a preset does: it saves ALL of the VOConsole settings, so that you can later recall them quickly.
________________________

Example: Let's suppose you want to create a preset that locks in $10 from every profitable order (i.e. moves the SL to breakeven +$10). All of the steps below refer to the second screenshot.

a) Click the RESET (circular orange arrow) button to clear all of the settings.

b) Click the wizard ('?' button) alongside the SL in the Modify Orders panel. Type '10' in the field alongside the '+$N' button and click SAVE. (This will paste '>$10' back into the SL field.)

c) Type a suitable name (e.g. 'move SL to BE+$10') for the preset into any preset dropdown. (In the screenshot, I've typed it into slot #9, so that I can also recall it by simply clicking the '9' button near the top of VOConsole).

d) Click the SAVE button to save the preset, and click Yes to the 'Are you sure?' message.

Now, whenever you have orders in profit by more than $10, you can lock in this profit by following steps 1 thru 6 above.


David

many thanks

VO-Pro version 2.15 beta expires this Sunday (July 10). To avoid getting a message like that shown in post #124, you'll need to download Version 2.16 beta from post #1. This extends the beta test period for a further 2 weeks, until July 24.

The modifications in v2.16 include:

1. VOConsole's Orders List window now has an 'Auto Refresh' checkbox. Keeping this checked ON means that the refreshing of the window will behave as it did previously, i.e. a refresh occurs every 1.5 seconds, but only if data in the displayed orders has changed since the last refresh. You can also press the F8 key to force a manual refresh at any time. If you check 'Auto Refresh' OFF, then you'll need to refresh manually whenever you want to see updated data. This may be your preferred option if you find the continual auto-refreshing distracting.

2. There are now buttons alongside the preset names in the 'Preset buttons' area. Clicking these buttons clears the corresponding field (which is quicker than backspacing through the preset name). Clicking the new CLEAR button clears all of the fields, allowing you to start afresh. If you accidentally do this, the simply click the 'Restore Factory Settings' button to re-instate the 6 factory presets.

3. The 'Copy settings to all presets' button has been moved here, and enhanced. Clicking this button now brings up an option window, allowing you to select which sets of items you'd like to copy to ALL of the presets (previously, this applied only to the 'RR display formatting' panel). Check the appropriate boxes and click OK to proceed, or CANCEL to abort the operation.

4. When you attach either the ' VO Create New Order' or ' VO Modify Orders' scripts, various fields in VOConsole (including the RESET button) are now correctly grayed out, so that you can't accidentally change them while the VO-generated lines remain on the MT4 chart. The fields that aren't grayed out represent the options that may be changed, and their changes are immediately reflected on the chart. To make the grayed out options available again, you must click either the EXECUTE (green tickmark) or CANCEL (red X) button.

5. Miscellaneous minor bug fixes have been made.

David

Hi David,

have find a little bug - maybe

see attached Picture - it seems that the new Button not really work

regards mtbf40

mtfb40,

Many, many thanks for pointing this out. Your screenshots were a big help.

I've fixed the bug, and the fix has been included in v2.17, which can now be downloaded from post #1.

David

Dear David,
You appear to be trying to achieve software perfection, an impossibility (just ask Bill Gates).
With all the new updates and modifications it now performs less efficiently on my charts. I have completely removed the old versions, Re-found the monitor and set it all up again (v2.16), however when I go to open a new order the Price, TP and SP lines, although equally spaced on the chart as before, provide conflicting data. I went to the settings to adjust things there if possible however the spacing buttons were greyed out. I have attached an example from a chart which I whited out except for the grid. The pip differential is substantial – By Limit ( in this case) to TP is 174.6p and Buy Limit to SP is 248.4p. I have moved the lines around and found this to be the case all over. I have moved the lines to fixed marks on the chart, knowing what the pip spacing between them is and the order reads incorrectly. None of this was the case with v2.14 the first version I came across as it read the vertical (price) scale perfectly.
I wish you success in completing the project. Please keep it simple, to my mind and needs it was a most capable programme before, as I have said in previous posts.
With thanks
James

Hi James,

Thanks for your comments, although I find them disappointing, as I've made a special effort to make VO easier to understand and use in v2.15 onward. The ideas for the re-shuffle came from two experienced IT people, who were both adamant that the VOConsole part needed to be simplified. That resulted in the dropdown being moved upward, allowing pending and market orders to be more easily selectable (as opposed to the bewildering array of options sitting behind the entry/SL/TP wizards). Some fields are now grayed out throughout the time that the lines are visible on the MT4 chart, because they have no working effect until the current order has either been executed or cancelled (which was always the case).

I don't understand what you mean by "less efficiently" or "conflicting data". The calculations demonstrated in your screenshot** have not been changed from prior versions, and the ability to move the lines to your desired levels continues to work exactly the same. None of the previous functionality has been removed. You can ignore the orders dropdown, and instead click the RESET (circular orange arrow) button, which causes the lines to appear approx half-way up the price chart, when you attach the 'VO Create New order' script, just as they did before.

[** I have double checked the calculations showing in your screenshot. There are exactly 174.6 pips between 93.395 and 91.649, and 248.4 pips between 91.649 and 89.165]

After 5 months in beta, I must look to roll out VO in its existing state, and given the disappointing response (less than 100 downloads here over the 5 months), I must now consider other offers of contract work, in order to pay my bills.

You will appreciate that it is impossible to develop a product that makes everybody happy. Sangmane has developed a very good visual order entry app here. It is very user-friendly and runs efficiently.

Or alternatively, please see post #352, which explains how to make VO-Pro work exactly as it did before v2.15 was released.

David

Hi Hanover,
Although you must be disappointed with the current no: of downloads, please don't get despondent. This is a great piece of software and it's obvious that you have put a tremendous amount of both thought and work into it. It's certainly good enough in my opinion to roll out commercially now. I for one will be buying it and will be recommending it to all my trading friends!

Chin up!

Regards,

Steve

How to make VO-Pro work exactly as it did prior to v2.15

In reality, nothing has changed, except the VOConsole screen has been re-arranged slightly.

After running VOConsole, do the following:

Press Shift-F12, then Alt-F10. This will resize the 'Min' window back to the way it was prior to v2.15. You need do this only once (actually, once each time you run VOConsole). After that, every time you click on the 'Min' button (up/left blue arrow), the window returns to a size that includes the 'Create New Order' and 'Modify Orders' panels, exactly as it did before v2.15 (see attached screenshot).

Press Alt-C, and then answer YES to the message that appears.

Now everything works the way it did before, as long as you stay away from the area boxed in red in the attached screenshot.

Click the RESET (circular orange arrow) button to have the lines approx plot half way up the price chart, when you attach 'VO Create New Orders'. Exactly the way they always did.

If you want to scale in or out, simply attach 'VO Create New Orders' repeatedly. The lines will automatically re-plot in their last known locations. Or you can click on the wizard buttons next to SL/TP/Entry and make your usual adjustments. All of this works exactly as before.

The calculated values above the lines have not been changed in any way. The lines can still be selected and moved around exactly as before. You can change your Trade Risk at any time (that's why the Trade Risk field hasn't been grayed out).

There is one difference: while the lines are on the chart, certain VOConsole fields are grayed out. This is because these fields are ineffectual until the current order has either been EXECUTEd (click the green tickmark button) or CANCELed (click the red X button). Even before v2.15 they were ineffectual, because it is logically impossible to change the starting positions of the lines after the lines have been plotted. The only difference is that they are now grayed out --- this is supposed to reduce confusion (for folk who have never used VO) rather than increase it.
______________

@stevefunky: Many thanks for your words of encouragement.

David

Here are some of VOConsole's as yet undocumented features:

The three buttons (boxed in red) in the second attached screenshot were previously the Min, Settings and Orders buttons (prior to v2.15). These buttons are used to expand or contract the VOConsole window, to show less, or more, functions. As before, the hotkeys F10, F11, or F12, respectively, can be pressed instead of clicking these buttons.

The hotkeys Alt-F10, Alt-F11, and Alt-F12, can be used to set the window size for each of these three buttons, respectively. Simply drag the edges of the VOConsole window to your desired size, and then press Alt-F10, Alt-F11 or Alt-F12. Now when you press F10, F11 or F12, or click the appropriate button, the window will resize according to the size that you set for it. You can change the sizes as often as you wish; and the sizes remain good until next changed, or VOConsole is exited. Note that the functions for each of the Min, Settings and Orders buttons are still available, and their hotkeys can be pressed (e.g. pressing Alt-S to save a preset) whether the button/checkbox is visible, or not.

As an alternative to dragging the edges of the VOConsole window, the hotkeys Shift-F9, Shift-F10, Shift-F11 and Shift-F12 can be used to quickly set the window to one of the four preset sizes, as shown in the first screenshot.

As always, hovering the mouse cursor over a field/checkbox/button shows its underlying hotkey, if one is available.

The hotkeys are there for folk who prefer to use the keyboard (it's generally quicker, once you get used to it). However, if all of this is too complex or cumbersome for you --- no problem, simply click on the relevant buttons/checkboxes using the mouse.

David

I admire your efforts for this app

May i compliment the app with these standalone scripts for buy,sell and modify.

Sorry David I did not mean to offend, I am just confused as to how lines (TP & SL) which are equally spaced from the Buy line can have different pip readings on a numeric (price) scale - refer to the image on my previous post.. I think the programme is great as I have said before and will happily purchase it though my preference is for a registered version ov 2.14 rather than the more recent versions. Let me know when and how to obtain such.
with thanks and regards
james

Hi James,

Absolutely no apology needed, and no offense taken; I'm more disappointed in the low number of downloads than anything else. Your post caught me at a point where I was dealing with other (non VO-related) frustrations, hence I possibly over-reacted. My apologies.

Alas, your screenshot doesn't show the MT4 vertical axis at the right of the chart, which would have allowed us to validate VO's prices shown on the horizontal line. The only way I can account for the difference in space between the lines is that perhaps there was an exceptionally large spread (maybe during a weekend, or a major news event), and you had 'Adjust for Spread' switched on. When VO adjusts for spread, this has the effect of both increasing the risk (entry to SL), AND decreasing the return (entry to TP), a double whammy.

You can prove the calculations by attaching the VO Create New Order script, checking the prices against those on MT4's price axis (click the mousewheel to get MT4's crosshairs), and validating the calculations; both with the 'Adjust for Spread' checked ON, and checked OFF, and see what a difference the spread makes.

The calculations did not change with v2.15. If they are currently wrong (which I don't believe is the case, as I use VO myself regularly), then they would have been wrong in earlier versions, also. If there are bugs, however, then I'm definitely keen to reproduce and eliminate them. That is my #1 priority.

Unfortunately the only version I keep is the latest one (v 2.17). All previous versions get overwritten whenever I change the code. This is because I never intended to support more than one version. That is fairly typical with many software products. In post #352 I attempted to explain how to make VOConsole work as it did prior to v 2.15.

Please don't feel under any obligation to buy VO-Pro unless you're 100% happy. I' would rather not have the $69, along with an unhappy buyer. I like to sleep peacefully at night.

David

Hi David,

i have established the following:
1. if i create a Market Order (long or sell), all 3 Lines are drawn
2. if i would break (with X-Button), it happens nothing - only with script
"VO Cleanup" can i delete the Order
3. even, if i select Button 1,2,3,4, the Lines are drawn in following sequence:
TP, Entry, SL

it's all a little much confused -

mtbf40

Hi,

Market buy or sell orders should draw 2 lines only (SL and TP); because entry price is current market price, no line is drawn. However, price text is displayed at the entry/market price level.

Pending buy or sell orders should draw 3 lines (entry, SL and TP), and accompanying text above each line. Drag the script approximately to the price level where you'd like entry to occur (although you can adjust this by later moving the line).

All (2 or 3) lines should be drawn instantaneously --- not one in sequence before the others.

Clicking red X button should immediately remove all lines and accompanying text from the chart. This cancels the entire process.

None of these concepts have changed since v2.00 --- the only difference is that the red X button previously had the label 'Cancel' on it.

Please see 'Basic VO-Pro operations' section in post #1 for more info. I can not explain it more simply, step by step, than I have done there.

It all works 100% for me here --- I am using Go Markets MT4 build 402, Windows XP Home SP2.

What is your Windows version / br0ker / MT4 build?

If I can not reproduce reported problems on my computer, I can not troubleshoot further.

If you're unhappy with VO-Pro, please consider trying Sangmane's visual entry system here. It is free, simpler to use, and more efficient CPU-wise.

David

VO-Pro is now freeware. See terms & conditions in the 'VO-Pro is freeware' section of post #1.

David,

It is unfortunate that it did not work out.

May I suggest that you look into a partnership with a broker. It could become something that they provide to their clients as a free tool and they pay you $XX per user.

The software is great but perhaps your distribution model did not work.

there are other ways to do this.