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VO-Pro: Comprehensive visual order management system for MT4

  • #681
  • Jul 6, 2012 8:46pm Jul 6, 2012 8:46pm
@flyer415, @macman:

Thanks guys, for the kind words. I'm currently working on user manuals, and instructional videos, as quickly as I can. The latest version of the manuals can be downloaded from post #1. I will post updates at least once every day.

@everybody:

I'm fairly confident that Trade Minder should work 100%, but (as we all know) the nature of program bugs is that they are caused by unexpected oversights and errors. Please feel welcome to report any bugs or errors that you encounter; I want to get VO-Pro working 100% for us all.


Win7 and Vista users

NOTE: If you're running Win7 or Vista, please ensure that MT4 is installed into a folder that does NOT reside underneath Program Files in the directory tree. Win7 and Vista do not allow data to be written into these folders, hence VO-Pro will NOT work correctly. More info here.

If necessary, re-install MT4 into a different folder (e.g. C:/MT4), and copy your experts and templates folders across to the new location (C:/MT4/experts and C:/MT4/templates). This should ensure that all your previous indicators and EAs work as they did before. Then run VOsetup.EXE and install VO-Pro into C:/MT4 also. Finally, if you're a registered user, copy your VOregmst.ini registration file into its new location (C:/MT4/experts/files). Then all should work smoothly.

David
  • #682
  • Jul 7, 2012 1:55am Jul 7, 2012 1:55am
Ok I am having a really hard problem with VO Pro.

I have Windows 7, 32 bits. MT4 is not installed in the program file's directory. I have an AlpariUk demo account.

I load the console and then I start MT4.

At this point I just drag and drop the "Vo create new order" script on my chart, I don't validate my trade with the console. The horizontal lines appear on the chart with the different values I have chosen.

Immediately the processor charge goes from 20% to 60% and I still haven't done anything else. At this stage I can still use MT4, browse the history chart of my pair, draw lines, insert indicators, etc...

Then I drag and drop the Vo Cleanup script. Immediately MT4 is not usable any more. I can't work with it.

Nothing happens during a period of time that goes from 30 seconds to 3 minutes. So I wait patiently until something happens. The processor charge remains extremely high.

After this period, Vo Pro asks if I want to clean the order. I click yes and then the processor charge finally decreases to its initial state (around 20%).

My installation has been done exactly as explained in the videos. I tried multiple combinations (start MT4 and then the console or the opposite - tried different directories for MT4) but whatever I try, I can't solve this problem.

Can you help me David ?
  • #683
  • Jul 7, 2012 6:14am Jul 7, 2012 6:14am
Quoting faxman
Ok I am having a really hard problem with VO Pro.

I have Windows 7, 32 bits. MT4 is not installed in the program file's directory. I have an AlpariUk demo account.

I load the console and then I start MT4.

At this point I just drag and drop the "Vo create new order" script on my chart, I don't validate my trade with the console. The horizontal lines appear on the chart with the different values I have chosen.

Immediately the processor charge goes from 20% to 60% and I still haven't done anything else. At this stage I can still use MT4, browse...
Hi faxman,

While any of the VO scripts (VO Create New Order, VO Modify Orders, VO Close & Delete Orders) is running on the chart the CPU usage is high, because the scripts are checking repeatedly for movement of any of the entry/SL/TP lines. You can lower CPU usage by checking the setting shown in the attached screenshot, but the lines will move much less smoothly as a result.

When you have the lines in the position that you want, you click either the green tickmark button (to place the trade) or the red X button (to cancel the process). These buttons are also highlighted in the screenshot. You may have to click the button twice; sometimes, VOConsole seems to think that the first click is simply to regain its focus as the active window; I'm not sure why. At this point, there may be a delay depending on how long the br0ker takes to place the order (or respond with an error message, e.g. "Invalid price" or "Market closed", which is displayed by the script). Once the script has done all of this, it ends, and CPU usage should return to 'normal'.

If there is an excessively long delay, you can try to run the VO Cleanup script. With some br0kers (Go Markets and Pepperstone are two examples) the cleanup runs almost immediately; with other br0kers it seems to take a lot longer. I'm not sure why this is. The cleanup script should display a message "Do you really want to stop 'VO Create New Order' and execute 'VO Cleanup' on the chart GBPUSD,M15?" If you reply YES, the script is programmed to remove the lines from the chart, and also delete any files named PROCEED, CANCEL, MODIFY and/or LINES in the ....(MT4)/experts/files folder. In the case of br0kers like Go markets and Pepperstone, this happens immediately, and you're ready to go again.

The files named PROCEED, CANCEL, MODIFY and/or LINES in the ....(MT4)/experts/files folder are created by the VO Create Order script; they are telling VOConsole what to do next. You can use Windows file manager to delete these files, if VO Cleanup doesn't work. Then exit and restart MT4. That is guaranteed to reset everything.

I don't know why your MT4 is locking up. Provided that MT4 and VO are not installed anywhere under the Program Files folder, everything should work OK, even with Vista or Win7. What is really frustrating is that there are absolutely no problems running VO on WinXP, but some Vista and Win7 installations appear to cause random and unexplained problems that are outside of VO's (and my) control. VO seems to work perfectly OK on some Vista/Win7 installations, but not others. This is one major reason why I suggest that everybody tests VO thoroughly, until they are 100% sure that it runs correctly, before they consider buying the product.

I run WinXP on my computer here. I'm afraid to upgrade (or downgrade?) to Win7 as I believe that it is unstable. But it means that I'm unable to troubleshoot Win7 (or Vista) related problems.

If anybody else has experience with this, and can offer solutions, I'd be glad to pay for your help. I've spent many hours trying to solve Windows-related problems, and I'm completely stumped.

David
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  • #684
  • Edited 8:23am Jul 7, 2012 6:59am | Edited 8:23am
Quoting faxman
Ok I am having a really hard problem with VO Pro. ......
Hi faxman,

I've just created a demo account with Alpari UK, and installed VO-Pro v3.0.

You can see the results in the following video (best viewed full screen 720HD):
Inserted Video


Everything seems to run perfectly OK. Responses are virtually instantaneous, although admittedly the market is currently closed for the weekend.

One vocal error in the video: I said that the MT4 build was 232, but it is actually 432, as can be seen in the video.

Hence I believe that your problem is most likely Windows related. I am sorry, but assuming that you have MT4 and VO-Pro installed somewhere outside of the Program Files folder, I don't know how to help you.

I'll repeat the request in my previous post. If anybody can help me to solve these Win7 problems, I'll happily pay for your help.

David
  • #685
  • Jul 7, 2012 8:02am Jul 7, 2012 8:02am
Hello David,

I am not at home right now so I'll follow your advice later.

It's really weird. I had some scripts before and I have never had this problem furthermore for a week, I have been doing the tests on a brand new MT4 without anything added but Vo-Pro.

I am not a computer newbie and like you, I am trying to figure out why this excessive processor charge happens and I can't find any logical answer.

I'll post my feed back here.

thank you for your reactivity.
  • #686
  • Jul 7, 2012 8:36am Jul 7, 2012 8:36am
Quoting faxman
Hello David,

I am not at home right now so I'll follow your advice later.

It's really weird. I had some scripts before and I have never had this problem furthermore for a week, I have been doing the tests on a brand new MT4 without anything added but Vo-Pro.

I am not a computer newbie and like you, I am trying to figure out why this excessive processor charge happens and I can't find any logical answer.

I'll post my feed back here.

thank you for your reactivity.
Faxman,

I'm likewise baffled by the problem. VO-Pro seems to run fine for me on every br0ker that I've tested it on. (Oanda was the only one I had problems with, but that was because they made it so difficult to create even a demo account, that I gave up).

I always get the high processor load, for the reasons explained in the first paragraph of post #683. But the high CPU doesn't stop the scripts from placing an order almost instantaneously (or at least, no more slowly than it takes to get a response, when placing an order 'manually' using MT4), or the VO Cleanup from performing its cleanup almost instantaneously, also.

It shouldn't be necessary to run the VO Cleanup script. It was designed to be a 'last resort' option, if there was absolutely no response from clicking either the green tickmark, or red X, buttons.

I will try placing orders with Alpari when the market opens next week. Meantime, I will continue to ponder on this over the weekend. I will also try running VO on a friend's Win7 computer.

I really want to get these problems sorted asap, as they're becoming a real nuisance.

David
  • #687
  • Jul 7, 2012 8:50am Jul 7, 2012 8:50am
david,

I happen to have a laptop with Win7 32 and an alpari UK account. I installed VO Pro 3 on it last week as i thought that i would be travelling.

I will have a look at it on Sunday/Monday when the market opens. VO Pro has always been a little heavy on CPU usage on the laptop but not to the point of non-usability.
  • #688
  • Jul 7, 2012 11:00am Jul 7, 2012 11:00am
Quoting flyer415
david,

I happen to have a laptop with Win7 32 and an alpari UK account. I installed VO Pro 3 on it last week as i thought that i would be travelling.

I will have a look at it on Sunday/Monday when the market opens. VO Pro has always been a little heavy on CPU usage on the laptop but not to the point of non-usability.
I have also tested with Alpari UK (I have an account with them) and everything works just great - BUT - I am still using Windows XP.

As stated in my earlier post, CPU usage is not an issue, on my system.
  • #689
  • Jul 7, 2012 11:40am Jul 7, 2012 11:40am
Quote
Vo Cleanup script. Immediately MT4 is not usable any more. I can't work with it.
Sounds like some kind of recursive loop locking the platform, for example:

for (int i = 10; i <=0; i++) - this locks MT4 because the condition is never met, the fix is to count down so the loop can check condition(s): for (int i = 10; i <=0; i--).

This has happened to me and it was doing my head in when i ran an indy and i had to keep re-starting MT4 until i spotted the error.

Also While loops can cause similar problems, so i prefer for...next loops as it's easier to hard code conditions.

Finally, Win7 is Norton on steroids; too many security walls so if your program tries to write to files / folders, it throws a hissy fit.

Summary: Check your for...next loops for infinite recursion. Try disabling any file writes in VO and sent a test app to win7 users.

N.B. I also use WinXP
Politics is the womb in which war develops.
  • #690
  • Jul 7, 2012 1:42pm Jul 7, 2012 1:42pm
First, VO-Pro is awesome. I've been using it for several months and it just keeps getting better. With the addition of Trade Minder it's exponentially better. A must have!

Now for a question -

I use a moving average trailing stop EA that trails my SL along a moving average. I believe what I need to do is attach the "VO Monitor EA" to one chart and the MA trailing stop EA to a different chart.

1. Will "VO Monitor EA" have any problems with another EA running at the same time?

2. If an order is closed while rules remain active for that order, what happens to the rules? Do they just sit idly by until they are manually deleted?

Thanks for always being there.
  • #691
  • Jul 7, 2012 7:58pm Jul 7, 2012 7:58pm
Thanks, guys, for your suggestions.

I don't believe that excessive CPU usage is the problem. This has been discussed earlier in the thread (e.g. post #315 point 6(b); post #329), and resulted in my adding the 'Prioritize CPU usage' checkbox (see screenshot in post #683) back in v2.15, circa June 2011. The CPU usage will always skyrocket when any of the VO scripts (VO Create New Order, VO Modify Orders, VO Close & Delete Orders) are attached to a chart, but these scripts end as soon as you click either the Execute (green tickmark) or Cancel (red X) buttons, thereby exiting the script, and returning CPU usage to 'normal'. This CPU escalation occurs on all Windows versions, and all MT4 br0kers.

I also don't believe that it's an infinite looping problem. VO has more than 100 registered users, and has been downloaded more than 600 times over a period of 14 months. I also use it every day myself to place my own trades. If there was a program bug of that nature, everybody would be experiencing it, every time the script executed that particular section of the code.

The problems seem limited to certain Win7 or Vista installations. FiatFap, I note your comment "Win7 is Norton on steroids; too many security walls so if your program tries to write to files / folders, it throws a hissy fit." I believe the problem is due to certain settings in Win7, or possibly anti-virus or firewall settings that are somehow preventing VO-Pro to write the files that the scripts and VOConsole.EXE use to communicate with each other. Either that, or Win7 is unstable.

David
  • #692
  • Jul 8, 2012 1:51am Jul 8, 2012 1:51am
Quoting Pablo55
First, VO-Pro is awesome. I've been using it for several months and it just keeps getting better. With the addition of Trade Minder it's exponentially better. A must have!

Now for a question -

I use a moving average trailing stop EA that trails my SL along a moving average. I believe what I need to do is attach the "VO Monitor EA" to one chart and the MA trailing stop EA to a different chart.

1. Will "VO Monitor EA" have any problems with another EA running at the same time?

2. If an order is closed while rules remain active for that order,...
Hi Pablo,

Many thanks for your kind comments.

To answer your numbered questions:

1. There shouldn't be any conflict, although as I don't know how the other EA operates, I can't guarantee this with 100% certainty. If both EAs are attempting to close the same order, then the order would be closed by whichever one gets to act first.

2. It depends on the rules. After an open order has been (fully) closed, it can't be closed again, hence every time VO Monitor attempts to subsequently perform the rule, nothing would happen. The same logic would apply to deleting a pending order, or moving a stoploss relative to the entry point**.

However, supposing a rule stipulated that 1/2 of the order be closed. Then every time the condition is met, the action of closing 1/2 of the (remaining) order would be executed. For example, supposing the original order was 32 lots. Then the first time the rules are parsed (assuming the condition is met), 16 lots would be closed; then on the second time, another 8 lots; then 4 lots; then 2 lots; etc etc etc until only 0.01 lots remained, which could not be halved.

The way to get around this is to instruct the rule to delete itself when it first actions successfully, by typing an asterisk (*) into the 'Rules to be Deleted' field. What actually happens is that, after the rule has been successfully executed once, VO Monitor immediately writes the text //DELETED into the Rule Name field of the rule. If a Rule Name begins with the characters // then the rule is considered to be disabled, and will no longer be performed. Hence if a rule is deleted in this way, that will ensure that it gets performed only once, rather than repeatedly. (When you next run Trade Minder from VOConsole, clicking the Clear button will instantly and permanently remove all rules with //DELETED in their Rule Name field).

** It's generally good practice, if you only want a rule to be performed once, to type an asterisk (*) into the Rules To Be Deleted field. This will cause VO Monitor to skip the disabled/deleted rule on subsequent passes, facilitating quicker and more efficient processing.

David
  • #693
  • Edited 4:39am Jul 8, 2012 4:28am | Edited 4:39am
No improvement yet. I don't think it's linked to alpari uk so it should be windows 7 but I can't understand why yet.
  • #694
  • Jul 9, 2012 9:15am Jul 9, 2012 9:15am
david,

As I said on the weekend I would check if the same condition occurs on my alternate system.

I have a laptop with Win 7 32 running MT4 Build 432. (Note that CPU optimize is NOT checked intentionally) I can state that the exact same thing happened when I clicked Create New Order. In my case the CPU went to 64% on terminal.exe. I then issued the Cleanup command and the CPU went to 89% on terminal.exe (99% total). Needless to say everything was frozen. It remained this way for approximately 5 minutes and then the confirmation box popped up. I clicked on it, the lines were cleaned up and the CPU went immediately to below 25% and then to normal after a minute.

Next Step...

Check CPU Optimize. I executed the same procedure as above. No issues at all. The lines showed and I then clicked Cleanup. The Cleanup occurred immediately with only a minor increase in CPU utilization.

Hope this helps.



Quoting faxman
Ok I am having a really hard problem with VO Pro.

I have Windows 7, 32 bits. MT4 is not installed in the program file's directory. I have an AlpariUk demo account.

I load the console and then I start MT4.

At this point I just drag and drop the "Vo create new order" script on my chart, I don't validate my trade with the console. The horizontal lines appear on the chart with the different values I have chosen.

Immediately the processor charge goes from 20% to 60% and I still haven't done anything else. At this stage I can still use MT4, browse...
  • #695
  • Jul 9, 2012 1:18pm Jul 9, 2012 1:18pm
First time I checked yesterday "Prioritize CPU usage" it didn't help and the CPU usage was still very high. So I turned off my computer.

Today after I started W7 again, this manipulation worked the first time. weird but whatever works....

Thank you David and flyer.


Edit : every time I change the order type, I need to recheck the "Prioritize CPU usage" option.

Apparently Vo-Pro unchecks it when I change the type of order I want to use. Could you fix that David so that CPU Usage remains checked all the time ?
  • #696
  • Jul 9, 2012 5:40pm Jul 9, 2012 5:40pm
Quoting faxman
First time I checked yesterday "Prioritize CPU usage" it didn't help and the CPU usage was still very high. So I turned off my computer.

Today after I started W7 again, this manipulation worked the first time. weird but whatever works....

Thank you David and flyer.


Edit : every time I change the order type, I need to recheck the "Prioritize CPU usage" option.

Apparently Vo-Pro unchecks it when I change the type of order I want to use. Could you fix that David so that CPU Usage remains checked all the time ?
Faxman,

This is because each order type is a preset.

Note: You can create your own presets if you want to (info on how to do this here and here). A preset simply saves ALL of the VOConsole data, as shown in the full window (see attached screenshot), so that it can later be recalled at the click of a single button (the buttons numbered 1-9 at the top left of VOConsole's window) or selected from the dropdown box.

So what you need to do is have the 'Prioritize CPU usage' checkbox checked ON in every preset. Here's how to do this quickly (refer to the highlighted aspects in the screenshot):

1. Check the 'Prioritize CPU usage' checkbox ON.
2. Click the 'Copy settings to all presets' button.
3. When the pop-up window at the right of the screenshot appears, check 'All items in miscellaneous settings panel' ON, and select 'ALL presets'. Then click OK, and 'Yes' to the 'Are you sure?' message.

The drawback to having 'Prioritize CPU usage' checked on is that the lines/text will move around on the MT4 chart much less smoothly. But I guess that's a lot better than not being able to run VO-Pro properly at all.

David
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  • #697
  • Jul 9, 2012 5:45pm Jul 9, 2012 5:45pm
Quoting flyer415
david,

As I said on the weekend I would check if the same condition occurs on my alternate system.

I have a laptop with Win 7 32 running MT4 Build 432. (Note that CPU optimize is NOT checked intentionally) I can state that the exact same thing happened when I clicked Create New Order. In my case the CPU went to 64% on terminal.exe. I then issued the Cleanup command and the CPU went to 89% on terminal.exe (99% total). Needless to say everything was frozen. It remained this way for approximately 5 minutes and then the confirmation box...
Flyer,

Many, many thanks for this. It appears that it is a CPU usage problem after all. Strange that it seems to happen only on some Win7 platforms — well, at least that appears to be the case, given the feedback received relative to the number of VO-Pro users.

Again, many thanks for your help.

David
  • #698
  • Jul 10, 2012 9:56am Jul 10, 2012 9:56am
Hi David

Just to say that TM looks great. I just have one question for now, not sure if its a bug or that I'm using it incorrectly, but does TM need to be closed before you can place orders using VO-Pro?

I've tried placing orders while TM is open and although the normal TP, SL and order lines appear on the chart the order does not execute (the order also shows as loaded in the journal tab). If I then try to delete the order with TM still open nothing happens, I'm only able to delete once TM is closed.

I had assumed that it would have been OK to leave TM open all the time? Does TM still manage orders when it is closed?

Look forward to your reply and the Manual for TM (I really need it to make full use of this program!).

Thanks again

Trekker
  • #699
  • Jul 10, 2012 1:08pm Jul 10, 2012 1:08pm
Quoting hanover
Faxman,

This is because each order type is a preset.

Note: You can create your own presets if you want to (info on how to do this here and here). A preset simply saves ALL of the VOConsole data, as shown in the full window (see attached screenshot), so that it can later be recalled at the click of a single button (the buttons numbered 1-9 at the top left of VOConsole's window)...
Works perfectly, great ! Thanks again.
  • #700
  • Edited 3:25pm Jul 10, 2012 2:45pm | Edited 3:25pm
Quoting Trekker
does TM need to be closed before you can place orders using VO-Pro?

I had assumed that it would have been OK to leave TM open all the time? Does TM still manage orders when it is closed?
Hi Trekker,

Many thanks for trialling VO-Pro.

On TM's Rules List window (see the attached screenshot):

 

  1. Click the green tickmark button (or press the ENTER key) to post all of your rule changes to MT4/VO Monitor, and exit TM; or
  2. Click the red X button (or press the ESC key) to discard all of your rule changes, and exit TM.

In other words, your rule changes don't apply until you exit TM.

You are correct; you must exit TM before you can start placing orders again.

Use TM to enter and maintain your rules. However, it is the 'VO Monitor' EA that executes the rules. Hence you must have this EA running continuously (on ONE chart only, it can be any chart). Otherwise the rules won't be executed.

If you have suitable Templates, you can use them to create multiple rules very quickly and accurately. Hence you probably wouldn't need to spend more than a few seconds in TM, before posting your new rule(s) and exiting.

I'm currently writing a user manual for VO-Pro/TM. It's a work in progress, and I'm attaching the additions/changes to it to post #1, every 1-2 days. I will add screenshots to the manual soon. When I've completed this, I'll make some instructional YouTube videos, and post links to them also. All of this will include a full demonstration of how to create and use templates.

Meantime, if you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to post again.

David

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