Stop loss/take profit offsets

[JasonW]

Can someone please explain the logic behind the stop/profit offsets in the order ticket.

I am expecting the price offset to be offset * ticks/$. The actual result seems to be off by a few ticks in the order ticket. This makes it very annoying to set up defaults for different symbols, because it takes trial and error in the order ticket to get the desired number for my stop and profit.


JW

[ScottJ]

Take a look at this KB article and scroll down close to the bottom. If that's the option you're referring to, hopefully that answers your question. If not, please clarify further.

Thanks.

[JasonW]

Thanks for the link but that's not what I meant. I've attached a screen shot of the Order Ticket window for MC #F, where I want to place a buy stop order at 450.0, and set the stop loss to 2.6 points and the profit target to 3.9 points.

In order to get the stop loss of 2.6 I had to enter an offset value of 54. I have no idea how this number is derived. I was expecting the offset number entered here to be my price target multiplied by the number of ticks per dollar for the symbol; in this case 10.

e.g.
2.6 points X 10 ticks/$ = 26 offset value for stop loss.

And to get a profit target of 3.9 points the offset needs to be 11??

I would like to calculate my offsets based on my point stop and profit target, then enter those values as the defaults so when I create an order for this symbol I don't need to use the up & down arrow until I get the stop and profit values I want (or enter the value manually every time).

[eSignal_Brent]

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the detail.
What version of eSignal and the IB plugin are you using?
Under the following conditions, I couldn't replicate:

1. Map eSignal's MC to IB's EMD (on GLOBEX)
2. eSignal version: 10.2.1370.1358 (10/01/2008)
3. IB plugin version: 1.2.1354.883

You can get those IB plugin & eSignal versions on the website:
eSignal: http://download.esignal.com/products...nal_10.2.1.exe
IB Plugin: http://www.esignal.com/map/ib/default.aspx

Let me know if that solves the issue on your end.

Thanks,

Brent

[JasonW]

Brent,

I'm just using the paper trading account for now, until I can get the optionsXpress plugin working.

My eSignal version is: 10.2.1391.1120 (10/22/2008).

Thanks,
Jason

[eSignal_AveryH]

Jason,

Please use the newest version of the OptionsXpress plug in that is located here. This way you're sure to get connected.

Also please feel free to give our Technical Support a call if you have any questions or need further assistance.

AveryH
eSignal Support

[JasonW]

Thanks for the link Avery,

I've uninstalled the old version, restarted my PC and installed version 1414. I get the exact same results as in my other posting:

http://forum.esignalcentral.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29110

I have turned off my firewall, repaired eSignal, reinstalled the plugin, nothing seems to make a difference. My data feed in eSignal works perfectly and when I open the Account Manager for an optionsXpress connection the status is a yellow box. I'm confused because during the connection test a session is opened to my account and my account number and name are displayed in the output messages.

Help!

JasonW

[eSignal_Brent]

Hi Jason,

Have you enabled your optionsXpress account for API access?

http://kb.esignalcentral.com/article.asp?article=3998&p=1

To check and confirm, log-in to your account via their website, click "Account -> Profile -> Trading & Web Site Preferences" and check "Site Access Via Software / XML API"

http://pmd.esignal.com/ox/acct_profile.gif

Let me know if that works for you,