The step lock - a stop that ratchets in steps
Step percent turns the trail into a step lock. Instead of following the price smoothly, the stop moves in fixed steps. It is a different way of thinking about protecting a winner. On a long, the stop only ever climbs, one step at a time.
In this video
The 30-second version
The same topic in thirty seconds, made for a phone screen.
Both videos use AutoScanTrade Lite in paper mode with made-up symbols and prices.
Read the transcript
A stop that ratchets
Step percent turns the trail into a step lock. Instead of following the price smoothly, the stop moves in fixed steps. It is a different way of thinking about protecting a winner. On a long, the stop only ever climbs, one step at a time. Like every trail, the step lock is a software exit, so it runs only while the desk runs.
How it works
Reaching Trail after makes that level the stop: the first step is banked, less slippage. Then each further step the price makes moves the stop up one more step. For a short, everything is mirrored: the stop moves down. The first step is banked, less slippage, the moment Trail after is reached.
NEXT STEP
With a step lock running, the ladder shows the NEXT STEP: the price where the stop moves one more step. So you always know exactly what the next tick up would lock in. The NEXT STEP line is drawn on the ladder, so you see the next lock-in before it happens.
Overrides the others
A step lock overrides Trail width. Set step percent to zero to go back to the classic width. Use one or the other, not both. The TRAIL row names the step lock while it is in charge. Test a step lock in paper first, so you see how the steps fall before you trade live.
In practice
Set Trail after and step percent together: Trail after banks the first step, and each step after it locks in a little more. Try it in paper first, and watch the ladder's NEXT STEP line as the price moves.