Paper mode, going live and the SYSTEM switch
With PAPER: ON, which is the default, every order fills inside the software. Fills come from the live prices, and are paid from a virtual wallet with six times buying power. While paper is on, click the equity label to load a different test balance.
In this video
The 30-second version
The same topic in thirty seconds, made for a phone screen.
Both videos use the desk in paper mode with made-up symbols and prices.
Read the transcript
Paper mode
With PAPER: ON, which is the default, every order fills inside the software. Fills come from the live prices, and are paid from a virtual wallet with six times buying power. While paper is on, click the equity label to load a different test balance. A limit order fills at the first price at or through its limit; a market order fills at the next price.
Paper is kept apart
Paper trades go to their own paper journal, never mixed with real ones. Locates are not needed in paper, and the risk limits only apply live. And paper fills are not real fills: the spread, the queue, partial fills and halts all make live results differ.
Switching to live
To go live, press PAPER: ON to switch it off. The desk only switches when no position is open and the fleet is stopped, and after you enter your six-digit live-trading code. The code is created the first time, and stored as a salted hash, never as plain text. Going live also disarms the automation, so the next automatic entry needs a conscious arm from you.
The SYSTEM switch
SYSTEM is the switch for the whole application. While it is off, no automatic entry fires anywhere, the fleet included, even if an engine is armed. When live, turning it on asks for your code. Manual orders and FLATTEN always work, whatever it says. That way, nothing automatic can start without two deliberate steps from you.
Paper before live
The header always shows which world you are in: virtual equity in paper, broker equity live. And the realized net beside it only ever counts that one world. Try everything in paper first, then switch when you are ready.