How to Use Market Replay with NinjaTrader 7

Why should you use NinjaTrader’s Market Replay?

• To practice placing trade in simulated, real-time conditions
• To back-testing a strategy to see its effectiveness when trading live
• To bypass the need for a live data feed (although live trading with a free demo account is always recommended)
• Few other day trading platforms offer such a feature
• When your schedule doesn’t allow for real-time paper trading, this is the next best thing.
• Don’t wait until tomorrow to practice under live trading conditions!

With NinjaTrader 7, it’s possible to replay market activity for nearly any given day. After downloading a given day’s replay data, NinjaTrader uses the data (either minute or tick) to plot price at the exact values at the exact time as recorded. More specifically, you can see price plot on your charts and DOMs as though the day (or night) is unfolding in real-time. Orders can be place and success can be tracked using the Replay101 account (similar to Sim101 account). Replay101 is NinjaTrader’s designated Market Replay account. Unlike previous versions of NinjaTrader that require the user to record the data locally for replay, NinjaTrader 7 lets users download history for free on a per request basis.

Here’s how to use Market Replay:

1. If you are currently connected to a data feed, disconnect from it.

2. Download the latest Replay Data through NinjaTrader’s Control Center:

File > Utilities > Download Replay Data
Choose the market you want data for
Choose the date you want data for
Check both L1 and L2 boxes
Click OK

3. In the bottom right corner of the Control Center, you will see that the Replay Data is downloading. This will take a few minutes. Before continuing to the next step, please wait until the downloading status disappears.

4. Go to File > Connect > Click Market Replay Connection. Open a chart and a DOM if you don’t have them available. Make sure that the replay connection is selected in the chart and DOM. You should also see the Replay player. With this tool, you can pause market activity, fast forward and play. Drag the slider to advance to a specified time frame.

5. Trade like you’re using a real account.

Keep in mind, the data on the DOM won’t contain every increment / decrement in the Buy and Sell columns as experienced during the day’s live trading. The packaged history is optimized in terms of file size and useability.

If you run into problems missing historical data in Market Replay mode, you may both download and view the historical data that you have saved on your local computer by going to the NinjaTrader Control Center > Tools > Historical Data Manager > Edit tab. As long as you have data for the days you are requesting in the Edit tab, then you will see that data when you are using the Market Replay.