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Smart Stop – FAQ

13 November 2025, 11:47

Daniel Stein

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Smart Stop – FAQ

Your complete guide to the Smart Stop Indicator, Scanner and Manager

1. What is the Smart Stop Series?

The Smart Stop Series is a fully integrated ecosystem of three tools designed to deliver precise, structure-based stop-loss management across Forex, Gold, Indices, Crypto and more.

Smart Stop Indicator
Draws market-structure-based stop-loss levels directly on the chart. Every stop is classified as New, Valid or Broken, and now includes a dedicated SL %ADR volatility indicator.
Smart Stop Scanner
Monitors all MarketWatch symbols and alerts you to new stop levels, broken stops, price tests and now the SL %ADR volatility state for every symbol.
Smart Stop Manager
Automatically places and updates stop losses using the exact same Smart Stop logic used by the Indicator and Scanner. The Manager now integrates SL %ADR to show how far each stop sits inside the symbol’s current volatility range.

2. Smart Stop Manager – Behavior and Logic

2.1 Automatic stop-loss placement

The Manager automatically assigns the correct Smart Stop level the moment a new trade appears – even if the trade was opened without an SL.

2.2 Automatic trailing

Whenever a new valid Smart Stop level forms, the Manager automatically trails the SL to the new recommended level.

2.3 Interaction with other EAs

The Manager can replace SL values set by other systems. Some EAs accept this; others try to overwrite it. For this reason, demo testing is recommended if you combine the Manager with third-party trading systems.

2.4 Manual stop-loss adjustments

Moving SL closer to price: Accepted. The Manager keeps the reduced-risk SL and marks it as “Review”.
Moving SL further away: Not accepted. The Manager immediately restores the correct Smart Stop level.
Tightening the SL further: Allowed. The Manager never increases risk.

Summary: The Manager always accepts changes that reduce risk and rejects changes that increase it.

2.5 Do I need multiple instances?

No. One instance manages all trades in the terminal.

2.6 Working with Magic Numbers

You can run multiple Manager instances with different Magic Number filters. Each instance manages only the positions matching its filter. This is ideal for running separate logic for scalp, intraday, swing or EA trades.

2.7 How does Magic Number filtering work?

Default: Magic Number = 0 → the Manager handles all trades.

Filtered: Set a specific Magic Number → only those trades are managed.

Examples:

Your EA opens trades with Magic 12345 → set Manager Magic to 12345.
Your manual tool (e.g. EasyTrade) assigns its own Magic → set Manager Magic accordingly.

3. New Feature: SL %ADR (Stop Loss as % of ADR)

3.1 What is SL %ADR?

SL %ADR shows how many percent of the symbol’s current Average Daily Range lie between the entry and the stop-loss.

It answers the question:

“How far is my stop compared to the symbol’s typical daily volatility?”

3.2 Why is it important?

Shows instantly whether your stop is tight, very tight, moderate or wide.
Helps avoid oversized stops on slow symbols.
Highlights high volatility conditions.
Improves risk-to-volatility alignment across all symbols.

3.3 Where does SL %ADR appear?

Indicator: next to each stop level
Scanner: in the main table as a colour-coded metric

3.4 How is it calculated?

SL %ADR = (Distance from entry to SL) / ADR × 100

3.5 Recommended interpretation

The interpretation is determined by an adaptive classification that considers previous stop levels. Hover your cursor over the coloured value to see a tooltip with all the details.

4. Smart Stop Indicator – Display and Options

4.1 How do I hide older stop levels?

Lower the parameter Max history bars to calculate.

4.2 Recommended bar count

We recommend keeping the default value. This tool is so lightweight that you won't notice any difference by lowering the bars.

4.3 New vs Valid stops

New: appeared recently (default max 5 bars ago)
Valid: still intact but older

4.4 When does a new stop appear?

Once market structure confirms a valid level, the indicator draws it on candle close.

5. Smart Stop Scanner – Purpose and Usage

The Scanner is ideal for traders who want:

Multi-symbol stop-loss monitoring
Instant alerts for new stop-levels
Notifications for broken stops
SL %ADR for every symbol

It continuously monitors all MarketWatch symbols and reports all relevant Smart Stop events.

6. Recommended Setup and Workflow

For a fully structured stop-loss workflow:

Indicator for visual clarity
Manager for automated updates
Scanner for multi-symbol alerting

The Indicator + Manager already give you a complete system. The Scanner adds global visibility across symbols.

7. Additional Frequently Asked Questions

7.1 I bought the Smart Stop Scanner, but the list is not sorted the way I want

The Scanner always follows your MarketWatch order.

To change it:

Remove the Scanner from the chart.
Sort symbols in your MarketWatch.
Add the Scanner again.

7.2 How does the Smart Stop Manager behave in choppy or erratic markets?

Short answer: It usually creates few or no stop levels – exactly as intended.

The Smart Stop logic requires clean structure. In sideways ranges:

the previous structure breaks
no new structure forms
no new stops appear

The system does not invent structure where none exists.

What you can do: Run the Smart Stop Indicator in the Strategy Tester on a symbol you consider choppy. It uses the identical algorithm as the Manager.

Important: Smart Stop is not a trend filter or entry system. Use a trend tool (FX Power, IX Power) to find clean setups. Smart Stop manages the stop-loss once structure exists.