Giskard Trade Assistant — troubleshooting
The cases that come up, what they mean and what to do. In every one of them, the first place to look is MT5's Experts tab (Toolbox window at the bottom): the panel writes every action and every refusal there, with the reason.
The product is not in the Navigator
The terminal is not signed in to the MQL5 account that bought it. Tools → Options → Community, sign in, then Toolbox → Market → Purchased → Install. A terminal signed in to another account will not see it.
The panel loaded but the band reads BLOCKED
Algo Trading is off. Click the Algo Trading button in the toolbar until it is green. If it turns red again on its own, your terminal's options forbid automated trading (Tools → Options → Expert Advisors → Allow algorithmic trading) or the program's own properties window has Allow Algo Trading unticked on the Common tab. Nothing is sent while it is red.
"No indicator data yet" after loading
The chart does not have enough history for the 200-bar EMA and the ATR median (100 bars). Scroll the chart back once to make MT5 download more history, or wait a few seconds on a freshly opened symbol. The panel starts computing on its own as soon as the data is there.
The band never says READY
READY needs all five rules true on the last closed candle, including the RSI cross, which is a one-candle event. On a quiet chart you will see WAIT most of the day with 3 of 5 rules pass ; the RULES rows show which one is missing. This is the rules being strict, not a fault. If you want to trade without the rules, the BUY/SELL buttons and the PLAN tab work regardless of the band; only Strict mode (SETTINGS) stops them.
The session rule fails all day, or shows "(not intraday)"
Session hours are the broker's server time, not your clock. The footer shows the server clock so you can compare; set the session start and end hours on SETTINGS against that clock. On a daily or slower chart every candle opens at midnight, so the rule cannot apply; the row reads Session window (not intraday) and counts as passed.
The stop or target the broker accepted is not the one on the panel
Brokers enforce a minimum distance from the price (the stops level) and a freeze level around it. If your stop is inside that distance, the broker widens it or refuses the order; the panel reads the position back and shows what the broker actually kept, and warns in the Experts tab. On the PLAN tab the box shows the accepted levels after placing. A stop that cannot sit where a rule wants it (break-even, a level, the trail) waits until the price allows it; the PROTECT rows say SL pending .
Size says "min lot" and the risk is more than I set
The lot size that would make a loss equal your risk percentage is below the smallest lot your broker allows, so the minimum is used and your real risk is higher. The Risk row shows both numbers. Either accept it, widen the risk setting, trade a cheaper symbol, or use a wider stop; the panel will not round down below the broker's minimum.
"lot cap binding"
Your Maximum lot size setting is smaller than the size the risk calculation asks for. The panel trades the cap. Raise it on SETTINGS if that is not what you want.
A pending order stayed behind after I removed the panel
A pending order is the broker's, not the panel's: removing the panel never cancels it. Cancel it from MT5's Trade tab, or attach the panel again — it picks up its own pending orders (an OCO pair, a trailing order) and shows them on the PLAN tab with CANCEL available. An OCO pair is only enforced while the panel is on the chart; if one side filled while the panel was off, it cancels the other side when it comes back.
The panel moved my stop and I did not ask it to
Look at the mark on the chart next to the stop: GTA BE , GTA L2 or GTA TRAIL means one of the rules you switched on moved it — the level table or the trailing stop on PROTECT, or auto-manage's stop repair on SETTINGS. The Experts tab has the line with the time and the reason. With every rule off, the panel never touches a stop.
Settings came back to the defaults
Settings live in the terminal's global variables, one set per symbol and magic number. MT5 deletes a global variable that has not been touched for four weeks, so a symbol you have not had the panel on for a month starts from the defaults. Changing a setting in the properties window (F7) also discards the panel's stored edits for that symbol in favour of what you typed.
Two panels, or a faded copy of the panel on the chart
Only one panel can run per symbol and magic number per terminal; a second refuses to start and says so. A faded, unresponsive copy of the panel is what a terminal crash or a killed chart can leave behind; the panel removes such leftovers when it loads and reports how many objects went in the Experts tab. If one is still there, remove the panel and attach it again.
Activations
Each terminal installation on a new machine uses one activation; the count is on the product page. Reinstalling on the same computer normally does not use one. If you have run out, write in the Comments tab with your MQL5 login and the machines involved.
Prop-firm accounts
Every stop and target the panel sets is a real order on the broker's server, so the firm's dashboard sees what you see. The panel never trades on its own on a live chart and does not run any martingale, grid or hedging logic; it only sends what you click. If your firm forbids expert advisors that modify orders automatically, do not switch on the level table, the trailing stop or auto-manage; with those off the panel only acts on your clicks.
Reporting a problem
Post in the product's Comments tab (English or Spanish) with three things: the panel's lines from the Experts tab around the time it happened, the symbol and timeframe, and a screenshot of the tab in question. That settles most cases in one reply.
This is a tool, not a promise. It does not guarantee any winnings; it makes trading easier to navigate by sizing, placing and managing your trades the way you set it up. Every decision to trade, and every result of it, remains yours.
