Export and import the Replikanto follower list

This article explains how to save the follower accounts of a Replikanto tab to a text file (Export...) and load them back (Import...), for example to keep a backup, move your setup to a new computer or VPS, or copy it to another workspace. It also covers what changed in Replikanto 1.7.0.0 and what to do if an import on an older version brought your followers back with the wrong Ratio or turned Off.

What the follower file is

Export writes a plain .txt file (default name Followers.txt) with one line for each account listed in the Follower Accounts grid of the tab. Each line holds that account's copy settings: whether it is on, ATM Copy, Cross Order, Ratio, Pre Allocation, Pct. Change (%) and Market Only. Starting with Replikanto 1.7.1.0, if the account is in a custom follower group, the line also holds the name of that group.

The two followers of the File format example below. What the file saves for each account: 1 = on/off, 2 = Ratio, 3 = ATM Copy, 4 = Market Only, 5 = Cross Order. Pre Allocation and % are saved too; their columns only show with those copy methods.

The file only holds the follower list. Only accounts that have a row in the grid when you export are written, so an account of a custom group whose broker connection is not connected at that moment is not in the file, and neither is its group. The file keeps custom groups only; the grouping of the list by connection (the Group followers by connection option) is not in the file. It is not a NinjaTrader workspace: the leader account, the instrument, the Properties and the rest of the tab are saved with the workspace, not in this file.

Export the follower list

1. Open the Replikanto tab whose followers you want to save.
2. Right-click anywhere in the Follower Accounts grid.
3. Click Export....
4. Choose a folder and a name (the default is Followers.txt) and click Save.

Right-click the Follower Accounts grid > Export...

Import the follower list

1. Open the Replikanto tab you want to configure, with the leader account and instrument already selected.
2. Right-click the Follower Accounts grid and click Import....
3. Select the file and click Open. Every account named in the file gets the settings from the file. Accounts that are not in the file are not changed.
4. Check the grid, then save the workspace (Workspaces > save in the NinjaTrader Control Center). Until you save it, the imported settings are not kept for the next NinjaTrader start.

Right-click the Follower Accounts grid > Import...

Each imported account is recorded in the NinjaTrader Log tab (Control Center > Log) with a line that starts Replikanto: [Workspace] Imported a follower account from file. and shows the status, Ratio and other values the follower ended up with. If the file also carried custom groups (Replikanto 1.7.1.0 or later), one more line follows: Replikanto: [Workspace] Imported follower groups from file. with the number of accounts and groups.

What happens during an import

Starting with Replikanto 1.7.0.0:

• Any Windows language works. Ratio and % values are read the same way on every computer. A file exported on a computer that uses a decimal comma, such as Windows in Portuguese or German, is read correctly, including fractional Ratio and % values (for example 0.5 or 1.125). This also applies to follower files exported by older Replikanto versions.
• Accounts that are not connected yet are kept. If the file names an account that does not have a row in the grid yet (usually because its broker connection is still starting), Replikanto keeps its settings and applies them as soon as the account appears. The Log shows Warning [1069] for that account. If the name is not an account you have, check the file for a typo.
• A bad value does not reset the follower. If one field of a line cannot be read, or is outside the range the grid accepts (Ratio from -100 to 100, or 0 to 100 in the Compliance Mode edition; % from -100 to 100), that follower keeps its current value for that field and the rest of the line is still applied. The Log shows Warning [1066], and field= names the field. Fix that value in the file and import again.
• Followers come back armed. A follower that was Disarmed or Out of sync when the file was exported is imported as on (armed). If turning it on would create a copy loop with another Replikanto tab, it stays Off.
• A Cross Order target with no match on this tab comes back Off. With Cross Order turned on for the tab, a line whose Cross Order target has no equivalent for the tab's instrument (for example NES imported into a CL tab) is imported as Off, so that follower cannot trade the leader's full-size contract. Pick a valid Cross Order target for it and turn it on.
• Market Only wins over ATM Copy. If a line has Market Only on, ATM Copy is turned off for that follower, as it is in the grid.

Starting with Replikanto 1.7.1.0, when a line has a group name (the optional ninth field):

• The group is created or joined. If no custom group with that name exists, Replikanto creates it. If one exists, the account joins it; upper and lower case are ignored when the names are compared, and the spelling of the existing group is kept. An account that was in another custom group is moved to the one in the file. This also works for an account that does not have a row in the grid yet: the group is created, and the account shows as a member that is not connected until its broker connects.
• Import never ungroups. If the group field is empty or missing, the account stays in the group it is in now. Importing a file without groups does not remove your groups.
• Group names are tidied. A group name is limited to 32 characters. A semicolon in the name is replaced by a comma.

Import... is greyed out

With the property Lock follower settings while in a trade turned on (Properties, General section; it is on by default), Import... is disabled while a follower account of the tab that is on (not Off or Disarmed) has an open position or a working order, or while the leader account has an open position. Hovering over the item shows: "At least one follower account on this tab has an open position or a working order. Flatten it, or wait for the trade to finish, before changing this setting."

1 = the followers of this tab are in a trade (open position and working orders); 2 = Import... is greyed out. Export... stays available.

Flatten the accounts, or wait for the trade to finish, and then import. Export... stays available during a trade.

Properties > General > Lock follower settings while in a trade (on by default).

Problems with imports on older versions

Before Replikanto 1.7.0.0, importing a follower file on a computer that uses a decimal comma (for example Windows in Portuguese or German) could bring followers back with Ratio 1 and turned Off, or with a fractional Ratio read as a much larger number (an exported Ratio of 1.125 came back as 1125), while the Log still reported a successful import. Accounts whose broker was not connected yet were also skipped.

To fix it, update Replikanto to 1.7.0.0 or later and import the same file again: it is now read correctly. Then check the Ratio and % of each follower and save the workspace.

File format

You normally never need to edit the file. For reference, each line has eight fields separated by semicolons, in this order, plus an optional ninth field (Replikanto 1.7.1.0 or later) that holds the name of the account's custom follower group:

Account;ATM Copy;Cross Order;Ratio;Pre Allocation;%;Status;Market Only;Group (optional)
Sim101;False;False;1;0;0;Checked;False
Sim102;True;MES;0.5;0;0;Checked;False
Sim104;False;False;1;0;0;Checked;False;Prop firms

• Numbers use a decimal point and no thousands separator, on every Windows language.
• Cross Order is False when it is not used; otherwise it holds the Cross Order target.
• Status is Off or Checked (on). Files may also contain Disarmed or OutOfSync, which are imported as on.
• Group (ninth field) is written only for an account that is in a custom group. A file from a follower list without groups is identical to the files of earlier versions. The name cannot contain a semicolon.
• An earlier version of Replikanto (before 1.7.1.0) reads only the first eight fields and ignores the ninth, without any error. The accounts import normally, just without the groups.

If you edit the file by hand, keep the account names exactly as NinjaTrader shows them.

Node lists

The local network node grid and the remote node grid have their own Import... and Export... items in their right-click menus (default file names Nodes.txt and RemoteNodes.txt). They work the same way and hold only the node list.