Hide a follower account in Replikanto

Starting with Replikanto 1.7.2.0, you can hide a follower account so that it no longer appears in the follower list. This is meant for accounts that stay connected in NinjaTrader but should never copy, such as a prop firm account that was liquidated or an evaluation you no longer trade. This article explains how to hide an account (or several at once), how to show it again, when hiding is refused, and what a hidden account means for the rest of Replikanto.

Hide a follower account

1. In the Follower Accounts list, right-click the row of the account you want to hide.
2. Choose Hide account.

The account is turned Off and leaves the follower list of every Replikanto tab and window on this computer, in every workspace. Nothing is copied to it while it is hidden. Hiding does not remove the account from NinjaTrader or from your broker: it only takes it out of Replikanto's follower list.

The list of hidden accounts is one list for the whole NinjaTrader installation on this computer, saved in Documents\NinjaTrader 8\Replikanto\Replikanto_hidden_followers.json. Account names are matched exactly, including upper and lower case. Each computer running Replikanto has its own list: hiding an account on the leader's computer does not hide it on a follower computer connected over the local network or the internet.

Hide several accounts at once

Starting with Replikanto 1.7.2.0, you can hide more than one account in a single step.

1. In the Follower Accounts list, select the rows: Ctrl+click adds or removes one row, Shift+click selects a range.
2. Right-click one of the selected rows.
3. Choose Hide N accounts, where N is the number of selected accounts (for example Hide 3 accounts).

Group headers in the selection are left out. Each account goes through the same check as a single account (see "When Hide account is refused" below). The accounts that are not in a trade are hidden. The ones still in a trade on that tab stay visible, and Replikanto names them together in one message, for example: "2 accounts cannot be hidden while a trade is open for them on this tab (an open position or a working order on their instrument, or the leader's position): Sim101, Sim102. Wait for the trade to finish, or flatten them and turn them Off; then try again." Like Hide account, the item is unavailable for a moment while a group is being flattened from its header.

If you right-click a row that is not selected, only that row is selected and the menu acts on it alone. With Ctrl + right-click on a row outside the selection, the menu also acts only on that row and the selection stays as it is.

Show a hidden account again

While at least one account is hidden, Replikanto offers two ways to bring it back:

• Right-click the Follower Accounts list and open Hidden accounts (N), where N is the number of hidden accounts. It lists each hidden account, plus Show all.
• Click the Hidden (N) link at the top of the follower list, next to the Toggle off/Toggle on link. It opens the same items.

Accounts hidden together come back one by one (there is no "Show N accounts"): click an account to show it, or click Show all to bring back all of them. A shown account comes back in every open Replikanto tab once its broker connection is connected, and it always comes back Off, whatever a workspace or an imported file had saved for it. Toggle on does not turn it back on either: turn it on yourself when you want it to copy again.

When Hide account is refused

An account that is Off can always be hidden. Any other account can only be hidden when it has no trade open on that tab:

• it must have no open position and no working order on the instrument it trades on the tab, and
• it must be Disarmed, or the tab's leader account must be flat.

Otherwise Replikanto shows a message saying the account cannot be hidden while a trade is open for it on this tab. Wait for the trade to finish, or close it with the row's Flatten (×) button and turn the account Off, then try again. While a follower group is being flattened, Hide account is unavailable for a moment.

If another tab still has a trade for the account

Hiding applies to every tab, but another tab may still have a trade for the account (for example, when you hide it from a different tab). That tab keeps the row as it is until the trade is over, then removes it, checking once a second. While the row stays, an account that is On keeps copying the leader. The Log tab shows Warning [1128] for it. To stop it right away, close its position with the row's Flatten (×) button and turn it Off on that tab: it leaves the list within a second.

A restart does not keep such a row: after NinjaTrader restarts, a hidden account has no row in any tab, and a position still open on it is left to you. Close any trade on an account before you hide it.

What else changes for a hidden account

• Follower groups: a hidden account is left out of its group's header (counts, PnL and positions).
• Rearm: the Rearm button, a group's Rearm and the re-arm after Flatten All or a group's Flatten skip hidden accounts.
• Export: a hidden account has no row, so it is not written to an exported follower file.
• Import: if an imported follower file names a hidden account, its settings are saved but the account stays hidden (Log line [1131]). When you show it, it comes back Off.

Messages in the Log tab

• [1126]: an account was hidden.
• [1127]: hidden accounts were shown again.
• Warning [1128]: the account was hidden, but this tab keeps its row until its trade is over (see above).
• Warning [1129]: the hidden accounts file could not be read (for example, it was locked by an antivirus or a backup program). The hidden accounts are listed again until NinjaTrader restarts. Check that they are Off before trading, then restart NinjaTrader; if it happens again, delete the file and hide the accounts again.
• Warning [1130]: a Hide or Show could not be saved to the file. It still applies until NinjaTrader closes. If it repeats, check that the folder Documents\NinjaTrader 8\Replikanto is writable.

Older versions

Replikanto 1.7.1.0 and earlier have no Hide account option. There, the closest option is to put the accounts in a follower group and collapse its header. To hide accounts, update to Replikanto 1.7.2.0 or later.