How to Set Up the TradeStation - C2 Interface (Advanced)

First, make sure you are in the right place. This is the Advanced version of the interface. You may prefer to use the Basic version. Not sure which to use? See below.

Which TradeStation-C2 Interface should I use?

The main difference is that our Basic Interface interprets signals only from certain TradeStation workspaces, while our Advanced Version allows you to capture all signals, regardless of which TradeStation workspace they come from (and even if they do not come from a workspace at all.)

Advanced TradeStation-Collective2 Interface: What it is

If you use TradeStation to generate your trades, now you can automatically make TradeStation enter your trades into your Collective2 trading system, with no human involvement.

That means you can develop and backtest your system using the very nice TradeStation platform. You can automatically submit trades to your Collective2 system. You can sell your signals. And, just like any other system on Collective2, your system can be AutoTraded at any broker (not just TradeStation), or your subscribers can subscribe and receive signals without AutoTrading.

TradeStation-Collective2 Interface: What it is not

This technology does not allow you to AutoTrade a Collective2 system at the TradeStation brokerage. If you use TradeStation as your broker, you cannot AutoTrade any Collective2 system using the TradeStation brokerage. We have contacted TradeStation but so far they have not allowed us to do this.

How to set up the Advanced TradeStation/C2 Interface

For most people, you will not need to download or run any "helper application" on your computer. Instead, you will tell TradeStation to send an email to C2 each time a signal is generated, and C2 will capture that attempt to send an email, and turn it into a C2 signal. Note, however, that some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will block attempts to use outside mail servers (which is what C2's signal-capture technology looks like, to the ISP). In these cases, you will need to run a helper application on your computer. More on this later, in the "Troubleshooting" section. For now, try setting up your TradeStation using the simple steps described below.

Parto Uno: Tell TradeStation to communicate with Collective2

Enable e-mail notification in TradeStation.

You need to tell TradeStation to send an email every time it generates a buy or sell signal. When TradeStation tries to send the email, we'll interpret the contents of it, and translate them into a Collective2 trade signal that will be routed into your Collective2 trading system. To tell TradeStation to send emails, do this:

Go to TradeStation. Select "TradeManager" like this:

Select View (from the TradeStation menu bar), then TradeManager Preferences...

You will see this window (shown twice so you can see all the choices you need to select to make an envelope appear):

You need to make sure a little envelope icon appears next to the following four lines:

• Open Order
• Canceled Order
• Filled Order
• Replace Order

 Important: Notice that we are telling you to check off "Canceled Order" - not "Strategy Canceled Order" (for example). This applies to all the envelopes/items you need to check off. For this Advanced TradeStation - C2 interface, you need to mark the just plain "Order" types - not the "Strategy" types. This is different than the Basic TradeStation - C2 interface, so if you already set up the Basic interface, this means you will need to pay attention to the above pictures, and make appropriate changes.

To make the envelope appear, find the Notification Type (for example, "Open Order"), click it with your mouse to highlight it, then check the box called Enable e-mail notification.

Make sure Enable e-mail notification is checked for the four notification types listed above. (There should be an envelope icon next to each of the four, as shown above.)

Configure communication with Collective2.

Click the button Configure...

You'll see the following window:

Follow the example in the picture above:

• Where it asks for your From Email address, enter the email address you use when you login to Collective2.
• Where it asks for your To Email addresses, enter information in the following format:
your C2 Data Services Password @ tsadv.collective2.com

Example: myDataServicesPassword@tsadv.collective2.com


 Huh? What is my C2 Data Services Password?
• Where it asks for your SMTP Server name or IP address, enter tsadv.collective2.com

Press Test in the lower left of the TradeStation "Messaging" window..

After a minute or two (it may take even longer, depending on your email provider) you will receive a delightful and cheeky email from Collective2 confirming that you have communicated with Collective2. This indicates that your have successfully completed the first part of the set-up process. Now you need to tell C2 which symbols from TradeStation to send to C2, and to which C2 systems you want them sent to. Read Part Deux, below.

Part Deux: Tell C2 which symbols to capture

C2's Advanced C2-TradeStation Interface looks at all the signals your TradeStation generates, and sends only the ones you specify into your C2 trading system. The advantage of this method is that it allows C2 to interpret your buy and sell signals, regardless of whether they are generated by an Easylanguage program, or whether they are generated by your manual trading through TradeStation's Matrix feature.

Important: Don't forget this part

So now you need to tell which symbols to send to which C2 trading systems. You can do that using the C2-TradeStation Advanced Configuration Screen.

Additional Troubleshooting

If you followed the instructions above, you should be finished. Are you having problems?

If no orders are showing up in your Collective2 system and if you are using an EasyLanguage Strategy to generate signals (that is, if you are not using TradeStation Matrix), make sure TradeStation knows to "generate" Strategy Orders for you. Here's how:

• Right-click the window containing your EasyLanguage code and select Properties... (Or, alternately, Select Format from the top menu, and then Properties...)
• Make sure Generate strategy orders for display in the Trade Manager's Strategy Orders tab has a check-mark beside it. (Two screenshots are shown below, one for TradeStation 8, and the other for TradeStation 9.)

TradeStation version 8.x

... or ...

TradeStation version 9.x

Still having problems, even after following instructions above? Please contact help@collective2.com. We'll try to walk you through it.