How to Set Price Alerts in NinjaTrader

Set alerts on your chart so NinjaTrader tells you when price hits your level instead of you babysitting the screen.

Why Use Price Alerts

Price alerts let you mark key levels and walk away. They work best when they’re tied to real structure, not random prices. If you don’t already have a plan for levels, fix that first with Market Structure Basics.

Alerts are there to pull you back to the screen when something you care about happens, not to beep every 5 ticks.

Setting Alerts on the Chart

Basic chart alert flow in NinjaTrader:

  1. Right-click directly on the chart at your price level.
  2. Select Alerts... from the menu.
  3. In the alert window, set the condition:
    • Instrument Crosses Above value
    • Instrument Crosses Below value
    • or another condition that fits your setup
  4. Set the exact price or use the current price shown.
  5. Choose the action (sound, message box, etc.).
  6. Click OK to save the alert.

Make sure you are doing this on a clean layout like in Simple, Readable Chart Layout so you can actually see what’s going on.

Managing Existing Alerts

To see and manage the alerts you’ve set:

  • Right-click the chart and select Alerts... again.
  • You’ll see a list of configured alerts for that chart.
  • Edit an alert to change its price, condition, or sound.
  • Disable or delete alerts you don’t need anymore.

Keep only the alerts that line up with your actual trading plan. That ties into the execution focus in Execution vs Idea.

Chart vs DOM for Alerts

Most traders set alerts on the chart, not the DOM, because it’s easier to line up with levels and structure. Use the DOM for execution like you learned in DOM Trading Basics, and let the chart handle your alerting.

Alerts and Your Workspace

Alerts are tied to the chart and layout you are using. If you keep blowing up your layout and recreating it from scratch, your alerts won’t survive long. Lock in a stable setup with:

Using Alerts With Order Entry

Alerts should pull you to the screen before you place an order, not fire after you’re already in a mess. When an alert triggers:

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