If you've already created a backtesting session, you’ll see it listed in the My Sessions tab. If not, follow this support article to learn how to create a manual backtesting session.
Once your session is created, clicking on it will take you to the Backtesting Window where you can play through the historical data and test your strategy.
Video Overview:
Understanding the Backtesting Window Video link here:
🔗 https://www.loom.com/share/ffe990dee0cf4f28ac8a06312f37f3be
Navigating the Backtesting Chart
Main Chart: This chart represents the symbol defined during the session creation. Candles will start from the session’s predefined start date.
Play / Pause: Simulate market conditions with candles generating as if you were trading live. Pause to stop the simulation.
Forward/Back Buttons: Skip forward or backward by one candle.
Playback Speed Control (Interval Speed): Adjust the speed of the backtesting session. Increase the speed (e.g., 2x or 10x) to play price faster.
Playback Interval Timeframes (Step Size): Choose increments for how much the chart moves forward per tick ("jump size") during playback (e.g., 1 hour, 1 minute) and click Play to jump ahead by that period.
Go-To Feature: Quickly jump to a specific point in your session — use the Go to button in the toolbar at the top of the chart, or the Jump to a specific candle button in the replay control panel (next to the forward button) to jump to a specific time (such as London or New York sessions).
Calendar: Select specific dates within your session to navigate forward or backward on the chart.
Note: This doesn't actually change the backtesting session’s time. It helps scroll through the chart more easily. For example, if data is loaded until June 30 and you want to view a specific date in February, you can use this feature to jump to that date.
Slider Bar: This allows you to move across the full session timeline. Sliding forward or backward updates the chart accordingly.
⚠️ Note: If you move the slider backward in time, any trade data you entered after that point will be deleted.
For example, if you’re currently at 2025 in the session and move the slider back to 2023, all trades placed in the 2024–2025 period will be permanently removed.
Chart Timeframes: Select specific timeframes (e.g., 1 minute, 1 hour) to view the chart in detail.
Placing an Order in the Backtesting Window
Step 1: Click the Place Order button in the top right-hand side navigation.
Step 2: Toggle Advanced Order on or off, depending on your preference.
Advanced Order On
With Advanced Orders, you can place trades based on your current balance or the initial account balance.
Select either Current balance or Initial balance.
Set your risk using the quick presets (0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3%, or 5%), or manually enter a Max risk percent or Max risk amount.
TradeZella will automatically calculate the Number of contracts/lots (position size) for you based on your max risk.
Check Profit target and Stop Loss, then enter your levels. You can set them by Price, Ticks, or Points — the USD and % values are calculated automatically.
You can also switch your stop loss from static to a Trailing Stop using the dropdown arrow next to the Stop Loss label. A trailing stop follows the price as it moves in your favor, based on the distance you set (in USD, Ticks, Points, or %).
Auto Breakeven: Toggle on Auto breakeven to automatically move your stop loss to breakeven once the trade reaches a certain level. Set the trigger by Price or by Reward (R-multiple).
Advanced Order Off
With Advanced Orders off, you set your position size manually and exit levels:
Enter your Number of contracts/lots (position size).
Set your Profit target — use the dropdown to choose your preferred unit: Price, USD, Ticks, Points, or %, then enter the value.
Set your Stop Loss the same way, using any of the same units.
Static vs. Trailing Stop Loss: Click the Stop Loss label to switch between a static Stop Loss and a Trailing Stop.
⚠️ Important: Inputting incorrect SL values could result in inaccurate order placement. For example, if you are placing a buy order, ensure the SL is below the entry price.
Step 3: At the top of the Place Order panel, choose Buy or Sell, then select your Order Type: Market, Limit, or Stop.
Step 4: Click the Buy/Sell button at the bottom of the panel to place the trade.
💡 Note: For Market orders, you can click Buy and Journal or Sell and Journal to execute the trade and automatically open the journal for that trade. This is only available for Market orders (not Limit or Stop) because a journal is created only after the trade is triggered.
Step 5: View your entry, Profit Target, and Stop Loss on the chart.
💡 Note: If you use the Long or Short Position tool, the Entry Price, Take Profit (TP), and Stop Loss (SL) values can automatically sync with the order panel from the long or short drawing tool.
Just make sure to slightly drag or adjust the tool after placing it — this ensures it’s properly linked with the backtesting order panel, and your TP/SL and entry price values will populate automatically.
For Quick Market Buy/Sell Orders: You can also enter a trade instantly at the current market price — just enter your contract quantity in the QTY field and click Buy or Sell. Once you're in the position, you can drag and drop your Stop Loss and Take Profit directly on the chart to manage the trade as price moves.
Details Tab
The Details tab gives you a live overview of your session:
Income: Current balance, initial balance, and unrealized/realized P&L.
Strategies: Any strategies linked to your session.
Trading activity calendar: The days you've traded within the session.
Time: Days processed and total time spent in the session.
Trades & Performance: Trade counts, wins/losses, and key stats like win %, profit factor, average R-multiple, and drawdown.
Economic Events
You can track news events in two ways:
Calendar panel (right sidebar) → See a full list of upcoming economic events and filter by country or impact.
Show events on chart → Use the Show/Hide events button above the chart to display news directly on your backtesting chart. Toggle Only Future/Past events to hide past ones and focus on what's ahead.
Settings
To open the Backtesting settings, click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the window to open the Settings menu. From here you can:
Save chart indicators as default and Save chart settings as default — apply your current setup to new future sessions.
Hide orders, Hide order lines, and Hide prices — control how much trade detail is shown on the chart.
Smooth candles — render candlesticks with smoothed visuals.
Scale in/out positions for futures and stocks — enable position scaling.
Under Quick Actions, you'll also find Tips and Shortcut buttons.
Keyboard Shortcuts
To view keyboard shortcuts, open the Settings menu (gear icon in the top-right corner) and click Shortcut under Quick Actions.
Shortcuts cover the session player (Play/Pause, Forward, Backward) and the right sidebar tools — and you can customize any of them by clicking Record next to an action.
For the full list and how to customize them, check out the Keyboard Shortcuts in Backtesting article.
Positions Section
At the bottom of the screen, you'll find the Positions Section, organized into three tabs — Orders, Open Positions, and Closed Positions — along with your current balance, realized P&L, and unrealized P&L. This section gives you full control over your trades:
Edit Open Positions: Click the pencil icon to adjust your Profit target and Stop loss (by Price, Ticks, or Points), or switch the stop loss to a Trailing Stop.
Delete Trades: Remove any trades you no longer want in your backtesting session by clicking the trash icon on the Closed Positions tab.
Close Open Positions: Fully close any open trade by clicking the X button.
Partially Close Positions: To secure some profit while leaving the rest open, click the X button, check Partial close in the pop-up, then enter the Quantity to close or use the quick presets (25%, 50%, 75%, 100%) and click Close position.
The Positions Section provides the flexibility to fine-tune your backtesting trades to fit your strategy.
Happy backtesting, and we wish you success in refining your trading strategies!
If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to reach out to our support team — we’re here to help!