Now, lets run our system to make sure that it’s executing properly. When you “run” a system, you’re basically telling Mechanica, take these symbols (price data files) I’ve tagged, and run them through the definitions and rules I’ve created in this SIG file (Signals Rules File). Then...show me the results.
It might also be helpful to think of the Signal Rules as the trade engine portion of Mechanica, since the instructions and logic contained in the Resources, Trade Entry, and Trade in Progress & Exit pages work together to generate the trades to which you’ll later apply your Position Sizing rules.
There are three ways to run a SIG file. Choose one of these three methods and run your system now:
| • | Choose Run Signal Rules from the Signals menu. |
| • | Press the shortcut key combination Alt–S, R. |
| • | Click the Run Signal Rules icon on the Signals toolbar. |
| • | Hit the F9 key. |
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It is important to understand that “running a system” in Mechanica is a two-stage process. We’ve just covered the first step. The second step (which we’ll cover in a subsequent lesson) is to apply your Position Sizing Rules to the trades that are generated when the Signal Rules are run. |
