The Bar Length solver measures a bar’s total range, from low to high, like the Range indicator. Its output is the same for Long and Short, because a bar’s size has no direction.
For example: find bars of 30 points or more, or hold off trading for a while after an unusually large bar.
Properties tab
The essential settings for the node.
Modifiers
Buttons for the most common output modifiers. They change only the selected instance of a node on a Logic Board, so they appear only when a node is selected there, not when a solver is selected in the Solvers panel. That keeps the solver’s original output unchanged everywhere else it’s used, much like changing an SMA’s plot color on one chart leaves it unchanged on your other charts.
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Enable | Turns the node on or off. When it’s off, the node is left out of the system’s calculations. It still looks connected on the Logic Board, but it’s ignored. |
| Invert | Inverts the node’s output. The same calculation as the Inverter function node, without its extra options. |
| Swap | Swaps the outputs: Long becomes Short and Short becomes Long. The same as the Long/Short Modifier function node with Mode: Swap. |
Global Properties
These settings apply to every instance of the solver: change one instance and they all change. To change just one, make a copy of the solver. The copy is a separate solver, with a number added to the end of its name.
Behavior
Turns off the Long or the Short output.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Evaluate | Which outputs the solver calculates. Both: Long and Short. Long only: only Long; the Short output is removed. Short only: only Short; the Long output is removed. |
Range
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Max | Bars at or above this length get the At or Above Max output. Use it to find bars of a certain size or larger. Set the unit in Measured In (Points, Ticks, Renko Bricks or ATRs, with an ATR Period for ATRs; see Measuring distance). |
| Min | Bars at or below this length get the At or Below Min output. Use it to find bars of a certain size or smaller. |
Period
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Period | How many bars to measure. 1 is the current bar only; 2 adds the previous bar, and so on. |
| Mode | With a Period of 2 or more, which length counts: the Average over the period, the Largest bar, or the Smallest. |
Output
The labels show the current Max and Min, for example “At or Above 1 ATR (Max)”.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| At or Above Max | The output when the length is at or above Max. |
| At or Below Min | The output when the length is at or below Min. |
Options tab
Secondary settings shared by all nodes.
Weight
Changes the node’s final output value. Only needed when designing a fuzzy logic system, or a fuzzy logic part of a system.
How Weight works
Weight changes only the selected instance of a node on a Logic Board. So the controls appear only when a node is selected there, not when a solver is selected in the Solvers panel: a solver’s original output can’t be changed globally.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Multiply Output | Multiplies the node’s internal Long and Short values (set by the Output Rules on the Properties tab) by this number. The final output still can’t go above 1 (see Slider). |
| Slider | Limits the final output to between 0 and 1. The left handle sets a minimum output, given whether or not the condition is true. The right handle sets the maximum; the output is capped there. |
| Hedge Operation | Applies a formula to the internal value. None: unchanged. Very: squares it (value²). Somewhat: takes the square root (√value). |
Example: two out of three
Three solvers check three indicator conditions, but only two need to be true. Connect them to an Additive logic node and set each solver’s maximum (the slider’s right handle) to 0.5. When any two are true, the Additive node adds 0.5 + 0.5 + 0 = 1, which means the two-out-of-three condition is met.
Description
Free text for describing what the node does or what it’s for. The Description is shared by every instance of the node, unlike Weight, which is set per instance.
Help tab
Shows this page for the selected node, inside BloodHound. Click the node’s image at the top of the page to open it in a bigger window. The built-in web viewer needs NinjaTrader 8.0.26.0 or newer.
Tutorial video
Examples
Example 1: The basics
Bars with a range (High – Low) of 30 points or more.
Settings and chart
Settings
- Add the Bar Length solver.
- Set Max to 30 Points.
- Set Min to 30 Points.
Result
Long and Short outputs together on bars of 30 points or more. Both sides at once, because a bar’s length doesn’t say anything about trend direction.
Example 2: News volatility
Spots a possible news event: a bar more than 4 times the ATR. Then it gives the market 10 bars to settle, blocking signals in that time.
Settings and chart
Settings
- Add the Bar Length solver.
- Set Max and Min to 4 ATRs.
- Set Period to 10: the large bar plus the 9 bars after it.
- Set Mode to Largest, to track the largest bar in the period.
- Set At or Above 4 ATRs (Max) to 0 and At or Below 4 ATRs (Min) to 1.
Result
An output on every bar smaller than 4 × ATR. Once a 4 × ATR bar appears, the output is zero for 10 bars, so a system using this solver gives no signals during that time.
