Advanced Alert Routing setup guide

What it is — and what it isn’t

It is: a bridge from a creator’s published signal to your MT5 EA. You opt in in Settings, install the EA, attach it to a chart, and turn on auto-trade when you are ready.

It is not: SignalFloor trading your account for you. It is not guaranteed fills, zero delay, or broker magic. Revoking AAR (or unfollowing / turning routing off) stops future opens and queues cancel_pending for resting entries. It does not close positions already filled at your broker.

Words we use on this page: creator = someone who publishes signals; EA = the small program you run inside MT5; per-creator routing = the setting that allows routing for that creator after you follow them.

Quick path (checklist)

1. Enable Advanced Alert Routing in Settings (consent).
2. Open EA setup → create / download your API key + EA file.
3. Install includes + EA in MT5; allow WebRequest to SignalFloor.
4. Attach EA to a chart → confirm status shows Connected.
5. Set risk % (shared with Execution Assist).
6. Follow creators and leave routing on for those you want routed.
7. Only then enable AutoTrade on the EA inputs.

Deep links: Advanced Alert Routing · EA setup · Terms §7 · Risk disclosure

Step 1 — Enable in Settings

Go to Settings → Account and find the Advanced Alert Routing card. Read the disclosures, check the box that you understand them, then click Enable Advanced Alert Routing.

That records consent (including terms version). Without this step, the platform will not queue trade commands for your EA — even if the EA is installed.

Step 2 — API key and EA download

Open EA setup. After consent is active, download the personalized EA. The download embeds an API key that starts with sf_. Treat that key like a password — anyone with it can sync your account and receive commands meant for you.

Prefer the current Copier build labeled v1.04 — required to refuse trades below the broker minimum lot instead of lifting size (plus null-safe prices, ticket-scoped close/cancel/modify, broker-side 72h expiry on resting entries). v1.03 still receives commands and can open/close, but it lifts undersized lots to the broker minimum. v1.02 is symbol-scoped, uses GTC resting orders, and can misread a missing SL/TP unless the server sends 0 (which it now does).

Step 3 — Install on MT5

1. Copy include files into your MT5 MQL5/Include/ folder.
2. Copy the .mq5 Expert into MQL5/Experts/.
3. In MT5: Tools → Options → Expert Advisors. Turn on algorithmic trading. Add the SignalFloor functions URL to Allow WebRequest for listed URL.
4. Compile the EA in MetaEditor if your broker requires it.
5. Drag the EA onto any chart. Leave AutoTradeEnabled = false until sync looks healthy.

Step 4 — Confirm sync is OK

On the chart comment you should see something like Status: Connected, with balance updating and the sync counter rising. On SignalFloor, EA setup / portfolio should show a recent account snapshot.

If status stays on Error: re-check the WebRequest URL allowlist, API key, and that the terminal is online. No Connected sync → no sized opens (opens need a fresh balance snapshot).

Step 5 — Risk %

On the same Advanced Alert Routing card (or Risk Settings), set risk per trade — typically 0.25%–5% of account balance. This is shared with Execution Assist so one number drives both the on-site calculator and AAR lot sizing.

Rough idea: risk money = balance × risk%. Lot size is chosen so a stop-loss hit loses about that much (using the signal’s entry and stop). Brokers also enforce a minimum lot (often 0.01). Copier 1.04 refuses the trade when the sized lot is below that minimum — it will not lift to 0.01. Older EAs (1.03 and below) still lift, which can risk more than your percentage.

Example: $10,000 account, 1% risk → $100 at risk. Tight stop → larger lot. Wide stop → smaller lot. If the sized lot is below the broker minimum, 1.04 skips the trade; 1.03 may still open 0.01 and exceed 1%.

If you follow more than one creator, the same card has a risk split — what percent of that risk % each creator gets. Default is an equal split, or 100% if you follow one. Leftover unallocated is not routed. This is a budget, not portfolio theory: it will not keep your equity curve flat.

Step 6 — Follow creators + enable routing

Follow the creators whose signals you want. Routing for those follows must be active (consent also seeds routing settings for current follows). Only creators you follow with routing on will generate EA commands. Set each creator’s share on the Advanced Alert Routing card after you turn routing on.

Step 7 — Turn on AutoTrade

When Connected looks stable, open EA inputs and set AutoTradeEnabled = true, and ensure the AutoTrading button in MT5 is on. From then on, queued commands can place, modify, or close trades on that terminal.

How order types behave (plain English)

• Market — “buy/sell now.” Queued as an immediate open when the signal is published (and again as a market catch-up if SignalFloor later marks it activated).
• Limit — “buy cheaper / sell higher than now.” Queued as a resting entry order at publish so your broker can work the book before SignalFloor’s engine activates the signal.
• Stop — “buy higher / sell lower than now” (breakout style). Also queued as a resting entry at publish when the protocol supports it.
• Stop-limit — not a dedicated EA order type yet. AAR skips a special resting stop-limit; if the signal later activates on SignalFloor, the EA may get a market catch-up open instead. Do not expect a true stop-limit ticket at the broker from AAR today.

How fast is it? (honest latency)

Your EA asks SignalFloor for new commands on a timer. Default / recommended fast preset is about 2–3 seconds (SyncIntervalSec). The server currently hints ~3s. You can set 1s on a dedicated VPS if your broker and CPU tolerate frequent WebRequests; 5–10s is gentler.

Open sizing also needs a recent account snapshot (about ≤60 seconds old). If the EA was offline longer than that, opens are skipped until sync catches up — so we do not size lots from a stale balance.

Sub-second (<1s) is not available with the current poll architecture. There is no WebSocket/push channel into the EA yet. Anyone promising instant broker fills from SignalFloor is overselling the design.

When a creator cancels, moves stop, or revalidates

• Cancel / retract (or signal closed / expired): SignalFloor cancels unsent open commands, then queues cancel_pending (delete resting entry orders) and close_position for the matching broker ticket (1.03+) or, if no ticket is on the command, every EA position on that symbol/magic (1.02 fallback). Needs AutoTrade on. Pickup still waits for the next poll. A stale signal now queues the same unwind.
• Mark break-even on SignalFloor closes the signal outcome as break-even — AAR treats that like a close (queue close), not “secretly move stop to entry.”
• Move stop to entry (creator “lock risk to zero” via move SL): that is an SL edit → queued as modify_sl_tp for the EA.
• Update take-profits / stop: also modify_sl_tp.
• Revalidate a stale signal: SignalFloor’s clock resets to pending. AAR re-queues a publish-style open if there is no live open command already. It does not invent a second position if one is already live.

Network delay, broker rejects, and EA offline still apply. Lifecycle parity means we enqueue the right command types — your terminal still has to be running to execute them.

How to turn it off (revoke)

On the Advanced Alert Routing card, click Disable Advanced Alert Routing. Future opens stop immediately. Resting (unfilled) entry orders are queued for cancel — if the EA is online they die on the next poll; on 1.03+ they also expire at the broker after 72 hours even if the terminal never returns. Filled positions are left as they are — close those in MT5 yourself if you want them flat. You can also set AutoTradeEnabled=false or remove the EA from the chart.

Related: Signal engine rules · EA setup · Enable Advanced Alert Routing