Instrument Mapping & Canonical Ticker Discovery

Brokers across the globe utilize fragmented naming conventions and arbitrary symbol suffixes for identical underlying assets (e.g., XAUUSD, GOLD, XAUUSD.pro, US30.cash, USTEC.raw, BTCUSD.s). The Instrument Mapping module (InstrumentSettings) bridges raw broker feeds into ILoveTrading's standardized canonical dictionary.

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1. Why Canonical Mapping is Critical

Our quantitative analytics engine relies on standardized contract sizes, tick increments, and base point valuations to calculate Pip values, R-Multiples, and Expectancy:

Formula / Calculation
Pip Value = (Volume × Contract Size × Tick Size) / Exchange Rate

When an EA or webhook pushes a raw symbol unknown to our central catalog, the system quarantines it as an Orphan Symbol (Pending Mappings). While trade executions still record in your Trade Log, advanced metrics (such as R-Multiple and Sweeney Excursions) remain pending until mapped.

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2. Resolving Pending Mappings (InstrumentSettings)

Navigate to Settings > Instruments:

1. Pending Mappings Queue: Displays raw unrecognized tickers received from your platforms.
2. Searchable Canonical Dropdown: Categorized across 5 global asset classes:
   • Forex: Majors, Minors, and Exotics (EURUSD, GBPUSD, USDJPY, etc.)
   • Indices: Global benchmarks (US30, NAS100, SPX500, GER40, etc.)
   • Commodities: Metals and Energies (XAUUSD/Gold, XAGUSD/Silver, USOIL/WTI, UKOIL/Brent)
   • Crypto: Digital assets (BTCUSD, ETHUSD, SOLUSD)
   • Equities: Global shares and stocks
3. Automated Retroactive Recalculation: Once bound, a background worker scans your entire historical trade database, recalculating all past executions for that raw ticker and populating missing R-Multiples and metrics within seconds.

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3. Managing Custom Rules & Global Ticker Discovery

• User Mapping Rules: All personal ticker bindings are listed under My Rules. Deleting a rule does not delete trade history; it simply returns the ticker to the orphan queue.
• Global Dictionary Discovery (TickerDiscovery): High-frequency orphaned symbols across multiple users are identified and promoted globally by platform administrators, ensuring seamless out-of-the-box recognition for future traders.

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4. Best Practices