Setup & troubleshooting
Get it on your chart in ten minutes.
If the chart looks empty, it is almost never broken. It is almost always one of two settings. Both are below.
A footprint is built from Level 1 data: the best bid, the best ask, and every trade that prints. Each trade is stamped as “hit the bid” or “lifted the ask” by comparing it to the prevailing bid/ask. The full order book (Level 2) is only needed for a DOM or depth map, which is a different tool. Please do not buy a market-depth subscription for this.
What you do need is a live feed that supplies bid/ask tick data — Kinetick, Rithmic, CQG, IQFeed, or your broker’s live feed. A delayed, simulated or end-of-day feed will show nothing, no matter what else you change.
1. Install
Import the add-on
- NinjaTrader 8 → Tools → Import → NinjaScript Add-On, and select the .zip we sent you.
- Do not unzip it first. NinjaTrader must import the .zip in its original form.
- Restart NinjaTrader completely, then open a chart and add the indicator.
- Imprint Flow currently appears in the indicator list as FlowDiagnostic. That is our internal build name. It is the correct indicator.
2. Activate
Find your Machine ID, then get your key
- Add the indicator to a chart. If the 8-character Machine ID is not shown on the chart, open New → NinjaScript Output, then remove the indicator and add it again. The Machine ID is printed there.
- Go to imprint.ltd/activate, pick your product, and enter your Machine ID plus the email you purchased with. Your key is issued instantly.
- Paste the key into the indicator’s License Key field. Click Apply, then OK.
- Remove and re-add the indicator so it re-reads the key.
3. The two settings that decide everything
Tick Replay ON, and Days to load = 3
- Tools → Options → Market Data → tick Show Tick Replay.
- Right-click your chart → Data Series → set Tick Replay = On.
- In the same window, set Days to load = 3.
- Click OK and let the chart load fully. Still blank? Right-click → Reload All Historical Data.
Why 3 and not 30: Tick Replay rebuilds every individual trade. Asking for weeks of tick data on a busy instrument like NQ will hang the chart — and a hung chart looks exactly like a broken indicator. Start at 3 days and raise it once you can see the footprint.
Upgrading from an earlier version
If you already have an earlier Imprint Flow installed and you import the new one on top of it, NinjaTrader ends up with two copies of the same indicator. It cannot tell them apart, and your whole NinjaScript folder stops compiling — not just our tool, but every indicator you own. You will see errors like CS0111, CS0121 or CS0229.
To upgrade safely:
- Control Center → Tools → Remove NinjaScript Assembly…
- Select the existing ImprintFlow entry and remove it.
- Close NinjaTrader completely. Wait ten seconds. Reopen it.
- Now import the new .zip: Tools → Import → NinjaScript Add-On.
- Re-add the indicator to your chart. Your licence key is unchanged and still valid.
If you have already imported it on top and everything has stopped compiling, do not panic and do not delete files by hand. Email us and we will walk you back out of it.
“I removed the indicator and now my Log tab is full of red”
NinjaTrader deletes the assembly file but does not remove the reference to it from its own Config.xml. On the next start it tries to load an assembly that is gone and throws Could not load file or assembly 'ImprintFlow…' and Failed to restore Indicator. Every chart that had it then fails, which cascades into your other indicators — a log full of red. Reinstalling cannot fix it while the stale reference is there.
The fix. Our repair script backs up Config.xml, removes only the dead Imprint references, validates the result, restores the backup if anything is off, and writes a diagnostic file to your Desktop. It never touches your charts, workspaces, data or licences, and sends nothing anywhere.
Download the repair script (.ps1)
- Close NinjaTrader completely.
- Right-click the file → Run with PowerShell.
- Reopen NinjaTrader, import the Imprint
.ziponce, paste your key.
Still not right? Email the diagnostic file it leaves on your Desktop to hello@imprint.ltd and we will tell you exactly what is wrong — no remote access needed.
What your symptom actually means
| What you see | What it usually is | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Chart never finishes loading, or stops responding | Too many days loaded with Tick Replay on | Data Series → Days to load = 3 |
| Bars draw normally, but the cells are empty or all zeros | Tick Replay is off, or your feed has no bid/ask tick data | Turn Tick Replay on. If still empty, check your data feed |
| History is blank, but new bars fill in as trades arrive | Classic Tick Replay-off signature. Live data carries bid/ask; history does not without it | Tick Replay = On, then Reload All Historical Data |
| Indicator is not in the list after importing | The import failed, or NinjaTrader was not restarted | Re-import the .zip (do not unzip), restart NT. Then NinjaScript Editor → F5 → check the Errors tab |
| It is listed as “FlowDiagnostic” | Nothing. That is our internal build name | It is the correct indicator. Use it |
| The License Key will not save, or has no effect | The indicator is erroring while it loads, so its settings never persist | Control Center → Log tab. Send us that screenshot — it names the fault |
| “No purchase found for that email” when activating | You used a different email than at checkout | Use your purchase email. Still stuck? Email us |
Still stuck? Send us three things and we will tell you exactly what is wrong
- Control Center → Log tab (this is the important one — it states the fault in plain English)
- New → NinjaScript Output, after removing and re-adding the indicator
- Control Center → Connections (tells us whether your feed carries bid/ask tick data)
Email hello@imprint.ltd. We will get on a screen-share and set it up for you if that is faster. All sales are final — we do not offer refunds or trial periods.