Settings

The Settings view lets you configure database management, backups, time format preferences, image constraints, lot sizes, licensing, and debug logging.

Navigate to Settings in the sidebar.

Settings view

Database

The Database section shows your current database path and provides five actions:

  • New DB - Create a blank database at a location you choose. Useful for starting a fresh journal or separating data by year, account, or strategy.

  • Open DB - Switch to an existing .db file. FTJ will reload all data from the new database.

  • Import - Open the trade import dialog (see Importing Data).

  • Export - Export all trades to a CSV file (default filename: trades_export.csv).

  • Backup - Create a backup of your database. You can choose between:

    • Full Backup - Copies all data including images.

    • Lightweight Backup - Copies data only, excluding images.

To open a database with validation and repair, see Database Recovery in the Advanced section.

The current database file path is displayed at the top of the card.

Tip

You can maintain multiple databases and switch between them freely. Each database is completely independent with its own accounts, trades, strategies, and settings.

Backup Settings

  • Backup Reminder - Set a reminder interval in days (0-365, default: 7). When enabled, the Dashboard next-steps guide will prompt you if no backup has been made within the configured period. Set to 0 to disable the reminder.

  • Auto-Backup on Startup - When enabled (default: On), FTJ automatically creates a lightweight backup each time it launches. Backups are stored in an _autobackups subfolder next to your database. A backup is skipped if the last one was less than 20 hours ago.

  • Keep Backups - The maximum number of auto-backups to retain (1-50, default: 5). Only visible when auto-backup is enabled. Oldest backups are automatically pruned when this limit is exceeded.

Time Format

Choose between:

  • 12-Hour - Times displayed as 2026-02-20 11:01:07 am.

  • 24-Hour - Times displayed as 2026-02-20 23:01:07.

This setting affects all date/time displays throughout the application - trade entries, exits, execution times, and chart axes.

Advanced

Database Recovery

Opens a .db file, clones it to a new location, and validates the clone before switching. Unlike Open DB, this performs an integrity check, verifies it, and offers to repair data issues. The original file is never modified. Use this when recovering from a backup or opening a database you suspect may have problems.

Debug Logging

Toggle to enable or disable diagnostic logging for broker imports. When enabled, FTJ writes detailed entries to the broker status log inside the app, which can help troubleshoot import issues.

  • Off (default) - Minimal logging for normal operation.

  • On - Verbose logging for debugging broker connections and import processes.

Warning

Debug logging can slow down import operations and generate large log files. Only enable it when troubleshooting a specific issue.

Seed Strategies & Exit Reasons

Inserts a set of sample strategies, confluences, and exit reasons - each with a generated icon image. Safe to run multiple times; only missing items are added.

Images

The Images section controls how trade screenshots are stored in the database.

Image Constraints

Setting

Default

Description

Max Image Width

1920 px

Images wider than this are automatically resized.

Max Image Height

1080 px

Images taller than this are automatically resized.

Max File Size

2048 KB

Images larger than this are automatically compressed.

Note

Very large image limits can significantly increase your database size and slow down backups/syncing. The defaults (1920×1080, 2 MB) are recommended for most users.

JPEG Preferences

  • Prefer JPEG for screenshots (no transparency) - When enabled, screenshots are automatically converted from PNG to JPEG before storage. This greatly reduces database size since chart screenshots typically don’t need transparency. Default: On.

  • Prompt before converting to JPEG - When enabled, FTJ asks for confirmation before converting a PNG to JPEG. Useful if you need to preserve PNG transparency. Default: On.

  • JPEG Quality - The compression quality for JPEG conversion (1–100). Higher values produce better quality but larger files. Default: 85.

Lot Sizes

The Lot Sizes panel lets you define the default number of units per lot for each symbol. Lot sizes are scoped per account, so different accounts can have different unit-per-lot definitions.

  • Account selector - Choose which account to configure.

  • Symbol - A dropdown showing symbols that appear in your trades but don’t have a lot size defined yet. You can also type a new symbol.

  • Units per Lot - The number of units one lot represents (e.g. 100,000 for FX pairs).

  • Add - Adds or updates the lot size for the selected symbol.

Existing lot sizes are shown in a scrollable list. Select an entry and click Delete to remove it, or Cancel to revert unsaved changes. Click Save to persist.

Note

Lot sizes control how quantities display in Lots mode and how lot-based inputs are converted to units.

License

The License card shows your current subscription status.

  • Status - Displays Active or Expired.

  • Plan - The name of your current plan (e.g. “Annual Subscription”).

  • Days Remaining - Visible during a trial, showing how many days are left.

  • Started - The date your subscription or trial began.

  • Last Verified - The last time license status was verified (UTC).

  • App Version - The installed version of FTJ.

Buttons:

  • Subscribe Now / Manage Subscription - Opens the subscription page. The label changes depending on whether you already have an active subscription.

  • Refresh License - Manually re-checks your license status.