Screenshots and notes give a trade more context than numbers alone.
In this tutorial, you will see how to open a saved trade in Forgalis TradingJournal, attach a chart image, add trade notes and a pre-trade plan, fill in reflection fields, and save everything with the trade.
This is a product walkthrough, not trading advice. The goal is to show how FTJ stores qualitative review context alongside structured trade data.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to:
This tutorial focuses on screenshots, notes, and reflection. It does not cover Dashboard analysis, strategy setup, confluences, exit reasons, or cTrader connection.
Open Trades from the sidebar.
Select a saved trade from the trade list. The trade detail area shows the cards for the selected trade, including entry data, exit data, strategy structure, images, journal notes, and self-reflection.
For this tutorial, use a demo trade or a non-private trade. Do not use personal account details, broker IDs, private screenshots, or real sensitive trading history when recording or sharing screenshots.
Find the Images card.
FTJ provides three image slots for trade screenshots or other visual references. You can add an image by clicking an empty image slot to browse for a file, or by dragging and dropping an image onto the Images card.
After the image is added, FTJ shows a thumbnail. The screenshot is now attached to the selected trade.
Click the thumbnail to preview the image.
To remove an image, use the X button on the thumbnail. Removing the image marks the trade as changed, so save the trade if you want the removal to persist.
Go to Journal Notes.
Use Trade Notes for free-form context about the trade. This can include execution comments, what you noticed during the trade, or anything you want to remember later.
Keep the text factual and useful for review. FTJ stores the note with the trade.
Still in Journal Notes, use Pre-Trade Plan for the plan or setup you had before entering the trade.
This field is useful because it separates what you planned before the trade from what you observed after the trade.
Go to Self-Reflection.
FTJ includes five rating fields:
Use these as review fields, not as trading signals. They are there to help you document your own process around the trade.
Use Additional Reflection for longer-form review notes after the trade is closed.
This is the place for context that does not fit into a rating field.
Click Save Changes.
Screenshots, notes, pre-trade plan, reflection ratings, and additional reflection are saved as part of the trade entry.
Screenshots are visual context for a trade.
They can help you remember what the chart looked like around the setup, entry, exit, or review moment. They are not analyzed automatically by FTJ and they are not trading signals.
FTJ supports three screenshot slots per trade. You can add images by browse or drag-and-drop, view a thumbnail, preview an image, and remove an image if needed.
Supported image file types in the file picker are:
By default, FTJ uses image limits of 1920×1080 and 2 MB. These limits can be adjusted in Settings. The app can also resize large images and can prefer JPEG conversion for non-transparent screenshots to keep database size manageable.
FTJ has two main note fields in the Journal Notes card:
Trade Notes
Use this for trade context, execution comments, observations, or anything important about the trade.
Pre-Trade Plan
Use this for the plan before entering the trade.
The key difference is timing. The pre-trade plan captures what you intended before or during entry. Trade notes can capture what happened or what you noticed during and after the trade.
The Self-Reflection card adds structured qualitative review to the trade.
The five rating fields are designed to capture process-related context:
The Additional Reflection field gives you space for longer review notes.
This is not a trading psychology course and it is not advice. The fields simply give you a consistent place to record your own review context.
Forgalis TradingJournal is a local-first Windows desktop trading journal.
Your journal data is stored in a local SQLite database on your own computer. Trade screenshots are embedded in the database instead of being stored as external file links. That means screenshots stay connected to the trade data inside the database file.
FTJ does not provide Forgalis cloud sync for journal data. Screenshots and notes should be treated as local journal content.
For preserving screenshots, use database backup rather than CSV export.
FTJ supports:
Full Backup
Copies the full database, including image data.
Lightweight Backup
Copies the database without image data, making the backup smaller.
CSV Export
Exports trade data to CSV. It does not export images or everything needed to recreate the full database.
If you want to preserve screenshots and the full journal structure, use a full database backup or copy the database file.
Dashboard statistics show the quantitative side of review: trades, P&L, win rate, charts, and other visible metrics.
Screenshots and notes are different. They support qualitative review.
A screenshot can show what the trade looked like. Notes can explain what you planned, what happened, and what you want to remember. Reflection fields give you a consistent way to review the trade process.
Together, they help keep the trade record more complete without turning the journal into trading advice.
A row of numbers can tell you what happened.
Screenshots and notes help explain the context around it.
That context can be useful when you review older trades and want to understand the setup, the entry, the exit, and the decisions around the trade. FTJ keeps that context attached to the trade, instead of scattered across separate files, folders, screenshots, or spreadsheets.
Do not use private or personal screenshots in tutorials, support posts, or public videos.
Do not treat screenshots as signals. They are review context.
Do not assume CSV export includes screenshots. Use a full backup if you want to preserve images.
Do not forget to click Save Changes after adding images, notes, or reflection fields.
Keep notes short enough to review later. Long text is allowed, but useful review notes should be easy to scan.
Use demo data when recording tutorials or sharing examples.
Forgalis TradingJournal is a local-first Windows desktop trading journal for structured trade logging and review.