Strategies, confluences and exit reasons help you add consistent review structure to your trading journal.
In Forgalis TradingJournal, these labels are not trading advice. They are journal categories used to describe what kind of trade you took, what conditions supported it, and why the trade was closed.
FTJ is a local-first Windows desktop trading journal, so this workflow is built around keeping your trade review structured inside your own journal database.
Watch the walkthrough, then use the written guide below as a reference while setting up your own journal labels.
This tutorial shows how to:
This is a product walkthrough, not trading education.
Open FTJ and select Strategy from the sidebar.
The Strategy section contains three libraries:
Each library keeps a separate set of journal labels. The layout is designed so you can select saved items on the left and edit the selected item on the right.
In the Strategy section, use the Seed button if you want FTJ to add ready-made example strategies, confluences and exit reasons.
The seed action adds missing sample items only. It is safe to run more than once because it does not duplicate the same examples.
The seeded labels are examples for journal structure, not trading advice. You can use them, edit them or replace them with your own categories.
A strategy is the setup, approach or trade idea you want to track in your journal.
In FTJ, a strategy can include:
For example, a strategy can be linked to confluences that you commonly want to check when reviewing that type of trade.
You can use seeded strategies as examples, or create your own structure from scratch.
A confluence is a supporting condition you want to record on a trade.
A trade can have multiple confluences. This makes confluences useful for review because they let you describe the context around the trade without turning everything into one long note.
In FTJ, a confluence can include:
Confluences can also be linked to strategies. When you choose a strategy on a trade, FTJ can add the confluences linked to that strategy as part of the trade tagging workflow.
An exit reason records why a closed trade was closed.
Exit reasons are separate from strategies and confluences. A closed trade can have one exit reason.
Examples of seeded exit reason labels include:
These are journal categories. They are not comments on whether the trade was good or bad.
Open a saved trade and apply the relevant structure:
The important part is consistency. If you use the same categories in the same way across trades, review becomes easier because your journal data is structured instead of buried in free text.
A strategy label answers:
What type of trade was this?
In FTJ, strategies are best used as review categories. They help you separate different trade approaches in your journal.
Do not treat the seeded strategy names as recommendations. They are examples that show how the journal structure works.
A strategy can also have linked confluences. This gives you a reusable checklist-style structure for that type of trade.
A confluence label answers:
What supporting condition did I want to record?
Confluences are more granular than strategies. A single trade can have multiple confluences, and those confluences can be reviewed later as part of the saved trade context.
Use confluences for consistent tagging, not for long explanations. If you need detailed comments, use notes and reflection fields instead.
An exit reason answers:
Why was this trade closed?
Exit reasons should stay simple and consistent. If every closed trade uses a clear exit reason, it becomes easier to review closure patterns later.
A closed trade can have one exit reason, so choose the most representative category.
FTJ can add seeded example labels for strategies, confluences and exit reasons.
The seed action adds missing items only, so it is safe to run more than once.
Seeded labels are examples for journal structure, not trading advice. They are not recommended setups, profitable methods or market instructions. You can keep them, edit them, delete unused ones or replace them with your own categories.
Seeded strategies, confluences and exit reasons include generated images.
These images are created programmatically by FTJ. They are part of the label presentation and help make the label library easier to scan visually.
Custom labels can also include images where the editor supports them.
Labels make trade review more structured.
Without labels, review often depends on reading individual notes trade by trade. With consistent labels, saved trades can be grouped or filtered by the categories you applied, where those review sections are available in the current FTJ interface.
The workflow is simple:
The labels do not create an edge and they do not improve trading results by themselves. They help keep the journal organized so review is based on consistent data.
A trading journal is easier to review when similar trades are described in the same way.
Strategies, confluences and exit reasons help you avoid mixing everything into one notes field. They give each trade a clearer structure:
That structure is especially useful when your journal grows beyond a few trades.
The seeded labels are examples for journal structure only. They are not recommendations.
Start with a small set of categories. If the library becomes too detailed, review can become harder instead of easier.
Use names that you will still understand later. The goal is clean review, not complicated terminology.
Labels structure the trade. Notes, screenshots and reflection can add extra context when needed.
If a strategy, confluence or exit reason is already used by trades, FTJ blocks deletion. Remove it from those trades first if you need to delete the label.
Previous: How to Review Your Trades on the FTJ Dashboard
Next: Screenshots, Notes & Reflection in Forgalis TradingJournal
Download Forgalis TradingJournal from the Microsoft Store:
https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9PDVQXB4J8Q0
Start simple: create one account, add or import a few trades, then use the Dashboard to review your trading with structure.