Close a position or change direction

You will choose the action you want before choosing its command. The key distinction is practical: close a buy and open a sell are different requests.

Finish the preceding demo exercise with its course position closed and its alert paused. This lesson uses a separate preview-only script, so you can compare workflows without sending orders.

Start with the position you want to end up with

Starting situation	Intended result	Relevant request
You want to enter long	A buy position	buy
You want to exit existing buys	Matching buys closed; no new sell requested	closelong
You want to enter short	A sell position	sell
You want to exit existing sells	Matching sells closed; no new buy requested	closeshort

The receiving EA’s scope and behaviour still apply. For example, an entry can be affected by Close on Reverse, while a close can affect several matching positions. These commands are not confirmations of a resulting position. Commands, Close positions

1

Load the workflow preview

Open Pine → script-name menu → Create new → Indicator. Replace the starter code with the complete example below. Save it as My action preview and click Add to chart.

What you should see

A table shows the first and second messages for Buy and close buy.

123

Enlarge screenshot

Open the script-name menu, choose Create new, then Indicator.

Open the script-name menu, choose Create new, then Indicator.

Open originalCloseEsc

123

Complete close-or-reverse previewPine v6

TradingView → Pine Editor Pine Script

//@version=6
indicator("Pine practice: close or reverse", overlay = true)

// Preview only: no alert() or order functions. Keep the placeholders for this exercise.
string workflow = input.string("Buy and close buy", "Workflow", options = ["Buy and close buy", "Sell and close sell", "Reverse between directions"])
string firstCommand = workflow == "Buy and close buy" ? "buy" : workflow == "Sell and close sell" ? "sell" : "closeshortopenlong"
string secondCommand = workflow == "Buy and close buy" ? "closelong" : workflow == "Sell and close sell" ? "closeshort" : "closelongopenshort"
string exampleSize = ",vol_lots=0.01,sl_pips=20"
string firstMessage = "LicenseID," + firstCommand + ",BrokerSymbol" + exampleSize
string secondMessage = "LicenseID," + secondCommand + ",BrokerSymbol" + (workflow == "Reverse between directions" ? exampleSize : "")
string meaning = workflow == "Buy and close buy" ? "First: request a buy.\nSecond: close matching buys; no sell entry." : workflow == "Sell and close sell" ? "First: request a sell.\nSecond: close matching sells; no buy entry." : "First: close matching sells, then request a buy.\nSecond: close matching buys, then request a sell."

var table preview = table.new(position.top_right, 1, 4, border_width = 1)
if barstate.islast
    table.cell(preview, 0, 0, "PREVIEW ONLY · " + workflow, text_color = color.white, bgcolor = color.rgb(30, 64, 100), text_size = size.normal)
    table.cell(preview, 0, 1, "FIRST MESSAGE\n" + str.replace_all(firstMessage, ",", ",\n"), text_color = color.black, bgcolor = color.white, text_halign = text.align_left, text_size = size.normal)
    table.cell(preview, 0, 2, "SECOND MESSAGE\n" + str.replace_all(secondMessage, ",", ",\n"), text_color = color.black, bgcolor = color.rgb(240, 245, 250), text_halign = text.align_left, text_size = size.normal)
    table.cell(preview, 0, 3, meaning + "\nEA scope and broker rules still apply.", text_color = color.black, bgcolor = color.rgb(255, 246, 214), text_size = size.normal)

This script contains no alert or order functions. Its LicenseID and BrokerSymbol placeholders are deliberate. The displayed lot and stop values are examples, not values to send to your account.

2

Inspect Buy and close buy

Open the preview indicator’s Settings → Inputs. Set Workflow to Buy and close buy, then click Ok.

Read the second command aloud: close long. It does not ask for a new short position. This is the pair used by My connection practice.

What you should see

The first message requests buy; the second requests closelong without entry-size fields.

Long-only message pair

Enter long

Compare with the chart preview; replace placeholders before any separate demo use PineConnector Syntax

LicenseID,buy,BrokerSymbol,vol_lots=0.01,sl_pips=20

Exit long

Compare with the chart preview; replace placeholders before any separate demo use PineConnector Syntax

LicenseID,closelong,BrokerSymbol

3

Inspect Sell and close sell

In Inputs, select Sell and close sell. Click Ok and compare the two messages.

Trying to close an existing buy? This is not the long-only exit pair. Return to Buy and close buy and use its closelong meaning.

What you should see

The commands change to sell and closeshort.

Compare an explicit reversal

4

Preview Reverse between directions

Choose Reverse between directions in Workflow, then click Ok.

closeshortopenlong requests closing matching sells, then opening a buy. closelongopenshort requests closing matching buys, then opening a sell.

What you should see

Both messages contain an entry-size field because both request a new entry after a close.

Enlarge screenshot

Each combined command closes the matching opposite direction before requesting a new entry. These displayed templates send nothing; position scope and broker rules still apply.

Each combined command closes the matching opposite direction before requesting a new entry. These displayed templates send nothing; position scope and broker rules still apply.

Open originalCloseEsc

These combined commands make the intended actions explicit. They still require the intended EA position scope, permitted entry size and broker acceptance. Do not send two unrelated close/open messages and assume that their arrival or processing order is guaranteed. Combined close and open

This preview is not wired into the earlier connected indicator. Changing Workflow here cannot change My connection practice or an already running alert.

5

Inspect which positions could be affected

On your receiving setup, review Magic Restriction, Pyramiding and Close on Reverse. For Edge, inspect the connection’s hosted EA settings; do not try to change a local EA to control it.

What you should see

You can state whether the receiving EA can include manual or other-EA positions, and whether repeated entries can add positions.

Existing redacted example. Its values illustrate where to look, not the required settings for your workflow. Inspect the relevant scope settings on your own connection.

Existing redacted example. Its values illustrate where to look, not the required settings for your workflow. Inspect the relevant scope settings on your own connection.Open original Close Esc

Magic Restriction Off can broaden management to positions opened manually or by other EAs. A closelong without a strategy comment is not restricted to one strategy’s comment. Dedicated demo scope matters even when your script uses the correct close command. Position scope, Comment matching

The EA’s Close on Reverse labels have specific meanings:

EA option	Opposite entry signal
On — Hedging	Close opposite positions and open the new direction.
On — Netting	Close opposite positions without opening the new direction.
Off	This feature leaves opposite positions alone; other entry rules still apply.

These are EA settings, not commands that change the broker account’s hedging/netting account type. Do not infer the setting from the account name. Close on Reverse

Keep closing scope deliberate

For the basic course, retain a dedicated demo setup and the direction-specific close command. closeall is broader: it closes positions and cancels pending orders within the receiving EA’s scope, and its third field must be that EA’s attached chart symbol. It is not a beginner substitute for closelong.

The course’s sending indicator adds the configured secret to entries and exits. If you later add supported strategy comments, keep the matching comment on the close instruction too. Do not assume every partial-close command supports the same filtering rules.

Try it yourself

1. A long-only strategy reaches its exit condition. Which command closes the buy without requesting a short?
2. A workflow should finish short after closing its matching buys. Which combined command expresses that?
3. Does changing this preview’s Workflow update an existing TradingView alert?

Check your answers

1. closelong. 2. closelongopenshort, with the reviewed entry fields and intended scope. 3. No. This is a separate preview-only indicator, and running alerts keep saved copies of their own scripts and inputs.

Before modifying a connected workflow, write its intended before-and-after position state in plain language. Then apply the update procedure in the next lesson and repeat the dedicated demo verification. This preview does not establish that a reversal executed at your broker.

Previous lessonVerify your setup on demoNext · Lesson 6 of 6Update automation without duplicate alerts