WebTrade Trading

How to Use Auto SL/TP Protection

Auto SL/TP Protection is an advanced risk-discipline tool that automatically applies missing Stop Loss (SL) or Take Profit (TP) levels, permanently locks those parameters after a short adjustment grace period, and can automatically advance your Stop Loss to the entry price ("SL to Entry") to secure a risk-free trade once a target profit is reached.

Why Auto SL/TP Protection Exists (Trader Discipline & Psychology)

In retail CFD trading, the #1 cause of catastrophic account blowouts is emotional interference:

Preventing "Moving the Stop Loss": When a trade enters drawdown, traders often experience the emotional urge to widen or completely remove their Stop Loss hoping for a market bounce. This turns a controlled 1% loss into a devastating 20% or 50% drawdown. Auto-Lock eliminates self-sabotage by locking the Stop Loss parameter into the system, enforcing your original risk plan.

Overcoming Panic Closures: Traders often panic-close winning trades too early out of fear of giving back profit, while letting losing trades run. Locking both TP and SL lets your statistical edge play out to its predefined targets.

Creating "Risk-Free Trades" (SL to Entry): Moving SL to break-even once a trade is in profit protects your initial investment, allowing you to let winning trades develop without capital risk.

Note: Auto SL/TP Protection is a technical risk-management safeguard operating on a best-effort basis. It does not eliminate execution risks such as market gaps, slippage during volatile sessions, or liquidity shortages.

Quick overview

When SL or TP is missing, the typical flow is:

Position opens → 5 minutes to set missing SL/TP → System auto-sets missing levels → 5 minutes to adjust → SL/TP locks

If both valid levels are already present when the position opens, the automatic-setup step is not needed. The five-minute adjustment countdown starts for those existing levels, and they lock when that countdown ends.

The feature has three separate jobs:

Auto-set: Adds SL or TP when a required level is still missing.
Auto-lock: Prevents a level from being modified or removed after its adjustment countdown ends.
SL to Entry: Moves SL to the position entry price after profit reaches a configured target when selected by the trader or required by an active Guard rule.

SL and TP are managed independently, so they may show different countdowns and lock at different times.

How Auto SL/TP Protection becomes active

There are two ways the protection can apply to a WebTrade order:

Enabled from Advanced Order: Open the order panel and expand Advanced. If the account does not have an active Auto SL/TP Protection Guard rule, the checkbox is selected automatically when Advanced Order opens. You may turn it off before submitting the order.
Applied by Trader's Guard: If the account has an active Auto SL/TP Protection rule in its Scenario, the backend applies the saved Guard protection to every new WebTrade order, including an order submitted without opening Advanced Order. The Auto SL/TP checkbox is locked on and cannot be disabled for that account.

Configure protection for one Advanced Order

1. Open the order panel and expand Advanced.

2. Keep Auto SL/TP Protection selected. If no active Guard rule applies, you can clear it to place this order without the protection.

3. Under Default SL/TP, select USD or % Balance.

4. Enter positive Default SL and Default TP values.

5. Optionally enable SL to Entry, then select its trigger type and enter the trigger value.

6. Review the complete order and submit it. These effective values are saved for this order only.

Under Default SL/TP, choose how missing protection levels are calculated:

1. USD: The initial Default SL and Default TP are each set to a snapshot of 1% of the current account Balance. You can enter different fixed USD amounts before placing the order.

2. % Balance: Both fields start at 1% of Balance. You can enter different percentages before placing the order.

3. Make sure both preset amounts are greater than zero, then review the order details and place the market or pending order.

Configure protection through Trader's Guard

Guard configuration is stored inside a Scenario:

1. Open Guard for the trading account, then create or select a Scenario.

2. Under Trading method, expand Auto SL/TP Protection.

3. Select USD or % Balance, then enter positive Default SL and Default TP values.

4. If required, enable SL to Entry, choose % of TP or USD, and enter a positive trigger. A % of TP trigger cannot exceed 100%.

5. Select the rule's confirm button to add the configuration to the Scenario draft.

6. Select Save changes. If the Scenario is not running, select Run, choose its effective period, and confirm activation. If it is already running, saving the change applies the updated rule immediately.

After the rule becomes active, it applies to every new WebTrade order for that account. It does not retroactively attach protection or replace the saved settings of positions that were already open.

When Guard protection is active, its saved values are loaded as the Advanced Order defaults. The protection checkbox remains selected and cannot be cleared, but Advanced Order may use different valid Default SL/TP values for that order. If the Guard rule requires SL to Entry, you may edit its trigger but cannot turn SL to Entry off.

For accounts covered by the MT5 server-side Risk Guard integration, the same Scenario can also attach Auto SL/TP Protection to supported market and pending orders placed directly in MT5. This requires the account to be inside the enabled plugin scope and the server-side integration to be available; it should not be assumed for an account that is outside that scope.

WebTrade will not submit an order with Auto SL/TP Protection enabled if either default value is blank, invalid, or zero. The affected field is highlighted in red and a notification identifies whether Default SL or Default TP must be corrected.

How the default preset works

For example, if the account Balance is 10,000 USD when you open Advanced Order, the USD preset starts with:

Default SL: 100 USD
Default TP: 100 USD

This is a snapshot, so the displayed USD values do not continuously change while the order panel remains open. If you switch from % Balance back to USD, WebTrade recalculates both USD values from the latest available Balance.

If WebTrade cannot obtain a valid positive Balance, it uses fallback values of 10 USD for Default SL and 20 USD for Default TP. Always review these values before placing the order.

SL to Entry

SL to Entry moves the position's Stop Loss to its entry price after the position reaches the profit target you configure. It is optional when you enable Auto SL/TP Protection yourself. If the active Guard rule requires SL to Entry, it remains enabled and only its trigger can be edited. The backend continues monitoring the position even if WebTrade is closed.

To configure it:

1. Keep Auto SL/TP Protection enabled.

2. Select the SL to Entry checkbox. If it is required by Guard, the checkbox is already selected and cannot be cleared.

3. Enter a value greater than zero in Move when profit reaches.

4. Choose one of the trigger modes:

% of TP: Triggers when current position profit reaches the selected percentage of the estimated profit at the locked TP. The value must be greater than 0% and no more than 100%. The default is 50%.
USD: Triggers when current position profit reaches the selected USD amount. The default is 10 USD.

For example, if the estimated profit at the locked TP is 20 USD and the trigger is 50% of TP, the trigger profit is 10 USD. When position profit reaches that amount, the backend attempts to move SL to the position's entry price.

In USD mode, a trigger of 5 USD means the backend attempts to move SL to entry when position profit reaches 5 USD. If the trading account uses another currency, the backend handles the required conversion.

Requirements and behavior

SL to Entry is configured when the order is placed. WebTrade does not currently provide a separate control for enabling or changing it after the position has opened.
The position's TP must be confirmed as locked before the backend starts monitoring SL to Entry. In % of TP mode, the locked TP is also used to calculate the trigger profit.
If the trigger is reached but the entry price temporarily violates the symbol's minimum stop distance or freeze level, the backend waits and retries. This is a pending condition, not a final failure.
If the current SL already protects a better price than the entry price, the backend keeps the better SL instead of moving it backward.
After SL is moved successfully, WebTrade updates the position and its SL price and displays an SL moved to entry notification.
A temporary disconnect does not require continuous polling. WebTrade receives realtime updates and synchronizes the latest position state after reconnecting.

Timeline after the position opens

Step 1: Initial setup period — first 5 minutes

You can add, modify, or remove SL and TP.
The system keeps the valid levels you selected.
If SL is still missing and the floating loss reaches the saved Default SL, Open Positions highlights the position and its S/L field in red to warn that backend protection may auto-close the position at the end of this period.

Step 2: Automatic setup of missing levels

After the initial five minutes, the system checks whether SL or TP is missing.
Only missing levels are calculated from the saved Default SL/TP values.

Step 3: Adjustment period — another 5 minutes

Each newly set SL or TP receives a five-minute adjustment countdown.
You can modify or remove an unlocked level during its countdown.

Step 4: Locked state

When a level's countdown ends, it becomes locked for the position.
A locked level cannot be modified, removed, or dragged on the chart.
An unlocked level remains editable even if the other level is already locked.
The Open Positions section displays the countdown and current state of each level.

Common situations

Both SL and TP are set when the position opens

The system does not replace the SL or TP levels you selected.
Both levels enter a five-minute adjustment period.
You can modify or remove either level during this period.
At the end of the adjustment period, both levels are locked.

Only SL is set

Your SL remains active and starts its adjustment countdown.
You can add TP manually during the initial five-minute period.
If TP is still missing when the initial period ends, the system attempts to calculate and set TP from the Default TP value.
The automatically added TP receives its own five-minute adjustment period before it is locked.

Only TP is set

Your TP remains active and starts its adjustment countdown.
You can add SL manually during the initial five-minute period.
If SL is still missing when the initial period ends, the system attempts to calculate and set SL from the Default SL value.
The automatically added SL receives its own five-minute adjustment period before it is locked.

Neither SL nor TP is set

You have five minutes after the position opens to add SL and TP manually.
If both levels are still missing when this period ends, the system attempts to set both levels from the saved Default SL/TP values.
After automatic setup succeeds, the new levels can be adjusted for five minutes before they are locked.

The second level is added before the first level locks

When the position becomes fully protected with both SL and TP, the system starts a new five-minute adjustment window for all levels that are not already locked.
This gives you time to review the complete SL/TP setup before it becomes final.

One level is added after the other level has already locked

The locked level remains unchanged and cannot be reopened for editing.
Only the newly added level receives a five-minute adjustment period.
SL and TP may therefore show different countdowns or lock states.

What happens when both SL and TP are locked?

[!IMPORTANT] Manual Close Restriction When Both Levels Are Locked (Client Agreement Section 31.7): Once both the Stop Loss and Take Profit have passed their five-minute adjustment countdown and entered the Locked state: * Manual Full Closure Disabled: You cannot manually close the full position through the WebTrade interface. * Partial Closure Disabled: You cannot partially close or reduce position volume through WebTrade. * Enforced Discipline: The trade will remain open until either your Stop Loss or Take Profit is triggered in the market, or until a system-level automated control (such as Trader's Guard, Daily Drawdown, or MT5 Stop-Out) acts on the account.
If you attempt to click the Close button on WebTrade while both legs are locked, the action is rejected with the notice "SL/TP Auto-Lock Active". This deliberate platform behavior prevents emotional decision-making, panic exits, and premature closing of winning trades. Note that system-level emergency close-outs, stop-outs, and native MT5 terminal logins (where credentials have been issued) are not restricted by this WebTrade interface lockout.

Special cases

The calculated TP level has already been crossed

The system does not place a TP at an invalid or already-crossed price.
TP automatic setup is skipped, while SL protection is still applied when possible.
Add a valid TP manually if the TP field remains available for editing.

The calculated SL level has already been crossed

The requested maximum-loss boundary has already been exceeded, so placing that SL would no longer provide the intended protection.
The system requests that the position be closed instead of applying an invalid SL.

A missing-SL auto-close warning appears

This warning applies to a position using Auto SL/TP Protection that still has no SL when its floating loss reaches or exceeds the saved Default SL value.

The position and S/L field are highlighted in red so you can identify the risk quickly.
The S/L message shows the breached preset and the initial grace deadline in MT5 server time, for example: SL breached (100 USD). Auto-close: 20/07 15:10 MT5 server time. WebTrade displays the applicable UTC offset; do not assume that the offset is fixed throughout the year.
WebTrade uses the SL amount and currency saved for that position. It does not guess a warning threshold when this preset data is incomplete, so the warning may not appear until the complete position data is available.
The warning means the position is at risk of automatic closure; it does not mean the position has already closed.
When the initial five-minute period ends, the backend may request closure if the calculated automatic SL was already crossed and can no longer be placed validly.
After MT5 confirms a successful automatic close, WebTrade removes the position from Open Positions, refreshes history/report data, and displays a Position auto-closed notification such as: Position 10706 was closed because loss exceeded the default SL protection.
The close result and notification state are retained by the backend so a temporary callback problem or worker restart does not silently lose a confirmed auto-close notification. WebTrade also prevents duplicate notifications when the same close arrives through more than one realtime event.
If MT5 rejects the close request, WebTrade does not show a successful-close notification.

Automatic setup is temporarily unavailable or fails

The status may show that SL/TP setup is pending while the system waits for sufficient price or account data.
Temporary conditions are retried automatically.
If automatic setup fails, WebTrade displays a failure status. Set the missing level manually as soon as the interface allows it.

Auto SL/TP Protection is disabled and no Guard rule applies

The Default SL/TP values, automatic lock workflow, and SL to Entry do not apply to that order.
You remain responsible for adding and managing SL and TP manually.

If the account has an active Auto SL/TP Protection Guard rule, sending an order without client-side Auto SL/TP settings does not disable protection. The backend applies the Guard configuration.

Auto SL/TP Protection compared with Risk Amount

Risk Amount calculates an estimated Volume before you place the order, using your SL distance and selected risk.
Auto SL/TP Protection manages SL and TP after the position opens, prevents later changes when the countdown ends, and can optionally move SL to entry after a profit target is reached.

You can use both features together: first use Risk Amount to size the order, then use Auto SL/TP Protection to manage the protection levels.

Important notes

Auto SL/TP Protection and SL to Entry run on the backend. You do not need to keep the browser or WebTrade open for their monitoring and countdowns to continue.
Reopen WebTrade to review the latest SL/TP countdown and lock status.
The effective Default SL/TP and SL to Entry settings are saved with the order. They may come from the order form, the active Guard rule, or valid Advanced Order overrides. Changing the order form or Scenario later does not update an already-open position.
For an MT5-origin market or pending order covered by the server-side Risk Guard integration, the backend uses the active Guard configuration rather than WebTrade Advanced Order overrides and links the accepted MT5 order or position asynchronously. Normal SL/TP monitoring continues on the backend after that link is established.
The 1% default is only a starting preset. It is not a promise that every loss will be limited to exactly 1%; execution price, slippage, gaps, market conditions, and the time required to apply or execute protection can affect the final result.
Automatic prices depend on the symbol, position volume, market price, minimum stop distance, and the selected USD or % Balance preset.