Configure -> API -> Enable ActiveX and Socket Clients Also check the TWS client port number is the same as Button Trader port number for TWS.
Thanks dcraig but unfortunately that's not it - It is checked and I have also unchecked restarted etc and other apps connect OK.
LOL..... I have a feeling that IB will get this straightened out and in the near future will be as good as ever. I am optimistic. There is not much else they can add to their platform. What other kind of sh** do you expect to see? Now that it is loaded with stuff ----they will get it debugged. In fact, I dont know half the stuff that the IB platform can perform! I just buy and sell. I have never used their charts. I just use the data and order entry. I opened up a chart for the first time the other day ----IMO their charts suck. But overall I am happy with IB (scratching out the last day or so). FWIW, I used another of IB's competitor sfor about one year (Tradestation). I became more aggravated with them than any broker I have ever dealt with (except maybe Refco). They put up polls and promises and then do nothing while promising things in the future (Tradestation has no Eurex on their platform). So far IB has stuck to their guns and added what they said they were going to add (esp with adding new markets). Though, I would never keep all my dough at one broker. I don't care how much you like em. Too risky.
IB blew a few tubes trying to find replacements for there archaic system. My experience with TS and IB the opposite. No broker can please eveyone
Mokwit From your posting I get the impression that you feel that I implied that IB's contingency plans are inadequate etc. That was not the essence of my posting and I apologize that I was not more clear. It is my opinion that the trader themselves are to blame because it looks like the majority here have no contigency setup in place and place far too much reliance on internet. (and/or technology) IB is just another piece in the chain and they can only do so much, there will always be things outside their control. I still rate them head and shoulders above everyone else in spite of goof-ups that they have. At the end of the day the buck stops at the trader. (S)He should have a contingency plan in place for the moment of when they cannot trade through their "normal" setup (for whatever reason). When your "normal" setup is down then what are you going to do? That is what my posting is all about. Trading is a business and contingency is a part of that business. Trading without a contigency plan is like driving a car without brakes and you do not do that either do you? I am shortly off on my plane to Singapore and then on to Thailand for a few days. Have a nice week all! Sherlock
Nope, I agreed with you that a trader should have his own contingency plans and pointed out that I personally had similar plans to the ones you mentioned in place. That said, IB should also have contingency plands and I do feel that IB's contingency plans are inadequate and unproffessional.
What do you do if you are about to sell some stock and then TWS stops working? How can you complete the order without phoning it in to IB.
OK, then I read something different in your post. Sorry. It is immaterial why this happened and who is to blame. That does not help your performance / account. It is important to figure out how you can minimise the impact next time something like this happens. I am definitely gone this time! Have a plane to catch! Sherlock
If you have an alternative setup (through other channels / brokers / datafeed ) then you can proceed trading through that. I am very risk averse. If I have an open position then I either close it out or offset it. If I see signs of instability for whatever reason then I start investigating why and stop trading immediately. Losses accumulate faster than profits and a traders first priority is to safeguard his (her) trading capital. Disruptions will affect your concentration and only cause you to make mistakes. Sherlock