Journal a trade

A journal entry is your note on a trade: why you took it, how you managed it, what you learned. Entries live on the Journal page, linked to a trade group (a position) so the trade's numbers sit right above your notes.

Create an entry for a trade

From the Journal page:

1. Open Journal.
2. Click New, then New Entry (or press N). The Select Trade Group dialog opens.
3. Type a ticker in Search by ticker... and click the trade group you want.
4. The entry opens, titled after the trade, for example AAPL - Win or MSFT - Open Position, with the trade's tags. You see "Journal entry created".

From the Trade Log: in the Trade Log, click the + in a group's JOURNAL column (tooltip "Create Journal Entry"). The Journal opens with a new entry for that group. If the group already has an entry, the icon is a book ("View Journal Entry") and opens it. You can also select one trade (inside an expanded group, or in List view) and click Add Journal (or View Journal) in the toolbar; the entry is for that trade's group.

Without a trade: in the Select Trade Group dialog, tick Create standalone entry (no trade link), pick its date (today, or any day before or after), and click Create Standalone Entry. Use this for market notes, weekly reviews or plans. To move a standalone entry to another day later, change the date under its title.

Write it

1. Click the title at the top to rename the entry.
2. Write in the editor below the trade banner. Its toolbar formats the selection: two heading sizes, bold, italic, underline, bullet and numbered lists, and code blocks.
3. Your writing saves by itself a moment after you stop typing. Save saves right away.

The banner above the editor shows the trade: ticker, side, size, entry and exit, with links to the ticker report and to the group's trades. The tags in the banner are the trade's tags: adding or removing one there changes them in the Trade Log too.

To link the entry to a different trade, click Change Trade (or Link Trade on a standalone entry) and pick the group.

Other buttons at the top of an entry: export this entry, Duplicate Entry (the copy icon) and delete (the trash icon, after you confirm).

Use templates

A template is ready-made content, such as headings for "Setup", "Plan", "Exit" and "Lessons", so every entry has the same structure.

Make a template

1. On the Journal page, click the gear icon at the top right. Journal Settings opens.
2. Click Manage Templates.
3. Click + next to Templates.
4. Enter a Template Name and write the Template Content.
5. Optionally click tags under Tag Associations. The template is then used for trades with those tags (see below).
6. Click Create Template. It now appears in the template menu of every entry.

Apply a template to an entry

1. Open the entry.
2. Pick the template in the template menu at the top of the entry (it shows No Template when none is applied).
3. If you have already written something, MyTraderDash asks first: Apply Template replaces everything in the editor.

Pick No Template to clear the editor.

Templates linked to tags: while an entry is still untouched, adding a tag in the banner that matches a template's tags applies that template automatically. You see "Template Applied".

Group entries into stories

A story collects entries that belong together: a wheel on one stock over several months, a sector theme, a strategy you're testing.

1. Click New, then New Story. A story named New Story appears in the Stories view.
2. Click its name to rename it, type the new name and press Enter.
3. Drag entries onto the story. Drag one onto Ungrouped Entries to take it out again.

You can also open an entry, click Add to Story and pick an existing story. The button then shows the story's name; click it again to switch stories or choose Remove from Story.

Deleting a story (its trash icon) keeps its entries; they become ungrouped.

Find entries

The list on the left has a Search by title... box, a Tags filter, an account filter and Filter by month. Switch between three views:

• All: every entry.
• Stories: entries by story.
• Orphaned: entries not linked to any trade, including entries whose trade group no longer exists (for example after you deleted the trades). Auto-Match tries to link them to a group by the ticker in their title; Delete All deletes every orphaned entry after you confirm.

Monthly summary

The top of the Journal page shows a strip for the year, titled for example 2026 Journal Entries, with one cell per month. The darker the cell, the more entries that month. An entry linked to a trade counts in the month the trade was opened; a standalone entry in the month of its date.

• Use the arrows to change the year.
• Click a month to filter the list to it. Clear the filter with the x next to the month filter.

Export

• Export All at the top of the Journal page downloads every entry as one PDF, with the trade data, notes and tags.
• The export button at the top of an entry exports just that entry.

Related

• Journal page reference
• Tags
• Sync to Google Calendar: journal entries can appear in your calendar.