Add the indicator
Open the chart's Indicators window, search Cival Trapped Traders and add it. A HUD titled CIVAL TRAPPED TRADERS appears in the top-right of the price pane.
Cival Trapped Traders
ATAS footprint indicator that follows failed aggression at known levels from at-risk source to closed-bar confirmation and invalidation.
What this guide covers
The platform ports in the ports folder are source software; the ATAS plugin itself is a compiled DLL. Readings describe executed order flow and price response only and are not trading advice, a forecast or certification for automated execution. Trading futures and crypto involves substantial risk of loss; test on replay or a simulated account first.
It observes executed aggression and the price response, not accounts: it cannot know who holds positions, how large they are or where stops sit. Evidence points are a checklist of the study's own conditions, not a probability, and a confirmed zone is a stage rather than an outcome.
Before you start
- ATAS Platform 8.0.15 or newer on Windows (the .NET 10 runtime ships with ATAS)
- Footprint / cluster data: historical bid and ask volume at each price in the chart history; candle-only data produces no readings
- At least 21 completed bars loaded (several days recommended); the newest 5,000 bars are analysed by default
- Correct instrument tick size in ATAS, with footprint rows on that price grid
- Close ATAS before installing or updating
Purchase and download
- Sign in to the account used at checkout. Open Account and locate the confirmed order. If payment is processing, wait for fulfillment rather than buying again.
- Generate a fresh product Download link. Save the ZIP, receipt, release version and checksum. Expired links can be regenerated from the account.
Windows: Get-FileHash .\your-download.zip -Algorithm SHA256. Linux: sha256sum your-download.zip. macOS: shasum -a 256 your-download.zip.
Install Cival Trapped Traders
- Close ATAS completely and extract the downloaded ZIP to an ordinary folder.
- Optionally verify the DLL hash with Get-FileHash against SHA256SUMS.txt.
- Run .\ATAS\Install.ps1 from the extracted folder in PowerShell; it copies the DLL to %APPDATA%\ATAS\Indicators, backs up a same-named DLL and verifies the SHA-256.
- Start ATAS, open a chart that has footprint history and add Cival Trapped Traders from the indicator list (search the exact name).
- Leave the defaults (or set Apply a starting preset to Balanced) and let history load.
PowerShell, from the extracted release folder
Get-FileHash .\ATAS\Cival.TrappedTraders.dll -Algorithm SHA256
Select-String -Path .\SHA256SUMS.txt -Pattern 'Cival.TrappedTraders.dll'
.\ATAS\Install.ps1How the indicator works
It reads each closed candle's bid and ask volume at every price and looks for directional aggression at a known reference (prior 20-bar range, confirmed swing or manual levels). A source stays at risk until a later closed candle reclaims the reference and closes through the source zone with enough displacement and, by default, a reconciled footprint; only then is it confirmed. Confirmed zones are then tracked for a rejected retest, invalidation or expiry. A separate gold LIVE overlay previews the forming candle and never feeds confirmed readings.
Exact shipped defaults
These defaults are a starting point for comparison, not recommended trading parameters or a loss limit. Candle counts depend on the interval. Refer to the shipped source for validation rules before changing them.
| Setting | Default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Structural reference | "PriorRange" | Where aggression is measured against: PriorRange (high/low of the previous bars), ConfirmedSwings (strict pivots) or ManualLevels. |
| Prior range lookback bars | 20 | How many preceding completed bars set the PriorRange high and low; the source candle is excluded. |
| Minimum directional edge delta percent | 20 | Minimum (aggressive - opposite) / classified volume, in percent, inside the source rows. |
| Minimum prior-baseline RVOL | 1.2 | Source candle volume divided by the mean of the prior 20 bars; the gate applies while Require prior-relative volume is on. |
| Confirmation displacement / frozen ATR | 0.25 | How far, in frozen source ATR, the confirmation close must be beyond the reclaim close. |
| Confirmation evidence policy | "CompleteFootprint" | CompleteFootprint needs a reconciled footprint on the confirmation candle; OpposingDelta adds a delta test; PriceOnly allows missing confirmation flow. |
| Apply a starting preset | "Custom" | An action: Balanced, Selective or Responsive resets all computation settings to that preset. Apply it before tuning. |
| Show live forming trap preview | true | Draws a separate provisional gold overlay from the forming candle. It can retract on any tick and never creates confirmed readings or alerts. |
| Review as of bar (-1 latest) | -1 | Recomputes the study using only data up to that completed bar so you can see what was known then; -1 follows the latest bar. |
| Enable new live local alerts | false | Opt in to local ATAS alerts for new live confirmations (retest and invalidation alerts have their own switches). |
Step-by-step practice tutorial
Work in ATAS replay or on a demo account. The exercise teaches installation and signal interpretation; the indicator never sends an order.
Check the data status
Read the HUD's first line and the last coverage line. Expect Active: closed-bar failed-aggression hypotheses and Closed classified coverage of 99% or more. Footprint unavailable means the history lacks bid/ask volume per price.
Find a gold at-risk zone
A dashed gold box labelled AT RISK with a kind (failed breakout, edge rejection or stack failure) is a hypothesis only. Hover it and read its zone, aggression VWAP, observed units, source delta, relative volume and invalidation.
Wait for a closed-bar confirmation
A later closed candle must close through the reference and zone with displacement. The box then turns solid rose (BUYERS) or teal (SELLERS) and CONFIRMED @ <bar> appears. The gold LIVE preview is not a confirmation.
Read the checklist
The HUD's AGGRESSION / STRUCTURE / STACK / Relative volume / RECLAIM / MOVE / CLOSE chips show YES, WAIT or N/A. Evidence points describe which conditions were met; they are not a probability.
Replay what was known
Set Review as of bar to the confirmation bar of an old zone. The HUD shows AS OF bar N; later candles stay visible but are excluded from the study and no alerts are sent. Set it back to -1.
Follow the lifecycle to its end
Watch for RETEST-REJECTED and INVALIDATED markers. An unconfirmed zone that is accepted or expires disappears without a marker, so log those endings from the HUD counts or the JSON/CSV export.
Record your acceptance checks
□ Cival Trapped Traders appears in the ATAS indicator list and adds to a chart without an error.
□ The HUD titled CIVAL TRAPPED TRADERS is visible in the price pane.
□ After at least 21 completed bars the first HUD line reads Active: closed-bar failed-aggression hypotheses.
□ The HUD coverage line reads Closed classified coverage with a value of 99% or more.
□ The settings window lists 85 settings in groups from 00 Chart clarity to 99 Export.
□ Setting Review as of bar to a loaded bar number changes the status to AS OF bar N; setting it back to -1 restores the latest study.
□ A gold LIVE preview line is labelled may change and no confirmed marker is drawn from it.
□ The DLL hash from Get-FileHash matches the line in SHA256SUMS.txt.
Check the HUD status line and the closed classified coverage first, then hover a zone and read its exact range, aggression VWAP, source delta, relative volume, stacked rows, bar numbers and invalidation price. Confirm that the marker you are looking at is on a closed candle, not the gold LIVE preview.
Maintain, update and customize
- Update by closing ATAS and running the new version's Install.ps1; it backs up the DLL it replaces. Keep the previous ZIP so you can reinstall it.
- Save your chart templates before every update and after you finish tuning, so settings can be restored.
- Keep the purchased ZIP, receipt, release version and the SHA256SUMS.txt file together; regenerate the download link from your account if it expires.
- Exports (Export current JSON and event CSV now) go to %APPDATA%\ATAS\CivalTrappedTraders unless you set a folder; move them out before reinstalling if you want to keep a review log.
Troubleshooting
Not in the indicator list
Close and restart ATAS, confirm the DLL sits directly in %APPDATA%\ATAS\Indicators, unblock the file (Properties, Unblock), check ATAS is 8.0.15 or newer, and search the exact name Cival Trapped Traders.
HUD says Footprint unavailable (for example No reported price rows)
The chart history has no bid/ask volume per price for the newest closed bar. Load tick/cluster history or use a connection that provides it; no setting substitutes for missing data.
Warmup does not finish
At least 21 completed bars are needed (14 for ATR, 20 for the volume baseline). Load more history; a malformed bar resets the baselines.
HUD or panel is missing
The price pane must be at least 190 x 110 pixels and Show dashboard must be on. Enlarge the pane or change Dashboard corner and Dashboard width.
Nothing is drawn although the status is Active
That is normal when no candle met the source rules. Check the three Detect switches are on and the data coverage is 99% or more; do not loosen settings only to force output.
Gold zones appear but never confirm
Confirmation is deliberately delayed. Check the reclaim deadline (8 bars), the confirmation window (4 bars after reclaim), displacement (0.25 frozen ATR from the reclaim close), close location (0.60) and footprint coverage in the HUD checklist. A near miss does not confirm.
Too many zones on the chart
Lower Maximum recent visible zones, switch Show ended confirmed zones off, or use the compact layout (Full analysis detail off, Compact display on).
Install.ps1 cannot copy the DLL (file in use)
ATAS is still running. Close every ATAS window and process, then run Install.ps1 again.
Settings reset after an update
ATAS stores settings by name in the chart template. Restore your saved template or re-enter the values; keep a template copy before each update.
A setting change is ignored
A combination was rejected (status Invalid trapped-trader settings) and the earlier values stay. Check that Minimum later bars after reclaim does not exceed Maximum bars after reclaim and that the manual upper reference is above the lower.
No alerts
Enable new live local alerts is off by default. Alerts are also silent during history loading, recalculation, delivered history corrections and review mode.
Related product guides
Get installation help
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