Guided mode

Also seen as: the walk-through

What are the six steps in Guided mode?

Guided mode has six steps, each titled as a task. The order below is the full rail — the one a Full setup strategy runs end to end.

Why does the step counter say fewer than six?

The step counter counts only the configuring steps your strategy type requires, and it never counts Review — so a Full setup strategy reads Step 1 of 5 on its first step, and the Review step shows a Review badge instead of a number. The six-step rail is the maximum; each strategy type walks a shorter required path through it.

The progress strip beside the step counts something different, on purpose. The step counter answers where am I; the strip answers what have I looked at. So the strip counts the whole required path including the Review step — which its own row labels Recap — giving 2 for Single instrument, 4 for Multiple instruments and Screener, and 6 for Full setup. A step counts once you leave it, not when you arrive, and a decision taken out of order counts just the same. Optional steps are listed with their values but never counted: if they were, a strategy you want no risk conditions on could never reach the end.

Which steps does each strategy type require?

Each strategy type has its own required path; the steps it does not require are still available, offered as Optional add-ons on the Review step rather than as screens you walk through.

Defaults in Fincanva

• The strategy type is chosen first, on the "How do you want to build this strategy?" screen, and it is what shapes the required path; the screen states that you can change anything later.
• A progress strip sits beside the step, listing every step in the strategy type's order together with its current value. Each counted step carries a Seen mark that fills once you have left that step, and the strip's title states the count — "0 of 2 steps seen", and "All 6 steps seen" once none are left. Steps the strategy type does not require sit below an Optional divider: they state their values and carry no mark.
• Every row always states a value, including when a setting is off or empty — "no conditions", "no rules", or the volatility ranking the engine falls back to when nothing is picked. No row is ever blank.
• A step is gated when the strategy does not yet match its type — for example "Pick exactly 1 instrument." on a Single instrument strategy — and stays blocked until you fix the content or change the strategy type.
• The Review step commits the strategy with Save & Run — it saves and starts the first backtest in one action; see Saving, running, and copying a strategy.
• Guided mode opens inside the strategy workspace — the same navigation, library pane and header the Full editor uses, with Settings showing as the active section. The two modes are one place seen two ways.
• A Full edit control switches the same strategy into the Full editor without losing anything. There is no shortcut out of the picker itself — you choose a type first, then switch.
• A public strategy opens in Guided mode but cannot be saved from it — see Mine / Public.

Worked example

You want a two-instrument strategy that rebalances monthly. You pick Multiple instruments, so Guided mode gives you a four-step path and the counter reads Step 1 of 3. On Set up your strategy you name it and set the cadence to one month; on Pick assets you add two tickers; on Distribute capital you leave the default weighting; Review & launch shows the whole thing and you press Save & Run. You never see a Risk or Exit-rules screen — both sit on Review under Optional add-ons, ready to add later. Doing the same build in the Full editor would put all of those settings on one page instead, in any order you like.