Making the Most of the Active Symbol Panel
Recently Spotware has introduced the new Active Symbol Panel for both Desktop and Web versions of cTrader. For the sake of simplicity, we will occasionally refer the Active Symbol Panel as ASP. This is part of a new approach that focuses on trading or analyzing a single market at a time. Another recently added feature that ties in with this philosophy is Linked Charts. Charts can be linked with the Active Symbol Panel, this means when you change the active symbol in any linked element the remaining linked elements will switch as well. The active symbol can be changed from the Active Symbol Panel or from one of the charts linked to the ASP.
What is a Symbol
For all of this to make sense, let’s define what a Symbol is first. A Symbol is the ticker of a trading instrument such as EUR/USD which is the Symbol for Euro vs. United States Dollar. The Symbol is simply the product you are trading. Hence the name Active Symbol Panel.
Where is the Active Symbol Panel
The Active Symbol Panel in cTrader is the panel located in the right-hand side of the platform. You can’t miss it. This feature takes up the entire right section the application. Now you will see some symmetry in cTrader. The Tradewatch section and chart area have been sandwiched between the Active Symbol Panel and Marketwatch section. Check the diagram below.
A = Marketwatch SectionB = Tradewatch SectionC = Active Symbol Panel
What is the Active Symbol Panel For?
The Active Symbol Panel is the new go-to place for any information about a particular symbol. But it’s not just about providing information. You can also create orders, view the Depth of Market and find links that take you to information about the active symbol on Yahoo Finance, MSN Money and Google News. Let’s explore exactly what is available here.
New Order Section
The New Order section is placed at the top of the ASP. This section is locked, while the rest can be moved around to change the order. This block of the panel contains all the features needed for creating a new order. All four order types are available here, plus Take Profit and Stop Loss settings and all other advanced options which are available in the standard new order window.
Depth of Market
The Depth of Market for the symbol has its own tab called DoM. This is next to the main Order tab. Inside the DoM tab, there are three more tabs. One for each depth of market type, Standard DoM, Price DoM and VWAP DoM.
Symbol Information
The remaining sections of the Active Symbol Panel exist to show certain information about the selected symbol. Here is a list of blocks show. Each of these blocks can be reordered and collapsed, meaning you can reconfigure your ASP.
- Market Sentiment – In Web, it’s an independent section. In Desktop it’s part of the New Order section.
- Market Hours – Shows the trading session.
- Leverage – Shows Leverage provided for the Symbol and Dynamic Leverage tiers if used by the broker.
- Symbol Information – Shows basic but vital information about the symbol such as Lot size, Pip position and much more.
- Inverted Rate – Shows the inverted rate of the Symbol
- Trade Statistics – An overview of trading performance for the Symbol, similar to the Analyze section in cTrader
- History – All trading history for the Symbol
- Useful Links – External links to MSN Money, Yahoo Finance and Google News
How to Remove the Active Symbol Panel
Some traders may feel that this new Active Symbol Panel eats up valuable charting space. Luckily, this feature can be hidden. Along the main menu bar (the top row) in both cTrader Desktop and Web, there is a drop-down option called “Layout”. Click the drop-down and unselect “Show Active Symbol Panel”.
