Settings

The Settings dialog is where you fine-tune how TickForge connects, trades, scans, and looks. Each tab is covered below; click Save to apply your changes.

Connection

Point TickForge at your TWS or IB Gateway session: TWS Host (default 127.0.0.1), Port, and Client ID. You can also enable Check for updates on startup. Connection changes take effect the next time TickForge connects.

Trading

Defaults for new orders — Default quantity, Default order type (Market, Limit, Stop, Stop-Limit), and Time-in-Force (DAY, GTC, IOC, FOK). The key toggles:

• Order confirmation — show a review dialog before every order. Turn it off to enable Quick Trade Mode, which lets hot-key orders fire instantly (use with care).
• Allow extended-hours trading — permit pre- and post-market orders.
• Direct exchange routing (advanced) — adds a route selector (SMART, ARCA, NASDAQ, BATS, EDGX) to order entry and scripts; SMART stays the default.

Trading hot keys

The one-key actions for fast trading. By default: Buy Market — Alt+B, Sell Market — Alt+S, Flatten Position — Alt+F, and Cancel All Orders — Alt+X. Click any shortcut to record a new key combination; TickForge warns you if a combo is already in use.

Script Keys

Script keys bind a key combo to a one-line order script, so a single keystroke can buy, sell, scale out, or fire a full bracket on your active symbol. This is where you add, edit, and validate them.

See Script keys for a complete guide to the script syntax, every field, and ready-to-use examples for day trading.

Scanner

Controls for the scanner widgets: Auto-refresh interval (5–60 seconds), Max results per scanner (5–25), and the Scanner limit — how many scanners you can run at once (1–5).

Momentum

The momentum scanner is experimental. Treat its alerts as a rough heads-up, not a reliable signal — expect noise and missed moves, and always confirm on the chart before acting on anything it surfaces.

Tunes the momentum alert scanner, which flags sudden moves. Set the volume spike factor, minimum price move %, and direction (up, down, or both), then bound the universe with price, volume, and market-cap filters. Alert cooldown limits repeat alerts for the same symbol, and Auto-start on connect begins monitoring as soon as you connect to TWS.

Layouts

Manage your saved workspaces. Load, rename, or delete any layout, or Import a preset as a new starting point. Save the current arrangement any time with File → Save Layout As…. The Default layout can't be renamed or deleted.

Display

Interface preferences: Language (English, Deutsch, Español, Português) and Chart timezone (Local, US/Eastern, or UTC). Changing the language updates most of the app immediately; existing widget titles refresh after you close and reopen TickForge.

Where to next

• Script keys — one-keystroke orders built from a short script.