Market Insights

TradeStation’s award-winning platform is rich in analytics and insights. Today’s post will explain symbol linking, a key tool for pulling the functionality together.

Symbol linking lets one application, like RadarScreen or Scanner, load a stock or futures contract across other applications. It can help customers quickly gain many perspectives on a large group of symbols.

Activate Symbol Link

Each TradeStation app like RadarScreen or Chart Analysis has a Symbol Link button marked with “S” in the top right. Here’s how someone might use it:

• Start with an app like RadarScreen. Click on the button to activate the dropdown list of colored links. Select “Green Local Symbol Link.”
• Go to a second app like Chart Analysis. Click on the same button and select “Green Local Symbol Link.”

Now, any symbol clicked in RadarScreen will be loaded into Chart Analysis.

Using Symbol Link

While this functionality is simple, it can be applied several ways to facilitate active trading of stocks, futures and options.

One benefit is that several charts or other tools can be used in tandem. For example, a trader can automatically load symbols into daily and hourly charts next to each other. He or she can also use it to populate order-placement tools like Matrix and Quick Trade Bar. This can facilitate buying and selling with clear views of price action.

Another benefit is that lists can be quickly reviewed. Some TradeStation tools, like RadarScreen, Scanner or Trade Manager, include lists of symbols. These can be linked to apps like Chart Analysis, Matrix, Quick Trade Bar and Time & Sales. Then the user can quickly move through the symbols, viewing charts and potentially trading any of them from the secondary apps.

Global Symbol Link

TradeStation has two kinds of symbol links: local and global. (Notice how local links are square and global are rounded on the left.)

Local symbol links function inside of a single workspace. Global symbol links work across multiple workspaces and desktops.

A customer with several monitors could run RadarScreen on one monitor. He or she can use global symbol links with charts in a different workspace on a different monitor. This can provide more space for analysis, dividing the tasks of tracking and viewing.

Trading Options

Global symbol link can also be used with OptionStation Pro, which loads as a separate workspace. For example, customers keeping a list of favorite stocks in RadarScreen can automatically load them into OptionStation Pro by assigning both tools the same global symbol link color.

In conclusion, symbol linking is a simple yet powerful functionality of the TradeStation platform. It can help customers manage large lists, multiple views and various tasks like trading. The result can be fewer keystrokes and clicks, less wasted time and less stress.