Gear Head: It’s One Trading World. Let’s Share It

Our chief market strategist breaks down the day's top business stories and offers insight on how they might impact your trading and investing.

With over a bajillion possible customizations available, thinkorswim® can be a little intimidating. Users often ask “how do I set up my platform like [insert celebrity trader here]?” Trying to replicate another trader’s setup used to be quite the exercise, but now it’s as easy as a button click.

thinkorswim Sharing

The Sharing Center enables users to share and consume a dozen different flavors of platform customizations by way of a web link. Each one of these platform functions has its own “Share” option that, when clicked, will generate a link to a web address which can then be given to anyone. Users can share their workspaces, watchlists, order or alert templates, trade grids, charts, scan queries, thinkScripts (studies, strategies, columns, and alerts), or flexible grids.

As we mentioned, each sharable function has its own share button, generally located where that function is set up. For example, the button for a single chart is at the top of the chart’s border. The grid sharing button is in the grid menu, etc. Figure 1 shows many, but not all, of the locations where these links can be created.

Once you select a share function, a new window you’ll see with the option to share the content directly with myTrade®, or to create an HTML link which can then be posted anywhere you like on the Internet. Keep in mind: you’ll need a myTrade username to create a link (so others can see the source). This can be created under the Tools tab in myTrade. From myTrade, click on “Settings,” edit your Display Name, then click “Update Settings.”

When shared content is loaded into the platform, it will either save a copy to load later (such as a Workspace), or pop-out in a discrete window (such as a chart). This way, you’ll always have the chance to save your setup.

FIGURE 1: SHARE YOUR AWESOMENESS.

Set up a chart with all your favorite indicators and share it with friends and loved ones. For illustrative purposes only

As we mentioned, each sharable function has its own share button, generally located where that function is set up. For example, the button for a single chart is at the top of the chart’s border. The grid sharing button is in the grid menu, etc. Figure 1 shows many, but not all, of the locations where these links can be created.

Once you select a share function, a new window you’ll see with the option to share the content directly with myTrade®, or to create an HTML link which can then be posted anywhere you like on the Internet. Keep in mind: you’ll need a myTrade username to create a link (so others can see the source). This can be created under the Tools tab in myTrade. From myTrade, click on “Settings,” edit your Display Name, then click “Update Settings.”

When shared content is loaded into the platform, it will either save a copy to load later (such as a Workspace), or pop-out in a discrete window (such as a chart). This way, you’ll always have the chance to save your setup.