Today I’ve released updated versions of the All-In-One Gap Scan and the % and $ Gap Columns.
The improvements to the columns were just to fix a small error I found. But for the scan, several big improvements have been implemented …
Choose both min/max gap % size
Choose both min/max gap $ size
Choose whether you only want to scan for gaps that haven’t filled yet
Choose whether the gap needs to be “significant” — i.e., gapping above the prior high, or below the prior low (completely outside the range of the prior day’s candle)
Choose whether the gap needs to be a “pro” or “tier 1” or “shock” gap — i.e., gapping over a prior day red candle, or gapping under a prior day green candle, adding “shock value” to the gap
This single all-in-one scan works during the extended hours / premarket / aftermarket, and continues working as the regular trading hours begin, so you only need to use one scan all day long.
The other change is that the $ and % values are now all calculated from the prior close instead of the high/low, just for consistency, and whether the gap is over/under the prior day’s candle is specified as a separate criterion in settings, which can be turned on/off at will. This will help keep things consistent and logical no matter what type of trading you do.
Relative Volume Gradient Paintbars for Thinkorswim [VIDEO]
Relative Volume Gradient Paintbars Study for Thinkorswim
Today I’m releasing an overhaul of the Relative Volume indicator for Thinkorswim that I’ve been working on for awhile. This is one of my favorite thinkscript studies and I’ve been experimenting with it in my own trading for awhile, so I wanted to go ahead and get the update released on the site and see if it can add some value for my fellow traders.
Like all of our upgrades, they’re completely free to prior purchasers, just go to the My Account > Orders > View Order Details area of the site and the new links should be posted there for you to install.
New Features
Relative Volume Gradient Paintbars to highlight the highest relative volume bars!
Custom colors
4 custom coloration thresholds
Different color scheme for up bars vs. down bars
MA-based relative volume for tick charts, also with gradient paintbars!
Combined tick volume / trade volume in the same indicator, just switch the mode in settings. Simply add 2 instances if you want both relative tick count & share count on the same chart!
Combined long term studies into 1 study with custom period reset (12 for monthly charts, 52 for weekly charts, 252 for daily charts).
Added a TIME BASED relative volume QUOTE COLUMN so you can see when a stock in your watchlist has surging volume on whatever INTRADAY timeframe you want (5 minute, hourly, etc).
Added a MA BASED relative volume QUOTE COLUMN so you can see when a stock in your watchlist has surging volume on ANY timeframe you want (hourly, daily, etc).
Benefits
High volume bars now immediately pop out visually on your chart without having to look down at the histogram.
You can even hide the histogram altogether and just use the paintbars function to gauge volume and save screen space.
This release really simplifies down the number of scripts and makes each more powerful and customizable.
MA-based relative volume indicator can be used on tick charts, intraday minute charts, or daily and higher charts.
Using the MA-based relative volume on tick charts lets you see an additional dimension of volume on the same graph (tick count bars combined with share count highlighting really adds additional depth of information).
I’ve just uploaded a video on how to sign up for ThinkOrSwim Paper Money, and how to download, install, and login to the platform. The video also highlights some of the differences between the live trading and papermoney trading platforms, and how to make sure you’re logged into the paper trading side instead of the live trading side. Here’s the video:
Step 1: Download ThinkOrSwim
The first thing you can do is go ahead and visit our download page and get ahold of the latest version of the thinkDesktop trading platform:
Make sure you note where you choose to download the installer file to so you can find it and launch it later.
Now, it will take anywhere from several seconds to several minutes to download, depending on your connection speed, so while that’s downloading, it’s an ideal time to go ahead and move on to step 2.
Step 2: Sign Up for paperMoney® Demo Trading
One thing to note here is that, if you already have an account with ThinkOrSwim or TD Ameritrade, then you already have access to paper trading and you don’t actually need to do anything else except download and install the TOS platform (if you don’t already have it). A lot of traders are used to dealing more with TD Ameritrade and are unfamiliar with the thinkDesktop platform itself, so some people aren’t aware you have to actually download the software in order to use PaperMoney. So yeah, do that first.
If you don’t have an account with TDA though, you’ll need to request on of their FREE 60-day trials to Thinkorswim Paper Money. And you can do that here:
This is pretty self explanatory — they walk you through it very well. Just make sure you know where you downloaded the install file, and then double click to open and run it. Make sure you click yes or allow to any permissions requests.
Another note here is that, if it makes sense in your situation, I would be sure to install the program for “all users” if it asks you to choose during the installation process. This makes it so that you can more easily use sharing features within the program, such as importing custom indicators, chart studies, scans, and so forth.
Step 4: ThinkOrSwim Login
At the end of the installation, you can choose to have the program automatically launch, and also add an icon to your desktop. If you did one of those, just finish the installation and it will launch the program for you, or you can double-click the new icon on you desktop. Otherwise, fish through your applications / programs folders until you find the thinkorswim application, and launch it. I have a Mac and keep my icon anchored to the dashboard for easy access, and Windows users can equally pin the application to their taskbar or Windows Start menu.
When the TOS window opens up, just type in the credentials provided to you by TD Ameritrade / thinkorswim. The login for TDA and thinkorswim are both the same, and the same credentials work for real money as for paperMoney.
One thing to note though: there’s a toggle switch to go between real money live trading (green colored) and paper money demo trading (tan/brown/gold colored). Make sure that toggle switch is set right before you start. Then click login!
Step 5: Demo Trading
Demo trading in ThinkOrSwim paperMoney is pretty much the same as live trading in almost every way: you can analyze charts with an impressive collection of indicators and strategies, and use the scan tab to find great setups. You can save custom watchlists and customize the platform in much the same way you can on the live trading side. The biggest difference with paperMoney is that the data feed for TOS in the paperMoney platform is delayed by 20 minutes, whereas the normal platform is real time.
Conclusion
Hopefully this guide will get you setup and running with your new paperMoney demo account on ThinkOrSwim. In the future I’ll hopefully be doing more guides on how to actually execute orders and so forth. In the meantime, let me know if you have any questions!
Josiah is an oil trader, ThinkScript programmer, real estate investor, and budding mountaineer. He's also rumored to be an in-shower opera singer. Josiah started Easycators in 2014 and lives with his family near Nashville, TN. Twitter | YouTube
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