Overview of the Smart Tape Module in the ATAS Platform
Advantages of Smart Tape
The main advantage of Smart Tape ATAS is the ability to group incoming ticks (individual prints) in a way that allows the trader to see the actual market orders in their entirety.
In the classical version, this tool displays a stream of orders broken into parts (for example, a market order for 100 lots may be displayed as 100 individual prints). This makes tape reading difficult due to the volume and speed of prints, which is why very few people can interpret the tape effectively.
A flexible filtering system allows highlighting different volume types. Now you can easily see the actions of traders with various capital sizes.
How to Open the Smart Tape Module
To open the module, use the Smart Tape quick access button.
The Instrument Manager window will open. Select an instrument from the All Instruments tab or the Favorites tab.
Interface Description
- Instrument switch button
- Freeze — stops the print tape
- Instrument grouping
- Smart Tape settings
- Window on top — display above other windows
- Time — trade time
- Price — trade price
- + / - — tick direction (UpTick / DownTick)
- Trade volume
- Bids — best bid price
- Asks — best ask price
- Sizes — Bid/Ask sizes after the trade
- Avg.Vol. — average trade volume
- Buy/Sell strength indicator
Context Menu
To open the menu, right-click on the tape:
- Freeze — pause/resume the tape
- Working layers — work within layers
- Settings — configuration window
- Clone window
- Reset — refresh interface
Smart Tape Settings
The settings window includes 4 tabs:
- Visual settings
- Filters
- Alerts
- Templates
Visual Settings
Colors:
Background – background color setting.
Alternative background color – alternate background color setting.
Header color – header background color setting.
Header text – header text color setting.
Indicator Speed tape– tape speed indicator color.
Above Ask and Below Bid – highlight trades that occurred above Best Ask and below Best Bid.
Buy Color and Sell Color – color for buy/sell visualization.
Beetween color– background color for in-spread trades.
Font:
Font size – font size in the tape.
Volume display:
Minimize volume values – e.g., 12345 will be shown as 12k.
Digits after the decimal point in volume values – set number of decimal digits.
Other parameters:
Price digits – number of decimal digits in price (0 disables).
Show milliseconds (in Time column).
Row height
Show Previous Level 1 Data – show Best Bid/Ask from DOM. When enabled, volume is not displayed as the trade hasn't occurred yet.
Tape speed filter
Market Strength Indicator:
Strength filter – measured in seconds
Current BestBid/BestAsk:
Show
Color
Filters
Tape Mode:
Show Cumulative Ticks– enables display of accumulated trades in the market price flow.
Cumulative trades filter:
Maximum volume
Minimum volume
Separated prints filter:
Highlights prints within a specified volume range. Works only when aggregation is disabled.
Level 1 Filters (Best Bid/Ask):
Filter prints with defined minimum Best Bid/Ask volume.
Templates
You can save the tape settings as a template (snapshot).
- Click Add
- Enter a template name
- Click Save
- Confirm with OK
What do +++ and --- mean in Smart Tape?
+++ and --- are UpTick and DownTick respectively, indicating tick direction relative to previous trades.
For example, if the price goes from 100 → 101 → 101 → 102, the tape will show: +, +, ++. If the next trade is at 101, it will show -.
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