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Options Time and Sales
The Options Time and Sales section details all of the “Time and sales” data for all the option trades that have occurred on the underlying during the current trading day. To access this data, click on the V-shaped icon before the section title.
The data is broken into two major sections:
- Today’s Biggest: The largest Call and Put trades reflective to the selected underlying on the current day.
- Time: All trades listed chronologically.
The following columns are available in both of the above sections: the time of the trade, the option traded, the quantity of the trade, the execution price, the exchange where the trade occurred, the bid/ask of the option, the option’s delta, implied volatility, and the price of the underlying security.
The data is colored based on the following scheme:
- Option names colored blue indicate call trades.
- Option names colored purple indicate put trades.
- Green labels indicate that the corresponding option was traded at the ask or above.
- Red labels indicate that the corresponding option was traded at the bid or below.
- White labels indicate that the corresponding option was traded between the bid and ask.
- Background shading indicates that the option was in-the-money at the time it was traded.
To sort the data you would like to view, click on the Filter button in the top-right corner of the section. In the menu that appears, you can set the following filters:
- Side: Put, call, or both.
- Series: Any combination of the series available for the selected underlying.
- Strikes: Minimum and/or maximum strike price.
- Exchange: Trades placed on a certain exchange or exchanges.
- Quantity: Minimum and/or maximum quantity traded.
- Price: Minimum and/or maximum trade price.
- Condition: Part of a certain strategy such as straddle or spread.
Getting Started
The working area of the thinkorswim platform can be divided into two parts: the left sidebar and the main window. The left sidebar is where you keep gadgets necessary for your work. The main window contains eight tabs, which provide you with numerous kinds of functionality: Monitor, Trade, Analyze, Scan, MarketWatch, Charts, Tools, and Help. All these tabs also have subtabs, each dedicated to a certain thinkorswim feature. The manual you’re reading now describes these features in detail (refer to the corresponding pages for more information), but for now, let’s focus on what can be found under the seven main tabs:
The Monitor tab is the primary location where your trading activity is tracked. This includes many kinds of data: your orders, positions, statements, cash balances, and trading account status.
The Trade tab contains the following interfaces: All Products, Forex Trader, Futures Trader, Pairs Trader, and Active Trader.
The Analyze tab provides you with analysis techniques of many kinds, including simulation of "what-if scenarios" on both real and hypothetical trades, volatility and probability analyses, the Economic Data indicator database, and option back-testing.
The Scan tab enables you to filter through tens of thousands of stock, option, futures and forex products available based on your search criteria.
The MarketWatch tab provides you with market data of many kinds as well as techniques that will help you process it. The following sub-tabs are available in MarketWatch: Quotes, Alerts, Visualize, Financing Rates, and Calendar.
The Charts tab provides you with a powerful graphic interface of real-time market data with an extensive selection of technical analysis tools.
The Tools tab encompasses several handy thinkorswim features: thinkLog, Videos, and Shared Items.
Alerts
The layout of the Alerts tab may look similar to that of the All Products; however, the purpose of this tab is to alert you about a certain market condition fulfilled. You can set your alerts on bid and ask prices of symbol, complex option strategies, chart study values, or thinkScript defined conditions.