Dashboard

Every instance of an OptionsRealTime user interface (UI) is centered around a custom Dashboard. The Dashboard is a central, single-account-focused workspace that contains panels which can be added, positioned, and resized to create the ideal trading view.

New to OptionsRealTime?

For a primer on fundamental concepts like views, settings, and common features shared by all panels, see Panels Overview.

One panel of each type can be placed in the Dashboard. For example, we may choose one Quotes panel. That single Quotes panel can then be customized to contain different named views or configurations. Note that one of the Quotes views must be named “Default.”

More than one Dashboard view can also be created, but one of the views must also be named “Default.” For more information on Default views, see Panels Overview.

Multi-Monitor Setup

User interface instances are lightweight, so you may launch multiple UIs for the same or different accounts, putting one on each monitor. For comparing multi-account analytics, use Excel as an aggregator which subscribes to all TWS desktop sessions and accounts simultaneously.

Titlebar

Each UI contains a titlebar with File, View, Dashboard, and Help menus, plus a lock icon for toggling Design Mode.

Center

• View Listbox: Select from any of your custom Dashboard views

Right Side

• Account ID: May be masked with asterisks
• DATA Indicator: Green when data is flowing, red when connection is lost
• Resend Icon (green): Resends all data from the back-end publisher
• Reboot Icon (red): Restarts the account-specific data publisher
• Settings Icon (gear): Opens Dashboard-specific settings

Settings

Each panel, including the Dashboard, uses a gear icon in its upper right corner for settings. The Dashboard settings include:

Display

• Color: Background color that sets the theme
• Chrome Intensity: Offset color for titlebar regions
• Font: Font style used throughout this Dashboard
• Base Font Size: Font size for the Dashboard’s titlebar and chevron control areas
• Titlebar Font Size: Font size for labels in panel titlebars
• Mask Account ID: Number of asterisks to hide account IDs from the right
• Data Colors: Colors for positive, negative, and zero values
• Data Color Opacity: Opacity of the data colors

User Interaction

• Scroll Content Under Mouse: When enabled, mouse wheel scrolls content under the cursor; when disabled, scrolls the entire window

Mouse Wheel Scrolling

Ctrl + MouseWheel on the Dashboard’s titlebar increases or decreases the base font size.

View Management

Manage views via the View Management context menu, activated by right-clicking the Dashboard’s titlebar or choosing View → View Management.

View Operations

• Save View: Save current view
• Save View As: Copy current view with a new name
• Rename View: Rename current view (does not apply to Default)
• Save As Startup View: Set current view as the startup view
• Create View: Create a new blank view
• Create View Current Style: Create a new blank view with current font and theme
• Reload View: Reload current view from disk
• Delete View: Remove current view (does not apply to Default)
• Load Default View: Switch to Default view
• Load Startup View: Switch to Startup view

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action	Shortcut
Reload view	Ctrl+R
Save view	Ctrl+S

Quick Save Workflow

Enter Design Mode, customize your workspace, then type Ctrl+S (save) followed by Ctrl+R. This loads the saved workspace and exits Design Mode, freezing the view and removing the grid background.

Status Bar

The status bar displays information about view loading, saving, and current portfolio time. Toggle visibility via View → Status Bar.

Design Mode

The lock icon controls Design Mode:

• Green (locked): Panels cannot be moved or hidden
• Red (unlocked): Design Mode is active

In Design Mode, you can:

• Add items to the Dashboard
• Move panels to any position
• Resize panels
• Use layout convenience methods

A positioning grid activates in Design Mode, and alignment bands help with layout as you drag and resize items.

Adding Panels

Access panels via Dashboard → Add. The following panels can be placed in your workspace:

Charts

• Exposure
• Vol Scenario
• Maturity
• Portfolio PnL
• Portfolio NetLiq
• PnL Charts

Metrics

• Individual portfolio metrics (Time, Net Liq, PnL, Theta, Vega, etc.)

Quotes

• Real-time quote displays

Reports

• Underlying Report
• Maturity Date Report

Tables

• Exposure Table
• Security Table
• Portfolio Table
• System Table

Other

• Log Viewer

After selecting a panel, move it to your desired location and resize it. Click the lock to exit Design Mode when finished.

Important

Save your Dashboard to persist your configuration to disk. Saved Dashboards are available across sessions and for all accounts on the same machine.

Layout Tools

The Dashboard → Layout menu provides tools for creating uniform layouts.

Strict Rows

A strict row is a constrained layout where panels line up with the same height, separated by one grid square on all borders. Strict rows enable layout operations like moving rows, reordering panels, and aligning items.

Global Layout Operations

Tool	Description
Fit to Screen Width	Proportionally resize items in strict rows to fit current screen width
Shrink by 1 Grid	Contract the right edge of all panels by 1 grid unit
Expand by 1 Grid	Expand the right edge of all panels by 1 grid unit
Vertical Fit	Slide panels upward to eliminate extra vertical grid spaces
Auto Layout Metrics	Move all metrics to the top rows in strict row format
Auto Layout	Force all items into strict rows following predefined rules
Clear All	Hide all panels, resulting in a blank canvas
Grid	Toggle visibility of grid lines

Auto Layout Rules

Auto Layout arranges panels in this order:

1. Metrics (top rows)
2. Quotes
3. Portfolio Net Liq and Portfolio PnL charts (split row if both exist)
4. PnL Charts
5. Exposure and Vol Scenario charts (split row if both exist)
6. Maturity chart
7. Tables
8. Console Viewer

Caution

Auto Layout will rearrange your custom layout to follow these rules. Understand the ruleset before using.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action	Shortcut
Undo last operation	Ctrl+Z

Layout Helper Functions

Right-click a panels’s titlebar for additional layout options. These functions work best when panels are in strict rows.

Important

Layout functions work on panels that are not overlapping. Layouts with overlapping panels are not recommended.

Row Movement

Operation	Description
Move Row Up	Move the selected row up by one row
Move Row Down	Move the selected row down by one row
Move Row To Top	Move the selected row to the top of the Dashboard
Move Row To Bottom	Move the selected row to the bottom of the Dashboard

Row Reorder

Operation	Description
Move Left	Move the item left by one position
Move Right	Move the item right by one position
Move to Front	Move the item to the leftmost position
Move to End	Move the item to the rightmost position

Row Sizing

Operation	Description
Split Row Equally	Resize panels to split the row equally
Fill Row	Expand a single panels to occupy the entire row
Contract Row Width	Resize items to fit a smaller screen width
Expand Row Width	Resize items to fit a larger screen width

Pack Row

Operation	Description
Pack Row Left	Move all items left, leaving one grid unit between each item
Pack Row Right	Move all items right, leaving one grid unit between each item
Pack Row Center	Center all items, leaving one grid unit between each item
Pack Row Up	Move all items up, leaving one grid unit between rows
Pack Row Down	Move all items down, leaving one grid unit between rows

Align Item

Operation	Description
Pack Left	Move item left, leaving one grid unit from neighbor or edge
Extend Left	Extend left border, leaving one grid unit from neighbor or edge
Pack Right	Move item right, leaving one grid unit from neighbor or edge
Extend Right	Extend right border, leaving one grid unit from neighbor or edge
Pack Up	Move item up, leaving one grid unit from neighbor or edge
Pack Down	Move item down, leaving one grid unit from neighbor or edge

Other Operations

Operation	Description
Align Row (equal height)	Resize items to share the highest upper and lowest lower edge
Bring to Front	Bring an overlapping panel to the top
Send to Back	Send an overlapping panel to the bottom
Close	Hide a panel from the Dashboard

Tip

If a hidden panel is re-added via Dashboard → Add, it will appear in its last saved position.

Demo

Here is a video highlighting some of the ways to add panels and use layout tools to create organized, custom Dashboards.