Bid Ask Lines
The Spread
Last updated
The Spread
Last updated
The bid-ask spread is the difference between what buyers offer (bid) and sellers demand (ask). Tighter spreads mean better liquidity and lower costs, while wider spreads suggest volatility or thin markets. Traders "pay" this spread as a hidden cost, while market makers profit from it—and it can expand rapidly during fast markets, hurting execution.
Bid-Ask lines show the current buying and selling prices, helping you visualize the spread.
Bid-Ask Lines indicator displays the real-time bid and ask prices on your chart, providing a clear view of market activity as it happens.
Allows you to control how frequently the Bid-Ask Lines indicator recalculates. The Calculation sets the frequency of these calculation cycles. Customization allows for greater control over data update rates.
Calc Override: Default setting is unchecked. Check this setting to customize and utilize Calc Interval.
Calc Interval: Set your custom desired calculation interval. The smaller the number, the more frequently the indicator will recalculate, which increases processing load on your system's CPU. The default setting of 1000 is in milliseconds, which is equal to 1 second. If you wanted the Bid-Ask Lines to calculate every half second (twice as fast as default 1000ms), then you would enter 500 in this field.
Display Ask Line: You can toggle the Ask price lines ON or OFF to display them on your chart as needed.
Display Bid Line: You can toggle the Bid price lines ON or OFF to display them on your chart as needed.
Display Text: You can toggle ON or OFF to display Bid-Ask text on your chart.
Displays the current chart instrument, contract date and configurations applied.
Input Series: This setting determines which chart the indicator is displayed on, linking the indicator to the selected chart data.
Allows you to add a label, set the maximum bars to look back, and configure calculations based On Price Change, On Bar Close, or On Each Tick.
On Price Change: Updates the indicator only when there is a change in the instrument's price.
On Bar Close: Updates whenever a new bar closes, recalculating based on the finalized bar data to reflect the latest market conditions and changes in trends. Be mindful of whether you are using AlgoBars or range bars. This is the default setting for this indicator.
On Each Tick: Updates with every price change or tick in the market, providing real-time adjustments and reflecting the most current data. This setting increases CPU processing load.
Allows you to customize button colors, adjust the button placement, and modify the font type and size to suit your preferences. The Visual Settings shown are default settings which usually do not need to be changed unless specified in release notes or instructional video, live stream or on Discord etc. Auto scale is recommended to be unchecked.
Ask Line Color: You can customize the Ask line color to your preferred choice.
Bid Line Color: You can customize the Bid line color to your preferred choice.
Line Style: Adjust the line style to either dashed or solid, based on your preference.
Line Width: Adjust the line width to your preferred thickness.
Line Length For Ray: Increase or decrease the length of the line ray to match your preference.
Auto Scale: Automatically adjusts the indicator’s scale to fit within the chart’s price axis, ensuring it’s properly visible without manual adjustments.
Displacement: Shifts the indicator's plot forward or backward on the time axis. This setting is useful for aligning the indicator with price bars or other chart elements, especially in cases where you want to visualize future or past data relative to the current price.
Display in Data Box: Determines whether the values are shown in the Data Box, which is an on-screen display that provides detailed information about the current values when you hover over or click on the chart.
Panel: Specifies which panel or sub-panel the indicator is displayed in on the chart. Indicators can be placed in separate panels above or below the main price chart, allowing for organized and uncluttered visualization of multiple indicators.
Price Markers: Controls the display of markers or symbols on the price axis associated with the indicator's values. This setting helps highlight specific price levels or events directly on the price chart for better visibility and analysis.
Scale Justification: Determines where the indicator is positioned on the price scale, such as to the right or left side of the chart.
Visible: Toggles the overall visibility of the indicator, allowing you to hide or show it on the chart as needed.
All settings displayed in the settings image are the current default configurations provided by NinjaTrader and/or the AlgoBox™ Pro software, and may change at any time in future software updates without notice.
Only available on AlgoBox™ for NinjaTrader 8.
