What is your setup?

I think that the point is that no real advices exist on this subject. Best could be explicit questions, and “is this a good idea in the first place ?” or something like that. I may have one hint that is not so common, but the application itself maybe also is not : I have over 20 Systems on one Instrument, and have a monitor of 1m20 of height and 30cm width for that. It stands (vertically) upright. This is “necessary” because else all the order labels overlap each other. So you need a real high screen for that. But not wide. The main reason why I myself would not have other hints, is because you can virtually store an infinite number of charts on your screen(s). At least with PRT this works very well. Of course it requires some smart laying out with many charts overlapping, which works at various levels. The general hints for these are :

1. Click on the surface area of a chart, to bring only that chart forward. Focus on the right margin (vertical) area, and know that this will bring forward that chart and nothing else (read on to understand this).
2. Practice the above with a mix of a. charts of one and the same account, b. with other main programs/windows you may have (e.g. Bloomberg TV) so that you can overlay one chart on the area of that other main program/window you don’t want to see anyway (like the right hand part of Bloomberg TV) and c. with charts and lists of one or more other PRT accounts. With this latter, organize yourself such that functional groups of one account become visible together (example : ProOrder stuff).
3. Know that clicking on the top-left corner of a chart (where the PRT logo is), always brings that chart forward but in a harder fashion, so that ALL charts of that account come forward (come on top of other applications). Again look at your functional groups, and see how they may be overlaid by the account you just brought forward. Think over carefully what is to be overlaid by which and what you actually want to accomplish by bringing forward the whole account (all the lists and charts). Do you require really all to come on top ? for me it does not and no chart will overlay another chart anyway except within the one account actually subject to #1. But the ProOrder screens I never want to see all together from all the accounts (I only need to reach them when I need to do something in there).

Because of the “smart arrangements” I have 50 or so Charts and Lists and Detailed Reports open in one of the 3 accounts (which 3 accounts are almost always active). The other accounts contain less but always still ~20 charts/lists. Things become more wild if I am backtesting and such. The results are always on one of my screens, and the editing stuff on an other. Again arrange for clicking underlaying charts, because for me it is an example that charts are overlaid. Thus, let top-left corners of them stick out to quickly bring forward all of the overlaid account, or let right margins stick out for a few mm so that you can bring forward that one chart (and e.g. the Detailed Report from your backtest is overlaid now). Below you see a representation of what I use, but showing it is actually not useful. Still it may be a little useful, knowing that the the rightmost 3 screens are cheap tablets. This is about an application I don’t think anyone uses (nor can get physically done as a normal human being), but this allows for my main charts and statistics to carry around to anywhere I want under the scope of my domestic WiFi. Like in the kitchen during cooking, via the dinner table for the real important stuff (always out of sight of the family) up to next to the couch and watching TV. The tablets can of course touch-control PRT. Anyway, one such a tablet again contains a functional group of PRT elements, like all the Detailed Reports of the Systems I have running. Am I out of space on a tablet, then I buy a next one. These extensions can be virtually infinite and do not depend on a video interface card. On a side note : I have been asked to describe in detail how to set up such an environment, so that PRT can make a general guideline for it (YouTube). They themselves had never heard of it. Next you may expect a PRT version explicitly made for Touch operation (says me, not PRT – but who knows). Last hint : get yourself monitors with a useful resolution. Most people may not even think about this, but the higher the resolution, the less useful a monitor becomes. Also of course : the lower the resolution, the less will fit on the screen. These are not really trade offs, but choices. My three main monitors are 2560×1440 at 32 inch and it is thus on purpose that their resolution is so relatively low. So the thing to keep in mind is that a higher resolution will not allow normal reading other stuff any more (while PRT can scale to anything of your choice) and THUS you will start to set the monitor(s) to 125% or higher for DPI in order to make all larger again. But THAT PRT can not cope with really, though V12 has vastly improved on it. Anyway, it will give anomalies all over the place so it is always best (for all applications) to leave the DPI setting at 100%. See at the mouse pointer in the 2nd attachment (I bet that anyone with a laptop these days has the setting at higher than 100%). Anticipate a nice phone where you can run IBKR Mobile as well as IG Mobile. They are a must for when travelling. But … in the end those are “screens” (monitors) for in the kitchen just the same. The newer Androids allow decently operating split-screen so that you can run both versions on one phone screen (older versions will let run one of the two stuck after a while). I find IG Moibile quite useless for observing without selecting instruments/positions (and you can’t while driving), while IBKR Mobile gives all the overviews you’d want (like gain of the day and such), with the ability to select accounts (or have them all totalized). Notice that this requires additional subscription to data (the same data you already subscribed to for PRT, but it costs almost nothing). Anything else ? 🙂

Assumed that question was addressed to me : Yes. But a hobby which seems to be dealt with quite more serious than what I see happening at those in a professional job (like earning money for a customer of a bank). At least that is what I see from my environment (starting to learn more and more people in the field). I guess that the difference is that “we” can operate with sensitivity to our needs, while the person in the professional job operates way more static and by rules of the book. This is (too be) risk free and (me thinks) not exciting at all. And of course no tablets at the dinner table. The category of Pro’s doing it for themselves is a different story. They (but correct me !) mostly operate with day trading and get a few points per trade, which never can mimic what “we” do with Autotrading, because of too few trades a day in their case (again, correct me). This is not to be covered for by higher investment, because I can do that too (at 10-20 trades a day for mind you, one instrument). For the real comparison PRT lacks the proper tools (Orderbook data and Orderflow accessible by program code). But I think that by now I know that even including those tools (found in other platforms) would not help. All in other words : I don’t see trading houses spending infinite time in developing automated strategies. They may spend infinite money in obtaining that from others though (could be you and me). And so I end up at the couch with a tablet automatically. Hey, I *spent* those infinite number of hours; now I want to see the result of that – per trade. If my Money Management doubles the investment, you bet that I have the shivers and am more than interested in the result of the particular trade. I am not even sure what I’m more afraid of : that the trade will lose and thus an extra loss occurs BUT that the trade amount will fall back to where it was (phew), or that the trade wins, and the next trade will invest even more (ouch). It would be nothing for a Pro. It wouldn’t be allowed. 😉

Looks like I need to do reply and not quote. Mods feel free to clean that up please.

My “SetUp”, very happy with it…

I usually work from 1 pc + 1 laptop, 1 per broker if at my desk (…and laptop as 2nd device is a more versatile choice than 2 desktops to bring it with me on the move too). I have a backup desktop too, turned off most of the time, its purpose is in case of failure of main desktop in the middle of busy trading. Just benefiting from having chosen and assembled all components in my desktops, so when I make the main one evolve, instead of throwing away a replaced component, I recycle it as evolution of the backup desktop, directly if compatibilities are ok, if not then component awaits a motherboard change of main desktop to go with the replaced motherboard it was compatible with as new backup desktop configuration. Most work is done on main desktop with one broker, laptop turned on only when also using other broker (trades / behaviour of my codes), or, besides used as travel device, laptop also allows to work for a while from somewhere else than the office: tv room, terrace, garden, even kitchen… (keep in mind when increasing your total trading time, if you only have a desktop and an office, then it also means spending far too much time in the same room, that’s where the comfort of being able to work from anywhere in the rest of the house comes in). Screenwise, main desktop being equipped with 2 GPU, I could have up to 8 screens on it, but most I had installed at the same time was 6 x 24inches. Currently using just 4, that’s 2 in landscape format for charts 1FHD(1920×1080) and 1WUXGA(1920×1200) , and the other 2 in portrait format (1200×1920): 1 for chart with orders and backtest windows (more comfortable in portrait than landscape for this with the additional subwindows vertically) and 1 for coding window and forum (also more comfortable in portrait than landscape for this). Laptop also has a 24in secondary screen in the office. I prefer 4x24in screens than 1 big 4k screen, beyond angles of vision and screen to eye optimal distances it’s also because of device failure risk: I could still work comfortably with 3x24in screens if one out of the 4 should fail, or take back the secondary screen for laptop or the backup desktop screen to replace the main desktop failed 4th one. But it wouldn’t be the same productivity comfort if I had undetermined downtime until completion of the latest hardware comparisons+choice+purchase+delivery process of a single new big screen (this is just a personal choice adapted to my needs, not a criticism of setups with one or more big screens).

For spare internet connection, I have an unusual family backup solution available: within my real estate I provide a house to my sister next door and she has a different ISP than mine, her wifi signal can be reached in my house, so in case either of hardware failure or of internet failure from my provider, I can switch temporarily to her wifi if her ISP is ok. But in terms of recommendations asked by KumoNoJuzza, yours about spare modem installation is certainly more practical (and wiser) than a “sister installation” next door… While we are in setups beyond just screens, I also have a battery-backup APC device I am not sure it’s the correct wording for it in English, it’s “onduleur” in French, it provides uninterrupted power from battery in case of main power cuts, brief or long. Besides protection of the devices, they don’t get turned off at the instant of the power cut. So not only I have plugged desktop and some of its screens on it (pointless to plug in only the desktop if your screen is turned off by power cut and you can’t see), but also crucially I have plugged in the internet box (modem) into it too. So in case of “short” power cuts I don’t suffer from the internet box rebooting time annoying interruption(s), adding the “s” as it is even more enjoyable when there is a succession of mini power cuts, you know, the type that cuts again just after your internet box has finally just finished rebooting when you don’t have the “onduleur”…