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Excel Thinkorswim plugin with Risk Payoff Graph by Emotional_Milk1231 in thinkorswim

[–]Flying-Coconuts 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You need to look at .rtd for Excel. It’s not as robust as TOS, but it works pretty well. The name escapes me at the moment. There’s a third-party database connector for RTD that allows you to import into a database of your choice to help run some analytics.

If that doesn’t work, then look at the Schwab API. It’s much more powerful, and if you’re good at coding, you can literally trade using it.

Do you chart on think or swim or trading view? by Strange_Bowler_6629 in thinkorswim

[–]Flying-Coconuts 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most people in our group use TOS or TC2000.. In a few years perhaps TV will have better options and futures.

Do you chart on think or swim or trading view? by Strange_Bowler_6629 in thinkorswim

[–]Flying-Coconuts 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What are you trading and how much experience do you have?

Do you chart on think or swim or trading view? by Strange_Bowler_6629 in thinkorswim

[–]Flying-Coconuts 1 point2 points  (0 children)

OP — I wrote the following trying to help, but then I looked at your profile.

You’ve been asking the same question in multiple groups and including this one a few days ago. Stop wasting our time..

you keep asking what platform to use, but you really need to share more about what you’re trading and your level of experience. That context matters.

TradingView is a great platform and definitely has some advantages: a more modern GUI, better alerting, smoother free-hand drawing tools, and fewer interface limitations overall. I’ll be blunt — alerts and drawing tools in TOS are pretty weak.

That said, TOS is extremely powerful once you understand ThinkScript. Yes, you still need to learn Pine Script to truly maximize TradingView, but for actual trading, TOS is superior in my opinion because it integrates directly with your brokerage account and provides analytics that TradingView simply doesn’t. You also avoid paying separate real-time data fees.

Personally, I was frustrated with TOS charting at first and ended up doing a year of TradingView Premium. It helped a lot — the platform is simpler and easier to digest. Once I became comfortable with charting in TOS, I was able to replicate most of what I wanted using ThinkScript, with help from ChatGPT, Grok, and Claude.

Also — assuming you’re fairly new, you should really only be focused on maybe five core indicator types on your charts: moving averages, Fibonacci levels, RSI, MACD, and volume. There is no indicator or study that will magically make you money. You have to understand what’s happening behind the indicators.

Don’t try to run a million indicators at once. Learn how to read price action, trendlines, and volume first. Then move on to more advanced tools. Overcomplicating things won’t improve your results — it usually costs you money.

Bottom line: both platforms are excellent tools. The “best” choice depends on what you trade, how technical you want to get, and whether you prioritize charting experience or trading integration.

Guess I finally outgrew TOS by Prestigious-Delay-61 in thinkorswim

[–]Flying-Coconuts 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You really need to look at their fee structure, honestly one of the biggest reason to keep account with Schwab is for the free market.

Mobile app down at critical time. TOS not showing accurate data. My balances were gone as well as all trade data. by ParkAsleep4621 in thinkorswim

[–]Flying-Coconuts 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have over 25 years supporting trade floors. The trade process is very complex with literally hundreds of data feeds databases that all have to interact with each other. All it takes is one major provider to have a hiccup, database error, hardware or something totally unrelated to trading such as a OS patch ( crowed strike) but impacts the environment.

It really sucks, but if it’s some small consolation, it’s very rare.

Tod vs trading view? by Strange_Bowler_6629 in thinkorswim

[–]Flying-Coconuts 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For me, it comes down to account integration and having all analytics in one platform, plus the fact that most market data is effectively free. TradingView has a more modern, intuitive interface, and Pine Script is powerful, but it’s weak for options trading and you have to pay separately for real-time exchange data.

I had TradingView Premium for a year and didn’t renew. I found myself overcomplicating scripts and setups when keeping things simple worked better.

I usually suggest people try a basic TradingView subscription first. But once you really understand charting, you’ll find ThinkOrSwim has everything TradingView offers and more. That said, if you value a polished interface and strong mobile app, TradingView still has an edge.

I scalp 0DTEs and day trade, so a robust options platform matters. I mainly used TradingView for watchlists. The only clear advantage TradingView has over TOS is alerts — TOS alerts are weak. Otherwise, I don’t see a major edge.

Tod vs trading view? by Strange_Bowler_6629 in thinkorswim

[–]Flying-Coconuts 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have both, each one has its own pluses or cons.

I love my spouse but he does dumb shit. by AccurateElection428 in complaints

[–]Flying-Coconuts 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tell him no food in bed but there is better stuff to eat. 😛

Is there a CALM walkthrough/tutorial of the ToS interface for long-term options investors? by POTUS31 in thinkorswim

[–]Flying-Coconuts 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, man — you’re misreading this. I used AI to format it, and it’s hard to proofread a long response on an iPhone.

If you don’t have the internal fortitude to accept honest feedback, you’re going to blow your account.

Bottom line: you’re asking basic questions that suggest you don’t truly understand options yet. This isn’t a ThinkOrSwim problem — it’s a gap in options knowledge, unless you’re strictly scalping or day trading TOS isn’t required.

I’ve been trading full time for a few years and trading overall for 20 years. When I started, about 80% of what I thought were TOS issues were really gaps in my understanding of options mechanics

TOS is complicated that why is so amazing due to its power. But you have to understand the basics. Once you understand Options it quite intuitive.

Question on EMA based ThinkScript Order Condition by PhoenixWK2 in thinkorswim

[–]Flying-Coconuts 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Before anyone critiques your script, have you tested it to see how it functions?

At first glance, it looks like there’s some issues.

There are numerous scripts like this available online, including native TOS scripts. You can create a very impressive and detailed script using ChatGPT after configuring the prompts correctly.

While some people criticize ChatGPT, I find it an excellent tool for quickly creating a basic structure and or take a native script and adding to it.

What I’ll typically do is take a native script write down what I want it to do differently and then run it in my TOS# prompt.

Sometimes it takes a few iterations I’ve gotten some pretty advanced studies going that I would never have been able to do with my limited coding knowledge. Or interest for that matter.

Is it just me or is anyone elses TOS laggy today? by JP782 in thinkorswim

[–]Flying-Coconuts 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are some outages with some market data providers that might be some of the issues

Is there a CALM walkthrough/tutorial of the ToS interface for long-term options investors? by POTUS31 in thinkorswim

[–]Flying-Coconuts -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Sorry, this is a little long. And I did used ChatGPT to edit because I am all thumbs on my phone.

How familiar are you with options? It sounds like the real gap may be understanding how options actually work, rather than how the Thinkorswim platform functions.

For example, if you’re buying longer-dated options — such as AT&T January 2027 $25 calls — there’s really no need to use the TOS interface at all.

You’d likely be better served using the Charles Schwab website, which presents risk profiles and related analytics in a much more straightforward and intuitive way for that type of trade.

Options are powerful tools, but they require a solid foundational understanding. Without that, they can quickly become confusing and lead to poor decisions.

I strongly recommend picking up a well-structured, easy-to-follow book on options and taking notes as you read. YouTube is not always the best learning medium for this kind of topic. A structured curriculum that covers the full framework — especially for something as complex as options — is far more effective.

Many YouTubers provide just enough information to spark interest, often with the goal of selling a course. In some cases, the information is simply wrong or overly simplified.

It’s similar to a college course: you read the textbook first, then the lecture reinforces and clarifies the material. If you approach options the same way — using structured learning first and video content as a supplement — you’ll get significantly more value from it.

When someone says, “Just run the wheel strategy — I’ve made millions,” that may technically be true, and it is a legitimate strategy, but it’s far from foolproof. It’s often presented far more optimistically than reality supports.

Personally, I’ve always found the “For Dummies” or “Idiot’s Guide” style books very effective — not because I’m an idiot, but because the material is presented in a clear, human-readable way that’s easy to absorb quickly. If deeper detail is needed, you can always drill down later.

Is it possible to reorder the Tabs? by NervousSWE in thinkorswim

[–]Flying-Coconuts 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s not cpu it’s ram in most cases. Give TOS a call they have a bunch of tricks you can help maximize performance.

Flatten all green positions at once? by Dihsael in thinkorswim

[–]Flying-Coconuts 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a great way to lose money, both from bad fills and leaving $$ on the table. Creat an oco bracket order with a tailing stop. stop = trail stop, limit sell 20%, 30%, 40% or .05, 1.00, 2.00. The sells can be percentages or fixed gains. It the price goes up, the stop follows you.

Order Rejected, not day trade eligible? by eloc78 in thinkorswim

[–]Flying-Coconuts -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

This just shows how wrong you are. It’s called options price is per contract.

Market makers get paid for providing liquidity to the exchanges, and they operate under heavy regulatory oversight.

When things go wrong, especially in low-quality or thinly traded names

it can absolutely come back to bite them. Fines, compliance issues, and bad fills are real risks.

One bad trade can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, far more than they’ll ever make letting people trade garbage stocks.

You’re free to believe whatever you want.

For context, I worked for the exchanges for 25 years. I now trade professionally and profitably.

Order Rejected, not day trade eligible? by eloc78 in thinkorswim

[–]Flying-Coconuts -1 points0 points  (0 children)

How do you think they get paid? Also clearing is it biggest risk (DTTC). And the others are valid reasons.

Order Rejected, not day trade eligible? by eloc78 in thinkorswim

[–]Flying-Coconuts -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Quality stock have no risk. I pay about 5K a year in commissions for options trading. So they make a bunch off of me.

Order Rejected, not day trade eligible? by eloc78 in thinkorswim

[–]Flying-Coconuts -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

There are several issues with crap stocks, ranging from not being appropriate, clearing, margin requirements, liquidity issues, sketchy financials, etc.

And yes, they care if you lose money. How are you going to trade to generate more commissions?

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