Interactive elements, or icons, are important shortcuts to platform customization. These icons will help you utilize, configure, hide gadgets or interfaces – or even link them together. In this article, we are going to discuss the most frequently used icons.
The Show Actions menu icon is present in almost every thinkorswim gadget and interface. Clicking it will bring up the Show Actions menu, which enables you to take some window-related actions, e.g., detach 
, print 
, take a screenshot, etc. In some interfaces, e.g., Position Summary, it will also prompt you to customize the data to be displayed there.
Detaching portions of the software into dedicated windows is a feature that is commonly used to create more elaborate layouts. This can be useful for clients who chose to run the software on multiple monitors. If this is something you are interested in trying, look for the overlapping squares icon. Once clicked, you will see a new window appear with a copy of the section it corresponds to. You can then move the new window to any monitor you chose.
When a gadget or an interface is displayed in a separate window, you may want to always display it above all other windows. To do so, click the pin button 
in the top right corner of the detached window.
The gear icon allows you to configure the data you would like to view in a gadget or an interface. Clicking it will bring up a Customize window where you will be able to configure the set of elements to be displayed. For example, clicking this icon in the Position Statement (Monitor tab) will prompt you to customize the set of columns in the statement. In Active Trader, it can be used to configure the set of buttons above the ladder.
Note that there is also a small gear button 
which you will encounter in real-time data tables, e.g., watchlists or Active Trader Ladder. Clicking it will bring up a menu, which will prompt you to customize the column set in the table, turn of data sorting, or take some interface-specific actions.
The clip icon brings up a color-and-number selection menu; choosing a color in this menu will link the Dashboard to all thinkorswim components with similar color. For example, consider linking a watchlist to a chart:
- In a watchlist symbol selector, click the clip icon and choose a color from the menu;
- Repeat this step in the Charts symbol selector, choosing the same color.
Now that your watchlist is linked to the chart, clicking through the watchlist will automatically display the corresponding symbols in the Charts interface.
Arrow icons
There are several types of arrow icons in thinkorswim; here’s a breakdown of what they look like and what they can be used for:
Triangle arrows can be used for scrolling through a layout. Similar arrows in table columns also indicate current sorting; clicking on it will re-sort the table.
Clicking this triangle in a symbol selector will bring up the Symbol Lookup table.
Open-ended arrows, or ticks, can be respectively used for expanding/collapsing elements.
Click this double triangle arrow to collapse/expand all collapsible elements in the current layout.
Use this control in a Watchlist header to switch between your watchlists in a group.
Use this control in data tables, e.g., Trade Activity, to display fewer or more columns.
A small arrow in the bottom right corner of a field indicates that the element can be customized via a drop-down list, which will be brought up once you click it.
This kind of arrow will enable you to hide some components, e.g., Left Sidebar or Order Editor