Futures Settings affect parameters of all futures symbols. These settings include display properties, volume subgraph visibility, and Extended Session viewing parameters.
To customize the Futures chart settings:
1. Make sure the Chart Settings window is open. For information on accessing this window, refer to the Preparation Steps article.
2. Choose the Futures tab which will help you define the settings.
3. Choose the Price type to be displayed on chart: Last, Ask, Bid, or Mark. Note that last three are only available for intraday charts with time interval not greater than 15 days.
4. Use the Daily Close drop-down list to specify whether the last daily bar should be closed with Last or Settlement price.
5. Select Adjust for contract changes to adjust all price data prior to the active contract change so that the last close before the contract change is at the same level as the first open after it.
6. Select Show open interest to display the Open interest study plot on the Volume subgraph. Note that the plot will only be displayed if the Show studies option is enabled on the General tab. For more information, see the General Settings article.
7. Select Show options to display listed options on the main subgraph. Note that listed options require expansion of the chart subgraph which can be set on the Time axis tab. For more information, refer to the Time Axis Settings article. The number of visible option strikes in each series can be specified within the Strikes field.
8. Select Show volume subgraph to display volume histogram on the chart. Note that you can view the volume and the price plot on a single subgraph. For more information, see the General Settings article.
9. The available controls for the Extended-Hours Trading session depend on the selected Price type.
When Price type is set to Last, the Extended-Hours Trading session is always displayed on intraday charts and cannot be hidden. Use the Highlight dropdown list to view the non-trading hours in a different color: select Futures Non-Trading Hours to highlight hours when the underlying future is not trading; select Equity Market’s Extended-Hours Trading Session to highlight hours when equities are in the Extended-Hours Trading session; or select None to turn off highlighting.
When Price type is set to Ask, Bid, or Mark, select the Show Extended-Hours Trading session checkbox to view the non-trading hours on the intraday chart, and use the same Highlight dropdown list to view the non-trading hours in a different color. Clearing Show Extended-Hours Trading session enables the Start aggregations at market open checkbox, which aggregates intraday bars starting at the corresponding schedule’s market open.
10. Select Show contract change events to mark points where active contract changes occurred, with a vertical line.