Build an Order Flow Workspace: Charts, DOM, Heatmap and Review

Give every panel a question to answer

Use the price chart to locate the current move in a broader range. Use DOM to inspect displayed quantity around the market. Use Heatmap to review captured liquidity through time. Use positions and working orders to check account state. These roles overlap, but they are not substitutes for one another.

A common mistake is to add a panel simply because it is available. More views increase the number of details you must reconcile. Begin with a layout you can describe in one sentence, such as price context on the left and current depth plus order state on the right. Add another study only after you know which unanswered question it addresses.

Start with the guided tour and connection checks

Open Settings and choose Quick setup tutorial · Restart to walk through the controls. The tutorial runs on request; closing it returns you to the workspace. For control practice without a connected account, Demo market supplies synthetic prices and depth. Keep that practice separate from research into actual market behavior.

For connected work, select the provider environment and check market-data and order channels independently. Select the account, then the full contract including expiry. Entitlements determine available instruments and depth. A green connection indicator does not establish complete history or fresh data for every instrument.

• Open the tutorial if a control is unfamiliar.
• Confirm demo versus connected environment.
• Select the account and full contract.
• Check quote freshness and history coverage.
• Only then choose the analysis layout.

Choose and save an EdgeX layout

Customize → Workspace layouts includes presets such as Chart + DOM, DOM + positions, Chart + DOM + positions, multiple charts and Chart + trading panel. Apply the closest starting point, then enter Edit layout to move panels by their headers and resize them with handles. Choose Done editing when the arrangement is readable.

Save current layout with a descriptive name. A layout preserves panel geometry, visibility and chart splits for that workspace. It is not the same as a chart template, a detector configuration or a research record. If you change several kinds of settings, note which controls are responsible for each.

Compare intervals without mixing instruments

A two-, three- or four-chart preset can show different intervals of the same selected instrument. Another instrument belongs in another workspace created through New window inside the dashboard. Before comparing a fine interval with a broad one, remember that suitable underlying data is required; a coarse candle does not create missing fine-grained executions.

Heatmap can attach to DOM so price rows align. Use this when the question concerns the same level in both views. Detach when you need independent navigation. On a narrow screen, prioritize legibility over density; mobile starts with chart and trading panel, with dense DOM and heatmap views initially hidden.

Use a three-stage session routine

Before observation, record contract, environment, timeframe, coverage and the question being studied. During observation, record the measurements and any gaps without changing the question each time price moves. Afterward, compare the outcome against your original description and note whether a setting change would require a new experiment.

Squawk can add an audio layer for monitored workspaces, but it requires a user action to enable browser audio and can be interrupted by tab sleep or reload. Test its sounds before relying on them. Audio is an aid to attention, not an independent confirmation of an execution.

The strength of EdgeX’s combined workspace is that setup, liquidity analysis and account review can stay close together. Judge the layout by whether you can explain what is happening and find the current order state quickly. A visually impressive arrangement that hides essential information is not an improvement.

Common questions

Continue with the EdgeX product guides

These guides document the controls and data behavior used in this article.

• Open the Quick Setup tutorial
• Customize, resize and save workspace layouts
• Multiple instruments and split charts
• Set up Squawk voices and monitoring