Order Routing with Hot Keys

With Hot Keys, you can assign the key combinations to order routing venues, including order routing attributes such as price, delta, type, and quantity. Once defined, use the key combination to quickly submit your order.

Set up by going to Settings > Hot Keys > Orders in the Trading Window menu.

StreetSmart Pro® software allows you to create a fully customized Hot Key order entry system. By assigning order routing attributes such as price, delta, type, venue, and quantity to specific keystrokes, you can minimize the amount of time spent setting up an order for the stock currently loaded in your Trading window and get your bid or offer to the market in a flash.

To use a Hot Key, make sure the stock that is loaded is the one you want to place an order for.

Then press your Hot Key keystroke and, depending on the Action Type you selected, it will place an order, open the pop-up execution window, or load your order parameters in the Trading window fields.

*Hot keys will not work from the Web Browser/Online Help window.

Access the Hot Key Orders tool from the Trading window menu: Settings > Hot Keys > Orders... The following window will open showing the list of current hot keys:

To set up a new Hot Key:

Click New... The window to the right will open allowing you to fill in the order routing details.

Enter a Name for the hot key.

Click in or tab to the Keystroke field and press the keystroke you wish to use for the hot key.
TIP: Consider avoiding common hot key functions such as Ctrl+C or Ctrl+S (common Copy and Save shortcuts in many software programs) so that you do not accidentally place an order.

Select the Action:
- Buy
- Sell
- Short
- Close: Closes an open position
- Cancel All on Symbol: Cancels all pending orders for the symbol in the Trading window
- Cancel All: Cancels ALL pending equity orders
- Cancel Oldest: Cancel oldest pending order the symbol in the Trading window
- Cancel Most Recent: Cancels most recent pending order for the symbol in the Trading window

Select the Venue. If the venue has any special conditions or Time in Force settings, those will display in the Special Conditions panel and Time in Force field. Refer to the help topic for the individual venue for information about these choices.

Select the Order Type. The available order types are determined by the Venue selected. Refer to the help topic for the individual venue for information about order types.

Select a Quantity for the order. Use the up/down arrows or type in a value or leave it blank.

Select Inside Bid or Inside Ask for the Price, or leave it blank. If you want to send the order a fraction above or below the inside, enter that value in the Price Delta field to the right of the limit price box.

The Action Type allows you to select what happens when you press the hot key.
- Enter Order will send an order for the stock currently loaded in the Trading window. Enter Order will use the Quantity in the Trading window quantity field if you do not specify a quantity when you set up the Hot Key. NOTE: You must fill in all fields except Quantity when selecting this Action Type.
- Pop-up Exec. Dialog will open a pop-up window (shown below) with all the variables filled in that you specified in the Hot Key set-up. This will allow you to make adjustments or fill in blanks before sending the order. NOTE: You must fill in the Key Stroke, Action, Venue, Time in Force, and Special Conditions (if desired) fields when selecting this Action Type.

- Load Order Parameters will populate the Trading window with the order parameters you specify in the Hot Key. NOTE: You must fill in the Key Stroke, Venue, and TIF fields when selecting this Action Type.

Finally, check the description field to make sure the order is going to do what you want and click OK to save the Hot Key setting.