Keyboard control is a configuration surface like any other. ATAS binds actions rather than buttons, so the binding table decides how quickly a layout can be re-arranged, how panels are focused, and how far a chart scrolls per keystroke.
01 Binding table structure
Bindings are grouped by target: global actions, chart actions, ladder actions and replay actions. A binding is a key plus a modifier plus a scope, and the scope decides which panel receives the event when two panels are open. Most conflicts come from the same key being bound in two scopes.
| Scope | Example action | Conflict risk |
|---|---|---|
| Global | Switch channel or workspace | Low |
| Chart | Zoom, scroll, crosshair snap | Medium between panels |
| Ladder | Centre on best bid or offer | High with chart scope |
| Replay | Step bar, step print, change speed | Low |
02 Panel focus and traversal
Focus is the precondition for every chart-scoped binding. Traversal order follows the layout rather than creation order, which means moving a panel changes the number of keystrokes needed to reach it. A predictable arrangement — charts on the left, ladder on the right, oscillators below — keeps the traversal short.
- Focus the panel you intend to affect.
- Confirm focus from the panel border, not from the cursor position.
- Apply the binding; if nothing moves, the event went to a different scope.
If a binding appears to do nothing, check the scope first, then the modifier, then whether another scope claims the same combination. Bindings are resolved before the application checks panel state, so a global binding will always win over a chart binding with the same combination.
03 Scroll, zoom and crosshair behaviour
Scroll amount and zoom step are separate parameters. A chart that jumps too far when paging usually has a large scroll amount rather than a fast zoom. The crosshair snap mode decides whether the cursor resolves to the nearest trade, the nearest row, or the nearest time; on a footprint chart the nearest row is almost always the more useful setting.
- nearest trade — price resolved from actual prints only.
- nearest row — price resolved to the displayed row grid.
- nearest time — horizontal position resolved to bar boundaries.
04 Symbol switching and panel cloning
The most-used binding on a working desk is usually the one that changes the instrument in the focused panel. Cloning is the second: a duplicate of the current panel keeps every instance input, which is why cloning plus an instrument change is faster than building a panel twice. Both actions are scoped to the focused panel and both inherit the panel's aggregation.
Panel geometry and cloning behaviour across displays are layout questions; see workspaces and layout templates.
05 Documenting a binding set
A binding set is worth documenting when more than one person uses the machine. The minimum record is the scope, the combination and the action, in that order; anything less and the set cannot be restored after a profile change. Because bindings interact with replay controls, the replay bindings described on the replay and data feeds page should be listed in the same document.
Rendering cost of the panels being driven by these bindings is discussed on the performance and hardware notes page.