Indicators in ATAS are configuration objects. Each instance stores its own inputs, its own aggregation override and its own rendering hints, so a layout can carry several instances of the same indicator with different parameters and no global switch involved. This page is a reference to that surface.
01 The anatomy of an indicator instance
Four properties define an instance. The input set holds user values such as a percentage or a multiplier. The aggregation override decides whether the indicator follows the panel's bar rule or computes on its own. The rendering hints cover panel assignment, axis binding and colour source. The identity block carries the instance name, which is what appears in the legend and in saved templates.
| Property | Scope | Inherited from |
|---|---|---|
| Inputs | Instance | Template only, never global |
| Aggregation override | Instance | Panel bar rule |
| Colour source | Instance | Active theme |
| Panel assignment | Instance | Panel that created it |
Because inputs are never inherited globally, duplicating a panel duplicates its instances and their values. That is the mechanism behind layout templates, described on the workspaces and layout templates page.
02 Indicator families on order-flow desks
- Volume profile
- Aggregates traded quantity by price across a window and derives a value area from a percentage input. Row rule and split mode are the two parameters that change the shape most. Full detail on the cluster chart and TPO page.
- Cumulative delta
- Accumulates signed volume from an anchor and plots a running total on a secondary axis. The anchor definition — session start, a chosen bar, or a rolling window — determines whether two charts agree.
- Speed of tape
- Measures the rate of prints inside a moving window, usually smoothing the result before display. Window length and smoothing period are related: a short window with heavy smoothing is not equivalent to a long window with light smoothing.
- Big trades and stacked imbalance
- Filters prints by size tier and marks repeated imbalance at successive levels. The tier boundaries are instrument-specific and should be reviewed when the instrument changes.
- Cluster search
- Scans bars for cells matching a condition set and lists the matches in a table. It is a scan, not a study, so its output is a result list rather than a series on the chart.
Every family above consumes the same underlying print stream, which is why a change to the feed configuration is visible across all of them at once.
03 Aggregation overrides in practice
An override lets an indicator compute on a different bar rule than the panel displays. A delta line computed on one-minute bars drawn over a 1500-tick chart is a legitimate configuration and a frequent source of misreading, because the line's steps no longer align with the bars beneath it.
- Use an override when the indicator's time base must stay fixed while the chart's base varies.
- Leave the override unset when the indicator is meant to describe the bars actually on screen.
- Record the override in any template that will be shared, since it is invisible in a screenshot.
Rename shared instances to describe their parameters, for example profile 70% / 2t. The legend then documents the instance on every screenshot, and the template stays interpretable months later.
04 Panel assignment and axis binding
An indicator can live in the price panel or in its own sub-panel. Price-panel indicators share the price axis and must be scaled to be visible; sub-panel indicators get their own axis and their own height budget. Bind an oscillator to its own panel unless there is a specific reason to overlay it, and remember that panel height is a layout property rather than an indicator property.
Axis binding also determines colour rules when a theme changes, which is covered on the themes and rendering page.
05 Verifying an indicator configuration
A configuration is verified when a second person can reproduce the same reading from the same inputs. Practically: state the instrument, the bar rule, the session template, the instance inputs and any aggregation override. Then confirm the number on a known bar — the same bar in replay as in the live feed. If the two disagree, the override or the session template is the usual cause, and the replay and data feeds page explains the alignment rules that keep the two in step.
Structural questions about depth, ladder columns and pull detection belong to the Smart DOM depth settings page.