Master Think or Swim (ToS) Alerts | Trading Tutorials

This trading tutorial covers the three best methods for setting up alerts in Think or Swim (ToS) so that you can master alert setting and receive notifications whenever there is a trading setup that meets your criteria.

00:00 – Intro
00:18 – Right Click To Create Alert
00:28 – Alert Condition Settings
05:41 – Alert Notification Settings
07:00 – Alert Options
09:00 – Replacing Alerts
09:47 – Mobile Notification
10:09 – Watchlist Method
10:38 – Canceling Alerts
11:30 – Create Alerts From Drawings
11:54 – Price Level Alerts
13:13 – Trend Line Alerts
14:29 – Fibonacci Alerts
15:13 – Study Based Alerts
16:35 – Condition Wizard for Alerts
19:00 – Alerts That Dont Appear On Charts
20:22 – Advanced Alerts
22:26 – Options Alerts
24:18 – Conclusion

The first and easiest method for creating alerts is to use the right click method and navigate through the Think or Swim alert dialog popup window.

In this window there are multiple settings for customizing your alert. The underlying asset and stock spread will default to whatever it was that you clicked on. From there you can set the price type, condition type, price level for the alert to go off from. Note that if you are looking at stock pricing, you can not change the exchange where the data is coming from. That is reserved for options.

The bottom half of the alert window is all about your notification settings that you will receive on your phone. By default it will send the conditions for the alert to go off, and then whatever additional information you chose to include. A useful option may be including the study values.

Lastly there are the options for submitting the alert. Usually the default is fine here, however if you wanted to provide some delay and add an expiration that is also an option.

Once the alert has been generated and you can see it on the chart, you can click and drag to move it to a different price level, however you can not change the type of price reading or the condition for the alert to trigger on. As an example, if you were to drag the alert below the last price and you were looking for at or above, that alert would go off instantly.

A similar method to the right click method is clicking on the watchlist symbol and then moving through the same dialog box. You will have to adjust the trigger price of the alert as well as the price type.

The next method for alert creation in think or swim is to use a drawing set. You can use any drawing but we cover the horizontal price level, the trend line tool, and the fibonacci retracements. Note here that the drawing and alert are not bound. Meaning that if you move a think or swim drawing, the alert will not move or be adjusted with it.

The final method to creating alerts is the study filter. To access this you need to go into the first alert dialog box, and then navigate the price drop down to study. From there you will be presented a popup condition wizard where you can choose from any study and then compare that study value to a hard number, a different study, a function.... the options are nearly endless in ToS.

Some tips and tricks are that you can set alerts on news events, earnings releases, upgrades and downgrades, as well as portfolio metrics. These things are all possible and hidden features of think or swim. Please explore them and see if there is anything that fits your strategy.

Lastly we talk about setting alerts on options. The same exact methods apply, and you can also directly click on the options chain to create an alert for an option. This can be useful when looking for opportunities to buy or sell premium at cheap or expensive prices. Please be aware that the only place you can see these alerts is in the alerts menu window, not on any chart.

#OptionsTrading #TradeIdeas #TechnicalAnalysis

Master Think or Swim (ToS) Alerts | Trading Tutorials

DISCLAIMER: The information provided in this video is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered financial or legal advice. I am not a Registered Investment Advisor. Buying and selling financial instruments is highly speculative and carries risk.

[TradeBrigade]

Did you learn anything new or do you have any questions? If so let me know below!!

[donaldlee]

I learned more from you than TOS, as I'm sure alot of people have. Great video. Thanks.

[informationeagle]

Fast paced and hard hitting video, truly excellent for those interested in alerts. Thanks so much Matt.

[david_a_uno]

Wow! This is one of the most concise, action-packed tip/tutorial videos I've ever come across on YT. Brilliant and so helpful. Thanks!

[gcanelon]

Every aspect covered was super useful. No fluff, just great info. Thanks again.

[fpsjohnny]

I really enjoy these ToS videos you make! Thanks for the upload

[gmehta]

Wow, Matt an awesome tutorial. I cant thank you enough, its brilliant you sharing and educating us all the time on price action and technical analyses... Now I can set up some of trading strategies I want to master using study alerts. so basically we can set SMA cross over etc... !!! yay.... You are the best teacher.... Maybe a lesson on screening stocks please... using TOS. 👌

[hawkeyehowardinvesting]

Great video! I use alerts all the time but I never explored all of the advanced settings! Thanks!

[jonathanlance]

Excellent video. Your curiosity with TOS functionalities is our benefit. Please consider doing a video on level 2 ladder and order execution. Thanks.

[sharath]

interesting divergence on DJI and DJT…. love the gifs… great vid again !

[ericsmithjr]

Thank you so much for this video!! This was super helpful for setting up alerts!! Really appreciate it!! 😁

[JeffStrickland]

Wow, super useful and concise information, thanks so much for this!

[theoryman]

Wow, so much great information. This is great for traders who don't have time to stare at at screen for hours at at time! Thanks

[kylestearns]

Thanks Matt, as you can tell, I'm not busy this AM. Enjoy the weekend, let's ride some volatility next week!

[johncollins]

Thank for your training. I have 65 years working with stocks. I like to setup auto trading with tos. 19:05

[sadelb]

Thank you Matt for taking the time in making this video. Two questions I have. I create alerts based on price crossing certain studies. Let's use VWAP for example. Let's say I have a watchlist of 10 stocks for the day, 5 of them are currently trading below VWAP. Can I highlight all 5 stocks and create an alert at once for these 5 stocks? Or do I have to individually right click on each stock and create an alert one at a time?

2nd question: When an alert is triggered (price goes above VWAP), is there a way to have the alert continue throughout the day without having to set it again? For example, AAPL crosses above VWAP at 12pm (alert is triggered).... VWAP drops below VWAP and crossing above it again at 3pm --- Can the alert automatically trigger again or do I manually have to keep setting the alert each time it crosses back underneath VWAP. (thinking maybe the crossover checkmark might be the solution here but I would rather it keep alerting when it crosses above, not below)

Thanks so much for your help. Sorry for the long question but these could be big time savers.

[PatioJ]

Thank you for the excellent explanation of how to use this feature. Can you tell me what application you use to create all the highlighting on your screens such as drawing arrows or circling a dropdown tab etc

[jimstump]

Thanks. But how about setting an alert for when price crosses over a study, like VWAP?

[avieda]

Thanks for TOS knowledge! I’m trading iron condors, I’m putting a trade and an opposite order together to close it when it gets to 50% of the original price of the condor. Is there a way to get an alert on the condor price every 2 or 5 minutes?

[_abbadoo_]

love these ideas! do we have to create them for every position or can we trigger it for any/all in our watchlist or account positions?