Another useful feature is the "check margin" function.
Enter the order in TWS and click "Accept" - NOT TRANSMIT.
Once the order appears in the window, right click on it, then select "check margin" and your effective new margin will be displayed as if the order were executed.
This is very helpful when deciding to turn naked writes into spreads...to see how far out you should buy (and how many) in order to free up more margin.