Interactive Brokers TWS : the bug that can blow your account in one click

If I click on Transmit right after deleting the preset size and typing the new size, my TWS version will NOT send an order with the modified size. It will send the order with the previously displayed size, but will show my modified size on all its pages .

The "scroll method" I refer to is when you put your cursor in the size field and open the scroll menu allowing to adjust the size in preset increments .
 
Ok, I understand the "scroll method" now. I cannot reproduce your bug on two of my computers. Which TWS version are you running? (Help-->About Trader Workstation)
 
The key is whether the true size appears in a flash when you cancel the order , it you don't see a change in size when you cancel, it's working fine.
 
Tabernak said:
If I click on Transmit right after deleting the preset size and typing the new size, my TWS version will NOT send an order with the modified size. It will send the order with the previously displayed size, but will show my modified size on all its pages .
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This is because the new size has not really been updated in the code. If you leave that field, perhaps the update will register internally. However, you should not have to do this....it's just a "work-around" to an event handler bug.
 
You should post your video regardless of whether or not it's upside down. Worst case, somebody can just flip their monitor on the side and see what's happening.
 
I will see what I can do about the vid, ideally the vid would also show an execution , because
just showing the size reverting to actual (previously hidden)size on cancel may not be that convincing, I know it's evidence of the real order size not being the modified size, but only because I got real executions on other previous instances.

Anyway, it seems it has been confirmed that TWS should confirm automatically a change made manually by typing , no need to press ENTER before sending the order .
Recall that the IB rep upon hearing the problem I experienced claimed I had to hit ENTER before sending the order, so as to "record" the change. He claimed to have 15 years experience with TWS. However he didn't mention , and didn't seem to know that "recording" the change could also be done by simply clicking anywhere outside the EDIT box.

The hair raising and potentially disastrous technical problem I described is not the only reason I became outraged at the implications.

Next ... IB's reaction when this bomb inside TWS was reported to them ...
 
One thing you may consider is that stuff like this is inherently difficult to communicate without doing it in person. If you have a second machine, try installing the latest and greatest TWS and see if you can replicate the behavior.
 
The order line is a little bit grayed / lighter than usual if you've got a modified order that you haven't updated yet. It's true it will display the modified size, not the working size, since you just modified it.

My advice is:
1. Don't leave modified but not updated orders lying around. Either update them promptly or discard the changes.
2. If you want to take a long time modifying things, pause the order first so it's not live.
3. Don't try to trade illiquid stuff in the US after hours
4. Be more careful about confirming your size selection.

The drop down menu for selecting order size is more reliable than keyboard entry if you are careful with your mouse. In some older TWS versions, if you used the keyboard to change the size and hit return to accept that size (but not yet transmit the order), it would often revert to the prior size. You had to enter it again to get it to take the new size.
 
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