Once again...IB messes stuff up. Time and sales

[El_Cubano]

We all know IB's Time and Sales is bunk.
But today they "fixed" a messed up part of it only to ruin another fix.

First issue was that the time and sales window didn't remember your column preferences...so if you had custom widths and configurations you'd have to re-adjust them every morning. Whatever...minor annoyances.

The second problem is the stupid way they display the size in the time and sales window. Instead of just simply seeing a clean $150 100 for example. You would see $150 100x100 . That little 'x100' part means nothing. IB support couldn't explain what it was or why its there...and there is no way to disable it.

Then I saw somewhere that a little hack/trick to get that stupid x100 to go away was to switch the columns so the size was first and the price after. So 100 $150 and the x100 would be gone.

But now they've fixed the column width time and sales issue and in the process brought back the x100 thing! No matter what you do or how you adjust/position columns you cant get rid of the x100. So the Time and Sales goes back to Horrible status from just the Bad status it had when I was able to trick it to not showing the x100.

The tape becomes infinitely more difficult to read when you have such a garbled mess of useless numbers taking up space as the time and sales flies bye. So by fixing one issue they reintroduce another one that we were able to hack into going away.

Can anyone from IB thats here explain the x100 thing? Beuler?
I'd love to be an idiot and wrong and be missing something. I just want a simple clean Time and Sales that works.

p.s. While Im complaining about the Time and Sales I'd also mention I could never get the "block size" filter to work

 

[qlai]

Since we are on the subject, I can't figure out how to make TnS lines be colored instead of showing dots. Below is a snapshot of TOS vs IB just for comparison.

 

[El_Cubano]

Since we are on the subject, I can't figure out how to make TnS lines be colored instead of showing dots. Below is a snapshot of TOS vs IB just for comparison.

View attachment 209476

There's a setting. I'm not in front of computer to show you. But it's there somewhere

 

[GRULSTMRNN]

Seriously? X100 means 100 times the indicated size. What else is it supposed to mean? Not all stocks are traded in 100 round lots nor are other asset classes. Sorry, but where does your confusion originate from? And what is so horribly depressing you about this x100 that you sound like you almost want to dump your broker

We all know IB's Time and Sales is bunk.
But today they "fixed" a messed up part of it only to ruin another fix.

First issue was that the time and sales window didn't remember your column preferences...so if you had custom widths and configurations you'd have to re-adjust them every morning. Whatever...minor annoyances.

The second problem is the stupid way they display the size in the time and sales window. Instead of just simply seeing a clean $150 100 for example. You would see $150 100x100 . That little 'x100' part means nothing. IB support couldn't explain what it was or why its there...and there is no way to disable it.

Then I saw somewhere that a little hack/trick to get that stupid x100 to go away was to switch the columns so the size was first and the price after. So 100 $150 and the x100 would be gone.

But now they've fixed the column width time and sales issue and in the process brought back the x100 thing! No matter what you do or how you adjust/position columns you cant get rid of the x100. So the Time and Sales goes back to Horrible status from just the Bad status it had when I was able to trick it to not showing the x100.

The tape becomes infinitely more difficult to read when you have such a garbled mess of useless numbers taking up space as the time and sales flies bye. So by fixing one issue they reintroduce another one that we were able to hack into going away.

Can anyone from IB thats here explain the x100 thing? Beuler?
I'd love to be an idiot and wrong and be missing something. I just want a simple clean Time and Sales that works.

p.s. While Im complaining about the Time and Sales I'd also mention I could never get the "block size" filter to work

 

[El_Cubano]

Seriously? X100 means 100 times the indicated size. What else is it supposed to mean? Not all stocks are traded in 100 round lots nor are other asset classes. Sorry, but where does your confusion originate from? And what is so horribly depressing you about this x100 that you sound like you almost want to dump your broker

That is not what it means. You know this because you'll see 10,000x100 show up on time and sales.
That would be a 1 million share block. Which is crazy for any stock. Let alone one that trades that volume in a given day or even on a stock that absolutely doesn't trade that volume in a day

And when trying to read the tape as your eyes glance back and forth from charts to level 2 to time and sales you need visual clarity. To see 124.37 | 300 is much clearer than 134.37 | 300x100

Now add to that that not all prints are round numbers and they're scrolling by in a flash having the stupid x100 crowding every print makes reading the tape more difficult

 

[GRULSTMRNN]

OK, well, perhaps it means something else though 1 million shares is nothing extraordinary at all. Even for a 100 dollar stock. Those might be outright transactions on highly liquid stocks, crosses, derivatives hedges.

One thing that confuses me though is: you say you contacted IB numerous times, and now write lengthy posts yet never bothered to ask IB what it represents?

That is not what it means. You know this because you'll see 10,000x100 show up on time and sales.
That would be a 1 million share block. Which is crazy for any stock. Let alone one that trades that volume in a given day or even on a stock that absolutely doesn't trade that volume in a day

And when trying to read the tape as your eyes glance back and forth from charts to level 2 to time and sales you need visual clarity. To see 124.37 | 300 is much clearer than 134.37 | 300x100

Now add to that that not all prints are round numbers and they're scrolling by in a flash having the stupid x100 crowding every print makes reading the tape more difficult

 

[def]

That is not what it means. You know this because you'll see 10,000x100 show up on time and sales.
That would be a 1 million share block. Which is crazy for any stock. Let alone one that trades that volume in a given day or even on a stock that absolutely doesn't trade that volume in a day

And when trying to read the tape as your eyes glance back and forth from charts to level 2 to time and sales you need visual clarity. To see 124.37 | 300 is much clearer than 134.37 | 300x100

Now add to that that not all prints are round numbers and they're scrolling by in a flash having the stupid x100 crowding every print makes reading the tape more difficult

Can you contact support and ask? I can't replicate the same

 

[El_Cubano]

Can you contact support and ask? I can't replicate the same

I have contacted support before. But sure...I'll start a new ticket.

But this isn't something new. Its been mentioned in the "features request board" on IB's site...which is a joke. So many duplicate basic requests that nobody seems to pay attention to.

You can see it above in the other posters picture. And here again this morning in my picture.

When you first switch to a ticker it will initially show only the size in the prints without the x100...but soon as new prints start coming through it'll show x100 on new prints.

 

[isc1746]

Since we are on the subject, I can't figure out how to make TnS lines be colored instead of showing dots. Below is a snapshot of TOS vs IB just for comparison.

View attachment 209476

FILE=GLOBAL CONFIGURATION=DISPLAY=TICKER ROW=uncheck "Display tick-dots instead of colored prices"
Then, I followed the rabbit hole of adjusting colors for several minutes. Next, saw all the other options .....

 

[qlai]

Thanks, @isc1746! Still, the color doesn't seem to stay - turns white even though trades are still executing at bid/ask. Also looks like same size trades are being combined, so I assume what IB wanted to do is to display 1x3 instead of three trades with size 1, but instead just displays x100 all the time.