The vocabulary of order-flow configuration is small but imprecise across platforms. The same word can mean a stored quantity on one system and a rendered property on another. These definitions follow the usage in this manual and note where a term is display-only.
- Aggregation
- The process of grouping trades or resting orders into a display unit. Aggregation changes what is drawn, not what was recorded.
- Ask side
- Volume executed against offers. In a footprint cell, the ask-side figure is the volume that lifted resting liquidity.
- Bid side
- Volume executed against bids. In a footprint cell, the bid-side figure is the volume that hit resting liquidity.
- Bracket
- A fixed time slice used by cluster and TPO charts. Bracket length determines column width and the number of cells per session.
- Cluster chart
- A chart that groups executions by value level and time bracket, printing a compact cell at each intersection.
- Composite profile
- A profile built from several sessions. It shows where activity concentrated across the span but hides the sequence within it.
- Cumulative delta
- The running sum of per-bar delta. Its origin depends on an anchor, and moving the anchor changes the series near the start of the range.
- Delta
- The signed difference between ask-side and bid-side volume for a bar, row, or session.
- Depth ladder
- A vertical display of resting liquidity centered on the last execution, with configurable row grouping and columns.
- Footprint chart
- A chart that divides each bar into value rows and shows bid-side and ask-side volume for every row.
- Heatmap
- A rendering in which magnitude is encoded as color intensity across a two-dimensional surface.
- Imbalance
- A condition in which one side of a row exceeds the other by a configured ratio. Diagonal comparison extends the test to a neighboring row.
- Module
- A computed series attached to a chart, inheriting its instrument, session, and bar type unless an anchor override exists.
- Point of control
- The level with the greatest volume or TPO count within a profile.
- Profile
- A distribution of activity across value levels for a defined anchor: bar, session, composite span, or visible range.
- Replay clock
- A virtual time source that advances through stored data. Panels subscribed to it update in sequence rather than in real time.
- Session template
- A named definition of session start, end, and breaks. It determines which trades belong to a chart or profile.
- Single print
- A level visited by exactly one bracket, leaving a one-cell column in a TPO display.
- Tick size
- The smallest value increment for an instrument. It defines the base unit from which row height is calculated.
- TPO
- An opportunity count: a tally of brackets in which a level appeared, usually rendered as a letter or block.
- Value area
- The contiguous band around the point of control containing a chosen share of total activity.
- VWAP
- A volume-weighted average of traded value over an anchor. It describes central tendency, not direction.
- Workspace
- A saved arrangement of panels, links, templates, and geometry. It stores layout and settings, not market history.
Terms That Are Often Confused
Aggregation versus resolution. Resolution is a property of the stored data; aggregation is a property of the display. A chart cannot show finer detail than the store contains, but it can always show coarser detail by aggregating.
Delta versus cumulative delta. The first is bounded by the bar; the second is bounded by its anchor. Comparing a per-bar reading with a session total is a category error.
Volume versus trade count. Volume measures size; trade count measures the number of executions. A session can accumulate volume while its execution count falls, and the two series will diverge.
Profile versus footprint. A footprint is organized by bar; a profile is organized by value level across an anchor. The same data produces both, but they answer different questions.
Usage Notes
Where this manual says "level," it means a value on the vertical axis, not a support or resistance claim. Where it says "anchor," it means the rule that decides which data a calculation covers. Where it says "display-only," it means the setting changes what is drawn without changing what is stored. Keeping those three conventions in mind removes most of the ambiguity in the chapters that follow.