Trade Directly From Tradovate Charts
Want to place and manage trades without ever leaving your chart in Tradovate? This guide walks you through turning on chart trading and placing, dragging, and canceling orders right on the price chart, step by step.
Want to place and manage trades without ever leaving your chart in Tradovate? Whether you're scalping fast futures like ES and NQ, reacting to a level you can actually see, or wiring up automation with PickMyTrade, this guide walks you through turning on chart trading and placing, dragging, and canceling orders right on the price chart, step by step.
What Is Chart Trading in Tradovate?
Chart trading lets you place, modify, and cancel orders by clicking and dragging directly on the price chart instead of typing prices into the SuperDOM ladder. Tradovate calls the feature Trade Mode. Once it's on, the chart shows an order overlay, so you can drop a limit or stop exactly at the level you're watching and then drag it around as the trade develops. If you read setups visually and want your entries, stops, and targets sitting right on the price in front of you, this is the workflow you'll reach for.
Chart Trading in Tradovate: Step-by-Step
Turn On Trade Mode
Open an instrument in the Chart module, then turn on Trade Mode in the chart's settings, it lives with the chart controls in the top-right of the chart window. That adds the trading overlay to the price axis so you can place and manage orders directly on the chart. The exact wording of the toggle can vary a little by app version, so look for the option that enables trading, or "Trade Mode," on the chart.
Place an Order on the Chart
Left-click at the price level where you want your order, then choose the order type. Tradovate reads that price against the current market and suggests the right type: click below the market and it lines up a Buy Limit or Sell Stop; click above the market and it lines up a Sell Limit or Buy Stop. Confirm, and the working order shows up as a line on the chart at your chosen price.
Drag an Order to a New Price
To modify a working order, grab its line and drag it up or down the price (Y) axis to the new level, then confirm the change so the order re-registers at the new price. The same motion works for the stop-loss and take-profit lines on an open position, trail a stop to breakeven, or push a target further out, without retyping a single number.
Cancel an Order From the Chart
Hover over the order's line and click the X to cancel it. If that order is part of a bracket, canceling the entry pulls the whole linked set, its stop and target come off with it, so you're never left with orphaned orders working in the market.
Flatten Everything From the Chart
When a trade turns against you and you want out fast, right-click the chart and choose Flatten. That closes the open position and cancels every working order on that instrument in one action, a clean panic-exit, no hunting through separate order tickets.
Why You'd Need This
- Drop orders on levels you can see, support, resistance, VWAP, or a prior high or low.
- Adjust risk by dragging instead of retyping stop and target prices mid-trade.
- Manage a whole position, entry, stop, and target, without switching to the SuperDOM.
- Flatten in one click when conditions get volatile and fast.
- Keep everything in one view so working orders and brackets stay visible on the chart.
Automate This with PickMyTrade
Clicking and dragging on the chart is great when you're sitting at the desk, but setups fire while you're away, too. PickMyTrade links your TradingView alerts straight to your Tradovate account, so entries, stops, and targets get placed automatically the moment your chart setup triggers. No manual clicking, no dragging.
Put Your Chart Setups on Autopilot
Setups fire while you're away, too. Let PickMyTrade link your TradingView alerts straight to your Tradovate account so entries, stops, and targets place automatically.
Start Your Free 5-Day TrialFrequently Asked Questions
Open an instrument in the Chart module and turn on Trade Mode in the chart settings (top-right of the chart window). That adds the order overlay to the price axis. The exact label can differ by app version, so look for the toggle that enables trading on the chart.
Left-click at the price you want and pick the order type. Tradovate infers a limit or stop from whether that price sits above or below the current market, click below for a Buy Limit or Sell Stop, above for a Sell Limit or Buy Stop, then confirm.
Drag the order's line to a new price and confirm to modify it, or hover over the line and click the X to cancel. Canceling a bracket's entry also cancels its linked stop and take profit.
This guide is for educational and informational purposes only and is not financial, investment, or trading advice. Trading futures and other leveraged products carries a substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. PickMyTrade is an independent third-party automation platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Tradovate, Inc. "Tradovate" and all related names, logos, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Platform features and steps change over time, so always confirm the current process in the official Tradovate platform and documentation before acting.