Tradovate Hotkeys Setup Guide for Fast Order Entry
If you're trading without hotkeys, you're giving up speed for no reason. Tradovate’s default hotkeys suck, and leaving them untouched is how traders fat-finger market orders or flatten themselves by accident. Here’s how to set them up right.
Where to Find the Hotkey Settings
Go to Settings → Hotkeys. You’ll see categories like Chart Actions, DOM Actions, and Order Entry. Ignore the noise. You only need the tools that actually speed up trading—not the junk that gets you in trouble.
Essential Hotkeys Every Trader Should Set
The core bindings:
| Action | Recommended Key | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Buy Market | Shift + B | Fast and intentional |
| Sell Market | Shift + S | Same logic, avoids accidents |
| Flatten | F | The panic button—must be instant |
| Cancel All Orders | C | Clears your book fast |
| Reverse | Disabled | Beginners blow accounts with this |
If you’re trading a prop eval, these matter even more. Read the daily loss & resets guide before enabling anything risky.
Quantity Hotkeys
Tradovate lets you bind keys to change your contract size on the fly. Keep it simple:
- 1 contract → 1
- 2 contracts → 2
- 3 contracts → 3
If you type 50 by accident on a funded account, you're done. So keep quantity hotkeys modest.
Chart Navigation Hotkeys
You don’t need 20 chart shortcuts. Stick to these:
- Left/Right Arrow – scroll
- Ctrl + Scroll – zoom
- Shift + Mouse Drag – fast pan
More than this becomes noise and muscle-memory confusion.
How to Test Before You Trade
Open a SIM account and try every hotkey repeatedly. Your fingers should know the actions without thinking. If you hesitate, fix your bindings. Nothing is worse than hitting the wrong key when ES rips 5 points in 3 seconds.
Final Tips
Hotkeys are only useful if they’re stable and safe. Bind what you need, disable what you don’t, and always treat the Flatten key like your lifeline. This setup gives you speed without self-sabotage.