How to Set Up Hotkeys in Tradovate

A simple walkthrough for creating fast hotkeys in Tradovate so you can enter, exit, and manage trades without clicking around like an idiot during fast moves.

Why Hotkeys Matter

Hotkeys take the hesitation out of execution. Instead of fumbling through menus, you can punch a key and be in or out instantly. If you trade fast-flowing markets, or you are trying to avoid nonsense mistakes in a prop firm evaluation, hotkeys are mandatory. Pair this with your DOM and chart basics from DOM Trading Basics.

Where the Hotkey Settings Are

In Tradovate:

  1. Click the gear icon (Settings) on the left-hand panel.
  2. Scroll to Hotkeys.
  3. Open the hotkey editor where you can bind actions to keys.

Popular Hotkeys to Set Up

These are the most common ones traders map:

  • Buy Market (instant entry long)
  • Sell Market (instant entry short)
  • Flatten (kill the entire position and all working orders)
  • Reverse Position
  • Cancel All Orders
  • Place Limit Buy
  • Place Limit Sell

Pair your hotkeys with bracket order templates from How to Use Bracket Orders in Tradovate .

Example Hotkey Layout

  • Shift + B → Buy Market
  • Shift + S → Sell Market
  • Shift + X → Flatten everything
  • Shift + C → Cancel all working orders
  • Shift + L → Place a Limit Order at the mouse pointer

Testing Your Hotkeys

Don’t test hotkeys on a live account unless you want a story to tell. Use Tradovate’s simulator first:

  • Switch account in the upper-right dropdown.
  • Choose SIM.
  • Make sure your chart and DOM show the sim account.

Hotkeys and Prop Firm Evaluations

Hotkeys can save you or kill you depending on how sloppy you are. In prop challenges like the ones covered in How Prop Firm Evaluations Work , this matters:

  • You can break trailing drawdown with a fat-fingered hotkey.
  • A wrong hotkey can double your size by accident.
  • Flatten hotkeys save your ass when the market rips against you.

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