# Add, remove and resize desks

> Run up to six desks, resize them with the grips, even them out, colour them, copy one layout to all, and switch a desk between TRADER and SCAN.

Source: https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/arrange-desks
Guide 2.2, Desks and layout. Beginner, 7 min read.
Checked with Scalpel 1.12.8 on 2026-10-15. By Scalpel Team.

**In short:**

Scalpel runs up to six desks side by side: four show by default, and the **+** rail on the right adds the fifth and sixth. Drag the grip in the gap between two desks to resize them, double-click a grip to even them all out, and click **Hide** to close one. Inside a desk, drag a panel's title bar to reorder it and the gaps to resize it, then press **Apply to all** to copy that layout to every desk. Everything is saved.

The right layout depends on your screen and how many stocks you watch at once. Most momentum scalpers trade one stock at a time but keep two or three more on screen: the next gapper, the one that halted, the sympathy play. This guide covers every control for shaping the desks; [guide 2.4](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/multi-monitor-setup) suggests layouts for one, two or three screens.

**Before you start:**

- A symbol loaded on at least one desk ([guide 2.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/load-symbols-and-desks)).

## The desk header

Each trading desk's header carries its controls. The focused desk shows two more than the rest:

*Screenshot: The focused desk's header, left to right. Demo data.*

| # | Control | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| (1) | **D1** to **D6** | The desk number. Bright on the focused desk, dim on the others. |
| (2) | **TRADER** / **SCAN** | Switches the desk between a trading desk and a scan desk. |
| (3) | Colour swatch | Opens the colour picker. |
| (4) | **Symbol** box | Type a ticker to load it ([guide 2.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/load-symbols-and-desks)). |
| (5) | Session and status | **PRE**, **RTH**, **AFTER** or **CLOSED**, plus a badge when data is not live ([guide 2.5](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/desk-status-badges)). |
| (6) | **X** | Clears the desk: drops the stock and frees its data line. |
| (7) | **Apply to all** (sliders icon) | Focused desk only: copies this desk's panel layout to every desk. |
| (8) | **Even widths** (columns icon) | Focused desk only, with two or more desks open: gives every desk the same width. |
| (9) | **Hide** | Closes the desk. Shown while more than one desk is open. |

## Add, hide and resize desks

### 1. Add a desk with the + rail

While fewer than six desks are open, a slim **+** column sits on the right edge of the cockpit (3). Click it to open the next closed desk. It opens empty, as a trading desk, focused, with the cursor in its **Symbol** box, and it takes an even share of the width (the average of the desks already open). At six desks the rail disappears.

*Screenshot: Three desks open: D1 dragged wider and focused (1), the grip lit under the cursor (2), and the **+** rail for the closed desks (3). Demo data.*

### 2. Drag a grip to resize

Between each pair of desks is a short pill, the grip (2). It lights up blue when the cursor can grab it. Drag left or right: one desk widens, its neighbour narrows. A desk will not go narrower than 240 pixels, the width its header controls need. Widths are saved with your layout.

### 3. Even them out

Double-click any grip, or click the **even widths** button on the focused desk's header, and every open desk takes the same width again.

### 4. Hide a desk you do not need

Click **Hide** on its header. The desk closes, its stock is dropped and its slot goes back behind the **+** rail; the other desks share the space. You cannot hide the last open desk, or a desk that holds a position (a red toast says so: close the position first).

## Arrange the panels inside a desk

A trading desk stacks three panels top to bottom: **LEVEL 2** (with the time and sales tape as a column on its right), **CHART** (with the order bar under it) and **ORDERS & POSITIONS**. By default the book takes about 46% of the height, the chart about a third and the orders panel the rest.

- **Resize:** drag the gap between two panels up or down.
- **Reorder:** drag a panel by its title bar and drop it on another panel. The two swap places. A trader who reads the chart first might put **CHART** on top.

*Screenshot: Dragging the CHART panel by its title bar (1) onto LEVEL 2, outlined as the drop target, swaps them. Demo data.*

Each desk keeps its own panel layout, saved as you change it.

### Copy one layout to every desk

Set up one desk the way you like it, make sure it is focused, then click **Apply to all** (the sliders icon) in its header. Every desk takes the same panel order and heights, and a toast says **Layout applied to all desks**. Symbols, colours and desk widths are not touched.

## Give each desk a colour

Click the swatch next to **TRADER** to open the picker and choose one of eight colours: **Blue**, **Teal**, **Green**, **Amber**, **Orange**, **Red**, **Pink** or **Purple**. The defaults are blue, amber, green and purple for desks 1 to 4, then teal and pink for 5 and 6.

*Screenshot: The swatch (1) opens the eight desk colours (2). Demo data.*

The colour is the desk's identity: it is the badge behind the symbol at the top of the Level 2 panel, and it is the colour of the little squares on every scanner row that load a stock onto that desk. Distinct colours make it hard to load a stock onto the wrong desk.

## Switch a desk between TRADER and SCAN

Click **TRADER** in a desk's header and it becomes a **SCAN** desk: a stack of scanner panels instead of a book and chart. Its header changes to **Click a desk color to load**, **Add panel**, and the width buttons.

*Screenshot: A desk switched to SCAN. Click SCAN to turn it back into a trading desk. Demo data.*

Switching to SCAN frees the desk's market data line; its stock is remembered and reloads when you switch back to **TRADER**. A common layout is one scan desk on the left and three trading desks: scan panels are covered in [guide 8.5](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/scanner-panels).

**Note.**

A desk that holds a position stays a trading desk. Scalpel's stops are watched from the desks' live prices, so a position must always be on a desk. Clicking **TRADER** on it is refused with a red toast: **D1 holds a position: close it before switching it to SCAN**. Close the position first, or load the same stock on another desk, then switch.

## The depth limit

Interactive Brokers limits how many Level 2 books one account can stream at the same time. The number depends on your account and any quote booster packs. When a desk asks for one more book than you are allowed, a toast says **Depth unavailable for** the symbol, followed by IBKR's reason. The desk keeps working without the book: the quote, the tape and the chart still stream, so you can watch it, but you are trading it without depth.

To get the book back, clear or hide a desk you are not using (its line is freed), or switch it to **SCAN**, then load the stock again. See [guide 1.6](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/ibkr-market-data-for-day-trading) for how IBKR counts lines and [guide 13.4](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/fix-delayed-data) for the fix.

**Tip.**

More desks are not better. Every extra book is another thing to glance at while a trade is on. Three trading desks is a good place to start: the stock you are in, the next one up, and one spare.

## Questions

**How many desks can Scalpel show?**

Up to six. Four are open by default; the + rail on the right opens the fifth and sixth.

**How do I make all desks the same width again?**

Double-click any grip between two desks, or click the even widths (columns) button on the focused desk's header.

**Can I put the chart above the Level 2?**

Yes. Drag the CHART panel by its title bar and drop it on LEVEL 2; they swap. Then press Apply to all to do the same on every desk.

**Why does a desk say Depth unavailable?**

Your IBKR account has hit its limit of Level 2 books streaming at once. Clear or hide a desk you are not using and load the stock again. The quote, tape and chart keep working meanwhile.

**Is my layout saved?**

Yes. Desk widths, which desks are open, each desk's panel layout, colour, mode and symbol are all saved and restored on the next start.