# A tour of the Scalpel cockpit > What every part of the Scalpel screen does: the header, VIEW and MODE, account stats, desks, Level 2, chart, order bar, orders panel and the status bar. Source: https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/cockpit-tour Guide 1.8, Getting started. Beginner, 7 min read. Checked with Scalpel 1.12.8 on 2026-10-15. By Scalpel Team. **In short:** Scalpel's screen has three bands. The **header** across the top holds VIEW, MODE (SIM or LIVE), the New York clock, your account figures and the red **Flatten All** button. The middle holds up to six **desks**, each a full trading station for one stock: a DAS-style Level 2 montage with the tape, a chart, an order bar and your orders and positions. The **status bar** along the bottom shows the IBKR connection and updates. Scalpel is opinionated: one screen built for long-only scalping of US stocks, pre-market first, driven from the keyboard and talking to you as you trade. Nothing on it is decoration. This tour names every part and links to the guide that goes deep on it. What Scalpel is for, and what it deliberately leaves out: [guide 1.9](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/scalpel-philosophy). ## The whole screen *Screenshot: The cockpit in SIM: the header (1), a desk header (2), Level 2 and the tape (3), the chart (4), the order bar (5), orders and positions (6), the + rail for more desks (7), and the status bar (8). Demo data.* A short splash plays when Scalpel starts; click or press any key to skip it. If the licence screen shows instead, see [guide 1.3](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/activate-licence). ## The header The left half sets what you look at and how orders are handled. *Screenshot: The brand (1), VIEW (2), MODE (3), and the New York clock with the session (4).* - **VIEW** switches the middle of the screen between **Trade** (the desks) and **Analytics** (your statistics for the current mode, [guide 6.4](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/analytics)). - **MODE** is **SIM** (a paper account filled against the live book) or **LIVE** (real orders to your IBKR account). It switches at once, no restart, and each mode keeps its own positions, orders and history ([guide 6.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/paper-trading-sim), [guide 6.2](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/go-live)). - **The clock** is New York time, with the session under it: **Pre-market** (04:00 to 09:30), **Regular hours**, **After-hours** (to 20:00) or **Closed**, plus **Half day**, **Weekend** or **Holiday** when they apply. The dot is green in regular hours, amber in extended hours and grey when closed. The right half is your account and your exits. *Screenshot: In LIVE: the account figures (1), margin in use (2), the LIVE ORDERS badge (3), Flatten All (4), and Settings with the System menu (5).* | Item | What it shows | |---|---| | **ACCOUNT** | **SIM** or **IBKR**: whose figures you are looking at | | **NET LIQ** | The account's total value | | **MARGIN USED** | Dollars tied up in open positions, and that as a percent of net liq: amber from 50%, red from 80% | | **DAILY P&L**, **UNREAL P&L** | Today's realised and open profit or loss, green or red | | **LIVE ORDERS** | A red badge, only in LIVE: every key now sends real orders | | **Flatten All** (`Esc`) | Cancels any working buy, then sells every open position on every desk | | **Settings** (`Ctrl`+`,`) | Ten tabs, from Connection to About ([section 11](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/settings-connection)) | | **Help** | The guides, getting started, the hotkey cheatsheet, troubleshooting, what is new, help on Discord and email support | | **System** | **Restart** or **Shut down** Scalpel | In LIVE, the P&L figures come from IBKR by default, which includes trades you made elsewhere; **Settings > Trading > Header P&L (LIVE)** can switch them to Scalpel's own trades only. ## Desks Below the header sit the desks, four by default and up to six: the narrow **+** rail on the right adds one. Each desk is a complete station for one stock. One desk is always **focused**, outlined in blue: it is the one your hotkeys trade. Click a desk to focus it, or move with `Left`, `Right` and `Tab`. *Screenshot: One desk, top to bottom: the desk header (1), the intel strip (2), the quote (3), the Level 2 ladder with the tape on its right (4), the chart (5), the order bar (6), and orders and positions (7). Demo data.* **The desk header** (1) has the desk number (D1 to D6), the **TRADER** / **SCAN** switch (a scan desk holds scanner panels instead, [guide 8.5](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/scanner-panels)), a colour swatch to tell desks apart, the symbol box, the session badge with a data flag when something is off (**DELAYED**, **NO DATA**, **STALE**, [guide 2.5](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/desk-status-badges)), and buttons to clear the desk, copy its layout to every desk and hide it. Loading symbols and arranging desks: [guide 2.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/load-symbols-and-desks), [guide 2.2](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/arrange-desks). **The intel strip** (2) appears when there is something to know about the stock: a fresh catalyst, a shelf that lets the company sell shares, how hard it is to borrow. Each chip has a one-line summary ([guide 9.5](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/intel-chips)). **LEVEL 2** (3) (4) is a DAS-style montage, the layout momentum traders know from DAS Trader: bids on the left, asks on the right, one row per venue, each price level in its own colour band. Scalpel is not affiliated with DAS. Above the ladder are the quote, the day's open, high, low, [VWAP](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/glossary#vwap) and volume, the bid and ask totals and spread, an imbalance and buy-sell delta strip, and a one-line read. With a position, a green or red **LONG** strip shows your size, average and P&L. The **time and sales** tape runs down the right edge: green prints hit the ask, red ones the bid. How to read it, and what it can and cannot tell you: [guide 3.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/read-level-2), [guide 3.3](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/read-time-and-sales). **CHART** (5) shows 10-second to daily candles with VWAP and two moving averages, a one-line chart read above it, and with a position your entry, stop and take-profit lines, which you can drag ([guide 3.5](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/chart-basics), [guide 5.2](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/drag-stops-and-targets)). **The order bar** (6) is the mouse version of the hotkeys: the four buy presets with their dollar size, the sizing method, offsets, and once you hold shares **Full**, **1/2**, **1/4**, **1/2 Ask**, **1/2 Mid**, **B/E**, **Trail** and **Cancel** ([guide 4.6](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/order-bar)). **ORDERS & POSITIONS** (7) has a **Positions** tab and an **Orders** tab, **NET P&L** after fees, and a **FEE** column with each fill's commission. Every panel title bar can be dragged to reorder or resize panels, and the cog on LEVEL 2 and CHART opens that panel's settings ([guide 2.3](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/panel-settings)). ## The status bar *Screenshot: The IBKR connection pill (1) and an update waiting to install (2), with the version on the right.* - **The IBKR pill** reads **Connected** (green), **Connecting** (amber), **Disconnected** with a reason (red) or **Off** (grey). Click it to switch the link off or on ([guide 1.4](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/connect-interactive-brokers)). - **Update ready** appears when a new version has downloaded. Click it for what is new, then restart now or let it install when you quit; Scalpel never restarts while you hold a position, a working order or a live stop ([guide 12.2](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/updates)). - On the right, the version you are running. Quote it when you ask for help. ## Things that appear when needed - **Banners under the header:** the connection banner while IBKR is down, a red **RISK LOCK** banner when the daily loss limit trips ([guide 7.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/daily-loss-limit)), and licence or update notices. - **Toasts** at the bottom centre: fills, warnings, scanner alerts. Most come with a sound or a voice line too ([guide 10.2](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/alerts-and-toasts)). - **The cheatsheet** (`?`): every key on one screen. `Esc` closes it. ## Keyboard and sound first You can run a whole session without touching the mouse: buy with `Shift`+`1` to `Shift`+`4`, scale out with `Ctrl`+`X` and `Ctrl`+`C`, breakeven with `B`, trail with `Shift`+`T`, flatten with `Esc` ([guide 4.3](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/hotkeys)). Scalpel answers out loud: fills, partial exits, stop-outs, take-profits, new scanner names and connection problems all have a voice callout or a sound ([guide 10.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/voice-callouts)). The optional tape sound, inspired by Aggr.trade, turns the prints into tones so you can hear buyers and sellers without looking ([guide 3.4](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/tape-sound)). **Zoom** the whole cockpit with `Ctrl`+`-`, `Ctrl`+`=` and `Ctrl`+`0`, from 70% to 125%, or with **UI scale** in **Settings > Appearance**. On a Mac, Ctrl is Cmd throughout. ## Questions **How many stocks can I watch at once in Scalpel?** Up to six desks, each with its own symbol, Level 2, tape, chart and order bar. Four show by default; the + rail on the right adds the fifth and sixth. IBKR limits how many Level 2 books stream at once, so desks past your account's limit keep their chart, tape and quote without depth. **Which desk do the hotkeys trade?** The focused desk, outlined in blue. Click a desk, or use Left, Right and Tab, to move the focus. **What is the difference between SIM and LIVE in the header?** SIM is Scalpel's paper account, filled against the live book with no money at risk. LIVE sends real orders to your IBKR account and shows a red LIVE ORDERS badge. Each keeps its own positions and history. **Is the Level 2 like DAS Trader?** The montage follows the DAS-style layout momentum traders know: bids left, asks right, one row per venue, colour bands per price level. Scalpel is independent and not affiliated with DAS. **Can I use Scalpel with the mouse?** Yes. Every hotkey has a button on the order bar, and stops and targets can be dragged on the chart. The keys are simply faster.