# The order bar is greyed out

> The order bar greys out only when the US market is fully closed; pre-market and after-hours trade normally. Which hotkeys still work, and extended hours.

Source: https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/fix-order-bar-greyed-out
Guide 13.13, Troubleshooting. Beginner, 4 min read.
Checked with Scalpel 1.12.8 on 2026-10-15. By Scalpel Team.

**In short:**

The whole order bar turns grey only when the US market is fully closed: before 04:00 ET, after 20:00 ET, at weekends and on market holidays. Pre-market (04:00 to 09:30 ET) and after-hours (16:00 to 20:00 ET) trade normally, because Scalpel is built pre-market first. While it is closed, buy and sell keys show "Market closed - orders disabled", but **B**, `Shift`+`T` and `Ctrl`+`Q` still work.

Scalpel blocks new entries and exits outside every session because there is no real market to trade against then: no liquidity for a LIVE order, and nothing honest for SIM to fill against. It reads the session from your computer's clock, converted to New York time, with the NYSE holiday and half-day calendar built in.

## Market closed - orders disabled

The orange toast you get when you press a buy or sell key with the market closed. The header clock shows **Closed** (or **Weekend**, or **Holiday**) under the Eastern time, and each desk's badge reads **CLOSED** in grey.

*Screenshot: After 20:00 ET: the header reads **Closed** (1), the desk badge **CLOSED** (2), and every order bar button is grey (3). Demo data.*

## When the order bar works

| Session (New York time) | Order bar | Header says |
|---|---|---|
| 04:00 to 09:30, pre-market | Works | Pre-market |
| 09:30 to 16:00, regular hours | Works | Regular hours |
| 16:00 to 20:00, after-hours | Works | After-hours |
| 20:00 to 04:00, weekends, holidays | Grey | Closed, Weekend or Holiday |

On a half day (the day after Thanksgiving, and July 3 and Christmas Eve when they fall on a weekday), regular hours end at 13:00 and after-hours at 17:00, and the header says **Half day**.

## What still works while it is closed

- **Stop to breakeven** (`B`), **Toggle trailing stop** (`Shift`+`T`) and **Cancel all orders** (`Ctrl`+`Q`, `Shift`+`Q` on a Mac) from the keyboard. Their buttons are grey with the rest, but the keys go through.
- **Flatten All** (the header button, or `Esc` with nothing open) is never blocked: getting out must always be possible. It still sends, and the toast says what happens next:
  - in LIVE, "Flatten all sent. The market is closed: IBKR may hold the sells until pre-market opens at 4:00 ET". Check the **Orders** tab, and TWS, before you walk away;
  - in SIM, "Flatten all sent. The market is closed: SIM fills at the last prices it saw".
- Settings, the symbol box, scan panels and charts all work as normal.

## Grey for another reason

- **No symbol on the desk.** An empty desk greys its order bar at any hour. Load a symbol ([guide 2.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/load-symbols-and-desks)).
- **Only the sell row is grey.** That is normal when you hold nothing on this desk: **Full**, **1/2**, **1/4**, **1/2 Ask**, **1/2 Mid**, **B/E** and **Trail** need a position. Scalpel is long only, so there is nothing to sell until you buy ([guide 4.6](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/order-bar)).
- **The wrong clock.** The session comes from your computer's time. If the header's ET clock is wrong, set Windows or macOS to set the time automatically. Your time zone does not matter; the time itself must be right.
- **The licence screen is up.** Without a valid licence the cockpit is hidden and no key trades ([guide 13.8](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/fix-licence-machine-limit)).

## Pre-market: Extended-hours fills is for entries

The order bar works pre-market. Your LIVE buys fill there only while **Settings > Trading > Extended-hours fills** is on, which is the default ([guide 11.2](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/settings-trading)). Off, IBKR holds LIVE buys until 09:30. Exits do not depend on it: every LIVE sell, including the exit Scalpel sends when a stop is hit, is always flagged for extended hours.

Scalpel's stops are watched by the app rather than resting at IBKR for exactly this reason: before the open, exchanges take limit orders only, so a plain stop order cannot protect you. When price trades through your stop, Scalpel sends a marketable limit sell 5 cents under the last trade, so it needs to be running and connected. A fast drop can still fill below your stop, or leave the exit unfilled. The full story is in [guide 5.5](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/premarket-stops); see also [guide 5.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/how-stops-work) and [guide 4.4](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/entries-and-fills).

## Questions

**Why are all my order buttons grey in Scalpel?**

The US market is fully closed: before 04:00 ET, after 20:00 ET, a weekend or a holiday. Pre-market and after-hours trade normally.

**Can I trade pre-market with Scalpel?**

Yes. Scalpel is built for the pre-market from 04:00 ET. Keep Extended-hours fills on in Settings > Trading so LIVE buys fill before the open. Sells and stop exits are always sent for extended hours.

**Can I place an order tonight to fill at the open?**

No. Scalpel sends marketable limit orders while you watch; it does not queue orders for a later session.

**Which keys work when the market is closed?**

B (stop to breakeven), Shift+T (trailing stop), Ctrl+Q (cancel all orders, Shift+Q on a Mac) and Esc for Flatten All. Buy and sell keys are blocked.

**Does SIM work when the market is closed?**

Not for new trades: SIM fills against the live book, so it follows the same sessions as LIVE. Flatten All still closes SIM positions, at the last prices it saw.