Guide 2.4
Beginner, 5 min read. Checked with Scalpel 1.12.8 on .
In short
Scalpel is one window that opens maximized, with up to six desks across it. On a laptop run two or three desks, on one wide monitor four to six, and on several screens either stretch the window across two of them or keep Scalpel on one and TWS on another. Fit the desks to the screen with UI scale in Settings, Appearance (70% to 125%), or with Ctrl+-, Ctrl+= and Ctrl+0.
A scalper's screen has one job: the book, the tape and the chart of the stock you are in, readable at a glance, with your hand on the keys. More desks only help if each one is still readable. This guide gives starting layouts for common screens and the controls to tune them.
Before you start
Widths below are the space Scalpel works with after your display scaling: a 1920 x 1080 laptop set to 150% in Windows behaves like a 1280 x 720 screen.
| Screen | Desks | Width per desk | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laptop, 1280 wide after scaling | 2 | about 600 | Three fit at about 400 each; try UI scale 90% for three. |
| 1920 x 1080 monitor at 100% | 3 or 4 | about 460 at four | The classic four-desk cockpit. |
| 2560 x 1440 monitor at 100% | 4 or 5 | about 490 at five | Room for a scan desk plus four trading desks. |
| 3440 x 1440 ultrawide | 6 | about 560 | All six desks, the + rail gone. |
| Two 1920 screens, window stretched | 6 | about 630 | One desk sits across the bezel; see below. |
These are starting points. If prices or venue names are cut off, run one desk fewer or step UI scale down 5%.
Use the + rail to add desks and Hide to remove them until the count matches the table above (guide 2.2).
Open Settings (Ctrl+,), then Appearance, and drag UI scale. It runs from 70% to 125% in 5% steps; 100% is the default. Click Apply.
Or use the keys from anywhere in the cockpit: Ctrl+- zooms out 5%, Ctrl+= zooms in 5%, and Ctrl+0 goes back to 100%. A toast confirms the new value, for example UI scale 90%, and it is saved. On a Mac, use Cmd instead of Ctrl.
Double-click a grip between two desks to even them out, then widen the desk you trade from by dragging its grips. The stock you are in deserves the most room.
On a short screen, open the CHART cog and switch off the MACD sub-pane and Delta sub-pane, or lower Rows per side in the LEVEL 2 cog (guide 2.3). Drag the panel gaps so the book and chart get the height.
Because Scalpel is a single window, there are two ways to use more than one screen:
Either way, put the desk you trade from straight in front of you and the scan desk to one side.
Scalpel needs TWS or IB Gateway running and logged in the whole time you trade: market data and orders go through it, and Scalpel's stops are watched by Scalpel itself, so they only work while Scalpel is running and connected (guide 5.1). You do not need to look at it, though.