--- title: TPO settings reference description: Every option in OpenMarket's TPO (Market Profile) settings dialog, documented tab by tab — General, Color, Profile, and Volume. --- This page documents every option in the TPO (Market Profile) settings dialog, tab by tab: General, Color, Profile, and Volume. To open it, hover the TPO row in the chart legend and click the gear icon; changes apply to the chart immediately. The Aggregated TPO indicator shares the same dialog, so everything here applies to both. ## General ![TPO settings, General tab](/learn/order-flow/tpo-settings--tab-general.png) The General tab decides what data each profile is built from: which session it spans, which hours count, how much time one TPO block represents, and how coarse the price rows are. ### Session and trading hours | Setting | What it does | Default | | -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------ | | Session Type | Sets how much time one profile covers: Daily, Weekly, or Monthly. Daily gives you one profile per day; Weekly and Monthly merge whole weeks or months into single profiles for higher-timeframe context. | Daily | | Trading Hour | Restricts each daily profile to a preset session window, so the POC and value area reflect only those hours. Presets include All Hours, Pre-Market (04:00 to 09:30 ET), Regular (09:30 to 16:00 ET), Post-Market (16:00 to 20:00 ET), Asia, Asia Full, London, London Full, New York, New York Full, Pre-Close, and Custom. Hidden while Custom sessions is on. | All Hours | | Session | Names your custom window (up to 30 characters); the name appears in the indicator's legend title. Shown only when Trading Hour is Custom and Custom sessions is off. | Empty | | Start Time, End Time | Fine-tune the session window as HH:MM times. Editing them switches Trading Hour to Custom automatically (or back to a preset if your times match one). A start at or after the end wraps past midnight. Hidden while Custom sessions is on. | Follows the preset | | Timezone | Interprets the start and end times in UTC or ET (New York time). Hidden while Custom sessions is on. | Follows the preset | | Custom sessions | Splits each day into up to 8 colored session profiles (times in UTC) instead of one profile per day. Each segment has a color, a label, and a start and end time; segments must be in order and not overlap. Enabling it seeds an editable Asia / London / New York / Close template and switches Block color mode to Period so each session renders in its own color. Available only when Session Type is Daily; switching to Weekly or Monthly turns it off but keeps your segments. | Off | ### Sizing and display | Setting | What it does | Default | | -------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Block Size | Sets how many minutes one TPO block (one letter) represents: 5m, 30m, 1h, or 4h. Smaller blocks mean more letters per row and finer time resolution; the Initial Balance bracket count is re-derived from this automatically. | 30m | | Ticks per bar | Sets the height of each price row in exchange ticks (1 to 500). Raise it to get fewer, fatter rows on volatile symbols; lower it for finer price resolution. The value is remembered per chart interval and session type. | Scales with the chart interval (for example 50 on a 1D chart with Daily sessions) | | Profile spacing | Adds a horizontal gap (0 to 50 pixels) between neighboring session profiles so they stop touching. | 0 | | Rolling Composite Sessions | 1 is off. 2 to 20 merges the most recent sessions into one rightmost composite profile, useful for reading multi-day balance areas; manual TPO merges take precedence. | 1 | | Trading Hour Label | Prints the session label (for example the trading-hour name) under each profile so you can tell sessions apart at a glance. | On | | Show Hover Inspector | Shows a compact cell-inspection tooltip when hovering TPO cells, with the details of the row and block under your cursor. | On | ## Color ![TPO settings, Color tab](/learn/order-flow/tpo-settings--tab-color.png) The Color tab controls the palette that paints TPO blocks, how blocks and letters are drawn, and how the area outside the value area is de-emphasized. ### Palette | Setting | What it does | Default | | ---------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | | Color Scheme | Picks the 4-stop gradient that colors blocks from the session open to the close (schemes include Sunset, Ocean, Classic, Neon, and more). Disabled while Custom Colors is on. | Matches your app theme | | Custom Colors | Replaces the scheme with your own 4-stop gradient. | Off | | Color 1, Color 2, Color 3, Color 4 | The four stops of the custom gradient, from earliest to latest block. Shown when Custom Colors is on. | #33001A, #CC0033, #FF6600, #FFD966 | ### Block styling | Setting | What it does | Default | | ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------- | | Block Display | Chooses how each TPO cell is drawn: Blocks + Letters, Letters Only, or Blocks Only. Letters run A to Z, then a to z, then double letters, one per time block. | Blocks + Letters | | Block color mode | Chooses what the palette encodes. Period colors blocks by time within the session (or by session color when Custom sessions is on); Count shades rows by how many TPOs printed there; Volume shades rows by traded volume; Delta shades rows by buy-minus-sell volume. | Period | | TPO line style | Sets the dash pattern (Solid, Dashed, or Dotted) used for the profile's horizontal level lines, such as the POC and prior-session lines. | Dashed | | Highlight start/end | Recolors the session's first and last block so you can see where each period opened and closed inside the profile. | Off | | Start block | Color of the session's first TPO block. Shown when Highlight start/end is on. | #3b82f6 | | End block | Color of the session's last TPO block. Shown when Highlight start/end is on. | #eb1d4e | | Outside VA Colors | When on, blocks outside the value area are repainted in a single flat color so the value area pops. When off, those blocks keep their palette colors and are faded instead. | On | | Outside VA color swatch | The flat color used for blocks outside the value area. Shown when Outside VA Colors is on. | #808080 | | Opacity | How strongly blocks outside the value area are faded (0 to 100 percent). Shown when Outside VA Colors is off. | 30% | ## Profile ![TPO settings, Profile tab](/learn/order-flow/tpo-settings--tab-profile.png) The Profile tab is the heart of the dialog: the POC and value area lines, prior-session levels, Market Profile structure markers (initial balance, poor highs and lows, single prints), and per-profile annotations. Most rows here are a main toggle with small companion controls (Label, Naked, Scale badges plus a color swatch) that appear once the toggle is on. ### Core levels | Setting | What it does | Default | | ------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | | Point of Control (POC) | Draws a line at the POC, the price with the most TPO counts in the session, which marks where the market spent the most time. | On | | POC color swatch | Color of the POC line. Shown when POC is on. | White in dark mode, black in light mode | | POC Thickness | Line width of the POC in pixels (1 to 10). Shown when POC is on. | 3 | | POC: Show Label | Prints "POC" and the price next to the line. Shown when POC is on. | On | | POC: Naked Extension | Extends the POC line to the right until a later session trades back through that price, marking it as a naked (untested) level. Shown when POC is on. | Off | | POC: Show on Price Scale | Puts the naked POC's price on the price scale so you can track it without scrolling. Shown when Naked Extension is on. | Off | | Value Area | The percentage of the session's TPO activity the value area contains (0 to 100). 70 is the classic Market Profile definition. | 70 | | Value Area High (VAH) | Draws a line at the top of the value area, the upper edge of where most business was done. | On | | VAH color swatch | Color of the VAH line. Shown when VAH is on. | #B0B0B0 in dark mode, #505050 in light mode | | VAH: Show Label | Prints "VAH" and the price next to the line. Shown when VAH is on. | On | | VAH: Naked Extension | Extends the VAH line right until price trades back through it. Shown when VAH is on. | Off | | VAH: Show on Price Scale | Puts the naked VAH price on the price scale. Shown when Naked Extension is on. | Off | | Value Area Low (VAL) | Draws a line at the bottom of the value area. | On | | VAL color swatch | Color of the VAL line. Shown when VAL is on. | #B0B0B0 in dark mode, #505050 in light mode | | VAL: Show Label | Prints "VAL" and the price next to the line. Shown when VAL is on. | On | | VAL: Naked Extension | Extends the VAL line right until price trades back through it. Shown when VAL is on. | Off | | VAL: Show on Price Scale | Puts the naked VAL price on the price scale. Shown when Naked Extension is on. | Off | | Fill value area | Shades the band between VAH and VAL so the value area reads as one region. | Off | | Fill color | Color of the value-area fill. Shown when Fill value area is on. | #3b82f6 | | Fill opacity | Opacity of the value-area fill, from 0 to 1 in 0.05 steps. Keep it low so letters stay readable. Shown when Fill value area is on. | 0.06 | ### Prior session | Setting | What it does | Default | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------- | | Prior-session levels | Draws the previous session's POC, VAH, VAL, high, and low across the developing profile, so you can see today's trade relative to yesterday's value. All controls below appear when this is on. | Off | | Show pPOC label, Show pVAH label, Show pVAL label, Show pHi label, Show pLo label | Toggle the "pPOC", "pVAH", "pVAL", "pHi", and "pLo" tags on each carried-over line individually. | On | | Prior POC | Color of the prior POC line. | Follows your POC color | | Prior VAH | Color of the prior VAH line. | Follows your VAH color | | Prior VAL | Color of the prior VAL line. | Follows your VAL color | | Prior high | Color of the prior session-high line. | Follows your VAH color | | Prior low | Color of the prior session-low line. | Follows your VAL color | ### Structure markers | Setting | What it does | Default | | ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------- | | Initial Balance Range (IBR) | Marks the initial balance, the price range built during the session's opening minutes, which many profile traders use as the day's reference bracket. | On | | IBR Minutes | How many opening minutes define the initial balance (15 to 240, in 15-minute steps). The equivalent number of TPO brackets is re-derived automatically when you change Block Size. Shown when IBR is on. | 60 | | IBR color swatch | Color of the initial-balance marker. Shown when IBR is on. | White in dark mode, black in light mode | | Poor Highs | Flags poor highs: session highs where multiple TPOs printed at the extreme, a sign the auction finished unfinished business and often gets revisited. Label, Naked Extension, and Show on Price Scale badges work like the POC ones. | Off | | Poor Highs color swatch | Color of the poor-high marker. Shown when Poor Highs is on. | #FFD966 | | Poor Highs: Show Label | Prints a tag at each poor high. Shown when Poor Highs is on. | Off | | Poor Highs: Naked Extension | Extends a poor high right until price trades back through it. Shown when Poor Highs is on. | Off | | Poor Highs: Show on Price Scale | Puts naked poor-high prices on the price scale. Shown when Naked Extension is on. | Off | | Poor Lows | Flags poor lows, the mirror image at session lows. | Off | | Poor Lows color swatch | Color of the poor-low marker. Shown when Poor Lows is on. | #FFD966 | | Poor Lows: Show Label | Prints a tag at each poor low. Shown when Poor Lows is on. | Off | | Poor Lows: Naked Extension | Extends a poor low right until price trades back through it. Shown when Poor Lows is on. | Off | | Poor Lows: Show on Price Scale | Puts naked poor-low prices on the price scale. Shown when Naked Extension is on. | Off | | Single Prints | Highlights single prints, rows where only one TPO printed, left behind by fast one-sided moves; the market often rotates back to repair them. | Off | | Single Prints color swatch | Color of the single-print highlight. Shown when Single Prints is on. | #CC0033 | | Single Prints: Naked Extension | Extends single prints right until price revisits them. Shown when Single Prints is on. | Off | | Buying/Selling Tails | Also evaluates single-print runs at the profile's extremes as buying and selling tails (aggressive rejection of the highs or lows). Changing this refetches the profile data. Shown when Single Prints is on. | Off | | Buy tail edges | Minimum run length, in price rows (0 to 100), before an edge run counts as a buy tail. 0 leaves edge runs unmarked. Shown when Buying/Selling Tails is on. | 0 | | Sell tail edges | Minimum run length, in price rows (0 to 100), before an edge run counts as a sell tail. 0 leaves edge runs unmarked. Shown when Buying/Selling Tails is on. | 0 | ### Annotations | Setting | What it does | Default | | ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | | POC Summary | Prints a compact text summary (POC, VAH, and VAL prices) under each profile. | Off | | Volume Summary | Adds buy, sell, total, and delta volume lines beneath the POC summary. Shown when POC Summary is on. | Off | | Statistics box | Prints session statistics under each profile: range, total volume, value-area width, and rotation factor, plus TPO counts above and below the POC when Show TPO counts is on. | Off | | Show TPO counts | Shows each price row's TPO count and the totals above and below the POC, so you can quantify how lopsided the profile is. | Off | | Liquidation Markers | Draws live liquidation events on the TPO surface as they stream in. Min Notional filters out events below that notional value; Max Markers caps how many stay on the chart. | Off (Min Notional 0, Max Markers 200) | | One-time framing | Draws one-time-framing ledges when consecutive TPO brackets keep making higher lows (up) or lower highs (down), a classic sign of directional conviction. | Off | | OTF: Show OTF labels | Adds a text label at each one-time-framing ledge. Shown when One-time framing is on. | Off | | Up OTF | Color of upward one-time-framing ledges. Shown when One-time framing is on. | #43a047 | | Down OTF | Color of downward one-time-framing ledges. Shown when One-time framing is on. | #e53935 | | Range extension | Marks the prices where the session extended beyond its initial balance, drawn as an edge strip along the profile. | Off | | Range extension color swatch | Color of the range-extension strip. Shown when Range extension is on. | #FFB300 | | Developing POC | Traces how the POC migrated through the session, bar by bar, on the most recent profile. | Off | | Developing: all periods | Draws the developing trail on every visible profile instead of only the current one. Shown when Developing POC is on. | Off | | Developing POC color swatch | Color of the developing-POC trail. Shown when Developing POC is on. | #ffffff | | Developing VA | Traces how the value area's edges evolved through the session. | Off | | Developing VA color swatch | Color of the developing value-area trails. Shown when Developing VA is on. | #888888 | | Day type | Labels each profile with its Market Profile day classification: Normal, Normal Variation, Trend, Double-Distribution, Neutral-Extreme, or Neutral-Center (abbreviated when space is tight). | Off | | Day type color swatch | Color of the day-type label. Shown when Day type is on. | #cccccc | | Open type | Labels each profile's open: Open-Drive, Open-Test-Drive, Open-Rejection-Reverse, or Open-Auction, with an in-balance or out-of-balance tag. | Off | | Open type color swatch | Color of the open-type label. Shown when Open type is on. | #cccccc | ## Volume ![TPO settings, Volume tab](/learn/order-flow/tpo-settings--tab-volume.png) The Volume tab attaches a per-row volume profile to each TPO profile, so you can compare where the market spent time (TPO) against where it actually paid (volume). Everything below the Enabled toggle appears only while it is on. ### Volume profile | Setting | What it does | Default | | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | | Enabled | Draws a volume histogram alongside each TPO profile, one bar per price row. | Off | | Position | Puts the volume bars on the Left or Right side of the TPO blocks. | Left | | Display Mode | Total sizes each bar by all volume traded at that row; Delta sizes it by buy-minus-sell volume and colors it by which side won. | Total | | Show Value | Prints the volume (or delta) number next to each bar when rows are tall enough to fit it. | Off | | Buy | Bar color for buy-dominant rows (and the positive side in Delta mode). | #a5d6a7 | | Sell | Bar color for sell-dominant rows (and the negative side in Delta mode). | #eb1d4e | | Volume color grade | Scales each bar's intensity by its volume relative to the row with the most, making high-volume rows pop. | Off | | Volume threshold | Hides price rows whose traded volume is below this value; filtered rows are also ignored by the hover inspector and structure markers. 0 disables the filter. | 0 | ### Volume levels | Setting | What it does | Default | | ------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | | Point of Control (POC) | Draws the volume POC, the row with the most traded volume, which can sit far from the TPO POC when time and volume disagree. | On | | Volume POC color swatch | Color of the volume POC line. Shown when the volume POC is on. | White in dark mode, black in light mode | | Volume POC: Naked Extension | Extends the volume POC right until price trades back through it. Shown when the volume POC is on. | Off | | Volume POC: Show on Price Scale | Puts the naked volume POC's price on the price scale. Shown when Naked Extension is on. | Off | | Value Area High (VAH) | Draws the volume-based value area high. | Off | | Volume VAH color swatch | Color of the volume VAH line. Shown when the volume VAH is on. | #B0B0B0 in dark mode, #505050 in light mode | | Volume VAH: Naked Extension | Extends the volume VAH right until price trades back through it. Shown when the volume VAH is on. | Off | | Volume VAH: Show on Price Scale | Puts the naked volume VAH price on the price scale. Shown when Naked Extension is on. | Off | | Value Area Low (VAL) | Draws the volume-based value area low. | Off | | Volume VAL color swatch | Color of the volume VAL line. Shown when the volume VAL is on. | #B0B0B0 in dark mode, #505050 in light mode | | Volume VAL: Naked Extension | Extends the volume VAL right until price trades back through it. Shown when the volume VAL is on. | Off | | Volume VAL: Show on Price Scale | Puts the naked volume VAL's price on the price scale. Shown when Naked Extension is on. | Off | {% hint style="info" %} **Good starting points** - Scope the profile to the hours you actually trade: pick a Trading Hour preset (or enable Custom sessions on Daily) so the POC and value area describe your session, not the whole 24-hour tape. - Turn on Naked Extension and Show on Price Scale for the POC: untested POCs project forward as ready-made magnets, and the axis tag keeps them visible when you scroll away. - If profiles render as tall thin stripes, raise Ticks per bar; if they collapse into a few fat blocks, lower it. Tune until single prints and tails are visible but the profile still has shape. {% endhint %}