Using Thinkorswim alerts is one of the most useful features on the platform. Instead of staring at prices and indicators all day, you can instead set alerts that will send you a notification when the desired parameters you have set are reached. I will show you how to do this for both price levels and indicators.
Different Ways to Receive Alerts
With Thinkorswim alerts you have the ability to receive them in multiple different ways from sound alerts, text messages, emails, or mobile push notifications. Before you create any type of alert you need to set up how you would like to be notified in your Thinkorswim settings.
- Go to the top right corner and click setup and then go to application settings. This will bring up the settings window where you then need to click the notifications tab located on the top section.
- Now on the notifications tab you will see on the left side a column called “notify about”. Located in the “alert is triggered” section is where you will check the boxes where you would like to receive your alerts. If you would like to receive alerts by email or text message, you will need to confirm your email address or mobile number in the section located at the top.
- That is it and now you are ready to receive alerts, you can also customize what gets sent on each alert in the section called “fields to include for alerts”.
Setting Up Price Alerts
Prices alerts are an alert that happens when the current price crosses or is equal to the price you have set the alert to.
To set up price alerts simply click anywhere on a chart and click “create alert”. This will open up the settings window where you can adjust all the parameters for the alert. Things like the price and whether it should be above or below the level you have set. You can also add notes and choose where you would like to receive the alert in the tabbed sections at the bottom.
Setting Up Indicator Alerts
Indicator alerts are when a specified indicator has reached the desired level you have set the alert to. This can be useful to use on many indicators like RSI which can alert you when a stock is oversold or overbought.
To set up a custom indicator or study alert, you first need to go to the “MarketWatch Tab” and then click the tab called “Alerts”. Once you are in the alerts section you will enter the stock ticker you are looking to set an alert on. Then click the button on the upper right-hand side called “study alert”.
This window is where you will access all the settings to create an indicator alert. By clicking add condition, you have the option to choose from any of the studies on the platform or custom ones you have written in thinkscript. Once you have added the conditions, you can then click create alert.
Now you will receive a notification when the indicator reaches the specified conditions you have set for the alert.
Conclusion
This was a simple guide on how to set up alerts on TD Ameritrades Thinkorswim Platform. Using Alerts will save you valuable time and should definitely be something you use when trading.
