Import Ticker Symbols

You can now populate a trading page with market data by importing a text file containing a comma-delimited list of ticker descriptions. Create the list using any word processing program and save the file with a .txt file extension.

To create a text file of ticker symbols to import

Create a file with the extension .txt, for example twsTickers.txt.
In the file, create one comma-delimited line for each line of market data you want using the syntax described below. Note that the first field designation is the line type: DES, SYM, and CON.

DES, UNDERLYING, SECTYPE, EXCHANGE, EXPIRATION, STRIKE, PUT/CALL, MULTIPLIER

SYM, SYMBOL, EXCHANGE

CON, CONID, EXCHANGE

The DES line type requires information or placeholders for information, with the strike, Put/Call and multiplier fields being optional. Format for the expiry is YYYYMM, or YYYYMMDD. All entries must be in caps. An example for an options contract XYZ would be:

DES, XYZ, OPT, ISE, 200607, 75, CALL,

A stock contract for symbol XYZ in this line type would look like this:

DES, XYZ, STK, SMART,,,,

where the commas are placeholders for fields you don't define for stocks.

Using the SYM line type for a stock would look like this:

SYM, XYZ, SMART

Use the CON type to quickly enter contracts with a conid, for example

CON, 12348765, SMART

To import a contracts file

When you import a file, the contract lines will be entered on the bottom of the active trading page unless you elect to enter them on a new page.

On the File menu, select Import Contracts.
Use the Browse button to find the .txt file you created.
To populate a new page with these contracts, check the New Page box and enter a page name; otherwise the contracts will appear at the bottom of the currently selected page.
Click OK.