An explanation
It describes three kinds of chart marks: resting orders, trades that already printed, and indicators that summarize them.
Order flow · Liquidity · Volume
How liquidity and volume sit under a candlestick
A candlestick compresses a stretch of trade into four prices. Traders who study order flow open that stretch back up: where size was waiting, where trades actually printed, and which summaries try to describe both. This page walks through those pictures in plain English.
Resting offers
Trades print
Resting bids
What this page is
The page is a free article. You can read it in the browser. There is nothing to install, nothing to join, and nothing to buy.
Not a financial product
It does not offer securities, derivatives, cryptocurrency, credit, or a managed account. It does not introduce a broker.
No personal data
There is no form, no account, and no mailing list. Privacy and terms are linked in the header and the footer.
Three layers, one chart
Products in this category stack the same raw events in different colors. Keeping the layers separate makes the colors easier to read.
Orders that are still waiting
A limit order sits at a price until it trades, is changed, or is canceled. A heatmap colors those resting sizes over time. A bright band is a price where a lot of size was parked, for a while.
Trades that already happened
A print is a match between a buyer and a seller. Volume dots, footprints, and delta tools describe those matches: how much, at which price, and whether the trade lifted an offer or hit a bid.
Indicators built on both
Imbalance, absorption, large-lot marks, and liquidation marks are rules applied to the book and the tape. They highlight a pattern. They do not name the participant, and they do not set the next price.
What each display is for
Select a display. The notes below describe the question it can help with, and the limit that stays attached to the answer.
Heatmap: a history of the resting book
Color stands in for size. Darker or brighter cells, depending on the scale the product uses, mean more contracts, shares, or coins were resting at that price during that slice of time. Traders use it to see which prices held thick interest and which prices were thin. When a band vanishes, the orders were traded, canceled, or moved. The picture alone does not say which of those three occurred. A heatmap is a record. A thick band can be pulled a second before price arrives.
Volume: the trades, without waiting for the candle to close
Volume dots place traded size on the chart as prints occur. Volume delta compares aggressive buying (trades that lift offers) with aggressive selling (trades that hit bids). Cumulative delta keeps a running sum of that difference. A volume profile turns the same trades sideways and shows where, by price, the session did most of its business, including the price with the heaviest trade. Price can rise while delta falls, and it can fall while delta rises. Traders treat that disagreement as a question about who is passive, not as a completed forecast.
Indicators: labels on top of the same events
An imbalance mark flags a price where one side traded much more than the other. An absorption mark flags heavy aggressive trade that did not travel far, which readers often interpret as a passive order taking the other side. A large-lot or “iceberg” mark flags size above a threshold, or repeated refills at one price. On crypto perpetuals, a liquidation mark shows where margin closes were reported or estimated. Each mark depends on a threshold someone chose. The same tape can light up on one setting and stay quiet on another. None of these labels identify a fund, a person, or the next trade.
A study path that stays on replay
Order-flow pictures reward slow looking. A practical way to learn them is to separate vocabulary from money.
Name the layer before you name a story
Point at the chart and say whether you are seeing resting size, a print, or an indicator. If you cannot tell, stop there. The story can wait.
Replay a session you already have the right to view
Use market data that comes with a broker or a data vendor you chose and can identify. Mark three places where a bright band disappeared, and write what price did over the next few minutes.
Write the condition that would prove you wrong
A heatmap is context for a decision you still have to make. Decide in advance what price behavior would invalidate the reading. Then compare that note with the replay, before any order ticket is involved.
Questions the colors do not answer
Who placed the order
Public book data shows price and size. It does not attach a name, a fund, or a motive. “Whale” is a nickname for size, not an identity.
Whether the size will stay
Resting orders can be canceled. A band on a heatmap can be an intention that is withdrawn. Pulled liquidity is part of the subject, not a footnote.
Which venue you are seeing
Futures, stocks, and crypto books are published under different rules and depths. A consolidated view mixes venues. Know which book the colors refer to.
What the delay is
Some views are live, some are delayed, some are replay. A delayed book is a study tool. It is a poor guide for an order you intend to send now.
What to compare before you pay any vendor
Charting platforms in this category bill for data, for symbol limits, and for indicators. The rows below are prompts for the vendor’s own current terms.
| Topic | Ask this | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Data source | Which exchange or listing venue, and is the feed live, delayed, or replay? | A heatmap of yesterday’s book teaches structure. It does not describe the book in front of you. |
| Book detail | Is the feed aggregated by price, or does it include order-by-order updates? | Finer feeds show more cancels and refills, and they usually cost more. |
| Coverage | How many symbols can be open at once, and which asset classes are included? | Crypto, stock, and futures coverage are often packaged separately. |
| Execution | Does the subscription place orders, or only draw the chart? | A drawing tool and an order ticket are different products, with different risks. |
| Add-ons | Which indicators are inside the price, and which are billed extra? | A low headline price can exclude the display you actually wanted. |
| Publisher | Can you name the company, the contract, and the official download page? | Install software from that publisher. Ignore a landing page that substitutes its own installer. |
Safety notes
Do not paste commands from an advertisement into the Windows Run box, Terminal, or PowerShell. A real charting vendor lets you download an installer from a site you can match to the company. A one-line command offered by an ad is not a shortcut to market data.
Keep exchange keys off landing pages
API keys, passwords, and wallet phrases belong in the exchange’s own interface. A page about charts has no use for them. A request for them is a reason to leave.
A browser add-on is a separate decision
Extensions and “desktop modules” that read exchange pages can see whatever that page shows, including balances. Review the publisher and the permissions before you add one. This site does not ship an extension.
Loss is part of the activity
Clearer pictures of the book do not remove slippage, gaps, fees, or the chance that a reading is wrong. Only trade with money you can afford to lose, on a venue you have checked yourself.
Questions readers ask
Is this a trading platform?
No. These are notes about how order-flow displays are put together. There is no account, no data feed, and no order ticket on this site.
Will a heatmap tell me the next price?
It shows where size rested and, on some products, where it traded. Price after that is still uncertain. Bands disappear because orders trade and because orders are canceled.
What is the difference between the book and the tape?
The book is what is waiting. The tape is what has already matched. Delta, dots, and footprints describe the tape. The heatmap describes the book through time.
Why do two platforms color the same market differently?
Each one chooses a scale, a time bucket, and a filter. Compare the legend and the data source. A louder color is often a different scale, not a larger truth.
Do I need this kind of chart to trade?
No. Many people trade from candlesticks, depth ladders, or their broker’s default ticket. Order-flow views are an optional way to study the same market in more detail.
Does this page ask for money or personal information?
No. There is no checkout, no registration, and no field that asks for your name, email, or account details.