I was hoping to find an experienced TWS user. If I were to place a market order to buy, the only option I have found to place a protective stop , is to place the stop at the same time I initiate the order. to do this I have to hit my price down key 10 times for a 10 tick stop! (futures). Can I program a default 10 tick stop for every trade? The only option I have found to place the stop after the order has been transmitted, is by typing up a ticket. All of this is too slow! I have yet to find any info. on this in the users guide, and IB will not reply to this type of question.
You can also do this by creating "hot keys" directly in TWS (I believe under Configure/Hot Keys from the menu). You can also set order defaults by specific product such that you can create a generic order with an attached stop order and it will alter the stop placement depending which product you are trading when you use one of your hot keys. For example, I have set different stops for the various futures I trade (ES, NQ, YM, DAX, TOPX or HSI) under order defaults.
Also have a look at zerolinetrader.com This product is shaping up as a very nice IB interface. Runningbear