
Option Workshop, version 17.3.1431
==================================

We prepared a major update for Option Workshop. Many new features have been added to help our users trade efficiently.

There are two new tabs in the Positions manager:

* Orders – contains orders that are linked to selected strategy.
  On this form, you can place or cancel orders, and shift orders one step up or down from the midmarket price.
* Notes – contains text comments about the selected strategy.
  You can write comments on any strategy. Notes are displayed when you hover the cursor over the strategy name.

In the new version, you can change the position’s opening price, set the commission for the exchange/underlying assets/option series/futures,
display the IV curves for several pricing models simultaneously, etc. We will discuss these and other features in this article.

:::cut:::

## Volatility skew

Now you can simultaneously display IV curves for all pricing models created for this option series. In the **Models** list,
check the checkbox in front of the interest model.

![Selecting pricing models](Skew.png){.thumb}

Markers are displayed only for the **default** model.
The default model consists of two parts – a computation model (Black-Scholes or Black) and a volatility model.
In Optin workshop the volatility values are calculated automatically.
If you’re working with several charts simultaneously, you may set different line style for each of them.

![Volatility skew settings](SkewSettings-1024x649.png){.thumb}

## Commission

In Option Workshop, we have added an ability to calculate the fill’s commission.
The commission is configured separately for each account. To do this:

1. right-click on the account;
2. select the **Set commission** command in the context menu;
3. specify the commission size for the exchange/underlying asset/futures/option series.

![Set commission](SetCommission.png){.thumb}

The total сommission for the contracts is displayed in the **Commission** column in the **Positions** table.

![Commission column](Commission.png){.thumb}

The commission for the fill is calculated by this formula: the number of contracts in the fill multiplied by the commission size for the contract.

The commission for the position is a total commission of all fills in the position.

![Positions table and Fills table](FillsPositions-1024x364.png){.thumb}

The total row shows the total commission for all positions.

## Strategy charts

In previous versions of Option Workshop, if a strategy contains options on different expiration dates,
the P&L chart is build on the expiration date of the nearest option.

Now you can select on which date to build the chart.

The drop-down list (**Expiration date**) with expiration dates of options is available
if there are options from the different series. The selected date will be used to build the chart.

![P&L chart](StrategyCharts.png){.thumb}

## Position opening price

In the new version, you can change the positions’ opening price. Click the **Set price** button, and a list with following prices will open:

* **Theo** – theoretical price;
* **Midmarket** – midmarket price, which is composed of the average of the bid/ask;
* **Best** – the price of the best codirectional order. In this case, the best bid price will be set for a long position,
  and best ask price for a short position;
* **Worst** – the price of counter orders. In this case, the best ask price will be set for a long position,
  and best bid price for a short position;
* **Last price** – the last traded price.

![Positions’ opening price](SetPrice.png){.thumb}

When you select any of the items, the appropriate instrument parameter will be taken, and the position price will be corrected.
Two adjustment fills will be created. But the position size will not be changed.

## Option desk and Spread desk

When you hover the cursor over the tab name (Option desk or Spread desk),
a tooltip with the expiration date of the options series will be shown.

![Spread desk](SpreadDesk.png){.thumb}

## Orders

In the Positions manager, we’ve added an **Orders** tab.
This tab contains orders that are linked to selected strategies.
The set of features will be similar to the Orders manager form, plus a few useful tools:

* Two buttons to shift orders: one (![](ToMidmarket.png)) to increase and decrease the bid and offer prices;
  another (![](AwayMidmarket.png)) to decrease and increase the bid and offer prices.
  Prices are updated in one minimum price step.
* Additional columns: bid and offer for the instrument, strike, instrument type, price step and theoretical price.

![Orders tab](OrdersTab-1024x403.png){.thumb}

## Accounts and strategies renaming

Now you can rename accounts and strategies by double-clicking the name of the account/strategy.
The **Rename** command is also available in a context menu.

![Strategies renaming](Rename.png){.thumb}

![Account](Account.png){.thumb}

## Adding comments to the strategy

In the new version, you can add notes/comments to the strategies.
We have added a **Notes** tab in the **Positions** manager.
Simply enter your text and click the **Save** button.

![Adding comments to the strategy](Comments.png){.thumb}

The note text is displayed when you hover the cursor over a strategy name in the **Strategies** list.

## New column in Option desk

In the Option desk, we’ve added a new column for the call and put options: Open interest.
It’s not yet available for all data sources, but will be developed in updates soon.

## Interface

For easy navigation in the **Active windows** selection window (opened by pressing **Ctrl+Tab**), forms are now grouped by type:

* Strategy charts;
* Option desks;
* Spread desks;
* Other windows.

![Active windows](Windows.png){.thumb}

To switch between windows, use the arrows on your keyboard.

## What we have fixed

* An error when stopping the Delta hedger on a schedule.
* Incorrect calculation of P&L (Money) on expired instruments.
* Zero volatility in Option desk at normal prices.
* An error while creating virtual expired stock options.
* The absence of price rounding when placing orders.
* Incorrect calculation of prices in the Total row in the Positions table.
* Creating the adjustment fills when moving positions to another strategy.
* Incorrect format of order prices in the Option desk.
* Incorrect formation of the volatility skew.
* Incorrect time of the fills received from Interactive Brokers.


Development plan of Option Workshop in October/November
=======================================================

After the release we have received some good suggestions for program improvement.
Thank you for your response.
Thus, the development plan of Option Workshop in October/November:

1. Show the open interest volume in the Option Desk.
2. Display the theoretical price in the Order book.
3. Add the ability to change the option type of the modeled position.
4. Add standard strategy templates.
5. Add the ability to include an underlying asset to the strategies templates.
6. Add the option to change the update rate of the data exported via DDE.
7. Improve the volatility charts.

:::cut:::


# What`s New in Option Workshop version 16.9

September is here and we have a whole new major update to talk about.
There are several new features that have been added to Option Workshop to help our users trade as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Without further ado, I’m going to talk about each of these feature, and what they allow.

![](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGBEaXh2bNU)

:::cut:::

## Spread template manager

First and foremost is our new spread template manager, it allows our users to design custom spreads, and quickly apply them to any option series.
For example, you’ll now be able to design an iron condor and trade it on any series of your choosing at the click of a button.
You can make your iron condor as ‘wide’ or ‘narrow’ as you like, specifying how far apart each strike is
from every other one using a simple relative formula. Have a look at this screenshot for a preview:

![](strategy_template.png){.thumb}
Figure: Fig. 1 – How our new strategy template manager works

For a full explanation of how our formula works, how to design and apply custom spreads,
have a look at this [blog post](../15/strategy-templates-syntax.md).
Personally, it took me about five minutes before I was comfortable using it!
Once you’ve designed a custom spread, you can apply it to any market, and at any strike price.
This means you can compare the price and other parameters of your spread across any option series at any strike price!

## User Interface change:  Fills tab & positions tab

Next up is a cosmetic change to our UI. We’ve placed the fills tab inside the positions tab, so it’s easy to switch between the two,
enabling you guys to quickly see what the fills are on your positions, be they modelled positions or real ones.
The reason for doing this is we found that most of our users weren’t looking at their fills,
but because Option Workshop has powerful modelling features, it’s always worth knowing which fills your position consists of.

![](positions1-1024x180.png){.thumb}
![](fills-1024x180.png){.thumb}
Figure: Fig. 2 – Here is the new location of the fills tab, right next to the positions tab

## Shift function

Thirdly, we’ve now designed a new approach towards tweaking modelled positions.
Our new ‘shift’ feature allows you to change the strike prices of your whole strategy or a particular option within your strategy
in a couple of clicks.
Either click the shift icons to the right of the chart button in the positions tab while you have
a strategy selected to shift a whole strategy, or right click on an individual position within the positions tab [pictured below].
This will give you guys a quick way of looking at your strategies at different strike prices.
Couple this feature with a ‘what if’ scenarios and there are endless permutations for modelling potential strategies!

![](shift.png){.thumb}
Figure: Fig. 3 – How to access the new shift function

## The Option Desk now has new columns

Another change that we’ve added has been to add some columns to the option desk screen.
Now you can see an option’s intrinsic value as well as it’s time value.
This can help contextualise an options total value, and you’ll be able to see how it’s priced on the market relative to these values.

## Historical charts now update in real time

We’ve improved our historical charting feature. Now it updates in real time, allowing you to follow market moves as they develop.

## Changes in calendar spreads charts

If you have a calendar spread of futures on options, and options in this spread have
different underlying futures (different expiration dates, for example ESU6 and ESZ6),
then to build a chart of the risk profile we will:

1. Put an array of the nearest futures on the X axis
2. Use points from the X axis directly to calculate price of options at these points
3. For calculating prices of options on futures with a later expiry, we will shift X points on the rate, which can be set in settings.
   By doing this we consider to be in contango.

## Virtual total strategy

In the positions tab and on our charts, we’ve now added a virtual total strategy.
While before you could combine two strategies to be displayed on a chart at the same time,
the new virtual total strategy will allow you to see your two strategies combined into one.
This allows for a better overall picture of your positions. On top of this,
it means you can combine real positions that are already in your account with modelled positions,
enabling you to see what your trades would look like if you added or removed part of your spread.

For example, let’s say you’re trading a calendar spread and the market has moved.
VTS will show you how potential hedges can affect your risk profile and change your spread payoff.
You can roll the strike prices of your options and see how these will not only affect the individual options payout, but the whole strategy.

Before:

![](before_vts.png){.thumb}
Figure: Fig. 4 – How we displayed spreads in previous versions

And after:

![](after_vts.png){.thumb}
Figure: Fig. 5 - How we can now display the spreads with the Virtual total strategy function

## Quick spread order processing

We’ve also included a new way to quickly open or close already existing positions.
Simply right click on the strategy name in the strategies column, select ‘open’ or ‘close’ and you will be greeted with this screen:

![](quck_open_close.png){.thumb}
Figure: Fig. 6 – The new Open/close spread menu

Where you’ll be able to quickly place an identical order to an already opened/modelled position or you can close your current position.
If you look at the ‘operation’ column, you can see theres also the ability to make custom combinations
with the relevant options that make up the position.
This functionality is particularly useful for executing real trades on already modelled positions.
In effect, once you’ve found a spread model that is satisfactory,
simply right clicking on it’s name and selecting buy will execute it all at once.

## DDE Export and UI changes

With our new DDE export feature, you can export all of the data we receive into an excel file which updates in real time.
This adds even more options for looking at market data and appraising your strategies.

![](dde1.png){.thumb}
Figure: Fig. 7 – Where to click to access DDE functionality

Simply select the DDE server and the table you want to export, and you’ll be able to see the data in real time,
being updated on your Excel spreadsheet.

## Exclude feature

Another interesting feature is the ability to exclude or include certain positions in a strategy total parameters calculations and charts.
This will allow you to see how your strategy would perform if you sold off or hedged out part of your strategy.

![](de_selection.gif){.thumb}
Figure: Fig. 8 – Our simple de-selection process

## Font changes

How we display our positions has changed also. Our font’s are now specific to order type.
Positions containing real fills, are displayed in bold.
Positions containing adjusted fills, are displayed in italic.
The position type column still shows if that position contains real fills or not

## Exchange filter feature

Finally we’ve added a quick feature to filter out unwanted exchanges in the instrument tree.
Simply click the filter icon at the opt of the instruments tree and you’ll be able to limit the amount of exchanges displayed.

## And finally

With all of these new features, Option Workshop is offering a robust options trading package.
We offer some of the best options modelling services on the market,
coupled with all of these new features on top of our already capable software allowing you to:

- Model, evaluate and test different trading strategies using charting and analytical tools, create customizable ‘what-if’
  scenarios, and monitor the current state of the market.
- Quickly create a new custom strategy using easy relative syntax.
- Apply custom designed spreads to any option series
- View the price of any custom designed spread across all options strikes in a series
- Model or trade custom spreads, and then apply ‘What if’ scenarios
  to see how they will perform in different environments given a change in the underlying, or how their risk profile will look when changing their Theta.
- Combine modelled trades with actual positions to allow you to see whether hedging an existing position is a good idea or not.

So go ahead and give Option Workshop a try.
If you have any questions don’t hesitate to [email me](http://michael@optionworkshop.net), or send a help ticket in our software.

Good luck trading guys!

Michael



Adding positions to a strategy
==============================

There are different ways to add positions to a strategy in Option Workshop.
The most convenient and quickest method is by dragging an instrument from the Option Desk’s table, and dropping it into the positions table.
In this case a form with some pre-filled fields will open.
And you can simply edit these if you wish.
This video demonstrates this method of adding positions and a few other ways to do it.

![](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9bL_HL3cGY)

:::cut:::


# Table settings

In Option Workshop most of the data is displayed in tabular form.
For convenience the tables can be customized to your requirements.
We’ve made two videos that demonstrate how to do it:

1. The first video is about selecting which columns to display, specifying width and sorting order.
2. The second video is about how to create presets, which are used to quickly switch between different table settings.

:::cut:::

![](presets.mp4){style="width: 100%; height: 100%;" autoplay="autoplay" loop="loop" controls="controls"}

![](table-settings.mp4){style="width: 100%; height: 100%;" autoplay="autoplay" loop="loop" controls="controls"}



Release 16.4.812
================

A lot of things have been done in this update!
The new version can already be downloaded [from the website](http://optionworkshop.net/download) or through the update system.

:::cut:::

## New charting

We’ve replaced the library which we were using for charting.
The previous version had serious performance limitations and we were unable to implement some of the features that we wanted.
With the new charting system, we’ll now be able to add these additional features in.

At the moment, users have the same charting functionality, but it is now more efficient, faster and more accurate.
Let’s take a look at a couple of examples:

![](1oqrbpv1-150x150.png)]
![](optionsworkshop_2016-04-15_14-35-28-150x150.png)
![](optionsworkshop_2016-04-15_14-36-10-150x150.png)

We’ve revamped the way that users can manipulate charts.
It hasn’t yet been described in the documentation, but it’s important, so as of this version, the charting manipulation techniques are as follows:

* **Mouse wheel** – move the chart horizontally
* **Ctrl + mouse wheel** – zoom in & out
* **Shift + mouse wheel** – move the chart vertically
* **Right mouse button** – zoom into the selected region
* **Left mouse double click** – reset to 100% view.

Also now we save the **Price range** settings between program launches.
Before, users had complained that it was cumbersome to restore the price range every time.

There are now ten times as many nodes in the grid which is used to build the chart, so they are now 10 times as precise.

## TeamViewer as a remote support system

Before we used Ammyy Admin – it was a nice piece of software, but unfortunately most antiviruses assumed that it was dangerous.
From the perspective of view of an average user, that meant that our software was dangerous, since their executable was inside our distributive.

![OptionsWorkshop_2016-04-15_14-42-27](optionsworkshop_2016-04-15_14-42-27.png)

Now, if you need our support team to help you directly through your computer, press the button in the top right corner.
It will launch the **TeamViewer quick support** executable and our agent will be able to see your monitor (following approval).

## CQG demo generation

Now user can generate a CQG Continuum demo login directly through the software, without asking our support team.
This will decrease the time barrier needed to get new users experiencing our software with live data.

## New columns in the positions table

* **Last price** – the last traded price of the instrument
* **P&L (M)** – profit/loss as shown in currency, rather than in the contracts’ quote points
* **Bid/Offer** – for individual positions these columns show the best prices for corresponding contracts.
  For a summary row it shows the bid and offer for the whole strategy.

## Options desks

* New column – **Last price**
* Reusing last used columns settings when opening new desk
* [Open option desk](http://i.imgur.com/PhDlEir.png) menu item in a context menu for instrument and position

## Instruments tree

The format for the futures codes has now been changed.

Blog #options-desk

Option Workshop, version 17.3.1431

Development plan of Option Workshop in October/November

What`s New in Option Workshop version 16.9

Adding positions to a strategy

Table settings

Release 16.4.812

Last thing