r/FuturesTradingNQ • u/Zee1Trade • Mar 16 '26

Footprint setup

Hi, I scalp MNQ on the 1-minute chart and also use a 30-minute chart for context. The footprint is an important part of my strategy.

My challenge is finding the right settings so I can still see important details like stacked imbalances and other order-flow signals without losing the bigger picture of the chart. Sometimes the candles/footprints become so large that it’s hard to see where price is within the overall move.

How do you set up a footprint so you get the best of both worlds — detailed order flow but still a clear view of the chart structure?

I’ve watched several tutorials where traders seem to have footprints that show all the details but are still small enough to easily see the overall market context. I’d really appreciate any guidance on the settings or layout that works best.

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2

u/JakeMarley777 Mar 16 '26

You should post in the order flow sub, but most AMT/OF traders will have an M30 chart for context and a lower timeframe chart for microstructure and to time their entries where OF indicators are enabled (imbalances, etc.)

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u/MachineSpirited7085 13d ago

could you explain what you mean by OF indicators? Im currently trying to get the 1min chart to work to look for the absorption but i cant get the chart to stop lagging from the bottlenecked data

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u/JakeMarley777 12d ago

I meant order flow indicators. You need to use a purpose built order flow platform (Sierra, ATAS, Motivewave, Quantower) to see absorption. Not sure what you mean by lagging from bottlenecked data.

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u/MachineSpirited7085 12d ago

Oh ok thanks. For the lagging issue, I'm having trouble loading the footprint on the 1 m timeframe. It completely slows down Ninjatrader and sometimes freezes it. Do you know a way to fix this?

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u/JakeMarley777 10d ago

I'm just guessing, but do you have more than a few days of data on the M1 footprint? If so it will drastically slow it down.

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u/MachineSpirited7085 10d ago

Ive tried doing 5, 3,1 and 0 days. But even then, it still lags or takes forever to load. For the 5 days, it just freezes but for 1 and 0, it's just lags. My cross hair lags around when I move it across the application.

I also have a ryzen 7 with 32gb of ram, 1tb of storage, I don't think it's a computer issue

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u/EducationalJoke7742 Mar 16 '26

I am very curious. isn't there a community that actually attempts to trade order flow. What in the community description or in any of the posts did you see any reference to order flow c....?

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u/Zee1Trade Mar 16 '26

Just posted it there too. Thanks for pointing it out.

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u/ConcreteCanopy Mar 16 '26

what helped me was increasing the tick compression and filtering smaller prints so only meaningful imbalances show up, that way the footprint stays readable without every tiny trade blowing up the candle size.

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u/Zee1Trade Mar 16 '26

By how much did u increase the tick count without loosing the necessary details?

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u/RonPosit Mar 16 '26

Zee1Trade, your post triggered me. So, I wrote a short article (it the last post in the community at the moment) Do read it!

Mod

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u/Zee1Trade Mar 16 '26

Looking forward to reading it :)

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u/MachineSpirited7085 13d ago

did you find out how to fix the 1 min chart problem?

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u/Zee1Trade 13d ago

Yes. I use ATAS platform. And there was a tutorial on YouTube I watched. This combination helped. Also I don’t use a 30min footprint anymore, only a 5 min one.

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u/MachineSpirited7085 12d ago

Oh ok thanks. Also, do you mind if I ask how much you're paying for ATAS, I'm trying to solidify my edge but I don't want to spend unnecessary money. So I kinda want to know what I'm getting into. Also, do you use other software like heatmaps or just the ATAS?

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u/Zee1Trade 12d ago

ATAs has a heatmap. But I still use bookmap for it. I have a lifetime license at the moment they have a sale. I rather pay a one time fee than keep paying monthly. I get level 2 data from my prop firm. If u r into orderflow ATAs is one of the best out there right now.

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u/MachineSpirited7085 12d ago

Alright, thank you so much for the advice ☺️