Footprint cell types: Bid × Ask, delta, volume and 16 cell layouts

The Footprint type chip in the chart toolbar decides what every price-level cell shows: a pair of numbers, a single metric, a horizontal mini-profile or a shaded heatmap cell. Sixteen layouts are grouped into three families, and the choice is persisted per chart settings.

Senzoukria · Documentation · Updated September 2026

Where to find it

Where
Chart toolbar → Footprint type chip (labelled B×A by default) → popover
Default
Bid × Ask (Numbers family)
Families
Numbers (7 layouts), Profiles (6), Heatmap (3)
Also in the popover
Heatmap candles: Off / Volume / Delta (default Off)

What it does

A footprint bar is a candle broken into price levels. For each level the feed supplies the volume traded at the bid (aggressive sellers), the volume traded at the ask (aggressive buyers) and the number of trades on each side. The cell type selects which of these values the cell displays and how: as text, as a horizontal bar whose length is proportional to the value, or as a background whose intensity carries the value.

The chip sits in the chart toolbar and shows a short code for the current layout (B×A, Δ, VOL, TRD, Δ▤, V▓ and so on). Clicking it opens a popover titled Footprint type. Every entry carries a small drawn thumbnail so the seven Numbers layouts and the profile layouts can be told apart before you pick one. The popover closes on selection, on Escape or on a click outside it.

The 16 layouts

Cell layouts as listed in the Footprint type popover, by family
FamilyLayoutWhat the cell shows
NumbersBid × AskSell volume at the bid on the left, buy volume at the ask on the right, separated by ×. Default.
NumbersDeltaOne signed number per level: ask volume minus bid volume.
NumbersCentered DeltaThe delta number with a small signed bar drawn behind it.
NumbersVolumeTotal volume of the level (bid + ask).
NumbersTradesNumber of executions on the level (tick footprint).
NumbersVolume + TradesTotal volume and trade count side by side.
NumbersVolume + DeltaTotal volume and signed delta side by side.
ProfilesDelta ProfileHistogram of the delta from a central axis; the number is dimmed.
ProfilesVolume ProfileMini volume profile inside the bar.
ProfilesTrades ProfileSame silhouette, using the trade count.
ProfilesBid/Ask ProfileTwo mirrored wings: bid to the left of the axis, ask to the right.
ProfilesBid/Ask LadderBars anchored to the cell edges, DOM-ladder style.
ProfilesPos/Neg Delta ProfilePositive deltas to the right, negative to the left, each side normalised separately.
HeatmapHeatmap VolumeBackground intensity proportional to total volume.
HeatmapHeatmap TradesBackground intensity proportional to trade count.
HeatmapHeatmap DeltaDiverging background proportional to signed delta.

How to use it

  • Use Bid × Ask when you need the raw numbers and want per-cell imbalance highlighting; the other Numbers layouts trade detail for readability on narrower bars.
  • Use a Profiles layout when you read a bar as a shape (where the volume or delta sits inside the range) rather than as figures.
  • Use a Heatmap layout on dense charts: the shading is read at a glance and the figure is drawn dimmed as a secondary cue.
  • The Bid, Ask, Volume, Trades and Cell text colours used by these layouts are set in the Footprint settings modal; see the cell colours page.

Limits and zoom behaviour

Cells are only drawn in footprint mode. The chart enters footprint mode when a bar is at least 78 px wide and at most 96 bars are visible, and leaves it when a bar drops under 62 px or more than 104 bars are visible; between the two thresholds the current mode is kept to avoid flicker. Outside footprint mode the chart draws candles, optionally shaded by the Heatmap candles setting.

Rows are display-only aggregations. When a tick is drawn at fewer than 12 px, adjacent ticks are grouped by powers of two (2, 4, 8 ticks per row) so the grouping does not change on every pixel of vertical zoom; the original per-tick candles remain the source for indicators. When the fitted text would fall under 6 px, the number is not drawn at all rather than drawn illegibly; the bars still carry the signal.

A level whose feed does not supply a trade count shows zero trades in the Trades layouts; the chart does not estimate a count. Data coverage and freshness depend on the connected source.

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Frequently asked questions

Which cell type is the default?
Bid × Ask. It is the richest layout and the one where per-cell imbalance highlighting (bold, glowing numbers) is visible.
Why do my cells disappear when I zoom out?
The chart switches to candle mode when bars get narrower than 62 px or more than 104 bars are visible. Zoom in until a bar is at least 78 px wide and at most 96 bars are on screen to get cells back.
Does changing the cell type change the indicators?
No. The cell type only changes what is drawn in the cell. Stacked imbalances, naked POCs, profiles and every series indicator compute from the same per-tick data regardless of the layout.

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