DOM trading software

DOM trading software is an application that receives depth-of-market data from an exchange or broker and displays it as a price ladder: resting bid size below the market, resting ask size above it, updated on every book event. Some ladders only display depth; others also send orders, which depends on the account's routing permission rather than on the software.

Senzoukria · Glossary · Updated September 2026

What the ladder shows

A DOM ladder is a vertical price scale. Each row is one price; the bid column shows the size resting to buy at that price, the ask column the size resting to sell. The two best prices meet at the spread. When a trade prints, the executed size is usually shown in a separate column so that resting liquidity and executions are never mixed in one number.

  • Resting size is intention: orders that may still be cancelled before they trade.
  • Executed size is action: what actually changed hands at that price.
  • A level that shrinks may have traded or been pulled; the ladder alone does not say which, the time and sales does.

Data first, interface second

The quality of DOM software is bounded by the feed behind it. Before comparing colours or keyboard shortcuts, check which data path the platform connects to, how many depth levels that feed delivers for your instrument, and whether depth is aggregated per price or order-by-order. CME distinguishes Market by Price from Market by Order; a platform cannot display granularity that its feed does not carry.

  • Depth reception: is the book delivered at all, and at how many levels per side?
  • Aggregation: one size per price, or every order visible in the queue?
  • Speed: does the ladder keep recentring and repainting during a fast open without freezing?
  • History: can the book be recorded or replayed, or is it live-only?

Order entry is an account permission

Clicking a price to send an order is a separate capability from viewing depth. It depends on the broker or prop-firm connection, the account state and the routing permission attached to it. A read-only data connection displays a full ladder and refuses every click; that is expected behaviour, not a software defect. Automated routing, where a rule sends orders without a human click, is a further permission that many funded accounts forbid.

In Senzoukria

The DOM ladder lives beside the heatmap and on the Trading page. Its panel is labelled "DOM ladder", with a companion "DOM profile" that shows the same depth level by level. "DOM settings" exposes "Panel width", "Levels per side" (or "All") and a "Large orders ≥" threshold that marks sizes above the value you choose. Faded rows mark levels seen earlier in the session that have since left the live book, and "Back to the spread" recentres the ladder. On a supported Rithmic connection the Trading page adds the order ticket; on crypto feeds the ladder is analysis only and no order can be sent.

Common mistakes

  • Judging a ladder from a marketing screenshot instead of a live, fast session on your own feed.
  • Assuming a large resting size will trade; it can be pulled before price reaches it.
  • Buying a licence before confirming that the account permits manual, let alone automated, order routing.
  • Treating an empty ladder as a quiet market when the depth subscription simply is not entitled.

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Frequently asked questions

Does DOM software replace a footprint chart?
No. The DOM shows resting liquidity at this moment, the footprint shows what executed at each price over a bar, and the heatmap shows how resting liquidity evolved over time. They answer different questions, and no single view separates resting size from executions as clearly as using them together.
Can I send orders from any DOM ladder?
Only if the connected account permits it. Order entry is a routing permission granted by the broker or prop firm, not a feature switched on by the software. Check manual and automated permissions separately, because a firm can allow one and forbid the other.
Why does my ladder show fewer levels than another platform?
Depth is delivered by the feed, and feeds differ in how many levels they carry and whether they are aggregated per price or listed order by order. The platform can only display what the subscription delivers, so compare the actual data received before comparing the software.

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