Footprint cell types
Footprint cell types are the display modes that decide what each price level inside a candle shows: raw bid and ask volume, delta, total volume, trade count, a per-level profile, or a colour intensity. The underlying data is the same; the cell type changes which of its numbers is drawn and how.
Senzoukria · Glossary · Updated September 2026
One dataset, several renderings
Every footprint bar stores, per price level, the volume executed at the bid, the volume executed at the ask and the number of trades. Everything a cell can show is derived from those three numbers: delta is ask minus bid, volume is ask plus bid, and profiles are the same values drawn as horizontal bars instead of digits. Switching the cell type does not recompute anything; it chooses a rendering.
That is why a cell type is a reading choice rather than an analysis choice. Bid × Ask is the most literal, Delta the most compact, profiles quick to scan when zoomed out, heatmap cells still legible when hundreds of levels are on screen and digits no longer fit.
The 16 types in Senzoukria
| Family | Type | What the cell draws |
|---|---|---|
| Numbers | Bid × Ask | Bid volume on the left, ask volume on the right |
| Numbers | Delta | Ask minus bid, signed |
| Numbers | Centered Delta | Delta with the digits centred in the cell |
| Numbers | Volume | Bid plus ask |
| Numbers | Trades | Number of executions at the level |
| Numbers | Volume + Trades | Both numbers side by side |
| Numbers | Volume + Delta | Both numbers side by side |
| Profiles | Delta Profile | Signed horizontal bar of delta per level |
| Profiles | Volume Profile | Horizontal bar of volume per level |
| Profiles | Trades Profile | Horizontal bar of trade count per level |
| Profiles | Bid/Ask Profile | Two bars per level, bid and ask |
| Profiles | Bid/Ask Ladder | Bid and ask bars extending from the centre outward |
| Profiles | Pos/Neg Delta Profile | Positive and negative delta as two separate bars |
| Heatmap | Heatmap Volume | Cell colour intensity from volume |
| Heatmap | Heatmap Trades | Cell colour intensity from trade count |
| Heatmap | Heatmap Delta | Cell colour from delta, two hues |
Choosing a type for the question at hand
- Reading a single bar level by level, as the footprint reading guide does: Bid × Ask.
- Scanning for the one-sided levels that make diagonal imbalances: Delta or Delta Profile.
- Finding the bar's POC and stopping volume by eye: Volume Profile or Heatmap Volume.
- Judging whether a level's volume came from a few large prints or many small ones: Volume + Trades.
- Working on a long timeframe or a wide price range where digits no longer fit: any Heatmap type.
In Senzoukria
The Footprint type chip sits on the Footprint page toolbar; the guided tour step "Cell types" opens it, describes what the menu changes (bid and ask, delta, volume, imbalances) and picks one before continuing. Types with no buyer or seller side (Volume, Trades, plain numbers) use the "Footprint cell colours" settings; Bid/Ask and Delta types follow the Bid and Ask colours. A separate "Heatmap candles" option fades bar bodies with volume or delta, independently of the cell type.
The free footprint charts comparison and the footprint trading hub describe which of these renderings the web demonstrations show; the full set is in the desktop application.
Common mistakes
- Expecting a different delta from a different cell type. The number is the same; only its drawing changes.
- Reading Trades as volume. Ten trades of one contract and one trade of ten contracts show the same volume and a very different trade count.
- Using the Heatmap Delta hue to judge size. It encodes sign and magnitude by colour, which is coarser than the digits.
Related
This page in other languages
Frequently asked questions
- Which footprint cell type should a beginner start with?
- Bid × Ask, because it shows the two raw numbers every other type is derived from. Once reading bid on the left and ask on the right is automatic, Delta compresses the same information into one signed number per level, and the profile types make it scannable across many bars.
- Do profile cell types replace the volume profile indicator?
- No. A profile cell type draws the distribution inside one bar. The volume profile indicator accumulates levels across many bars or a whole session and adds POC, value area high and value area low. They are often used together: the indicator for the session structure, the cell type for the bar in front of you.