Link tools with A–H color groups

Treat each color group as a shared investigation

Map's A–H groups store shared selections for compatible widgets. The color is a convenient visual identifier for that group, not a market signal or a direction. A group can coordinate symbol, session, compatible expiration selections, date and time, and eligible display price basis. An unlinked widget retains independent settings. Start by deciding which tools should answer the same underlying question. Two widgets should share a group because you want their supported selections coordinated, rather than merely because their panels happen to be adjacent.

Assign tools to a group

The editable tab menu exposes Link group. Group A is identified as the page-symbol group, while the other letters can support separate comparisons.

1. Open the first tool's tab menu and choose Link group.
2. Select A or another group letter, then assign the related tools to that same letter.
3. Inspect the headers to confirm the effective symbol and session.
4. Change one supported shared selection and verify which tools update.
5. Choose None for a widget that should remain independent. Check its local settings after unlinking so the comparison remains intentional.

Use the page's A group with care

The Map heading's symbol and linked-date controls operate on the primary A group. Choosing a saved personal layout can also restore that layout's A-group symbol and session. This behavior makes a workspace reusable, but can surprise you if you expected a newly selected layout to inherit every previous page choice. Read the heading after switching layouts. Other color groups can retain distinct selections, so a single page can intentionally contain SPX analysis alongside a different underlying. The shared heading does not imply that every independent panel has become SPX.

Know which settings stay local

Linking does not mean every control becomes global. Chart interval, visual appearance, study settings and tool-specific filters can remain attached to the individual widget. Some OHLC instrument edits can remain local to that chart even inside a linked tab. The supported linkage depends on the tool's context. For a controlled comparison, change one shared field at a time and inspect the headers. If two linked charts still look different, compare their interval, expiration scope, filter range and local settings before concluding that the color linkage failed.

Coordinate date and time without confusing Live

The linked-date control can select Live, Latest session or an available historical date. Pin date and time to layout keeps an intentional historical choice with the arrangement; Unpin returns the group to an unpinned workflow. A pinned group should not be expected to follow the current market simply because another group is live. This is useful when comparing a historical exposure state with a current one. Keep the group letter and date visible in your notes, since two visually similar charts can be answering different points on the clock.

Understand shared price-coordinate choices

Eligible SPX or SPY-family price-axis widgets can display ES or MES coordinates; eligible NDX or QQQ-family widgets can use NQ or MNQ. Compatible tools in the same link group share that choice. Original restores source coordinates and can override a previously remembered local mapping. Changing to an incompatible underlying clears an incompatible group basis. Only price coordinates change: exposure amounts, option premium, volatility, volume, open interest and exact contract identity retain their source meaning. Matching symbols and colors do not turn these different measures into one unit.

Diagnose a widget that did not follow

Check the actual tab link assignment first, then confirm that the changed control is one the tool supports through its group. Inspect local overrides, date pins and incompatible instrument families. If only one widget is unavailable after a symbol change, its source inputs may be missing even though the linked selection updated correctly. Reopen the tab menu to verify the current group rather than repeatedly toggling letters. Include group letters, both tool names and before-and-after headers in a support ticket. That evidence separates a synchronization issue from a deliberate local setting or unavailable market input.