Desktops & Layout

Tempest remembers how you arrange its panels and charts, and lets you save named layouts ("desktops") you can reload at any time — useful for different routines such as pre-market prep versus active trading.

Panels, Docking, and Tabs

Tempest's panels are docks — they can sit attached to the main window, stack together as tabs, or float as separate windows. You can rearrange them freely:

• Float a panel — drag a panel's title bar away from the main window; it becomes a separate floating window.
• Re-dock a panel — drag a floating window back toward an edge of the main window and release; it snaps back in.
• Stack panels as tabs — drag one panel onto another to group them into a tabbed area.

📷 Screenshot: The main window mid-drag, showing a panel being detached with the dock-target overlay visible.

Out of the box, the Signals panel fills the working area. Other panels are available from the View menu (covered below). Rearrangements you make by hand are kept for the current and next session automatically, but they are not stored under a name until you save a desktop.

Saving a Window Arrangement (Desktop)

A desktop is a named snapshot of:

• The main window's position and size
• The arrangement of all docked/tabbed/floating panels
• Every open chart window — its symbol, size, and which monitor it's on

To save your current layout:

1. Arrange your windows, panels, and charts as you want them.
2. Go to File → Save as Desktop…
3. In the Save Desktop dialog, type a name (the field is pre-filled with My Desktop).
4. Click OK.

The status bar confirms Desktop "<name>" saved. The layout is stored in your Tempest preferences and persists across restarts.

📷 Screenshot: The "Save Desktop" dialog with the "Desktop name:" text field.

Note: A desktop records exact window positions, including which monitor each window is on. If you save on a multi-monitor setup and later reload with fewer monitors connected, some windows may land off-screen. Save the layout on the monitor configuration you actually use.

Loading a Saved Desktop

To restore a layout you saved earlier:

1. Open File → Load Desktop.
2. Click the desktop name in the submenu.

The status bar confirms Desktop "<name>" loaded. Loading a desktop also reopens the chart windows that were open when you saved, each at its saved size and monitor.

The submenu is rebuilt every time you open it, so a desktop you just saved appears immediately without restarting. If you have not saved any desktops yet, the submenu shows a disabled (no saved desktops) entry.

Note: When you close Tempest, the current layout is automatically saved under the name (last session). You can reopen it later from File → Load Desktop → (last session).

Choosing a Default Desktop (Loads on Startup)

You can have Tempest automatically load one of your saved desktops every time it starts:

1. Go to File → Settings…
2. In the Settings dialog, pick a desktop from the Default desktop (loaded on startup): list, or choose (none) to start with the standard layout.
3. Click OK.

The status bar confirms the choice (for example, Default desktop set: <name> (loads on next startup).). The default takes effect the next time you launch Tempest.

Note: If you have not saved any desktops yet, File → Settings… shows a message telling you to save one first with File → Save as Desktop…, then return to pick it as the default. If a previously chosen default no longer exists, Tempest simply starts with the standard layout.

Tip: Save a desktop called "Morning Setup" and set it as your default so the app opens ready for your routine each day.

Resetting to the Standard Layout

If your panels get tangled — floating windows scattered, tabs in an odd order — you can restore the standard arrangement:

1. Go to View → Reset Layout.

Tempest re-docks anything you floated and re-shows the standard clean view, with the Signals panel filling the working area and the secondary panels (Forming Signals, Formed Signals, Today's Trades, Open Orders) tucked away — each one click away from the View menu.

Reset Layout does not load a saved desktop; it only straightens the current session. To return to a specific saved layout, use File → Load Desktop instead.

Showing and Hiding Panels (View Menu)

The View menu lets you toggle individual panels on or off. Each entry is a checkbox; hidden panels take up no space and are one click away. Exact menu labels:

The View menu also includes a Show today's signals only checkbox that limits the signals list to today's signals — see The Signals View for details.

Note: Some panels appear only when your license tier includes assisted trading. See Licensing & Tiers.

Choosing a Theme (Dark / Light)

Tempest ships with two color schemes:

1. Open View → Theme.
2. Choose Dark or Light.

Your choice is saved and re-applied on the next launch. After switching, the status bar notes that some panels may need a window-toggle to fully restyle — if a panel still shows old colors, hide and re-show it from the View menu.

📷 Screenshot: The View → Theme submenu showing the Dark and Light options.

Sparkline (Entry-Price Trend)

In the Signals view, each symbol's group header can show a small sparkline — a miniature trend line of recent entry prices for that symbol — in its Action column. To turn it on or off:

1. Go to View → Sparkline (a checkbox; on by default).

This is purely visual and does not affect order placement or signal recording.

Bar Countdown Overlay

The bar countdown is an on-screen counter showing the time remaining in the current bar. It floats in a corner of the main window.

Show or Hide the Countdown

1. Go to View → Show Bar Countdown (or press Ctrl+Shift+D).

When checked, the counter appears and updates as the bar progresses; unchecked, it hides.

Move the Countdown to a Corner

With the countdown visible, choose where it sits:

1. Go to View → Countdown Position.
2. Pick Top-Left, Top-Right (default), Bottom-Left, or Bottom-Right.

Your choice is saved and re-applied next launch. Place it away from your chart's price/time labels so both stay readable.

📷 Screenshot: The bar countdown overlay in the top-right corner of the main window.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Common Scenarios

"I can't see the Assisted Trading panel"

Re-enable it from View → Signals (the assisted trading panel's menu entry is labeled Signals), or run View → Reset Layout to restore the standard view. If the entry is missing entirely, your license tier may not include assisted trading — see Licensing & Tiers.

"My panels are stacked in a confusing way"

Run View → Reset Layout to restore the standard arrangement.

"I want a different setup for different parts of the day"

Save a separate desktop for each (for example "Pre-Market" with Forming Signals visible, and "Active Trading" with Open Orders and Today's Trades visible), then switch between them from File → Load Desktop.

"I want every session to start the same way"

Save a desktop, then choose it as the default in File → Settings…. Tempest will load it automatically on the next launch.

Layouts and view options are personal preferences and do not change how signals are received or how orders are placed. Trading futures carries a substantial risk of loss; you alone are responsible for your configuration and trades.

Next: See AI Price Action Commentary for the optional AI commentary panel, or revisit The Signals View.