Hello ATAS Development Team,
I use ATAS X for futures trading, primarily for volume profile, order flow, and auction market analysis.
The platform offers powerful market data, but developing custom indicators is unnecessarily complicated compared with TradingView's Pine Script.
I want to explain the problems I have encountered and suggest specific improvements.
1. Introduce a built-in scripting editor similar to Pine Script
Currently, developing an ATAS indicator involves setting up a C# project, referencing ATAS DLL files, compiling the code, and installing the resulting DLL.
This creates a major barrier for traders who want to build and test their own indicators.
I would like ATAS X to introduce a built-in scripting environment where users can:
Write and edit indicator code directly inside ATAS X.
Run indicators without manually compiling DLL files.
See compilation errors directly in the editor.
Modify indicator settings and immediately see the changes on their charts.
Access built-in functions for price, volume, delta, market profile, and chart drawings.
C# development should remain available for advanced developers, but users should also have a simpler way to build indicators.
2. Make volume profile development much easier
ATAS is a volume-analysis platform. Building a custom volume profile should be one of its most straightforward development tasks.
I want to create indicators that automatically calculate and display:
Previous-day RTH volume profiles.
Overnight session volume profiles.
Previous-week RTH volume profiles.
Current-session developing volume profiles.
Fixed-range volume profiles.
Volume delta profiles.
POC, VAH, VAL, HVNs, and LVNs.
Users should be able to specify a start time, end time, volume-profile type, and chart location without having to rebuild the underlying volume calculation and rendering logic.
Ideally, ATAS would provide a documented profile function that accepts a start and end time and returns the complete volume distribution, POC, VAH, and VAL.
For example, developers should be able to request the previous day's volume profile and plot its histogram and levels using a small amount of code.
3. Add simple chart-drawing functions
TradingView's Pine Script makes drawing lines, boxes, labels, and other chart elements relatively straightforward.
ATAS should offer similarly accessible functions for creating and managing chart objects.
I want to be able to:
Draw a horizontal line at the previous day's POC.
Extend that line to the right.
Add a label reading "PD POC."
Draw a volume histogram beside a selected session.
Display a delta histogram beside the volume profile.
Update developing VAH, VAL, and POC levels automatically.
Set the colors, transparency, width, and position of each object.
These operations should not require writing extensive custom rendering code.
4. Make fixed-range volume profiles programmable
ATAS should make it easy to build custom fixed-range profiles directly through its indicator-development tools.
A developer should be able to select two points on a chart and request the volume distribution between them.
The resulting profile should support configurable row sizes, value area percentages, histogram placement, volume delta, and automatically generated POC, VAH, and VAL levels.
The profile should update when users move its start or end point.
I would also like custom indicators to be able to create multiple independent fixed-range profiles on the same chart.
5. Improve documentation and provide complete working examples
The developer documentation should include complete, ready-to-run examples for common trading tools.
In particular, I would like official examples showing how to build session volume profiles, fixed-range profiles, delta histograms, developing value-area levels, and labeled horizontal lines.
The examples should explain which ATAS assemblies are required, how to compile the indicator for the current ATAS X version, and how to install and update it.
A downloadable project that works immediately would be much more useful than having to assemble multiple code snippets and troubleshoot missing references.
6. Add an automated build and installation system
ATAS should provide a simple way to compile and install indicators without manually managing DLL dependencies.
Ideally, users could select an indicator's source code and click a Build and Install button.
ATAS would automatically identify the installed platform version, select the correct dependencies, compile the indicator, and install it in the correct location.
Compilation errors should include clear explanations and possible fixes.
7. Make custom indicators more accessible to non-programmers
Many traders know exactly what they want their indicators to display but do not have the programming experience necessary to build them.
A visual indicator builder or simplified scripting language would allow more traders to create useful analytical tools.
For example, a user should be able to specify:
"Calculate the previous day's RTH volume profile, display its histogram, extend its POC, VAH, and VAL levels to the right, and label them automatically."
ATAS should make implementing that type of indicator substantially easier than it is today.
Conclusion
ATAS already has extensive market-data and volume-analysis capabilities. The main improvement I am requesting is a simpler, more accessible development experience.
TradingView demonstrates how useful an integrated scripting environment can be for traders who want to build, modify, and test their own indicators.
Bringing that level of accessibility to ATAS, while retaining its existing C# development capabilities and detailed order-flow data, would make custom indicator development much more practical.
I would appreciate it if your development team could review these suggestions and explain whether improvements to the indicator API, chart-rendering functions, and development environment are planned.
Thank you.
(yes i used ai obviously but these are all the issues im having after someone just switching from tradingview)
