RTD DB Application Settings Guide

Application settings can be configured in the RTD.DB.exe.config and RTD.DB32.exe.config files.

RTD DB loads application settings at startup. Restart the application to apply any changes.

To open the configuration file, use the File, Open Configuration File menu item. The file can be edited with notepad.exe or any other text editor.

To edit connection strings, use the File, Open Connection Manager menu item.

Configuration File Format

The configuration file can contain the appSettings and connectionStrings sections.

Example Configuration File:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<configuration>
    <appSettings>
        <add key="AppCulture" value="en-US"/>
        <add key="AutoStart" value="true"/>
        <add key="ConfigurationFileEditor" value="notepad.exe"/>
        <add key="ConnectionTimeout" value="5"/>
        <add key="CommandTimeout" value="5"/>
        <add key="InstanceName" value=""/>
        <add key="MinimizeToTray" value="true"/>
        <add key="RefreshTimerInterval" value="50"/>
        <add key="RefreshTaskInterval" value="0"/>
        <add key="ServersAsAdmin" value="TOS VFX"/>
        <add key="TwsUserName" value=""/>
        <!--<add key="TosDecimalSeparator" value="."/>-->
        <!--<add key="TosGroupSeparator" value=","/>-->
        <add key="TosMaxUpdateRows" value="100"/>
        <add key="TosMinUpdateTime" value="10000"/>
        <add key="TosMaxUpdateTime" value="20000"/>
        <add key="tos.rtdMaxTotalTopics" value="100000"/>
        <add key="tos.rtdMaxUpdateRows" value="500"/>
        <add key="tos.rtdMinUpdateTime" value="5000"/>
        <add key="tos.rtdMaxUpdateTime" value="10000"/>
        <add key="tos.rtdIsDynamicCalls" value="True"/>
        <!--<add key="NoDataLimit" value="20"/>-->
        <!--<add key="DataProcessor" value="DataProcessorCS.dll"/>-->
    </appSettings>
    <connectionStrings>
        <add name="rtd-mssql"
            connectionString="Data Source=.\SQLEXPRESS;Initial Catalog=RTD;Integrated Security=True"
            providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
    </connectionStrings>
</configuration>

Configuration File Key Descriptions:

AppCulture: Defines the application culture for user interface translation.
AutoStart: Specifies whether data updating begins immediately after application startup.
Start the application with administrator privileges for updating data from DDE servers that require such privileges (e.g., TOS, VFX).
ConfigurationFileEditor: Defines the application used to edit the RTD DB configuration file.
The default value is notepad.exe.
ConnectionTimeout: Specifies the server connection timeout in seconds.
CommandTimeout: Specifies the command execution timeout in seconds.
InstanceName: Defines the instance name used to select table configurations via the RTD_INSTANCE_NAME field.
MinimizeToTray: Allows minimizing the application window to the system tray.
RefreshTimerInterval: Specifies the data refresh interval in milliseconds.
RefreshTaskInterval: Specifies the interval for checking changes in task tables defined in the LOAD_CODE field of the real_time_tables table.
ServersAsAdmin: Defines RTD and DDE servers that require administrator privileges.
RTD DB requests elevation for these servers.
TwsUserName: Defines the username for Interactive Brokers Trader Workstation (TWS).
This name is used in real-time formulas like =S<TwsUserName> by default if only the =S server is specified.
DecimalSeparator: Defines the decimal separator.
Specify it as <Server>DecimalSeparator (e.g., TosDecimalSeparator) for the Tos DDE server.
GroupSeparator: Defines the thousand group separator.
Specify it as <Server>GroupSeparator (e.g., TosGroupSeparator) for the Tos DDE server.
MaxTotalTopics: Specifies the maximum number of topics created for the RTD server.
RTD DB restarts the RTD client when it requires more topics.
Specify it as <Server>MaxTotalTopics (e.g., tos.rtdMaxTotalTopics) for the tos.rtd server.
This option addresses the bug in thinkorswim that allows creating approximately 200,000 topics, leading to a "pure virtual function call" exception.
MaxUpdateRows: Specifies the maximum number of active tickers connected to the server.
This setting helps prevent server overload. Tickers are rotated by RTD DB.
Specify it as <Server>MaxUpdateRows (e.g., tos.rtdMaxUpdateRows) for the tos.rtd server.
MinUpdateTime: Specifies the minimum number of milliseconds a ticker must be connected to the server before it can be replaced with a new one, provided the total number of tickers exceeds MaxUpdateRows.
Specify it as <Server>MinUpdateTime (e.g., tos.rtdMinUpdateTime) for the tos.rtd server.
MaxUpdateTime: Specifies the maximum number of milliseconds a ticker can be connected to the server before it can be replaced with a new one, provided the total number of tickers exceeds MaxUpdateRows.
Specify it as <Server>MaxUpdateTime (e.g., tos.rtdMaxUpdateTime) for the tos.rtd server.
IsDynamicCalls: Specifies the calling model for the RTD server: either IRtdServer typed calls or dynamic calls.
Thinkorswim desktop requires the dynamic model if Microsoft Excel is not installed.
Specify it as <Server>IsDynamicCalls (e.g., tos.rtdIsDynamicCalls) for the tos.rtd server.
NoDataLimit: Specifies the maximum number of refresh cycles without data refresh before reconnecting to a server.
Use this option if the server must return real-time data consistently but may experience issues.
DataProcessor: Defines an RTD DB add-in used for data preprocessing.
See RTD DB Add-Ins.