---
url: /presets.md
description: >-
  Presets are named sets of setting changes you give to a channel, per account,
  to change your account defaults for that channel without touching your global
  setup. Presets used to be called Config Profiles.
---

# Presets

Your account defaults are the baseline for every trade. A fast Gold scalping channel and a slow swing-trade channel rarely want the same lot size, the same number of entry layers, or the same breakeven rule, and changing your account defaults every time you switch channels is a recipe for mistakes. A preset is a named set of setting changes you give to a channel, so its signals run with their own configuration while every other channel keeps using your defaults.

::: info Presets used to be called Config Profiles
Same feature, new name. Your existing profiles are your presets, with the same settings and the same channels. They now live in **Settings → Presets**. Old links to the Config Profiles pages bring you here.
:::

## What a preset is

A preset is a named, reusable set of setting changes. Each preset has a name, an optional "What it's for" line, an icon and a colour so you can tell them apart at a glance. Think of your account defaults as your default outfit and a preset as swapping a few pieces for one occasion: you change only what needs to differ and the rest stays the same.

Inside a preset, every setting is in one of two states:

* **The preset's own value** — a value you set in the preset. That value is used for signals from any channel that uses this preset.
* **The account value** — left alone. The setting comes from the account defaults of the account the channel runs on, and keeps following them if you change the account later.

A preset can change the settings of seven sections of the Settings page: **Size per trade**, **Entries**, **Take profits**, **Stop loss**, **Signal checks**, **Protect open trades** and **Channel updates**. It's the whole trade setup, not a small subset; the [Creating Presets](/presets/creating-presets) page walks every section. A preset can also carry its own **trading hours** (see [Preset trading hours](#preset-trading-hours) below) and its own **daily budget**, and it can be **shared** as a one-click import link. Most traders keep a small handful of presets, because a preset is only worth building for a channel that genuinely behaves differently from your baseline.

## How settings get decided (the 2-layer model)

Exactly two layers decide a setting's value, in this order:

1. The **preset** the channel uses on that account, if it sets the value.
2. Your **account defaults** for that account, if the preset leaves the value alone.

The rule is one sentence: the preset's value is used if it sets one; otherwise the account value is used. The Presets tab says it like this: "A preset changes only what it sets. Everything else comes from the account defaults of the account the channel runs on. Symbol exceptions still win for their symbol, and account daily limits always apply."

Two things sit outside the two layers:

* **Daily limits are account-only.** A preset can't loosen them: the account's daily-loss halt applies to every channel whichever preset it uses. A preset can add its own daily budget for its channels on top (see [Preset daily budget](#preset-daily-budget)).
* **Symbol exceptions win for their symbol.** A [symbol exception](/trade-config/per-asset-overrides) sets a different size, stop or TPs for one symbol or asset class, and for that symbol it wins over presets and account defaults.

Once your settings are resolved, the signal's own values are applied — but not unconditionally. The signal's stop loss is used **unless "Always use my stop, not the signal's" is on**; the signal's take profits are used **unless "Always use my TPs, not the signal's" is on**; and safety checks may still fill or correct a missing or clearly-wrong value. So a signal's price is honoured *by default*, not *always*.

```mermaid
flowchart TD
    A[Resolve settings:<br/>preset value, else account default] --> B{Always use my stop / TPs on?}
    B -->|No| C[Use the signal's SL/TP]
    B -->|Yes| D[Use your own SL/TP]
    C --> E[Safety checks may fill<br/>or correct missing/invalid values]
    D --> E
```

*The two layers decide your settings; the signal's own levels come in after.*

::: warning Leaving a setting alone is not the same as off
A setting the preset leaves alone follows your account. A preset value of off or zero forces that value on this channel. Get this wrong and a feature you thought you disabled stays on.
:::

For the full walkthrough of how account defaults and presets merge, see [Settings Inheritance](/channels/settings-inheritance).

## Presets are given per channel and per account

If a channel runs on only one account, you give it one preset and you're done. If a channel runs on several accounts, each account can use a **different preset** for it — the channel's page has one **Preset** cell per account.

For example: your demo account can run an "Aggressive Test" preset on a channel while your live account runs "Conservative Live" on the same channel. Same signals, two risk personalities, set independently. There is no "one preset per channel" limit: it's one preset per channel-and-account.

The quick ways to give a channel a preset:

* **On the channel card** — click the preset in the card's status line, for the account chosen in the slider.
* **On the channel page** — the **Preset** cell of each account row.
* **When you add the channel to another account** — the **Preset** row in the Add dialog.
* **From the preset itself** — **Choose channels…** in the preset's header, to switch several channels at once.

See [Applying Presets](/presets/applying-presets) for each of these in full.

## When to reach for a preset

| You want… | Preset to create | Key changes |
|---|---|---|
| Smaller, safer trades on an unproven channel | "Conservative – New Channel" | Lot size 0.01, Front-Loaded entries, Progressive TPs, breakeven from TP1 |
| Bigger, trend-riding trades on a trusted channel | "Aggressive – Trusted" | Larger lot size, Extended TPs, let the last TP run, trailing stop on |
| Different handling for Gold's big pip swings | "Gold" | Lower lot size, wider fallback SL/TP pips, wider trailing distance, 5-pip breakeven buffer |
| Demo and live on the same channel behaving differently | "Demo Test" + "Live Safe" | Different lot size and price-check handling per preset, given per account |

## How many presets you actually need

Most traders use two to four presets. There is a generous per-account maximum — far more than you'll want — but more presets means more to maintain.

Rely on your account defaults for your most-traded style — that needs no preset at all. Add a preset only for channels that genuinely behave differently from your baseline. Once you have several, the [Organizing Presets](/presets/organizing-presets) page shows the table view, groups, search and bulk actions that keep a big list manageable.

## Presets vs symbol exceptions

These are complementary, not competing:

* A **symbol exception** (per-asset override) changes the size and fallback stop and TP distances for one symbol or asset class (for example, Metals) across every channel. For that symbol it wins over presets.
* A **preset** changes behaviour and defaults for signals from the channels that use it.

A symbol exception is not a settings layer between preset and account; it only covers size, stop and TPs. See [Per-Asset Overrides](/trade-config/per-asset-overrides).

## Preset trading hours

A preset can carry its own **trading hours** — blocked hours during which signals using that preset open no new trades. This isn't an ordinary setting; it works by its own rule, which the preset's **Trading hours for this preset** section states: "When this preset has any hours set, they replace the account and channel hours for its channels, in the timezone below. Leave empty to use the account and channel hours."

* If a preset has **at least one** blocked window, its hours are used **exclusively** for signals on that preset — they replace your account and channel blocked hours.
* If a preset has **no hours**, your account and channel blocked hours apply instead (those combine by union).

Each scope keeps its own timezone. A signal that arrives inside a blocked window is **skipped, not queued** for later. The preset's hours save with their own button, not the save bar. See [Creating Presets](/presets/creating-presets#preset-trading-hours) for the editor. Account hours live in **Settings → Trading hours**, channel hours in the channel's [Setup](/channels/channel-settings#hours-tab).

## Preset daily budget

Account daily limits always apply to every channel. A preset can only add its own budget for its channels: in the preset's **Daily limits** section, "Stop this preset's channels for the day at a loss of" and "…or at a profit of", plus **Also close this preset's open trades** (off: only new trades stop; on: its open trades close at market). It counts the booked and floating P\&L of the preset's channels on the selected account and resets at 5 PM New York. When it trips, the preset shows **Paused today** on its card and header, and **Resume** starts its channels again.

## Preset performance

::: info Limited preview
Preset performance is in limited preview and is enabled per account on request. Availability, behaviour, and naming may change before general release. Contact support if you'd like to take part.
:::

Where it's enabled, a performance view lets you compare how your presets are actually doing — a per-preset scoreboard, a preset-by-channel matrix, and side-by-side comparison by preset, account, or channel — so you can tell which recipe is earning its place. It measures results, not adoption; for adoption of a *shared* preset, see the community stats in [Preset Sharing](/presets/preset-sharing). Every preset's 30-day result also shows on its card and in the presets table; see [Organizing Presets](/presets/organizing-presets).

## Sharing presets

Once you've tuned a preset, you can share it as a one-click import link, or import someone else's with **Import from link**. What gets shared is the settings, fully resolved into concrete values, and the preset's trading hours (the recipient chooses whether to import them). Your accounts and your channels are not shared — the recipient gives the imported preset to their own channels. See [Preset Sharing](/presets/preset-sharing).

## Ideal Settings & Trading Strategy

### Scenario 1 — Capital-Preservation Beginner

**Setup:** New trader, $2,000 personal live account, following one mixed forex-and-Gold channel they don't fully trust yet.

**Settings (one "Cautious Start" preset assigned to that channel):**

* Volume Mode: Fixed Lot Size; Lot Size: 0.01
* Number of Layers: 4; Entry Strategy: Front-Loaded
* TP Strategy: Progressive; Active TP Levels: Keep Signal Settings
* Open TP Mode: Disabled (no runners)
* Breakeven: On; Auto BE from TP Level: TP1+; BE Buffer: 3 pips
* Trailing Stop: Off
* TP Redistribution: On; L1 Safety Lock: On
* Extreme Value Handling: Reject Signal
* Invalid SL Behavior: Use Default SL
* Everything else: inherited

**Why:** The minimum position size caps the cost of learning. Front-Loaded gets a small market fill plus cheaper limit entries. Breakeven at TP1 means the trade can't turn into a loss once it works. Rejecting extreme values keeps a fat-fingered signal from ever executing.

**Watch for:** With Lot Size 0.01 split across 4 layers, deeper layers may round below your broker's minimum lot and not place at all — that's fine here, but it's why you won't see every order fill. (TTMT decides how many orders each layer needs from your size and the broker's rules; see [Order Execution](/core-concepts/order-execution).)

**Switch when:** After a few weeks of clean execution you trust the channel — move to a Balanced preset, or remove the preset and use account defaults.

### Scenario 2 — Balanced Multi-Channel Trader

**Setup:** Experienced trader, $25,000 personal account, three channels — one trend forex, one Gold, one general.

**Settings (account defaults cover the general channel; two presets for the others):**

* Account defaults: Lot Size 0.10, 4 layers, Front-Loaded, Progressive, Breakeven TP1+, Trailing off, Redistribution on, L1 Lock on.
* "Trend Forex" preset: TP Strategy Extended, Open TP Mode Last TP Open (Runner), Trailing Stop On at 30 pips. Everything else inherited.
* "Gold" preset: Lot Size 0.05, Default SL 300 pips, Default TP1/TP2/TP3 100/200/300 pips, BE Buffer 5 pips, Trailing Distance 30 pips. Everything else inherited.

**Why:** Most trades just use account defaults, so maintenance stays low. The trend channel gets a runner and a trailing stop to ride extended moves; the Gold channel gets sizing and pip distances tuned for Gold's larger swings without touching the other two channels.

**Watch for:** If you later change an account default — say, the breakeven trigger — both presets inherit it. Re-check that the inherited values still make sense.

**Switch when:** A channel's win rate or behaviour changes enough that its preset is fighting the channel — then re-tune that one preset only.

### Scenario 3 — Prop-Firm Drawdown Discipline

**Setup:** Prop trader, $100,000 funded account with a strict daily-loss limit, plus a $5,000 personal account, both following the same fast Gold channel.

**Settings (two presets, assigned per account on the same channel):**

* "Prop – Tight" (on the funded account): Lot Size 0.10, TP Strategy Progressive, Active TP Levels 2 TPs, Breakeven On at TP1+, BE Buffer 4 pips, Fast Market Protection Close Position, Cancel Limits from TP TP1+, Open TP Mode Disabled, Trailing Stop Off.
* "Personal – Loose" (on the personal account): Lot Size 0.20, TP Strategy Extended, Open TP Mode Last TP Open (Runner), Trailing Stop On at 25 pips, Cancel Limits from TP Never.

**Why:** Same signals, two risk personalities. The funded account takes profit early, kills unfilled limits fast after TP1 so it can't accumulate exposure into a reversal, and closes rather than holds when a breakeven move turns unfavourable — all to protect the daily-loss limit. The personal account is free to chase the move. Per-account preset assignment is what makes this possible from one channel.

**Watch for:** This is risk shaping, not a hard cap. Pair it with the per-account daily-loss [Risk Limits](/safety-and-reliability/risk-limits-halt) for an enforced ceiling.

**Switch when:** You pass the challenge and the daily-loss limit relaxes — loosen "Prop – Tight" toward the Balanced preset.

## Next steps

* [Creating Presets](/presets/creating-presets) — build your first preset, including its trading hours
* [Organizing Presets](/presets/organizing-presets) — the table, groups, search and bulk actions for a growing list
* [Applying Presets](/presets/applying-presets) — give it to a channel, per account
* [Preset Strategies](/presets/preset-strategies) — full ready-to-use recipes
* [Preset Sharing](/presets/preset-sharing) — share or import a tuned preset, hours included
* [Settings Inheritance](/channels/settings-inheritance) — the full 2-layer merge, owned by the channels section
* [Per-Asset Overrides](/trade-config/per-asset-overrides) — symbol exceptions for size and SL/TP
* [Coming From the Old Layout](/getting-started/coming-from-the-old-layout) — where Config Profiles went