Skip to content

How to use a stock scanner in 3 steps

The scanner lists the stocks that are moving right now. Here is how to read it without getting lost. It takes about three minutes.

Step 1

Pick a scan

Click the scan name at the top of a panel. Each scan is a saved set of rules, grouped by trading style. Start with Momentum Now, which ranks stocks by their last five minutes of price momentum. Momentum Now stays free, and Pro opens every other scan.

The scan list open on a scanner panel, with Momentum Now at the top
  1. The scan name. Click it to switch scans.
  2. Momentum Now, a good first pick.
Try it now
Step 2

Read one row

Each row is one stock. Read it left to right, then click the symbol to see its chart beside the list.

A scanner row with the time, symbol, percent change, volume and tag cells numbered
  1. When the stock showed up on this scan.
  2. The symbol, with its gap from yesterday's close underneath.
  3. Percent change today.
  4. Volume so far today.
  5. The tag. NEWS means fresh news, NR HOD means near the high of the day, FADE means still up but 10% or more below the day's high, NEW means it just joined the scan.
Try it now
Step 3

Send a row somewhere

Right-click any row. You can set a price alert, add the stock to your watchlist, or open it in the simulator to practice the trade with no money at risk.

The row menu with Set Price Alert, Add to Watchlist and Open in Sim marked
  1. Set Price Alert.
  2. Add to Watchlist.
  3. Open in Sim.
Try it now
Go further

Make it yours

Advanced filters cut any scan down to your rules. Set a price cap and a minimum relative volume (volume compared with normal for this time of day), then click Save as scan. It appears under My scans. Tapeboard also remembers your panels, so the scanner opens the way you left it. To be told whenever a new stock joins a scan, click Arm alert at the top of its panel.

The Advanced filters panel with price, relative volume and the Save as scan button marked
  1. A price range, here $20 at most.
  2. Relative volume of at least 2, so only stocks trading at twice their normal pace.
  3. Save as scan.
Try it now
On a phone

The scanner as cards

Each mover is a card. Tap a scan tab to switch, and tap Vol, RVol or Float to sort.

The scanner on a phone: scan tabs, a card for each mover and the sort chips
  1. Scan tabs.
  2. Sort chips.
  3. The tag that says why it is moving.
Try it now

That is the whole loop: find it, read it, save it, practice it.

Open the scanner Next guide: Simulator

More guides

Looking for something else? See the full manual or the Academy.