---
title: Trading Session
description: "Session is a **FUNDAMENTAL** instrument attribute. *Define it incorrectly or incorrectly define properties such as the reference time zone, results in the incorrect display of charts, DOM and anything else concerning the instrument.* Trading Session (a.k.a. Trading Hours) ***defines the…"
url: "https://www.overcharts.com/en/helpcenter/docs/trading-session/"
updated: "2024-08-25"
category: Instruments
---

# Trading Session

Session is a **FUNDAMENTAL** instrument attribute. *Define it incorrectly or incorrectly define properties such as the reference time zone, results in the incorrect display of charts, DOM and anything else concerning the instrument.*

Trading Session (a.k.a. Trading Hours) ***defines the days and trading hours of an Exchange***. Session represents a data filter and ***affects the loading and display of charts, indicators, etc***.

#### **Access session list**

You can access session list in one of the following ways:

**1.** From *Overcharts main window* >***Instrument*****s**Tab > ***Trading Sessions***button

**2.** From *Overcharts main window* > ***Instruments*** menu > *Trading Sessions*

#### **Create or Modify a session**

To create/modify a session:

**1.** Access session list

**2.** Select the session to edit and press **Edit** button, or press **New** button to create a new session

**3.** Set or change the following properties:

**Name**: session unique name

**Time Zone**: It is the time zone of the city/country/area where the session reference exchange is located: Eg. *CME* > *Chicago* time zone; *NYSE* > *New York* time zone etc.

*If you do not define a time zone (NOT RECOMMENDED), you can use the session in any exchange or instrument. If instead the time zone is defined, you can use the session only in exchanges/instruments that have the same time zone defined in their configuration. This second option is ALWAYS RECOMMENDED except in special cases such as in the FOREX exchange.*

**4.** Add/modify week days and exchange trading hours for each single day by pressing the corresponding button in the configuration window. In particular, times **MUST** be expressed in the time zone of the city/country/area where the exchange is located (***and NOT in your local time zone!***).

*For each day, set or change the following properties:*

**Starting day**: represents the session start day (Monday, Tuesday, etc.)

**Session starting time**: represents the exchange opening time on specified *starting day*

**Ending day**: represents the session end day (Monday, Tuesday, etc.)

**Session ending time**: represents the exchange closing time on specified *ending day*

**End of Daily session**: select the check-box if the trading day is made up of a single time interval or if it is divided into several time intervals (very rare case), and the entry interval is the last of the day.

*WARNINGS*:

- Session days must be added progressively from Sunday to the following Saturday
- A daily session CANNOT exceed 24 hours. In case of multiple session intervals on the same day, the set of intervals must NOT exceed 24 hours
- Daily sessions CANNOT overlap

#### **How to use it**

Trading session is used:

- in the exchange/instrument configuration (normally an instrument inherits the session defined in the exchange and is rarely modified)
- in charts and indicators
- and more generally as a data filter. For example, if the data-feed sends data not belonging to the session, these data, although saved in the database, are not considered in charts, indicators, etc.

**Overcharts already contains many preconfigured sessions. Preconfigured-sessions properties can be modified by the user, but if you modify them, any future property updates will NOT be applied.*
You can restore the default configuration of a preconfigured session at any time by selecting the session from session list and pressing the **Restore Standard** button.*

#### **Tutorial** **Video**

[https://www.youtube.com/embed/WUJHQc-Lha0?rel=0](https://www.youtube.com/embed/WUJHQc-Lha0?rel=0)