Clicking Limit Order from the main Order Entry screen pops up the screen below.

To correctly understand what a price limit for a barter order means, it is important to distinguish between a price limit for an individual stock, and a debit/credit limit for a complete order.

A debit/credit limit is a per-order amount, not a per-share amount. Consider the barter order to Buy 1000 ABC and Sell 2000 XYZ. Suppose a trader wants to receive from this order the same amount as if ABC traded at $50 and XYZ traded at $26. This is equivalent to receiving $2000; i.e., [2,000 x $26 - 1,000 x $50]. By setting the debit/credit limit to receive at least $2000, the trader allows the trade to execute at any combination of per-share prices that satisfy the limit, such as ($50/$26), ($52/$27), ($49/$25.50), etc.

Debit/credit limits are automatically shown for per-share prices that you enter, and for current market prices, so you don't have to calculate one. Setting a debit/credit limit can produce the same dollar results for a barter order as setting per-share limits, but it is less restrictive. It is recommended because it produces a greater probability of getting a barter order executed. Per-share limits should be used only if you are sensitive to the trade price of a each leg of the order.

Learn about limit order timing and other options.

Market Orders

Once you have entered two symbols and two quantities in the Order Entry screen, clicking Market Order pops up the screen below. In this example the entered barter order is to Buy 1000 MSFT and Sell 2000 INTC.

The default is No price contingencies, which means that your order will be delivered as soon as you submit and confirm it. Alternatively, you may place a per-share price contingency on the delivery of the order. Upon submitting the order the system will ask you to confirm your order currently, but the order will not be submitted to the market until the indicated price contingency is satisfied. If and when the order is delivered to the market, it will behave like two traditional market orders: one for the buy leg and one for the sell leg.