General FAQ

This FAQ includes some of the more general questions that we have been asked. More specific questions can be found in the other FAQs.

Is there a demo site where I can see Adaptable Blotter in action?

Yes, we have a demo site. This contains multiple data sets - many of which are pre-populated with Adaptable Blotter Objects like searches and styles - so you can see some examples of how Adaptable Blotter can be used.

How performant is Adaptable Blotter?

Very. We are confident that it is the fastest fully-featured HTML5 grid on the market. You see on our demo site that even with a very large data set and hundreds of thousands flashing cell and data updates a second, the blotter is still completely reactive and all the styles and searches still work.

We are not a financial company but would still like the functionality you offer. Are you only suitable for trading?

You can use Adaptable Blotter in any profession or industry. Its a first class tool for managing large amounts of data, irrespective of what that data is. So while it is very popular with traders, sales and other financial users it is widely used in other industries as well.

Is there a particular asset class or type of data for which Adaptable Blotter is most suitable? Can we use Adaptable Blotter for FX?

Adaptable Blotter works with any type of data, and is not restricted to one particular asset class. Indeed the data in Adaptable Blotter doesn't have to be financial. Any 'tabular' data that fits neatly into rows and columns is suitable for the Blotter. So you can use the tool with any data that you want.

Does Adaptable Blotter know about particular asset classes?

No, it doesn't. Its completely data agnostic and has no knowledge of any asset classes or financial instruments. The only financial element it has are Holiday Calendars and even in this regard most of our advanced users supply their own.

Does Adaptable Blotter help me to gather my data?

No. Adaptable Blotter does not get involved in getting your data into the grid, nor what happens to your data after you edit it. The sole focus of the product is to ensure that while the data is in front of you, you are able to search, edit, style, export, and manage your data in exciting, powerful and intuitive ways not previously possible.

Where does the data come from?

Anywhere that you want. It can be streamed, or come from a database, middle tier, read from files or anything else you want. So long as its able to be a datasource in the underlying grid, Adaptable Blotter will be able to use the data.

Can I have multiple blotters all looking at the same data source?

Yes, this is something that we support. To see a good example of multiple blotters sharing data and updates with each other (and with 3rd party components via OpenFin and Finsemble) download the Finsemble demo from our demo site.

Can I restrict who can do what?

Yes. Our Configuration Service allows you set different permissions for each user or group. Read the Configuration FAQ for more details.

Can I use Adaptable Blotter to match trades?

This is a good example of a very specific use case where it does not make sense for the Adaptable Blotter to provide a full solution out of the box in its core functionality. However as a result of the Action Columns function, the RowSelection event and our API, it is something that is trivial for developers using the Adaptable Blotter to do in just a few minutes.

Do you store any user data?

No we have no storage mechanism. Any data that is used in the Adaptable Blotter is not accessible to us in any way.

Who are the target audience of Adaptable Blotter?

Anyone who has to manage large data sets and would benefit from the searching, styling, editing, exporting and other functions that we offer. Although we have initially targeted financial services in our marketing and sales efforts, Adaptable Blotter can be - and is being - used across all industries.