Overview
Alerts let you define conditions on any stock — for example, "notify me when Apple's P/E ratio drops below 20." When the condition is met, FAST Graphs sends you a notification instantly. You can view, manage, and act on these notifications from anywhere in the app.
What problem does it solve? You don't have to manually check every stock every day. Alerts watch for you and let you know when something changes.
Who is it for? All FAST Graphs subscribers.
Where do you find it? The notification bell in the top-right header, the lightning bolt icon on any stock page, or the Alerts Manager in your account settings.
Getting Started
Log in to your FAST Graphs account.
Navigate to any stock by searching for a ticker in the search bar at the top of the page.
Look for the lightning bolt icon in the stock's header area — this is your entry point for creating alerts on that stock.
Tip: You can also manage all your alerts from the Alerts Manager in your account settings.
How It Works
Creating an Alert from a Stock Page
Navigate to any stock (e.g., search for "AAPL" in the top search bar).
Click the lightning bolt icon in the stock header.
A panel opens showing any existing alerts for that stock. Click New alert.
The alert builder opens as a dialog. You'll see the stock name at the top.
Click "And +" to add your first filter criteria.
A filter drawer slides open from the right. Browse or search for the metric you want to monitor (e.g., "Blended P/E", "Dividend Yield", "Price"). This uses the same metrics available in the Screening tool.
Select your metric. A filter chip appears showing the metric name. Click on it to set your threshold values (e.g., "Blended P/E >= 10 and <= 20").
Add more criteria by clicking Add filter again. All criteria must be met for the alert to trigger.
Choose your notification frequency:
Every-time — You'll be notified each time the system checks and your conditions are met.
Just once — You'll be notified the first time the conditions are met, then the alert stops.
Click Create alert.
Creating an Alert on a Mobile or Narrow Screen
On smaller screens, the lightning bolt icon moves into the three-dot menu (⋮) in the stock header.
Click the three-dot menu (⋮) on the stock page.
Select Alerts from the dropdown.
The alert panel opens. Follow the same steps as above to create or manage alerts.
Importing Filters from a Saved Screen
If you've already built a stock screen with the criteria you want, you can import those filters directly into an alert instead of rebuilding them from scratch.
Open the alert builder (follow steps 1–4 above).
Click Import from screen (next to the "Criteria" label).
A screen picker appears with two tabs:
My screens — Your personally saved screens.
Preset screens — FAST Graphs built-in screens.
Use the search bar to find a specific screen, or browse the list. Each screen shows how many filters it contains.
Click on a screen to import its filters. The filters populate automatically in the alert builder.
Adjust any values as needed, choose your notification frequency, and click Create alert.
Editing an Existing Alert
On the stock page, click the lightning bolt icon to see your alerts for that stock.
Click Edit next to the alert you want to modify.
The alert builder opens with your current criteria pre-filled.
Make your changes and click Save.
Alternatively, you can edit alerts from the Alerts Manager (see below).
Deleting an Alert
On the stock page, click the lightning bolt icon.
Click Delete next to the alert you want to remove.
A confirmation dialog appears. Click Confirm to delete the alert permanently.
Alerts Manager
The Alerts Manager gives you a central view of all your alerts across every stock, all in one place.
Accessing the Alerts Manager
Click your profile icon in the top-right corner of the page.
Select Settings.
In the left sidebar, click Alerts Manager.
What You'll See
The Alerts Manager displays a table of all your alerts, grouped by stock ticker:
Column | What It Shows |
Ticker | The stock symbol and company name (clickable — takes you to the stock page) |
Type | The kind of alert (currently "Target alert" for all metric-based alerts) |
Criteria | A summary of your filter conditions (e.g., "Credit Rating Greater than or equal to BBB- (+1 more)") |
Notify | The frequency setting — "Every-time" or "One time" |
Searching Your Alerts
Use the Search bar at the top of the Alerts Manager to filter by ticker symbol or company name. Results filter in real time as you type.
Adding Another Alert for an Existing Ticker
If you already have alerts for a stock and want to add another one:
Find the stock in the Alerts Manager table.
Click the new alert button on the right side of that stock's group.
The alert builder opens with the ticker already selected.
Notifications
When an alert's conditions are met, you receive a notification. Notifications are delivered in real time and appear via the bell icon in the top-right corner of the page.
Viewing Notifications
Look for the bell icon in the header. A red badge shows the number of unread notifications. If you have no unread notifications, the badge is hidden.
Click the bell to open the Notifications drawer.
The drawer slides open from the right, showing your notifications sorted with unread items first, then by newest.
Each notification shows:
The stock name and ticker that triggered the alert.
A message describing the alert name and conditions. Long messages can be expanded by clicking show more.
A timestamp showing when it was triggered (e.g., "2h ago", "3d ago").
Filtering Notifications
Toggle Only show unread at the top of the drawer to hide notifications you've already read. When all unread notifications have been addressed, you'll see a "You're all caught up!" message.
Managing Notifications
Mark as read — Click on any unread notification (the blue dot disappears). Clicking it also navigates you to that stock's page.
Mark as unread — Hover over a read notification and click the mark as unread icon to bring it back to your attention.
Mark all as read — Click the three-dot menu (⋮) at the top of the drawer, then select Mark all as read to clear all unread notifications at once. This option is disabled if you have no unread notifications.
Dismiss — Click the trash icon on a read notification to remove it from the list.
Navigate — Click on any notification to jump directly to that stock's FAST Graphs page. The notification is automatically marked as read.
Manage alerts — Click the settings icon at the top of the drawer to go directly to the Alerts Manager.
Deep Links
You can open the notifications drawer directly by adding ?openNotifications=1 to any FAST Graphs URL. This is used in daily digest emails to take you straight to your notifications.
Closing the Drawer
Close the notifications drawer by:
Clicking the bell icon again
Clicking outside the drawer
Pressing the Escape key
Notification Retention
Notifications are kept for 30 days. After 30 days, they are automatically removed. If you have no notifications, you'll see: "You have no notifications from the last 30 days."
Settings & Options
Setting | What It Does | Default |
Daily digest emails | Sends a daily email summary of your alert activity. Toggle this on or off in the Alerts Manager. | Disabled |
Notification frequency (per alert) | Controls how often an alert notifies you: "Every-time" or "Just once". Set when creating or editing an alert. | Every-time |
Tips & Best Practices
Start simple — Create a single-criteria alert first (e.g., "Price <= 150") to see how it works before building complex multi-criteria alerts.
Use "Import from screen" — If you've already built a stock screen with the criteria you want, import those filters into an alert to save time.
Combine with screening — Use the Screening tool to find stocks that match your criteria today, then set up alerts to watch for future changes.
Review regularly — Check the Alerts Manager periodically to clean up alerts you no longer need.
Use "Just once" for one-off events — If you're waiting for a specific price level and only want to be notified once, choose "Just once" to avoid repeated notifications.
Check the bell — Unread notifications are always sorted to the top of the drawer, so you won't miss them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How quickly will I be notified when my alert conditions are met? A: Notifications are delivered in real time. When the system detects that your conditions are met, a notification appears in your bell icon immediately without needing to refresh the page.
Q: Can I set alerts on multiple stocks at once? A: Each alert is tied to a single stock. To monitor multiple stocks, create separate alerts for each one. The Alerts Manager lets you see and manage all of them in one place.
Q: What metrics can I use for alerts? A: You can use the same metrics available in the Screening tool — including price, P/E ratios, dividend yield, earnings growth, and many more.
Q: Can I set multiple conditions on a single alert? A: Yes. Click Add filter to add additional criteria. All conditions must be met simultaneously for the alert to trigger.
Q: What happens to a "Just once" alert after it triggers? A: It sends a single notification and then stops monitoring. You'll still see it in the Alerts Manager, but it won't trigger again unless you edit and re-save it.
Q: Can I get email notifications? A: Yes. Enable Daily digest emails in the Alerts Manager to receive a daily email summary of your alert activity.
Q: How are alert names generated? A: Alert names are automatically created from your criteria. For example, if your first filter is "Price Greater than or equal to 150" and you have one more filter, the alert name will show as "Price Greater than or equal to 150 (+1 more)".
Q: Where can I create new alerts? A: You can create alerts from the lightning bolt icon on any stock page. On the Alerts Manager page, you can add additional alerts for stocks that already have existing alerts by clicking the Add alert button next to that stock's group.
Troubleshooting
Issue | Solution |
My alert isn't triggering | Check that your criteria values are correct in the Alerts Manager. Also verify that the stock's current data actually meets your conditions. |
Notifications aren't appearing in real time | Try refreshing the page. Real-time notifications require a stable internet connection. If the issue persists, log out and log back in. |
I can't find a metric in the alert builder | Some internal fields are excluded from alerts. If a metric is available in the Screening tool but not in alerts, it may be one of these excluded fields. |
"Import from screen" shows no screens | You need at least one saved screen. Go to the Screening tool and save a screen first. |
The unread badge isn't updating | Try refreshing the page. The badge updates in real time via a live connection, which may occasionally disconnect. |