ChartNotes
Add annotations and line studies such as trendlines, Fibonacci retracement levels, and support/resistance levels to your charts with ChartNotes.
What is ChartNotes?
ChartNotes, our premier chart annotation tool, allows you to add annotations and technical line studies to any SharpChart. StockCharts offers a wide variety of annotation tools: everything from trend lines to Fibonacci retracements to support/resistance levels.
ChartNotes is typically launched from the SharpCharts Workbench, but you can also annotate a saved SharpChart directly from ChartBook View or ChartList View. In all cases, it is as simple as calling up the chart you want to annotate and clicking a button.
Below is a screenshot of the ChartNotes window; it looks and works the same regardless of which location you launch it from. The buttons on the left allow you to select different annotation tools, save your changes, and more. The settings along the top of the chart allow you to change the properties of the currently selected annotation.
Once you have chosen the annotation tool you want to use and set the style settings for the tool, you can draw the annotation using your mouse. For many of the annotation tools, you draw the annotation by clicking where you want the annotation to start and dragging your mouse to where you want the annotation to end, then letting go of the mouse button.
Members can save a copy of their SharpChart along with its annotations to a ChartList. Non-members can use ChartNotes but will not be able to save any annotations.
To learn more about accessing ChartNotes and working with annotations on your SharpCharts, please see our Support Center article on Annotating SharpCharts with ChartNotes.
Types of Annotation Tools
The annotation tools in ChartNotes are grouped into four categories: Line Tools, Text Annotation Tools, Shape Tools, and Line Studies Tools.
Lines: Line Tools create lines on your chart. These tools include Trendlines, Vertical Lines, Horizontal Lines, Support/Resistance Lines, and Parabolas.
Text Annotations: The Text Annotation Tools allow you to add text to your chart. These tools include Text Notes, Callout Boxes, Arrows, Price Boxes, Percentage Change and Elliott Wave Labels.
Shapes: Use the Shape Tools to add shapes such as rectangles, ellipses, and triangles to your charts. You can create filled or hollow shapes on your chart.
Line Studies: The Line Study Tools allow you to add a wide variety of line studies to your charts. These tools include Fibonacci Retracements, Quadrant Lines, Fibonacci Arcs, Fibonacci Time Zones, Cycle Lines, Cycle Circles, Sinewaves, Raff Regression Channels, Andrews' Pitch Forks, Fibonacci Fans, Harmonic Patterns (XABCD) and Speed Resistance Lines.
Learn more about specific annotation tools and how to use them in our ChartNotes Annotation Tool Reference.
Accessing Annotation Tools
Annotation tools can be accessed from the menu buttons on the left side of ChartNotes (outlined in green below). Each of these menu buttons opens a menu showing the annotation tools that are available in that category. In the screenshot below, the Shape Tools menu is opened and you can see the three available shape tools.
Automatic Annotation Repositioning
Once an annotated chart has been saved, the chart's annotations are automatically repositioned as new data is added to the chart. This means that as the days go by and new price bars are added to the chart, the trend line annotation that you add to your chart moves to the left along with the price bars that are associated with that trend line. Similarly, as price bars are added/dropped from the chart and the vertical scale adjusts to reflect the bars that are currently visible on the chart, the annotations automatically move up or down on the chart to remain at the specified price level.
Because the annotation positions are based on the dates and price levels of the bars they are attached to, they automatically adjust their position over time. You do not need to manually re-position the annotations every time the chart is updated with new data.
For annotations that you want to always remain in the same location on the chart (e.g. lower left corner) as time passes, this automatic annotation repositioning can be disabled for a specific annotation by "pinning" the annotation in place on the chart. This is often used for text annotations that describe the chart as a whole, rather than annotating specific price action.
How Does Annotation Positioning Work?
Because of the way automatic annotation repositioning works, the exact position of the annotation on the chart at any given time (or whether it is visible on the chart at all), depends on the horizontal (date) and vertical (price) scale of the chart panel that the annotation is attached to.
Horizontal Chart Scale
Many annotations are attached to specific price bars on the chart (e.g. a trend line that extends from the February 4th to the March 4th price bars). These annotations will be affected by changes in the horizontal scale of the chart.
For example, as new data is added to the chart over time, the price bars that an annotation is attached to will eventually drop off the left side of the chart. At that time, the annotation will drop off the chart as well.
Changes to chart settings that affect the horizontal scale of the chart may affect your annotations. Because of this, it is important to make sure that the chart settings are correct before you annotate the chart.
Vertical Chart Scale
Some annotations are attached to a specific price level (e.g. an auto-support resistance line annotation set at 182.00). These annotations will be affected by changes in the vertical scale of the chart.
For example, if your auto-support resistance level is set at 182.00, and the stock price soars, eventually all the price bars at or below 182.00 will drop off the chart. At that point, the chart's vertical scale will no longer show the price level of 182.00, and the annotation set at that price level will drop off the chart as well.
Changes to chart settings that affect the vertical scale of the chart may affect these annotations as well. Because of this, it is important to make sure that the chart settings are correct before you annotate the chart.
Scale of Specific Chart Panels
Annotations are repositioned based on changes to the vertical and horizontal scale of the chart panel to which they are attached (i.e., the panel that contains the geometric middle of the annotation). This is great in that it allows you to annotate an indicator and have the annotation move in tandem with the indicator over time.
However, it can cause unexpected results if you have an annotation that spans multiple chart panels. For example, if your trend line annotation spans across the main price plot and across a MACD indicator panel on the chart, but the geometric middle of the annotation (e.g. the center of the trend line) is actually on the MACD panel rather than the main price plot, then the annotation will be attached to the MACD panel. This means that the position of the annotation will be based on the vertical scale of the MACD panel rather than the price plot, which can lead to some unexpected annotation positions as new price bars and MACD values are added to the chart over time.
Changes to chart settings can also affect these multi-panel annotations as well. For example, if the annotation is attached to an indicator panel and you change the chart settings to move the indicator panel from below to above the main price plot, the annotation will also move above the chart. Similarly, if you change the chart settings to remove the indicator panel, the annotation will disappear from the chart as well.
If at all possible, it is best to make sure the annotation does not span more than one panel on the chart. And just like with single panel annotations, make sure that the chart settings are correct before you annotate the chart.
Next Steps
Now that you've been introduced to our ChartNotes annotation tools, the types of annotation tools available, and how annotation positioning works, you're ready to annotate your first SharpChart.
Check out our Support Center article on Annotating SharpCharts with ChartNotes for instructions on adding, editing, moving, deleting, and pinning annotations with ChartNotes.
For more details on how to use specific annotation tools, be sure to consult our ChartNotes Annotation Tool Reference in the Support Center.
Frequently Asked Questions
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