Annotating SharpCharts with ChartNotes
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Once you've launched the ChartNotes annotation tool, whether from the SharpCharts Workbench, ChartList View, or ChartBook View, you're ready to annotate your chart.
In this article, we'll go over the basics of adding, editing, and deleting annotations, as well as some more advanced topics like duplicating annotations or pinning an annotation in place.
To get a quick overview of the things you can do with annotations in ChartNotes, check out the video below, or read on for detailed instructions on getting the most out of ChartNotes.
To get started, choose the SharpChart you want to annotate. It can be a brand new chart that you create on the SharpCharts Workbench, or a chart that you have saved to one of your ChartLists. Because changing the chart settings later can have an impact on your annotations, we recommend making sure the chart's settings are correct before you start to annotate.
Once your chart is ready, accessing ChartNotes is as easy as clicking the blue Annotate button above the chart in the SharpCharts Workbench.
Note: For users of the Classic Workbench, there is an Annotate link below the chart, rather than a button above the chart.
If you'd like to annotate a saved chart from ChartBook or ChartList View, you can do so without even leaving the view. Simply click the "Actions" button at top right of the chart, and choose Annotate. This will open ChartNotes right in the view.
Note: If the Annotate link is not clickable, check that the AutoSize Chart box at the top of the view is unchecked, then try again to open ChartNotes.
Below is a screenshot of the ChartNotes window. 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.
On the left side of the ChartNotes window, there are four buttons that give you access to each of the four categories of drawing tools available in SharpCharts. To add an annotation, select the category to open the menu, then select the specific tool you wish to use.
In the screenshot below, the four annotation tool buttons are highlighted in green, and the user has clicked on the Shape Tools button to show the list of available Shape Tools (Rectangle, Triangle, and Ellipse).
Once you have selected the tool you wish to use (the icon for it will be shown on the button, and the button itself will have a grey background to show that it is the selected tool), you can change the settings that will be used when the annotation is drawn, using the settings above the chart. You can change the color, line width, and more. The exact settings will vary based on the specific annotation tool you choose.
Most annotations can be drawn by clicking and dragging your mouse from the point you want the annotation to begin to the point you want it to end, then letting go of the mouse button. There are some annotations that are created using a different method. Please see our SharpCharts Annotation Tool Reference for more details on use of a specific annotation tool.
If you've placed an annotation on a chart and now want to change it, you can select and then move it, make changes to the settings, delete it, and more. To select the annotation, start by clicking the Selection tool (with the black arrow icon, shown highlighted in green in the screenshot below).
After you've chosen the Select Tool (it will have a grey background to show that it is the selected tool), you can hover over one of your existing annotations and click on it. You should see "handles" (small yellow boxes) on the outside edges when you select an annotation.
Once you have selected the annotation, you can change the settings for the existing annotation using the buttons above the chart. You can also move the annotation, delete it, and more, using the instructions below.
Cool Tip: When you have many/overlapping annotations, it can sometimes be difficult to select the one you want. In this situation, you can click on one annotation (even if it's not the correct one), then cycle through the annotations by pressing the Tab key until the correct one is selected. To cycle backward through the annotations, press Tab + the Shift key.
Cool Tip: When working with another annotation tool, you can temporarily switch to the Selection Tool by holding down the Shift key on your keyboard. While holding down the Shift key, you can select annotations and move them around. Once you release the Shift key, ChartNotes will switch back to the annotation tool you previously used.
You can duplicate an annotation by selecting the annotation, then pressing CTRL+D (CMD+D on a Mac). The new annotation will appear slightly away from the original annotation and will be automatically selected so that you can immediately move or resize it with your mouse.
Note: Some browsers will display an unrelated dialog box when pressing CMD+D. If that happens, just press “Cancel” to dismiss that box.
There is an additional shortcut for quickly creating channel lines on a chart. Start by drawing the upper or lower channel line using the Line tool. Next, press and hold down the CTRL/CMD key on your keyboard. Finally, click and drag on the line you just created. As you drag away from that line, a new parallel line will appear under your mouse. Simply move that line to the top or bottom of your channel and release your mouse button to create the channel.
Once an annotation is selected, you can delete it by pressing the “Backspace” (or “Delete”) key on your keyboard.
If you want to remove all annotations from a chart, click the Trashcan icon on the left-hand side of the ChartNotes window.
The Undo icon (reverse arrow just above the trashcan icon) allows you to undo your most recent change to the annotations on the chart. You can undo several changes by clicking the Undo button multiple times. You can also press CTRL+Z (CMD+Z on a Mac) to undo an annotation. Please note there is no Redo capability. When a change is “undone,” it is gone forever.
The screenshot below shows the Undo and Delete buttons outlined in green.
Once an annotation is selected, you can click and drag the yellow handles to resize the annotation or to change the angle of annotations like trend lines. To reposition the annotation, click on the center of the annotation (away from the yellow handles) and drag it to the new location.
You can also click on the options in the horizontal menu at the top of the chart to modify the annotation's attributes. The options that you can change vary depending on the annotation selected. They include:
Color: The color of the annotation. Clicking the black arrow next to this feature will slide out a menu of color options. For easy access, your most recently used three colors are displayed on the far left of the horizontal menu.
Opacity: The transparency of the annotation. The opacity slider can be found in the slide-out color menu.
Line Width: Choose between five different line width options.
Line Style: Choose between seven different line style options.
Arrowhead: Add an arrowhead to a line.
Corner Type: Round the corners of the rectangle shape.
Fill Mode: Toggle between two different approaches for filling in shapes: “Empty” or “Opaque.” “Opaque” mode fills the shape based on the “Opacity” setting (see above).
Font Size: Increase or decrease the size of the letters in a text annotation.
Font Bolding: Toggle font bolding on and off.
Typically, annotations are automatically repositioned whenever new price bars are added to the right edge of the chart. There are some situations, however, where you might not want your annotations to be moved. An example would be a block of text meant to serve as the chart's title. You might want that text to remain in the chart's center.
To prevent an annotation from moving to the left, over time, select the annotation with the Select tool and click the “Pin” icon in the horizontal menu at the top of the chart. When that button is selected (i.e., has a light blue background), your annotation will no longer move to the left as new data is added to the chart.
Step-By-Step Instructions: How to Pin an Annotation
The Save button (the sixth button on the left side of the ChartNotes window, outlined in green on the screenshot below) is designed to allow you to save annotations as you go.
When the icon is red, it means changes need to be saved. When the icon is black, it means everything is saved. It will turn red again if you make any additional edits. This is helpful, especially if you want to add several annotations at once so you don't lose all your work if something happens before you finish.
If you want to exit the ChartNotes, click the black “X” in the upper right-hand corner of the chart. If you have not previously clicked “Save,” a prompt will appear asking if you want to save any changes you have made before exiting.
If your chart is brand new and has never been saved, once you've opted to save your changes, you can name the chart and select the ChartList (if applicable) where you would like to save it before exiting the application.
Note: You can't save annotated charts if you're not a StockCharts member.
If someone has shared an annotated chart with you and you'd like to preserve those annotations on your own copy of that chart, there is a simple trick to preserve those annotations. Just be sure to open the shared chart in ChartNotes before you save it to a list, then save the chart for the first time within ChartNotes.
Step-By-Step Instructions: How to Save an Annotated Chart from a Blog Article
Ready for advanced ChartNotes? Watch our ChartNotes Tips and Shortcuts video and take your ChartNotes skills to the next level.
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