Editing SharpCharts
Customize your charts with indicators and overlays that are important to you.
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Customize your charts with indicators and overlays that are important to you.
Last updated
Was this helpful?
The SharpCharts Workbench is the primary tool for editing your SharpCharts. From this workbench, you can change the chart's settings, add and configure indicators and overlays, and more.
There are a few core settings that can be changed above the chart, but most chart settings are in the Chart Settings panel below the chart. Let's go through a few core settings in more detail.
To change the chart's ticker symbol, type the new symbol in the Symbol Box above the chart, then click Go or press the enter key. If you're unsure of the ticker symbol you want, you can start to type the company name and a list of suggested symbols will be shown below the Symbol Box. You can click a suggested symbol with your mouse to launch a chart for that symbol.
The chart's period (the timeframe covered by a single bar/candlestick on the chart) can be set using the Period dropdown menu above the chart.
The Period can also be changed on the Chart Settings panel below the chart. The same options are available as in the Period menu above the chart.
The chart's range (the timeframe covered by the entire chart, from the first bar/candlestick to the last) can also be changed both above and below the chart.
The Range setting in the Chart Settings panel below the chart offers three different modes for setting the start and end date of your chart:
Fill the Chart: You would use this setting when you want to see the latest data clearly. Specify the bar width and bar gap (in pixels) and you'll get as many bars on the chart as space allows.
Predefined Range: This mode can be used when you want to see a specific amount of recent data. Choose one of the commonly-used ranges (everything from 1 Day up to 100 Years), or select Predefined Range from the menu, then enter the specific number of years, months ,and days you want to show on your chart.
Note: If there is not enough space to display the requested bars on that size of chart, some bars will be compressed/eliminated.
You can choose the various modes from the Range dropdown menu below the chart. The settings options to the right of this dropdown will change based on the Range setting you select. In the example below, we have chosen Predefined Range, so the Years, Months, and Days settings are available.
The Range setting above the chart allows for quick selection of "Fill the Chart" or commonly-used ranges, from 1 Day up to 100 Years:
In addition to the core settings (Symbol, Period, and Range) available above the chart, many other chart attributes can be set in the Chart Settings panel below the chart. Chart Attributes are settings that affect the chart as a whole, and can be found in the Attributes section of the Chart Settings panel, as shown below.
The Period dropdown is the same as the Period dropdown above the chart.
The Period and Range dropdown menus allow you to set the timeframe for a single bar/candlestick and for the entire chart, respectively. These settings were discussed in more detail earlier in this article.
The Extra Bars box lets you specify the amount of additional blank space you want available on the right side of the chart. If you don't want any extra space, leave the box blank or enter “0” as the value.
The Chart Size dropdown lets you choose the overall width of your chart (in pixels). StockCharts members have different width choices depending on their service level.
The Color Scheme dropdown lets you change the colors that we use to create the chart. These color schemes set the default colors for the chart's background, border, bars/candlesticks, indicator/overlay lines, and more.
The Opacity dropdown lets you change how transparent the main price plot is in the main price plot panel.
The Legends dropdown lets you change how much information is displayed in the upper left corner of each panel in your chart.
Off shows nothing in the legend for the main price plot or any indicator panels.
Minimal shows the ticker symbol of the security but no other information.
Default shows the ticker symbol of the security, plus information about the indicators and overlays.
Verbose shows the full name of the security, plus information about the indicators and overlays.
The Grid Style dropdown lets you change how many grid lines appear in the background of your chart.
The Solid Candles setting fills in all candlesticks with solid colors, while the Hollow Candles setting uses the more traditional hollow candlesticks when prices increase. The color of the candlesticks is based on the relationship between the open and the close. If the close is above the open, the candle is colored with the Up Color; if the close is below the open, the candle is colored with the Down Color.
The Invert Main Price Scale checkbox displays the chart with the y-axis inverted. This is commonly used for indexes and market indicators that make more sense when charted in the inverse, such as the Volatility Index ($VIX).
The Full Quote checkbox adds an information box to the top of your chart that includes additional data about the main ticker symbol, including Bid/Ask data, P/E and EPS ratios, VWAP, SCTR, and the sector/industry that the stock belongs to (if available).
The Price Labels checkbox adds data labels at significant peaks and troughs on the chart, showing you the high and low price data for each of those points.
The Y-Axis Labels checkbox adds labels to the primary vertical axis, showing the final value for each indicator line on the chart.
The Zoom Thumbnail checkbox adds a narrow vertical column to the right side of the chart, showing the final 18 time periods for the chart - usually in more detail than on the regular chart.
The Color Volume checkbox causes the bars of the volume histogram to be colored so that they match the chart's price bars.
Technical Overlays are lines calculated from price and volume data and displayed on top of the main symbol's price bars. They are calculated using the same vertical scale as the price bars. Examples include moving average lines, Bollinger Bands, and Pivot Point lines.
The chart below includes a simple moving average, exponential moving averages, Bollinger Bands, and Parabolic SAR.
To add an overlay to a SharpChart, use the next available line in the Overlays section of the workbench (located just below the Chart Attributes section).
Each line in the Overlays section has a primary dropdown menu (for overlay selection), a Parameters box, and the optional advanced settings boxes.
Note: Free users can only add three overlays per chart and cannot use the advanced settings. Members can add up to 25 different overlays to their charts. As soon as the last available overlay line is used, a new line will appear beneath it, allowing you to add more.
The Parameters box allows you to enter whatever parameters the technical indicator needs. Some indicators do not need any parameters, while others support 5 or more different settings via the Parameters box. Individual settings within the box are separated from one another using commas. Many parameters are optional - if you do not specify a particular parameter, a commonly used default setting will be used instead.
The Reorder arrows allow you to change the order of the overlay lines displayed on the chart. Just click on an up or down arrow to move the entire overlay line up or down on the list.
The Style dropdown allows members to change the style of the overlay's line. Some of the style options are thin, thick, solid, dashed, area, dots, and histogram.
The Color dropdown allows members to change the color of the overlay's line.
The Opacity dropdown allows members to change the transparency of the overlay's line. A setting of 1.0 is completely opaque. A setting of 0.5 is somewhat transparent. A setting of 0.0 is completely transparent (invisible).
The Trash Can icon allows you to quickly delete that overlay from the chart.
The Info icon takes you to the ChartSchool article for the selected overlay.
Finally, there is a Clear All Overlays link at the right side of the Overlays section. Clicking that link will erase all of the overlays from your current chart. You will not be prompted to confirm the deletion, so use this link with caution.
Below is an example chart that contains several technical indicators:
To add an indicator to a SharpChart, use the next available line in the Indicators section of the workbench (located just below the Overlays section).
Each line in the Indicators section has a primary dropdown menu (for indicator type selection), a Parameters box, a Position dropdown menu, and the optional advanced settings boxes.
Note: Free users can only add three indicators per chart and cannot use the advanced settings. Members can add up to 25 different indicators to their charts. As soon as the last available indicator line is used, a new line will appear beneath it, allowing you to add more.
The Parameters box allows you to enter whatever parameters the technical indicator needs. Some indicators do not need any parameters, while others support 5 or more different settings via the Parameters box. Individual settings within the box are separated from one another using commas. Many parameters are optional - if you do not specify a particular parameter, a commonly used default setting will be used instead.
The Position dropdown allows you to specify whether the indicator appears in a panel above the price plot area, below the price plot area, behind price (i.e., overlaying the price bars inside the price plot area), or behind indicator (i.e., overlaying the indicator immediately above it on the indicator list).
The Reorder arrows allow you to change the order of the indicators displayed on the chart. Just click on an up or down arrow to move the entire indicator up or down on the list.
The Color dropdown allows members to change the color of the indicator's line.
The Height dropdown allows members to choose the height of the indicator panel. The setting defines the vertical size of the indicator panel as a percentage of the height of the main Price Panel.
The Opacity dropdown allows members to change the transparency of the indicator's line. A setting of 1.0 is completely opaque. A setting of 0.5 is somewhat transparent. A setting of 0.0 is completely transparent (invisible).
When an Overlay is chosen in the dropdown menu, a second Parameters box will appear, where members can add any necessary parameters for the chosen overlay. For some overlays, this box can be left empty.
The Trash Can icon allows you to quickly delete that indicator from the chart.
The Info icon takes you to the ChartSchool article for the selected indicator.
Finally, there is a Clear All Indicators link at the right side of the Indicators section. Clicking that link will erase all of the indicators from your current chart. You will not be prompted to confirm the deletion, so use this link with caution.
One unique indicator in the Indicator dropdown worth mentioning is the Price indicator. This indicator takes a single parameter - a ticker symbol - and adds that symbol's price data to the chart without making any calculations.
The Price indicator allows you to compare several ticker symbols - market indicators, indexes, or closely related stocks - on a single chart.
Below is an example of a chart that uses the Price indicator.
Because they can have a heavy impact on the performance of our servers, there is a limit on the number of ticker symbols (a.k.a. “datasets”) that each chart can have. Free users are limited to three, Basic and Extra members are limited to six, and Pro members are limited to ten.
The Price Indicator can be used with the Behind Price Position setting to create overlaid charts.
Below is an example of the Price indicator overlaid on a price chart.
In addition, two or more Price indicators can be overlaid on top of themselves using the “Behind Indicator” Position setting. Below is an example:
The Price Performance indicator is similar to the Price indicator, with one key difference - it plots the cumulative percent change in the given ticker symbol starting at the left edge of the chart. This indicator allows you to compare the performance of several different ticker symbols by plotting their Price Performance in an overlaid manner (i.e., using the Behind Price Position setting), just as our Interactive PerfChart tool does.
Note: You typically add Price Performance indicators to a chart that has the Chart Type setting set to Performance.
Below is an example of a Performance SharpChart.
The advantage of creating Performance Charts this way is that you can annotate the charts and/or store them in your account for later review.
Free users can choose between “Daily” and “Weekly” bars; members have access to many more choices, including 1-, 2-, 5-, 10-, 30-, 60- and 120-minute bars, as well as monthly or even yearly bars. For more specifics, please see our Support Center section on .
Select Start/End: Want to view a specific time period in the past? Specify the start and end dates as calendar dates and you'll get a chart with all the data bars between those two dates. When you select this option, you'll see the Date Slider, which you can use to change the start and end dates interactively. Learn more in our Support Center article on .
The Chart Type dropdown lets you choose the specific type of chart that you want to see. Examples include OHLC Bar charts, Candlestick charts, Line charts, and more. Many of these are described in the . We also offer a few specialty chart types (Cumulative, Histogram, Invisible) that are especially well-suited for charting market breadth indicators. Learn more in our Support Center article on .
The Up Color/Down Color dropdowns let you change the color of the price bars in the main price plot panel. By default, our , but you can set both up and down colors to black if you prefer more traditional uncolored candlesticks.
The Volume dropdown lets you easily specify where you want the volume histogram to appear on your chart. For more Volume configuration options, please see our .
The Log Scale/Arithmetic Scale checkboxes change the vertical scale for the Price Plot panel from Arithmetic Scaling and Logarithmic Scaling. Percent changes in price are constant on a log scale chart. For more information, see our .
The Adjust for Dividends checkbox indicates that the historical bars on the chart have been adjusted to remove gaps caused by dividends. For more details, please see our .
The Extended Hours checkbox displays extended hours (pre- and post-market) bars on the chart, if available. Learn more about our in the Support Center.
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For detailed information on the different technical overlays we offer, please see our .
Learn More: For more details about the available parameters for each overlay, please see the .
Technical Indicators are lines that are calculated from price and volume data. Indicators differ from overlays in that they usually do not contain price values and are thus plotted on different vertical scales from the price bars. Therefore, they appear in separate panels above or below the main price plot area. Some examples of commonly used technical indicators include , , and .
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For detailed information on all of the different technical indicators we offer, please see our .
Learn More: For more details about the available parameters for each indicator, please see the .
The Overlay dropdown allows members to add an overlay calculated from the indicator values and displayed directly on the indicator panel. Available overlays include horizontal lines, simple and exponential moving averages, Bollinger Bands, Rate of Change and more. For more information on using this feature, please see .
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Step-By-Step Instructions:
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Step-By-Step Instructions:
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Cool Tip. You can quickly create SharpChart-based Performance Charts by entering several ticker symbols (separated by commas) into the Create a Chart box at the top of any page and clicking Go. You can also use one of the ticker symbols as the “baseline” of your performance comparison by checking a checkbox.
