Viewing ACP Charts
Anatomy of a StockChartsACP Chart
All StockChartsACP charts have several common visual elements regardless of their settings. These common elements include:
The Main Ticker Symbol
The Chart Header Area
The Price Plot Area
The Horizontal Time Axis
The Primary Vertical Axis
(Optional) A Secondary Vertical Axis
(Optional) One or more Technical Overlays
(Optional) One or more Technical Indicator Panels
The diagram below shows each of these features on a typical StockChartsACP chart:
The information displayed in the Chart Header varies depending on the chart configuration but, at a minimum (with the “Slim” chart header configuration), it includes:
Ticker symbol of the dataset displayed in the Price Plot area
Date and time of the latest data point (using the time zone of the exchange)
Closing value of the latest data point
Change in price since the previous close (see our Percent Change FAQ for more information)
The Standard and Full Quote chart header settings show more detailed information about the symbol. Note that if the chart is very narrow, the Slim header will be shown, regardless of the Chart Header setting chosen.
Chart Viewing Features in StockChartsACP
There are several platform features available to customize your chart-viewing experience on StockChartsACP. These features allow you to move around the chart, resize all or part of the chart, and refresh or view data on the chart.
Moving Around the Chart
Scrolling and Chart Control Buttons
To move backward or forward inside the chart, click and hold the left mouse button while dragging the chart to left or right.
When you mouse over the bottom of the chart panel, you'll see three buttons (the Chart Control buttons) that allow you to move backward and forward on the chart. Use the left and right arrow buttons to scroll forward or backward one bar at a time. Clicking the icon with an arrow and a line will take you back to today's date.
Note: The left and right arrow keys on your keyboard can also be used to scroll forward or backward one bar at a time.
Zooming In/Out
To zoom in on the chart for a more close-up view, use the scroll wheel of your mouse or the standard scrolling gestures on your trackpad/touchscreen. This removes bars from the left side of the chart, allowing the remaining bars to be larger. Scroll in the opposite direction to zoom back out again.
Note: If Fit-to-Window mode is disabled on your chart, you will need to press and hold the Ctrl key while scrolling to zoom in or out.
Changing the Chart Size
Fit-to-Window Mode
Fit-to-Window mode ensures that your entire chart is visible on the screen at one time without scrolling. When this mode is disabled, the height of your chart can extend beyond the browser window to give your indicators more vertical space; you can scroll to move the chart up or down in the browser window.
By default, Fit-to-Window mode is enabled. Click the Fit-to-Window icon (two arrows pointing to each other) in the Platform Settings menu at the top of the screen to disable or enable this mode.
Fullscreen Mode
When you click the Fullscreen Mode icon in the Platform Settings menu at the top of the screen, the StockChartsACP screen will expand to take up the entire screen. Click the icon again to return to the previous browser window size.
Enlarging a Chart in a Multi-Chart Layout
When you have multiple charts in your layout, you can expand one of the charts to cover the entire layout area, in order to see that chart in more detail. Mouse over the chart you want to enlarge and click the Maximize button (the one with two arrows pointing in opposite directions) next to the Chart Control Buttons at the bottom of the chart.
To reduce the chart back down to its normal size in the layout, mouse over the chart again to display the Chart Control Buttons, and click the Shrink button (the one with two arrows pointing towards each other).
Working with Chart Data
Auto-Refresh
Charts are automatically refreshed during market hours. Charts for logged-in members can refresh every 5 seconds; non-members' charts can refresh every 10 seconds.
Note: Viewing a large number of charts simultaneously may slow down the refresh rate slightly.
Toggle Measurement Tool
When you turn on the “measurement mode” in ACP (the icon is blue when it's turned on) you can measure price changes, percentage gains/losses, bar counts, and indicator moves.
It helps to have the crosshairs mode turned on when using the measurement tool. Click on the price bar you want to start measuring from and hover over the price bar you want to measure to. The price change, percentage gain/loss, and bar counts will be displayed at the top of the chart. You can also apply the measurement tool to any indicators displayed on the chart.
Crosshairs Mode
Similar to SharpCharts Inspector, the crosshairs functionality lets you see price and indicator values for each bar on the chart.
Click the target icon in the Platform Settings menu at the top of the screen to turn on crosshairs mode.
Then mouse over the date you wish to analyze.
As you mouse over different dates, the OHLC values at the top of the screen will change, as will the overlay and indicator values in the chart legend.
Want to revert back to today's price and indicator values in the legend? Click the target icon again to turn off Crosshairs Mode.
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