Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
New Visitor Questions
How can StockCharts.com help me?
StockCharts.com provides online investors with high-quality technical charts for stocks, funds, and indexes from the US, Canada, UK, and India. Our website has been awarded the prestigious “Readers Choice Award for Best Technical Website” from the readers of Stocks & Commodities magazine every year since 2002.
Our SharpCharts charting tool allows anyone to quickly create high-quality bar and candlestick charts using any web browser without the need for any plug-ins. Users can then add technical indicators and line studies to analyze stocks and determine advantageous buy and sell levels. Many other kinds of technical charting tools are also available on the website.
Our full-screen, interactive Advanced Charting Platform (StockChartsACP) features a rich technical analysis experience with real-time streaming data, several indicators and overlays, flexible multi-chart layouts, exclusive plug-ins, equities trading through Tradier, and much more.
StockCharts also provides expert commentary from industry legends Larry Williams and Martin Pring, along with technically focused articles from other technical analysis experts.
Finally, StockCharts.com is the home of ChartSchool, the biggest online collection of technical analysis articles available anywhere.
I'm new to StockCharts.com. Where should I start?
As a starting point, we recommend checking out our Getting Started with StockCharts series, which will introduce you to the main features available on our site.
If you want to dive right in, here are a few other recommendations for learning about what StockCharts.com offers.
Click on Charts & Tools at the top of any page to try out all our charting tools.
Click on Articles at the top of any page to see our recent market commentary articles.
Click on Help in the upper right corner of any page to learn more about the features of our website.
You could also click on Instructional Videos on the right side of the Charts & Tools page to watch videos that explain how to use our tools.
What additional benefits do paying subscribers receive?
All StockCharts.com subscribers have access to the following benefits:
The ability to create charts with Intraday data periods (1-minute, 5-minute, etc.).
The ability to create larger charts with many more technical indicators and datasets.
The ability to create charts that go back to 1990 or earlier.
The ability to save charts to their account.
The ability to save annotated charts.
The ability to try out our custom scanning functionality on a limited scale.
Access to premium market commentary (Martin Pring's Market Roundup, archives of John Murphy's Market Message).
The ability to create custom RRG charts.
The ability to see historical data in table format.
Extra and Pro members also have these additional benefits:
The ability to create and run custom technical scans.
The ability to group and organize saved charts.
The ability to install pre-created collections of charts (ChartPacks).
Pro members also have these additional benefits:
The ability to create even larger, more complex charts.
The ability to save more charts into more ChartLists.
The ability to create charts based on data before 1980.
For more information about our different subscription services, please click here.
Do you offer a free trial?
Yes, we offer new members a one-month free trial for any of our paid subscription plans. During the trial period, you can freely change your service levels and experiment with our features. A great place to start is our “Welcome” page, where you can walk through our main features step-by-step. We will also send you helpful emails explaining all of our member-only features.
When your trial period ends, assuming you have not canceled your account, we will charge your credit card for the next month of service based on the service level you selected by the end of the free trial. We will continue to charge your card at the start of each month until you cancel your membership.
Click here to sign up for your FREE StockCharts trial!
How much does your service cost?
StockCharts offers three different Service Levels. They are Basic, Extra, and Pro. Click here to see the pricing for each service level and the features they include.
In addition to the service level, you can add one or more of our real-time data plans to whichever service level you select. StockCharts offers real-time data for the US, Canada, and UK markets.
For more information (and a helpful video) about our service levels and data plans, please see our Subscribing to StockCharts article in the Support Center.
Do you have a mobile app?
Yes, we do have a mobile app for iPhones, iPads, and Android devices.
Want to access your StockCharts account, see how the market is doing, or keep an eye on your ChartLists while you're on the go? The StockCharts mobile app for iPhones, iPads, and Android is a great companion.
If you're a StockCharts member, download the StockCharts app from the Apple App Store or Google Play. Enter your login credentials and view market summaries, your ChartLists, or a chart of any ticker symbol you choose. So, after you download the app, fire up your StockCharts mobile app and get access to its features.
For more information on using the mobile app, see our Support Center article on the StockCharts Mobile App.
Troubleshooting Common Technical Issues
I'm having trouble using your site. What should I do?
If you're experiencing technical difficulties while using StockCharts.com, try out some of the options below. These are generally pretty effective at fixing user issues on our website.
Make sure that you have enabled support for cookies from our site.
If you have any Internet or Privacy Filters installed, make sure that you have added “stockcharts.com” to the “Allowed Sites” lists for those programs.
Make sure that you have disabled any pop-up ad-blocking software for “stockcharts.com”.
Clear your browser's temporary file cache completely. Directions for your browser can be found at: https://www.refreshyourcache.com/
Restart your computer.
These options will allow you to solve a whole host of problems. If these do not fix your problem, then check out the Troubleshooting area of our Support Center for more suggestions.
Will my popup-blocking software affect my use of StockCharts.com?
Probably. Several parts of StockCharts use pop-up windows for legitimate, non-advertising reasons. Popup-blocking software may prevent you from using many of our site's important features.
For more information on addressing issues related to popup blockers, see our Support Center article on Popup-Blocking Software.
How do I hide the notification banner that appears above the chart?
Occasionally, you may see a notification banner at the top of your screen. These banners may be displayed to notify you of upcoming StockCharts events or sales; alternatively, they may be notifications for technical alerts you have created.
To hide any notification banner above a chart, click the “X” icon on its right side.
If you want to see notification messages that you have hidden in the past, click on your name or the person icon at the top of the screen and choose “Notifications.”
Questions about the Data behind our Charts
Why is the data on your site different from the data on some other website?
There are several reasons why data on our site may differ from data from other sources. Here are some of the most common reasons:
Adjusted vs. Unadjusted Data
We adjust our historical price data to remove the effects of fund distributions, dividends, and stock splits from our charts. If you notice multiple data differences in a stock's historical data, this is most likely the reason.
Splits, distributions, and dividends are “artificial” changes in price and can create gaps in technical charts. These price gaps could potentially result in misleading signals from technical indicators. To eliminate those gaps, we decrease our historical prices (and increase our historical volume data) in a way that removes these misleading signals.
Learn More: Historical Price Data is Adjusted for Splits, Dividends and Distributions
Additionally, we offer special unadjusted ticker symbols for most stocks and ETFs. To see a chart of unadjusted data, add an underscore character to the front of the symbol.
BATS vs. Official Real-Time Data
When the markets are open, users who don't have an “official” real-time data plan for the US will see real-time data from the BATS exchange. BATS data is similar, but not identical, to data from the NYSE and Nasdaq exchanges. Notably, the volume data for BATS quotes is always much lower.
Learn More: BATS Real-Time Data
Intraday Data Time Delays
We provide real-time data on our charts as quickly as we receive it from our data feed. That said, it is still possible that someone with a professional data feed may see real-time data on those feeds sooner than it appears on our charts. However, that delay should only be a couple of seconds at most.
International Data is Updated Once a Day
Our International Indexes are only updated once per day, typically around the end of the US trading day, which may be several hours after the exchange in question has closed for the day. We provide International Indexes to help our users gain a long-term understanding of the direction of their associated markets; the indexes are not recommended for active traders in those markets.
Additionally, we recommend that people use the extensive collection of International ETFs now available as real-time proxies for tracking international markets.
How do your BATS real-time charts work?
Our BATS real-time charts are generated using data provided by the BATS exchange. This data is a free alternative to “official” real-time data provided by stock exchanges. While BATS data closely approximates their official counterparts, there are a few key differences that users should be aware of:
BATS data is only available for US stocks, though it does not include some thinly traded stocks.
Volume data from the BATS exchange is significantly lower than the volume data from the NYSE/Nasdaq.
Price data can be different than the price data from the NYSE/Nasdaq, especially for thinly traded stocks.
Because of these limitations, we display this BATS data differently on our charts:
BATS data bars are highlighted yellow to distinguish them from the final, official data on the chart.
We only display BATS data for the most recent 15 minutes on our charts. After that, we replace the BATS bar(s) with delayed “official” bars from the major exchanges.
For intraday charts, we place a vertical, dashed yellow line on the chart in order to show where the free real-time bars end and the official bars begin.
Because the volume data from the BATS exchange is so much smaller than the official volume data, we do not display volume or volume-based indicators for the BATS section of the chart.
Click here for a full explanation of BATS real-time data, including example charts comparing a BATS-based chart with an official real-time chart.
Why is your Gold price different from other sources?
Like all of our commodity indices, our $GOLD symbol is not technically a gold price. It is an index value that corresponds to a theoretical, non-tradable “continuous” futures contract for gold that uses a weighted average of all the currently open gold contracts. It is provided on an end-of-day basis so that users can compare gold's mid-term to long-term performance and trends to other markets. It should not be used to make trading decisions concerning gold itself.
Note: You can track gold intraday by charting the “GLD” ETF.
Do you provide charts of commodities or futures contracts?
Yes, but only for end-of-day data. While we do not have intraday futures data at this time, you can track most commodities in real time using ETFs; for a list, go to the Market Summary page and scroll down to the “Commodities” area.
Our futures contracts all start with the “^” character. For a complete list of the contracts we track, please click on this link.
In addition to end-of-day data for CME and ICE-based futures contracts, we also track the continuous contract prices of major commodities in our commodity-based indexes. These include $GOLD, $SILVER, $USD, and $WTIC, among others. For a complete list of those indexes, please click on this link.
Do you provide charts of currency pairs?
Yes, we provide real-time charts for currency pairs. You can find a list of all the currency pairs we track by clicking on this link.
The data starts Monday at 00:00 UTC or Sunday at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST.
Can I export your data to another program like Excel?
In general, we do not allow users to export our data. However, members of our Pro service can download daily, weekly, or monthly data in CSV format, as shown below.
Click Past Data
To begin, create a chart for the ticker symbol whose data you want to download. Once the chart has been created, click the Past Data link located below the chart.
Download the Data
Once the past data page appears, Pro service members can click the “download” link to download the data. By default, it will download daily data; if you want weekly or monthly data, click the “period” drop-down, select the option you want, and click “download.”
How far back does your stock data go?
Daily/Weekly/Monthly Data
For most stocks and mutual funds, Basic and Extra members can create charts using daily price data that go back all the way to 1990. For major indexes, they can create charts going back to 1980. Pro members, meanwhile, can create charts using daily price data that go back to 1970 and earlier.
Members can also examine daily data in table form. Basic and Extra members can examine this data going back to 1990; Pro members can go back all the way to 1970.
Intraday Data
Members can create 1-, 2-, 3-, 5- or 15-minute charts going back 20 days, 10- or 30-minute charts going back 40 days and 60- or 120-minute charts going back to mid-2001.
Do you provide real-time charts for US and Canadian stocks?
Yes. Optional real-time data plans provide “official” real-time data from the exchanges for the US, Canada, and the UK.
In addition, our BATS Real-Time data plan provides free real-time data for most US symbols using data from the BATS exchange. Our Free users can see daily and weekly charts based on that same BATS Real-Time data.
Learn More: BATS Real-Time Data
Do you provide Options information?
Yes, options data is available on our Options Summary page for US stocks, ETFs, and indexes.
To learn more about getting the most out of this tool, see our Support Summary article on the Options Summary.
How do I learn about a specific index or market indicator?
StockCharts.com offers access to many indexes and market indicators. Knowing what each index or market indicator shows can be daunting. You can use our index catalog to search for a specific index or market indicator and learn more details.
You can also regularly visit our expert market commentary, ChartSchool, or StockCharts TV, where you can find more information about specific index or market indicators and learn unique ways to apply them.
I see a chart with a bad data point. What do I do?
StockCharts goes to great lengths to make sure the data is accurate. Once the stock market closes, the daily quote (open, high, low, close, and volume) for each stock is audited by the exchanges. That means the people at the exchanges review all the trades for each stock, toss out any incorrect numbers, and then reissue the “official” values for open, high, low, close, and volume for that stock. To ensure we have the “official” numbers, we recollect the daily data from our data vendors several times each day after the market closes. We aim to have “official” numbers in our database for every stock's daily values.
Intraday data, however, is a different story. Exchanges do not audit intraday data values or issue corrections, nor are there any other public sources where intraday data can be cross-checked; the data simply is what it is. Intraday data is a running record of what our data feed told us the stock was trading during each minute of the trading day. That said, we still work hard to fix intraday data once it gets off the data feed and into our databases (after the markets close each day). Once the data is “ours,” we can fix any blatantly obvious problems, such as spikes and dropouts.
If you encounter a bad data point on an intraday or daily chart, we ask that you wait until the audit is complete, typically by 6:00 PM Eastern Time, before reporting the data error. This is because we cannot correct bad data while the market is open and must wait for the audit process to be completed.
Do you adjust your price data for stock splits, dividends, or distributions?
We do adjust our historical data to remove the “artificial” effects of splits, dividends, and distributions from our charts. If we didn’t do that, you would see big vertical gaps in a chart. These gaps would cause misleading technical signals to appear on your charts.
Here’s an example. Say a stock had a 2-for-1 split, and the price suddenly drops 50% on the chart. This would wreak havoc on an indicator such as the MACD, which would turn bearish because “momentum” suddenly dropped. But traders aren’t bearish on the stock because of a split. If anything, traders might be more bullish. To eliminate the big downward price gap, we divide all the price data from before the split by two and multiply all the corresponding volume data by two. This eliminates the gap and gives a true picture of people’s opinions of the stock.
It’s similar for non-market-related adjustments, including dividends and distributions. While not usually as flashy as splits, dividend and distribution adjustments could cause misleading signals if their effects aren’t factored out.
If you want to see the unadjusted data for a stock, add an underscore to the front of the ticker symbol, e.g., “_TSLA”
Want to see when splits or dividends occurred? If using SharpCharts, do the following:
Enter a symbol in the “Create a Chart” box.
From the Overlays dropdown menu, select “Events.”
Click “Update.”
Below is an example.
The small boxes at the bottom of the price area that corresponds with the vertical lines are the event markers. They identify when splits/dividends/distributions happened and the type of split and dividend or distribution values. In July 2021, NVDA had a 4:1 stock split. The rest of the event markers display the dividends or distributions in dollars.
How is Percent Change Calculated?
On the StockCharts site, the Chg value shown at the top of the chart displays the difference between the latest price on the chart and the previous period's closing price. The one exception to this is for intraday charts, where the Chg is the difference between the latest price and the previous day's close.
Percent Change, meanwhile, is calculated by dividing the Chg value by the previous period's close and multiplying the result by 100.
Percent Change Calculation:
Intraday/Daily Chg = (Price - Prev Day's Close) / Prev Day's Close * 100
Weekly Chg = (Price - Prev Week's Close) / Prev Week's Close * 100
Monthly Chg = (Price - Prev Month's Close) / Prev Month's Close * 100Keep in mind that other websites could use a different calculation, so our percent change value might not match those sources. We recommend checking with the sources you use to learn what calculation they use for percent change.
If you are using BATS real-time data for your charts, the percent change value is delayed by 15 minutes.
Questions about Information on our Charts
Why is the last bar on my chart highlighted in a different color?
When the markets are open, bars highlighted in yellow are based on either free real-time BATS data (in the case of US stocks) or delayed data. Bars highlighted in green are based on official real-time data from the main stock exchanges.
What does a solid black or hollow red candlestick mean?
Traditionally, candlesticks have not been different colors. If the close was less than the open, you would get a filled candlestick; if the close was higher than the open, you would get a hollow candlestick. You can see this by choosing “Black” for both the “Up Color” and “Down Color” settings in our SharpCharts tool.
Coloring candlesticks is actually more complicated than you might think. One thing that can confuse people is that there is no such thing as a “white candlestick” - it is hollow, not white. That means that, if you are viewing a candlestick chart with volume bars behind it (the default for SharpCharts), you may see a colored volume bar showing through a hollow candle. If you find that confusing, select “Separate” from the “Volume” dropdown just below the chart.
The next thing to keep in mind is that, when the market is open, we add another candlestick on the right side of the chart based on the current intraday quote. Because that candle is still in the process of developing, we draw it on top of a yellow background. The yellow background will disappear when the final closing prices are recorded. (Note: If you subscribe to a real-time data plan, the background of the far-right candle will be green instead of yellow.)
Finally, if you use the default-colored candlesticks for a SharpChart, here are the rules that we use:
If the previous day's closing value is less than or equal to the closing value for the current day, draw the current day's candlestick in black.
If the previous day's closing value is higher than the closing value for the current day, draw the current day's candlestick in red.
Notice that these rules are subtly different from the rules for determining whether to draw a filled candlestick or a hollow candlestick. Those rules (stated in the first paragraph above) rely on the relationship between the opening price for the current day and the closing price of the current day. These subtle differences can lead to what we call “oxymoronic” candlesticks – candles that are colored bullishly, but filled bearishly (a filled black candlestick) or vice versa (a hollow red candlestick).
For example, in the GE chart above, notice that filled black candlesticks appear at several important peaks on the chart. This is because, in these instances, GE opened significantly higher than the previous day's close (“gapped up”), fell during the day, but still managed to close above the previous day's close. Less obviously, on May 23rd, a hollow red candle appears because GE gapped down at the open, rose during the day, but didn't close above the closing price for May 22nd.
Note: SharpCharts can be configured with the Solid Candles setting. In this situation, there are no hollow candles, and 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.
Videos
What is the blue dashed line I see on intraday charts?
The horizontal blue dashed line on an intraday chart represents the closing value for the previous day. You can see this line in action on the MSFT chart shown below.
Why aren't my Volume-based indicators updating?
Volume-based indicators are updated when each time period is complete. For daily charts, this means volume-based indicators are updated after the market close. Similarly, volume-based indicators on 30-minute charts are updated at the end of each 30-minute period. Price and volume data are both subject to change prior to a period's end. Waiting for definitive data ensures that the volume-based indicators are based on correct - and unchanging - data.
The example above shows Cisco (CSCO) gapping down on big volume. On Balance Volume (OBV) should be moving lower, but the chart shows an advance over the last few days. This is because the indicator has yet to be updated for the current day. The date is shown next to the indicator name on the left side of the indicator window. The gap down occurred on 14-November and the OBV indicator is dated 13-November.
Chartists wishing to see the effects of a big volume bar can use intraday charts. The example below shows OBV moving sharply lower on the 30-minute chart. Notice the small space between OBV and the current price bar; this is due to the fact that OBV will not be shown for the current 30-minute bar until the 30-minute period is over and the bar is complete.
What are Price Labels and how can I use them?
Price Labels are balloons that display price or index values above and below significant peaks and troughs. The main purpose of Price Labels is to visualize significant highs and lows of price action. When you enable Price Labels on your chart (check the Price Labels box under Chart Attributes to enable), you can quickly see the highest and lowest values displayed. You don't have to look up these values in a separate table or use the Inspect (crosshair) tool.
Price Labels may look like they gave good signals in the past, but they’re not designed to be trading signals. To generate price labels, we look into the future when deciding where to display them. You’ll never see a price label appear at the far right edge of the chart. This is why Price Labels can't be used for trading signals.
Questions about Membership Features and Subscribing
Why would I want to pay for a real-time data plan when you offer free real-time charts?
While our free BATS real-time charts can be quite useful for newcomers or casual chart watchers, they have several important restrictions that might make our real-time data plans more suited for your needs:
Most US stock orders are executed on the NYSE or Nasdaq exchanges. Only our real-time data plan shows the “official” data for those exchanges.
There is no reliable volume information associated with our free US real-time data bars.
Free real-time charts are only available for popular US stocks. We do not have free real-time data for thinly-traded US stocks or for non-US markets.
If these limitations prevent you from getting what you need out of BATS real-time charting, we highly recommend considering a subscription to at least one of our official real-time data plans.
Learn More: Adding Data Plans to your service
Do you provide phone support?
We are not able to provide phone support at this time. Instead, we support our customers via our web-based documentation, our blogs and support articles, and our email-based support system.
Unfortunately, adding phone support to our site would significantly increase the cost of our service, so we don't expect to add that capability any time soon.
Our support team works very hard to provide users with help via email. If you have watched the “Getting Started with StockCharts" video and still have questions, please Contact Our Support Team so that we can help answer your questions.
Do you offer a referral program?
We do! If your friend entered your email address in the appropriate field the first time they signed in (and your account was active at the time), you should get one additional month of service added to your account during the first week of their second month, provided that they don't cancel. If this doesn't happen, please let us know so we can resolve the issue.
Thanks for recommending us to someone else! We love hearing that people like our service enough to recommend it to others.
Questions about Creating Charts
How do I create a chart of the cumulative Advance-Decline Line?
Several of the market breadth indices that we track are best viewed cumulatively, rather than in “raw” form. For example, the NYSE Advance-Decline index ($NYAD) is very “spiky” when charted directly, but forms a smooth curve called the “NYSE Advance-Decline Line” when plotted on a cumulative chart.
To create such a chart, simply select “Cumulative” from the “Type” dropdown below the chart. Click here to see this in action for $NYAD.
For more information, see our Support Center article on Charting Market Breadth Indicators.
How do I invert the vertical scale on my chart?
There are some indexes and market indicators that just make more sense when charted in the inverse. For example, when charting the Volatility Index ($VIX), high values indicate bearishness while low values indicate bullishness. In this case, it feels more intuitive to invert this chart so that bullish values are at the top and bearish values are at the bottom.
You can add a minus sign to the front of any ticker symbol to chart the true inverse of that dataset. For instance, “-$VIX” will create such a chart. Click here to see the chart for "-$VIX", the inverse of $VIX.
Alternatively, you can choose to create a reciprocal chart, which does not match the y-axis values of a true inverse but still approximates the line of the original chart. For instance, charting "$ONE:$VIX" will create the reciprocal of the $VIX chart.
How do I add vertical space above a chart for annotations?
While there is no direct way to add more vertical space to a chart's Price Plot area currently, there is a method you can use to get what you need.
The “trick” is to add an invisible indicator just above (or below) the price plot area so that you can extend your annotations into that blank space. (Note: You will need to be a subscriber in order to accomplish this.) Here are the steps:
Add the “On Balance Volume” indicator to your chart. (OBV doesn't have a vertical scale, which makes it ideal for this purpose.)
Open the “Advanced Options” area of the Indicator section of the workbench by clicking on the green triangle icon.
Use the “Down Triangle” in the “Reorder” area to move the OBV indicator to the bottom of the indicator list (if it isn't there already).
Set the OBV's “Position” dropdown to “Above” (or “Below” if you are adding space at the bottom of the chart).
Set the OBV's “Opacity” to 0.0 to make it invisible.
If you need lots of space, you can adjust the OBV's “Height” setting also.
(Optional) Enter 20 (or whatever you need) into the “Extra Bars” box under the chart
Click “Update”. Voila! You now have a chart with lots of room for your trend line and Fibonacci projections.
How do I shade the area between Bollinger Bands?
Shading the area between Bollinger Bands provides a different look that some people may prefer to the default lines. This tutorial shows how you can create those shaded bands.
Step 1: Expand the "Advanced Options" for Overlays in the SharpCharts Workbench
Click on the green arrow on the right side of the “Overlays” section to expand. Skip to the next step if this is already done.
Step 2: Add Bollinger Bands to the Chart and Select Your Options
Click on the dropdown to select “Bollinger Bands” and enter the parameters you want to use (20,2 is the default).
Click on the “Style” dropdown and select “Area”.
Select a color if you want one other than “Auto” in this case we are using Gold.
Click “Update”.
(Optional): Add Multiple Bands
You can also use multiple shaded Bollinger Bands on a chart to find what parameters best fit your style of trading. This blog article from Chip Anderson goes into more detail. To add multiple bands, repeat the process outlined in Step 2.
How do I add extra horizontal space to my chart?
To add extra space to a chart to make trend line projections, you need to add extra bars to the right of a chart. Here's how to add extra space in SharpCharts.
Go to the Chart Attributes section located below the SharpChart.
Add the number of rows you want to the right in the Extra Bars box.
Click the Update button.
Note: The Extra Bars option is unavailable if you use the “Select Start/End” option in the Range dropdown.
This feature is available to all subscribers and free users.
Adding the Extra Bars
**You can add up to two years of extra bars to your chart. These extra bars are included in the overall chart data limits, which you should remember when configuring your chart. For example, if you're a free user, you're limited to a total of three years of data. So, if you add two years of extra bars, you can only display one year of actual price data on your chart.
The above chart is an example of what a one-year chart with 500 “Extra Bars” looks like.
How do I search for a specific ticker symbol?
If you are looking for a certain ticker symbol, you can search for it by starting to type the name of the company, index or ETF represented by it in the “Create a Chart” box, located at the top of our homepage or chart pages.
Additionally, you can also use our Symbol Catalog to search for your desired symbol.
How do I create a full-screen size chart?
If you're using the Classic SharpCharts, you can select the custom size option on a chart and enter your computer's screen resolution size to get a chart to fill your screen. In the New SharpCharts platform, in addition to creating a custom-size chart, drag the black dot in the bottom right of the chart. This allows you to have the chart fill your screen. In StockChartsACP, you can use the full-screen toggle to create a full-screen size chart.
Don't forget Basic and Extra members can create charts up to 1600×1200 pixels, while Pro members can go up to 2500 pixels.
How do I create a moving average of the Open, High or Low instead of Close?
Here are the steps to take to find the moving average value for the open, high or low.
Adjust the Moving Average Parameters
To create a moving average for the open, high or low, you will need to add a second parameter to the moving average by adding the letter O for open, H for high and L for low. For example, if you want the 50-day simple moving average of the open, you would use “50,O” as the parameters. If you wanted the 50-day moving average of the low, you would use “50,L” instead. For the high, you would enter “50,H” as the parameters. An example of what this will look like on a chart is presented with $INDU below.
Keep in mind that this works for both Simple Moving Averages and Exponential Moving Averages.
How do I use TRIN and TRINQ as an indicator?
Have you wanted to use $TRIN or $TRINQ as an indicator but are unsure how to do so? This tutorial will explain how to add either symbol to a chart using the Price indicator.
The Price Indicator
To add $TRIN or $TRINQ to a chart, you will need to use the “Price” indicator. To start, select “Price” from the indicator drop-down (#1) and enter $TRIN or $TRINQ in the “Parameter” field, depending on which one you want to use (#2). To change where you want $TRIN or $TRINQ to appear on the chart, please click the “position” drop-down and select the option you want (#3).
When you are ready, click “Update” to add $TRIN or $TRINQ to the chart. You have now mastered how to add $TRIN or $TRINQ to a chart as an indicator.
How do I add an overlay to an indicator?
All StockCharts members have the ability to chart overlays of indicators (for example, a moving average of RSI values that is displayed on the RSI indicator panel of the chart).
For step-by-step instructions on adding an overlay to an indicator on your char, please see our Support Center article on Adding an Overlay to an Indicator.
Questions about Chart Annotations
How do I add comments to a chart?
Adding comments to a chart is a great way to point out key items you'd like to remember. In this tutorial, you will find step-by-step instructions for adding comments onto a chart directly using the ChartNotes Annotation tools and adding comments about a chart using ChartList View or Edit View.
ChartList View
One way to add comments about a chart is to use the ChartList View.
Click the ChartLists button on Your Dashboard.
In the View List column, click on the View As dropdown menu and select ChartList View.
Each chart in the ChartList view has a text box at the bottom—“Click here to add a comment.” Click in the box and add your comments about the chart.
When you're done, click the green “Save” button.
Edit View
A second easy way to add comments to a chart is to use Edit View of the charts in your ChartList.
To add comments, click the comments column for a specific chart. You'll see a popup window in which you can add or edit comments.
When you're done, click the green “Save” button. The comments you've added will be displayed below the chart in the ChartList views.
ChartNotes Note Tool
If you want to add freeform text directly onto your SharpChart, one option is to use the “Note” tool. To use this tool, open up your SharpChart in the ChartNotes Annotation window by clicking the “Annotate” link which appears below the SharpChart.
Once your chart appears in the annotation window, click the “Note” icon on the left side toolbar to launch the tool, as shown above. You can then click on the location within the chart where you want to add the note and type your text into the box that appears. When finished, click Ctrl-Enter or click outside the text box to complete the annotation.
ChartNotes Callout Tool
The Callout Tool provided in ChartNotes is another option for you to add comments directly onto the SharpChart. This tool is Callout Tool is a great way to annotate specific movements or trends. To use this feature, open up your SharpChart in the ChartNotes Annotation window by clicking the “Annotate” link below the SharpChart.
Once your chart appears in the annotation window, click the “Callout” icon on the left side toolbar. Next, click on the location where you want to insert it. Then, you can type your text into the box that appears. Once you're finished typing, click outside the comment box.
Once you have added your comments, you can easily add pointers to the box to point to what you are referring to in your comment. To add the pointers, press and hold down the Ctrl key (Command key if using a Mac), click in the center of the box and drag from one of the four corners using the mouse to the location at which the callout pointer should end.
Note: You can change the color or font size of your note or callout annotation by using the horizontal toolbar on the top side of the annotation window.
How do I delete a single annotation?
Steps to Delete an Annotation
1. Open up the chart in ChartNotes
To begin, go to ChartNotes and open up the saved annotated chart you want to alter.
2. Click the Selection tool
Once your chart appears in the annotation window, click the Selection tool icon from the left side toolbar, as shown in the image above.
3. Delete the annotation
Once you have clicked the Selection tool, click on the annotation you wish to delete. You will see yellow boxes appear around the annotation. Once the yellow boxes appear, click the “delete” key on your keyboard to remove the annotation.
Once the annotation you want is removed, click “Save” to resave the chart.
How do I draw a trend line on a chart?
To draw a trend line on your chart, simply follow the steps below:
Click the “Annotate” link from directly below the chart in the SharpChart Workbench. This will open the chart in our ChartNotes annotation tool.
Select the Trendline Tool at the left side of the screen.
Click and drag your mouse from the beginning to the end of the line.
To change the line position, click and drag the yellow squares (“handles”) at either end.
To shift the line's position without changing the angle, click on the center of the line.
Here is an image of where you can find the Trendline tool:
To learn more about the ChartNotes annotation tool, please refer to our ChartNotes Annotation Tool - User Documentation page. Additionally, you can watch our video on how to draw a trend line.
Questions about ChartLists
How do I apply a ChartStyle to one of my ChartLists?
From inside Edit View, it is relatively easy to change the ChartStyle for several charts - or even an entire ChartList - at one time. For more information on this method, please see our Support Center article on using Edit View.
How do I rearrange the charts in my ChartList?
Charts in a ChartList are arranged in alphabetic order based on each chart's name. To change the order, insert a “code” at the front of each chart's name using numbers or letters. We recommend a numbering scheme such as “001”, “002”, “003” and so forth.
For step-by-step instructions on doing this, please see our Support Center article on reordering the charts in a ChartList.
How do I share a ChartList with another member?
As a StockCharts member, you have the ability to share your ChartLists with other members of the site. There is no limit to the number of ChartLists you can share, but each must be done individually.
For step-by-step instructions, please see our Support Center article on sharing ChartLists.
How do I change my ChartList of SharpCharts to P&F charts?
Do you have a ChartList of SharpCharts that you want to convert to P&F charts all at once? Below, you will find the steps to take to change a ChartList of SharpCharts into P&F charts.
Access a Saved Chart
The first step is to open up any of the saved charts in the ChartList that you want to convert from SharpCharts to P&F charts. To start, go to the “Your ChartLists” section of Your Dashboard, then select “Summary” view from the “View As” dropdown next to the ChartList you want to convert to P&F. Then, click on the first chart listed on the summary view page.
Click the Point & Figure Link
Once the chart you selected appears on the SharpCharts workbench, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the “Point & Figure chart” link located below the ChartLists section (shown above).
Apply the Style
The chart will now load as a P&F chart. Make any changes you want to your P&F chart. When the chart is set to your desired style (the one you want all the charts in your list to use), scroll down to the “ChartLists” section and click the “Apply Style To All” button.
Confirm
Next, a popup will appear and ask “Are you sure you wish to apply the current style to ALL charts in the current ChartList?”. If so, click OK to make the changes.
To confirm that all the charts in the specific ChartList have been converted to P&F charts, click the “View All” link above the P&F Chart. This will display the ChartList in 10 Per Page View, where you can verify whether all the charts can appear as P&F charts.
How do I move or copy a chart from one ChartList to another?
Extra members can have up to 250 ChartLists with 1000 charts per list, while PRO members can have up to 500 ChartLists. As your lists develop, you may find a need to move or copy one or more charts from one ChartList to another.
Please see our Support Center article on Edit View for instructions on moving and copying saved charts.
How do I search for a chart in my ChartLists?
StockCharts.com's search functionality isn't just for finding support articles or blog articles - it can also be used to search for charts in your ChartLists. For step-by-step instructions on how to do this, please see our Support Center article on searching for charts in ChartLists.
Questions about My Account
How do I change my password?
To change your account password, please use the following steps:
Log in to your account using your current email address and password.
Click on your name or the person icon in the upper right corner of any page, then choose “Your Account.”
Click on the “Edit” link next to your password on the right side of the page.
Enter your new password into the “New Password” box, then re-enter it in the “Confirm Password” box.
Press the “Save and Update” button to complete the password change.
Note: Passwords must be between 7 and 20 characters long. They can only contain letters, numbers, and hyphens.
For more information about account passwords, please see our ChartSchool article on Using Your StockCharts Account.
How do I view an invoice?
To view an invoice for your StockCharts account, you will first need to log in to your account. Next, click on your name or the person icon in the upper right corner of the page, then choose “Your Account”. Then, click on “See Transaction History” on the right side of the page to show a list of your previous transactions.
Next, click the “Get Invoice” button to view the invoice for a particular order. To generate a combined invoice for multiple transactions, select a start and end date range below the list of transactions and click the “Generate Invoice” button.
If you would like to print the invoice after it has been created, click the “Print Invoice” button on the invoice page.
How do I update my credit card number or expiration date?
If you wish to update your credit card information, please follow these steps:
Log in to your account. Click on your name or the person icon in the upper right corner of the page, then choose “Your Account”.
Click on the “Update” link next to your credit card info in the “Account Details” section.
Enter your credit card and location information.
Press the “Submit” button to complete the process.
For more information about updating this and other account settings, please see our Support Center article on managing your account settings.
What is the CVV code?
If you are using a credit card from Visa, MasterCard or Discover, the CVV code is the three-digit number on the back of your card. If you are using an American Express card, the CVV code is the four-digit number on the front of your card.
What is this additional charge on my credit card?
If you have signed up for a real-time Data Plan, your Data Plan fees will show up on your credit card statement as a separate charge from your Service Level fees (Basic/Extra/Pro).
This means that, if you are on a monthly renewal plan and have real-time data, you will see two charges on your credit card statement each month: one for the Service Level fees (Basic/Extra/Pro) and one for the real-time Data Plan fees. Thus, you will see a total of 24 StockCharts.com charges on your credit card over the course of a year.
With an annual renewal plan and real-time data, your credit card statement will show one charge per year for the Service Level fees (Basic/Extra/Pro) and one charge per month for the real-time Data Plan fees. Thus, you will see a total of 13 StockCharts.com charges on your credit card over the course of a year.
For more information on the billing process and for instructions on viewing invoices for previous transactions, please see our Using Your StockCharts Account page in the Support Center.
Questions about Scanning
Do you provide real-time stock scanning?
Sort of. Because of the vast amounts of data involved, all scanning systems work with datasets that are slightly older than “real-time.” When the market is open, our scan engines are continually updating the most recent data point for all of the stocks and indexes that they track on a rotating basis. When a StockCharts member runs a scan based on the “Last Intraday Update”, the scan engines will use a “most recent” data point that is somewhere between 5 and 30 seconds old, depending on when the scan is run.
How do I create a scan based on weekly or monthly data?
If you are using the Standard Scan Workbench, simply change the “Date Offset” part of the “Additional Technical Expression” from “Days Ago” to “Weeks Ago” and adjust the corresponding parameters.
If you are using the Advanced Scan Workbench, simply add the word “weekly” or “monthly” in front of the expression that you are using. To refer to previous weeks or months, you can add modifiers like “6 months ago” or “last week's” where appropriate.
Here are a few examples:
[weekly MACD Line(12,26,9) x 0]
[monthly RSI(14) > 0]
[daily close > weekly close]
[this week's high > 2 weeks ago high]
[monthly low < last month's low]
For more information about modifying dates in scan clauses, see our Support Center article on Writing Scans.
What data periods are supported by the scan engine?
Our Scan Engine allows you to create scans based on daily, weekly, or monthly price bars. However, it doesn't support scans based on intraday (1-minute, 5-minute, etc.) bars. See our Support Center articles about Scanning to learn more about the Scan Engine.
The first data update for the Scan Engine starts a minute after the market opens, 9:31 AM Eastern Time. Because of the vast amount of data during trading hours, our Scan Engine scours through a universe of stocks. As a result, the data used in the scanning systems may be slightly delayed.
How do I create a scan that only looks at stocks in my ChartList?
StockCharts members can scan for stocks that are listed in one or more of their ChartLists. This is particularly handy when scanning for stocks on your watchlist that meet specific criteria.
For detailed instructions on scanning for stocks on your ChartList, please see our Support Center article on Scanning Your ChartLists.
How do I save my scan results?
As a StockCharts member, you have the ability to create and run custom scans. You may want to save your scan results to review later, and StockCharts offers multiple different ways to do this:
Store the results in a new ChartList.
Merge the results with an existing ChartList.
Replace the results of an existing ChartList.
Download results to a new CSV file.
All of these options are available from the Member Actions section at the top of your scan results page. Click the green “Save to ChartList” button to save results to a new ChartList or merge/replace results with an existing ChartList. Click the gray “Download CSV” button to download the results to a CSV file.
For more detailed instructions on how to save or download your scan results, please see our Support Center article on Working with Scan Results.
How can I quickly delete saved scans from my account?
If you have created scans that you no longer want in your account, there is a simple way to delete them, as outlined in the steps below.
1. Go to the Advanced Scan Workbench.
2. On the Advanced Scan Workbench, click the “View All” icon located next to the “Your Saved Scans” dropdown menu.
3. On the page that subsequently appears, check the box on the left for each scan you wish to delete, then click the red “Delete Selected Scans” button.
Questions about Alerts
How do I create a price alert for a single stock?
StockCharts members can easily create price alerts for symbols on our Price Alert Workbench.
Simply specify the symbol you would like to be notified about, the price you are watching for it to cross above or below, and the method(s) you'd like to be notified by (email, text, or a notification banner on the workbench).
For more details about setting up price alerts, please see our Support Center article on Building a Price Alert.
Questions about Working with Saved Charts
How do I change the settings for all the charts in a ChartList?
StockCharts users have a couple of different methods available to change the settings for all of the charts in a given ChartList.
The first method uses the "Apply Style to All" button on the SharpCharts Workbench. Learn more about this method in our ChartStyles and StyleButtons article in the Support Center.
The second method uses the "Apply Style To" button in Edit View to apply a ChartStyle to multiple charts in a ChartList. For more information on this method, please see our Support Center article on Edit View.
How do I delete a saved chart from one of my ChartLists?
Members can delete charts in their ChartList from several different places, including CandleGlance, ChartBook, Edit, and ChartList View. For step-by-step instructions on how to do so, please see our Support Center article on deleting charts from ChartLists.
How do I bookmark a chart?
Whether you're a StockCharts member or a free user, you can bookmark a chart in SharpCharts and StockChartsACP. This can be useful because it allows you to access your chart and save the charts you create.
Bookmarking a Chart in SharpCharts
Follow the steps below to prepare a customized link for your chart. Afterward, you can safely bookmark the chart like any other webpage on your browser.
Step 1. Create a SharpChart that contains the attributes, overlays, and indicators you want. For instructions on creating SharpCharts, please refer to our SharpCharts documentation.
Step 2. When using the Classic SharpCharts workbench, click “Permalink” below the chart (red arrow in the above image). In the New SharpCharts workbench, select the link icon in the bottom right of the chart (see image below).
Step 3. Click the “Reload with Link” button in the pop-up window that subsequently appears.
You will now have a detailed description of your chart stored in our database. The page will be reloaded with a slightly altered web address, now containing a “P number” (e.g., “P123456”). Web addresses with P numbers can be bookmarked safely. If you forget this step and store the original page address instead, you will see our default $INDU chart when you click your bookmark.
Once complete, you can safely bookmark your chart for easy access from your browser.
Bookmarking a Chart in StockChartsACP
Bookmarking charts in StockChartsACP are relatively straightforward.
Step 1. Create a chart in StockChartsACP containing indicators, overlays, and desired attributes.
Step 2. Click the “Share” button (red arrow in the above image).
Step 3. Click the “Copy Link” button.
Step 4. Paste the link on your browser and bookmark the chart.
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