# How to Add an Overlay to an Indicator

It can be helpful to add an overlay, such as a moving average or Bollinger Bands, to an indicator panel on your chart. These overlays are often used with price indicators (in the same way they are used on the main price plot of the chart), but they can also be used with other indicators to smooth out indicator values or show indicator values falling outside typical ranges.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Learn More:** [Overlays](https://help.stockcharts.com/charts-and-tools/sharpcharts/sharpcharts-workbench/editing-sharpcharts#adding_overlays) | [Indicators](https://help.stockcharts.com/charts-and-tools/sharpcharts/sharpcharts-workbench/editing-sharpcharts#adding_indicators)
{% endhint %}

This in-depth tutorial walks you step-by-step through adding a SCTR indicator with a 20-day moving average of those SCTR values to a SharpChart.

## Tutorial: Adding a Moving Average to a SCTR Indicator

In this step-by-step tutorial, we'll add a SCTR indicator panel to the chart, and then add a 20-day simple moving average to the SCTR indicator to smooth out the SCTR values. 

### Create the SharpChart

#### Step 1: Enter the Ticker Symbol

There are several ways to create a new SharpChart, but the easiest is to enter the symbol in the Create-a-Chart box at the top of the page and then click Go.

<figure><img src="https://2414490151-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FELJo6JImRKx7nLaFjAPl%2Fuploads%2FS6cboT1xn453FLi7bCOe%2Foverlayofindicator01.png?alt=media&#x26;token=75585030-0685-4542-b7b1-712a80940d1b" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### Step 2: Clear Indicators and Overlays

To simplify the chart, let's remove any Indicators and Overlays from the default chart. The quickest way to do that is to click the Clear All link in the Overlays section and repeat the process with the Clear All link in the Indicators section.&#x20;

<figure><img src="https://2414490151-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FELJo6JImRKx7nLaFjAPl%2Fuploads%2FqxZrNgJ3VD9FItyuMK8g%2Foverlayofindicator02.png?alt=media&#x26;token=4e9c5b4c-8a40-48d6-8ee7-9eb610e8ba99" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Note:** You may want to make other changes to the chart, such as changing the size or the color scheme. In this example, we're using the “Spruce” color scheme.
{% endhint %}

### Add and Configure the SCTR Indicator

Before you can add an overlay to an indicator on your chart, you've got to add the indicator. Here we'll add a SCTR indicator panel at the bottom of the chart.

#### Step 3: Add SCTR Indicator to the Chart

Select SCTR Line from one of the empty indicator dropdowns. This will add an indicator panel to the chart showing historical SCTR values for the chart's symbol. As with other indicators, you can change the position of the indicator panel using the Position dropdown menu.

<figure><img src="https://2414490151-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FELJo6JImRKx7nLaFjAPl%2Fuploads%2FFqb7kbGWJoBvF9U86tIW%2Foverlayofindicator03.png?alt=media&#x26;token=eaf6460b-515e-41ff-a0e9-6be2ece42a50" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Once these changes have been made, your chart should look similar to the one below.

<figure><img src="https://2414490151-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FELJo6JImRKx7nLaFjAPl%2Fuploads%2FhL08D5hzhKpSh9yRbPHe%2Foverlayofindicator04.png?alt=media&#x26;token=efca68ac-d9d2-4919-99f1-9824a4b3d08a" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### Step 4: Add a Moving Average Overlay to the SCTR Indicator

In the Indicators section, click the "Overlay" dropdown menu for your SCTR Line, and select Simple Moving Average. By default, it is configured for a 50-day SMA, but you can change this in the Parameters box next to the Overlays dropdown menu. We'll change it to a 20-day SMA.

<figure><img src="https://2414490151-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FELJo6JImRKx7nLaFjAPl%2Fuploads%2Fbmx1FPDRS40tKumVNsvZ%2Foverlayofindicator05.png?alt=media&#x26;token=ff2c8291-89c6-4733-a5a4-772c0e40f836" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

For more details about the available parameters for each overlay, please see our [SharpCharts Parameter Reference](https://help.stockcharts.com/charts-and-tools/sharpcharts/sharpcharts-workbench/editing-sharpcharts/sharpcharts-parameter-reference).

Once you've made these changes, the final chart should look something like this:

<figure><img src="https://2414490151-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FELJo6JImRKx7nLaFjAPl%2Fuploads%2FQZatYtLAYaxlaLgpNboL%2Foverlayofindicator06.png?alt=media&#x26;token=6f6d5178-100c-4c84-847c-b2453a738ddb" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

The moving average applied to the indicator panel smooths out the choppy SCTR values.