Advanced Charts

Price action can be displayed through the charts in a variety of different formats. There are five chart types available including: Candle, HLOC, Line, Area and Plot. To change the chart, select 'Type' from the 'Charts' drop down menu and select the appropriate type. The price action format will automatically update.

The period settings of a chart can be changed to suit the type of analysis you are performing. Select 'Period' from the 'Charts' drop down menu and choose any one of the periods displayed. This will automatically change the format of the chart so that one period on the x-axis or a candle represents the time period you have selected.

The charts can display the Bid, Mid or Ask price. You can choose which one you wish to display by selecting 'Price' from the 'Charts' drop down menu and then selecting the type.

Chart settings include a variety of settings to do with the chart itself. These settings include colours and scale types. To change any of the chart settings select 'Chart Settings' from the 'Charts' drop down menu. A window will appear that will allow you to make changes. Select the item that you want to make changes to. Once selected, the 'Parameters' and 'Styles' options will be displayed on the right hand side. When you have made your changes click 'Save'. Alternatively if you wish to abandon the changes click 'Cancel'.

Trade ticket buttons are placed in the top right of your chart. To place a trade select the amount that you wish to trade and then click 'Buy' or 'Sell'. The price at which you will be trading is displayed on the trade button. Once the trade has been placed a trade confirmation message will appear. Alternatively, you can place a trade by selecting 'New Trade' from the 'Trading' drop down menu and a separate trade ticket window will appear.

All trades placed through the charts will appear in your trading platform in the same manner as trades placed directly on a trade ticket.

Should you wish to view one of your trades on the chart, select 'Track Position' from the 'Trading' drop down menu. This will show a chart similar to the one below. The green and red shading illustrate the timeframe and the amount at which your position was in profit or loss. The position tab displays the details of the trade, i.e. whether it was a buy or sell, the amount traded, the level of entry and the profit or loss.

Please note that the shading does not appear until the chart has moved on to the next period. If you are viewing a daily chart of a trade placed today, it may be appropriate to move to shorter time periods in order to gain full use of the function.

Should you wish to switch off the position tracking or look at another position, un-select the current position from the 'Trading' drop down menu and select the next position that you wish to view.

Select the tracking function of the position that you want to place the order on. The position tracking tab will appear on the chart along with the relevant profit and loss shading. By selecting the 'i' button on the tab you can access the relevant order placement tool. Note that orders placed using this tool are linked to the position and will be automatically removed when the position is closed. Click the 'Add' button next to the relevant order that you wish to add and drop the order onto the chart by clicking the level with your mouse. Alternatively you can type your required order level into the box. Once you are happy with the order placement, click 'OK' to place the order.

Select 'New Order' from the 'Trading' drop down menu. On doing this an order placement tool will open in the top left hand corner of the screen. Select either 'Buy' or 'Sell' and enter the quantity that you wish to trade. To set the position of the opening order you can either type the level in to the order placement tool in the open box or simply click on the chart where you wish the order to be placed. Note that if this is done too close to the current price, the system will not allow you to place the order as it will fire immediately. If the distance from the current price level is not great enough, the open box will turn yellow.

Once the above order is placed, you can place a linked Limit and Stop order. These orders will be cancelled if you remove the market entry order. To set the Limit order, click on the 'Add' button next to 'Limit' in the order placement tool. Once this is done you can place the order in the same manner as you placed the position opening order. If you attempt to place the order on the incorrect side of the market or too close to the current position opening order, the level box will turn yellow to draw your attention to the fact that you are attempting to place the order in the incorrect position. Should you wish to abandon placing the Limit order, select the green cross on the right hand side of the level in the placement tool.

The related Stop can be placed in the same way as the Limit example above. Once the levels have been adjusted to your required positions, you can click 'OK' to proceed or alternatively 'Cancel' to abort. As soon as this is done a confirmation message will appear on screen. You will be able to view all your orders on the trading platform.

Select your study from the 'Studies' drop down menu at the top. Once the study has been selected a settings window will open allowing you to alter the parameters and styles of this study. When you are happy with the settings, close the settings window. The chart will be automatically updated.

Select 'Settings' from the 'Studies' drop down menu. This will open the studies settings window. On the left hand side of the window you will see a list of the studies currently displayed on the chart. Select the study that you wish to alter the settings for. Once selected, all of the parameters and styles set for the study will be displayed on the right hand side of the window. Make your changes and then select 'Close'.

It is possible to add multiple versions of the same study but with different settings by either adding the study twice through the 'Studies' drop down menu or by selecting the study that you wish to duplicate and clicking on the 'Copy' button at the bottom of the settings window. Each study can have different settings to suit your analysis.

To access the drawing tools select 'Drawing' from the drop down menu. All the different tools will be displayed as well as the edit, copy and delete functions. There will also be an option to 'Clear all drawings'.

Available drawing tools:

1. 'Point-to-point line' enables you to draw a line between two points on the chart.
2. 'Line' enables you to draw a line across the chart that will extend as the chart progresses or as you scan the view across in either direction.
3. 'Horizontal Line' draws a horizontal line across the chart based at a level that you select.
4. 'Vertical line' draws a vertical line up and down the chart at a point in time that you select.
5. 'Fibonacci Retracement' enables you to draw a number of horizontal lines between two chosen points that are based upon the Fibonacci sequence. This tool also draws in a number of extension lines that use the same ratios in order to mark possible future influence beyond the two points.
6. 'Measuring Tool' enables you to measure the time, number of bars or periods, % change and price change between two points.
7. 'Equidistant cycle' and 'Fibonacci cycle' assists you in identifying any cycles occurring in the price action with a number of vertical lines spaced either a uniform distance apart or a distance based upon a specific ratio.
8. 'Fans' allows you to identify when the price action is moving in line with a specific gradient or being influenced by a number of lines that have their gradients based upon predefined and recognised ratios.
9. 'Text Annotation' enables you to write labels on the chart and move them around as required.
10. 'Graphic Annotation' enables you to place graphics such as arrows directly on the charts to mark out key points that you may wish to draw attention to.
11. 'Edit' allows you to go back and edit existing drawings.
12. 'Copy' enables you to copy an existing line or drawing and place it in another location.
13. 'Delete' enables you to delete individual items within your chart that you have added.
14. 'Clear all drawings' enables you to quickly remove all drawings and annotations from the chart. This does not however affect any studies that you have added. Should you wish to do this, please refer to 'Reset Chart Settings'.

To access additional chart options, select the 'Options' drop down menu. A number of items will appear that can be selected or unselected depending on whether you wish them to be displayed. Please note that an item which has a tick next to it is currently switched on and will therefore be displayed when appropriate.

The following options are available:

1. 'Data Tips' is a box of data that appears when you hover over any area of price action.
2. Crosshairs are grey vertical and horizontal lines or crosshairs running through the mouse pointer. These are used to facilitate the easy identification of both the price level and the period in time at which the pointer is currently located.
3. Grid is a set of vertical and horizontal lines on the background of the chart. The vertical lines mark out the daily separation and the horizontal lines mark out the significant figures in price.
4. Spread band displays both the bid and the ask price as a central band running across the chart.
5. Market info is the market information displayed in the top left hand corner of the chart. This displays the instrument or currency pair being displayed, the high and low of the day and the open profit and loss for all open positions in that instrument.
6. Chart controls are the quick links to 'Period', 'Chart Type' and 'Price Type' at the top of the chart. With these hidden, you can still make changes to the settings through the drop down menus as detailed above.
7. Trade ticket is the Buy and Sell trade buttons in the top left hand corner of the chart. The trade functionality remains available when this is hidden, through the 'Trading' drop down menu.
8. The toolbar is the vertical line of quick link drawing buttons on the left hand side of the chart. The functionality provided through these buttons is always available through the drop down 'Drawing' menu.

It is possible to save your drawings and studies set-up for a specific instrument using the 'Save Chart Settings' functionality in the 'Settings' drop down menu. Once saved, this will allow you to come back to the same chart settings when the next time you open up that specific chart.

To reset or remove the settings that you have saved select 'Reset Chart Settings' from the 'Settings' drop down menu. Please note that this will only remove the settings for that individual chart and not all your charts settings.

The 'Help' drop down menu allows you to switch on 'Tool Tips'. This functionality displays a box of text identifying each function within the chart when the mouse hovers over it.

There are a number of ways to manipulate the chart in order to ensure that it displays the amount of information you require with the relevant dimensions.

Drag the scroll bar in order to select the time period that you wish to display. The scroll bar can also be lengthened or shortened by clicking on either end of the bar and dragging sideways. This adjusts the number of periods or amount of data which is displayed in the chart window. By clicking and dragging the x-axis, you can also manipulate the time scaling in order to compress or extend the data. The same is true of the y-axis.

In order to view a chart on your advanced trade ticket, select the button next to the word chart in the top of the advanced ticket. The chart can display a variety of time frames along with the Bid, Mid or Ask price. The y-axis can also be manipulated in a similar manner as a standard chart. The band across the middle of the chart is the spread band.

Quick charts are displayed within your trading platform. You can access these on the 'Quick Charts' tab on the bottom of the trading platform. Quick charts have the same functionality as standard charts with the exception of the trade tickets. To use these charts simply drag any instrument from your trading platform into the chart window and the price data will update. You can view two different instruments at the same time or alternatively different views of the same instrument.