Scrolling Charts
by Howard Arrington
I find it useful to keep my open positions in one trading
account. When that account is displayed, I click the right
mouse button to display the pop-up menu for the trading
account and select the bottom menu item to display a chart.
Then I click on the menu Chart | Auto Scroll. Ensign
Windows will cycle through the symbols on the trading
account and display a chart for each in the open chart
window. The duration of time that each chart is displayed
before moving on to the next symbol is set as a Scroll Speed
parameter on the SetUp | Charts form. I like 2 or 3 seconds
as the scroll speed.
The auto scroll mode can be stopped by unchecking menu
Chart | Auto Scroll, or by simply closing the open chart
window. After starting the auto scroll feature, I sit back
and keep tabs on all my open positions by watching their
charts scroll through the open chart window. I find I
prefer this method of watching my charts over having lots of
tiny charts arranged in rows and columns on my display.
Tip: The Chart | Auto Scroll feature can also use the
symbol list from a custom quote page. Just display a custom
quote page instead of a trading account.
Tip: All charts will display using the same time frame
as the current chart. So, if you display a daily chart, the
scroll feature will display daily charts for all symbols in
the trading account (or portfolio page). You can change to
a different time frame by using the time buttons on the
times panel, or press a key on the 10-keypad. Chart
time frames are assigned to the keys on the 10-keypad on the
SetUp | Charts form shown below on the Keyboard tab.
Study Insight:
Chart Markers
by Howard Arrington
Markers can be placed on charts to mark bars or
formations. A common use is to indicate where a trade was
entered or exited. To place a marker on a chart, click the
Arrow button on the Draw Tools panel.
The cursor will change to a pencil while in draw mode.
Move the pencil to the location for the marker, and click
the left mouse button. A default marker will appear on the
chart. You can now click the right mouse button to display
a properties form to change the marker shape or the text
that appears adjacent to the marker.
Markers can be drawn in a huge variety of shapes. Use
the drop down Marker list to select a marker shape.
Optionally, various words like 'Long', 'Short' and 'Out' can
be displayed with the marker either above or below, on the
left or the right side of the marker.
Tip: Select the marker that you use most frequently, and
then check the 'Use as Default' box on the properties form.
Your choice will display as the default when a new marker is
placed on a chart. My default is the word 'Long' with the
Large Target on the Right of the text. I find that this
marker is an excellent visual indication of where a trade
was entered
.
The preview window shows how the marker will look on the
chart. The example shows custom text positioned below the
marker made up of four differently colored dots.
Markers can be repositioned by clicking the left mouse
button down on the marker, and dragging the object to a new
position. The pencil is displayed when a marker is
reselected. When a marker is selected, you can click the
right mouse button to display its properties form.
Tip: A marker can be placed quite easily on the chart
with the mouse. This price can be manually edited to place
the marker exactly on a price, instead of just close to a
specific price.
Click on the color square on the properties form to
change the color of the marker. A new color is selected
from the color dialog form that is displayed.
The
chart objects list is displayed by clicking the chart
objects button, which is the rightmost button on the top
row. The list shows all studies and draw tools that are
present on the chart. An item can be selected by clicking
on its name in the list, and then clicking the button to
show its Properties form, or clicking the button to Remove
this object from the chart. Clicking the All button will
remove all objects from the chart.
Tip: Double clicking on an item in the chart objects
list will display the properties form. |