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Historical Charts (Dynamic) |
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Historical Charts (Dynamic) |
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You can access this chart from the Charts Menu or from the right click menu in the portfolio or watchlist or an index in the Indices Panel.
Clicking on the pushpin will link the window to the selected color group.
Upon opening a historical chart, the data will be populated and update from the data source as per the options selected on the Hist. Backfill tab of Data Sources. General display customization options for all charts are set in Chart Preferences. Specific chart options are selected and set from the right click menu on the chart.
If instead of a chart, the window shows "No Data", it indicates one of the following:
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Backfill refers to the process of filling in the chart data so that a complete chart displays for the symbol. Although this is generally an automatic process, manual backfill options are also available from the right click menu. The Clear the Chart Data option will clear (erase) all the data on the chart and automatically reload (backfill) the historical daily data from the source and redisplay the chart. This is useful to refresh the cached data such as in the case where the stock has split and the data has been adjusted on the server or if you change data sources options. This option will also remove any data manually added or edited on the Historical Quote screen.
Chart Type and Options:
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The chart type and its associated options are selected from the right click menu on a chart: Line Chart: Contiguous line chart. Candlestick: Candlestick type chart based on the frequency setting selected. OHLC: Open/High/Low/Close type chart based on the frequency setting selected.
Heiken-Ashi Candle Technique: The Heiken-Ashi Technique is not a new chart type. It works on a candlestick or OHLC type chart using modified open-high-low-close values as needed to eliminate irregularities from a normal chart, "balancing" the chart and offering a better picture of trends and consolidations by smoothing the transition from one bar to the next. Turn on Logarithmic Scale: The scale is plotted such that all equivalent percent changes are spaced by the same vertical distance regardless of what the price is when the change occurs as opposed to a linear scale (option off) where all the values are spaced equidistantly. |
Point and Figure Charts:
The objective is to identify the points at which established supply/demand relationships change (these are known as "breakouts"). These changes will very probably lead to a future significant move in the stock price. These charts are composed of Xs and Os - with X columns indicating rising stock price and O columns indicating falling price. Each X or O is a "box" (Box size is specified on the right click menu of the chart) that symbolizes a price range. There is no continuous time axis - unlike normal charts, on these charts only price change generates chart action.
Point and Figure charts will not change direction (i.e. from a column of Xs to a column of Os) unless the price moves more than a certain number of 'boxes' (or unit of price) in the opposite direction. Conventional Point and Figure charts have this number set to 3, but you can customize the Reverasl Size on the right click menu of the chart. There can therefore be no fewer than this specified number in a column. This reversal technique is one of the key strengths to Point and Figure charting as it effectively filters out minor fluctuations to reveal patterns. These charts make it easier to identify support and resistance trends, due to lesser noise levels.
Renko Charts: Renko (from Japanese "renga"="brick") charts are similar to Point and Figure charts, with a fixed reversal size of 1. Just like Point and Figure charts, they are used to filter out market noise and to identify major trends. In a Renko chart, a "brick" is drawn in the direction of the prior move only if a fixed amount (the box size as specified on the right click menu of the chart) has been exceeded. The bricks are always equal in size. Very active traders may wish to use smaller boxes, less active traders, larger boxes.
The "look and feel" of the historical daily charts are similar to the intraday charts and share many of the same options:
Dividends and Earnings are available indicators that you can select for the Historical Charts. They will appear on the chart (as shown above), if this data is available from the selected data source.
Next to the pushpin link button in the title bar is a Crosshair Sync button:
Clicking on the |
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The Crosshair Sync button can be set to show or not to show on the title bar per option in Misc. Preferences under Window Title Buttons.
Price Scale Adjusting:
The Vertical price scale on the chart is Dynamic, by default, i.e. the scale is automatically adjusted to accommodate the values needed to display. This can be adjusted to accommodate your own needs from a menu that is accessible by a right click anywhere on the chart scale:
If Absolute scaling is on, there will be arrows at the top and bottom of the price scale. Clicking on the arrows will shift the scale up and down, while keeping the range the same.
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Dynamic - Default, as above. Absolute - Specify a Minimum and Maximum price fixed value: Sliding Window - Specify the price Window Size as opposed to a fixed scale: |
You can also adjust the Absolute and Sliding scales visually on the chart directly:
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Absolute Scale: Hold down the SHIFT key, then with the mouse click and hold the left mouse button on the upper half of the price scale. Moving the mouse up or down changes the upper limit of the scale.
Hold down the SHIFT key, then with the mouse click and hold the left mouse button on the lower half of the price scale. Moving the mouse up or down changes the lower limit of the scale.
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Sliding Scale: Hold down the CTRL key, then with the mouse click and hold the left mouse button on the price scale. You will see a bar show up next to the scale. While holding down the mouse button, move the mouse up to increase the scale, down to decrease it.
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Scrolling the chart:
If selected in Preferences, a scroll bar appears on the bottom of the chart allowing you to scroll through and set the viewable chart period.
When All is selected as the Chart Period, the scroll slider bar will extend the entire width of the chart. All available data is viewable at one time and there is nothing to scroll:
If you select a specific chart period (from the right click menu or using the keyboard keys), the scroll slider bar will become wider or narrower, reflecting the viewable chart period:
In this state, you can slide (drag) the scroll bar left and right to see other parts of the chart for the selected (viewable period). Clicking the arrows at the either of the bar will also scroll the chart view. The Home, End, PageUp, PageDown and directional arrows on the keyboard may also be used to scroll. The wheel on a compatible mouse will also scroll the chart. Dragging at the tabs on either end of the scroller will increase or decrease the viewable chart period.
You will notice that when the scroll slider bar in not at the far right, the border is colored red:
In this state, the chart is in a fixed (or locked) view period. Although new data may be coming in, it will not be visible until the slider is moved to the far right (and the red border is no longer there). This allows you to specifically view the selected area on the chart.
If you select Tiny Scrollers in Preferences, the scroll bar will be smaller and not show the viewable chart period in the scroll slider bar, thus saving on screen space:
Zooming into specific areas of the chart:
You can use the + and - keys to zoom in and out of the viewable chart period. Each press of the key will zoom in or out a little. Holding down the Control key and moving the wheel on a compatible mouse will also zoom in or out like the + and - keys. To zoom into a more precise area of the chart, hold down the Control key while drawing a box around the specific area in the upper chart. Notice the scroll slide bar getting wider or narrower to reflect the viewable chart period.
Chart Toolbar:
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The Chart Toolbar and its functions are available on the chart as an auto-hide bar. It will pop out when the mouse is placed in the corner of the toolbar location and then auto-hide when not in use. The option to remove and disable the toolbar is availble from the right click menu (View) on a chart, on the Miscellaneous Chart Preferences screen and as a right click option directly on the toolbar. |
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Extra Space on X Axis - Provides extra blank chart space horizontally on the X (Time) Axis. Each click provides more space. Each click on the button provides more space.
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Less Extra Space on X Axis - Removes the extra space. Each click on the button removes more space until all extra space is removed.
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Extra Space on Y Axis - Same as above except provides extra blank space vertically on the Y (Price) Axis. Each click on the button provides more space.
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Less Extra Space on Y Axis - Removes the extra space. Each click on the button removes more space until all extra space is removed.
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Load, Save and Manage Chart Templates.
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Shapes - Allows you to select the drawing tool to be used on the chart. A check mark appears next to the selected shape.
Select from Line (Trend line - this is the default), Arrow (same as trendline but with an arrow at the end point), Box, Oval or Text. Line, Arrow, Box and Oval are drawn shapes. Selecting Text allows you to draw a box area on the chart into which you can type text to appear.
Fibonacci and Andrew's Pitchfork selections allow you to easily draw these studies directly on the chart. You can also draw Fibonaaci by first drawing a trendline on the chart.
These selections are only temporary - after ~10 seconds of (drawing) inactivity on the chart, the drawing shape selection will return to the default - Line.
Check the Snap to Candles option to automatically attach (magnetize) to the high/low of the closest candle as you draw. A check mark will appear next to the option when the feature is on. Click again to turn the option off.
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Move Toolbar - The default location is the top left corner of the chart. Click to move to another corner. |
Shortcuts:
| • | Double click on the upper price chart to maximize the chart. |
| • | Double click on the lower chart indicator windows to bring up the Select Indicators screen. |
| • | Double click on the chart legend of an indicator to edit the indicator's parameters. |
Right click on the legend of an indicator appearing on the chart for options specific to the indicator such as Backfill (extra symbol indicator) Delete, Edit, Hide (or Un-hide) an indicator. |
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To quickly change to a different symbol or add a symbol on the chart, type the new symbol and a small window will appear in the chart. Clicking OK will replace the current symbol. Clicking Add Symbol ... will add the symbol to the top or bottom of the chart. |
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Printing Charts:
Although you can not print these charts directly from QuoteTracker, there are ways to accomplish this:
| • | Email the chart to yourself and print it from the email program. |
| • | Use standard Windows Copy and Paste - Give the chart window focus (click on the title bar of the chart) and press the Alt and PrintScreen keys simultaneously on the keyboard to capture the chart to the clipboard. Then, use a program, such as Paint or Word to paste (Edit menu) the chart into and print from there. |
| • | The Snapshot function, available from the right click menu (or CTRL S keyboard shortcut) on a chart allows you to save the chart as an picture (image) file for later review or for easy printing. Options for the snapshot are set in Miscellaneous Chart Preferences in the Snapshot section. If preferences were set using the Auto-name snapshot file, the file will be automatically saved using those preferences. Otherwise, the Save Chart Snapshot window appears: |
Historical Data:
This screen is similar to the Raw Data/Time & Sales screen and shows all the daily data available for the symbol that is displayed on the historical chart. You can access the screen from the right click menu on the historical chart:
Clicking on the pushpin will link the window to the selected color group.
Data for Open, High, Low, Close and Volume is shown for each day with the most current at the top. The Spec (special) column shows if any data such as D (Dividends), E (Earnings) and/or S (Split) is applicable to that day if the data source provides it. Double click on a day's row to see this data (Historical Quote screen as shown for adding/editing data). Dividends and Earnings are also available as indicators for the Historical Charts. They will appear on the chart (as shown above), if this data is available from the selected data source.
View:
Increase or Decrease the Font Size - This will set the size of the font display on this screen. You can also use the 
buttons to change the font size.
Edit:
Click on this button to delete the data for the highlighted rows (days) from the chart or hit the Delete key on the keyboard. Delete is also available from the Edit menu. To select several rows, click on them while holding down the Shift key (or use the right click menu to Select All). This function is disabled if filtering by volume is on.
Click on this button to copy the data that you highlight to the Windows clipboard (tab delimited). You can then paste the into Excel or any other program. Copy is also available from the Edit menu. To select several rows, click on them while holding down the Shift key (or use the right click menu to Select All).
Filter:
The Filter menu allows you to select the type of trades you want to see (based on volume). All others will be not be removed, only hidden from this display (it will continue to display on the chart). No Filter (OFF) shows all items. Block Trades (Vol>x) allows you to specify the days with the specific volume you want to show:
Enter the minimum volume you want to show. All others will be filtered out (excluded) for display. When filtering is on, the Delete function is disabled.
Click this button to add your own new data for a day. Double click on a day's row to edit it's data. A Historical Quote screen appears allowing you to enter the data:
Use the check boxes to enter Split, Dividend and Earnings. Split Ratio is entered in the form of X:Y.
Note: Although you can enter the data for the current day, it will be replaced by the next update if the option to Calculate last candle from L1 data is selected.
Next to the pushpin link button in the title bar is a Crosshair Sync button:
Clicking on the |
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The Crosshair Sync button can be set to show or not to show on the title bar per option in Misc. Preferences under Window Title Buttons.
