Chart Management

This section provides information about how to manage charts in the trading platform.

• Chart managing using the context menu and the "Charts" menu
• Chart managing using a mouse
• Chart managing from keyboard
• Fixed chart position

Chart Managing Using the Context Menu and the "Chart" Menu #

Commands in these menus are identical (except for "Save As Picture" and "Delete Indicators Window" that are available only in the context menu) and allow to manage chart settings:

• Trading — open the menu of trading operations for the symbol of the chart: placing stop levels or pending orders.
• Depth Of Market — open the Depth of Market of the current chart's symbol.
• Indicator List — open the "Indicator List" window for managing indicators running on the chart.
• Objects — open the objects control submenu:

• Object List — open the "Object List" to manage objects on the chart.

• Delete Last — delete the last added object.
• Delete All Selected — delete all selected objects.
• Delete All Arrows — delete all arrows belonging to the Arrows group.
• Delete All — delete all objects from the current chart;
• Unselect All — unselect all objects on the chart.
• Unselect — unselect the selected object.
• Undo Delete — restore the last deleted object.
• Expert List— open the "Expert List" window to manage Expert Advisors running on the chart.
• Bar chart — show the chart as a sequence of bars.
• Candlestick — show the chart as a sequence of Japanese candlesticks.
• Line — show the chart as a broken line that connects close prices of bars.
• Timeframes — select the chart timeframe. A click on this item opens a sub menu, where you can select one of the available timeframes.
• Templates — managing chart templates.
• Refresh — refresh the chart window. When you refresh the chart, the price data displayed on it are also recalculated based on one-minute data stored on the computer.
• Docked — dock/undock the chart window from the main platform window.
• Toolbar — show/hide the toolbar in the chart window. The command is only available for the charts, which were detached from the main platform window.
• Grid — show/hide grid on the chart.
• Auto Scroll — enable/disable automatic chart scrolling to its beginning when new ticks are received.
• Chart Shift — enable/disable chart shift from the right side of the window.
• One Click Trading — show/hide the one click trading panel on the chart.
• Volumes — show/hide real trade volumes for the charts of exchange instruments.
• Tick Volumes — show/hide tick volumes for the charts of Forex instruments.
• Zoom In — zoom in the chart.
• Zoom Out — zoom out the chart.
• Delete Indicator Window — delete the indicator subwindow. This command is only available in the context menu when called from the subwindow, in which the indicator is opened.
• Step by Step — move the chart bar by bar from right to left. This function is only available when the autoscroll feature is disabled.
• Save As Picture — save the chart as a picture in a *.png file. This command also allows to immediately publish a screenshot of the chart online using a special service of the MQL5.community site and share it with other traders. See "Publishing Charts Online" for details.
• Properties — open the chart properties managing window.

Chart Managing Using a Mouse #

A chart can be managed using a mouse:

• click-and-hold anywhere in the chart window and then move the cursor horizontally to scroll the chart;
• click-and-hold on the vertical scale of the chart and move the cursor vertically to change the vertical scale of the chart; double-click on the vertical scale of the chart to restore the chart scale;
• click-and-hold on the horizontal chart scale (anywhere outside the fast navigation bar) and move the cursor horizontally to change the chart scale;
• right-click anywhere in the chart window to open the context menu of the chart (see below);
• double-click on the elements of technical indicators (lines, signs, histogram bars, etc.) to call the indicator setup window;
• right-click on elements of a technical indicator to call the context menu of the indicator;
• depending on the platform settings, a single or a double click on an object (line studies, text or arrow) selects the object;
• click-and-hold the selected object and drag to move it;
• Ctrl + left-clicking on a selected trend line and then moving the cursor allows to draw a parallel trend line (create a channel);
• hold down Ctrl and scroll the mouse wheel to scale the chart;
• click with the mouse wheel on a chart tab in the switch panel closes the chart;
• middle-click on the chart window to switch the cursor to the "crosshair" mode;
• right-click on a selected object to open its context menu;
• point your mouse to the Close price of a bar or to an element of an object or indicator to call a prompt.

Chart Managing from Keyboard #

Various chart manipulations can be performed using certain keys and key combinations:

• Home — move the chart to the last bar;
• End — move the chart to the first bar;
• Page Up — move the chart at a one-window distance back;
• Page Down — move the chart at a one-window distance forward;
• Ctrl+I — open the window containing the list of indicators;
• Ctrl+B — open the window containing the list of objects;
• Alt+1 — show the chart as a sequence of bars;
• Alt+2 — show the chart as a sequence of Japanese candlesticks;
• Alt+3 — show the chart as a broken line that connects the Close prices of bars;
• Ctrl+G — show/hide grid in the chart window;
• "+" — zoom in the chart;
• "-" — zoom out the chart;
• F12 — scroll the chart step by step (bar by bar);
• F8 — open the properties window;
• Backspace — delete the last added object from the chart;
• Delete — delete all selected objects;
• Ctrl+Z — cancel deletion of the last object.

Fixed Chart Position #

Every chart has an icon — a gray triangle located in the bottom left corner of the window by default. Move the triangle on any bar to lock its position on the chart:

The selected bar stays in this position when you zoom the chart. The position stays fixed until you change the chart timeframe.