Charts: Properties Form

Every chart has a private Chart Properties file.  The reason for this is so every chart reopens in the same state as it was when last viewed.   If you adjust bar spacing and then close the chart, the properties file is updated.  The chart when reopened will display using the adjusted bar spacing.   The workspaces save all chart properties in the workspace file when the workspace is saved.

The Chart Properties form is displayed by double clicking on the chart background or by pressing CTRL-P, or select Properties from the chart pop-up menu.  The chart properties window is used to customize an individual chart.  The individual chart properties will override the chart Default settings.  The individual chart will display with its own customized colors, grid lines, chart type, and values.

Information
The 'Information' panel will display times, Time Zone, Market, Symbol, Scale, # of Bars, and other information about the chart.  The values cannot be changed, but provide information about the chart. This information is helpful when our staff is resolving customer support questions and problems.

Show
Bars - Place a check mark in the box to display the Chart Bars. Uncheck to hide the bars.
Bar Data - Show or hide the Bar Data Panel on the top row of the chart.
Study Data - Show or hide the Study Data Panel on the left edge of the chart.
Volume - Show or hide the Volume window at the bottom of the chart.
Open Interest - Show or hide an Open Interest line in the Volume window.
Day Session Only - Plot only Day Session Bars, or include all trading Sessions on the chart.  Check the box to exclude evening session data from the chart.

Grid Lines
The ‘Grid Lines’ panel is used to specify the chart grid line type. The grid lines on a chart can be drawn as Dots, Horizontal lines, Vertical lines, or both Horizontal and Vertical lines. Grid lines can also be displayed for the Volume bars.

Properties
Optimize Speed - Streamline the CPU processing required to update the chart and its studies. Studies will not be recalculated on equal price ticks.
Spike Filter - Enable a specific price filter for the chart. Enter a 'Filter Size'. Example, an entry of 0.50 on a stock chart will filter out any tick that is greater than 50 cents away from the current price. This feature allows you to keep bad ticks and spikes from appearing on the chart.

Chart Colors
The ‘Chart Colors' panel is used to specify colors for the chart Background, Grid lines, Big cross, Open Interest, Normal Bar color, Bullish bar color, Bearish bar color, and the Volume color.  To change a color, click the color box next to each item and select a new color from the color selection window.  NOTE: The chart background color can also be changed by selecting Window | Set Window Color from the menu.  If the background color is changed from a dark background to a white background, then the font color should also be changed.  Otherwise the screen will print white letters on a white background and the letters will not be visible.

Font
Click the Font button in the Chart Properties window to change the font, font size, font color, and font style. Changing the font size will increase or decrease the size of all the prices, times, and values printed on the chart. This can make the prices easier to see.

Bar Spacing, Right Margin, Color Bar, Max Bar
Enter a value in the 'Bar Spacing' box to specify the number of pixels between each bar. Example, a value of 10 will open a chart with 10 pixel spacing between each bar. Enter a value in the 'Right Margin' box to specify the right margin of the chart. Example, a value of 20 will create a 20 pixel blank space on the right edge of the chart. 

A Color Bar study can be applied to the chart by referencing the Color Bar study position in the Color Bar drop-down list. A Color Bar study is specified by entering a number from 0 to 25. For example, enter the number 15 in the 'Color Bar' entry box to apply the 'Major Trends' Color Bar study on the chart (whenever the chart is opened). Enter 0 to specify that NO Color Bar study should be applied to the chart.

Enter a value in the 'Max Bars' box to specify a maximum number of bars allowed for the chart. Example, a value of 5000 will limit the chart to 5000 bars. Ensign Windows charts can hold as many as 65000 bars, however, a smaller maximum is recommended.  The Max Bars box is used to increase the number of bars that will be stored in the data file for this chart.

Chart Type
The ‘Chart Type’ panel is used to specify a chart type. The available chart types include Bar Chart, Line Chart (a line connecting all the closes), Japanese Candlesticks, Close Ticks, Percent, and Log. Place a check mark in the ‘Percent’ box to display the chart in a Percentile mode. The Percentile mode will cause the Closing price of the first bar on the left edge of the chart to be equal to 100%. Any movement in the chart prices from this starting point will increase or decrease in Percent. This lets you quickly determine how far a chart has moved in a percentage basis (from a given start point). Place a check mark in the 'Log' box to display the bars in a Log scale.

Scale
The ‘Scale’ panel is used to customize the grid line scaling for the selected chart. Chart scaling affects the grid lines and the grid line distances. A specific High and Low range can be applied to the chart. An Interval distance between each grid line can also be specified. The scale can be set to ‘
Automatic’, ‘Data Set’, ‘Use Range’, ‘Use Interval’, and 'Square Chart'.

Automatic: Calculates an automatic high and low range and grid distance based on the visible bars.
Data Set: Calculates a scale range based on the entire chart data set, including bars that are not displayed on the screen.  The scale range is usually very large in order to encompass the entire range that the chart data set has ever traded to.
Use Range: Enter a High and Low price in the entry boxes.  The distance between the High and Low prices will be maintained as the market moves up or down.
Use Interval: Enter a grid distance in the 'Interval' entry box.  The distance between the grid lines will always match the entered price value.
Square Chart: Enter a value in the Points per Bar (Pts/Bar) entry box. The chart will be rescaled (squared) based on the entered value. For each bar on the chart, the scale range will increase by the Points per Bar entry.  The scale will be effected by the number of visible bars on the chart and the Pts/Bar entry.  This scale mode is used by traders using Gann Lines or other Line tools, who want to place tools on the chart at a particular angle.

NOTE: The grid line scale can be manually adjusted on a chart by holding down the left mouse button and then dragging the mouse up or down on the grid line numbers (on the right-side of the chart).

Chart Position
The ‘Chart Position’ panel is used to specify where a chart should open on the screen.  Select Default to allow Ensign Windows to open a chart at a default window position.  Select Remember to specify that a chart should open in the exact same position on the screen each time that it is displayed.  NOTE: The chart position is only remembered (saved) when the chart properties window is displayed (and then closed).   Opening at a remembered position is not the same as using a workspace to open a chart and position it. 

Reset Defaults
Click the Reset Defaults button in the Chart Properties window to reset the chart properties for the individual chart back to the Chart Defaults (as found on the Set-Up | Charts screen). All the customized settings for the chart will be deleted. The next time that the chart is displayed, the program-wide chart defaults will be used.