Clicking and Dragging in a Chart

There are several types of click and drag movements that you can perform in a Chart Analysis window including horizontal scrolling along the time axis, vertical scaling of sub-graph elements, and object-specific movements in and between sub-graphs.

Horizontal Scrolling

  • The price data for the entire chart can be horizontally scrolled using the scroll bar (scroll slider and arrows) or by dragging selected chart objects to the left and right using the mouse.
  • When a chart is scrolled, all of the sub-graphs are moved horizontally to the left or right because they all share the same time axis.
  • Charts cannot be scrolled to the left beyond the first (oldest) bar of the data series with the oldest time stamp.  
  • Dragging price data and studies to the left with the mouse (not using the scroll bar) allows you to create temporary extra space to the right of the current bar that will remain until the chart is refreshed by some other means (changing symbols, intervals, using the scroll bar, etc.).  This temporary space does not affect the Space to the right setting on the Settings > Window - General tab.

Repositioning Price Data (Scaling)

By default, clicking and dragging on the price data (bars) of a sub-graph allows you to reposition the bars horizontally within the selected sub-graph, changing the scaling for the sub-graph.  Other sub-graphs in the chart window remain aligned horizontally because they all share the same time axis. To click and drag the bars both horizontally and vertically, switch to Style > Chart Scaling > Fixed.

Note that the price scaling range for the selected sub-graph is changed for the current session, or until you use the right-click menu to select Reset Scaling Range. If you save the workspace containing the chart and reopen it, the price scaling settings will revert to the values specified in the Data > Edit Symbol > Customize - Scaling dialog.

 VIDEO - Click and Drag to Adjust Your View in Chart Analysis

Object-Specific Movements

Selecting (clicking on) an object allows you to use the mouse to drag that object to a new position within the chart. In the case of price data (bars) and studies, you can drag the selected object to a new sub-graph. For drawing objects, you can drag it to a new position relative to its underlying price data in the sub-graph. An object is marked by a series of square boxes when it is selected. The mouse pointer must be over some portion of the selected object for it to be dragged while holding down the mouse button.

  • Price data - Price data (bars) can be repositioned within a sub-graph or moved by dragging to a new sub-graph. When moving to a new sub-graph, all of the drawing objects, studies, and strategies associated with the bars are also moved to the new sub-graph. If the symbols scaling axis in the new sub-graph is in use, the Sub-graph Change window is displayed prompting you to select the scale axis before the price data is moved.
  • Study - Studies can be dragged to a new sub-graph. If the study's scaling axis in the new sub-graph is in use, the Sub-graph Change window is displayed prompting you to select the scale axis before the study is moved.
  • Strategy - Dragging strategy elements (entries and exits) is the same as dragging its associated price data (see Repositioning Price Data above).
  • Drawing Objects - A drawing object may only be dragged to a new position in the sub-graph relative to the price data or study to which it is applied.  

Data Tip

Clicking and dragging on the background of a chart will display a data tip near the intersection of the horizontal and vertical cross hairs that track the mouse pointer. You can specify the quadrant in which to display the data tip from the DataTips section of Settings > Preferences > Display tab.

Related Topics

About Chart Analysis

Floating Tool Buttons