A Chart is a common panel that you will frequently add to your workspace. There are a number of sections on a chart that you need to be familiar with:
Search For Symbol - Allows you to change the symbol on the chart
Events- Ability to have Dividends. Earnings and splits displayed directly on the chart
Time Interval (Daily above) - Sets the chart aggregation (period) that each bar on the chart represents
Date Range(calendar icon) - Sets a custom date range
Studies - Add a study / technical indicator to the chart
Draw - Add drawing tools such as trendlines
Plot Type (Candlestick) - Change the type of bar
Compare - You can add up to three other symbols for price comparison directly on the chart.
Save chart (camera) - Download or share the chart image via Twitter
Settings (Cog Wheel) - Opens up the Settings window
Symbol Search and Expression Entry
Type in a futures symbol, futures root symbol, keyword or instrument name and you will see a list of suggested symbols.
Use the arrow icons to expand and collapse different asset classes and symbol groupings.
By clicking on the f(x) button, you can insert your own custom expression or use a preconfigured one.
Below are some helpful rules when creating your own custom expression:
symbols - must be enclosed in "curly brackets". Examples: {ZC*1} {ESU17} {IBM} {^EURUSD}
constants: any floating point number like 2.35; note that we don't support "scientific" notation (for example 1.72E5)
operators:
unary operator - (negation) so you may enter -2 + 1 and are not forced to type 1 - 2
binary operators:
+ (addition)
- (subtraction)
* (multiplication)
/ (division)
^(power)
These are listed in order from lowest to highest precedence (multiplication and division will always happen before addition and subtraction, unless grouped by parentheses).to make sure precedence is correct, parentheses ( and ) can be used; for example 2 ^ 2 + 3 = 7 but 2 ^ (2 + 3) = 32
Events
When selected, the chart will show dividends, earnings or splits on the applicable date.
When hovering over the bar of the even, the data view will display that event’s value.
Time Interval
The Interval (sometimes referred to as the period) defines the amount of data represented by each bar. For example, selecting a Time Interval of "15 minutes" results in a chart with a bar drawn at every 15 minute interval. lick the Interval drop-down list at the top of the chart (this appears just to the left of the Study button) and select from an option shown.
When setting the Interval for a commodity or futures symbol, be aware of the options available for long-range charts:
For Daily / Weekly / Monthly / Quarterly / Yearly: Shows the historical trading activity only for the contract specified.
For Daily Nearest / Weekly Nearest / Monthly Nearest / Quarterly Nearest / Yearly Nearest: Builds a historical chart using the nearest contract. The nearest contract is the closest unexpired contract for the underlying commodity, where every chart bar represents the front month at that point in history.
For Daily Continue / Weekly Continue / Monthly Continue / Quarterly Continue / Yearly Continue: Builds a historical chart using the same month specified for the original contract. For example, if the symbol is ZSX13 (Soybeans November 2013), the chart is built using all previous November contracts for Soybeans (ZSX13, ZSX12, ZSX11, ZSX10 etc).
Range Bars: custom bars available include ticks (trades), custom intraday (custom periods per bar), seconds per bar (user defined seconds per bar), custom ticks (user defined amount of ticks per bar), custom volume (user defined amount of volume per bar), custom range (user defined range per bar)
Date Range
You may set a custom date range for a specific aggregation by clicking the Calendar icon. First, choose whether you want to see Intraday, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Quarterly, then choose "Date" from the period drop-down list. You can then enter a beginning and ending date range.
Studies
cmdtyView allows you to add an unlimited number of studies on a chart. Studies are classified as either Overlay studies (plotted in the same pane as the symbol data) or Stand-alone studies (a study that uses a different price scale than that of the underlying symbol). When you add a study to a chart, It is added using default parameter and color settings. You may change these settings by editing the study. After clicking on the Studies button, overlay studies will appear first and you can scroll through the list using the scroll bar. You can search for s specific study by using the search for study box.
When you add a study to a chart, It is applied using default parameter and color settings. Once a study is applied, you can change the settings by clicking on the Study name in the upper right corner of the chart (for overlaid studies) and below the chart for standalone studies. You may change these settings by clicking on the applied study and editing the parameters.
For more info on the studies available, please click here.
Drawing Tools
Apply a number of different tools to the chart by clicking on Draw in the main toolbar.
Left click on a applied tool to move adjust the location and right click to edit the tool’s coloration or range and count.
You can remove a tool by left clicking on the Tool and then hitting the delete button on your keyboard.
Note: Once left clicked on, “handles” will appear on either end of the tool.
Plot Type
By default, charts in cmdtyView are set to candlestick. Click on ‘Candlestick’ to view the bay types available.
Compare
A Comparison chart allows you to enter up to four different symbols to overlay onto the chart's base symbol for price and trend comparisons. The result is one chart with the price data of all the symbols represented.
Comparison charts can display the price scales of each symbol, or you can choose to produce a chart of percent changes between symbols. Each symbol is represented by a different color on the chart.
Save Chart
Copy or download the chart’s URL or tweet the chart using the ‘Camera’ icon.
Print Chart
Use the ‘Printer’ icon to print. Complete the information in the Print dialog box, and click Print.
Percent Change
Use the ‘%' button to change the chart’s scale to percent change.
Settings
Click on the ‘cogwheel’ icon to pull up the chart settings dialogue.
On the main dialogue, you change the plot type, bar coloring rule (close to close or open to close), bar color selection, and contract roll method. Opt to roll based on volume and open interest from month to month or on a set days to expiration for futures.
Under the Display section, update font size, axis settings and opt to remove the chart legend (current session’s data)
Chart Template creation can be found in the settings. After configuring a chart to desired specifications, you can create a saved template that can be then applied to other charts across the platform by setting it as a Default Template.
When a standalone study is applied, you can customize the study by clicking on Pane 2. Pane 1 will take you back to the Global display for chart.
Right Click Options
Many of the features avialine in the main toolbar and settings can used via the right click context menu. A menu will display that will allow customization of the chart after right clicking anywhere inside the chart.
