Build your first analysis chart

Choose a market and context#

This exercise uses a liquid equity such as AAPL as an example. You can substitute an entitled FX pair, a precise futures contract or a crypto pair; use its actual provider symbol and contract specification. An equity, an index CFD and an index future have different units and trading hours.

1. Open Chart from the rail or its context menu. On desktop, choose explicitly whether to use the current canvas, a new tab or a new window.
2. Open the chart's instrument selector. Search by symbol or name. Check the source/broker label on the row before choosing it.
3. If a Brokers filter is visible, review its selected sources. Identical symbols at different brokers remain separate entries. Clear an old filter when a market seems missing.
4. Select a sensible timeframe such as five minutes or one hour, and a date range your feed can supply. Wait for the initial candles and indicator warmup to complete.
5. Confirm the chart header's symbol, timeframe and account/feed context. Do not interpret an old historical price as an executable quote.

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Add an overlay and an oscillator#

Open the indicator selector. Search for EMA, select the indicator and review its parameters and output styles. A period of 20 is a straightforward practice value, not a trading recommendation. Apply it to the chart.

Add RSI as a separate oscillator with its configured period and thresholds. Check the chart legend and lower pane. The earliest visible bars may require additional warmup history before outputs appear. Indicator computations belong to the backend/plugin; changing a display style is different from changing calculation parameters.

Use each indicator's edit and visibility controls to compare views. Removing the indicator removes its configured instance. Pin frequently used indicators in the selector so you can find them again. A plugin appearing in the catalogue does not mean it is ready on an unwarmed chart.

Add a meaningful drawing#

Choose a horizontal line, trend line or rectangle from the drawing toolbar and place it using visible price/time anchors. Give it a clear style. Select it again to inspect properties, lock it when finished and choose the intended sharing scope.

Drawings are manual-chart objects. They do not submit orders. A long/short position drawing displays a hypothetical measurement rather than a protected broker position. Sharing scopes apply to the same symbol; they do not convert prices or identify equivalent contracts at another provider.

For Fibonacci retracement, select visible swing anchors and inspect the level labels. Pivot Points are a calculated indicator with session assumptions, so they are configured through indicators rather than manually anchored like Fibonacci.

Navigate and compare#

Pan to an earlier period, zoom around a useful section and use live-edge follow when returning to current observations. Use the chart menus for axes, gridlines, crosshair and timezone display. See chart navigation for precise controls and crosshair scopes.

Add a second chart with a higher timeframe. Choose the same symbol-link color on both if you want symbol changes to propagate. Timeframe linking is a separate channel; leave it unlinked when you want a five-minute and an hourly view. A synchronized crosshair uses time, so the same UTC observation can occupy different bars in each timeframe.

Save and reuse#

Save a chart template for reusable chart configuration. Save the workspace for its arrangement and state. Workspace templates and chart templates have different contents; do not assume either is a universal drawing backup. See chart templates and workspace management.

Try a second asset: for USDJPY, confirm the broker's exact symbol and pip/tick conventions; for a futures market, select the real expiry before charting. Keep each chart's source visible while comparing.

If something looks wrong#

• No candles: verify connection, exact provider symbol, data coverage, date range and trading hours.
• Indicator gaps: allow warmup and inspect the selected source resolution; no output is different from a zero output.
• Wrong market after linking: check the symbol color group and each chart's retained account context.
• Drawing absent elsewhere: verify symbol and sharing scope before recreating it.
• Chart looks stopped: inspect whether it is panned away from the live edge or replay is paused.

Finish with a saved chart configuration and workspace. The next exercise is a first simulated trade.