Coloring an IndicatorLine by Slope: Questions for Optimal Coding

March 22nd, 2012, 01:26 AM

Fat Tails

Coloring an indicator by slope is pretty simple. Let us assume that you want to color the first PlotSeries of an indicator, which is called Values[0]. Then you need to define two colors, "upColor" and "downColor", which you use for coloring the slope.

You will then need to take into account three cases: rising slope, falling slope, zero slope. Here is the code

Code

if (CurrentBar > 0)
{
       if(Values[0][0] > Values [0][1])  
                 PlotColors[0][0] = upColor;
       else if (Values[0][0] < Values[0][1])
                 PlotColors[0][0] = downColor;
       else 
                 PlotColors[0][0] = PlotColors[0][1];
}

Attached is an example for an indicator, which colors the indicator plot and the paint bars based on slope.

@Fat Tails
How can I use this indicator to pain the SMA slope?
Thank you
tw

March 22nd, 2012, 03:28 AM

Fat Tails

If we want to define a neutral zone for the slope, we have to check the slope against volatility. This can be done by using any measure for volatility, for example

-> average true range
-> average range
-> standard deviation

But don't use the ticksize. Attached is an example of an experimental study to color the slope of the midband and the channel lines of the Bollinger Bands. The indicator uses the average true range to normalize slope and has a number of options. For example you may color the channel lines according to their own slope, or according to the slope of the midband.

This indicator is consistent across instruments and timeframes. You can use the same setting for YM 03-12 and ES 03-12, irrespective of their different tick sizes. And if you apply that indicator to a 60 min chart of YM, the neutral zone will not dissolve into nothing. Chart and indicator attached.

@ Trendseek: Would like to know, whether you will apply that method to the RSI.

@Fat Tails

What if you use range bars?

March 22nd, 2012, 06:09 AM

ThatManFromTexas

@ Fat Tails

What if you use range bars?

You can easily use the indicator with range bars.

April 12th, 2012, 08:56 PM

Hello,
does anyone know where i can find a free basic NT7 TRIX indicator coded one color for rising and another color for falling?

thx

April 14th, 2012, 11:17 PM

Fat Tails

"Slope" does not exist on scalable charts. The concept "Slope" refers to print outs and was used 50 years ago when charts were printed and neither the time scale nor the price scale were ever changed.

Ticks are not suited to normalize momentum or slope

But ticks or tick size are not at all suited, because the ticks do not reflect volatility.

Forget the ticks, you cannot use them for normalization. And best forget the concept of slope, angles and remember that they were just used to visualize momentum, when charts were printed.

Hi Fat Tails

I was wondering what you think about using the slope of a SMA=2. In this case it would be on a 3 RangeNoGap
chart of the 6E. Not sure how to do this:

The chart that use candles shows that I would want candles colored in 3 possible ways.

YELLOW for up move that has significance
RED for no movement or little movement

BLACK for down move that has significance (no example area shown on the chart however)

The chart that uses HiLo bars is what I'd actually be thinking of using, if there is some way to
do this in the end.

Apparently there is no way to color code wicks of candles in NT?? So I am thinking about
color coding entire HiLo bars which is possible and apparently the way to go in this???

The HiLo chart provided is not important at the moment really.

So in the first chart the ideal color coding for the 8 candles/HiLo bars in question would be:

RED RED RED RED RED (No movement in price as shown by SMA=2.)
YELLOW (Price moves up significantly. Slope of SMA=2 seems significant.)
RED (No movement in price as shown by SMA=2.)
RED (Critical bar here. There is little price movement. Slope of SMA=2 is not sharply downward.
Since I'd be applying whatever I used in the end to the HiLo chart, this candle,
because there is almost no price movement, would be colored RED.)

Next HiLo bar would of course be colored YELLOW, as price make another sharp
move to the upside.

I'm looking at the angle of the SMA=2, but from what I thought I read about this matter it
is never good to look at the angle of a moving average or use ticks either??? I'm sure I missed
something somewhere that stated what I should do.

Thanks if you have time for this,

(Only thinking about RangeNoGap charts, and only thinking about a simple moving average
that is a value of 2. Don't know if that would matter. Just an additional comment.)

- Stephen

April 15th, 2012, 05:48 AM

@ stephenszpak: It is possible to change the color of the wicks. However in that case also the outline of the candle will be changed. You could try the following code:

Code

if (CurrentBar > 0) 
{        
       if(SMA(2)[0] > SMA (2)[1])
       {        
              BarColor = Color.Yellow;
              CandleOutlineColor = Color.Yellow;
       } 
       else if(SMA(2)[0] < SMA (2)[1])
       {        
              BarColor = Color.Black;
              CandleOutlineColor = Color.Black;
       } 
       else
       {        
              BarColor = Color.Red;
              CandleOutlineColor = Color.Red;
       } 
}

Not tested.

April 15th, 2012, 04:38 PM

Fat Tails

@ stephenszpak: It is possible to change the color of the wicks.

Thanks. The main idea I had was with slope though. It slope totally pointless?
What would you suggest here?

- Stephen

April 15th, 2012, 04:43 PM

stephenszpak

Thanks. The main idea I had was with slope though. It slope totally pointless?
What would you suggest here?

- Stephen

The code above checks for the slope of the SMA(2).

April 15th, 2012, 04:52 PM

Fat Tails

The code above checks for the slope of the SMA(2).

Ok great.

So if the SMA(2) is going sideways, just slightly upwards, and just slightly downwards,
the coloring is RED. I can't see that it does that at the moment.

April 15th, 2012, 05:05 PM

stephenszpak

Ok great.

So if the SMA(2) is going sideways, just slightly upwards, and just slightly downwards,
the coloring is RED. I can't see that it does that at the moment.

Then you need to define what is "slightly". I would use a multiple of the range or average range.

Coloring an IndicatorLine by Slope: Questions for Optimal Coding

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Coloring an IndicatorLine by Slope: Questions for Optimal Coding