How to Get Better at Bar Count and Candle Count Trading

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Chart Parameters

You can set chart parameters when you open a chart, and modify parameters from within a chart using the Edit menu.

Field	Description
Time Period	Choose a time period and interval along with the denomination of bar or line for the chart. If you select an Automatic chart, you are selection only the interval and denomination. You will be able to modify the time period using the drag bar within the chart. Click the Customize Menu link to define custom time periods/intervals.
What to show:	Choose the primary display: Trades, Midpoint, Bid/Ask, Option Volume, Historical Volatility, Option Implied Volatility, Option Open Interest.
Bar Type	Choose the type of bar if applicable, either High Low Bar, Candlestick, Hollow Candles or Heikin-Ashi. The Hollow Candles display green unfilled candlesticks when that period's close is higher than its open. The Heikin-Ashi candles use the open-close data fro the prior period with the open/high/low/close data from the current period to create a combo candlestick. Note that selections will be grayed out when unavailable, based on other time period selections.
Volume Plot Height	This applies to the plot height of additional plots such as Volume.
Adjust for Dividends	When checked, prices are adjusted for dividends on the chart. The day before the dividend date the dividend amount is subtracted from the close price. This action is completed automatically if you add a second ticker for comparison to the chart.
Show # bars	Enter the number of bars to display on the chart, and check to enforce this attribute. When checked, the number of bars remains consistent regardless of changes to the Time period or other variables.
Manual Vertical Scale	Define a price range to scale the vertical axis for the chart. If checked, click the yellow lock icon that will appear in the chart to re-enable auto-scaling.

Additional Data and Features

Additional data shown in your chart parameters box is dependent on the selections you set as the primary parameters. The table below lists all potential options. Because they are context-sensitive, you won't see all of them at the same time.

Field & Description	Field & Description	Field & Description
Bid/Ask or Midpoint or Trades Shows a secondary plot along with your primary plot. Display will change based on your primary plot, i.e. if you show Trades as the primary, your options will include Bid/Ask and Midpoint.		Volume Shows the daily trading volume in a separate panel below the chart.
Volume Histogram Shows the daily trading volumes at each price point in a separate area of the chart.	Daily P&L Displays daily profit and loss for the contract.	Total call and put value For option settings such as open interest and volume, check to display the total value for calls and puts.
Option volume Charts call and put volume in the Option Volume sub-chart.	Historical volatility Displays actual historical volatility.	Option implied volatility Charts implied volatility in a Volatility sub-chart.
Option open interest Chart put and call open interest on the Open Interest sub-chart.	Put-call ratio Shows the put-call ratio in a sub-chart. Note that you must display Option Volume or Option Open Interest to enable the put-call ratio.	Prior close Displays the prior day's closing price for the contract.
Legend Hide or display the chart legend.	VWAP of the bar Check to display the VWAP (volume- weighted average price) for each bar on the chart.	Crosshair Displays the cursor as a crosshair on the chart.
Logarithmic Scale Change the increments on the price axis to represent price change by "percentage change"- rather than "dollar-value" change. Using Log Scale, a $5.00 change from 10 to 15 represents a 50% price change, while a $5.00 change from 20 to 25 is a 25% change.	Quote zone Display market data for the contract directly in the chart.	Quote panel Display the traditional Quote Panel above the chart.
Hot buttons Display the Buy, Sell and Alert hot buttons in the chart.	Buttons panel Display the configurable Buttons panel along the bottom of the chart. The button arms the cursor to complete the selected action.	ChartTrader Displays the Orders, Log, Trades and Portfolio tabs along the top of the chart. These panels will also open automatically when you create an order.
Completed trades Displays the Show Trades checkboxes along the top of the chart.	Volume Plots trade volume in a sub-chart. Set the Volume Plot Height above if desired.

Highlight on Chart

Define the extras you want to have highlighted on your chart.

Field	Description
Splits and dividends	Shows splits and dividends on the underlying.
Order description	Includes order information directly in the chart.
My trades	Highlights the trades you made on the underlying.

Highlight on Y axis

Specify that any of the following items be highlighted along the Y-axis in the chart.

Field	Description
Bid/ask	Highlights the bid and ask prices.
Last	Highlights the last traded price.
High/Low	Highlights the current high and low of the underlying.
Cursor price	Highlights the current price level of your mouse cursor.

Vertical Buffer

A vertical buffer makes the price range on a chart larger than necessary to give extra space at the top and bottom of the actual chart. When you add a vertical buffer, the chart automatically scales to accommodate a wider price range. You can elect to:

Field	Description
Scale to Fit Studies	Y-axis (price) scaling will accommodate any studies to ensure that they are visible in the new scaled layout.
Ignore Studies	Y-axis (price) scaling ignores any studies and applies scaling only based on price.
Display Vertical Scrollbar	Checked by default. Uncheck to removed the vertical scrollbar from the scaled chart.

Chart Time Options

Set time options for this chart.

Field	Description
Keep chart up-to-date	Check to have chart update in real-time.
Show data outside of regular trading hours	If checked, displays charts for exchanges that trade extended hours, like Globex.
Show data in user time zone	If checked, uses the time zone from your computer. Otherwise, uses the time zone from the contract's listed market.
Set ignored daily time interval	Define a time interval that will be ignored when charting the underlying.
Bypass this dialog when opening a new chart	If checked, these settings are applied to the next chart you open without displaying this dialog box. You can modify settings by selecting Chart Parameters from the Chart menu.

Important Disclosures

How to Get Better at Bar Count and Candle Count Trading

Source: https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/software/tws/usersguidebook/technicalanalytics/chart_parameters.htm

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