Module 2 · Lesson 3 of 8 · Charting · About 5 minutes
Chart Types: Candles, Bars, Lines and Their Settings
On this page
Before you read: Symbols, Timeframes and Sessions on a Chart
What you will learn
- How candlestick charts, OHLC bar charts and line charts show the same data.
- How candle colors and hollow or filled bodies are set by convention.
- Which chart types change the bars themselves.
How do the main chart types differ?
Do candles know something that a line does not?
A candle and an OHLC bar show the same four prices: open, high, low and close. The candle draws the open-to-close range as a body; the bar marks the open with a tick on the left and the close with a tick on the right. A line chart connects closes only, which hides the range within each period. An area chart is a line chart with the space below shaded. None adds information the others lack except that a line drops the open, high and low.
Chart type diagram
Illustrative diagram constructed for teaching. Not real market data.
The diagram shows four fictional periods three ways: as candles with hollow green up bodies and filled red down bodies, as OHLC bars with open and close ticks, and as a line through the closes. All values are made up.
Try it on a chart
- Open the chart-type menu in the top toolbar and switch between candles, bars and a line.
- Note which types show the open and which show only the close.
Charts and quotes are TradingView's data, not ours, and may be delayed.
How are candle colors set?
Why are up candles green on one screen and white on another?
Colors are a display setting. A common convention, used in this course, is green for a close above the open and red for a close below it. Many platforms also offer hollow bodies for up candles and filled bodies for down candles, which helps when colors are hard to tell apart. Some platforms color candles relative to the previous close instead of the open. Checking the color rule in the settings avoids misreading a chart.
Which chart types change the bars?
Is every chart type a faithful copy of the trades?
Heikin-Ashi, Renko, range and similar types calculate new bars instead of showing raw open, high, low and close. They can smooth noise but may show prices that never traded and can remove time. The lesson on Heikin-Ashi, Renko and Range Bars covers them. Many platforms label these types, and it helps to label them in any notes as well.
What this does not tell you about chart types
- Which chart type anyone should use.
- Whether a candle shape predicts anything.
- The exact settings names on any platform.
- Nothing here suggests any trade.
Check yourself
- What does a line chart leave out that a candle shows? Hint: three of the four prices.
- Why do hollow and filled bodies help when colors are similar? Hint: shape as well as color.
- Why should a Heikin-Ashi chart be labeled in notes? Hint: calculated bars.
Reflect on your own process
- Which chart type and color rule does your written plan specify, and do your notes record them each time?
- How do you label notes made on calculated bars such as Heikin-Ashi so a later review does not treat them as traded prices?