Line Break

Understanding Line Break Chart Type

The concept of the Line Break chart is similar to Point and Figure charts. It is made up of a series of vertical blocks called lines that use close prices to indicate market direction. The Line Break chart looks like a series of rising and falling lines of varying heights. Each new line, like the X's and O's of a point and figure chart, constitutes a new column. Using close prices (or highs and lows), a new rising line is drawn if the previous high is exceeded. A new falling line is drawn if the price hits a new low.

Selecting Line Break Chart Type

To create a new chart:

1. Open the Format Instrument window by one of the following methods:
   • Click the New Chart Window icon on the Main toolbar; or:
   • Use the Insert key on the keyboard; or:
   • In the main menu select File, then point to New and click New Chart Window.
2. Select the Instrument tab.
3. Select a data feed from the Data Source drop-down list box.
4. Select a symbol from the list of available symbols in All Symbols tab, or use the category tabs to list only a particular category of symbols; the list can be sorted by any column, in ascending or descending order, by clicking on the column header. If you can’t find a symbol, see Adding Symbol(s) to Symbol List section.
5. Select the Settings tab.
6. Select Line Break from the Chart Type list.
7. Enter the Line Breaks and Resolution in the corresponding boxes.
8. Select Break on Session if you want to see the session breaks.
9. Double-click the symbol, or click OK, to create a chart with the default settings.

Selecting Line Break Chart Style

Chart style can be selected from the Format Instrument window:

1. Open the Format Instrument window by one of the following methods:
   • Click the Format Instrument icon on the Chart Analysis toolbar; if the Format Objects window appears, select the symbol and click the Format button; or:
   • Position the mouse pointer over the symbol's data series; double-click once the Pointer changes into a Hand ; or:
   • Position the mouse pointer over the symbol's data series; once the Pointer changes into a Hand , right-click and then click Format 'Symbol Name'; or:
   • Right-click on an empty area of the chart and then click Format Instrument; if the Format Objects window appears, select the symbol and click the Format button; or:
   • Select Format in the main menu and click Instrument; if the Format Objects window appears, select the symbol and click the Format button.
2. Select the Style tab.
3. In the Chart Style section click on the component element to be changed.
4. In the Color column select one of the standard 40 colors from the palette box, or click the Other button to create custom colors.
5. From the Width list select a width of the body border and the wick.
6. To apply the most recently selected component's style to all components, click the Apply to All Components button.
7. To display the Last Price Marker select the Last Price Marker check box, or clear the box to hide the marker; the color of the marker is the same as the color of the Down component.
8. To use these style settings for all new charts of this type, select Use as Default check box.

Auto trading orders on Line Break Chart Type

There are some differences between Regular and Line Break chart types with regards to order generation in real time and backtesting.

Backtesting and Data Playback

There is no difference between order generation on Regular and Line Break chart types with regards to Backtesting and Data Playback.

Real-Time simulation

Type of the strategy	Regular Chart Type	Line Break Chart Type
Buy next bar at market	Order is placed on the first tick of the new bar, i.e. on the Open of the next bar.	Order is placed at the price of the first received tick, this tick may not be a part of a box, in this case the order is displayed not on OHLC of the box but on the price level of the first received tick.
Buy this bar at close	Order is placed on the last tick of a bar, i.e. on the Close of the current bar.	Order is placed on the close of current bar, i.e. when the bar is closed then the order is placed.
Price orders	Order is placed at the price of the first tick that satisfies Stop and Limit conditions.	Order is placed at the price of the first tick that satisfies Stop and Limit conditions.

Auto Trading

There is no difference between order generation on Regular and Line Break chart types with regards to Auto Trading.

To learn how Intra-Bar Order Generation and Bar Magnifier work on Line Break Chart Type, see this page