Types of drawing objects

In this section all available drawing objects are described separately.

Text

Select Text object from the list to apply text to the chart.

If you need to add multiline text objects press Shift+Enter inside the text object. This enables you to edit the text with a double click.

Line shapes

AgenaTrader lets you locate different types of lines in the chart:

Trend line

One of the methods of capturing the price movements is drawing a trend line. The basic principle is simple: the extreme points of "low" prices are connected with each other, creating an uptrend, and the extreme points of "high" prices are connected with each other, creating a downtrend.

Trend line advanced

This is the advanced version of a trend line, which extends indefinitely into the future. There are two points creating the advanced trend line - a starting point and the second point.

This trend line is automatically placed on the nearest opening, closing, high or low price of a candle. To deactivate this functionality double click on the trend line and then uncheck the Is magnetized checkbox inside the properties dialog box.

Further drawing possibilities:

In order to draw a horizontal line, simply left click in the desired area.
By default the line will be drawn from left to right but you can change this in the properties dialog box if necessary.

Geometric shapes

Various geometric shapes are available within the chart:

The image below shows several examples of geometric objects applied to the chart:

Chart markers

You can apply the following chart markers to a chart:

Dots
Squares
Diamonds

Fibonacci shapes

The Fibonacci sequence was discovered in the 13th century by mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci (Pisano Bogollo). The sequence is as follows: 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89,144,233 and so on. In this sequence, each number (after the first 1) is the sum of the two numbers before it. The interesting characteristic of this sequence is that dividing any number by the following number approximates the ratio 0.618. Dividing any number by the number two places above it (e.g. 5/13) approximates a ratio of 0.382. The larger the numbers, the nearer the approximate value draws to the values 0.382 and 0.618. Other approximate ratios from dividing other numbers are 0.236; 0.5; 0.764; 1.382; 1.618 etc.

In technical analysis these numbers correspond to retracement levels and provide hints about potential corrections, trend reversal, and areas of resistance or support. Retracements are based on the prior price movements and are used to forecast the length of a trend/correction. The most common Fibonacci levels are 23.6%, 38.2%, 50% and 61.8% . Using Fibonacci retracements in a combination with other technical analysis tools will improve the effectiveness of your trading.

Time zones and retracements

Fans and arcs

Projections

Correct use of Projections: select the Projection and select the first point in the chart. Press and hold the left mouse button and navigate to the next point in the chart and release the mouse button. Finish the projection by navigating to the last point in the chart and click the left mouse button again. If you don't hold the mouse button in the beginning the projection will not be displayed properly.

Extended dialog

You can change Fibonacci levels, color, and line style inside the extended dialog window for this drawing object:

The extended dialog window offers the selection of the following possibilities:

Delete the whole object or single levels After the drawing object has been created it can be selected by the left mouse click and deleted by pressing the Del button on the keyboard. Besides, you can delete a single object level by pressing and holding the Shift button on the keyboard and left clicking the mouse button.

Attention! AgenaTrader saves the settings of the latest drawing object, therefore a new object will be displayed in the same manner. It means that deleted levels will not be shown anymore when using a new Fibonacci object. In order to activate the display of all levels double-click on the object and edit the object settings manually inside the popup.

Speed Resistance Line

Speed resistance lines serve to estimate potential areas of support or resistance. The tool was developed by Edson Gould and is similar to the Gann Fan or the Fibonacci Fan. Speed resistance lines consist of three trend lines; the first line extends from a low to a high (uptrend) or from a high to a low (downtrend). The other resistance lines are displayed below (or above) at 1/3 and 2/3 intervals of the original line.

Gann Fan Up / Gann Fan Down

The Gann Fan is an analytical tool developed by professional broker W.D. Gann. It shows how prices that have originated from significant highs or lows have developed over time, and can help to identify potential trend reversals or to predict price movements. The lines extend from one point (high or low) dividing the charting area into proportional parts. Gann considered the prime line (1x1 = 45°) to be the most important. If the current price is above the 45° line this indicates a bull market, and if it is below the 45° line this indicates a bear market. Gann interprets the 1x1 line (45°) as a strong support or resistance line (depending which direction the market is moving in).

Other important Gann angles: 1x8 - 82.5 degrees 1x4 - 75 degrees 1x3 - 71.25 degrees 1x2 - 63.75 degrees 1x1 - 45 degrees 2x1 - 26.25 degrees 3x1 - 18.75 degrees 4x1 - 15 degrees 8x1 - 7.5 degrees

The following image shows the Gann Fan applied to the chart:

Andrew's Pitchfork

Andrew’s Pitchfork is not a primary but a supplementary tool in trading, since it is not as commonly used on a daily basis as other indicators (trend lines, regression channels etc.). Nevertheless, Andrew's Pitchfork can be used as a supporting indicator to solidify existing analyses. Andrew's Pitchfork was developed by Dr. Alan Andrews decades ago, and consists of three parallel trend lines that extend into the charting space. The composition of the lines resembles a pitchfork, which gives this instrument its name. The lower and upper line represent zones of support and resistance.

You can apply this drawing object to the chart in all time intervals. In an uptrend, the lower line acts as a support line, the middle line defines the strength of a trend and the upper line acts as a resistance line. 'Swing' traders developed Andrew's Pitchfork even further by drawing the additional parallel line between the support and resistance lines. This line is used each time the price reaches the corresponding support or resistance line.

Tirone Levels

Tirone levels (developed by John Tirone) are a series of three horizontal lines that, like the Fibonacci levels or quadrant lines, represent support or resistance levels. The calculation of Tirone levels is based upon the lowest low and the highest high during a specified time interval:

The middle line is calculated as the difference between the high and low points divided by 2.
The upper line is calculated as the difference between the high and low points divided by 3.
The lower line is the difference between the high and low points adjusted by the coefficient 2/3.

Quadrant Lines

Quadrant lines divide the price area into four equally sized areas. There are five lines and four quadrants, which are calculated as follows:

The upper line corresponds to the high price
The lower line corresponds to the low price
The middle line retraces 50% of the price range.
The other two lines are calculated as a sum of the previous line level and quadrant size.

The quadrant lines are not considered to be a typical indicator, but more of a stick of price action. The lines allow a technical analyst to visualize the quantification of price levels relative to the price range.

Raff Regression Channel

The Raff regression channel is a linear regression tool consisting of a line fitting the price series as closely as possible, as estimated by the ordinal least squares (OLS) method, and two lines of equal distance from this line.

This drawing object will be applied to the chart in the following way:

First, a straight line for the closing prices is drawn using the OLS approach. This method allows you to place the regression line in such a way that the distance from this line to each closing price is minimal. In other words, the regression line represents the best fit for closing prices for the considered period.
Once the line is estimated, the first parallel line is shifted to the first high or low point.
In the next step, the second trend line is drawn on the other side of the regression line so that the distance between the regression line and both trend lines is equal. Thus, the regression line is drawn exactly in the middle of the falling trend channel.

Now the regression channel consisting of 3 lines is complete and much more precise than if you were to draw this manually.

Trend channel

The trend channel can be drawn by hand. To apply this drawing object to a chart, select a low or high point on the chart and connect this to another low or high point. The opposite parallel line will be adjusted accordingly.