Source editor: Output section

	The source Identifier plays a dual role: As a symbol qualifier: Symbols and Parameters defined in a source can be used outside the source (i.e. in other sources and in the Chart's captions) by appending them to the source identifier, followed by a dot. For instance, the symbol _lobol defined in the source _bol would be referenced as _bol._lobol. (A built-in identifier, GRID, also allows access to the fields in the selected record of the view's Grid object). As a portfolio or asset symbol: if the source type is asset by symbol, asset by name, portfolio by symbol or portfolio by name, the source's Identifier specifies the symbol or name.
	The source Title is used to list sources in the Data submenu of the Chart's pop-up menu (together with the names of the underlying assets or portfolios, if any): Source titles are also displayed in the favorites list.
	When Legend is checked, the source is listed in the Data submenu of the Chart's pop-up menu (see above).
	When On is checked, the source data is displayed in the Chart unless it has been temporarily hidden by clicking the source's entry in the Data submenu of the Chart's pop-up menu (see above). When On is not checked, the opposite is true: the source is still enabled, but its output is not displayed in the Chart unless it's been temporarily marked as visible by clicking the source's entry in the Data submenu of the Chart's pop-up menu. When both Legend and On are unchecked, the source is effectively invisible. Invisible sources can be used to force the Chart to include dates for which there may not be any visible data (e.g. to keep date axes aligned across different Charts in the same view) and to compute intermediate results required by other sources.
	When Index is checked, the source's output is normalized, i.e. it's scaled so that the Close on the start date (or the High if there is no Close; the Low if there is no High; the Open if there is no Low) will equal 100. This makes it particularly easy to read off percentage changes and to compare relative performance over time, e.g. of assets with different starting prices.
	When Fillable is checked, the area between each Close and 0 will be filled if Plot > Fill > Show is checked in the Chart's pop-up menu: Click Color in the Plot > Fill menu to set the fill color.
	When Autocolor is checked, the source's drawing color is selected by the Chart object. If the source type is Asset or Portfolio, and a Color-type custom property called "_COLOR" is defined in the relevant view's Grid object, the Chart will use the color specified by the "_COLOR" property. When used with the Portfolios: all and Assets: all source types, this makes it easy to create color-coded comparison Charts which automatically use the colors specified in the relevant Grid(s).
	Select and click the Color field to set a fixed drawing color for the source. This setting is ignored if Autocolor is checked (see above).
	Width is the width in pixels of the "pen" used to plot the source. Use 1 for best resolution, 2 to highlight a particular source. Larger widths are not recommended.

Rows drawn against a black background (like the third row in the screenshot above) describe disabled sources.

Use the following controls in the Output section's toolbar (or the equivalent entries in the source table's pop-up menu) to manage sources:

New. Click to add a copy of the default source to the source table. If a source is selected in the table, the new source will be inserted below the selected source, otherwise it will be added at the bottom of the table.

Make sure to check the source type after adding a new source.

Copy. Click to add a copy of the selected source to the source table. The new source is inserted below the original.

Make default. Click to copy the selected source to the default source. Sources created with New are copies of the default source.

See also favorite sources.

Clear default. Click to clear the default source (no output, no symbols, no parameters). Sources created with New are copies of the default source.

Move up. Click to move the selected source toward the top of the source table (and hence in the Chart's drawing order; the source at the top of the table is drawn first, the source at the bottom of the table is drawn last).

Move down. Click to move the selected source toward the bottom of the source table (and hence in the Chart's drawing order; the source at the top of the table is drawn first, the source at the bottom of the table is drawn last).

Source type. Shows the type of the selected source. Click the spin button to modify the source type.

The available source types are:

	Free. The source is not associated with any asset or portfolio. The built-in symbol SELF is undefined. Primarily useful for the computation of auxiliary quantities used by other sources and for drawing lines in the Chart.
	Portfolios: all. The source outputs a separate set of Chart data for each loaded portfolio. Use the built-in symbol SELF to find out which portfolio is currently being processed. Equivalent to (but much more convenient than) creating a separate source specifically tied to each portfolio (either by symbol or by name).
	Portfolio: selected. The source is associated with the portfolio currently selected in the Portfolios view. The built-in symbols SELF and PORTFOLIO are equivalent.
	Portfolio: by symbol. The source is associated with the (loaded) portfolio matching the porfolio symbol specified in the source table's Identifier field. Use the built-in symbol SELF to determine the portfolio.
	Portfolio: by name. The source is associated with the (loaded) portfolio matching the porfolio name specified in the source table's Identifier field. Use the built-in symbol SELF to determine the portfolio.
	Assets: all. The source outputs a separate set of Chart data for each asset in the selected portfolio. Use the built-in symbol SELF to find out which asset is currently being processed. Equivalent to (but much more convenient than) creating a separate source specifically tied to each asset (either by symbol or by name).
	Asset: selected. The source is associated with the asset currently selected in the Assets or Quotes view (whichever was opened last). The built-in symbols SELF and ASSET are equivalent.
	Asset: by symbol. The source is associated with the asset (in the selected portfolio) matching the asset symbol specified in the source table's Identifier field. Use the built-in symbol SELF to determine the asset.
	Asset: by name. The source is associated with the asset (in the selected portfolio) matching the asset name specified in the source table's Identifier field. Use the built-in symbol SELF to determine the asset.

Favorites. When this button is depressed,

the favorites panel is open.

Disabled. When this button is depressed, the selected row is ignored; as far as the Chart is concerned, it might as well have been deleted. The advantage over actual deletion is that the source is still available and can be reactivated at the click of a button.

Disabled sources are easy to spot in the source table, since their rows are drawn with a black background.

Example: in the screenshot above, the fourth row is disabled.

Delete. Click to delete the selected source, inluding all its output channel settings, symbols and parameters. Note that disabling the source may be a better idea.

A favorite source is simply a copy of a Chart source (complete with output channel, symbol and parameter definitions) which has been stored for later reuse. Since all Chart objects share a common list of favorite sources, favorites make it easy to copy sources between Charts, even across different views and portfolios (the default source is also shared).

is visible (to the left of the source table) when the Favorites button

is depressed in the Output section's toolbar.

The buttons in the favorite panel's toolbar (not to be confused with the Output section's toolbar) perform the following functions:

You can also right-click the favorites panel to open a pop-up menu with equivalent commands.

The favorites list can be sorted alphabetically by clicking the Favorite header. Click a second time to reverse the sort order.

To edit a favorite's title, select it in the list, wait a moment, then click it to open the in-place editor. Press Enter to close the in-place editor and commit to the new title; press Esc to abort editing and revert to the previous title.

Each source can send data to the Chart through one or more of the seven output channels displayed below the source table:

All output channel definitions are expressions. The first five (Open through Profile) are expected to return float values; the last two (Text and Image) explicit arrays. Each output channel expression is evaluated once for every step in the built-in date loop symbol X.

In all but the simplest cases (like the plain asset price chart definition in the screenshot above) it's a good idea to break down chart sources in multiple, named building blocks defined in the Symbols sections and then use references to them in the Output section.

The first four output channels (Open, High, Low, Close) can be used to draw step lines, range bars and/or candlesticks.

If a channel's Step line button

is depressed, a step line is drawn for that channel.

The Profile channel is used to create a distribution chart with the independent variable running along the vertical axis. Values sent to the Chart through this channel are not plotted individually; they are binned by their position along the vertical axis, and the bins showing their relative frequency are drawn horizontally.

The classic application is the volume profile (created as in the screenshot above, i.e. by binning daily volumes). Volume profiles are used to find price levels where large numbers of shares have been traded and which are therefore likely to provide strong support and resistance. Another example is the distribution of n-day ROC, plotted together with the ROC itself.

Profiles are displayed only if Plot > Profile > Show is checked in the Chart's pop-up menu. The other profile properties (the maximal number of bins, whether they should be filled and if so with which color) are also controlled from the Plot > Profile menu:

The Text channel is used to display character strings in the Chart's plot area. Since this requires at least a text and a position to be specified, a scalar value is not enough. Instead, text channel entries are explicit arrays containing at least the first two of the following elements:

Type

Description

string

The text to display in the Chart's plot area.

float

The vertical position of the text, expressed in the units of the other output channels (e.g. Open, High, Low, Close).

As for the other output channels, the horizontal position is given by X.

integer

Vertical offset (from the vertical position specified in the previous element) expressed in pixels.

Use a negative offset to displace the text toward the top of the Chart, a positive offset to displace the text toward the bottom of the Chart.

Optional. Defaults to 0 if omitted.

integer

Kind of frame to put around the text:

Value	Description
1	Plain rectangular frame.
2	"Pointed" rectangular frame. Points down if the vertical offset (specified in the previous element) is negative, points up if the vertical offset is positive. Reduces to a plain rectangular frame if vertical offset = 0.
Other	No frame.

Optional. Defaults to no frame if omitted.

color

Text and frame color code.

Click the Color code button next to the Text channel edit box for a standard color dialog; select a color and click OK in the color dialog for the corresponding color code to be pasted into the edit box.

Optional. If omitted, the text hint color specified with Plot > Hints > Font in the Chart's pop-up menu is used.

color

Background color code.

Optional. If omitted, the Chart color specified with Plot > Color in the Chart's pop-up menu is used.

The Image channel is used to display bitmap images in the Chart's plot area. Since this requires at least a bitmap number and a position to be specified, a scalar value is not enough. Instead, image channel entries are explicit arrays containing at least the first two of the following elements:

#	Type	Description
1	image	The number of the bitmap to display in the Chart's plot area. Click the spin button in the combo box next to the Image edit box for a list of all available bitmaps. Select an image in the list for its number to be pasted into the Image edit box. See the image reference for details on customizing the image list.
2	float	The vertical position of the bitmap, expressed in the units of the other output channels (e.g. Open, High, Low, Close). As for the other output channels, the horizontal position is given by X.
3	integer	Vertical offset (from the vertical position specified in the previous element) expressed in pixels. Use a negative offset to displace the bitmap toward the top of the Chart, a positive offset to displace the bitmap toward the bottom of the Chart. Optional. Defaults to 0 if omitted.
4	string	A text to display in a pop-up hint when the mouse cursor pauses over the image. Pop-up hint properties (font, color, transparency) are set under Plot > Hints in the Chart's pop-up menu. Optional. Defaults to no pop-up hint if omitted.

	Use the selected favorite, i.e. add it to the source table. If a source is selected in the table, the new source will be inserted below the selected source, otherwise it will be added at the bottom of the table.
	Add the source currently selected in the source table to the list of favorites. If no favorite is selected, the new entry is created at the end of the list. If a favorite is selected, the new entry is inserted below it.
	Delete the selected favorite.
	Move up the selected favorite in the list.
	Move down the selected favorite in the list.
	Close the favorites panel.

	as part of a candlestick if all OHLC buttons are depressed and values are available for Open, High, Low and Close;
	as part of a range bar if the channel is High or Low, both High and Low OHLC buttons are depressed and values are available for both High and Low;
	as part of a candlestick body if the channel is Open or Close, both Open and Close OHLC buttons are depressed and values are available for both Open and Close;
	as a disconnected horizontal line if none of the above conditions are satisfied.