GreenChart Quickstart Guide
The purpose of this guide is to get you acquainted with the features and functionality of the GreenChart platform. It has been designed for the new and aspiring day trader who wants to get started quickly and effectively.
This guide has been organized so you can quickly go through all the navigation bar elements first, then learn charting functions and how to use the Trade Simulator.
Time to complete: 30 minutes
Sections
Getting Help
There are several ways to get help with GreenChart.
Support Ticket
To submit a support ticket, click on the GreenChart logo at the bottom left of your chart window. In the form provided, enter your name, email address, a subject (short description of issue) and a Description (long description of issue).
If applicable, please take a screenshot of the issue by clicking on the Take screenshot button, or using your mouse, simply drag and drop the screenshot onto the Upload files window, then click the Send button.
Support tickets are usually answered within an hour of submission. Please be as specific as possible as it helps our Support Engineers diagnose the issue promptly.
Live Chat, Phone and Email
To open a live chat with support, click on the settings icon and at the bottom of the menu. Click on Live Chat and the chat window will appear. At the bottom of the chat window enter your issue or question where it reads “Reply here…” and press the return/enter key on your keyboard.
Response times vary depending on the time of day and current backlogs.
Support Phone and Email are also provided in the same menu. You can also submit a support ticket here by clicking the Create Ticket link.
Charts
This section will give you tips on using the charts. Here are some common features and actions you will want to know.
Basics
The top-left section of the chart displays several key elements:
The example to the left shows the current Symbol chosen for the chart as EURUSD with a 5 minute chart. There is currently 33 seconds left until the candle will complete the 5 minute timeframe.
The bottom row shows the Average True [Price] Range (ATR). In this example, the atr will use the past 5 candles for its calculation, which is 15 points, or 1.5 pips for the past 25 minutes (5 x 5 min).
The Z value represents how many candles can be displayed in the chart. Letting you know how far zoomed in/out the chart is. In the example above, there are currently 121 candles showing in the chart.
The value on the right of the chart displays the current price of the Symbol. The color will be red for a down candle and green for an up candle.
When a chart is not displaying the current candle a yellow button with two arrows will appear at the bottom right corner of the chart window. When clicked, this arrow returns the chart to the position of current time.
Working with Charts
Moving a Chart
If you have multiple charts open you might want to move a chart to another location.
With your mouse pointer, hover over the top area of the chart you want to move until you see your mouse pointer change to the move symbol. Click and hold down your mouse button (you’ll notice a blue border appear around your chart window), then drag the chart to a new location and release the mouse button.
Modifying Multiple Charts (Symbol, Periodicity, Study, etc)
i.e. If you want to change the Symbol on multiple charts at the same time, use control+click (ctrl+click) with your mouse on multiple charts. You’ll see the blue box appear as you control+click on each chart. Then modify the Symbol in the Symbol dropdown area (top-left of navigation bar) and it will be changed in all the selected charts.
Resizing Chart Panels
You can resize charts by grabbing the “gutter” between the charts and dragging your mouse to the desired chart width then releasing your mouse button.
Quick Focus
Double clicking on a chart will expand that chart horizontally across the whole layout while hiding any other charts. This allows you to focus on the selected chart by using more space. Double clicking on the chart again will restore the original layout with all previous charts.
Resizing Candles
Quite often you will want to resize your candles so you can see more or less of them in the window, or you want to expand the time frame by narrowing your candles.
To expand or contract the height of your candles, click and hold your mouse pointer on the y axis on the far right of the chart window and drag your mouse up or down to the desired height, then release your mouse button to set.
To expand or contract your candle width, click and hold your mouse pointer on the x axis at the bottom of the chart window and drag your mouse left or right to the desired width, then release your mouse button to set. Or, simply roll your mouse wheel to adjust the width of candles!
Navigation Bar
Symbol Search
To apply a symbol to a chart select the Symbol Search box then select the symbol from the dropdown list. This applies the new symbol to any charts selected.
Grid
To display multiple charts at the same time use the Grid selector. You can have up to 16 charts showing at once in a 8x2 layout. To expand the Grid selection, hover over the far-right column and the columns will expand. Once you’ve highlighted the desired grid layout, left-click your mouse to apply it.
New grids have been applied.
Timeframe
To change the time frame on your chart, click on the Timeframe selector then select the time from the dropdown list.
A custom timeframe can also be set by entering a number and selecting either minute, hour, day, week, or month then pressing the SET button to apply the timeframe.
The limits of the custom timeframe are 59 minutes, 23 hours, 1 day, 3 weeks, and 6 months
Studies
The Studies selector displays a list of over 100 popular studies (indicators) that can be applied to your charts. To understand how a study can be used, go to the Study Library to get more detailed information.
When you select a study it is inserted on your selected charts. You can add multiple studies to a single chart.
When a study is added to a chart the study name appears at the top of the Current Studies section. Click the X next to the study to clear it from the chart. Clicking the CLEAR ALL button deletes all the studies from your selected charts.
Working with Studies (Indicators)
Moving a Study
Sometimes you may want to reposition a study panel higher or lower within a chart.
When hovering your mouse pointer near the top of a study panel, an edit tool appears. By clicking the arrows you can move the study panel up or down swapping positions with nearby panels. By clicking the focus button all other studies are hidden. Click the focus button again to bring back all the other studies.
Combining Studies into One Panel
You can move studies from panel to panel by left-click and holding a study until a green check mark has appeared. (put your mouse pointer on the study element (i.e., line), not the space above it). Once the move icon replaces your mouse pointer, drag the study panel on top of another study panel and release your mouse button. Sometimes studies don’t combine very well, so you’ll have to experiment with different combinations.
3.4.2
Color, panel, y axis, and other various settings specific to the study
Layout
After working with one or more charts (using Grid) and adding studies, you might want to save the layout for future use. By default a layout called Unnamed is already set up. You can use this one to name your first layout.
To change the name of the layout click the kebab button (three vertical dots) to the right of Unnamed under My Layouts and then select Rename. Type the name of your layout in the highlighted box and click the Save button at the top.
Clicking on one of the layouts listed will swap the current view.
Clicking the New Layout button will create a new layout and change the current view to that layout.
Clicking the kebab button (three vertical dots) on a layout shows a menu with five options: Favorite, Rename, Share, Duplicate, and Delete.
When the Favorite option is selected, the layout name will appear in the bar above the navigation bar. This is the Favorite Layouts Navigation Bar.
Favorite layouts can be rearranged by clicking and dragging on the layout tab. You can also right click on the tab to get the same five options, but this time with Unfavorite.
Selecting Share will allow you to share your layout with another GreenChart trader. Simply highlight and copy the link and send it to your friend.
Duplicate creates a new copy of the selected layout.
Delete removes the selected layout from the account.
Click Done to close the sharing dialog.
Replay
Replay allows you to “play back” historical prices in the market to research a study or trading idea. You also can interact with replay by using the Trade Simulator to practice your trading skills.
Important: When the replay button is selected, your active chart will go into ‘replay mode’ and switch to historical candle data and your charts will no longer be receiving live market data.
Once you select the Replay button, the Replay navigation bar appears.
The X button exits the application from replay and closes the Replay nav bar.
To easily choose the Date/Time for the replay, click the Jump button then click the spot on your chart where you want the replay to begin.
Notice that a red line appears to help you select the desired time on the chart. Once you click the desired spot, the red line disappears and the chosen time shifts to the far right. This simulates what the chart would look like from that time forward so you can watch the study unfold and practice trading.
You can also manually enter the replay start Date or choose from the calendar.
Choose the time of day by manually entering the time or use the clock tool.
Click the Go to date button to apply the Date and Time for the replay. This fetches data for the date and time entered.
Choose the speed at which you want the candles to draw during the replay. For example, if you choose a Replay Speed of .1s that means a new candle will be drawn every 1/10th of a second, or if you choose 2s a candle will be drawn every 2 seconds.
So, if you have a chart set up for a 1 hour time frame, and you set the Replay Speed of 2 seconds, that means a one hour candle will be drawn every 2 seconds.
When you are ready to start the replay, click the Play button. The chart will begin drawing candles beginning at the Date/Time at the Replay Speed you chose.
Click the Pause button if you need to temporarily pause the playback.
Use the Jump Backwards or Jump Forwards button to go back/forward one candle on the selected chart.
Note: If there is more than one chart open, the non-selected charts will follow the selected chart’s current candle, going back to the selected chart’s previous candle’s date.
The current replay Date/Time is displayed in the Replay Nav bar.
Drawing Tools
Drawing tools give you the ability to add visual elements to your charts. Elements include: Measure, Line, Channel, Doodle, Trade Ratio, Horizontal Line, Segment, Trend Line, Vertical Line, Notes, Ellipse, Rectangle, Fib Retracement.
Measure
The Measure tool allows you to measure the distance between two points on the chart so you can quickly calculate how many points or pips the price has changed, the percentage change and the number of candles between the two points.
Note: a “point” is the minimum amount of price change on a currency pair. 10 points = 1 pip. So in the example to the left you can see the display box at the top shows 29 points, or 2.9 pips.
Use the Measure tool by first clicking on the chart window you wish to work with; notice the blue border that appears. Click on the Measure button, then point/click the mouse on the first position and point/click the mouse on the second position to set the segment. You can easily adjust the segment by left-clicking and holding on either endpoint and moving it, then deselecting your mouse to set the segment.
Notice the black display box that appears at the top of the chart when your line segment is highlighted (click on the line to highlight). This shows you the price difference in points, percentage change and number of candles within the line segment.
Note: By right-clicking on the line a pop-up menu appears. This area allows you to Edit the line thickness, add the line as a Favorite custom tool to the navigation bar (to be easily accessed later), Clone the line to quickly place another one on your chart, or Delete it.
Line
The Line tool is similar to the Measure tool, but it extends the line segment to the borders of the chart. Use this tool to discover trends in price movements or to mark support and resistance levels.
Use the Line tool by first clicking on a chart window, then click on the Line button. Place the line on the chart by clicking your mouse on the desired spot. Don’t worry about perfect positioning. Notice that the line now pivots around the chosen point as you move your mouse up and down, left and right. Click your mouse again to set the angle.
To change the position and angle of the line simply click on the line again. Notice the two small circles. Click and drag these to reset the position and angle of the line.
When your line is selected, notice the black display box at the top of the chart. This shows you the number of points and percentage change and number of candles between the two small circles chosen.
Channel
The Channel tool is useful to identify a range of prices moving up, down or sideways.
Use the Channel tool by clicking on the channel button. Position your mouse pointer and click to set the starting point, next position your mouse pointer and click again to set your end point. Position your mouse and click a third time to set the channel width.
Doodle
Use the Doodle tool to make a free-hand line on your chart.
The Doodle tool is a click and drag tool. Start by clicking the Doodle button then click and drag your mouse to create a drawing. Once you deselect your mouse the drawing is set.
If you want to create a full free-form drawing that requires many separate segments, select the Keep tool active button in the navigation bar.
Now, as you draw, the Doodle tool stays active and you can create free-form drawings. Just click and drag to make a free-form line, then release the mouse button. Repeat this process to make as many strokes with the tool as you wish. Once you are done with the drawing, you can deselect the Keep tool active button.
Trade Ratio
The Trade Ratio tool allows you to easily set Stop Loss and Take Profit price lines on your chart based on your trade ratio settings.
The trade ratio tool is used by first clicking on the chart you wish to use, then clicking on the Trade Ratio button. Then point and click the mouse on the spot you want to enter a trade. Next, drag the mouse upwards (for a buy) or downwards (for a sell) to set the take profit (green line) and stop loss (red line) lines.
To change the take profit and stop loss settings, right-click on the applied tool on your chart and select Edit, then select the settings icon .
Remove a setting by unchecking the box next to the percentage. Add a setting by entering the percentage (negative or positive) number, then click the ADD button. The tool assumes the number you type in is the percentage value.
Notice that the number you type in is automatically placed in the correct spot of the hierarchy.
You can trim the length of the percentage line indicators by rick-clicking on the spot you wish to trim, then selecting Cut from the pop-up menu.
Horizontal
Use the Horizontal tool to easily place support and resistance lines on your chart.
Use by clicking on the Horizontal button then point and click on the chart where you want the line placed.
Segment
The segment tool works the same as the Measure tool.
Trend Line
The trend line works exactly like the Segment tool and the Measure tool but permanently displays the point/percentage change and number of bars.
You can edit the text in the display by right clicking on the applied tool then selecting the second drop-down list to change the font size and/or click the B to set the text to bold. Use the first drop-down list to set the thickness of the line segment.
Vertical
Use the Vertical tool to create a vertical line to mark the beginning or ending points of a time frame in the chart.
The Vertical tool works the same as the Horizontal tool by using a single click to apply to the chart. Note that each vertical line has a black box displaying the time of day that the candle was drawn.
Notes
Use the Notes tool to add informative text to your charts.
To use, click the Notes button then point and click your mouse on the spot you wish to place the text.
If you wish to have the text float in the same spot of the chart window as you scroll left and right within your charts, right click on the applied text then select Float from the drop down menu.
If you want to stop the floating text, right click on the applied text and select Pin from the drop-down menu.
Note that you also have the ability to edit the text by right clicking on the applied text then selecting Edit from the drop down menu.
Ellipse
Use the Ellipse tool to draw a circle or ellipse on your chart to highlight specific areas of attention on your charts.
The Ellipse tool is used by clicking on the ellipse button, then point and click where you want to place it on the cart, then drag your mouse to form the shape, then click your mouse to set it.
To reposition the ellipse, simply click and hold the mouse button and drag the shape to the new position then deselect your mouse button.
Rectangle
Use the Rectangle tool to box in the details of a trade entry and exit, or simply to highlight an important area of your chart.
The Rectangle tool is used by clicking on the rectangle button, then positioning the mouse pointer where you want the top-left corner of the rectangle, then clicking your mouse button to set the top-right corner. Then, without pressing your mouse button, drag your mouse pointer to the desired location of the bottom-right corner and click your mouse button.
Fib Retracement
The Fib Retracement tool is very useful to help you determine how far a price might retrace (go back in the direction it came from). It is based on the Fibonacci numbers In mathematics which form a sequence, the Fibonacci sequence, in which each number is the sum of the two preceding ones. You should read more on this to understand the theory behind its use in trading.
The Fib Retracement tool is used by clicking on the fib retracement button, then pointing and clicking the spot you wish to apply the 100% line, then dragging your mouse up or down to find your 0% position, then clicking the mouse to apply it to the chart.
You can also click and drag the tool to a new location and adjust the positions by clicking on the small circle and dragging up or down on the chart.
Undo last drawing
The Undo last drawing button will reverse any drawings changes that have been made.
Redo last drawing
The Redo last drawing button will revert any drawings changes that had been made but were
undone.
Clear drawings
The Clear drawings button will get rid of all drawings present on the chart.
Magnet
The Magnet tool assists visually and locks on a drawing to a target OHLC (Open, High, Low, Close) candle point.
Keep tool active
Keep tool active allows for a tool to be used multiple times in succession without having to reselect the tool again.
Crosshair
The Crosshair tool is toggled when clicked on, giving precision insight on the Time and Price values on your chart.
Trading Simulator
The Trading Simulator gives you the opportunity to practice trading on a live data feed without risking real money. You can use this tool in the live market or use the Replay tool and trade using historical price movements
To use the Trader Simulator click on the Trading icon.
Read the Trade Simulator Agreement and click the I Agree button to proceed.
Placing an Order
To get started select the Symbol you wish to use by clicking on the current symbol to see a dropdown list of all the symbols available. By default the EUR/USD pair is chosen.
The selected symbol Price is displayed to the right of the chosen symbol. By default the price from the live data feed is displayed and will change as the market price changes.
Enter your desired Stop Loss amount in pips in the field provided, or use the up/down arrows to alter the amount.
Choose your Lot Size next. This tool uses standard lot sizes (1 standard lot = $10 per pip or 10 points).
Note: a “point” is the minimum amount of price change on a currency pair. 10 points = 1 pip.
Enter your desired Take Profit amount in pips.
The Disable TP checkbox will disable the take profit value when a trade is executed. It will reset to off (unchecked) if you change the Take Profit amount.
Click the Sell button to execute a sell order. Note that your order appears under the Orders section below.
Click the Buy button to execute a Buy order.
The Profit/Loss field displays the total value of all open and closed trades that have been placed.
All your open trades will be displayed under the Orders section at the bottom of the window. You can have a maximum of 10 open trades.
Important: The simulator does not currently include a bid/ask (buy/sell) spread on prices and does not account for potential commissions or swap fees that a broker would charge you on a live account.
Note that when an order is opened, three lines are displayed on the associated symbol’s chart. The Purchase Price is displayed with a yellow line, the Take Profit with a green line, and the Stop Loss line with a red line.
To Close a trade simply click on the X under the Close column for the symbol you wish to close.
Trade Settings
Use the Settings button found inside the Profit/Loss field to view and reset your trade history and download your trade history.
Reset - resets the simulator values, and removes all open and closed orders.
Download Closed Trades - downloads a csv file of all closed trades.
Download Replay Trades - downloads all Replay trades as a csv file.
View Trade History Captures - Redirects the user to the Trade History Gallery, where all past saved ‘trade history’ images can be viewed.
Select Hide Labels if you want to hide the promotional labels at the bottom of your trade history captures.
Share your Trade History
The Share button to the right of the Orders label creates a new image with your trade history that you can share.
When you click the Share button, the image that is created includes up to the last five closed trades on the account, the win ratio, and the total dollar change from those trades.
Click on the Share button at the bottom of the window to generate a link that you can share.
This message indicates that the sharing link has been copied to your computer’s clipboard. All you need to do now is paste the link in an email or social media message to share.
After the Share button is clicked the share button changes to a View Gallery button which directs the user to the Trade History Gallery page.
The Trade History Gallery allows you to interact with trade history images.
Hover over an image with your mouse pointer to view options and details. View redirects the user to view the image. Copy url to clipboard copies the url short link to the clipboard so you can easily paste it in an email or messaging tool. Delete will remove the image from the gallery.
Orders
The Orders menu shows Open, Closed and Replay orders. You can choose to view open live orders, closed live orders or orders entered using the Replay tool.
Open Orders
There are five parts to an order: Symbol, Type, Entry, P/L, and the Close button.
Symbol is the market asset chosen, Type is either buy (represented by a green up arrow) or sell (represented by a red down arrow), Entry is the date-time of the simulated order execution, and P/L displays the current profit or loss on that order.
You can modify an open order’s Stop Loss and Take Profit by clicking on the order. The edit price window appears below the open order. You can adjust the Stop Loss (field on the left side) by clicking the up/down arrows, and the Take Profit (field on right side).
The accumulated win percentage of all open orders is displayed on the bottom left and the dollar profit/loss on the right side.
To close the order edit window simply click on the order again.
Closed Orders
The Closed tab shows all closed trades. The format is the same as Open orders, without the Close button.
When you click on a closed order, the closed order details are displayed.
If you want to review a closed trade in Replay mode, click the View button (bottom right corner). Replay is opened to the date-time displayed to the left of the view button.
Replay Orders
The Replay tab displays the closed trades made from the Trade Simulator while in replay mode. The details found here are the same format as those found under the Closed orders tab.
Settings
The Settings menu allows you to configure various settings for your charts and access support contact information.
Sync On All Charts
This setting allows you to determine which chart features sync (copy) on all charts that you have open. If you don’t want a feature to sync simply uncheck the box.
Symbols - syncs all charts to the same symbol
Timeframes - syncs all charts to the same timeframe.
Candle Display - syncs all charts on the display value, up candle color, and down candle color.
Zoom - syncs zooming in and out across all charts.
Time Axis - syncs the x position, which is date-time, across all charts.
Indicators - syncs indicators to all charts in the layout.
Candles
The Candles settings allows you to change the way your candles are displayed.
Display - changes the type of candle to Regular, Hollow or None. None hides the candles on the chart.
Up Candle - changes the color of the Up candle.
Down Candle - changes the color of the Down candle.
Themes
The Theme can be changed to either day mode theme or night mode theme. This affects the display colors.
Data Provider
The charts receive pricing data from many data providers. The Data Provider option can be changed between Primary and Secondary, which provides redundancy.
When the Primary feed is active the symbol is displayed normally (without an asterisk).
When the Secondary feed is active the symbol is displayed with an asterisk.
When pricing data is not being received a yellow border will appear around your chart window(s). You can choose to wait for data to be active again, or you can choose to switch data feeds.
This happens when there has been a 30 second delay in tick data.
Beta Test
Checking this option switches your charts to the beta version. This gives you access to new features being tested before they are released to the production version.
Support
Support provides multiple ways to contact the GreenChart support department.
Create Ticket - opens up a dialog where tickets can be sent to GreenChart support. Support tickets require a name, email, subject, and description. Taking a screenshot will help the support team to understand your questions or issues. There is also an option to upload files to support.
Live Chat opens a chat window with GreenChart support.
When clicking on the live chat option, a chat dialog is opened up on the right side of the screen from the bottom. Enter your question in the “Reply here…” field at the bottom, then press your Return (Enter) key on your keyboard to send the message.
You can also attach a file or emoji to your message.
To close chat, click the X at the top right of the chat window.
Note that Live Chat keeps a history of all your messages, so if you close it down and come back later all your messages will still be available.
Release Notes
Click this to get access to all the Release Notes which gives information about new features and bug fixes.