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Charts
There are two formats for BB4X Charts: Classic Charts and Advanced Charts. You can use either with the click of a button. The advanced charts uniquely offer the TrendLines feature. Both charts include a wide list of Technical Indicators, the most commonly used in Forex Technical Analysis.

Charting Notes
Bar Colors
  • Bar (Traditional)
    All bars black.
  • Bar (Interday Color)
    Color of bars based on current tick's change.
    If current tick's last price is greater than previous tick's close, bar is green.
    If current tick's last price is less than previous tick's close, bar is red.
  • Bar (Intraday Color)
    Color of bars based on intraday action.
    If last is greater than open, bar is green.
    If last is less than open, bar is red.
Bollinger Bar Colors
Prices on the chart are represented with bars. Each bar consists of the open, high, low and close for the period.  The green portion indicates that the close was greater than the open, and the red portion indicates that the close was less than the open. Blue portions are the tick's range.

Bollinger Envelopes
Bollinger Envelopes are a variation on Bollinger Bands that focus on the extremes of price action. Bollinger Bands are centered on a moving average--usually of the close, while Bollinger Envelopes are anchored by the extremes, the highs and the lows.

The upper Bollinger Envelope is constructed from a moving average of the highs and the standard deviation of the highs, the lower Bollinger Envelope is constructed from a moving average of the lows and the standard deviation of the lows. Here are the formulas:

UpperBE = Average(highs, 20) + 1.5 * StandardDeviation(highs, 20)
LowerBE = Average(lows, 20) - 1.5 * StandardDeviation(lows, 20)
MiddleBE = (UpperBE + LowerBE) / 2

Bollinger Envelopes are particularly useful in extreme market action and are the base of the Ice Breaker trading system.

Advanced Charts
Our Advanced Charts are powered by Flash technology and are fully dynamic. All the Classic Chart features remain plus many more including zooming in and out, chart drag in time, re-ordering using drag and drop, history charts, etc…

The charts span longer data range which makes zooming in and out, moving the chart window in time possible. In other words, the initial snapshot is only a fraction of the total data loaded. You can change the range without having to refresh or request new data from the server. This also makes possible the use of a history window, which shows you where the current snapshot is with respect to the total data loaded. You can resize the current chart snapshot by dragging the left and right borders of the history window or even drag that window and the snapshot will be updated to reflect those changes.

The latest Adobe Flash Player is required for our Advanced Charts. Most browsers have this plugin already installed. If not, download for free from the Adobe website.

Chart options:
  • Forex Pairs: All possible forex pairs that can be plotted
  • Bar Lengths: 1, 5, 10, 30 minutes, 1 hour and daily
  • Chart Type: Bollinger Bars, line, candle sticks, traditional bars
  • Overlay 1: Choice of Bollinger Bands, Bollinger Envelopes--a BB4X exclusive for registered users, or moving averages
  • Overlay 2: Choice of up to 3 simple or exponential moving averages.
  • Chart size: Small, medium or large
  • Price Scale: Linear or logarithmic scale

The Advanced Charts include all the elements of the classic charts plus many additional features:
  • Ability to plot all price data with adjustable settings for the bar length, chart type, chart size and chart scale (linear or log-linear).
  • Ability to plot all indicators.
  • Easily show news, hips/lops and signals with dynamic on/off buttons.
  • The news scroll menu is dynamic and adjusts to the timeframe of the chart.
  • A history window below the chart shows all the currently loaded data and where you are in time span. When resized or dragged it changes the plotted range.
  • The main chart can be resized by rolling the mouse wheel over the chart inwards or outwards. The chart can be dragged by the mouse to the right for older data or to the left for newer data. All changes are reflected in the history window.
  • All data is streamed. Main chart and history chart constantly update, as does news and signal data.
  • The start and end date time of the range can be set by entering the data at the top of the chart.
  • Dynamic horizontal and vertical trackers highlight the underlying data. The vertical tracker always positions at the closest valid data point. The horizontal tracker reflects the exact mouse position. The color of the data is the same as the color of the indicator line.
  • All sub-charts can be dragged to re-arrange the order.

To plot an Advanced Chart, click the "Advanced Charts" button and a window pops up displaying the chart with the selected options. You may adjust the chart options and indicator selection directly from that window by clicking the "Chart Options" link at the top of the chart. You may also access chart help tips by clicking the "Chart Help" link on the top left corner of the page and selecting the desired tab. The chart data is streamed automatically. You may rearrange the position of the charts displayed by dragging and dropping the different charts into the positions you prefer.

Our charts merge technical analysis with forex news from news publishers such as Associated Press, Reuters, IBD, Morningstar.com, TradingMarkets.com, CNNMoney.com and others. You can monitor forex charts and the latest news relating to specific symbol pairs as it occurs.

To use the news feature, go to the chart section and submit an advanced chart. In addition to the price and indicator charts, you will see a list of links to relevant news in chronological order. You can navigate manually by clicking the headlines in the list, or you can hover your mouse over the news flags on the chart. The news box will pop up to the highest layer. Once you click that news box, the list will scroll up or down to the appropriate news item and highlight it. Click the news item link and you'll be redirected to the article. You have the ability to toggle this news feature on and off at the top of the chart.

To switch back to classic charts, click the link "Switch to Classic Charts" on the top right corner of the pop up chart.

TrendLines
TrendLines are the latest addition to BBForex.com. This powerful feature brings interactive technical analysis tools to our Advanced Charts. TrendLines can be created and customized to suit your needs and preferences. The location, range and form of each TrendLine are determined interactively with your mouse on the chart.

To create TrendLines all you have to do is click the mouse pointer on the chart in “create mode”. You can select between several popular varieties of TrendLines and place them in the desired locations on the chart, choosing the starting and ending coordinates with your mouse.

Usually TrendLines are anchored to significant points. Thus, the anchoring points can be snapped to significant points of interest such as a high, low, close, open, moving average, upper band, lower band, etc. on the price chart. When the mouse is positioned close to a significant point, the anchor point will snap to it.

You can switch to “edit mode” by clicking the Edit Mode button to re-size or re-anchor your TrendLines by dragging the anchor points. In Edit Mode you can drag the body of the TrendLine to relocate it on the chart or delete it. In addition, you can edit any parameters specific to a TrendLine by double clicking it.

When you switch back to “chart mode” by clicking the Chart Mode button the TrendLines will be remembered as you go back and forth in the history timeline.

In "edit and create mode", the news menu, price-chart dragging in time, as well as price-chart dragging for re-ordering are disabled. However, dragging the history window will still allow you to adjust the time window. In chart mode, the news can be re-enabled and the news boxes are placed on the top chart layer with the TrendLines on the layer beneath.

TrendLine Menu:
The TrendLine menu is located directly below the news menu and allows for creating different types of TrendLines, editing them and switching back to chart mode. There are six buttons to control TrendLine modes: The following six buttons switch the chart to trend line create mode:
  • Closed Start, Closed End: Using mouse drag and drop action, you can draw a TrendLine between two fixed anchor points.
  • Open Start, Closed End: Using mouse drag and drop action, you can draw a TrendLine originating from the right anchor point and extended towards negative infinity from the left anchor point.
  • Closed Start, Open End: Using mouse drag and drop action, the user can draw a trend line fixed at the left side anchor point but continues towards positive infinite at the right side anchor point.
  • Open Start, Open End: Using mouse drag and drop action, you can draw a TrendLine that is extrapolated to negative infinity from the left side anchor point and positive infinity from the right side anchor point.
  • Growth Line: Allows for the construction of the growth TrendLine. When selected, it pops up the growth line menu which allows for 2 input parameters: The open end check box and the annual rate value at which the line grows per year. If the former parameter is checked, the line will continue to grow in time beyond the right side anchor point. The annual rate is a number between +10 and -1. Enter 0.15 for 15% annual rate. The line is then drawn like the previous lines via drag and drop mouse actions.
  • Fibonacci Support/Resistance Multi-line: Allows for the construction of multiple support/resistance lines initially set at Fibonacci level ratios or ratios of you own choice. When selected, it pops up the multi-line menu which allows for several input parameters, the open end check box and up to nine ratio levels between -10 and +10. If the former parameter is checked, the lines will extend horizontally in time beyond the right side anchor point. This grid line is drawn via drag and drop mouse actions.
Users can delete TrendLines in create mode by pressing the Delete keyboard button, which will delete the last drawn TrendLine every time it is pressed. The remaining two buttons are the edit and chart mode:
  • Edit Mode Button: This button switches the chart to TrendLine edit mode. You can drag any anchor point on any TrendLine to resize it. You can also drag the whole TrendLine and reposition it on the chart by grabbing its body. In this mode TrendLines can be deleted by clicking on any desired object, which highlights it in red, and pressing the Delete keyboard button. Double clicking a multi-line grid or growth line will display its respective properties menu for editing its parameters. After submission, TrendLines will update accordingly to the newly updated parameters.
  • Chart Mode Button: This button returns to normal chart mode. All previously drawn TrendLines remain visible on the screen, the news mode is enabled and on-chart time drag is enabled.
Advanced Charts with TrendLines are available only for registered users.

Classic Charts
The classic chart offers a wide variety of options and indicators for customization:

Chart options:
  • Forex Pairs: All possible forex pairs that can be plotted
  • Bar Lengths: 1, 5, 10, 30 minutes, 1 hour and daily
  • Chart Length: Time spans automatically change depending bar-length selection
  • Chart Type: Bollinger Bars, line, candle sticks, traditional bars
  • Overlay 1: Choice of Bollinger Bands, Bollinger Envelopes--a BB4X exclusive for registered users, or moving averages
  • Overlay 2: Choice of up to 3 simple or exponential moving averages.
  • Chart size: Small, medium or large
  • Price Scale: Linear or logarithmic scale
  • Hips/Lops: Label Hips(high points) and Lops(low points)
  • Signals: Show/Hide signals exhibiting the criteria described by John Bollinger's methods-- for registered users

On the left side is the list of all the available indicators. We will be adding to these regularly. For detailed descriptions, click the indicator name in the "Indicator Help" box. Let us know if your favorite tool or technique is missing: BBands@BollingerBands.com

To save the chart or indicator settings, go to the “chart settings” section under Portfolio-- accessible to registered users.

A wide variety of indicators are available to registered users. To add an indicator to the chart, select the desired checkbox from the indicator list. For some indicators you may change the corresponding parameters.

To plot a Classic Chart, click the "Classic Charts" button and another window pops up displaying the chart with the selected options. You may adjust the chart options and indicator selection directly from that window by clicking the "Chart Options" link at the top of the chart. You may also access chart help tips by clicking the "Chart Help" link on the top left corner of the page and selecting the desired tab. The chart data is streamed automatically. You may rearrange the position of the charts displayed by dragging and dropping the different charts into the positions you prefer.

Our charts merge technical analysis with forex news from news publishers such as Associated Press, Reuters, IBD, Morningstar.com, TradingMarkets.com, CNNMoney.com and others. You can monitor forex charts and the latest news relating to specific symbol pairs as it occurs.

To view the news feature, go to the chart section and submit a chart. In addition to the price and indicator charts, you will see a list of links to relevant news in chronological order. You can navigate manually by clicking the headlines in the list, or you can hover your mouse over the news flags on the chart. The list will scroll up or down to the appropriate news item and highlight it. Click the news item link and you'll be redirected to the article. You have the ability to toggle this news feature on and off at the top of the news list menu.

To switch to Advanced Charts, click the link "Switch to Advanced Charts" on the top right corner of the pop up chart.

Forex Technical Indicators
We offer a wide variety of the most popular indicators used in Technical Analysis including Bollinger Bands analytics. Included down below are the names of indicators used along with a brief summary on each:
  • Bandwidth:
    BandWidth depicts how wide the Bollinger Bands are as a function of the moving average. The formula is (upper band - lower band) / middle band. BandWidth is most useful for identifying the Squeeze, and the beginning and ending of trends.

    In addition to the BandWidth line, two reference lines are drawn to give a sense of where the current BandWidth stands in relation to its history.
    The upper line represents the highest bandwidth in past 150 bars (bulge).
    The lower line represents the lowest bandwidth in past 150 bars (squeeze).

  • Commodity Channel Index (CCI):
    CCI is a sophisticated overbought/oversold tool that uses volatility as its gauge. A 20-bar period is the default.

  • Chande Momentum Oscillator (CMO):
    CMO is Tushar Chande's attempt to capture Pure Momentum. You may specify the lookback period; 14 is the default.

  • Departure Chart:
    One of the oldest technical tools and perhaps the most basic of the trend identification tools, the departure chart measures the difference between two moving averages, one short and one long. 10 and 20 are the default periods.

  • Deviation from Average(DFA):
    The most basic overbought/oversold tool. It expresses how far prices are from an n-bar average as a percent of the average. A 50-bar average is the default.

  • Directional Movement Index (DMI):
    Created by Wells Wilder, it parses the price structure into + and - components, DMI+ and DMI-. However, the most interesting feature is a derivative of the DMI indices, called ADX. ADX indicates whether the data is trending or not. Values above 18 are considered to indicate trends while values below 18 are associated with trading range markets. You may select the lookback period. A 14-bar calculation period is most common.

  • Moving Average Convergence/Divergence (MACD):
    Gerald Appel created MACD, a variation on a departure chart with an average added that acts as a signal line.
    The MACD line is the difference between a 12-bar and a 26-bar exponential average.
    The signal line is a 9-bar moving average of the MACD.
    The histogram is the difference between the MACD and the signal.

  • Momentum:
    Momentum is the percentage change of price over a specified time period. Stock traders usually prefer this to Rate of Change. You may choose the number of periods. 12 is the default.

  • Normalized RSI:
    See RSI below. Plotting 50-bar, 2.1 standard deviation Bollinger Bands on RSI allows the analyst to dispense with fixed levels and focus on indicator action. The upper band serves the same role as 70 did and the lower band serves the same role as 30 did.

    We go one step further and create a Normalized RSI by plotting %b of RSI and 50-bar Bollinger Bands. The formula is

    Normalized RSI =
    (RSI - LowerBB(RSI))
     % 
    (upperBB(RSI) - lowerBB(RSI))

  • Percent B(% b):
    This is one of the two indicators derived from Bollinger Bands. %b depicts the location of the most recent close within the Bollinger Bands. At 1.0, the close is at the upper band, at 0.0 it is at the lower band and at 0.5 it is at the middle band. A %b reading of 1.1 means that you are above the upper band by 10% of the bandwidth. -0.2 means that you are below the lower band by 20% of the bandwidth.

  • Qstick(QSTK):
    Qstick is a moving average of the bodies of Japanese candlesticks. Qstick is negative when the closes have been less than the opens for the lookback period and is positive when the closes have been greater than the opens for the same period. Thus it is a look at the internal trend of the price structure. 5-10 periods are the most commonly used parameters.

  • Rate of Change (ROC):
    Rate of Change is the point difference of price over a specified period. The pricecurrently - the pricen-bars ago. Futures traders may prefer this to Momentum.

  • Relative Momentum Index (RMI):
    This is Roger Altman's momentum variation on Welles Wilder's Relative Strength Index, RSI. Instead of accumulating +/- price changes, RMI accumulates changes in momentum.

    The first parameter is the period for RMI, default is 14.
    The second parameter is the number of bars for calculating Momentum, the default is four.

  • Relative Strength Index (RSI): Welles Wilder's Relative Strength Index, RSI, is a classic technical analysis tool that compares strength on up ticks to weakness on down ticks. The fixed values of 70 and 30 are most often used as signal levels. However, in a bullish environment 80 and 40 may be better suited and 60 and 20 are often used in bear markets. In fact many analysts use the swings of RSI through various levels to define bull and bear markets.

  • Stochastics (%K %D):
    George Lane's Stochastics, an indicator that depicts where we are in the price range of the past n-bars. You may select the fast or slow version, the number of bars in the basic calculation and the length of the smoothing for %d. Fast or Slow sets whether %k is presented as a raw calculation (fast) or a 3-bar smoothed value (slow). The second parameter is the lookback period for %k. The third parameter is the smoothing period for %d. Fast, 10, and 3 is the most common set of parameters. Slow, 10, and 3 is also popular.

  • Ultimate Oscillator (UOS):
    This is Larry Williams' weighted momentum oscillator. The Ultimate Oscillator is a combination of three different individual oscillators of varying time frames. For most parameters this should be the smoothest of our momentum tools. You may specify the time frames for the three underlying oscillators; 5, 10, and 20 are the defaults.

  • Vertical Horizontal Filter (VHF):
    VHF is not a television designation; it is Tushar Chande's trend analysis tool. VHF compares highs with highs and lows with lows over a lookback period to arrive at its depiction of the trendiness of the data. A 14-bar period is the default.

  • Williams %R:
    This is a variation on Stochastics that some prefer. %R depicts where you are in the range of the past n-bars without smoothing. Note that the scale is reversed from that for Stochastics. A 20-bar period is the default.

Go to forex chart section.

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