How to Change Candle Type TradingView: Complete Guide for Traders
TradingView's flexibility is a game-changer, whether you're checking charts for a quick day trade or planning a long-term investment. You can instantly switch between different candlestick styles, play with colors, and save your favorite setups. It's all about making your technical analysis sharper and your decisions faster.
Getting the Most Out of Different Chart Styles
Switching between the classic Candles, Heikin Ashi, Hollow Candles, Bars, or Line charts lets you see the market's story from different perspectives. Each one can help you spot trends more clearly by either highlighting the momentum or filtering out the distracting market "noise." If you're also interested in optimizing your TradingView subscription costs, check out our guide on TradingView Promo Codes for 2025: How I Actually Save Money on My Trading Subscription.
Your 3-Click Guide to Changing the Chart Style
- Hover your mouse over the chart and look for the Chart Style icon (it looks like a little paintbrush in the top-left corner).
- Click it and pick your new style from the list—like Candles, Bars, Heikin Ashi, or Line.
- That's it! The chart updates immediately, and all your indicators and drawings stay right where they are.
A super useful tip: You can also get to this same menu by clicking the Settings ⚙ icon and selecting 'Style.' This backdoor is perfect for when you want to dive deeper and tweak colors or turn on price labels.
Detailed Walk-Through
1. Open Chart Settings
First up, click the little gear icon on the top toolbar. You can also just press Alt + S on your keyboard to pull up the Settings window.
2. Use the Symbol Tab
Once the Settings modal is open, head to the Symbol tab. This is your control center for everything related to the candle sticks themselves. Here you can adjust:
- The colors for the candle body, its border, and the wick.
- How thick the border should be for up and down candles.
- Toggles to show or hide the wicks entirely.
3. Explore Popular Styles
Not sure which style to use? Here's a quick breakdown of some popular ones and what they're best for.
| Style | Best Use-Case | Why Traders Love It |
|---|---|---|
| Classic Candles | Daily swing setups | Makes the open–close range super clear at a glance |
| Heikin Ashi | Smoothing out trends | Excellent at filtering out market noise |
| Hollow Candles | Scanning for momentum | Easy visual: hollow = rising, filled = falling |
| Bars | Minimalists & coders | A no-fuss, precise view of the Open, High, Low, and Close |
4. Save as Your Template
After you've got everything looking just right, don't lose your setup! Click Save As > Template. This lets you instantly apply the same look to any other chart or even on a different device, which is perfect for keeping your charts visually consistent.
5. Keyboard & Mobile Shortcuts
- On Web: While TradingView doesn't have a built-in hotkey just for switching candle styles yet (it's a popular feature request!), you can quickly jump between charts in a multi-chart layout using
TaborShift+Tab. If you want to take your multi-chart setup further, our guide on How to Put Multiple Charts on TradingView: A Step-by-Step Guide can help. - On Mobile: It's super fast. Just tap the slider icon at the bottom of the screen and you can pick your new candle style in a couple of taps.
Best Practices for Clean Candle Charts
Creating a clean and readable candle chart isn't just about making it look pretty—it's about making sure you can actually see the important details at a glance. Here are a few simple ways to do that.
- Stick to two main colors. When you use more than two contrasting colors (like a classic green and red), it's much easier to see the thin wicks of the candles clearly against the background of indicators and moving averages.
- Make those borders pop. If you're adding volume bars to the bottom of your chart, a simple trick is to darken the borders of the candles. This keeps them from visually blending into the volume bars underneath and keeps everything distinct.
- Adjust your background for the time of day. This is a pro-tip for comfort. Try matching your chart's background brightness to your trading session. Using a darker theme for late-night analysis can be a lot easier on your eyes than a stark white screen.
Troubleshooting Your Heikin Ashi Charts: Common Hiccups & Simple Fixes
Running into a snag while using Heikin Ashi charts can be a bit frustrating, but the solutions are often much simpler than you'd think. Here's a quick guide to the most common issues and how to get things running smoothly again.
| What's Happening | Why It's Probably Happening | How to Fix It |
|---|---|---|
| "Buttons Greyed Out" | You're likely on the "TradingView Lite" layout, which has some limitations. | Just close any extra charts you have open to free up slots. |
| Colors revert after reload | Your beautiful color scheme wasn't saved to a template. | Before you leave the page, always click the "Save As" menu and select "Update" your template. |
| Heikin Ashi back-test mismatch | The back-test is using regular close prices, not the special Heikin Ashi calculations. | Look for strategy settings that specifically use HA-open and HA-close variables for accuracy. |
Your Candle Style Questions, Answered
Q1: Can I use different candle types on the same chart, like for different timeframes? Absolutely! Each chart pane remembers its own settings. So you could easily have a 5-minute chart using Heikin Ashi right next to a daily chart that's using standard bars, all within the same layout.
Q2: If I switch candle styles, will it mess up my indicators? It depends on the indicator. If an indicator is based purely on the "close" price, then yes, it will change. This is because a style like Heikin Ashi uses a special formula for its closing price, which will recalculate indicators like moving averages. Other indicators might not be affected.
Q3: How do I save or share a chart after I've changed the candle type?
It's simple. Just click the camera icon to save the image, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+S (or Cmd+Option+S on a Mac). The picture you export will keep all the styling exactly as you see it on your screen.
Q4: Do I need to find special scripts to use charts like Renko or Kagi? Nope, you're all set! Cool chart types like Renko, Kagi, and Point & Figure are built right in. You can find them under the "Chart Style" menu, listed under "More." They're native features, ready to go. If you're experiencing data issues with any chart type, our comprehensive guide on Why Is My TradingView Delayed? Full Guide to Real-Time Market Data can help troubleshoot real-time data problems.
Next Steps
Ready to get even more comfortable with your TradingView setup? Here are a few simple ideas to keep the momentum going.
- Play with the Templates: Dive into the different templates—like Trend, Scalping, and Long-term. A pro tip? Assign your favorite layouts to hotkeys. This lets you switch your entire chart setup in an instant, which is super handy when market conditions change.
- Get a Second Opinion: Share a screenshot of your new chart style in your favorite trading community or forum. Getting feedback from others is a fantastic way to fine-tune your colors and layout to something that really works for you.
- Keep It Fresh: Make a note to come back to this guide every few months, maybe at the start of each season. TradingView is always adding new features and bar styles, so it's a great habit to periodically refresh your setup and see what's new.