How to Edit TradingView Chart: The Complete, Step-by-Step Guide
If you're just getting started with TradingView, or if your current chart setup has gotten a little out of hand, you're in the right place. I'll walk you through exactly how to edit a TradingView chart, from the basics like colors and chart types to the more advanced stuff like indicators, drawings, and multi-chart layouts. The goal is to help you create a fast, clean setup that you can rely on when the markets are moving.
A quick note: Everything we cover here uses TradingView’s Supercharts interface. I'll also point you to their official help docs in case you want to dive deeper on any specific feature.
1) Getting Your Bearings: Where Chart Editing Lives
To open your chart settings, you have two easy options:
- Click the gear icon on the top toolbar.
- Or, for a real shortcut, just double-click directly on the price bars or line of your chart. The settings window will pop right up.
Let's get familiar with the terms so the settings make sense:
- Think of a Layout as your entire trading workspace. Each layout can hold one or more charts, along with all their indicators, drawings, and custom settings. Depending on your subscription, you can have 1 to 16 charts open side-by-side in a single layout. The cool part is that you can set up each chart differently and then apply one chart's settings to all the others in the layout with a single click.
- "Apply to all" is your best friend for consistency. You'll find this button in the Chart Settings. It lets you instantly copy your appearance tweaks—like colors or chart styles—to every other chart in your current layout.
A quick, important tip:
- Make sure you're using Layouts to save your workspace as you go. If you ever make changes and they don't seem to stick, this is usually the reason. (We have a section on troubleshooting this later on).
In this guide, we'll cover:
- Choosing the right chart type for your trading style
- Customizing colors and themes for better visibility
- Adding, removing, and organizing indicators without the clutter
- Using drawing tools effectively and keeping them managed
- Adjusting the scale and timezone to match your schedule
- Mastering multi-chart layouts for a comprehensive view
2) Change your chart type, timeframe, and aggregation
Sometimes the standard chart just isn't showing you what you need to see. The good news is, you can easily tweak it to get a clearer picture.
Try a different chart type:
Up in the top toolbar, you'll find the chart type menu. Clicking that opens up a whole world of options. You can switch from the basic candlesticks to Bars, a simple Line, Area charts, or Heikin Ashi, to name a few. Depending on your plan, you might also see more advanced ones like TPO or Session Volume Profile.
- Heikin Ashi is a favorite for many because it helps smooth out all the little price wiggles, making trends easier to spot. If you want to try it, just head to that same chart type menu in Supercharts.
Adjust your timeframe:
Want to zoom in for a closer look or zoom out for the big picture? Use the interval box. You can type in common ones like 1m for one minute, 5m, 1h for an hour, or 1D for a daily view.
If you're on a higher plan, you get access to even more granular intervals, like seconds or ticks. A pro tip: check out the Hotkeys & tips area to learn how to change timeframes with just your keyboard—it's a real time-saver.
Overlay symbols to compare:
Ever wonder how one stock is performing against another? The Compare feature is perfect for this. Just click it and type in the symbol of another asset (like comparing SPY to QQQ).
A little heads-up: when you do this, the chart will switch to a percentage scale so that both lines can share the same vertical axis, making the comparison apple-to-apples. It's super helpful for checking correlations or just benchmarking performance.
3) Make it readable: Tweak the background, grid, and colors
Getting your chart to look just right isn't just about aesthetics—it's about making the information easy and fast for your brain to process. A clean, easy-on-the-eyes setup helps you spot trends and make decisions without straining.
Here's how you can adjust the look and feel:
Theme & Appearance
- Head over to Chart Settings → Appearance. This is your control center for the chart's visual layer. You can change the background color, style the gridlines, add a watermark, or adjust how the wicks and borders look.
- To switch between a light or dark theme instantly, use the toggle in the interface menu. This changes the entire user interface and the chart's color palette to match.
A Pro Tip for a Tried-and-True Look
My go-to suggestion for a chart that's easy to read for hours? Stick with neutral backgrounds like white, gray, or pure black. Then, make sure your bars and indicators are in colors that pop clearly against that background. This simple combo drastically reduces eye fatigue and stops your important indicators from visually blending in.
| Visual Element | Recommended Setting | Why It Helps |
|---|---|---|
| Background | Neutral (White, Gray, Black) | Creates a calm, non-distracting base. |
| Bars/Indicators | High-contrast colors | Ensures data stands out for instant recognition. |
Apply Your Perfect Setup to All Charts
Once you've got one chart looking perfect, you don't have to repeat the process for every other chart in your layout. Just use the Apply to all feature to instantly copy that appearance across your entire multi-chart view.
Personalizing Your Chart View: Status, Time, and Scales
Let's look at a few ways you can tweak the chart's interface to fit your preferences.
Making the Status Line Your Own
See that little green dot on the status line that shows if the market is open or closed? You can right-click it to quickly hide it from view or jump into its settings to adjust how it looks and behaves.
Getting Your Time Zone Right
If the timestamps on your chart feel off, it's probably a time zone issue. You can change it by clicking the clock icon on the bottom bar or by heading into Settings → Symbol → Timezone. Just remember, this only changes the time display for you; it doesn't alter the instrument's actual exchange time.
Viewing Extended Trading Hours
- For Stocks: To see pre-market and after-hours trading on intraday charts, look for the ETH switch on the bottom right. You can also toggle this in Settings → Symbol, where you can even change the tint color of the extended hours session.
- For Futures: The electronic trading session is often highlighted with a background color. You can adjust this highlight or turn it off completely in Settings → Symbol.
Adjusting the Price and Time Scales (The Axes)
The Settings → Scales menu is your control center for the chart's axes. Here, you can do things like move the price scale to the left or right, invert the price scale, merge scales, or show and hide currency labels.
If a scale ever seems to disappear or you can't find a specific setting, don't worry. The "Adjust scales" collection in our Help Center is packed with solutions for these edge cases and other common fixes.
5) A Guide to Indicators: Adding, Customizing, and Using Templates
Adding and Editing Indicators:
To bring a new indicator onto your chart, just open the Indicators & Strategies dialog box (the hotkey / is the quickest way). You'll see a whole library of options to explore.
Once an indicator is on your chart, you can tweak it to your liking. Click the little gear icon next to its name to open the settings. If you don't see the name or the gear icon, just turn the title On from the settings—that will reveal everything you need.
Removing and Hiding Indicators:
If your chart is getting cluttered, you have a couple of easy options:
- Use the trash icon to remove an indicator completely.
- Or, use the hide/show controls right on the indicator's title bar. You can also find this control in the legend at the very top-left of the chart when you hover your mouse over it.
Saving Time with Indicator Templates:
Found a combination of indicators that you really love? You can save the whole set as a template. Just go to Indicator Template → Save.
This is a huge time-saver. The next time you open a new chart, you can apply your template and instantly rebuild your perfect setup. One thing to note: applying a template replaces all the current indicators on your chart with the ones from the template. Also, remember that drawings (like trend lines or shapes) are not saved in these templates.
Applying Indicators to All Your Charts at Once:
Working with a multi-chart layout? You don't have to add your indicators one chart at a time.
- From any indicator's menu, choose Add this indicator to the entire layout.
- Or, use the main chart's context menu to apply all of your current indicators to every chart in your layout at once.
While TradingView's built-in tools are great for basic indicator management, creating truly custom indicators that match your unique trading style used to require coding skills or hiring expensive freelancers. That's where tools like Pineify come in - their visual editor lets you build custom indicators and strategies without any programming knowledge, combining multiple indicators into one cohesive script and generating error-free Pine Script code automatically.
Here's a quick summary of the main actions:
| Action | How to Do It |
|---|---|
| Add Indicator | Press / to open the Indicators dialog. |
| Edit Indicator | Click the gear icon next to the indicator's title. |
| Remove Indicator | Click the trash icon. |
| Hide/Show Indicator | Use the eye icon on the indicator's title bar. |
| Save a Template | Use Indicator Template → Save. |
| Apply to All Charts | Use Add this indicator to the entire layout from the menu. |
6) Drawing Tools & the Object Tree: Get Organized Fast
Ever feel like your charts are getting a little cluttered with all your lines and shapes? Here's how to quickly clean things up and stay organized.
Hide All Your Drawings at Once:
If you want a clear view of the raw price action, you can hide every single drawing in one click. Just head to the left toolbar, click on Hide options, and then select Hide Drawings. It's a toggle, so you can click it again to bring everything back whenever you need.
Find and Restore Specific Items:
Maybe you don't want to hide everything, just a few specific trendlines or shapes. For that, you'll want the Object Tree & Data Window (it's on the right toolbar). This opens a super clean list of every single object on your chart. From there, you can hide, show, or even permanently remove individual items without having to hunt for them on the canvas.
Keep Your Charts Clean Across Timeframes:
Do you have some long-term support and resistance levels that you only want to see on the daily or weekly chart, but not on lower timeframes? The Object Tree makes this easy. You can group your drawings together and set their Visibility on intervals. This means you can set certain objects to only appear when you're looking at specific timeframes, which is a game-changer for keeping your workspace uncluttered.
Find Any Drawing in Seconds:
If you're a heavy technical analysis user, you probably have dozens of objects on your chart. Finding the one you need can be a pain. A newer workflow lets you sort all your drawings by name or by the last time you modified them. You'll find this option in Manage layout drawings within the Object Tree. It's a huge time-saver.
So, What Exactly is the Object Tree?
Think of it as mission control for everything on your chart. It's a central hub where you can hide, show, or remove any drawing, indicator, or symbol without clicking all over the place. Once you start using it, you'll wonder how you ever managed your charts without it.
7) Multi-chart layouts & synchronization (do more in less space)
Trying to watch a bunch of charts at once can feel like you're constantly switching between tabs. Multi-chart layouts let you see everything on one screen, side-by-side, so you can spot connections faster.
How to set up multiple charts:
It's really simple to get started. Just click Select Layout on the top toolbar and pick your arrangement—2, 4, or even 8 charts at once. When you do this, all the indicators and strategies you were using on your first chart automatically copy over to the new panes. Think of it like making perfect clones of your setup. Some things, like your color theme, will stay unique to each chart, but you can sync up the important stuff.
Keep all your charts in sync:
You don't have to update every single chart manually. Here's how to keep them moving together:
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Turn on symbol/interval sync in the Layout menu. | Change the stock symbol or time frame on one chart, and all the others will update instantly. |
| Double-click a symbol in your watchlist. | This forces all charts to switch to that symbol, even if sync is turned off—a handy little shortcut. |
Make everything look consistent:
Once you have your layout, you might want all the charts to look the same. Instead of adjusting each one individually, just go into Chart Settings and use the Apply to all option. This will copy your visual preferences—like colors and line styles—across every chart, making your workspace clean and uniform.
8) Never Lose Your Work: A Guide to Saving and Backing Up
Think of your TradingView layouts as your workspace's memory. They remember exactly how you've set things up—your chart's appearance, your technical indicators, and all those important drawings and lines you've added.
To make sure you don't lose any of your hard work, just head to the top menu and click Layout → Save. It's like taking a snapshot of your entire setup so you can come back to it anytime, on any device.
What if your layout isn't saving or syncing?
Sometimes, technology has a mind of its own. If you notice your drawings aren't sticking or your setup looks different on another device, don't panic. The best place to start is directly with the source. TradingView has a dedicated troubleshooting section that walks you through fixing common issues like lost drawings and sync problems between your computer and phone. It's the most reliable way to get everything back on track and recover a missing layout.
9) Power-user speed: hotkeys you'll actually use
Want to fly around your charts without ever touching your mouse? Learning a few key combinations is like having a secret superpower. These aren't just any hotkeys—they're the ones you'll genuinely use every day to save time and keep your focus on the chart.
Here are the essentials to get you started:
| Action | macOS Shortcut | Windows/Linux Shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| Open Settings | Cmd + , | Ctrl + , |
| Quick Search / Jump | Cmd + K | Ctrl + K |
| Create Order/Alert at Cursor | Option + Command | Alt + Ctrl |
That last one is a game-changer. Pressing Option+Command on a Mac (or Alt+Ctrl on Windows) makes a little "+" button appear right under your cursor. You can then instantly place an order, set an alert, or draw a price line without clicking through menus.
For the complete, official list of every shortcut, always check TradingView's own Shortcuts page. It's the definitive source for all the latest commands. (TradingView)
Two Quick Trading Setups You Can Steal Right Now
Here are a couple of my favorite TradingView layouts. They're simple to copy and can make a real difference in how you see the market.
A) The Clean Day Trading Setup (2–4 charts)
This is my go-to for fast-paced action during the main trading hours.
- Look and Feel: I prefer a dark theme with a low-contrast grid. The trick is to make the candle borders and wicks pop with a bright color. Once you have one chart looking perfect, just use Appearance → Apply to all to instantly copy it to every chart in your layout.
- Timeframes: I keep 1-minute, 5-minute, and 15-minute charts open. Make sure to click Layout → Sync interval so they all move together when you zoom in or out.
- Keeping it Clean: The status line at the top can get busy. Feel free to hide the market status if you find it distracting.
- Trading Hours: If you're active before or after the bell, enable Extended Hours. You can adjust the tint so the pre-market and post-market action is visible but doesn't overwhelm the main session's price action.
- Indicators: Save your favorite combination of indicators—like a VWAP with a few moving averages—as an Indicator Template. This lets you apply your whole strategy to any chart with one click.
- Drawing Tools: Use the Object Tree to manage your trendlines and levels. For a cleaner view, you can set drawings from a higher timeframe to only appear when you're looking at a 15-minute chart or lower.
B) The Swing Trading Layout (1–2 charts)
This setup is all about catching the bigger moves and staying focused on the overall trend.
- Timeframes: I stick with Daily and Weekly charts here. Using Heikin Ashi candles can really help smooth out the noise and make the underlying trend much easier to spot.
- Appearance: A neutral background works best for me. The key is to have strong contrast for the price bars and your most important indicators, like RSI and Volume.
- Relative Strength: Use the Compare function to overlay a benchmark like the SPY (S&P 500) or QQQ (Nasdaq). This instantly shows you if your stock is stronger or weaker than the overall market.
- Scales: Turn on the % scale on the right-hand y-axis. When you're comparing multiple assets, the percentage change is what really matters, and this keeps everything on an even playing field.
| Feature | Intraday Scalping Layout | Swing/Position Layout |
|---|---|---|
| Best For | Fast, short-term trades | Capturing longer-term trends |
| Core Timeframes | 1m, 5m, 15m | Daily, Weekly |
| Chart Type | Standard Candles | Heikin Ashi (recommended) |
| Key Tools | VWAP, EMA Templates, Object Tree | Compare Function, % Scale, Volume |
| Session Hours | Extended Hours (often enabled) | Regular Session (typically) |
11) Your Quick-Fix Guide: "Where Did That Setting Go?"
We've all been there—you're in the middle of analyzing a chart, and suddenly a tool or setting seems to have vanished. Don't worry, it's usually just a click away. Here's a simple checklist for those common "Where did it go?" moments.
| Common Question | Quick Solution |
|---|---|
| Can't find the price scale controls? | Head over to the Adjust scales hub. All the toggles for inverting the scale, moving it left or right, merging scales, and changing the currency label are waiting for you there. |
| Why does the time look wrong? | This is almost always a time zone setting. You can fix it by clicking the clock icon on the bottom bar or by going into Settings → Symbol. |
| Where did all my drawings go? | Your lines and shapes are safe! Just reopen the Object Tree & Data Window. It's a great tool to not only find them but also to sort and group your drawings to tidy everything up. |
| Is your chart super cluttered with indicators? | You can hide any indicator by clicking the little eye icon on its title bar. If you want to remove it completely, just use the trash can icon. Remember, you can always re-add a saved setup from your Templates for a quick reset. |
| Did your layout not save? | This can be frustrating. The most reliable way to fix this is to follow the official Charts not saving / not syncing guide—it walks you through diagnosing and recovering your work. |
Your Quick, Step-by-Step Guide to Customizing Your TradingView Chart
Want to make your TradingView chart look and work exactly how you want? It's easier than you think. Here's a straightforward walkthrough to edit pretty much everything.
- Open Settings: Click the gear icon (⚙️) at the top of your chart, or try double-clicking on the price bars themselves.
- Symbol Tab: This is where you set the foundation. Choose your chart type (like Candles or Heikin Ashi), decide if you want to see after-hours trading, and set your preferred timezone.
- Status Line: Control what information you see at the top of the chart, such as whether the market is currently open or closed.
- Scales: Adjust the price scale on the right. You can move it to the left, invert the values, or change what units are displayed.
- Appearance: This is your chart's "look and feel" control center. Change the background color, grid style, and even toggle between a Dark or Light theme to match your vibe.
- Indicators: To add an indicator, click the "Indicators" button. Once an indicator is on your chart, click its gear icon to edit its settings or the trash can to remove it. Love your setup? Save it as an Indicator Template to use again instantly.
- Drawings: All the lines and shapes you draw with the toolbar on the left can be managed in the Object Tree. This is your hub for hiding, showing, and organizing all your drawings, making it super easy to find what you need.
- Multi-chart layout: Want to view several charts at once? Pick a grid layout. You can sync the symbols and timeframes across them and use Apply to all to make them look uniform.
- Compare: See how your stock is doing against a major index or a competitor by adding a comparison.
- Save the layout: Don't forget this crucial last step! Save your layout so all your hard work is waiting for you the next time you log in, on any device. If it's not saving, there's a specific guide for that.
| Step | Action | Key Features/Functions (TradingView) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open Settings | Gear icon or double-click bars |
| 2 | Symbol tab | Choose chart type (Candles, Bars, Heikin Ashi); toggle Extended Hours or Electronic sessions highlight; set Timezone. |
| 3 | Status Line | Show/hide items (e.g., open market status). |
| 4 | Scales | Position left/right, invert, merge, show currency/units. |
| 5 | Appearance | Background, grid, watermark, session breaks; set Dark/Light theme if desired. |
| 6 | Indicators | Add, edit (gear), remove (trash); save Indicator Template. |
| 7 | Drawings | Place tools from the left toolbar; manage via Object Tree (hide/show/group/visibility by interval; sort to find fast). |
| 8 | Multi-chart layout | Pick a grid, sync symbols/intervals; use Apply to all to standardize appearance. |
| 9 | Compare | Key benchmarks or peers. |
| 10 | Save the layout | So it persists across sessions and devices. If not, consult the save/sync guide. |
Your Top TradingView Editing Questions, Answered
Here are the answers to the most common "how do I edit..." questions we get about TradingView.
Q1: How do I switch my chart to Heikin Ashi? It's super easy. Just open the chart type menu on the top toolbar—it's the one that probably says "Candles" or "Bars"—and select Heikin Ashi from the list.
Q2: Can I make all my charts look the same at once? Absolutely! You don't have to change each chart individually. After you get one chart looking perfect, just go into Chart Settings and use the Apply to all option. It's a huge time-saver.
Q3: How do I get rid of the shaded area for pre-market and after-hours trading? That shaded area is the Extended Hours session. To hide it, simply click the ETH button in the bottom-right corner of the chart. If you want more control over how it looks, you can find those options in Settings → Symbol.
Q4: I hid a drawing or indicator by accident. How do I get it back? No worries, it happens to everyone. Open the Object Tree & Data Window on the right-side toolbar. You'll see a full list of everything on your chart, and you can show, hide, or delete any item from there.
Q5: My layout isn't saving or syncing to the cloud. What's wrong? This can be frustrating. The best first step is to use TradingView's own not saving/not syncing help guide. It's a bundled resource designed to walk you through recovering drawings and making sure your device sync is turned on.
Q6: How do I change the time zone on my chart? Click on the clock icon at the very bottom of the chart. Alternatively, you can navigate to Settings → Symbol and find the Timezone setting there.
Q7: Is there a fast way to hide all my drawings at once? Yes! If you want a clean view of the price action without all your lines and shapes, go to the left toolbar, find the Hide options menu (it looks like an eye icon), and select Hide Drawings.
Q8: Where can I find a list of keyboard shortcuts? All the official shortcuts are listed on TradingView's Shortcuts page. One pro tip: if you want to place an order or set an alert right where your cursor is, hold down Alt+Ctrl (on Windows) or ⌥⌘ (on a Mac). A "+" button will appear under your cursor, making it really quick.
| Platform | Key Combo | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | Alt + Ctrl | Reveals the "+" button under your cursor |
| Mac | ⌥ + ⌘ | Reveals the "+" button under your cursor |
14) Best-practice editing principles (so your chart stays useful)
Keeping your charts clean and effective isn't just about looking good—it's about making your trading decisions faster and easier. Here are a few habits I've picked up that make a huge difference.
- Clarity is your best friend. I've found that simple, neutral backgrounds with high-contrast colors for your bars and indicators are the easiest to read at a glance. It's tempting to use flashy, neon themes, but they often make the important data harder to see, not easier.
- Keep your timeframes organized. For your drawings, like trend lines or support levels, use the Object Tree to set their Visibility on intervals. This lets you keep your long-term analysis on the weekly chart from cluttering up your 5-minute view. It's a game-changer for staying focused.
- Save your winning setups. Once you have a combination of indicators that works well for you, save it as an indicator template. That way, if you open a new chart or something gets reset, you can rebuild your entire setup in seconds. No more wasting time trying to remember which slider you adjusted.
- Stay consistent across charts. After you've perfectly tuned one chart, use the Apply to all feature. This standardizes your look across all your symbols and timeframes, so your eyes won't get whiplash from switching between different styles.
- Do a periodic cleanup. Every so often, sort your drawings by last modified. This quickly shows you which levels you're still using and which are old and irrelevant. Purging these stale drawings keeps your workspace light and prevents analysis paralysis.
Your Next Steps (try this now)
Getting your TradingView chart set up just right might seem like a small thing, but it makes a huge difference. It's like organizing your desk before you start working—everything is easier to find and you can focus on what matters. Here's a simple, step-by-step guide to get you from a default chart to your perfect trading workspace.
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Start with the Basics: Click the settings gear icon (or double-click the price bars) to open the chart settings. This is where you set the stage. Choose your background color, decide if you want a grid, pick a theme, and add a watermark if you like. The best part? Once you're happy, just click "Apply to all" to make these your new defaults.
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Choose How You View Price: Not all chart types are created equal. If you love detail and seeing every price movement, stick with Candles. If you find all the noise distracting and want to see smoother, clearer trends, switch to Heikin Ashi.
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Sync with Your Time: Make sure the chart is on your schedule. Go into the settings and set your local time zone. Also, enable Extended Hours Trading (ETH) so the daily opening and closing bars accurately reflect the full trading session you're watching.
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Add Your Go-To Indicators: Only add the indicators you actually understand and use. Clutter is the enemy. Once you've added them, tweak their settings and colors to your liking. Then, be sure to Save an Indicator Template. This saves the whole group so you can load them all with one click later.
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Declutter Your Drawings: Over time, charts collect old trend lines and shapes. Go to the Object Tree (the little flag icon) to see everything you've ever drawn. Here you can delete old clutter, group related drawings, and even set them to only appear on certain timeframes.
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Build a Multi-Timeframe View: To really see the full picture, create a multi-chart layout. For example, you can have your 1-day, 4-hour, 1-hour, and 15-minute charts all on one screen. Make sure to sync them so they all show the same stock and timeframe. When it's perfect, save the entire thing as a Layout.
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Learn a Few Shortcuts: Speed up your workflow by learning just three hotkeys you'll use all the time. Think about the actions you do most—like opening the settings panel, doing a quick symbol search, or placing an order. Mastering a few shortcuts makes everything feel smoother.
And that's it! By following these steps, you've done more than just change a few colors. You've built a clean, focused workspace that will automatically load every time you open TradingView, on any device.