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Pine Script Plot Styles: Making Your Charts Look Better

· 3 min read
Pineify Team
Pineify Team

So you've been playing around with Pine Script and want to make your charts look better? The plot function is your best friend here. It's basically how you get your calculated data to show up on the chart, and there are tons of different ways to display it.

What's This Plot Style Thing?​

Think of plot styles like different brushes for painting. The plot() function is your canvas, and the style parameter tells it whether to draw a line, fill an area, make little dots, or whatever else you want. Each style has its own vibe and works better for different types of data.

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The Different Styles You Can Use​

Here's what you've got to work with:

  • Line (plot.style_line): Just a regular line connecting your data points. This is what you get if you don't specify anything else.
  • Step Line (plot.style_stepline): Makes these cool staircase patterns. Perfect when your data jumps from one value to another instead of smoothly transitioning.
  • Area (plot.style_area): Fills in the space between your line and the bottom of the chart. Great when you want to show the "weight" of something.
  • Histogram (plot.style_histogram): Those bar-looking things you see on volume indicators. Each bar's height shows the value.
  • Columns (plot.style_columns): Similar to histograms but the bars are always the same width. Also popular for volume stuff.
  • Circles and Crosses (plot.style_circles, plot.style_cross): Just puts little shapes where your data points are. Super useful for marking specific events or signals.

You can mess with colors, line thickness, and transparency to make everything look exactly how you want.

Picking the Right Style​

This is where it gets fun. What style you pick really depends on what story your data is trying to tell:

  • Lines work great for things like moving averages or price data - stuff that flows smoothly
  • Histograms or columns are perfect for volume data or anything that comes in chunks
  • Areas are awesome when you want to show ranges or emphasize how much space something takes up
  • Shapes are your go-to for highlighting specific moments - like "hey, look at this signal!"

Here's how you'd set up a basic plot:

plot(series=close, title="Close Price", color=color.blue, linewidth=2, style=plot.style_line)

Pro tip: You can even let users pick their own plot style by adding input options to your script. Makes it way more flexible.

Making It Look Even Better​

Want to take it up a notch? You can make your plots change colors based on what's happening. Like, green when the market's going up, red when it's going down. Just use the color parameter and you can either set fixed colors or make them change dynamically based on your conditions.

The cool thing is, once you get the hang of these different styles, you'll start seeing opportunities everywhere to make your charts more readable and just plain cooler looking.