How To Use TradingView Charts: The Complete 2023 Guide

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With its extensive technical analysis capabilities, TradingView has become one of the most popular trading platforms among active investors and traders. The charts and visualization tools are some of the platform’s core strengths.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore all the key things you can do with TradingView charts to take your analysis to the next level. Whether you’re a beginner learning the basics or an experienced trader looking to master advanced features, read on to become a TradingView charting pro!

TradingView Chart Overview

TradingView charts allow traders to visualize market data like price, volume, indicators etc interactively. Some key elements include:

Price Axes – The y-axis shows the price range. You can toggle between linear or logarithmic scale.

Time Axes – The x-axis shows progression of time periods – from 1 minute up to 1 week.

Chart Types – Switch between candlestick, hollow candlestick, line, bar, colored bar, Heikin Ashi and more visual styles.

Drawing Tools – Annotation tools like trendlines, horizontal lines, shapes and text add markings to charts.

Indicators – Hundreds of technical indicators can be added like moving averages, RSI, MACD etc.

TradingView combines flexibility, customization, and ease-of-use to build feature-packed charts tailored to your workflow.

Performing Analysis on TradingView Charts

TradingView charts facilitate powerful technical analysis. Here are some key techniques:

Zoom In/Out – Click the Price Range or Time buttons to focus in on price action.

Annotate – Use drawing tools to mark support, resistance, trends, patterns etc.

Add Comparisons – Chart two or more tickers to compare indicators, trends etc side-by-side.

Switch Timeframes – Change the timeframe to identify trends across different time horizons.

Add Indicators – Insert indicators like Bollinger Bands, Moving Averages etc for deeper insights.

Save/Load Chart Templates – Save configured charts to reuse instead of recreating each time.

Spend time familiarizing yourself with all of TradingView’s charting capabilities to analyze markets like an expert.

Enhancing Analysis with Indicators

Indicators transform raw price data into actionable trading signals. Mastering key indicators is critical for any trader. Some of the most important include:

Moving Averages – Plot average price over time to determine trend and support/resistance levels.

MACD – Momentum indicator that shows changes in trend strength and direction.

RSI – Measures overbought/oversold levels and spot divergences predicting reversals.

Bollinger Bands – Bands adjust to volatility to identify sustained trends versus ranges.

Ichimoku Cloud – All-in-one trend and momentum indicator useful across assets.

Combine indicators that provide different perspectives rather than stacking too many similar ones to avoid clutter.

Access our advanced Fortune Trend Indicator For Tradingview

Backtesting Strategies with TradingView Charts

A powerful feature is backtesting trading systems on TradingView charts using historical data. You can build and optimize strategies by:

Coding rules and logic in Pine Script
Running extensive tests across years of data
Determining performance metrics like profit factor, drawdown etc
Optimizing parameters like indicators, stop loss etc
Evaluating viability before risking capital

Robust backtesting capability allows traders to validate strategies. Make sure to test across different assets and time periods.

Executing Trades from Charts

TradingView allows live trade execution directly from charts when linked to supported brokers like:

Oanda
FXCM
IG
TD Ameritrade
Coinbase

With a broker account connected, trades can be placed using:

Trading Panel – One-click buy/sell at market price
Orders Popup – Entry/exit orders like limits, stops etc
Position Panel – View and manage open positions

Always use stop losses on all trades. Only go live after paper trading first.

TradingView has a vibrant social community. You can leverage it through:

Sharing your chart analysis and ideas
Commenting on other traders’ charts
Joining chat rooms to discuss high-probability trades
Following experienced analysts

The community provides invaluable feedback to improve and alerts on potential opportunities. Actively participate to become a better trader.

Finding Trading Ideas with Scanning

The TradingView stock screener allows scanning for new trading setups based on technical criteria. Scan for:

Oversold RSI levels
Golden crosses and death crosses
Support / Resistance bounces
Breakouts from consolidation patterns
Volume and price spikes

Save scans to regularly run for high probability trade ideas across thousands of tickers.

Key Takeaways and Next Steps

TradingView provides one of the most comprehensive charting platforms available. But the learning doesn’t stop here. Some recommended next steps:

Practice chart patterns, trendlines, support/resistance
Study how indicators like RSI and MACD work
Code a basic strategy in Pine Script and backtest
Forward test strategies in paper trading
Read books on technical analysis theory
Join chat rooms and engage with the community

With continuous refinement of your TradingView charting skills, you can gain a true performance edge in the markets. The platform provides endless capabilities – it’s up to you to put them to work as a trader.