Vertical and Horizontal Scaling (Hi-Res version)

Much of the price scaling is controlled by how the instrument is initially setup.  When viewing a chart press ALT+A on the keyboard to open the Setup Intruments window. Set the display format to match that of your symbol, press OK. If the chart does not immediately adjust, change the time frame on the chart to force a complete "redraw" of the chart.

HOW TO ADJUST THE PRICE SCALE
MarketDelta contains 3 different primary chart types: Footprint, Market Profile, and Traditional. Each offers a slightly different method to adjust the price scaling.

FOOTPRINT CHART- Preferences | General Tab | set the price range of each row to something other than automatic.  A shortcut is to hold SHIFT down and use the scroll wheel on the mouse or use UP and DOWN arrows on the keyboard.

MARKET PROFILE CHART - Preferences | Letter Tab | set the price range of each TPO/letter to Custom Range and specify the range. A shortcut is to hold SHIFT down and use the scroll wheel on the mouse or use UP and DOWN arrows on the keyboard.

TRADITIONAL CHART - There are many more advanced options for traditional charts as described below.

• Vertical Scale Preferences
• Scaling Methods
  • Automated based on all data values
  • Automated based on instrument only
  • Manual scaling from X to Y
  • Range-based scaling
    
    • Range
    • Pixels/Unit
    • % of Price
    • % of Pane
    • Slope (Price/Bar)
• Switching Quickly Between Scaling Methods
• Adjusting scale by dragging/clicking
• Multiple Scaling
• Ordering Chart Elements in a Pane
• Custom Markings
• Font Sizes
• Logarithmic Scaling
• Panning

Scaling Methods
The “Scaling Method” groupbox in the vertical scale preferences dictates the method that will be used to determine the “range” of the vertical scale of that pane. The “range” represents the span between the maximum and minimum values that will be displayed in the vertical scale. A detailed description of each method follows...

o      Automatic based on all data values
This is the most common, and therefore the default method. All new chart window panes will inherit this method by default. This method considers all the values in the window pane, and computes the range based on the highest high and lowest low actual values. The scale is automatically adjusted to reflect the data that is visible in the chart pane. If multiple elements exist in the pane, it considers the values of all elements when determining the maximum and minimum scaled values (assuming all elements are sharing the same scale – see “Multiple Scaling” for more information). The scale range can change as new bars come in (and fall off), or as the chart is scrolled left or right, or as the chart is resized horizontally (causing the number of visible bars to change).

o       Automatic based on instrument only
This method is similar to the first method (Automated based on all data values), except it only considers the instrument values when computing the scale range. This option can be useful when a long term (200-period) moving average also exist in the window pane, having extreme values that might be well outside the extreme values of the instrument. This method forces the scale range to consider only the instrument values. In this case, the instrument will then use the full range of the scale, while the long term moving average may go off the top and/or bottom of the scale.

o      Manual Scaling from X to Y
This method allows the user to manually specify the maximum (Y) and minimum (X) values in the scaling range. The range will stay constant, regardless of new bars coming in, scrolling, or vertical resizing. The scale range will not be automatically adjusted to reflect the actual data values in the pane.

o      Range-Based Scaling
[Automatic/Manual] scaling based on fixed [Range, Pixels/Unit, % of Price, % of Pane, Slope] of Z
The primary motivation behind range-based scaling is to provide a method to keep the vertical height of price, vertical relationships between prices, and even price/time relationships, constant. Range-Based scaling gives the user 5 different options of controlling the range of the vertical scale. Each of the 5 options can be set to automatic of manual. The automatic option will center the specified range on the “actual” range of values in the chart pane. The manual option gives the user the ability to drag the range up or down as needed provide the picture desired. If the automatic option is selected, dragging the pane up or down will reset the scale to manual mode and allow the user to position his range accordingly. It is recommended to begin with automated, and then position the range manually by dragging.

Some of the following range-based values are hard for the user to compute. By simply entering a value of “0”, or leaving the value blank, MarketDelta will automatically compute the best-fit value that will cause the computed range to equal the actual range. This computed value can then be adjusted manually by dragging if desired, or by re-opening the preference window and adjusting directly.

Range
This option allows the user to specify a fixed range of values for the vertical scale. The spread between the maximum and minimum scaled values will remain constant. For instance, if the user specified an automated range of 4, and the actual range was 5 to 7, then the visible range shown by the vertical scale would be 4 to 8. If the user pans or scrolls the pane vertically, the minimum and maximum values will change, but the range (difference between them) will remain constant.

Pixels/Unit
This option essentially gives the user control over the vertical resolution of the window pane. It is the vertical equivalent of the horizontal “pixels per bar” preference available in the chart preferences. It dictates the number of pixels that will be used to represent each one price unit (dollar, pound, etc.). If a value of 100 is specified on a chart of MSFT for instance, the each 100 pixels vertical segment represents a $1 range.

§         % of Price
This option allows the user to specify the range as a percentage of the actual price. The maximum value in the actual range will be used for the price. For instance, if a value of 5 % is specified, and the maximum actual value in the chart pane is $100, then the price range would be $5 (5% of $100). This option may be helpful when frequently switching symbols.

§         % of Pane
This option allows the user to specify the range as a percentage of the actual range. For instance, a value of 80%, on a pane with an actual range of $10 (max $100, min $90) would result in a range of $8 (showing $91 to $99 in automatic mode). Similarly, a value of 120%would result in a range of $12 ($89 to $101 in automatic mode). This option can be helpful if the user likes to see more or less room on either side of the actual data in the chart.

§         Slope (Price/Bar)
This option may be the most difficult to completely comprehend, but may be the most useful when trying to maintain constant price/time relationships regardless of scrolling, panning, or resizing. This option allows the user to specify a fixed relationship between price vertically and time horizontally. It basically passes control of the range over to the horizontal pixels per bar setting. The setting controls how much price the width of each bar represents. In other words, if a value of 0.5 is specified, and the horizontal pixels per bar is 10 pixels, then the vertical scale will be drawn with 10 pixels for every 50 cents, or a pixels/unit of 20. The vertical range is then computed based on 20 pixels/unit. While the explanation may be somewhat confusing, the important thing to understand is this option gives you the ability to maintain a constant picture with respect to price/time relationships. In other words, trendlines will maintain their slopes regardless of the vertical size of the chart, the actual date values in the pane, or the scrolled position of the chart. And trendlines will continue to pass through the same prices of every bar regardless.