Description
The Volume Profile study represents trading activity over a time period at specified price levels. Considering the input-defined aggregation period, the Volume Profile plots a histogram showing price distribution, revealing the dominant price values in terms of volume. The width of histogram's row represents the number of actual transactions made within the price interval defined by the row's height.
The longest row of the Volume Profile defines the price level at which the highest number of real transactions were made during the specified time period; this level is called Point Of Control (POC). If there are several equally long rows that fit this description, the system chooses the closest to the price mid-range. Should the rows be equidistant from the mid-range, the system recognizes the lower one as the Point Of Control. By default, the price range surrounding the POC level where 70% of the trading activity took place for the specified time period is Value Area (note that the percentage is customizable within the "value area percent" input parameter).
Input Parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
price per row height mode
|
Defines the height setting mode for each row of the histogram. "AUTOMATIC" splits the trading range of the whole chart into 85 equal intervals. "TICKSIZE" defines the height of each row equal to the tick size of the charted symbol, and "CUSTOM" allows you to manually set the height of each row. |
custom row height
|
Defines the price interval to set the height of rows when "CUSTOM" mode is selected within the "price per row height mode" input. |
time per profile
|
Defines time interval to compile the volume data for the histogram. Setting this parameter to "CHART" involves the entire price plot into calculation. Values "BAR", "MINUTE", "HOUR", "DAY", "WEEK", "MONTH", and "OPT EXP" allow you to set aggregation manually, specifying number of these periods within the "multiplier" input. |
multiplier
|
Defines the number of periods to calculate the Volume Profile. Note that this setting is ignored if time per profile input is set to "CHART".
|
on expansion
|
Defines whether or not the profile is shown on the expansion area of the chart. For more information on the subgraph expansion, refer to the Time Axis Settings article. |
profiles
|
Defines the number of profiles to be displayed if "on expansion" input is set to "No". If "on expansion" input is set to "Yes" then "profiles" setting is ignored and only one profile is shown. |
show point of control
|
Defines whether or not to highlight the histogram row containing the POC price level. |
show value area
|
Defines whether or not to highlight the Value Area. |
value area percent
|
Defines the percentage of the trading activity for which the Value Area is determined. |
opacity
|
Defines the degree of histogram opacity, in percent. |
Plots
| Plot | Description |
|---|---|
POC
|
The Point Of Control plot. |
ProfileHigh
|
The highest price level reached within the specified time interval. |
ProfileLow
|
The lowest price level reached within the specified time interval. |
VAHigh
|
The highest price level of the Value Area. |
VALow
|
The lowest price level of the Value Area. |
Example*
*For illustrative purposes only. Not a recommendation of a specific security or investment strategy.
Past performance is no guarantee of future performance.