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Chart types explained: candles, bars, line, Heikin Ashi and more

Chart types in SuperCharting: candles, hollow candles, bars, line, area, baseline, Heikin Ashi, high-low and columns, and when each one helps.

A chart type is the way each bar of price is drawn. SuperCharting offers 21 of them from the chart type button in the top toolbar: the time-based types (candles, hollow candles, bars, line, area, baseline, Heikin Ashi, high-low, columns and their variants), three intrabar types and five non-time types. The right one depends on whether you care about the open-to-close story, the trend line, or noise reduction.

The full list in the chart type menu

The menu groups the types the same way every time you open it:

Click the star next to a type to mark it as a favourite. The type is saved with the chart, so a layout can show NSE:NIFTY as candles in one cell and as a line in the next. Volume candles and the intrabar types are covered in volume candles and footprint, and Renko, Kagi, Line break and Point & figure in non-time charts.

Candles, hollow candles and bars

Candles

Each candle shows open, high, low and close. The body runs from open to close, green when the close is at or above the open and red when below, and the wicks reach the high and the low. Candles are the default because they show both the range and who won the bar at a glance. In Settings > Symbol you can switch Color bars based on previous close on, and colour the body, borders and wick separately for up and down bars.

Hollow candles

Candles that close above their open are drawn hollow (outline only) and those that close below are filled. Traders who read momentum like this because a run of hollow candles stands out from a run of filled ones even when the colours are hard to tell apart on a small screen.

Bars

OHLC bars draw a vertical line from high to low with a tick to the left for the open and a tick to the right for the close. They take less ink than candles, so more bars fit before the chart looks crowded, and many traders who learned on printed charts still read them faster.

Line, area and baseline

Line, Line with markers and Step line

A line joins one price per bar, by default the close. Price source in Settings > Symbol can change it to open, high, low, (H + L)/2, (H + L + C)/3 or (O + H + L + C)/4. A line hides the intrabar noise, which makes it the clearest way to see swing structure or to compare two markets. Line with markers adds a dot on each bar when you are zoomed in enough, and Step line moves flat then vertical, useful for prices that change in steps such as interest rates.

Area and HLC area

Area fills the space under the line with a fading colour, a clean view for a weekly or monthly chart. HLC area draws the high, low and close lines and fills the space between high and close and between close and low, so you see the bar's range and where it closed without candle bodies.

Baseline

Baseline draws a dashed level across the middle of the visible price range. The part of the line above it is green with a green fill and the part below is red. It is a quick way to see whether price spent the session above or below a middle value.

Heikin Ashi, high-low and columns

Heikin Ashi

Heikin Ashi candles are averaged. Each close is (open + high + low + close) / 4 and each open is the midpoint of the previous Heikin Ashi open and close. The result is smoother: trends show as long runs of one colour with few opposite candles. Because the bodies are averages, the last-price label on the price scale shows the real market close by default, so you know where price actually is. Switch off Real prices on price scale in Settings > Symbol to show the Heikin Ashi close instead.

High-low

Each bar is a box from the low to the high with no open or close. It answers one question: how wide was the range? Use it to spot range contraction before a breakout and range expansion after one.

Columns

One column per bar rises from the lowest close on screen to the bar's close, green when the close is at or above the previous close and red when below. It reads like a bar chart in a report and suits a daily close study.

How to change the chart type in SuperCharting

1. Click the chart you want to change, so it is the active chart in the layout.
2. Click the chart type button in the top toolbar (its tooltip names the current type, for example Candles).
3. Pick a type, for example Heikin Ashi.
4. To adjust it, click Settings (the gear in the top toolbar) and open the Symbol tab. The rows there change with the chart type.
5. The choice is saved with the chart and the layout.

Example: the same chart three ways

Open NSE:RELIANCE on a 1-hour chart. As Candles, the last two weeks show a mix of green and red bodies with long wicks near a resistance zone. Switch to Heikin Ashi and the same period becomes one long run of green with two small red candles, which tells you the trend held through the pullbacks. Switch to Line with the close as the source and the swing highs and lows become plain to see, ready for a trend line from the drawing tools. Nothing about the data changed; only the drawing did.

Which chart type to use when

• Entries and exits on intraday charts: candles or bars, because the open, wicks and close matter.
• Following a trend without reacting to every bar: Heikin Ashi, or Renko on a custom interval such as 5 minutes.
• Comparing markets or reading long history: line or area, with Compare symbols for a second market.
• Range and volatility: high-low, or HLC area.
• Where volume traded inside the bar: Volume footprint or Session volume profile.

Indicators work on every type. On Heikin Ashi they are calculated from the real bars, not the averaged ones, so an RSI reads the same whichever type you look at.

Frequently asked questions

Do indicators change when I switch chart type?

On time-based types they are calculated from the market's own bars, so switching from candles to Heikin Ashi or line does not change an RSI or moving average value.

Can each chart in a layout have its own type?

Yes. The type is stored per chart, so a 4-chart layout can mix candles, Heikin Ashi, line and Renko.

Why does Heikin Ashi's last price differ from the quote?

The Heikin Ashi candle is an average of the bar, so its body can sit away from the last trade. The label on the price scale shows the real close unless you switch off Real prices on price scale in Settings > Symbol.

Which type is best for beginners?

Candles. Most trading lessons use them, and every other type is easier to learn once candles are familiar.