Volume profile: fixed range, visible range and session profiles
The volume profile tools in SuperCharting: fixed range, visible range, session, periodic and auto anchored profiles, POC and value area, and the drawing tools.
A volume profile is a sideways histogram that shows how much volume traded at each price over a stretch of bars. The longest row is the point of control (POC), the price where the most business was done. SuperCharting has six volume profile indicators under the Profiles chip of the Indicators dialog, two profile drawing tools, a Session volume profile chart type and a simpler VPVR study. This page explains what each one covers and how to set it up.
POC, value area and how the rows are built
Every profile in the Profiles chip works the same way:
- The price range is cut into rows, 24 by default (Rows layout: Number of rows, or Ticks per row).
- Volume comes from the intrabars inside each chart bar: 1-minute candles on charts up to 15 minutes, 5-minute candles up to 2 hours, 15-minute candles on 4-hour and daily charts, and hourly candles above that. A chart bar without intrabar data counts as one candle.
- Each candle's volume is spread over the rows its high-low range covers. A candle closing at or above its open adds up volume, one closing below adds down volume.
- The POC is the row with the most volume. The value area grows out from the POC two rows at a time until it holds the chosen share of volume (Value area volume, 70%). Its top is the VAH and its bottom the VAL.
Volume can show Up/Down (two colours), Total, or Delta (up minus down).
The common settings
- Extend POC right, Extend VAH right and Extend VAL right carry those levels across later bars.
- On the Style side of Inputs: Values prints the volume per row, Width (% of the box) sets histogram width (30), and Placement puts it on the left or right.
- You also get colours for up, down and value-area volume, switches for the VAH, VAL and POC lines, and a Developing POC line showing how the POC moved during the period.
The six profile indicators
| Indicator | Range it covers | Key inputs |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed range volume profile | Bars between Start time and End time, or all loaded history until you set them | Start time, End time, Extend right |
| Visible range volume profile | The newest Visible bars bars (300), drawn against the right edge | Visible bars |
| Session volume profile | One profile per day on intraday charts (per month on daily and longer) | Sessions: All, Market only or Custom |
| Session volume profile HD | Same sessions, with row size set from the data (10 to 240 rows) | No row setting |
| Periodic volume profile | One profile per period | Period: 15, 30, 60, 120, 240, 1D, 1W, 1M |
| Auto anchored volume profile | From an anchor to the last bar | Anchor: Auto, Session, Week, Month, Quarter, Year, Highest high, Lowest low, Highest volume; Length 100 |
Two points to know:
- Visible range cannot read what is on your screen, because a script has no access to the chart view. It uses the newest N bars instead. Set Visible bars to roughly the number of bars you usually look at.
- Session volume profile has a Market session input that defaults to 0930-1600, a US cash session. For NSE stocks, set it to 0915-1530 and choose Market only. Times are in the exchange's time zone. These feeds carry no pre-market or after-hours data, so "All" means every bar of the day.
The Profiles chip also lists Time price opportunity and Session time price opportunity. They build market profiles that count time at each price, in 30-minute lettered blocks, instead of volume.
How to add a session volume profile in SuperCharting
- Open a chart, for example NSE:RELIANCE on the 15m interval.
- Click Indicators, choose Technicals and then the Profiles chip.
- Click Session volume profile. A profile appears for each day.
- Open Settings from the legend gear. Set Sessions to Market only and Market session to 0915-1530.
- Tick Extend POC right if you want yesterday's POC carried into today.
- Click Ok.
For a single swing, for example the last rally on XAUUSD 1h, use Auto anchored volume profile with Anchor period set to Lowest low and Length 100. It anchors at the lowest bar of the last 100 and profiles everything since.
Profile drawing tools and the chart type
Drawing tools
The drawing toolbar's Forecasting and measurement tools group has a Volume-based section with two profile tools:
- Fixed range volume profile: click a start bar and an end bar. The profile covers exactly that range.
- Anchored volume profile: click one bar. The profile runs from there to the latest bar.
These drawings are built from the chart's own bars rather than intrabars, so they are quicker to place but coarser than the indicators. They are the easiest way to profile a range you pick by eye. More tools are covered in drawing tools.
The Session volume profile chart type
The chart type menu also has Session volume profile, next to Volume footprint and Time price opportunity. It turns the whole chart into daily profiles built from intrabars. Its settings cover Volume (Up/Down, Total, Delta), Value area volume, Width, Placement and the VAH, VAL and POC lines. Footprints are covered in volume candles and footprint.
Simpler profiles in other sections
- Volume Profile (VPVR), under Fundamentals: a single profile over the latest 200 bars with 40 rows. It spreads each bar's volume evenly over its range, without intrabars, and has optional buy and sell split, value-area shading and a POC.
- Market Profile (TPO), also under Fundamentals: TPO rows for the last five sessions.
- Options Volume Profile, under the Options chip (Beta): a volume histogram of the chart's latest bars against the right edge.
Reading a profile
- High-volume rows near the POC are prices the market accepted. Price often slows down or rotates there.
- Low-volume rows are prices the market passed through quickly. Price tends to move through them fast again.
- Value area edges: opening outside yesterday's value area and failing to get back in is read as a sign of a trending day. Opening inside it suggests a range.
These readings are for study, not trading advice. A VWAP adds the volume-weighted average to the same picture.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my profile look blocky on a daily chart?
On daily and 4-hour charts the intrabars are 15-minute candles, and only as much finer history as the feed holds is available. Older bars without intrabars count as one candle each. Zoom in on an intraday chart for finer detail.
Does the volume profile need volume data?
Yes. Symbols whose feed has no volume, such as some indices, give empty profiles. Use a traded symbol, for example NSE:NIFTY1! instead of NSE:NIFTY.
Can I set alerts on POC or VAH?
The profile indicators define no alerts. Draw a horizontal line at the level and set a price alert at that price instead.
Which profile should I start with?
For day trading, Session volume profile with your market's hours. For a swing, Auto anchored or the Fixed range drawing tool. For a quick look at recent trade, Visible range.