What it shows
An HLC area chart draws three series per period, the high, low and close, and shades the band between the high line and the low line, with the close line running inside the band. It combines the readability of a line chart with a visible representation of each period's range. The width of the band shows volatility over time.
How it's built
For each fixed time interval the high, low and close are plotted as separate lines; the region between the high and low lines is filled to form a range envelope and the close line is drawn on top. The chart is uniformly time-based.
Switch to it
Open the chart-type menu in the header (next to the interval buttons) and pick HLC area — or pin it as a favourite for one-click switching.
When to use it
- Watching volatility expansion and contraction as a widening or narrowing band
- Keeping range information visible while still reading a clean close line
- Comparing where closes sit within each period's range across a swing
Settings reference
Open Chart Settings (gear, or double-click the chart background) with this type active. Every setting, its possible values and what it changes:
| Setting | Control | Possible values | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High line | checkbox + color + line-style | on/off; any color; Solid/Dashed/Dotted | on; #00bcd4; Solid | Shows the line tracing each bar's high, with its own color and dash style. Unchecked hides the high line while keeping the fills. |
| High line width | slider | 1 to 4 | 2 | Thickness of the high line in pixels. |
| Low line | checkbox + color + line-style | on/off; any color; Solid/Dashed/Dotted | on; #e91e63; Solid | Shows the line tracing each bar's low, with its own color and dash style. Unchecked hides the low line. |
| Low line width | slider | 1 to 4 | 2 | Thickness of the low line in pixels. |
| Close line | checkbox + color + line-style | on/off; any color; Solid/Dashed/Dotted | on; #2962FF; Solid | Shows the middle line tracing each bar's close, with its own color and dash style. Unchecked hides the close line. |
| Close line width | slider | 1 to 4 | 2 | Thickness of the close line in pixels. |
| Fill (high–close / close–low) | two-colors | any color (upper band / lower band) | rgba(0, 188, 212, 0.25) / rgba(233, 30, 99, 0.25) | Colors of the two shaded bands: the first fills between the high and close lines, the second between the close and low lines. Semi-transparent colors let the grid show through. |
| Precision | select | Default, 0 (1), 1 (1.1), 2 (1.01), 3 (1.001), 4 (1.0001), 5 (1.00001), 6 (1.000001), 7 (1.0000001), 8 (1.00000001) | Default | Number of decimal places shown on the price scale and price readouts. Default derives the precision from the symbol's own price scale. |
Watch out for
- The open is not represented, so candle-style directional anatomy is unavailable