TradingCharts

Cyclic Lines

Anchor the two points on consecutive significant lows (or highs) and see whether later lines land near subsequent turns.

What it draws

Draws a series of equally spaced vertical lines across the chart, with the spacing defined by one measured interval. It is the quickest way to test whether a market is turning on a regular time rhythm.

How to draw it

  1. Pick Cyclic Lines from the left toolbar (Cycles group).
  2. Two anchor points: click at the first reference bar, then at a second bar to set the cycle interval. The chart repeats vertical lines at that same bar spacing across the visible range.

How traders use it

  • Anchor the two points on consecutive significant lows (or highs) and see whether later lines land near subsequent turns.
  • Use upcoming lines as time windows to watch for reversals rather than as exact turn dates.
  • Combine with a price-based signal — a reversal candle or divergence inside the cycle window is far stronger than the line alone.
  • Redraw from fresh pivots periodically; real market cycles drift and the fixed spacing will slowly fall out of phase.

Settings reference

Double-click the drawing (or use its floating toolbar → gear) to open settings:

Setting Control Possible values Default Effect
Period (bars) number 1–500 20 Number of bars between repeated cycle lines/arcs — the pattern repeats at this interval across the chart.
Color color any color (theme color picker) #05B878 Main stroke color of the drawing — lines, outlines and (unless overridden) labels derive from it.
Line Width select 1px | 2px | 3px | 4px 2px Stroke thickness of the drawing’s lines and outlines.
Line Style select Solid | Dashed | Dotted Solid Dash pattern used for the drawing’s lines.
[Tab] Text — Text checkbox + textarea on/off, with a multiline text box for the label content off (on when the drawing already carries text) Enables an attached text label on the drawing; typing in the box auto-enables it and updates the label live.
[Tab] Text — Text Color color any color same as the drawing’s line color Color of the attached text label.
[Tab] Text — Font Size select 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 48, 64, 72 14 Point size of the attached label text.
[Tab] Text — Bold checkbox on/off (B toggle button) off Renders the label in bold.
[Tab] Text — Italic checkbox on/off (I toggle button) off Renders the label in italics.
[Tab] Text — Word Wrap checkbox on/off off Wraps long label text onto multiple lines instead of one long line.
[Tab] Text — Text alignment (vertical) select Top | Middle | Bottom Top Vertical placement of the label relative to the drawing.
[Tab] Text — Text alignment (horizontal) select Left | Center | Right Center Horizontal placement of the label relative to the drawing.
[Tab] Coordinates number + datetime one row per anchor point: price (number, step 0.05) and local date/time the drawing’s current anchor values Edits anchor geometry numerically — changing a point’s price or time moves the drawing live on the chart.
[Tab] Visibility checkbox + number range interval buckets: Ticks; Seconds 1–59; Minutes 1–59; Hours 1–24; Days 1–366; Weeks 1–52; Months 1–12; Ranges (each bucket has an on/off checkbox, most also a from–to range) visible on all intervals Per-timeframe visibility rules — untick a bucket to hide the drawing on those chart resolutions, or narrow the from–to range within a bucket.

Editing & managing

  • Move / adjust: drag the drawing or any anchor handle; magnet mode snaps points to OHLC values.
  • Clone / lock / hide / delete from the floating toolbar or right-click menu.
  • Templates: save the current style from the settings dialog and reapply it to new drawings.
  • Every action is undoable (⌘Z / Ctrl+Z).

Watch out for

  • Fixed-interval lines assume a perfectly stable cycle, which markets rarely sustain — treat hits beyond the first few projections as increasingly coincidental.