What it draws
The Andrews Pitchfork draws a median line from a pivot through the midpoint of the next swing's two extremes, with two parallel tines through those extremes. It projects a forward-sloping channel whose median line price is statistically drawn toward.
How to draw it
- Pick Pitchfork from the left toolbar (Pitchforks group).
- Three points: click the initial pivot (a major high or low), then the next swing high, then the next swing low (or vice versa). The median line and tines are drawn automatically; drag any of the three anchors to adjust.
How traders use it
- Andrews' rule of thumb: price returns to the median line most of the time — trade pullbacks from the tines back toward the median.
- Holding above the median line in an up-fork is trend strength; repeated failure to reach the median warns the move is weakening and may break the near tine.
- Use the outer tines as dynamic support/resistance for entries with stops just beyond the tine.
- Add midlines (50% lines between median and tines) or warning lines beyond the tines for finer reaction levels in fast markets.
Settings reference
Double-click the drawing (or use its floating toolbar → gear) to open settings:
| Setting | Control | Possible values | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitchfork Levels | levels-editor | per level: visible checkbox, value (number, step 0.001), color swatch, line style (solid/dashed/dotted), delete; "+ Add Level" appends a new level | 0.25 (hidden), 0.382 (hidden), 0.5, 0.618 (hidden), 0.75 (hidden), 1, 1.5 (hidden), 1.75 (hidden), 2 (hidden) | Defines the parallel level lines drawn either side of the median line — each level’s visibility, multiplier, color and dash pattern is editable, and levels can be added or removed. |
| Color | color | any color (theme color picker) | #05B878 | Color of the median line and level lines. |
| 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. |
| Fill Color | color | any color | #05B878 | Background fill color between the pitchfork level lines. |
| Fill Opacity | slider | 0–100 | 4 | Opacity of the background fill between the level 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
- The entire fork depends on picking the three correct pivots — choose different swings and every line moves, so validate the fork with an actual touch-and-respect before trading it.