/*********************************************************************************************** Title: Manual Trendlines Indicator for eSignal By: Divergence Software, Inc. Web: http://www.sr-analyst.com ================================================================================================ Project Description: =================== This indicator allows you to plot trendlines using the EFS mouse interface. To create a trendline, you first click on the "T" button that appears at the bottom-left of your chart once the indicator has been loaded. Then you double-click on two points on the chart and the indicator will draw a line between those two points and extend it into the future by a user-defined number of bars. Multiple trendlines can be drawn on any chart by repeating the process outlined above. In addition, trendlines are saved for each symbol/interval combination. So if you use the indicator to draw several trendlines, then remove the indicator, and then load the indicator again, any trendlines that you created previously will be re-drawn. Many traders use the eSignal Line Tool to plot trendlines on their charts but, unfortunately, the eSignal Line Tool does not support alerts (i.e., generate an alert when price moves through a trendline). The Manual Trendline indicator does support alerts, both on-close and realtime. Steps to Draw a Trendline: ========================= 1. Load the ManualTrendlines.efs indicator into your chart. When loaded, you will see a small button at the lower-left of your chart labelled "T" (i.e., "T" for Trendline). 2. Click once on the "T" button. The "T" button will be replaced by a prompt "Double-Click on First Point...". Move your mouse cursor near the high or low of any bar on your chart and double-click. A triangle will appear above or below the point where you clicked. Double-clicking near the high of a bar will select the bar high as the trendline point. Double-clicking near the low of a bar will select the bar low as the trendline point. 3. The prompt will now change to "Double-Click on Second Point to Finish Trendline..." Move your mouse cursor near the high or low of the second bar and double-click. The new trendline will be drawn from the first point through the second point and extended into the future. The number of bars it is extended is governed by the TL Line Extension option in the indicator menu. Steps to Delete an Existing Trendline: ===================================== 1. Each trendline drawn by this indicator will have an "Action Tag" drawn just to the right of the end of the trendline. Just double-click your mouse on this Action Tag and the associated trendline will be removed. How the Trendline Alerts Operate: ================================ 1. If the "Alert on Close Only?" menu option is set to True, the indicator will check for alert conditions on the close of each bar. If a bar closes above a trendline (and the prior close was below or equal to the trendline) then an alert will be generated. If a bar closes below a trendline (and the prior bar was above or equal to the trendline) then an alert will be generated. 2. If the "Alert On Close Only?" menu option is set to False, the indicator will check for alert conditions on each new tick. If the high of a bar pushes above a trendline (and the high of the prior bar was below or equal to the trendline) then an alert will be generated. If the low of a bar pushes below a trendline (and the low of the prior bar was above or equal to the trendline) then an alert will be generated. Usage Notes: =========== Trendlines are stored and identified based on their first point. If several trendlines share the same first point, then all of the trendlines sharing that first point will be removed when one of the trendlines is deleted by double-clicking on the "Action Tag". Make sure that Log Scaling is turned off in any charts in which you plan to use the Manual Trendlines indicator. The trend lines will not display correctly if Log Scaling is being used. Right-click in the chart and select the "Scaling" option from the menu. If the "Log Scale" option is turned on, just click on it to turn it off. Indicator Parameters: ==================== TL Line Color: The color to use for drawing trendlines. All trendlines that you create on the chart will be drawn using this color. Action Tag Color: The color to use for drawing the action tag (used to delete trendlines) that is drawn just to the right of each trendline. Line Thickness: The line thickness to use when drawing the trendlines. Line Type: Line type to use when drawing the trendlines. Select from Solid, Dot, Dash, DashDot and DashDotDot. TL Line Extension: How many bars into the future to extend the trendlines. Default is 15 bars. Menu Button FG Color: The foreground color to use when drawing the "T" button that appears at the bottom-left of your chart once the indicator is loaded. The "T" button is used to start the trendlinee drawing process. BG Color: The background color to use when drawing the "T" button that appears at the bottom-left of your chart once the indicator is loaded. The "T" button is used to start the trendline drawing process. Vert Offset: The vertical offset (in pixels) at which to display the "T" button. You will only need to adjust this option if you are using other indicators or scripts that draw buttons at the lower-left of your chart. This option allows you to move the activator button out of the way of any other buttons. Horz Offset: The horizontal offset (in pixels) at which to display the "T" button. You will only need to adjust this option if you are using other indicators or scripts that draw buttons at the lower-left of your chart. This option allows you to move the activator button out of the way of any other buttons. Alert on Close Only? True or False. Set this option to True if you want the indicator to check for price crossing a trendline on bar close (i.e. price bar must close beyond the trendline). Set this option to False if you want the indicator to check for a trendline breach on every tick (i.e., as the realtime current bar updates, check to see if the high of the bar pushes up through a trendline or if the low of the bar pushes down through a trendline). Alert Use Sound?: True or False. Set this option to True to generate a sound alert when price breaks up through an upper trendline or when price breaks down through a lower trendline. Alert Use Popup?: True or False. Set this option to true to generate a popup alert when price breaks up through an upper trendline or when price breaks down through a lower trendline. Alert Use Email?: True or False. Set this option to True to generate an email alert when price breaks up through an upper trendline or when price breaks down through a lower trendline. Alert Up WAV File: Use this option to set the WAV file that will play when price pushes up through a trendline. Default WAV file is DING.WAV. Alert Dn WAV File: Use this option to set the WAV file that will play when price pushes down through a trendline. Default WAV file is WARNING.WAV. Indicator ID: If you need to load multiple copies of the indicator into the same chart (i.e., to have different line colors or different WAV files) then be that each copy has a different indicator ID. If you do need to load multiple copies you should save the chart after all copies of the indicator have been configured so that you do not have to repeat the process each time you use the chart. Disclaimer: For educational purposes only! Obviously, no guarantees whatsoever and use at your own risk. **********************************************************************/