How you edit and set up your forex charts depends in part on the software you are using, but there are also some features that you can adapt to suit your personal preferences. There are some items that you can configure to make it easier to read and understand the graphs. The remainder of the configuration process will be system-based and include adding certain indicators to the chart. Some trading programs such as MetaTrader allow storing custom chart settings such as templates which can later be loaded onto the chart of any currency pair and on any time frame. Chart templates save a significant portion of a forex trader's time and effort.
The first step is to open a chart window for the currency pair you want and then choose the desired time frame. If you are a newcomer to the world of forex trading, the term frame here refers to the time length of each candle on the chart. For example, the 1 hour frame on the GBP/JPY pair indicates that each candlestick represents the movement of the pair over a one hour period. Changing the time frame is different from zooming in or out on a chart whose job is to zoom in or out of the candles themselves. If you want to see the movement of the pair on a large scale you can zoom out the chart. If you are looking for details, you can enlarge the chart window without adjusting the time frame.
It is also useful to change the colors of the chart to suit your preferences, and you can also adjust the settings for the display of candles. Some people prefer to see candles in a certain shape, while others see these shapes as distracting. However, it is always recommended to set up the trading software so that the chart displays the opening, high, low and close levels of each candlestick. You can set the chart settings so that the bullish candles are green and bearish are red (or any combination of colors you prefer) as this will help you distinguish the price action at one glance. You can also change the background color to suit the colors of the candles and your personal preference.
After completing these basic settings, you can move on to placing forex indicators on the chart, such as moving averages, stochastic oscillators, MACD and others. Do not overload the chart with more indicators than you need because reducing the intensity of the displayed elements will help you to avoid contradictory signals due to the multiplicity of indicators. The main objective of a trading system or method is to find the simplest combination of indicators that can be used in predicting the next price destination. You can rely on fundamental analysis if you are able to interpret economic indicators, or alternatively you can use price models. Regardless of which method you settle on, you should test it thoroughly before applying to the real account.
You can save chart settings (including colors, indicators and other settings) as a template in the MetaTrader platform by clicking on the template icon in the upper corner (the window shows two charts in small size). If you right-click on the graph, a drop-down menu will appear in which you can choose Template -> Save Template to save your templates and use them at a later time. You can then use the same chart settings for any currency pair and on any time frame by clicking on the dropdown menu and selecting the desired template from the list.