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Every indicator in the TradeXtool builder in plain language: what it measures, how to use it, and where it misleads you.

Concepts

Speed and acceleration of an indicatorNot just where a line is, but how fast it moves and whether it speeds up.Gates and entriesWhen trading is allowed at all, and what has to happen to enter.Stops, targets and trailing stopsHow a trade ends, measured in ATR so it adapts to the market.TradeX Script: write the indicator yourselfWhen the list of indicators stops, a formula starts. One line of arithmetic over the series we already have.How to read a backtest honestlyWhat a backtest can tell you, and the ways it fools you.

Indicators

EMA (exponential moving average)The average price, with recent candles counting more.SMA (simple moving average)The plain average of the last n closes.WMA (weighted moving average)An average where weight falls off in a straight line.Hull moving averageA fast average that tries to cut the lag.VWAP (volume-weighted average price)The average price, weighted by how much was traded.SupertrendA trailing line based on volatility that flips between above and below the price.Parabolic SARDots that trail the price and speed up as a trend lasts.Ichimoku (tenkan and kijun)Two midpoints of recent highs and lows: a fast and a slow one.ADX (average directional index)How strong a trend is, not which way it goes.Donchian channelThe highest high and lowest low of the last n candles.RSI (relative strength index)Recent gains against recent losses, on a scale from 0 to 100.Stochastic oscillatorWhere the close sits inside the recent high to low range.Stoch RSIThe stochastic formula applied to RSI instead of price.MACDThe gap between a fast and a slow EMA, and how that gap changes.CCI (commodity channel index)How far price is from its average, in units of its usual deviation.Rate of changeThe % change over the last n candles.Williams %RLike the stochastic, on a scale from −100 to 0.ATR (average true range)How much the price usually moves per candle.Bollinger BandsAn average with bands a number of standard deviations above and below.Keltner channelAn EMA with bands a number of ATRs away.VolumeHow much was traded per candle, its average and the ratio between them.On-balance volumeA running total that adds volume on up candles and subtracts it on down candles.MFI (money flow index)An RSI that also weighs volume.AroonHow long ago the highest high and the lowest low were.Zero-lag EMAAn EMA that tries to remove its own delay.Volume weighted MAAn average where busy candles count more.EnvelopesA moving average with a fixed percentage band above and below.Heikin AshiSmoothed candles that hide small noise.Pivot pointsYesterday's high, low and close turned into three levels.TRIXThe % change of a triple-smoothed average.Ultimate oscillatorMomentum over three windows at once, to avoid one-window luck.True strength indexDouble-smoothed momentum, as a percentage.PPOMACD as a percentage, so you can compare coins.Know sure thingFour rates of change, smoothed and weighted into one line.Awesome oscillatorThe gap between a 5 and a 34 average of the candle midpoint.MomentumPrice now minus price n candles ago.Detrended pricePrice with the trend taken out, to show the cycle.Fisher transformPrice squeezed into a bell shape, so extremes stand out.Relative vigor indexWhere the close sits versus the open, relative to the candle's range.Elder rayHow far the high and low stick out above and below an EMA.VortexTwo lines that measure upward and downward movement separately.Choppiness indexIs the market trending or going nowhere? Scale 0 to 100.Standard deviationHow far price normally strays from its own average.Squeeze1 when the Bollinger Bands fit inside the Keltner channel.Chaikin money flowVolume weighted by where in the candle the close landed.Accumulation / distributionA running total of that same money flow.Force indexPrice change times volume, smoothed.Ease of movementHow much volume it took to move the price.Arnaud Legoux MAA weighted average with a bell curve instead of a straight slope.Kaufman adaptive MAAn average that speeds up in a trend and slows down in chop.Guppy multiple MASix short averages against six long ones.Standard error bandsA regression line with the fitting error as a channel.Chaikin volatilityHow fast the candle range is expanding or shrinking.Accelerator oscillatorThe acceleration of the Awesome oscillator.Accumulative swing indexWilder's swing index added up into a line.Balance of powerWhere the candle closed inside its own range, averaged.Chop zoneThe angle of a long average, in steps.Klinger oscillatorVolume signed by whether the candle closed higher or lower.Twiggs money flowChaikin money flow with yesterday's range counted in.Wave trendHow far price sits from its own average, smoothed twice.Woodies CCIA slow CCI with a fast one on top.Pivot points high/lowA top or bottom with n lower candles on each side.Pivot points FibonacciYesterday's range, divided with Fibonacci ratios.Pivot points WoodieA pivot that weights today's open twice.Pivot points DeMarkA pivot that depends on whether yesterday closed up or down.Double EMAAn EMA of an EMA, corrected so it lags less than a plain EMA.Triple EMAThe same lag correction as DEMA, one step further.Smoothed MA (Wilder)The average Welles Wilder used inside RSI and ATR.Least squares MAA straight line fitted through the last n candles, read at the last one.McGinley dynamicAn average that speeds up when price runs away from it.Median priceThe middle of the recent high-low midpoints.Williams AlligatorThree smoothed averages, each shifted forward, from Bill Williams.Volatility stopA trailing stop at ATR distance that flips side when price breaks it.Chande Kroll stopThe widest ATR stop over the recent window, upper and lower.ZigZagOnly moves bigger than a percentage, drawn as straight legs.Williams fractalsA top or bottom with two lower highs (or higher lows) on each side.Chande momentumUp moves minus down moves, as a share of both together.Connors RSIThree measurements averaged: strength, streak and outlier.Coppock curveA slow momentum curve, designed for monthly charts.Schaff trend cycleMACD run twice through the stochastic formula.SMI ergodicThe true strength index with a signal line on top.Bollinger %BWhere price sits inside its Bollinger band, as a percentage.Historical volatilityHow wildly price moved, annualised, in percent.Mass indexWidening candle ranges warn that a reversal is near.Relative volatility indexRSI, but measured on volatility instead of price.Chaikin oscillatorThe momentum of accumulation and distribution.Price volume trendVolume weighted by how much price moved, added up.Net volumeVolume with a plus or minus sign, depending on the candle.Volume oscillatorFast volume average against slow, in percent.PriceThe candle itself: open, high, low, close.Return %How much the price rose or fell over the last n candles, in %.

Written by the people who build TradeXtool. Nothing here is investment advice.