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SierraChart Indicator

Volume Candle

See Volume on Every Bar. Instantly.

Volume Candle

Volume Candle indicator screenshot

Colors price bars based on volume intensity and price direction, instantly highlighting high-volume moves.

Overview

Volume Candle provides immediate visual feedback by coloring each candle according to two factors:

  1. Volume intensity: Is volume above or below average?
  2. Price direction: Did the bar close up or down?

This creates four distinct candle colors that let you instantly identify which moves have conviction (high volume) and which are weak (normal volume).

How It Works

  1. Calculates an Exponential Moving Average (EMA) of volume
  2. Compares each bar's volume to the EMA × factor threshold
  3. Determines if the bar closed up (bullish) or down (bearish)
  4. Colors the bar accordingly

Color Coding

ConditionDefault ColorMeaning
High Volume + BullishLime GreenStrong buying - price up with heavy volume
High Volume + BearishRedStrong selling - price down with heavy volume
Normal Volume + BullishSilverWeak buying - price up but low conviction
Normal Volume + BearishGrayWeak selling - price down but low conviction

Subgraphs

SubgraphDescription
High Volume BullishColors bars with volume > threshold and close > open
High Volume BearishColors bars with volume > threshold and close < open
Normal Volume BullishColors bars with volume ≤ threshold and close > open
Normal Volume BearishColors bars with volume ≤ threshold and close < open
Volume EMAInternal EMA calculation (hidden)

Inputs

InputDefaultDescription
Period20EMA period for volume average calculation
Proportion to Average1.25Volume threshold multiplier. 1.25 means volume must exceed 125% of average to be "high volume"

Input Guidelines

Period

  • Shorter (10-15): More responsive, more "high volume" bars
  • Standard (20): Balanced approach
  • Longer (30-50): Smoother average, only exceptional volume highlighted

Proportion to Average (Factor)

  • 1.0: Volume must exceed average (50% of bars will be "high volume")
  • 1.25: Volume must exceed 125% of average (default, selective)
  • 1.5: Volume must exceed 150% of average (very selective)
  • 2.0: Only bars with double the average volume highlighted

Trading Applications

Breakout Confirmation

  • Breakouts with lime/red bars = high conviction, likely to follow through
  • Breakouts with silver/gray bars = low conviction, higher failure rate

Trend Strength

  • Trends with consistent high-volume bars in trend direction = strong trend
  • Trends with mostly normal-volume bars = weak trend, potential exhaustion

Reversal Signals

  • High-volume bar against the trend = potential reversal
  • Example: Red bar in uptrend = selling pressure emerging

Support/Resistance Tests

  • High-volume rejection = strong level
  • Low-volume test = weak level, likely to break

Visual Interpretation

Strong Uptrend:    [Lime] [Lime] [Silver] [Lime] [Lime]
Weak Uptrend:      [Silver] [Silver] [Gray] [Silver] [Silver]
Strong Downtrend:  [Red] [Red] [Gray] [Red] [Red]
Reversal Setup:    [Lime] [Lime] [Red] [Red] [Red]

Customization

All four colors are fully customizable via the subgraph settings:

  1. Right-click study > Study Settings
  2. Click on each subgraph
  3. Change Primary Color to your preference

Popular Color Schemes

High Contrast:

  • High Volume Up: Bright Green
  • High Volume Down: Bright Red
  • Normal Volume Up: Dark Green
  • Normal Volume Down: Dark Red

Monochrome:

  • High Volume Up: White
  • High Volume Down: White
  • Normal Volume Up: Dark Gray
  • Normal Volume Down: Dark Gray

Installation

  1. Place VolumeCandle.dll in your Sierra Chart Data folder
  2. Add study to chart: Analysis > Studies > Add Custom Study
  3. Search for "Volume Candle"

Requirements

  • Sierra Chart
  • Volume data for the instrument
  • Applied to main price graph (Graph Region 0)