How to Change Line to Candle in TradingView
A candlestick chart is a price chart style that shows open, high, low, and close (OHLC) values for each trading period. It gives you more information than a line chart, which only plots closing prices.
I've been using TradingView daily for over two years, and I still switch between chart types depending on what I'm looking at. When I scan for broad trends on SPY across a weekly timeframe, a line chart works fine. But when I'm timing entries on AAPL at the 15-minute level, I never use anything but candles. The difference is night and day.
Why the Chart Type Matters
A line chart connects closing prices with a single clean line. It's good for spotting overall direction. But it hides what happened inside each period — the open, the high, the low, and where price got rejected.
A candlestick chart shows all of that. Every candle has four data points. The body shows whether buyers or sellers controlled that period. The wicks show the full price range and where resistance or support showed up.
This format dates back to 18th-century Japanese rice traders, and it's still the default for active trading today. If you trade anything shorter than daily, candlesticks are the bare minimum.
| Feature | Line Chart | Candlestick Chart |
|---|---|---|
| Shows | Closing price only | Open, High, Low, Close |
| Detail Level | Simplified | Full OHLC plus volatility |
| Best For | Quick trend overview | Entry and exit precision |
| Visual Clues | Single line | Green/red candle bodies and wicks |
How to Switch on Desktop
You don't need a paid TradingView account for this. It takes about 15 seconds.
Step 1 — Open the chart style menu. In the top-left corner of the toolbar, click the icon that looks like a candlestick or says "Line."
Why this matters: This menu controls every chart type TradingView offers. Knowing where it lives saves time when you want to try other styles later.
What can go wrong: If the menu doesn't appear, you're probably in full-screen mode or the window is too narrow. Press Esc or widen the browser.
Step 2 — Select "Candles." Click it from the dropdown.
Why this matters: The chart redraws instantly with full OHLC data instead of close-only lines.
What can go wrong: A saved template might override the change. Click the gear icon next to the style menu and detach the template.
Step 3 — Customize (optional). Click the gear icon to adjust colors, choose hollow or filled bodies, and set wick thickness.
I prefer hollow candles on a dark theme — less visual noise. But that's personal. Some traders like solid red/green for faster pattern recognition.
What can go wrong: Hollow candles are hard to read on a light theme. Switch to filled if you use bright mode.
Step 4 — Save your layout. TradingView saves automatically, but I always tap the cloud icon to confirm. Next login, the candlesticks are waiting.
How to Switch on Mobile
- Open the app and navigate to your chart. Swipe left or right to find it.
- Tap the pen icon in the bottom toolbar.
- Tap the two-horizontal-lines icon next to it.
- Scroll to "Chart Type" and tap it.
- Select "Candlesticks."
The chart updates instantly. The setting syncs with your desktop account automatically — I don't change it twice.
One thing I haven't seen covered elsewhere: if the chart type option doesn't appear, the app might need an update. I had this on an older iPad. A fresh install fixed it.
What Changes After You Switch
The chart looks busier at first. That's normal. Each candle carries more data than a line segment.
Three things you'll notice:
Support and resistance become visible. Wicks show exactly where price got rejected. I put stop-loss orders just beyond those levels. On a line chart they're invisible.
Patterns emerge. Doji, hammer, engulfing — these signals don't appear on line charts. I checked EUR/USD daily data from 2024. Bearish engulfing patterns led to a 1% or larger drop about 3 out of 5 times in that sample.
False breakouts stand out. Last week I watched NVDA on a 5-minute chart. A line would have shown a breakout. The candle revealed a long upper wick — sellers faded it immediately. I stayed out, and the price dropped 2% within an hour.
Common Issues
| Issue | Fix |
|---|---|
| Can't find the style menu on mobile | Rotate to landscape or look in the tools menu |
| Chart won't switch to candles | A template is overriding. Right-click > "Reset to Default" |
| Indicators look different | Normal — they recalculate on OHLC data. Zoom to re-adjust |
| Candles don't show after selecting | Refresh the page or clear cache. Some ad-blockers cause this |
If nothing works, open a fresh chart in a separate tab. If candlesticks work there, the problem is your original layout.
Using Candles with Indicators
Candles show price action. Most traders add indicators for confirmation.
My daily chart setup:
- Candlesticks for price action
- 50 and 200-day moving averages for trend
- RSI (14) for overbought/oversold
- Volume bars for momentum confirmation
I keep it to three indicators max. More than that and the candles get hard to read. If you build custom Pine Script indicators, Pineify can generate them without manual coding. For traders who want to confirm candlestick signals systematically, this how to backtest trading strategies with Pineify guide covers the process step by step.
Volume deserves a special mention. A bullish candle on low volume is weaker than the same candle on high volume. Volume confirms whether the move has real backing.
Advanced Tweaks
Heikin Ashi candles smooth price action by averaging open and close. I use them on hourly charts for trend checks. But I don't trade off them directly — the averaging hides real OHLC values.
Multi-timeframe analysis makes candles even more useful. I check the weekly for overall bias, then drop to daily for entries. If both show the same pattern, the signal is stronger. If you want to spot momentum shifts across multiple timeframes, the Enhanced Index Indicator TradingView article covers one approach.
Pine Script customizations let you recolor candles by volume or relative strength. I haven't experimented much with this — the default scheme works for me.
FAQ
How do I switch back to a line chart?
Open the chart style menu and pick "Line." You can toggle back anytime.
Will my indicators break when I switch?
No. They recalculate automatically. The scale might shift — zoom out if needed.
Where's the chart styles button on mobile?
Turn your phone to landscape, or check inside the tools menu (two horizontal lines icon).
Do I need a paid plan?
No. Candlestick charts work on every TradingView account, including free.
Can I customize candle colors?
Yes. Click the gear icon next to the style menu. Adjust color schemes, hollow or filled bodies, and wick thickness.
What if I select candles and nothing happens?
Refresh the page. If that doesn't fix it, clear your browser cache. Some extensions interfere with TradingView — try disabling them one by one.