OHLC
Open-High-Low-Close bars. What the ohlc is for, the data it needs and every option it has.
3 min read
On this page
Open-High-Low-Close bars. It sits in the Financial group of the widget library.
When to use it#
An OHLC chart draws each period as a vertical bar from low to high, with a tick on the left for the open and on the right for the close. It answers "how did this holding trade each day?" with lighter marks than a candlestick.
When to pick something else#
- Want filled bodies, or a volume pane? Use a Candlestick.
- Only the closing price matters? Use a Line chart.
- Want the busiest price levels? Use a Volume profile.
The data it needs#
Pick these in the Data tab of the inspector. BankSync suggests a column for each when your source has an obvious match.
| Field | Needed | Pick | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Yes | a date | Open/High/Low/Close are read from columns named o/h/l/c — shape them in the query. |
Each row is drawn as it is, so shape the rows first if you need totals. See Shaping data.
OHLC options#
Set these on the Style tab of the inspector. "Automatic" means BankSync picks a value from the chart's size and data.
| Option | What it does | Values | New charts start with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rising colour | Colour for periods that closed higher than they opened. | Colour | #16a34a |
| Falling colour | Colour for periods that closed lower than they opened. | Colour | #dc2626 |
| Tick length | Length of the open and close ticks on each side of the bar, in pixels. | Number, 0 or more | Automatic |
| Line width | Thickness of the high-to-low bar and its ticks, in pixels. | Number, 0 or more | Automatic |
Needs history#
Show a note instead of the chart until the rows cover enough periods, so a first week never reads as a trend.
| Option | What it does | Values | New charts start with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date field | The date column whose distinct periods are counted. | Text | Automatic |
| Period | What counts as one period: a day, week, month, quarter or year. | Day, Week, Month, Quarter, Year | Automatic |
| Periods needed | How many distinct periods the rows must cover before the chart draws (2 to 60). | Whole number, 2 to 60 | Automatic |
| Waiting message | Shown until there is enough history. Leave empty for a message naming the periods. | Text, up to 120 characters | Automatic |
Shared chart styling#
Every chart also has the shared styling options. These apply to this one:
- Legend: position, layout and which series show.
- Axes: titles, tick labels and number format.
- Grid, title, padding and background.
- Value labels on the marks.
- Categories and labels: top N with "Other", sort order, readable labels, the handwritten callout.
- Style: corner radius, line width, opacity and animation.
- Tooltip on hover.
- Click to filter: clicking a mark can filter the rest of the dashboard. See Filters and cross-filtering.
- Colours: follow the dashboard palette or pick one for this chart.
Messy data#
- It needs a date and open, high, low and close columns, one row per period. Transaction data doesn't have these.
- A row missing any of the four prices is dropped. With none left you see "No complete price rows to show".
- If the high sits below the open or close, or the low sits above them, the bar is stretched to cover both.
- Rows are sorted by date, and gaps such as weekends take no space.
- The price axis fits your price range instead of starting at zero.
On a phone#
The ticks need horizontal room. With too many periods for the width, the chart switches to a close-price line with a crosshair. On a phone, show a few weeks of daily bars or switch to weekly periods.
Related charts#
- Candlestick: OHLC price candles
- Volume profile: Volume traded per price
- Waterfall: Walk from a start to an end amount, step by step (P&L, net-worth change)
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