Keyboard

Keyboard

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You can use the keyboard to modify some operations, or to issue various commands, or to modify items you have drawn:

Modifier Keys

General Keyboard Commands

Editing Keys

Keys That Modify Trendlines

Keys That Modify Andrews Median Lines (Pitchforks)

Modifier Keys

Use the modifier keys as follows to affect the way some features of ChartOverlay operate.

Ctrl

If the Ctrl key is not pressed, Click or Click and Drag will create a new object

Use the Ctrl key to edit or manipulate objects you have drawn

Drag an existing object to move it to a new position

Adjust a defining point to refine an object you drew previously

Remove extra lines from a Fibonacci Retracement or Extension

Remove extra Warning Lines from an Andrews Pitchfork

Select an object so you can perform some operation on it

If you are upgrading from Version 2.0 [the original version], this is a change in the way that ChartOverlay behaves. In Version 2.0, the Ctrl key inhibited these actions; now it allows them. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but feedback from users convinced us that the new behavior would be more natural.

Temporarily Reverse Default Settings

Holding down the Ctrl key while clicking on a tool button temporarily reverses the Don't Show this Dialog Every Time option for the corresponding tool dialog.

For example, if Don't Show this Dialog Every Time is checked in the Trendline dialog and you Ctrl-Click the Trendline tool button, the Trendline dialog will open (or if it's not checked and the dialog normally opens when you click the button, Ctrl-Clicking the Trendline tool button will select the tool without opening the dialog)

Holding down the Ctrl key while clicking on a blank area (ie, not on an existing object) temporarily reverses the setting of the Erase Automatically menu item

Increase The Effect of Movement and Compression Keys

When moving all existing objects with the arrow keys (see below), moves by the amount specified in the Options dialog rather than by one pixel

When expanding or compressing the vertical scale with the + and - keys (see below), does so by the amount specified in the Options dialog rather than by one percent

Shift

Make Horizontal or Vertical

Makes it easier to draw Trendlines or time cycle calibration lines that are Horizontal or Vertical

Drags objects you have drawn or adjusts defining points either Horizontally or Vertically

Alt

Affect All

When dragging, drag all objects as a group instead of dragging a single object

When you are removing extra lines from a Fibonacci or Andrews Pitchfork object, removes all lines of a particular type (eg, all Arc Extensions, all Fan Retracements or all Andrews Warning Lines)

General Keyboard Commands

These commands are not specific to any type of item you may have drawn.

Ctrl-C	Copies an image combining the overlay and its background to the Clipboard, from which it can be pasted into another application
Ctrl-N	New erases everything you have drawn and creates a new empty document
Ctrl-O	Open erases everything you have drawn and replaces it with a document that you saved previously
Ctrl-S	Save writes all of the objects you have drawn to a file in a format that can be reloaded later
Delete	Delete erases the selected object (or the object pointed at)

Editing Keys

These commands can be used to change the vertical scale of objects you have drawn. Each time you press one of the expand/compress keys, the stretch factor is incremented (or decremented) by one (unless you are also pressing the Ctrl key). The stretch factor is then used as a percentage and each point is moved away from (or towards) the midline by that percentage. This allows you to adjust to changes in the scale of the chart in the background. If you simultaneously press the Ctrl key, then the value you specify on the Editing tab of the Options dialog will be used as the increment (or decrement) (default = 5).

You can also move objects around in the overlay window to correct for the addition or removal of price bars. The objects are moved by one pixel each time you press an arrow key, unless you simultaneously press the Ctrl key, in which case the value you specify on the Editing tab of the Options dialog will be used (default = 5).

You can also move an object by dragging it while pressing the Ctrl key, or you can move all objects by dragging any object while pressing the Ctrl and Alt keys.

+ or =	Use either key to expand the vertical scale when the scale of the chart in the background changes
- or _	Use either key to compress the vertical scale when the scale of the chart in the background changes
	Use this key to move all objects on the overlay left one pixel (more with Ctrl key)
	can be used to move all objects on the overlay right one pixel (more with Ctrl key)
	can be used to move all objects on the overlay up one pixel (more with Ctrl key)
	can be used to move all objects on the overlay down one pixel (more with Ctrl key)

Keys That Modify Trendlines

These keys can be used when you have selected an existing Trendline (or when you just point at it). When you draw a Trendline, the options you chose in the Trendline dialog will be applied. Should you wish to change some of those options after you have drawn a Trendline, simply type one of these characters.

See the Trendlines section in Dialogs for a discussion of these options.

e	Turn line extensions on or off (to switch between a complete line and a line segment)
g	Turn segment bisector on or off
b	Turn Gann Angle lines on or off
s	Turn Speed Resistance lines on or off

Keys That Modify Andrews Median Lines (Pitchforks)

These keys can be used when you have selected an existing Pitchfork (or when you just point at it). When you draw a Pitchfork, it will be drawn in the style you chose in the Andrews dialog. Should you wish to change the style after you have drawn a Pitchfork, simply type one of these characters.

See the Andrews' Pitchforks section in Studies for further discussion and for examples of the different styles.

a	Standard Andrews Median Lines
s or m	Modified Schiff Median Lines (as used by Dr Andrews)
o	Original Schiff Median Lines (as defined by Jerome Schiff)
i or r	Inside (or Reverse) Median Lines