Creating new point and figure plots

To create a new point and figure plot start with one of the default Stockworm point and figure plots, by clicking on the appropriate link in the 'stockworm point and figures' table to the left on the point and figure page.

Instructions for customizing every aspect of your new plot are given below. Note that if you change the plot size, the plot will update itself automatically. If you change any other setting, you need to remember to press the 'update' to the right of the plot settings form to get the page to update.

Chart timeframe

The timeframe selection governs the span of time over which the chart is plotted:

• from - the from setting establishes the starting date for the chart. The default from setting is 'Auto-Select' which yields a chart with as many columns as can be fit into a given plot (the time range is therefore dependant on the volatility of the stock).
• to - the to setting determines the ending date for the chart.
• sliding/fixed - a set of saved chart settings can be viewed on a different date. if the timeframe is saved as sliding date, this means that if, for example, you selected 6 months ago for the 'from' option, then the starting date for the chart is always 6 months ago from the date that you are viewing the chart. The fixed date option, on the other hand, will display a chart starting 6 months from the date the chart was saved.

Once you have changed the timeframe settings, hit 'update' to see the results of your changes

Because point and figure charts do not explicitly display time on the x-axis (just columns which represent price movements), it is customary to replace x's or o's with a key for each month (1-9 for January-September, a-d for October-December) to help track the time. We have also added some time markers on the axis itself, as we can fit them (sometimes several months or even years can be plotted in the same column, if the price isn't very volatile relative to the box price).

As longer time periods are plotted, more and more columns will appear in the plot, making it difficult to view individual x's and o's. You can either use the point and figure plots for trending over these time periods (without regard to individual x's and o's) or you can you increase the box price to reduce the number of columns.

Chart scale

The chart scale settings allow you to increase the size of the point and figure chart to better view it. You can independently adjust the width and height according to your preference. The width and height scaling factors are presented a percentage of the original plot size so, for example, changing the width setting to 200% will result in a plot which is twice as wide as the original plot width.

The point and figure page will be automatically reloaded with the new size immediately after a change is made.

Box type options

Stockworm offers advanced point and figure options which allow you to use different box types and reversal amounts. The 'ranged' box type is the traditional technique which allows the box size to change depending on the current price range. The five fields in the range setting represent the box sizes assigned to prices which are:

• less than $5
• $5 to $20
• $20 to $100
• $100 to $1000
• greater than $1000

The fixed box type option fixes the box size throughout the plot, regardless of the price. The fixed percentage option allows a continuous variation of the box as a percentage of the price (this is also known as a logarithmic plot). You can also choose the number of boxes which have to be traversed before the plot enters into a new column (the 'reversal' amount).

Make sure to hit 'update' to see the effect of your changes on the chart

Saving custom point and figure plots

Once you have a set of point and figure plot settings that you would like to revisit with another stock, you should save these point and figure plot settings. The left hand side of the point and figure plotting page always displays a 'this point and figure' table. If you are customizing your point and figure plots from a new point and figure plot or default Stockworm point and figure plot, then the only menu item which will be available is "save as" because you cannot overwrite default point and figure plot views. Other point and figure plot views will offer you the "save", "save as", "rename", and "delete" options so that you can modify previously saved point and figure plots.

After you have saved a point and figure plot, it will appear on the left hand side of the screen in the 'my point and figures' section.