Drawing shortcuts
Seven drawing tools start from the keyboard. Press an Alt shortcut while the chart is active and the tool is ready for your first click.
Shortcut list
| Tool | Windows and Linux | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Trend line | Alt+T | Option+T |
| Horizontal line | Alt+H | Option+H |
| Vertical line | Alt+V | Option+V |
| Rectangle | Alt+Shift+R | Option+Shift+R |
| Fib retracement | Alt+F | Option+F |
| Long position | Alt+L | Option+L |
| Short position | Alt+S | Option+S |
Hover a tool in the drawing rail to see its shortcut. The rail shows the Option key as the symbol on a Mac.
How it works
- Click the chart window so it is the active window.
- Press the shortcut. The tool starts, as if you had clicked it in the rail.
- Click on the chart to place the drawing.
The tool you start also becomes the one the rail uses for its group. If you start Fib retracement with Alt+F, the Gann and Fibonacci button then draws a Fib retracement.
When a shortcut does nothing
| Problem | What to do |
|---|---|
| The chart is not the active window | Click the chart first. The shortcut only works on the active chart. |
| You are typing in a field | Click away from the input, search box or text area. Shortcuts are ignored while a field has focus. |
| A dialog is open | Close it first. |
| You assigned the same keys to another hotkey | Your hotkey wins and the drawing shortcut is ignored. Change one of them in Settings → Hotkeys. See Hotkeys. |
| You held the key down | Holding the key does not repeat the shortcut. Release it and press it again. |
| The keys include Ctrl or Cmd | Only Alt (and Shift for Rectangle) work. Release other modifier keys. |
Drawings panel hotkey
The drawings panel has its own optional hotkey. Set it in Chart settings → General, in the Toggle Hotkey field next to the Drawings Panel switch. See Chart settings.
Related articles
Was this article helpful?