Delta / Volume Profile
Introduction
The Delta / Volume Profile is a tool used to identify high volume nodes (HVN) and low volume nodes (LVN). This tool records a historical gradient per tick of trades and deltas executed during the session. These zones can be critical in determining possible reversals, setting a stop loss, take profit, etc. For example, if the price enters an LVN, it can be expected to increase or decrease rapidly towards a more consolidated zone.
The indicator supports a dual-profile layout: you can independently assign a different visualization type to the left and right side of the chart. For example, you may display a Volume profile on the right and a Delta profile on the left simultaneously, giving you complementary perspectives in a single view.
This volume profile has been designed to occupy minimal space on the screen, thus allowing more data to be viewed on the chart simultaneously.
Profile Types
Each side of the profile (left and right) can be set to one of the following visualization types:
BarsVolume — Traditional horizontal bars where the length of each bar represents the total volume traded at that price level.
BarsDelta — Horizontal bars representing the delta (difference between buy and sell volume) at each price level. Positive and negative deltas are rendered in distinct colors.
BarsDeltaVolume — A composite view that overlays delta bars on top of volume bars, allowing you to see total volume and net buying/selling pressure together.
BarsDeltaVolumeOutLine — Similar to BarsDeltaVolume, but renders the volume portion as an outline rather than a filled bar, reducing visual clutter.
AreaVolumeSolid — Renders the volume profile as a smooth, filled area curve instead of discrete bars. Uses monotone cubic interpolation for a continuous shape. The pixel resolution of the curve is controlled by the Solid Area Stride setting.
AreaVolumePalette — Renders the volume profile as a smooth area curve colored with the selected Profile Palette gradient, where the color at each price level reflects relative volume intensity.
BidAskArea — Displays the volume profile split into bid and ask areas, each rendered as a smooth filled curve in distinct colors. Useful for visualizing the balance between buyer and seller aggression at each price level.
None — Disables the profile on that side of the chart. Use this when you want only a single-sided profile.
Profile Palettes
When a palette-based visualization is selected (such as AreaVolumePalette), or to add color gradients to bar-based profiles, the following color schemes are available:
RainbowShort — A compact rainbow gradient cycling through the visible spectrum over a narrow range.
RainbowLong — A full rainbow gradient spread across the entire volume range, providing more subtle color transitions.
Grayscale — A gradient from dark to light gray, where higher volume levels appear brighter.
InvertedGrayscale — A gradient from light to dark gray, where higher volume levels appear darker.
YellowToRed — A warm gradient transitioning from yellow (low volume) to red (high volume).
Alpha — Uses transparency to represent volume. Lower volume levels are more transparent, higher levels are more opaque.
HumanEye — A perceptually uniform color gradient optimized for the human eye's sensitivity, with alpha variation.
HumanEyeNoAlpha — Same as HumanEye but without alpha variation, keeping all bars fully opaque.
General Settings
Reset On New Session
When enabled, the volume profile data is cleared and restarted at the beginning of each new trading session. When disabled, the profile accumulates data across sessions.
Show Background
Enables or disables a background fill behind the volume profile area. The background color and opacity are configured with the two settings below.
Background color
The fill color drawn behind the volume profile when Show Background is enabled.
Background Opacity
The opacity of the background fill as a percentage. Accepts values from 0 (fully transparent) to 100 (fully opaque).
Automatic Cryptocurrency Volume
This setting allows reducing the values of cryptocurrencies to the market unit. By default, this option is enabled. For example, in the case of Bitcoin (BTC), satoshis are converted to Bitcoins. This adjustment only takes effect in these types of markets and has no effect on others.
Data Source
Selects the data source used to feed the volume profile:
- TickReplay — Uses the platform's tick replay data stream. This is the most accurate source when replaying historical data, as it reconstructs the original tick-by-tick flow.
- TickSerie — Uses the tick series data. This source processes live and historical ticks directly as they arrive.
Ticks per bar
This option allows you to set the number of ticks that will be grouped together as if they were a single one. This functionality simplifies the analysis in markets with very small ticks like some indices (NQ), some Forex instruments, and Cryptocurrencies. Accepts values from 1 to 80000.
ZOrder
With this option, you can set the ZOrder of the indicator. The ZOrder is an invisible Z-axis used by the graphics hardware to organize charts. In this way, you can configure the indicators so that some have visual priority over others.
Minimal height to show border
This is the height in pixels to display a border around the bars. If you want this border to be hidden, you can set a quite large value here so it will never be shown. For example, a value of 1000.
Volume Profile Settings
Volume Divisor
All values shown in the profile will be divided by this number and then rounded to the nearest integer. This setting is useful in high volume markets, as it provides more readable numbers.
Value Area Percent
The percentage of total volume used to calculate the Value Area. The Value Area is the price range within which this percentage of the session's total volume was traded. The industry standard is 70%. Accepts values from 1 to 100.
The Value Area produces two key levels:
- VAH (Value Area High) — the upper boundary of the value area.
- VAL (Value Area Low) — the lower boundary of the value area.
Profile Position
This setting allows you to select if the profile will be attached to the left or right of the chart. Options are Left and Right.
Left Profile
Selects the visualization type for the left side of the profile. See the Profile Types section above for the full list of available types. When set to None, no profile is drawn on the left side.
Right Profile
Selects the visualization type for the right side of the profile. See the Profile Types section above for the full list of available types. When set to None, no profile is drawn on the right side.
Profile Palette
Selects the color scheme applied to the profiles. See the Profile Palettes section above for a description of each palette. This setting affects visualizations that support palette coloring, such as AreaVolumePalette.
Show VWAP
When enabled, the Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) is calculated and displayed on the chart. The VWAP line and tag appearance are configured in the Tag Settings section.
Delta Settings
These settings control the colors of the delta bars used in delta-based profile types (BarsDelta, BarsDeltaVolume, BarsDeltaVolumeOutLine).
Positive Delta color
Color of the bars for positive delta values (more aggressive buying than selling at that price level).
Positive Delta text color
Text color of delta bars when delta is positive. If you don't want this text to be shown, you can select a transparent color here.
Negative Delta color
Color of the bars for negative delta values (more aggressive selling than buying at that price level).
Negative Delta text color
Text color of delta bars when delta is negative. If you don't want this text to be shown, you can select a transparent color here.
Positive Delta border color
The color for the border of the positive delta bars. If you don't want them to be shown, you can select a transparent color here or choose a very large minimum height to display the border.
Negative Delta border color
The color for the border of the negative delta bars. If you don't want them to be shown, you can select a transparent color here or choose a very large minimum height to display the border.
Processing Modes
These settings determine how the indicator classifies each trade as a buy or a sell in order to compute delta values. Different processing modes can be set independently for historical and real-time data.
Historical Processing Mode
Selects the method used to classify trades when processing historical data:
- BidAsk — Classifies each trade based on whether it executed at the bid price (sell) or ask price (buy). This is the most accurate method when bid/ask data is available.
- UpDownTick — Classifies each trade based on the direction of the price change from the previous trade. An uptick is classified as a buy, a downtick as a sell. This method is useful when bid/ask data is not available in the historical feed.
Realtime Processing Mode
Selects the method used to classify trades during real-time data:
- BidAsk — Same as above; classifies based on bid/ask price matching.
- UpDownTick — Same as above; classifies based on tick direction.
Additional Settings
Automatic Margin
When enabled, the chart's right margin is automatically adjusted to make room for the volume profile, preventing it from overlapping the price bars.
Extend Lines
When enabled, the horizontal reference lines (POC, VAH, VAL, High, Low, VWAP) extend across the entire chart width instead of being confined to the profile area. This is useful for tracking how these levels interact with price action further back in time.
Bar Padding
The vertical padding in pixels between each bar in the profile. Increasing this value separates the bars and can improve readability, especially on zoomed-in charts.
Solid Area Stride
The pixel stride used when sampling the volume curve for solid area visualizations (AreaVolumeSolid and AreaVolumePalette). A smaller value produces a smoother curve at the cost of additional rendering work. A larger value produces a coarser curve but renders faster.
Distance from edge of chart
The profile is drawn from an imaginary central line. This setting defines the distance in pixels from the chart's edge to this central line.
Left Profile width
The width in pixels for the left profile. Only the largest bar will reach this full width; all other bars are scaled proportionally.
Right Profile width
The width in pixels for the right profile. Only the largest bar will reach this full width; all other bars are scaled proportionally.
Separation of text from center
This is the distance in pixels from the central line to the start of the text representation. It can be used to create a margin for a better visual effect or to prevent the text from being displayed over the bars if it's declared larger than the profile width.
Text Width
The maximum width in pixels reserved for the volume text labels. Text that exceeds this width may be clipped. Adjust this value if volume labels are being cut off or if you want to limit how much horizontal space the text consumes.
Use Metric Suffix
When enabled, large volume values are abbreviated using metric suffixes (e.g., 1.5K instead of 1500, 2.3M instead of 2300000). This keeps the text labels compact and easier to read in high-volume markets.
Metric Suffix Decimals
The number of decimal places shown when using metric suffix notation. For example, with 1 decimal, 1523 is displayed as 1.5K; with 2 decimals, it is displayed as 1.52K. Accepts values from 1 to 4.
Color Settings
Volume color
The fill color of the volume bars.
Solid Area Color
The fill color used for the solid area visualization (AreaVolumeSolid). This setting is independent of the regular volume bar color, allowing you to use different colors for bar and area rendering modes.
Volume border color
With this option, you can choose the color of the volume bars' border. If you prefer not to show them, you can select a transparent color here or choose a very large minimum height to display the border.
Volume text color
Color for the text of volume bars. If you don't want this text to be visible, you can select a transparent color here.
POC text color
The color for the text label on the highest volume bar (Point of Control). This allows the POC bar's text to stand out from the rest of the volume bars.
POC color
The fill color for the highest volume bar (Point of Control). Setting a distinct color here makes it easy to identify the POC at a glance.
Bid Area Color
The fill color for the bid (sell) area when using the BidAskArea profile type. This color represents the portion of volume executed at the bid price.
Ask Area Color
The fill color for the ask (buy) area when using the BidAskArea profile type. This color represents the portion of volume executed at the ask price.
Font Settings
Font
The font used for the volume/delta text labels displayed on the profile bars.
Minimal text size
This is the smallest font size when the profile contracts. Beyond this point, the text will be hidden.
Maximal text size
This is the maximum size the text will have when the profile expands. It won't grow beyond this number. This is useful to prevent other parts of the chart from being occluded when a too detailed view is expanded.
Tag Settings
Tags are small labels displayed at key price levels on the profile's edge. Each tag consists of a background color, a font color, and a corresponding horizontal reference line.
Font
The font used for all tag labels (High, Low, POC, VAH, VAL, VWAP).
High Tag Background Color
The background color of the tag marking the highest price recorded by the volume profile.
High Tag Font Color
The font color for the tag marking the highest price recorded by the volume profile. This customization ensures that high price marks are clearly visible and recognizable, allowing you to quickly distinguish this key point during your analysis.
High Line
Defines the line that represents the highest price recorded by the volume profile. This line is plotted on the chart and provides a visual reference for the session high. The line's color, dash style, and width can all be configured.
Low Tag Background Color
The background color of the tag marking the lowest price recorded by the volume profile. The color selected for this option can help you highlight the low price marks, making it easier to identify these critical points in the profile.
Low Tag Font Color
The font color for the tag marking the lowest price recorded by the volume profile.
Low Line
Defines the line that represents the lowest price recorded by the volume profile. This line is plotted on the chart and provides a visual reference for the session low. The line's color, dash style, and width can all be configured.
POC Tag Background Color
The background color of the Point of Control (POC) tag. The POC marks the price level with the highest traded volume.
POC Tag Font Color
The font color for the Point of Control (POC) tag. By selecting a clearly distinguishable color for the POC, you can facilitate the quick identification of this crucial reference point in the volume profile.
POC Line
Defines the line that marks the price of the Point of Control (POC). This line is an important tool for quickly visualizing the price level at which the highest volume of trading has been recorded. The line's color, dash style, and width can all be configured.
VAH Tag Background Color
The background color of the tag marking the highest price within the value area (Value Area High).
VAH Tag Font Color
The font color for the tag marking the highest price within the value area.
VAH Line
Defines the line marking the upper boundary of the value area. The line's color, dash style, and width can all be configured.
VAL Tag Background Color
The background color of the tag marking the lowest price within the value area (Value Area Low).
VAL Tag Font Color
The font color for the tag marking the lowest price within the value area.
VAL Line
Defines the line marking the lower boundary of the value area. The line's color, dash style, and width can all be configured.
VWAP Tag Background Color
The background color for the Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) tag. The VWAP is only displayed when the Show VWAP option is enabled.
VWAP Tag Font Color
The font color for the Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) tag.
VWAP Line
Defines the line representing the Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP). The line's color, dash style, and width can all be configured. Only displayed when Show VWAP is enabled.
Information Zone Font Color
The font color for the information zone text. The information zone displays summary statistics (such as total volume and session identifiers) alongside the volume profile.
Delta Group
The Delta Group is a separate, compact bar displayed alongside the volume profile that shows the cumulative session delta (total buy volume minus total sell volume). It provides a quick at-a-glance view of net buying or selling pressure for the entire session.
Show Delta Group
Enables or disables the delta group display. When disabled, all other Delta Group settings have no effect.
Delta Filter
A threshold value for the cumulative delta. When the absolute value of the cumulative delta is below this threshold, the delta group bar is not displayed. This can be used to suppress the delta group during low-activity periods.
Positive Color
The fill color of the delta group bar when the cumulative delta is positive (net buying pressure).
Negative Color
The fill color of the delta group bar when the cumulative delta is negative (net selling pressure).
Positive Font Color
The text color displayed on the delta group bar when the cumulative delta is positive.
Negative Font Color
The text color displayed on the delta group bar when the cumulative delta is negative.
Width(px)
The width of the delta group bar in pixels.
Min Font Size
The smallest font size for the delta group text. When the bar is contracted beyond this point, the text is hidden.
Max Font Size
The largest font size the delta group text can reach when expanded. Prevents the text from growing excessively large on zoomed-in charts.
Font
The font used for the delta group text label.
Order Filter
Minimum order size
This is a filter to remove market noise. It makes the indicator ignore any trade whose volume is below the specified size. Set to 0 to disable this filter. When Automatic Cryptocurrency Volume is enabled, the filter is applied after the crypto unit conversion.
Maximum order size
This setting filters out unusually large trades by ignoring any trade whose volume exceeds the specified size. Set to 0 to disable this filter. This can be useful in markets where occasional block trades distort the volume profile.