Follow-up on this request — clarification on why a native property is needed vs. the existing workaround
After researching the ATAS API and reviewing public indicator examples, I'm aware that tick-based displacement is already achievable today by baking the offset directly into the stored series value:
decimal _tick = ChartInfo.PriceChartContainer.Step; _buySeries[bar] = candle.Low - (_tick * offset); // plots N ticks below low _sellSeries[bar] = candle.High + (_tick * offset); // plots N ticks above high
This works visually, and several indicators in the wild use it. However, it introduces a fundamental data integrity problem: the value stored in the series is no longer the actual signal price — it is the signal price plus an arbitrary rendering offset.
This matters because the series value is consumed in multiple places beyond just the chart renderer:
Tooltips — hovering a bar shows the offset price, not the price where the signal fired
Price axis label — the "current value" label on the Y-axis shows the shifted price
Alerts — alert messages that reference the series value report the wrong price
Other indicators — any indicator that reads this series as a source gets the offset value, not the true price
Data export / logging — recorded values are incorrect for any post-trade analysis
What we are asking for is a TickOffset (or PriceOffset) property on ValueDataSeries that separates the stored value from the rendered position:
_buySeries.TickOffset = -5; // render 5 ticks below the stored value, value itself unchanged
With this, _buySeries[bar] = candle.Low stores the real signal price, and the renderer handles the visual displacement independently. Every consumer of the series — tooltips, alerts, other indicators, logs — sees the correct price.
This is the same model used by most mature charting platforms (e.g. the Displacement property on NinjaTrader data series). It's a small API addition that eliminates a data integrity tradeoff that currently forces developers to choose between correct visuals and correct values.
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Robert
May 30
Follow-up on this request — clarification on why a native property is needed vs. the existing workaround
After researching the ATAS API and reviewing public indicator examples, I'm aware that tick-based displacement is already achievable today by baking the offset directly into the stored series value:
decimal _tick = ChartInfo.PriceChartContainer.Step; _buySeries[bar] = candle.Low - (_tick * offset); // plots N ticks below low _sellSeries[bar] = candle.High + (_tick * offset); // plots N ticks above highThis works visually, and several indicators in the wild use it. However, it introduces a fundamental data integrity problem: the value stored in the series is no longer the actual signal price — it is the signal price plus an arbitrary rendering offset.
This matters because the series value is consumed in multiple places beyond just the chart renderer:
Tooltips — hovering a bar shows the offset price, not the price where the signal fired
Price axis label — the "current value" label on the Y-axis shows the shifted price
Alerts — alert messages that reference the series value report the wrong price
Other indicators — any indicator that reads this series as a source gets the offset value, not the true price
Data export / logging — recorded values are incorrect for any post-trade analysis
What we are asking for is a
TickOffset(orPriceOffset) property onValueDataSeriesthat separates the stored value from the rendered position:_buySeries.TickOffset = -5; // render 5 ticks below the stored value, value itself unchangedWith this,
_buySeries[bar] = candle.Lowstores the real signal price, and the renderer handles the visual displacement independently. Every consumer of the series — tooltips, alerts, other indicators, logs — sees the correct price.This is the same model used by most mature charting platforms (e.g. the
Displacementproperty on NinjaTrader data series). It's a small API addition that eliminates a data integrity tradeoff that currently forces developers to choose between correct visuals and correct values.