User Guide – Pennant/Flag, Channel/Rectangle Indicator for Metatrader

User Guide – Pennant/Flag, Channel/Rectangle Indicator for Metatrader

The following user guide is for the Metatrader Pennant/Flag Indicator.

Quick Start

Start Metatrader and place the indicator onto the required chart. Enter the activation code into the panel. The settings can be refined depending on your chart period and the market you are trading.

Figure 1: Loading pennant/flag indicator onto a chart
Figure 1: Loading pennant/flag indicator onto a chart © forexop

Pattern detection is CPU intensive so to reduce processing time the detector will only examine the number of bars set in the “Max. history bars” setting. You can change this to a higher or lower value.

Input Settings

Input setting Description
Maximum shape size (bars) The minimum width in bars of the pennant/flag shapes
Sensitivity Between zero and one. Increase for more patterns.
Pattern type Choose either flags, pennants, channels (rectangles) or any
Show support/resistance lines If yes, related support and resistance lines will be shown
S/R threshold Set a threshold for hiding support and resistance lines (zero shows all)
Fill patterns with color Yes to display block shapes, no for outlines
Pennant color Color setting
Flag color Color setting
Channel color Color setting
Mid line color Color setting
Text color Color setting
Max. history bars (zero for all) How many bars to process (to limit processing time)
Processing mode Normal=1 Approximate=5 (use on slower computers)

Use the “pattern type” option to select between either flags, pennants or both. By default the indicator will detect both pattern types.

The settings are application and chart dependent. To produce “higher quality” but few shapes, reduce the tolerance setting and the outlier setting. To produce higher numbers of shapes, these settings can be dialled up, although this may result in some false detections.

Figure 2: Use tolerance and outlier percentage to refine the number of candidates
Figure 2: Use tolerance and outlier percentage to refine the number of candidates © forexop

Indicator Outputs

The indicator generates numerical outputs on each detection and these will help analyze the shape better. The pattern type, the flagpole size, the depth and orientation of the shape are all output on each detection. The flagpole size is the distance (in chart points) from the shape’s mid line to the low/high price trailing the shape. The trail distance is controlled by the “Pole max distance” setting. The height of the flagpole can also be used as a filter. This is set as a percentage of the pennant/flag depth – which is the height from highest to lowest corner

Figure 3: Data window - output signals
Figure 3: Data window - output signals © forexop

Open Metatrader’s data window (CTRL+D) to show the signal values. You can hover with the mouse cursor over any point to display the value in the data window.

The table below lists the output signals.

Signal/Mode Name Description Free version License Version
0 Pattern Type 6=pennant, 7=flag, 8=rectangle, 10=channel
1 Flagpole Price level of the flagpole
2 Depth The pattern depth (high corner to low corner) in chart points
3 Orientation The mid line angle of the pattern in radians

Return to the pennant/flag indicator product page.