How to Customize Your Chart Appearance in TradingView (2025 Guide)

TradingView isn’t just a powerful charting platform — it’s also one of the most visually flexible tools available to traders. Whether you're trading gold, Forex, crypto, or stocks, the way your chart looks can affect how efficiently you analyze trends, spot signals, and execute strategies.

Customizing your TradingView chart appearance helps reduce distractions, highlight key elements, and build a workspace that fits your trading style.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to tailor every visual aspect of your chart — from colors and grids to backgrounds and candle types — without affecting your indicators or layout structure.

Let’s dive in.

Why Appearance Matters in Trading

Charts are more than just visuals — they are the interface between you and the market. A poorly configured chart can:

•        Make key signals hard to see

•        Cause eye fatigue during long sessions

•        Distract you with irrelevant colors or lines

In contrast, a clean and well-organized chart:

•        Emphasizes price action

•        Highlights key support/resistance zones

•        Helps you focus on your ideas and strategy execution

This is why customizing your TradingView chart isn't just an aesthetic choice — it’s a practical performance upgrade.

Accessing Chart Settings in TradingView

To start customizing your chart:

•        Open any chart on TradingView

•        Right-click anywhere on the chart or click the gear icon ⚙️ at the top right

•        Select “Settings”

This brings up a multi-tab menu where you can customize virtually everything — from candles and backgrounds to scales and trading tools.

The main tabs include:

•        Symbol

•        Status Line

•        Scales

•        Appearance

•        Trading

•        Events & Alerts

Each tab lets you tweak different visual elements.

Customizing Candle and Bar Styles

Under the “Symbol” tab, you can:

•        Choose chart type: Candlesticks, bars, Heikin Ashi, hollow candles, line, etc.

•        Set color schemes: Define the color for bullish/bearish candles, borders, and wicks

•        Show or hide body, borders, and wicks independently

•        Adjust line thickness and price mark visibility

Pro Tip: For high-contrast setups, use white or green candles for bullish and dark red or black for bearish. This makes trend changes clearer — especially on mobile screens.

Changing the Background and Grid Lines

In the “Appearance” tab:

•        Background color: Choose from light, dark, or custom gradients

•        Grid lines: Show/hide vertical and horizontal grid lines, and adjust their opacity

•        Session breaks: Helpful for intraday traders to distinguish trading sessions

•        Crosshair settings: Customize how your mouse crosshair appears on the chart

Many traders prefer dark backgrounds (e.g., dark navy or charcoal gray) for eye comfort, especially during long trading sessions.

Editing the Status Line and Price Scales

The Status Line tab controls what's shown at the top of your chart, such as:

•        Open, high, low, close (OHLC) info

•        Indicator labels

•        Buy/sell buttons for brokers connected to TradingView

•        Symbol name and timeframe

The Scales tab helps with axis configuration:

•        Toggle logarithmic vs. linear price scale

•        Show countdown to bar close

•        Adjust margins above and below current price

•        Customize color and font size for scale labels

These adjustments improve readability and remove unnecessary visual clutter.

Save and Load Layouts

After customizing your chart, you can save the layout:

•        Click on the layout icon at the top (near the TradingView logo)

•        Choose “Save” or “Save As”

•        Name your layout — for example, “Gold Swing Setup” or “Intraday Forex Clean”

You can also create multiple layouts for different assets or strategies, such as one for ideas based on trend analysis and another for scalping sessions.

Customize Indicators and Drawings Visually

TradingView also allows customization of how your indicators and drawing tools appear:

•        Right-click on any indicator and select Settings

•        Change colors, line types, thickness, and visibility

•        Lock or hide specific elements to reduce distraction

For drawings (e.g., trend lines, rectangles, Fibonacci):

•        Right-click → Settings → Edit style, color, opacity

•        Add text labels or notes for specific strategies or trade plans

Having a consistent visual language helps keep your charts readable and supports your decision-making process.

Use Templates to Speed Up Your Workflow

Once you’ve designed a chart style that works for you, don’t recreate it every time:

•        Save it as a Template under the chart settings

•        Apply it instantly to any new chart with just two clicks

•        Share templates with other traders or import community styles

This is especially useful if you're working with multiple pairs, timeframes, or sessions.

Smartt: Clean Visuals, No Manual Setup

While TradingView offers tremendous customization, some traders prefer not to manage layouts, settings, or chart analysis themselves. That’s where Smartt becomes a powerful companion.

Smartt allows you to:

•        Follow high-performing traders without opening multiple charts

•        Access curated ideas without dealing with visual clutter

•        Automate trades directly from signal sources

•        Avoid distractions by focusing on performance, not chart decoration

If you'd like help integrating Smartt into your trading workflow or exploring automation alongside TradingView, feel free to reach out through our contact us page.

Final Thoughts

Customizing your TradingView chart appearance isn’t just about aesthetics — it’s about building a workspace that supports clarity, focus, and smart decisions. Whether you're refining entries, analyzing trends, or testing strategies, the right visual setup can make all the difference.

Master the platform visually, and you'll be better prepared to master the markets technically.