A Range Chart (Range Bars chart) consists of bars that are defined by price movement range rather than time. In a range chart, each bar is created only when price moves a specified amount (for example, 10 pips), regardless of how long it takes. If the market is volatile, many range bars will form in a short time; during quiet periods, few or none form until price breaks out of the tight range. Each range bar still has open, high, low, close values (like a candlestick) but with the special property that its total height (high minus low) is fixed to the chosen range. This makes all bars equal in size (in price terms), and there are no tiny or huge bars – the chart “steps” by uniform price increments, producing a smoother view of trends and consolidations. Relevance to EAs: Range charts are powerful for automated trading systems because they filter out the time dimension, allowing a forex robot to focus purely on price movement. By eliminating time, an EA on a range chart won’t be misled by periods of low activity – if the price isn’t moving enough to form a new bar, the strategy simply waits. This can reduce false signals in choppy, low-volatility markets. For instance, a mean-reversion EA might perform better on range bars because steady sideways movements won’t generate multiple whipsaw signals; only a decisive price move creates a new bar to act on. Similarly, breakout strategies benefit because a series of range bars showing equal highs might clearly indicate a resistance level, and the moment price exceeds the range threshold, a new bar signals a breakout entry. cTrader supports range bars, meaning cBots (cTrader’s robots) can be backtested and run on range charts just like on time charts. One consideration for EAs is adapting indicators to range data – since bars are not time-based, momentum indicators or oscillators will measure move counts instead of time, which often still works but must be interpreted carefully. Overall, range charts help automated strategies by providing noise-free trend detection and consistent volatility-based bar sizes, often leading to cleaner signal generation.

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