How to Create a Three Line Break Chart

What is a Three Line Break Chart

Line Break charts are time-independent charts used to track price movements and to make decisions on purchasing stock. The chart has the shape of a Waterfall Range Chart: one continuous vertical column gets split and may change direction up or down.

Prices continue in the same direction until a reversal is warranted. A reversal occurs when the closing price exceeds the high or low of the prior two lines. The Number of lines in break is usually three (hence the name of Three Line Break Charts), but could be changed to other values.

Up/down colors are for the rising and falling prices.

Steps to Create a Three Line Break Chart

Start Visual Xtractor or Data Xtractor. Connect to a database. Create or design a SQL query. Run the query and check the results.

1. Display and enable the Chart query builder.
2. Select your first numeric column as Price Charts – Three Line Break.
3. For multiple separate Line Break charts, select other columns with the same chart type.
4. Select one optional column as chart Label.

Three Line Break Chart Demo Query

This is a great alternative to learn about and play with this type of chart, if you don’t want to create it from scratch.

Look for the ready-to-use single-series 3D Three Line Break Chart generated query under the Queries > Demo Queries > Charts > Price Charts folder. Click on the “add demo queries” command link, if not already there. You can switch anytime between 3D and 2D chart views.

The generated demo queries must work for any database, with no restriction. They use constant values generated on-the-fly and your database SQL engine, but do not depend on data from your tables, and never alter your database in any way.

Multiple Three Line Break Charts

Line Break charts are always single-series, and you may not combine more than one Line Break series on the same chart. However, multiple separate charts will be created when you select more than one data column as Three Line Break chart.

Each chart may get its own Number of lines in a break value: select the Line Break chart or series by name from the toolbar combo, then adjust parameter’s value from the drop-down button.

Customize your Three Line Break Chart

The chart toolbar at the bottom has many options you may change with one single click, to alter the graph. Here is just an example of what you can further do with this type of chart:

1. Switch from the 3D to a 2D Three Line Break chart.
2. Change the Number of lines in break (by default 3) with another allowed value.
3. Remove the up-and-down colors, to make the graph monochrome.
4. Remove any color, to show the graph in gray.
5. Change the drawing style of all bars (with Light to Dark).
6. Bars could also be displayed as thin lollipop sticks.

Conclusion

• Creating Three Line Break charts in Data Xtractor or Visual Xtractor is fast, simple and trivial: set one price/stock data column as Three Line Break chart, one optional column as Label, and that’s it!
• Change the Number of lines in break (default three) to another one to five value.
• Create multiple separate Line Break charts with more than one data column selected.
• Many builtin powerful features of these chart type are common to most other charts: filtering series through the legend items, interactivity, monochrome or grayscale colors etc.
• Switch to another builtin chart theme, or customize your own, for any possible color or other styles.