Strings

Concatenate two plain strings.

A(string)

First string. Must be a constant, not a per-bar series.

B(string)

Second string, appended to the first.

// fixed label — both parts are constants, so STRCAT is enough
TITLE := STRCAT('MA', '20');
DRAWTEXT(ISLASTBAR, MA(CLOSE, 20), TITLE), COLORYELLOW;

// if either side changes bar by bar you need VARCAT instead

Concatenate six plain strings.

A(string)

First of six constant strings.

B(string)

The remaining pieces follow in order, C through F.

// saves nesting STRCAT five deep
HEADER := STRCAT6('O', ' | ', 'H', ' | ', 'L', ' | C');
DRAWTEXT_FIX(ISLASTBAR, 0.02, 0.03, 0, HEADER), COLORGRAY;

Concatenate two series of strings, bar by bar.

A(string)

First part. May vary bar by bar.

B(string)

Second part. May vary bar by bar.

// the value changes on every bar, so VARCAT, not STRCAT
DRAWTEXT(ISLASTBAR, HIGH, VARCAT('C=', VAR2STR(CLOSE, 2))), COLORWHITE;

// chain it for three pieces
PCT := VAR2STR((CLOSE - OPEN) / OPEN * 100, 2);
DRAWTEXT(ISLASTBAR, LOW, VARCAT(VARCAT('chg ', PCT), '%')), COLORWHITE;

Concatenate six series of strings.

A(string)

First of six parts, each of which may vary bar by bar.

B(string)

The remaining parts follow in order, C through F.

// a one-line OHLC readout without nesting VARCAT five times
LINE := VARCAT6('O ', VAR2STR(OPEN, 2),
                ' H ', VAR2STR(HIGH, 2),
                ' C ', VAR2STR(CLOSE, 2));
DRAWTEXT_FIX(ISLASTBAR, 0.02, 0.05, 0, LINE), COLORWHITE;

Format every value of X as a string with N decimals.

X(series)

The series to format. Each bar gets its own string.

N(integer)

Decimal places to show — not a bar count.

// per-bar formatting: each bar's own close
DRAWTEXT(ISLASTBAR, HIGH, VARCAT('C ', VAR2STR(CLOSE, 2)));

// 0 decimals for counts
BARS := BARSLAST(CROSS(MA5, MA20));
DRAWTEXT(ISLASTBAR, LOW, VARCAT('age ', VAR2STR(BARS, 0)));

Format the final value of X as a string with N decimals.

X(series)

The series whose LAST value is taken — every bar gets the same string.

N(integer)

Decimal places to show.

// the difference from VAR2STR matters when the label is not
// pinned to the last bar: CON2STR repeats the latest value
LATEST := CON2STR(CLOSE, 2);
DRAWTEXT(MOD(BARPOS, 20) = 0, HIGH, LATEST), COLORGRAY;

Positional formatting: '{0}-{1}' substitutes the arguments; '{0:0.00}' sets decimals.

FORMAT(string)

Template with {0}, {1}, … placeholders. Add :0.00 inside a placeholder to set decimals.

…(series)

The values substituted in, in order.

// clearer than three nested VARCATs
DRAWTEXT(ISLASTBAR, LOW,
         STRFORMAT('O {0:0.00} C {1:0.00}', OPEN, CLOSE)), COLORWHITE;

// placeholders may repeat and appear out of order
DRAWTEXT(ISLASTBAR, HIGH,
         STRFORMAT('{1} bars, chg {0:0.00}%',
                   (CLOSE - OPEN) / OPEN * 100,
                   BARSLASTCOUNT(CLOSE > OPEN)));

Append a space to a string.

A(string)

The string to pad on the right.

// nudge a label off the candle it sits on, without
// resorting to pixel offsets like XMOVE
DRAWTEXT(ISLASTBAR, HIGH, STRSPACE(STRSPACE('top'))), ALIGN0;

1 if B occurs inside A, otherwise 0.

A(string)

The string to search in.

B(string)

The substring to look for. Matches anywhere, not just at the start.

// route the script by instrument name
ISBANK: FINDSTR(STKNAME, 'BANK');

// different parameters for different instruments
LEN := IF(FINDSTR(CODE, 'BTC'), 30, 20);
MA_ADAPTED: MA(CLOSE, LEN), COLORYELLOW;

0 if the strings are equal, non-zero otherwise.

A(string)

First string.

B(string)

Second string.

// note the polarity: 0 means EQUAL, so test for = 0
EXACT := STRCMP(CODE, 'BTCUSDT') = 0;
// FINDSTR is the one that returns 1 on a match
LOOSE := FINDSTR(CODE, 'BTC');

Length of the string.

A(string)

The string to measure.

// pick a font size that keeps a long label inside the pane
LABEL := VARCAT(STKNAME, VAR2STR(CLOSE, 2));
DRAWTEXT(ISLASTBAR AND STRLEN(LABEL) > 12, HIGH, LABEL), FONTSIZE10;
DRAWTEXT(ISLASTBAR AND STRLEN(LABEL) <= 12, HIGH, LABEL), FONTSIZE14;