Chart Timeframes: Range, Candle Length and How to Pick One
A chart timeframe is the pairing of how much history a chart shows and how much time each candle covers. A candle is one box that shows a period's open, high, low and close (a bar shows the same four prices as ticks). The two are separate choices: the range sets how far back the chart looks, and the candle length sets what one candle stands for. Change either one and the same stock can draw a very different picture.
What It Means
Think of a map. The range is how much territory is on the screen, and the candle length is how fine the drawing is. A five-year range drawn in weekly candles shows the broad path a stock has taken. A one-month range drawn in daily candles shows each day's step along the way.
Neither view is the correct one. Each answers a different question. A short range fits "what happened this week?" and a long range fits "where has this stock been?" A shorter candle also puts more candles into the same range, so the picture gets more detailed and busier at the same time.
Where It Applies
In Rapunzl, Candle Settings in Customize Chart switches the chart between two sets of time tabs. Traditional Tabs, the default, are duration ranges: each tab sets how far back the chart looks and picks a candle size to match. Candle Lengths work the other way around: you choose what one candle covers, with live intraday updates.
| Traditional tab | Range | Candle it draws |
|---|---|---|
| 1d | Today | No candles: a live last-price line |
| 1m | 1 month | Daily |
| 3m | 3 months | Daily |
| 6m | 6 months | Daily |
| 1y | 1 year | Daily |
| 5y | 5 years | Weekly |
| 15y | 15 years | Monthly |
| Candle Length tab | What each candle covers |
|---|---|
| T | 1 minute, for today |
| 5M | 5 minutes |
| 15M | 15 minutes |
| 30M | 30 minutes |
| D | One day |
| W | One week |
| M | One month |
The 1d tab has no open, high, low or close to draw, so it shows a line even on a candle chart. Candle Settings work only on Candlestick and OHLC charts. A line chart has one price per period, so on a line chart Rapunzl says to switch to Candlestick or OHLC to choose how the time tabs display.
Watch the letters. In the Candle Length tabs, M on its own means one month, while 5M means five minutes. In the Traditional tabs, 1m means 1 month.
The candle length also sets how much time a study's period spans. A study's period counts candles, so a 14-period study on daily candles covers 14 days, and on weekly candles it covers 14 weeks.
How to Read It
Three habits help you match a timeframe to a question.
- Start with the question, then pick the range. For today, use T (one-minute candles for today). For the last few weeks, try 1m or 3m (1 month or 3 months). For the long path, try 1y or 5y (1 year or 5 years).
- Leave enough candles to read. A very long candle on a short range gives you only a few shapes, and a very short candle on a long range crowds the screen. The Traditional Tabs pair a range with a sensible candle, and Candle Lengths let you pick the candle size yourself.
- Check the same stock at two timeframes before you describe it. If the pictures disagree, both can be true, because they answer different questions.
Where It Misleads
The zoom you choose can shape the story you tell. A stock can look strong at one timeframe and weak at another, so one chart can be chosen to flatter an argument. Look at more than one before you draw a conclusion.
Shorter candles also carry more noise. A one-minute candle records small moves that a daily candle folds into a single body and two wicks. Neither is more real; they show the same prices at different detail.
Try It in Rapunzl
Candle Settings appears once you choose Candlestick or OHLC Chart under Customize Chart → Chart Type on a stock's chart. It sits under the chart types, and you can switch between Traditional Tabs and Candle Lengths there. Premium covers the 5, 15 and 30 minute lengths, while today's 1-minute view and the 1d tab are free.
The candlestick filters in Rapunzl's Stock Scanner read the latest daily bar. Open a result to reach that stock's page and its chart, then compare its daily and weekly candles with the D and W candle lengths.
A 15-Minute Class Activity
Three Charts, One Stock. Students work in groups of three. Each student gets one row of this table, which describes a made-up stock. All prices are made up.
| Timeframe (made-up stock) | Closing prices, oldest to newest |
|---|---|
| Daily, last 5 days | $48, $49, $50, $51, $52 |
| Weekly, last 5 weeks | $60, $57, $53, $47, $52 |
| Monthly, last 5 months | $40, $44, $50, $58, $52 |
- 2 minutes. Form the groups and hand out the rows. Remind students that all three rows describe the same made-up stock, and it ends at $52 in each one.
- 4 minutes. Each student sketches a line through their five prices and writes whether it went up or down from the first to the last, and by how much. The answers are $4 up, $8 down and $12 up.
- 5 minutes. Groups compare the three sketches. All three end at $52, so why do they disagree? Students name the two settings that changed, how far back each chart looks and what each point covers.
- 4 minutes. Exit ticket: write one question that a daily chart answers best and one that a monthly chart answers best.
Related Indicators
- How to Read a Candlestick Chart: what one candle shows, whatever length it covers.
- OHLC Chart: the same four prices as bars, at any of these lengths.
- Moving Average: a study whose period counts candles, so the candle length sets how much time it covers.
- Technical Analysis: the wider practice of reading charts at different timeframes.
Frequently Asked
Questions
No single timeframe is best. The right one depends on the question, so a short range suits a recent move and a long range suits the bigger path.
The 1d tab is a live last-price line with no open, high, low or close behind it. Without those four prices there is nothing to draw as a candle.
It means each candle covers 5 minutes. The 5M, 15M and 30M lengths are part of Rapunzl Premium.
Candles. If each candle is a day, a period of 14 spans 14 days. If each candle is a week, the same period of 14 spans 14 weeks.
Teach Timeframes With Rapunzl
Planning a lesson on charts? Request a demo and see where the chart settings and simulator fit in. Parents can read more on our parents page.
Indicators, patterns and examples in this article are for education and are not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
By Nate Thomas, School Partnerships Lead at Rapunzl.