Stock charts are represented by the NStockSeries type. An instance of this type must be added to the series collection of a Cartesian chart.

// obtain a reference to the Cartesian chart that is created by default
NCartesianChart chart = (NCartesianChart)chartControl.Charts[0];

NStockSeries stock = (NStockSeries)chart.Series.Add(SeriesType.Stock);

' obtain a reference to the Cartesian chart that is created by default
Dim chart As NCartesianChart = chartControl.Charts(0)

Dim stock As NStockSeries = chart.Series.Add(SeriesType.Stock)

The CandleStyle property of the NStockSeries object should be set to Bar.

stock.CandleStyle = CandleStyle.Bar;

stock.CandleStyle = CandleStyle.Bar

Once the stock series is created you can add some data in it. Stock series use the Values data series for the high values and the XValues data series for the x positions of the data points. For consistency the Values data series can also be accessed through the HighValues property.

In addition to the HighValues and XValues data series the stock series provides several data series of type Double, which hold the low, open and close values. They are accessible respectively through the LowValues, OpenValues and CloseValues properties of NStockSeries object.

You can either manipulate directly these data series, or use the data point interface to supply data to the stock series. The NStockDataPoint class provides several constructors that can be very helpful when you add stock data points. Please refer to the Working with Data Points topic for more information.

The width of the candles is specified by the CandleWidth property, which is of type NLength. The depth of a candle is specified in percents of the floor grid cell it occupies. This value is specified through the CandleDepthPercent property. By default it is set to 50. The following code sets the candle width to 2 percent of the chart width and the candle depth to 70 precent of the Z axis cells:

stock.CandleWidth = new NLength(2, NRelativeUnit.ParentPercentage);
stock.CandleDepthPercent = 70;

stock.CandleWidth = New NLength(2, NRelativeUnit.ParentPercentage)
stock.CandleDepthPercent = 70

Stock charts displays a line connecting the high and low values. Its visibility is controlled by the ShowHighLow property which is by default set to true. The line stroke style is specified through the HighLowStrokeStyle property. The following code will display the high - low line in red with width 2 pixels:

stock.HighLowStrokeStyle = new NStrokeStyle(2, Color.Red);

stock.HighLowStrokeStyle = New NStrokeStyle(2, Color.Red)

A candle is considered with up orientation if its open value is smaller than its close value. Otherwise it is considered with down orientation. Up candles are displayed with the styles specified in the UpFillStyle and UpStrokeStyle properties. Down candles are displayed with the styles specified in the DownFillStyle and DownStrokeStyle properties. The following code will display the up candles in blue and the down candles in green:

stock.UpFillStyle = new NColorFillStyle(Color.Blue);
stock.DownFillStyle = new NColorFillStyle(Color.Green);

stock.UpFillStyle = New NColorFillStyle(Color.Blue)
stock.DownFillStyle = New NColorFillStyle(Color.Green)

The NStockSeries class extends the formatting commands set with the following formatting commands:

<open> - the current data point open value (extracted from the OpenValues data series)
<high> - the current data point high value (extracted from the HighValues data series)
<low> - the current data point low value (extracted from the LowValues data series)
<close> - the current data point close value (extracted from the CloseValues data series)
<up_label> - in the case of a candle with up orientation it is replaced with string specified by the UpLabel property
<down_label> - in the case of a candle with down orientation it is replaced with string specified by the DownLabel property

For example if you want to display the open and close values in the legend you must use the following code:

stock.Legend.Mode = SeriesLegendMode.DataPoints;
stock.Legend.Format = "<open> <close>";

stock.Legend.Mode = SeriesLegendMode.DataPoints
stock.Legend.Format = "<open> <close>"

In a scenario of a date time stock chart you may want to display the dates in the legend:

stock.Legend.Mode = SeriesLegendMode.DataPoints;
stock.Legend.Format = "<xvalue>";
stock.XValues.ValueFormatter = new NDateTimeValueFormatter();

stock.Legend.Mode = SeriesLegendMode.DataPoints
stock.Legend.Format = "<xvalue>"
stock.XValues.ValueFormatter = New NDateTimeValueFormatter()

When the Mode property of the NSeriesLegend object (accessible trough the Legend property) is set to SeriesLogic the stock series will add two items in the legend - for the up and down oriented candles. The legend marks will be filled with the up and down fill styles respectively. The UpLabel string is associated with the up legend items while the DownLabel string is associated with the down legend items.

stock.Legend.Mode = SeriesLegendMode.SeriesLogic;

stock.Legend.Mode = SeriesLegendMode.SeriesLogic

See the Legend Data topic for more information.