How to Add a Bar in a Forex Chart

What “bar” means on a forex chart

In most forex charting apps, a “bar” refers to an OHLC display for one fixed time period. OHLC stands for:

Open: the first price in that period
High: the maximum price in that period
Low: the minimum price in that period
Close: the last price in that period A bar is drawn so you can read high and low as extremes of that period, and the period’s direction from open to close. Many platforms also use the term candles for a similar OHLC representation; candles are a common visual style of OHLC bars.

Because chart interfaces differ, the exact menu names vary, but the steps follow the same logic:

Choose the forex pair (symbol) Select the currency pair you want (for example, a pair like EUR/USD). The bar display will use that symbol’s prices.
Set the timeframe Pick the timeframe you want bars to represent (for example, 5 minutes, 1 hour, or 1 day). Each bar corresponds to one timeframe period.
Switch the chart type to bars/OOHLC Open the chart settings (often near the chart type selector) and choose a bar or OHLC / candlestick option.
- If you see only candles, note that candles are an OHLC bar style; the underlying data is still OHLC per period.
- If you see lines, switching to OHLC/bar will add the period structure.
Confirm the price basis Some charts let you display bid/ask or mid-style prices. If your platform offers it, keep it consistent with what your other tools assume, since it can change where highs/lows appear.
Check scaling and visibility Adjust zoom or chart scaling so the bars are not clipped or too small to distinguish. This is a display setting, but it affects whether you can verify OHLC extremes.

Use these independent checks to confirm you truly added the intended bar display:

Timeframe check: count how many bars appear over a known time span (for example, how many 1-hour bars appear in 1 trading day on the platform).
OHLC check: when available, view the cursor readout (crosshair/tooltip). For a selected bar, confirm it shows open, high, low, and close for the same period.
Direction check: compare open vs close. A bar that ends above its open should reflect that direction visually (often different colors or filled/empty shapes).
Data consistency check: if you switch chart type between line and OHLC, verify that highs and lows align with the OHLC extremes for the same timeframe.

Interface differences: menu labels and locations vary across platforms, so you may not find an exact “Add bar” button; instead, you usually change the chart type.
Terminology differences: “bar” can mean OHLC bars, while other apps emphasize “candlesticks.” They may represent the same OHLC concept with different visuals.
No guaranteed accuracy: chart displays depend on the platform’s data feed and settings (time zone handling, bid/ask choice, aggregation rules). Always verify with the platform’s tooltip/values for the selected bar.
No future outcome implications: enabling bars changes visualization only; it does not imply any future price behavior.